Strategy to Conquer the Vicious Female Supporting Character [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 32

The girl who never played by the rules was now gazing at Situ Lan with sparkling eyes, as if getting her to try the cookie she held carefully in both hands was the single most important thing in the world.

Those eyes, Situ Lan had thought they were beautiful the first time she saw them. But now, under such an earnest stare, she suddenly found herself unable to meet them directly.

Situ Lan calmly averted her gaze and pointed to the small empty space on her desk not covered by books.
“Thank you. You can just put it here.”

Doesn’t holding it like that tire her arms?

Qi Lin obediently did as told.

She’d actually come up with the cookie idea last night after returning to her apartment. She’d been fretting over not having a good reason to approach Miss Situ again, until she discovered that the original owner of this body used to enjoy making small pastries and handmade crafts in her spare time. With all the ingredients already sitting there, Qi Lin simply rolled up her sleeves and made a batch of cookies, adding raisins inside.

Qi Lin’s cooking skills, truth be told, were only average, the kind of level you get after cooking often enough. You could politely say a few nice things about it, but that was about it.

However, in the eyes of a culinary expert like Situ Lan, it didn’t hold up at all.

The cookies looked quite nice, their appearance alone raised Miss Situ’s expectations rather high. But the moment she took a bite, all illusions shattered.

…The taste was really quite mediocre.

Situ Lan’s chewing paused ever so slightly.

Qi Lin, who had been watching her reaction the entire time, immediately panicked.
“I–is it that bad? I–I’ve never made cookies before… I’m sorry! I’ll work harder next time!”

As she spoke, Qi Lin scooped up the remaining cookies and the cute pink lunchbox they came in, hugging them tightly to her chest. With a face full of shame yet determination, she declared, “Miss, I’ll come find you again tomorrow!”and then bolted out of the room in a rush.

As if she couldn’t wait to take that batch of failures home and try again right away.

Situ Lan: “…”

She hadn’t even gotten the chance to explain that her pause wasn’t because the cookies were terrible, it was just that the gap between her high expectations and the actual taste had caught her off guard…

Wait, did that girl just say she was coming again tomorrow?

To find her?

…She’s not seriously planning to remake the cookies and bring them again, is she?

Was that really necessary?

Meanwhile, on the other side, Qi Lin was practically grinning through her cotton mask, the smile so bright it couldn’t be hidden.

Of course she knew exactly how her cooking tasted. The pretty appearance and the not-so-great flavor were both entirely within her plan.

Even the raised expectations before Situ Lan took a bite and the disappointment that followed, Qi Lin had accounted for all of it.

That brief moment of pause from her “wife” after taking a bite was exactly what she wanted. That way, she could blame herself for the poor taste, take the defective batch back, and have the perfect excuse to make a new one and bring it again the next day.

That way, she could show her “wife” that your reaction means everything to me; I’m willing to keep trying until you’re satisfied.
And it also gave her a perfect reason to see her and interact again.

Qi Lin had always been the type to plan several steps ahead.

She popped one of the leftover cookies from Miss Situ into her mouth.

Mmm. Delicious.

After returning to the classroom, Zhao Ting, who was gnawing on a chicken claw at her seat, saw Qi Lin walk in and immediately gave her a look full of disgust.

“You’ve got that lovestruck, glowing face, did you just finish a secret date with your lover or something?”

Qi Lin smiled shyly yet smugly. “Yup!”

Zhao Ting: “…”

She nearly spat out her chicken claw.

“The school belle of No. 1 High School actually started dating? That kind of news would be huge if it got out.” Zhao Ting wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin.

“Actually, it hasn’t gotten that far yet…” Qi Lin said in a small voice. “I’m still chasing her…”

Zhao Ting: “…”

Zhao Ting: “Holy crap, there’s actually a guy out there who can see your face and still say no?!”

Qi Lin blinked innocently. “You mean this face under the mask and all this gauze?”

It really wasn’t that pretty.

Zhao Ting: “…”

Zhao Ting spat the chicken bone into a trash bag with force. “Hua Xiyu, you win. It’s only been a few minutes, and you’ve already left me speechless three times.”

“Uh…” Qi Lin thought for a moment. “Thank you?”

Zhao Ting waved her hand. “Forget it, I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Go chase your lover.”

Qi Lin glanced at the clock on the blackboard. “But deskmate, there’s less than two minutes before class starts. Even if I want to chase her, I’ll have to wait until break.”

Zhao Ting: “…”

She wanted to hit someone.

In the back corner of the classroom, Chen Chunhong watched the two of them interacting. She couldn’t make out what Qi Lin and Zhao Ting were saying, but from their gestures and expressions, it was obvious they got along very well.

Just like… just like how she and Qi Lin used to.

Chen Chunhong felt a pang of resentment and jealousy.

Possessiveness doesn’t exist only between lovers, sometimes it’s even stronger between friends. Especially for girls, who tend to be more emotionally delicate and sensitive, it’s easy to feel unhappy when a close friend gets a lover or another close friend.

