The Wind Heard Her Confession - Chapter 8: A Blinding Crush part 2

Lin Yuran, fed up with it all, bluntly rejected him right in front of everyone. At that moment, she decided to make her stance clear once and for all, “I’m kinda lazy, and I should’ve said this before. I have strict standards for boyfriends: they need to be good students. Since I’m the top student in my year, at the very least they should be in the top three. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have anything in common to talk about.”

She thought her standards were already quite high, but she didn’t realize there was someone even more particular at their school – one whose pride was practically off the charts.

Rumor had it, Chi Ye declared his standards to the whole school: He only dated the top student in our grade.

As classmates analyzed their words, they realized that Lin Yuran had always been the top student. Since transferring, Chi Ye’s grades had slowly improved from being at the bottom, sometimes even hovering around third place in the grade.

After mulling this over, everyone came to the same conclusion: These two might as well have just said they were dating.

Considering they were desk partners and looked good together, news of their supposed relationship quickly spread among their classmates.

With so many spreading it, it was inevitable that their homeroom teacher would hear. Chen Wenli even summoned them to her office for a talk about the matter.

After a stern lecture, Chen Wenli asked sharply, “Tell me the truth. Are you two dating?”

Given how much the rumor had spread, simply saYeng ‘no’ might not be convincing. Chi Ye remained silent, looking like he couldn’t care less about the gossip.

Lin Yuran, knowing her classmate wasn’t going to speak up, took the lead. “Teacher Chen, instead of focusing on rumors, aren’t you worried our grades might suffer? But look, has my performance ever wavered? And Chi Ye has gone from barely passing to nearly being in the top three.”

Chen Wenli furrowed her brow in thought for a moment, finding the logic sound. Her tone softened. “So, are you dating or not?”

Lin Yuran smiled sweetly. “If you believe us, then no, we’re not dating.”

Lin Yuran wasn’t particularly clever, but she handled situations well for her young age. Chen Wenli doted on her and valued her opinion, giving her words some weight.

Chen Wenli didn’t press further, simply reminding them, “No matter what happens, your grades must not suffer.” Then she let them return to class.

Who knows who overheard their conversation? Since they didn’t deny it outright, the students were even more convinced the two were dating. It seemed the rumors had taken root and persisted all these years. Even Gu Jiaze still believed they’d been a couple once.

The car pulled up to a private restaurant called ‘Time to Return.’

The three of them got out, greeted warmly by the housekeeper, and were led to their reserved room. While they were ordering food, Gu Jiaze said he needed to use the restroom, so Chi Ye and Lin Yuran ordered without him.

Chi Ye handed his menu to Lin Yuran. “Order whatever you like.”

He picked up his phone, typing away, perhaps messaging someone. Lin Yuran flipped through the menu. Seeing the extraordinarily high prices, her vision went dark for a moment.

When they’d entered, she had admired the unique design of the restaurant. With misty, curling smoke and a new scene at every step, Eastern warmth and timelessness balanced subtly with modern aesthetics. Elements of nature, stillness, and refinement blended together. Being here felt like a soothing release for weary hearts, perfectly capturing the essence of ‘Time to Return.’

All she could do now was silently fume.

What a rip-off! Giving their dishes fancy names just so they can charge through the roof. Ridiculous!

Flipping to the last page, she saw that even the cheapest bowl of noodles cost 299 yuan. Speechless. What kind of noodles are these? Are they made with gold or something?!

She definitely wouldn’t dare order anything from there.

Lin Yuran handed the menu to Chi Ye. “You choose. I’m fine with whatever.”

Eyebrow raised, Chi Ye skimmed through the menu briefly before setting it aside. “This place lets you customize your order. Any specific dishes you want?”

Lin Yuran smiled. “I really don’t care what we eat. You pick.”

Without further ado, Chi Ye grabbed the custom menu and scribbled down a list of items.

Lin Yuran blurted out gently, “Uh, I’m not very hungry…”

It seemed quite expensive. She wanted to suggest ordering less but stopped herself. After some thought, she realized she wouldn’t be eating much, but Chi Ye and Gu Jiaze would, so she decided not to say anything.

When they came here, no one mentioned who would be footing the bill. Lin Yuran had been thinking earlier that, regardless of what they said later, she would insist on splitting the bill equally.

She didn’t have the habit of freeloading off others. It was a principle she upheld, not because she was petty, but because her financial situation was tight. Without this principle, it would be easy to develop the habit of taking advantage of others, which she found distasteful. She couldn’t allow herself to become that kind of person.

But at this moment, watching Chi Ye scribbling nonstop on the customized menu card, Lin Yuran couldn’t help but think about the balance in her bank account. After paying her mother and grandmother’s monthly expenses, she had less than two thousand yuan left for all her living and emergency expenses. The rest of her savings was set aside for her education and couldn’t be touched.

If Chi Ye ended up ordering a meal that cost tens of thousands today, she really couldn’t afford to split the bill. In that case, she’d have to break her principle just this once and pay him back when her financial situation improved. If it stayed within a range she could manage, she would definitely insist on splitting it.

Chi Ye finished writing on the menu card and handed it to the butler standing nearby, instructing, “Make it a bit spicier.”

The private room door was suddenly flung open.

Gu Jiaze rushed in, phone pinned between his shoulder and ear, speaking hurriedly into it. “Baby, I was wrong. Don’t be mad. Wait for me to come back, and I’ll explain everything.”

Then, hanging up the call, he turned to Chi Ye and Lin Yuran. “Sorry, I have to bail today. There’s an emergency at home, and if I don’t handle it soon, I might be facing a life sentence of bachelorhood.”

Chi Ye simply said, “Get lost.”

Lin Yuran was slightly taken aback but responded politely, “Oh, then you should take care of your matters first.”

Gu Jiaze, already at the door, turned back to Lin Yuran and said, “Sorry about this, Lin Yuran. Let’s reschedule for another time.”

Lin Yuran smiled at him. “It’s fine. Another time works. You should hurry.”

Gu Jiaze glanced briefly at Chi Ye, then pulled the door open and left.

……

(T/N: Let me guess: it was Chi Ye who planned for Gu Jiaze to go so that he could take this chance to eat with Lin Yuran. Sneaky ah!)