The Senior Student (female) Is Not Human - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Music

A flood has broken out.

Golden sunlight rolled over her eyelids, waking Xie Shiwei.

She snapped her eyes open to a familiar expanse of white blur. Her fingers instinctively reached for her glasses but only grasped a cool silver chain.

After several clumsy attempts, she finally secured the monocle.

As she sat up, the thin blanket slipped from her shoulders. The cool air sweeping across her unclothed body made her shiver violently. The memory of the previous night in the art studio belatedly surfaced.

The profoundly captivating beauty had interrogated her, demanding that she obediently open her body and point out the part that had presumptuously betrayed her, daring to leave a disgraceful mark and stain the cashmere blanket—

Even.

A beautiful embroidered shoe, with a textured pattern, had been forcefully wedged between her bare feet.

The inner arch of her foot still held a red mark where the embroidery had grazed it.

Xie Shiwei couldn’t help but raise her hands to hug her head, ordering her blockhead to stop, don’t think about it anymore!

But her brain, of its own accord, lingered on the recollection.

She remembered every detail, even the pauses in Jiang Xiyao’s voice:

“Speak. Which part is it?”

“Not going to speak? Do you want me to find it myself?”

“Besides your eyes, what else produces tears? Stand up. Let me see.”

A wave of blushing crimson swept over her skin again as a stress response.

Just as Xie Shiwei felt her ears were about to become steaming kettles, emitting a ‘woo-woo’ heat, the memory finally halted, regretfully, at the moment she was pulled to her feet—

Because.

She had fainted.

Xie Shiwei couldn’t even distinguish whether she had fainted from overwhelming shame, self-deception in denial of the truth, or… from pleasure.

The moment she was forced to leave the blanket, she uncontrollably realized that the cool, sticky area had abruptly spread and widened. Her mind had gone blank, and she passed out just like that.

The girl, who had never experienced fainting from pleasure, covered her face in the studio that was now empty save for herself, thinking: How thrilling.

Wait! No! Sister was there! This is utterly humiliating!

Xie Shiwei, feeling extremely guilty, quickly put on her clothes. As she stood up to examine the blanket, she frantically recalled her falling posture from the night before, praying that Jiang Xiyao hadn’t noticed anything.

At the same time, she chastised herself: Sister had finally asked her for a favor, and she, the model, had fainted before the painting even started and had even soiled the studio property. Would Sister be angry?

Xie Shiwei looked at the blanket with a worried expression. Now that it had dried, large patches of the fleece were stiff.

She began taking pictures to use image search, trying to figure out how much she owed Sister—

When the price 80,000 yuan popped up.

Xie Shiwei’s world collapsed.

Her shallow little ‘flood’ had actually caused a massive disaster, resulting in an economic loss of eighty thousand yuan!

Abstinence, abstinence! Starting today, I will abstain!

Xie Shiwei walked out of the art studio with a heavy heart. After carefully closing the door, she realized the studio was located in the depths of the abandoned old school building behind the artificial lake.

But she had no time now for the spooky atmosphere of the old building; she was only consumed by the fear of impending poverty.

To warn herself to cherish her wallet and stay away from beauty, Xie Shiwei immediately packaged several gigabytes of her rare, out-of-print novels and comics and sent them to Zhong Chuyao, then painfully deleted the local files.

“Chu Chu, I’ve backed up an important file to you. Could I trouble you to keep it safe for me?”

“Just, just for a month, please?”

Zhong Chuyao, with her impeccable character, downloaded and received the files without asking what they were.

She only sent a message of greeting and concern: “Is it a study file or work-study materials? Is it inconvenient to keep them on your phone or computer? Is your phone broken? Or your computer? Are you okay?”

Before Xie Shiwei could reply, a video call popped up.

Xie Shiwei saw her reflection on the screen—the single monocle on her right eye gave her an entirely different, refined, and chaste aura.

Xie Shiwei immediately declined the call.

If Zhong Chuyao knew she had encountered a maniacal attack yesterday and lost her most prized glasses, she would definitely be at the school gate before noon. She remembered her best friend had a rather full class schedule for freshman year.

