I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 13

When Jiang Qing and Hou Xue arrived at the mall, it had just opened. The shops were still setting up, and many stores hadn’t even begun business yet.

A total miscalculation.

Jiang Qing pressed a hand to her forehead, thoroughly exasperated with herself.

Before transmigrating into the novel, she had never been into shopping. Compared to lugging around shopping bags in a mall, she preferred the ease of online shopping. As for what time malls usually opened?

That was a complete blind spot in her knowledge.

The main issue was that accessing the original host’s memories required active thought—it didn’t come as second nature.

“What’s wrong?” Hou Xue moved closer, her eyes falling to the back of Jiang Qing’s neck, barely concealed by her low-cut blouse.

Pale skin peeked out from under the black collar. Her head tilted slightly downward, the graceful line of her neck and her prominent collarbones exposed. Hou Xue had the urge to reach out and touch, but her hand froze mid-air before eventually settling on her stepsister’s right shoulder.

Jiang Qing was warm. Even through the soft fabric of her shirt, Hou Xue’s cold fingers could feel the girl’s slim, bony frame—and it made her momentarily dazed.

She had never been physically close with anyone before, and this distance was already pushing her limits.

“Are you cold?” Jiang Qing reached over and laid her hand on Hou Xue’s. It was icy to the touch.

The mall’s air conditioning was strong. Jiang Qing gently pulled Hou Xue’s hand off her shoulder.

“My fault for not thinking this through. Let’s find a place to sit?”

Hou Xue simply flipped her hand to hold Jiang Qing’s instead. Her voice was soft. “Okay.”

The cinema was on the fifth floor. The fourth floor, filled with restaurants, was still mostly closed, so Jiang Qing led Hou Xue down to the third floor and ordered two drinks.

Looks like they’d be stuck waiting until the movie started. Jiang Qing sighed to herself.

“Sorry, I’ve wasted your time,” she said while watching Hou Xue’s expression, both hands cupped around the warm drink.

Hou Xue narrowed her eyes slightly.

She noticed her “imposter” stepsister apologized a lot—and was always cautious around her. In contrast, when she chatted with “Snow” in the game, Jiang Qing was far more relaxed.

She couldn’t even compare to a robot.

The realization irked Hou Xue—even if that robot had been her.

“It’s fine.” Hou Xue didn’t look at Jiang Qing, instead staring into her cup, where the cream was being stirred into the drink.

Jiang Qing bit on her straw, racking her brain for a conversation topic.

Hou Xue’s character was the aloof, cool goddess type, so silence had never felt awkward to Jiang Qing. In fact, she found it kind of peaceful. But the current setting didn’t make silence feel like the best choice.

After much thought, Jiang Qing asked, “So, what are we watching today?”

Hou Xue: “…”

She had no idea.

When Luo Qi gave her the tickets, she’d said, “Here—this one’s a hot romantic blockbuster. Perfect for a date with your little lover.”

“I don’t have a lover.”

“Oh? You don’t? Well then, watch it with me instead.”

“Hm?” Jiang Qing nudged the back of Hou Xue’s hand gently.

“She didn’t say.” Hou Xue sipped her drink, but her throat still felt dry.

“Oh,” Jiang Qing replied. “That friend of yours—have I met her?”

In the original novel, most of the female lead’s friends didn’t appear until the latter half of the story. During her youth, she’d mostly gone it alone. The only person that could barely be called a “friend” from that time was her early business partner.

That partner eventually betrayed Hou Xue. Although she met a bad end—and that arc hadn’t happened yet—Jiang Qing just wanted to nip everything in the bud.

At the very least, she wanted to keep Hou Xue’s life cleaner and free of toxic people as much as possible.

“No.” Hou Xue almost frowned but held it back, simply shifting her gaze to the distance.

Being a transmigrator with foreknowledge was useless if she couldn’t remember anything relevant.

The novel was so long, and unless a plot point was specifically flagged, Jiang Qing often forgot things.

Maybe this “friend” Hou Xue mentioned was something she’d overlooked.

The movie started at 10:30 a.m.

It was an early showing, but the theater was surprisingly crowded.

So much for her fantasy of having the place half to themselves—it seemed this film was currently very popular.

But why did it feel like everyone was here in couples? Most of them were male-female pairs.

Jiang Qing wasn’t sure why she felt nervous. To appear more natural, she reached for a piece of popcorn—

And instead brushed against a cold hand.

They both froze.

The big screen was still showing commercials, but the lights had already dimmed. In the dark, Jiang Qing could clearly hear the flirty whispers of a couple behind them.

It was stifling.

Their hands quickly pulled apart.

It was just an accidental touch. They’d even held hands earlier, and no one had been flustered. It was a totally normal kind of contact.

So why had she reacted so strongly?

Maybe it was the atmosphere?

The sweet nothings behind her continued. Jiang Qing couldn’t understand what those couples had in their heads—how could they be so clingy during a string of ads?

Clearly, going to the movies with your sister was the more reasonable choice.

But more than that, what Jiang Qing really cared about was Hou Xue’s persistently cold hands.

