Shen An left without a second thought, not dragging his feet in the slightest. He abandoned Zhao Qingyu, leaving her standing there in a daze.
She remained stunned for quite a while before snapping out of it. Her jade feet, wrapped in sheer black stockings, sank into the soft carpet as she hurried after him.
Fortunately, her house was massive. A long corridor separated the living room from the front door, so Shen An hadn’t gone far after just a few steps—he had reached the door itself.
To be precise, he was bent over, fumbling with how to open it.
The door was on the same extravagant level as Zhao Qingyu herself: top-of-the-line, and just as tricky to operate.
Shen An tinkered with it for a few moments but couldn’t figure out how to unlock it.
Was this what passed for cutting-edge tech these days?
One foot still in the living room and the other at the edge of the corridor, Zhao Qingyu watched his fumbling back. A small sigh of relief escaped her.
Thank goodness she’d installed this password lock back then.
It was incredibly secure—both locking and unlocking required verification. Either swipe the card she held, or punch in the code.
Its only downside was the hassle. Anyone with a short temper couldn’t stand the fuss.
Seeing that Shen An wasn’t getting out anytime soon, Zhao Qingyu seized the moment to compose herself and rein in her earlier lapse.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled with mischief as the corners of her mouth curved up. A fox’s tail and fluffy pointed ears subtly materialized behind her.
With a seductive smile, she sauntered over to Shen An’s side, her voice soft and teasing. “What’s this? Not leaving after all?”
The faint fragrance filled his nostrils, and Shen An immediately stopped fiddling.
He straightened up, a touch embarrassed, but forced himself to maintain his “anger.” “I… I need to use the bathroom first.”
“It’s over there.”
Zhao Qingyu leaned against the doorframe, her smile playful.
“Thanks.” Shen An kept a straight face, nodded, and turned toward the bathroom.
He hadn’t gone more than a few steps when he paused abruptly, as if wanting to look back and ask something.
Zhao Qingyu stifled a laugh and said lightly, “Don’t worry—the bathroom door doesn’t have a lock. It won’t trap you inside.”
Hmph!
Shen An grunted in response. “Oh.”
Then he hurried off toward the bathroom.
Only when his figure vanished from sight did Zhao Qingyu let out the crisp, delighted laugh she’d been holding back.
This guy~
He wasn’t just “dense”—he was kind of adorable, too.
After chuckling for a bit, Zhao Qingyu gradually composed herself.
If he really had nothing going on with Xu Yijing… if everything he’d said was true…
Zhao Qingyu narrowed her eyes, a complex expression flickering across her stunning face.
She hadn’t anticipated this outcome.
Assuming Shen An wasn’t lying to her, it meant she had to rethink all her previous assessments and plans regarding him.
What truly gave her pause, though, were his repeated actions—including that speech he’d just given.
She had dismissed all his prior behavior and words with scorn because she’d been convinced he was a spy Xu Yijing had planted by her side.
Once that assumption crumbled, everything else unraveled with it.
So she had no choice but to reevaluate every single one of his past actions, every word he’d spoken.
Truth be told, Zhao Qingyu actually admired Shen An quite a bit.
Not just for his impressive skills, but for the sense of “loyalty” he carried—something she herself lacked.
It wasn’t just her; most people she knew didn’t have it either.
They were always fixated on benefits and calculations, forever weighing gains and losses.
Zhao Qingyu despised such people—and she despised herself for being one of them.
That was precisely why she admired those with pure hearts and fiery passion.
It was also why Shen An had gotten under her skin back at the food stall, pushing her to expose his “hypocrisy” without delay.
The more she admired someone, the less she could tolerate even a hint of pretense.
And now, even though the result wasn’t what she’d expected, it wasn’t necessarily a bad one for her.
Using her own self-reveal to test his sincerity? Zhao Qingyu felt it was worth it.
So…
Was he really a guy with no ulterior motives?
Had he approached her without any hidden agenda or self-interest?
No…
Maybe he’d never intended to get close to her at all. Maybe she’d just mistaken him for Xu Yijing’s spy from the start…
Thinking that way made it seem like she was the one who’d been pursuing him.
