Lu Jiaoyue froze for a moment, then her eyes curved into a smile before she knew it.
"Sure! Thanks for cheering me up. I'm really happy we ended up on the same team, too!"
Lu Jiaoyue accepted the candy from Qin Zixuan with both hands, her eyes shining with delight. "If I find anything tasty later, I'll make sure you're the first person I share it with!"
As the innocent, guileless heroine of the Original Novel, Lu Jiaoyue had always been like this. Whenever anyone showed her kindness, she would invariably respond in kind.
She couldn't tell when someone had ulterior motives toward her, but she had never needed to.
There would always be someone standing in front of her, shielding her from life's storms, and someone figuring out what she liked and laying every precious thing at her feet.
As Qin Zixuan withdrew his hand, her smile dazzled him, leaving him momentarily dazed.
The eyes meeting his were perfectly clear, yet that very clarity laid bare some of his own sordid intentions.
Qin Zixuan looked away almost in a panic. His plan to win Lu Jiaoyue over was going far too smoothly-so smoothly that it felt excessive.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. Like this... I'd actually start feeling guilty.
But the instant his resolve began to waver, Qin Zixuan abruptly came to his senses. He dug the fingernails of the hand hidden in his pocket into his flesh, his eyes darkening.
No... that's not right. Why should I feel guilty? She's the one who's too naive, willingly taking the bait.
I haven't done anything wrong.
*My goal is perfectly clear. I only approached Lu Jiaoyue to get something out of her in the first place. Why should I get myself tangled up while trying to use