Shocking! The Broke Campus Heartthrob Is My Child’s Father - Chapter 39

“Boss Lu… do you think I really messed up?”

Lu Yicheng remained silent at the question.

He wasn’t in a position to comment on the matter. Whether Jiang Yan was right or wrong wasn’t something for him to judge.

Jiang Yan wasn’t bothered by Lu Yicheng’s silence—it was exactly what he expected. He positioned himself not far from Lu Yicheng, leaning against the wall with his head tilted back, his whole body like a bow without tension. In a lowered voice, he said, “I know. You all think I was wrong. You think I shouldn’t have brought Lin Kexing here. But you don’t know the full story. To me, Lin Kexing is really just a little sister.” He gave a bitter laugh. “If Du Yu were here and heard me use that term, he’d probably lose his temper again. But whether you believe it or not, that’s what she is to me.”

“Her mother looked after my mom and me. We owe her a lot. I’ve lived at their house all these years,” Jiang Yan said softly. “Mrs. Lin has always been kind to me. Mr. Lin too. If it weren’t for them, life wouldn’t have been so easy for me and my mom. After my dad got into trouble back then, if the Lin family hadn’t taken us in, those people wouldn’t have let us go. These ten years of peace—that was all thanks to the Lin family. Tell me, could I really just stay away from her? If I did, if I acted like I had nothing to do with the Lin family anymore, what kind of person would I be? Would I even have a conscience?”

Lu Yicheng didn’t want to hear any of this.

He had no interest in Jiang Yan’s relationship with Lin Kexing.

No desire to understand Jiang Yan’s reasons.

These things had nothing to do with him.

He stood up, thinking it was probably time to return to his room. Siyan’s phone call should be over by now.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Yan’s next words stopped him in his tracks.

Beneath the moonlight, Jiang Yan spoke almost to himself, “If you were me, you’d do the same.”

Lu Yicheng halted, turning his head slightly. Half his face was bathed in light, the other hidden in shadow.

Jiang Yan gave a self-mocking smile and straightened up, ready to leave.

Lu Yicheng called out to him, his tone as calm as always. “I wouldn’t.”

Jiang Yan paused, glancing back. “What?”

“I said I wouldn’t.” Lu Yicheng wore a white T-shirt and loose, light gray pajama pants that reached below the knee. His expression was calm. “Don’t do unto others what you wouldn’t want done to yourself. If it’s something I would mind, I naturally wouldn’t do it to someone else. A romantic relationship may not be bound and protected by law like a marriage is, but I believe any relationship, from the moment it starts, should be rooted in a sense of moral responsibility. If I couldn’t reject someone playing the role of a non-blood-related ‘little sister’ in my life, then I simply wouldn’t enter into a romantic relationship with another girl. Because that would be unfair to her.”

Jiang Yan was taken aback by what Lu Yicheng had said.

Lu Yicheng rarely offered opinions on anything. His most frequent response was that he wasn’t involved, didn’t know the whole story, and any judgment would be one-sided—and therefore inappropriate.

And yet, after speaking, Lu Yicheng regretted it.

This wasn’t his business to comment on.

But if he had to say something, this would be it.

The Lin family had helped Jiang Yan and his mother—not Jiang Ruoqiao. She had no connection to the Lin family or Lin Kexing. She had every right to say no—or even break up.

Lu Yicheng said, “If it were me, I wouldn’t expect my girlfriend to share my gratitude toward the Lin family. That has nothing to do with her, and nothing to do with our relationship. I also wouldn’t let today’s situation happen. Jiang Yan, if you want my opinion, that’s it.”

Jiang Yan lowered his head in silence for a long time before finally saying, “You’re right. I… crossed the line.”

He shouldn’t have let his relationship with Ruoqiao be affected by this so-called debt of gratitude.

He was the one who owed the Lin family. It was him and his mom who’d received their kindness—not Ruoqiao.

What right did he have to expect Ruoqiao to share his gratitude toward them?

It made sense that she didn’t understand. It was fair that she didn’t accept it.

He… was wrong. He was the one who had made a mistake.

With sudden clarity, he turned to Lu Yicheng and said, “Thanks. I’m going to apologize to Du Yu now. I was too rough yesterday.” After a pause, he added, “I’ll apologize to Ruoqiao too. I’ll try to make it right and win her back—ask her to give me another chance. And as for Kexing… I’ll be more careful. I’ll distance myself. Something like this won’t happen again.”

Of course, he owed Lin Kexing an apology as well.

In the end, this was his mistake alone. It had nothing to do with Ruoqiao—or Kexing.

But he knew he could never treat Lin Kexing the same way again.

Lu Yicheng remained silent. The light had shifted, and he was now entirely cloaked in shadow.

Early the next morning, Jiang Ruoqiao dressed in a semi-formal dress, applied a polished touch of makeup, and took her prepared documents to head to the translation company by taxi.

The company was located in an office building in the CBD center.

The location was convenient, with subway and bus stations within 500 meters. The office was on the 15th floor. Watching all the sharply dressed professionals coming and going, she couldn’t help but feel a spark of hope. At moments like this, she realized that things like dating and breakups barely took up any space in her life. They weren’t even as important as the interview she was about to face.

On the 15th floor, the receptionist, seeing she was there for a position, handed her a form and led her to the conference room. She also took her certificates and ID to make copies.

It was only then that Jiang Ruoqiao learned that today wasn’t actually an interview—just a preliminary written test.

There were too many talented people in Jing City. For some positions, countless candidates competed for each spot.

Under normal circumstances, an undergraduate student who hadn’t graduated yet wouldn’t even qualify for the preliminary test. The company had clearly stated that even part-time positions required a full-time bachelor’s degree. She hadn’t graduated yet, but fortunately, the company’s owner was friends with the hanfu store owner, and considering she was from A University, they made an exception for her. After sitting in the conference room for a while, the receptionist brought her the test paper, which looked more like an exam paper than an interview test.

