Watching as Xia Yi and Tang Wulin were whisked away by Feng Wuyu without any chance for discussion.
Gu Yue smiled sweetly as she looked over at Mu Xi—whose dorm room was only half packed. Glancing briefly at the tightly clenched (white-knuckled) fists of Mu Xi, she asked with a smile, "Would you like to come sit over here?"
"No thanks—I still have to finish packing my dorm," Mu Xi replied through gritted teeth.
Gu Yue paused for a moment before speaking in a low, steady tone, "I want to talk with you."
"Talk? What, show off? I'm telling you, whether you're married or not—even if you were married—I won't give him up," Mu Xi said icily.
Gu Yue shook her head and replied calmly, "I'm not in the least bit afraid of you snatching Xia Yi away. You simply don't have that kind of ability. Your earlier bickering was nothing more than a bid to satisfy someone's vanity."
Smiling slightly, Gu Yue continued in the same measured tone, "I just don't want you to see him get hurt because of it."
"Stop pretending it isn't about showing off! Hmph—you shouldn't get so cocky. Don't forget, my master-uncle is a divine craftsman. If Xia Yi ever wants to become a divine craftsman, he must receive guidance from him. Believe me, with just one word from me, my master-uncle would immediately put him on the blacklist," Mu Xi retorted coldly.
With Xia Yi absent, the two no longer feigned smiles; their words became sharp and confrontational.
"Are you threatening me—or him?" Gu Yue shook her head and said, "If you want to threaten him into being with you, you should be saying that directly to him."
"Then what if I threaten you—threaten you with his future, to force you to let him go? Would you really leave him for his future?" Mu Xi suddenly looked up, her eyes glittering as she fixed her unwavering gaze on Gu Yue.
"I would! Both publicly and privately, I would," Gu Yue nodded, then added without missing a beat, "But even if I left him, I'm absolutely convinced he wouldn't end up with you."
"Then we'll see about that," Mu Xi snorted. In truth, she was only talking—she wasn't about to really use any leverage (like involving Zhenhua) to threaten Xia Yi and Gu Yue.
"Sigh…" Gu Yue exhaled and then asked, "How well do you really know Xia Yi?"
"I…" Mu Xi opened her mouth, but Xia Yi had always been an enigma to her. She had asked him who he really was before, but he never answered.
All she could do was grit her teeth and say, "No matter who Xia Yi is, no matter what his status may be, I like him—what I love is the person he is, not his identity."
Unmoved, Gu Yue replied coolly, "Then tell me—why do you like him? Is it because of his talent, or because he once saved your life?"
"Of course it's because he saved me. Ever since he rescued me in Donghai City, I swore that I'd only marry him," Mu Xi answered without hesitation, not even pausing to consider.(After all, she couldn't very well say she liked him simply because he was talented.)
"I see," Gu Yue said with a self-satisfied smile, clearly pleased with herself. "Little girl, if you're trying to compete with me, you're still too inexperienced. I can't even beat Xia Yi—and how could I possibly beat you?"
From the start, Gu Yue had been deliberately misleading Mu Xi—presenting her with a choice between two answers. Whether Mu Xi said she liked Xia Yi because of his talent or because he saved her life, neither option would work in her favor.
Both of those choices were designed to mislead Mu Xi.
But Mu Xi hadn't the luxury of time to ponder these nuances; she ended up falling right into the trap that Gu Yue had set.
Seeing Gu Yue's smile, Mu Xi sensed that something was amiss, but at that moment she couldn't back down either. In a cold tone she declared, "That's right—Xia Yi saved my life. I'd only marry him."
"Saved your life, huh? Heh heh. Then what if I told you that back in Donghai City, the car accident you had was orchestrated by him? Would you still swear to marry him?" Gu Yue asked with a smile.
"Impossible! You're only trying to make me give him up by deceiving me. I won't let your schemes succeed," Mu Xi replied sharply, shaking her head.
"I knew you wouldn't believe me," Gu Yue said with a shake of her head. "Well, we are now rivals in love. You shouldn't trust me—but this time, I'm not lying. The reason you don't believe me is that you don't truly know Xia Yi. Come with me; I'll tell you what kind of person he really is. And if, after you learn the truth about him, you still think I'm lying, then I won't stop you from pursuing him."
"You're saying it's true?" Mu Xi asked, hardly believing her ears. Who in their right mind would allow a rival to chase after her boyfriend?
"Do you think I'd joke about this with you?" Gu Yue countered.
"Fine—I'll listen. I'm curious to see just what nonsense you can spout," Mu Xi snorted coldly.
Following Gu Yue into her dorm, Mu Xi immediately noticed the two beds set side by side—Xia Yi's and Gu Yue's.Although described as two separate beds, they could easily be seen as one large bed.
In an instant, Mu Xi's clenched fists made a creaking sound once more.
Gu Yue, however, acted as if nothing were amiss. She walked casually over to the bed, sat down, and in a deep tone said, "You've known Xia Yi for quite some time now. Tell me, what impression does he leave on you? In other words, what kind of person do you think he is?"
"A rogue! A talented, meticulous rogue—a genius rogue, the kind I adore," Mu Xi replied.
Gu Yue's lips twitched ever so slightly. Truth be told, the girl's description was quite accurate.
Mu Xi then looked at Gu Yue and said gravely, "Don't just say he's a rogue. Even if he were a petty thief, I'd still like him."
"Exactly. At times, he does have a bit of that street rogue temperament," Gu Yue smiled before adding, "but that's merely one facet of him. If you were to look past the surface, you'd discover the real Xia Yi—someone who holds himself above all else, with ambition as vast as the sky. For many things, it isn't that he doesn't take them seriously—it's that he finds them unworthy of his serious attention. Deep down, he despises everything in this world, including you and me."
