Although Xu Xuwen told the girls they didn't need to take off their shoes and could wear them inside the house, looking at the spotless floor, the girls still chose to remove their shoes and walked into the living room in their socks.
When the four girls from apartment 301 entered the living room and saw four other girls, they were taken aback.
Then, they began to seriously scrutinize the four girls.
Earlier, on the bus, they couldn't see their faces clearly through the glass.
Now, seeing their faces up close, the four girls from apartment 301 were surprised.
Although the four girls weren't as attractive as they were, they were all very pretty and could stand out individually as stunning beauties.
Thinking back to Xu Xuwen introducing them as new employees of the company, the four girls from apartment 301 all thought of the same question: Why did Xu Xuwen only hire beautiful women? Did he have other motives?
Cheng Lu glared at Xu Xuwen directly.
Xiao Youran's face grew even paler.
Song Siyu looked at Xu Xuwen with disgust, mentally labeling him a scumbag.
An Shishi, who was at the back, felt frustrated and looked at the four girls with a guarded expression.
The four girls from the company were sitting at the bottom end of an L-shaped sofa, sitting side by side very neatly.
Since there were no slippers, they also took off their shoes and entered the house in their socks.
Xu Xuwen said to the four girls, "Go pour some water. The cups are in the cupboard."
Upon hearing this, the four girls got up together and walked to the kitchen.
Xu Xuwen walked to the middle of the sofa and sat down.
Cheng Lu silently walked to Xu Xuwen's right side and sat down.
Seeing this, Xiao Youran, unwilling to be outdone, also walked to Xu Xuwen's left side and sat down.
An Shishi and Song Siyu sat to the left of Xiao Youran.
After Xu Xuwen sat down, he leaned back.
He closed his eyes, thinking about how to explain things later.
The current situation was the first of its kind in his life, and he had no experience with it.
Although he had long anticipated that one day he would be exposed, he didn't expect that day to come so quickly.
The four girls from the company soon returned to the living room, each holding a cup.
Xu Qian was carrying two glass cups with warm purified water.
She placed one cup in front of Cheng Lu and the other in front of Xu Xuwen, reminding him, "Mr. Xu, here's your water."
Xu Xuwen ignored her and didn't drink the water.
The four girls from apartment 301 thanked them.
Then the four company girls whispered to each other for a moment before saying in unison, "Mr. Xu, we need to use the restroom."
Seeing that Xu Xuwen had his eyes closed and didn't respond, the four girls walked together to the restroom.
They were using the restroom as an excuse to avoid the situation.
Anyway, after the four girls went to the restroom, only Xu Xuwen and the four girls from apartment 301 were left in the living room.
The living room was extremely quiet at this moment.
Xu Xuwen kept his eyes closed.
The girls didn't speak either.
After two minutes.
Song Siyu couldn't hold back and said, "Xu Xuwen, can you explain now?"
Xu Xuwen opened his eyes, looked at her, and asked, "What do you want me to explain?"
Song Siyu said, "You know what! When did you and Cheng Lu get together? Aren't you just two-timing!"
As she spoke, she turned to Cheng Lu and said, "Cheng Lu, you clearly know about the relationship between Xiao Youran and Xu Xuwen. Why did you become the third wheel? Do you remember what you said before?"
Song Siyu's words echoed what Xiao Youran wanted to say.
But she didn't feel comfortable saying it herself, so she was touched that Song Siyu spoke up for her.
When Cheng Lu heard Song Siyu's accusation, she didn't offer any explanation.
However, An Shishi suddenly interjected, "Is it possible that Cheng Lu isn't the third wheel..."
As soon as she said this, the other three girls immediately looked at her.
Cheng Lu was very surprised.
She knew that the other three girls in the dorm were very close and always hung out together.
She didn't expect An Shishi to speak up for her.
Song Siyu was also surprised.
She couldn't understand why An Shishi would say that suddenly.
Xiao Youran felt a bit hurt.
In her view, An Shishi's words were tantamount to defending Cheng Lu.
She felt very upset.
Xiao Youran's disappointed look made An Shishi uncomfortable.
She hesitated for a second and then explained, "I don't know. I'm just guessing. You don't need to pay attention to me."
Hearing her words, Xiao Youran finally withdrew her gaze.
Song Siyu didn't press An Shishi any further either.
She turned to Xu Xiuwen and said, "Xu Xiuwen, how long are you going to play dead?"
Xu Xiuwen sighed deeply, "Just ask whatever you want to ask."
Song Siyu glanced at Xiao Youran's expression and asked on her behalf, "What exactly is your relationship with Cheng Lu?"
