Chapter 59: Sorry, She Already Has Someone Here
Source: http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5896087
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The spring breeze gently lifted the hem of the girl’s white dress, making it billow slightly. The light fabric floated like water plants in the wind.
Her shoulder-length hair was gently lifted by the breeze, with a simple white headband dotted with green, adding a touch of elegance.
Wei Qingyu stood there holding her script in both hands, waiting for Ji Xiao to walk over.
The light shone on her clean, delicate face, giving her an especially gentle appearance, with a bit of a girl-next-door charm.
Ji Xiao sat on the podium, looking a little dazed.
Even though she repeatedly tried to suppress her heart’s unsteady rhythm, the feeling of admiration and affection still disobediently surfaced.
Qi Qi nudged the unresponsive Ji Xiao with her elbow and said, “Sister Xiao, what are you doing? Go quickly.”
Only then did Ji Xiao snap out of it. She quickly braced herself on the stage with one hand and jumped down. “Oh, oh, oh, I am going.”
Qi Qi watched Ji Xiao’s flustered movements, nodding as she cautioned, “Be careful.”
“Got it.” Ji Xiao gave her an OK gesture and then jogged towards Wei Qingyu.
“For you.”
As Ji Xiao spoke, she handed the milk tea to Wei Qingyu. Wei Qingyu looked at her, said thanks, and took the milk tea.
She didn’t know when it started, but whenever Ji Xiao and her trio of troublemakers skipped class to buy things, there was always one for her.
Wei Qingyu took a sip of the strawberry mousse snow-top. The delicate sweetness, mixed with the flavor of peach brandy, flowed warmly into her heart.
The heart that was warmed by the sunlight, was filled with today’s small moments of happiness.
A gentle breeze blew through the gap between them, while the students around them hurried towards the auditorium.
Ji Xiao looked at the shadows of herself and Wei Qingyu, side by side on the grassy field, finding the quietness a bit overwhelming. She took the initiative to start a conversation, saying, “You’re going to speak as the student representative soon, right? Is it after the principal?”
Wei Qingyu nodded. “Mm.”
Ji Xiao glanced at the speech script in Wei Qingyu’s hand and asked, “Can I take a look at your speech?”
“Sure.” Wei Qingyu said as she handed the script to Ji Xiao.
Unlike anyone Ji Xiao had met in her original world, Wei Qingyu’s script was entirely handwritten.
Her neat and familiar handwriting flowed across the unlined A4 paper, tidy and orderly, with not a hint of mess despite the lack of guidelines.
Ji Xiao read Wei Qingyu’s manuscript word by word, and as her fingers held the paper, she couldn’t help but recall the warmth of Wei Qingyu’s hand that day.
Even now, when Ji Xiao recalled the heart-fluttering feeling from that day, her mind was completely filled with the word “like.”
The cool scent of mint brushed against her cheeks with the breeze, drawing her gaze to the final paragraph of the speech script.
“Classmates, I believe everyone has heard Li Bai’s words in “Bring in the Wine”: ‘Heaven gave me talents, they must have a purpose; a thousand gold coins spent will always come back.’ But what I want to say more is, ‘When life is good, indulge fully; don’t let the golden goblet sit empty against the moon.’ What we should do now is to cherish the present and live for ourselves. Only by realizing our true self-worth can we say we didn’t come to this world in vain…”
*one of the most prominent poets during the Tang Dynasty
Ji Xiao couldn’t help but recall the conversation she had earlier with Qi Qi.
Even the speech script reminded her to cherish the present, to avoid future regrets…
But could she really do that?
Could she simply focus on the present and allow herself to like Wei Qingyu, even if the outcome might be her death at her hands?
Noticing Ji Xiao staring intently at the last part of the script, Wei Qingyu felt a bit puzzled and uncertain. “What’s wrong? Is this part written poorly?”
