The Senior Student (female) Is Not Human - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Prayer Beads – “How many ‘good seniors’ do you actually have?”…

Long after Jiang Xiyao left, Xie Shiwei still lay on the grass, unable to recover.

It wasn’t until her phone kept buzzing with messages, urging everyone to gather and return to school, that the class president and counselor finally got through. She sat up, slowly wiped her face and glasses clean, and dusted off the debris on her body.

Her hairpin and hair tie had come undone at some point and lay beside her, her hair scattered in disarray.

Xie Shiwei felt that she was now only a few steps away from a TV drama’s severely abused and ruined delicate heroine, the only difference being her clothes weren’t tattered.

Picking up the hair tie to redo her hair, she looked at the surrounding area—the overgrown weeds and the terrible conditions where she hadn’t even spread a napkin on the ground when she arrived—and suddenly felt so pitiful.

[Wuwuwu, it was actually an outdoor play, the conditions are so harsh, the stubble of the grass is so prickly, and there was no post-coital cuddles or tenderness. I’m giving a bad review—]

[Don’t look at me, seemingly intact on the outside. I’ve actually been played with and broken inside, wuwuwu.]

As Xie Shiwei was heavily pitying herself, something sharp scratched the side of her finger.

She paused, then took off the hair tie again.

In the center of the pure black elastic cord, an inconspicuous golden fine ring was somehow embedded, with a hollow golden star dangling from it.

She hesitated.

She always bought the cheapest, largest quantity of plain styles for daily necessities like hair ties and toothpaste from discount stores. When did she buy a decorated one?

Xie Shiwei tried to recall the texture of the hair tie before, but she was in too much of a hurry when leaving the tent this morning and was later distracted by her classmates’ gossip, so she couldn’t remember at all.

It’s not a conspicuous decoration, after all, she thought, quickly tying up her hair and rushing back to pack up the tent, collect her belongings, and return to school.

While riding the bus at the foot of the mountain, she caught sight of Jiang Xiyao, surrounded by people.

She was still the dazzling, cold, and beautiful person, making it impossible to guess that in private, this goddess had the awful hobby of enjoying watching other girls cry.

[Senior is a bad woman, wuwu, but I love bad women, too. Is this why men don’t love women who aren’t bad?]

Jiang Xiyao lifted her eyes, her gaze easily passing over the crowd and settling on her.

She wouldn’t casually believe the “love” this custard bun would utter in her mind now.

However, when she saw a flash of gold in Xie Shiwei’s hair, the corner of her eye lifted slightly.

Even her walking pace became a bit lighter.

In just that short while, she had impulsively changed her outfit again. The long skirt that had covered her ankles was now a short mianqun (a type of traditional Chinese skirt), exposing her fair, long legs.

Along with that semi-concealed, beautiful gold chain, which also shimmered in the sun.

No one could tell that the delicate anklet was missing a small, golden star pendant.

Jiang Xiyao thought casually:

She doesn’t like the outdoors? Then, where should I make Xie Shiwei cry next time?

“Achoo—”

Xie Shiwei, already inside the bus, suddenly felt a chill on the back of her neck and let out a huge sneeze.

She rubbed her nose and looked up, meeting the gaze of You Jiayi, who was the last to get on the bus.

You Jiayi was the one who publicly slandered and bullied her, only to have it backfire, but there was no sign of remorse or regret on her face. Even now, the look in her eyes was still sinister.

Xie Shiwei’s impression of her had completely soured, and she was the first to look away.

Knowing that communal life in the dorm was no longer sustainable, Xie Shiwei didn’t bother asking the counselor or dorm manager to coordinate a dorm change. That very day, she packed her things and dragged her suitcase home.

…

“When you applied for college, I wanted to persuade you to apply to a better university in the capital. But now it seems that living close to home has its advantages; it makes it so convenient for us to get together.”

A few days later, Zhong Chuyao called her to eat at her house, thinking she’d have to pick her up from school, only to find she was already home.

They had actually only met in high school.

