Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 27

Shen Yu smoked one cigarette after another until the entire pack was empty, yet he still felt restless and suffocated.

The sense of uncertainty and loss in his heart grew heavier, weighing on him unbearably.

Ever since Xu Zhizhi distanced herself from him, Shen Yu had gone through one girlfriend after another.

In terms of looks, none of them were any less attractive than Xu Zhizhi.

Yet, Shen Yu couldn’t help but think of her, even obsessively so.

He stubbed out the last cigarette, grabbed his coat, and strode out the door.

Hu Chen, who was in the middle of gaming, looked up and asked, “Yu, where are you going in this freezing weather?”

Shen Yu replied, “To find Xu Zhizhi.”

Hu Chen was baffled. “Huh???”

From the Sports Academy to the Arts Academy, it was a full forty-minute walk.

Shen Yu braced against the biting wind as he walked down the snow-covered campus path.

Not far away, a girl in a down jacket was running through the winter chill, holding a cup of hot milk tea, heading toward the boy she liked.

Shen Yu stared at the girl’s radiant, flower-like smile, her youthful infatuation written all over her face, and fell into deep thought.

In his memories, the well-behaved Xu Zhizhi had always run toward him like that, bright and smiling, as dazzling as the morning sun rising over the sea, pure and beautiful.

Her smile was sweet.

The little dimples at the corners of her lips were the loveliest.

Shen Yu used to find Xu Zhizhi annoying, never giving her a kind look, yet she still humbled herself to approach and please him.

With just a glance from Shen Yu, Xu Zhizhi would beam like a little girl who had been given candy, happy all day long.

He had lost count of how many times Xu Zhizhi had walked toward him, brimming with eager anticipation, only to lower her head in disappointment and continue being obedient and compliant.

She was too docile, without a single rebellious bone in her body.

Shen Yu hated that about Xu Zhizhi.

Absolutely despised it.

But when Xu Zhizhi truly and quietly disappeared from his world, Shen Yu began to panic.

He grew irritable, restless, and utterly lost.

He was pathetic.

Shen Yu went straight to the Arts Academy’s painting studio.

Xu Zhizhi was only ever in the studio working on her final assessment piece.

He pushed the door open, letting in a gust of cold wind that stirred Xu Zhizhi’s long hair.

She turned to look, meeting Shen Yu’s domineering gaze.

He seemed hostile, probably here to pick a fight.

Xu Zhizhi set down her paintbrush and palette, her expression calm. “Classmate, can I help you with something?”

Her indifferent attitude felt so unfamiliar.

Shen Yu stepped over the haphazardly placed easels, closing in on Xu Zhizhi step by step. “Xu Zhizhi, what’s your relationship with Zhou Xuci?”

After a moment’s thought, she answered, “We’re… friends.”

She stood where she was, watching as Shen Yu walked toward her.

The person she had once exhausted all her strength chasing after was finally coming toward her, again and again.

But she wouldn’t turn back anymore.

Shen Yu stopped in front of her, his expression cold and mocking. “Friends? Do you think I’m blind?”

Xu Zhizhi looked at him, confused.

“That photo on the campus forum, the person Zhou Xuci was holding was you.” Shen Yu grabbed her wrist and yanked her closer, his voice tight with anger. “Xu Zhizhi, it was you, wasn’t it?”

He glanced at the bear hair tie on her wrist.

“This hair tie is yours.”

Then he looked at the boots on her feet.

“And these shoes are yours too.”

A cold glint flashed in Shen Yu’s eyes as he advanced step by step, pressing closer. “Xu Zhizhi, are you still trying to deny it?”

“Why should I deny it?” Xu Zhizhi struggled to break free but couldn’t, wincing from the pain of his grip. “It was me. So what?”

“What kind of friendship is this?” Shen Yu’s eyes burned with anger. “I told you to stay away from Zhou Xuci. Can’t you understand human words? Or do I need to teach you, one word at a time?”

Xu Zhizhi endured the pain in her wrist, glaring back defiantly. “You have no right to act crazy here. We’re not even friends.”

She tried to wrench herself free but failed.

“Xu Zhizhi, the Shen family raised you for ten years!” Shen Yu pressed his hand on her shoulder, trapping her, refusing to let her escape. “You have to listen to me.”

Xu Zhizhi’s eyes reddened slightly, her voice trembling. “Shen Yu, don’t go too far.”

“Me? Going too far?” Shen Yu’s agitation grew, his tone sharp and relentless. “When you liked me, you clung to me desperately. Now that you don’t, you toss me aside. Who’s really going too far here? Xu Zhizhi, what exactly am I to you in your heart?”

He was losing it.

Completely.

The emotions he had suppressed for over two months erupted like a volcano at this very moment.

He realized he couldn’t live without Xu Zhizhi!

Not even a little bit.

Not giving her a chance to retort, Shen Yu, like a hedgehog baring its spines, shot her a fierce glare, each word piercing like a blade. “What, is Zhou Xuci easier to cling to than me?”

Xu Zhizhi’s mind went blank from the sting. She raised her hand, intending to slap him.

Shen Yu saw it coming. He caught her wrist and shoved her back dismissively.

“Listen, I won’t allow you to like anyone but me-”

Before he could finish, there was a sharp clatter.

As Xu Zhizhi stumbled back from the push, she knocked over the easel behind her.

The canvas holding her unfinished oil painting was flung aside, landing on the palette nearby.

Wet paint from the palette smeared across her painting in thick, chaotic streaks.

Half a month’s work, ruined.

Xu Zhizhi crouched down, staring at the ruined painting, her body shaking with fury.

This was her final assessment piece.

She looked up, shooting Shen Yu a glare filled with disgust and disappointment.

She truly despised him.

Shen Yu froze. All his arrogance vanished in an instant as he stared at the destroyed painting, his voice tinged with guilt. “I… I didn’t mean to.”

Xu Zhizhi swallowed her rage, taking a deep breath before picking up the ruined canvas.

In a low voice, she uttered,

“Shen Yu, get out.”

“Xu Zhizhi, I…” Shen Yu, faced with her icy expression, suddenly panicked. “Maybe it can still be fixed. Let me help you-”

Before he could finish, there was a sharp rip, the sound of paper tearing.

Xu Zhizhi shredded the ruined painting piece by piece, her gaze cold as she looked at him. “It can’t be fixed.”

Just like us. We’ve reached this point, and neither of us can turn back.

Shen Yu shook his head, calling her name softly. “Xu Zhizhi.”

“Shen Yu, all those times I groveled for you without limits,” Xu Zhizhi lowered her head, her eyes reflecting a quiet resignation, “consider them a joke.”

For eight long years, I trudged through that farce until I was utterly exhausted, only to end up as a laughingstock in the end.

With that, Xu Zhizhi clutched the torn pieces and walked out. Passing by the trash can, she hurled them in with a furious force.

Shen Yu stood rooted to the spot, watching Xu Zhizhi’s resolute figure retreat into the distance.

At this moment, he truly felt it,

The little shadow that had always followed him had really abandoned him.

No.

He wouldn’t allow it.

…