Mark Me, Okay? - Chapter 21

After memorizing the thirty words assigned by Luan Li, Qi Xiangxing sat with her on the steps in front of Luan Li’s house, munching on sandwiches. After taking a big bite, Qi Xiangxing frowned slightly. “This doesn’t taste like your mom’s cooking, does it?”

Luan Li shot her an amused glance. “I never said it was my mom’s. Both my parents are away on business.”

Qi Xiangxing: ???

Realizing she’d been tricked, Qi Xiangxing put on an exaggerated wounded expression. “You lied to me.”

Luan Li knew she wasn’t actually upset and simply asked, “Do you like it?”

Qi Xiangxing was about to say no when Luan Li added lightly, “Choose your words carefully.”

Glancing at the sandwich in her hand, then at Luan Li’s smiling face, Qi Xiangxing took another bite and nodded earnestly. “It’s pretty good.”

“Just ‘pretty good’?” Luan Li narrowed her eyes.

Qi Xiangxing quickly corrected herself. “It’s amazing! Seriously!”

Only then did Luan Li nod in satisfaction. “I made it myself.”

Qi Xiangxing’s eyes widened, and she launched into an unintentional gush of praise. “No way! You made this? It’s so freaking good!!!”

Luan Li’s cheeks flushed slightly. “…It’s alright.” The sudden praise caught her off guard.

After that topic, the atmosphere grew quiet. Luan Li glanced up at Qi Xiangxing, who was also sneaking looks at her.

Both wanted to say something, but the words stuck in their throats.

“You—”

“I—”

Luan Li’s beautiful eyes softened as she gazed at her, her tone firm. “About what you said the other day… I want to give you an answer.”

Qi Xiangxing’s hands twisted nervously, but she kept her expression calm and smiled. “Not now, okay? Tell me when I’m ready.”

Luan Li froze, clearly not expecting that response. But she quickly recovered, lowering her head and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Alright.”

My answer will always be here. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll tell you.

After morning exercises at school, Du Ziheng immediately noticed Qi Xiangxing had returned to her usual self. Excited, he gossiped with fellow shippers: “The class rep must’ve been cheered up by her girlfriend!”

“Mom, look! My ship isn’t sinking!”

“Class rep is so easy to please! Her girlfriend’s got skills!”

Meanwhile, Qi Xiangxing—the center of the rumors—was craning her neck to look for Luan Li when someone blocked her view. Without paying much attention, she politely said, “Excuse me.”

The person didn’t move. Only then did Qi Xiangxing turn to see who it was. “Wu Zhi?”

She frowned, displeased. “What do you want?”

Wu Zhi smoothed his hair and grinned. “Exams are coming up. Just checking if the Class 4 rep is studying hard.”

Qi Xiangxing rolled her eyes. Seeing he hadn’t brought his usual lackeys, she smirked. “What, no backup today? Did you suddenly decide to visit me?”

Wu Zhi smirked back. “Laugh all you want. You won’t be so smug for long. Think grades are that easy to improve?”

Qi Xiangxing raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a valid argument.” She deliberately paused, shooting a meaningful glance at Du Ziheng in front before continuing, “Just because your brain doesn’t work well doesn’t mean others’ don’t.”

Wu Zhi, unaware of the gathering Class Four students, still boasted arrogantly, “Anyway, I’m not competing with you academically.”

Of course, he knew he couldn’t match Qi Xiangxing’s grades. She at least had occasional outstanding performances, but him? Never once had he excelled.

“Which class are you from?” A student council member with a red armband shouted, “It’s time to return to class! Stop wandering around! Which class? I’m deducting your class points!”

Wu Zhi glared resentfully before turning away. Their class already had few points to begin with—another deduction would surely earn him their homeroom teacher’s disapproval.

The Class Four students who hadn’t yet gathered stared in bewilderment at Wu Zhi’s abrupt departure, exchanging puzzled glances:

He’s leaving?

Just like that?

How could he… just leave like this?

Turning around, Qi Xiangxing found herself meeting Luan Li’s smiling gaze.

Luan Li stood beneath a tree watching her, school uniform neat and proper, as if she’d been quietly observing for a long time.