At that time, Zhong Chuyao was studying abroad but transferred back home because a family member was ill.

When she met Xie Shiwei, her good friend already had her current unremarkable appearance: thick glasses and a dedication to studying.

The teacher assigned Xie Shiwei to be her deskmate, and the other girl diligently shared study materials with her.

She wasn’t deterred by Zhong Chuyao’s cold, merciless exterior, nor was she like others who, in addition to speculating behind her back about her occasional small accessories and shoe styles, would say cruel things to her face:

“I heard you were studying abroad before? I’ve heard of people who study well and get in, and people who pay their way out because they study poorly, but this is the first time I’ve seen someone transfer back from abroad… Why did you come back? Does it have anything to do with your grades?”

“Oh, don’t say that. It’s normal for some people who’ve always studied abroad to not keep up with our pace when they first return. But it’s already the second semester of Grade 11. I wonder if she can even get into a second-tier university in the Gaokao.”

Zhong Chuyao was about to demand who the insinuations were aimed at.

But Xie Shiwei, who was writing questions next to her, suddenly looked up, “Don’t mind them.”

The girl seemed accustomed to this kind of malice and comforted her, “They have no hope themselves and don’t want to work hard. Their school life is dull and boring, so they can only chat about this kind of topic to pass the time.”

“You can see the end of their lives at a glance. You’re different. You’re just a dragon in shallow waters. Your future won’t intersect with theirs.”

Zhong Chuyao, of course, knew how fortunate her life was.

She also knew that these people had the look of mediocrity all over their faces.

But she didn’t like to hold back her temper.

However, after hearing Xie Shiwei’s comfort that day, Zhong Chuyao, who had previously felt indifferent towards her deskmate, suddenly wanted to see what kind of bright and splendid future a person with such good character and willingness to work hard would have—

So Zhong Chuyao skillfully glanced at the student file as she passed the homeroom teacher’s desk.

Even though Xie Shiwei only had her date of birth, it wasn’t hard for her to deduce her full bazi (Eight Characters/four pillars of destiny).

Zhong Chuyao thought she would see a flower struggling to bloom amidst hardship, but an aura of decay lay across this destiny chart.

Poor family background, lacking parental love since childhood. When she achieves academic success, she will again experience the pain of losing a loved one.

Her wealth is like a large colander; even if she tries her best to earn money, it will inevitably be accompanied by danger and she won’t be able to keep it. She’s like a walking ATM, all the money she saves is just temporarily held for others.

Worse, the chart showed a high probability of Xie Shiwei meeting an early, violent end.

Zhong Chuyao, who hadn’t willingly looked at such a terrible destiny in a long time, even checked it two or three times. She felt baffled until she got a headache and took leave to go home.

During the three days she rested at home, she meticulously looked into Xie Shiwei’s past.

Barren soil shouldn’t yield vibrant flowers. A person with such a fate shouldn’t be so optimistic, content, and even have the capacity to care for others.

She should be sharp, self-conscious, sensitive, and cold…

But Xie Shiwei wasn’t. She still strived to possess a precious kindness.

As Zhong Chuyao looked, she suddenly felt indignant. Xie Shiwei has worked so hard. Why should she end up with such a fate?

So on the day she returned to school, Zhong Chuyao stood in front of her desk and said, “Let’s be good friends.”

—Become my good friend, Zhong Chuyao, and let me share my good fortune and good luck with you.

And when Xie Shiwei vaguely realized the gravity of her words and, during the next class break, went to the small store to buy a bottle of Zhong Chuyao’s favorite soy milk to give her, agreeing to the friendship.

Right up until today.

Zhong Chuyao had kept her promise.

It was the same now. After hearing Xie Shiwei say that she was homesick and wanted to stay at home recently, Zhong Chuyao casually asked, “Did something happen at school?”

She knew that Xie Shiwei’s constitution made her prone to encountering bad people, and she also knew that Xie Shiwei liked to share good news and hide bad news.

So when she asked the question, she deliberately stared at Xie Shiwei’s face with intense focus.

