What a vicious and unreasonable statement—Jiang Qiao felt like slapping herself.
Why don’t you two just become a pair of wandering mandarin ducks? she thought maliciously.
One was a wealthy and influential young lady, the other an orphan with no background or parents. Faced with such a threat,
After a long silence, Jiang Qiao was almost convinced that Lu Xun was going to bury her right there on the spot. Then, the corners of his lips slowly curved upward as he said, “…Sure.”
Pretending not to see the bone-chilling coldness in his eyes, Jiang Qiao felt both happy and jealous. “Hmph, I didn’t expect you to care about her so much.”
Before Lu Xun could respond, she quickly reassured herself, “But it’s fine. From today onward, you’re my boyfriend. You’re not allowed to talk to her or protect her anymore.”
What “Jiang Qiao” wanted was Lu Xun himself. She firmly believed that, given her looks and family background, any normal man would fall for her.
This mindless confidence ultimately sealed “Jiang Qiao’s” fate in the story.
A supporting female character would always remain just that—the male lead’s choice would forever be the female lead. Such was the power of the protagonist halo.
Jiang Qiao sighed, hoping only to rush through the plot, witness the male and female leads’ happy ending, complete her mission, and return to the real world.
The news of “Jiang Qiao and Lu Xun dating” spread like wildfire across the entire campus. By noon, Jiang Qiao’s phone was flooded with messages, with friends and acquaintances all reaching out to ask.
Among them, Peng Yang alone had called over a dozen times. Annoyed beyond measure, Jiang Qiao directly blocked his number.
Ye Qingqing, seeing Jiang Qiao’s blatant, smug little expression, sighed for the eighth time that day. “A forced melon isn’t sweet, Qiao’er. Turn back before it’s too late~”
Just look at Lu Xun’s icy, indifferent handsome face—there wasn’t a single hint that he liked Jiang Qiao.
Yet Jiang Qiao acted as if nothing were wrong, pouring all her enthusiasm into a one-sided effort. The moment class ended, she eagerly rushed to Lu Xun’s seat, though she managed to retain a hint of restraint. “Do you want to have lunch together? There’s a new Chinese restaurant on Jingjiang Road—it’s probably pretty good.”
Lu Xun continued writing without even looking up. “No.”
“Why not?” Jiang Qiao’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.
She stood there stubbornly, demanding an answer. Finally, Lu Xun mercifully lifted his eyelids and replied indifferently, “I eat at the school cafeteria.”
He chuckled lightly. “If you want to eat at the cafeteria, I don’t mind.”
The food at the school cafeteria wasn’t exactly terrible, but it was far from delicious. Its only merits were that it was cheap and filling.
Those with a bit of money would order takeout or eat off-campus, let alone a young lady like Jiang Qiao, who probably didn’t even know what the cafeteria looked like.
Lu Xun was doing this on purpose. He didn’t believe Jiang Qiao would stoop to eating at the cafeteria with him. After speaking, he lowered his gaze, packed up his test papers, stood, and walked past Jiang Qiao without another word.
Song Qingying glanced at Jiang Qiao, who was still standing there, conflicted. She had learned from her mother that a classmate had visited her home, and based on her mother’s description, she was certain it was Jiang Qiao.
What was Jiang Qiao’s purpose in going to her house? And why had Lu Xun suddenly gotten together with Jiang Qiao? Song Qingying was clever—she couldn’t help but connect the dots and form an answer.
Her gaze was too obvious for Jiang Qiao to ignore. Jiang Qiao shot her a fierce glare. “What are you looking at?”
Song Qingying’s face paled, but emboldened by the answer she had deduced, she retorted, “Jiang Qiao, Lu Xun doesn’t like you at all.”
“If he doesn’t like me, does that mean he likes you?” In front of outsiders, Jiang Qiao was all claws and teeth, not showing the slightest guilt. “He’s my boyfriend now.”
“Some things, we both know the truth in our hearts.” Song Qingying gritted her teeth, her gaze toward Jiang Qiao no longer able to conceal her disgust. “It’s my fault he got involved. You’re just using me to threaten Lu Xun into being with you, aren’t you?”
Oh? So she even knows about that. Lu Xun really tells her everything, doesn’t he?
Jiang Qiao raised an eyebrow, her inner composure unshaken while she pretended to be flustered at being exposed. She pointed at Song Qingying, unable to speak for a long moment.
[Hit her, hit her! Persona!] 166 egged her on.
Jiang Qiao’s face darkened. Noticing Ye Qingqing jogging over from the corner of her eye, she finally raised her head and made a move to strike.
“Xiao Qiao! There’s no need for that…”
As her hand was grabbed by Ye Qingqing, Jiang Qiao breathed a sigh of relief. She put on a show of raising her hand several more times while grumbling, “Don’t stop me, today I’m definitely going to—”
“Alright, alright, I won’t stop you. Let’s go eat first…”
Their voices gradually faded away.
Jiang Qiao was dragged off, while Song Qingying remained stunned. When she finally processed that she had nearly been hit, her face grew even paler.
Only when they were far from the classroom did Ye Qingqing dare to let go. She felt like a worried old mother. “Young lady, I mean, what did she say to make you so angry?”
“…Hmph.” Jiang Qiao felt embarrassed and turned her face away without speaking.
Seeing this, Ye Qingqing sighed again. “Fine, fine, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.” She glanced at the time. “Can we at least go eat now?”
Mention of food made Jiang Qiao hesitate for two seconds. “I want to try the cafeteria today.”
Cafeteria.
It was the peak lunch hour. Several girls were whispering while occasionally glancing in one direction.
A few minutes later, a long-haired girl carrying a tray walked over and asked shyly, “Classmate, may I sit here?”
The cafeteria was a public area.
Lu Xun frowned almost imperceptibly, his tone polite but distant. “As you wish.”
The table wasn’t large, and the girl sat close beside him. Lu Xun could smell her unfamiliar perfume.
He quickened his eating pace.
Jiang Qiao took in the entire scene.
Ye Qingqing was picky about food and hadn’t come with her. It took Jiang Qiao a while to find Lu Xun.
She casually got a meal and walked over to sit opposite Lu Xun, setting her tray down on the table with a loud thud.
The girl was startled. Recognizing who it was, a flash of panic crossed her face. “Jiang Qiao…”
“Still not leaving?” Jiang Qiao smiled without warmth. “Want to stay and be a third wheel?”
The girl awkwardly grabbed her tray and fled.
Jiang Qiao’s expression improved as she stared at the greasy fried noodles and complained, “Lu Xun, is this stuff even fit for human consumption? Maybe next time you should just come out to eat with me…”
Before she could finish, Lu Xun across from her suddenly stood up. His tall figure towered as he said coldly, “I’m done eating.”
Without waiting for her response, he turned to leave.
Jiang Qiao abandoned her fried noodles and jogged after him, but failed to notice a table leg in her path. Her shin collided directly with it.
The sudden blunt pain made her pale face turn white as she bent over. The area above her ankle swelled red at a visible rate.
Jiang Qiao’s skin was fair, making the redness even more prominent.
Lu Xun’s gaze moved from her pale ankle to her tear-filled peach blossom eyes.
Noticing his gaze, Jiang Qiao sniffled and rubbed her swollen ankle with her palm. It was already red, and the rubbing made it even more inflamed.
Idiot.
Under Jiang Qiao’s longing stare, Lu Xun turned and walked away.
Left behind with her injured ankle, Jiang Qiao lowered her peach blossom eyes, inexplicably pitiful.