Chapter 58 – Exclusive Sweet Romance: The Battle to Save the Campus Heartthrob (20)
Bai Mo happily took a seat in the audience, but instead of looking at the main stage, his gaze was fixed on Jian Haocang, who was among the participating team.
The boy’s stare was intense, almost scorching. Jian Haocang glanced over and, upon seeing the person occupying his thoughts, responded with a warm, gentle smile, subtly exchanging affectionate glances with Bai Mo.
Flirting in public like this didn’t affect Bai Mo, who was seated comfortably in the audience, but it did put Jian Haocang in a tough spot. He couldn’t make any big movements.
Fortunately, everyone’s attention was on the main stage, where Ran Yunyun was confidently presenting their design. She enjoyed being in the spotlight—especially knowing that the person she liked was focused entirely on her.
Even though she knew Jian Haocang didn’t reciprocate her feelings, his demeanor during the training days had been friendly and warm, just like before—at least, when Bai Mo wasn’t around.
“So, we used…” Ran Yunyun spoke fluently on stage, her eyes sweeping over her team. When she glanced at Jian Haocang, she smiled knowingly—only to realize that his attention wasn’t on her at all.
She followed his gaze and saw, seated below, the person who haunted her like a nightmare.
Ran Yunyun’s expression stiffened, and her speech abruptly halted.
Freezing up during a presentation was a major mistake, yet she made no effort to recover, seemingly lost in thought.
The judges exchanged glances but didn’t interrupt. Meanwhile, the design mentor and teammates were growing increasingly anxious, though they couldn’t prompt her during the presentation.
Noticing that the person on stage had gone silent, Bai Mo shifted his gaze, and Jian Haocang did the same. Ran Yunyun’s face burned with embarrassment as she opened her mouth but failed to utter a single word.
Embarrassing oneself in front of a romantic rival was utterly humiliating. Ran Yunyun lowered her head, yet even without looking up, she could vividly imagine Bai Mo’s mocking expression.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the presentation script.
Why is Bai Mo here? How did he get here?
“What’s wrong with Ran Yunyun? Why is she spacing out?”
“Say something! Did she forget her lines? If she forgot, just look at the script!”
“Professor, can we request a different presenter?”
The design team whispered among themselves, while their mentor wore a stern expression, clearly displeased with Ran Yunyun’s performance. Everything had gone smoothly in rehearsals—so why was she messing up now?
“Switching presenters midway will result in a point deduction. Who’s willing to go?” The design mentor was furious at Ran Yunyun’s incompetence. Whoever replaced her would need to not only salvage the situation but also seamlessly continue from where she had left off.
Everyone knew they didn’t have the skill to step in—but there was one person who could.
Their eyes turned to Jian Haocang. School heartthrob, do you want to give it a try?
Jian Haocang looked toward Bai Mo, who was resting his chin in his hands, staring at him with an adoring smile. Bai Mo didn’t care about anything else; as long as he could watch his beloved, he was happy.
“Brother Haocang, do your best in the competition! I’ll be waiting for you to bring home the championship~”
Before the event, those soft words had echoed in his ears. Jian Haocang clenched his right fist, pressing it against his lips as he let out a silent chuckle. Then, under everyone’s expectant gaze, he stepped toward the stage, where Ran Yunyun was still stumbling over her lines.
“I’ll take over. You should take a break.”
His voice was gentle, flowing into Ran Yunyun’s ears like the voice of an angel pulling her from disaster. She wanted to say yes, but the more nervous she was, the worse she performed. The words were on the tip of her tongue, yet she just couldn’t express what she meant to say.
“Good evening, esteemed judges and audience. I am Jian Haocang from A University. I will now explain our design to you…”
His warm, steady voice flowed like moonlight in the night—calm and unhurried, illuminating what was once a dark and uncertain path, dispelling the unease in people’s hearts.
