Chapter 63: Hello, Rumored Girlfriend
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 sunlight streaming through the gap in the curtains gently accompanied the piano melody of "Fur Elise," illuminating the quiet bedroom.
Ji Xiao sat in the dimly lit room, her eyes slightly dazed.
She never would have thought that her decision yesterday to stop Wei Qingyu from collaborating with Jin Nanfeng would lead to this.
Everyone was discussing how stunning and enviable it was for her and Wei Qingyu to sit together.
It felt like the most secretive thought in her heart had been exposed, yet as if no one truly noticed.
Ji Xiao scrolled through the post, looking at the screenshots the poster had taken, and couldn't help but smile.
She had never realized how beautiful the image of her and Wei Qingyu in the same frame could be.
The crabapple blossoms that had fallen during the group photo that day quivered lightly in her heart, filled with affection.
While saving the images, Ji Xiao continued scrolling down. To her surprise, the meticulous poster had even linked the freshly published school anniversary post from the official account.
In the group photo with Hualan Private High School, the seemingly flawless and composed expressions she and Wei Qingyu wore had been betrayed by a magnified screenshot.
The white shirts and navy blue blazers overlapped, and in the enlarged image, it was plainly visible that the two of them, standing behind Liu Yue, had their arms intertwined.
Like a stone dropped into water, the revelation sent waves of excitement rippling through the thread. The following comments exploded with a relay of frenzied screams.
The AO dynamics made this level of intimacy excite everyone, as they joyfully believed the CP they shipped was real.
Some even dug up a photo from last year’s sports meet, where Ji Xiao and Wei Qingyu were caught embracing at the finish line.
Despite the crowd, the image clearly showed Wei Qingyu leaning on Ji Xiao’s shoulder.
[Bunnies are so cute, of course, we must eat bunnies: Damn, I was in the audience back then! Ahhh, I regret not noticing this at the time!]
[Just Eat Bunny: Even if I noticed it at that time, I didn’t know it was Ji Xiao. I thought it was a sisterly ♀♀ love.]
[Turnaround Wuhu: Upstairs’ ♀♀ is really something.]
[Not Changing My Name Until I Score 100 on TOEFL: No! I just had a breakup! My new goddess!!!]
[Dou Dou is the Cutest: Today is the day countless Alphas gained a new goddess, only to lose her right after.]
….
As "Dou Dou is the Cutest" said, for every person who shipped a CP last night, there was an Omega or Alpha heartbroken.
Especially the Alphas who had just started liking Wei Qingyu.
Ji Xiao watched as everyone shipped or lamented, a smile full of amusement on her lips.
But for some reason, she noticed the voices in the thread started becoming a little discordant at one point.
[Emotional Maniac: Why pair our Qingyu with Ji Xiao? Didn't Wei Qingyu suffer enough last year from Ji Xiao's torment?]
[Your Nana: Yeah, it was just a four-hand piano duet. Maybe Wei Qingyu was forced into it.]
[Do You Never Sleep?: Can't you tell? At the end, Ji Xiao directly put her hand down. During that part, Wei Qingyu replaced her right hand and played with her. I really don't get where the sweetness is.]
[Your Nana: Upstairs is right. She clearly ran into a bad teammate and had no choice. Aren't you just rubbing salt in Wei Qingyu's wound?]
….
Ji Xiao looked at "Your Nana," who was forcefully resonating with her imagined version of Wei Qingyu and couldn’t help but feel it seemed familiar.
She clicked on the person’s profile, and Liu Meina's overly artificial selfie appeared on the screen, almost blinding Ji Xiao.
She knew it.
That incident during last year's sports meet might have been her doing too.
Now that Liu Meina had lost her backing, she didn’t dare commit outright acts of school bullying, but her sneaky little tricks never stopped.
She really was like a toad crawling on someone’s foot—not biting, just being unbearably annoying.
However, before Ji Xiao could feel disgusted with Liu Meina for too long, a profile picture she was all too familiar with popped up at the bottom of her screen.
[User 190245: Why does your mouth stink? What did Ji Xiao ever do to you?]
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.
