Transmigrated into the Villainess Alpha Who Marked the Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 20
Bai Yueli leaned casually against the locust tree at the entrance of the sports field. The breeze rustled the leaves, making her clothes sway. It was nearing seven o’clock, and as she saw the girl drawing closer, her eyes curved slightly, the faint moonlight reflecting tiny speckles of light in her dark pupils.
“Senior,” Ji Ci took a deep breath. As she passed the girl, she finally, reluctantly, spared a glance.
She wanted to ignore her, but she had no standing to do so. She had to maintain the persona of a good junior; what kind of junior wouldn’t greet their senior?
With just one glance, Ji Ci stiffly pulled her gaze away.
She had to admit, every one of Bai Yueli’s features perfectly aligned with her aesthetic. The author in the novel had spent a lot of ink crafting her, but perhaps because Ji Ci had a slightly unfavorable filter towards the female lead, she had always skimmed through those physical descriptions.
Bai Yueli didn’t say anything, simply handing her something. “Here, this is for energy. You don’t look too good right now.”
Ji Ci wiped away some sweat, shaking her head. “I’m not thirsty, Senior. You’re an Omega, you should drink it yourself.”
Bai Yueli didn’t press her.
Ji Ci’s earlier action of wiping sweat was fully observed by her. She took a pack of tissues from her canvas bag, pulled one out, and handed it to her. “The temperature difference between day and night is large this season. Be careful not to catch a cold.”
“…” Ji Ci was momentarily speechless.
Even with her strong resolve to stay away from the main characters, she couldn’t find a reason to repeatedly refuse Bai Yueli. So, she took the tissue and haphazardly wiped her face.
Bai Yueli took the opportunity to observe her carefully.
Not to mention that high-ranking Omegas possess an innate subtlety of mind; even an ordinary person wouldn’t find it difficult to notice this shift in Ji Ci’s attitude.
“Is Xiao Ci upset about what happened in the cafeteria last time?”
The soft voice mingled with the night breeze, lingering in Ji Ci’s ears.
She replayed the words in her mind.
Before she could deny it, Bai Yueli’s gentle voice sounded again: “I apologize. I was receiving the student representative from Huanyu that day, and she was talking to me about the social event. It would have been impolite to interrupt her abruptly.”
So that’s how it was…
Ji Ci finally couldn’t help but fix her gaze directly on her, repeatedly telling herself: It doesn’t matter, whether I saw it or not, I don’t care anyway. This just helps me remember that I should stay away from the main characters.
…Hmm, but some thoughts just can’t be suppressed.
For example, she had now lost control of the corners of her mouth. At first, they were curved downwards, making her look like a cool, emotionless yujie (mature woman), but now they had completely given in, almost soaring into the sky.
…What’s going on…
Ji Ci looked away from Bai Yueli’s gentle gaze, awkwardly clearing her throat. “That’s not it, Senior. You don’t need to apologize to me specifically. If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about that day.”
“Really?” Bai Yueli stared at her, her eyes sparkling: “But why didn’t you respond when I greeted you on the track just now?”
Her voice was particularly alluring in the night breeze, and upon closer reflection, it even carried a hint of grievance.
Ji Ci: “…”
“I…” Ji Ci scratched her head, wanting to avoid her gaze: “I didn’t see you, I’m sorry!”
Bai Yueli was amused by her stiff, blunt tone and chuckled, softly chiding her as a “little fool” in her mind.
“Alright, let’s stop apologizing back and forth. It’s true that I didn’t handle things well that day,” Bai Yueli’s eyes were sincere and earnest: “It’s good that we could talk it out.”
Unconsciously, Ji Ci had lost her stance, nodding meekly.
“Oh, by the way,” Bai Yueli placed her slender fingertip on her chin, feigning thought, “When did Xiao Ci start thinking about running after school?”
Uh…
This question was quite tricky for Ji Ci.
“It started yesterday,” Ji Ci concocted a random reason: “We have physical fitness tests in second year of high school, so it’s safer to start preparing now.”
“I see,” Bai Yueli nodded thoughtfully. “Then you…” She looked Ji Ci up and down, at her frail little body, both exasperated and amused: “Do you run this many laps every day… like today?”
Ji Ci ran six laps, and Bai Yueli had watched her the whole time.
Because she counted each one, she knew perfectly well what state the girl was in by the end. She had waited for her from the time the sun was high in the sky until the crescent moon appeared in the evening.
