No One Is Allowed to Lie to Him

Ye Xinglan's excited expression faded as she looked at the two people on the sofa.

"Where were you just now...?"

Yun Jingheng shook his head violently, "No."

Gu Yue nodded defiantly, "Yes."

Ye Xinglan's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, and the corners of her mouth pursed slightly.

"Your posture is very proper," she said slowly, her tone unreadable, "But the atmosphere is a bit off."

Yun Jingheng coughed lightly, stood up from the sofa, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a swig. "What kind of atmosphere is this? You knocked on the door like you were tearing the house down. We were just talking about—"

"Speaking of your comfortable bed," Gu Yue replied casually.

Yun Jingheng nearly choked to death on the water.

Ye Xinglan glared at him fiercely.

Sitting with these two people was even more suffocating than when he was alone with Gu Yue.

He decided to change the subject. "Xing Lan, what did you want to see me about?"

"Teacher Cai asked me to tell you that your father is looking for you and wants you to go back home."

As soon as Ye Xinglan finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room seemed to be paused.

The slight embarrassment that had been on Yun Jingheng's face vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"Now?"

"That's what Teacher Cai said."

Ye Xinglan took two steps in, closed the door behind her, and leaned against the wall. "I want you to go back today. I said it's urgent."

Yun Jingheng didn't speak, but unconsciously tapped his fingers twice on the table.

I didn't cause any trouble, did I...?

My act of taking the documents has been exposed? No way... I thought it was flawless!

"Okay. I'll be back in a bit."

Ye Xinglan nodded, but her gaze drifted back to Gu Yue.

Gu Yue remained seated on the sofa, her posture as relaxed as if she were at home.

She even crossed her legs, rested her chin on one hand, and looked at Ye Xinglan with a half-smile in her eyes, which had returned to black.

"Aren't you leaving yet?" Ye Xinglan asked.

Gu Yue tilted her head. "Why should I leave? I didn't come here to see you."

Ye Xinglan raised an eyebrow slightly.

A subtle smell of gunpowder filled the air.

Yun Jingheng was caught in the middle, feeling like a dried fish being eyed by two cats.

He took a deep breath and decided that it would be best to get away first.

"Um, Xing Lan, could you please tell Teacher Cai that I'll be before dinner—"

"You left, and she's alone in your room?" Ye Xinglan interrupted him.

Yun Jingheng was taken aback.

Gu Yue chuckled lightly, "What, you think I would steal something?"

Ye Xinglan didn't look at her, but stared at Yun Jingheng, her eyes saying, "Give me a reasonable explanation."

Yun Jingheng rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.

These two usually get along fairly well at school, so why are they at each other's throats today?

"Gu Yue will be leaving later too," he said.

"I'm not leaving," Gu Yue said.

Yun Jingheng: "..."

Ye Xinglan narrowed her eyes, and a very faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. Her expression clearly said: Good, very good, excellent.

"Then I'm not leaving either."

Ye Xinglan walked to the other end of the sofa, sat down leisurely, and placed a person's distance between herself and Gu Yue. "I don't have any performances today, so I'd like to rest here for a while. Jing Heng, you don't mind, do you?"

His tone was gentle and polite, but his eyes clearly said: You dare to say you mind and see what happens.

Yun Jingheng opened his mouth, looked at the leisurely Gu Yue on his left, and then at the composed Ye Xinglan on his right, and suddenly felt that his place was extremely crowded.

"... OK."

He forced a stiff smile. "You guys rest, I'm going back to find my dad."

He grabbed his coat and headed outside.

As I reached the door, Gu Yue's voice came from behind me. "Be careful on the road, don't fall."

Then came Ye Xinglan's voice. "Come back soon, I'm waiting for you."

Yun Jingheng paused, a chill running down his spine. He practically fled, pulling open the door and walking out without looking back.

The room fell silent the moment the door closed.

Gu Yue and Ye Xinglan exchanged a glance.

Ye Xinglan gritted her teeth and said, "Didn't we agree on fair competition? What do you mean by this? Cheating?"

The air in the room froze the moment Ye Xinglan spoke.

Gu Yue's composure froze slightly for a moment, then she turned her head away nonchalantly. "I don't understand what you're saying."

Stop pretending.

Ye Xinglan stood up, walked up to Gu Yue, and stared down at her. "Last month, the three of us agreed to rely on our own abilities. What about you?"

Gu Yue remained silent for two seconds.

"I didn't make a move."

"You said his bed was comfortable, does that not count as making a move?"

"It's just stating the facts."

Ye Xinglan took a deep breath, almost losing control of her facial expression.

Gu Yue raised her head, a hint of unease finally appearing in her dark eyes. "I was just... testing the waters a little."

Ye Xinglan's pupils contracted slightly.

"You call this a little probing? You're lying down together! You're practically offering yourself up!"

Gu Yue remained silent for a moment, then lowered her voice.

"... I didn't say we'd lie together."

"You didn't say it, but that's what you meant!"

"I'm not."

"You are it!"

Gu Yue looked up at her, a hint of inexplicable emotion flickering in her usually cold, dark eyes. "Jealous?"

Ye Xinglan choked for a moment, her eyes reddening slightly. She took a deep breath to suppress her emotions.

Neither of them looked at the other; one stood, the other sat, separated by the coffee table, as quiet as two sculptures.

After a long while, Ye Xinglan spoke first, her voice muffled. "Gu Yue, don't forget, I was the one who met him first."

"I know."

Gu Yue's voice was soft, "But just because you knew him first doesn't mean he..."

"You--!"

"Isn't it unfair? It's because you didn't step in. Last month, we agreed to a merit-based system."

Ye Xinglan was speechless after hearing that.

She stared at Gu Yue, her lips pressed into a thin line, her chest heaving violently twice, before she abruptly turned around.

"OK."

She walked to the door, opened it with a swift and decisive motion, but paused a second before stepping out.

"Gu Yue."

Gu Yue raised her head and looked at the backlit figure at the doorway.

Ye Xinglan didn't turn around, her voice calm enough not to sound like she was arguing, "The premise of fair competition is—no one is allowed to lie to him."

The door closed.

This time, the door closed very softly, almost silently.

Gu Yue didn't move; she just sat there for a long time.

The sunlight outside the window moved inch by inch, crawling from the floor to the coffee table, and from the coffee table to her knees, warm and comforting.

She finally stood up, walked to the window, and reached out to pull the curtains.

The moment her fingertips touched the fabric, she suddenly stopped moving.

The sunlight from outside the window fell perfectly on a very inconspicuous corner.

Behind the room, in the overgrown weeds, there was a slender plant with translucent, dark jade-colored leaves, the veins of which shimmered with Youyou silver light, and a small, tightly closed flower bud at its tip.

Nether Jade Dew Grass.

Gu Yue's pupils suddenly contracted.

She should have realized it sooner; this kind of flower would definitely grow around Yun Jingheng, who is the moon.

only...

Gu Yue's hand stopped on the curtain, her knuckles turning slightly white.

She stared at the plant for a full ten seconds, then gently drew the curtains, her movements as soft as if she were concealing some unspeakable secret.