Sooner or later, it had to be said.
This time, it definitely couldn't be hidden.
Xu Xiuwen struggled internally but finally decided to come clean.
"Cheng Lu is my girlfriend!"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Cheng Lu sighed in relief.
An Shishi was somewhat surprised by Xu Xiuwen's honesty.
Song Siyu had an expression that said she already knew.
But Xiao Youran seemed to have received a huge blow, her expression collapsing instantly.
Tears immediately streamed down her face.
She could no longer hold back, grabbing Xu Xiuwen's arms and choking out, "How can you be Cheng Lu's boyfriend? Xiao Xu, you're lying to me, right? Tell me you're lying!"
Xu Xiuwen turned to look at Xiao Youran.
He reached out to wipe away her tears.
But Xiao Youran's tears wouldn't stop, impossible to wipe away.
The girl's tearful eyes stared at him intensely.
Xu Xiuwen said in a deep voice, "I'm not lying to you. Cheng Lu and I are a couple. We got together the night after the New Year's party last semester."
"Please stop crying..."
As Xu Xiuwen started to speak, he realized his throat was a bit hoarse.
Seeing this, An Shishi quickly grabbed a few tissues from the coffee table and handed them to Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen didn't take them.
She then hurriedly handed them to Xiao Youran.
Xiao Youran didn't take them either.
She was on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
She stared intently at Xu Xiuwen and asked, "Why didn't you tell me? Why did you hide it from me?"
"I was afraid you'd be sad!"
Xiao Youran muttered to herself, repeatedly saying, "Afraid I'd be sad... Afraid I'd be sad..."
After repeating it several times, she asked again, "If you were with her, why did you come to see me that night? Why did you stay with me? Why did you say you'd always be good to me? Was it all a lie?"
As soon as Xiao Youran said this,
the living room fell silent.
Cheng Lu's eyes instantly narrowed.
Xu Xiuwen felt a chill down his spine, as if a cold gaze was piercing his back.
He knew that without a suitable explanation, Cheng Lu, given her personality, would likely explode.
The situation was heading towards chaos.
Xu Xiuwen now had two choices.
The first choice: distance himself from it all.
He could say that Xiao Youran misunderstood everything, that what he meant that night was that he would always treat her like a sister.
As a result, Cheng Lu might be angry for a while but probably wouldn't break up with him, though Xiao Youran would be heartbroken.
The second choice: admit everything.
But this way, Cheng Lu would see him for the scumbag he was.
Given Cheng Lu's proud nature,
she would definitely break up with him.
Neither choice was something Xu Xiuwen wanted to face.
But he had to choose one.
Xu Xiuwen was silent for a long time.
Finally, he raised his head, first looking at Cheng Lu, then at Xiao Youran.
Xiao Youran was crying like a pear blossom bathed in rain.
Cheng Lu was much calmer.
Xu Xiuwen didn't answer immediately but instead spoke slowly about something else.
He said, "I brought all this upon myself."
He looked at Xiao Youran, "Youran, you were my first love. I've liked you since we were kids."
"Then why did you—"
Xu Xiuwen interrupted her, "Let me finish. There's something I've never told you. After the college entrance exams, the class monitor and others told me they saw you being very close with another boy. They said you didn't like me at all. I believed them at the time. I thought I was just being self-indulgent, so I deliberately distanced myself from you."
The true reason is: in their past lives, due to Cao Yu's meddling, Xu Xiuwen and Xiao Youran each believed that the other did not like them, leading to their separation because of this misunderstanding.
In this life, Xu Xiuwen only learned the truth at the gathering. However, because of the past life's misunderstanding, Xu Xiuwen had been avoiding her in this life, and even firmly rejected her confession, choosing to be with Cheng Lu instead.
But the truth was hard to tell Xiao Youran, so Xu Xiuwen made up a reason.
Xiao Youran did not suspect anything after hearing it.
She had always been puzzled as to why Xu Xiuwen was so close to her the day before, but his attitude changed drastically the night of the farewell dinner.
Afterward, he acted as if they were strangers.
Now the truth was finally revealed.
She finally understood the reason.
It was all a misunderstanding.
It was all caused by the class monitor and his group.
Xiao Youran wept uncontrollably upon hearing this.
She looked at Xu Xiuwen and asked bitterly, "Why did you believe whatever others said? Why didn't you ask me directly? From childhood to now, besides you, I've never spoken more than three sentences to other boys. What made you think I didn't like you?"
Her voice was hoarse from crying.
Xu Xiuwen remained silent.