Hearing her question, Ji Xiao quickly came back to her senses and shook her head while holding the script. “No, I just thought this part was written so well that I couldn’t stop reading it.”
Wei Qingyu smiled softly at Ji Xiao's words. “It’s just what I feel.”
“If, back then, when my future felt bleak, I had given up on myself and stayed low, I wouldn’t have made it to today.”
She then looked at Ji Xiao, holding back the remaining half of her thought, saying secretly in her heart: I wouldn’t have made it to today, where I can stand by your side.
“That’s why I feel that even if the future you’re heading towards is turbulent, not cherishing the present, dwelling on the past, or fixating on the future will only cause you to be swept away by fate’s torrent, swallowed by unrealistic illusions.”
Her voice remained as calm as ever, yet Ji Xiao felt it held a powerful strength.
Looking at Wei Qingyu, standing right in front of her, Ji Xiao felt her heart—long suppressed—begin to beat faster.
The wind quietly brushed past the speech script in Ji Xiao’s hand, making a soft rustling sound.
Ji Xiao returned the script to Wei Qingyu and nodded. “Mm. You’re right.”
The novel is the novel, and the world she lives in is her own.
If she kept fearing death, she would eventually be swallowed by that very fear. Her feelings couldn’t be allowed to die before they even bloomed.
If, in the end, she were to die by the hands of the one she loved—
Then perhaps death itself would be a grand romance.
….
Source: http://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5896087
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
As they chatted, the two of them quickly arrived at the grand auditorium on the third floor, where booming music filled the entire hall.
The LED screen behind the stage shifted colors, looking especially vibrant.
As soon as Wei Qingyu entered the auditorium, a younger student at the door stopped her.
She looked somewhat anxious, and her voice revealed her nervousness. "Senior, you’re finally here."
Seeing the students and teachers gathered below the stage, Wei Qingyu understood. "Is it time to start the rehearsal?"
The younger student nodded. "Yes, we’re just going over the flow with everyone. Senior, please come with me."
Hearing this, Wei Qingyu couldn’t afford to waste any more time. She quickly told Ji Xiao, “I’ll go ahead,” and hurried off.
Under the dim lights that should have swallowed all color, that flickering touch of white remained firmly in Ji Xiao’s line of sight.
The ramie sleeves accentuated the girl’s arms, making them appear especially slender and graceful, and each step she took exuded elegance and composure.
Yet, to Ji Xiao’s surprise, after only a few steps, this very person turned back again.
The smooth, obedient long hair rarely appeared messy under the swift steps, and the whipped cream floating on the strawberry milk tea was submerged by the suddenly rising pink wave.
Wei Qingyu still remembered what Qi Qi had just said to her. She pointed to the middle audience area and said, “Our class is in rows 12 to 15 in the middle. You can sit wherever you like.”
“Okay.”
Ji Xiao nodded calmly, but her heart blossomed like a bouquet of fireworks.
That calm reminder felt like a mint-flavored candy rolling around in Ji Xiao's heart, filling it with Wei Qingyu's attentiveness to her details.
Ji Xiao watched as Wei Qingyu walked out of her sight again. Only then did she move to the audience section and pick a spot in the aisle of row 15.
She took a sip of her milk tea and, when she picked up her phone, noticed that her breathing light was on.
Qi Qi was chatting with Fang Yiming in their long-unused three troublemakers group.
[Qi Qi: [image]
[Qi Qi: Is it the best of the year? Isn't it a perfect match and very beautiful!]
[Fang Yiming: !!! What happened while I wasn't here!!!]
[Fang Yiming: That person looks so familiar. Is it Wei Qingyu?]
[Qi Qi: Yes.]
….
Ji Xiao watched Qi Qi promote Wei Qingyu to Fang Yiming like a giddy fan, unable to help but reveal a look similar to an old man on the subway staring at his phone.
Despite her disdain, she still scrolled through the chat history and found the original photo that Qi Qi had sent.
