Chapter 14: The Big Cat’s Disappointment.

She said she still wanted to be friends.

Lu Hang thought that was good—
it put into words exactly what he felt.
If they stayed friends, they could keep this pretty wonderful relationship going.
If things turned ambiguous, he wasn’t sure where their connection would end up.

Given his personality, as long as they were just friends,
he honestly didn’t care how much money she had.
As long as their vibes matched, that was enough.

But if she became his romantic interest,
every bit of her cuteness, beauty, and privileged background
would turn into weights on the scale—burdens.
A breathtakingly beautiful girl as your friend? Perfect.
As your crush? Suddenly you start wondering:
What right do I even have? How much money do I actually have in my pocket?

It would probably be the same for Bai Huang.
Back when he was still the carefree young master,
he’d gone in and out of high-end KTVs and clubs plenty of times—
girls who looked like celebrities were everywhere,
but he never ended up dating any of them.
The standards for friendship and romance were simply different.
Lu Hang was deliberately avoiding crossing that line—
partly because a certain amount of self-doubt lingered in his heart.

If he still wanted this friend,
then Bai Huang had to remain that cynical, carefree young master from the dorm.
Lu Hang had to stop seeing her as an incredibly charming girl.

Losing face was minor;
losing a friend for real would hurt.

But for some reason, Lu Hang still felt a quiet depression in his chest.

…

When you stop caring about grades or awards,
a college student’s aimlessness reveals itself in full.

After leaving the hospital, neither of them knew quite where to go.
Gaming felt boring now, going straight home felt like a waste,
so they just wandered the small paths near the hospital.
The evening wind blew past.
Bai Huang stepped along the curb like a child, only on the square tiles.
The sun finally sank below the horizon.
Its afterglow painted her profile in cool tones.
A gust lifted her hair.

“Have you done the group assignment yet?”
Lu Hang asked idly, blowing against the wind as he remembered schoolwork.

“We’re not even in the same department,” she said helplessly.

“I haven’t seen you go to class in days…
Speaking of, are you actually attending at all?
Don’t get expelled or something.”

She stayed quiet.

“And these past couple days we’ve been gaming way too hard—
from morning till night.
Now look—you ended up hemorrhaging.
Our toilet looked like a Berserker ulted twice.”
Lu Hang added casually:
“Let’s eat healthier for a bit.
You’ve been living at my place anyway…
can’t exactly let you die in my house.”

She gave a small “Mm.”
“I know.”

When she turned her face,
Lu Hang found it a little hard to meet her eyes.
That face really was stunning.
The phoenix eyes already gave her a dreamy look;
the tear mole at the corner added both sharpness and allure.

The moment he looked away, she suddenly said:
“Lu Hang.”

“What?”

“Suppose one day my family suddenly goes bankrupt.
Completely broke.”
Her voice was low:
“Would you still be my brother?”

Lu Hang glanced at her suspiciously.

She faced the wind, eyes narrowed like a contented cat.
Lu Hang wondered why she’d suddenly bring this up.
He asked:
“Your family went bankrupt?”

“No.”

“Usually when someone says ‘suppose,’ it’s already happened.”
Lu Hang frowned:
“Did something happen at home?”

“Nothing happened.
Unfortunately my dad’s shitty business is still making money.
I dream of it collapsing.”
Bai Huang tucked a strand of hair behind her ear against the wind and said softly:
“Because of that stupid money, he walks around with a sour face every day.
Doesn’t even care about me.”

“Then why ask?”
Lu Hang pocketed his hands, puzzled.

“I mean suppose.”
Bai Huang turned her face toward him and gave a small smile.
Softly:
“Don’t you think I’m kind of useless?”

“No.”

“Really?
All this time staying at your place—
I just eat and sleep.
Besides throwing money around, I basically can’t do anything.”
Her voice dropped:
“My temper sucks, my personality’s bad, I curse people out when we game.”

“Can’t even tell the difference between period cramps and cancer.
Life skills are a complete mess.”

“Is it possible… I’m just a really terrible person,
and the only reason anyone puts up with me is because I have money?”
She said gently:
“That one thing—being rich—covers up all my flaws.
It even lets you spoil me like this.”

Was this period mood swings making her depressed?
Lu Hang wondered if he should tell her to drink more hot water and stop overthinking.

“How have I spoiled you?
You’ve always been like this.”
Lu Hang said.

