When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 1

The summer heat blazed like fire, wilting everything under its glare. Behind the teaching building of Fuhua High School in Jiangcheng, a group of students had gathered, with a tall girl at the center clearly leading them.

Li Xingcan—the cherished daughter of Jiangcheng’s wealthiest family and the bottom-ranked student in Class 2, Grade 12 of Fuhua High.

Rolling up the sleeves of her sun-protective jacket, she glared at the trembling junior before her. “With courage like this, what were you thinking earlier? Will you confess yourself, or do we need to jog your memory?”

“N-no…”

The boy pressed against the wall shook his head in fear, breathing rapidly. When Li Xingcan took another step forward, he hastily raised his arms to shield his head. “I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Everything’s in…”

“Whoosh!”

His words were cut off by a bucket of water dumped from above. The crowd behind scattered, but Li Xingcan, standing at the front, was drenched head to toe.

“Run, quick!”

Someone shouted from upstairs. Wiping the water from her face, Li Xingcan looked up just as the culprit met her gaze—before swiftly pulling back and vanishing.

One of her followers patted the water off her shoulder. “Who the hell was that idiot?”

“You deal with him. I’m going after that person.”

Without another word, she sprinted toward the stairwell. To her surprise, the culprit hadn’t fled—they stood waiting in the second-floor hallway.

“Did you throw that water? Are you with him?” Frowning, Li Xingcan shook her soaked sleeves and advanced.

“You’re the one bullying the weak. Do you really think you’re in the right?”

Jiang Qingyue stood firm, her voice steady and gaze unwavering. Though she had just transferred to Fuhua High today, she’d already heard of Li Xingcan’s notorious reputation. Witnessing such blatant bullying, she couldn’t turn a blind eye.

“Seems to me you’re the ones exploiting weakness. If I’m not justified, how could you possibly be? Why don’t you go rob a bank while you’re at it?”

Li Xingcan scrutinized the girl before her—wearing a blue uniform from another school, her hair tied in a ponytail, a large black backpack slung over her shoulders. Her face was pretty, but her expression was infuriating.

“Unreasonable.”

Jiang Qingyue’s lips curled in disgust as she shoved past Li Xingcan toward the stairs.

“Did I say you could leave?”

Li Xingcan grabbed for her arm, but Jiang Qingyue dodged with surprising speed, leaving her clutching empty air.

Watching the retreating figure, Li Xingcan gritted her teeth and raised her voice. “What class are you in? What’s your name?”

From the stairs, Jiang Qingyue looked down at her. “What, planning to cause trouble for me? My name’s Jiang Qingyue. I’ll be waiting.”

With that, she turned and left.

Li Xingcan stood rooted, silently repeating the name. Jiang Qingyue. Just you wait.

——

Only once she was out of Li Xingcan’s sight did Jiang Qingyue exhale in relief. She knew Li Xingcan was trouble, but turning a blind eye wasn’t in her nature. If trouble came, she’d face it head-on.

Adjusting her steps, she headed for the principal’s office. Today was her first day at Fuhua High, and her class assignment still hadn’t been finalized.

“This is Mr. Yang Liusong, the homeroom teacher of Class 2, Grade 12. You’ll be placed in his class during your temporary enrollment,” the principal said.

Jiang Qingyue turned to look at the middle-aged teacher beside her, who greeted her warmly. She returned the greeting politely.

The two then headed to the classroom together.

As soon as they entered, all eyes turned curiously toward Jiang Qingyue—the new transfer student!

The class erupted like a drop of water hitting boiling oil, buzzing with excitement.

Looking at the rowdy bunch, Yang Liusong felt like he had stepped into the Monkey King’s domain. He sighed helplessly and pointed to the only remaining seat in the corner. “You can sit there for now. We’ll rearrange seats after the break, so we’ll figure it out then.”

Jiang Qingyue glanced over. It was the last row by the corner, but with only about twenty students in the class, even the back row wasn’t far from the blackboard. It wouldn’t be a problem.

