Evoking the Evil Within, Retribution Will Come

Jiang Yangmei and Guan Bao's resting area.

After the two separated,

Jiang Yangmei had been secretly observing the interaction between Ye Mengfu and Lin Yu from a distance.

Watching Lin Yu unable to resist stealing a kiss from Ye Mengfu, their sweet, lovey-dovey display made her expression darken.

Meanwhile, on her side with the "veteran artist"...

"Hey, Xiaomei, didn’t you say you’d give me your friend’s WeChat?"

As soon as Guan Bao got his phone back, he immediately thought of adding Ye Mengfu.

Jiang Yangmei slowly turned a furious gaze toward him, staring daggers.

Guan Bao felt a pang of guilt under her scrutiny and tried to explain:

"Come on, wifey, what’s with that look?"

"It’s just that she’s your friend, and an illustrator too."

"Just a professional habit—always collecting more artist contacts, you know?"

Jiang Yangmei wasn’t some naive girl fresh out of school.

She knew exactly what Guan Bao was really thinking.

But given their relationship, some things were better left unsaid.

That was the only way they could coexist peacefully.

Unable to hold back, she snapped:

"Did I say we were friends? We’re just classmates."

"What kind of ‘professional habit’ involves eyeing someone else’s girlfriend?"

"Or is it because she’s prettier than me? Got a little crush?"

Guan Bao grinned and pulled her close:

"Haha, is my little vinegar jar jealous? Worried I’ll run off with someone?"

"Relax, my heart’s full of you."

"That classmate of yours? At most, she’s a five—barely passing."

"You? A perfect ten!"

Jiang Yangmei eyed him skeptically:

"Really?"

Guan Bao, thinking himself clever, added:

"Don’t you know men have a universal rating system?"

"Never give a negative score, always give full marks!"

Words alone weren’t enough for him.

As he spoke, his hands wandered under her clothes.

Jiang Yangmei recoiled in disgust: "Get lost."

Undeterred, Guan Bao leaned in and whispered in her ear:

"What’s up with you today? Never seen you this jealous."

"Usually, you’re not this cold—you’re the loudest one in bed."

"Got some pent-up frustration, huh…"

"Wanna sneak off to the restroom? Looks empty over there."

"I’ll ‘hammer’ all that anger and jealousy right out of you!"

A wave of irritation surged through Jiang Yangmei.

Some moments left her too exasperated to speak.

Over there, two people were lost in sweet romance.

Meanwhile, she was stuck with this sleazy, vulgar mess?

For the sake of money and a comfortable future, she usually played along.

But seeing her "rival" right beside her, the stark contrast was unbearable.

Old jealousies from their school days flared up anew.

Right now,

She wanted nothing more than to snap at Guan Bao:

"Wanna go to the restroom?"

"Ask your mom to take you!"

Always thinking with his dick—didn’t he know he was embarrassingly quick?

She wasn’t some actress!

She could fake it when she was in the mood.

Couldn’t he tell she was clearly pissed off?

......

10:30 AM.

"The Fairy Tale World of Jimmy · Comic Exhibition" officially opened.

Visitors filed in one by one with their tickets.

Lin Yu wasn’t in a hurry. He waited with Ye Mengfu until most had entered before heading to the gate.

Lin Yu: "Remember what I said?"

Ye Mengfu nodded eagerly: "A happy... date."

Seeing her even more relaxed than before, Lin Yu felt reassured.

The grudge between Ye Mengfu and Jiang Yangmei wasn’t complicated.

A few minutes would suffice to explain it.

But

Xiao Fufu’s storytelling pace was a tad slower than most.

With Lin Yu, she was already more talkative than usual.

By the time they finally entered, she’d just finished recounting everything.

「The two were classmates and roommates at Pingchuan Art Institute. Jiang Yangmei took care of Ye Mengfu in college, and Ye Mengfu considered her her closest friend.」

「Both ranked near the top of their class, even their entire major.」

「Back then, Ye Mengfu naively believed they’d both graduate with stellar results and bright futures.」

「From her perspective, she couldn’t understand why Jiang Yangmei—after all their closeness—would do such a thing...」

「Last year, during graduation season, a renowned comic company came to recruit at Pingchuan.」

「Both Ye Mengfu and Jiang Yangmei applied, passed the initial portfolio review (first-round interview), and received the second-round assignment.」

「They had two days to design hand-drawn character concepts based on a given theme.」

「Then came the twist... Ye Mengfu finished first, but the night before submission, her artwork was ruined by spilled ink!」

「The only person in the dorm who knew where she kept her portfolio... was Jiang Yangmei.」

「Even then, Ye Mengfu didn’t confront her, unwilling to believe the obvious. She missed the deadline.」

「From that day on, Jiang Yangmei seemed like a different person—distant, barely speaking.」

「She never even asked why Ye Mengfu failed to submit her work.」

「After graduation, once Jiang Yangmei secured the job offer, she coldly admitted to Ye Mengfu:」

「She’d "accidentally" ruined her artwork but was too guilty to confess.」

「Ye Mengfu might be socially anxious and conflict-averse, but she wasn’t stupid... How could a portfolio tucked away in a drawer get "accidentally" destroyed unless someone deliberately took it out?」

Even now,

While recounting this to Lin Yu,

Ye Mengfu still wondered:

During all their time as friends, what had she done to make Jiang Yangmei treat her this way?

The incident left a deep mark.

If not for meeting the overly outgoing "little angel" Mo Shangying,

Ye Mengfu thought she might never have made another close friend again.

After hearing everything,

Lin Yu noticed a key detail.

Both ranked highly, but Ye Mengfu had always slightly outperformed Jiang Yangmei.

That simmering resentment—being consistently outshone by someone who seemed "weaker"—

Might’ve quietly festered until a high-stakes opportunity unleashed it.

For someone like Jiang Yangmei, now clinging to an "old artist," sabotaging a rival wasn’t hard to imagine.

Such was society.

Many people weren’t inherently evil—

But given the right trigger, the right moment, the "darkness" in their hearts surfaced.

Regardless,

Evil deeds deserved punishment.

Watching the "artist couple" enter ahead,

A small plan began forming in Lin Yu’s mind.

......

(Second update today—more to come later!)