Chapter 42 – Exclusive Sweet Romance: The Battle to Save the Campus Heartthrob (04)
Under Huo Wen’s repeated consolations, Ran Yunyun finally felt a little better. Her fighting spirit was reignited—she was determined to compete with Bai Mo.
For several days, the post continued to spread, and curious onlookers kept digging for information about Bai Mo. However, she never appeared, and even Jian Haocang remained silent.
People began speculating: Had the campus heartthrob failed in his pursuit? Was he sulking because he couldn’t win the beauty’s heart?
Surprisingly, their guesses weren’t entirely wrong. Jian Haocang really hadn’t been able to arrange a meeting with Bai Mo for the past few days.
Even getting a reply from him was painfully slow—sometimes half a day, sometimes an entire day. He had never realized before just how exhausting waiting could be.
Even though it hadn’t even been a full 24 hours between messages, it felt like an eternity.
[The day after tomorrow is the weekend. A new mall just opened on Chunyi Street, and they have your favorite barbecue. Want to go check it out together?]
Jian Haocang had been rejected multiple times, but he refused to give up.
If anyone embodied the phrase “fall seven times, stand up eight”, it was him. Whenever he had free time, he would stare at his phone for hours, waiting.
It wasn’t that Bai Mo didn’t want to accept his invitations, but he was wary of the analysis from his Bobao system.
Right now, everyone was still too eager to dig up information about him.
He hadn’t figured out how to reveal his true identity to Jian Haocang, and if his gender got exposed before their relationship had progressed, wouldn’t that just hand his dear husband over on a silver platter? And to the female lead, no less!
No way! He absolutely would not approve of any marriage between Jian Haocang and Ran Yunyun!
Glaring at the cover of the plot book, which featured the so-called “perfect couple” walking side by side, Bai Mo felt the urge to stomp on it. Whoever wants this mess can have it—he refuses to carry this burden!
Xiao Bobao had suggested that Bai Mo should wait for public interest in him to die down or for people to be distracted by something else before developing his relationship with Jian Haocang.
In the original story, Black Moonlight had been exposed and hated largely because Huo Wen had deliberately directed everyone’s attention toward him.
Sometimes, too much attention was a bad thing—it was better to take things slowly.
Following this advice, Bai Mo held back from accepting his beloved husband’s invitations over and over again—until he was finally tempted by the promise of delicious food.
While Xiao Bobao was distracted, he quickly typed a single word in response: [Okay.]
And he even let Jian Haocang decide the time.
“Ding-dong—”
A notification sounded. Jian Haocang immediately opened the chat, his eyes lighting up. A gentle smile appeared on his lips as his slender fingers swiftly typed back:
[Great! I’ll pick you up at C University’s front gate at 9 AM the day after tomorrow.]
Finally, a response. His face softened with happiness.
The student council members, sensing his sudden change in mood, nudged each other, whispering excitedly.
“Oh? Something’s up. The ‘Stone of Longing’ is smiling today—must be because of that pretty little girl.”
Just then, Ran Yunyun walked in, holding a 30% discount coupon for the new mall. Encouraged by Huo Wen, she mustered up her courage and approached Jian Haocang.
“Haocang, do you want to go to the mall together this weekend? I have a discount coupon.”
After such a long time without seeing Bai Mo again, and with Huo Wen constantly whispering disparaging remarks about him in her ear, Ran Yunyun naturally assumed that Bai Mo had given up after realizing the difficulty of the situation. Or perhaps Jian Haocang had only been friendly to Bai Mo out of politeness, but Bai Mo had persistently clung to him, eventually causing Jian Haocang to grow disgusted with him.
This wouldn’t have been the first time something like this had happened, which was precisely why Ran Yunyun had never dared to confess her feelings to Jian Haocang in a bold and straightforward manner. Instead, she had chosen a more subtle approach—like a gentle stream, nurturing and influencing him in an imperceptible way.
Based on Jian Haocang’s previous attitude toward her, her method, though slow, had been effective. At the very least, he treated her better than he did other female classmates.
