“The messages on the Confession Wall are gone. They were still there last night.”
“Oh, you’re right. Wait, someone posted a clarification.”
[I am very sorry to bother everyone. I am a witness to the recent rumors. Regarding the ‘Fifth Floor Rumor’ that has frequently appeared on the Confession Wall over the past two days, I want to provide a clarification. The parties involved did not engage in any improper behavior in the classroom. My friend and I accidentally mentioned it while chatting, and I didn’t expect it to be spread, much less become increasingly outrageous. I apologize to the parties involved and hope everyone stops spreading rumors. I am deeply sorry for taking up everyone’s time.]
A formal apology suddenly appeared on the Confession Wall.
Listening to her classmates’ discussions, Jiang Ling felt a sense of relief.
It was wonderful that the rumors could finally be put to rest.
As for the apology itself, it was likely posted by Xia Yu and Ding Rui.
Jiang Ling felt more inclined to believe that the two of them had simply let the information slip by accident.
Of course, some people clearly still didn’t believe it.
Xiao Tongqi, for instance.
While she didn’t say anything outright, whenever she saw Jiang Ling with Ji Qingyan, Xiao Tongqi would always wink at her as if she had confirmed something in her mind.
Jiang Ling felt that she was probably just upset because she hadn’t managed to become friends with Ji Qingyan herself.
Helpless, Jiang Ling could only offer a wry smile.
Regardless, there was nothing actually going on, and she had a clear conscience.
The club had also successfully recruited new members, so there was no longer any worry about it being dissolved.
Although they had received many applications that day, under Ji Qingyan’s strict screening, only Xia Yu, Ding Rui, and another girl from Senior Year 2 were allowed to stay.
According to Ji Qingyan, she didn’t want the club to become a noisy place.
If they let every random person in, they might as well just disband.
This sentiment aligned perfectly with Jiang Ling’s original reason for establishing the club.
However, the fact that the club hadn’t dissolved was likely a source of grief for Fang Chenxi.
Jiang Ling suddenly realized that she hadn’t had much contact with Fang Chenxi lately.
Even though they were desk mates, she had been occupied with handling the rumors and going to the club after school.
Aside from the time they spent in class, she and Fang Chenxi barely spoke to each other.
‘This is actually a good thing.’
After all, Jiang Ling’s primary wish was to stay as far away from Fang Chenxi as possible.
Was the current state of things exactly what she wanted?
Jiang Ling told herself this, yet she felt a faint sense of loneliness.
She attributed this sudden loneliness to the fact that Fang Chenxi had constantly followed her around since the start of school.
Now that they weren’t together as much, she was simply unaccustomed to the change.
Thinking of this, Jiang Ling’s gaze shifted toward Fang Chenxi.
As the weather grew colder, everyone had begun wearing jackets.
The coffee-colored uniform jacket contrasted beautifully with her fair neck, which looked as smooth as polished jade.
Fang Chenxi seemed to prefer wearing her hair in a high ponytail; whenever she walked, the ponytail would sway back and forth, catching the eye.
‘By this point, Fang Chenxi should have already joined the sports club.’
Jiang Ling was lost in thought and didn’t realize she had voiced her internal query aloud.
“How did you know?”
Fang Chenxi asked with a surprised expression.
She remembered that she hadn’t told Jiang Ling yet.
But then she remembered that Jiang Ling was just like her, so it didn’t seem that strange after all.
She simply looked at Jiang Ling with a beaming smile, waiting to see how she would explain herself.
Jiang Ling racked her brain and finally made up an excuse, saying she had heard it from Xiao Tongqi.
Anyway, Xiao Tongqi talked about everything.
Fang Chenxi didn’t expose Jiang Ling’s lie.
She smiled and followed Jiang Ling’s lead.
“Yeah, training should be starting soon.”
Just as Jiang Ling expected, Fang Chenxi had ultimately joined as a student athlete.
In her memory, Fang Chenxi had always been passionate about sports.
In the original book, besides the plotlines where Fang Chenxi humiliated Jiang Ling and fell in love with Lu Yuyao, the scenes of her training and competing took up a significant portion of the story.
