Sitting in the car, watching with his own eyes as Cao Yu and his father were taken into the police car by the police, Xu Xiuwen turned his head to the three people in the back seat and smiled, asking, "How was it? Was this show exciting? Seeing Cao Yu being taken away by the police, I feel great. Do you guys feel great too?"
He Yu frowned and looked at Xu Xiuwen, asking, "Xiuwen, how did you know that Cao Yu and his father would be arrested tonight?"
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "Can't you see? I orchestrated all of this. The person who spoke to me just now wasn't a driver but a private detective. This was all planned by me. Of course, if they were good people, my plan would have been useless. But unfortunately, neither father nor son is good."
Wan Wei couldn't help but ask, "Xiuwen, why did you do this? Cao Yu is our classmate after all."
Liu Yang had been asleep and had just been woken up. Seeing Cao Yu and his father being taken away, he was very surprised.
Hearing Xu Xiuwen's words now and realizing that he was the mastermind, he felt a chill down his spine, and his drunkenness was immediately scared away. He looked at Xu Xiuwen, feeling that he was very unfamiliar.
"Classmate?" Xu Xiuwen sneered. His gaze swept across the faces of the three one by one, "Did he treat me as a classmate? I could overlook everything else, but stabbing me in the back, did you really think I didn't know anything?"
He Yu was shocked by these words. Could it be that Xu Xiuwen knew about that matter?
He thought for a few seconds, concluding that Cao Yu couldn't have told Xu Xiuwen, and the three of them definitely wouldn't tell him either. So Xu Xiuwen shouldn't know about it.
He pretended to look puzzled and asked, "Xiuwen, what do you mean? What do you know?"
Xu Xiuwen saw that He Yu was still in denial and shook his head. He then looked at Liu Yang and Wan Wei, asking, "What about you two?"
The two looked at each other and then said in unison, "Xiuwen, we don't understand what you mean."
Seeing their denial, Xu Xiuwen's heart grew cold.
Considering their good relationship in high school, he actually wanted to give them a chance.
Even if they admitted their betrayal now and apologized, because they were not the masterminds, Xu Xiuwen might have forgiven them.
But their steadfast denial erased his last bit of patience.
"Did you think your plan with Cao Yu could fool me forever?"
The three were stunned by these words.
Their faces turned pale instantly, as if drained of blood.
He Yu, who had served as class monitor for three years, had slightly better mental fortitude.
He forced himself to remain calm and said, "Xiuwen, I don't understand what you're talking about. What plan? I don't know anything."
Xu Xiuwen sneered and reminded them, "Do I need to remind you what you did on the eighth day of the New Year?"
The three remained silent. Xu Xiuwen continued, "Class monitor, why did you suddenly organize a dinner that day? Liu Yang and Wan Wei, you two poured me the most drinks at the table, right? When I went to the bathroom, the three of you followed me. That wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
He Yu was now much calmer than before. He asked in a deep voice, "Xiuwen, what exactly are you trying to say? Is organizing a dinner wrong? Liu Yang and Wan Wei toasting you was your choice to drink. Are you blaming us for getting you drunk that day?"
"Pretend! Keep pretending!" Xu Xiuwen clapped his hands.
He had always thought the class monitor was honest and straightforward. Only today did he realize He Yu had the potential to be an actor.
He Yu frowned, "Xiuwen, are you drunk? What am I pretending about?"
He turned to Xiao Youran, and urged, "Xiao Youran, Xu Xiuwen is drunk. You should call his mom!"
Xiao Youran had been silent all along. She didn't understand Xu Xiuwen's thoughts but vaguely sensed something.
Xu Xiuwen looked at He Yu and said to Xiao Youran, "Youran, I'm not drunk. Don't listen to him. I'll take you back after I finish speaking."
"He Yu, you really act well. If I hadn't seen you three talking with Cao Yu after the dinner that night, I would never have suspected your betrayal! You guys are really something!"
He Yu was already panicking inside, but he still refused to admit anything, "Xu Xiuwen, I don't understand your point. Cao Yu left late that day, and we just chatted for a bit. Did you misunderstand something?"