If Xiao Bobao knew what she was thinking, it would definitely scoff at her. “Girl, how thick is your face? How many dishes have you had to be this drunk? Look at your position in the student council’s publicity department—hasn’t all your interaction with the male lead been strictly limited to official business?”
Unfortunately, Xiao Bobao had no time to pay attention to the female lead’s situation. At that moment, it had just discovered that Bai Mo had secretly arranged a date with the male lead while it wasn’t looking and was now trying to persuade him against it.
“It’s not that I don’t approve of you dating the male lead, Mo Mo. The problem is—are you going to wear a skirt and a wig, or are you going out in pants?”
When Bai Mo was transported into this world, the timing was right when Black Moonlight was heading to A University in a dress.
Xiao Bobao had originally advised Bai Mo to go back and change before meeting the male lead, but Bai Mo had been too eager to find his dear husband and refused to waste time.
That’s why, just like in the original plot, he ended up meeting Jian Haocang while wearing a skirt.
Bai Mo knew he was in the wrong. He had agreed to the date before figuring out a solution. But he really, really wanted to see his dear boyfriend.
“Xiao Bobao~ Miss Panda~ Dearest Sis Bobao~ You’re the smartest, please help me think of an idea! Even the gods and the Cowherd and Weaver Girl can meet once a year, but I haven’t seen Brother Haocang in almost a week! One day apart feels like three years, and five days apart—we’ve been separated for fifteen years!”
Xiao Bobao nearly lost its mind at Bai Mo’s exaggerated logic. It was wrong—completely wrong. It should never have encouraged the little ferret to read more books. Now that he’s educated, everything he says is complete nonsense!
But no matter how annoyed it was, it couldn’t bring itself to be harsh when faced with the boy’s adorable smile. The broadcast system took a deep breath, trying to calm itself down.
“He’s still young,” it told itself. “I’m a system that has lived for hundreds of years. I won’t argue with a little ferret who has only been human for a few decades.”
“Ding-dong! The female lead has sent the male lead a date invitation. Please check the details in time.”
Suddenly, the system notification from Bobao interface—set to monitor the male and female leads—popped up. The broadcast system opened it and saw Ran Yunyun shyly and timidly making her “move.”
Something’s not right.
In the original storyline, the female lead wasn’t supposed to act this way. It was always her best friend, Huo Wen, stirring up trouble, while the female lead played the “nice girl”—smearing Black Moonlight’s reputation and swooping in at just the right moment.
Xiao Bobao squinted at the screen, observing for a while.
Then, noticing Huo Wen lurking outside the door—cheering for the female lead while casually gathering information about Bai Mo—it suddenly shouted, “You little witch! You changed the script! You were supposed to wait for an opportunity, not strike first!”
Turning to the expectant boy beside her, Xiao Bobao declared, “Go! Dress up beautifully and go! My Mo Mo looks handsome in men’s clothes and absolutely breathtaking in women’s. The female lead is nothing compared to you!”
“We’re changing our strategy. Tonight, I’ll allow you to talk on the phone with the male lead as long as you want—make sure you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger.”
“So we’re not keeping a low profile anymore to cool things down?” Bai Mo tilted his head in curiosity.
“Forget cooling down! If you don’t want your husband stolen, go all out and unleash your charm! I believe in you!”
Bai Mo cheered, “Yay!” and dashed upstairs excitedly, phone in hand, ready to call his dear boyfriend and strengthen their bond.
If Bai Mo was laser-focused on the male lead, then Xiao Bobao had its sights locked on the female lead. It utterly despised white lotus and green tea heroines—the type who had repeatedly stolen its matchmaking targets, sabotaged missions, and climbed to the top by trampling over its past hosts. Twisting facts, fabricating lies, and ruining others for their own success—disgusting!
Want love, want power, and still want to destroy Black Moonlight? Dream on! Spits!
