In the art studio, no sooner had Song Yanshi left than another figure appeared at the doorway.
As the very junior student Mu Jia’en whom Song Yanshi had described as pitiful, she now looked more disheveled than she had ever been since entering university.
Her sailor uniform was stained with mud, her beautiful hair was messy and damp, and her cheeks still bore a faint redness, like fading slap marks.
Every detail matched exactly what Song Yanshi had just described.
Sympathetic and inquisitive glances filled the art studio, shifting between Mu Jia’en and Jiang Youwan.
Despite Mu Jia’en’s dramatic entrance, Jiang Youwan paid her no attention. Instead, she opened her backpack to organize her tools, preparing to focus on the teacher’s upcoming lesson.
But while Jiang Youwan ignored her, Mu Jia’en walked straight toward her.
“Junior, Sister Yanshi told us to stay here. Don’t go over there just yet.”
“Yeah, Jiang Youwan is a lunatic. If she hit you that hard, she might even attack you again…”
Seemingly frightened, Mu Jia’en wore an expression of panic. She glanced uneasily at the beautiful girl across the room, her voice soft and trembling.
“But… but… I’m at fault too…”
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have liked Senior Youwan’s boyfriend. I should have wished them well…”
As she spoke, tears quickly welled up in her eyes.
“But I really couldn’t control my heart. From the very first second I saw Brother Jinchen, my mind was completely filled with him…”
“Even in my dreams, it’s all him—the way he plays basketball, the way he takes me out to eat, the way he smiles…”
Mu Jia’en sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face as if they cost nothing.
“But how is my behavior any different from that of a homewrecker? No matter how much I like Brother Jinchen, I shouldn’t have repeatedly tried to win his favor…”
“I really know I did wrong. I’m a bad person.”
She looked toward Jiang Youwan, her expression particularly sorrowful.
“Brother Jinchen already told me to get lost today. I finally understand—I shouldn’t stubbornly pursue my own love. The one who isn’t loved is the homewrecker.”
“So I don’t blame Senior for hurting me. I want to apologize to her…”
Step by step, she approached, tears rolling down her cheeks.
“Senior Youwan—”
The girl adjusting her easel finally looked up, her perpetually beautiful face showing a calm disgust.
“Stop pretending here. I never touched you.”
“I don’t need your apology. Please leave our classroom. We have class.”
Mu Jia’en cried even harder. She quickly took a step forward, blocking the view from behind, and lowered her voice to a whisper, her tone laced with pride.
“Why didn’t you eat the crab roe soup dumplings today? I had to save them for you after I finished eating—it wasn’t easy~”
Jiang Youwan froze, maintaining her expression with finely furrowed brows, as if she had been paralyzed.
“Did last night’s gastroenteritis make you suffer? But even though you were in such a state, Brother Jinchen didn’t want to comfort you because I was sitting on his lap…”
Mu Jia’en trailed off, her tear-filled eyes glinting with amusement.
If being exposed by her uncle-in-law that Huo Jinchen had been unfaithful all along left her feeling numb, hearing Mu Jia’en vividly describe such scenes made that nauseating sensation surge up once more.
She was about to vomit again.
Her slender fingers covered her mouth as the churning in her stomach forced her to bend her thin back slightly. A mist instantly clouded her clear pupils.
Mu Jia’en stared at that face so beautiful it stirred envy, her eyes flashing with deep disappointment.
It wasn’t enough—why was Jiang Youwan, this sickly weakling, so fragile?
She had already called the academic affairs office, reporting a conflict in this classroom. The teacher would surely arrive soon.
She had to administer a stronger dose.
Mu Jia’en’s eyes flickered. Crying, she leaned closer to Jiang Youwan and continued in that malicious tone,
“Jiang Youwan, when Teacher Zhang Chang dragged you into that cheap motel, did you beg a peer for help?”
Jiang Youwan abruptly raised her eyes.
Mu Jia’en smiled at her gleefully, “You begged me to save you, but I deliberately refused.”
“I would never call the police for you, and I certainly wouldn’t stop him.”
“Oh~ I forgot to tell you, I even took photos of the two of you—lots and lots of them~ I started snapping pictures from the moment he dragged you into that motel…”
Jiang Youwan felt a chill run through her entire body, even the urge to retch vanishing.
It was as if she had returned to that helpless situation—a young student, mouth and nose covered by the teacher she once trusted, being dragged down a bitterly cold street. The dim, yellowish light at the entrance of the shabby, run-down motel, the marble front desk stained with years of neglect and grime.
She was terrified.
Utterly terrified.
Her whole body felt as if thrown into an ice cellar, her heart and limbs trembling uncontrollably. Broken, muffled sobs escaped her throat as countless tears streamed from her eyes, clinging to her icy-cold cheeks.
Extreme fear made it difficult for her to even breathe. Unable to utter a single word, she was dragged by the man down a long corridor in despair and collapse—
That corridor was so dark, without a single glimmer of light.
It almost swallowed her whole.
A frail figure emerged from the corridor. Backlit, she couldn’t see the person’s face, only the long hair indicating it was a girl.
As if clutching at her last lifeline, Jiang Youwan mustered strength from somewhere and broke free from the man, desperately lunging toward the figure, begging her to save her.
The other person softly replied, “Hmm,” then quickly ran away.
In the long, dark days that followed, amid endless insults and mockery, she would often recall that backlit figure.
She thought she would be grateful to that person for a lifetime, praying that heaven would always treat her kindly.
A sharp pain shot through her arm as Mu Jia’en’s figure before her merged with the girl from that day.
“I lied—I never intended to save you.”
Mu Jia’en’s voice was low, heavy with hatred,
“Some busybody called the police—how did they manage to rescue you?”
“If only you had been ruined! Why were you so disobedient? Why did you have to resist? Why did you get to walk out unscathed?”
Mu Jia’en suddenly let out a low, eerie laugh, her voice terrifying and despicable,
“But luckily, I was clever. I just splashed some red ink on the bedsheet and deliberately messed up the bed before taking the photos.”
“The photos of you being led forward by Zhang Chang, the disheveled red bedsheets, and the police taking you away—they formed a perfect closed loop.”
Mu Jia’en viciously pinched her arm.
“I sent these photos to Teacher Zhang’s wife, posted them in the school group chat, on the school forum, and sent them to everyone you might know…”
“Jiang Youwan, look—just a few photos have ruined your life…”
As she spoke, Mu Jia’en reached out to grab Jiang Youwan’s hand.
Jiang Youwan trembled all over, suppressing the wave of nausea that surged through her again, and violently shook off Mu Jia’en’s hand.
No one could clearly see what exactly happened between them.
In everyone’s line of sight, Jiang Youwan’s slender hand swung through the air and landed a sharp slap across Mu Jia’en’s face.
“Get away from me! Don’t touch me!”
The crisp sound of the slap echoed through the silent art studio, startlingly clear.
Mu Jia’en staggered and fell to the ground. Jiang Youwan’s vision cleared once more—
Huo Linyuan stood at the doorway, dressed in a silver-gray suit.
He had seen everything.