Back to the afternoon.
“Hey, Yu Yao, did you see the message on the Confession Wall?”
After class, Lu Yuyao was tidying her desk, preparing her books for the next period, when her female deskmate suddenly spoke up with a mysterious air.
“What?”
Lu Yuyao was stunned for a moment.
Following her deskmate’s gesture, she leaned over to see the content on the phone.
She frowned, initially confused.
Something about a sweet yuri couple showing public affection and acting out in the teaching building.
Although Lu Yuyao was surprised, she didn’t think much of it.
After all, such things weren’t uncommon these days.
But her deskmate’s next words made her freeze again.
“I heard the heroine mentioned is a Senior Year 2 student, the really pretty one with blonde hair…”
The deskmate seemed to realize something and suddenly shut up, looking at Lu Yuyao hesitantly.
Lu Yuyao raised an eyebrow.
“Are you talking about the one who gave me water during military training?”
The deskmate giggled.
Seeing that Lu Yuyao wasn’t angry, she nodded.
“It’s just hearsay, but as far as I can remember, the only girl in our school with blonde hair seems to be your… sister?”
“She’s not my sister… Forget it, you can call her that if you want,”
Lu Yuyao explained, but then felt that explaining their actual relationship would be even more complicated, so she just let it be.
“So I thought I’d ask you to see if you knew anything. If it’s a rumor, it’ll be more troublesome later.”
Her deskmate was likely well-intentioned, fearing that if the matter spread, Lu Yuyao might be affected.
Most of the class had seen Jiang Ling bringing water to Lu Yuyao during military training.
“Alright, I don’t know what’s going on either. I’ll ask when I get the chance.”
Lu Yuyao brushed off her deskmate’s concerns, but her internal restlessness couldn’t be suppressed.
It was common to see couples showing affection at school, but it wasn’t so common when it happened to her own friend.
‘Is Jiang Ling in a relationship?’
‘And with a girl?’
These thoughts first surfaced in Lu Yuyao’s mind.
She was shocked.
Jiang Ling didn’t seem like the type to be intimate with someone at school.
Besides, she hadn’t shown any signs of acting differently lately, even at home.
Lu Yuyao was rational enough not to make wild guesses.
She needed to find an opportunity to ask.
If it was just a rumor, it would be a huge headache for Jiang Ling.
After school.
Lu Yuyao waited at the school gate for a while.
She took her phone out of her skirt pocket and sighed.
Jiang Ling had once again told her to go ahead and not wait for her.
She had endured her curiosity all afternoon, thinking she would ask after school.
Was Jiang Ling not worried at all?
The news on the confession wall had been spreading since noon and was still going strong.
After an afternoon of brewing, basically everyone in their class knew about it.
When Lu Yuyao went to the bathroom, she could hear students whispering in the hallways.
Jiang Ling was already well-known in school, so an incident like this was bound to attract everyone’s attention.
Since Jiang Ling was so unbothered, it couldn’t be true, could it?
Lu Yuyao was already considering the possibility.
Her eyes, usually gentle, slowly narrowed.
If that was the case, she would have a lot of questions when she got back.
How could Jiang Ling not share something like a relationship with her?
They were supposed to be best friends.
***
At Lu Yuyao’s home.
“What relationship?”
Jiang Ling almost choked on her food.
She looked at Lu Yuyao across from her in surprise, wondering for a moment why she would ask such a thing.
But seeing the skepticism in her eyes, Jiang Ling suddenly realized that Lu Yuyao was in her first year and would naturally know about the rumor.
“Really?”
Lu Yuyao usually trusted Jiang Ling’s words completely, but considering how Jiang Ling had been humming while eating—a clear sign of an unusual mood—she remained suspicious.
She said with a smile, “It’s fine even if you are. At least tell me. I am technically your sister now, right?”
Jiang Ling raised an eyebrow.
Lu Yuyao usually felt a slight aversion to being called her sister.
What was wrong with her today?
She was suddenly referring to herself as one.
“So, what’s the deal exactly?”
Lu Yuyao’s smile was warm, but it sent a shiver down Jiang Ling’s spine.
She seemed to detect a hint of dissatisfaction behind that smile.
Jiang Ling gave a helpless laugh.
She had already explained the situation more times than she could count today.
Explaining it to Lu Yuyao again felt so practiced that it was like she was reciting a textbook passage.
Lu Yuyao nodded as she listened, giving occasional responses like “Mm-hmm” or “Ah,” as if she were listening to a play.
“So, it was just a misunderstanding?”
Jiang Ling nodded.
Jiang Ling wasn’t bothered by it anymore, but Lu Yuyao was indignant on her behalf.
She said fiercely, “Who are these people with so much time on their hands? Spreading rumors just because they see something. If I catch them, I won’t let them off with just an apology.”
Jiang Ling deliberately hid the fact that Xia Yu had written her a love letter, saying only that a conversation between them had been overheard and misinterpreted.
Jiang Ling had a feeling that if she mentioned the love letter, Lu Yuyao’s reaction would be even worse.
Jiang Ling found it a bit funny.
Lu Yuyao was a gentle girl; she knew the other wouldn’t actually do anything like she’d described.
She was just venting her frustration for Jiang Ling.
“So, the eldest young lady is going to capture them and lock them in a dark room for a harsh interrogation?”
“It’s not as scary as you make it sound,”
Lu Yuyao muttered.
Then she asked, “So the matter is settled now?”
Jiang Ling nodded.
Still feeling a bit uneasy, Lu Yuyao added, “I just checked, and the post on the confession wall is still there. I’ll go talk to the admin later and have them delete it. Otherwise, people who don’t know the truth will keep spreading it.”
Jiang Ling was stunned.
She hadn’t thought of that.
Lu Yuyao was indeed more meticulous.
Jiang Ling reached out and patted Lu Yuyao’s head, which made the girl feel quite awkward.
She gave Jiang Ling a reproachful look.
Jiang Ling laughed and said, “Maybe I should stop calling you ‘eldest young lady’ and just call you ‘sister’ instead. It feels more intimate.”
“Try it and you’re dead.”
Jiang Ling shrugged.
She was only joking and didn’t actually intend to call her that.
“Wait.”
Lu Yuyao suddenly noticed a tear on the collar of the maid outfit Jiang Ling was wearing.
It was a scratch, and some threads were already showing.
It must have been snagged on something.
Lu Yuyao leaned in close, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing as she inspected the damage.
“I’ll buy you a new one in two days,”
she said.
The familiar, pleasant scent unique to Lu Yuyao grew stronger.
Jiang Ling looked at the beautiful face right in front of her, and her breath hitched.
Lu Yuyao was always like this.
Was it a lack of a sense of personal space?
Fortunately, Lu Yuyao soon sat back down and opened her phone, seemingly already picking out a new maid outfit.
Jiang Ling leaned over to look as well, and as she did, her frown deepened.
‘Eldest young lady, why do the maid outfits you’re looking at have less and less fabric the more you scroll?’