Mark Me, Okay? - Chapter 16

Ever since Qi Xiangxing and Wu Zhi made their bet, thanks to Wu Zhi’s deliberate spreading of the news, practically the entire grade had heard about it.

When Du Ziheng got wind of this, he was so furious he cursed Wu Zhi in class: “That rabid dog! Before differentiation, he kept boasting about being a top-tier alpha, looking down on everyone. But after differentiation, didn’t he just turn out to be an ordinary beta? Who does he think he’s fooling?”

A beta in the class also couldn’t stand Wu Zhi’s behavior: “He’s only acting like this because he’s their class monitor. When we were in the same class before, even our homeroom teacher ignored him! Hardly anyone paid him any attention.”

The PE monitor of Class Four pulled out their phone to check messages, then pointed at a notification from the school forum and swore: “What the hell is this? He actually dared to post a challenge directly on the school forum!”

Du Ziheng’s eyes widened. He vaulted over a desk to rush to their side. After clearly seeing the words “My Bet with Qi Xiangxing” on the forum, he slammed his hand on the table and roared: “Is he out of his mind?!”

What was this supposed to mean? This was a blatant provocation! A challenge to their entire Class Four!

At that exact moment, Qi Xiangxing happened to walk in holding a thermos cup, her legs unsteady and eyes unfocused, looking completely sleep-deprived as she yawned her way into the classroom.

The moment she entered, the class suddenly fell silent, and the earlier discussions vanished instantly.

Qi Xiangxing blinked sleepily at them, her brain too foggy to process anything. “What are you guys doing?” she asked, puzzled.

No one answered.

She yawned again and decided not to dwell on it, turning instead to take out a packet of instant coffee to mix into her cup. After shaking it, she slumped onto her desk to continue sleeping.

For this entire week, she’d been forcibly dragged out of bed early by Luan Li (who actually woke up even earlier than her), studying from 6 AM until 11 PM every day. Her sleep quality was miraculously good, and her grades were improving rapidly.

While Qi Xiangxing was burying herself in studies day and night, the rest of Class Four was also working hard. What started as a bet between Qi Xiangxing and Wu Zhi gradually evolved into a rivalry between Class Four and Class Seven, with students from both classes quietly competing.

The next month’s exam would be the midterms. As it was a city-wide unified test, it held significant importance at A City’s First High School. Additionally, the results would serve as assessment criteria for each class.

“Your class’s study atmosphere has been really good lately,” Qin Qing whispered to Yue Qiu during a faculty meeting where they sat together.

Yue Qiu couldn’t hide her pride: “At least eighty percent of our class’s motivation comes from Qi Xiangxing. Who knew this kid could study so diligently when she puts her mind to it?” She added smugly: “You should see them—my students are like they’ve been injected with adrenaline, all fired up to crush Class Seven’s arrogance.”

“Speaking of which… what’s the deal with Class Seven’s monitor?” Qin Qing glanced sideways and lowered her voice further. “I remember other teachers don’t have good opinions of him either.”

Yue Qiu rolled her eyes: “Exactly! Only Class Seven’s homeroom teacher treats him like some treasure—no idea what she sees in him.”

The seating at the meeting was arranged by class order. Qin Qing and Yue Qiu sat together, while the homeroom teachers for Classes Five and Six were away for training, leaving them next to Class Seven’s teacher.

Class Seven’s homeroom teacher, Cao Nannan, frowned. She was a female beta and had been in the same graduating class as Yue Qiu. Both had attended A City’s No. 1 High School and coincidentally ended up working together. She had disliked Yue Qiu since their high school days when Qin Qing was her teacher, yet Yue Qiu was always poking around looking for Qin Qing. Now that they were both working, Yue Qiu still clung to Qin Qing.

“Teacher Yue, mind your words,” Cao Nannan said unhappily. “What do you mean by ‘only I treat him like a treasure’? He’s my class monitor, and I recognize his abilities.”

Yue Qiu shot back, “Exactly. That kind of person can only be your class monitor.”

This was a veiled jab at Cao Nannan’s poor judgment. Cao Nannan frowned, her eyes subtly glancing past Yue Qiu at Qin Qing before replying, “If I recall correctly, the class monitor in Teacher Yue’s class barely scraped into the school with the lowest score, didn’t she? In the last monthly exam, she ranked in the bottom hundred of the grade. Do you really think she can make it into the top hundred in the midterms?”

