Chapter 36: Returning to Campus, Meeting Liu Yingqiu Again

As dawn broke, Cheng Yuexin, who had not slept well all night, dressed and walked to the kitchen with aching steps.

She began preparing breakfast for Gu Linxue.

The fresh pepper beef stir-fried last night was still left; she only needed to heat it up.

So Cheng Yuexin just had to cook some noodles, mix them together, and she’d be done.

“Hiss… sore…”

Standing in front of the stove, Cheng Yuexin twisted her waist while making the noodles.

Lifting her clothes, the abrupt bruises on her waist made her frown.

“Gu Linxue, so infuriating.”

A cold glint flashed in her eyes, wishing she could poison this bowl of noodles.

‘Might as well not live either.’

‘But what about Cheng Yueqing?’

“Sigh…”

A fight to the death would only make things worse for Cheng Yueqing.

If it were only Cheng Yuexin left by herself, she could go after Gu Linxue without any scruples.

But now there was also Cheng Yueqing.

In the previous life, Cheng Yueqing had left the world at the prime of her youth.

Now, she wanted to give Cheng Yueqing a complete life.

Not to make up for the regrets of the previous life, but because it was her duty as both family and parent.

She also wanted this life’s Cheng Yueqing to live a happy life.

As for herself…

“Heh.”

The boiling water bubbled with chaotic, dense froth, just like her own messy life at this moment.

“Who would like being reduced to someone else’s toy?”

Even if the other party could accept it, Cheng Yuexin couldn’t let it go.

Maybe the word “happiness” had already been completely erased from her bones.

She didn’t expect to live well herself; she only hoped her only family member wouldn’t suffer the same hardships she did.

Her eyes sank, and her legs almost gave way. She quickly grabbed the stove to steady herself.

“At least she won’t lay a hand on Cheng Yueqing.”

Last night, she had reached a temporary truce with Gu Linxue through her actions.

At least that was good news, though the price was her whole body feeling like it had been run over by a car.

“Really not gentle at all, hmph…”

She stirred the noodles a few times with the spatula, and quite a few broke off with one scoop.

“Eat your broken noodles then, Crocodile Tyrant!”

Cheng Yuexin angrily fished out the noodles, poured the beef on top, and mixed them roughly.

She set the bowl on the dining table, threw down the chopsticks, grabbed her phone, and fled Gu Linxue’s residence.

Hearing the commotion, Gu Linxue woke up groggily and walked into the living room, but found no trace of Cheng Yuexin—only the faint scent lingering in the air.

“Hmm… today’s noodles, why are they saltier than her?”

—

Basking in the morning sunlight, the warm glow dispelled the cold that the air conditioner had invaded her body with last night.

Cheng Yuexin stretched her limbs comfortably, a smile spreading across her face.

She bought two breakfasts and deposited money at an ATM on the way.

“700 yuan deposited…”

Cheng Yuexin looked at the text message and headed to the dormitory with peace of mind.

On the way, she replied to Liu Yingqiu and sent a “Good morning” to Cheng Yueqing.

Even in the early morning hours, she wasn’t idle.

Just past eight, she pushed open the dormitory door, returning to her long-lost room after two days.

But Chen Yiyi looked like an abandoned resentful woman, sitting on the edge of the bed with messy hair, her eyes listless as she scratched her head.

Yet she quickly locked onto Cheng Yuexin at the door and stared at her gloomily.

“Oh my, my good roommate, where have you been gallivanting off to?”

Cheng Yuexin smiled awkwardly as she entered, softly closing the door.

She brought the steaming breakfast over to Chen Yiyi.

“I just accompanied my sister for two days, you know. She just had surgery, and I wasn’t at ease.”

“Here, I brought you breakfast: red bean buns and soy milk.”

Chen Yiyi crossed her arms, her dark eyes reflecting Cheng Yuexin’s apologetic face.

“If you say so. Just put it on the table.”

Cheng Yuexin did as she was told.