"Don't talk nonsense. If he despised you, there'd be no way he'd be with you," Mu Xi retorted coldly.
"What if I told you that a large part of the reason he's with me is because of you—do you believe that?" Gu Yue asked lightly.
"Because of me? What do you mean?" Mu Xi asked, puzzled.
"Because he wants you to give up. He knows you and he aren't a match; being with you will only lead to future misery. That's why he's with me—so he won't give you any chance," Gu Yue explained.
Mu Xi was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at Gu Yue, then said in a low tone, "So you're saying he doesn't actually like you—that he's with you entirely because of me?"
"Don't pat yourself on the back," Gu Yue replied with an eye-roll. "Yes, I admit there's an element of that. But to say it's entirely because of you—that's giving you far too much credit."
Taking a deep breath, Gu Yue continued, "Let me explain how my relationship with him developed. In the beginning, he didn't like me at all—he even looked down on me. But that was partly my own fault. Because of him, I changed in many ways. Through years of living together, my feelings for him shifted repeatedly—hatred, fear, admiration, gratitude, adoration—the mix of emotions eventually made me realize that, before I knew it, I couldn't live without him. My family couldn't either; they all believed that of everyone in this world, he was the one most suited for me. But I knew deep down that even though he no longer despised me as much as before, he wasn't madly in love with me either. After three years of togetherness, at best, his feelings for me were merely fondness."
Mu Xi stared blankly at Gu Yue, feeling that what she was saying was true—he wasn't deceiving her.
Gu Yue smiled and said, "I've already said it before—deep down, he despises everything in this world. He could never take the initiative to fall in love with me. If I hadn't taken the initiative, he and I might have remained just friends—or even merely in a superior–subordinate relationship. But I'm a woman, and given my special status, I've always found it too hard to lower my pride and actively pursue him. However, your bold pursuit of him—from Donghai College all the way to Shrek College—woke me up. It was that day in the Soul Battleground when I saw you embracing him that I suddenly realized: if I didn't act now, I'd regret it for the rest of my life. So, while he still had some affection for me, I seized the perfect opportunity to confess my feelings. You know, at that time I was fully prepared for rejection. In my view, even if he hadn't rejected me, it would have taken years for our relationship to reach what it is now. But because of you, in just a few days, we've become true boyfriend and girlfriend."
At that moment, Gu Yue deliberately glanced at the large bed where Xia Yi and her possessions lay side by side, then continued, "He's very meticulous. He knows that one reason he accepted me was because of you. Though neither of us admits it, he still feels indebted to me. That's why in recent days he's been trying his utmost to make it up to me—to have his heart turn to me completely. Now, he truly loves me."
Gu Yue looked at Mu Xi and smiled, "These days I've realized that although Xia Yi seems unrestrained and freewheeling, when it comes to matters of the heart he is incredibly serious. In his mind, if anyone other than his girlfriend ends up loving him, it's entirely his fault. So the more you chase him, the more he feels he owes me—and the better he treats me."
"A gentleman doesn't accept charity. With someone as proud as you, don't you ever feel a pang of guilt in accepting such kindness?" Mu Xi said icily.
"What's there to feel guilty about? It's because you like him, not because he likes you," Gu Yue shook her head and replied. "At first, when I realized that part of the reason he accepted me was because of you, I did feel a bit uneasy—I even bit him hard on the shoulder. But then I remembered I have selfish motives too, and so I accepted it calmly. Besides, I've come to enjoy watching his heart gradually turn toward me."
"He even once said he wanted three wives—and he claimed he could only marry one if it was you. I don't believe you can really tie his heart down," Mu Xi exclaimed, shaking her head furiously.
"He loves to joke around. You don't understand him—you can't tell which of his words is in jest and which is sincere," Gu Yue countered. "But even if he did want three wives, so what? Whether I agree or not, he will never choose you in the end. The fact that he's with me already, ahead of you, proves that being with you will only bring pain—for both you and him."
Gu Yue then looked at Mu Xi tenderly and said, "If you truly love him, then let him be. He's meant for greatness. For the sake of what he's destined to do, he'll resort to any means—even saving you might just be a way to get closer to your father and my master-uncle. Otherwise, think about it: why was it that when you had your car accident, he happened to be right there?"
"No—I don't believe it!" Mu Xi shrieked, her voice loud and desperate. "Why? Why would being with him only bring pain? I don't believe it! It must be that he's afraid of me stealing him away, so he deliberately lied to me."
In an instant, tears streamed down her face. She could even come to terms with the idea that her car accident was secretly arranged by Xia Yi—if it meant she could meet him, she wouldn't complain in the slightest.But no matter what, she could never accept that being with him would only lead to suffering.
Even if her accident had been orchestrated by Xia Yi, as long as she could know him, she would harbor no grudge.
She didn't want to give up on Xia Yi, yet she also didn't wish for him to suffer.
For a brief moment, she truly didn't know what to do.
"Believe it or not," Gu Yue said once more, shaking her head, "I've said everything that needed to be said. Think it over. Whether you believe me or let go—that's entirely up to you."
Having finished speaking, Gu Yue got up and left immediately.
As soon as Mu Xi stepped out of the dorm, the calm expression on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by a storm of gritted teeth and seething anger.
"Damn fox! Flirting about with every pretty face—if that weren't enough, you even expect me to help you clean up your mess. And now, with me still not enough for you, you're even dreaming of having multiple wives? When I get the chance, I'm going to see just how many kidneys you have—and I won't be afraid of squeezing you dry. Hmph!"
Her words, half-truths mixed with outright lies—many of which were just imitations of Xia Yi's own tongue-in-cheek manner—were meant to fool a naive girl like Mu Xi. If Xia Yi were around, he'd undoubtedly be able to point out several flaws in her argument.