Bai Mo was completely entranced. He might not fully understand the brilliance of the design, but he simply loved seeing his dear husband shining so brightly. The world’s spotlight focused on him, and the applause was his alone.
Ran Yunyun, now replaced, breathed a sigh of relief, but the overwhelming embarrassment gnawed at her. She returned to her team’s seating area, covering her face as she fought back tears.
Even though her teammates might have been frustrated with her, seeing her in such a remorseful state made it difficult to scold her. Besides, they were still in the middle of the competition—they couldn’t afford blame; they had to console her instead.
“And that concludes our presentation. Thank you all for watching.”
In the blink of an eye, Jian Haocang finished the explanation and delivered the closing statement.
Thunderous applause erupted. Bai Mo clapped so hard that his smile nearly reached his ears. As expected of my dear husband—he’s amazing!
The judges nodded repeatedly, smiling in satisfaction. As they filled in their score sheets and wrote their evaluations, they praised the team’s innovative concept, bold yet harmonious use of color, and refreshing design approach.
The A University design team members were overjoyed. The judges’ praise was an affirmation of their hard work. Even though the scores hadn’t been announced yet, they knew their ranking wouldn’t be low. This was not only an honor but also a promising step toward their future.
In the end, although the judges didn’t comment on Ran Yunyun’s mistakes, they did acknowledge Jian Haocang’s composure under pressure, expressing their high regard for him.
Jian Haocang remained humble, bowing in gratitude before returning to his seat to wait for the final results.
With reddened eyes, Ran Yunyun softly thanked him.
“There’s no need to thank me,” Jian Haocang replied calmly. “This was a team effort.”
A team’s hard work shouldn’t be ruined by a single person. When he had run into Bai Mo at the hotel earlier, he had been tempted not to come at all. But he couldn’t let his team down, so he had shown up anyway. Stepping in for Ran Yunyun followed the same logic.
Ran Yunyun understood the deeper meaning behind his words, her throat tightening with emotion. But Jian Haocang’s attention had already drifted elsewhere.
Following his gaze, she saw Bai Mo in the audience, arms spread wide, blowing a playful kiss toward the stage.
A deep, low chuckle reached her ears. Jian Haocang’s bright, lively expression shone with unmistakable joy, and the sight of it pierced Ran Yunyun’s heart like a blade.
Bai Mo, Bai Mo… Every time he appears, I suffer.
She suddenly recalled what Huo Wen had once told her—Bai Mo was a complete psychopath. Huo Wen had been his neighbor in the past, but after discovering his secret, Bai Mo had hurriedly moved away. Years later, he had somehow managed to get into C University and even disguised himself as a girl to seduce Jian Haocang.
Ran Yunyun remembered that other boys had confessed to Jian Haocang before, only to be rejected outright. He had even once stated, I don’t like men.
She had secretly rejoiced at the time—if he had eliminated an entire gender as potential love rivals, wouldn’t that mean far fewer competitors for her?
So why—why had Jian Haocang, who had always disliked men, fallen for a guy? It’s all Bai Mo’s fault. That little freak must have messed with his head!
Huo Wen’s words echoed in her mind, mingling with the sight of Jian Haocang and Bai Mo’s sickeningly sweet exchange.
Their faces suddenly became unbearable to look at.
Why did they have to flirt so openly in public? Why did they insist on flaunting their relationship right in front of her?
The judges were in the middle of announcing the results when, all of a sudden, Ran Yunyun shot to her feet.
“Contestant, do you have any objections to the results of the competition?” a judge asked.
“I…” Ran Yunyun struggled to form a coherent response. The classmate beside her gave her a tug, and everyone turned their attention to her.
“Honorable judges, my student is feeling unwell and would like to request to leave early and rest backstage,” the design mentor interjected.
Seeing Ran Yunyun’s pale complexion, the judges nodded with understanding and granted the request. She had no choice but to leave her seat among the contestants.
