CH 28

Gossip spreads the fastest during the periods after breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And every little matter becomes hot gossip in a place where nothing major ever happens. Especially matters pertaining to the red strings of fate of the major players in the school. And so, in just one lunch period, the matter of Jin Siming secretly taking pictures of Yao Jin had turned into a well-known rumor. 

“Omg, did I hear that right? But don’t they have a bad relationship with each other?” 

“That’s what they say, but wasn’t the reason they argued so much in the first place because they were competing over who was the most beautiful? But now….does an Alpha need to compete with an Omega in terms of beauty?” 

“Also, did you notice that small fruit-green lunch box on Beauty Yao’s desk? Doesn’t it look exactly the same as the one Jin Siming had in her hands when she entered the door this morning?” 

“That’s right, that’s right! I wanted to say something about it a long time ago! Also, I saw her take a lot of delicious food out of that box at noon and Beauty Yao was even kind enough to share a chicken leg with me. Wuwu, she really is kind-hearted!” 

“This…maybe it’s just a coincidence and they just bought the same brand?” 

“I also saw Jin Siming with a lunch box in the morning, but now it’s nowhere to be found. Isn’t this just proof that Jin Siming made lunch for Beauty Yao?” 

“You guys may not believe me when I say it, but during the self-study period last night I saw Beauty Yao perform a kabedon on Jin Siming in the stairwell!” 

“What?!!! Do you have a picture? If there’s no picture, then it’s not real! Although you may dare to say such outlandish things, I don’t dare to believe it!” 

“Aiya, I didn’t have my phone with me because I was in a hurry to go to the bathroom, or else do you really think I wouldn’t have taken a picture of that amazing scene?” 

“Tsk, why bother going to the bathroom if you’re not going to take your phone with you.” 

*******

Meanwhile, Jin Siming was completely clueless about the rumors bubbling around her. She only noticed that many strange gazes landed on her when she entered the classroom. The sudden attention only left her feeling puzzled. 

She originally wanted to ask Su Xiaohang what was going on, but the other party was lying on her desk and fast asleep. It would be difficult to wake her up, so she patted Bean Sprout who was sitting at the desk in front of them. However, Bean Sprout has been addicted to books for many years and has become completely oblivious to things outside of his books. Furthermore, he has never cared for the class gossip, no matter how big or small.

Jin Siming could only faintly sigh and sit in their small corner at the back row. With Bean Sprout in front of her blocking off the horizontal view and with her tall form blocking the vertical view, their little piece in the corner seemed to be isolated from the entire class. Usually she was okay with this as she and Su Xiaohang can then play games and relieve their boredom without being spotted. Meanwhile, Bean Sprout had a stack of books in the seat next to him and read books like he believed he could find treasure in them. 

The three of them lived in a harmonious atmosphere, happy and content in guarding this little paradise of theirs. The only real disadvantage however is that any gossip or news skips over them. As if everyone else had 5G and they were still using 2G, by the time they got any news it would be old news. 

During the third class in the afternoon, the head teacher suddenly notified all differentiated students in the class to go to the lecture hall located in Building A on the first floor for a meeting. Saying something along the lines of experiencing an exchange of information with the third-year seniors. 

And since Su Xiaohang hadn’t differentiated yet, Jin Siming found herself alone as she headed to Building A. 

Most students in high school are quite active and so when they heard they could gain valuable information from their seniors, the front row of the lecture hall became a sought-after and valuable resource. By the time Jin Siming entered the lecture hall, the first few rows were all full. 

However, this had little to no effect on her as she habitually walked directly to the last row and sat near the wall. 

After she sat down, she pulled out her phone and put on her earphones. She started playing a house decorating game she has been obsessed with recently. As she was deciding between buying a simple style or a cute style sofa for the living room, someone knocked on the desk of the seat next to her. 

