Chapter 25: Doesn’t Your Conscience Hurt?

In the university cafeteria.

Ruan Qingyang sat down beside Shi Yubai, wearing a casual smile.

“Brother Shi, Ah Yan, lunch is on me today.”

“Another time,” Shi Yubai replied, a hint of amusement flashing across his eyes. “Someone’s treating me today.”

Zhuang Yan smiled as well.

“Same here. I’ve got someone treating me too.”

Ruan Qingyang looked curious.

“Who’s treating you guys? Think I might be lucky enough to tag along?”

“We don’t get to decide.”

They were telling the truth.

As their girlfriends’ plus-ones, the two of them were technically just there to freeload off someone else’s invitation.

Long-legged as ever, He Nanzhou strode over toward them.

“So I’m only getting a luxury meal today because I’m riding your coattails?”

He casually twirled a blue floppy-eared bunny plush in his hand before sitting down.

“No, we’re the ones benefiting from you.”

Shi Yubai and Zhuang Yan exchanged mysterious smiles in perfect unison.

Meanwhile, Ruan Qingqing and Zhao Yuejiao, carrying their lunch trays, walked toward Ruan Qingyang.

He Nanzhou glanced at Ruan Qingyang and raised an eyebrow.

“Well… today’s meal is being paid for by someone else, and you’re sitting in the host’s seat.”

The meaning couldn’t have been clearer.

You’re in the way.

The smile on Ruan Qingyang’s face stiffened.

He asked again,

“So… who’s treating everyone? Do I know them? Can’t we all eat together?”

Zhao Yuejiao smiled seductively as she looked toward Zhuang Yan.

“Exactly. Qingqing and I love lively gatherings.”

A slightly chilly voice interrupted her.

“I’m sorry,” Shen Meng said, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t enjoy uninvited lively gatherings.”

Zhao Yuejiao turned around, her tone immediately turning sharp.

“What does it matter whether you like it or not? You’re not even the one paying.”

Leng Ningxue shot her a mocking glance.

“Actually, Mengmeng is the one treating us to a luxury feast today.”

She smiled with open disdain.

“So all unrelated bystanders, please step aside.”

Under Ruan Qingqing’s envious gaze, Xu Sui’an sat down beside Shi Yubai.

Zhuang Yan immediately pulled out a chair for his queen.

Shen Meng walked over to Ruan Qingyang.

“You’ve taken my seat.”

Her voice was calm and indifferent.

Ruan Qingyang looked awkward.

He could clearly tell Shen Meng wasn’t exactly fond of him.

“Sorry.”

He stood up and gently tugged Ruan Qingqing away to another table.

He Nanzhou handed the blue floppy-eared bunny plush to Shen Meng.

“Come on. I’ll help you pick up our luxury feast.”

“Okay.”

Shen Meng nodded and carefully put the bunny away.

Xu Sui’an and Leng Ningxue exchanged knowing smiles before lowering their voices.

“Suisui,” Leng Ningxue whispered, “don’t Mengmeng and her dream guy look perfect together?”

Xu Sui’an smiled teasingly.

“They’re getting along so well. Think our ‘Three Roses’ group chat will be getting a new member soon?”

Zhuang Yan looked pitifully at his queen, sounding slightly aggrieved.

“Xue’er… when will I finally be allowed to settle into your Three Roses group chat as family?”

Shi Yubai didn’t say a word.

Instead, he fixed Xu Sui’an with an equally aggrieved gaze.

He wanted permanent residency in the Three Roses group too.

Xu Sui’an and Leng Ningxue answered in perfect sync.

“That depends on when Mengmeng wins over her dream guy.”

At that moment, He Nanzhou and Shen Meng returned carrying an enormous tray.

The dishes were colorful, fragrant, and looked absolutely delicious.

Shen Meng raised a bottle of AD Calcium Milk and beamed.

“Cheers!”

Xu Sui’an raised her own bottle with the enthusiasm of someone toasting with fine wine.

“Mengmeng, wishing you success in getting everything you’ve hoped for!”

Leng Ningxue emptied her bottle in one heroic gulp.

“And here’s hoping you’ll soon bring your plus-one into our Three Roses group chat!”

Shi Yubai and Zhuang Yan both looked toward He Nanzhou.

“Don’t keep us waiting too long.”

He Nanzhou simply smiled.

