Chapter 74: I Truly Didn't Mean To

At this moment, Shi Xuetong had already lost her grip on reason. She charged at Gu Ci without any concern, reaching out with sharp nails intent on scratching up Gu Ci’s face.

Gu Ci reacted instinctively, kicking Shi Xuetong away, then turned her head seriously toward the agents and said, “Uncle, this was self-defense. Please don’t get it wrong.”

A black line seemed to flash across everyone’s forehead.

Was that really the point here?

The agents glanced at Shi Xuetong, who had been kicked away but was otherwise unharmed, and couldn’t help but twitch their lips. “Alright.”

Shi Xuetong’s hair was disheveled, and after everything that had just happened she looked like a madwoman, yet she still glared at Gu Ci viciously. “You wretch, it’s all because of you that Xiao Yang won’t accept me! Everything is your fault! Give Xiao Yang back to me!”

A question mark seemed to slowly appear on Gu Ci’s forehead.

From the start, Gu Ci had been pondering a question. When Shi Xuetong confessed to Xiao Yang, her breathing and heartbeat had accelerated, her palms were sweaty, her face flushed, pupils dilated, and her self-confidence had inflated to excess—she had become prejudiced and fixated, losing all ability for objective thought.

These were indeed all symptoms of PEA surging in the brain when a person is in love.

Everything indicated that Shi Xuetong’s claim of liking Xiao Yang was not a lie.

But... if she liked him, why would she do something to hurt him? And not just once, but repeatedly.

Why?

She glanced coolly at Shi Xuetong and said, “I’m not Xiao Yang’s mother.”

The implication was clear: whether Xiao Yang accepted someone or not had nothing to do with Gu Ci.

Everyone felt a little lost in the wind, wishing they could go over and shake Gu Ci’s shoulders to explain—

Shi Xuetong is saying that Xiao Yang likes you!

But unfortunately, none of them dared.

There was something about Gu Ci, an inexplicable aura, that made them wary.

And after hearing Gu Ci’s words, Xiao Yang simply nodded with deep agreement, as if acknowledging the wisdom of Sister Ci.

So, did Xiao Yang like Gu Ci or not?

The agents, worried that Shi Xuetong would get up and hurt someone again, prepared to take her away.

Shi Xuetong immediately panicked, crying to the agents with snot and tears, “Uncles, I really didn’t know Cao Yue wanted Xiao Yang’s whereabouts to hurt them... He promised me that if I did what he said, he’d help me get together with you, that’s why I did it. I just lost my mind for a moment, it was an unintentional mistake…”

“If I’d known he wanted to hurt my friends, I would never have done it, not even if it killed me. Please, I’m begging you, believe me, okay?”

Shi Xuetong was gambling—betting that the agents had only found their call records and didn’t know what was actually discussed!

Right now, everything was just based on what Cao Yue and the others had said; she could claim to be completely in the dark, deceived by them!

Hearing this, Gu Ci raised an eyebrow slightly, took out her phone, and typed a string of code into a black app.

Three audio recordings played in succession.

It was Shi Xuetong’s voice.

—Cao Yue, can you really help me get Xiao Yang? ...Alright! I’ll tell you when he goes to the basketball court.

—You... you’re not going to be too rough, right?

—After you make Xiao Yang lose the game, you have to let me have him!

Every word made it clear that Shi Xuetong was far from ignorant of what Cao Yue intended.

Nor was she as innocent as she claimed.

Shi Xuetong’s legs buckled, her face turned ashen as she stammered, “No, that’s not it, I really didn’t know Cao Yue would go that far, I didn’t mean for this to happen...”

But no one present wanted to hear any more from her.

One of the agents couldn’t help glancing again at the aloof young woman and asked, “Where did you get those three audio recordings? Young lady, you know you’re not supposed to conduct illegal surveillance... but could you provide us with a copy? As evidence.”

“I can.” Gu Ci replied coolly. “So, that counts as assisting the investigation, right?”

Just like when she’d restored the surveillance footage of Cao Yue beating someone earlier and sent it to the agents while watching the basketball game.

The agent choked for a moment. “You could say that.”

They hadn’t managed to extract the recordings themselves.

On one hand, their own technical staff at the bureau weren’t always capable; on the other, even if they applied to check the recordings, the process would take time and often be dropped if it wasn’t important.

Gu Ci crouched in front of Shi Xuetong, sincerely seeking advice. “You obviously knew what Cao Yue and the others were going to do, so why did you go along with it? Don’t you like Xiao Yang?”

Is human affection truly something that not only impairs intelligence but also leads to harmful behavior?

Shi Xuetong’s sobs suddenly halted. Watching Gu Ci’s actions, her vision went black, and she nearly fainted then and there.

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the floor.

It’s over... everything’s over...

When the agents approached to put handcuffs on her, tears of terror streamed from Shi Xuetong’s eyes.

Suddenly, she clung tightly to Huo Shuyue’s pants. “Shuyue, I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have kept it from you that I liked Xiao Yang. I know I was wrong... please help me, I don’t want to go to the station. Aren’t we best friends? Can’t you even help me with this?”

Huo Shuyue had always defended her when she was bullied; even when she made mistakes, as long as she apologized, Huo Shuyue never blamed her.

Surely this time would be the same?

“Friends?” At those words, Huo Shuyue gave a self-mocking laugh. “You say friends, but have you ever treated me as one?”

She had always considered Shi Xuetong her best friend, always cared for her.

But Shi Xuetong? In the end, she was nothing but a fool.

When Shi Xuetong heard the refusal in Huo Shuyue’s tone, her expression changed again, and she shrieked hysterically, “Huo Shuyue, what do you mean? You just don’t want to help me, so why dress it up in pretty words?”

Seeing the malice in Shi Xuetong’s eyes, Huo Shuyue’s heart went cold. Gritting her teeth, she wrenched her pants free and turned away, ignoring her.

With that, Shi Xuetong’s hatred for Huo Shuyue deepened.

Huo Shuyue, who always spoke so nobly about friendship and promised to care for her as a best friend—yet when it came down to it, wasn’t she the first to turn her back without mercy?

So it turned out Huo Shuyue was just a green tea type, always pretending in front of Xiao Yang to win his favor.

As the handcuffs were snapped around her wrists, Shi Xuetong dropped all pretense, her gaze venomous, cursing as she was led away by two agents.