She nodded, walked over, and began organizing her desk. The neighboring seat was a complete mess, with belongings spilling over onto her side. She had no choice but to push them back. Meanwhile, a few enthusiastic classmates crowded around, chattering away. It seemed the new student wasn’t hard to get along with.

——

Li Xingcan had skipped an entire class under the excuse of going back to the dorm to change clothes. By the time she lazily strolled back, the bell for the next period had already rung.

Pushing open the back door of the classroom, she spotted someone new sitting beside her seat—and the figure looked oddly familiar.

Thud.

Her hand slammed heavily onto the desk as Li Xingcan smirked at the person she had just met not long ago. “You again. What a coincidence, Jiang Qingyue.”

Jiang Qingyue looked up, equally surprised by the turn of events.

Their eyes locked, sparks practically flying between them.

The classmates who had been about to greet Jiang Qingyue froze, their gazes darting back and forth between the two.

“You know each other?” Fu Duosui, who had grown up with Li Xingcan, spoke up. She knew almost everyone Li Xingcan did.

“Not really. She’s with that first-year—the one who dumped water on me upstairs.”

The moment Li Xingcan said this, the atmosphere shifted instantly. The surrounding students gave Jiang Qingyue strange looks before quickly dispersing.

Jiang Qingyue naturally noticed the sudden change in attitude. Her gaze returned to Li Xingcan. So the isolation started right away? Li Xingcan really lived up to her reputation.

As the others scattered, Li Xingcan took her seat. Before she could say anything else, the homeroom teacher burst in like a storm.

“Li Xingcan! Out here, now!”

Li Xingcan swallowed her words and shot Yang Liusong an annoyed look. “What now?”

“To the principal’s office! You really are a troublemaker. This time, not only did you hack the school network, but you also broke into the student records database?” Yang Liusong was so furious his hair practically stood on end as he dragged Li Xingcan away.

Li Xingcan rolled her eyes at his overreaction and followed him to the principal’s office.

The atmosphere was tense. The moment she stepped inside, and the door closed, she casually took a seat, crossing her legs as she faced the white-bearded principal.

“First of all, let me clarify—I only accessed the school network to check the surveillance footage. If you won’t investigate the thief, I’ll do it myself. What’s the big deal?”

“You hacked into the student records database. Do you realize how serious information-related crimes have become these past two years?” The principal spoke with grave concern. “Li Xingcan, you’d better tell the truth. Did you just take a look without tampering with anything or stealing any student data?”

“What would I want with that stuff?”

Li Xingcan frowned. This morning, the entire Class 3-2 had been robbed—her wallet and other classmates’ valuables had all disappeared. Since the school administration had never been proactive about such matters, they’d had to investigate themselves.

They’d checked the surveillance footage and cross-referenced it with the student database’s facial records, successfully identifying the thief as a freshman. Just as they were about to interrogate him for the stolen items’ whereabouts, his accomplice—Jiang Qingyue—had thrown a basin of water at them. She’d need to check later whether they’d managed to recover everything.

Returning to the present, Li Xingcan studied the two before her. The principal seemed hesitant to speak further. Suddenly, she remembered something—while in the database, she’d noticed an encrypted section. She hadn’t had time to crack it then, but could there really be something shady hidden there?

Before she could finish that thought, the principal waved his hand. “Although there was some damage, let’s consider this matter closed. Teacher Yang, you decide on Li Xingcan’s punishment.”

“Understood, Principal,” Yang Liusong replied, though he found it odd how quickly they were dropping the issue. Still, he was more than happy not to pursue punishment for his student.

Without waiting for them to finish, Li Xingcan stood and left. She’d go back and crack that encrypted section to see what was inside. As for punishment? Her family had donated all three buildings on campus—what were they going to do, call her parents?

Hands in her pockets, she returned to the classroom. The moment she entered, a wallet came flying at her. She caught it deftly—it was hers, with everything still inside. Apparently, they’d caught the thief too quickly for him to take anything.

