I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Companions

Hou Xue didn’t respond to the comment—she simply took out the rest of her homework.

After delivering her line, Jiang Qing decided not to push her luck and said no more. She flipped to the first page of the workbook and prepared to start over from the beginning.

During this time, Jiang Qing realized that a top student was indeed a top student.

Hou Xue barely paused to think. She would finish reading a question and immediately begin writing. Her thought process flowed seamlessly, with no hesitations or mental blocks. Just watching her work was satisfying.

Hou Xue wrote at an astonishing speed. While Jiang Qing had only just finished one page of physics homework, Hou Xue had already completed three core subjects and placed them in front of her.

Jiang Qing couldn’t help but praise, “You’re amazing.” She then stopped writing to begin checking answers.

Meanwhile, Hou Xue quietly pulled out another set of papers from her backpack and started working again.

This time, her pace slowed a bit. By the time Jiang Qing finished another page of physics, Hou Xue had only completed one sheet.

Curious, Jiang Qing caught a glimpse of the heading—“Gaokao”—and immediately understood. No wonder. That’s not even a fair comparison.

After finishing and checking the answers, Hou Xue neatly tucked the test papers back into her bag and said to Jiang Qing, “Give me the workbook.”

Jiang Qing blinked, confused. “Huh?”

“Which questions are you stuck on?” Hou Xue took the physics workbook from Jiang Qing’s hands, glanced at it, and then looked up at her.

Realizing what she meant, Jiang Qing quickly circled a few tricky problems. Hou Xue didn’t hesitate. Pen in hand, she began explaining.

Listening to the heroine patiently break down the questions, Jiang Qing felt secretly thrilled.

Finally, I don’t have to awkwardly force tutoring sessions anymore. The heroine gets it. She clearly already knows what I want.

“You’re spacing out again.” Hou Xue suddenly stopped, staring straight into Jiang Qing’s eyes.

That same familiar feeling—like being seen through completely.

“Ahem, sorry.” Jiang Qing quickly admitted her mistake. Focus. Focus. Understanding these problems is the real goal here.

________________________________________

It wasn’t until nightfall that Hou Xue left. Before leaving, they agreed to go over questions together every afternoon until the exams.

Though they didn’t explicitly say it was tutoring, the arrangement was already taking shape—and Jiang Qing couldn’t be happier. She never expected such rapid progress in just one day.

With her objective achieved, Jiang Qing slept especially well that night. Despite still feeling a little out of place in this alternate world, the Jiang family’s luxury bed was simply too comfortable. It was almost impossible not to sleep soundly.

The next morning, Jiang Qing hummed a tune as she got out of bed, waiting at the breakfast table for Hou Xue to come downstairs. She thought, Sure, yesterday’s plan to walk home together didn’t work out—but after bonding over last night’s study session, going to school together this morning should be a given, right?

But she waited a long time without seeing Hou Xue. Instead, she was greeted by her sleepy, yawning golden-haired younger brother.

Just as she was about to run late for school, she finally gave in and asked one of the servants—only to learn that Hou Xue had already left much earlier.

Jiang Qing’s good mood for the day ended with breakfast.

The driver sped down the road with expert skill, managing to get Jiang Qing to class just before the bell rang.

Seeing that it was Jiang Qing who arrived just in time, the teacher didn’t scold her and simply told her to take her seat and start the morning reading.

Jiang Qing glanced to the back row and saw Hou Xue already reading. The sight made her uncomfortable.

She had thought that getting up early would guarantee catching Hou Xue before school. Who knew Hou Xue got up even earlier?

“Why are you so late?” her deskmate, Xu Miao, asked.

Xu Miao was one of Jiang Qing’s close friends. She was a decent person and normally wouldn’t have joined in on bullying Hou Xue. But Jiang Qing had manipulated her, spreading lies about Hou Xue trying to steal her family’s inheritance and destroying their household’s harmony, eventually dragging Xu Miao into her schemes.

Even so, Xu Miao had never really done anything harmful—she just didn’t stop Jiang Qing and mostly kept an eye on her to prevent her from going too far.

Jiang Qing said calmly, “Didn’t feel too well this morning…”

“Are you still feeling sick?” Xu Miao asked with concern.

Jiang Qing shook her head, gave her a small smile, and pulled out her textbook to begin morning reading.

________________________________________

The day went smoothly. Jiang Qing didn’t doze off in class like yesterday and was finally able to follow along at certain points—though most of it was still a blur.

Fortunately, the teachers never picked on the top students during lessons. They preferred calling on average students, only occasionally singling out the ones at the bottom.

But Hou Xue—she got called on several times a day.

Being a true academic genius, Hou Xue’s frequent call-ups had something to do with the original Jiang Qing.

Back when Hou Xue first transferred, she scored first place in the entire grade. But Jiang Qing had already spread a bunch of exaggerated rumors about her, so this stellar performance contradicted what she’d told everyone. Embarrassed, she shamelessly asked Hou Xue to “hold back” on future exams.

Hou Xue agreed.

That decision led to years of isolation and misunderstanding. Everyone assumed she cheated on that first exam. The school even investigated, but they found nothing and eventually dropped the matter.