For a moment, she felt like she was back in an exam hall.

From her perspective, the test was quite challenging—harder than the ones at school but she pulled herself together. While she might be directionless in most aspects of life, she had always been clear on the importance of self-improvement and not slacking off just because she was in university. After all, she had built a reputation as a top student, and if she started failing exams regularly, wouldn’t that ruin her image? So while her grades weren’t god-tier like Lu Yicheng’s, they were still solid.

She got focused and worked through the entire paper.

The final question required writing a short essay in English about her career plans

Today was unexpected, but she wasn’t disappointed.

After all, they had made an exception for her based on the store owner’s recommendation and her A University status, but they still maintained their principles by having her take the written test first. Only if her results satisfied the higher-ups would she proceed to the actual interview. Actually, this made Jiang Ruoqiao feel more at ease.

She’d researched the company online and learned that their headquarters weren’t in Beijing, but in Shanghai.

They had a respected name in the industry, and even though this would just be a part-time position, she believed it would make an impressive addition to her future resume.

After leaving the company, matters like Jiang Yan and Lin Kexing didn’t seem so important anymore. Jiang Ruoqiao had gained clarity—regardless of how the plot developed, whether there would be butterfly effects or not, those weren’t things she could control. She was better off focusing on the present.

In the original story, the plot had tormented her, made her fail completely, made her particularly pitiful—but she had survived.

So the future couldn’t be worse than the original story.

Back at the countryside guesthouse…

Yun Jia and the other two girls wanted nothing to do with the four boys so they got up early and had breakfast in their room.

The boys gathered in the courtyard, exchanging glances. No one was in a good mood. They had come here happy and carefree, and now…

Jiang Yan had apologized to Du Yu the day before. Du Yu, despite his bluntness, was a reasonable guy. He had mustered up the courage to apologize too, and the two had made up.

Jiang Yan didn’t eat much for breakfast. He was worried about Jiang Ruoqiao. Stretching out his hand a little awkwardly, he said to Du Yu, “Little brother, can I borrow your phone? I want to call Ruoqiao.”

Du Yu: “…”

Jiang Yan explained, “I just want to make sure she’s okay.”

Du Yu had no choice but to hand over his phone.

Jiang Yan’s heart was in his throat as he dialed Jiang Ruoqiao’s number. After a few seconds, an automated voice informed him that the line was busy. Leave a message after the tone. Without doubt—she had seen Du Yu’s number and declined the call.

Du Yu: “…”

He sighed. “Fine, we’re all collateral damage now. See? Ruoqiao won’t even answer my calls.”

Jiang Yan looked at Wang Jianfeng, his desperate intent obvious.

Wang Jianfeng reluctantly handed over his phone.

Jiang Yan quickly redialed. Same result.

Only now did Jiang Yan start to truly grasp the reality of the breakup. It was clear to everyone—Jiang Ruoqiao meant it. She had really broken up with him.

Panic rising, Jiang Yan looked helplessly toward Lu Yicheng, who was quietly eating porridge nearby.

Lu Yicheng sighed inwardly. He might have avoided it yesterday, but there was no avoiding it today.

When Jiang Yan asked to borrow Lu Yicheng’s phone, Lu Yicheng lowered his eyes and said, “Wait a moment. I need to reply to something important first.”

Saying this, he unlocked his phone and deleted Jiang Ruoqiao’s number from his contacts.

Then he opened the messaging app. He should have deleted their message history too, but… after hesitating for a few seconds, he didn’t delete them. He trusted that Jiang Yan just wanted to make a call and wouldn’t check anything else.

Lu Yicheng handed the phone to Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan had memorized Jiang Ruoqiao’s number by heart and quickly dialed it.

At a coffee shop near the interview building, Jiang Ruoqiao was in line waiting for an Americano, irritably rejecting calls from Du Yu and Wang Jianfeng. When her phone rang again, her face showed clear annoyance—until she saw Lu Yicheng’s name as the caller. She paused—Lu Yicheng calling?

It could be Jiang Yan borrowing his phone, but it could also be Lu Yicheng himself.

What if Lu Yicheng had something important to discuss, something about Siyan?

With this moment of hesitation, she pressed the answer button.

Before she could speak, Jiang Yan’s urgent voice came through: “Ruoqiao, where are you?”

With her face expressionless, she hung up immediately.

How annoying..

In the courtyard, Lu Yicheng had been listening. When he heard Jiang Yan’s words, his eyelashes lowered—she had answered?

But the next second, Jiang Yan’s face showed disappointment—she had hung up.

Du Yu asked with curiosity and surprise: “What’s going on? Jiang Ruoqiao answered the call—is she playing favorites?”

Why did she reject his and Old Wang’s calls but answer boss Lu’s?

Was she discriminating against them??

Lu Yicheng unconsciously clenched his hand.

Wang Jianfeng spoke up, “Don’t be ridiculous. We both exchanged numbers with Jiang Ruoqiao, so she sees our caller ID and knows it’s us. Boss Lu and Jiang Ruoqiao never exchanged numbers, so on her end it shows up as an unknown local number—of course she’d answer.”

Du Yu had a sudden realization. “Oh, that makes sense.”

Right, he had exchanged contact information with her back when he was pursuing Yun Jia.

Wang Jianfeng and Jiang Ruoqiao were both in the student council, so they had each other’s contact information.

Jiang Yan hadn’t thought of that.

Hollow-eyed, he returned the phone to Lu Yicheng. His voice was hoarse, with dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping all night. “Thanks.”

Lu Yicheng’s jaw tensed, and it was a long moment before he gave a quiet reply.