CH 56

After breaking out of her momentary stupor, Qin Juran reached for her phone on the bed. Hearing movement coming from the other side of the bed curtain, Huang Ying immediately came rushing over. Qin Juran let out a sigh: “You turned off my alarm?”

Huang Ying nodded apologetically under Qin Juran’s glare: “Juju, I know that you’ve been working very hard lately. Your alarm was ringing a long time and you didn’t seem to hear, so I assumed you were too exhausted…..”

Qin Juran didn’t say anything. She nodded once, then raised her head to look at Chi Ying: “Is something the matter?”

During the past few weeks, She and Chi Ying attended the training sessions together. In the small group of 6, no matter how much they couldn’t stand each other, they were forced to become acquainted one way or another. Chi Ying also seemed to have changed her battle plan, as she stopped provoking Qin Juran with childish taunts, but instead was gritting her teeth and working hard to compete with her.

Chi Ying pulled out a packet of questions from her bag: “I compiled my own study guide for the music theory questions, specific to the provincial competition.”

Qin Juran raised an eyebrow: “On what condition?”

Chi Ying paused: “Still as on guard as always, ha. I have some finance questions that I wanted to ask you about.”

“I’m not the only one with good finance scores, and the others aren’t a threat to you, so there’s no need to come to me.” As Qin Juran spoke, she tightened the belt of her robe, put on her slippers, shook out her hair, and walked towards the bathroom.

Chi Ying followed. With her tall height and high ponytail perched on top of her head, she gave off an air of self-importance. She tailed Qin Juran to the bathroom door and blocked the entranceway. “That’s right, the other members don’t pose a threat to me, but I also can’t be sure about their skill level. To exchange a set of music theory study guide for a chance to ‘know yourself and know your enemy,’ Qin Juran, that’s a win-win.”

“How do I know that this study guide of yours is credible?”

“How will you know unless you try?” Chi Ying rebutted.

Qin Juran didn’t reply, thinking it over. She only muttered a single “Hm” as she collected her toiletries and tied her hair into a ponytail, then moved to walk inside.

“That’s it? I haven’t even told you which area I need help with and where we should start.” Chi Ying chimed from the doorway.

Qin Juran raised her eyebrows, waving the bath supplies in her hand. She replied innocently: “Miss, I’m about to take a shower.”

“So? You can’t talk while in the shower? It’s not like I’m trying to take advantage of you.”

“……”

Qin Juran ignored her, shutting the bathroom door after her.

She made sure to lock it.

This girl is a little hard to read.

By the time Qin Juran emerged from her bath dressed in fresh clothes, wiping her damp hair, Chi Ying had already been sitting by the empty bed waiting for a long while. Upon Qin Juran’s return, she exclaimed that she was hungry, the expression on her face seeming to say “I’ll join you for a meal if I have to endure the pain of you tutoring me anyway.” However, Qin Juran flat-out pretended to not see and continued to tidy her belongings.

“Qin Juran, I said I’m hungry. Hurry and find a place to eat, then we can study.”

Qin Juran sat upon the stool beside her bed, jutting her chin out and pointing to the empty seat beside her: “If you have a question, then ask it now. Otherwise, please leave.”

“You!” Chi Ying clenched her teeth as she glared at Qin Juran. She had spoken those harsh words earlier because she saw the footage of Qin Juran in last year’s competition, and figured that she was a weak white lotus who cried when being reproached, but after interacting with her, she realized that she actually had an attitude like a hot chili pepper.

And moreover, one that could easily bring someone to tears just from a single touch.

Regardless, she couldn’t fight with force.

Chi Ying gritted her teeth, her face morphing into a grimace as she perched awkwardly on the small dorm stool.  She liked having peace and quiet when she did her work, which is why she had already moved off campus since her freshman year. She couldn’t stand staying in such a sullen environment.

Qin Juran asked whether she wanted to order takeout. After a moment of hesitation, Chi Ying nodded, deciding to give it a chance.

Qin Juran: “Don’t order anything too heavy or something that takes too long.”

“……”

“Then I’m not ordering!”

