Chapter 72: I Did It All for You

Shi Xuetong’s heart gave a jolt, and the aura she carried diminished instantly. Instinctively, she stepped back two paces. “What… what’s going on with you all?”

Huo Shuyue, unable to understand, asked in a strained voice, “Did you swap the medicine Gu Ci gave to Xiao Yang? Why would you do such a thing?”

The moment she spoke, everyone awaited Shi Xuetong’s answer, including Xiao Yang.

A flash of panic crossed Shi Xuetong’s eyes. How could this be… How could Huo Shuyue and the others possibly know about this? She had taken great care to conceal it. Besides, Huo Shuyue hadn’t mentioned anything for days—why did she suddenly know now?

As she met the furious gazes of Xiao Yang and Huo Shuyue, she shook her head desperately in denial. “No, I didn’t!”

At that moment, her mind was a tangled mess. Her eyes darted to Gu Ci, who stood calmly by, and suddenly it clicked. She spoke up, “Did Gu Ci tell you something behind my back?”

“Brother Xiao, Shuyue, it must be because her medicine didn’t work that she’s trying to shift the blame onto me! Don’t let her fool you!”

The more Shi Xuetong spoke, the more convinced she became that she was right. Gu Ci’s medicine was always some strange, unconventional concoction—how could it possibly be effective? She had boasted about her cure, yet Xiao Yang hadn’t improved as she promised, so of course she would pin the blame on someone else. And Shi Xuetong—she had become the scapegoat.

Angrily, she turned to Huo Shuyue and demanded, “Shuyue, aren’t you my best friend? Why don’t you believe me?”

One of Xiao Yang’s friends interjected bluntly, “Shi Xuetong, we’ve already seen the surveillance footage. Are you still going to deny it?”

“If there’s something troubling you, you can tell me. Why do you have to do such a thing?” Huo Shuyue’s disappointment was profound after hearing Shi Xuetong’s words of distrust.

She hadn’t believed Gu Ci at first—she had even defended Shi Xuetong moments ago—but Gu Ci had shown them the video. Everything was captured clearly: Xiao Yang said the pill he took that day was vitamin C, not the usual remedy Gu Ci made for him.

With such irrefutable evidence, there was no room left to argue on Shi Xuetong’s behalf.

Shi Xuetong dismissed it all, convinced Gu Ci had fabricated it to frame her. “Impossible, how could…”

She immediately snatched the supposed evidence from Xiao Yang’s friend and began watching the footage.

Her complexion paled with every passing second. She stared at the phone screen, barely able to believe her eyes.

“Shi Xuetong, do you have anything left to say?” Xiao Yang, barely restraining his anger, was on the verge of lashing out.

Had it not been for Gu Ci’s backup plan, providing him with a high-tech prosthesis, he couldn’t imagine how he would have survived today’s humiliation at the hands of Cao Yue.

Seeing that her deception had been exposed, Shi Xuetong gave up denying. “Yes, it was me who swapped Gu Ci’s medicine for vitamin C!”

“But Brother Xiao, I did it all for you! Gu Ci’s strange pills were meant to harm you—I was only afraid you’d be hurt by her.”

As she spoke, she threw a resentful look at Gu Ci. “See, I’m the one being harmed by her now!”

Xiao Yang nearly laughed from sheer exasperation. “Shi Xuetong, do you realize that because you switched the medicine, my bones still haven’t healed? Do you have any idea how important that medicine was for me?”

“You claim you did it for my own good? Swapping my medicine is your idea of helping me?”

It was as absurd as saying, “I killed you for your own good.”

Everyone thought Shi Xuetong’s reasoning was beyond comprehension.

But Shi Xuetong, her eyes rimmed with red, shouted back, “How could anyone know whether her medicine was good or bad? I was just being cautious! I didn’t mean any harm—why do you all have to look at me like that?!”

Having just been questioned by the person she liked—and humiliated by the embarrassing scene earlier—Shi Xuetong was on the verge of breaking down. “Besides, Xiao Yang, aren’t you fine now? Why do you have to hold on to such a small thing? Can’t you forgive me? I like you so much—how can you say such things about me over something so trivial?”

She had liked Xiao Yang so much, and everything she did was for him; why did she have to join Huo Shuyue and the others in criticizing her? She was already terrified—couldn’t Xiao Yang feel sorry for her?

Everyone was stunned by Shi Xuetong’s declaration: “I like you so much.”

Shi Xuetong… likes Xiao Yang?

Wasn’t she supposed to be Huo Shuyue’s best friend?

The silence stretched across the court, and several people exchanged uneasy glances, their gazes settling on Huo Shuyue.

Huo Shuyue felt as if lightning had struck her.

All this time, she’d thought of Shi Xuetong as her dearest friend, only to discover that secretly she liked the same person—and never once had she confessed it.

She recalled the times she’d done things for Xiao Yang, and Shi Xuetong’s even more diligent, ostensibly helpful behavior. Her face darkened with realization.

So all along, Shi Xuetong had been approaching Xiao Yang under the guise of helping her.

At this moment, the deserted basketball court held only Xiao Yang’s group and a few cleaning ladies. Hearing Shi Xuetong’s pitiful, heartfelt words, the women couldn’t help but come over to speak on her behalf.

“Young man, don’t be so petty. She’s just a young girl who made a mistake—do you really need to gang up on her like this?”

“That’s right, you kids can’t have much to argue over. Besides, she said she did it because she liked you and wanted to do something good for you. Why not forgive her and let it go?”

Xiao Yang and his friends were baffled by the logic.

One of Xiao Yang’s friends tried to explain, “Ma’am, you don’t know what really happened—she nearly ruined my friend…”

One of the cleaning ladies cut him off, waving her hand dismissively. “Oh, what trouble could kids like you get into? And you said ‘nearly’—so nothing happened, right? Why so hung up on it? Kids are always so fussy.”

Their words left everyone feeling utterly stifled.

One lady offered Shi Xuetong a tissue to wipe her tears, comforting her, “Don’t be sad, dear.”

Then she shot a glare at Xiao Yang. “Young man, why don’t you console her and apologize so this can be put behind you?”

Xiao Yang stared in disbelief, pointing at himself. “I’m the victim and I have to apologize?”

The cleaning ladies immediately began scolding him in chorus.

“She’s crying so hard, and you have no sympathy at all?”

“Young people these days are really getting worse.”

“If she had any other choice, she wouldn’t have made such a mistake—why not try to understand? It’s not a big deal!”

With the cleaning ladies’ support, Shi Xuetong felt triumphant within. On the surface, she thanked them quietly, her eyes still red, then turned to Xiao Yang and said, “Xiao Yang, I don’t blame you, but…”

Her voice shifted, biting back her anger as she pointed fiercely at Gu Ci…