I Revealed My True Identity After Confessing My Love - Chapter 22

Ye Nanning awkwardly placed the coffee back on the table and silently lowered her head. She then heard Du Xiran say, “Don’t say ‘whatever’ next time. Just say exactly what you want to drink.”

Ye Nanning nodded.

“Perhaps you’re afraid of ordering something expensive, but by ordering something random like this that you don’t even drink, aren’t you wasting my money even more? I work hard every day to earn my money, and just like that, it’s gone,” Du Xiran said with conviction.

Xu Huan, standing nearby: “……”

How much is your annual salary? How much does this coffee even cost? Why have you turned “bad” and started scaring children?

Surprisingly, Ye Nanning took it seriously. The intimidation worked perfectly. She didn’t want to waste Du Xiran’s money at all and admitted her mistake: “I won’t do it again next time.”

Xu Huan: “……”

Xu Huan looked at Du Xiran’s smug expression and thought to herself: Good grief, she did it on purpose. She has this kid wrapped around her little finger.

“You guys keep working. I’m going back,” Du Xiran said wearily as she went downstairs and hailed a taxi home.

She had been on a business trip for two days, spending almost every night reviewing data and proposals. She hadn’t rested well at all. Once she got home, the plan was to eat, shower, and sleep!

The plan was solid, but when she arrived at her doorstep and saw Zhang Mishuang, she let out a deep sigh. It looked like her early bedtime was going down the drain.

“Why are you off work so early?” Zhang Mishuang asked in surprise.

“Why are you here? You didn’t mention you were coming.”

“What do you mean I didn’t mention it? I sent you several WeChat messages, but you didn’t reply,” Zhang Mishuang said, holding a bag of groceries. “I heard you were back from your trip, and I happened to be passing by, so I came to cook you a meal.”

“Then why are you just standing there? Open the door,” Du Xiran leaned against the doorframe, unwilling to move.

“Tsk tsk, look at you acting like a lord,” Zhang Mishuang entered the code, pushed the door open, and said, “Please come in, Master.”

Du Xiran smiled. After entering and changing her shoes, she collapsed onto the sofa like she had no bones. “Call me when the food is ready.”

Soon, the sounds of clattering came from the kitchen, but they didn’t disturb Du Xiran’s nap. It wasn’t until someone pinched her nose that she started breathing through her mouth and opened her eyes. “Is it ready?”

“Yes, get up and eat before you go back to sleep,” Zhang Mishuang untied her apron. “Look at you, your kitchen tools are so complete, yet you never use them. I’m starting to suspect you renovated this place so nicely just for me to use it.”

“What if?” Du Xiran smiled as she walked to the dining table. “What if I decide to cook one day?”

“Impossible.”

The two began to eat. Zhang Mishuang wasn’t very hungry, so she chatted with her for a bit. Seeing Du Xiran looking exhausted, she asked, “Was this business trip that tiring?”

Du Xiran replied helplessly, “When is a business trip not tiring?”

“You act so sharp and sophisticated out there,” Zhang Mishuang sighed. “Honestly, you should find a partner to take care of you.”

“Heh.”

“Did you drink on the trip?” As a long-time friend, besides wanting Du Xiran to become wealthy, Zhang Mishuang also worried about her health.

“I did, but not much this time.” Du Xiran paused. “My intern is actually quite a good drinker. she blocked all the drinks for me.”

“That impressive?” Zhang Mishuang was surprised. “I remember you said it was a female intern?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should be nicer to her. Treat her to a meal or something.”

“I did,” Du Xiran said. “I treated her to skewers and beer.”

Zhang Mishuang: “……”

After dinner, knowing Du Xiran needed to rest, Zhang Mishuang didn’t plan to stay long. Her boyfriend happened to call, and she hung up after a few words.

“I’ll head back now. Get some sleep,” Zhang Mishuang said, grabbing her bag to leave.

“Wait.” Du Xiran suddenly stopped her and asked, “Your boyfriend is a programmer, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Zhang Mishuang said proudly. “He’s a high-achieving graduate from the Computer Science department of B University.”

“Help me with something.”

“?”

By the time Ye Nanning arrived home, it was almost 10 PM. She quickly washed up and lay in bed, ready to sleep, when her phone suddenly chimed several times.

She picked it up and saw messages from her class group. Some classmates said the school forum was in an uproar because someone’s account had been attacked and their posts were deleted. They were currently demanding an explanation from the administrator.

Soon, a classmate posted a screenshot of the administrator’s clarification. The administrator claimed their account had been hacked, but upon review, the posts deleted by the “hacker” were all fabricated rumors “trash posts.”

Ye Nanning didn’t care much about forum drama and was about to exit the chat when she saw messages regarding herself.

– This is a real slap in the face. They actually had the nerve to appeal.

– The admin listed the deleted posts. I have to say, these people are so bored. Why were they constantly spreading rumors about Ye Nanning?

– Turns out all those posts were from the same person?

