After Marrying the Aloof Beauty, I Totally Fell for Her - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Rich Woman Sister

Hong Tianjiao, like An Ning, was a sophomore and one of the current women’s singles main players. With a wealthy background and decent talent, she had always believed she would be unbeatable from the moment she first picked up a badminton racket in elementary school.

But being “unbeatable” wasn’t like using a cheat code in a game—you couldn’t just press a button and win. Everything had gone smoothly for her until she entered university and hit the biggest obstacle in her sporting career so far—An Ning.

Had An Ning also come from a wealthy family and trained since childhood, it might’ve been easier to accept. But after losing to her for the first time, Hong Tianjiao secretly looked into her background—only to learn that not only did An Ning come from an average family, but she had only started training in high school.

That shattered Miss Hong’s fragile ego.

At first, she kept it to herself and only tried harder on the court. But over time, it turned into passive-aggressive comments and even personal attacks off the court.

The coach had reprimanded her many times, but she just kept doing whatever she wanted.

“What filthy things are you saying?!” Before An Ning could react to what Hong Tianjiao meant, there was a loud bang behind her. Chen Ying had slammed the table and stood up, pointing furiously at Hong Tianjiao.

An Ning was easygoing and usually ignored Hong Tianjiao’s jabs, but Chen Ying wasn’t one to let things slide. The two had argued dozens of times already.

“I didn’t even name names—why are you so mad?” Hong Tianjiao glanced sideways at Chen Ying, then turned smugly to look at An Ning. “Some people act all high and mighty, but aren’t they just gold diggers at heart?”

By now it was obvious who she was talking about. Even the coach furrowed his brows.
“Hong Tianjiao, if you keep talking nonsense, get out!” he barked.

Hong Tianjiao snorted and reluctantly sat up straight.

The freshman welcome event finally resumed, but no one really felt like paying attention to the introductions anymore. The new students sitting in the front row kept glancing back at An Ning, and their gazes were no longer just admiring—they now carried gossip and curiosity.

“Ning Ning, don’t worry,” Ren Tiantian comforted her. “Everyone knows what kind of person she is. No one’s going to believe her.”

“Yeah, I know. A clear conscience fears no gossip,” An Ning replied with a smile, though she couldn’t help wondering, “But I am curious—where did she hear that rumor?”

In the past, Hong Tianjiao had mocked her appearance or playing skills, which were all subjective opinions. An Ning never took it personally—she knew she wasn’t as likable as money itself.

But today’s open slander was something new.

Campus Belle Caught Leaving in a Luxury Car

That was the third most popular thread on the main forum of Yuncheng University. The glaring headline sat on the homepage.

“This kinda does look like you, Ning Ning…” Huang Lu said hesitantly, looking at the photo.

“It doesn’t ‘kinda’—it is me,” An Ning sighed, staring at the blurry image. “That was the day I went on a date.”

The photo was grainy, clearly taken on impulse, but even though it only showed a fuzzy side profile, anyone who knew her could tell it was her.

She hadn’t expected getting into a car would lead to this kind of mess—she found it both absurd and frustrating.

“Damn, rich woman sister!” Huang Lu, a literature student, immediately picked out the real issue.

“So Ning Ning was just getting into her girlfriend’s car—totally reasonable,” Lu Lin said with righteous indignation.

Chen Ying pointed to a row of comments about her being a sugar baby. “The problem is getting these people to also think it’s reasonable.”

The original poster had confidently claimed to have seen An Ning getting into a luxury car, and since everyone on the forum was anonymous, the replies naturally went as low as possible.

Comments like “gold digger,” “shameless,” and “don’t judge a book by its cover” were all over the place.

“Ugh, is this ever going to end…” Huang Lu muttered. “Don’t look at it anymore, Ning Ning. I’ll go ask the moderator to delete the post.”

“Just deleting it isn’t enough,” Lu Lin said, raising her hand. “You need to clarify the truth too.”

Chen Ying slapped her forehead. “Since that was your girlfriend’s car, why not ask her to help clarify it?”

“Yeah!” the other two echoed and looked at An Ning expectantly.

Under the weight of their three hopeful stares, An Ning suddenly felt immense pressure.

“I’ll try… she’s pretty busy with work though.”

Opening with something like this after not talking for over a month? That didn’t feel right.

That night, lying in bed, An Ning stared at the little bear GIF—“pulling the blanket up”—from their last conversation for ten full minutes before she hesitantly typed a word in the chatbox.

I’m Not Jealous: You there?

As always, the reply came quickly.

MY: Yeah.

Now what?

Before An Ning could work through the awkwardness, another message popped up.

MY: What’s up?

I got photographed getting into your car the day we went to register our marriage. People are spreading rumors that you’re keeping me… could you help clarify it?

