After the awkward incident, the group of people who had been chatting with Rong Xue under the tent, hoping she would agree to a meal, took their leave one by one.
Fu Xizhi frowned at Bai Xiao in frustration, though fortunately, the other woman couldn’t see it. “You ask her to eat, and she gives you face. What kind of person is she?”
Bai Xiao scratched her head. “Don’t ask me, I don’t know either. I don’t usually interact with her much. But she’s actually pretty merciful.”
Fu Xhi retorted, “Nonsense. What kind of merciful goddess blocks her own believers?”
After a round of playful banter with Bai Xiao, Fu Xizhi comforted herself with the thought that Rong Xue had probably refrained from showing her displeasure in front of outsiders. Her performance was acceptable.
Rong Xue’s role in this project was exceptionally relaxed, and she faced no KPI pressure. With just a few words of coordination, she delegated the work, while Qiao Ye led the team in executing the plan. Rong Xue simply reaped the rewards of their success.
This was a benefit she enjoyed in plain sight. Fu Xizhi remembered the first time she had teased Rong Xue about it: “If people knew your family went bankrupt and you’re now selling your body to support the company and your mom, the confession wall would be flooded with posts about you. Just imagine how exciting that would be.”
Fu Xizhi’s timing for this comment was less than ideal. She was currently wrapped around Rong Xue’s neck, engaging in negative-distance contact. Without hesitation, Rong Xue intensified the pressure.
Fine, her playmate had just proven her displeasure through action. Fu Xizhi shut her mouth, the rest of her words forced back down her throat.
But wasn’t this opening a door to a whole new world?
Easily provoking Rong Xue felt both painful and exhilarating.
She watched the sunlight bathe Rong Xue, her senses returning to her as Rong Xue walked gracefully beside her.
She had to admit, Rong Xue’s every gesture was like a lily of the valley growing in a secluded, cool valley, pure, flawless, and serene.
Keeping her distance felt wonderful.
Fu Xizhi was glad she’d worn sunglasses on a whim. Rong Xue couldn’t see her eyes, or she’d surely scold her for staring again.
Fu Xizhi nodded to her and turned to walk away. Rong Xue followed, pulling a parasol from her tote bag and holding it over Fu Xizhi’s head.
Bai Xiao was very considerate, walking ahead of them to clear the way and create space for the two of them.
Feeling the cool shade, Fu Xizhi gave Rong Xue’s wrist an encouraging pat. “Good girl, you know how to hold the umbrella. That’s what you should be doing.”
Rong Xue leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Your face is sunburned red. I was worried you’d turn into a little piece of roasted meat.”
Just a moment ago, Fu Xizhi had been secretly praising Rong Xue’s beauty, comparing her to a lily of the valley. Now, her thoughts had taken a complete 180-degree turn.
Lily of the valley really wasn’t a flower to confide in up close. A poisonous blossom like that had the nerve to compare her to a plate of grilled meat.
Fu Xizhi shot Rong Xue a sidelong glance, a smile playing on her lips. “How thoughtful. As a reward, I’ll eat you tonight. I’ll eat you all night long, until I’m completely stuffed.”
Fine… Rong Xue thought. The patron is using reduplicated words. I’m in for a long night of battle.
The school had several cafeterias. The one closest to the dorms was just a few hundred meters away, while the one further out would take several dozen minutes to reach on foot.
Fu Xizhi was about to head to the nearby cafeteria when Bai Xiao suddenly spoke up. “The main campus cafeteria just released some new dishes: pineapple stir-fried with glass noodles, Hami melon stir-fried with potato shreds, and dragon fruit stir-fried with pork. They’ve been getting a lot of rave reviews. What do you say?”
What do I say? Just hearing the names, Fu Xizhi and Rong Xue both stopped in their tracks, their gazes turning to Bai Xiao with pure skepticism. Those were obviously “dark cuisine” monstrosities.
Fu Xizhi’s reluctance was twofold: first, she was too hot to walk that far; second, eating those fruit-based dishes was a one-way ticket to an upset stomach.
She politely declined. “I’ll just grab something quick. I’m not that hungry.”
Unfortunately, her words played right into Bai Xiao’s hands. “It’s normal to lose your appetite in the summer,” she said bluntly. “A little fruit will whet your appetite. Are you coming or not?”