So, she typed quickly on her phone:

“My phone memory is just a bit small, not quite enough anymore. The cloud storage I usually use is also full, and I don’t want to get a membership, so I’m just borrowing yours for storage. [/begging][/begging]”

(The real reason was that those precious files would be censored if uploaded to the cloud.)

But kind Chu Chu believed her without question, sending her an “OK” emoji.

Xie Shiwei let out a huge sigh of relief and quickened her pace back to her department to get her backpack.

Although the glasses Sister lent her were very useful and didn’t make her dizzy from the difference in clarity between her eyes, it was still only for one side.

Moreover, such delicate, fragile, and decorative glasses made Xie Shiwei feel completely insecure.

She was practically running by the end.

“Xie Shiwei.”

A delicate voice called out to her as the department building came into view.

She stopped, her face showing unexpected delight: “Sister Le Qiong.”

Thinking of how Le Qiong hadn’t messaged her since taking her glasses yesterday, Xie Shiwei asked expectantly, “Is, is my pair fixed?”

Le Qiong, who had been staring at her face the whole time, finally remembered and returned the glasses she had used as an excuse yesterday.

“Oh, I had someone take me around the streets outside the South Gate yesterday, and they all said they don’t have replacement lenses for now; they have to wait for a restock.”

Xie Shiwei thought about it; that made sense. She had also waited a day or two when she first got the glasses made.

However.

Sister Le Qiong never asked her for the specific prescription of the glasses, did she?

A flicker of doubt crossed her mind as she held the glasses that gave her such a strong sense of security.

But before Xie Shiwei could speak.

Le Qiong was intently staring at the monocle on her face. The lens material was blurry, almost looking like paper. Didn’t Xie Shiwei say her myopia was severe and she couldn’t see without glasses?

Was this some kind of hidden genius act, a new persona after years of keeping a low profile, preparing to amaze everyone?

She felt an extreme sense of crisis, speculating whether this junior was ready to shine brightly on stage.

So, she couldn’t help but confirm: “Is Jiang Xiyao already planning to have you perform on stage with her?”

Xie Shiwei was stunned.

Hearing that name again, the memories from last night began to resurface.

Before the heat rose to her neck and face, she stuttered a denial: “N-no, Sister Jiang hasn’t mentioned that to me.”

Le Qiong narrowed her eyes.

She suddenly understood.

So, Xie Shiwei was trying to change her old, unfashionable look—which would earn Jiang Xiyao’s disdain—in order to compete for a spot on stage? She was deliberately trying to show her face today?

Ha, didn’t anyone tell her that Jiang Xiyao despises people whether they’re ugly or beautiful? After all, the only person that woman can look at favorably is herself.

However, Le Qiong still had no intention of adding Xie Shiwei to the performance roster.

She offered a slight smile, stating the purpose of her visit today: “That’s okay. I’ll still wait for you at the activity center this afternoon. You can perform all the talents you’re good at, and I’ll help you with feedback.”

“The finals are coming up soon, and the three of us are a last-minute new group, so we need to practice and blend more. Let’s meet there every afternoon from now on, okay?”

As for whether someone in this new group regrettably fails to make it onto the stage in the end.

Le Qiong thought, that wouldn’t be her fault, would it?

Hearing the words “talent performance,” Xie Shiwei felt her world crumble again.

As she racked her brain, trying to figure out how to tell Le Qiong she only wanted to be on the logistics team, she didn’t realize that their conversation at the department entrance was being observed by a third person.

You Jiayi frowned. She truly didn’t know how Xie Shiwei had walked out unharmed yesterday.

The one who had gone into the activity building was clearly the craziest of the mentally ill group—

She had expected to see a half-dead Xie Shiwei.

At the very least, she should have ended up with knife cuts and scars like her.

However, when You Jiayi chose to wait outside the building to distance herself from those lunatics, she only encountered the police who were searching for the escaped patients.

You Jiayi, who had been threatened and forced to go there by them, suddenly changed her mind right when she was about to be rid of them.

Watching Xie Shiwei sitting blankly on the flower bed outside the building, You Jiayi suddenly realized that those crazy people might be useful in an unexpected way.

For example.

She could use them to eliminate the people she didn’t like.

She’d start with Xie Shiwei, kill her first, then kill Jiang Xiyao. Then, if any heedless person crossed her, she could keep adding them to the death list.