He neither agreed nor denied it.

Ruan Qingqing quietly gripped her chopsticks.

The laughter and cheerful conversation coming from the next table made every bite feel impossible to swallow.

Suddenly, excited voices erupted throughout the cafeteria.

“Look! Huo—the Computer Science Department’s campus heartthrob—is back from the competition!”

“How did he get even more handsome after only a month?”

With his usual carefree smile, Huo Ye walked inside.

His gaze landed precisely on Ruan Qingqing for a brief moment before shifting away.

Xu Sui’an frowned slightly as she watched him approach.

Huo Ye.

The devoted second male lead from the novel.

Wild.

Arrogant.

The kind of man who looked down on everyone.

Yet Ruan Qingqing alone was the exception.

She was the cinnabar mark engraved on his heart.

In the original story, after Ruan Qingqing and Shi Yubai got together, Huo Ye secretly fanned the flames behind the scenes.

Whenever Xu Sui’an wanted to apologize to Shi Yubai, Huo Ye had deliberately interfered, making sure she missed every opportunity.

Just as Xu Sui’an expected, Huo Ye walked straight toward her.

“Xu Sui’an.”

He looked directly into her eyes.

“I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?”

Those naturally affectionate-looking eyes, which always seemed to smile at everyone, were fixed solely on her.

Xu Sui’an calmly shook her head.

“I don’t like you.

I already have a boyfriend.

And I don’t believe you genuinely like me, either.”

She looked at him with open curiosity.

“But I am curious.

Is your heart vast enough to hold an endless sea?

What exactly made you put on this insincere confession… all for the sake of the cinnabar mark in your heart?”

As she spoke, she deliberately lifted her hand, showing off her fingers tightly intertwined with Shi Yubai’s.

Huo Ye’s expression changed.

“W-What do you mean?”

His eyes flickered with panic.

For the first time, he felt as though someone had completely seen through him.

Xu Sui’an tapped her finger lightly against the table.

“I mean exactly what I said.

Huo Ye, there’s nothing wrong with liking someone.

But instead of confessing to the person you actually love…

instead of fighting for your own feelings…

you confessed to me—the supposed rival of the girl in your heart.”

She smiled faintly.

“I really have to wonder…

how exactly does that fascinating brain of yours work?

And what role does your precious ‘white moonlight’—your beloved cinnabar mark—play in this master plan of yours?”

The smile had long vanished from Huo Ye’s face.

His voice came out hoarse.

“Y-You… how did you know?”

Xu Sui’an answered casually,

“Didn’t you know?

Your eyes gave you away a long time ago.”

Then her expression turned serious.

“But that’s not the important part.

The important part…

is that I never want something like this to happen again.”

Her eyes suddenly turned cold.

Every word carried unmistakable accusation.

“Huo Ye, I’ve never wronged you.

Yet your fake confession caused me unnecessary trouble.

Your words and actions hurt an innocent person.

Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

Everyone nearby turned to look at Huo Ye.

Some were curious.

Some were eager for gossip.

Most looked at him with suspicion—and condemnation.

“If you don’t like someone, why would you confess? Is he crazy?”

“No way… Huo Ye doesn’t seem like an idiot.”

“Xu Sui’an sounded so certain… Could it actually be true?”

Huo Ye clenched his fists.

Never in his twenty years had he been so humiliated.

“…I’m… sorry.”

He didn’t dare meet Xu Sui’an’s eyes.

His heart was in complete turmoil.

She was right.

She had never done anything to him.

She was completely innocent.

Yet he had dragged her into this.

Guilt welled up inside him like spring water breaking through the earth.

He had always been bold, unruly, and indifferent to everyone else.

But in all his twenty years…

he had never bullied or hurt an innocent girl.

So how had he let Zhao Yuejiao’s instigation and Ruan Qingqing’s tears cloud his judgment?

How had he impulsively come here just to make things difficult for Xu Sui’an?

Xu Sui’an looked at him coldly.

“Huo Ye, not every wound can be erased with a simple ‘I’m sorry.’

What if my boyfriend misunderstood your confession?

What if he decided to break up with me because of it?”

Every question struck Huo Ye’s heart like a heavy hammer.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Could It Be That I’m Actually the Strongest Final Boss?

ComedyFantasyFemale Protagonist

Read Now →
Not interested