When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 14

Another class dragged by. Before the bell even rang, Fu Duosui started tossing little paper notes to Li Xingcan, asking what she wanted for lunch.

Glancing at Jiang Qingyue in the front row, Li Xingcan suddenly remembered that Jiang hadn’t gotten her campus card yet. If she went to apply for it now, she probably wouldn’t make it to the cafeteria in time for lunch.

She scribbled a reply to Fu Duosui, telling her to go eat with Lin Xie and bring back two portions of noodles for her.

Fu Duosui was puzzled. “Why two?”

“Don’t ask.”

When the bell rang, Fu Duosui didn’t have time to question further. She bolted out the door—her mission was critical now. She had to grab four meals in total: two for Li Xingcan, one for herself, and one for Lin Xie. That guy had a cleanliness obsession and would never elbow through the crowd. By the time the rush died down, there’d be no food left, so she had to charge ahead and buy everything first.

Li Xingcan kept her eyes on Jiang Qingyue. Sure enough, even after most of the class had emptied out, Jiang remained unfazed, still organizing her notes from the last lecture.

Even Lin Xie had sauntered off leisurely. Only she and Jiang Qingyue were left in the classroom. Finally, Li Xingcan walked over.

Sitting in Lin Xie’s seat, she watched as Jiang closed her notebook. “Come on, I’ll take you to get your campus card.”

“Huh?” Jiang Qingyue seemed caught off guard.

“Or are you planning to starve yourself to death at school?” Li Xingcan couldn’t help but snap, then immediately regretted it. She patted her chest, took a deep breath, and forced a calmer tone. “You haven’t gotten your campus card yet, right? I’ll take you.”

Jiang Qingyue hadn’t had the chance to apply, but she could’ve gone alone. Hesitating, she glanced at Li Xingcan, about to refuse when Li cut in again.

“I have something to tell you. We’ll talk on the way.”

Hearing this, Jiang Qingyue nodded. She happened to have something to say to Li Xingcan too.

They stood up. By now, the entire school building had emptied out, so they took their time walking.

“Why did you turn into a cat?” Li Xingcan asked the question that had been weighing on her.

Jiang Qingyue had expected this. “It’s absurd. Do you believe in the existence of supernatural beings in this world?”

“I do,” Li Xingcan answered without hesitation, eyeing Jiang. “So… Aunt Xuan is one too?”

“I can’t say more. Anything else?” Jiang Qingyue didn’t want to elaborate. She knew Li Xingcan could keep a secret, but since they wouldn’t cross paths much in the future, there was no point in explaining further.

Li Xingcan did have more questions, but she doubted Jiang would answer them, so she shook her head and let it go.

“Then I have something to tell you,” Jiang Qingyue said.

“Go ahead.”

“I’m moving out.”

The words made Li Xingcan stop dead in her tracks. Jiang turned to look at her, unfazed. “What’s wrong?”

“Where to?” Li Xingcan’s voice turned icy. She hadn’t expected Jiang to escalate from just switching seats in class to moving out entirely.

Jiang Qingyue had no reason to hide it. “The new English teacher, Ms. Zheng, is a friend of my mom’s. She lives in the faculty apartments here. I’ll be moving in with her. It’s safe, so don’t worry.”

“Does she also know about demons?” Li Xingcan had always suspected that Zheng Wenbai and Jiang Qingyue shared an unusual connection. She’d taken an instant dislike to the girl from their first meeting.

“Mm. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days. I’ll go back tonight to pack and move out tomorrow.” Jiang Qingyue was slightly surprised by Li Xingcan’s focus on that detail, but if it put her at ease, there was no harm in answering.

“What if I don’t allow it?” Li Xingcan couldn’t hold back any longer, her brows lowering as her tone turned forceful.

Jiang Qingyue disliked that tone. The earlier peaceful atmosphere vanished instantly, and she matched the other’s firmness. “I don’t need your permission. I’ll discuss moving out with Aunt Xun.”

“Talking to anyone won’t change anything,” Li Xingcan took a step forward, eyeing Jiang Qingyue, who had once again bristled defensively. “You’re my cat. What I say goes.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

The words sent a sharp tremor through Jiang Qingyue’s heart. She took a step back, staring at the unreasonable Li Xingcan. “I belong to myself. I don’t need you to take me—I’ll go apply for the campus card on my own.”