She was the one who’d made excuses to pull him into the Art Troupe, assigned him all those tasks, and deliberately drawn closer to him…
As Zhao Qingyu calmly reflected, she couldn’t find a shred of evidence that Shen An had acted like a spy.
Without her forceful retention, he probably would have quit the Art Troupe right from the beginning.
That crumpled registration form he had wadded up kept flashing in her mind.
So now…
He must really hate her guts.
Zhao Qingyu lowered her head, a touch of resentment in her expression.
This was the chain reaction of her self-reveal.
She’d ruled out the spy possibility, but in doing so, she’d exposed her true intentions toward him.
She’d never truly valued him—she’d just been messing with him, toying with him for her amusement.
Even someone as willful as her felt a pang of sourness when she put herself in his shoes.
Maybe she’d gone too far.
Truth be told, much of Zhao Qingyu’s willfulness and domineering nature was forced upon her.
Others saw only her reckless, free-spirited actions, blind to the enemies lurking in the shadows and the things they’d done to her.
She had to use these methods to thwart their schemes.
She didn’t want to be malicious toward people—it was a last resort.
That was why she showed no mercy to those manipulated by others or harboring ill intentions from the start. She never regretted her ruthless tactics against them.
She’d thought Shen An was just like them.
But he wasn’t.
He was different…
So what was she supposed to do now?
For the moment, Zhao Qingyu truly couldn’t come up with an answer.
This situation was far too unfamiliar to her.
When she thought about it carefully, no one had ever truly approached her from the heart—not from childhood onward.
Her notorious reputation spread across the entire campus, and everyone viewed her with prejudice, true or not.
Even the members of the Art Troupe under her leadership harbored no illusions—they feared her.
They didn’t like her; they simply bowed to her formidable background and cold methods.
Those who smiled at her warmly or showed enthusiasm always had ulterior motives.
They lusted after her beauty or her wealthy family, hoping to ride her coattails to success.
Zhao Qingyu loathed such interactions.
Yet she’d grown accustomed to them, even immersed herself in them.
By now, she only engaged with people after ascertaining their intentions. Otherwise, she lacked the confidence to manipulate them.
Or rather: Having been tainted by malice for so long, she’d grown accustomed to viewing everyone around her with suspicion.
So she had no idea how to face Shen An.
No… hold on…
Zhao Qingyu shook her head, biting her lip lightly.
Was she idealizing him too much?
Sure, he might not be Xu Yijing’s spy, but that didn’t mean he had no intentions toward her!
He could be just like those who sought to exploit her… harboring his own schemes.
She… she didn’t need to feel guilty or uneasy.
After all, she hadn’t known from the start, right?
Even if she’d pegged him as “evil” first… could she really be blamed for that?
He’d been hiding things from her too, hadn’t he?
Zhao Qingyu could only convince herself this way.
Convince herself she owed him nothing.
Everything he’d suffered was because of his own dishonesty.
If he’d been upfront with her from the beginning, she wouldn’t have wasted so much effort on him.
Yes…
It was his dishonesty!
She might have been wrong, but the biggest fault lay with him.
Amid her swirling thoughts, Zhao Qingyu quickly made a new decision.
She had to force herself to see Shen An on equal footing.
She had to suppress any unnecessary sentimentality.
He wasn’t as great as she’d built him up to be.
If he truly was that great… then… let time prove it.
Zhao Qingyu decided to temporarily remove Shen An from the “enemy” category and place him in a realm equally unfamiliar to her.
Friends.
Yes, friends.
Whatever his true nature, whatever schemes he might have—she’d uncover it slowly.
Zhao Qingyu took a deep breath. With her thoughts sorted and her decision made, she felt no more hesitation.
She lifted her head, that proud seductiveness and arrogant smile blooming across her cheeks once more.
Her feet sinking into the soft carpet, Zhao Qingyu returned to the living room and settled in leisurely.
She was waiting.
Waiting for Shen An to come out…
The two of them would continue interacting under this new dynamic.
She was also examining it—examining this new relationship between them.
She held a faint hope for it, laced with intense wariness.
She hoped he… truly had no other motives.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t hold back.
