With a soft click, the bedroom door opened, and Zhou Wanqing stepped out.
She had changed into a clean nightgown, her damp hair draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she looked at me timidly, like a frightened little rabbit.
The air seemed to freeze, each second stretched to an eternity.
"Ming Qian, you…" Her voice trembled, the words catching in her throat. She could only look at me, her eyes brimming with tears, as if awaiting my judgment.
I stepped forward and reached out to adjust the collar of her nightgown, which had fallen slightly open. There, just visible, was a glaring red mark.
"Silly girl, it's nothing." I smiled, my tone so light it felt false even to me. "How could I possibly blame you?"
The words had barely left my lips when a figure burst from the bedroom.
It was Lin Jingxuan, my best friend. He was shirtless, and he dropped straight to his knees before me.
*Slap! Slap!*
He struck his own face, one side and then the other, his own hands leaving vicious, red prints on his cheeks.
"Ming Qian, I've wronged you! I'm an animal! Kill me!" he wailed, tears streaming down his face, each word torn from the depths of his chest.
What a magnificent performance. The repentant best friend, the straying lover.
My gaze shifted from Lin Jingxuan on the floor to Zhou Wanqing, who had taken the chance to press herself against me, her body still trembling.
In my previous life, this was the very scene that had completely fooled me.
But now? I found it utterly absurd.
I bent down, pulled Lin Jingxuan to his feet, and clapped a hand on his shoulder. The touch was light, but I felt him stiffen beneath it.
"Jingxuan, stop this. We're brothers," I said, my voice gentle, as if I truly meant to comfort him. "We'll just pretend this never happened. No one speaks of it again."
"Ming Qian…" Lin Jingxuan looked up, his eyes brimming with emotion. He seemed stunned by my 'magnanimity.'
In my arms, Zhou Wanqing let out a sigh of relief. Her grip on my waist tightened, and she pressed her cheek against my chest, the very picture of someone who'd just survived a terrible ordeal.
"It's over now," I murmured, comforting her.
She didn't see my eyes, looking over the crown of her head, fixed squarely on Lin Jingxuan.
A gaze as cold and sharp as a surgeon's scalpel.
Rest assured, I wasn't about to let this go.
After all, this spectacular play was only just beginning.