Chapter 15: Jealousy

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t have them; I can go look for them myself,” Jiang Ling added, not wanting to trouble Ji Qingyan too much.

Ji Qingyan shook her head and spoke.

“It’s not that I don’t have them, but I can’t tell you right now. I’ll organize them when I get home and send them to you.”

Then, Ji Qingyan took out her phone, tapped around for a bit, and held it out in front of Jiang Ling.

The screen showed the QR code interface for adding a friend.

“Oh, okay. Thank you, President Ji.”

Jiang Ling was flattered.

After scanning the code, she added Ji Qingyan.

Her WeChat name was simple—just the three characters of her name, Ji Qingyan—and her profile picture was a cute little panda.

“Mhm, I have things to do, so I’ll be going now.”

Ji Qingyan took two steps, then turned back.

Her face showed hesitation, yet it also seemed to have a faint pink flush.

“You don’t have to call me President Ji. Just Qingyan is fine.”

She then left the bookstore without looking back, her footsteps seeming slightly flustered.

‘Does this mean… she really considers me a friend?’

Jiang Ling blinked and mumbled to herself.

In the end, Jiang Ling didn’t buy a single book and walked out of the bookstore empty-handed.

She thought to herself that since Ji Qingyan was a professional, perhaps listening to her recommendations would be more useful than buying books on her own.

Returning to the place where they had eaten, Jiang Ling saw Lu Yuyao from a distance.

She was sitting in the same spot, resting her chin on her hand, her small head looking around as if searching for Jiang Ling.

She hadn’t even thought to give her a call.

Jiang Ling stepped forward quickly.

“You’re back?”

Lu Yuyao tilted her head upon seeing Jiang Ling’s empty hands.

“Didn’t buy anything?”

Jiang Ling smiled and shook her head.

“No, I was just curious to have a look. There wasn’t anything worth buying.”

Lu Yuyao nodded and didn’t ask further, only reiterating that Jiang Ling should tell her whenever she needed money.

***

Lu Yuyao always had the habit of taking an afternoon nap.

Even though the lunch break was already over, after returning home, Lu Yuyao entered her bedroom and hadn’t come out since.

She was likely asleep.

Jiang Ling was also a bit tired.

Lying on her bed, she decided to play a couple of rounds of games before sleeping.

As soon as she logged in, she found that Boss Xi was also online.

Jiang Ling intended to pretend she didn’t see her and just start a match, but Boss Xi’s invitation arrived the very next second.

“Want to play?”

Boss Xi’s voice came from the phone.

It was still crisp and pleasant, but it sounded a bit more tired.

“Mhm… Let’s play a couple of rounds. I’m a bit sleepy.”

“Okay, then I’ll transfer the money to you.”

“No, there’s no need. It’s just two games.”

In the end, Jiang Ling didn’t take Boss Xi’s money.

After all, Boss Xi was her only source of income as a gaming companion so far, and she was a nice person.

Jiang Ling didn’t want to be so rigid when they only played occasionally.

Sometimes, she had to humor her boss.

Besides, she had heard Boss Xi mention last time that she was still a high school student.

Where would a high schooler get so much money?

Jiang Ling subconsciously placed herself in the role of an older adult again, feeling a bit embarrassed about taking money from a high school student.

The two chatted while playing.

Fang Chenxi kept restraining herself, not wanting to ask too many questions, but curiosity eventually drove her to speak.

“Did you go out to play today? I noticed you weren’t online this morning.”

“Yeah, I accompanied my sis… a friend to go clothes shopping.”

After being exposed by Fang Chenxi last time, Jiang Ling stopped using her sister as a shield and switched to saying it was a friend.

Fang Chenxi actually knew.

While they were eating at noon, Lu Yuyao had sent her a photo.

A lock of blonde hair was visible in the top-left corner of the photo, and she knew it was Jiang Ling.

Hearing the familiar excuse, a smile tugged at the corners of Fang Chenxi’s mouth.

Listening to Jiang Ling ramble on through the microphone, her mood improved quite a bit.

The time for two games passed quickly.

Before logging off, Fang Chenxi asked, “Are you playing tonight?”

“I don’t know, it depends. I’ll be a bit busy lately, so I might not take orders for the time being. But if you want to play, just message me on WeChat.”

If she were to prepare to write a novel, Jiang Ling wouldn’t be able to spare much energy for gaming.

At least during the initial learning phase, she probably wouldn’t have much free time.

“Okay, then I’m logging off.”

She turned off her phone.