Qi Xiangxing’s ears turned red as she nodded in greeting, only to realize her entire face was burning.

Why are you blushing, you hopeless fool!

After lunch, Qi Xiangxing seized the noon break to rush to the hospital. The good news: the doctor was still on duty when she arrived. The bad news—

She gaped at the school nurse sitting in the doctor’s office.

Qi Xiangxing: “…”

What terrible luck.

Recognizing her, the nurse peered behind her. “Qi Xiangxing? Didn’t Luan Li come with you?”

Qi Xiangxing: Great, she even knows my name now.

Despair.

“Where does it hurt?” The nurse found Qi Xiangxing’s guarded expression amusing and deliberately prodded.

“You’re the school nurse,” Qi Xiangxing countered. “Why are you here?”

Just then, the doctor entered. Surprised to see Qi Xiangxing, she asked, “Back again?”

The nurse pointed cheerfully at the doctor. “This is my wife.”

“Your wife???” Qi Xiangxing looked between them, suddenly reconsidering her medical visit.

“Aren’t you here for a consultation? What’s the issue?” The doctor exchanged an amused glance with the nurse. “You and Luan Li are quite the pair—coming separately but at the same time?”

Qi Xiangxing’s eyes widened. “Luan Li? When was she here?”

The doctor shrugged. “Right after you left with all those suppressants yesterday.” She stroked her chin meaningfully. “Maybe she saw you carrying them and came to ask me about it.”

Returning to class, Qi Xiangxing felt dazed. What exactly was happening? Did Luan Li know she’d gotten suppressants?

She shook her head, recalling the scattered inhibitors all over her room, and thought that Luan Li must have known for a while now.

But knowing was one thing—knowing that Luan Li knew was another. Qi Xiangxing felt a little uneasy.

Yet, what exactly was she uneasy about? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Why another meeting?” Yue Qiu fumbled around in a panic, searching for her notebook and pen—only to find that the notebook she grabbed had no space left to write, or the pen she picked up wouldn’t work.

Yue Qiu was starting to panic.

Qin Qing, holding her own notebook, stood by and watched for a while before finally losing patience. She sighed helplessly and said, “Come with me to the office. I’ll lend you one of mine for now.”

Yue Qiu smacked her forehead, a triumphant grin spreading across her face. “Oh, Teacher Qin, I couldn’t possibly impose!”

“What’s there to impose about?” Qin Qing glanced at her watch and added, “Besides, if Teacher Yue delays us any longer, we’ll all be late.”

Yue Qiu smacked her forehead again, checked the time on her phone, and realized they were indeed running short. The meeting room was in another teaching block, and if they didn’t hurry, they’d definitely be late.

She quickly followed Qin Qing into her office, saying, “Then I’ll trouble you, Teacher Qin.”

As the two of them walked out with their notebooks, they ran straight into Cao Nannan, who was also heading to the meeting.

Cao Nannan’s sharp eyes swept over Yue Qiu before she smirked at the two of them and said, “Teacher Yue, you’re here early.”

“Teacher Cao isn’t late either,” Yue Qiu replied, sandwiched between Qin Qing on her left and Cao Nannan on her right. She forced a polite smile, matching the other woman’s tone.

“Not as early as Teacher Yue,” Cao Nannan said with a mocking lilt.

Yue Qiu rolled her eyes, too fed up to keep up the pretense. “We’re about to be late. I don’t have time for this.”

“Now, Teacher Yue, that’s not very collegial of you,” Cao Nannan said, reaching out as if to grab Yue Qiu’s arm.

Qin Qing narrowed her eyes and yanked Yue Qiu toward her, making her stumble slightly.

Yue Qiu blinked, steadying herself before turning to Qin Qing in confusion. “Why’d you pull me?”

Cao Nannan casually withdrew her hand, while Qin Qing simply said, “There was a small pebble on the path. Didn’t want you to trip.”

Yue Qiu paused, then laughed. “So in Teacher Qin’s eyes, I’m just a fragile little doll?”

Qin Qing smiled but didn’t respond. Instead, when Yue Qiu wasn’t looking, she shot a warning glance at Cao Nannan, who seemed to sense it and nervously rubbed her neck.