The amphitheater-shaped lecture hall is not very big and could barely accommodate all of the second-year Alphas, Omegas, and Betas in this school. With three minutes left before the start of class, the seats were basically full except for the corner Jin Siming was in. In fact, there was an empty seat on both her left and right sides. 

Gao Mei and Yao Jin had just walked in from the front door, searching down the aisle for empty seats when they finally stopped beside Jin Siming who didn’t notice them as she played on her phone with her head down. So they knocked on the desk of the seat next to her to get her attention. 

“Classmate Jin, can you move one seat inwards? Or if it’s easier, let me go in and take those seats? It seems that the only two seats still open are the ones next to you.” 

Jin Siming raised her head only to see Gao Mei, wearing a ponytail, standing in front of her with a smile and Yao Jin’s bright face peeking out from behind her. 

She glanced around and saw that indeed most of the other seats in the darkened rows beneath her were full. 

She pondered it for a bit before taking a deep breath and sighing. Then she moved a seat inwards towards the wall. 

“Thank you.” 

Even with her eyes closed, Jin Siming could tell that the charming voice who thanked her belonged to Yao JIn. 

Then a familiar sweet scent drifted towards her. 

Jin Siming continued to play the interior design game on her phone but….that faintly discernible fragrance next to her was like a tempting siren call, making her lose all interest in her game. 

A little while later, a fair white hand pushed over a small piece of paper with a note on it. 

【Why did you secretly take a picture of me at noon? 】

Jin Siming choked a little after reading the note. 

This…..how should she answer this? 

So she turned her head to the side and moved away from the note, pretending she didn’t see it. 

A few seconds later, the other party seemed to have let the matter go as there were no movements from them. She let out a sigh of relief. 

Then unexpectedly Yao Jin pushed the note towards her again and, seeing that Jin Siming was ignoring her, even tugged the corner of her clothes underneath the desk like a spoiled child. 

“!” 

Jin Siming’s eyes widened and she turned around with a surprised expression. 

Yao Jin quickly grew uncomfortable under her surprised stare and withdrew her hand just as quickly. 

Even she was a little shocked by her actions just now. That show of vulnerability just now…she would’ve only done that if she fully trusts the other party. 

After some thought, she decided to blame that incident in the infirmary again and her body’s current dependence on the other. 

Although there were many conflicting thoughts in her heart, her clear autumn eyes showed no ripples and no one could guess her thoughts from looking at them. 

Jin Siming stared at Yao Jin who was still smiling at her as if nothing was wrong. She pursed her lips, pulling back her clothes as she picked up a pen and wrote on the little note. 

【You think too much, I didn’t take any pictures of you. 】

After finishing writing, she put down the pen and turned her back to Yao Jin.

Yao Jin’s delicate eyebrows bent as she couldn’t help but softly chuckle at the other party’s awkward and stubborn refusal to admit her actions. 

The melodious laughter was quiet and soft, but still attracted the attention of many students far away. When they realized that the laughter came from Yao Jin, they turned back around in surprise. 

“Now let us welcome your senior, Qin Ziqing….”

Jin Siming sat up when hearing this familiar name. Hearing the warm applause form below, Jin Siming looked down at the podium to see a tall girl standing there. She was taller than even the male teacher next to her, and although her skin wasn’t fair like most others, it was a healthy wheat color. Her features were both delicate and strong, and there was a heroic aura surrounding her. 

She is Qin Ziqing? The Qin-jie that got mixed up with Yao Jin and whose followers attacked her in the bathroom before?  

Although Su Xiaohang had told her everything about the matter between Qin Ziqing and Yao Jin, she still had no impression of this Qin person. She narrowed her eyes in curiosity as she carefully studied this senior sister in front of her. 

“I’ll return your jacket to you tomorrow.” 

At this moment, Yao Jin suddenly whispered this sentence in her ear. 

A warm breath drifted over her ear, and a sentence carrying a magnetic husky bass tone to it entered her eyes. Her ear started to itch and turn red and she suddenly sat up. 