– The admin said it was a guy from the previous graduating class. He’s already graduated but still comes back to the forum to spread rumors. I bet he liked Ye Nanning, couldn’t have her, and wanted to ruin her.

– Ye Nanning is truly pitiful.

Curious, Ye Nanning clicked the screenshot and looked at the titles of the posts.

#I saw Ye Nanning get out of a man’s luxury car. Can someone dig into her usual outfits? I think things aren’t that simple.

#Is there someone named Ye Nanning at your school? She left her bag in my car. Please tell her to come to the school gate.

#I saw my first love at B University today. I loved her when I was young and ignorant, but she abandoned me for a rich second generation guy. What should I do? Ye Nanning, how will you compensate me for my youth?

Ye Nanning frowned as she read. What on earth is this?!

She knew there were probably many messages about her on the forum, but she didn’t want to waste time dealing with them. She hadn’t expected someone could be so malicious!

Fortunately, those posts had now been deleted, and the administrator had pinned a post that indirectly helped her clear her name.

She sent a direct message to the administrator using her real name:

Administrator: 【You’re welcome. To tell you a secret, the account wasn’t actually attacked. I was just doing a favor for a senior. I didn’t expect there to be so many malicious posts targeting you, though. Don’t worry, there won’t be any more in the future.】

A senior?

Ye Nanning instinctively assumed it was another boy with a crush on her. But since she wasn’t interested in men, she didn’t ask further to avoid leaving any room for misinterpretation.

The incident had caused quite a stir. The next day at the office, Yan Zhenghao and two other students from B University came over to comfort her.

When the other interns heard about it, they gathered around to help her vent and curse the person who spread the rumors.

Hu Hanqiao stood to the side in silence. Once the crowd dispersed, she pulled Ye Nanning into a corner. “I was wrong to misunderstand you before… but do you actually like Yan Zhenghao? If you don’t, just reject him directly. Don’t treat him like a backup. I hate ‘Green Teas’ the most.”

Ye Nanning looked at her. No wonder Hu Hanqiao had been so hostile; it wasn’t just because of Yan Zhenghao, she had also been influenced by the rumors.

“I accept your apology, but I am not treating him like a backup. As for you saying I haven’t rejected him, it’s because he has never actually been direct with me, and I have always maintained clear boundaries with him.” Ye Nanning paused. “On the contrary, your feelings for him are obvious to everyone, and he surely knows it. Yet, he still eats with you and picks you up for work. He hasn’t maintained boundaries with you while simultaneously making moves on me. Exactly who is treating whom as a backup?”

These words hit Hu Hanqiao like a heavy blow. she stared at her, dumbfounded.

Having said so much in one breath, Ye Nanning felt surprisingly empowered. If she hadn’t been worried about starting more pointless rumors at work, she wouldn’t have bothered saying a word.

Back at her desk, Ye Nanning thought about it and couldn’t resist opening her phone to post on Weibo.

Grandpa Under the Tree: 【It feels like everything is getting better since I started working.】

After posting, she went back to work. It wasn’t until lunch that she had time to browse Weibo again.

“Don’t look at your phone while eating,” Du Xiran said.

Ye Nanning put her phone down.

Today was a colleague’s birthday, so Du Xiran treated the group to lunch again. Everyone wished the colleague a happy birthday and enjoyed the meal together.

For some reason, during the meal, Ye Nanning felt like Du Xiran was peeking at her from time to time. This made her quite nervous, causing her to take small, dainty bites for fear of ruining her image.

After eating their fill, they returned to the company. While waiting for the elevator, everyone instinctively pulled out their phones to play.

Ye Nanning received a private message.

Dududu: 【It seems work is going very smoothly. Congratulations!】

Grandpa Under the Tree: 【Yes! What about you? How is your work going?】

The elevator doors opened. Ye Nanning didn’t wait for an immediate reply, she carried her phone back to her workstation and only then saw the other person’s message.

Dududu: 【I’m doing pretty well, too.】

“Ye Nanning, bring the materials you organized for me to check,” Du Xiran said, standing at her office door.

“Coming.” Ye Nanning walked in with the documents.

“Have a seat for a moment. I’m going to grab some water before I take a look,” Du Xiran said, heading out with her mug.

Ye Nanning took the opportunity to open her phone and reply to her cute little fan:

【That’s great! I’ll tell you another secret. I’ve really wanted to say this for a long time… the goddess I have a crush on is my new boss! Waaaah, I’m so happy I could cry!】

At that moment, the phone on the desk lit up. Du Xiran had forgotten to take her phone with her.

Ye Nanning didn’t intend to snoop, but because the phone was right in front of her, she instinctively glanced at the notification. She saw a familiar set of words:

【That’s great! I’ll tell you another secret, the goddess I have a crush on is my boss! Waaaah, I’m so happy I could cry!】

Ye Nanning’s pupils dilated in shock. With a trembling hand, she sent another message to the fan: 【??】

Immediately after, the phone on the desk lit up again. A message box popped up showing the text she had just sent.

Ye Nanning: !!!