When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 12

Li Xingcan randomly grabbed a set of clothes from the wardrobe and tossed them to Jiang Qingyue on the bed before temporarily leaving the room to give her privacy.

Leaning against the wall in the hallway, Li Xingcan felt her brain had turned into scrambled code, completely unable to function properly.

The cat is Jiang Qingyue. Jiang Qingyue is the cat.

These two sentences kept looping in Li Xingcan’s head, leaving no room for any other thoughts.

When the door finally opened, Jiang Qingyue emerged awkwardly wearing Li Xingcan’s clothes, and the atmosphere between them became unbearably tense.

“Could you… keep this a secret for me?” Jiang Qingyue asked cautiously.

Li Xingcan nodded slowly in response.

“Thank you.”

Too embarrassed to look at Li Xingcan any longer, Jiang Qingyue turned and hurried away, her retreating figure resembling someone fleeing in panic.

Though Li Xingcan had countless questions, her mind went blank when she looked at Jiang Qingyue. She opened her mouth but forgot what she wanted to ask.

This was destined to be a sleepless night.

Returning to her room, Li Xingcan was about to lie down when she suddenly sprang up as if pricked by a needle. The image of Jiang Qingyue lying in her arms flashed through her mind as she looked at the bed.

Had she been sharing a bed with Jiang Qingyue? And not just once?!

For the past while, Li Xingcan had been sleeping while cuddling the little cat every night—which meant she’d actually been cuddling… Jiang Qingyue?!!

Squatting down while clutching her head, Li Xingcan felt completely overwhelmed. What kind of situation was this?

And why could Jiang Qingyue turn into a cat?!

She slapped her own face—it stung. This wasn’t a dream.

Li Xingcan wasn’t unfamiliar with myths, legends, or urban tales, but who actually believed those were real? Yet if it was real… The transformation had happened right before her eyes, in her own arms. There was no mistaking it.

What exactly was going on? Li Xingcan wanted to confront Jiang Qingyue for answers, but her feet felt rooted to the spot. After such an awkward encounter, now didn’t seem like the right time for a face-to-face discussion.

Meanwhile, back in her own room, Jiang Qingyue was equally wide awake. She didn’t think she could ever look Li Xingcan in the eye again. Tomorrow at school, she decided, she would move into Teacher Zheng’s apartment.

The next morning, Li Xingcan emerged with dark circles under her eyes and happened to run into Jiang Qingyue downstairs, who looked no better. Their eyes met briefly before both quickly averted their gazes as if burned.

Grabbing the breakfast prepared by the housekeeper, the two silently collected their things—Li Xingcan empty-handed, Jiang Qingyue with her backpack. Since she hadn’t yet discussed it with Zheng Wenbai, it wouldn’t be appropriate to bring her suitcase to school yet.

In complete silence, they walked out to where the driver was waiting. With no way to avoid it, they both got into the backseat.

The drive from Li Xingcan’s home to school took less than five minutes by bike—so short that you barely had time to press the gas pedal before arriving. Yet those brief two or three minutes in the car felt like an eternity to both of them.

Li Xingcan faced the window, staring blankly at the ordinary scenery outside, while Jiang Qingyue sat ramrod straight, staring rigidly ahead like a statue.

Not a single word was spoken the entire way until the car pulled up at the school gate. Both swiftly exited from opposite doors.

Jiang Qingyue didn’t pause for a second, striding quickly into the school. Li Xingcan was slightly slower, glancing at Jiang Qingyue’s hurried retreating figure. Before she could take a step, an enthusiastic voice called out beside her.

“Li Xingcan!” Fu Duosui shouted.

Stopping to look, Li Xingcan noticed Fu Duosui seemed to have spent the vacation digging coal—clearly, she hadn’t been idle on that island getaway.

“I missed you so much! Give me a hug!” Completely disregarding onlookers, Fu Duosui spread her arms and charged at Li Xingcan like a missile.

Used to Fu Duosui’s eccentricities, Li Xingcan raised the breakfast bag in her hand, intercepting the human projectile with precision.

Spotting the food, Fu Duosui’s eyes lit up. She screeched to a halt and grabbed the breakfast. “Is this for me?”

“Mhm.”

Li Xingcan responded briefly, already walking toward the school entrance.

“Wow! I’m so touched, Xingcan! How did you know I overslept and didn’t have time to eat?!” Fu Duosui tore into the food eagerly. “And it’s my favorite too! What am I supposed to do now? I’ll have to repay you with my body—come here, give me a kiss!”

“Get lost!”

…

The two bickered their way to the classroom building, though most of the chatter came from Fu Duosui, who seemed determined to make up for all the conversations they’d missed during the break.

Li Xingcan was accustomed to this, occasionally offering a word or two—enough to keep Fu Duosui talking all day.

Entering through the back door, Li Xingcan glanced at her desk. The books placed there remained untouched, exactly where Jiang Qingyue had left them to air out on the last day before vacation.

Her gaze shifted sideways. Jiang Qingyue had clearly entered the school ahead of her, so why wasn’t she in the classroom?

