I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 22

Jiang Qing really started to think about it.

“Can I pick one myself?”

Hou Xue nodded, turned sideways, and pulled Jiang Qing’s hand into her right pocket.

“…So many?” Jiang Qing fumbled around in Hou Xue’s pocket, feeling the candies. “No wonder you always manage to pull one out.”

Hou Xue didn’t respond.

Jiang Qing pulled one out and held it tightly in her hand, then smiled and extended her fist toward Hou Xue. “Guess what flavor it is?”

“Peach.” Hou Xue said, locking eyes with Jiang Qing.

“So confident? Not even going to think about it?” Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow. “I thought it might be apple.”

She opened her fingers.

A small orange candy lay quietly in her palm.

“Too bad, neither of us got it right,” Jiang Qing said while unwrapping the candy.

Hou Xue reached out to stop her. “I’ll get you an apple one.” But as soon as she said that, Jiang Qing had already popped it in her mouth.

“I picked it myself. If I change it now, it won’t feel the same.” Jiang Qing shifted the candy to her right cheek and said, “I like orange flavor. I just guessed apple because… well, my luck’s never that great.”

After hearing that, Hou Xue grabbed one for herself.

Yeah, Jiang Qing’s luck really isn’t that great. Otherwise, how would she have ended up with someone like me? Hou Xue thought.

“Do you want to eat something?” Jiang Qing asked. “We’ve been smelling food for ages, and it does smell pretty good.”

“I’ll eat whatever you eat.”

“Seriously? No opinions of your own? What if our tastes are totally different?” Jiang Qing chuckled.

“They’re the same.” Hou Xue said this without a flicker of hesitation, with such calm certainty that she looked like Jiang Qing’s personal disciple.

With that interruption, Jiang Qing couldn’t find her way back to her earlier melancholy.

She didn’t want to torment herself either, so she decided to let it go—at least for now.

This was her only option anyway, no matter how much she thought it over. There was no point fighting herself over it.

Besides, rare moments like this called for good food.

An old man was pushing a cart selling candied hawthorns on the left side of the street. Jiang Qing walked over and asked, “Teacher Hou, which flavor do you want?”

Hou Xue paused briefly and asked back, “What about you?”

Clearly, she was dead set on copying Jiang Qing. Being stubborn in such a way was so typical of a kid.

But Jiang Qing had long gotten used to indulging her. The thought of “being unreasonable” didn’t even occur to her. She pointed to two strawberry skewers and said to the old man, “I’ll take those two.”

“Sixteen,” the old man said as he wrapped them and handed them to Hou Xue. He pointed to the upper-right corner of the glass box. “Scan here.”

Hou Xue took the bag, and after Jiang Qing paid, she took out one skewer and handed the other to Hou Xue. “Come on, eat. Isn’t it heavy just holding it?”

Night fell quickly.

What was still bright just moments ago was now glowing in hues of red. The sun dipped beyond the horizon, and the sky lost its blue, replaced with a soft crimson.

That red glow cast across Jiang Qing’s cheek.

It dazzled the eyes, slightly distorted.

Hou Xue pressed her lips together, unable to look away.

Instead of taking the skewer, she leaned in and took a bite of the topmost strawberry.

“Wow, how old are you? Still need someone to feed you,” Jiang Qing joked, but she wasn’t upset. In fact, she found Hou Xue’s rare moment of clinginess rather adorable.

“Mhm.” Hou Xue took another bite. “Sweet.”

“Hooked already?” Jiang Qing tried hers too. “It is sweet.” Maybe even a little too sweet—but judging from Hou Xue’s expression, she was clearly satisfied.

She really did love sweets.

Good thing she was the female lead. Otherwise, at this rate, she’d end up with cavities, and grow into a toothless old lady.

Jiang Qing couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Hou Xue finally took her own skewer and looked at Jiang Qing curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Jiang Qing said, waving it off with a stifled laugh.

They strolled around the food street.

Jiang Qing bought a dozen or so skewers of different grilled snacks, sharing them with Hou Xue as they walked.

“After all that, the second stall had the best stuff,” Jiang Qing said, tossing the last stick into a trash bin, panting slightly from the spice.

“Let’s get a drink,” Hou Xue said, glancing back and spotting a milk tea shop.

She pulled Jiang Qing along. Jiang Qing was nearly in tears from the spiciness.

She used to handle spice well. But in this new body, even a bit was too much.

Standing on the step outside the shop, Hou Xue bent down, cupped her hand around her mouth and leaned toward Jiang Qing’s ear, asking, “What do you want to drink?”

Jiang Qing’s cheeks were flushed from the heat. One hand partly covered her face. When Hou Xue’s cold fingers brushed her hot skin, she shivered involuntarily.

“Lemon juice… that should be fine. Aren’t you getting anything?” she asked, fanning her mouth as she stepped back.

Hou Xue touched her own hand—the one that had just grazed Jiang Qing’s cheek—and shook her head. She remembered the warmth of Jiang Qing’s lips.

“One small lemon juice,” Hou Xue said, pointing at the menu.

Jiang Qing looked up at the sky.

It had gone completely dark. No stars, just a deep, inky blackness—silent and unknowable.

A breeze swept through, taking away some of the heat.

The lemon juice was handed over. Jiang Qing cupped it in her palms and took a sip. The numbing spice finally subsided. She tilted her head back and said, “The place we’re going in a few days… there’ll probably be a lot of stars.”

But Hou Xue didn’t follow her gaze to the lonely, empty sky. She kept looking at Jiang Qing.

