Chapter 110: Xia Xiran's Secret

"Xia Xiran? How can that be!" Little White Dove couldn't believe it.

Old He also found it absurd. "Impossible, right? What does Campus Belle Xia have to do with this? Could Jin Geng's business really involve her? She can't be the mastermind—could Jin Geng actually be the accomplice?"

With that thought, Old He and Kai both broke out in a cold sweat.

Jiang Muye cut them off with a scolding. "Don't go making wild guesses. What if it's not her? Then we'd be ruining her reputation. Kai, how do you know it was her who called the police?"

"Xiaoxiao said it in the group chat. She's with her at the police station right now. Xiao Yue found out and told me," Kai answered honestly.

"We'll know once we get there," Jiang Muye said in a low voice.

At this point, he was completely in the dark too.

He wasn't at all clear on why Xia Xiran would be mixed up in this.

Xia Xiran and Jin Geng were obviously not close, and there had never been any contact between them.

Jiang Muye's mind was a mess right now. Today really was an unusual day—too much had happened.

As Jiang Muye leaned back against the car seat, wanting some quiet, a WeChat message arrived on his phone.

He glanced at it and saw it was from Leng Ruoli. She replied: 【Are you okay? Where are you now? I'm coming over right away.】

Naturally, Jiang Muye didn't want Leng Ruoli to worry. He directly sent a voice message: 【I have to go to the police station to give a statement now. I probably won't make it back to school tonight—the dorms will be locked. We'll go back to the villa to stay.】

He paused, then added: 【Don't worry about me. I'm not hurt, not a single thing.】

Leng Ruoli instantly shot back a voice message.

Jiang Muye put on his Bluetooth earbud and heard Leng Ruoli's voice, clear as an orchid in an empty valley.

"That's good. You don't need to worry about me either. I'll sleep well, I won't cause you any trouble, and I'm very safe."

The corner of Jiang Muye's mouth slowly curved upward.

That one sentence steadied his heart.

As long as she was safe, that was enough.

Leng Ruoli was truly so considerate it made his heart ache. She was afraid he'd worry about her too, and knew not to be a burden.

Jiang Muye replied dotingly, "That's good. Sleep early. Goodnight. Tomorrow we'll eat together in the cafeteria, okay?"

"Okay."

Just hearing her voice made Jiang Muye feel especially grounded.

After chatting with Leng Ruoli, Jiang Muye also caught sight of the police station and got out of the car to go give his statement.

Entering the station's main hall, Jiang Muye saw the slender figure already seated there: frail, thin, but familiar to Jiang Muye.

He had looked at her back many times, as she walked away without ever turning her head.

Only this time, he had no idea why Xia Xiran would be here.

Beside Xia Xiran was the Girl with Glasses, Xiaoxiao, keeping her company. After seeing them arrive, her eyes gazed at Jiang Muye with infatuation, as if she wanted to say something, but she bit her lip and swallowed it down.

Jiang Muye forcibly suppressed the ripples rising in his heart and sat down in the chair beside them.

The police began to explain: "This is Xia Xiran. She's the hero who cracked this case—she very bravely reported Jin Geng to us."

Those words immediately shocked everyone present.

Even Jiang Muye was utterly surprised.

Xia Xiran had reported Jin Geng?

What was going on here!

The gentle Xia Xiran slowly explained, "This morning I bumped into Jin Geng, and his bag spilled all over the ground. I saw the photos of you inside, and the blades. But at the time I had no idea what he was trying to do. It was only after everything happened that I realized."

Only then did everyone understand why the first person to step forward and report him was Xia Xiran.

"Thank you." Jiang Muye looked at Xia Xiran.

No matter what had happened before, Jiang Muye was still grateful that Xia Xiran had stepped forward to help him this time.

Glasses Girl sighed beside her and said, "You have no idea what Xiran did for you. Xiran, she—"

"Xiaoxiao!" Xia Xiran immediately cut her off.

Little White Dove grew curious. "Go on, you're killing me here."

Glasses Girl, acting on impulse, said to Xia Xiran, "You just quietly sacrifice yourself behind the scenes—will he ever know what you gave up for him! I'm your best friend, I insist on saying this."

Glasses Girl laid out everything that had happened, exactly as it was.

"Blame me, I was so immoral. Xiran had already discovered it was Jin Geng causing trouble, and I told her to wait a couple days before reporting him, because the debate competition is in a couple days and Jin Geng and Xiran are in the same group. If he got arrested it would affect the whole group's hard work, and Xiran would be forced to withdraw from the competition."

"In the end, Xiran still chose to call the police. Between honor and you, she chose you, Jiang Muye!"

A trace of bitterness spread across the corners of Xia Xiran's lips.

She had struggled internally. Always the model student, she had stayed up so many nights, poured in so much effort to write the debate script, revised and memorized it with Jin Geng over and over.

If nothing unexpected happened, their group was certain to win an award. As long as she won, her graduate recommendation would be absolutely secure. She had planned to report him in a couple days, but after she saw Jiang Muye, she changed her mind.

What Jiang Muye liked was the thriving, upward-striving version of her, not the selfish one.

For her own interests, should she have put Jiang Muye in danger? She said over and over that she liked Jiang Muye, that Jiang Muye was more important than the graduate recommendation—but what had she actually done?

At the most critical juncture, she had still cast Jiang Muye aside and chosen her studies without hesitation.

But what if Jiang Muye had died?

What would she do then—spend the rest of her life with books?

Spend all her future years in repentance?

So Xia Xiran took the initiative to call Xiaoxiao, and together they discussed giving up the debate opportunity, and then went to the police station to report it.

She didn't want the graduate recommendation anymore. She could just take the exam herself.

The person your heart raced for that year can be loved for a long, long time; the person you gave up that year, you'll regret for just as long.

Jiang Muye's lips moved, and for a moment he didn't know how to reply.

How important honor was to Xia Xiran, and yet now she had given it up to choose him—he couldn't stay calm and unruffled.

Jiang Muye lowered his eyes and said quietly, "Thank you, Xia Xiran. The dorms have already turned off the lights and locked up. You two have nowhere to stay tonight, right?"

"I'll book a room for you. Stay at a hotel." Jiang Muye's words made Xia Xiran's eyes suddenly brighten.

Xia Xiran gave a soft smile. "Whatever works. You arrange it."

"Xia Xiran, I take back what I said before. I think we can be friends."

Jiang Muye's magnetic voice flowed through Xia Xiran's heart.

Xia Xiran seemed to see the dawn reappear.

"But—friends only." Jiang Muye's eyes looked straight at Xia Xiran. "I hope you can find your own happiness. There's surely a guy even better than me waiting for you."