Wei Qingyu slept later than usual last night. She held the school uniform jacket that had brushed against Ji Xiao’s arm and sniffed it carefully.
The faint scent of peach and brandy carried the allure of an Alpha, seeping deep into her heart, leaving her, an Omega, slightly intoxicated.
But before this happiness could last, Wei Qingyu came across this post on the forum.
It happened to be during the time Liu Meina was ruining the mood. Slander and defamation flooded in, with people even using her as an excuse to hurt Ji Xiao.
Wei Qingyu stared at the so-called defenders of justice on the other side and typed furiously on the keyboard: [How do you know Wei Qingyu thinks being tied to Ji Xiao is unlucky?]
[Your Nana: Didn’t you see how upset Qingyu looked in the group photo? She’s clearly unhappy, okay?]
[Nininini: Speechless. Wei Qingyu's expression has always been like this, don't you know? Ji Xiao not finding her self-important expression annoying is already pretty good, okay?]
Wei Qingyu looked at these two messages and turned her face toward the windowsill.
Her usually calm face was reflected in the glass, with only her brows slightly furrowed, showing her current feeling of confusion.
Is it really that bad?
Would she really find it annoying?
The girl's usually calm and composed eyes were rarely filled with a hint of insecurity.
She recalled the Omega who had once tried to get close to Ji Xiao, and with a forced, somewhat awkward smile, she tugged at the corner of her lips.
Pretentious.
Reluctant.
Extremely unreal.
Wei Qingyu looked at herself in the window, realizing she seemed to have forgotten how to smile.
She didn’t know when it started, but she had become accustomed to wearing this mask of indifference, used to hiding all her emotions deep inside, digesting them alone.
Several more posts on the forum were refreshed. The original poster and someone named "Nininini" could not hold up against a malicious troll. "Your Nana" took advantage of Wei Qingyu's reputation to slander Ji Xiao, and the dazzling words made Wei Qingyu's eyes ache.
Wei Qingyu's attempt at a gentle expression instantly faded, and she coldly typed: [Didn't you notice in the video that Ji Xiao's wrist had the same little peach basket as Wei Qingyu's?]
[Wei Qingyu and Ji Xiao are together every day. If she really disliked Ji Xiao, she would've taken off that identical little peach basket by now, okay?]
Once these words were posted, the forum erupted in a storm. Such a fine detail was something even the original poster with a microscope hadn't noticed.
[Nininini: Did you hear that? Some people trying to take Wei Qingyu away, take a good look. With the identical little peach basket on both Ji Xiao's and Wei Qingyu's wrists, their relationship is more real than your mother's grave.]
[LZ: Once again, let me reiterate, this building* is for CP shippers only. If you really feel bad for Wei Qingyu, go find Ji Xiao and confront her!]
*Forum Thread/Comments
[Kuriyama Mirai, My Wife: Exactly, Liu Meina, stop pretending. If you're so brave, why not come out and respond here?]
….
The sun gradually climbed into the sky, its scorching rays warming the heart.
After half an hour of chaotic fighting, Ji Xiao once again witnessed Miss Rabbit's awe-inspiring feat of turning the tide, and her admiration for her grew even stronger.
She quickly opened her chat with Miss Rabbit and typed: [Boss, thank you!]
She also sent several emojis of admiration, celebration, and even some affectionate ones.
However, this time was different from before.
After a moment of silence, Ji Xiao didn’t receive any response from Miss Rabbit.
It made sense, considering what had happened at 3 a.m. last night.
At that time, Ji Xiao had already fallen into her dreams, while Miss Rabbit was still fighting on her behalf.
Not wanting to disturb Miss Rabbit's rest, Ji Xiao left a message saying, [Take a good rest,] and then exited the chat.
What she didn’t know was that in the bedroom just a wall away, the fierce rabbit who had taken on three opponents was curled up in her soft, fluffy blanket, blushing in secret.
The neatly folded school uniform was placed squarely beside the pillow, perfectly preserving the scent of peach brandy inside.
Wei Qingyu stared at the screen, where two Q characters* were snuggled together, her face glowing red as she held her phone.
*mini version/caricature/chibi
Even the girl herself didn’t notice that the gentle smile she couldn’t manage last night was now displayed vividly in the morning sunlight.