Just as Li Xingcan wondered this, Jiang Qingyue walked in from behind her, backpack slung over one shoulder, and took her seat without a word, quietly organizing her materials.

Fu Duosui, having finished the breakfast, rummaged through her own bag—which was stuffed with snacks—and tossed a drink to Li Xingcan.

Li Xingcan caught it smoothly over Jiang Qingyue’s head, frowning when she noticed the latter showed no reaction to the near-miss. She shot Fu Duosui a glare. “Could you aim better? What if you hit someone?”

Fu Duosui looked scandalized, pointing dramatically at herself. “My aim’s perfect! When have I ever hit you?”

“It’s not about hitting me—” Li Xingcan glanced at Jiang Qingyue again, who remained absorbed in sorting her holiday homework, not even looking up. She cut herself off, but Fu Duosui didn’t notice, distracted by Lin Xie’s arrival.

“Mu Mu!!!” Fu Duosui sprang up and lunged at Lin Xie.

Li Xingcan turned to watch as Lin Xie’s pupils visibly contracted at the approaching whirlwind. She swiftly blocked Fu Duosui with her backpack. “What did you just eat?! Your mouth’s still dirty!!”You’re disgusted by me?”!” Fu Duosui looked heartbroken.

“A little, yeah!” Lin Xie admitted bluntly.

Fu Duosui: …

“Fine, I’m going to hate you now, Mu Mu. My heart is broken,” Fu Duosui declared with theatrical flair, collapsing dramatically against Li Xingcan. “Xingcan’s so much better—she never looks down on me~”

Li Xingcan casually grabbed a book to block Fu Duosui’s approaching face. “Stay away from me until you wash your face clean.”You’re also disgusted by me?”!” Fu Duosui was shocked. “Have you caught Lin Xie’s cleanliness obsession?!”

“A little bit, yeah.” Li Xingcan deliberately mimicked Lin Xie’s tone and nodded affirmatively.

“Fine then! Let’s perish together today!”

Fu Duosui’s mischievous impulse took over as she lunged at both Li Xingcan and Lin Xie, instantly creating utter chaos.

During the scuffle, Li Xingcan accidentally kicked Jiang Qingyue’s chair with her foot. When she looked over, she saw Jiang Qingyue silently moving her chair further away from her.

For some reason, this act of distancing made her feel slightly uncomfortable inside.

The final outcome was Fu Duosui being dragged away by Lin Xie to wash her face. Li Xingcan tidied her messy desk and glanced at Jiang Qingyue beside her. “Did I bump into you earlier?”

“It’s nothing.”

Jiang Qingyue kept her head down and opened her notebook to review.

“Oh.”

Thinking she might as well continue since she’d already started speaking, Li Xingcan leaned in slightly to ask about Jiang Qingyue turning into a cat. “That…”

Before she could finish, she noticed Jiang Qingyue shifting further to the left, putting more distance between them.

Observing the growing gap, Li Xingcan took a deep breath. She knew yesterday’s incident had left them both awkward, but shouldn’t they clear the air? What was with all this avoidance?

Keeping her tone deliberately calm, Li Xingcan said, “Jiang Qingyue, I wanted to ask how you…”

“You promised to keep it secret.” Jiang Qingyue finally looked up, cutting her off.

“Yes, I remember my promise. I just wanted to ask.” Li Xingcan assured her she hadn’t forgotten, but asking questions didn’t violate their agreement, did it?

“Don’t ask. It’s none of your business.” Jiang Qingyue’s expression turned cold as she flatly rejected the inquiry.

“How is it none of my—”

Just as Li Xingcan was about to press the issue, Lin Xie returned with Fu Duosui in tow.

Since Jiang Qingyue was facing Li Xingcan, Lin Xie got a clear view of her face upon entering through the back door. Suddenly, recognition flashed across his face. “Hey? Aren’t you that person?”

The restrained Fu Duosui immediately grew curious—how did Lin Xie know Jiang Qingyue?

Never one to hesitate, she asked directly, “You two know each other?”

“Not exactly. Isn’t she the person from Li Xingcan’s house?” Lin Xie still didn’t know Jiang Qingyue’s name.

Hearing this, Fu Duosui’s eyes widened dramatically. “WHAT?!”

Her mind raced through their group chat messages—all their wild speculations about Li Xingcan “hiding a beauty” at home had actually been about Jiang Qingyue?!

“What’s the problem?” Lin Xie asked, puzzled by Fu Duosui’s reaction.

“Problem? There’s a HUGE problem!” Fu Duosui’s gaze darted between Li Xingcan and Jiang Qingyue, especially noticing how Li Xingcan’s entire posture was leaning toward Jiang Qingyue in an unusually intimate way. Suddenly everything clicked, and she pointed accusingly at Li Xingcan. “You… you… you…!”

“Shut your mouth.” Li Xingcan lifted her eyes. Though she didn’t know what Fu Duosui was about to say, she was certain it wouldn’t be anything good.