When the Male Lead Finds Out I’m the Transmigrator Trying to Win Him Over - Chapter 13

He Xitong scrolled through her Moments. That “So annoyed” post she had made still hadn’t received a single like.

She had posted it for Yun Ruo, and had set it to be visible to only Yun Ruo.

She herself hadn’t gone to the Meng family banquet. When her parents came home, she learned what had happened there—that Meng Tingmo had actually brought Jiang Yufei to the banquet.

She thought back to what Meng Tingmo had said about hating Yun Ruo. She had assumed it was just talk, but clearly, he had meant it.

Even though she hadn’t been there, she could easily imagine Yun Ruo’s expression—surely pale as death.

He Xitong didn’t want to care. They had already agreed they were no longer friends. But that night she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, remembering how years ago, when the messy entanglement between Yun Ruo, Meng Tingmo, and Jiang Yufei was at its peak, she had stood firmly by Yun Ruo’s side, glaring daggers at Jiang Yufei.

Even now, she still disliked Jiang Yufei.

So she posted that Moment, thinking that if Yun Ruo couldn’t resist reaching out, she might reluctantly chat with her a little.

But two days passed. No, not only did Yun Ruo not come to her to vent, she hadn’t even left a single like.

“Ha.” Irritated beyond words, He Xi-tong flung her phone aside. See? She never really considered me a friend. Once she realized I wasn’t easy to fool, she didn’t bother wasting her time on me anymore.

“I don’t even want to talk to you that much. You don’t message me? Great, that saves me the trouble. Who do you think you are?”

Talking to the empty air, her temper flared, and she even punched the sofa cushions a couple of times. “Please. Life without you is absolutely wonderful. I can do whatever I want without your nagging—what a relief.”

“Ha, Yun Ruo, do you think I actually care about you? Don’t flatter yourself.”

“You won’t even message me or like my post—you’re just putting on an act.”

…

She had these fits countless times in the past two days.

At last, worn out, she slumped on the sofa. Watching the rain outside the window, she suddenly remembered something from four years ago.

Yun Ruo and Meng Tingmo had quarreled. Meng Tingmo had rushed off to see Jiang Yufei, leaving Yun Ruo stranded by the roadside. It was drizzling, Yun Ruo’s phone had died, and the very last call she managed to make was to her.

But before Yun Ruo could even give her the address, the phone shut down. He Xi-tong had driven all over the city searching, circling street after street until she finally found her at a bus stop.

When she approached, Yun Ruo had smiled at first—but within seconds, she broke down, clinging to her while sobbing, “I only have you.”

The memory was as vivid as ever. For years afterward, He Xitong still remembered how much her heart ached in that moment.

And that was only from a fight with Meng Ting-mo. Now, after marriage, after pregnancy—facing this kind of situation… He Xitong couldn’t even bear to imagine how hard Yun Ruo must be crying.

“Ah Ruo.” A sigh was the only sound left in the room.

At the same time, Yun Ruo stumbled out of Meng Corporation’s office building.

She had told herself when she went in with the contract to remain calm. No matter what happened, she must not argue. The most important thing was to handle things peacefully.

So even after waiting an hour in the lounge, even when she saw Jiang Yufei and Meng Tingmo joking around together in the office, she didn’t say a word.

Meng Tingmo was important to her. As long as they could reconcile, she was willing to overlook all this.

But even after she endured to such a degree, Meng Tingmo was still dead-set on leaving her.

She walked out, dazed and empty, the drizzle falling on her. Jiang Yufei was standing under the eaves, not leaving.

Yun Ruo guessed she was waiting for her.

Some words simply had to be said face to face.

She approached: “Miss Jiang, are you waiting for me?”

Jiang Yufei nodded.

“Then, what is it you want with me?”

Jiang Yufei had been watching the rain, but at that, she gave Yun Ruo a few scrutinizing glances. Based on what Meng Tingmo had said, she had expected Yun Ruo to be crying pitifully—ideally until Meng Tingmo softened.

Yet now Yun Ruo showed no trace of tears. Instead, there was an eerie calm about her.

“Has Meng Tingmo talked to you about divorce?” Jiang Yufei asked directly.

Yun Ruo shook her head. He hadn’t brought it up face to face: “But I know.”

Since a man couldn’t divorce his wife during her pregnancy, Meng Tingmo was simply waiting.

But really, “Seeing you makes me sick” and “I want a divorce” were almost identical in meaning.

“Will you agree to it?” Jiang Yufei pressed.

Yun Ruo clasped her hands together, then asked in return, “What did you say to him? About my brother, my friend…”

“You met me right after coming back to the country and said, ‘It must be hard for a mother to raise a child alone.’ You must have known something to say that.”

Jiang Yufei arched her brow. At that time, she had just learned the truth a couple of days earlier, and her hatred of Yun Ruo had been fresh. She hadn’t been able to resist stabbing at her a little.

She had thought Yun Ruo wouldn’t take it seriously.

“You and I both know what I said doesn’t matter,” Jiang Yufei replied airily. “Even if I slandered you, if they truly stood by your side, nothing I said would matter.

“The fact you’ve ended up like this just proves your relationship with them wasn’t strong enough.

“A crumbling building will collapse in even the lightest wind.”

Yun Ruo accepted her words without resistance. The rain was light, but the winter wind was piercing. She shivered. “You’re right.”

A wave of discomfort surged in her stomach, bile rising up her throat, but she forced it back down. “I overestimated.”

Jiang Yufei frowned.

“No wonder you managed to succeed,” she said coldly. “You really can hold yourself together.”

Yun Ruo didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

A hint of mockery flickered in Jiang Yufei’s eyes. “When you went after Meng Ting-mo.

“Now, do you regret it—fighting me for him?”