Her words were blunt, clearly showing she didn’t believe Qi Xiangxing could succeed.

“What’s wrong with that? At least she’s not like some people who resort to underhanded tactics, forcing others into bets,” Yue Qiu sneered.

Qin Qing, sitting beside her, gently nudged her.

Yue Qiu glanced at her, saw her subtle head shake, and instinctively fell silent.

“Teacher Yue, you spoil your students too much!” Cao Nannan, growing agitated, began criticizing Yue Qiu’s classroom management. “It’s your negligence that leads to your students running wild!”

Ahem.

A light cough sounded behind them. Only then did Cao Nannan realize she had raised her voice. She turned and met the disapproving gaze of the Moral Education Department head. A chill ran down her spine as a sense of foreboding settled in.

The department head scrutinized her for a long moment before snorting and walking away.

Neither spoke another word.

As soon as the meeting ended, all teachers received a message on their phones:

“Class Seven homeroom teacher Cao Nannan, for disrupting order during the faculty meeting, will have this month’s spiritual civilization bonus deducted.”

Yue Qiu: “…Pfft.”

Qin Qing: “Don’t laugh so obviously. Keep it low-key.”

Yue Qiu thought for a moment. “I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Qin Qing: “Why?”

Yue Qiu: “To celebrate.”

Qin Qing smiled helplessly. “Celebrate what?”

Yue Qiu tugged her toward the parking lot. “I’m happy.”

Qin Qing froze, looking down at Yue Qiu’s hand holding hers, her heart skipping a beat. But she said nothing, pressing her lips together as she followed Yue Qiu out.

Du Ziheng, noticing the dark circles under Qi Xiangxing’s eyes, cautiously advised, “Monitor, you should sleep earlier. Don’t stay up too late.”

Qi Xiangxing paused mid-stack of test papers, taking a weary gulp of coffee. “I need to study.” She stood up, still holding the papers. “I’m going to find Luan Li.”

Du Ziheng’s eyes lit up. The moment Qi Xiangxing left the classroom, he excitedly waved to his classmates. “Guys! Our ship is sailing! Quick, quick!”

Meanwhile, Luan Li stood at Class Three’s doorway discussing student council work, pointing at a chart. “What’s going on here?”

Her name was Yan Jing, a delicate-looking female omega. Hearing Luan Li’s words, she leaned in close to peek: “What? What is it?”

Luan Li subtly shifted away and pointed calmly at a spot in the diagram: “How did they find so many hygiene violations?”

“Chairperson, chairperson! There’s a leaf on your shoulder!” Yan Jing reached out, her arm passing right before Luan Li’s eyes as she moved toward the other shoulder, appearing almost ready to press herself against Luan Li.

Luan Li’s expression changed instantly. She stepped back swiftly, frowning at Yan Jing with a stern tone: “What are you doing?”

At that moment, she heard something fall behind her. Turning around, Luan Li saw Qi Xiangxing crouched on the ground, frantically gathering scattered papers.

Noticing Luan Li’s gaze from the corner of her eye, Qi Xiangxing’s hands began trembling violently, her movements to collect the fallen papers turning stiff.

She had seen it—that girl moving in to kiss Luan Li, and Luan Li dodging—yet something still felt wrong. A surge of sour jealousy welled up uncontrollably.

This wasn’t right… it really wasn’t right.

She wondered if her dependence on Luan Li had gone too far.

She loved Luan Li, but Luan Li might not feel the same. She couldn’t selfishly monopolize Luan Li forever. What if Luan Li fell for someone else someday? What if she marked someone else? What if… she married someone else?

For the first time, Qi Xiangxing felt utterly panicked. She wanted to grab Luan Li and demand answers—did she love her? Did that girl just now have feelings for her? But when their eyes met, the words died in her throat.

Desperate to know her place in Luan Li’s heart, she watched as Luan Li approached and knelt to help gather the papers. Suddenly, she seized Luan Li’s hand.

Luan Li looked up, her eyes filled with apology and reassurance. In that instant, Qi Xiangxing understood everything conveyed in that gaze.

“Luan Li…”

Luan Li simply watched her silently, saying nothing.

“Luan Li, do you love me?”