14 Pretend Girlfriend_1

A somewhat polite message had been sent into the abyss, Nian Yuyu checked her phone occasionally until noon, when she finally received a reply from Chu You.

Chu You: "Busy in the morning."

A brief and clear four words, with no further reply.

Nian Yuyu stared at the screen for a moment, her enthusiasm from the night before to now seemingly quenched by a bucket of cold water.

She suddenly remembered that Chu You was a doctor, very busy with work.

And with his aloof nature, he didn't seem like someone who would slack off during work to message her.

The greeting she impulsively sent this morning must have seemed like an intrusive disturbance to him.

And now, it should be his hard-earned lunch break.

For a moment, Nian Yuyu looked at their chat thread and felt somewhat lost.

Meanwhile, at the provincial Second Hospital.

Chu You looked at the message sent out and the absence of a reply, his expression becoming even chillier.

Suddenly, Li Beize's languid voice appeared at the office door, "Chu You, let's get lunch."

He leaned against the door while casually massaging his tired shoulders.

Seeing a few shades of gloom on Chu You's face, Li Beize became somewhat serious, "What's wrong? Did you encounter a difficult patient this morning?"

"No." Chu You stood up, placed his phone into his pocket, and walked towards the door, still with that cool and indifferent demeanor.

Li Beize glanced at his face, puzzled.

Soon, the enthusiasm for the canteen's meal dispelled Li Beize's suspicions, and he excitedly said, "Hurry up, the canteen has braised pork ribs today."

Chu You, however, maintained his steady pace, and before entering the elevator, he took out his phone for a glance.

The next second, the screen was shut off, his lips thinning slightly.

--

The sun was bright, and it was the warmest moment of the day.

Staying in a heated room was even a bit stuffy.

Nian Yuyu opened all the windows in the house for ventilation and then went downstairs to pick up a takeaway order.

Her cooking skills were average, the food she made was merely edible, so when alone at home, she either ate convenience food or ordered takeout.

Just as she sat down at the dining table and began to unpack the takeout, Jiang Jingyun's video call came through.

As soon as she answered, Jiang Jingyun's face appeared on the screen, and even with black-framed glasses on, her beauty was hard to conceal.

"What's up?" Jiang Jingyun was also having lunch and got straight to the point by asking Nian Yuyu, "Didn't you and Chu You make rapid progress yesterday, even going on a date alone?"

"Ran into a wall today?"

Nian Yuyu: "...What do you mean, a date alone!"

She replied gloomily, "He's too busy."

And he had reverted to being cold again.

"Doctors are busy; it's normal," Jiang Jingyun spoke fairly for Chu You.

She could tell that Nian Yuyu really liked Chu You; after all, this was the first time in many years that Nian Yuyu had taken the initiative to ask for a man's contact information.

Although Nian Yuyu was lively and cheerful like a little sun among acquaintances, she was actually slow to warm up and sensitive, cautious in her actions, like a little hedgehog, ready to curl up at a whiff of something amiss.

Jiang Jingyun consoled her, "Although he is busy at work, he still replied to you, and his nature is to be cool and detached. You can't expect him to warm up all at once."

Listening to her, Nian Yuyu imagined Chu You being affectionate towards her, and she immediately blushed.

"Yuyu!" Jiang Jingyun noticed the change in Nian Yuyu's expression and laughed with ill-intent, "Are you thinking of something not suitable for children!"

Nian Yuyu denied stubbornly, "No, the heating is just too warm."

Jiang Jingyun teased her a few more times before hanging up the video call in a hurry.

Nian Yuyu sighed looking at the phone screen.

Jiang Jingyun's family was quite wealthy, she was a rich second-generation, but after graduating, she resolutely devoted herself to education, continuing to shine and heat up.

As for herself, she had been a full-time comic artist after graduation, lazing around every day.

As for Chu You, she had heard an extensive briefing from her cousin Liu Jianwei; not only was he highly educated, but his career prospects were also very bright.

Their lives seemed worlds apart.

...

For three consecutive days, Nian Yuyu didn't send any more messages to Chu You.

She went back to her original, carefree lifestyle, except that every night before she closed her eyes to sleep, Chu You's face would involuntarily appear in her mind.

