Chapter 216 - 4.42

It was strange. She was certain that something was happening behind her back with her boyfriend. Day by day, his condition deteriorated, and the sunny guy who chased her for weeks just to get her affection was no longer there.

Instead, he was replaced by a man with anger issues. This was not to say that the original Song Ziyuan did not already have problems with settling his problems, but recently, it had escalated to such a bad level that Zhao Xinran's heart wavered.

She knew her positions, and knew what she wanted. She only wanted to live a good life, become a figure that everybody envied. The person she had to be with didn't specifically had to be Song Ziyuan, it was just that the man was coincidentally in her radars and was the best out of all the candidates. That was why she chose him, not for any other reasons apart from that practical one.

However, she also knew not to wrong herself even if she was trying to chase her dreams. Song Ziyuan, this man, would definitely bring her a lot of mental stress and trouble if their relationship did end up continuing until the end.

Moreover, he was unwilling to tell her what was going on with himself. If he couldn't even relay this kind of thing to her, then how was she supposed to trust that he won't lie to her or purposely leave her out on any other things?

Could it be, she had to rethink her decisions once more?

Zhao Xinran's expression was ugly and distorted as she reluctantly pulled up the search engine on her phone and searched up Xu Jiaqi's online persona. One that was revered and idolized by many people. One that.. seemed to have a good life even though her growth was stunted by so many years by her own family.

How could she have pulled through after all of the manipulation that they performed on her?

Did she truly recover to the fullest? She thought that by her father giving her some money, they would finally be able to live the rest of their lives in peace, because she did not think that Xu Jiaqi would have the necessary means to take revenge on them in the first place.

But.. Could it be, they made a total mistake? Did they set themselves up for downfall? She refused to believe it, but it was so.. eerie. She didn't feel safe.

Stressed, she threw her pillow to the other side of the room, letting out a scream of anger. What should she do after this? Surely, Yu Xuan would be able to be the solution to her problem..

Surely.

There was no other way. She might have to resort to extreme methods, but the one who was going to be convicted in the end won't be her, right?

As long as she survived and came out as a victor, she didn't care if everyone else fell down. She didn't care.

Zhao Xinran was a complicated character. She was born and raised in a rather normal family, except for the fact that her parents knew the pair of internationally famous musical prodigies- Xu Jiaqi's parents.

Even so, from the beginning, Zhao Xinran had never thought that she was the same as all the other kids around her, who chased a regular dream, a regular life, and a regular path.

She was different. She was sure of it.

And when the chance really came- her parents usurping the Xu family's wealth and taking it as their own, she believed that it was truly how it was meant to be. That  this was the fate's way of confirming her theory, confirming her feelings that she was indeed special and not to be grouped with the others.

That she only deserved the best, because she was Zhao Xinran- someone who wouldn't be satisfied with being 'normal'.

Now, she was up in her position, and it was her task to keep it.

"..Ha. It's a good thing that I still kept in contact with that piece of shit delinquent.. I knew that this would come in handy one day." Zhao Xinran was living a life where half of her 'image' was filled with duplicity. She had managed it so well up until now, but there was still one 'shadow' that tailed her up until now.

It was her former acquaintance.. back when she was still trying to construct her facades. She met a certain delinquent named Yu Xuan, who fell for her right away, like he was a character in a typical love story. Yu Xuan was a student of the prestigious school that Zhao Xinran transferred to, which was also the place where she met Song Ziyuan and rose to fame with.

She was rather disgusted by his existence at first, but after meeting him with the same old fake persona and getting to know him better, she rethought her decisions and ended up staying in touch with him.

Yu Xuan was rather handsome, and he also had a good family background even though his character was not the best. Apparently, the reason he turned out that way was because he already had an older brother who was set on the position of the successor. His second older brother was also much better than him, excelling in every way and able to cooperate with his eldest brother with ease.

As for him? Where did he stand in this trio? He was just a wallflower- he was ignored, and constantly compared with the other two siblings, spiking up his inferiority complex even more.

His unruly character was only one of the reasons why he committed so many wrongdoings and attracted negative light to himself. It was also fueled by the fact that no one paid attention to him, not even his parents.

He had once heard that parents were supposed to shower love to their children. If that was the case, then who were the monsters who claimed to be his parents? Why would they blatantly treat him like thin air, as if they already knew from the start that he would never become a respectable figure?

Every time they looked at him with disgust in their eyes, loathing him like he was a stranger..

It was painful. Terribly so.

He spiralled into a series of bad habits, and became known as a delinquent who was beyond repair.

By the time he realized how everybody was acting towards him, how much disappointment he caused to the family, and how far he was deep into this hellhole, it was far too late.

No one expected anything out of him. They immediately thought of him as a burden that they couldn't remove.

As such, he didn't even think that reforming himself was possible. He continued his lifestyle, and one day, he met Zhao Xinran. Although he was indeed a bit dimwitted, he wasn't one who would fall in love in an instant.

However, their first meeting, to this day, lasted inside Yu Xuan's mind for a particular reason.

Zhao Xinran was the first one to extend her hand towards him. It all happened because of a coincidence. Zhao Xinran wanted to build her image, so when he saw Yu Xuan, who had handsome looks and a vibrant aura around him unconscious on the ground with wounds all over him, her mind instantly racked up plans and possible schemes.

She took care of him, and when he woke up, his eyes landed on the pure face of Zhao Xinran. He was suspicious at first, but Zhao Xinran.. this girl, even though her heart was indeed vicious, it was a fact that she was an expert in acting.

Her self-made persona was exposed to Yu Xuan, and the man completely believed her after seeing all of her 'sincere' acts. He was touched and saw Zhao Xinran as a bright light bestowed to him, an angel whose kindness knew no bounds.

Zhao Xinran quickly become an irreplaceable existence in his heart, someone he wanted to obtain and keep by his side. Because she was his light.

At the time of the incident, Zhao Xinran didn't know that the man she saved was in fact the infamous Yu Xuan. When she learned of the truth, she became repulsed, but after being approached by him again and again, she decided to change her mind and saw Yu Xuan as a valuable pawn in her act.

To this day, the man has yet to realize that everything was just a farce, and that all this time, Zhao Xinran was doing nothing but using him to her advantage.

He was a pitiful person stuck in a loop that he couldn't escape, chasing the 'butterfly of light' which was Zhao Xinran- the only one who he held hope upon.

To him, she was a treasure. To her, he was nothing but an annoying bug that she wanted to get rid of, but didn't because he was still useful for some of her plans.

What a laughable contrast.