You simply like me.

Guo Jingyuan became the class monitor in such a baffling manner. She remained in a daze even after the meeting ended, and only snapped back to reality when Chen Ruowen reminded her, hurriedly following the counselor to the office for a brief meeting.

After the newly appointed class monitor and the counselor left, the rest of the students in the classroom remained in their seats. From time to time, they turned their heads to glance at Chen Ruowen, looking eager yet hesitant to make a move.

Chen Ruowen, completely oblivious to being the center of universal attention, replied to a WeChat message, grabbed her handbag, and walked out.

The remaining thirty-some people instantly wore expressions of disappointment. At the same time, Gao Tang stood up from his seat, strode over to follow her, walked to her left side, and swiftly swept his hand downward across her right shoulder to take her handbag. The two of them walked out of the classroom side by side.

"Are they really a couple?"

"How can you tell they're a couple? Chen Ruowen didn't even acknowledge Gao Tang!"

"She didn't refuse when Gao Tang walked with her!"

"What does walking together even mean? Besides, before Chen Ruowen arrived, Gao Tang was chatting with the girls in the class. If they were a couple, he wouldn't do something like that, right?"

"Does that mean Gao Tang is a jerk? Flirting around everywhere for no reason—we absolutely cannot let Chen Ruowen end up with a man like that!"

"Right! Absolutely cannot let Chen Ruowen be fooled by a jerk!"

Completely unaware that he had somehow inexplicably been labeled a jerk, Gao Tang raised Chen Ruowen's bag to eye level, took a look at it, and asked with a smile, "I gave you a similar bag for your birthday, but I haven't seen you carry it. Do you not like the color or the brand?"

Gao Tang gave her a bag? Why did she have no recollection of it?

Ah, come to think of it, she probably told the butler to store it directly in the warehouse without even glancing at it.

Chen Ruowen's expression remained unchanged. "I have over three hundred bags. You can keep waiting at the back of the line."

Gao Tang smiled. "It seems this gift missed the mark. I'll make it up to you another day."

"No need. I lack nothing."

Gao Tang let the matter drop. Looking at Chen Ruowen, who hadn't even spared him a glance, he continued, "I didn't expect you to be so nice to that little stutterer. I observed just now—the students in Clinical Medicine Class 1 are still quite pure and innocent. The position of class monitor is just right for her."

To people like Chen Ruowen and Gao Tang, the title of class monitor was completely useless; they neither needed the chore to build experience nor relied on the resume to find a job. However, for someone like Guo Jingyuan—who was originally excellent but had later been worn down physically and mentally by her family and suffered from social anxiety—it was a wonderful opportunity to rebuild her confidence and restore her interpersonal communication skills.

Besides, with Chen Ruowen backing her up in class, no one would dare to cause trouble for her.

Hearing this, Chen Ruowen finally turned her head to look at Gao Tang, though her expression was extremely unfriendly. "You're the little stutterer."

Gao Tang had known all along that Chen Ruowen would turn her head after hearing that remark. He had already prepared an impeccable smile, turning his head to gaze at her with affection in his eyes.

Gao Tang knew that his biggest advantage was this face. Backed by his god-given looks, even people who disliked him couldn't bring themselves to say harsh words for the sake of this face. As long as Chen Ruowen was willing to look at him, he could quietly rack up favorable impression points.

The moment Chen Ruowen turned her head, she truly lost herself for a brief second, but she recovered in about 0.1 seconds and shot him an angry roll of the eyes.

Gao Tang smiled with satisfaction, a hint of success gleaming in his eyes. "I just love girls like you who are pretty and know how to grasp the main point."

Chen Ruowen snorted. "I hate men like you the most—thick-skinned and smooth-talking."

"Then which type do you like?"

"Of course I like Bai Jinyan," Chen Ruowen said without the slightest hesitation, her tone carrying a trace of quiet pride.

Gao Tang: ……

Gao Tang felt as though his heart had been pierced, but he still wore a smile on his face. "Bai Jinyan, huh…… But I'm more handsome than him!"

Chen Ruowen was left speechless. "……You really have a thick skin."

Gao Tang did not dwell on the issue, instead shifting the topic with a puzzled expression. "Hey, you're in Clinical Medicine Class 1, so why isn't Bai Jinyan there? Didn't you major in this specifically for him? Could it be that he didn't pass the exams?"

"You're the one who didn't pass." Chen Ruowen shot him a glare.

"Aren't I right here, safe and sound? I just attended the first class meeting with you," Gao Tang replied with a straight face, then assumed an expression of sudden realization and asked knowingly, "I get it. It must be because Bai Jinyan knew you applied to the medical school too, so he didn't want to come."

Chen Ruowen delivered a direct kick to his shin.

The matter of changing majors involved Bai Jinyan's secret, and Chen Ruowen would never casually tell anyone else, especially an unreliable fellow like Gao Tang.

"Speaking of which, why are you in our class?" Chen Ruowen retorted.

Bai Jinyan had always been an independent spirit within their social circle, and with a bunch of teachers in his family, it wasn't surprising that he tested into Nanjing University. But as for the other second-generation rich kids in their circle—unless their families held special official positions that prevented them from going abroad—virtually all the rest of them attended universities outside the country.

Why did this Gao Tang also take the exam for Nanjing University?

It was too strange.

Gao Tang smiled, his expression actually looking somewhat amused. "So concerned about me?"

Chen Ruowen gave him another kick.

Far from being angered by the beating, Gao Tang smiled even more happily. "You never pay attention when others talk to you, but the moment I open my mouth, you love to snap back at me and even resort to physical violence…… Chen Ruowen, do you like me?"

Fortunately, Chen Ruowen wasn't drinking water right then, otherwise she definitely would have sprayed it all over Gao Tang's body.

She shook her head and sighed, "Gao Tang, can your skin get any thicker?"

"It can." Gao Tang nodded very seriously. "You just like me."

Chen Ruowen sighed in admiration, "I have never seen anyone so brazen."

She came to a halt and held out her fair palm toward Gao Tang. "Give me my bag back. I'm not walking with someone as thick-skinned as you."

Gao Tang did not return the bag. He continued walking forward along the parasol-lined path at the exact same unhurried pace as before, and within a few seconds, he successfully steered the conversation away again. The two of them bickered all the way to the school gate. Chen Ruowen was driven alternately to anger and amusement by his words, and failed to notice that until the very end, Gao Tang never answered the question of why on earth he had come to the Nanjing University Medical School.

Until he escorted Chen Ruowen to the upscale residential area just outside the gates of Nanjing University and watched with his own eyes as she went upstairs, the smiling mask Gao Tang had worn so firmly finally cracked, a trace of gloom flashing across his eyes.

Was Bai Jinyan really that great? Good enough to make her so devoted that she couldn't go three sentences without mentioning him?

Hearing that name keep popping out of Chen Ruowen's mouth all the way there—and seeing a bright, dazzling spark light up in her eyes every single time those three syllables were spoken—made Gao Tang burn with jealousy.

"Sigh……"

Gao Tang let out a sigh, massaged his stiff face, put back on that impeccable smile, took out his phone, and made a call.

"Little Hu, buy me an apartment." He glanced at the sign outside the residential building. "Building 8, Zewei Courtyard, floor wise…… the eighth floor. Except for the unit owned by Chen Ruowen, buy all the rest of them, no matter how much it costs."