“What’s wrong with you? Can’t you just behave? You almost ruined our design competition! If you have personal grievances, deal with them at school, not here!” The female classmate supporting Ran Yunyun scolded her harshly. Unlike the boys, she had no sympathy for someone who repeatedly sabotaged their efforts.
Besides, she truly couldn’t stand Ran Yunyun’s behavior—it was as if she wanted the whole world to know she had feelings for Jian Haocang.
The school heartthrob had already rejected her, yet she still looked at him with such a lovesick gaze. Disgusting.
Ran Yunyun turned pale and green with embarrassment. But her classmate didn’t care about her feelings—she simply turned on her heel and headed back to the stage to await the results.
“After careful consideration, we have decided that the first-place winner of this year’s Youth Design Competition is… the design team from A University!”
The crowd erupted into cheers.
A University had made two mistakes during the competition, which should have cost them points. However, since the competition was primarily about design, and A University’s work was the most outstanding, the judges ultimately decided to award them the championship.
The students embraced and celebrated, while their design mentor smiled with relief. After twelve years, she had finally trained a championship-winning team. This was her first victory—but it wouldn’t be her last.
As the trophy was handed to A University’s team, Jian Haocang broke away from the crowd and strode straight toward Bai Mo.
“Mo Mo, I won the championship.” So, when are you going to fulfill your promise?
“I saw!” the boy beamed. “The holiday is coming up. Will you take me home?”
Home = Meeting the parents.
Jian Haocang’s eyes lit up, and without hesitation, he scooped Bai Mo into his arms and spun him around.
“Mo Mo! Mo Mo!” he called out joyfully.
No one had ever seen the school heartthrob this out of control before.
“Who’s that boy he’s hugging?” someone whispered. “And what about the pretty girl? How could he do this to her?”
Many of the students who had come for the competition were out of the loop—they didn’t know Bai Mo was a boy. Seeing Jian Haocang being so intimate with another male, they immediately started feeling indignant on behalf of the supposed “pretty girl” he had wronged.
“Disgusting… So gross,” Ran Yunyun muttered unconsciously, listening to the whispers of those around her.
“Yunyun, do you know him? Who is he?” a male student asked curiously.
Just as Ran Yunyun was about to repeat the false information Huo Wen had told her, Jian Haocang approached with Bai Mo by his side.
“Hello, everyone! Congratulations on winning the championship—you guys are amazing~”
A familiar soft and sweet voice rang out.
The crowd, who had just been engrossed in gossip, froze.
“!?”
“You’re… Bai Mo?” Their expressions were filled with shock.
They must be twins… They’re not even the same gender!
“Yeah, I’m Bai Mo. Is there a problem?” Bai Mo blinked, confused. Didn’t I already explain this? Why are they acting so surprised?
Getting caught talking behind someone’s back—how embarrassing.
No one dared to pry further, so they tried to laugh it off and move on.
But the sharp-eared little snow ferret wasn’t going to let them off so easily.
“I’m Bai Mo, a real, 100% genuine guy. It sounded like you were talking about me just now. If you have any questions, feel free to ask—I’d be happy to clear things up~”
The more Bai Mo smiled, the more guilty they felt.
“N-No, no problem at all. We just… heard some things, and Yunyun was explaining them to us.”
“Oh? Ran Yunyun, do you have some opinions about my Mo Mo?” Jian Haocang pulled Bai Mo into a possessive embrace, his smile friendly but his tone carrying a warning.
Ran Yunyun: “…” What am I supposed to say? What CAN I say?!
“I know Ran Yunyun hasn’t really liked me for a while and has some grievances against me. But I don’t want to cause any tension between everyone because of this. Why don’t we take this opportunity to clear the air? That way, there won’t be any misunderstandings among our classmates~”
This was a trick Bai Mo had learned from Ran Yunyun herself—playing the victim. In an instant, Ran Yunyun was framed as the “bully.”
Hehe, not bad.
Jian Haocang looked down at Bai Mo with an indulgent smile. You little troublemaker.