Fu Xizhi observed Rong Xue. Her expression remained neutral, but her grip on the umbrella tightened.
The thrill of a prank would only intensify the pleasure. Fu Xizhi didn’t want to be the test subject, but she couldn’t resist trying the very things Rong Xue detested.
“I’m in,” she declared, her enthusiasm surpassing even Bai Xiao’s. So what if it’s an extra forty-minute walk?
Bai Xiao nodded vigorously. “Let’s take the shared bikes!”
Rong Xue sighed and pulled out her phone to scan the QR code. Fine, she thought, I’ll just eat a couple of pieces of fruit to get through this.
When she looked up, she saw Fu Xizhi standing before a row of bikes, phone in hand, staring blankly at the seats. She looked almost cute.
“Open WeChat or Alipay and scan the code,” Rong Xue prompted.
Fu Xizhi hesitated, frozen in place. If she didn’t react soon, Rong Xue’s sharp mind would conclude she was too slow-witted to even ride a bicycle.
Withdrawing her phone in a defensive gesture, Fu Xizhi muttered awkwardly, “I’d rather walk.”
“On foot?” Rong Xue couldn’t fathom her thought process. “Bai Xiao and I will be riding ahead, while you get roasted by the sun. How is that not pure torture?”
Torture. The word struck a chord. From behind her sunglasses, Fu Xizhi shot Rong Xue a sideways glance. “I’ve been suffering enough lately. What’s one more time?”
Rong Xue thought back to their days-long cold war. She had been the one to stop talking to Fu Xizhi first, still waiting for an explanation as to why she had bitten her in such a sensitive spot.
Playing around was one thing, but Fu Xizhi had bitten her with a viciousness that was simply unforgivable.
Yet, Fu Xizhi had somehow managed to twist the narrative, making herself the victim. Rong Xue took the initiative to tell Bai Xiao that they had some private matters to settle and sent her away.
Bai Xiao, however, assumed her best friend had been recounting some tragic, humbling tale to Rong Xue, causing the goddess-like Rong Xue’s heart to overflow with compassion. She figured Rong Xue was planning to start over with Fu Xizhi as a friend first.
She sent Fu Xizhi a WeChat message: Good luck. Don’t lose yourself.
Fu Xizhi glanced at the message, then at Bai Xiao’s departing figure, completely bewildered. Good luck? Lose what self?
As soon as Rong Xue was alone, she said, “You just have to be willful with me. Haven’t you been willful enough at home? We’re in public now. Think about your own situation. Don’t know how to scan the QR code? Give me your phone.”
Fu Xizhi hurriedly stuffed her phone back into her dress pocket and snapped, “Willful? You think you’re in a position to scold me? How impressive! I told you, I’ve been suffering these past few days. You’re the one who needs to reflect, no, write a self-criticism. Who’s really being willful here?”
“Can you just talk normally?”
“I’m speaking calmly now. How about you answer me properly instead of grunting one or two words at a time? Is that fair?”
Rong Xue glared at her, her face darkening. “Self-reflection? You think I don’t have feelings? No matter how angry or resentful I get, I’ve fulfilled every single one of my duties without fail. I make the breakfast. I handle all the laundry. And these past few days, you’ve been tossing beer cans everywhere and spilling drinks all over the floor. I’m the one who cleans up after you. Have I ever slacked off on the dirty work for a single day? So, you want to blame me for everything? Be specific. I’m all ears.”
Fu Xizhi sneered. “Anyone could do those chores. Even if you didn’t, I know how to do them myself. Do you think my hands are just for show? Fine, let me tell you. First, the breakfast: why didn’t you eat the soup dumplings you made me? Were they poisonous or just taste like shit? As for the laundry, everything except the underwear goes in the washing machine. That’s a breeze for you. And the beer cans? I was bored and practicing my shot. What’s it to you? I haven’t even complained that you keep moving the trash can, making me miss.”
As soon as she mentioned the “trash can basketball,” Fu Xizhi wanted to smack herself in the head. Has my brain been hijacked by a paramecium? Am I that stupid?
Rong Xue froze. Fu Xizhi had mastered the art of being utterly unreasonable, blowing trivial matters completely out of proportion.
There must be a reason for this.
All year round, the Fu Xizhi Rong Xue knew had a monotonous range of hobbies: taking photos, editing them to perfection, and spending time at that absurdly expensive apartment.
