Chapter Thirty-One: I Will Take You Back from Him

Zhao Qingwu gazed tenderly at Mo Qinghan, but Mo Qinghan kept her head bowed, not daring to meet his eyes. Her hands clutched tightly at the corner of the canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Seeing this, Zhao Qingwu laughed softly and said, “If you keep fidgeting with that bag, you’re going to break it.”

Only then did Mo Qinghan still her frantic hands. She slowly raised her head, though her eyes still avoided Zhao Qingwu’s, and cleared her throat. “Senior Zhao, you know better than anyone the situation I’m in. I admit I once had feelings for you, but that’s all in the past. I truly hope you and Yurou can go on together.”

With that, her face grew cold, and she brushed past Zhao Qingwu. Just as Mo Qinghan thought she could walk away, Zhao Qingwu suddenly grabbed her hand. Startled by his abrupt action, she froze. Students passing through the garden turned to look their way. The campus, which had been quiet only a moment before, suddenly buzzed with excitement as Zhao Qingwu reached out. More and more people gathered, some girls clutching their friends’ hands, whispering to each other, others exchanging hushed confidences.

Seeing the crowd gathering, panic rose in Mo Qinghan’s heart. She tried to wrench her hand free, her face filled with anxiety. “Senior Zhao, let go of my hand! You’re making this even harder to explain!”

But Zhao Qingwu still held her fast. Shifting his stance, he drew closer to her, then bent down until he was right beside her. His warm breath brushed her cheek, his beautiful lips curving upward as his clear voice rang softly in her ear, “That’s exactly what I want—for you to be unable to explain. If I meant nothing to you, perhaps I’d let go. But your heart is mine, and I intend to steal you from He Zheyu. If he hadn’t interfered, you would have been mine long ago.”

At the mention of He Zheyu’s name in her ear, Mo Qinghan stared blankly at Zhao Qingwu. Her hand, still trapped in his, was clammy with nervous sweat and had turned icy cold. It took her a long moment to return from her daze.

From the side, some students thought Zhao Qingwu was leaning in to kiss Mo Qinghan’s cheek, and her stunned expression was taken by the onlookers as a reaction to a sudden rush of happiness. An uproar erupted, jolting Mo Qinghan from her reverie. She snatched her hand back from Zhao Qingwu’s grip and, flustered, stumbled away, eager to escape the scene. She had barely taken a few steps when Zhao Qingwu’s voice rang out behind her, “It’s not just Mo Qinghan pining for me, Zhao Qingwu. The truth is, we’re in love with each other.”

Mo Qinghan’s heart dropped, and she drew a sharp, trembling breath. She said nothing more. As she passed through the crowd, she caught snippets of conversation from the other girls: “She really is so lucky!” and “So this is what happens when you’re beautiful—just a little gesture and our campus heartthrob is helpless before her.” Another said, “The department’s talented girl and the school’s acknowledged prince—what a match!”

But none of them understood the bitterness in Mo Qinghan’s heart. She knew that her sisterly bond with He Yurou was now irreparably broken. No matter how close they once were, in the end it would all be swept away because of Zhao Qingwu. What worried her most was how He Zheyu would choose to punish her once he found out.