Chen Yiyi got up and headed to the bathroom to wash up.

Taking this opportunity, Cheng Yuexin quickly changed out of her clothes, which were full of the lavender scent.

As for the lingering scent on her body…

“Yiyi, can I borrow your perfume?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Cheng Yuexin moved quickly, spraying perfume over herself to mask Gu Linxue’s smell.

She sprayed and brushed her hair at the same time, trying to remove all traces of lavender as much as possible.

“Hey hey, spraying so much? You think perfume is free?”

Chen Yiyi saw Cheng Yuexin spraying lavishly after brushing her teeth and widened her eyes.

“I’ll buy you a new bottle if you want.”

Chen Yiyi waved her hand, smiling sweetly.

“Just kidding. Use it, use it. It’s not expensive.”

Feeling embarrassed, Cheng Yuexin stopped spraying, put down the perfume bottle, and bit into a bun.

“What’s the first class in the morning?”

“General course, Politics.”

Cheng Yuexin blinked. This exactly matched the first class of her previous life’s university opening, which was when she had taken a liking to Gu Linxue.

Thinking about it now, she really regretted it.

“What time does class start?”

“8:30.”

Cheng Yuexin glanced at the time and immediately grabbed her textbook.

“Then let’s hurry up, or we’ll be late.”

Chen Yiyi calmly changed out of her pajamas into casual clothes for going out.

“Don’t worry, we still have fifteen minutes. Being a little late doesn’t matter.”

Cheng Yuexin wasn’t as calm as her. As a model student with excellent grades and conduct, she was the epitome of never being late.

She pulled open the door, and the girl standing at the entrance startled her.

“Good morning, Yuexin.”

Liu Yingqiu smiled at the suddenly appearing Cheng Yuexin, retracting the hand that was about to knock.

“You… why are you here?”

“To go to class together.”

Liu Yingqiu kept her hands behind her back, suppressing the urge to take her hand.

Caught between Chen Yiyi and Liu Yingqiu’s gazes, Cheng Yuexin felt an indescribable tension.

Chen Yiyi sized up Liu Yingqiu while chewing on her bun.

‘So this is that transfer student? Seems pretty close to Cheng Yuexin.’

“Finished eating. Let’s go, Yuexin.”

Taking her textbook, Chen Yiyi quickly came up behind Cheng Yuexin, her gaze aligning with Liu Yingqiu’s.

They were about the same height.

Chen Yiyi smiled amiably.

“You’re the transfer student who came to our class, right?”

Chen Yiyi rested her hand on Cheng Yuexin’s shoulder, pressing down slightly.

Cheng Yuexin glanced back at Chen Yiyi, then turned to look at Liu Yingqiu, a little flustered.

“Yes, Yuexin and I are old classmates. Pleased to meet you.”

“Great, pleased to meet you too.”

The two smiled at each other, but there was some hostility hidden in both their eyes.

Cheng Yuexin, innocent as she was, looked between them.

Chen Yiyi unhesitatingly took Cheng Yuexin’s hand.

Liu Yingqiu glanced at the intertwined hands, then quickly looked up at Cheng Yuexin.

Cheng Yuexin glared at Chen Yiyi, a little panicked.

“Alright, we don’t have much time.”

Chen Yiyi closed the door and grabbed Cheng Yuexin’s hand as she hurried downstairs.

Liu Yingqiu followed close behind, wanting to grab Cheng Yuexin’s other hand.

After thinking it over, she gave up the idea.

‘Chen Yiyi is her good roommate, while I’m just the ex who hurt her.’

The courage from that passionate night had long since vanished.

Her hand, which had reached forward, quietly retreated to her side.

“Hey, hey, slow down, slow down. Weren’t you the one who said not to rush earlier?”

Chen Yiyi released her lightly bitten lower lip.

“That was then. Now we need to make up for lost time.”

Especially since there was a woman behind them who had designs on Cheng Yuexin.

Glancing at Liu Yingqiu following behind, Chen Yiyi quickened her pace.