After Marrying the Cold and Elegant Beauty, I Fell in Love (GL) - Chapter 7

Han Shuangshuang and Yan Huan returned to the dormitory. Yan Huan, having drunk quite a bit, fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Since the playground had been crowded, no one had noticed she was tipsy.

Wu Huimin said softly, “Everyone is already asleep, you two be quiet. Turn off the light for me after you get into bed.”

Yan Huan, who was already lying down, suddenly sat up like a reanimated corpse and threw back her bed curtain. “There are only four people in this dorm. White Lily isn’t even here. Aside from me and Han Shuangshuang, there’s only you. What do you mean ‘everyone’? You just want to hide behind your curtain and secretly grind your studies. Like anyone wants to compete with you.”

Han Shuangshuang suddenly recalled something. This Wu Huimin actually had a fair amount of screen time.

Wu Huimin was from the same hometown as Long Aodi. She was usually quiet, plain-looking, with thick straight bangs—the type of person who had zero presence in a crowd. However, a crucial part of her character setting was her secret crush on Long Aodi.

Long Aodi’s smooth sailing in university, his ability to get intel on girls, and his eventual success in winning over the female lead were largely thanks to her help behind the scenes.

At first, Long Aodi had focused his attention on Shen Yuru.

In the story, Long Aodi was a classic “Phoenix Man.” He came from a humble background but had champagne tastes and a massive ego. He believed he was destined for greatness, but in university, he was suppressed by wealthy students and couldn’t make a name for himself.

Now a junior, if he didn’t find a way out, he would become just another corporate slave upon graduation, losing all the “glory” he had at school. This led him to target women, hoping to find a “shortcut” that would save him fifty years of struggle.

Because Shen Yuru’s family was more powerful and prestigious, Long Aodi didn’t think too much at first. She was beautiful and brilliant. Being unaware of the complexities of high-society families, he didn’t realize Shen Yuru was an unloved pawn. He thought he could reap massive benefits from her, but after several failed attempts, he began to realize something was off. Later, when the female lead appeared, he shifted his target.

Analyzing this, Han Shuangshuang suddenly understood. The original novel’s plot was a mess of warped values; she had been tricked by the synopsis, but now she saw it clearly. Shen Yuru’s “blackening” was likely because the male lead gave her warmth and care—acting as a ray of light in her dark life.

But Long Aodi had ulterior motives. When Shen Yuru discovered she was being used, that betrayal became the “last straw” that broke her.

Han Shuangshuang became even more determined to keep Long Aodi away from Shen Yuru. If his schemes failed, she could delay the blackening. In the meantime, she would slowly heal and guide Shen Yuru toward the light, showing her the beauty of the world.

Once the plot reached the point of their arranged marriage, she would reach a friendly agreement with Shen Yuru: they would seek their own true loves, not live together, and she would never make Shen Yuru angry, hurt her, or cheat on her.

That way, her cannon fodder ending would be shattered, and she could welcome a wonderful new life.

After Han Shuangshuang went to bed, Wu Huimin secretly pulled open a sliver of her curtain. She pushed up her thick glasses and stared at Han Shuangshuang’s bed with an unsettling, voyeuristic gaze. Then, she took out her phone and sent a message to Long Aodi.

Wu Huimin: [Senior, Han Shuangshuang is asleep. It seems she didn’t report anything to the teachers. I bet she wouldn’t dare. Don’t worry, Senior, I don’t think you did anything wrong. Han Shuangshuang is just a meddler, she’s so annoying. I’ll always be on your side.]

Long Aodi: [I know I didn’t do anything wrong, so I’m not afraid of her telling the teachers. Thank you for the comfort.]

Long Aodi: [Do you know why Han Shuangshuang has suddenly been hanging around Shen Yuru?]

Han Shuangshuang’s reputation was bad; she “played around” a lot, and her orientation wasn’t explicitly clear. She usually hung out with beautiful women. She had a temper and didn’t care about anyone’s feelings—except for beauties. Long Aodi didn’t want Han Shuangshuang to become a variable that affected his plans.

Wu Huimin: [I’m not sure either, but I heard from other dorms that their families might have some history? If you want to know, Senior, I can look into it for you.]

She worked so hard at her studies just to keep up with the Senior’s footsteps. Their families lived in the same area, and she had even visited his parents during the holidays. His parents were very satisfied with her. She was confident she would make a good wife. Although the Senior hadn’t made his feelings explicit yet, she knew his focus was on his studies. She loved men who worked hard for their goals. She would wait until he graduated to have their parents discuss the matter.

Long Aodi: [No need. Midterms are coming up, you should focus on studying. Don’t waste your attention on trivial matters. I promised your parents I’d look after you. It’s late, get some sleep.]

