Confession

"Worthless!"

"Worthless!"

"A bunch of useless trash!!!"

Fresh from being berated by her father and handed an eviction notice, Xu Mingyao hurled her phone to the ground with a violent crash, her voice rising to a hysterical scream.

Even after smashing the phone, her fury remained unquenched. She grabbed everything within reach in her bedroom—decorations, cosmetics, even a small lamp—and flung them all onto the floor in a frenzy of destruction.

When the storm of rage finally subsided, she stood barefoot amidst the wreckage, her chest heaving with ragged breaths. Her eyes burned with lingering anger, as if the destruction still hadn’t been enough to satisfy her.

Then, as if struck by sudden inspiration, her dark eyes flashed with realization. She snatched the car keys from her bedside table and stormed out.

Speeding through the city, Xu Mingyao soon arrived at her secret hideout.

After unlocking the fingerprint scanner, she impatiently shoved the door open and stepped inside.

In the warmly lit living room, a slender black-haired girl sat on a yoga mat, effortlessly stretching her legs into a perfect split before folding forward, hands pressed together in prayer. Her body moved with unnatural grace, her flexibility almost surreal.

On the massive wall-mounted TV across from her, a yoga instructor mirrored the same pose—though upon closer inspection, the girl’s form was even more flawless than the professional’s. Where the instructor struggled with the advanced posture, the girl executed it with effortless ease.

The sound of the door opening drew the girl’s attention. Without breaking her pose, she tilted her head slightly toward the entrance.

When she saw the crimson-haired girl standing there, her bright eyes showed no surprise—as if she had long grown accustomed to these unannounced intrusions into her... life.

She relaxed from her stretch, settling into a cute "duck sit" on the mat, gazing quietly at the redhead.

Normally, she would have risen to greet her. But today, there was no need—because the redhead was already lunging forward...

...

"Taozi, come back to school with me tomorrow."

After the storm of passion had passed, the crimson-haired girl hugged her from behind, whispering the words softly into her ear.

"So soon?"

Taozi’s voice, usually light and melodic, carried a faint rasp of exhaustion as she responded with mild surprise.

"Yeah."

The redhead nodded, offering no further explanation.

Taozi, understanding her silence, didn’t press. Instead, she reached out with arms still marked by faint bruises and redness, gently pulling the soft white blanket over them both...

...

"Yue-jie, did your confession fail?"

Inside a trendy Thai restaurant, a girl with long, neon-green hair—styled in an aggressively non-mainstream fashion—leaned forward and asked the question.

"No."

Gu Yue propped her chin on one hand, irritation plain on her face as she gnawed on her straw. After taking a sip of mango juice, she released it with a huff.

"The second he stepped out of school, he went straight to Tang Manman. Head pats, whispered secrets, all that grossly sweet stuff."

"How was I supposed to confess after that?"

"Guess I’ll have to wait for another chance."

"Huh?"

"I thought he didn’t like Tang Manman?"

"Since when did they get so close?"

The green-haired girl frowned in confusion.

"Who knows?"

Gu Yue bit down on her straw again, her voice tinged with frustration.

Little Jin fell silent for a moment before lifting her head, hesitantly suggesting:

"Yue-jie... maybe I should go talk to Tang Manman?"

"Are you trying to get me killed?!"

Gu Yue’s glare could have sliced through steel.

Little Jin immediately shrank back, realizing her mistake, and wordlessly returned to devouring her meal.

Rolling her eyes, Gu Yue exhaled sharply. After a pause, she fixed the green-haired girl with a serious look.

"Little Jin, you’ve been following me around for a while now, so listen—I’m giving you some real advice today."

"Stop bullying people. Because the way you treat others today? Tomorrow, someone even worse will do the same to you."

Little Jin puffed out her slightly chubby cheeks, a mix of defiance and hurt in her voice.

"But even when I don’t bully anyone, I still get bullied..."

Gu Yue opened her mouth—then closed it, exhaling sharply. Some truths weren’t black and white.

And not every lesson applied to everyone.

The table fell into an awkward silence—until a girl with stylishly cropped purple hair sauntered over.

"Check it out, check it out!"

"How do I look?"

Youyou twirled in place, her matcha-green puffer jacket and plaid pleated skirt radiating youthful energy. The short skirt flared as she spun, though no indecent exposure followed—beneath it, she wore flesh-toned thermal leggings that shielded every inch of skin from the winter’s bite.

Both girls nodded in unison, their voices overlapping:

"Gorgeous!"

"He won’t stand a chance!"

Youyou beamed, hands on her hips.

"That’s what I thought too!"

As they chatted, Little Jin suddenly spotted a familiar figure approaching outside. She urgently hissed:

"Shh, shh! Stop talking!"

"He’s here, he’s here!"

The purple-haired girl whipped her head toward the window, spotting the handsome boy outside. She quickly slid into the seat behind Little Jin, her nerves and excitement warring on her face.

Gu Yue and Little Jin tensed, ears straining to catch every word of the impending conversation.

The boy soon took his seat. The booth’s semi-private design blocked their view, leaving only voices to decipher.

But as the exchange unfolded, their eager smiles faded, replaced by increasingly odd expressions.

A silent glance passed between them—it was clear the boy had zero interest in Youyou. Every flirtatious probe was met with awkward deflection.

Now, only two options remained:

Play dumb, pretending this was just a casual meal among friends.

Or—

Go all in.

Force the issue.

They couldn’t know Youyou’s thoughts, but in the end, she chose the latter.

And as expected, it ended in disaster.

Little Jin was the first to snap. She shot up, storming over to defend the now-teary-eyed Youyou.

Gu Yue, meanwhile, remained frozen in her seat, listening as the argument next door escalated to the point of shattered friendships.

Her mind went blank.