I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 5

When Jiang Qing came downstairs, Hou Xue was already seated at the dining table.

Although Hou Xue didn’t come from a wealthy background, her every gesture exuded an effortless grace. With her delicate features and slender fingers bathed in the golden morning light pouring through the window, even the simple act of picking up a piece of bread looked like a painting.

Jiang Qing shook her head, clearing the stray thoughts.

Why am I thinking about such nonsense so early in the morning?

She pulled out the chair next to Hou Xue and sat down, taking a sip of milk as the maid brought over her breakfast.

Jiang Qing hadn’t truly experienced the pampered life of a rich heiress in her previous life. The closest she got was during her senior year of high school, when her mother briefly doted on her. Yet in just a few days here, she’d already gotten used to this lifestyle.

…

By the time the two of them arrived at the classroom, there were only a few students present. Jiang Qing stopped at the third row while Hou Xue headed straight to the back row.

As soon as Jiang Qing sat down, Xu Miao leaned over and whispered, “You and Hou Xue are really close now? You even go to and from school together?”

“Yeah,” Jiang Qing replied casually. “She’s my sister now.”

Oh, so now she’s your sister?

Xu Miao’s expression grew complicated. She opened her mouth but hesitated, ultimately saying nothing. After all, Jiang Qing getting along with Hou Xue wasn’t a bad thing. Still, Jiang Qing had been acting differently lately — from her tone of voice to her overall demeanor.

Maybe I’m just overthinking it.

Jiang Qing had a feeling that Xu Miao might be suspecting something. She briefly considered using the same excuse she’d already used twice before but decided against it — she didn’t want to deceive Xu Miao.

Xu Miao was thoughtful and perceptive, not to mention well-acquainted with the original Jiang Qing. It wasn’t surprising she noticed something off. But this wasn’t the time to lay all the cards on the table.

Jiang Qing sighed inwardly.

She’d actually been in a pretty good mood today. After being tutored by the female lead these past few days, she was finally starting to understand chemistry class. Physics still wasn’t her strong suit, but she figured as long as she was improving, it was enough.

That afternoon, Xu Miao brought two boxes of chocolates, saying they were gifts from her uncle who had just returned from abroad. She gave one to Jiang Qing.

The packaging was luxurious yet understated — clearly expensive. Jiang Qing didn’t hesitate too much and accepted the gift with a simple thank-you.

Xu Miao’s family was wealthy enough that this wasn’t a big deal. Refusing would have only made things awkward.

Jiang Qing slipped the box into her bag, thinking she’d let the female lead try some later.

Even if Hou Xue would one day become a formidable businesswoman, accustomed to delicacies from around the world, for now she was still just a pitiful girl whose meals had been restricted by the original Jiang Qing.

Maybe the chocolate would make her happy.

Well… maybe not happy, but at least she might look at me a little more kindly.

With that small hope in her heart, Jiang Qing made it through two classes. During the third, while she was resting with her head down, someone came to call her out.

She was confused — she couldn’t imagine who would be looking for the original Jiang Qing.

While the original Jiang Qing had appeared friendly with many people, her only real friend was Xu Miao. The rest were just trying to curry favor with the Jiang family.

Even Xu Miao had originally befriended her because of her family’s cooperation with the Jiangs. Still, over time, a genuine friendship had formed — a rarity, given how much status affected relationships.

The hallway was noisy, but as soon as Jiang Qing stepped out, she immediately noticed a tall boy standing out from the crowd.

He looked familiar.

He had a solid build, a basketball tucked under his left arm, and was leaning against the wall in his jersey, drenched in sweat — clearly taking a break from practice.

When he noticed Jiang Qing looking at him, he turned and smiled. “Jiang Qing.”

As soon as their eyes met, Jiang Qing remembered.

Nie Rui.

“…What do you want?” Jiang Qing wanted to turn around and leave. She had zero interest in interacting with Nie Rui. Others might not know, but she was well aware of just how much trouble he caused.

Not only had he stirred up drama for the original Jiang Qing — more importantly, he had ill intentions toward the female lead.

Jiang Qing didn’t show any surprise. Nie Rui, however, interpreted her reaction as shyness.

He was confident Jiang Qing liked him.

She had often appeared in the stands watching him play, eyes glued to him. With her beauty and elite background, her attention had boosted his ego in front of his teammates.

But lately, she’d stopped coming, which irritated him. Still, he didn’t want to swallow his pride and chase after her. He was used to playing hard to get with girls — it was nothing new. Besides, his buddies had egged him on.

And after all, she was a Jiang. If he could secure that connection, money would no longer be a concern.

Nie Rui smiled and reached out to pat Jiang Qing’s head.

That’s when he realized — she was actually quite tall.

He usually preferred petite, clingy girls, but Jiang Qing’s looks made her an acceptable exception.

To his surprise, Jiang Qing grabbed his approaching hand and dragged him to the back door of the neighboring classroom before flinging his hand away.

She hated being touched for no reason. Her expression grew colder as she stared at him. “Say what you need to say here.”

Nie Rui: “…”

What’s with this reaction? Is she still trying to play hard to get?

He clenched his interrupted hand into a fist.

The hallway quieted down and was replaced by hushed gossip and teasing whistles.

Jiang Qing rolled her eyes. It wasn’t just her class that loved drama — this must be a Yangrui High School tradition. Was everyone really that bored?