Jiang Ling remembered that Fang Chenxi’s specialty seemed to be sprinting.
Jiang Ling’s gaze involuntarily drifted downward, landing on the girl’s calves wrapped in long black socks.
Above the socks were pale, tender thighs that possessed a graceful yet powerful muscular line.
Girls were truly strange creatures.
Even when they felt cold enough to wear a uniform jacket on top, they still kept their summer attire on the bottom.
Jiang Ling looked at herself and realized she had no right to judge Fang Chenxi.
She was exactly the same.
‘Lately, I seem to be getting more and more used to the feeling of wearing a skirt…’
Seeing Jiang Ling daze out in the middle of a conversation, Fang Chenxi frowned and patted her on the shoulder.
Jiang Ling snapped back to reality and looked at her in confusion.
Fang Chenxi pretended as if nothing was wrong and asked, “Why haven’t I seen you playing games lately?”
During one of their previous chats, after some prodding from Fang Chenxi, Jiang Ling had admitted she liked playing mobile games.
Afterward, Fang Chenxi had invited her to play together when they were free.
Of course, Fang Chenxi had used an alternate account.
However, Fang Chenxi hadn’t seen Jiang Ling log on recently.
Initially, she thought she had been blocked, but checking from her main account showed the same thing.
Fang Chenxi felt this likely related to her previous guess.
Jiang Ling was definitely busy with something.
Jiang Ling was essentially a guest living in Lu Yuyao’s home.
According to her, she had started working as a game companion to earn money because she didn’t want to constantly rely on the Lu family’s finances.
But now, she wasn’t even taking game companion orders.
‘How is she supposed to make money?’
“Um, I’ve been a bit busy lately… The monthly exam is coming up, so I’m focusing on studying,”
Jiang Ling offered an excuse, hoping to brush it off.
Fang Chenxi naturally didn’t believe her.
She just smiled, though her tone took on a teasing edge.
“Busy studying, or busy looking for Ji Qingyan?”
As she spoke, even Fang Chenxi didn’t notice the faint hint of jealousy in her own voice.
“Of course it’s studying. You might not know this, but Ji Qingyan is a great student. She never fell out of the top three in her grade during her first year; she was even in first place most of the time.”
This was something Ji Qingyan had told her herself.
As Jiang Ling spoke, her face beamed with pride, as if she were the one who had taken the top spot.
“She’s that impressive?”
“She is. I feel like I can always learn a lot when I’m with her.”
Jiang Ling was being sincere, but she shouldn’t have said that in front of Fang Chenxi.
Jiang Ling didn’t notice that Fang Chenxi’s expression was beginning to sour, and the smile on her lips had vanished.
The relationship between Jiang Ling and Ji Qingyan seemed to be getting better and better—so good that, without realizing it, Jiang Ling was constantly mentioning her name.
Fang Chenxi’s tone turned cold, perhaps hoping that Jiang Ling would notice her unusual behavior.
“I see. That is indeed very impressive.”
She immediately changed the subject.
Since she couldn’t get Jiang Ling to reveal what she was secretly up to, she would talk about something else.
“If you have time, would you like to come watch me train?”
Jiang Ling froze for a moment.
‘The one who should be training with Fang Chenxi and cheering her on is supposed to be Lu Yuyao, right?’
Jiang Ling didn’t rush to refuse.
She simply nodded hesitantly and said, “If I have time, I’ll go watch with Yu Yao. Good luck with your training.”
“Okay.”
Fang Chenxi turned her head away and stopped speaking.
Fang Chenxi couldn’t understand what she was thinking.
She felt very angry, but she didn’t know why.
Was it because Jiang Ling and Ji Qingyan were getting closer, or because no matter how she looked at it, Jiang Ling seemed to be distancing herself?
But why should she be angry about those things?
Clearly, none of this should matter to her.
‘But does it really not matter?’
In a corner where Jiang Ling couldn’t see, Fang Chenxi bit her lower lip.
For the first time, her face was filled with utter confusion.