Jiang Ling was about to leave with her bag when Fang Chenxi suddenly stopped her.
She arched an eyebrow and asked in a light tone, “Can I come visit your club?”
“No,” Jiang Ling replied flatly, crossing her arms.
“What kind of trouble are you trying to stir up now?”
“Don’t worry, I just want to take a look. Nothing’s going to happen.”
Jiang Ling knew that if Fang Chenxi was determined to go, she couldn’t stop her.
In fact, the more she resisted, the more Fang Chenxi would want to see it.
Jiang Ling frowned, hesitating for a moment.
“Then you’d better behave yourself once we’re there. Don’t say anything stupid.”
She was still afraid Fang Chenxi would pick another fight with Ji Qingyan.
If things truly got out of hand, she certainly wouldn’t be siding with Fang Chenxi.
“Look at you… it’s not like I’m the one who insists on arguing with her,” Fang Chenxi muttered.
Jiang Ling heard her and shot her another glare.
“I promise I won’t fight with her,” Fang Chenxi said, raising four fingers as if taking a solemn oath.
“Now wait for me, let’s go together.”
***
Inside the Club Classroom.
In a rare sight, Ji Qingyan’s beautiful, cold face was clouded with distress.
Her slender eyebrows were furrowed in a look of sheer conflict.
She held a piece of white paper that a member of the Student Union had left on her desk just moments ago.
It was the first thing she saw when she walked in—the **[Disbandment Notice]**.
The contents were simple and easy to understand.
It stated that the Literature Research Society had failed to meet the requirements for a club for an extended period.
If those requirements were not met within one week, the club would be officially disbanded.
At Tianhua Middle School, there were specific conditions for establishing a club.
According to the official requirements, first, the club had to meet the minimum membership requirement of at least three people, including the President.
Second, depending on the type of club, it had to achieve a certain level of recognition in its specialized field.
Taking the Literature Research Society as an example, since its focus was literary research, it had to show some accomplishments in that area—whether by participating in literary competitions or publishing literary works.
That was the gist of it.
With Ji Qingyan there, the second requirement was naturally met.
However, the number of members had always been a struggle for her.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t just drag two random people in to make up the numbers, but Ji Qingyan didn’t want her club to be the kind of place just anyone could join.
She had been genuinely happy for a while when she heard Jiang Ling wanted to join.
But looking at things now, the club wouldn’t be able to survive for more than another week.
Ji Qingyan sighed.
It was rare to see such an expression on her usually calm and composed face.
Hearing footsteps approaching the door, Ji Qingyan regained her composure.
She folded the notice, tucked it into a drawer, and turned around just as Fang Chenxi and Jiang Ling walked into the classroom, teasing each other.
Fang Chenxi had actually followed her here.
Surprise flickered in Ji Qingyan’s eyes, but she didn’t say anything.
When their eyes met, she remained as unruffled as ever.
She wasn’t a petty person.
On the contrary, Ji Qingyan was quite straightforward; if she didn’t like someone, she would express it on the spot.
Her dissatisfaction with Fang Chenxi was only because Fang Chenxi refused to admit when she was wrong and insisted on being stubborn.
That made her feel uncomfortable.
Now that Jiang Ling had brought her to the club, Ji Qingyan had no reason to lash out.
“Would you like some tea?”
Jiang Ling was about to wave her hand and decline.
After all, compared to tea, Fang Chenxi usually preferred coffee; she had mentioned it herself the last time she visited Jiang Ling’s home.
However, Fang Chenxi acted as if she were right at home.
She quickly took the seat next to Ji Qingyan, forcing Jiang Ling to sit beside her instead.
She smiled brightly, seemingly unbothered by her previous argument with Ji Qingyan.
“Yes, thank you.”
Jiang Ling shot her a suspicious look, sensing that Fang Chenxi was up to no good, but remembering the promise made before they came up, she remained silent.
“Chenxi wanted to come and visit the club. I didn’t think it would be a problem, so I let her come along,” Jiang Ling explained after a moment’s hesitation.
She didn’t want Ji Qingyan to misunderstand.
After pouring the tea, Ji Qingyan picked up her unfinished book to continue reading, just as she always did.
Her finger paused just as she was about to turn a page upon hearing Jiang Ling speak, and then she nodded.
She understood what Jiang Ling meant.
Even if she hadn’t said anything, it wouldn’t have mattered.
What she disliked was people who didn’t follow the proper courtesies.
Just like Jiang Ling on her first visit, Fang Chenxi curiously observed the layout of the Club Classroom.
She had actually considered joining Ji Qingyan’s club before.
However, after staying there for nearly 30 minutes and watching the two of them focused intently on their respective books, Fang Chenxi began to lose her patience.
After they had entered and exchanged some polite small talk, the other two had started reading, leaving Fang Chenxi sitting in her chair, staring blankly, unsure of what to do.
‘They aren’t doing this on purpose, are they?’
‘Is the Literature Research Society’s activity really just sitting here and reading?’
She patted Jiang Ling’s thigh, only to receive another glare.
Fang Chenxi waved it off and whispered to confirm her suspicion.
“Do you guys just sit and read the whole time?”
‘Of course not. We have a lot of fun when you’re not around.’
Jiang Ling obviously couldn’t say that.
She simply nodded calmly.
“What else? It’s a Literature Research Society. Isn’t it supposed to be about reading and things like that?”
“So, when you said you were coming to study, this is what you meant?”
Jiang Ling clearly hadn’t expected Fang Chenxi to link it to studying, but it worked out perfectly to quell her suspicions.
She nodded again.
‘Tsk.’
Fang Chenxi clicked her tongue, feeling a bit frustrated.
She had planned a surprise inspection but had come up empty-handed.
She felt like something wasn’t right, but it was impossible that the two of them had conspired beforehand to trick her.
That would be a bit terrifying.
Regardless, since she hadn’t found anything interesting, Fang Chenxi’s enthusiasm waned.
She treated it as if she had just come to keep Jiang Ling company for a bit.
Seeing that Fang Chenxi wasn’t leaving, Jiang Ling began to feel restless.
She still had some questions about her writing that she wanted to ask Ji Qingyan.
She tried to communicate with Fang Chenxi through eye contact.
[Didn’t you come here to visit? It’s been so long, why aren’t you leaving yet?]
[…]
Fang Chenxi pretended not to see her.
Seeing Jiang Ling so anxious only solidified her inner suspicions.
‘Hmph, let’s see how long you two can keep up this act.’
Fang Chenxi reached into the drawer in front of her, rummaging around to see if she could find a book to read.
Sitting here waiting was simply too boring.
‘What’s this?’
She didn’t find a book, but she did pull out a piece of paper.
As Fang Chenxi opened it with curiosity, the rustling sound caught Ji Qingyan’s attention.
She glanced over instinctively and saw that Fang Chenxi had already pulled the notice out of the drawer.
“Wait!”
Ji Qingyan’s cold voice was tinged with panic.
She could only watch as Fang Chenxi opened the notice and read it aloud in a low voice.
“A **[Disbandment Notice]**?”
‘I really did find something good.’