Chapter 12: Study Group

It was the only hat included in the academy uniform.

Since it could keep that stupid ahoge in place, she actually liked it quite a bit.

Even after the morning exams ended, Qi was still brooding over the matter.

‘Could that girl have done it on purpose? Does she want me to go and ask her for it? Or did she really just forget to return it?’

She took out her phone and typed a message asking about the hat in the chat with Jiang Wanli, but she quickly deleted it.

‘No, this won’t do. It makes me look too intentional, as if I care a lot about this hat.’

‘I have more than just this one hat, and the school doesn’t require us to wear them anyway. I can’t ask her directly!’

‘I’ll just wait until the next time we meet and act like I’m asking casually.’

If her roommate knew about the conflict in Qi’s heart right now, she would likely tease her with a smile, “Are you worried about the hat, or the person?”

‘The hat, of course!’

At lunchtime, Qi looked around the entrance of the regular Chinese Food Area but didn’t see Jiang Wanli anywhere.

However, she didn’t plan on eating here today.

Since she had some money now, she had to have a good meal.

She took the elevator straight to the 4th Floor Dessert Area!

The moment she pushed open the doors, the creamy, sweet scent unique to desserts wafted toward her.

It was much more lively here than downstairs.

Qi’s gaze swept across the various treats before finally locking onto her target: the chocolate mousse cake.

One advantage of the dessert area was that there was no need to wait.

A piece of chocolate mousse and a cocoa milkshake would be Qi’s lunch for today.

A 300-credit lunch…

Even though she was mentally prepared, the prices here were still beyond her imagination.

However, Qi wouldn’t let the cost affect her mood for eating, and she began happily tucking into the cake.

While eating, she opened the Campus Forum, which she hadn’t checked in a long time.

One look told her something was wrong.

Qi bit her spoon and began searching for Jiang Wanli’s name.

Many posts related to Jiang Wanli on the forum had been deleted, including previous ones about her background, and the photos taken over the long period she had been there.

Only a few photos remained, along with some where she was in the same frame as Qi, but the discussions about Jiang Wanli on the forum had significantly decreased.

Refusing to believe it, Qi tried several other search terms, but the results were all the same.

When she had seen Jiang Wanli earlier, Qi had vaguely sensed that the other girl had taken on some sort of position at school.

Now, it seemed she even had the power to interfere with the Campus Forum.

Looking into it further, everything pointed toward one thing: the Learning Committee.

At first, Qi thought it was the Student Council, but she realized it was slightly different after learning more.

Members of the Learning Committee had only two responsibilities.

One was to guide and assist students willing to study at the Culture Hall, and the other was to handle exam-related matters, just as Jiang Wanli had done earlier.

However, their authority was much greater.

The Learning Committee had the right to intervene in various matters on campus, and the President’s influence was second only to the Principal’s.

Once someone became the President, they could basically walk all over the school.

As long as they didn’t go too far, the Principal wouldn’t interfere.

Now that a massive amount of information regarding Jiang Wanli had been deleted from the forum, it was likely because she had joined the Learning Committee.

Qi was a bit stunned.

How long had it even been since Jiang Wanli arrived at this school?

It wasn’t an easy place to get into.

To join, one had to pass a rigorous Membership Entrance Exam.

This test was standardized for everyone; it wouldn’t be easier just because you were in a lower grade.

One’s knowledge had to cover everything from the first year to the third year of high school — or even beyond — to have a chance of passing.

Looking at it now, she had still underestimated how impressive Jiang Wanli was.

Even after transferring mid-term, she could quickly reach such a high position.

Qi took a bite of her chocolate mousse.

It was said that members of the Learning Committee took their exams independently of other students and didn’t participate in the school-wide rankings or scholarships.

They had their own scholarships, though Qi didn’t know how much they were.

It seemed the method of getting information about Jiang Wanli from the forum wouldn’t work anymore.

However, as she scrolled down, Qi discovered something.

While the discussion level for Jiang Wanli on the forum had dropped, Qi’s own popularity had risen because she had been close to Jiang Wanli before.

Qi’s expression turned a bit sour.

While searching for Jiang Wanli just now, she had seen her own photos several times.

The ones of her in the academy uniform were the most frequent and had the highest number of likes.

These people were truly relentless.

Although it was annoying, Qi couldn’t do anything about it.

A new post refreshed on her home page:

“Beautiful photos of Qiqi in her academy skirt eating cake! Her expression is truly delicious~”

Attached was a photo of her face.

‘Fine, taking photos right in front of me, are you? I’m going to see exactly who it is!’

She looked in the direction the camera had been pointed according to the photo, but she didn’t find anyone after scanning the area.

‘Damn it, there are too many people. Don’t let me catch you!’

The black-haired girl stabbed her cake viciously with her spoon.

The day’s exams passed quickly.

When Qi returned to the dormitory that evening, she was met with Su Xiaoqie’s resentful gaze.

“Qiqi, why didn’t you wake me up this morning! Because of you, I missed morning self-study and got scolded by the Class Monitor, waah~”

“I called you three times. You’re the one who couldn’t get up,” Qi retorted, taking a sip of water.

“Eh? Is that so?” The roommate blinked guiltily. “Then why don’t I remember…”

“Enough.”

Qi didn’t want to continue the subject.

“Tomorrow is the last day of the clothing shoot. Just accompany me one more time.”

“Ah? Tomorrow?”

Su Xiaoqie scratched her head.

“But I still have exams tomorrow.”

“?”

“Hey, what’s with that look? Is it that hard to believe I’m taking all the subjects?”

Seeing Qi’s skeptical face, Su Xiaoqie put her hands on her hips indignantly.

“You’re sleeping when I wake up, and you’re still playing on the computer when I go to bed. I see you every day when I come back to the dorm, and you’re always shouting about reaching Legend.”

Qi pointed at the glowing game interface on the computer screen.

“And you say you’re taking all the subjects?”

“This is called playing hard and studying hard, okay? My grades aren’t bad!”

The roommate lifted her head proudly.

“Fine, then I’ll go by myself tomorrow.”

Qi had no choice but to accept it.

She couldn’t exactly demand that Su Xiaoqie give up her exams to accompany her.

After so many days, she had lowered the guard she held at the beginning significantly.

Going alone would be fine.

“It’s okay, Qiqi! As soon as I finish my exams, I’ll come pick you up right away!”

Su Xiaoqie patted her chest and promised.

Qi just laughed it off and didn’t pay it much mind.

After finishing dinner and washing up, the black-haired girl contacted Lin Yue on her phone to tell her that they could start the final shoot tomorrow.

At that moment, she finally learned the location of the shoot: the seaside.

Clothes to be photographed at the seaside…

Qi frowned slightly, a bad feeling rising in her heart.

‘It couldn’t be swimsuits, could it?’

Qi wanted to ask, but it seemed the other party was in a meeting.

After giving a few brief instructions, Lin Yue hung up immediately, leaving Qi no chance to ask questions.

Staring at the glowing phone screen, the black-haired girl fell into deep thought.

‘Forget it. I’ll think about this tomorrow.’