My Dating Sim Just Got an Update - Chapter 28

As she grew older, Mu Ning came to loathe the matchmaking-style birthday banquets her family hosted. Upon entering university, she chose to live in the campus dormitories, never returning to that home that felt like a magnificent, oversized birdcage.

The family had sent people to urge her back several times, but she had always brushed them off with the excuse of a heavy workload. Gradually, her relatives began to overlook her existence; her brother’s son had been born, and the family’s focus shifted entirely to this precious great-grandson.

Only occasionally, when calculating the family’s interests, would they think of her. But what could they do? The distance between City A and City S was immense, and they couldn’t be bothered to waste the effort of dragging her back. Furthermore, for the sake of the family’s reputation, they avoided doing anything too unsightly.

It was only after starting university that she tasted true freedom.

Back when she lived with the Mu family, they had kept her on a very short leash, never allowing any boys to get close to her. Mu Ning was considered a bargaining chip a tool to secure greater benefits for the family in the future. They couldn’t allow such an important asset to be won over early by some ordinary person.

However, once she left for school, their control loosened. More accurately, Mu Ning was simply too far away at S University for them to manage effectively. Consequently, she found herself surrounded by suitors, and Ren Muhui was one of them.

He was also the most persistent, the most determined, and the only one who had ever truly walked into her heart.

When Ren Muhui first began pursuing her, Mu Ning didn’t have a good impression of him. To be blunt, she hadn’t noticed him at all until the day she overheard his arrogant declaration backstage. From that moment, her first real impression of him was overwhelmingly negative.

By all rights, Mu Ning should never have given such a conceited person a chance. She had systematically ignored his various attempts to act cool and his greasy confessions.

But at some point, his tactics changed. He transitioned from the aggressive, irritating style she detested to a gentle, measured approach—full of meticulous care and cautious flattery. Like a frog in warming water, she unknowingly succumbed to his tenderness.

Ren Muhui had spent two birthdays with her.

On the first one, she had been in a foul mood after a phone call from the Mu family. She walked along the school’s Luling Lake for a long time, staying out until late at night when the other students had gone to bed. Then, Ren Muhui appeared. That night, he stood at a distance on the other end of a bridge, playing “Happy Birthday” for her on his guitar. Afterward, he placed a small, wrapped gift on the bridge railing and shouted across the water: “You should be happy on your birthday! If you make a wish, all your unhappy troubles will pass away~”

Under the streetlights, he smiled like a beautiful night elf, appearing from the shadows only to retreat quietly back into the darkness. That day, Mu Ning suddenly realized that the people around her were right—Ren Muhui really was handsome. Previously, her prejudice and dislike had blinded her to his looks. To be fair, her very first impression of him hadn’t been nearly as stunning as he was that night.

What was the original Ren Muhui like? Mu Ning could hardly remember, but one trait stuck out: greasiness. The man seemed to constantly wear a smirk he thought was dashing.

But that night, the feeling he gave her was like the moon—bright, pure, and clean. Even the way he looked at her from afar felt like soft moonlight.

Mu Ning had experienced a flutter of emotion she had never felt before. The unfamiliar sensation terrified her so much that she didn’t even pick up the gift. When she returned the next day, it was gone, likely taken by a passing student.

Facing the empty railing, Mu Ning actually felt regret and loss emotions triggered by a person she once despised.

Later, whenever Ren Muhui tried to get close, she met him with resistance.

On one hand, she warned herself that he was no different from her family members—that he had ulterior motives and saw her as a trophy to brag about. Pursuing her was just a way for him to prove his charm to others.

But on the other hand, she couldn’t help but invest too much of her attention in him, secretly observing his every word, action, and smile.

This internal conflict reached its peak on her next birthday.

Truthfully, when Ren Muhui had asked her—with a hint of bashfulness and a soft voice—if she would go somewhere with him, Mu Ning felt an inexplicable surge of joy and anticipation. When they arrived at the simple yet romantic grove he had decorated, her heart leaped with genuine delight.

On this birthday, he played “Happy Birthday” for her again. The light, nimble notes slowly wrapped around her long-frozen heart, thawing it bit by bit. Her cold, hard heart began to beat with a violent rhythm she wasn’t used to. When he presented a beautiful little cake and offered a soft, tender confession, the thumping in her chest was loud enough to pierce her eardrums.

His clear, gentle voice was like the intoxicating song of a siren, tempting her so much she nearly lost her mind and accepted him. This was… the first time he had truly confessed to her, wasn’t it?

