After Teasing the Villain and Running Away - Chapter 14

“Xin-jie, you’re back? Why were you gone so long this time?”

“You just don’t get it, do you? It’s an alpha’s secondary differentiation. Now Xin-jie is a bona fide top-tier alpha.”

“No way, Xin-jie was already strong enough. Now that she’s differentiated into a top A, how are the rest of us ordinary alphas supposed to survive?”

Seeing Xin Ran return, many alphas in the class immediately sensed the unusual aura around her. They greeted her with smiles, clearly treating her as a central figure.

The differentiation into a top A is a one-in-a-million occurrence even among alphas. Such individuals often become leaders in their respective fields, standing at the very pinnacle of the pyramid.

Some people seem destined from birth to have it all, as if by innate talent.

“With this, Xin Ran’s position as the heir is even more secure. I heard even within the Xin family, she’s the only top-tier alpha of her generation so far.”

“That’s hard to say. Their family infighting is brutal. Until the very end, who knows who will come out on top?”

Watching Xin Ran, who had become the center of discussion within mere seconds of her appearance, Jiang Ruosheng couldn’t help but marvel—was this the natural charisma and influence of a protagonist?

Xin Ran nodded, exchanging brief pleasantries with the others, but her gaze remained fixed on Su Qi at the back. Noticing that the other girl hadn’t registered her presence at all, she crossed her arms and strode over with visible displeasure.

Qiao Nan rested her chin on her hand, eyebrows raised teasingly. “Even a top A can’t escape the bittersweet pangs of love. The jealousy is practically wafting across oceans. Do all alphas have such inexplicable possessiveness?”

Qiao Nan was a beta, dedicated to observing (and gossiping about) the AO romances on campus.

In her words, it was all for the sake of researching the role and impact of AO pheromones in romantic attraction.

Betas had no pheromones and couldn’t detect them, which was why Qiao Nan was so fascinated by these scent-driven biological instincts.

Jiang Ruosheng scoffed. “This has nothing to do with being an alpha. Possessiveness is something everyone in love experiences.”

Ruan Xin noticed Xin Ran approaching with a stormy expression, her eyes darkening slightly. Yet she didn’t cut short her conversation with Su Qi. Instead, she reached out to take the glass of nutritional drink Su Qi had prepared for her.

Their hands brushed briefly before parting.

Jiang Ruosheng: “…That was deliberate. Absolutely deliberate.”

After rejecting her so bluntly earlier, now she’s playing hard to get?

This was a blatant provocation against the protagonist!

Warning: Protagonist Xin Ran’s hostility toward the antagonist has reached dangerous levels. Host is advised to resolve the conflict immediately.

Seeing Xin Ran’s visible “ready-to-throw-hands” aura, Jiang Ruosheng clenched her fists and asked the system, “Do you really think I can stop an enraged protagonist? When immortals fight, mortals suffer. They’re the protagonist and antagonist—they’ll both survive just fine in the early stages. Why should I go up there and play cannon fodder? Am I stupid?”

System: “Antagonist’s corruption levels rising: 62%, 65%, 69%, 72%…”

Jiang Ruosheng, “Ah, fine, fine. I’ll go, I’ll go.”

Between the knife and the chopping block, she was the fish on the slab.

The warm water freshly poured still radiated a comforting heat against her palm. Ruan Xin blew on the rising steam from the glass cup, her delighted smile directed at Su Qi. “This smells wonderful. Su Qi, thank you for always being so considerate of me.”

Su Qi replied, “We’re classmates, after all. If you ever face difficulties, you must tell me.”

This seemingly affectionate exchange fell sharply into Xin Ran’s ears as she passed by, grating against her nerves.

That Ruan Xin again?

An alpha who clung so closely to Su Qi day after day—her intentions were glaringly obvious. Only someone as oblivious as Su Qi wouldn’t suspect such motives.

And she always played the pitiful card, exploiting Su Qi’s kindness. These flies buzzing around Su Qi just wouldn’t scatter, no matter what. Maybe a lesson was in order…

The two chatting suddenly noticed a hand reaching between them—knuckles defined, fingers slender like the ribs of a fan.

It covered the mouth of Ruan Xin’s glass cup and swiftly pulled it away.

Ruan Xin looked up, puzzled. “…?”

Su Qi exclaimed, “Jiang Ruosheng! Why are you snatching Ruan Xin’s cup?!”

The person now standing before Ruan Xin’s seat, scrutinizing the cup, was none other than Jiang Ruosheng.

To prevent the impending “bloodshed,” Jiang Ruosheng had stepped in front of Xin Ran and seized the cup—disguised as “concern” but practically a ticking time bomb.

—And downed it in one go.

The nutritional powder, a pale gray dust, dissolved into something resembling sesame paste, but its taste was far from pleasant. Devoid of sweetness or fragrance, it carried the raw, egg-white-like pungency, clumping into a paste that clogged the throat, nearly impossible to swallow.

She wanted to gag, but her lines weren’t delivered yet.

Jiang Ruosheng maintained a facade of nonchalance, mustering every ounce of self-control to force down the concoction. With a disdainful tilt of her chin at Ruan Xin, she declared, “She doesn’t deserve such expensive nutritional powder.”

Su Qi & Ruan Xin: “?!”

Su Qi frowned. “That was Ruan Xin’s. How could you drink it?”

Jiang Ruosheng leisurely set the cup down. “Strange. Why can’t I? Ruan Xin is staying with the Jiang family now—what’s hers is mine.” Her tone dripped with self-assured entitlement.