After replying with a shy emoji, Wu Huimin immediately put down her phone, took off her glasses, and curled up under her blanket, squirming with excitement. The Senior really doesn’t care about others; his attention is all on me, and he cares so much! She vowed to work twice as hard to become a woman who could stand by his side.

Han Shuangshuang woke up groggily and headed to class out of muscle memory. When she reached her seat, she found a thick stack of self-reflection letters on her desk.

She woke up instantly, finally remembering she had transmigrated. Every day, she had a heavy task: physical contact with the future villain Shen Yuru to heal her heart and lower her blackening value. The road was long.

But Shen Yuru was a junior, and she was a freshman. They were in different majors; how could they meet every day? And then she realized with a jolt—she didn’t even have Shen Yuru’s contact information.

Total “BBQ-ed” (game over).

The noisy classroom suddenly went quiet as everyone looked toward the door. Han Shuangshuang looked up and saw a bright, striking beauty walking in with a stack of documents. She seemed to be heading right for her.

The other students lowered their heads as if afraid to be seen. Han Shuangshuang blinked her puppy eyes innocently as the “Ice Queen” beauty stopped in front of her. Her gaze was devoid of emotion as she dropped the papers on the desk.

“Han Shuangshuang, these are the courses you failed last semester, along with the official notice. If you fail more than five courses this semester, your GPA will be below 1.0. The department has decided to hold you back a year. I’m here to notify you.”

Han Shuangshuang was stunned. She suddenly connected this cold beauty with a character from the book: Yun Yun, the Vice President of the Student Union. She was a very upright character with little screen time, who eventually got framed by Long Aodi for interfering with his interests and was expelled.

Han Shuangshuang felt a massive headache coming on. She could only nod obediently and say she understood.

Just then, Yan Huan walked past the hallway yawning, and she happened to bump into Yun Yun as she was leaving. Her lazy demeanor vanished instantly; she stood up straight and even adjusted her hair. Seeing that Yun Yun didn’t even spare her a glance, a look of disappointment flashed across Yan Huan’s face, but she quickly masked it and entered the classroom.

Seeing Han Shuangshuang there, Yan Huan’s eyes widened like brass bells. “How rare! Miss Han actually came to class.”

Han Shuangshuang looked miserable. She had no energy for banter. Transmigrating was one thing, but having to study from scratch? She had never even looked at these professional courses!

“Yan Huan, if I start over and become a new person now, can I pass last semester’s failures and all of this semester’s classes?”

Yan Huan patted her shoulder solemnly. “That is a question I don’t think I can answer.”

Han Shuangshuang buried her face in her hands. She remembered: the original host was ranked last, and Yan Huan was second to last—except Yan Huan managed to get exactly 60 in every subject to avoid failing.

System, will failing classes affect my tasks?

[System: Think about it, Host. If you are held back, Shen Yuru might think you are someone with no ambition. If you repeat a year, she’ll be a senior next year and your connection will weaken. Can you guarantee you can zero her blackening value and heal her heart in the next two months?]

Han Shuangshuang thought carefully. The plot where they get engaged happened after Shen Yuru graduated.

“Why are you panicking?” Yan Huan said. “You have Shen Yuru! She’s the campus ‘Study God,’ ranked first in the whole school. She knows a bit of everything. Even if she doesn’t teach you the material, she can teach you study techniques. I saw her on the way to the library earlier. If you go now, you can catch her. Juniors don’t have many classes; they basically live in the library.”

“Thanks, sister!” Han Shuangshuang grabbed a pen and a notebook and stood up immediately.

[System: Don’t be discouraged, Host. You were a top student before you transmigrated. These courses shouldn’t defeat you.]

Han Shuangshuang’s internal tears could have drowned her. If she had a choice, who would want to study? It’s not that studying is bad, it’s just that everything is more interesting than studying. If she weren’t forced, who wouldn’t want to be a rich layabout?

Shen Yuru looked up, her slender fingers holding a pen pausing as she saw a breathless Han Shuangshuang. Knowing she couldn’t talk in the library, Han Shuangshuang gestured frantically. Realizing she looked a bit silly, she quickly typed on her phone and pushed it in front of Shen Yuru.

[Sister Shen, help! If I fail again, I’ll be held back. Could you please teach me how to study?]

Han Shuangshuang pouted, her eyes full of pleading. She sat on the chair with her chin resting on the table, looking exactly like a pitiful puppy.

[Sister Shen, give me a chance to be a new person!]

Whether it was because Han Shuangshuang’s puppy eyes were too cute, her state was too pitiful, or her fiery passion finally touched her, Shen Yuru slowly nodded.

She reached out and patted Han Shuangshuang’s head.

Han Shuangshuang: ?

Why does she treat me like a dog?