I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 11

When Jiang Qing woke up, she felt utterly drained. Her biological clock was still functioning, but the consequences of staying up late were all too apparent.

She was exhausted, sluggish, and completely out of it.

This state lasted nearly the entire day.

It wasn’t until the third class in the afternoon that Jiang Qing finally started to feel somewhat normal again. During that time, Xu Miao had tried multiple times to drag her to the infirmary, but Jiang Qing turned her down every time.

Now, she sat below the podium, listening to the homeroom teacher’s long-winded speech. The familiar setting reminded her that it was Monday—and that she had cleaning duty after school.

She sighed inwardly.

Judging from what happened last night, any goodwill she had previously earned had probably been wiped clean. But she still wasn’t sure whether she should explain things to Hou Xue.

But what would telling her even achieve?

A vague, noncommittal response? Or maybe just a cold, indifferent glance?

Clearly, Jiang Qing didn’t want either.

“You’re on sweeping duty today with Zhu Yao,” the hygiene monitor said, snapping Jiang Qing out of her daze.

“Ah.” Jiang Qing responded absentmindedly. Satisfied with her answer, the hygiene monitor moved on, heading toward the front row to inform Zhu Yao.

Jiang Qing glanced toward Hou Xue’s seat.

Empty.

A sudden wave of irritation surged within her. She averted her gaze and walked to the back door of the classroom, grabbing a broom and starting to sweep the two rows by the window.

In the memories of her original self, she and Zhu Yao had already divided the cleaning zones: Jiang Qing took care of the window side, Zhu Yao the door side.

There actually wasn’t much to clean. Students at Yangrui were generally well-mannered and maintained their personal areas. Littering was rare, so Jiang Qing mostly swept up some dust and bits of torn paper.

But just because no one littered didn’t mean there was no trash.

She stared at the overflowing garbage bin, wondering—whose job was it to empty that?

She couldn’t recall. Frowning, Jiang Qing walked up to the front desk to check the duty roster.

Lifting the paper covering the schedule, she looked at the final slot for Monday and saw a distinctly feminine name:

Miao Xiao.

The name was familiar. Hou Xue’s deskmate.

And once again, Jiang Qing found her thoughts circling back to Hou Xue.

She let out a sigh at her own mental detour and forced herself to focus.

Scanning the room, she realized that both Zhu Yao and Miao Xiao were missing.

The large classroom was surprisingly empty—only Jiang Qing and two boys carrying water buckets remained.

She considered calling out to them to ask where Zhu Yao and Miao Xiao had gone, but before she could speak, a loud thud came from outside the front door.

“Just go already! What’s with the silent treatment—trying to act pitiful?” a sharp, grating female voice snapped.

Jiang Qing immediately forgot about the boys. She turned and strode out the front door.

The two she was looking for were right there—one tall, one petite.

And there was a bonus surprise.

Hou Xue.

Calm-eyed, composed—the Hou Xue she recognized.

That disinterested, detached look on her face made Jiang Qing want to pull her close, feel her warmth, and see if she was really that cold inside.

But the situation left little room for any happy thoughts.

Zhu Yao, petite and shorter than Jiang Qing by nearly a head, had shoved Hou Xue against the cold tiled wall hard enough to make a sound.

Jiang Qing’s jaw clenched as she saw Zhu Yao’s hand still pressing on Hou Xue’s shoulder.

“What are you looking at?” Zhu Yao barked, annoyed by the way Hou Xue had looked away. Her grip subtly tightened.

Enough was enough.

“She’s looking at her sister,” Jiang Qing said coldly, stepping forward and prying Zhu Yao’s hand off with no courtesy. She pulled Hou Xue away from the wall.

Hou Xue’s arm was so thin it could be wrapped easily in one hand—fragile to the point where Jiang Qing was afraid she might accidentally hurt her.

No wonder a small girl like Zhu Yao could push her around like that.

Jiang Qing had suspected Hou Xue was malnourished before. Now she was even more determined to take care of her stepsister. As for whatever conflicts they had recently—those could go to hell.

Hou Xue didn’t resist. She let Jiang Qing lead her away, head down, silent.

That made Jiang Qing chuckle softly. She leaned closer and whispered in Hou Xue’s ear, “Why can’t you behave? Always making me play the knight in shining armor.”

She put particular emphasis on the words behave and beauty, making her meaning crystal clear.

Seeing the tips of Hou Xue’s ears flush red, Jiang Qing felt deeply satisfied. The anger she’d felt moments ago cooled instantly—her heart went soft.

“Jiang Qing?” Zhu Yao looked surprised when she saw who it was. She rubbed her reddened hand and managed a stiff smile after a few seconds. “Ah, you wanted to handle this yourself, huh?”

Jiang Qing’s eyes swept between Zhu Yao and Miao Xiao standing behind her. “Handle what, exactly?”

Zhu Yao narrowed her eyes. “Special discipline for a disobedient little sister. Haven’t we always worked well together on that front?”

Another debt left by the original Jiang Qing.

Jiang Qing’s opinion of her past self had long dipped into the negatives. She quickly recalled the relevant background with Zhu Yao.

