Chapter 183: When the Spiderweb Burns |
After hearing Li Wang’s words, Jiang Linyuan found it hard to hold back.
Were Miss Zhao and he really boyfriend and girlfriend? Or was there something else going on?
He could think about that later. For now, the first step was to tear off Miss Zhao’s mask.
Li Wang had shouted so loudly that Xiao Su must have heard it.
“Creak.”
The door was pushed open.
“What’s going on here?”
Su Muzhi stood at the doorway, a smile on her face.
“Xiao Su?”
Zhao Qiulu and Jiang Linyuan were both surprised by her arrival. The former’s surprise was genuine; the latter’s was an act.
“I woke up in the middle of sleep and realized you weren’t lying beside me. I thought you’d gone to the bathroom, hehe...”
Su Muzhi smiled as she walked over to Jiang Linyuan, snatched the phone from his hand, and threw it directly at Zhao Qiulu.
What the hell? You snatched the phone to hit my hand?! You were supposed to act, not sneak in some personal revenge!
Jiang Linyuan stealthily stomped on her foot.
“Hehe, you’re not satisfied?”
Su Muzhi grabbed Jiang Linyuan by the collar and pulled him toward her.
Hard. It was clear she was using this chance to vent her temper!
“Su Muzhi, if I said there’s nothing between Jiang Linyuan and me, would you believe it?”
Zhao Qiulu pressed the end button on the video call, then looked up at Su Muzhi with a faint smile.
“No more acting?”
Su Muzhi glanced at her.
“If your boyfriend hadn’t exposed me just now, I could have kept going.”
Zhao Qiulu looked at Jiang Linyuan off to the side and smiled lightly.
“It doesn’t matter. It won’t affect my attitude toward you.”
Su Muzhi wrapped both arms around Jiang Linyuan’s neck, turned her head to look at her, and spoke calmly.
Zhao Qiulu glanced at Jiang Linyuan, who showed no sign of panic:
“Do you think your boyfriend is that great? Su Muzhi, he knew I was leading him on, but he still played along with gusto, didn’t he?”
“Pfft.”
Su Muzhi suddenly let out a laugh:
“I was just playing with a dog. You actually think he’s interested in you?”
Zhao Qiulu’s expression turned unpleasant, and she sneered:
“If you had come any later tonight, you might not have been able to say that.”
“Watching you get all hot and bothered?”
Su Muzhi said lazily.
“Who knows? Maybe we’d both be hot and bothered.”
Zhao Qiulu said coldly.
Su Muzhi didn’t react at all. Her hand gently rested on Jiang Linyuan’s collarbone, her lips near his ear, speaking in a whisper:
“He wouldn’t do something like that. Because I’ve already trained him well. Isn’t that right?”
This Xiao Su, why is she adding physical moves!
“Xiao Su, I only love you.”
Jiang Linyuan lowered his head and said this.
It sounded like an explanation, but more like an admission of guilt.
Watching the two of them like this, Zhao Qiulu became even more convinced of her thoughts.
Jiang Linyuan wasn’t the kind of obedient, honest guy. And Su Muzhi was a control freak of the highest order.
How could he possibly listen to her obediently? In such a high-pressure environment, he would eventually need an outlet to let off steam, right?
“Su Muzhi, you’re still as annoying as ever.”
Zhao Qiulu remarked with a sigh.
All you do is control, suppress, act all high and mighty like you look down on everyone. Someone like you—do you even deserve love?
Don’t make me laugh.
“I’ll settle things with you later. For now, you stand over there and keep your mouth shut. Not a word.”
Su Muzhi’s slender fingers slowly traced upward along Jiang Linyuan’s neck—collarbone, Adam’s apple—until finally, her index finger gently rested on his lips:
“Say one word, and you won’t be allowed to step out of the door for the next month.”
Her gaze was ice-cold, her tone laced with threat.
You’re really getting into this role!
Jiang Linyuan felt like Xiao Su was just playing herself, but for the sake of getting the reward, he chose to lower his little head.
He’d just treat it like role-playing.
Jiang Linyuan nodded, deliberately sneaking a glance at Zhao Qiulu from the corner of his eye.
