“Ji Qingyan’s cooking really is amazing.”
“You’ve already said that three times. It’s not that exaggerated.”
Ji Qingyan tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes fixed on Jiang Ling.
Though she said that, she was quite pleased by the praise.
The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning the shared chopsticks again.
But after that, Jiang Ling didn’t push her luck.
Ji Qingyan’s lunchbox had a pitifully small portion, and if she kept eating, Ji Qingyan would have nothing left.
However, Ji Qingyan seemed to have gotten addicted to feeding her and wanted to continue.
Jiang Ling refused, claiming she was full.
Only then did Ji Qingyan snap back to reality, realizing what she had just done.
A hint of fragility appeared on her cool face, which then flushed with a touch of peach blossom pink.
Why had she inexplicably done something like that?
It must be because she was too happy.
Ji Qingyan’s lips curled up.
Jiang Ling’s earlier apology kept replaying in her mind like a phonograph record.
Jiang Ling had come specifically to apologize to her.
Even though Jiang Ling said it was a coincidence, she couldn’t fool her.
“The thing you said you couldn’t tell me about earlier—does it have to do with Fang Chenxi?”
Jiang Ling’s movement of drinking tea paused, her expression stiffening.
She hadn’t expected Ji Qingyan to connect it to Fang Chenxi.
The Club President’s insight was terrifying.
“Mmm, why would Qingyan think that? Of course it has nothing to do with her.”
To avoid revealing anything, Jiang Ling forced calm and spoke with a smile.
“It’s really just some personal business of mine.”
Ji Qingyan turned her head away.
Of course, she hadn’t expected Jiang Ling to tell her.
But still.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Ever since the exam, Fang Chenxi and Jiang Ling had both undergone drastic personality changes.
Then Jiang Ling ended up in this situation.
It was hard for her not to connect it to Fang Chenxi’s change.
But since Jiang Ling said it was unrelated, she chose to let it go and stopped asking.
Only a moment later, Ji Qingyan blinked gently and asked softly.
“The punishment you mentioned earlier—what exactly does it involve?”
“Huh?”
Jiang Ling’s small face drooped.
She thought that after Ji Qingyan accepted the apology, she would have pretended not to hear it.
“It’s just punishment. Qingyan can make me do anything, as long as it’s not too much.”
Jiang Ling explained.
“Mm.”
Ji Qingyan nodded, a bit of light appearing in her eyes.
She seemed to be seriously considering how to punish the offending Jiang Ling.
The lunchbox was empty.
Ji Qingyan put it away, stuffed it into the drawer, and took out a wet tissue to wipe the table clean.
Noisy sounds came from outside the window—probably senior year students returning to their classrooms after lunch.
The teaching buildings for first and second year seniors were some distance from the Dongyue Building, so under normal circumstances, only senior year students passed by here.
Jiang Ling yawned, her eyes slightly moist.
Thanks to Ji Qingyan’s few sushi pieces, she wasn’t too hungry now, but she was starting to feel sleepy.
Sleepiness was contagious, especially when they were so close.
Ji Qingyan also grew drowsy, her eyes drooping.
“Let’s not go back at noon. Anyway, first period is PE. Fang Chenxi can cover for us. Sleeping a bit longer is fine.”
“Mm.”
Her gaze shifted between Ji Qingyan and the table in front of her.
Usually, the two of them would nap on the table in the club room.
Suddenly, Jiang Ling thought of a good idea for the punishment.
“Qingyan, how about you punish me by letting you use me as a lap pillow?”
“How about it?”
Jiang Ling patted her fair, plump thighs.
The flesh trembled slightly, full of temptation.
The weather had been getting colder lately, and many girls chose to wear tights to keep warm.
But today was a rare warm day, so Jiang Ling hadn’t worn any.
Jiang Ling was completely acting on impulse, saying whatever came to mind.
Of course, more importantly, she considered that the punishment couldn’t be delayed too long.
If Ji Qingyan came to her senses later and thought of something even more torturous, what would she do?
Don’t be fooled by Ji Qingyan’s cool, aloof, otherworldly young lady demeanor.
She could be quite mischievous.
“Lap pillow?”
Ji Qingyan’s eyes flickered, and she unconsciously looked down at Jiang Ling’s exposed, fair thighs.
Was this really considered a punishment?
Ji Qingyan didn’t understand the little thoughts in Jiang Ling’s mind.
Seeing the faint anticipation in her eyes, she asked doubtfully.
“That works.”
“All right, let’s go with this punishment.”
Ji Qingyan’s lips curled up, still maintaining her cool expression, but her hands patted her own slender legs, clad in thick black tights.
“Then the punishment is for you to take a nap on my lap.”
“Me?”
Jiang Ling froze, pointing a finger at herself.
But then she received another nod from Ji Qingyan.
“Actually, we can switch to something else. If you don’t want a lap pillow, that’s fine.”
Jiang Ling hesitated, not expecting Ji Qingyan to say that.
“This one.”
Ji Qingyan’s tone carried a hint of refusal.
“Fine, then.”