Xiao Youran sobbed, "Xiao Xu, I'm not angry, but please don't be with Cheng Lu anymore, okay? Let's reconcile, I will always, always like you."
In Xiao Youran's hopeful gaze, Xu Xiuwen shook his head.
Xu Xiuwen continued, "After starting university, I actively avoided you, you must have felt that. Later, after meeting Cheng Lu, I really fell in love with her, so I cannot give her up for you."
Xiao Youran cried out, "Then why did you come to me? Why did you give me hope?"
Xu Xiuwen nodded, "That was my original plan, which is why I rejected your confession that day."
Xiao Youran recalled that day.
That day she confessed to Xu Xiuwen, but was rejected.
Xu Xiuwen even said he liked someone else.
After being with Xiao Xu later, she deliberately ignored this matter.
Now she understood, Xiao Xu hadn't lied to her back then.
He really did like someone else.
Xu Xiuwen continued, "I always thought I had moved on from our past feelings, but upon learning that it was the class monitor's doing and all a misunderstanding, I realized I still had feelings for you, so I couldn't help but come to you."
He glanced at Xiao Youran and said solemnly, "I'm sorry, Youran. I shouldn't have believed others, and I shouldn't have sought you out after getting together with Cheng Lu."
Xiao Youran just cried, saying nothing.
Xu Xiuwen glanced at Cheng Lu apologetically, "Cheng Lu, I'm sorry. No matter how angry you are or how much you scold me, I can accept it. It was my greed; I thought I had moved on from Youran, but I was deceiving myself. It's all my fault."
Xu Xiuwen had finished speaking.
He honestly admitted to his infidelity.
The four girls now understood the whole situation.
Xiao Youran was heartbroken, crying uncontrollably.
She hated the class monitor and his group to death.
If it weren't for their meddling, she and Xiao Xu wouldn't have had any misunderstandings and would have been together long ago.
Cheng Lu wouldn't have had the chance to come between them.
Song Siyu initially thought Xu Xiuwen was a cheating scumbag.
But after hearing everything, although she still thought cheating was wrong, she couldn't help but feel Xu Xiuwen was somewhat justified.
She even felt that Xu Xiuwen was very devoted.
Because in the end, he never changed his feelings for Xiao Youran.
An Shishi also suddenly understood.
Since first meeting Xu Xiuwen and Xiao Youran at the start of school, she found their relationship strange.
They were childhood friends, but Xu Xiuwen rarely visited Xiao Youran at Jiaotong University.
And Xu Xiuwen later became boyfriend and girlfriend with Cheng Lu.
Now it all made sense.
Unlike Xiao Youran.
She was very glad there was this misunderstanding.
If there hadn't been, Xu Xiuwen would have been directly with Xiao Youran.
An Shishi didn't think she could come between childhood sweethearts.
So she felt a bit grateful.
But seeing Xiao Youran cry so sadly, she also felt somewhat guilty.
But she didn't regret it.
Everyone for themselves.
As she became more involved, she realized she was already deeply entangled in this relationship and couldn't extricate herself.
Now, she loved Xu Xiuwen intensely.
It was absolutely impossible for her to give up this relationship.
Cheng Lu was silent at this moment.
Xu Xiuwen had once told her himself that he didn't like Xiao Youran and only saw her as a sister.
But now, it seemed Xu Xiuwen had lied to her back then.
However, she didn't seem very angry.
From their conversation, she also figured out what was going on.
Clearly, she was the one being cheated on, but she found herself feeling more sorry for Xiao Youran than angry.
She couldn't help but think that if she wasn't there, once the misunderstanding was cleared up, Xu Xiuwen would still end up with Xiao Youran, right?
The childhood sweethearts ending up together was more dreamy than any fairy tale.
Cheng Lu also realized that she was actually the intruder in the relationship between Xu Xiuwen and Xiao Youran, the childhood sweethearts.
She clearly hated mistresses and intruders.
But now, she had become the very type of person she used to despise.
Cheng Lu found it both absurd and very sad.
She even started to loathe herself.
Using the excuse of going to the bathroom, she hid there, listening to the sounds from the living room.
The four women, after hearing the whole story, fell silent together.
When they first found out about Xu Xiuwen's infidelity, they were very disappointed in him.
They even thought about quitting their jobs.
But now, understanding the situation, they couldn't help but sympathize with Xu Xiuwen.
Indeed, Xu Xiuwen shouldn't have cheated, but it seemed there were understandable reasons for his actions.
The living room fell silent again.
Only Xiao Youran's sobbing could be heard.
Song Siyu gently patted Xiao Youran's back, trying to comfort her.
But it was to no avail.
Xiao Youran continued to cry.