Chapter 29: The Fall of a Rival

“Eh? Why are you here alone? Where did the other two go?” Yang Shuli walked over, with Xu Nian quietly stepping forward behind her to pay the bill for both tables.

Yes, Liu Xie and Zhu Niao had taken the chance to slip away without paying.

“You go have fun, I have something to take care of.” Ye Qingchang glanced at Xu Nian, who had just returned after paying, and said, “I’ll leave this guy to you for now.”

“Hey, wait a minute—”

Yang Shuli didn’t manage to follow Ye Qingchang before her collar was caught by Xu Nian.

Just as she turned around with what she believed was a fierce glare, she was met with Xu Nian’s phone screen right in her face.

“Mandarin orchard—pick all you want and eat as much as you like. How about it?” he grinned, always able to hit her weak spot at just the right moment.

“Ooh! I love oranges!” Yang Shuli cheered with both hands raised as she left the noodle shop.

All that remained was the half-eaten bowl of ramen.

The two slices of beef that had once floated on the oily surface were long gone, and the remaining noodles tangled together in a mess.

It was impossible to tell which strands were cut and which were still connected.

But the shop owner wasn’t the diligent type. By the time he came to clear the table, even the broken strands would’ve turned into one sticky clump.

Ye Qingchang’s polished flats tapped briskly against the solid flooring, the sharp sound of her steps growing closer.

She stopped in front of a door, bent over and resting her hands on her knees, breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath.

Then she pushed the door open.

There was no air conditioning inside, but the pungent smell of alcohol rushed up her nostrils, making the glasses-wearing girl pause in surprise.

Her loyal club member was inside drinking—and it was those same two familiar bottles of liquor.

“Hey hey, what are you doing? Drinking hard liquor in the club room?”

Ye Qingchang quickly strode forward and stood beside the boy clutching a bottle. She noticed that even the glasses that were usually welded to his face had been taken off.

Without the thick black frames, his delicate features were fully revealed.

Especially those eyes—eyes that seemed to have seen and endured so many things—dark and deep.

And right now, those ever-clear eyes were allowing something utterly irrational to happen.

“I only just opened it…”

Ye Qingchang wasn’t about to listen to excuses.

She knew the boy in front of her was just a fellow member of the literature club whom she barely interacted with in real life—but she also knew he was the one who had accompanied her for years online, her closest confidant.

The deeply conflicting relationship between the two was fully on display.

That was why she couldn’t just stand by and watch him act like a fool—especially since this whole mess had started because of her.

“You called me over just to see you getting drunk and acting stupid in the club room?” Ye Qingchang wore a stern expression.

Of course, she might not have noticed that although the boy had just taken a big swig, his face remained unchanged—while she, who merely smelled the alcohol, already had a faint blush on her cheeks.

“President, the online crush I told you about… seems like she’s about to start dating someone.”

The boy reached for his glasses, stared at them for a while without putting them on, and continued, “I wasn’t completely honest before. That online crush… was just my assumption. I thought our relationship had naturally progressed, but now that I think about it, maybe she’s just nice to everyone. Maybe I wasn’t special at all.”

Ye Qingchang’s face didn’t change.

But in reality, she had been treating him specially.

Even so, at this moment, she could only reply coldly, “So what are you thinking now? Are you planning to ruin the budding romance she might be starting?”

“I can’t. I can’t do that to her…” The boy covered his face with both hands, his voice muffled and hoarse.

“But it just hurts so much. I don’t believe anyone else understands her better than I do, or could treat her better than I would.”

He paused. “I know I can’t act on my own selfishness… but she’s basically my entire world. You get it? If she no longer needs me—if I’m completely useless to her…”

Ye Qingchang saw, through the gaps between his fingers, a lifeless, ashen gray in his eyes.

So, she pulled out her phone.

[Little Bird, you don’t need Gou Yu anymore. Come take him back.]