“Today’s meeting is to discuss the upcoming midterm exams,” the principal declared passionately from the podium. Down below, since all the other homeroom teachers were present, Qin Qing and Yue Qiu no longer had to sit with Cao Nannan.

Yue Qiu nudged Qin Qing and whispered, “What was that about earlier?”

She didn’t believe Qin Qing would randomly pull her over a small pebble on the road without reason. There had to be something more to it. Cao Nannan had been standing right beside them earlier, yet she hadn’t asked about it.

“Not so foolish after all,” Qin Qing chuckled softly. “It’s really nothing, you’re overthinking it.”

“Huh?” Yue Qiu widened her eyes, not buying Qin Qing’s explanation for a second. But with the meeting in session, she didn’t press further.

“Now, the main purpose of gathering all teachers here today,” the principal continued cheerfully, “is to change the originally assigned class opponents for the midterm exams.”

“I understand some teachers might be reluctant about this inter-class competition system,” he added with a smile, “claiming it fosters rivalry among students.”

“But that’s only a minor aspect. On the other hand, our students’ academic performance has undeniably improved!”

Yue Qiu muttered under her breath, “If we’re changing it, just get on with it instead of all this blabbering.”

“Alright, now let the homeroom teachers of odd-numbered classes come up to draw lots.”

As soon as the words were spoken, Qin Qing straightened her clothes and stood up gracefully.

Yue Qiu grabbed her sleeve pleadingly, “Teacher Qin, steady hands now! You must draw our class!”

The homeroom teacher of Class Six teased, “Teacher Yue, have you developed feelings from being opponents with Teacher Qin?”

Yue Qiu flushed, “I just don’t want to let our advantages go to outsiders.” She lifted her chin proudly, “After all, our class already beat Class Three two out of three matches!”

Before leaving, Qin Qing added with a smile, “Yes, and one of those wins was when our top students were away at competitions.”

Yue Qiu turned red again, chiding, “Why are you still here!”

Qin Qing placed her notebook on the seat, “Going, going, I’m going now!”

As Qin Qing approached the stage, she encountered Cao Nannan coming from the opposite direction. Frowning slightly, she said quietly, “I don’t know what you’re planning, but you’d better not hurt Yue Qiu.”

Cao Nannan frowned back, “Teacher Qin, is that really how you see me?”

Qin Qing arched an eyebrow noncommittally.

Pursing her lips, Cao Nannan said nothing more.

Meanwhile, Yue Qiu sat muttering like a mantra, “Please don’t draw Class Seven! Please don’t draw Class Seven! Please don’t draw Class Seven!”

The Class Six teacher, mishearing her whispers, laughed, “What’s with you? So determined to keep competing against Teacher Qin?”

Yue Qiu pouted, “No, I just don’t want to face Class Seven.”

“Ah, Class Seven?” The Class Six teacher clearly knew about the bet between the monitors of Class Four and Seven. After recalling the whole incident—having thoroughly enjoyed the drama—he sighed helplessly:

“Well, you know how the Class Seven monitor is…” He hesitated, uncomfortable speaking ill of others, but continued, “Though I hate to say it, the truth is their monitor… really has eyes bigger than their stomach.”

He shook his head, his gaze shifting to Cao Nannan who was drawing lots on the stage, then continued, “I don’t know why, but that guy has poor grades and doesn’t seem particularly capable. Yet Teacher Cao thinks highly of him… Could it be because they’re both betas?”

Yue Qiu pursed her lips and didn’t say anything more.

Just then, the teachers on stage finished drawing lots and began stepping down one after another.

Yue Qiu anxiously craned her neck to look for Qin Qing, only to see her walking over while shrugging her hands, leaving the outcome unclear.

Unable to wait any longer, Yue Qiu impatiently asked as soon as Qin Qing sat beside her, “So? Who did you draw? Is it still with our class?”

Qin Qing spread her hands and smiled helplessly, “I don’t even know which class I drew. It’s just a letter—probably representing different classes.”

Hearing this, Yue Qiu lowered her head in disappointment.

Qin Qing patted her shoulder reassuringly, “Don’t worry, the results will be out soon anyway. Even if we’re not opponents, it’s fine.”

