Chapter 58 Her Weakness Weakness or Comfort Zone…

Chapter 58: Her Weak Spot – A Vulnerability or a Comfort Zone...

Yu Kui had no intention of engaging in conversation. After the salesperson wrapped the gift, she was about to leave.

"Yu Kui?" A voice, tinged with surprise, called from behind.

Yu Kui slowly turned. Tao Jiang was walking towards her, asking with an air of familiarity, "Haven’t you left for school yet?"

Yu Kui hadn't expected her to greet her. She gave a faint nod. "I'm just about to."

Noticing the same shopping bag in Yu Kui’s hand, Tao Jiang offered a slight smile. "You use this brand too? I use it often and quite like it..."

"It’s for a friend," Yu Kui interjected before Tao Jiang could finish.

Tao Jiang’s expression stiffened. "Really? Is it for Sun Shuya?"

Yu Kui didn’t deny it. "If that's all, I should go."

She and Tao Jiang had long since drifted apart. Tao Jiang’s words now left Yu Kui feeling confused, even wary.

"I just wanted to talk to you," Tao Jiang said instinctively as Yu Kui turned to leave. "I mean you no harm."

Yu Kui retorted, "That’s not what you said last year at the cake shop."

Back then, Tao Jiang and Qin You were inseparable, and she’d looked at Yu Kui as if she were a fool. Yu Kui didn’t believe she could be so forgetful.

"I was too young and impulsive then. Please don't hold it against me." Tao Jiang smoothly offered an excuse.

"It has nothing to do with me," Yu Kui said, unwilling to prolong the interaction. "Let’s end this here."

With that, she turned to leave.

"Yu Kui!" Tao Jiang hurried after her. "Qin You and I broke up. Did you know?"

Yu Kui kept walking, as if she hadn't heard.

"You can go back to him now. He’d take you back. I’d even bless you both."

Hearing this, Yu Kui paused and turned to meet her gaze. "What do you take me for? A trash can for your discards?"

Tao Jiang was momentarily stunned. "That’s not what I meant..."

"The reason you and Qin You broke up is common knowledge even among our high school classmates. There’s no need to feign magnanimity in front of me," Yu Kui said, offering no quarter. "You don’t actually think I’m still as naive as before, do you?"

Had Tao Jiang not uttered those words, Yu Kui wouldn't have bothered arguing. But since Tao Jiang was intent on provoking her, why should Yu Kui hold back?

"Whatever happened between you and Qin You was never my concern. If you want to reconcile with him, you don't need to sound me out. I have more self-respect than that."

"You!" Tao Jiang could tolerate Zhou Xiao’s mockery, but she never expected Yu Kui to dare ridicule her. Her chest heaved with anger, and her gaze turned instantly icy.

She hadn’t called out to Yu Kui to reminisce or play matchmaker. It was purely because Tao Jiang was upset and wanted to vent. The moment she saw Yu Kui, she called out without thinking, intending to use Qin You to provoke her and prove she still held the upper hand, capable of manipulating Yu Kui's emotions like crushing an ant.

But Yu Kui actually had the audacity to talk back.

"I just pity you," Tao Jiang said, suppressing her anger and feigning composure. "I know you still like Qin You. For the sake of our past friendship, I’m willing to give him back to you. Don't you think that's generous of me?"

Yu Kui chuckled at her words. "Give him to me? The news even covered his fight with your fling at the hot pot restaurant. Should I dig it up and show you? Or should I call Qin You right now and let you hear what he has to say?"

Tao Jiang’s face paled slightly, but she maintained her composure. "That’s all in the past. There’s no need to mock me with it."

"On the contrary," Tao Jiang said pointedly, "with Qin You and me broken up, isn’t this your chance? There’s no need to act indifferent in front of me."

"Is that so?" Yu Kui said unhurriedly. "Looks like you already know that Qin You came to me, begging for another chance."

"What did you say?" Tao Jiang’s eyes widened, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"You didn’t know?" Yu Kui feigned surprise. "I thought you were aware of his choice. He didn’t mention you at all, only said he regrets everything he’s done. If he could start over, he’d study hard and get into his dream university."

Tao Jiang’s hands trembled with rage.

If she had initially called out to Yu Kui just to assert herself and humiliate her, hearing about her ex-boyfriend saying such things to Yu Kui felt like a profound insult.

Qin You was easier to control than Zhou Xiao, and his feelings for her were more devoted. Even after the hot pot incident, she was certain he wouldn’t change. As long as she coaxed him a little, he’d come back to her. That’s why she had prioritized Zhou Xiao when making her choice.

But she never expected Qin You to seek out Yu Kui in less than a month. What position did he think she held? Who gave him the audacity to do this?

Tao Jiang’s eyes flickered with cold fury, as if she wished she could kill Yu Kui on the spot.