….
The speech during the school anniversary celebration instantly turned Wei Qingyu into the goddess of many Alphas, but it also made Ji Xiao the new public enemy of Alphas.
On Monday, after enduring a grueling morning of classes, the cafeteria was bustling with students chatting noisily.
Qi Qi, who had already grabbed a seat after getting her meal, noticed Ji Xiao and Fang Yiming approaching from afar. She clearly saw the gloominess on Ji Xiao's face.
Qi Qi curiously asked, “What’s going on? Does our Sister Xiao actually have a day when she’s down?”
Ji Xiao glanced at Qi Qi, unwilling to answer.
Fang Yiming sat to the side and said gleefully, “You don’t know? While Sister Xiao and I queued for food, she kept talking about her sweet and sour crispy pork. An Alpha in front of us overheard and took the last three servings after getting their meal.”
Ji Xiao’s face fell. She angrily said, “Damn it, my sweet and sour crispy pork!”
Qi Qi patted Ji Xiao’s shoulder sympathetically but couldn’t hide her laughter. “Sister Xiao, you’ve become the Alphas’ public enemy. Winning the beauty’s heart does come with a price. Don’t worry. I’ll share my sweet and sour chicken nuggets with you.”
Fang Yiming quickly said, “I’ll share my sweet and sour crispy fish too.”
Ji Xiao looked at the half portion of sweet-and-sour chicken bites and small crispy fish added to her plate, her gaze filled with resentment.
She has not even embraced it yet, but she is already bearing the cost.
If she really managed to embrace it, she would probably be devoured by those Alphas.
She wondered if the mutual repulsion and hostility among Alphas were truly stronger than those of Omegas.
From the moment Ji Xiao sat down to eat, she felt the pheromones rushing toward her from all directions.
The small and restless Alpha pheromones tried to shake Ji Xiao, an S-level Alpha, like ants attempting to disturb her.
However, these hesitant pheromones posed no threat to Ji Xiao, yet they made her lose her appetite. She hastily ate a couple of bites before heading back to the classroom to study.
Time quickly passed, and it was soon time for the second-to-last class of the afternoon: the routine school meeting for the second-year high school department.
The spring breeze was warm, making people quickly shed their coats. Ji Xiao carried her school uniform coat and slowly walked toward the auditorium.
As soon as she pushed the door open and entered, Ji Xiao once again felt the unfriendly aura released by the nearby Alphas toward her.
The feeling of being scrutinized from all directions was even more unpleasant than it had been at lunchtime in the cafeteria.
Especially for an Alpha, it was particularly offensive and provoking.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the windows on both sides. The small auditorium wasn’t too crowded yet, bright and empty.
The neatly arranged chairs were divided by class, and in the center of the left section, there was a thin figure sitting with their back turned.
The young girl’s long hair was half-raised, and for the rare occasion, she had tied it up with a beautiful bow.
The light fell on the delicate satin, emitting a faint and soft pink hue, like an orchid blooming leisurely by a quiet lake.
Wei Qingyu lowered her head slightly, sitting quietly in her seat, reading an ancient poetry book.
She could feel the surrounding Alphas' hostility toward Ji Xiao. Not wanting to bring her too much trouble, Wei Qingyu had even intentionally refrained from approaching Ji Xiao to come together today.
Although she tried to avoid it, someone actively approached her.
The dark, long shadow blocked the warm light from the window, enveloping the girl’s frail figure.
Ji Xiao pulled the nearby chair and, under everyone's gaze, lifted her school uniform coat and sat directly beside Wei Qingyu.
Whether it was Wei Qingyu's illusion or not, she felt that the sunlight in her line of sight today was especially dazzling.
She blinked slightly and stared at the girl beside her, whose golden-orange eyes held an indescribable, lingering, and ambiguous look as they gazed at her.
Ji Xiao’s lips curled up into a slight smile, her words more ambiguous than her gaze: “Hello, rumored girlfriend.”
Author’s Note:
Pigeon: Baby, you're so successful today!
Coward Ji: (puffs out chest).
Cold Wei glanced over, showing she didn't notice.