Her sudden movements brought about a gust of wind, and Yao Jin’s red lips parted slightly in surprise. She didn’t expect such a violent reaction from the other party. 

She had borrowed Jin Siming’s jacket previously but because Gao Mei was sitting next to her and she didn’t want anyone else to know, she deliberately lowered her voice. But the distance between them could still be considered normal, so why the big reaction? She didn’t expect Jin Siming’s ears to be so sensitive, so much so that they turned red. 

The curves of her lips deepened a little. 

Jin Siming caught the flash of ridicule in the other party’s eyes and scolded herself in annoyance for her overation. She needs to keep her composure in front of Yao Jin! 

She cleared her throat and lowered her head, “You don’t need to return it to me. I was also at fault for accidentally pushing you down that day. You can do whatever you want with the jacket, even throw it away if you want.” 

Hearing her words, Yao Jin blacked in surprise and flatly replied, “Oh…alright.” 

Meanwhile, Gao Mei, who was sitting next to Yao Jin, had quietly watched them write notes and whisper to each other this entire time. Her jaw almost dropped in shock at the sight in front of her. 

She pulled Yao Jin over to her side and asked in a frantic whisper, “Jin Jin, when did you get so close with Jin Siming? Are you and her actually….you know?” 

Yao Jin stared at her curiously, “Know what?”

“It’s just….” Gao Mei thought about the hot gossip about Yao Jin and Jin Siming that have been spreading throughout the class. As Yao Jin’s best friend, Yao Jin would naturally talk to her first and so all the other rumors have been marked as false by her. But seeing the little interactions between the two, she was starting to believe in the rumors a little. 

Gao Mei agonized over her thoughts for a while and asked, “What is the current relationship between you and Jin Siming? Are you two no longer fighting?” 

Yao Jin brushed a stray hair behind her ear as she answered softly, “I’ve never…really hated her nor have I targeted her on purpose. You should know that I tried making friends with her before but she….always seemed to have it out for me so I always fought back. But now…I find that teasing her is a little fun.” 

“So it’s only a one-sided hatred from her now?”

Gao Mei thought quietly, this was the opposite of the rumors in class. The rumor in class was that Jin Siming delivered lunch and even took a secret picture of her, clearly indicating she has a crush on Yao Jin. She never expected to hear the exact opposite come from Yao Jin’s mouth. 

Thinking like this, she felt a little annoyed. Her best friend is a heartthrob admired by all and a goddess in many people’s hearts. In fact, having Jin Jin be the one to desperately chase others makes her feel annoyed, no matter who it is. 

Gao Mei’s hand holding Yao Jin tightened and she stared at her with a resentful-like face while saying nothing. Yao Jin tilted her head in puzzlement. Meanwhile, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed an Omega girl sitting in the row in front of her turn around and hand Jin Siming a piece of candy. The two of them exchanged a few words while smiling at each other. 

The smile on the corner of her lips faded a little, and a strange feeling she never felt before erupted in her heart. 

Jin Siming’s popularity with omegas has exploded recently, and she even took notice of it. In the past, Jin Siming was basically an outcast and except for two or three fixed friends, she had very few connections with omegas or girls at all. In fact, the closest relationship with an omega she had was with her, although it was a hostile relationship. 

Now thought, omegas approached Jin Siming actively and whenever one approached her, she felt strange in her heart. A feeling much like how she fed a stray cat for a long time and now others were feeding that stray cat, but the cat decides to follow the others instead of her. It was a strange and uncomfortable feeling. 

In fact, seeing Jin Siming reach over to pick up that candy made her strange possessive feeling even stronger. 

It must be that damn pheromone dependency at work again! 

Yao Jin convinced herself that was the case in her heart, but her hand moved one step ahead of her and without her thinking she snatched that piece of candy away. 

“Hey, you–”

Jin Siming instinctively reached out and grabbed Yao JIn’s delicate wrist after seeing her candy get taken away. 

Then she suddenly felt a chilly gaze land on the back of her head from some unknown direction.