I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 37

Hou Xue injured her left hand. It didn’t affect her daily activities too much, and she could still attend school without much trouble.

But Jiang Qing had a strong reaction to it.

“Miss Hou is recovering well. There shouldn’t be any problem with her returning to school now,” Ye Man had cautiously brought up the topic for the first time in front of Jiang Qing.

“She’s not ready yet,” Jiang Qing replied softly.

Ye Man immediately shut her mouth and didn’t bring it up again.

After all, the person standing here was the second daughter of the Jiang family—and Ye Man still wanted to keep her job.

And so the days passed. The final holiday before senior year quietly came to an end, its beginning filled with uncertainty, its ending calm and uneventful.

Yangrui High School had a tradition: on the first day of the new term, they held an opening ceremony in the morning and a parents’ meeting in the evening.

Hou Xue spent the rest of the break in the hospital. Her routine was simple—being meticulously cared for by Jiang Qing, going downstairs for a stroll and sunlight twice a day, and studying in her free time.

At first, Jiang Qing wasn’t thrilled about Hou Xue studying while still injured. But eventually, albeit reluctantly, she gave in. The VIP room was spacious, and Jiang Qing gradually brought more things over. She had even moved in to stay with Hou Xue.

When Hou Xue was done studying, she’d start working on tasks—never wasting a moment. Jiang Qing had even bought her a tablet.

They both silently avoided bringing up certain subjects. Each respected the parts of the other they had hidden away.

No words were ever fully spoken; silence took up the gaps, leaving behind a suffocating tension. But neither wanted to be the one to break the unspoken rules.

Jiang Qing skipped the opening ceremony to bring Hou Xue breakfast.

She usually traveled between the Jiang family hospital branches. For some reason, she had an almost obsessive insistence on Hou Xue only eating homemade food.

Hou Xue never refused. She knew it was pointless—even if she said no, Jiang Qing would probably just put the food in a different container and pretend it was from outside.

As usual, Jiang Qing parked in the underground garage and took the elevator from B2 up to the sixth floor.

While getting into the elevator, she noticed a vaguely familiar figure entering the adjacent one.

She didn’t think much of it.

By the time her elevator reached the sixth floor, it was nearly empty. As she stepped out, she saw that person again, already a few steps ahead.

It was a woman wearing a burgundy suit.

Jiang Qing noticed her stopping in front of the room next to Hou Xue’s. She raised an eyebrow.

She hadn’t seen this person before. As far as she remembered, the room next door was always occupied by an elderly man with a back injury.

Still, the familiarity lingered—and it bothered her.

As she passed by that room, the door was slightly ajar. Jiang Qing caught a glimpse of the scene inside.

The woman in the burgundy suit was bending over, seemingly kissing the patient in bed.

By the time Jiang Qing looked, the kiss was ending. The woman straightened up and sat on the edge of the bed, revealing the patient she had been blocking.

Thankfully, Jiang Qing didn’t catch an unsettling image of the old man—but rather someone she actually recognized, if only one-sidedly.

Fan Ya.

Jiang Qing was genuinely surprised. Her eyes widened slightly.

How could she always walk in at the exact moment people were kissing?

Was this just standard behavior for adult lesbians? Skip the chit-chat and go straight to kissing?

Her eyelid twitched—just her right one.

Fan Ya had a bandage around her neck and a swollen mark at the corner of her mouth.

Domestic violence? Was Zhuo Tao that violent? No wonder Fan Ya turned on her years later.

Jiang Qing stood outside the door, pondering, and drew a somewhat inappropriate conclusion.

It had been a while since they’d last seen each other, but Fan Ya still gave her the same impression—detached and indifferent. Now, dressed in a loose hospital gown with a bandaged neck, her inherent fragility seemed even more pronounced.

She looked delicate, but she was clearly someone who could endure a lot and strike hard.

Jiang Qing rubbed her chin in thought, then turned her attention away from the pair.

After all, she already knew who was next door—no need to worry. What mattered more was whether the porridge had gone cold.

Hou Xue couldn’t eat cold food.

Jiang Qing entered the room and began setting up the meal with practiced ease.

As she lifted the lid from the porridge, a wave of steam rose.

Still warm. Jiang Qing was satisfied.

On the morning of Yangrui High’s new term, Hou Xue swallowed the last bite of lean meat porridge Jiang Qing had gotten up early to cook. For the first time, she took the initiative to ask:

“When can I be discharged?”

“Not yet,” Jiang Qing answered naturally. “Do you want to go out for a walk? I’ll go with you.” As she spoke, she reached out to help Hou Xue up.

“No.” Hou Xue stopped her. “What did the doctor say?”

“They said… more observation is needed,” Jiang Qing replied, lowering her hand.

“Jiang Qing,” Hou Xue called softly.

“Yes?” Jiang Qing responded.

“Is it that you don’t want me to go back to school?” Hou Xue’s tone was calm, almost like stating a fact.

Though today was only the first day of term, as seniors-to-be, Yangrui students had already begun classes a month early. Jiang Qing had made the decision for both of them to skip those prep sessions.

Jiang Qing was momentarily speechless.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want her to go.

She was just… afraid.

And maybe, just a little selfish.

“The doctor really said that,” Jiang Qing insisted, handing Hou Xue half of a peeled apple.

Hou Xue didn’t take it.

“Jiang Qing, have you ever thought about one thing?” she asked.

“What thing?” Jiang Qing didn’t pull her hand back, still holding the apple.

