Huang Fei's Choice

Huang Fei didn't leave immediately.

But when he saw Zhang Mengmeng walking toward the small grove, the shock on his face was indescribable.

For a moment, he wondered if Shen Mengjie had made a mistake.

As Huang Fei lost himself in thought, Zhang Mengmeng had already reached the entrance of the grove.

Her figure was undoubtedly enviable, adding many bonus points to her otherwise unremarkable looks. But now, her face bore traces of exhaustion.

Stepping inside, she soon spotted Shen Mengjie.

"Mengmeng, you came. I’m sorry for making you meet me here."

Zhang Mengmeng smiled shyly. "It’s fine. There’s no need for such formalities between us." As she spoke, she handed Shen Mengjie a face mask.

Shen Mengjie took the mask and said softly, "I’ve found some clues."

"R-really?" Zhang Mengmeng paused, then forced a smile. "W-what kind of clues?"

Instead of answering directly, Shen Mengjie changed the subject. "Mengmeng, I feel like I’ve treated you well in the dorm, haven’t I?"

"Because you’re so shy by nature, all of us wanted to protect you."

Zhang Mengmeng lowered her eyes, her voice quiet but audible. "Yes, everyone has been very kind to me."

"But... but why would you do this to me? Did I offend you in some way?"

"To the point where you’d nail me to a pillar of shame, trying to completely ruin me?"

Zhang Mengmeng took a step back, still avoiding eye contact, her voice shifting from shyness to panic. "M-Mengjie, what are you talking about? Are you saying I’m the one harming you?"

Shen Mengjie remained unmoved by her distress and continued calmly. "Remember when we took photos together? After my phone screen turned off, I told you the passcode to unlock it."

"So you knew my phone’s password."

"And every night when we went to shower together, you always refused to join us, saying you’d feel embarrassed..."

"Back then, we teased you, saying it didn’t matter since we’re all girls... So you took the chance to tamper with my phone while we were away, didn’t you?"

Zhang Mengmeng retreated further, shaking her head frantically. "N-no, I didn’t! We’re roommates—why would I hurt you? It wasn’t me, really, it wasn’t..."

"Yes, we’re roommates, even friends. So why would you do this? Probably because of a man, right?"

At these words, Zhang Mengmeng stopped retreating. She lifted her gaze to meet Shen Mengjie’s.

This statement had exposed the deepest secret in her heart, so she could no longer afford to panic—she needed to know how Shen Mengjie had figured it out.

Seeing Zhang Mengmeng’s reaction, the stark shift in her demeanor confirmed Shen Mengjie’s suspicions. "So it’s true—the quiet ones are the deadliest."

Zhang Mengmeng closed her eyes and let out a soft, bitter laugh. "Yes, it was me. But Shen Mengjie, are you really any better?"

"Can you honestly say the flirty chats on your phone were fabricated by me?"

Shen Mengjie fell silent. Because it was true—an undeniable fact.

Seeing her silence, Zhang Mengmeng pressed on. "So I didn’t frame you at all!"

"You already have so many people who like you. Why? Why do you still string Huang Fei along?"

Shen Mengjie never expected this to be connected to Huang Fei.

Not only was Shen Mengjie stunned, but Huang Fei, who had been watching from the sidelines, was equally taken aback.

His gaze settled on the emotionally distraught Zhang Mengmeng. He never would have guessed that she had feelings for him...

"You like Huang Fei?" Shen Mengjie gave a bitter smile. "Then why didn’t you tell me?"

"How could I? His heart and eyes are full of you—but what have you done? Leading him on, giving him just enough hope, then turning around to accept dates and flirt with other guys..."

"Even though you’ve treated him so unfairly, he still only sees you. What right do you have? Where I’m from, someone like you would be called a shameless tramp..."

"So I thought, if I exposed everything you’ve done, Huang Fei would finally see you for who you really are..."

At this point, Zhang Mengmeng broke down, covering her face as she sobbed. "But I never thought... even after knowing all this, he still chose to find you, still chose to help you. If only you’d disappear... then maybe he’d finally notice me..."

"You shouldn’t have done this!"

Hearing this voice, Zhang Mengmeng turned to see Huang Fei standing behind her—she hadn’t even noticed when he arrived.

Huang Fei looked at her and said, "It’s me who likes Shen Mengjie. It has nothing to do with her."

"I just wanted you to know—Shen Mengjie isn’t a good person."

"What she did wasn’t honorable, but how is what you did any different?"

"You had countless ways to tell me, but you chose the most extreme one."

"She considered you a friend, yet you nailed her to a pillar of shame. You just wanted to destroy her..."

At this moment, Huang Fei finally understood why Old Ao had insisted he be the one to tell Shen Mengjie.

He must have guessed everything—that this was all connected to him...

Shen Mengjie stared at Zhang Mengmeng with a complicated gaze.

She never imagined that the person she’d gone out of her way to care for, the one she laughed with daily in the dorm—someone she’d considered a friend—would see her as nothing more than a shameless tramp.

If she didn’t like her, she could’ve just said so. She wasn’t the type to force herself where she wasn’t wanted.

If she liked Huang Fei, she could’ve pursued him herself...

She couldn’t stay here any longer. Taking out her phone, she looked at Zhang Mengmeng. "I recorded our entire conversation. You’d better think carefully about what you’ve done."

With that, she walked past Zhang Mengmeng without another glance and left.

After Shen Mengjie was gone, Zhang Mengmeng collapsed to the ground, burying her face in her knees.

Huang Fei was about to chase after Shen Mengjie when he heard Zhang Mengmeng’s voice. "Did I really do something wrong?"

He paused, watching her crouched and crying, then looked up at the sky. "If you strip everything away, you weren’t wrong. You made all thirty-seven of us—including me—realize we were just fish in Shen Mengjie’s pond."

"But after spending so much time together, you should’ve been able to tell whether Shen Mengjie truly saw you as a friend..."