Chapter 201: Show mercy whenever possible
"Hey, have you heard? Ye QiuXue is back!"
"Huh? She's coming back to study at our school? So soon?"
"Of course not. She’s just visiting for a bit. What, hoping things will go back to the way they were?"
"Obviously! You know how Han ShuYi’s reputation has tanked since that cultural festival."
"Yeah, true. That night, just from the atmosphere, anyone could tell who the winner should’ve been. But then they handed it to Han ShuYi. What was that about?"
"Shh, keep your voice down. Ye QiuXue isn’t the student council president anymore. If Han ShuYi hears you, who knows what trouble you'll get into."
"What's there to be scared of? I’m not part of the student council. Anyway, I heard that anyone close to Ye QiuXue from back then has already been removed. It's obviously a purge to plant his own people."
"Exactly. It’s nothing like before. When Ye QiuXue was around, the school was fair and just."
People often don’t appreciate what they have until it’s gone.
The conversation between the two students made it clear: the fairness Ye QiuXue had upheld was now a thing of the past.They still remembered Han ShuYi’s declaration when he became student council president—how he’d create a freer space for students.
But looking at things now, it was freedom under his iron control, even more stifling than before.
The two turned and headed to the cafeteria, unaware that Han ShuYi had been standing at the stairwell, listening the entire time.
His hand gripped the stack of documents so tightly that the papers were bent and crumpled.
Han ShuYi was in a foul mood. Every time he resolved to deal with HuMing, something always got in the way.
He thought the cultural festival debacle would fade with time, but Ye QiuXue’s return had reignited the flames.
Dissatisfaction with him was growing within the school.
This was nothing short of a disaster for him!
And worse, Ye QiuXue will officially return next semester. If he couldn’t win back the students' favor by then, he’d have no chance of competing with her.
Taking a deep breath, Han ShuYi tried to calm himself and think of a way to turn the situation around.
Suddenly, a mocking voice came from the staircase behind him.
“President Han, worrying about how to silence the students, are you?”
Han ShuYi spun around to see HuMing standing a few steps above, looking down at him.
The angle of HuMing’s gaze made Han ShuYi feel deeply uncomfortable.
"HuMing, don’t think just because you beat me this time, you’ve won everything. I know what you’re up to!"
"No, you don’t. You never have, Han ShuYi. You always view things with such a narrow perspective. That’s why your vision is short-sighted. You even used the Han family’s influence to claim the champion. But did it help? All you’ve done is add another stain to your name."
The stairwell was empty, just the two of them. No one else could hear their words.
Han ShuYi stared at HuMing—the person who had turned his life upside down and taken everything he’d ever wanted.
He hated HuMing with every fiber of his being. If it weren’t for him, he would always have been the young master of the Han family, not someone who spent years in a tiny village enduring the scorn of others.
Rage bubbled up, consuming his reason.
He fixed his cold gaze on HuMing, his tone dripping with venom.
“Han HuMing—no, HuMing. After all, you were the one who discarded that name yourself.”
“Oh? Looks like you’ve dropped the act too. But even if you know my true identity, what can you do about it? Remember the knife on the cliff? You recall it well, don’t you?”
Han ShuYi instinctively touched his shoulder.
Of course, he remembered. Lee Tian might have wielded that knife, but Han ShuYi knew it carried HuMing’s intent.
From the start, HuMing had planned to use that incident to sever ties with the Han family.
But why? What was HuMing’s goal in abandoning his family identity?
Han ShuYi couldn’t figure it out at first. It wasn’t until a conversation with a certain person that everything clicked.
It had all been a mistake.
From the moment they were born, their identities had been switched.
The one who should have lived a lowly life now stood above him, while HuMing was the one who truly belonged at the top.
This truth shattered Han ShuYi’s pride. But now, he could only ally with that person to eliminate HuMing.
“I remember it clearly. HuMing, you schemed so hard to return, just to find the person behind me, right?”
HuMing raised an eyebrow, surprised that Han ShuYi had admitted it so readily. But that was fine—it saved him the trouble of probing.
“Since you know my goal, why persist like this? Han ShuYi, there was never any personal grudge between us. If you hadn’t targeted me, I wouldn’t have acted against you. Now that you know the truth, I’m willing to overlook everything you’ve done. Just tell me who’s backing you!”
At first glance, these words sounded like charity, but this was the greatest mercy HuMing could offer Han ShuYi—or rather, the greatest dignity he could afford the Han family.
But to Han ShuYi, it was nothing but mockery.
HuMing’s words were as good as saying, “You’re no match for me. Just give up.”
He didn’t trust HuMing. He couldn’t believe HuMing would so easily let go of past grudges, especially when it came to him.
What Han ShuYi didn’t realize, however, was that HuMing genuinely couldn’t be bothered to hold a grudge over such things.
Not everyone was as petty and narrow-minded as he was.
"HuMing, do you think you've already won? That we're all just pawns in your game?"
A strange smile crept onto Han ShuYi’s face, unsettling HuMing.
This Han ShuYi wasn’t the same as before. He had been consumed by self-destruction.
Straightening his posture, HuMing looked at him calmly.
He could have tried reasoning with Han ShuYi, but why bother?
Show mercy whenever possible?
My ass!