When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 3

Li Xingcan came out of the bathroom after washing her hands and saw Fu Duosui humming a song while waiting for her. Shaking the water off her hands, she asked, “Did you give it to her?”

“Mhm, but I’m still on your side,” Fu Duosui said with a wink, and the two headed back to their dorm together.

Li Xingcan and Fu Duosui shared a dorm room. Their class was an international program—small in size, high in tuition fees, and designed for students on the study-abroad track, with their families having already paved the way for them. Naturally, the dorm conditions were better too. Unlike the eight-person rooms in other classes, the international program had standard double rooms, spacious with private bathrooms.

They ate directly at Fu Duosui’s desk. The private kitchen’s food was indeed delicious, especially the specially brewed porridge, which Li Xingcan particularly enjoyed.

Even while eating, Fu Duosui couldn’t keep her mouth shut. “Xingcan, where do you think Jiang Qingyue will be assigned for a dorm? Ours is already full.”

Li Xingcan paused her spoon. “Don’t bring her up—ruins my appetite. She can go wherever she wants.”

“Alright then,” Fu Duosui opened a bottle of milk, took a sip, and sighed contentedly. “Finally, it’s almost break. This damn school’s been suffocating me. Right after school this afternoon, I’m heading straight to the airport. The world’s my oyster—I’m free~”

“Is it really that bad?” Li Xingcan glanced at Jiang Qingyue beside them. “Where are you going?”

“Of course it is! Being at school feels like being locked in a cage. As for where I’m going, I’m not entirely sure. Some island in the South Pacific, I think? Heard they’ve got a specialty shrimp that doesn’t stay fresh when shipped, so I’m going to try it fresh. Wanna come?” Fu Duosui invited.

“No, I’ve got a tournament this break.”

“Oh right, I almost forgot. Good luck!”

…

The entire lunch break was buzzing with energy—some packing their luggage, others chatting away. The hours before a break were always especially exhilarating.

When the break ended and Li Xingcan returned to the classroom, she saw the bread and milk still sitting untouched on Fu Duosui’s desk.

She glanced at Jiang Qingyue’s unmoving back. Quite the prideful one—but could pride fill an empty stomach?

Whatever. It wasn’t her going hungry. Why bother?

Without a word, Li Xingcan took her seat. Fu Duosui, who came in right after, also noticed the items on her desk. Always quicker to speak than think, she asked Jiang Qingyue directly, “Why didn’t you eat it?”

Jiang Qingyue looked at her. “Why should I listen to you?”

“Huh? You—” Fu Duosui was a little angry, but when Jiang Qingyue set down her pen and calmly met her gaze, her bravado instantly deflated. She muttered under her breath, “Ungrateful.”

“I don’t need your gratitude.”

Jiang Qingyue gave Fu Duosui a strange look. Wasn’t she on Li Xingcan’s side?

Li Xingcan hadn’t planned to intervene, but seeing Fu Duosui standing there looking so pitiful made her bl00d boil. “Duosui, take it home and feed it to the dog. Some people aren’t even worth that.”

The meaning couldn’t have been clearer. Jiang Qingyue turned to look at Li Xingcan. How could this person’s mouth be so vile?

Li Xingcan met her gaze unflinchingly. “What? I wasn’t talking about you. Are you ‘some people’?”

“The one talking is the dog,” Jiang Qingyue retorted in kind.

Fu Duosui’s eyes darted between the two before she quietly retreated from the battlefield.

Li Xingcan curled her lips and averted her gaze, refusing to engage in such a childish argument.

Class began soon after, with a tall stack of books separating the two girls as they ignored each other.

The first class in the afternoon was taught by their homeroom teacher. As the bell rang, the teacher walked in holding test papers, scanned the restless classroom, set the papers down, and began lecturing them first.

“I know everyone’s excited about the upcoming break, but we’re still in school. Get your minds back on track…”

The moment they heard this opening, they knew another twenty-minute tirade was coming. Many secretly rejoiced—no actual class time was always a win.

Li Xingcan was among them. She quietly pulled her phone from her pocket, hid it inside her desk, glanced up at Yang Liusong, who was passionately delivering his speech, and prepared to start a game.

“Timi!”

Instantly, Li Xingcan mashed the volume button so hard it nearly sparked—but it was too late.

Yang Liusong’s speech cut off abruptly, his eyes blazing. “Whose ‘Timi’—no, whose phone?!”

Students in the front rows stifled their laughter. Li Xingcan was frantically closing the game when Jiang Qingyue pointed beside her. “Li Xingcan’s.”

Li Xingcan stared wide-eyed at Jiang Qingyue. The next second—

“Li Xingcan!” Yang Liusong stormed over like a hurricane. “Hand over your phone!”