Yue Qiu mumbled something under her breath, her words too low to make out.

While Yue Qiu was desperately hoping not to face Cao Nannan’s Class Seven, the results were slowly appearing on the large screen.

After compiling the drawing results, the principal cheerfully projected them onto the screen and announced, “Here are today’s drawing results—all thanks to everyone’s luck!”

Before the projection even appeared, Cao Nannan had clenched her fists, silently chanting to herself, “It has to be Class Four… It has to be Class Four…”

The homeroom teacher of Class Eight found her behavior amusing and chuckled, “Why are you so fixated on drawing Class Four? They’re an elite class—not something our ordinary classes can compare to.”

Cao Nannan shot him a glare and retorted, “I just want to give our class a chance to prove themselves!”

The Class Eight teacher, clearly aware of the rivalry between the class monitors of Four and Seven, raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.

When the results appeared on the screen, Qin Qing raised her eyebrows in surprise, while Yue Qiu let out a groan, her spirits completely deflated.

She had clung to the naive hope that elite classes would compete against elite classes and ordinary ones against their peers, but her expectations were clearly misplaced.

She wasn’t the only one who thought this way. Just then, the principal picked up the microphone and added, “Don’t worry about any unfairness due to disparities in class strength. We’ll set corresponding benchmarks based on each class’s capabilities, and the competition will proceed accordingly.”

After a pause, he continued, “The benchmarks will be determined by the results of the last major exam.”

Following this, other administrators gave some generic motivational speeches before the meeting concluded.

Yue Qiu trudged behind Qin Qing, her head hanging listlessly.

Noticing her low spirits, Qin Qing teased her playfully, “Come on, don’t be so glum. If anyone should be upset, it’s Class Seven—why are you moping?” She patted Yue Qiu’s shoulder. “Miss Yue, are you really that reluctant to part with me?”

Yue Qiu flushed and retorted, “Who’s reluctant?!”

Qin Qing was always like this—how was an alpha like her supposed to maintain any dignity?!

“I think today’s meeting is just about this one thing. If there’s nothing else, we can all head home.”

Qin Qing casually asked, “Where are you planning to have dinner tonight?”

Yue Qiu thought for a moment and replied, “Not sure, maybe at my mom’s place?”

Qin Qing wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, “In that case, come home with me. I’ll cook you some of my signature dishes to comfort your wounded little heart.”

Yue Qiu’s eyes lit up as she turned to look at Qin Qing, meeting her sparkling gaze.

“Really?” Yue Qiu asked.

Qin Qing smiled. “Of course it’s true, but first you’ll have to accompany me to the market to buy groceries.”

Yue Qiu nodded vigorously, but then reconsidered and sighed, “Ah, today’s Tuesday. I have evening duty.”

Qin Qing stroked her chin thoughtfully. “Oh right, what should we do then? Maybe we should forget about it.”

Yue Qiu suddenly grabbed her hand, eyes shining. “How can we just forget it! Teacher Qin can’t go back on her word!”

Qin Qing couldn’t help laughing at her enthusiasm.

“Let’s not worry about them! Those kids are usually quite sensible—they’ll understand today.” Yue Qiu nodded in confirmation. “I’ll go brief them on the meeting points, then we’ll go shopping!”

Seeing Yue Qiu’s childlike excitement, Qin Qing chuckled silently.

She’s still acting like a kid at her age.

“Alright, that covers the main points. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Yue Qiu called Qi Xiangxing into her office. After explaining the meeting highlights, she closed her notebook and handed it to Qi. “Do me a favor—take this to Teacher Qin.”

Qi took the notebook blankly, blurting out a confused “Huh?”

Yue Qiu smiled cheerfully. “This is the notebook Teacher Qin lent me.”

As Qi nodded and turned to leave, Yue Qiu called her back: “Oh, I forgot to tell you something important—our competition class has changed. It’s not Class Three anymore.”

Qi’s eyes widened in surprise. “Then which class are we competing against?”

She prayed silently in her heart—please don’t let it be Class Seven, please don’t let it be Class Seven.

As if reading her mind, Yue Qiu shrugged helplessly. “You guessed it—it’s Class Seven.”

