She’s Just Too Hard to Win Over [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 6

Saying one thing but meaning another, her heart sure was honest. Even if it was just a single point of favorability, it was still something. A mosquito may be small, but it’s still meat.

It was a good start.

If she could get one point, then surely a hundred wasn’t that far off.

Lost in her fantasies of a bright future, Ning Xue suddenly realized that Jing Ling was already far ahead, nearly out of sight.

She quickly ran after her, looping her arm through Jing Ling’s and resting her head playfully on her shoulder.

“What are you doing? Let go of me!”

Jing Ling froze, her body stiff. She pushed her away, her eyes full of disgust and a flicker of fear, as though she’d encountered something terrifying.

“Stay away from me, or I won’t be polite!”

Before, words like that might’ve scared Ning Xue off. But by now, she understood Jing Ling’s sharp tongue hid a soft heart. Instead of letting go, she boldly wrapped her arms around Jing Ling’s waist.

What she forgot was that Jing Ling’s favorability had only gone up by one point, a number so small it was almost meaningless.

Jing Ling’s breath caught. Her instincts kicked in, and she twisted Ning Xue’s hand sharply in the opposite direction.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Ning Xue yelped, her face scrunched up in pain.

Jing Ling flung her hand away, her voice cold as frost. “I don’t want to repeat myself. I don’t care what they promised you, but if you keep pestering me, you’ll end up with nothing.”

Her tone was calm, but the anger beneath it was unmistakable. Ning Xue could tell this time, Jing Ling was truly mad.

So, she hated being touched.

Yeah… maybe she’d gone too far. Given Jing Ling’s personality, it wasn’t surprising that she hated any kind of physical contact.

Ning Xue wanted to apologize, but Jing Ling was already gone.

【Target’s favorability decreased by 1. Current total: 0. Task progress: 0.】

The two bold black zeros filled Ning Xue’s vision.

I see them, I see them! Both eyes, thank you very much,  she grumbled.

The zeros flashed mockingly before fading away, as if laughing at her failure.

Heaven to hell, all in an instant. One blink, and the tiny bit of progress she’d made was gone.

Dejected, she trudged back to the classroom. Because she was staring at the floor, she nearly bumped into someone. Looking up, she found herself face-to-face with Lu Yue.

“Yueyue? What are you doing here?”

Lu Yue frowned, exasperated. I should be asking you that! I told you to wait for me by the pavilion, but you disappeared. You didn’t even answer your phone! Where did you go?

Ning Xue sighed. “To get tortured.”

“Huh?” Lu Yue blinked, then noticed how pale she looked. 

“Are you okay?”

I’m fine,” Ning Xue said weakly. “I’m not the type to be defeated by a little setback. Just… tired.

She leaned her head against Lu Yue’s shoulder.

Without another word, Lu Yue reached into her pocket, took out a white peach candy, unwrapped it, and gently pressed it to Ning Xue’s lips.

Lu Yue stroked her hair softly, smiling with that gentle warmth of hers soft and light, like a drifting cloud.

They stood by the classroom door, an easy sight for anyone passing by.

Jing Ling, sitting at her desk, caught the scene and a hint of mockery flickered in her eyes.

So she had plenty of friends. Someone to comfort her at the first sign of trouble.

It shouldn’t have mattered after all, that girl had ulterior motives, and none of her words should count for anything. But the more she told herself not to care, the more irritated she became. A quiet anger burned in her chest, making it impossible to sit still.

Her gaze fell on a half-used tube of ointment on her desk. Thinking of Ning Xue’s earlier fussing over her, her frustration only deepened and the poor ointment ended up in the trash.

When the bell rang, Ning Xue returned to the classroom. Her eyes instinctively drifted toward Jing Ling, who sat calmly flipping through her textbook, her expression cool and distant, shutting everyone out.

Great. Back to square one. After all that effort, she was right where she started.

Fine then, if she couldn’t win in the field of emotion, she’d dominate in academics! Next exam, she’d make the top fifty in the entire grade!

The system had expected her to mope for a while, but no a moment was she sulking, and the next she was bursting with determination. Her emotional recovery was so abrupt, even the system couldn’t keep up.

Still, this personality of hers did have its perks at least it kept the mission moving.