“If you don’t want to, then let’s hurry up and study.”

The two of them pulled out the packet of questions that Chi Ying had prepared, and Qin Juran turned on the lamp light. They were all questions on the topic of finance. Even Huang Ying was curious, asking Qin Juran whether she could listen in from the side. Qin Juran replied that she didn’t mind, although her focus would still be on Chi Ying.

Chi Ying wasn’t stupid at all, and she explained her topics very quickly. However, she was just too prideful to admit when she didn’t understand a topic, so she ended up getting stuck when she had to complete the problems.

After this happened twice, Qin Juran scrunched her eyebrows and was about to call her out on her flaw. Just then, her phone rang with a message, and she opened it to see a text from Ruan Nan asking whether she’d eaten. She had been sleeping all day, and only when she woke up did she send Qin Juran the message.

【Not yet. What about Ah-Ruan?】Qin Juran replied.

【I’m still hungry. Let’s go for a midnight snack?】

There was no way that Ruan Nan wouldn’t be filled up with that much food; she was probably just worried that Qin Juran wouldn’t eat enough by herself, so she wanted to accompany her. Qin Juran glanced at the papers spread out in front of her, replying with a wry smile: 【That’s alright Ah-Ruan, I’m studying for the competitions. Tomorrow is the finals.】

【Video call?】 Ruan Nan asked. She probably wanted to wish her luck before the competition tomorrow.

The entire provincial competition spanned a total of three days, and the participants were barred from leaving freely. Ruan Nan had mentioned joining her earlier, but Qin Juran was against it.

Qin Juran pressed her lips together, glancing at Chi Ying in front of her, who was staring at the question packet studiously. After hesitating for a moment, she replied: 【I’m in my dorm, so it’s a bit inconvenient to call. How about tomorrow morning?】

【Huh? Are you doing something naughty with Huang Ying?】

Before Qin Juran could reply, Ruan Nan followed with: 【Just kidding, haha. I’ll be waiting for your victory, may Professor Qin sweep the floor.】

【Alright.】

【Then don’t stay up too late tonight, and definitely don’t pull an all-nighter. Sleep early so you can wake up refreshed and focused tomorrow.】

【Yessir. Reporting in to Captain Ah-Ruan, girlfriend number 1 is already in bed laying down. What is the next instruction?】

【Close your eyes, relax, and sleep.】

【Yessir.】

The smile on Qin Juran’s face grew. Meanwhile, Chi Ying gripped her pen, frowning, and poked Huang Ying with her elbow, asking in a low voice: “What’s up with her?”

Huang Ying replied: “She must be texting Sister Nan – what else?”

“Who’s Sister Nan?” The art department was in a separate part of the campus, and Chi Ying wasn’t one to browse on online forums. The only things she knew about Qin Juran were related to the competition.

Huang Ying eyed her incredulously: “Sister Nan: Ruan Nan, the second prettiest girl in the Finance department, heiress to the Ruan Family Conglomerate, Qin Juran’s girlfriend. You didn’t know about that?”

The first thing that struck Chi Ying wasn’t the part about “Qin Juran’s girlfriend,” but rather, “the second prettiest girl in the Finance department.” She raised an eyebrow: “Then who’s the first prettiest?”

“……”

Huang Yin felt that Chi Ying must’ve been a little dumb.

She wanted to continue, but she immediately shut her mouth when she noticed Qin Juran shake her head slightly upon hearing their conversation. After going over a few more questions, Qin Juran asked Chi Ying whether she had understood, to which she muttered ambiguously. However, Qin Juran only flicked her a glance and didn’t mind whether she had actually understood or not. It was already 10:20 pm, so she put away her notes and stood up to usher her guest out.

“How am I supposed to get back?” Chi Ying frowned, insulted by Qin Juran’s callous attitude.

Qin Juran eyed her curiously: “How did you get here?”

“…..It was bright daylight when I came, but now it’s already this late. And I live off-campus.”

Her implication was that it was too dangerous to walk home alone now.

The three girls stood in the dorm awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to do. Chi Ying looked suggestively towards the empty bed where Feng Jing used to sleep, but Huang Ying quickly offered: “Juju, how about I borrow your electric scooter and drop her off?”