Occasionally, the two would play single-player games together. Fu Xizhi’s only friend, Bai Xiao, had to invite her three times before she would agree to go out for a single outing.
Rong Xue looked at Fu Xizhi, a true homebody. Fu Xizhi was so physically weak that if she managed to complete a 15-minute Pamela aerobic workout for a whole week, Rong Xue would reward her with an extra meal as encouragement.
The basketball thing was pure nonsense, a wild exaggeration used to make a point.
But Fu Xizhi wouldn’t explain the backstory, and Rong Xue couldn’t pry it out of her. She could only let Fu Xizhi suffer the consequences of her own actions, though she wasn’t idle herself, enduring the bitter fruit of Fu Xizhi’s elaborations.
Seeing Rong Xue’s solemn expression, Fu Xizhi suddenly wanted to back down. She had been looking for trouble over nothing. How could she still be so indignant and keep berating Rong Xue when she was completely in the wrong?
Rong Xue asked if she had anything else to add, her posture suggesting she was utterly defeated.
The last shred of guilt in Fu Xizhi’s heart vanished. All this time, Rong Xue had been acting like a king on a high throne, looking down in pity at her unreasonable subject below.
Fu Xizhi muttered, “You figure out the rest yourself. I’m not a tapeworm in your stomach; how am I supposed to know what you want to hear?”
“I’m not a worm living in your stomach either. I’ll change all those things from before. I’ll wait for you to eat breakfast together. I’ll hand-wash the clothes for all four seasons. If you really like playing with soda cans, I’ll build you a basketball hoop, nail it to the wall, and make it so sturdy that neither of us can knock it down.”
Great, she’s even coming up with bad ideas about building a hoop at home.
Fu Xizhi thought to herself, If I were in her position, the one keeping someone else as a sugar baby…
She was sick of the roundabout questioning. She also hated that after a year of being with Rong Xue, the only thing worth noting was the geometric growth of her skills in bed.
As for other things… Not to mention anything else, Rong Xue hadn’t even noticed that they were already disconnected on WeChat! This was a capital offense!
She really wanted to curse her out. She wasn’t looking for a bed partner who was just skilled at undoing her lingerie; she wanted a bed partner who was a living, breathing human being capable of providing emotional value!
Even though they were trying their best to restrain their anger, a fight was still a fight, and their faces were bound to be flushed.
Rong Xue was also panting slightly. Unfortunately, her own anger had been provoked, and she refused to back down, let alone soften her tone and say something nice to Fu Xizhi.
Fu Xizhi knew that continuing this confrontation would only lead to a lose-lose situation, especially since their conflicts were too numerous to count.
One by one, they had formed a hedgehog, and cutting it open would only make things worse.
She didn’t want to see Rong Xue anymore and turned her back. “I’m too lazy to keep arguing. You can leave on your own. I want to walk. I love walking. Walking helps with digestion!”
Rong Xue was half a head taller than her. Standing behind her, her presence exerted a slight pressure. Fu Xizhi didn’t even need to look to know the other woman hadn’t budged.
Besides, Rong Xue was holding a parasol, and its shadow completely enveloped Fu Xizhi.
So annoying. The scent of perfume wafting from Rong Xue’s clothes only seemed to grow stronger.
After a moment, Fu Xizhi swung her arm back in a fit of pique, trying to swat her away. She missed, slapping the innocent air instead. “Go on, get lost! What are you, a lamppost?”
Rong Xue said nothing, enduring Fu Xizhi’s attempts to drive her away with quiet self-consolation.
Last time Fu Xizhi bullied me, I just treated it like being scratched by a cat, bitten by a dog, or chewed by a ferret.
She grabbed Fu Xizhi’s arm, the one that was still tense with stubbornness. “I don’t mind. But are you really willing to let Bai Xiao wait for you all alone in the cafeteria?”
Fu Xizhi realized Rong Xue was quite adept at exploiting weaknesses. Bai Xiao was her only close friend at school. She couldn’t just stand her up after three years of cultivating their friendship.
She had to ride the bicycle. It was a cardinal rule: never expose your lack of life skills in front of your enemy.
Fu Xizhi turned around and sidestepped Rong Xue, but her sidelong glance still caught Rong Xue’s cold gaze. It’s fine, she thought. It’s broad daylight and over 30 degrees. No matter how cold Rong Xue acts, she can’t freeze me out.