I Marked My Arch-Nemesis Omega - Chapter 17

“Does Sheng Yu have some kind of mental issue?” Jiang Di asked.

“Ah?” Liao Keke was taken aback. She had expected Jiang Di to say something else, but never imagined it would be this. Her smile stiffened slightly. “How could that be…”

“You should advise her to seek medical help early if she’s sick.”

Liao Keke: …

“Why don’t you tell her yourself?” Liao Keke replied, noticing Jiang Di’s expression grow somewhat unnatural.

Jiang Di glanced at her before looking away.

Liao Keke: …

Perhaps sensing his own awkwardness, Jiang Di added, “I’m just giving a friendly reminder. The reason I’m not telling her directly is because she dislikes me.”

Liao Keke: ???

She was now genuinely curious about what Sheng Yu had done to him.

Jiang Di continued, “Never mind, don’t bother. I’ll go talk to her myself.”

The more Jiang Di thought about it, the more he felt wronged by his previous encounter with Sheng Yu. He decided he had to confront her directly to vent his frustration.

“Alright,” Liao Keke nodded, utterly confused about Jiang Di’s thought process.

The results of the first monthly exams were soon released. Sheng Yu ranked 20th—right in the middle of the Beta class and the overall grade ranking. She was quite satisfied with her performance.

Zhang Yunsu’s other grades were decent, but her physical fitness class dragged her down. Still, her ranking didn’t drop much because many others were also pulled down by that subject.

The top scorer in the Alpha class was Song Qing, who also ranked first in the entire grade for academic subjects. Sheng Yu casually checked Liao Keke’s results—her physical fitness scores were good, but her academic grades were lacking. Then she glanced at the bottom of the academic ranking and was surprised to see a familiar name: her deskmate.

Fu Lian had assumed he’d at least be second-to-last, but to his shock, he was dead last. He kept shooting Sheng Yu puzzled looks. He couldn’t understand how someone who never did homework and spent class time spacing out or sleeping could score so well.

“Tell me the truth—do you secretly study?”

“Yep,” Sheng Yu replied, looking straight at Fu Lian.

Fu Lian: ???

“Damn it!” Fu Lian cursed. “I always thought you were just slacking off like me. Were you pretending to sleep in class while actually paying attention the whole time?”

Sheng Yu gave him a look, refusing to dignify the question with an answer—it sounded too ridiculous.

“I feel like I’ve been stabbed in the heart ten thousand times.”

“Okay,” Sheng Yu yawned and laid her head down. “Don’t bother me. I’m going to sleep.”

For the next ten minutes, Fu Lian kept sneaking glances at her until Sheng Yu finally kicked him to make him stop.

Song Qing also saw Sheng Yu’s grades and wasn’t the least bit surprised. In fact, she found it perfectly fitting for Sheng Yu’s personality.

At lunch, Jiang Di once again confronted Sheng Yu in front of everyone, this time with a few followers behind him, looking every bit the intimidating figure.

Sheng Yu sat in her chair, sipping her soup. “What’s your problem this time? Could you not bother me during meals? I just want to eat in peace. By the way, did you ever turn in that self-criticism essay? Don’t flip my tray again this time.”

Jiang Di: …

He was already angry, but Sheng Yu’s attitude only made it worse.

“If you have something to say, go ahead. Or do you want to wait until I finish eating? But I eat very slowly—it might take a while,” Sheng Yu said, chewing deliberately and slowing her movements even more.

“Brother Jiang, is something going on here?”

Hearing the soft voice beside her, Sheng Yu looked up to see Wen Nian approaching, her face adorned with a standard delicate-flower smile, making her appear utterly fragile.

The two exchanged a glance.

Jiang Di suddenly felt that the moment their eyes met, he no longer had a place in this conversation.

“Nothing much, just chatting with her,” Jiang Di said, frowning slightly as he looked at Wen Nian. “Why aren’t you with anyone? You’re so frail.”

Wen Nian smiled. “I was, but when I saw you here, I got too excited and ran over ahead. I didn’t realize there was someone else here.”

She glanced at Sheng Yu.

“Miss Wen, the cafeteria has more than one person,” Sheng Yu kindly reminded her. “Would you like to count again?”