“They’ll be really bright,” she said softly.

No one could’ve guessed what she was actually describing in that moment.

…

After giving instructions to the house staff, Jiang Qing was about to shower—the smell of grilled food clinging to her clothes.

Once she’d showered and dried her hair until it was half-damp, she picked up her phone.

Xu Miao had messaged her.

“Qing Qing!”

“Your computer’s ready. When should I have it delivered to you?”

Jiang Qing thought of the sweet orange candy, her lips curled into a smile as she replied.

She had long planned how to give the computer to Hou Xue. Before, it was just a way to make peace. But now, it was simply because she wanted Hou Xue to have an easier path in her career.

She just wanted good things for Hou Xue—before the Jiang family fell.

Jiang Qing told herself it was because they were like sisters, like friends.

She placed Hou Xue somewhere between “friend” and “younger sister.” That made everything feel justified—no need to overthink.

After chatting with Xu Miao, Jiang Qing opened the Snowman app.

Little Snowman had replied.

“She definitely won’t be mad.”

Jiang Qing thought about all of Hou Xue’s reactions but couldn’t make sense of it.

“I can’t quite explain it… but whenever I bring up the mistakes I made, she reacts so strongly.”

“Licht, have you ever considered… maybe your friend never thought you did anything wrong?”

Jiang Qing stared at that line, stunned.

Hou Xue set her phone down. Jiang Qing didn’t reply again.

She rubbed her temples, looking tired.

Licht’s profile dimmed. She was probably asleep.

Hou Xue wasn’t sure what to feel. She had made her feelings so obvious, yet Jiang Qing still hadn’t figured it out.

And what if she did figure it out?

What could Hou Xue possibly do to make her stay?

Clutching her phone, Hou Xue got up and sent a message to Luo Qi.

…

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Qing reached out and touched the red corner of Hou Xue’s eyes.

A long pause, then Hou Xue replied, “…Hmm?”

“Didn’t sleep well?” Jiang Qing sat beside her.

Hou Xue shook her head weakly.

Not convincing at all.

“Go to bed after dinner, okay?” Jiang Qing said gently. “It’s already the holidays. No need to push yourself so hard. Relax a bit.”

“…Okay.” Hou Xue spooned porridge into her mouth slowly, one tiny bite at a time. A strand of hair curled over her forehead, making her look soft and dazed—so unlike her usual self.

Even when she had a fever, she wasn’t this cute.

Jiang Qing felt like she needed to calm down.

“Ahem.” She turned her head, pretending to cough. “No rush.”

“I’m full.” Hou Xue put down her bowl and dabbed her lips with a napkin before looking at Jiang Qing.

“Then let’s go upstairs and rest.” Jiang Qing took her hand. She couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but Hou Xue felt so relaxed—her hand soft and smooth, hard to let go.

Hou Xue followed quietly behind. After a month of watching the two, the house staff had accepted that Hou Xue had completely won her place—only Jiang Qing’s ambiguous attitude remained unresolved.

A friendship as moving as a sisterhood, the staff thought.

Jiang Qing tucked Hou Xue in. When she turned to leave, Hou Xue caught her hand.

“Jiang Qing…” Hou Xue’s voice was soft, almost a whisper.

“I’m here.” Jiang Qing sat back down.

“Can you stay with me for a bit?” Hou Xue asked, her voice sounding pitiful though her face stayed blank. “Just a little while.”

Jiang Qing admitted her heart had completely softened.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping,” Hou Xue added. “Please?”

“I’ll always be right here,” Jiang Qing said softly, brushing Hou Xue’s cheek and smoothing the frown on her brow. “You can’t leave me, and I won’t go anywhere. Alright? Stop thinking. Sleep.”

Hou Xue closed her eyes. She felt at peace.

The insomnia was a lie—but not too far off. She didn’t like staying up late, but sometimes things were out of her control. Even though the solution was right there—just say no to Jiang Qing.

Say no to walking to and from school together. Say no to tutoring. Say no to her kindness.

But Hou Xue couldn’t bear to.

The moment vacation started, some tightly wound string inside her finally snapped, and with it came the exhaustion.

She thought she’d tough it out, like usual. But the moment she looked at Jiang Qing—really looked—she couldn’t bear to be alone anymore.

Acting weak and asking for affection was something Hou Xue had learned online as a kid.

She once tried it on Cao Fenlan. It didn’t work. Truthfully, she had no principles—only, no one had ever been worth breaking them for.

But Jiang Qing… was soft-hearted. Easy to coax.

With someone like that, it was hard to let go.

She had to keep Jiang Qing. No matter what it took.

That was Hou Xue’s last thought as she drifted to sleep.

…

Hou Xue slept until afternoon. When she woke up, Jiang Qing wasn’t beside her.

She stared at the empty spot for half a minute, then got up, washed her face, and pulled out a workbook to start studying.

It was meant to help Jiang Qing. Hou Xue always worked through it first, picking the best questions for her.

When grades were released, she wanted Jiang Qing to rank first in both subjects—not just a wish, but a plan.

The question she was working on was tough, with two hidden conditions.

Half her mind was on the physics problem. The other half was on Jiang Qing.

Before starting any problem, Jiang Qing always sighed and complained, “So many again.” But every time, she still obediently finished them all.

Thinking of her, Hou Xue unwrapped a candy.

She used to eat candy because only the overwhelming sweetness reminded her she still existed in this world.

Now, she ate one whenever she thought of Jiang Qing.

Because sweetness and existence—both meant Jiang Qing.