After Rebirth, I Married My Rival - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Please Don’t Hurt Her with Your Ignorance

Chen Yuhang’s expression instantly turned awkward—he hadn’t expected Xu Yuan to develop hostility toward him.

Was it that obvious in his behavior?

« Heh… just kidding. » Xu Yuan chuckled lightly.

After all, he was Li Xinran’s senior. Though somewhat annoying, Xu Yuan didn’t want to make things difficult for Li Xinran.

Chen Yuhang rubbed his nose. While he didn’t say anything, he’d already begun harboring resentment toward Xu Yuan in his heart.

Li Xinran is Xu Yuan’s girlfriend, and Shen Yueshu also seems to have feelings for Xu Yuan. As the male heartthrob of the medical university, Chen Yuhang hadn’t experienced this kind of overshadowed feeling in a long time.

« Dragon, why does the atmosphere feel off? » Qian Jialun whispered to Zhang Long.

« Could this be the legendary battlefield of love? But what kind of lineup is this? Three girls and two guys?

Is Yuan playing mid-lane or jungle? » Zhang Long rubbed his chin, sweating bullets for Xu Yuan.

Watching Shen Yueshu, dressed in a fiery outfit, sit down naturally beside Xu Yuan with an air of intimacy, Ye Sisi couldn’t help but frown.

Could Xu Yuan really be a scumbag? Ye Sisi shot Li Xinran a look, as if to say: Why aren’t you reacting?
Li Xinran was experiencing this for the first time and still felt somewhat dazed. Her life had never been this noisy before.

Ye Sisi sighed inwardly and said to the waiter, « Bring us four of the most expensive sets! »

Ye Sisi thought about making Xu Yuan, that scumbag, pay a hefty price.

Anyway, if Xu Yuan couldn’t afford it later, she as the wealthy woman could certainly cover it.

« Sisi… » Li Xinran panicked a little. She only had a little over thirty thousand in savings, which she needed for tuition and living expenses.

Although she had never been there before, she had seen on TV that drinks at nightclubs were very expensive, especially those set menus that seemed to cost an awful lot of money.

Alright, please wait a moment, everyone.

..

Before long, over a dozen waiters carrying drinks filed in one after another.

The table was soon covered with all kinds of liquor—imported spirits, beer, baijiu, and wine.

Li Rui glanced at the labels on these bottles and couldn’t help but gasp! This wasn’t just about spending money anymore—it was about risking his life!
Is it too late to sell a kidney now?

Zhang Long and Qian Jialun still hadn’t grasped the severity of the situation, merely thinking they’d have to ask their parents for another month’s allowance after tonight.

Xu Yuan glanced at Ye Sisi, who was smugly provoking him, his expression darkening to the extreme.

He wasn’t worried about spending money – he was figuring out how to hide the true price of these drinks from Li Xinran.

Chen Yuhang sat on the side, watching everything with a cold gaze. As a regular here, he naturally knew just how expensive these drinks were in the bar. Even he had to weigh whether he could afford them or risk being thrown out for not paying.

« Sorry, everyone, please keep drinking. I need to step out for a moment. » Xu Yuan stood up and said with a smile to the group.

..

« Si Si, can you afford it all by yourself? »

After Xu Yuan left, Li Xinran pulled Ye Sisi aside and whispered.

« Xinran, you’re really good at saving money for Xu Yuan, aren’t you? This amount is nothing to him. » Ye Sisi thought Li Xinran was being too naive—Xu Yuan wouldn’t even buy you decent clothes, yet you’re still trying to save him money?

Li Xinran sighed quietly, tightening her grip on the bank card in her hand. She would never let Xu Yuan pay alone. She just needed to find a part-time job quickly.

But she didn’t know that the 30,000 yuan in his card might not even cover the tip for this round of drinks.

This world is just so absurd—Ye Sisi would never understand how anxious Li Xinran truly was right now.

« Sister, are you my junior’s girlfriend? » Shen Yueshu sat down closer, looking at the slightly shy Li Xinran with a gentle smile as she asked softly.

« Um… » Hearing the question, Li Xinran originally wanted to say not yet.

