Chapter 234: Blacklisted
Wang Haoran naturally understood what this dinner invitation from Liu Yue meant. She simply wanted to thank him for playing matchmaker behind the scenes.
But if he had dinner with Liu Yue in his real identity, it really would just be dinner—nothing else.
Wang Haoran had zero interest in that, so he politely declined. “I’ve got something going on tomorrow.”
“Then the day after tomorrow,” Liu Yue offered without skipping a beat.
“I’m busy then too.”
“Oh?” Her brows rose, and she immediately switched to her usual icy, aloof expression. “So you’re turning me down?”
“No, not like that,” Wang Haoran shook his head, quickly searching for a reason. “If the two of us—one man and one woman—go out together and someone sees us, people will start gossiping. I’m sure you don’t want that, Professor Liu.”
“Did I ever say it’d just be you and me?” she replied coolly.
Wang Haoran blinked. “There’ll be others?”
“I invited my Sixth and Seventh Sisters.” Damn.
Three sisters at one table? No way in hell was he going near that trap.
His mind screamed, but on the surface, he kept calm. “I really do have something going on tomorrow.”
“Whatever it is, cancel it. I have to treat you to this meal. If your Master asks me about it later, I won’t have an excuse. I don’t want him thinking I mistreated you. That’s final,” Liu Yue said sternly.
“Alright, alright… thanks in advance then, Master’s wife.”
“We’re all family. No need to be polite.”
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now?”
“Go.”
After leaving Liu Yue’s office, Wang Haoran immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Qiu Qianwei.
“Darling, what’s up?” came her soft, affectionate voice the moment the call connected.
“Did you tell your Fifth Sister Liu Yue about us?” he asked straight away.
“No, I haven’t told anyone. Aside from Fourth Sis accidentally finding out, both Fifth and Sixth Sisters are still in the dark,” Qiu Qianwei answered.
“So your Sixth Sister Ji Shuiyao really doesn’t know?” he pressed.
“Of course not. I didn’t say a word to her. How would she know?”
“And how are things between you and her these days?”
“We’re good. But she won’t tell me who she has a crush on. Total secrecy.”
That was enough. With a few simple questions, Wang Haoran had mapped the whole situation.
Fourth Sister Bu Feiyan was out drifting around the world, her whereabouts unknown since their parting on PJ Island. She hadn’t spread the news. Ji Shuiyao—Sixth Sister—knew about him and Qiu Qianwei, but she was pretending not to. She also kept her own feelings toward him hidden from her sisters. As for Liu Yue, she was completely in the dark.
So in summary, Wang Haoran had entanglements with Qiu Qianwei, Ji Shuiyao, and Liu Yue, but thanks to a fine balance, none of them had blown up yet.
So far, so good.
That is… unless Bu Feiyan suddenly popped up to stir the pot.
Even so, tomorrow’s dinner would require caution. After all, all three sisters would be at the same table.
Qiu Qianwei’s favorability was already at 95—gentle, obedient, and easy to soothe.
Ji Shuiyao sat at 70—calm and cooperative.
But Liu Yue? She couldn’t be controlled at all. In her eyes, Wang Haoran was still just a student, someone of a junior generation.
If she found out he’d “climbed above his station” and dared to pursue her? Who knew what kind of reaction she’d have?
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, Wang Haoran found himself already outside the Finance Department building, strolling along the campus road.
Just then, a delivery tricycle zipped across the path ahead.
Wang Haoran glanced at it on instinct and instantly spotted the driver.
Su Chen. The so-called “Delivery God Protagonist.”
Even though it was just a passing glimpse, Wang Haoran could tell—Su Chen didn’t look remotely proud or smug today. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Apparently, things hadn’t been going well for him in those so-called “special deliveries.”
On Su Chen’s end, he too had noticed Wang Haoran. He slowed his tricycle, turned his head, and cast a cold, envious glance in Wang Haoran’s direction.
“So what if you’re a rich second gen? Think you’re better than everyone?” Su Chen seethed internally. “I’ve got the Delivery God-Tier System. Sooner or later, I’ll rise to the top. School Belle on one arm, Goddess on the other. I’ll walk the path to the peak of life!”
Clenching his teeth, he sped away.
Watching him go, Wang Haoran suddenly pulled out his phone and made a call to Cheng Rui.
If Su Chen hadn’t flashed across his path just now, he might’ve forgotten the guy altogether.
And now that he had a free moment, he figured it was time to deal with him.
Even though the women of Qingling University had already blacklisted Su Chen, the world was a big place—plenty of other places he could deliver packages to.
Time to cut off that road, too.
“How rare. You actually remembered to call me,” Cheng Rui’s voice came through, tinged with bitter teasing.
It had been nearly two months since Wang Haoran last contacted her.
“Isn’t that what you said, my lady? If there’s nothing special, don’t call to bother you,” Wang Haoran said.
That’s what she said… but Wang Haoran had understood the opposite. She wanted him to call, to text, even in the dead of night.
But with Cheng Rui’s personality, she could never admit that directly.
“What do you want this time?” she asked instead.
“You’re in e-commerce. I assume you have contacts in the delivery industry?”
“Our company holds shares in several major delivery firms.”
“Then blacklisting someone in that field shouldn’t be hard, right?”
“What kind of person are we talking about? Someone powerful?”
“A delivery guy.”
“You want to blacklist a delivery guy? Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Just do it.”
“…Yes.”
“I’ll send you the details later.”
Before Cheng Rui could say another word, the line went dead.
She stared at the silent phone for a long moment, then sighed.
He never called unless it was business. Never once reached out just because he missed her. Clearly… he didn’t have the slightest romantic feeling for her.
Maybe he still minded the fact that she’d been married once.
She bit her lip. Regret clawed at her heart.
She regretted chasing ambition back then. Regretted marrying Ma Hongsheng for status.
If only she’d stayed single, pure and free. How different would things be now?
—
Meanwhile, Su Chen arrived at a distribution center and began loading up packages onto his tricycle for another delivery run.
But before he could finish—
“Su Chen, stop what you’re doing,” the supervisor called out.
Su Chen didn’t even look up. “Still daylight left. I want to get one more load out.”
“I said stop. Can’t you understand plain words?”
Su Chen paused, puzzled. “What’s going on, boss?”
The supervisor crossed his arms. “Still asking? You’ve racked up how many complaints lately? You think we don’t know?”
“They were all fake reviews,” Su Chen protested. “My service was fine. None of it was my fault.”
“Don’t make excuses,” the supervisor snapped. “If it were just one or two, we’d let it slide. But seven? Eight? That’s a pattern. We’re done here. Go find work somewhere else.”
Seeing the look on his face, Su Chen felt a wave of irritation rise in his chest.
“Fine, I’m gone. Didn’t want this job anyway,” he muttered. He tossed the keys to the tricycle and walked off with feigned bravado. “If this place doesn’t want me, someone else will.”
With all the complaints lately, he hadn’t even managed to complete a single special delivery. Delivering to Qingling University had become pointless.
Frankly, he was eager to leave.