Just like Chen Chunhong now.

If Hua Xiyu had become miserable after growing distant from her, Chen Chunhong wouldn’t have cared, she might even have felt a little smug about it. So what if you’re so pretty? You’re still worse off than me.

But the opposite happened. Ever since Hua Xiyu drifted away from her, she hadn’t been affected much at all, she’d actually become brighter and more cheerful than before.

Chen Chunhong couldn’t quite tell whether her resentment and jealousy were directed more at Hua Xiyu or at herself.

Either way, it was something only she could swallow alone, Hua Xiyu wouldn’t care anymore.

Chen Chunhong faintly felt a trace of something that could probably be called regret.

Then, the ringing of the class bell washed those emotions away completely.

Joking aside, no matter what Zhao Ting said, Qi Lin was definitely going to keep chasing her “lover.”

The next day, Qi Lin brought that same little pink lunchbox to find Situ Lan again. This time, the food tasted even worse than before. Even though Situ Lan had mentally prepared herself after the first time, it was still bad enough to make her face visibly stiff.

So Qi Lin immediately used the excuse of “I was too nervous, I didn’t expect it to turn out even worse, sorry, Miss Situ! I’ll bring something better tomorrow!” to secure another chance to see her wife on the third day.

Situ Lan: “…”

Was it really necessary to get that nervous just to make me a cookie…?
This already counts as dark cuisine, doesn’t it?

By the third day, the cookies finally tasted normal again, and Situ Lan promptly gave her approval.

Qi Lin’s eyes sparkled instantly. “That’s great! Then tomorrow I’ll make pudding for Miss Situ! Would you like to try it too?”

Under the gaze of those bright eyes, Situ Lan nodded almost reflexively.

It wasn’t until Qi Lin happily skipped away that Situ Lan realized—
Wait, something felt a little off.

When she said “It’s delicious,” what she meant was that Qi Lin didn’t need to go through all that trouble to make things for her anymore, right?

But then came the pudding, followed by blueberry mousse, and after that, a Swiss roll.
Every time Situ Lan showed even the slightest dissatisfaction with a dessert, Qi Lin would make it again the next day and bring it to her.
Every time she praised one, Qi Lin would show up the next day with a different dessert altogether.

Miss Situ had no idea that the pretty-eyed girl was actually courting her.
Her good upbringing kept her from directly rejecting such obvious kindness,
and in her innocent confusion, she fell right into the sweet little trap Qi Lin had so carefully laid out for her.

More than half a month later, just before the National Day holiday, Qi Lin finally achieved her goal, “to become friends with Miss Situ”.

Though Miss Situ was an exceptionally kind person, her status alone was enough to make people think twice before trying to get close.
Even those who wanted to curry favor with her had to consider their own worth.
She was gentle and polite, but also introverted and slow to warm up, kind yet difficult to get close to.
So many people, after finally managing to strike up a conversation with her, ended up backing off on their own, losing their chance to be her friend.

In short, no one else had ever gone to such lengths, so patient, so warm, and so persistent, as Qi Lin did.

Or rather, no one else had ever been this shameless, showing up again and again without giving up.

Not having friends didn’t mean she didn’t want friends.
So for Qi Lin, her very first friend with no family-related interests involved, Situ Lan was genuinely welcoming.

“After the monthly exams, it’ll be the National Day holiday,” Situ Lan said softly, lowering her head as she swallowed the last bite of the chiffon cake Qi Lin had brought her that day. “Do you have any plans?”

Qi Lin blinked.

Wife, if you want to invite me to your house, just say so. No need to go the roundabout way with this small talk!

Still, she played along with Miss Situ’s pace. “I don’t really have any plans… Maybe I’ll just stay home and read.”

Situ Lan’s heart lifted a little at that answer.

But outwardly, she maintained her usual composed tone. “Oh? If you don’t have anything else planned, you could consider coming over to my place for a visit.”

Qi Lin almost couldn’t stop herself from bursting into laughter.

Thankfully, her {“Maxed Acting Skill Capsule”} was still working,
even after she’d long since given up trying to act normal,
so she managed to put on a convincingly surprised and delighted expression. “Really?!”

Situ Lan gave a soft cough. “What’s there to be real or not real about that? You can come if you want, or not if you don’t—”

Qi Lin cut her off mid-sentence with a bear hug.

“Of course I’m coming!” Qi Lin nuzzled her forehead against Situ Lan’s neck.
“Anyway, it’s a long holiday. I’ll go to Lanlan’s house, and Lanlan can come see where I live too!”

Situ Lan froze for a moment at the sudden embrace.

Then, slowly, she relaxed,
and, recalling what she’d seen friends do with each other, gently patted Qi Lin’s back.

“Alright. Now let go of me. Your face still isn’t fully healed, so don’t go rubbing it everywhere.”