When the Tsundere Rival Turns Into a Cat - Chapter 43

The classroom had been quiet throughout the lesson. As soon as the bell rang, Li Xingcan tapped Fu Duosui’s desk. “Want to go to the store?”

Fu Duosui, who had just pulled out some snacks from her desk, looked up at the unusually proactive Li Xingcan. “Didn’t you say the store’s too crowded?”

“I just want to buy some water,” Li Xingcan made up an excuse.

Fu Duosui pulled out mineral water, milk, juice, and herbal tea from her desk. “Do we really need to go to the store for this?”

Li Xingcan: “…”

Snatching a bottle of water from Fu Duosui’s hand, Li Xingcan returned to her seat.

Sipping her herbal tea, Fu Duosui watched Li Xingcan’s sullen back and suddenly realized something. She immediately patted Li Xingcan. “Do you actually want to check if Jiang Qingyue is adjusting well to her new class?”

“I do not! I’m just thirsty!”

Li Xingcan instantly bristled, as if to prove her point, even unscrewing the cap and taking a big gulp of water right then.

Fu Duosui understood—she had hit the nail on the head.

Annoyed, she took another sip of her herbal tea. If only she hadn’t said anything earlier and just gone along with it! Now they’d wasted so much time that the break was almost over. And with Li Xingcan being this stubborn, she definitely wouldn’t go now.

But it was fine. After one more class, it would be the long break for the flag-raising ceremony. She could just find an excuse to take Li Xingcan along for a detour to check on Jiang Qingyue then.

Fu Duosui felt she was getting smarter by the day.

Soon, another class ended. Monday’s long break was reserved for the flag-raising ceremony. Fu Duosui dragged Li Xingcan downstairs, where each class lined up before heading to the field.

The top classes were Class 9 and Class 10. Jiang Qingyue was now in Class 9, far from their Class 2, with several other classes in between.

Li Xingcan and Fu Duosui stood at the very back of their line. Fu Duosui discreetly glanced at Li Xingcan and, sure enough, noticed her gaze repeatedly drifting toward Class 9.

Fu Duosui was slightly shorter than Li Xingcan. Standing on tiptoe, she tried to peer over as well, but the crowd between the two classes made it hard to see clearly.

Just as Fu Duosui was looking around, she suddenly noticed Li Xingcan’s searching gaze stop, locking onto a specific spot.

Understanding immediately, Fu Duosui followed Li Xingcan’s line of sight and, sure enough, spotted Jiang Qingyue among the crowd.

Jiang Qingyue was also tall, standing toward the back, quietly listening to the principal’s speech. But she instinctively sensed two intense stares and looked over, her gaze crossing the crowd to meet Li Xingcan’s. Beside her, Fu Duosui was straining her neck to see.

Noticing Fu Duosui’s exaggerated expressions, Jiang Qingyue was about to wave back when she saw Li Xingcan casually avert her gaze, as if that brief look had been nothing more than a coincidence.

Maybe it really was just a coincidence.

Jiang Qingyue nodded at Fu Duosui as a greeting, then turned her attention back to the podium.

Fu Duosui glanced back at Li Xingcan, who was acting completely unbothered.

What an actress.

The flag-raising ceremony was always easier than morning runs, though the principal’s speech was long-winded and tedious. Standing in the cold wind listening to such nonsense was truly exasperating.

Finally nearing the end, Fu Duosui grabbed Li Xingcan and dashed out of the field first—one of the perks of standing in the back row was that minor movements wouldn’t be noticed.

Exiting the field ahead of the crowd, Li Xingcan thought Fu Duosui was dragging her to the school store again. Just as she was about to protest, Fu Duosui abruptly stopped by the roadside.

“Huh? What are you doing?”

“Waiting for someone,” Fu Duosui replied. Seeing the confusion in Li Xingcan’s eyes, she knew mentioning Jiang Qingyue would only make her play coy. So, she quickly changed tack. “Waiting for Mumu. It’s been ages since we last chatted with her. Let’s wait a bit.”

“Don’t we talk to her all the time on our phones?” Li Xingcan found Fu Duosui’s behavior odd.

“It’s not the same. How long has it been since I last saw her? I miss her.”

Fu Duosui nodded firmly and tugged Li Xingcan to keep waiting.

Li Xingcan half-believed her and idly watched the passing crowd. As the dense flow of students thinned, a few scattered figures appeared at the rear.

Among them, Li Xingcan immediately spotted Jiang Qingyue, who had clearly waited for the crowd to disperse before leaving. Beside her was Lin Xie.

Lin Xie, with his germaphobia, would never squeeze through a crowd, so it made sense he’d walk last.

Fu Duosui noticed them too. What luck—Jiang Qingyue and Lin Xie walking together meant she didn’t even need an excuse to intercept Jiang Qingyue. She waved eagerly. “Over here!”

Hearing her, the two approached.

Li Xingcan smoothly averted her gaze to the nearby bushes. This was just a coincidence—it wasn’t like she was worried about Jiang Qingyue adjusting to the new class.

As Jiang Qingyue and Lin Xie drew near, Jiang Qingyue’s eyes settled on Li Xingcan. “What’s up?”

Before Fu Duosui could speak, Li Xingcan answered, “Duosui said it’s been a while since she last saw Mumu, so we’re waiting for her.”