"You really won't admit it until you see the Yellow River, huh? I was in the car right next to you that night. I heard your conversation clearly. Cao Yu asked you to get information from me, so you organized that dinner. Those two got me drunk, and then the three of you tried to extract information from me in the bathroom. Do I need to spell it out for you to admit it? I saw with my own eyes Cao Yu giving you money and you handing him the recorder. Didn't you tell me it was an MP3 player?"
Seeing Xu Xiuwen recount the details so clearly, He Yu, Liu Yang, and Wan Wei all showed shocked expressions. Liu Yang and Wan Wei immediately looked ashamed, but He Yu remained expressionless and silent.
Liu Yang explained, "Xiuwen, I'm sorry. I didn't want to do it either, but they asked me to set you up. At first, I really didn't know it was Cao Yu who sent him to find me. Once I knew the truth, I always wanted to tell you."
Wang Wei immediately added, "Xiuwen, it was He Yu who found me. He said Xiao Youran was just stringing you along and didn't really like you. He knew we were close to you, so he asked us to persuade you to move on and find someone else to like. I was just concerned about you and didn't want you to be led on by Xiao Youran."
Liu Yang continued, "After that dinner party, He Yu told us the truth. I really didn't know before. If you don't believe me, you can ask He Yu."
Upon hearing this, He Yu suddenly chuckled.
He looked at Liu Yang and said, "Now that you've been found out, you're pinning all the blame on me. I remember when I told you, you seemed more interested in the money you could get rather than telling Xu Xiuwen."
"You're lying!"
"I'm lying? Haha, I remember you were dating a girl at the time and said you'd use the money to buy her a gift. Am I lying about that too?"
Liu Yang was instantly speechless.
He Yu turned to Wang Wei and continued, "I remember when I told you the truth, you said Xu Xiuwen wasn't good enough for Xiao Youran. Oh, and I also recall that you've had a crush on Xiao Youran for a long time."
Wang Wei's face turned red, and he pointed at He Yu, shouting, "You're talking nonsense!"
"I'm talking nonsense? Haha..." He Yu laughed for a while before saying, "The day before New Year's in the first semester of high school, you put a love letter on Xiao Youran's desk. You thought no one knew? I just didn't expect that a coward like you wouldn't even dare to say who you were. And yet, you had the nerve to ask her out. Hahaha..."
Upon hearing this, Wang Wei's pupils dilated.
He looked at He Yu like he had seen a ghost and said, "How did you know I wrote a love letter?"
He Yu chuckled, "I came early that morning, saw it while cleaning, and took it. Xiao Youran never received that letter, did you know that?"
Wang Wei's eyes instantly turned red, and he shouted, "I waited all day for Xiao Youran. I thought she didn't like me! Why did you do that?"
He Yu replied, "Because I like her too."
After saying this, He Yu ignored Wang Wei and turned to Xu Xiuwen, calmly saying, "Xu Xiuwen, what's so great about you? Just because you grew up with Xiao Youran? Do you think she likes you? Stop being delusional. You're like a leech clinging to her, and she can't shake you off."
Xiao Youran was completely stunned by now.
She had no idea there had been so many twists and turns.
Hearing from He Yu that Wang Wei liked her and had written her a love letter asking her out was already surprising enough.
The fact that He Yu had taken the letter and admitted he liked her was even more shocking.
Her mind was spinning.
But when He Yu said, "Do you think Xiao Youran likes you? Stop being delusional. You're like a leech clinging to her, and she can't shake you off," she suddenly snapped out of it.
Xiao Youran retorted, "He Yu, you're wrong. All these years, I've always liked Xiao Xu. I like having him by my side. He's not a leech!"
He Yu was stunned by Xiao Youran's words.
Regaining his composure, He Yu's expression turned grim.
He looked at Xiao Youran with a sneer and said, "Stop lying. Everyone in class knows he likes you. If you liked Xu Xiuwen, you would've been with him already. At the last dinner, you two acted like strangers. Do you think I didn't notice? You like him now because he's become an actor, a big star, and can make money. I used to think you were pure and elegant, but now it turns out you're just a money-grubbing woman."
Xiao Youran was furious at his words.
She was about to retort when a hand suddenly reached out and held her delicate hand.
Surprised, she turned to look.