Watching the scene unfold, Xiao Bobao smirked sinisterly as Bai Mo’s phone call interrupted Ran Yunyun’s invitation to Jian Haocang. “If you behave, we can all coexist peacefully, and I won’t bother you. But if you dig your own grave, don’t blame my host for showing no mercy. Heartbreak, humiliation, and public disgrace—enjoy your fate with your scheming bestie.”
Meanwhile, Jian Haocang had just apologized to Ran Yunyun, saying, “Sorry, I already have plans for the weekend.”
At that very moment, his phone screen lit up, displaying Bai Mo’s name. His eyes curved into a smile, as dazzling as a sea of stars.
The gossip-loving students in the room were eager to know what kind of message could make the campus heartthrob beam like that.
One pretended to walk past behind him but “accidentally” tripped over a chair leg, bumping into Jian Haocang just enough for his finger to brush the screen—activating speaker mode.
“Brother Haocang~”
A sweet, obedient voice rang through the entire student council office.
The room fell silent.
Everyone froze.
And then, instinctively, they all held their breath.
“Nine in the morning is too early—I won’t be able to get out of bed. Can we change it to ten-thirty instead?” The little snow ferret had always been one to wake up naturally. Although he could get up at nine, he wouldn’t be fully rested, and a lack of sleep meant he’d be grumpy.
“Of course. The mall is a bit far. Ten-thirty then—I’ll pick you up at your campus gate, alright?” The young man smiled gently, his voice carrying a warmth he himself wasn’t even aware of. Yet that very tenderness landed right in Ran Yunyun’s eyes, piercing her heart with a sharp pain.
“Okay! Thank you, Brother Haocang~”
All eyes in the room were now on Jian Haocang. He frowned slightly, intending to turn off the speakerphone before these people stopped working altogether and focused solely on his boy.
The student who had accidentally enabled the speaker earlier quickly grabbed Jian Haocang’s hand, grinning mischievously. “Come on, campus heartthrob, don’t turn it off! Pretty girl’s voice is so sweet—let us listen a little longer!”
The rest of the students eagerly nodded. Yeah, yeah! Ever since that day when she stunned them with her beauty, they hadn’t seen her again. The closest university was C University—could she be from there?
“Ah, I’m not a pretty girl! Don’t call me that.” The soft, sticky voice carried a hint of coquettish protest, as if a little annoyed but more like he was playfully pouting at them.
A tingling sensation spread through the group—even the girls weren’t immune, except for Ran Yunyun and Huo Wen.
“Alright, alright, we won’t call you that anymore. Then what should we call you?” One of the male students chuckled, playing along.
“My name is Bai Mo. Just call me that normally.” Bai Mo’s thoughts were simple—first, he needed to erase their impression of him as some “pretty girl.” Consider this a precautionary measure.
Later, when they inevitably found out he was a guy, he didn’t expect them to like him, but as long as they didn’t side with the female lead against him, that was enough.
Bai Mo!
Hearing this familiar name, Huo Wen’s eyes filled with shock. That day, the delicate, breathtaking face of the “girl” gradually overlapped with the features of the refined young man in her memory.
It really was him.
Her suspicions had been correct all along—that person was Bai Mo.
That name—like a nightmare that had haunted her for years—resurfaced once more. Huo Wen’s emotions were complicated, an indescribable mix of feelings, but joy was certainly not one of them.
Since childhood, she and Bai Mo had been neighbors.
Bai Mo was good-looking, sweet-tongued, and well-behaved—the quintessential “perfect child” that parents always praised.
Her own parents constantly compared her to him, berating her whenever she failed to measure up, calling her a “useless burden.” It wasn’t until Bai Mo’s family moved away when she was thirteen that his name gradually stopped echoing in her household, eventually fading into silence.
Bai Mo, Bai Mo… why do you have to appear again? You’re like an unshakable ghost that refuses to leave.
Hatred flickered in Huo Wen’s eyes. Then, as if struck by an idea, she suddenly let out a low chuckle, her laughter swallowed by the lively commotion in the office.
You wronged me once—it’s time to return the favor.