In the audience seats close to the stage sat three figures—one tall, one slightly shorter, and one noticeably petite—though the shortest of them kept a seat’s distance from the other two.

“Senior Lin↑,”  
“Junior Xia↓,”  
“Tsk tsk tsk… how envious I am…”

Mu Feng mimicked Xia Yan’s earlier words with an odd intonation, his voice dripping with envy as he sighed wistfully.

“Sigh… I’ve added so many senior girls on socials, yet none of them compare to even a single strand of Lin Qingyu’s hair… Quantity just can’t beat quality…”  

Xiang Guan put down his phone and joined Mu Feng in gazing dreamily at the dazzling figure onstage.

Mu Feng: “I really envy Brother Yan.”  
“He’s handsome, capable, loyal, and brilliant at studies too 😭.”

Xiang Guan: “Same here… If only I could steal just two points of his workout talent 😭… No wonder Senior Lin has fallen for him. Sigh.”

“She’s the untouchable ‘frost flower’ of the Management School—the one dominating every forum and campus gossip thread… Only someone like Brother Yan could possibly match her. Remember that rich corporate heir who chased after Lin Qingyu? She didn’t even glance his way. And Brother Yan’s got serious backing too…”

Mu Feng: “I feel like I’ve just been heartbroken—but weirdly, I’m not sad.”

Xiang Guan: “I don’t mind.”

Hua Xin: “I do. 😡”

“Huh?” ×2

The two boys looked around, puzzled, trying to locate who had spoken.

Though naturally blessed with charm and generosity, Xia Yan’s two closest friends couldn’t help but admire him without a trace of jealousy—even when faced with such an undeniably perfect “main character” scenario.

But the girl beside them was growing increasingly uneasy.

(A secret hideout told to him by a senior girl… 😨)  
(The frost flower throwing herself at him…)  
(This is straight out of a shonen anime protagonist’s script… 🤔)

No no no no no—  
Don’t tell me they’ve already… slept together?! 😱

“I strongly object to Xia Yan getting together with that senior girl.”

The girl forced calm into her voice, forgetting entirely that she wasn’t in the safety of her private online space, nor was she chatting with anonymous internet strangers.

Her tone sounded icy—though utterly unconvincing.

“Ah…”

Mu Feng and Xiang Guan both let out heavy sighs.

“So you like Lin Qingyu too, Brother Hua?” (sighing)  
“I get it, man. I really do.” (sighing)

They slumped back into their seats, eyes still fixed dejectedly on the stage.

Guess Hua Xin wasn’t as hard to get along with as Xia Yan made her out to be. Clearly, guy talk really did bring people closer.

Hua Xin suddenly snapped back to reality. Beneath her mask, her cheeks flushed crimson. Her hands, hidden under her backpack, twisted together anxiously.

What… what had she just said?!

What on earth had she just blurted out?!

Why didn’t her brain filter her words first?!

(Completely deflated.)

She lowered her head in silence.

“Hey…”  
“Lao Xiang, haven’t you noticed something’s off with Brother Yan lately?”

Mu Feng stared intently at the seemingly perfect pair onstage and murmured softly.

Hua Xin perked up instantly, ears pricked, inching her body slightly closer to them.

“Hmm?”  
“Now that you mention it… yeah, something’s weird.”

Xiang Guan hesitated, then glanced subtly at Hua Xin, who was still hunched over in self-imposed shame.

He’s our bro—should be fine.

Reassured, he spoke more seriously: “I’ve seen him grinning at his phone sometimes.”  
“He used to always read books instead.”

“I noticed that too. Honestly? I peeked at his screen once.”  
Mu Feng looked away, tilting his head 45 degrees toward the sky. “I saw him calling someone ‘wifey’ and ‘baby.’ Didn’t catch the rest, but those two words alone say everything.”

“You know, he’s never called me ‘baby’ 🥺.”

“There’s only one truth.”

“He’s definitely dating Lin Qingyu now!” ×2

“Ahhh…”

Mu Feng and Xiang Guan exchanged glances, then sighed in unison, their sorrow perfectly matching the cheerful laughter shared between Lin Qingyu and Xia Yan onstage. Everything suddenly seemed crystal clear.

(Dating…?!)

Hua Xin’s head shot up in shock, her eyes instinctively darting toward the stage.

Undeniably, they made a stunning couple—handsome guy, beautiful girl.

Wait…

Why did she even care if Xia Yan was dating?

Even if he were, hadn’t he still taken her out for meals, walked her to school, and brought her to that secret rooftop spot at the teaching building…

…

That didn’t add up.

Hua Xin quickly turned away and took a long swig of cola. The sharp fizz of carbonation cooled her nerves slightly, allowing her thoughts to race.

If Xia Yan really was in a relationship… why waste so much time on her? And if he already had such a gorgeous senior girl, why go out of his way to look after someone like her?

Suspicious.  
Extremely suspicious.

Her eyes sharpened as she realized the biggest blind spot in all her interactions with Xia Yan.

The words of “Internet Big Bro #1” still echoed in her ears:

“No one approaches another person without an ulterior motive.”

Xia Yan must be scheming something—pretending to be kind just to get close to her…

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Hua Xin’s lips. She’d finally caught a glimpse of his true intentions.

But these two beside her—  
Well, one’s from a wealthy family and the other’s just a jock. They probably didn’t even know about her connection with Xia Yan. Maybe she could subtly pry some info from them.

Her hands clenched tightly. The fragile trust she’d begun building toward Xia Yan now hardened into icy suspicion.

(I knew it…)  
(You’re faking it! 🥺)  
(No one’s perfectly kind and reliable to everyone.)  
(What’s your real reason for getting close to me?)

Memories of past betrayals and humiliations flashed through her mind—but so did Xia Yan’s patience, that ice cream cone, and today’s lunch.

Hua Xin trembled slightly, clutching her backpack tighter.

Inside it still lay the leftover food—and that half-box of sweet-and-sour pork ribs, barely touched.

She couldn’t understand.

Why was Xia Yan doing all this?

But this time, Hua Xin refused to passively endure more pain. She wouldn’t let herself be betrayed again, only to face cold stares and mocking laughter.

She wanted to fight back.

Silently, she stared at Xia Yan onstage.

At some point, he’d changed into a sharp suit, holding a stack of speech notes, his gentle smile ever-present—as if he treated everyone the same.

Beside him stood the radiant girl who outshone every other beauty around.

She really was stunning.

Hua Xin slowly averted her gaze, glanced at the two boys slumped in defeat, then hugged her backpack tighter.

“If you already have such a perfect life… why drag someone like me into it?”

“I’m not…”  
“…stupid enough to think someone actually sees me as a real friend.”

“If you’re so eager to play ‘friends’ with a shut-in like me, then fine—I won’t just sit back and let you win.”

A flash of cold resolve gleamed in the girl’s eyes.

Let her…  
expose this man’s true face! 😡