However, Ye Sisi immediately pulled Li Xinran into a hug, eyeing Shen Yueshu warily as she declared, « Of course she is! »

There was no way the pure and naive Li Xinran could outmaneuver Shen Yueshu, so Ye Sisi naturally had to stand firm in her support.

Shen Yueshu ignored Ye Sisi, seeing her as nothing more than an immature child in her eyes. She could also tell that the girl seemed to be deliberately targeting Xu Yuan, otherwise she wouldn’t have ordered such an expensive set meal.

« Let’s have a drink. These bottles are so expensive—it’d be a shame not to enjoy them. » Shen Yueshu casually opened a bottle of Rémy Martin, clearly no stranger to alcohol, as she effortlessly picked out a strong liquor.

« Are these wines very expensive? » Li Xinran seemed a bit unsettled upon hearing this, biting her lip nervously while clutching her bank card even tighter in her small hand.

Chen Yuhang, who had been rather inconspicuous until now, finally spoke up: « Around 200,000 or so. But… I have a VIP card for this bar, so it’ll be a bit cheaper. No need to worry, junior—this round is on me. »

He had been waiting for this moment, waiting for everyone to be shocked by the price, so he could make a dazzling entrance and become the hero who solved everything!

The price of over 200,000 still made Chen Yuhang’s heart ache, but with three potential targets worth pursuing present tonight, it wasn’t too much of a loss.

Li Xinran instantly stood up like a startled kitten, but couldn’t utter a single word.

Not just her—even Li Rui, a regular at nightclubs, raised an eyebrow, while Zhang Long and Qian Jialun, who had just taken a sip of beer, nearly spat it all out.

The three of them felt like dying on the spot! Why on earth had they come to this nightclub?

Xu Yuan, who had secretly gone to pay the bill, happened to witness this scene. He had originally intended to keep it a secret, but unfortunately, he was just a step too late.

« It’s okay, Xinran. I already paid the bill earlier—it wasn’t as expensive as they made it out to be. »

« Ye Sisi, could you come out for a moment? » Xu Yuan pushed the door open, first offering a brief reassurance to Li Xinran before fixing Sisi with a stern glare as he spoke.

Hearing these words, everyone was stunned except for Ye Sisi and Shen Yueshu, who assumed Xu Yuan was a rich second-generation heir, both of whom remained unfazed.
Especially Chen Yuhang, who had already clenched his fists tightly. This guy didn’t look the part of someone with money—how could he possibly fork over over 200,000 yuan? Was he just bragging, or did he sell a kidney?
Chen Yuhang’s eyes were filled with disbelief—how could Xu Yuan be so wealthy? Xu Yuan’s attire and demeanor didn’t resemble that of a rich second-generation heir at all. How could he possibly have so much money?
He had sacrificed so much to achieve his current prominence—could Xu Yuan possibly be the same?
Thinking this, Chen Yuhang gradually calmed down. Xu Yuan must be the same kind of person as him—only by clinging to wealthy tycoons could he have so much money.

Only by thinking this way could Chen Yuhang feel at ease.

« Xu Yuan… » Li Xinran’s eyes were already reddened by now, though it wasn’t obvious under the dim lighting.

Seeing the tears shimmering in the girl’s eyes, Xu Yuan sighed with a pang of heartache.

..

« You’re really a thoughtful girl who cares about family, but this little money means nothing to your junior here. »

Shen Yueshu’s seemingly comforting words were actually implying that Li Xinran, who was distressed about spending money, and Xu Yuan were not from the same world.

« So you actually weren’t planning to split the bill, were you? » Li Xinran anxiously grasped Shen Yueshu’s hand, her mind completely preoccupied with how much Xu Yuan had spent.

If split among eight people, each would pay over thirty thousand. Although Li Xinran was heartbroken to spend all the money she had saved in high school in one night, at least Xu Yuan wouldn’t have to bear the cost alone.

Shen Yueshu was a bit bewildered—this girl was just too innocent, wasn’t she?

In this day and age, when going out, especially to nightclubs, it’s usually the guys who foot the bill.

« Little sister, a girl like you will get hurt. » Shen Yueshu gave Li Xinran a deep look, even feeling somewhat intimidated by the girl’s transparent, guileless gaze.