After all, those mentally ill patients, who could barely speak and only screamed Jiang Xiyao’s name, couldn’t possibly incriminate her.

Thinking this, You Jiayi offered a delighted smile.

She simply assumed that the person from yesterday was too ill and had started hallucinating and self-harming, which was how Xie Shiwei had escaped.

She looked at the black-clothed boy beside her, nodding toward the department entrance: “Go.”

She instigated him with a familiar tone:

“Look at her. She’s already hooking up with Jiang Xiyao, yet she’s not satisfied and is eyeing a new target—don’t you think Jiang Xiyao would be grateful if you killed this disloyal woman for her?”

“Maybe she’ll be so touched, she’ll want to die with you.”

The constantly silent boy abruptly looked up.

His bloodshot red eyes flickered with a flame-like light.

“Die together? If I kill her, Xiyao will be so touched that she’ll willingly give me her life?”

“Good, good, good, I’ll kill her, kill this faithless woman… Kill her, kill Jiang Xiyao… I want her to never come back to life!”

You Jiayi frowned as the boy, after only taking two steps forward, returned to talking about Jiang Xiyao.

She couldn’t help but twitch her mouth, beginning to doubt if this idiot could actually get the job done.

No sooner had the bad feeling arisen than she saw the boy grab a brick from the roadside and charge straight toward the person opposite Xie Shiwei.

“Hey…”

You Jiayi’s weak warning was drowned out by a shriek!

“Ah!!!”

Le Qiong spotted the menacing figure charging at her with a brick. She instinctively took two steps forward, simultaneously hiding behind Xie Shiwei and pushing her out!

Le Qiong shrieked while swiftly retreating into the Foreign Language Department building.

Mid-run, she took a moment to look back, terrified that the attacker would knock Xie Shiwei out with the brick and continue chasing her!

However.

To Le Qiong’s surprise.

Xie Shiwei, whom she had pushed out, merely stood there, her gaze blank and dazed. The brick in the black-clothed man’s hand had already flown out on its own.

The red brick hit the glass door of the department building, and with a burst of shattering fragments, it fell like a waterfall!

Le Qiong clearly heard the black-clothed man’s scream. When she reacted, the man was already covered in bl00d, writhing in the glass shards.

Xie Shiwei, who had her back to the door and was also dusted with glass fragments, merely stood there with her eyes closed and shoulders hunched. She had no injuries on her face or body.

Le Qiong watched as the man on the ground, as if his pain receptors had rapidly evolved away, grabbed a large piece of glass, ready to stab Xie Shiwei—

The girl futilely raised her hand to block.

The Buddha beads on her wrist glowed gold for a split second. As one of the beads turned to dust, the glass shard also exploded, ricocheting entirely back onto the attacker!

Le Qiong momentarily forgot to run, standing rooted to the spot.

She stared with amazed eyes at the Buddha beads on Xie Shiwei’s wrist, feeling she had finally found the source of this junior’s incredibly good luck.

…Did Xie Shiwei escape yesterday in the same way?

Didn’t she say she was poor? How does she own something this good?

By the time the security guards from the Foreign Language Department rushed over to subdue the attacker, and the dean and counselors from the building were alerted and came out to check the situation.

Le Qiong stood in the crowd, her mind still fixated on the string of golden-glowing Buddha beads. Thinking of the scene that only belonged in a fantasy drama, she heard her heartbeat quicken with excitement.

I want it badly, I want to have it.

Something this beautiful and life-saving must be worth a fortune, right? Does Xie Shiwei have any more?

Le Qiong expertly edged closer to Xie Shiwei while the leaders were calling the police and dealing with the emergency.

“Junior, are you alright?” Deep sympathy was written on her face: “Why are you so unlucky? You ran into this yesterday and again today. Do you feel any pain anywhere? Do you want me to go to the hospital with you for a check-up?”

Xie Shiwei pursed her lips, still visibly shaken.

Perhaps because the second time made her more familiar with the situation, her first reaction to the attack was to protect the glasses—Sister’s glasses must be more expensive than hers, and she couldn’t afford any more debt.

She was currently clutching the monocle in her palm and wearing her own damaged, still-unrepaired black-framed glasses.