The next day was Saturday, and upon waking up, Nian Yuyu received a plea for help on WeChat from her younger cousin, Liu Jianhang.

She immediately made a phone call.

Once the call connected, she didn't bother with niceties, "Are you guys elementary school students? Still making those silly bets."

"Sis, you really are my dear sister." A clear, youthful voice came from the other end, with an obvious attempt to ingratiate, "I really don't want to be embarrassed with a banner."

Liu Jianhang was twenty-two this year and like his twin sister who was interning at the hospital, was facing graduation from college.

However, unlike Liu Jianwei, who would start working right after graduation, he had secured a place for postgraduate studies, so he was set to enjoy another three years of university life.

Back when he was young and naive, as a freshman in college, he and his roommates made a pact that during the last semester of their senior year, whoever was still single would be subjected to having the others hang a banner at the school seeking a relationship for them.

Unfortunately, just a few days into the new term, all his roommates who had found partners set their sights on him, the eternal singleton of twenty-two years, eager to hang the banner for him.

Liu Jianhang, of course, didn't want that banner hung up, but he couldn't find a suitable girl to pretend to be his girlfriend on short notice. That's when he thought of Nian Yuyu.

Nian Yuyu had a face that looked young for her age; although she was two years older than him, pulling her off as a college student would not arouse any suspicion.

"Are you sure you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend?" Nian Yuyu thought his proposal was unreliable and advised him, "The deception is only temporary."

"Then just go with the banner, maybe it'll bring you good luck in love."

"No way." Liu Jianhang's tone was filled with indignant determination, "I would become the laughingstock of the whole school."

"I'll introduce you to them first, and after a while, I'll tell them we broke up. As long as I've been 'in a relationship,' that's enough."

Nian Yuyu: "..."

An incomprehensible train of thought.

In the end, worn down by persistent coaxing, Nian Yuyu agreed.

She and the Liu sibling had grown up together and were close in age, sharing a certain fraternal bond.

Following Liu Jianhang's request, Nian Yuyu put on makeup and changed into a skirt, dressing up beautifully before heading out to support her cousin.

Jing'an Garden area was a university town, only a bus stop away from Jianan University, where Liu Jianhang studied, a brisk walk of just over ten minutes.

She decisively chose to walk there.

Just as she reached the school gate, Liu Jianhang, who had been waiting, came up to meet her.

"Sis."

He wore a white fleece sweatshirt, handsome and tall with long legs, exuding a clean, fresh charm and the exuberant vitality unique to young men.

Nian Yuyu gave him a once-over and, to be honest, with his physique and looks far above average, she couldn't understand whether he was just not insightful or too picky, to have ended up needing his cousin to bail him out.

"Sis." Liu Jianhang called again, ingratiatingly massaging Nian Yuyu's shoulders, "I'll buy you lunch today."

Nian Yuyu rolled her eyes, "Let's go, and try not to give us away."

She looked young, and had dressed up in a youthful style today, easily entered the campus gate alongside Liu Jianhang without any obstacles.

"Where are your roommates?" Nian Yuyu took in the campus scenery, feeling somewhat nostalgic.

"They're attending a lecture, saving seats for us. We can head straight there."

"What lecture?" Nian Yuyu asked curiously.

Lectures were rarely held on Saturdays.

Liu Jianhang scratched his head, looking a bit clueless, "I think it's some medical lecture."

Out of the four people in his dormitory, except for him who was studying business administration, the other three were medical students.

When they were first assigned dormitories in their freshman year, his class had one too many boys, so he was shuffled into a mixed dorm.

However, attending the lecture wasn't the main purpose today; the primary goal was to have Nian Yuyu meet his roommates.

Upon hearing that it was a medical lecture, Nian Yuyu's thoughts abruptly turned to Chu You, and a touch of melancholy flashed across her fair face.

When they arrived outside the lecture hall, Liu Jianhang led Nian Yuyu through the back door with ease.

Nian Yuyu felt as if she had been transported back to her college days, hanging her head all the way, following Liu Jianhang with a sense of guilt as if she were doing something sneaky.

After taking their seats, she looked up and clearly saw the figure speaking on stage, and was instantly frozen in place.