The thick bangs and large glasses that could ward off the harassment of those “flies” also blocked Zhong Chuyao’s observation of her.

Xie Shiwei often felt that Zhong Chuyao should have attended a police academy. Her eyes, which seemed to see through people’s hearts, would be perfect for interrogation talent.

But Zhong Chuyao only lavishly used this skill on her. Xie Shiwei pushed her glasses up and quickly shifted her gaze:

“Nothing, nothing much. It’s just that one roommate has a rather extreme personality, and I was afraid of having a conflict with her later, so I simply…”

“I knew it—”

Zhong Chuyao pressed her hands on both sides of Xie Shiwei’s cheeks, forcing her head to face her again: “You said before that you didn’t like to be treated specially and that staying at school was convenient for classes. Why did you suddenly come home?”

Xie Shiwei struggled with “Ouch, ouch,” trying to downplay the situation.

However, in the midst of the struggle, Zhong Chuyao suddenly said:

“Wait.”

She observed Xie Shiwei’s slightly strange complexion, “Tell me the details of what happened.”

Yet, even after Xie Shiwei finished recounting the activity, including the detail about the roommate forcing her to pass along love letters, Zhong Chuyao still felt that something was off.

She secretly hid one hand behind her back and quickly did a divination.

Zhong Chuyao looked at her with astonishment: “You’re… in love?”

Xie Shiwei was more surprised than she was by this sudden, out-of-the-blue question: “I am not!”

Not?

Then why did the divination show that Xie Shiwei and her crush were mutually in love? Oh, and the object of her affection was most likely not human, because simply being close to a human would never make her fortune turn so disastrous in just a few days.

Zhong Chuyao thought back to the appearance of that monster the last time she saw it. It looked like a girl. Her mother never mentioned any female yao (demon/spirit) who caiyin buyin (a practice of absorbing female energy to supplement male essence, or vice versa).

How strange.

But Xie Shiwei’s symptoms—appearing to have been in excessive contact with a spirit and having her vital energy sucked away—were so familiar.

Zhong Chuyao couldn’t figure it out and decided to ask directly, “I’ve been reading some medical books recently out of boredom, and I feel like you’re exhibiting signs of… kidney essence deficiency?”

Xie Shiwei: “…?”

Xie Shiwei: “!”

No! Was the fact that she secretly touched herself late at night so obvious?

Her eyes first went blank and confused, changing from “Who am I? Where am I?” to “Haha, this is so embarrassing, I don’t want to live anymore,” before finally settling on a firm denial: “You must be mistaken. I’m just tired from my part-time jobs.”

Zhong Chuyao suspected she was being evasive.

But she couldn’t bring herself to do something as intrusive as taking off her glasses or pressing her for more details. It would be too offensive.

After much thought, she went back to her room, brought out a string of prayer beads, and placed them on Xie Shiwei’s wrist.

“If you’re not, then fine.”

She replied casually, “My mom went traveling recently and bought some souvenirs. This one is for you.”

In truth, they were consecrated ritual artifacts that a highly accomplished master had chanted over and offered for many years, a gift her mother, Mrs. Zhong, had received years ago by chance, intended to be a protective talisman for Zhong Chuyao.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Zhong was too strong, and Zhong Chuyao’s fate was simply too good. She had several boxes full of such protective treasures, all completely unused.

But to Xie Shiwei, she just smiled and said, “I heard the vendors by the scenic spot cheated her. Hmm, twenty thousand for one string.”

Xie Shiwei’s voice changed: “T-twenty thousand?!”

The market value should be much higher.

But Zhong Chuyao didn’t flinch: “They all said she was fooled, so the wholesale cost might only be a few dollars. But it’s her intention, after all. So if anyone dares to damage your bracelet, I’ll show up with the receipt to claim compensation, okay?”

Xie Shiwei immediately protected the bracelet tightly.

She asked in a panicked voice, “Aren’t you and Aunt Zhong going to report it to the police? That’s way too expensive!”

“It’s fine. She has too much money. She bought it for fun.”

