Chapter 10

What a vicious, unreasonable thing to say—Jiang Qiao almost wanted to slap herself.

Fine, let the two of you be a pair of homeless lovebirds, she thought spitefully.

After a long silence—long enough that Jiang Qiao thought Lu Xun might just bury her on the spot—Lu Xun slowly curved his lips and said,
“…Alright.”

Jiang Qiao pretended not to see the icy chill in his eyes. Upon hearing his response, she felt both smug and jealous.
“Hmph, didn’t think you actually cared about her.”

Before Lu Xun could respond, she began rationalizing aloud:
“But it doesn’t matter. From today on, you’re my boyfriend. You’re not allowed to talk to her anymore, and you definitely can’t protect her.”

“Jiang Qiao” wanted Lu Xun himself. She firmly believed that with her looks and family background, any sane man would eventually fall in love with her.

That blind confidence was exactly what doomed “Jiang Qiao” in the original novel.

A supporting character is just that—a supporting character. The male lead’s choice is always the female lead. That’s the power of the protagonist’s aura.

Jiang Qiao sighed. She just wanted to get through the plot quickly, let the main couple find their happiness, complete her mission, and return to the real world.

The news that “Jiang Qiao and Lu Xun are dating” spread through the school like wildfire. All morning, Jiang Qiao’s phone was blowing up. Friends who were close to her kept calling.

Among them, Peng Yang had called over ten times. Jiang Qiao was so annoyed that she simply added him to her blocklist.

Ye Qingqing saw how unapologetically smug Jiang Qiao looked and sighed for the eighth time that day.
“Qiao’er, you can’t force love. A twisted melon isn’t sweet. Turn back while you still can.”

Look at Lu Xun—his cold, aloof face, not a hint of affection. Nothing about him said he liked Jiang Qiao.

But Jiang Qiao acted like nothing was wrong, all gung-ho about the whole thing. As soon as class ended, she eagerly ran to Lu Xun’s desk, even pretending to be a bit reserved:
“Wanna have lunch together? A new Chinese restaurant just opened on Jingjiang Road. I heard it’s pretty good.”

Lu Xun didn’t even look up as he continued writing.
“No.”

“Why not?” Jiang Qiao’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

She stood there, staring at him, stubbornly demanding an answer. Lu Xun finally showed her mercy by lifting his eyes slightly, answering in a flat tone:
“I’m eating in the school cafeteria.”

He added with a faint smile:
“If you want to eat there too, I don’t mind.”

The school cafeteria food wasn’t exactly awful, but it certainly wasn’t good either. The only upside was that it was cheap and filling.

Anyone with money would order delivery or go out to eat. Let alone someone like Jiang Qiao—a pampered heiress—she probably didn’t even know what the cafeteria looked like.

Lu Xun said it on purpose. He didn’t believe Jiang Qiao would lower herself to eat in the cafeteria just to be with him. After speaking, he lowered his gaze, packed up his papers, and walked around her toward the door.

Song Qingying glanced at Jiang Qiao, who stood frozen in place. Her mother had told her that a classmate came to visit their house, and based on the description, she was sure it was Jiang Qiao.

Why had Jiang Qiao gone to her house? And why was Lu Xun suddenly dating Jiang Qiao?

Song Qingying was smart. She couldn’t help but draw her own conclusion.

Her stare was so intense that Jiang Qiao couldn’t ignore it even if she wanted to. She glared fiercely at her.
“What are you looking at?”

Song Qingying’s face turned pale, but emboldened by the theory she’d formed, she spoke up:
“Jiang Qiao, Lu Xun doesn’t even like you.”

“If he doesn’t like me, then what? He likes you?” Jiang Qiao sneered, completely unbothered in public.
“He’s my boyfriend now.”

“Some things, we both know the truth,” Song Qingying said through clenched teeth. The disgust in her eyes was no longer hidden.
“I dragged him into this. You used me to threaten him into being with you.”

Wow, even that she knew? Lu Xun really told her everything, didn’t he?

Jiang Qiao raised an eyebrow. Her heart remained calm, but on the surface, she acted flustered and indignant, pointing at Song Qingying, yet unable to get a word out.

[Hit her! Hit her! Maintain your character arc!] 166 egged her on.

Jiang Qiao was covered in black lines. She spotted Ye Qingqing running over from the corner of her eye, so she finally raised her hand and made a show of going for it.

“Qiao! Don’t! It’s not worth it, it’s not worth it…”

Ye Qingqing grabbed her hand. Jiang Qiao let out a breath of relief but still raised her hand a few more times in fake outrage, cursing as she did:
“Don’t stop me! Today, I have to…”

“Alright, alright, alright, I won’t stop you. Let’s just go eat first…”

Her voice trailed off.

Jiang Qiao was pulled away, while Song Qingying still hadn’t fully recovered. When she finally realized that she had almost been hit just now, her face turned even paler.

Once they were far enough from the classroom, Ye Qingqing finally dared to let go of her. She felt like a nagging mom:
“Missy, seriously now—what did she say to make you so angry?”

“…Hmph.” Jiang Qiao felt embarrassed. She glanced away and said nothing.

Ye Qingqing sighed again at the sight.
“Alright, alright, if you don’t want to talk about it, then don’t.” She checked the time. “But can we at least go eat now?”

At the mention of food, Jiang Qiao hesitated for two seconds.
“I feel like trying the cafeteria today.”

The cafeteria.

It was peak lunch hour. A few girls whispered softly and occasionally glanced in a certain direction.

A few minutes later, a girl with long hair walked by carrying a tray. She smiled shyly.
“Hi, can I sit here?”

The cafeteria was a public space.

Lu Xun barely furrowed his brows but replied politely and distantly,
“Suit yourself.”

The table wasn’t big, and the girl sat quite close to him. Lu Xun could smell her unfamiliar perfume.

He sped up his eating.

Jiang Qiao took in the entire scene from afar.

Ye Qingqing was picky with food and hadn’t come along, so Jiang Qiao had to look around for a bit before finding Lu Xun.

She casually picked up a meal and walked over to sit directly across from him. Her tray hit the table with a loud thud.

The girl was startled. When she looked up and saw who it was, a flash of panic crossed her face.
“Jiang Qiao…”

“Still not leaving?” Jiang Qiao smiled without warmth. “Planning to stick around and be a third wheel?”

The girl awkwardly grabbed her tray and ran off.

Jiang Qiao’s mood visibly improved. She stared at the greasy fried noodles in front of her and grumbled:
“Lu Xun, is this stuff even edible? Maybe next time you should just come eat out with me…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Lu Xun suddenly stood up. His tall frame loomed over her, his expression cold:
“I’m done.”

He didn’t wait for her reply and started walking away.

Jiang Qiao couldn’t even care about her fried noodles anymore. She hurried after him—only to smack her shin hard against the table leg.

A sudden dull pain made her face turn pale. She bent down, and right above her ankle, a red swelling appeared at a speed visible to the eye.

Her skin was fair, making the redness stand out even more.

Lu Xun’s gaze dropped from her pale ankle to her watery peach blossom eyes.

Noticing his stare, Jiang Qiao sniffled and gently rubbed her swollen ankle. It was already red—rubbing it just made it worse.

Idiot.

Under Jiang Qiao’s pitiful gaze, Lu Xun turned around and walked off.

He left behind Jiang Qiao with an injured ankle, her peach blossom eyes lowered—suddenly looking very pitiful.