Wen Nian’s smile grew even gentler as she turned back to Jiang Di. “Brother, it’s been so long since you last came to see me. I thought you were just busy, but now it seems…”

Sheng Yu leaned back in her chair, glancing between Wen Nian and Jiang Di. There was something off about their dynamic, though she couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

She had initially assumed Wen Nian would be the submissive one in their relationship, but now it seemed Jiang Di was the one being led around.

With just a few words, Wen Nian whisked Jiang Di away, leaving his underlings standing awkwardly in place, staring at Sheng Yu in silence.

“Not hungry?” Sheng Yu asked.

The underlings: “…”

“He’s clearly not coming back. Why not go eat?” Sheng Yu wiped her mouth and gestured toward Song Qing in the distance. “You’re not planning to make a move on me right under the student council president’s nose, are you?”

“We weren’t planning anything. Don’t accuse us,” the leader muttered. “We just couldn’t find seats.”

Sheng Yu: “…”

“Then move farther away. Don’t ruin my appetite,” she said.

The group looked aggrieved. After years of acting high and mighty behind Jiang Di’s back, they weren’t used to being treated like this. But remembering how much worse Sheng Yu had been to Jiang Di, they suddenly felt a little better.

Still, they hesitated to leave. Song Qing, who had been watching from afar, finally picked up her tray and walked over, sitting across from Sheng Yu. The lingering underlings scattered instantly.

“The president’s presence really works wonders,” Sheng Yu remarked, eyeing Song Qing’s meal.

Song Qing never seemed to eat upstairs, opting instead for the ordinary fare on the first floor.

“Why not eat upstairs?” Sheng Yu asked.

“Don’t like it,” Song Qing replied between bites. “Food is food, isn’t it?”

Watching Song Qing eat, Sheng Yu twirled her noodles into a bundle and stuffed them into her mouth in one go.

Song Qing glanced at her.

“Got a problem with how I eat noodles?” Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow.

“No,” Song Qing said.

“Really?” Sheng Yu opened her mouth to retort but was cut off.

Right in front of her, Song Qing twirled her own noodles, stuffed them into her mouth, and looked at Sheng Yu seriously. “Happy now?”

“You’re being too sensitive.” Song Qing deftly twirled another bite of noodles, perfectly at ease. “I was just looking at you, that’s all.”

“Oh, I forgot—the president likes looking at me.” Sheng Yu flashed a grin, her slightly prominent canine teeth lending her a more youthful appearance.

Song Qing’s lips twitched as she gave up on arguing. People like Sheng Yu always knew how to push their luck.

“By the way, what exactly is the relationship between Wen Nian and Jiang Di?” Sheng Yu lowered her voice to ask.

Song Qing shook her head. “No idea. I’m not one for gossip.”

“It’s not gossip. Don’t you think Wen Nian is a bit… strange?”

Song Qing looked up, silently meeting Sheng Yu’s gaze.

Sheng Yu instantly understood the implication and ran her tongue over her canine tooth, chuckling. “Oh, so you think I’m the strange one.”

Song Qing: “…”

“Some things are better left unsaid. Everyone already understands them in their hearts,” Song Qing remarked, removing her glasses and setting them aside before returning to her noodles.

Sheng Yu, successfully provoked, pinched her voice mockingly. “They say birds of a feather flock together. So what does it mean that the president is now eating with me?”

Song Qing frowned slightly. “Why must you always use such terms to describe our relationship?”

There were so many other idioms she could have chosen.

“I think this one fits best,” Sheng Yu said with earnest conviction.

Song Qing stared at her for a long moment before ultimately deciding to let it go.

It was better not to engage with Sheng Yu—doing so only risked aggravation.

Song Qing had never been one to share a meal table with others. The sight of her eating with Sheng Yu drew surprised glances, one after another.

Rumors about the two had already begun circulating in school. After all, their relationship did seem to be growing closer. And given their looks, they did make a rather well-matched pair.

Initially, everyone had assumed Song Qing kept Sheng Yu company to prevent her from climbing the school walls. Now, they suspected there might be more to it.

Where there was imagination, anything was possible.