Jiang Ling’s words replayed in Fang Chenxi’s mind.

She said she wouldn’t take orders anymore; Fang Chenxi instinctively ignored the second half of the sentence.

No more orders.

Even the words “for the time being” were overlooked.

Fang Chenxi felt so useless.

Now, even the only way she could talk to Jiang Ling comfortably was about to be cut off.

Jiang Ling said she was busy, but what exactly was she busy with?

This time, even Fang Chenxi couldn’t guess.

After all, Jiang Ling was no longer the Jiang Ling from her past life.

***

On Saturday night, Jiang Ling received a few book titles from Ji Qingyan.

Supposedly, these were books that would be very helpful for a beginner’s early writing.

Jiang Ling trusted her completely and placed an order immediately.

However, just thinking about it wasn’t enough; the most important thing about writing a novel was actually writing.

So, for the first time, Jiang Ling registered an account on her most frequently used novel app and, relying on her memories, began writing the story of Fang Chenxi and Lu Yuyao.

***

Early Monday morning.

Upon returning to class, Jiang Ling saw Fang Chenxi already in her seat.

Fang Chenxi’s expression was a bit unnatural.

She looked at Jiang Ling, then quickly averted her eyes.

She seemed to want to say hello but was hesitant for some reason.

“You’re here so early?”

Jiang Ling sighed and took the initiative to speak.

Fang Chenxi hesitated before nodding.

“You too.”

Jiang Ling could clearly feel Fang Chenxi’s stiffness.

Jiang Ling pursed her lips, unsure of what to say for a moment.

The atmosphere between them fell silent.

“Hey, where did you guys go over the weekend?”

The girl sitting in front of them, Xiao Tongqi, turned around and asked cheerfully.

However, she saw both of them open their mouths but say nothing.

After a quick glance at each other, they both turned away.

It was very strange.

“Did you have a fight?”

Sensing the wrong atmosphere, Xiao Tongqi leaned over Jiang Ling’s desk—the one closest to her—and whispered.

Jiang Ling shook her head.

They had already made up, so this wasn’t really a fight.

But to keep Xiao Tongqi from worrying, she still said, “It’s nothing. She’s just being petty; she’ll be fine in a bit.”

Xiao Tongqi was a kind-hearted person.

Hearing Jiang Ling’s words, she didn’t just turn back around.

She grinned, acting as if she didn’t know anything about their situation, and continued to chat.

The atmosphere gradually became more lively.

“By the way, do you want to go check the bulletin board downstairs after class? When I came in this morning, I saw a lot of club recruitment posters already up.”

“Sure, I actually wanted to change clubs.”

“What about you two?”

Xiao Tongqi looked at Jiang Ling and Fang Chenxi.

Fang Chenxi didn’t speak, instinctively looking toward Jiang Ling.

“Um, I won’t go. I have something to do later.”

“Alright then.”

“Mhm, I’ll go with you guys,” Fang Chenxi said after a moment of hesitation.

She couldn’t always follow Jiang Ling’s lead, or she might start to annoy her.

“Good morning, Jiang Ling.”

Ji Qingyan arrived as well.

As she passed Jiang Ling’s seat, she greeted her.

However, she still wore that same cold expression.

“Mhm, morning, Qingyan,” Jiang Ling responded with a smile.

Ji Qingyan nodded.

Spotting Fang Chenxi sitting next to Jiang Ling, she chose to ignore her and walked straight to her seat.

Watching the two greet each other so familiarly, Xiao Tongqi was very curious.

“Jiang Ling, since when did you and Ji Qingyan get so close?”

Jiang Ling hesitated, asking in confusion, “Does this count as being close? It was just a greeting.”

“For Ji Qingyan, being able to greet her like that means your relationship is already quite good. In the one week since school started, I haven’t seen her say more than a few words to anyone else.”

“When I greet her, she sometimes doesn’t even acknowledge me,” Xiao Tongqi said, her eyes filled with disappointment.

For an extrovert like her, not receiving a response when trying to make friends seemed to hurt her feelings.

Jiang Ling gave a couple of sheepish laughs.

Actually, the way she met Ji Qingyan had been quite awkward too.

Qingyan.

Qingyan.

Qingyan.

The intimate name echoed in Fang Chenxi’s mind, making her feel a wave of discomfort.

Fang Chenxi’s fist clenched under the table.

She took a deep breath, her phoenix eyes darkening, though they also held a hint of grievance as she secretly blamed Jiang Ling in her heart.

She was certain now.

She really hated Ji Qingyan.