Chapter 26: They Came to the Door

“Qingyan, we seem to be in some trouble,” Jiang Ling said to Ji Qingyan.

The latter had a vacant look in her eyes, completely failing to understand what Jiang Ling was talking about.

The two of them were currently standing before the locked rooftop door on the sixth floor.

As soon as class ended, Jiang Ling had dragged Ji Qingyan here without a moment’s rest.

Ji Qingyan had assumed there was some urgent matter.

She had heard the vague whispers in the classroom regarding Jiang Ling, but since she wasn’t close with her classmates, she hadn’t listened closely.

However, hearing Jiang Ling speak like this now, Ji Qingyan realized that something had truly happened.

“We?”

Ji Qingyan didn’t understand. Could this have something to do with her as well?

Jiang Ling nodded with a solemn expression and began to explain the ‘trouble’ to the bewildered Ji Qingyan.

As Ji Qingyan listened, her cold expression slowly transformed into a smile, and the corners of her mouth curled up.

She seemed to find it quite amusing.

“So, when we fell back then, someone saw us and misunderstood, thinking we were doing something bad?”

Ji Qingyan tilted her head, rephrasing Jiang Ling’s explanation in her own words.

Jiang Ling nodded, her face full of worry.

She rested her chin on her palm and leaned against the railing.

“Now we’re in for it. Those two younger students spread the word, and now everyone thinks we’re… a couple. Argh!”

Jiang Ling frustratedly tugged at her hair, feeling like there had been way too many problems lately.

“What should we do?”

Ji Qingyan wasn’t as agitated as Jiang Ling.

Ji Qingyan didn’t have many friends—or any, for that matter—but being rumored to be in a relationship with Jiang Ling actually sounded rather interesting.

“Then why did you say it was nothing when I asked you what was wrong back then?”

Ji Qingyan suddenly remembered.

She had heard a sound at the time and asked Jiang Ling about it, but Jiang Ling had simply shaken her head.

Jiang Ling turned her head away guiltily.

She hadn’t thought that far ahead; she was just embarrassed about being seen and assumed it wouldn’t be a big deal.

Who could have known those two girls would talk!

“That’s not important right now. We should be thinking about how to clear up these rumors!”

Ji Qingyan also leaned against the railing, her tone indifferent.

“It won’t be easy. The rumors have already spread. Unless we find those two girls and have them explain things on the Confession Wall, but you only saw them once. How are you going to find them?”

That was exactly what was bothering Jiang Ling.

The rumors were spreading more wildly by the minute.

Even Fang Chenxi knew about it.

Jiang Ling recalled the news Fang Chenxi had heard from somewhere.

When she returned to her seat, Fang Chenxi’s face was an unpredictable storm, looking as if she wanted to eat Jiang Ling alive.

Fortunately, after a long explanation, Fang Chenxi believed her, though she still looked quite unhappy.

Jiang Ling didn’t know why she was so angry.

‘Is she just worried about me?’

Jiang Ling didn’t actually care much about her own reputation, but she was afraid that if the rumors kept flying, they would negatively affect Ji Qingyan.

She would die of guilt if that happened.

“Actually, the best way is just to ignore it,” Ji Qingyan said after a pause.

Seeing Jiang Ling’s confused expression, she added, “People just think it’s a novelty. It’ll blow over after a while. I have experience with this.”

“Experience? What do you mean?”

Jiang Ling didn’t quite understand the last part.

Had Ji Qingyan been the subject of rumors before?

Ji Qingyan turned her head away, realizing she had said something she shouldn’t have, and changed the subject.

“In any case, there’s no need to pay it any mind. You don’t need to feel bad, Jiang Ling. It won’t affect me.”

“Really?”

Jiang Ling didn’t seem to believe her.

Ji Qingyan had a cold personality and liked peace and quiet; Jiang Ling was afraid of bringing trouble to her door.

Ji Qingyan’s gaze was firm as she looked straight at Jiang Ling.