Hou Xue stared at her hand for a moment, then took the apple and continued:

“You’ve never asked me whether I even like peeled apples.”

Jiang Qing looked up at her.

“You just give them to me without asking,” Hou Xue said, taking a bite.

Jiang Qing liked peeled apples.

The skin irritated her throat, so she instinctively considered it something bad—something to be removed before offering the fruit to Hou Xue.

But that wasn’t a good enough reason for never asking.

In truth, she just liked peeled apples—plain and simple.

If Hou Xue hadn’t pointed it out, she wouldn’t have thought it was a problem.

“I…” Jiang Qing understood what Hou Xue meant. But she still asked, “Do you really not like peeled apples?”

Hou Xue narrowed her eyes and took another bite.

Crisp. Sweet.

“I like them—but it’s not the right time now,” she said vaguely, not denying it.

Jiang Qing looked at her oddly.

“Not the right time… just for now?” she asked, her throat feeling a little dry.

Hou Xue nodded slightly.

“Then when will it be the right time?” Jiang Qing asked.

“That’s for you to answer, Second Miss,” Hou Xue said, awkwardly wiping her hands with a tissue.

Jiang Qing didn’t say anything. She took the tissue, gently grasping Hou Xue’s hand.

The delicate paper slid over the girl’s long fingers.

Her hands were slim, with defined joints and neatly trimmed nails.

Jiang Qing looked at her hand; Hou Xue looked at her face.

Behind Hou Xue’s soft gaze was a desperate obsession.

Over the past month, she’d come to realize something: the version of herself in the world without Jiang Qing wasn’t just a dream.

Every night, she would relive her day.

In both worlds, she was injured and in the hospital—but the difference was, in that other world, Jiang Qing wasn’t there.

No one cared for her. No one made her food. There was… nothing.

In that world, she had been discharged for a long time, but her days were dull and empty.

Studying alone, working, enduring the cold sarcasm of her stepsister—who wore Jiang Qing’s face.

The constant back-and-forth was driving her mad.

She didn’t think she was asking for much. All she wanted was Jiang Qing. Just Jiang Qing.

But in that other world, Jiang Qing was nowhere to be found. She couldn’t even remember her clearly, just a blurry shadow she chased every day.

Hou Xue was terrified. She feared this world was a fantasy—her obsession made real. Or perhaps this world was just a memory of Jiang Qing’s presence. Just a dream.

Every night, she wanted to sleep in Jiang Qing’s arms—tight, close—hoping that might bring Jiang Qing into her dreams, even if only for a moment.

Jiang Qing wanted to keep her hidden away.

Hou Xue knew that. And she didn’t resist.

But the timing wasn’t right.

If their relationship deepened now, she’d only get a fragmented Jiang Qing.

She wanted all of her.

And when the time came—even if Jiang Qing wanted to chain her down—Hou Xue would offer herself willingly.

With joy. With sweetness.

Because they were the same kind of person.

Hou Xue wanted to hide Jiang Qing away too.

Even if she wasn’t whole.

But for now, Jiang Qing would run. Even if she broke her legs, it wouldn’t stop her. And Hou Xue didn’t know the full truth yet.

So not now.

Just a little longer.

Let’s both wait a little longer, okay?

Hou Xue was never one to settle. She wanted Jiang Qing. She wanted Jiang Qing to be hers.

________________________________________

“Alright,” Jiang Qing suddenly said, seemingly out of nowhere, after thinking about it all day.

“Alright what?” Hou Xue asked with a mouthful of chocolate.

In her dreams, she never ate milk chocolate. Because dark chocolate was Jiang Qing’s flavor.

“Tomorrow, we’ll go to school,” Jiang Qing said with a sigh.

Hou Xue smiled at her. “Okay.”

“Then let’s go now. Change your clothes and call me when you’re ready,” Jiang Qing said as she moved to the other bed and pulled the curtain closed.

Hou Xue smiled, removed her hospital gown, and changed into the oversized tunic Jiang Qing had brought.

It was roomy and easy to wear—Jiang Qing had clearly taken her injury into account, making sure she could change clothes even with one hand.

“I’m ready,” Hou Xue said, tugging at the hem.

Jiang Qing came over and took her hand.

The room would be cleared out later tonight. All Jiang Qing had to do was take this person away—safely, completely.

“But honestly, it’s still not that convenient to go to school like this,” Jiang Qing said one last time.

“It’s not that bad,” Hou Xue replied firmly.

Jiang Qing gave up trying to dissuade her and led her to the basement parking lot.

“Get in the passenger seat,” she said, opening the door and helping Hou Xue in.

Once seated, Jiang Qing leaned over to buckle her seatbelt.

As she moved, her lemon-grass scent drifted past Hou Xue again.

Hou Xue suddenly remembered something.

“The perfume I gave you—did it break?”

Jiang Qing froze.

She thought back to that afternoon over half a month ago.

Surrounded by the scent of citrus and forest, she had watched Hou Xue close her eyes in front of her.

No matter how she called, she wouldn’t wake up.

Hou Xue had been too cold, her breathing too shallow.

But her lips were soft.

Jiang Qing remembered how helpless she had felt—so much so that she had almost performed CPR.

In the end, she had only touched Hou Xue’s lips briefly. Then the driver arrived.

“Yeah,” Jiang Qing said, fastening the seatbelt and subtly putting some distance between them. “Sorry I was late.”

She reached out and gently touched the corner of Hou Xue’s eye.

She thought of that moment—and her fingertips ached.

So, she wanted to touch Hou Xue.

Just a little.

Touch her—and the pain might go away.