Xu Xiuwen smiled at her.
His clean smile and gentle eyes, though he said nothing, spoke volumes.
Xiao Youran's emotions quickly calmed down.
Xu Xiuwen turned to He Yu, still smiling, and said, "Do you have anything else to say? I'll give you a chance to say it all."
He Yu was baffled.
He had said so much, expecting Xu Xiuwen to lose his temper and hit him.
He had even planned that if Xu Xiuwen hit him, he would call the police.
Xu Xiuwen was now an actor, a big star.
If a big star beat up a former high school classmate, the media would certainly criticize Xu Xiuwen heavily if he told his story to reporters.
He Yu's goal was not to get Xu Xiuwen imprisoned; he knew a mere assault wouldn't result in that.
His goal was to ruin Xu Xiuwen's reputation and career, making his acting career plummet.
He wanted to see if Xiao Youran would still like Xu Xiuwen then!
But what He Yu didn't expect was that Xu Xiuwen remained calm throughout.
He even had a faint smile on his face, as if He Yu's words were insignificant.
So He Yu was baffled.
Seeing that He Yu didn't speak, Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "Since you have nothing to say, get out of the car."
He Yu asked in surprise, "You're not angry?"
Xu Xiuwen retorted, "Why should I be angry?"
He Yu was at a loss for words.
"You three, get out of the car quickly, before I lose my temper!"
Upon hearing this, He Yu immediately opened the car door and got out.
Wan Wei and Liu Yang also got out from the other side.
After the three got out, Xu Xiuwen didn't stay and drove off immediately.
Watching the car leave without any hesitation, He Yu still couldn't believe that Xu Xiuwen let them off so easily.
Liu Yang asked, "How are we going to get home? This place is so remote, there aren't any taxis."
Wan Wei couldn't help but complain, "Xu Xiuwen is really inconsiderate. If he wasn't angry, why couldn't he give us a ride back?"
He Yu thought to himself: We stabbed Xu Xiuwen in the back, even if he's not angry, would he really be so kind as to take us home?
He shook his head, not wanting to waste words, and started walking towards the main road.
At that moment, Wan Wei suddenly realized and shouted at him, "He Yu, don't go! You took my love letter, aren't you going to give me an explanation? If not, I'm going to make you pay today."
He Yu turned to him and asked, "What explanation do you want? If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for being too cowardly to give the letter to Xiao Youran yourself."
Wan Wei was enraged by this.
He rushed forward, intending to punch He Yu.
But He Yu saw through his intention and didn't give him the chance.
The two immediately started wrestling with each other.
Liu Yang sighed, "At a time like this, you guys are still fighting over a love letter?"
Wan Wei shouted, "If he hadn't taken my love letter, I might be with Xiao Youran now."
He Yu sneered, "Keep dreaming, you coward. Do you think Xiao Youran would fall for you?"
The two continued grappling, and He Yu's down jacket was torn, with feathers spilling out.
Wan Wei wasn't doing any better, with all the buttons on his clothes ripped off.
Liu Yang didn't stand idly by.
He rushed in to stop them.
After some effort, he finally managed to separate them.
Once they were apart, He Yu and Wan Wei glared at each other furiously.
Both had several scratches on their faces, with blood oozing out.
He Yu calmed down first, snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
Liu Yang and Wan Wei had no choice but to follow him.
They had to, as they were heading in the same direction to get home.
They walked from the small road to the main road.
But this main road was very remote, with few people during the day, let alone at night.
The three had no choice but to walk along the road towards the city.
At this moment, a silver van approached from behind.
The light from the van's headlights grew brighter, casting three shadows in front of the trio.
Seeing the approaching vehicle, He Yu immediately stopped and began waving.
He thought to himself, even if it costs more, he must hitch a ride on this van.
He didn't want to walk back to the city, which would take until the middle of the night.
The van got closer and closer.
Finally, it stopped in front of them.
He Yu was pleased that his signal had worked and the van had stopped.
Just as he was about to speak, the van door suddenly opened.
Six burly men got out of the van.
These men wore matching gray jackets, with hats and masks.
Only their eyes were visible.
The three immediately realized something was wrong.
Each of these men held a thick wooden club.