Chapter 22: Another Embarrassing Moment

Both of them were stunned by the sudden accident and didn’t react for a moment.

Jiang Ling was the first to realize how awkward their position was.

Her face flushed red as she apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I didn’t do it on purpose, Qingyan.”

Then, she slowly pulled her hands away from the back of Ji Qingyan’s head.

“It’s fine.”

Ji Qingyan’s beautiful brows furrowed.

She wasn’t actually angry; she was only frowning because her bottom hurt from the fall.

“Get up first.”

“Right, I’m getting up now.”

*Hiss.*

What was that sound?

They both heard a strange noise and instinctively looked toward the window.

Two girls were leaning against the glass, peering inside with shocked expressions.

Jiang Ling locked eyes with them for a few seconds before the two of them fled in a panic, as if they had just discovered some earth-shattering secret.

Jiang Ling felt her soul wither.

‘Just let the world end.’

Judging by their uniforms, those two girls were from Grade 10.

Jiang Ling had never felt so unlucky in her life.

‘They wouldn’t misunderstand, right?’

That fantasy still lingered in her heart, but the way they turned and ran like they had been caught doing something guilty suggested otherwise.

There was no way they hadn’t misunderstood.

Jiang Ling wore a miserable expression, feeling as though she had lost all face in front of her underclassmen.

If word got out that some Grade 11 girl was doing this kind of thing in the club activity room, how could she go on living?

To make matters worse, her blonde hair made her incredibly easy to spot.

“Is something wrong?”

Ji Qingyan asked, confused by the sudden change in Jiang Ling’s expression.

Seeing that Jiang Ling was still sitting on her waist and making no move to get up, her face reddened.

She inexplicably turned her head away and whispered, “Could you get up first? The floor is quite cold.”

“Oh, right.”

Jiang Ling finally realized she was still sitting on Ji Qingyan.

she scrambled to her feet and reached out to help Ji Qingyan up, even moving to brush the dust off her clothes.

However, when she saw the sensitive area where Ji Qingyan had landed, she gave an embarrassed laugh and withdrew her hand.

At the same time, she glanced back at the window alertly.

She didn’t want to be mistaken for a pervert again.

“Was someone outside just now?”

After dusting herself off, Ji Qingyan straightened her clothes and fixed her chair.

She sat back down and waved her hand to signal to Jiang Ling that she was fine.

“No, nobody. It was probably just the sound of the wind blowing against the window.”

Under no circumstances could she let Ji Qingyan know that their position had been seen by others.

Thus, Jiang Ling chose to lie.

She would bear the shame of this social death alone.

‘Waaaah.’

Although Ji Qingyan had heard a strange noise, she didn’t take it to heart since Jiang Ling said it was nothing.

She simply told Jiang Ling to be careful, as it would be dangerous if she knocked over the hot water.

Jiang Ling scratched her head and nodded.

After submitting her manuscript, Jiang Ling continued her daily routine of writing.

Ji Qingyan had previously advised her that if she wanted to make money from writing a webnovel, maintaining a consistent update schedule was vital.

Therefore, she had set a goal for herself to write 6,000 words every day.

She still needed to keep working hard; after all, writing a webnovel was a matter of long-term persistence.

Ji Qingyan continued to hold her book, but if Jiang Ling had looked closely, she would have seen that Ji Qingyan had been on the same page for a long time.

Her eyes were vacant, and her attention was not on her reading at all.

***

Lunch break ended.

When Jiang Ling returned to the classroom, Fang Chenxi happened to wake up.

As soon as she opened her eyes and saw Jiang Ling and Ji Qingyan entering one after the other, she immediately realized where Jiang Ling had been during the break.

Jiang Ling felt a chill down her spine from that resentful gaze.

She sat in her seat and gave a few awkward laughs.

For some reason, she felt like she was having an affair behind someone’s back.

“You’re so relaxed all day. Aren’t you afraid you’ll lose to me?”

Fang Chenxi leaned in closer and whispered.

She frowned, and while she spoke of winning or losing, her expression betrayed a hint of concern.

In Fang Chenxi’s eyes, Jiang Ling had been utterly shiftless during these first two weeks of school.

During class, she was either reading novels or dazing off.

While she occasionally listened seriously to a few lessons, it was basically only a three-minute interest.

Sometimes she would write and draw in a notebook, but it clearly wasn’t for taking notes.

When Fang Chenxi tried to peek at what she was doing, Jiang Ling would hiss at her like she was protecting a secret.

If this continued, forget about the outcome of the Monthly Exam—what would happen to her in the future?

Jiang Ling blinked.

Seeing that Fang Chenxi was genuinely worried about her studies, she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been studying in secret.”

“Really? Are you telling me you’re taking extra lessons at home?”

Fang Chenxi’s phoenix eyes were filled with disbelief.

“You’d better be studying hard, or I’m going to tell Yu Yao.”

Jiang Ling didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She wasn’t sure why Fang Chenxi had suddenly become so concerned about her, but she couldn’t reject the kindness, so she simply nodded.

Actually, even if Fang Chenxi hadn’t said anything, Jiang Ling didn’t plan on reading novels during the afternoon classes anymore.

She was starting to get a bit tired of them.

After starting to write a webnovel herself, her mindset had changed significantly.

She now looked at everything with the intent to learn, which made reading quite exhausting.

Over time, reading novels became less interesting.

Despite not napping during lunch, Jiang Ling didn’t feel sleepy at all that afternoon.

She mentally marveled at the beauty of youth once again.

Back in her university days, if she didn’t get some rest at noon, she would feel like she’d lost her soul by the afternoon.

Speaking of which, Jiang Ling felt especially lucky that Tianhua Middle School didn’t have evening self-study.

What a humane arrangement!

Evening self-study was nothing short of a sin!

“I’m leaving now. Bye!”

When the last class ended, Xiao Tongqi said goodbye to Jiang Ling and Fang Chenxi before leaving first.

Other classmates also greeted them before heading out.

This was something of a headache for Jiang Ling.

Because of their outstanding looks, she and Fang Chenxi attracted too much attention in class.

Fang Chenxi was relatively enthusiastic and got along well with their classmates, but Jiang Ling was the type who didn’t like to take the initiative to make friends.

It often felt draining to her.

Jiang Ling’s gaze shifted toward Ji Qingyan, who was seated three rows away.

Ji Qingyan was the exact opposite.

Her appearance was equally outstanding, and many people tried to befriend her, but they all retreated without exception after seeing her cold reaction.

Ji Qingyan packed her things, put on her backpack, and left the classroom.

As she reached the door, she looked back at Jiang Ling.

Jiang Ling knew she was heading to the club classroom first, so she began to pack her things as well.

Fang Chenxi remained in her seat, watching the two of them ‘exchange looks.’

While she felt annoyed, she was also puzzled.

How had Jiang Ling’s relationship with Ji Qingyan suddenly become so good?

Ever since that argument, Jiang Ling had joined her club, and now that cold block of ice, Ji Qingyan, would actually take the initiative to greet her when they met.

Who was Ji Qingyan?

Her indifference was famous throughout the entire grade.

Fang Chenxi had occasionally heard rumors about her; apparently, she had been like this since Grade 10—cold and unable to get along with anyone.

It supposedly caused some trouble back then, though Fang Chenxi wasn’t sure of the details.

She had only heard that Ji Qingyan came from a very influential background and that anyone who offended her was immediately expelled.

Yet Jiang Ling had somehow managed to get on good terms with a person like that.

Just looking at Ji Qingyan made Fang Chenxi’s teeth itch with irritation.

Clearly, she was still holding a grudge over the fact that she hadn’t won their last argument.