Zhao Qingyu sat in the living room, her face a mask of blank indifference that concealed the turbulent storm raging in her heart.
Meanwhile, Shen An lounged in the bathroom, eyes half-closed in bliss as he relieved himself.
The cheerful tinkling of water splashes seemed to mirror his current satisfaction.
From this point forward, he and Zhao Qingyu would return to square one. She would no longer wield her near-total dominance, and he wouldn’t have to keep up that spineless, groveling act.
Only now were they truly equals.
Even though Zhao Qingyu held advantages Shen An could never catch up to—like her extraordinarily privileged family background and her carefree ability to splurge.
She could even boot him out of school with a single word or catapult his future with another.
But they remained equals all the same.
Because in a deal like this, it was never about what you possessed, but what you lacked.
Without question, after all this time probing, Shen An had pinpointed exactly what Zhao Qingyu yearned for deep down.
She hid it masterfully, rarely letting a sliver slip.
But Shen An had seen through it.
It sounded clichéd and banal, yet it was timeless: respect, and authentic emotion.
Emotional fulfillment, in essence.
And Shen An’s specialty happened to be delivering just that.
She overflowed with material wealth, but her spiritual void and emptiness were glaring.
Compared to the rest, he had already pierced Zhao Qingyu’s outermost defenses first.
That was the root of his confidence.
Zhao Qingyu could pick anyone else, of course—but they might not endure her personality, or even catch her interest.
A real hunter aimed for the heart and spirit, not the shallow trappings of flesh and beauty.
Winning a girl’s heart meant claiming her whole being.
It was the hardest route, but the only one promising total victory.
With a shake, a wipe, a quick hand wash, Shen An turned, drew a deep breath, steeled himself, and pushed open the bathroom door.
Two highball glasses sat on the table.
One belonged to Zhao Qingyu.
The other was the one she’d prepared for him.
Her attitude had clearly changed.
A change at the core.
“Do you drink red wine?” Zhao Qingyu reclined sideways on the sofa like a beguiling serpent, her icy allure stirring an inevitable quickening of the pulse.
“Got any cola?”
Shen An’s shift was just as clear.
No more blindly obeying her every “suggestion.” Best to push back against whatever she proposed.
“Cola?”
Zhao Qingyu blinked in surprise.
“Isn’t that a kid’s drink?” She covered her mouth with a soft laugh.
“Looks like we don’t.”
Shen An replied coolly.
“We do~” Zhao Qingyu rose, grabbed the nearby house phone, and ordered room service: “Bring over a glass of cola.”
“There. Just wait a sec.”
Zhao Qingyu settled back, crossing her legs and nodding for him to sit.
Shen An took a seat, face impassive, brushing off her wordless peace offering.
“Alright, let’s talk about that request you just made.”
Zhao Qingyu drew out a slim ladies’ cigarette. “You want to quit the Art Troupe?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Shen An nodded without a second thought.
“Why?”
“I can’t adapt.” Shen An said flatly.
“Really? I think you’ve fit in perfectly—better than anyone else there.”
Zhao Qingyu let a hint of admiration slip. “You’ve only been in less than a month, and you’re already thick as thieves with all of them.”
“That’s no small feat. You know how tricky it gets with that many girls around.”
“And every task I’ve given you? Handled without a hitch.”
“I need you around, Shen An.”
She leaned forward, her foxy eyes gleaming with seductive charm, as if ensnaring his very soul.
But Shen An wasn’t having it.
“Do you want me to spell out the ugly truth?” he said coldly.
His “can’t adapt” excuse was just that—an excuse.
The real reason was her.
Zhao Qingyu let out a wistful sigh, snuffing out her cigarette. “Fine. I apologize. My bad.”
“But you can’t pin it all on me, right?”
A mature beauty’s grievance was subtle, tucked beneath her generous front like a flicker of petulance.
“My beef with Xu Yijing runs deep—way beyond bad blood. I’ll be straight with you: we’re sworn enemies.”
“So without knowing where you stood, I had to plan for the worst.”
“And you weren’t exactly upfront with me, which only pissed me off more.”
Zhao Qingyu huffed. “I gave you a shot! Back at the interview, I even mentioned her.”
“What was your line? Your crush? Ha.”
“You’re shacked up with her, but you fed me that line about her being the girl you pine for, that you knew zilch about her. How was I supposed to buy that?”
“It’s on me, sure—but you’re not innocent.”
Shen An arched a brow. “When did you find out we were living together? From day one?”
Zhao Qingyu’s lips quirked. “You tell me?”
“Heh, knew it!” Shen An said, pained. “You played me from the first meeting, and there I was thinking I’d lucked out, running into a stunner right after starting school.”
“Turned out to be a black-hearted viper!”
“Figures—the prettier the face, the deadlier the bite!”