Leaning back in her chair, Li Xingcan tossed her phone onto the desk, where it was promptly confiscated.

Looking at her seized phone, Li Xingcan felt she had reached her limit.

Yet she endured another class. The moment the homeroom teacher left, she immediately confronted Jiang Qingyue, slamming a hand on her desk. “Are you done yet?!”

“You can go tattle on me too. Be my guest.” Jiang Qingyue remained expressionless, picking up her water bottle to refill it, completely ignoring Li Xingcan.

“You think you don’t have any dirt on you? The fact that you’re an accomplice to that thief—you still haven’t reported it to the school. Do you really think you’re in the clear?”

Regarding the theft in Class 2, Grade 12 that morning, Li Xingcan had retrieved the stolen items after catching the thief and left it at that. Whether the school investigated further was up to them. As for Jiang Qingyue, who had tried to cover for the thief’s escape, she hadn’t planned to report her either—but now, after being repeatedly provoked, she’d had enough.

Jiang Qingyue filled her cup, turned around, and frowned at Li Xingcan. “If you’re going to accuse me, at least come up with a believable story. Me, an accomplice to a thief? You’re really reaching.”

“You already admitted it yourself. Trying to deny it now? That first-year kid this morning—who else could he be but your accomplice? He stole from our entire class, and when he got caught, you tried to help him escape by drenching me! Denying it now is useless!”

Li Xingcan nearly laughed in frustration. This girl had openly admitted it earlier—playing innocent now was way too late.

At this point, Jiang Qingyue seemed to realize something, her frown deepening. “That guy was the thief?”

“Stop pretending. How could you not know? Why else would we go after him?” Li Xingcan gestured around the classroom. “Every single one of us here is a victim. He stole enough to warrant legal action—didn’t he promise to cut you in?”

Jiang Qingyue tightened her grip on the cup in her hand and looked around the classroom. Only then did she understand why everyone’s attitude had changed instantly when Li Xingcan mentioned she was in cahoots with the person from this morning.

Perhaps she really hadn’t grasped the full picture. Facing the crowd, Jiang Qingyue explained earnestly, “I didn’t know about this. I only splashed water on you because I thought you were bullying him when I passed by.”

“Bullying? Don’t be ridiculous! Are you out of your mind?” Li Xingcan found this even more absurd. “Don’t think you can just wash your hands of it like this. Whether you’re involved isn’t up to you to decide.”

“Then what do you want?” Knowing she was in the wrong, Jiang Qingyue suppressed her anger and asked.

“Call that first-year student here and ask him.”

Li Xingcan’s suggestion was the simplest and most straightforward solution.

Ou Jin eagerly raised his hand. “Leave it to me. I’ll bring him right away.”

As the class know-it-all, Ou Jin loved stirring up drama and was particularly enthusiastic about such matters.

With someone already sent to fetch the student, all they could do now was wait for the outcome. Jiang Qingyue returned to her seat and resumed solving problems, as if nothing could disrupt her studies.

Li Xingcan watched Jiang Qingyue as Fu Duosui approached, chewing on bread, and whispered, “Could she really be uninvolved? She just transferred here—they might not even know each other.”

“Then why did she splash water on me?” This point had also occurred to Li Xingcan.

“Don’t you usually love meddling in other people’s business too?” Fu Duosui muttered under her breath.

“Shut up.”

Li Xingcan refused to admit she had even the slightest similarity with Jiang Qingyue. Fu Duosui pouted and returned to her seat.

The buildings for first, second, and third-year students were connected, so it didn’t take long for Ou Jin to bring the student back via the corridor.

Ou Jin had already interrogated the student on the way. Now, trembling at the sight of Li Xingcan, the boy confessed, “I don’t have any accomplices. I just had a momentary lapse in judgment. I heard your international class has a lot of valuable things, and since you’re all rich, you wouldn’t mind losing a few items… That’s why I took the risk. I know I was wrong, and I swear I’ll never do it again…”

Jiang Qingyue glanced at the sniveling boy before turning away in disgust. She had indeed jumped to conclusions about Li Xingcan based on stereotypes. For someone nearly an adult to resort to theft, not reporting him to the police was already lenient.

Li Xingcan finally confirmed that Jiang Qingyue had simply misjudged the situation and wasn’t the thief’s accomplice. She waved her hand dismissively, signaling for the boy to leave.

The classroom fell into an awkward silence, with many students sneaking glances at Li Xingcan and Jiang Qingyue, waiting to see who would speak first.

Jiang Qingyue broke the silence.

“So, what can you report me to the teacher for now?”

Her words were laced with hostility, instantly reigniting Li Xingcan’s anger. “Just because this is settled doesn’t mean you’re off the hook! With all the complaints you’ve filed against me, this isn’t over, you tattletale.”

