They’d lingered a bit in the lobby, and with Wang Yuqiong’s sprained ankle, Song Rui supporting her slowed them down even more.
By the time the three women reached the entrance, all the other members were already aboard the bus.
But Zhao Qingyu wasn’t on it.
She stood at the door, quietly watching the three approach.
Seeing the bus hadn’t left yet, Shen Lianyao quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She’d thought they might miss it.
Wang Yuqiong spotted Zhao Qingyu and realized she was waiting specifically for them—in other words, everyone else was ready and waiting on their trio.
“Sorry for the trouble, Senior Sister.”
Wang Yuqiong lowered her head slightly and politely expressed her apology to Zhao Qingyu.
Hearing this, Song Rui glanced at Wang Yuqiong in quiet surprise.
She had originally thought that Yuqiong always clashed head-on with Senior Sister Zhao and would never back down no matter what.
But the facts proved otherwise. Wang Yuqiong wasn’t just any ordinary girl—she could pick things up or let them go; she had her priorities straight.
Zhao Qingyu, for her part, remained perfectly calm, as if Yuqiong’s apology was entirely within her expectations.
Even so, she knew full well that it didn’t mean Yuqiong was submitting to her. Nor was it solely an apology to her. It was more an apology to every member they’d held up—the three of them together.
In other words, this apology was squarely on the “public” level.
“I thought you were going to come with us,” Zhao Qingyu said flatly.
Wang Yuqiong shook her head slightly. “No, we wouldn’t be able to help with anything. Besides, I trust you, Senior Sister. You won’t let anything happen to Shen An, right?”
“Heh~”
Zhao Qingyu curled her lip and pointed at her exclusive ride. “Your foot’s injured. It’d be inconvenient on the bus. Take my car instead.”
Song Rui blinked in surprise. “What about you, Senior Sister?”
“Me?” Zhao Qingyu shrugged. “I’ll just ride with you two.”
Wang Yuqiong’s eyes narrowed slightly as she nodded. “All right. Thanks, Senior Sister.”
“Tsk. I’m not that petty.”
Zhao Qingyu let out a meaningful chuckle before waving them off. “You two, help her over here.”
“Yes.”
Shen Lianyao set down her luggage and, together with Song Rui, carefully supported Wang Yuqiong as they made their way over.
Once the two women looped back, Zhao Qingyu beckoned to them. “Come with me. I’ve got exactly three seats reserved.”
She boarded the bus, and the two followed close behind.
Song Rui watched Zhao Qingyu’s back with a subtle glance, suddenly realizing that things might not be quite as she’d imagined.
Just like how Yuqiong had politely apologized to Zhao Qingyu…
Zhao Qingyu had generously given up her own seat to Wang Yuqiong.
The bad blood between the two women didn’t seem nearly as intense as she’d thought.
How strange…
Song Rui scratched her head. She couldn’t quite wrap her mind around this odd dynamic.
But she did vaguely discern a pattern: As long as Shen An wasn’t involved, Wang Yuqiong and Zhao Qingyu could easily find common ground.
There was some subtle rapport between them, like old friends who’d known each other for years.
Ha~
Song Rui ducked her head with a self-deprecating smile. She’d been the one imagining them as petty after all.
Meanwhile, in Zhao Qingyu’s exclusive sedan, Wang Yuqiong rolled down the window, her eyes locked intently on the trio’s figures.
Only when she saw Zhao Qingyu board the bus first did she slowly roll the window back up, as if confirming something to her satisfaction.
With everyone settled in, the buses slowly pulled away, one after another.
The sedan brought up the rear, just as it had on the way there—trailing the final bus at the very end of the convoy.
Inside the car, Wang Yuqiong leaned back against the soft cushion and quickly drifted off to sleep.
On the bus, Shen Lianyao and Song Rui had intended to let Zhao Qingyu take the middle seat, but the moment she climbed aboard, she headed straight for the innermost spot.
The two women exchanged a glance before taking the seats to her left and right.
The atmosphere on the bus was actually quite lively this time around—no trace of the chill from the ride there.
The members chattered away in clusters, talking nonstop.
One moment they were sharing the rides they’d tried over the past two days and their experiences; the next, they were debating whether to plan a group outing for the next holiday.
It was clear that Zhao Qingyu’s event planning had been a resounding success.
At the very least, most of the members had grown much closer after spending these two days together.