With that, she turned to leave. Li Xingcan remained rooted in place, grinding her teeth in frustration. “You absolutely have to go?”

Jiang Qingyue paused for a moment, her resolve wavering slightly before solidifying again. “Yes.”

“Jiang Qingyue!” Li Xingcan strode after her. “Are you trying to drive me mad?”

“I didn’t make you angry,” Jiang Qingyue thought Li Xingcan was simply being irrational. What did her temper have to do with her? “Moving out is better for both of us. Won’t we both be more at ease?”

“No.”

Li Xingcan’s mouth answered faster than her brain. Realizing her mistake, she scrambled to backtrack. “What I mean is—fine, move out if you must. But you owe me my cat back.”

Jiang Qingyue frowned in confusion. The cat was her. What was Li Xingcan implying?

“You belong to yourself, but the cat is mine. You admitted that yourself. You also said the cat would always return to me,” Li Xingcan justified, seizing on a plausible excuse. “Here’s the deal—when you’re Jiang Qingyue, you’re your own person. But at night, my cat comes home with me.”

Jiang Qingyue finally understood. Li Xingcan wanted her to keep returning every evening like before. When Li Xingcan hadn’t known the cat was her, such a demand might have been acceptable. But now, knowing the truth, Jiang Qingyue had only five words for her.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Who was it that went back on her word? What am I supposed to do about my cat?”

Li Xingcan studied Jiang Qingyue. Now that she was human, she was quick to deny everything. She’d been much cuter as a cat.

“Do whatever you want. Li Xingcan, do you realize how flimsy your excuses are when you deliberately pick fights?” Jiang Qingyue had had enough. She stopped walking and confronted her directly.

Li Xingcan’s expression blanked for a second. “I’m not picking a fight with you.”

Jiang Qingyue scoffed. “Suit yourself.”

She turned and walked away. As expected, short interactions were the only way to coexist with Li Xingcan. Any prolonged conversation between them inevitably led to friction.

Li Xingcan’s temper flared as well. Since when was this considered picking a fight?

Sulking, she followed Jiang Qingyue. Sometimes, she truly couldn’t fathom what went on in that head of hers.

By the time they left the academic building, Jiang Qingyue realized she had no idea where to apply for the campus card. Most students were in the cafeteria now, leaving the pathways nearly empty.

While Jiang Qingyue was still hesitating, Li Xingcan behind her had already guessed her thoughts. Suppressing a smile, she walked past Jiang Qingyue and said, “Follow me.”

Jiang Qingyue hesitated for a moment before following.

The place to get a campus card was indeed hard to find—a tiny room next to the cafeteria without even a sign.

Inside, a staff member was handling the process. Seeing Li Xingcan enter, they joked, “Oh, lost your card again?”

“If you keep saying that, next time I’ll just modify the card myself,” Li Xingcan replied casually, finding a seat as if she were familiar with the place. “She’s the one getting a card. Hurry up, don’t delay our lunch.”

“Wait, wait, the changes you make are a pain to undo,” the staff member waved their hands, then turned to Jiang Qingyue. “Ten yuan for a replacement card, student.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Qingyue handed over cash, paying not just for the replacement but also adding some money to the card.

After providing her name, student ID, and class, the staff member checked the system. “Huh? There’s no record.”

“She just transferred here. Maybe her info isn’t in the system yet?” Li Xingcan stood up and glanced at the screen. “Just fill in some random details so she can get the card.”

“We’d need a teacher’s approval for that,” the staff member said hesitantly.

“No need. Move aside, I’ll handle it.”

Li Xingcan pulled the staff member up and took their seat at the computer.

“Don’t mess things up,” the staff member said, though they made no real effort to stop her.

Jiang Qingyue looked on uneasily. “Do you know what you’re doing? Maybe we should come back another time.”

The staff member gave Jiang Qingyue a surprised look, then remembered Li Xingcan’s earlier words. “Oh, you must be new. Li Xingcan here won the International Youth Computer Gold Award. This is nothing for her.”

“Stay humble,” Li Xingcan said, typing away while raising an eyebrow at Jiang Qingyue.

Jiang Qingyue was indeed surprised, but meeting Li Xingcan’s smug gaze, she quickly schooled her expression into calm indifference and nodded. Sure enough, she saw Li Xingcan’s face fall, and couldn’t help but smirk in satisfaction.