Hou Xue became infamous—but for all the wrong reasons.

Jiang Qing remembered reading this part in the novel. Aside from thinking her original self was awful, she’d also noticed a hidden sense of satisfaction from a reader’s perspective.

Whether it was Hou Xue deliberately scoring in the mid-range by calculating her marks, or her eventual triumphant return to the top during the college entrance exam, it was all a grand reversal—slapping Jiang

Qing in the face and the whole school along with her.

But those moments of gratification wouldn’t come until much later.

Still, because no one wanted to befriend her, Hou Xue had plenty of free time to pursue her own goals—her “empire-building era,” so to speak.

While Jiang Qing was lost in thought, Hou Xue was called up again to solve a problem on the board.

Jiang Qing rested her chin on her hand, watching Hou Xue’s steady, confident movements.

That clarity of thought. Those neat chalk strokes.

Everything about her screamed “top student.” How could anyone have doubted it?

Her current mindset was completely different from when she read Waiting for the Snow to Stop.

Back then, she had clung to the hope that the heroine would eventually get her revenge. But reading a novel and experiencing it firsthand were two very different things. What took a few chapters in a book had been two real years for Hou Xue.

Now, Jiang Qing just wanted Hou Xue to reclaim her rightful place as the top of the class during the finals—to prove to everyone what true talent looked like. Low scores? Deliberately calculated. High scores?

Effortless.

As for her own reputation, Jiang Qing didn’t care much. The Jiang family still had power and influence until her college entrance exam. No matter how badly she behaved, there would always be people eager to get close to her. Besides, she wasn’t really a high school student, and she could handle public scrutiny far better than a child.

Hou Xue had barely known warmth in her life.

Jiang Qing thought, At the very least, I’ll give her that during the last bit of her youth.

Hou Xue returned to her seat. The blackboard now displayed her clean, textbook-perfect solution.

The teacher smiled approvingly and used her work as the official explanation.

There was a reason they kept calling on her. Solutions of that caliber were rare.

Even if the teachers didn’t understand why she performed so poorly on exams, they still liked having her answer questions.

________________________________________

After the last class ended, Jiang Qing darted over to block Hou Xue’s path.

Hou Xue was a little shorter and looked up at her calmly.

The back rows fell silent. Everyone adopted a “here comes the drama” expression.

Everyone knew the supposed bad bl00d between them—and whenever Jiang Qing approached Hou Xue, it was never for anything good.

While the crowd braced for fireworks, only Xu Miao stepped forward to tug on Jiang Qing’s arm.

“Xiao Qing, everyone’s watching…” Xu Miao might have looked down on Hou Xue, but she didn’t want things to blow up. It wouldn’t benefit Jiang Qing to make a scene.

Jiang Qing had just opened her mouth to speak but paused when she turned and saw Xu Miao’s concerned face.

“It’s not what you think,” Jiang Qing said, gently squeezing Xu Miao’s hand.

Though, in truth, she had intended for everyone to watch.

Xu Miao didn’t understand.

Surely Hou Xue wouldn’t turn her down in front of the whole class?

With that in mind, Jiang Qing spoke: “I just wanted to ask if you’d go home with me.” She looked Hou Xue directly in the eyes.

Hou Xue’s lashes fluttered, and for the first time, those calm, glassy eyes rippled with emotion.

The class gasped.

No one could guess what Jiang Qing was really thinking, but everyone suspected it wasn’t as innocent as it sounded. Surely this wasn’t just a ride home.

Hou Xue lowered her gaze. Everyone held their breath, waiting.

“…Okay.” She replied simply, then swept her gaze over the room before walking out through the back door.

Her glance made the room fall into an awkward silence, and everyone busied themselves, embarrassed.

As Jiang Qing would say: That’s what you call a difference in class—two people not even on the same level.

Luckily, the heroine didn’t embarrass her.

By now, Jiang Qing had completely tossed aside her original “stay far away from the heroine” strategy. She didn’t even notice the joy on her face—though Xu Miao, standing beside her, did. Her brows furrowed, and she quietly let go of Jiang Qing’s hand.

Jiang Qing might not have made trouble, but something about her reaction seemed off.

When did their relationship change? Wasn’t Jiang Qing supposed to hate her “stepsister”?

Xu Miao was full of questions, but she could only swallow them and walk away with a sigh.

Jiang Qing, now delighted, grabbed her bag and caught up with Hou Xue.

Hou Xue hadn’t gone far. She was leaning casually against the hallway corner, waiting.

No more crowded buses for the heroine. They could even go over a few more questions on the ride home.

Jiang Qing led her to the car, even opening the door for her with a sweet smile. Hou Xue gave her a long look before getting in.

That gaze left Jiang Qing a bit puzzled, but she didn’t think too much of it.

She could tell—compared to yesterday’s prickly, cold Hou Xue—today’s version was noticeably gentler.

One step at a time. I’m not in a rush.

The driver was stunned by all of this. After all, it was Jiang Qing herself who had forbidden him from ever giving Hou Xue a ride. And now she was escorting her personally?

He pondered this sudden change, then cautiously asked once they were both seated:

“Second Miss… where are we headed today?”