The next morning.

Chen Hao woke up to find himself lying in his own bed, already dressed in a set of clean clothes.

Having drunk too much the night before, his head still felt heavy, and his stomach roiled with unease.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. Looking at it, he found a bite mark surrounded by a bruise.

"So everything that happened last night wasn't a dream!" Chen Hao exclaimed.

In a flash, he became acutely alert.

He felt overwhelmingly oppressed, then desperately tried to recall the events of the previous night: Ye Yuqiao had come to him, and he had slapped her fiercely several times.

Chen Hao could no longer remember the exact details of what followed. The only thing he could clearly recall was Ye Yuqiao's vicious bite on his shoulder, the teeth mark and bruise evidence of the incident, and afterwards, how Ye Yuqiao had kept her brows slightly knitted.

After freshening up, Chen Hao slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way downstairs. Without hesitation, he took out his keys and opened the door.

However, upon entering, Chen Hao's heart immediately clenched. He saw Ye Yuqiao curled up on the sofa, her body trembling non-stop, making low sobbing sounds, like a helpless, wounded little girl, which was heart-wrenching.

Chen Hao walked up to Ye Yuqiao, his right hand gently holding her left arm.

"Ah!" Ye Yuqiao screamed in terror, her face streaked with pink tear trails. She looked up at Chen Hao with tear-filled eyes and said, "Don't touch me, don't touch me!"

Chen Hao scratched his head in annoyance, realizing only then that he had hurt Ye Yuqiao. Earlier he had been somewhat pleased with himself, but now he felt nothing but shame.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Chen Hao let go of Ye Yuqiao's left arm as he said with a sobbing tone full of regret.

"Why did you do this to me?" Ye Yuqiao said to Chen Hao with overwhelming sadness.

Chen Hao had no answer, he just lowered his head in shame, continuously mumbling apologies. He thought, I like Yuqiao, how could I do something to hurt her, to make her sad. Maybe I should be like Zhao Chong, happy just to see her happy and content.

After a long silence, Ye Yuqiao finally stopped crying. She looked up at Chen Hao and asked, "Chen Hao, do you really hate me now, really don't want to see me?"

"No!" Chen Hao shook his head, his eyes glistening with tears. "I like you, I did before, and I still do!"

"You say that, but you won't like me in the future, right?" Ye Yuqiao's voice sank lower.

Chen Hao crouched in front of Ye Yuqiao, holding her hands, his face showing a bitter smile as he said, "Maybe I've been too selfish, always thinking that emotional investment should be reciprocated. That was the fundamental reason why I kept clinging to Lin Xiaofan. My heart should be bigger, it should be enough to see you happy and joyful."

Ye Yuqiao, whose tears had just been stopped, began to cry again, asking between sobs, "What do you mean by that?"

Chen Hao smiled again, raised his hand to wipe away Ye Yuqiao's tears, explaining, "Don't worry, even if you're not my girlfriend in the future, I will still take care of you, until I help you defeat the Ghost King. However, I won't help you find that zombie you like, I'm not that generous. Haha!"

With that, Chen Hao laughed awkwardly, but it was a laugh from his heart. After he stopped laughing, his face suddenly became somber, his mouth twisted bitterly as he said, "You don't need to worry about me either. Sooner or later, I'll meet someone who can replace you. Just like life, no matter how bad it gets, it will eventually get better."

After speaking, a tear escaped from Chen Hao's left eye, which he quickly wiped away. Then, taking a deep breath, he put on a smile that symbolized sunshine.

And before her, Ye Yuqiao was already crying uncontrollably.

Chen Hao once again gripped Ye Yuqiao's hand tightly, then bowed his head and left a kiss on the back of Yuqiao's left hand, saying, "Your Majesty, the Queen, I'm off now, going to school."

The casualness in Chen Hao's words belied the actual farewell he felt in his heart, a goodbye he considered both graceful and gentlemanly. Having said this, he released Ye Yuqiao's hand, slowly rose to his feet, turned, and walked away.

"Are you really giving up on me just like that? Bastard! What a bastard!"

After Chen Hao left, Ye Yuqiao sobbed.

..

After school in the afternoon.

No sooner had class ended and before he could slip away, Chen Hao was cornered at the stairwell by Xie Xiaofeng, Tang Jing, and Tang Chao.

"You bastard, were you trying to hide from us?" Xie Xiaofeng approached Chen Hao with a light laugh.

Chen Hao nodded in admission, then sighed and said, "Indeed, I did want to avoid you guys, but I think it's time I told you about it!"

Seeing Chen Hao's disheartened expression, Xie Xiaofeng gave an awkward smile and mumbled, "Don't tell me you really have some bad news for us?"

Five minutes later, the four arrived at the school's basketball court. It was already late autumn, and the chilling wind whistled through, leaving few students playing on the court.

"Chen Hao, do you have something important to announce to us? The atmosphere feels so serious!" Xie Xiaofeng said, frowning.

After a sigh, Chen Hao closed his eyes and said softly, "Yuqiao and I may no longer be boyfriend and girlfriend, but we'll still be good friends, as well as companions and comrades-in-arms!"

Hearing Chen Hao's words, the three of them turned to stone in an instant!

After a long while, Xie Xiaofeng exclaimed in surprise, "Chen Hao, you bastard, don't tell me you've fallen for someone else?"

Chen Hao gave another helpless sigh, holding back his inner pain, and said lightly, "Hey hey hey, how come none of you consider that maybe Yuqiao doesn't like me?"

"How is that possible!" Tang Jing exclaimed, "Do you remember last time we went to the Ghost Market in Dao County, there was a shop called Uncle Ghost's Candy Store? Didn't you and Yuqiao both eat a type of candy there?"

"Uh," Chen Hao said, nodding blankly, "you're saying that has something to do with whether or not she likes me?"

As Chen Hao said this, the other three were once again stunned.

Two seconds later, Xie Xiaofeng explained, "You idiot, don't you really know? That lollipop is called the 'Heart Belongs' lollipop, it only turns into the likeness of the person your heart desires. We three saw it, the lollipop in Ye Yuqiao's hand clearly turned into your image, how could she possibly not like you!"

Chen Hao's face showed surprise, thinking so that's why, even though he had imagined a pig's head, Ye Yuqiao's likeness had appeared instead – it was the real truth, Ye Yuqiao didn't want him to know that she had already fallen for him.

..

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