A girl with black-rimmed glasses shook her head disdainfully and said, "Don't be fooled by his charming looks! I heard he has a character flaw—he recently latched onto a wealthy heiress from another school. For money and fame, he dumped his childhood sweetheart... They say he eloped with her, took a three-month leave from school, and only recently came back to class!"
"Really?" Another girl dramatically clutched her chest, feigning injury. "So that's the kind of person he is! Oh my, my dreams are shattered..."
The girl with black-rimmed glasses continued, "I also heard that heiress is one of the heirs to the MD Group. The MD Group is a mega-corporation ranked globally, with businesses spanning many industries. It's no exaggeration to say their family influences the economic lifelines of all Asia, even the world! Especially the private hospitals they run—those are top-tier, aristocratic private hospitals. Doctors there not only get generous benefits, but the hospital also provides substantial research funding and first-class technical support. So whether you want to practice medicine or do research, it's the best choice for graduates of our medical school!"
After hearing her explanation, the girls suddenly understood: "No wonder Qin Chen switched sides! His ex-girlfriend is just from an ordinary family, so she had no chance! But dumping his childhood sweetheart for money and status—that's such a terrible character..."
"Does anyone know his current girlfriend's name?"
"I know, I know!" One girl lowered her voice and said, "Her name is Zhou Zhibi, the biological granddaughter of the MD Group's CEO, and she's quite beautiful. As for his ex-girlfriend, from what I know, she's Qin Chen's neighbor, and her name seems to be something like Qiqi..."
"Oh, that Qiqi is really pitiful..."
The girls gossiped for a while, shook their heads and sighed at Qin Chen's retreating figure, then left.
Gu Qiqi's face turned pale, and her feet seemed to weigh a thousand pounds as she stood rooted to the spot.
She hadn't expected that her and Qin Chen's story had already spread across campus. Although she knew those girls were mostly right—Qin Chen had indeed broken up with her because of Zhou Zhibi—why did hearing people talk about him and criticize him still make her heart ache? Was it the decade-long friendship and years of secret love that she couldn't let go of?
Yes, she could never forget the long years he had accompanied her through—a happy childhood, an awkward adolescence, the promises made when her parents passed away, and that brief but exceptionally sweet period of romance.
Qin Chen was her classmate and the older brother who had always been by her side as she grew up. Perhaps, from the first time she came to her foster parents' home and saw him under that locust tree covered in white blossoms, she had already grown attached to him?
Years of secret love, a short-lived romance, and a decisive breakup—none of it could erase the warm memories in her heart.
The girl's pale face didn't escape Rong Yi's notice, and he had caught every word of the girls' gossip. Now, Rong Yi looked at Qiqi, then at the boy by the lake, and furrowed his brow once more.
However, he wisely kept silent, pulling her quickly past the lake.
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※