The thrower, Fu Duosui, gave her a thumbs-up. “Only you could pull this off. Name your lunch—it’s on me today.”

“What happened to that guy?”

Only Jiang Qingyue sat between Li Xingcan and Fu Duosui. Glancing at the girl meticulously organizing her notes, Li Xingcan deliberately asked Fu Duosui loud enough for her to hear.

“Beating him up was going easy on him. Don’t worry, his life won’t be pleasant from now on,” Fu Duosui leaned back in his chair, his tone gleeful. “Three whole years—gonna be rough.”

“His accomplice is luckier—only has to endure one year,” Li Xingcan’s pointed remark was accompanied by a challenging stare at Jiang Qingyue.

Slap! Jiang Qingyue slammed her pen down and glared coldly at Li Xingcan. “You think this is something to be proud of? Does bullying others give you some kind of thrill?”

Li Xingcan scoffed. “If we shouldn’t be proud, should you be instead?”

Seeing Li Xingcan’s attitude only fueled Jiang Qingyue’s anger. “Disgusting.”

“Not as disgusting as you, you shameless hypocrite. After what you did, instead of keeping your head down, you have the nerve to act self-righteous? Who’s more disgusting here?” Li Xingcan fired back without backing down.

Their argument was cut short by the class bell. Jiang Qingyue could only shoot Li Xingcan one last glare before turning to prepare her textbooks.

Seeing Jiang Qingyue fall silent, Li Xingcan ruffled through her messy pile of belongings, arranging a small mound suitable for sleeping, then lay down to dream of the Duke of Zhou.

Before the teacher could even steady themselves on the podium, just as Li Xingcan was about to close her eyes, she saw Jiang Qingyue suddenly raise her hand. “Teacher, Li Xingcan is sleeping in class.”

Li Xingcan’s eyes snapped open instantly. Was this girl out of her mind?

Although the Li family had donated buildings to the school, ensuring she wouldn’t face severe punishments like expulsion, the whole point of sending her to this institution was for its strict discipline. So while teachers might give her some leeway, minor penalties like standing in reflection or writing self-criticism were still enforced.

As the teacher’s gaze turned toward her, Li Xingcan straightened up and glared at Jiang Qingyue beside her. What a busybody.

Jiang Qingyue acted as if she hadn’t noticed.

For the entire class, whenever Li Xingcan’s head so much as tilted toward the desk, she’d catch sight of Jiang Qingyue’s hand twitching, ready to report her. Even resting her head on her arm for a quick nap was impossible—it was absolute torture.

When the bell finally rang, Li Xingcan had never felt a class drag on so long!

She collapsed onto the desk, only for the longer break bell to chime immediately after—time for morning exercises.

Fu Duosui came over and patted Li Xingcan. “Come on, after exercises, you’re coming to the supermarket with me.”

“No way, I’m dead tired,” Li Xingcan muttered, now so exhausted that even the class bell—usually the most effective alarm—failed to rouse her.

“So you’re skipping exercises too?” Fu Duosui scratched her head.

“Yep.” Covering her head with a book, Li Xingcan shut down any further conversation.

While everyone else headed downstairs for exercises, Li Xingcan remained unmoving. Jiang Qingyue glanced at her before following the others out.

Summer morning exercises were pure agony. Everyone returned to the classroom drenched in sweat and grumbling, only to be met by the homeroom teacher storming in. Fu Duosui, caught in the act of passing snacks to Li Xingcan, quickly retracted her hand.

“Who skipped exercises and got us caught? Our class is already ranked last in discipline points—isn’t that embarrassing enough? More deductions!” Yang Liusong’s booming voice nearly shook the ceiling.

The class stayed silent, but Jiang Qingyue raised her hand. “Teacher, it was Li Xingcan.”

Awoken from her sweet slumber, Li Xingcan was promptly rewarded with a 2,000-word self-criticism assignment.

As Yang Liusong roared in front of her, Li Xingcan shot a sidelong glare at Jiang Qingyue, grinding her teeth. That sneaky little snitch—always tattling.