But the next moment, Su Muzhi’s hand landed on his face, sliding upward to pry his eyes wide open, smiling lightly:
“No looking at anyone else with those eyes either. When I let go, close them.”
Jiang Linyuan nodded again.
“Good. I like obedient people.”
Su Muzhi nodded in satisfaction and let go. The moment she turned her head, Jiang Linyuan blew a breath against her ear.
You were supposed to act, not method-act!
“Mmm...”
Su Muzhi’s face flushed slightly, and she shot him an unhappy glare.
Jiang Linyuan narrowed his eyes, still putting on an act of perfect obedience.
This guy...!
“It must be so pathetic being your boyfriend. Crushed under your thumb like this. Do you even see him as a person?”
Zhao Qiulu looked at Jiang Linyuan’s demeanor and smiled at Su Muzhi:
“You know? When he was chatting with me, he wasn’t this lifeless.”
No wonder he willingly took the bait even though he knew I was setting a trap.
Su Muzhi, if you don’t know how to cherish something, don’t blame others.
“Hehe, I actually told him to do all that. I just wanted to see what you were plotting.”
Su Muzhi said indifferently, staring at Zhao Qiulu with a smile:
“Everything he did was on my orders. When he was chatting with you, he was thinking of me in his head. When he was watching your performance, he was thinking of me in his head too. Your clown act was nothing more than lubricant between us.”
“You’re disgusting. I’ve thought so since before.”
Zhao Qiulu said bluntly, without holding back:
“You’re just like your mom—arrogant, no, worse than arrogant. You treat everyone like objects, completely disregarding other people’s feelings.”
Su Muzhi looked at her and said:
“Have you met my mom?”
“I’ve seen her once.”
Zhao Qiulu sneered:
“Back when Xiao Ling was forced to transfer, I went to the principal’s office to seek justice for her and happened to run into her.”
“Who’s Xiao Ling?”
“The girl who confessed to you!”
Zhao Qiulu couldn’t help but shout.
“Oh.”
Su Muzhi let out a dismissive laugh:
“You two were close? Here to get revenge on me?”
“That’s one reason. But more than that, I simply detest you as a person.”
Zhao Qiulu stared at Su Muzhi:
“Do you have any idea how much courage Xiao Ling mustered for that confession?! You didn’t even sympathize with her! You forced her to transfer and drop out of school?!”
“Ridiculous.”
Su Muzhi raised an eyebrow slightly and let out a cold chuckle:
“Were she and I close? Were we familiar? She suddenly runs up to me in front of all those people and confesses? Isn’t that disgusting? And a girl on top of that.”
“Courage? So what if she moved herself? Sympathy? Why should I sympathize? By your logic, if someone has any reason to feel self-satisfied, does that mean they can do disgusting things without paying any price?”
“I’m not a saint like you. If something disgusts me, I’ll fight back.”
Zhao Qiulu said:
“Did you really have to make her transfer schools?! Wasn’t that going too far!?”
“Then did she really have to confess to me?”
Su Muzhi said:
“You think I went too far, but I think she went too far. Confessing to me in front of so many people? And a girl? It was disgusting.”
Jiang Linyuan deeply agreed.
It was like a random gay guy confessing to you in public for no reason, saying he wants to play games with you.
You wouldn’t just laugh it off and not take it to heart, even thinking he was brave—a mental fortitude comparable to an exhibitionist.
And then, even if you had the ability to drive someone like that, who was always around you, away, you wouldn’t, because you were afraid others would say you were too domineering, afraid to ruin someone’s life.
Then you’d be gay.
But it wasn’t exactly the same, since there’s only a cheerleading squad, not a gay squad.
After hearing Su Muzhi’s words, Zhao Qiulu was silent for a moment, then burst into laughter:
“People like you don’t understand at all.”
“I don’t expect you to understand. I’m here to warn you once. If I catch you hanging around him again, you’re dead.”
Su Muzhi glanced at Jiang Linyuan, who was standing off to the side, and dragged him by the hand as she walked out.
Zhao Qiulu sneered.
You can’t force feelings, Su Muzhi.