After Zhong Chuyao spoke, remembering that these prayer beads were meant to deter the monster at Xie Shiwei’s school, she pretended to recall something inadvertently:

“This souvenir reminded me of some supernatural tales.”

“Humans won’t be afraid of consecrated prayer beads, but monsters will. If someone looks at it with fear and tries to coax you to take it off, you must be very careful.”

Xie Shiwei covered her ears and protested: “Chuchu, you’re scaring me again!”

She felt she was about to be the modern-day Xu Xian, carrying the realgar wine home, and this string of prayer beads was about to become the tool for her paranoia!

Zhong Chuyao laughed heartily.

But she didn’t take back her words.

Just keep being this timid, she thought. Timidity is Xie Shiwei’s best protective color.

Xie Shiwei never needed to believe in all that nonsense about destiny. She just had to keep walking towards the final sunny path in this state of innocence, optimism, and positivity.

As for those dark ghosts and spirits attempting to cause harm, Zhong Chuyao would deal with them.

Xie Shiwei was completely unaware of her friend’s intentions. She merely touched the glowing, special gift. When she heard Zhong Chuyao invite her to stay, she looked worriedly at the climbing tank that housed the green snake.

For a moment, she even wondered if this bracelet could ward off snakes.

Zhong Chuyao glared at her good-naturedly, “Just stay. Its guts are smaller than yours. It almost choked on an earthworm this morning.”

“I wouldn’t let it stay in the same room as you anyway. I’d be afraid you’d scare it to death.”

Such a fragile, beautiful little good-for-nothing—

Hearing this, Xie Shiwei felt a renewed pity for her Senior, who was also delicate and helpless.

But while she could secretly and discreetly observe that beautiful, translucent little green snake from a distance, she really couldn’t see Jiang Xiyao anymore.

Almost admitting to her best friend that she was single but indulging in excessive desire was one thing.

What was worse was that.

In the past few days, after getting home tired from school and work, whether it was her biological, most effective fingers or those little toys that could give her a sense of novelty and surprise, they all seemed to have failed overnight.

Even if the toys ran out of battery and her wrist ached.

Her body just wouldn’t cooperate.

She was always just a tiny bit short.

On the verge of doubting that she was truly broken, Xie Shiwei self-diagnosed online. The conclusion was similar to Chuyao’s sudden diagnosis today: she was depleted and needed to practice restraint.

In short, whether it was physical depletion or the absurd habits she had suddenly developed due to the two secret incidents with Jiang Xiyao present, she absolutely had to avoid seeing the senior for the time being.

Unfortunately.

Things didn’t go as planned.

On Monday, as Xie Shiwei rode her electric scooter and saw the school gate, she made eye contact with Jiang Xiyao in the open square in front of the entrance.

Her scalp instinctively tingled, she tucked in her neck, and twisted the throttle to speed inside.

She was just about to leave the bike shed when she saw Jiang Xiyao and the army of admirers constantly surrounding her walking in that direction. There was only one main road; she would definitely run into them if she went out.

“Xie… Shiwei?” A tentative voice sounded from the side.

Xie Shiwei turned her head and saw it was the senior who recorded her physical fitness test scores last time and, seeing her distress, had offered to help her stretch her legs toward the end.

The senior’s name was Le Qiong, an Art department student who played the violin.

After introducing herself, she smiled and asked Xie Shiwei, “Do you still prefer to be alone now?”

Xie Shiwei heard the implied kind concern and smiled bashfully, “Yes, I do.”

Le Qiong thought for a moment, took out her phone, and showed her an address: “I’m working part-time playing the violin at this place now. If you’re ever bored or want to clear your mind, you can come here and listen.”

Xie Shiwei took a picture of the address, suddenly feeling warmth spread through her heart.

Even better, because she had deliberately stopped to chat with Le Qiong, when they parted ways, Jiang Xiyao and the terrifying admirers were nowhere to be seen on the main road ahead.

She happily waved goodbye to Le Qiong: “See you next time, Senior.”