Hmm… not bad.

During the last self-study period, Jing Ling stepped out to take a call and never came back.

Ning Xue wanted to find a way to mend things, so she stayed behind to wait for her. But even as the sky darkened, Jing Ling never returned.

Sighing, Ning Xue gathered up the main subject textbooks and picked up Jing Ling’s bag before heading for the bus stop.

The evening air was chilly. Her thin school uniform did little to block the wind. Hugging the bag to her chest, Ning Xue sat quietly in the corner of the stop, waiting for her bus.

The lights had dimmed completely. The stop wasn’t busy only a few scattered pedestrians passed by.

The yellow streetlamp was half-blocked by the signboard, its weak light spilling across her face, washing it pale. She looked tired and frail.

She was tired. She hadn’t eaten anything since a bowl of porridge that morning, and her head felt light from hunger.

The bus was late. Two or three passed, none of the ones she needed. She leaned weakly against the electronic screen behind her. The wind made her dizzy.

After a while, someone stepped in front of her, blocking the cold wind. Squinting up, she saw a familiar face.

“Jing Ling!”

Her exhaustion vanished instantly.  Are you okay? You didn’t come back to class. I was worried something had happened.

Jing Ling looked at the bag in her arms, her expression complicated.

Ning Xue held it out to her, eyes wide and sincere.

“I waited for you, but you didn’t come, so I brought your books home for you,” she explained, then sneezed. Embarrassed, she blinked up at her. “It’s cold, huh? You shouldn’t stand in the wind. Come over here.”

She sneezed again and again, her eyes watering, cheeks flushed red, she clearly had a cold.

Jing Ling had thought she understood her by now. Ning Xue was just another person sent to watch her, no different from the others so she’d always dismissed her.

But over the past few days, she’d realized Ning Xue’s persistence wasn’t ordinary. It was as if she had to stay by her side, no matter what.

No matter how coldly she treated her, no matter how harsh her words, Ning Xue never got angry. The next time they met, she’d still smile.

If it was just for money… then she was sacrificing far too much.

So maybe just maybe she truly wanted to be her friend.

Looking into those eyes clear, sincere, and without a trace of deceit—for the first time, Jing Ling began to doubt herself.

Had she been the one overcomplicating things all along?

“Come on, the bus is here.”

Ning Xue reached for her arm, and this time, Jing Ling simply let herself be led along.

For once, she didn’t resist. She didn’t question. She just felt the coldness of that hand gripping hers.

How long had she been waiting out there to get this cold?

Once they boarded, Ning Xue leaned forward on the seat in front of her, resting her head as dizziness washed over her. Her body was stiff from the cold, her breathing shallow.

Jing Ling’s gaze lingered on the curve of her pale neck, unable to look away. It wasn’t until the bus jerked to a stop that she realized she’d been staring far too long.

When Ning Xue lifted her head, she met Jing Ling’s eyes. A faint mist shimmered in them, soft and gentle, like a small animal blinking up through the rain.

Jing Ling quickly turned her face away, uncomfortable, and stood to get off. Ning Xue, still dazed, followed behind her without a word.

Cold and hungry, Ning Xue didn’t feel like talking. She just trailed quietly after Jing Ling, her steps slow and steady.

Jing Ling kept waiting for her to say something anything but from the bus stop all the way home, she didn’t hear a single word.

Usually, she couldn’t stop talking, chirping away like an unstoppable little bird. But tonight, she was silent.

They arrived at their doors at the same time. Jing Ling glanced at her, hesitated, then finally spoke up.

“Um…”

Ning Xue turned to her. Her eyes were red at the corners, as if brushed by cold wind so red they tugged at something soft inside Jing Ling.

After a moment’s pause, Jing Ling forced her tone to stay indifferent. “Let’s… go to school together tomorrow.” The words came out clipped and awkward, every syllable stiff.

But Ning Xue’s smile bloomed instantly, her eyes curving into bright crescents.

“Okay. I’ll come get you tomorrow.”

Jing Ling couldn’t handle that smile. She quickly turned, opened her door, and slipped inside.

Leaning against the closed door, she pressed a hand to her chest.

Why is my heart beating so fast? Am I sick or something.