Their row, however, stood out for its silence.
From the moment Zhao Qingyu sat down, she pulled her hat low, slipped on an eye mask and headphones, and tuned out the world entirely. She clearly had no intention of chatting.
Shen Lianyao did much the same, donning her hat and headphones as she searched for sleep alongside Zhao Qingyu.
That left Song Rui on her own. She glanced left and right but found no conversations she could join, nor any familiar faces.
In the end, she could only sit there bored.
Before long, drowsiness crept over her too. Unwittingly, her head drooped.
When Shen Lianyao shook Song Rui awake, she peered out the window to find the school gates already filling her view.
After a few hours on the road, they were finally back.
They grabbed their luggage and disembarked. Some members headed off in pairs, while others exchanged quick greetings before returning to their dorms.
Song Rui and Shen Lianyao made a beeline for Wang Yuqiong first.
They helped her down from the sedan, and the three of them turned to Zhao Qingyu, who stood off to the side.
She looked like she hadn’t fully woken up yet, yawning sleepily. “Mm… The event’s over. You all head back too.”
Song Rui fixed Zhao Qingyu with an earnest stare. “Senior Sister… If you hear anything about Shen An, please tell us right away… Us!”
“Ha, what are you even worried about? If he wakes up, he won’t even need me to tell you—he’ll contact you himself.”
Zhao Qingyu rubbed her sore neck. “Anyway, that’s that. I’ve gotta go crash. I’m dead tired.”
“Oh, right—remember to get him excused from class. Even if he wakes up tomorrow, he won’t make it back in time for lessons. You’re the class president, Yuqiong, so it’ll be easiest if you handle it.”
“Okay…”
The three watched as Zhao Qingyu walked into the school, her figure gradually fading from view.
Shen Lianyao didn’t linger. She picked up their luggage. “Let’s go. I’ll carry this for you.”
“Mm, thanks so much.”
Wang Yuqiong replied softly.
“It’s on my way.”
Shen Lianyao started walking, while Song Rui continued supporting Wang Yuqiong. The three headed toward their dorms.
Once they were all back in their respective rooms, neither Li Li nor Zhang Tong had returned yet—who knew where they’d gone.
Song Rui finished unpacking and saw that Yuqiong was already settled in bed. She climbed into her own bunk.
She pulled out her phone. The Art Troupe group chat was buzzing with activity—endless conversations, shared updates, and photos from their trip.
There were shots of last night’s fireworks, the serene surroundings of the Mountain Villa, and the grandeur of the Amusement Park.
The members who’d skipped out with various excuses had gone quiet, and a few even seemed to feel a twinge of regret.
If only they’d known it was actually fun… They shouldn’t have asked for leave.
They’d assumed it would be some dull team-building thing.
All of a sudden, Wang Yuqiong spoke up softly. “Song Rui, did Senior Sister tell you to wait for us in the lobby ahead of time?”
Song Rui, who had been scrolling through the excitement on her phone, jumped at the sudden question. She hadn’t even quite caught what was said.
She pulled back the curtain and peered over at Wang Yuqiong’s bed. “What?”
Wang Yuqiong stared up at the ceiling for a long moment before shaking her head. “Let’s just sleep. These past two days have been exhausting.”
“Oh.”
Song Rui pouted to herself. I wasn’t even bothering you~
With that, Song Rui lost interest in keeping up with the chatter.
Her gaze drifted to Shen An’s profile picture. She bit her lip slightly and murmured a silent prayer from the heart: “Please… don’t let anything be wrong with you…”
Shen Lianyao actually lived in the North District.
She had her own solo apartment, so she didn’t share with any classmates.
Her aloof personality meant she rarely found partners for class group activities—like the PE fitness test last time.
Since she’d dropped Song Rui and Wang Yuqiong off in the East District first, by the time she headed back to the North District, quite a bit of time had passed.
As she dragged her luggage toward her apartment building, she caught sight of Zhao Qingyu by chance.
Shen Lianyao came to an instinctive halt.
“Does she live here too?”
Shen Lianyao watched Zhao Qingyu, her brows furrowing in puzzlement.
“Eh? Why isn’t she going in…? Hmm. That direction…”
Shen Lianyao’s eyes tracked Zhao Qingyu’s receding back, her doubts growing thicker by the second.
This apartment building was the last one in the North District—the farthest from the school.
There were no more buildings beyond it.