“Don’t you think today was kind of nice?”
Bai Huang spoke softly.
She reached out to balance herself while stepping carefully on the tiles:
“We did something stupid together,
couldn’t tell period from terminal illness,
you carried me in a panic all the way to the hospital,
we got scolded by the doctor…
It feels dumb now, but years later it’ll probably be a good memory.”

“But I’m scared.”
She stared at the tiles below, voice low:
“Because I’m scared, I can’t stop thinking…
If one day I really had no money…
Hang-ge, would this kind of indulgence have a limit?
Would you still be this good to me?”

The topic suddenly felt heavy.
And troublesome.

It was like when a girlfriend asks:
“If I turned into a cockroach, would you still love me?”
The kind of question you have no idea how to answer.

Fortunately she hadn’t said it too seriously—
her tone was light, almost casual.
It made Lu Hang want to dodge the awkward question.
Saying the honest thing would be too sappy.
Bros don’t get that sappy.
They walked on in the evening breeze.
When Lu Hang glanced at her again,
she was squinting against the sunset,
wearing his white shirt that looked loose on her.
She resembled a lazy big cat.

“Answer me.
Don’t play dumb.
If I had no money, would you still treat me this well?”
Her lips curved slightly as she pressed.

If this were a galgame,
this would be an easy choice question.
You’d pick: “No matter what you become, I’ll stay with you.”
Click.
Affection +3.
Triggers a beautiful sunset CG smile.

But this was reality.
Saying that between friends would feel way too gay.

Lu Hang sighed helplessly, hands in pockets as he walked slowly:
“Are you a girl or what?
Why ask something like that?”

Bai Huang’s lips curved again.

Suddenly she took two quick steps ahead and stopped in front of him,
gently looking straight into his eyes:

“Yeah.
I am a girl now.”

Lu Hang froze.

“Right now.”
She lightly held his fingers, voice soft:
“Answer me.”

Instinctively, Lu Hang’s eyes widened slightly.
For a moment she really was beautiful—
the sunset turned her skin almost transparently pale.
She held his fingers, her expression somewhere between teasing and tender.

After a stunned moment, he forced himself to think seriously.

Back in freshman year, yeah—he’d given her some leeway because she was rich.
Over time he’d just gotten used to her personality.

But if everything started over from scratch?

Hard to imagine.

“I…”
Lu Hang opened his mouth.

Ring ring ring—

His phone suddenly rang.

Lu Hang almost felt relieved as he pulled it out.

It was “Omniscient and Omnipotent Goddess” calling.

Bai Huang lowered her eyes, looking a little disappointed.

Lu Hang took a deep breath, answered, and lowered his voice so Bai Huang couldn’t hear—
her existence absolutely could not be known to Bai Huang:

“I’m busy. What’s up? Something wrong?”

“Look to your right.”
The goddess’s lazy voice came through.

Lu Hang glanced right.
At the far end of the park, a girl in a hoodie and flip-flops held up her phone, waving hard from a distance.

“Holy shit.”
Lu Hang’s heart sank.
This crazy woman had shown up in person.

If Bai Huang found out this goddess was the reason her dick disappeared,
who knew what she’d do.

She might look carefree and mouthy around him—like a lazy, prickly big cat—
but toward outsiders she was completely different.
She acted like an urban drama villain:
“Do you know who my dad is? Believe me I’ll have someone break your legs” kind of energy.
Terrifying.

If this blew up, neither the goddess nor Bai Huang was easy to deal with.

“What’s wrong? Who’s calling?”
Bai Huang followed his gaze curiously and also spotted the hoodie girl waving.

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Classmate from the same department.
Something about rearranging the group assignment—
she wants to talk.”
Lu Hang took a deep breath, rubbed his face awkwardly:
“Wait here for me.
I’ll be right back—just a few minutes.”

He gently pulled his hand from hers and hurried toward the goddess.

…

The warmth from his broad hand still lingered on her cool fingertips.

Bai Huang lowered her head and stared silently at her pale fingers.

A sudden, inexplicable ache bloomed in her chest.

But the frustrating part was—
she didn’t even know why it hurt.

After becoming a girl,
it felt like both her thoughts and her soul had gained all these unclear, unnamed things.
Things she used to brush off now felt magnified.
A tiny bit of neglect could suddenly occupy her entire heart, lingering and refusing to leave.

After a moment, she sighed in frustration and forced a helpless smile:

“Hang-ge… if it’s your girlfriend, just say it’s your girlfriend…
What ‘same-department classmate’?”