A Guilty Conscience

[The print edition is now available. Find Cen Shan on Jinjiang.]

[Bonus chapters are up and available to readers with a 70% subscription rate. Chapter 67 was accidentally set to 100%. Its contents have been moved to the author's note for Chapter 66, so you only need to read Chapter 66 and its author's note. No need to open Chapter 67.]

He stole his friend's girlfriend | Love triangle drama | Second male lead wins

Reserved and restrained × clear-eyed and independent

1.

Yu Sheng barely remembered Liang Yizhi. She only knew he was a famous academic star, an older fellow student, and a friend of her ex-boyfriend, Meng Xizhou.

Her teachers described him as humble and reserved, yet steadfast in his lofty ambitions.

They had barely been more than passing acquaintances.

When they met again, he was an associate professor at Mingcheng University. Wearing a black shirt, he looked composed and was quite different from the person she remembered.

When he saw her, he greeted her as “junior sister,” polite but distant.

A friend saw through Liang Yizhi's feelings and joked with him, “If you like her, go after her.”

Liang Yizhi frowned and replied solemnly, “Don't talk nonsense.”

2.

One day, at an alumni gathering, Yu Sheng and Liang Yizhi went together, not expecting to find her ex-boyfriend, Meng Xizhou, there as well.

During the meal, their former mentor reminisced about the past and tried to reconcile Yu Sheng and her ex.

Liang Yizhi kept a calm expression.

But in a corner where no one could see, he held Yu Sheng's hand tightly and wrote words in her palm.

Yu Sheng's breath caught. Her heart felt ready to leap out of her chest.

That day, Meng Xizhou came to ask her to get back together.

With only a door between them, Liang Yizhi held her captive in his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck. His voice hoarse, he asked:

“Do you still love him?”

“Are you going to leave me for him?”

3.

Liang Yizhi had lived with his grandparents since childhood. They taught him to be upright, courteous, and virtuous.

He had always held himself to those standards.

Until that late autumn, when fallen plane tree leaves covered the ground.

The young woman wore a long dress and danced slowly to the music. A beam of light followed her, and even her hair seemed to dance.

She was like a divine maiden, like a light in the dark.

When the dance ended, she fluttered like a butterfly into Meng Xizhou's open arms.

Meng Xizhou held her close.

Liang Yizhi, hidden in the night, lowered his head slightly.

She was his friend's girlfriend. The more his heart stirred, the more shameful he felt.

To Liang Yizhi, loving Yu Sheng meant taking advantage of someone's vulnerability, and having a guilty conscience.

An upright man had done the most despicable thing.

[Blurb written on 2023.11.11 and screenshotted]

· Guqin maker × university professor

· The information about guqin making was gathered online. If you spot any mistakes, please let me know.

· “She was like a divine maiden, like a light in the dark” was inspired by the Heaven choreography found online.

· A 90% advance-reading lock has been set.

Theme: Promoting the traditional culture of guqin making