Yun Ruo thought for a long while before answering. “Regret? No. But… there’s a little bit of sorrow.”

Her tone was far too calm, like an old woman in an interview casually recalling her youth.

The calmer Yun Ruo was, the angrier Jiang Yufei grew. How dare she act so detached after everything she did?

Back then, when she found out about Yun Ruo’s existence and returned to reconcile with Meng Ting-mo, his refusal told her everything—another woman had already entered his heart.

Even then, she had competed fairly, never stooping to the vile tricks of dramas and novels. She had her pride.

After Yun Ruo and Meng Tingmo got together, she had left for graduate studies abroad, cutting things off cleanly.

She had walked a straight path, and she had assumed Yun Ruo had too.

If not for the system binding her, she would never have known she had been deceived all along—that Yun Ruo had used underhanded means to get close to Meng Ting-mo.

Being defeated was one thing. But being defeated like that was unacceptable.

Jiang Yufei could not accept it. That was why she had returned. Yun Ruo had crossed her bottom line, and every bit of what Yun Ruo had taken from her, she intended to reclaim.

“Quit pretending,” Jiang Yufei stepped closer, speaking low enough for no outsider to hear. “Now your husband wants a divorce, your best friend has fallen out with you, your brother won’t see you. You’re about to be left with nothing. I don’t believe you’re truly this calm.

“This is how it should be. Alone, abandoned, with no one who cares.”

Yun Ruo jerked her head up, stunned. These were the harshest words she had ever heard. She couldn’t understand why Jiang Yufei hated her this much.

As Jiang Yu-fei turned to leave, Yun Ruo grabbed her sleeve. “I still don’t know what exactly you told them.”

“Want to know?” Jiang Yufei smiled lightly. When Yun Ruo nodded, her smile vanished, her tone soft as silk. “Then I won’t tell you.

“Live your whole life in pain and doubt.”

Her parting words dissolved into the wind. The rain grew heavier, the eaves no longer enough to keep it off.

Yun Ruo could only go home.

Jiang Yufei was right—she wasn’t as composed as she appeared. She just didn’t know what expression to wear anymore.

Her current reality was so far from what she had imagined.

At first, she thought an apology would fix things. Now, apologies didn’t work. Tears didn’t work. Even money didn’t work. Nothing worked.

She was forced to imagine the worst outcome.

Meng Tingmo, He Xi-tong, Yun Jia…

Just losing one of them was unbearable. How could she face losing all three?

“Madam.” The housekeeper called worriedly. Ever since Yun Ruo came back, she had stood by the window watching the rain. Though the window was closed and no draft came in, her state… was far from healthy.

“I’m fine,” Yun Ruo said, pointing to the bedroom. “I’ll rest a little.”

The housekeeper stepped aside. She considered calling Meng Tingmo, but what good would it do? After these days, she had more or less pieced things together.

Yun Ruo had always been kind to her. She didn’t want her mistress sinking any deeper.

When Yun Ruo woke, she found a large package in the living room filled with food and clothes. The housekeeper was still adding things. “Madam, the rain’s stopped. Would you like to visit young master Jia?”

Yun Jia had only Yun Ruo as family. Buried in his graduate studies, his schedule was upside-down. Usually, every so often, Yun Ruo would bring him things at school.

The last time Yun Jia came to the house when the housekeeper wasn’t around, she had assumed their sibling bond was still as deep as ever. She hoped a visit might distract Yun Ruo.

“This chestnut cake—he loves this, I’ll pack more. And the weather’s cold now, so he’ll need his down jacket…”

The housekeeper worked quickly as always.

Yun Ruo stood still before the package.

At last, noticing something was wrong, the housekeeper straightened up. “Madam?”

Yun Ruo crouched down, lightly touching the folded winter clothes.

Before her pregnancy, she had personally made the chestnut cakes, folded the clothes herself. Afterward, Meng Tingmo, worried she might be too tired, had let the housekeeper take over. Still, Yun Ruo would sit by, checking each item one by one, afraid of forgetting anything.

She and Yun Jia had relied on each other for years.

“Madam?” the housekeeper prompted again.

Yun Ruo shook her head. “I’ll call him first.”

The housekeeper agreed, assuming she just wanted to check if he was on campus.

At the window, Yun Ruo dialed. To her surprise, after ringing a long while, Yun Jia actually picked up. She had thought he wouldn’t.

“What is it?” His voice was curt.

“The housekeeper prepared a package for you.” Yun Ruo glanced back—the bag was stuffed full, with plenty still on the floor that hadn’t fit.

Her eyes roamed over it. Strangely, what she used to consider essential for him now looked utterly ordinary, things available in any supermarket.

So nothing is truly indispensable, she thought.

“Do you need it?” she asked at last.

Silence on the other end.

She took it as her answer. “Alright. I’ll let you get back to work, then.”

She hung up.

“Take it all back out. Yun Jia doesn’t want it.”

The housekeeper hesitated. “How could he not need it? It’s the same as always.”

Yun Ruo smiled faintly. “He’s grown up now. He can take care of himself.”

The housekeeper fell silent.

Yun Ruo had always done everything for Yun Jia, so much so that the housekeeper sometimes forgot he was already twenty-four.

A full-grown adult.

On campus, in the dorm.

Yun Jia stared blankly at his phone after the call ended.

“What are you spacing out about?” His roommate nudged his shoulder and snagged a sheet of paper off his desk.

“My sister hung up on me,” Yun Jia muttered.

“Huh?” The roommate blinked. “Isn’t hanging up the phone normal?”

Normal? Yun Jia wanted to explain, but the words wouldn’t come.

This was his sister. The one who had always cared for him in every possible way. She had never been this cold before.

Support