“Hmph, childish,” Jiang Qingyue shot back without hesitation.

“We’ll see about that.”

Li Xingcan still couldn’t swallow her anger. Even though she now knew Jiang Qingyue wasn’t the thief’s accomplice, it didn’t change the fact that she found her utterly detestable. Besides, Jiang Qingyue was also the one responsible for separating her from her beloved phone.

This was absolutely unacceptable. As the class bell rang, Li Xingcan temporarily suppressed her anger, contemplating how to exact her revenge.

There were only three classes this afternoon. After this one, there’d be just one more before the week-long National Day holiday. She had to act quickly—otherwise, after the break, she’d surely forget all about it.

Li Xingcan rested her head on the stack of books between their desks, staring at Jiang Qingyue’s side.

Unlike Li Xingcan’s perpetually messy or fortress-like desk, Jiang Qingyue’s workspace was immaculate. Only the current textbooks, test papers, and a cup were present—everything else neatly stored in the back cabinet, prepared before each class without any unnecessary items.

The teacher handed out new test papers. Li Xingcan’s had been folded into a paper airplane and sent flying earlier, while Jiang Qingyue was diligently working on hers, her neat handwriting filling the page swiftly and flawlessly, her posture perfectly upright.

After surveying the desk several times, Li Xingcan’s eyes gleamed with mischief—she knew exactly how to teach Jiang Qingyue a little lesson.

Enduring the class, Li Xingcan doodled over a dozen little figures for amusement, while Jiang Qingyue finished her test.

When the bell rang, the teacher instructed them to keep their papers for discussion next class. Li Xingcan perked up, ready to execute her revenge.

Jiang Qingyue was still reviewing her test when she opened her thermos, took a small sip, and set it back down.

Li Xingcan stood up, sauntering lazily as if casually passing behind Jiang Qingyue. As she “accidentally” walked by Jiang Qingyue’s desk, she stretched with an exaggerated yawn, then twisted her hips while resting her hands on her waist.

Her swinging elbow knocked into something—the next second, it toppled over with a clatter.

“Ah!”

Jiang Qingyue’s sharp cry made Li Xingcan turn around, feigning exaggerated surprise. “Oh no! How did that happen?”

Jiang Qingyue had quickly pushed her chair back to avoid the water, but her freshly completed test paper was now thoroughly soaked.

Glaring at the culprit, who was still pretending innocence, she thought—how could someone be so cruel?

Seeing the vein throbbing on Jiang Qingyue’s forehead and the fire in her eyes, Li Xingcan smirked in satisfaction, dragging out her words in an infuriatingly smug tone, “Sooorry~”

“Li Xingcan! You’ve gone too far!” Jiang Qingyue stood up—she’d had enough.

“Tit for tat.” Li Xingcan leaned on Jiang Qingyue’s desk, unrepentant. She was just giving her a taste of her own medicine.

Their eyes locked like swords crossing—the entire classroom fell silent, save for the steady drip of water from Jiang Qingyue’s desk hitting the floor.

Fu Duosui, seated nearby, glanced between them. Noticing Jiang Qingyue’s clenched fists, he quickly stood up to mediate.

“Come on, it’s not worth it! We’re about to go on holiday—why ruin such a great day, right? Here, I’ve got a spare test paper…” He glanced at his own desk, where his paper was stained with chili oil from snacking, then spotted the folded airplane nearby. Smoothing it out, he confirmed it was the same one.

Handing it to Jiang Qingyue, he offered, “Maybe… you could rewrite it?”

“Isn’t this mine? Fu Duosui, what are you doing?!” Li Xingcan was genuinely furious with Fu Duosui. This hopeless loser—why compromise with Jiang Qingyue?

“Just keep quiet, okay? What if she hits us?” Fu Duosui grimaced, thinking about that table that could do backflips. Better to keep things peaceful.

“You—!” Li Xingcan was practically fuming.

Jiang Qingyue frowned as well. “Only the truly weak resort to violence. Why would I bother fighting you?”

With that, she took the test paper from Fu Duosui’s hands. It was only her first day transferring here, and she didn’t want to make a scene. She sat down and began tidying her desk.

Li Xingcan still wanted to argue, but Fu Duosui shoved a carton of milk into her hands.

Whatever. There was no reasoning with Fu Duosui. Li Xingcan took a big gulp of milk and returned to her seat.

The dispute settled, and the class bell rang. Li Xingcan turned her face toward the wall, refusing to so much as glance at Jiang Qingyue.

Jiang Qingyue felt exactly the same.

The teacher for the last period seemed to know none of the students had any focus left, so they handed the time over to the homeroom teacher for a class meeting.