“Oh.” Jiang Qingyue nodded and glanced at Lin Xie. “Then you two chat. I’ll head back first.”

Fu Duosui was fuming at Li Xingcan. Seeing Jiang Qingyue about to leave, she hastily stopped her. “Actually, I needed to talk to Mumu about something. We’ll go find a spot to chat. You and Xingcan head back together. Bye!”

With that, she dragged Lin Xie off in the opposite direction of the school building.

Left behind, Li Xingcan and Jiang Qingyue exchanged glances. Li Xingcan could practically see Fu Duosui’s scheming from a mile away—she’d deal with her later.

Jiang Qingyue, oblivious and unfazed, simply said, “Shall we go?”

“Yeah.”

Li Xingcan agreed, and the two walked toward the school building.

They’d made this trip countless times before, but never had Li Xingcan felt so awkward she didn’t know where to put her hands. For some reason, the air seemed thick with tension.

It was definitely Fu Duosui’s fault—always whispering nonsense in her ear, messing with her head.

As they neared the teaching building, Li Xingcan felt the silence growing increasingly awkward and decided to break it with a question.

“How are you adjusting to the new class? How does it feel?”

“Pretty good. The classmates are nice. My new deskmate happens to be Lin Xie, someone I already knew, so there wasn’t much to adjust to.”

Jiang Qingyue replied. She hadn’t known Lin Xie well before, only thinking she was quiet, but after becoming deskmates, she found her to be great—tidy, organized, sharp-minded, and strong in logical thinking. They could discuss academics while respecting each other’s personal space during breaks. It was perfect.

Li Xingcan could tell Jiang Qingyue was genuinely satisfied. While relieved, she couldn’t help feeling a little down. It seemed Jiang Qingyue’s life was completely unaffected by leaving her.

The moment this thought surfaced, Li Xingcan was startled and immediately dismissed it.

I must’ve been influenced by Fu Duosui. What does “leaving me” even mean? This is just a normal class transfer—it’s not that big of a deal.

Just as Li Xingcan was lost in her thoughts, Jiang Qingyue’s voice sounded beside her.

“Alright, I’m here. See you.”

Only then did Li Xingcan realize they had already reached the second floor—Jiang Qingyue’s new classroom. It was time to part ways.

Nodding at Jiang Qingyue, Li Xingcan watched her walk down the hallway before continuing up the stairs alone.

There was still plenty of time before class started. Sitting at her desk, Li Xingcan’s gaze drifted to Jiang Qingyue’s former seat, now empty.

Shortly before class, Fu Duosui returned from outside. Spotting Li Xingcan in the classroom, she wasn’t surprised and took the empty seat beside her.

“So, how’d it go?”

“How’d what go?” Li Xingcan replied listlessly.

“How was your chat? A reunion after separation—you must’ve talked about something, right?” Seeing Li Xingcan’s expression, Fu Duosui didn’t hold out much hope.

“What separation? Two classes apart doesn’t count,” Li Xingcan retorted, convinced Fu Duosui needed to retake elementary Chinese. “And what could we even talk about? I’ve told you before—we’re just ordinary friends. Stop making wild guesses and messing with my head.”

Fu Duosui felt like she was carrying the weight of the world—or at least, the blame. “You sure I’m the one messing with your head? What’s that saying? ‘The body casts the shadow’ or something? You get the idea.”

“And you think it’s my fault?” Li Xingcan knew exactly what Fu Duosui meant but refused to accept it.

“Obviously?”

Fu Duosui spread her hands. Li Xingcan was seriously dense—how could she not see something so obvious?

“No way.”

Li Xingcan shut it down firmly, refusing to engage further. Otherwise, she’d risk getting swayed by Fu Duosui’s nonsense again.

Fu Duosui sighed and shrugged, returning to her seat. She’d just have to wait and see when Li Xingcan would finally figure it out on her own.

Two more classes passed. Li Xingcan and Fu Duosui headed downstairs to the cafeteria. They moved fast, avoiding long lines. While waiting for their food, Fu Duosui noticed Li Xingcan’s gaze—seemingly casual but clearly searching for someone—and smirked.

“Stop looking. I asked Mumu—those two are going to and from classes together now, and according to Mumu’s habits, they should have just reached the bottom of the teaching building.”

“Will they still make it in time for lunch?” Li Xingcan frowned slightly.

“If not, they can just eat instant noodles,” Fu Duosui teased deliberately.

“How is that nutritious enough to sustain high-intensity studying?” Just as Li Xingcan was saying this, it was their turn to get food.

Fu Duosui noticed Li Xingcan picking up four trays. She usually helped carry hers, but wasn’t that a bit excessive now?

With a faint smile, Fu Duosui asked knowingly, “Are we each eating two servings? I can’t finish that much.”

“One’s for Mumu,” Li Xingcan said, placing the trays down to get food.

“And the other one?” Fu Duosui leaned in closer to ask.

Only then did Li Xingcan realize something was off. She glanced at Fu Duosui. “Are you getting food or not? If not, I’m putting your tray back.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” Fu Duosui suppressed a laugh as she took her own and Lin Xie’s trays. She was curious to see how long Li Xingcan could keep up the tough act.