Hou Xue’s temperature had always been low, but under the hot sun, it was merely slightly cool. Now, with the AC blasting, her body temperature had dropped even more.

“Is it too cold for you?” Jiang Qing turned slightly toward her and asked just before the final trailer ended. She grabbed Hou Xue’s left hand and pretended to warm it.

Only when the green-screen opening finally started playing did Hou Xue speak in a low voice.

“I’m afraid of the cold.”

“What?” The Dolby dragon roared onto the screen with a loud tail-swipe, making it hard to hear, but Jiang Qing had been watching Hou Xue the whole time. She knew she’d just said something.

Jiang Qing’s hand was warm—much warmer than any comfort Hou Xue had ever known from that woman.

“I’m afraid of the cold,” Hou Xue repeated. The theater was dim, but she could still make out Jiang Qing’s silhouette—sharp-featured yet softened by youthful energy, mismatched with the gentleness she radiated.

“My body temperature tends to be a few degrees lower than average. It’s fine.”

She tried to pull her now-warmed hand back.

This warmth was unfamiliar—perhaps even dangerous.

“Don’t move. You’re cold, I’ll warm you up.” Jiang Qing tightened her grip, cradled her delicate forearm, and nodded toward the screen. “Let’s watch the movie.”

The movie was a romance.

Three storylines, interwoven between loosely connected characters.

The first two were classic: love at first sight and lovers reunited. They catered well to young couples. But the third—the high school storyline—was melodramatic and a tragedy, yet somehow blended perfectly with the tone of the film.

In it, the female leads grew up together. Girl A treated Girl B like a sister. Boy A liked Girl B, Girl A liked Boy A, and Boy B liked Girl A. So far, nothing unusual. But near the end, it was revealed that the reason Girl

B never accepted Boy A… was because she had feelings for Girl A.

Jiang Qing was sipping her cola and nearly choked.

And the only kiss scene in that storyline?

Was between Girl A and Girl B.

Restrained, yet intense.

The acting was superb, the visuals poetic—hazy, tender, and beautifully youthful.

Jiang Qing froze mid-bite on her popcorn and glanced to her right.

Her stepsister looked composed, like she hadn’t been affected at all.

She felt relieved… and oddly disappointed. Conflicted for no reason.

Meanwhile, the other two storylines featured typical male-female kisses that got the couples in the audience all hot and bothered—especially the pair behind them, who’d been restless from the start.

Jiang Qing sat through their live-action whispering and giggles without reacting, just annoyed by the noise.

In the end, the other two stories got their happy endings, while the school storyline wrapped with ambiguity—Girl B simply listed the same university as Girl A on her application form.

The movie ended at noon. Only half the popcorn had been eaten.

Jiang Qing and Hou Xue walked out one after the other. At the exit, Jiang Qing stopped and waited three steps for her.

The girl’s lips hovered a mere centimeter from the nape of her neck, her voice trembling:

“…What, not leaving?”

“Waiting for you.” Jiang Qing naturally took her hand and led her out of the theater. Outside, she asked softly, “Didn’t like the movie? You seemed distracted.”

“No.” Hou Xue’s lips pressed into a thin line.

Truthfully, she hadn’t registered anything that happened in the film. All her attention had been on the hand that Jiang Qing had held the entire time.

This girl—she was so stubborn.

It almost felt like she was the one being taken out to a movie.

“It’s just about lunchtime,” Jiang Qing said, rubbing the palm of Hou Xue’s hand in a friendly gesture. “How about we eat out instead of going home?”

She just wanted the kid to be happy.

Hou Xue nodded. Something inside her sparked—like fireworks going off in her brain, igniting every nerve.

Her mind told her she was in a state of heightened joy and sensitivity.

Because of Jiang Qing.

…

Jiang Qing ended up taking Hou Xue to a Japanese restaurant on the fourth floor. The chef’s skills were excellent, and when they left, the staff even gave them a box of rice cakes.

But as soon as the elevator reached the second floor, Jiang Qing’s expression started to drop. She really wanted to buy Hou Xue some new clothes. With a face like that and such a perfect figure, letting it go to waste was a crime.

She used to have a close friend who was super artistic and obsessed with styling—not just for herself, but everyone else too.

After being around her for so long, Jiang Qing had picked up a love for fashion as well.

Luckily, there would be plenty of chances. Next time, she could take Hou Xue to the department store her original self used to frequent and have the clerks style a few outfits for her.

But she needed a good excuse to justify the spending. Hou Xue didn’t seem like someone who’d accept gifts easily.

What excuse would work?

She still hadn’t come up with one by the time the elevator stopped.

As they walked out of the mall, Jiang Qing suddenly asked, “You’re not doing a whole pile of practice tests again this afternoon, are you?”

“…No.” Hou Xue thought for a moment. “I can reduce the workload, but finals are in two weeks, so I assume Second Miss—”

“Alright, alright.” Jiang Qing raised her index finger to her lips, motioning her to stop.

Crimson lips. Elegant fingers.

Hou Xue thought that if those hands were painted with deep wine-red polish, they’d be even more beautiful.