She looked at Le Qiong with a hint of uncertainty:

“Sister Le Qiong, just now, you…”

Le Qiong quickly interrupted her: “Just now, I saw him charging straight at you! He scared me so much! I originally wanted to pull you and run, but I missed! I’m so glad you’re okay! I was terrified!”

Is that true?

Xie Shiwei wondered if the force she felt on her back was meant to grab her and pull her away.

Unfortunately, the direction the man charged from was a blind spot in her left vision. She couldn’t see anything. By the time she reacted, the man was right in front of her.

Xie Shiwei simply dismissed it as paranoia brought on by consecutive attacks and a lack of security, so she shook her head at Le Qiong:

“I’m fine. No need to go to the hospital.”

“Thank you, Sister, for warning me just now. Let’s meet at the activity center this afternoon.”

Perhaps because the two people who charged at her yelling threats both ended up performing a terrible act of self-harm in front of her, Xie Shiwei, while still scared, had the presence of mind to think:

I still have my part-time job at noon, and I need to take these broken glasses to be fixed. It’s going to be a busy day.

However, Sister Le Qiong seemed to have developed a palpable sense of her misfortune and was very afraid of her running into more danger alone. She followed Xie Shiwei all the way after she left the department building.

Not only did she order milk tea and wait for her during her part-time job, but she also blocked several customers who were inexplicably staring at her.

“Is your luck just really terrible lately? Running into scumbags and then getting harassed again?”

Le Qiong stared at the new gold-framed glasses on her face, realizing for the first time that myopic people had quite a few tricks for showcasing their charm.

Filled with jealousy, she insinuated: “Is it possible that something new you’re wearing is incompatible with your aura? I heard some accessories can really affect a person’s luck. It might be better to consecrate them at a temple.”

Le Qiong fixed her gaze on the Buddha beads on her wrist: “I happen to know a very effective temple. Since you’re so busy, let me take them to be consecrated for you?”

Xie Shiwei habitually pushed up her glasses.

Zhong Chuyao had given her these gold-framed glasses when she graduated from high school, saying that since she only had one pair, she should have a backup just in case someone bumped into her and broke them.

However, Zhong Chuyao had chosen them from a luxury store, and the simplest frame they had was this one. So, the anti-harassment effect was nowhere near as good as the pair she had personally chosen.

But compared to the expensive glasses, the Buddha beads, which had been dually confirmed as a cheap product by both Chu Chu and Sister Jiang, had already lost several beads without her noticing after only wearing them for a few days, and the string was now loose.

Thinking this, Xie Shiwei solemnly relayed her best friend’s words to Le Qiong:

“Sister, fate is in your own hands. People shouldn’t be too superstitious.”

Le Qiong: “…”

“Pfft.”

An undisguised burst of laughter came from nearby.

Xie Shiwei turned her head and realized that their conversation had led them to the music room from yesterday, and Jiang Xiyao was already waiting for them inside.

With just one look, Xie Shiwei was captivated by the beautiful red cheongsam Jiang Xiyao was wearing.

The vibrant red draped from the collar, the hem flaring out like petals. A ribbon of silver, like the Milky Way, wrapped around her waist, and layered black chiffon lining showed through the split skirt.

Xie Shiwei thought she had grown used to Jiang Xiyao’s various extravagant outfits, but seeing this exceptionally gorgeous, formal-gown-like cheongsam, she still couldn’t help but gasp.

So beautiful! So beautiful! So beautiful!!

Ah ah ah, is she wearing high heels again! Sister, step on me, step on me, step on me!

Wait! No! I vowed abstinence! I need to quit s3x! Think of that eighty-thousand-yuan blanket!

[…No…]

The familiar, fragmented voice drifted over.

Jiang Xiyao, who was originally mocking Le Qiong, was surprised to hear Xie Shiwei’s inner voice again.

Her dark eyes instinctively swept over the Buddha beads on the girl’s wrist—

Two more were missing.

Jiang Xiyao turned her gaze back to her, and seeing no injuries on the exposed skin, she lowered her eyes to look at her outfit for the day.

No? What is ‘no’? Does she not like this cheongsam? Or the style of the high heels?

The slender black heel had a black chiffon bow on the strap.

That doesn’t make sense; isn’t this the style this little steamed bun likes?

Jiang Xiyao subtly furrowed her brow.