Li Xinran simply shook her head lightly. After all, she and Shen Yueshu were not the same kind of people—she couldn’t grasp the meaning behind the other’s words.

In this bustling imperial capital, despite the lively night scene, Li Xinran couldn’t feel a trace of warmth.

The extravagant spending frightened her, making her lose her usual quick-wittedness.

..

« Do you have any idea how outrageous you’re being? » Xu Yuan barely contained his anger, uncharacteristically losing his composure.

How could he not see that Ye Sisi deliberately ordered such expensive wine?

« What’s the matter? You have money to invest but none to spend on your girlfriend? » Ye Sisi looked at Xu Yuan’s furious expression without a trace of apology, instead growing somewhat angry herself.

She was standing up for Li Xinran.

« You don’t understand Xinran at all. » Xu Yuan could imagine these funds weighing on Li Xinran’s heart like stones.

It wasn’t that he begrudged the money, but rather that he acted out of respect for Li Xinran.

Ye Sisi was momentarily stunned, but she still defiantly placed her hands on her hips and retorted, « It’s just over 200,000, isn’t it? Why the fuss? Give me your card number, I’ll transfer it back to you… »

Xu Yuan’s gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp, frightening Ye Sisi into swallowing the rest of her words.

Now she somewhat understood Ye Hao’s assessment of Xu Yuan. With just a look and his aura, Xu Yuan had completely intimidated her.

« I can overlook your mischief because, to me, it doesn’t cause much harm—at most, a moment of anger.

But for most people, over 200,000 is an astronomical sum.

« Do you think it’s about who pays? No matter who covers this cost, Xinran will insist on contributing her share. » Xu Yuan glared fiercely at Ye Sisi.

Li Xinran is a person of strong principles. If she believes she should share the burden, no one can persuade her otherwise.

So please, don’t hurt her with your ignorance!

Xu Yuan’s words were like an icy sword, piercing Ye Sisi’s heart. In that instant, Ye Sisi felt as if her blood had turned cold.

Who do you think you are? Do you even know how powerful my dad is?

Though Ye Sisi, having regained her composure, realized she had unintentionally hurt Li Xinran, she still stubbornly refused to back down.

« No matter how powerful your dad is, what does that have to do with you? You just got lucky with your birth. » Xu Yuan curled his lips in disdain—Ye Sisi had truly been spoiled rotten by Ye Hao.

This sentence was an absolute knockout for Ye Sisi! Those beautiful eyes of hers slowly began to mist over with tears.

Without your father, what do you think you are?
I know I went too far with my words today, but what you did today was ten times worse for Xinran!

Xu Yuan couldn’t stand seeing girls cry and would never bully them himself—so how could he tolerate the girl he cherished with all his heart being brought to tears by someone else?
..

« Rui, you drunk yet? » Zhang Long was clutching a bottle of imported liquor, completely wasted. He never expected that on the very first day of school, before military training even started, his roommate would give him such a harsh lesson.

Xu Yuan dressed so ordinarily, seemed just like one of them, and had such a good personality—nothing like the spoiled rich kids from TV dramas, right?

« Kinda… There’s so much alcohol here, we can’t finish it all. Don’t forget to save some. » Li Rui was also a bit drunk. Mixing white liquor, imported drinks, beer, and wine—who could handle that?

« Can you handle it, lightweights? » Shen Yueshu rolled up her sleeves with unbridled boldness. This little alcohol? Nowhere near enough to get her drunk.

Xinran, you seem a bit drunk.

Li Xinran’s face was flushed red. She hadn’t drunk anything else, just a few glasses of beer. She couldn’t bear to drink the more expensive alcohol, still thinking she might save some money and possibly return it later.

Seeing the slightly intoxicated Li Xinran, Chen Yuhang immediately harbored ill intentions. His right hand instinctively moved to rest on her shoulder.

Unfortunately, though drunk, Li Xinran hadn’t lost all her senses. She directly shifted her body away, unwilling to have any physical contact with Chen Yuhang.

Chen Yuhang raised an eyebrow, suppressing his irritation. For someone who had always been effortlessly successful with women, he’d actually failed twice with the same woman in a single day.