No. She couldn’t say that.

She typed and deleted different versions of that message several times. In the end, she erased everything.

She’d always thought of herself as straightforward and open. This was her first time experiencing the awkwardness of “we’re not close enough for me to ask you for help.”

The post had already been deleted anyway. Anyone who knew her wouldn’t believe the rumor.

Making excuses for herself, she ended up typing something harmless:

I’m Not Jealous: Nothing really, just wanted to chat.

The other side went quiet for two minutes.

MY: You’re that free?

You misunderstand, Teacher Mu—I’m not just being annoying…

An Ning wanted to cry.

I’m Not Jealous: It’s nothing, I won’t bother you.

Silence again.

She watched as “The other person is typing…” flashed on and off several times. Finally, a new message appeared.

MY: Are you really okay?

It was just one sentence, but An Ning could practically imagine Mu Yan sitting across from her, those piercing eyes calmly fixed on her, voice low and steady.

A wave of inexplicable nervousness swept through her. She tightened her grip on her phone.

Good thing she wasn’t facing her in person.

I’m Not Jealous: I’m really okay.

That ended the conversation. In the end, An Ning didn’t ask Mu Yan for help. Huang Lu made a clarification post on the forum, but it had little effect—only those who already knew An Ning believed her. People like Hong Tianjiao, who had always disliked her, naturally seized the chance to mock her even more.

After the welcome event, the annual Yunti Feiyu Cup arrived.

The Yunti Feiyu Cup was a badminton tournament hosted by the university’s team to inspire competitiveness in the new freshmen. Only new recruits were allowed to participate.

Despite being for newcomers, most had little formal training before entering the university, so the games weren’t very exciting. What spectators looked forward to most was the exhibition match after the finals.

The top two finishers from the tournament would be paired with seeded singles players from the main team for a doubles match—with a small prize for the winners.

Singles players playing doubles always led to fun mismatches, and since the seeded players were already minor celebrities in the circuit, the exhibition match drew the most attention.

On finals day, while An Ning was watching the matches with her teammates, the coach approached casually.

“Up for the exhibition match?”

“Sure,” An Ning agreed easily, still watching the court.

She hadn’t expected to recognize one of the finalists.

It was none other than Jing Tong—the girl who had confessed to her in public.

For a freshman, Jing Tong’s offensive and defensive skills were solid—rare among first-years.

But her opponent clearly had more experience and a height advantage, constantly keeping her on the defensive.

These freshmen were surprisingly skilled. Looked like Jing Tong was going to lose.

An Ning was engrossed in the match when she suddenly heard a familiar snort next to her.

“No bodyguard with you today?”

She turned and, sure enough—it was Hong Tianjiao, sitting next to her, legs crossed, casting her a sidelong glance.

Was she talking about Sister Ying?

An Ning was actually relieved that Chen Ying was out on a date and hadn’t come. Otherwise, the fight in the stands would’ve started before the one on the court even ended.

She pretended not to hear and continued watching, but Hong Tianjiao wouldn’t let it go.

“Looks like we’ll be teaming up with those two for the exhibition match. I’m not playing with your little fangirl though—bad luck.”

An Ning frowned. “Can you not be so mean?”

Now she wasn’t just insulting her—she was dragging everyone around her down too?

Hong Tianjiao looked briefly surprised, clearly not expecting An Ning to talk back. Then she scoffed and stood up. “Whatever. You’re losing this time anyway!”

An Ning didn’t understand why Hong Tianjiao hated her so much. Sure, she’d beaten her before, but not every time. Their matches had been back and forth.

She couldn’t lose every single time just to keep the peace, right?

Shaking her head, she turned back to the court. The match was almost over.

As expected, the score was 1–1, and in the third set, Jing Tong’s opponent was far ahead.

The final whistle blew shortly after.

Following the awards ceremony, the coach waved her into the locker room, where she saw the champion, the runner-up, and—of course—Hong Tianjiao.

Tension crackled between the two finalists, and Hong Tianjiao, ever the lone wolf, stood off to the side like a storm cloud.

“The exhibition match will be in three days. Pick your partners. Don’t take it too seriously—it’s just for fun.” The coach quickly left, eager to escape the brewing storm.

“As for us—” Before the door had even shut, Hong Tianjiao stepped forward and grabbed the champion’s arm. She turned to Jing Tong with a mocking smile. “Why not pair up with your crush? That way, even if you lose, it won’t hurt so bad.”

The champion glanced at An Ning, clearly wanting to partner with her but too scared to offend Hong Tianjiao. He gave in and let her drag him out of the locker room.

Jing Tong, already upset over her loss, burst into tears on the spot, crouching down and sobbing.

An Ning: “…”

What a mess.