She added in a small voice: “After all, I was the one who shut off your alarm before, and the one who let her into our room. I originally thought that you guys were close with each other……”

Qin Juran shook her head: “You can’t even carry yourself smoothly on flat road, how will you take a passenger?”

After she spoke, Qin Juran put on her coat and hat, tucked her phone in her pocket, then grabbed the keys to her bike. Right before she was about to leave, she looked at Chi Ying and seemed to have remembered something. She then took off her coat and hung it back on the rack, then dug in her wardrobe for another coat to change into.

As Huang Ying watched upon her in confusion, Qin Juran walked up to Chi Ying and held up the belt of her new coat: “I only have my electric bike. I ride fast, so when we’re turning, don’t hug me or touch my waist. If you really must, then you can hold onto my belt.”

“…….”

Chi Ying followed Qin Juran out the door. After sitting on the bike and asking for directions, Qin Juran gripped the handlebar and started to drive. Once they made it out of the campus, the streets became significantly darker, and Qin Juran was unfamiliar with where Chi Ying’s apartment complex was. She wanted to pull out her phone to check, but when she reached into her pocket, she realized that she’d left her phone in the other jacket that she’d just changed out of.

“What’s wrong, Qin Juran?” Chi Ying called out into the wind from behind her. She didn’t dare embrace Qin Juran, and with her fast driving speed, she was forced to grip the belt around Qin Juran’s waist in a desperate chokehold.

“I think I’m a bit lost.”

Qin Juran stopped the bike on the side of the road so that Chi Ying could identify where they were. Then, they continued by Chi Ying acting as the navigator, shouting out the turns and traffic lights one by one. Qin Juran felt that she was being directed by an electric dog behind her.

After riding for another 20 minutes, Qin Juran parked on the roadside, stomped her Doc Martens upon the ground, and motioned for Chi Ying to get off without saying a word.

Chi Ying rolled her eyes from behind her back: “Qin Juran, why are you so vicious today? The study guide that I gave you is legit, I swear on my reputation.”

Qin Juran shrugged, not meeting her eyes: “I don’t believe in your reputation.”

“……”

“Qin Juran”

Chi Ying called out from behind just as Qin Juran was about to leave.

“Until now, it was only from other people’s mouths that I heard marveling at your beauty. But today for the first time, I’ve noticed how pretty you really are. And not only that, but you look rather cool while riding your electric bike.”

“Lay off –  no matter how much you flatter me, I’m not going to go easy on you tomorrow.” Qin Juran let out a small chuckle from under the street light.

“……” Chi Ying didn’t bother explaining. She proceeded to walk up to the bike, reaching out to grab the handles, then leaned down to meet Qin Juran’s eyes: “Qin Juran, earlier your roommate was talking about how your girlfriend is the second beauty of the finance department. You know, I’m also the ‘flower’ of our art department. So which of us two do you think is prettier?”

Chi Ying wasn’t wearing a hat, and her thin scarf clearly offered little protection against the winter frost, as her ears and nose were both red from the cold. When Qin Juran didn’t answer, she drew even closer:

“Qin Juran, I also dated a girl before, but we eventually split up because of practical reasons. From the first training session we had, when you were teaching about your questions, you reminded me of her.”

“You two are both the same – cold and indifferent on the surface, but actually very compassionate inside.”

Chi Ying purposedly hovered close to her, when Qin Juran suddenly raised her head and stared into her eyes. The streetlight cast a warm light upon her face, softening her proud and cold demeanor. As a gust of wind blew past, Qin Juran asked softly: “Your jacket is so thin – I’m sure you must’ve been freezing while we were on the road?”

Her voice was very soft. Not knowing why she suddenly asked that, Chi Ying could only nod perplexedly.

“Thanks, I understand now.”

“Understand what?” Chi Ying abruptly straightened up.

""

Qin Juran gripped the handles of her bike and propelled backward: “That the next time I give my girlfriend a ride, I’ll make sure to provide her with a thick, warm coat.”