“Were you… flirting with me?” I was stunned.
“No, no… I was just sincerely complimenting you,” Shangguan Xiyue replied, her gaze strangely earnest.
There wasn’t even a trace of frivolity in her tone—only genuine sincerity.
“You really are very cute.”
Maybe I was just overly sensitive from having just turned into a girl, but now that I realized she wasn’t teasing, I actually felt… a little embarrassed.
“Hmm, I guess… not bad,” I mumbled, trying to laugh it off.
“Come on, let’s get you to the school to register.”
Shangguan Xiyue tugged my suitcase and started walking ahead.
“Are you really from the Beiqing student council?” I asked, pausing a bit as I stuffed the used tissue into my pocket, planning to toss it later when I saw a trash bin.
“Of course.”
She lifted the lanyard around her neck and showed me the official badge.
At the top, it read Beiqing University Student Council President, and below that were the neatly printed characters for Shangguan Xiyue.
On the side, a meticulously embossed official seal made it clear this wasn’t some cheap fake.
“Certified and authentic.”
I stared at the seal for a while.
Well, it’s not like I could say anything else at this point—I could only follow her.
“Let me take one of the suitcases.”
“Not a problem.”
Shangguan Xiyue was actually the cold and aloof type.
If she weren’t, the other members of the student council wouldn’t be so wary of her.
She was the kind who preferred getting straight to the point.
Only in front of “Jiuyan” did she become relaxed and talkative.
Not that she was two-faced or anything.
It’s just—everyone has different sides to them.
How you treat someone close to you isn’t the same as how you treat a stranger.
I let go of the handle helplessly.
At least this gave me a bit of breathing room, and I finally started to feel somewhat more comfortable in my pregnant body.
My stamina really wasn’t what it used to be.
These days, I often felt the gap between willpower and ability—wanting to move but unable to.
And to make matters worse, the suitcases I brought weren’t just large—they were huge.
So much so that they couldn’t even fit in the car’s trunk.
Shangguan Xiyue had no choice but to lay them across the back seat.
That meant I had to sit up front in the passenger seat.
The interior of the car carried a faint minty fragrance.
I suddenly remembered I had a friend who also loved that scent.
As I fastened the black seatbelt across my chest, the tightening strap pressed softly into my curves, the sensation strangely vivid in my mind.
I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Shangguan Xiyue—
But she was a girl too, so she probably wouldn’t care about these tiny details.
I quickly looked away.
Up ahead, the light turned red.
A sharp brake squealed through the air.
“Your family didn’t come with you to register?” Shangguan Xiyue asked casually.
My delicate eyebrows lowered ever so slightly.
“I don’t have any family.”
“Sorry.” Shangguan Xiyue instantly regretted asking and looked like she wanted to slap herself.
She quickly apologized, “I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Mm, I know.”
I lifted my face, soft as starlight and moonshine, and gave her a reasonably bright smile.
The sweat on my cheek had long since dried in the breeze—only a few stubborn strands of hair still clung playfully to the shallow dimples newly born at the corners of my lips.
Shangguan Xiyue was momentarily dazed.
“You… have a really nice personality.”
The light turned green. The car rolled forward once again.
Nice personality?
I hadn’t always been this way. People change with time—and we all pay a price for growing up.
“Mm.”
My voice was soft.
I replied with just that one word, then turned away from further small talk.
My gaze, as calm as an undisturbed spring, stared silently out the window at the bustling streets, one hand quietly tightening around the overhead handle as the car moved along.
Another red light.
The countdown blinked down from ninety-three seconds.
Traffic in the capital was always a mess.
Shangguan Xiyue, it seemed, was long used to it.
Perhaps the long wait at the lights felt too dull, so she started up a casual conversation again.
“Xuejie still doesn’t know your name.”
She smiled lightly.
“I’m Shangguan Xiyue.”
“Si Xinyan,” I replied, turning my head to look at her.
“That’s a really lovely name.”
Shangguan Xiyue didn’t overthink it.
She stared at my profile, then suddenly seemed to recall something and let out a soft chuckle.
“Hey, have you ever played Stellar Reign?”
Stellar Reign?
That’s the very game I’ve been playing all along.
“Yeah.”
My large, water-clear eyes flashed with a bit of confusion.
My long, dense lashes fluttered like feathered brushes.
I had no idea why she was suddenly bringing that up.
The moment I answered, Shangguan Xiyue lit up like a sparkler.
Gone was her previous cool and aloof demeanor—her voice even jumped up several notches in pitch.
“Come on, come on, let’s add each other! I know a super powerful god-tier player—totally friendly, always willing to help, super sweet personality! He’ll duo with you and carry you to victory!”
Very few girls in the world could make Shangguan Xiyue feel they were truly adorable.
There were maybe one or two—Su Liumeng was one, and now this little junior sitting beside her was clearly another.
To put it bluntly:
For the sake of her sworn brother, Shangguan Xiyue was worried sick.
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