When Yang Liusong entered, he was surprised to see the students sitting quietly. Normally, they’d be loud enough to blow the roof off. Had the sun risen in the west today?

Pleased by the rare good behavior, he launched into his usual spiel—holiday safety, academic responsibilities, and other well-worn reminders—while everyone stealthily packed their bags, ready to bolt the moment the bell rang.

Li Xingcan finished her milk and tossed the empty carton toward the trash bin with a perfect shot, then settled in to wait for dismissal.

Jiang Qingyue wiped the water off her desk, tucking the soaked test paper into her desk to dry slowly. She packed the fresh copy to redo at home, then glanced at the stack of books beside her—Li Xingcan’s pile in the middle, the bottom few already waterlogged.

She considered telling Li Xingcan to take them out to dry, or else they’d stick to the desk after a week. But remembering who had deliberately spilled the water, she decided against it.

The class dragged and flew by at the same time. Yang Liusong, just as eager, lingered by the door until the long-awaited bell finally rang. With a wave of his hand, the room erupted into chaos—chairs scraping, bags snatched, everyone rushing for the exit.

Yang Liusong grabbed Li Xingcan from the back. “Don’t you want your phone?”

Her eyes lit up. “Of course I do.”

“Come get it. And don’t bring it to school again, got it?” He jabbed a finger toward her forehead, exasperated by her repeated defiance.

Li Xingcan pretended not to hear, waving goodbye to Fu Duosui before trailing after Yang Liusong to retrieve her phone.

In under two minutes, the classroom emptied—except for Jiang Qingyue. The speed left her stunned.

She pulled her backpack from the cabinet, methodically packing her homework and notes before zipping it shut. Her gaze lingered once more on the stack of books.

As much as Li Xingcan was detestable, books didn’t deserve to suffer.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Qingyue moved Li Xingcan’s stack of books aside, took out the two wet ones from the bottom, wiped the water off the desk, then piled the books back—leaving only the damp ones spread out on Li Xingcan’s desk to dry.

After all, Li Xingcan had just haphazardly stacked them anyway. She wouldn’t remember the order and wouldn’t notice.

Once she finished, Jiang Qingyue slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the classroom through the back door.

Unbeknownst to her, Li Xingcan emerged from the wall near the front door shortly after she left.

Li Xingcan glanced at the two books drying on her desk, then at the neatly restacked pile. She had just returned from fetching her phone when she spotted Jiang Qingyue messing with her books from the hallway. Expecting some underhanded trick, she had hidden by the front door to see what she was up to.

But all she did was lay out the water-damaged books to dry?

Why would she do that? After Li Xingcan had splashed her, after their heated argument—now she was helping her dry the books? Was she out of her mind?

Unable to make sense of it, Li Xingcan left the drying books untouched. Her gaze drifted downward, landing on the lingering water stains on Jiang Qingyue’s desk and the smudged test papers inside the compartment.

A twinge of guilt pricked at her, making her click her tongue in irritation. “We were arguing just fine—what’s she playing at?”

That infuriating girl. Everything she did just rubbed Li Xingcan the wrong way. She strode out of the classroom, pushing the thoughts aside. At least she wouldn’t have to see her for the entire break. By the time school resumed, the teacher would rearrange the seating, and they’d have nothing to do with each other.

The thought lifted her mood. Shoving all the annoying thoughts to the back of her mind, Li Xingcan quickened her pace toward the school gate.

The entrance was predictably jam-packed at dismissal. Fortunately, being in the suburbs, it didn’t cause much traffic disruption.

She spotted her family’s car, where the driver was waiting. Tossing her backpack inside, Li Xingcan leaned back comfortably, grabbing a cold drink from the mini-fridge. Even the short walk under the summer sun had left her sweating.

The road ahead was still crawling at a snail’s pace, but Li Xingcan wasn’t in a hurry. With the AC blasting and a prepared fruit platter from the housekeeper, she didn’t mind the wait.

Twenty minutes later, the car finally cleared the narrow road outside the school and merged onto the main avenue, picking up speed.

As she nibbled on fruit, Li Xingcan’s gaze wandered outside the window—just in time to spot Jiang Qingyue at a bus stop, pulling a suitcase.

She sat up slightly, narrowing her eyes to confirm. It was definitely her. Though it was already afternoon, the scorching sun hadn’t relented, the heat unbearable. She could even see Jiang Qingyue wiping sweat from her forehead.

Jiang Qingyue had left earlier, and Li Xingcan’s car had been stuck for ages. Had she been standing under the sun all this time?

The car moved swiftly, and Jiang Qingyue soon vanished from view.

Leaning back again, Li Xingcan tightened her grip on the cold drink, brow furrowed. Wasn’t she in the international program too? Why was she waiting for a bus under this blazing heat?