“We are friends.”

“Yeah.”

Ji Qingyan was always so serious, so much so that Jiang Ling sometimes didn’t dare to meet her gaze.

Her words made Jiang Ling feel a sense of relief.

If Ji Qingyan didn’t care, then Jiang Ling didn’t need to be so anxious… and yet, ‘Why do I feel so inexplicably disappointed?’

Jiang Ling felt like she might be getting sick.

***

“You need to be careful now. Don’t go creating any more scandals.”

As school ended, Fang Chenxi seemed uneasy and nagged Jiang Ling once more.

“What scandal? Are you treating me like a female celebrity or something?”

Jiang Ling rolled her eyes.

Her mindset had shifted; whatever the rumors were, she just wouldn’t care.

“Regardless… just stay away from her.”

Fang Chenxi held her breath for a moment before squeezing out that sentence.

However, she turned her head only to see Ji Qingyan standing beside her at some point.

Clearly, Ji Qingyan had heard what Fang Chenxi said, but she showed no reaction.

She simply said to Jiang Ling, “Let’s go.”

“Hmph.”

Fang Chenxi snorted coldly and stood up as well, seemingly intending to compete with Ji Qingyan, but Ji Qingyan ignored her entirely.

With two exceptionally beautiful girls standing together, Jiang Ling didn’t quite dare to speak.

She gave a soft hum of agreement.

Fang Chenxi knew she had no reason to stay any longer, so she said goodbye to Jiang Ling and left, looking rather unwilling.

Ji Qingyan and Jiang Ling shared a look before leaving the classroom to head toward their club.

Since her submission had been accepted and she had a backlog of chapters, Jiang Ling wasn’t in a hurry to write for the time being.

She had discussed it with Ji Qingyan, and they planned to post a notice for the Literature Research Society in front of the teaching building first.

They had to resolve the recruitment trouble.

Under Jiang Ling’s guidance, Ji Qingyan didn’t seem as anxious anymore.

Jiang Ling realized that Ji Qingyan wasn’t always cold to others on purpose; it was more like social anxiety.

She just didn’t know how to interact with people.

Once they were close, Jiang Ling discovered that Ji Qingyan was actually a very warm person.

She considered many things for Jiang Ling’s sake, carefully helped her review her drafts, and comforted her when she felt anxious about her performance.

Whenever Jiang Ling was writing and felt thirsty, she would always find her teacup had been filled with hot tea at some unknown point.

Ji Qingyan was a very gentle and delicate person.

“Do you think we should add a line like, ‘Our beautiful Club President welcomes you’… or something like that?”

Ji Qingyan’s cold glare shot over instantly.

Jiang Ling immediately surrendered, shrinking her neck back as she laughed awkwardly.

“I was just saying.”

Ji Qingyan said calmly, “Just write normally. Even if you write it well and attract them, if they aren’t interested in literature, they’ll leave sooner or later.”

Ji Qingyan was taking the long view. Jiang Ling nodded, thinking that made sense.

She also felt that not everyone would enjoy club activities that consisted of nothing but reading.

Before they even reached the fifth floor, the two of them could already hear a commotion.

Jiang Ling was puzzled.

Although the peak of Club Recruitment hadn’t passed yet, it hadn’t been this lively the past few days… They shared a look, both having a strong premonition.

Sure enough, as Jiang Ling and Ji Qingyan stood at the top of the stairs, they saw nearly ten or so students crowded around the entrance of the Literature Research Society.

Jiang Ling sucked in a breath of cold air.

She really hadn’t expected people to come for an “offline hunt.”

The students also noticed Jiang Ling and Ji Qingyan nearby.

Blonde…

Jiang Ling immediately matched the description of the Blonde Beauty from the rumors.

Their eyes lit up, appearing excited to see the protagonists of the event.

In that case, the girl with long black hair standing to the side had to be the other female lead.

Their expressions became noticeably more excited.