The photo's composition was quite simple; the blue sky and green grass took up a large portion, with only a small area in the lower right corner occupied by two young girls.
Yet, that small area elevated this otherwise ordinary campus playground photo to another level.
The girls standing side by side appeared to be two entirely opposite types, yet with the sunlight's help, they blended brilliance and elegance.
The uneven hems of their skirts fluttered in the gentle breeze, creating a scene so beautiful it felt captivating even if they were just frozen in the photo.
Two pairs of clear eyes met, seemingly filled with lingering affection under the bright spring sunlight.
Even Ji Xiao herself did not know when that moment happened, but she felt her heart tremble slightly as she looked at the photo.
At that moment, Ji Xiao's phone vibrated again, and Qi Qi sent another message: [How is it? My skills are pretty good, right?]
Ji Xiao glanced at Qi Qi's words and replied disdainfully: [With someone so small, you should first improve your photography skills.]
But just in the next second.
Someone, however, hypocritically pressed and held the screen to save the image.
"Senior, can I sit next to you?"
Just as Ji Xiao was about to continue her battle of words with Qi Qi and the others, a familiar yet strange voice came from above her head.
Not again.
Last time, the sophomore meeting in the small auditorium was like this. Was this the same for this school's anniversary celebration performance?
Ji Xiao slowly raised her head and saw Qiao Ni's familiar face which she hadn't seen in a long time appear in her line of sight.
For some reason, Ji Xiao felt that this time she couldn't easily brush this matter aside.
"Senior Ji Xiao, can I?" Qiao Ni spoke again when Ji Xiao remained silent.
"This... shouldn't we sit according to our class? You should go back to your class. Today is the sixtieth anniversary, and the discipline inspection office is quite strict. It wouldn’t be good if they deducted points from your class," Ji Xiao pulled out her usual excuse.
However, this time Qiao Ni was not buying it and easily countered her with just a few sentences: "I was on leave when our class reported the number of attendees last week. They didn't count me, so my class didn't reserve a spot for me. They told me to just find a place to sit today."
"Senior, the seats for your class are in the middle. The view is so good. It must be much clearer than those on the side."
While speaking, Qiao Ni took out a box from her backpack. "And I brought mangoes. We can eat together later."
Ji Xiao saw the box and felt her eyelids twitch.
That familiar box reflected a dazzling light under the stage's illumination, which made her realize, even if she were slow, what Qiao Ni meant.
Left with no choice, Ji Xiao brought out her trump card: "But I'm really sorry. I have someone here. She just left."
Qiao Ni, however, was persistent and said, "I was watching you from the back row just now. I waited a long time and didn’t see anyone come over or leave.
Senior, are you really waiting for someone, or do you just dislike me?"
As Qiao Ni spoke, she showed a very aggrieved expression. Her watery apricot eyes were filled with a vulnerability that could sway any Alpha.
Ji Xiao couldn't help but comfort her, "I don't dislike you..."
Upon hearing this, Qiao Ni intensified her efforts, her voice soft and pleading. "Then please let me sit down, Senior. There’s no place for me in my class, and you’re the only one I know..."
Ji Xiao still hesitated.
She wasn’t just rejecting Qiao Ni; she would refuse all Omegas.
But this child had been in poor health since she differentiated into an Omega, and now she had been forgotten by her classmates during the attendance count because she had been sick. It was simply too pitiful...
Just as Ji Xiao was about to speak and compromise, an exceptionally cold mint scent wafted over with the southern wind.
The slightly spicy coolness of the mint leaves touched the girl’s slightly parted lips, instantly awakening her senses.
Unbeknownst to her, Wei Qingyu had come over, bypassing Qiao Ni, and directly placed her belongings next to Ji Xiao.
Standing one step lower than Qiao Ni, she looked at her with a cold, indifferent expression and said, "Sorry, she already has someone here."
Author’s Note:
Where is ‘here’?~