That was the exit!
The way out to the outside world.
Shen Lianyao stood there lost in thought for a moment. Then, bit by bit, her furrowed brow relaxed.
“So that’s how it is…?”
A faint, mocking smile tugged at the corner of Shen Lianyao’s lips as she lowered her head. She picked up her luggage and continued on.
Zhao Qingyu had no idea that a pair of eyes had coincidentally spotted her from behind.
She’d gone straight from the main gate to the North District Exit, which meant circling the entire school—a trek that left her surprisingly winded.
She hadn’t realized just how huge the campus was until she tried walking it.
Zhao Qingyu grumbled to herself as she walked.
When she finally emerged from the North District Exit and stepped onto the road, a black sedan was waiting quietly there.
It was her exclusive ride!
It had left from the main gate, only to loop all the way around to the North District Exit.
Zhao Qingyu strode right up to the car without hesitation, opened the door, and slid inside.
“Hoo~ Let’s get going. It’s hot as hell out here.”
Zhao Qingyu grabbed some tissues from nearby and dabbed at the fine sheen of sweat beading on her forehead.
The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror and asked quietly, “Back to the Mountain Villa?”
“Yeah.”
Zhao Qingyu nodded.
“But… Miss, didn’t we just leave the Mountain Villa?”
The driver was puzzled too.
After departing from the school gates, he’d planned to head back to the hotel.
Only midway had he received Zhao Qingyu’s instructions to detour to the North District Exit.
Why go to all this trouble—circling all that way just to return to the Mountain Villa?
This driver was no ordinary man; he had served the Zhao Family for quite some time.
Thus, Zhao Qingyu had no choice but to come up with an excuse. She sighed and said, “Aiyo, how was I supposed to know I’d left my things behind at the Mountain Villa halfway there?”
“If it weren’t so important and urgent, I wouldn’t bother turning back. A few hours round trip—I’ve never spent so long in a car my whole life.”
The driver nodded slightly. “Then please rest, Miss. I’ll pick up the pace so it doesn’t take as long.”
“Good, thank you.”
“It’s no trouble at all.”
The black sedan started up slowly, pulling away from the North District and heading toward the Mountain Villa.
Zhao Qingyu rolled down the window, letting the rushing cold wind stream through and caress her face.
The feeling of stifling heat eased at once, and as she squinted her eyes, the corners of her mouth gradually curved upward.
That’s right—this was Zhao Qingyu’s entire plan.
First, use the drug to fake Shen An’s coma and leave him behind at the villa.
Then accompany the others back to dispel their suspicions, before looping right back to the villa herself!
The plan wasn’t exactly flawless, nor was it particularly ingenious.
But Zhao Qingyu had a keen grasp of the subtle dynamics between the three women.
She had deliberately employed a bit of goading, then leveraged Wang Yuqiong’s supposed foot injury—knowing full well that Wang Yuqiong wouldn’t dare go to a hospital for a real checkup. That would dispel any notion of staying behind with Shen An.
Wang Yuqiong certainly wouldn’t want Song Rui left alone with him either, so she would drag Song Rui along too.
As for Shen Lianyao…
She was the one Zhao Qingyu felt most confident about.
Heh~
Pretending to be ill and fragile in front of him? Such childish tricks!
Proud and haughty as she was, Zhao Qingyu refused to stoop to Wang Yuqiong’s level of faking pitiful vulnerability.
She saw it as utterly pointless—like begging for his charity. What was the difference? She wanted no part of that kind of attention.
Especially not under false pretenses. If he ever caught on, it would backfire spectacularly.
Wang Yuqiong: ? Heh, foolish girl. This is called flirtation—get it? Always putting on such a prim and proper front—what fun is that?
But Zhao Qingyu couldn’t stomach being bested by Wang Yuqiong, especially not after stewing in frustration all morning.
So she devised this plan to turn the tables from another angle.
This way…
Zhao Qingyu propped her elbow on the windowsill and rested her chin on her hand.
The entire evening ahead would belong to her and him once more.
All that feigned frailty and pitifulness? Nothing but petty tricks.
Hmph. He would be hers!
Mmm~
A night just for the two of them.
So many, many things they could do…
No need to fear discovery. No skulking in shadows.
Heh~
Her thoughts scattered with the wind, and Zhao Qingyu lost herself in them, a faint blush inexplicably coloring her lovely face.