It wasn’t until she turned a corner past the bushes of a secluded teaching building that a jade-colored arm suddenly shot out and pulled her in.

“You seem to really like calling other people ‘Senior.’ How many good seniors do you actually have?”

The lazy, arrogant tone and the voice, as melodious as jade, hit her eardrums up close again.

Xie Shiwei caught the familiar, seductive fragrance and inexplicably felt a sting in her nose.

Even both her legs felt weak.

It was as if her body had already, ahead of her, remembered the reaction it should have when this person approached.

Xie Shiwei tried hard to suppress that feeling, instinctively wanting to pull away and return to normal: “Senior, Senior Jiang?”

Jiang Xiyao slightly furrowed her willow-like brows.

Only when the prey was seduced and influenced by her, losing their reason and developing a twisted love and possessiveness, would they ignore everything and change their address to her to something more intimate step by step.

Xie Shiwei’s consistent caution was a sign that she could still resist Jiang Xiyao’s influence.

But Jiang Xiyao, who usually hated those preys’ self-delusion and their disgusting use of the name “Xiyao,” now felt annoyed hearing Xie Shiwei’s proper “Senior Jiang.”

She looked at the girl in front of her with a blank expression.

After she let go, Xie Shiwei didn’t step forward willingly; instead, she kept retreating.

Unbelievable.

She showed that priceless smile to other seniors and could chat with them for as long as she wanted, but in front of her, she acted as if she was avoiding the plague.

Seeing Xie Shiwei’s slightly red eyes under her glasses and her throat fiercely bobbing from suppressing herself, Jiang Xiyao became even more irritated.

—She smiles for others, but only cries for me?!

Jiang Xiyao frowned harder, her dark eyes staring creepily at her: “Come here.”

Since yesterday morning, when she heard Xie Shiwei was going out to meet a friend and deliberately left the hairpin at home, complaining that it always got caught in her hair, Jiang Xiyao hadn’t been able to hear her inner voice.

But she hadn’t worried about Xie Shiwei’s safety then.

She had briefly glimpsed the spiritual successor of the metaphysics family on the second day of the Old School Building exploration night.

Xie Shiwei wouldn’t be in any danger by meeting that person.

But even today, at this very moment, at such a close distance, she still hadn’t heard the usual extravagant flattery or the sudden bursts of “high-speed train.”

Her gaze slowly traveled over the girl in front of her.

Xie Shiwei couldn’t stand her scrutiny. She felt as if her gaze had a materialized force, caressing her skin little by little.

As her legs weakened further, Xie Shiwei’s tears fell.

She was so disappointingly obedient, approaching Jiang Xiyao and raising her hand to wipe her tears, while making one last struggle:

“Sen-Senior, can I not cry today?”

The moment she raised her hand, Jiang Xiyao’s gaze landed on her wrist.

…Prayer beads?

Xie Shiwei felt her gaze linger and pulled her wrist back a little sheepishly.

She knew that accessories like prayer beads, in novels, were worn only by powerful, pure-hearted figures or Fozis (Buddhist sons/monks) from the capital’s circles. It didn’t suit a poor person like her.

Between the two of them, the one more suitable to wear this expensive, vividly realistic, and intimidating-looking string of prayer beads should be Jiang Xiyao.

When the image of the prayer beads on the beautiful woman’s wrist came to mind, the next scenario that popped into Xie Shiwei’s head was:

The other woman playing with the beads before suddenly taking them off, grabbing the string, and slowly grinding it against the softest, most delicate flesh of her body.

Perhaps her struggle and resistance would cause the fragile chain to break, sending the beads rolling everywhere.

At that point, Jiang Xiyao would angrily force her to use her body to consume them one by one.

Until she cried, saying, “I’m too full,” and “I can’t eat anymore”…

Xie Shiwei held her breath, her face flushed.

Her gaze was clearly about to turn blank again.

But in that instant, she heard Jiang Xiyao’s cold command:

“What is that trashy thing you’re wearing on your hand? Take it off.”