Zhao Qingyu bristled at that.
She rapped the table, brows furrowing. “Don’t slap crimes on me willy-nilly. First time I saw you, I had no clue who you were and zero interest.”
“Then why’d you send me on that detour?” Shen An shot back.
“Er…” Zhao Qingyu faltered, shrugging. “You’re still sore about that, huh.”
“Who asked you to butt in? I veered off on purpose, but you chased me down.”
“Heh.”
“Aw, come on—not seriously holding a grudge?” Zhao Qingyu flashed a charming smile. “Okay, okay—one more apology. Shouldn’t have messed with you.”
“Hmph.” Shen An turned away.
Zhao Qingyu: …..
What the hell with this guy? A full-grown man pulling this pouty routine—didn’t it gross him out?
Yet, damn if she didn’t lap it up.
Shen An’s petulance irked her even as it sparked an odd urge to placate him.
“Boys can’t be that petty. Gotta be big-hearted.”
“Fair enough, Senior Sister—you still haven’t answered. When did you learn about me and Senior Sister Xu rooming together?”
Shen An straightened, eyes locked on hers. “Or put another way: when did you start zeroing in on me?”
Pfft.
Hearing “Senior Sister” again told Zhao Qingyu the bridge wasn’t burned.
She grinned, mock-scolding. “Zeroing in? Don’t get the wrong idea, little junior.”
Shen An’s eyes narrowed, face stone-cold.
“Fine, fine—no more teasing.”
Zhao Qingyu drawled lazily. “At first, I couldn’t care less who you were. Didn’t wanna know.”
“But when I started noticing you? Ask your Senior Sister Xu about that.”
“Senior Sister Xu?” Shen An looked stunned. “She told you?”
“If I said yes, you’d be bummed about her too, huh?”
Zhao Qingyu’s foxlike slyness shone through.
“Senior Sister!”
“Aiyaa, can’t handle a little ribbing.” She pouted. “She didn’t spell it out, but it was basically that.”
“You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”
Her gaze teased, loaded with subtext.
“Yeah.” Shen An shrugged. “Second time. First was with Senior Sister Xu.”
“Right—you two, private room, her footing the bill for seafood.”
“If memory serves, 3,773 yuan—even with her member discount.”
Zhao Qingyu rattled it off like she’d memorized the menu.
Shen An’s mouth twitched. “How… how the hell did you know?”
“How could I not?”
Zhao Qingyu’s eyes slitted. “Forget what I said earlier? This hotel’s mine.”
“Nothing slips past me here.”
“Still not clicking?”
She smirked. “She brought you here to tip me off on purpose.”
“Didn’t anything strike you as fishy back then?”
Shen An’s gut twisted.
He’d half-suspected it himself, but confirmation from her lips hit different.
He’d marveled at Xu Yijing’s boldness then, staying wary.
In hindsight, spot on.
Xu Yijing hadn’t said a word, but the move screamed it.
His reaction told Zhao Qingyu her words had landed.
She kept going. “Lemme guess—your Art Troupe bid was her nudge too?”
“But that’s her style: all hints, no straight talk.”
Shen An sighed. “Yeah.”
“Tsk. So quit obsessing over my ‘viciousness.’ Hers matches mine—no slouch there.”
“It was her who orchestrated everything single-handedly, and you were completely in the dark, still thinking it was all my vicious scheming.”
Zhao Qingyu flashed a disdainful smile. “That’s just how she is—always eager to play the mastermind behind the scenes.”
“Let me tell you something else. Do you remember that report I had you deliver to the Student Union?”
“Uh… yeah,” Shen An said softly.
“Heh, that was part of her scheme too!”
Zhao Qingyu shot to her feet, annoyance flaring in her voice. “For reports like that, we always get some advance notice.”
“She planned from the start to target the Art Troupe—and me—at the assembly. She wanted to chew me out in front of everyone.”
“How could I let her get away with that!”
Shen An blinked, realization dawning in an instant. “So… you threw me under the bus to take the heat?”
“Heh~”
Zhao Qingyu shook her head with a mocking laugh. “Without you, I’d planned to skip it altogether.”
“But then you showed up, and it changed my mind.”
“Though that was her scheme too. She deliberately acted all chummy with you to stoke my hostility.”
“Given that, I figured the only move was to shove you out there in my place to take the flak.”
“I was too blinded by anger to think it through at the time.”
“It wasn’t until later that I realized she doesn’t like you any more than she likes me. She just didn’t want to get her own hands dirty, so she turned me into the bad guy.”
“But~”
Zhao Qingyu’s tone softened, turning gentle. “You handled it great. Cool as ice, no panic at all. I bet that shocked her.”
Shen An drew a deep breath, murmuring, “So… that’s how it was…?”
Women.
Such terrifying creatures.