“Mm,” Ji Ci secretly glanced at her. “Today was a bit of an unexpected situation…” It’s all because of you.
She added, “But as my stamina improves, I’ll increase the intensity of my training.”
“In that case, why doesn’t Xiao Ci participate in the event at the end of the month?” Bai Yueli said, “I heard from Ji Feng, your junior, that your class still has one spot left to fill. Xiao Ci rarely seems to participate in activities. Training alone is training, but training with a group is also training. Why not use this opportunity to interact more with others? That way, when you reach your third year, at least you won’t have to worry about activity evaluations.”
“This…” Ji Ci didn’t expect her to bring that up.
Bai Yueli stared at Ji Ci’s frail figure, her brows slightly furrowed in thought.
Suddenly, a smile appeared. “Never mind, that event seems to be the 3000-meter race. I think that kind of long-distance run would be too difficult for you.”
Ji Ci’s eyes flickered, and she pursed her lips.
She involuntarily lowered her head, examining herself and comparing herself to Bai Yueli.
She hadn’t noticed it before, but she was actually two or three centimeters shorter than Bai Yueli, who was an Omega. Her build was also quite frail. She didn’t feel this way when showering; her body proportions were fine, with flesh in all the right places, but after putting on clothes, she looked sickly.
Ji Ci lightly bit her lip, completely perplexed.
How could this be?
Ji Ci, Ji Ci, tell me, how exactly did you forcibly mark her? Was it just pheromone suppression?
Bai Yueli saw all her subtle comparative actions, her eyebrows slightly curved, revealing a sweet smile.
“…” Ji Ci puffed out a frustrated breath, blowing at a strand of hair.
Bai Yueli’s expression inexplicably reminded her of that dream where she was disliked, and now her head was starting to ache again.
“Senior, you’re underestimating me too much. It’s just 3000 meters, isn’t it?” Ji Ci pouted, as if in a huff, or perhaps compelled to prove something.
“Really? Just 3000 meters?” Bai Yueli was slightly surprised, teasing with a smile: “I know you can do it, but the competition is at the end of the month. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Senior, don’t try to persuade me anymore! I also want to see how much I can develop my stamina in ten days. If I don’t push myself now, I might just give up later!”
“…”
After showering, Ji Ci emerged and sat at her desk, scrutinizing herself in the mirror.
Oh my god, from coming back from school until now, she still hadn’t understood what mindset she had when she made that grand statement.
She really wanted to point at herself in the mirror and scold her.
Please, weren’t you supposed to stay away from the main characters? Why are you eagerly clinging to them??? And “see how much you can develop your stamina”? You probably forgot that your legs ached for four or five days after running those few miles!
How dare you?!
Ji Ci slumped weakly onto the table, her cheeks puffed out like a large pufferfish.
When it came to digging her own grave, she was truly number one.
Sigh, is it too late to back out now?
But she had already boasted to Bai Yueli. Ji Ci bit her lip, then suddenly bounced up, pulled out her phone from the drawer, and decided to try anyway.
She hoped Bai Yueli hadn’t already reported her name.
She opened her phone, and two messages suddenly popped up in the notification bar.
Yue:
[I saw you.]
[Today’s outfit really suits your complexion.]
Ji Ci’s brows slightly furrowed. The time displayed was noon three days ago.
Meaning, Bai Yueli had sent her the messages immediately after seeing her, but she hadn’t opened her phone for the past two days, so…
Ji Ci bit her lip, a mix of emotions swirling inside her.
Suddenly, she lost the courage to back out. Staring at the messages for a long time, she hesitantly tapped the input box:
[Senior, I’m sorry, I just saw these now.]
Just as she finished editing, the screen vibrated, and a new entry appeared: Yue invited you to join a group chat.
Ji Ci: “…”
She could only tremblingly click “Join.”
Her senior sent another message: [Don’t feel pressured. You can participate or not; if you can’t keep it up, I’ll help you cancel.]
Two noodle-wide tears flowed down Ji Ci’s heart.
She deleted the edited text and simply replied: [Okay, thank you, Senior.]
Yue: [Are you still practicing these days?]
Ji Xin: [Of course.]
There was no immediate reply from the other side; it continuously showed “The other party is typing…”.
Yue: [Do you need me to accompany you?]
Ji Ci: “…”
She recalled her half-dead appearance today, displayed right under someone’s nose.
Maybe not…