Zhu Yao had been the ringleader when it came to bullying Hou Xue. She was even more aggressive than Jiang Qing had been—like a mad dog, always eager to provoke.

And Miao Xiao, from the looks of it, was someone Zhu Yao had planted to keep tabs on Hou Xue.

“I’m not interested anymore,” Jiang Qing said flatly. “Hou Xue is my sister. I hope you understand what that means.”

Zhu Yao frowned. “Jiang Qing, you—”

But Jiang Qing didn’t let her finish. “Let me be clear: Hou Xue is my sister. Don’t you dare lay a finger on her again.” Seeing Zhu Yao’s face darken with rage, mouth opening to retort, Jiang Qing added, tone icy,

“What? I suppose your family doesn’t need those Jiang Group contracts anymore? Maybe we should cancel them.”

Zhu Yao’s eyes widened. She clearly hadn’t expected Jiang Qing to use the Jiang family’s business as leverage for Hou Xue.

“You… Hou—Fine. Fine!” Zhu Yao pointed between Jiang Qing and Hou Xue, then grabbed Miao Xiao’s hand. “Come on, we’re leaving.”

As the two turned to go, Jiang Qing wasn’t done. “Hold it. Come back and clean your section.”

Their bodies froze.

Zhu Yao stomped her foot, then dragged Miao Xiao back. As they passed Jiang Qing, Zhu Yao shot Hou Xue a vicious glare.

She didn’t dare aim her fury at Jiang Qing, so she dumped it all on Hou Xue.

Once they were back to cleaning, Jiang Qing couldn’t help but laugh.

This was her first time using her identity as the Jiang family’s second daughter to intimidate someone—and she’d even pulled off a full-on domineering CEO line. The mix of satisfaction and embarrassment was real.

But Hou Xue didn’t seem amused. Her expression dimmed, and after a moment, she softly asked:

“…Was it worth it, sister?”

Jiang Qing’s smile froze. She blinked, then grabbed Hou Xue’s shoulders, voice trembling slightly in disbelief. “What… what did you just call me?”

Always missing the point.

Hou Xue’s eyes crinkled with a faint smile. She gently pushed Jiang Qing’s hands away and slipped past her toward the classroom. “Nothing.”

“Come on, don’t be stingy! Say it again!” Jiang Qing followed behind, face glowing with delight.

“Second Miss,” Hou Xue said as she reached the back row to grab her schoolbag.

Only then did Jiang Qing realize—Hou Xue hadn’t taken her bag earlier.

So, she had been waiting for her all along. And here Jiang Qing had been overthinking everything.

Her heart filled with a soft sweetness that nearly overwhelmed her.

“That’s not the one. Call me sister,” Jiang Qing said, too happy to even hide her grin. Her whole focus was on Hou Xue now.

…

It wasn’t until they were in the car that Jiang Qing finally calmed down a bit. After fidgeting for a while, she casually asked, “Did you wait for me on purpose this afternoon?”

Hou Xue looked composed. She responded with a question: “Didn’t Second Miss invite me to ride with her before?”

That “Second Miss” again. It felt different this time, somehow sour.

Jiang Qing didn’t want to push her, so she swallowed her frustration and muttered, “Now you listen to me, huh?”

Hou Xue replied calmly, “When have I ever not listened to Second Miss?”

Another “Second Miss.”

Jiang Qing turned to stare out the window, grumbling, “You always listen. Of course you do.”

It wasn’t wrong. Hou Xue had always been obedient—she’d even gone along with the original Jiang Qing’s tantrums during exams.

A few minutes later, as if she suddenly remembered something, Jiang Qing pulled out her phone and sent a message.

After that, they stayed quiet, both lost in their thoughts as they entered the mansion and sat down for dinner.

For some reason, Hou Xue had the feeling Jiang Qing was watching her a bit too closely.

She kept her expression neutral, but her mind started spinning. Had Jiang Qing already found out about what happened last night?

It wasn’t until Jiang Xing joined them and the servants began serving dishes that Hou Xue realized the real reason behind Jiang Qing’s intense gaze.

Every single dish in front of her was sweet.

Jiang Qing knew she liked sweets.

That was unexpected.

Hou Xue hadn’t thought two pieces of candy would give her away. Plus, when Jiang Qing handed her that dark chocolate, she hadn’t seemed to realize Hou Xue had a sweet tooth.

So why now?

Another mystery she couldn’t quite solve.

Hou Xue picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork and took a bite.

Looking up, she met Jiang Qing’s hopeful eyes—and suddenly, all her suspicions felt unnecessary.

Someone who wore their heart on their sleeve like this… couldn’t possibly be hiding layers of scheming.

Besides, she had already confirmed that Snowman was just a coincidence.

Last night, Hou Xue had quickly rigged a raffle so she’d “randomly” draw the Confession System. The Christmas antlers and snowflakes were just extras.

As for choosing the antlers? That was only because Jiang Qing had picked a red scarf—she thought the antlers would match better.

Snowman had been the first game Hou Xue ever developed. It wasn’t particularly advanced—just something she threw together for fun and later sold off.

Still, seeing it appear on Jiang Qing’s phone had given her pause.