Qi walked out of Yue Qiu’s office in a daze, her feet moving mechanically.

Why did it have to be Class Seven? Even competing with the top-performing class would be better than Class Seven.

Thinking about Class Seven’s self-important monitor, Qi suddenly felt life had lost some of its brightness.

She arrived at Qin Qing’s office door, knocked, and entered to hand over the notebook.

“Teacher Qin, here’s your notebook.”

Qin Qing, who was packing up, looked up in surprise. Seeing Qi, she accepted the notebook and placed it on her desk. “Hmm? Did Teacher Yue tell you?”

Qi’s mind was still processing slowly. “Huh? Tell me what?”

Qin Qing laughed, standing up to ruffle Qi’s hair affectionately. “This kid—how come when your grades improve, your reaction time gets worse?”

Qi Xiangxing gave an embarrassed smile.

“I meant, did Teacher Yue tell you that your competition this time is with Class Seven?”

Qi Xiangxing nodded.

“That’s good. Go back and explain it clearly to your classmates—we need to defeat their class fair and square in terms of academic performance.” Seemingly noticing the confusion in Qi Xiangxing’s eyes, Qin Qing added, “Don’t worry about fairness. This time, the outcome will be determined based on set criteria, so it’s relatively fair.”

“Alright, I’ll go back and tell them right away.” Qi Xiangxing nodded firmly, looking at…

She watched Qin Qing packing up her things and asked, “Teacher, are you heading out?”

Qin Qing tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. “That’s right! I’m off work and going home to cook.”

Qi Xiangxing gave an “Oh” and was about to leave when she suddenly remembered Yue Qiu also seemed to be packing up in the office.

Unable to resist, she turned back to glance at Qin Qing, who responded with a playful eyebrow raise.

Qi Xiangxing quickly turned away, thinking to herself, So Teacher Yue and Teacher Qin really are together! Are they already living together?

By the time she returned to class, all the students had gone for dinner. Qi Xiangxing grabbed Du Ziheng and forcefully drilled the meeting’s key points into him before finally letting him go with satisfaction.

“Huh? Class monitor, seriously? We’re really competing against Class Seven this time?”

“What’s wrong? Don’t want to?” Qi Xiangxing raised an eyebrow. “Are you scared?”

Du Ziheng stiffened his neck. “Who’s scared? Who’s scared?” He was just agonizing over how his favorite pairing couldn’t keep their love-hate dynamic going!

“Alright, since there’s no big issue, let’s get prepared. We’ll have a class meeting later.”

During the meeting, Qi Xiangxing fully embraced her role as class monitor. Slamming the desk, she declared passionately, “This competition’s opponents are Class Seven! Everyone knows about my bet with their class monitor, right? This is our chance to defeat them fair and square!”

“Monitor! Don’t worry, just say the word! We’ll make it happen!”

“Yeah! Class Seven is just a bunch of paper tigers! Our class is the best!”

“Exactly! Monitor, rest assured! We’ll definitely beat them!”

Qi Xiangxing nodded approvingly. “I believe in everyone’s abilities! But don’t worry, our competition will be completely fair!”

By the time Qi Xiangxing finished the meeting, it was already the end of the first evening self-study session. As she walked toward Class Three’s door to look for Luan Li, she suddenly frowned, sensing something wrong with her body.

Everywhere felt feverish, every inch of her body screaming—

She could feel her pheromones spiraling out of control, the scent of milk so strong even she could clearly detect it.

This isn’t right… really not right…

Qi Xiangxing suddenly recalled what the doctor had said when prescribing her suppressants—

“The next time might rebound! The reaction could be even stronger, so use them carefully.”

Her consciousness began to blur. Before passing out, she saw Luan Li emerging from Class Three.

Luan Li walked toward her, lips moving, but Qi Xiangxing couldn’t make out the words, only catching the anxious look in her eyes.

“Luan Li…”

Qi Xiangxing collapsed weakly into her arms, inhaling Luan Li’s scent deeply before finally relaxing.

Her hands clutched desperately at Luan Li’s collar as she pressed closer, whispering softly:

“Luan Li, kiss me…”