Jiang Ling swore that her original intention was really just to let Ji Qingyan sleep comfortably.
How had it turned around so that she was the one benefiting?
She pushed a few other chairs together to form a makeshift bench, slowly lay down on it, and rested her head back.
Then she felt an incredibly soft touch and a faint floral fragrance from Ji Qingyan.
Jiang Ling nervously closed her eyes, folding her hands over her stomach.
Only one thought occupied her mind.
‘Ji Qingyan’s thighs are so soft.’
“Good afternoon.”
A trace of tenderness had entered the cool voice.
Ji Qingyan reached out and pulled the nearby curtain.
The room darkened a bit, making it more suitable for sleep.
Her eye-catching blonde hair spread out, very beautiful.
Ji Qingyan extended her hand to stroke Jiang Ling’s smooth hair, then gently massaged the sides of her forehead, as if coaxing her to sleep.
“Good afternoon.”
Jiang Ling gradually couldn’t hold on, her eyelids fighting each other as sleepiness washed over her.
On the playground, the afternoon sun should have been brighter, but suddenly it was blocked by a few clouds.
A gust of wind blew, and Jiang Ling felt a bit cold again.
She shivered slightly and muttered to herself.
‘I should have worn socks. It’s getting cold again.’
In comparison, Ji Qingyan’s thighs seemed much warmer.
Jiang Ling thought so.
The soft sensation behind her head, combined with the slightly cool yet tender and delicate finger massage, made Jiang Ling reluctant to leave.
If not for the bell ringing for the end of class, she really would have wanted to stay on Ji Qingyan’s lap forever.
But now she was stopped by Fang Chenxi, who wanted her to time her short-distance run.
Jiang Ling’s gaze turned somewhat resentful.
After the assembly, the routine training ended, and now it was free time.
She really wanted to go back to the club to find Ji Qingyan.
The PE teacher had said that no one was allowed to approach the teaching buildings during free time, but the Dongyue Building was no longer used as a teaching building.
She looked at Fang Chenxi.
After the two stood on the track, Fang Chenxi handed her a stopwatch and told her to wait here, then went to the training room to change clothes.
She had thought that after the weekend incident, seeing each other again might be awkward.
But it wasn’t at all.
Jiang Ling even vaguely felt that Fang Chenxi was clinging to her more than before.
Yet the natural way she did it didn’t make her overly uncomfortable.
It wasn’t like she was glued to her side for everything.
How to put it?
Compared to before, she had more of a sense of boundaries?
Jiang Ling felt that description wasn’t quite accurate.
Her beautiful brows furrowed as she tried to find an exact word to describe Fang Chenxi’s strangeness, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
Anyway, Fang Chenxi was definitely different from before.
She was sure of that.
Sigh.
A trace of melancholy appeared in Jiang Ling’s eyes again.
As for the idea she had that night, she still couldn’t let it go.
But she had been busy appeasing the angry Ji Qingyan, so she had temporarily put it out of her mind.
Jiang Ling had also figured out a few things.
Actually, for her now, whether Fang Chenxi’s changes were because she was a reincarnator or the result of the butterfly effect, the reason no longer mattered.
She needed to come up with a solution.
A way to shift Fang Chenxi’s focus back to Lu Yuyao.
That was the key point.
These past few days, Jiang Ling could clearly see that Fang Chenxi’s concern for Lu Yuyao was no longer as deep and passionate as described in the book.
She seemed to treat Lu Yuyao more like a little sister now.
Jiang Ling even had the illusion that after transmigrating into the book, the changed Fang Chenxi had so many interactions with her, the villain.
‘Could it be that she’s fallen for me?’
Impossible!
Jiang Ling let out a mocking laugh.
Rational analysis: Fang Chenxi had no reason to love her.
Assuming it was the change brought about by her transmigration, then Fang Chenxi’s transformation was still controllable.
She couldn’t deny that Fang Chenxi might be momentarily dazzled by Jiang Ling’s beauty—after all, she wasn’t as evil as in the original book.
But as long as she subtly manipulated things, Fang Chenxi and Lu Yuyao would still get back together.
The worst-case scenario: if Fang Chenxi really was a reincarnator, there was even less reason for her to fall for Jiang Ling, and it would also better explain Fang Chenxi’s current changes.
It was simply that she sensed Jiang Ling’s difference from the previous life and thus felt like teasing her.
That was exactly what Jiang Ling had been afraid of before.
So, no matter how she thought about it, Fang Chenxi wouldn’t end up liking her.
And she herself had no interest in Fang Chenxi.
Jiang Ling tapped her chin lightly, pondering.
She still needed to think of a way to promote their relationship.
In her memory, in the original book, aside from Jiang Ling’s self-destructive incidents, the first point where Fang Chenxi and Lu Yuyao’s feelings heated up seemed to be the upcoming Sports Meet.
Fan Xi.
A girl who, like her, was a villain in the original book.
Jiang Ling’s mind suddenly conjured up her name.
She narrowed her eyes, recalling Fan Xi’s position in the original plot.