The school was strict about dating, so public displays like this were rare. Add in the fact that the Jiang family’s second daughter and the school basketball star were involved — and it became prime entertainment.

Strangely, the teasing seemed to lift Nie Rui’s mood. He remembered his last girlfriend — she’d played hard to get too, only to become obsessed with him later. Her room had been plastered with his photos. Even after they broke up, she still came crawling back.

“I’ve got a match next Saturday at the gym. You coming?” Nie Rui asked confidently, raising his voice for dramatic effect.

All eyes were on Jiang Qing now. She could already tell Nie Rui was a major pain. But when it came to excuses, she was never short of them. Without hesitation, she replied, “Sorry, finals are coming up. I’ll be busy studying.”

That answer triggered a wave of murmurs and another round of teasing. As the warning bell rang, the hallway descended into noisy chaos.

Nie Rui’s face darkened. There was a flicker of anger in his eyes as he looked at Jiang Qing.

His relationships with girls had always served two purposes: fulfilling his desires and feeding his ego.

Whenever he walked into a room with a pretty girl on his arm, people always looked at him with envy. And now, Jiang Qing had embarrassed him twice, in public.

He wasn’t going to let this go.

His first goal? Get Jiang Qing — no matter the method.

Jiang Qing found Nie Rui’s stare disgusting, but she couldn’t make her feelings too obvious. She’d already rejected him twice. He was definitely holding a grudge, and she didn’t want to provoke him further.

Not because she was scared — but because he was persistent and manipulative.

Just like a leech. That’s how he was in the original novel.

When the bell rang, Jiang Qing turned to leave — only for Nie Rui to grab her wrist tightly and mutter, “Say it clearly before you go.”

Jiang Qing frowned. “I really don’t have time. Sorry.”

Before Nie Rui could respond, a thin stick came smacking down.

“What’s going on here!?”

Jiang Qing jumped. She turned and saw a balding old man with a wrinkled face and a fierce glare, holding a pointer stick.

“Back to class! All of you!”

A familiar face.

Disciplinary Director — Wang Lei.

Wang Lei was one of the few teachers at Yangrui High who didn’t care about students’ backgrounds or grades. What mattered to him was obedience and rule-following.

Just my luck, Jiang Qing thought bitterly.

As soon as Director Wang appeared, the crowd vanished like smoke. No one dared breathe too loud as they scurried back to class, leaving the hallway eerily empty.

Nie Rui, smarting from the hit, loosened his grip and tried to walk away — only to be grabbed by Wang Lei.

“No one’s leaving. Come with me.”

Jiang Qing felt a headache forming.

Wang Lei hadn’t seen a pair of gutsy lovebirds like this in years — daring to fool around right under his nose. They needed to be made an example of.

“Both of you. My office. Now.”

Jiang Qing tried to explain but was silenced by one sharp look from Wang Lei. She reluctantly followed, catching a glimpse of the physics teacher walking into the classroom.

Great. The one class I was looking forward to.

Back in the classroom, Hou Xue had been resting her head on the desk since the bell rang. When the physics teacher walked in, she finally looked up — only to find the third row empty.

She turned to glance at the door, her mind briefly wandering.

Jiang Qing didn’t come back.

…

In the office, Wang Lei’s expression was stern as he looked over the two students.

“You,” he pointed at Jiang Qing with his stick. “Explain.”

Jiang Qing put on her most innocent face. “Teacher, we were both in the wrong. We had a disagreement, but we shouldn’t have handled it at school.”

What’s she saying? Nie Rui was stunned, momentarily thrown off.

He’d planned to impress her into falling for him again. Now, he didn’t know what to say.

Wang Lei glanced at Nie Rui but saw nothing of the charm he expected. He raised an eyebrow and motioned for Jiang Qing to continue.

Taking the cue, Jiang Qing glanced at the basketball still tucked under Nie Rui’s arm and launched into her improvised story. “It’s not a big deal. We ran into each other playing basketball off-campus. There was only one hoop, and we were on different teams. We agreed to play for it. Our team won—”

Nie Rui suddenly coughed loudly, clearly displeased.

“What? You’ve got a problem?” Wang Lei asked sharply.

“See? He’s still not over it,” Jiang Qing continued. “That’s why he came to me — to challenge me again. But I turned him down.”

Wang Lei now turned to Nie Rui. “Well? Your side?”

Grinding his teeth, Nie Rui muttered, “…Yeah. That’s what it was. I just wanted a rematch.”

He glanced sideways at Jiang Qing, and there was no love in his eyes.

Wang Lei could tell they weren’t a couple — if anything, the two seemed downright annoyed by each other.

If this is all fake… their acting’s scarily convincing.

As he took a sip from the mug on his desk, he couldn’t help thinking: Something about this doesn’t add up…

Wang Lei is actually not a person who cares about face. After so many years of vocational education, he is very accurate in judging people. He can see that there is no love between the two, and his expression eased.

“Okay, teacher understands. But your actions just now were indeed a bit out of line. There are differences between men and women, especially in school, so you should be more careful.”

Jiang Qing nodded immediately and said, “I won’t do it again.”

“What about you?” Wang Lei saw that Nie Rui didn’t respond for a long time, and his face sank again, “I see you are very unconvinced?”

“No, teacher.” Nie Rui thought he was flexible, and now was obviously not the time to show off. He lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, “I promise I won’t do it again.”