In her daze, Mu Ning thought back to all the little things he did for her—the gentle protection, the careful attention, and the sudden surprises. Everything had subtly hinted at his feelings, but a confession of love directly from his lips had only happened just now… right?

Just as she was losing herself in the moment, a stranger’s arrogant words echoed in her ears: “Mu Ning? That Ice Goddess? Just wait! With my charm, taking her down will be a matter of minutes~”

Those were words Ren Muhui had once said!

Mu Ning’s expression hardened as her logic instantly returned. In that moment, she remembered many things from the past.

This wasn’t his first confession. It was just that his countless previous attempts had been selectively ignored by her. How had he confessed back then? He would ignore her wishes and charge at her in public with a bouquet of roses. Or, in a crowded lecture hall, he would rush to the blackboard and brazenly write “Mu Ning, I love you” in front of everyone. Or, while she was eating in the cafeteria, he would sit opposite her uninvited, put a piece of meat from his tray onto hers, and say something he thought was caring.

All of his past confessions had been repulsive to her.

Memories of being watched by crowds and pointed at like a clown caused her face to grow cold once again. She stared at the man before her, who still wore that shy smile, unable to understand how he had figured out her likes and dislikes so quickly—or how he had managed to scrub away his greasy arrogance so fast.

But even if he had changed, she hadn’t forgotten his original goal. Wasn’t he just using her to prove his charm? And just a moment ago, she had almost let him succeed!

The gentle smile before her overlapped with his old, oily smirk. Mu Ning’s heart rate surged with anger until she finally reached out and smashed the beautiful cake to the ground.

“Enough!”

Enough. she truly didn’t need this kind of hypocritical love!

That night, she said many hurtful things. But even as she stabbed him with her words, her own heart was bleeding.

Mu Ning had naively thought that by driving him away and breaking free from his soft yet tenacious pursuit, she would be free. In reality, from the moment he lost contact during the summer break, she fell into a state of daily anxiety. It wasn’t until two months into the new semester, with no sign of him, that she realized she had already fallen for him.

The day she finally dialed his number, she had thought of so many things. she even wanted to tell him that as long as he came back to her side, she wouldn’t care if his love was real or fake.

Unfortunately, the dial tone cut off all the emotions she never had the chance to voice.

Since then, Mu Ning had been trapped in infinite self-reproach. While searching for him, she constantly regretted the words she had hurled at him that night.

Now, Ren Chenxi had dragged those memories back to the surface.

Mu Ning stared at her, her eyes filled with pain, regret, suspicion, and a tiny, flickering glimmer of hope.

“How do you know these things? Or… are you actually Ren Muhui?”

But Ren Chenxi laughed coldly and cruelly extinguished that last spark of hope.

“I’ll say it again: I am Ren Chenxi, not Ren Muhui! As for how I know… you should ask yourself why you said such hurtful things to my brother, you cold-blooded woman!”

If you don’t like someone, you don’t like them. Couldn’t you just give a normal rejection? Did you have to be that heartless to feel satisfied? If this woman’s affection points hadn’t been fluctuating so wildly back then, she wouldn’t have summoned the courage to confess! Ren Chenxi’s eyes were red, and her nails dug into her palms as she struggled to suppress her emotions. She lowered her head and blinked. When she looked up again, her voice was much calmer. But it was only a surface-level calm.

“Before my brother went on his trip, he called me. That day, he told me everything—his heartbreak, his sadness, his pain, and his despair…”

“But he was the one who tried to use me first! He treated pursuing me as a trophy to show off!” Mu Ning interrupted, her voice rising with agitation. Compared to Ren Chenxi’s level tone, Mu Ning’s voice was sharp. “If it wasn’t for him… if it wasn’t for those things he said… I wouldn’t have…” If she hadn’t heard those arrogant words, she wouldn’t have been so conflicted, so back-and-forth, and so unable to open her heart to him!

“But he did so much for you later! Could all that effort and sacrifice really not change your first impression of him?” Caught up in Mu Ning’s intensity, Ren Chenxi’s composure broke into irritability again. Yes, her idiot brother had indeed said a scummy thing, but did one sentence justify negating everything that followed? Could you really not tell the difference between sincerity and a facade? If she had known she had already been sentenced to death for one sentence, why would she have poured her heart out so completely afterward! Why did those affection points keep rising and falling, giving her hope!

Support My Dating Sim Just Got an Update