With that, she slid into the seat beside Ruan Xin, deliberately nudging Su Qi farther away.

Su Qi protested, “Even if she’s staying with your family, you can’t bully her like this.”

From Jiang Ruosheng’s words, it was clear Ruan Xin’s life at the Jiang household must be harsh—perhaps even struggling for basic needs.

Ruan Xin shivered under Su Qi’s pitying gaze: “…”

She had no idea what Jiang Ruosheng was up to now, but her presence was undeniably irritating.

Ruan Xin brushed it off. “It’s fine. I wasn’t fond of it anyway. By the way, there was a problem in class I didn’t quite grasp. Could we discuss it?”

Su Qi brightened. “Of course, I—”

Jiang Ruosheng cut in. “The class monitor is swamped. No time to tutor you. I’ll handle it.”

Ruan Xin’s tone turned skeptical. “You?”

Jiang Ruosheng faltered, recalling her abysmal grades. “What, can’t a slacker learn from a top student? And if I’m not up to it, we’ve got a live-in tutor at home. Second Brother’s working on his master’s—surely he can handle high school material.”

Ruan Xin: “That’s true. Among the Jiang siblings, apart from Jiang Ruosheng, they’re all quite accomplished.”

Su Qi: “No need to trouble the parents. I do have the time. Discussing among classmates can also benefit me greatly.”

Truly the beautiful and kind-hearted protagonist O of “Lily’s Promise”—such profound awareness.

Jiang Ruosheng: “Class president, since that’s the case, you mustn’t favor one over the other. I think my grades are even more concerning than Ruan Xin’s. Could you tutor me first?”

Su Qi’s smiling face stiffened slightly—she had genuinely never seen someone so shameless.

To think there were so many on the forums praising her aloof, divine beauty—wouldn’t you all like to see your new goddess’s current demeanor? Character collapse, much?

“With those lousy grades of yours, even Su Qi’s tutoring wouldn’t save you,” a magnetic voice chimed in as a hand rested on Su Qi’s shoulder.

Xin Ran glared darkly at Ruan Xin and Jiang Ruosheng, who were crowding around the omega, growing increasingly displeased.

“You’d better stay away from Su Qi, or I might just throw a punch.”

Her previously ominous, crisis-mode aura had dissipated, but Jiang Ruosheng could still feel the weight of Xin Ran’s gaze. She had a strong suspicion that Xin Ran’s hatred and disgust for Ruan Xin had now been evenly distributed onto her.

Or perhaps, even more so than Ruan Xin.

After all, Ruan Xin and Su Qi were still just classmates, while she was the one with genuine ulterior motives—a failed confession.

Su Qi frowned. “Xin Ran, stop threatening people. We’re all classmates and should get along peacefully. I don’t like how you always resort to violence.”

Xin Ran’s gaze softened as she looked at Su Qi. “I promised Aunt Su I’d keep you safe.”

Su Qi lowered her head in disappointment. “I’m grown up now. I don’t need your protection.”

A flicker of hurt passed through Xin Ran’s eyes. “No matter what you say, I won’t back down on this.”

Su Qi shot her a teary-eyed glare before running back to her seat.

Left behind was Xin Ran, heartbroken and confused as to why her beloved was upset with her.

Ah, the bittersweet and tangled mess of young love—Jiang Ruosheng felt her teeth ache from the sourness.

Ruan Xin: “…So, can you return to your seat now?”

After observing Jiang Ruosheng’s words and actions, Ruan Xin had easily deduced her motive.

—Su Qi.

Because she liked Su Qi, she couldn’t help but interfere when she saw them chatting intimately. She snatched the nutritional drink Su Qi had specially prepared for her. Even tutoring was just another excuse to get closer to Su Qi.

Hah, just like Xin Ran—hopelessly lovestruck.

Given this, the rumors about Jiang Ruosheng confessing to Su Qi in freshman year and being rejected were probably true.

And the part about Xin Ran giving her a brutal lesson—also true?

Seeing Ruan Xin drop all pretense of politeness the moment Su Qi left, Jiang Ruosheng couldn’t help but scream internally: Hypocrite.

Just moments ago, she was all smiles for Su Qi—the contrast was staggering.

Wait, could it be that Ruan Xin already had feelings for Su Qi at this point?

In just a short while, both their minds had raced through countless twists and turns.

Jiang Ruosheng wanted to probe further but was cut off when Ruan Xin casually asked, “I heard Xin Ran likes Su Qi?”

Jiang Ruosheng: ?!

This question actually had some depth to it. She guessed Ruan Xin’s real intention was probably to ask whether Su Qi liked Xin Ran, but was afraid of revealing her own feelings.

Who knew love could come so quickly? Jiang Ruosheng thought to herself that Ruan Xin’s feelings for Su Qi were probably still at the stage of admiration and hadn’t deepened yet. Pulling out now wouldn’t leave too deep a scar.

Jiang Ruosheng put on a serious face: “Yeah, she likes her a lot. If anyone dares to like Su Qi, Xin Ran will beat them to a pulp. So, you better not get any ideas about Su Qi—Xin Ran won’t let you off easy.”

Ruan Xin looked utterly shocked: “…Was it really that bad before? Even after all that, she still warned me not to get close to Su Qi? Should I call that true love or… sheer determination despite the injuries?”

Seeing that Ruan Xin was genuinely frightened, Jiang Ruosheng finally relaxed a little and stood up to return to her seat.

Before leaving, she made sure to swipe the entire bag of nutritional powder Su Qi had given Ruan Xin.

Ruan Xin: “…”