I Tried to Break Up… He Refused to Let Me Go

Wen Zhaoci walked beside her with gentlemanly grace, escorting her all the way back to the girls’ dormitory building and waiting downstairs while she went up to get her study materials.

The moment Sang Jiuning pushed open the dorm door, the casual chatter among her three roommates fell silent.

Then, true to form, the most exuberant of them—Tang Tongtong—immediately bounded over, arms crossed, a mischievous grin plastered across her face. She gave Sang Jiuning an exaggerated once-over and drawled with heavy teasing: “Oho, our gorgeous Sang is back so soon?”

She circled around her, her smile widening. “Just look at you—beaming from ear to ear, eyes all sparkly. Fess up! How far have you and your boyfriend gotten? I saw you two in the cafeteria this morning, sitting together like no one else existed, so sweet it was practically oozing off the screen!”

Sang Jiuning’s cheeks flushed bright red under the teasing, the heat spreading from her ears down to her neck. Flustered and embarrassed, she shot Tang Tongtong a reproachful glare and fumbled through the bookshelf for her CET-4 review materials, her movements hurried and flustered. “Don’t talk nonsense! We just… we just met for the first time, had breakfast together, that’s all. Nothing else.”

Inside, her heart was hammering with alarm.

Tang Tongtong’s information network was far too efficient—in just the span of a single meal, she had already seen everything.

“First date?”

Tang Tongtong clearly didn’t buy it. She leaned in closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Jiuning, don’t try to fool me. For an entire month, you’ve been glued to your phone, grinning like an idiot, texting on WeChat nonstop. You’ve been flirting for that long—come on, tell us, who’s your boyfriend?”

Qin Ying leaned in as well, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. “Yeah, Jiuning, give us a hint. Which lucky guy managed to catch your eye?”

Even Su Qingyan joined in with curious questions.

The three of them fired questions from all sides, overwhelming Sang Jiuning until her head was spinning.

She was utterly miserable inside but couldn’t say a word about the truth.

She couldn’t just blurt out that she was a transmigrator, that she had only wanted to casually flirt with one of the female lead’s simps, and had accidentally ended up with the top-tier male lead from a wealthy family—Wen Zhaoci.

Besides, she had only skimmed a single chapter of the original story. She had no idea when the main couple’s romance was supposed to start or how it would unfold.

If word got out that she had been the one to pursue Wen Zhaoci, the entire university would explode. He was the untouchable god in the hearts of every girl at A University—heir to a top-tier family, cold, aloof, and famously unreachable. He had always kept every girl who approached him at arm’s length, never letting anyone get close.

Sang Jiuning took a deep breath, forcing down her panic and steadying her expression. She put on a casual, natural air and casually fabricated a lie to cover it up:

“He’s just a senior from a different department. Nothing special.”

“A senior?”

Tang Tongtong raised an eyebrow, her tone suddenly turning serious as she offered a word of caution: “Jiuning, you’d better be careful. Most seniors are about to graduate and scatter in different directions. Relationships like that are the most unreliable—they almost always end after graduation. Don’t get too invested.”

Sang Jiuning had just heard her roommate’s warning about seniors breaking up after graduation when a brilliant idea flashed through her mind.

Right!

That was the perfect, flawless reason to break up!

It was practically a gift from heaven!

She was ecstatic inside, already scheming: Wen Zhaoci was a senior. She could use the graduation gap, the year difference, and the distance as excuses to end things.

Better yet, she could skip going to the library altogether and avoid spending the whole day with him. From now on, they would meet less often in private—the less contact, the safer she’d be. She wouldn’t have to worry about anyone on campus spotting her getting close to such a big shot.

It was the perfect escape opportunity, and she wouldn’t let it slip by.

Keeping a straight face, Sang Jiuning seized a moment while her roommates were chatting to quietly pull out her phone. She opened her WeChat chat with Z.C, and with a few swift taps, sent a breakup message with crisp finality:

[Let’s break up. You’re a senior, and once you graduate, I’ll still be a sophomore. We’ll have less and less time to see each other. I can’t handle a long-distance relationship. Even if we’re in the same city, I feel the distance is too great—it’s not like we can meet whenever we want. So, let’s end this.]

Message sent.

Sang Jiuning let out a huge sigh of relief, thinking she was safe now. The reason was reasonable and dignified—he couldn’t possibly find fault with it. From now on, she could quietly slip away from this obsessive male lead and stop living in fear.

Downstairs at the girls’ dormitory.

Wen Zhaoci leaned lazily against the thick trunk of a camphor tree, his tall frame exuding an effortlessly cool and distinguished aura.

His fingers idly scrolled across his phone screen. Then a notification popped up.

After reading the breakup message, the man’s narrow eyes lifted slightly at the corners, and a faint, cold, amused smile curled at his lips.

The wind rustled through the leaves. His thin lips parted, and he murmured in a low voice, barely audible even to himself: “Little liar.”

For an entire month, she had flirted with him through WeChat, called him “boyfriend” with every sweet word, put in all that effort to chase him down, and after just one face-to-face meeting, she wanted to run and break up?

Did she really think he was some pushover she could just cast aside?

She was the one who started this. When it ended—that was for him to decide, not her.

His fingers moved swiftly across the screen as he replied, unhurried and deliberate:

[I’ve already been recommended for graduate studies at A University. I’ll be staying on campus for the next three years—just enough time to graduate with you.]

Back in the dorm, Sang Jiuning’s phone buzzed.

She was fully confident he would reluctantly agree. But the moment she opened the message, she froze solid.

Her pupils contracted as she stared blankly at the words on the screen.

Recommended for graduate studies… staying for three years…

Her plan had fallen apart.

First breakup attempt: a complete failure.

Sang Jiuning wailed internally, her face a mask of despair.

Oh, heavens! The perfect excuse she had so painstakingly come up with had been crushed by a single, flippant sentence from the male lead.

Not only was he not leaving after graduation—he was going to stay on campus for three more years.

Her phone buzzed again.

Z.C: [Come down.]

Sang Jiuning stared at those two crisp, cold words and deflated instantly.

Her carefully laid breakup plan had crumbled completely. With no other choice, she put away her phone, shoved her CET-4 materials haphazardly into her bag, and told her still-gossiping roommates in a defeated tone: “I’m going to the library.”

Then she headed downstairs, where Wen Zhaoci was already waiting, and walked with him to the library.

Inside, the library was quiet and solemn, the soft rustle of turning pages filling the air.

Sang Jiuning deliberately chose a remote, secluded corner rarely visited by anyone, hoping to keep a low profile and stay as far away from this obsessive big shot as possible.

Wen Zhaoci, oblivious to her little scheme, casually pulled a book from a nearby shelf and sat down quietly.