"If he said those things to you, it’s only because he’s angry with me. How could he possibly want to be with you for real?"

Hearing this, Yu Kui was certain Tao Jiang hadn’t truly let go of Qin You. Her act of magnanimity was merely an attempt to provoke her.

"Weren’t you the one offering him to me?"

Tao Jiang pressed her lips together. Seeing Yu Kui’s calm, almost mocking gaze, she felt as if she were back in the scene where Zhou Xiao had so freely belittled her.

But what was Yu Kui?

A loser from her school days, a stepping stone she could manipulate with ease. What right did she have to challenge her?

"Even if I give him to you, would you dare take him?" Tao Jiang finally dropped the act, sneering coldly. "I stole him from you once, and I can do it again. Do you really think you can keep him?"

"Tao Jiang, do you still think you’re in high school?" Yu Kui almost laughed. "Still believe you’re the school’s heartthrob, that everyone likes you and gives in to you? You’re an adult now. No one’s going to indulge you anymore."

Without another word, Yu Kui walked out of the mall, completely uninterested in engaging further.

"Who are you to judge me?" Watching her walk away, Tao Jiang chased after her, seething. "Do you have any idea how much Qin You has done for me? As long as I’m around, you’ll never be with him!"

The early spring street was bustling with people. Tao Jiang seemed to have forgotten her usual restraint, becoming almost hysterical. "From the moment we first met, he liked me. For me, he turned down tutoring you. On the surface, we were all friends, but privately, he chatted with me all the time. He knew you weren’t well, yet he still let you take my place in the long-distance race. He bought me affordable luxury jewelry, took me to eat all sorts of delicious food. Watching you get played like a fool—it gave us both such satisfaction..."

As Tao Jiang rambled on, gloating over the past, Yu Kui’s face remained expressionless. She simply watched Tao Jiang’s eyes, observing how she clung to these memories as if they could restore her confidence and crush Yu Kui once more. Yu Kui sighed softly.

"I know," she said. "I’ve known all along."

Tao Jiang froze.

Yu Kui continued, "I knew he fell for you at first sight. I knew you two were secretly messaging each other. I also knew that on the day you made me run in your place, you weren’t on your period—you lied to me. You enjoyed watching me run in circles for your amusement, as if that meant you’d defeated me."

"How do you know all this?" Tao Jiang grew suspicious. "Did Qin You tell you?"

"No," Yu Kui said. "What you and he did—I didn’t need either of you to tell me. But you have no secrets from me."

Yu Kui thought to herself, if Tao Jiang had her condescending arrogance, she had her own pride too. If she wanted revenge, the novel’s plot alone could socially ruin Tao Jiang countless times over.

"You’re still trying to trick me." Tao Jiang scoffed. "Even if Qin You told you, so what? He’s always been on my side."

"Tao Jiang, I actually know what your family background is really like," Yu Kui said calmly. "I also know what kind of person you truly are. There’s no need to pretend in front of me. The reason I never exposed you was that I felt sorry for you."

"Family background?" Tao Jiang’s pupils contracted sharply. She had hidden it so well. "There’s no way you could know!"

Yu Kui slowly uttered two words: "Mistress."

Tao Jiang froze on the spot, unable to believe what she had just heard, her expression becoming exceptionally shocked and fearful.

"Don't come to bother me again," Yu Kui continued. "Whatever is between you and Qin You has nothing to do with me. I won't get involved, nor will I develop any relationship with him. Just stay away from me, or I can't promise what I might do."

With that, she turned and walked away.

"How could you possibly know about that?" Tao Jiang came back to her senses, her earlier arrogance completely gone. "There's no way you could know about this..."

"I have my ways," Yu Kui said coldly. "Don't treat everyone like fools."

Tao Jiang stood rooted to the spot, the two words uttered by Yu Kui echoing in her mind, driving her nearly to collapse.

"Impossible..." How could the person she despised most know about her family background? "It can't be..."

But Yu Kui had no intention of explaining further and soon disappeared into the crowd.

In truth, the moment she brought up Tao Jiang's family origins, Yu Kui felt she had gone too far. She shouldn't have used it as a weapon against Tao Jiang. Yet, as the words left her mouth and she saw the shock and fear in Tao Jiang's eyes, she felt a sense of lightness.

She was no longer the innocent, kind girl she once was. Her heart now held both light and dark corners.

If Tao Jiang continued to use "Qin You" to belittle and bully her, Yu Kui would not leave her with any dignity.

Didn't Tao Jiang crave the spotlight? Yu Kui could grant that wish and make her completely famous.

The only thing Yu Kui pitied about Tao Jiang was that, even though the plot of the storyline had changed and everyone now had the chance to make different choices, Tao Jiang remained stuck in the past.

Was her family background her weakness, or was it simply a comfort zone she refused to leave?