Soon, her suspicion was confirmed: Xie Shiwei really didn’t seem to like her outfit today. After the initial glance, she became completely absorbed in her conversation with Le Qiong.

“Sister Le Qiong, I only heard one song from you yesterday and couldn’t help. Have you made a decision now?”

Control your eyes! Don’t look at Sister Jiang! Don’t look, don’t look! Look more at the calming, pure Sister Le Qiong! Purity and few desires! Purity and few desires!

[Look… at Sister Le Qiong…]

“Does Sister have any other performance ideas? I really want to see your talent.”

Jiang Xiyao’s expression darkened.

Now, she won’t even mention me in her inner voice?

She used to wear that black-framed disguise in front of me, terrified of revealing anything. Today, after coming with Le Qiong, she not only replaced the monocle I gave her but switched to a brighter gold-framed one!

Is being able to play the violin so remarkable?! Is she that fond of talented people? Don’t I have talent?!

Jiang Xiyao’s face was a sight to behold as she suddenly spoke up: “Xie Shiwei.”

She casually reminded her: “Did you see the painting from last night?”

Thinking of that painting, a slight smile reappeared on Jiang Xiyao’s lips.

It was her most satisfying piece recently—

The passed-out girl with flushed skin, black hair covering half her face, only her nose visible, slumped on the snow-white blanket. Between her slightly parted legs lay the creamy-white cashmere rug.

On the blanket, a clump of long wool was deeply and suspiciously matted down towards one side.

Like a jungle that had been ravaged by a storm and could not stand straight.

However, the smile on Jiang Xiyao’s face faltered as she met Xie Shiwei’s blank expression:

“You didn’t see it?!”

This was the first portrait she had ever painted, and Xie Shiwei dared to disregard her work?!

The moment Xie Shiwei heard her mention last night, she felt her hands and feet had nowhere to go, and her face threatened to heat up. She quickly looked at Le Qiong, frantically reminding herself there was an outsider present!

Blockhead, stop recalling! Or I’ll get wet again!

[…Get wet again…]

Jiang Xiyao stared fixedly at her.

She saw that the girl didn’t even want to answer her question, but instead, with a flushed face, stared at the other person, openly and brazenly beginning to fantasize about another person.

Jiang Xiyao, who had confirmed that Xie Shiwei’s body hadn’t lied about its physical reaction, could no longer find the smile she had when she saw the blanket’s mark last night.

—Not only is her heart not mine, but now even that body is going to betray me?!

The red mole at the corner of Jiang Xiyao’s lip twisted slightly.

With her eyes so dark that no light could penetrate, she suddenly spoke: “Xie Shiwei, come here.”

The girl, who was trying hard to avoid her but failed to escape being called out, took every step forward with reluctance.

Jiang Xiyao took a deep breath. As Xie Shiwei stopped, deliberately keeping her distance and asking, “What is it?” Jiang Xiyao suddenly reached out and yanked her forward.

Xie Shiwei was caught off guard, falling in panic into her arms and landing on her lap.

Ignoring the invading fragrance and beauty, Xie Shiwei only focused on the exquisite, complicated collar of the cheongsam. Hold back, hold back, I truly cannot afford another eighty thousand yuan!

“S-Sister, I’m sorry, I didn’t stand steady. I-I’ll get up right away…”

“Sit.”

Jiang Xiyao lifted the Guzheng that happened to be placed in front of her, her expression unreadable: “So fond of listening to music? Why don’t you help me choose a piece to play?”

Centuries ago, Jiang Xiyao had spent time in a pleasure quarter.

Though her face alone garnered the favor of countless admirers who showered her with gold, listening to those mediocre people play the same old tunes every day made it hard not to remember them.

Even though she never once touched a musical instrument in front of those admirers, it didn’t mean she couldn’t play.

She likes to ‘flow’ for people who play the zither, does she?

Today, she would make Xie Shiwei flow enough to drown.

She wanted Xie Shiwei to cry uncontrollably every time she saw her, her legs so weak she could no longer stand, willingly and proactively showing her the unstoppable overflow, kneeling at her feet, tears streaming down her face, and pleading:

Begging her to make that out-of-control body stop.

Otherwise, she would only lose control and continue to flow, non-stop, until she passed out completely.