Chapter 17: An Interesting Ranking

When Jiang Chiyue got home, the time was 10:32 PM.

The work at Jiang’s Group wasn’t hard, just time-consuming—but she wouldn’t be working there much longer anyway.

By mid-September, Jiang Chiyue would be going back to university.

After all, the Jiang family’s eldest daughter was barely twenty years old.

“Li Xingya?”

Pushing open the door, Jiang Chiyue saw that the lights were still on inside. She instinctively thought Li Xingya was still awake.

‘How strange.’

‘She should have been asleep by this hour.’

‘No.’

‘…It seems like she just forgot to turn off the lights?’

Jiang Chiyue looked around the living room. She even glanced at the kitchen but didn’t see any trace of Li Xingya.

Just then.

thump thump thump thump thump thump—!

The sound of hurried footsteps came from the second floor.

“Jiang Chiyue?”

From the corner of the stairs, Li Xingya poked her head out.

“You’re back?”

“Mm.”

Jiang Chiyue nodded.

Jiang Chiyue saw Li Xingya’s bare feet.

“Where are your shoes?”

‘Ah…’

Li Xingya froze.

‘I think I left my shoes in the bathroom…’

Li Xingya pretended to be calm.

“Forgot to wear them.”

The moment she heard Jiang Chiyue return from the other room, Li Xingya was no longer afraid.

Not only was she not afraid, she even felt like laughing.

A person couldn’t even empathize with their self from a few hours ago.

‘Why was I afraid of being home alone?’

‘In my previous life, I always lived alone.’

In the end, Li Xingya attributed this situation to a very simple reason.

‘Too good an imagination.’

Li Xingya went downstairs barefoot, walked up to Jiang Chiyue, took out her phone and handed it to her.

“Sis, add me as a friend… please.”

Li Xingya had deleted Jiang Chiyue, cleared the chat history, and even blocked her.

Tonight, when Li Xingya wanted to see Jiang Chiyue but realized there was no way to contact her, she understood the necessity of adding her as a friend.

‘Even if having my creditor in my phone would be annoying…’

Faced with Li Xingya’s request, Jiang Chiyue raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you know my account?”

Ever since bringing Li Xingya back, Jiang Chiyue had been waiting for her to give in.

Now, she finally saw a sign.

“I don’t remember.”

“Huh?”

“Amnesia, you know.”

Li Xingya changed her wording.

“Or rather, rebirth… We’ve talked about this too many times. Just pick whichever is easier for you to accept.”

Jiang Chiyue was silent.

How to ruin a creditor’s entire good mood with one sentence.

Li Xingya had grown somewhat numb to Jiang Chiyue’s stubbornness.

Jiang Chiyue practically snatched the phone away.

After a moment, she handed it back to Li Xingya.

“Done.”

Li Xingya took the phone and saw that she had indeed been added as a friend.

“Thanks.”

Li Xingya smiled.

“Then I’ll go to sleep now.”

Watching Li Xingya’s retreating figure as she went upstairs, Jiang Chiyue gritted her teeth.

She wasn’t angry at Li Xingya for forgetting their past; she was angry at herself for being unable to be ruthless.

‘It was just a smile, why did I soften?’

‘For dealing with a phony like her, I should just put my fist to her face.’

‘Whatever. If you like to act, then act.’

‘I’ll see how long you can keep it up.’

***

Early the next morning.

Waking up to the sound of an alarm, getting up, washing up, changing clothes—Li Xingya felt she was starting to get used to this kind of life.

The only problem was that she still felt like she hadn’t slept enough after waking up.

Two sandwiches: one to heat up and eat now, one to take to the academy.

This morning, Li Xingya still didn’t see Jiang Chiyue. She figured the other hadn’t slept well last night either.

‘That’s a good thing.’

After changing her shoes, Li Xingya ate her sandwich and left the house.

‘I’m going to school now.’

After getting in the car, Li Xingya didn’t forget to send a message to Jiang Chiyue on her phone.

Since they were friends now, she couldn’t just leave the other hanging on her phone.

The two of them lived together, after all, seeing each other every day—and Jiang Chiyue was her sister in name.

This formal “sisterly relationship” still needed to be maintained.

Although Li Xingya didn’t know that Jiang Chiyue was very angry with her right now.

Such an action was no different from willingly walking into a gun barrel.

When the car stopped at the gate, Li Xingya got out and immediately saw Meng Yiqiao from a distance.

“Sis.”

“Mm.”

“Add me as a friend.”

“Huh?”

Meng Yiqiao was taken aback.

But Li Xingya grabbed her sleeve, not giving Meng Yiqiao any chance to refuse.

“Can’t I? Sis…”

Like a kitten afraid of being abandoned.

“O-okay.”

Meng Yiqiao’s movements as she took out her phone were a bit stiff.

‘It’s like she’s tempting me to commit a crime.’

While opening her phone, Meng Yiqiao stole a few more glances at Li Xingya.

‘I really can’t tell if this expression is sincere or deliberately faked.’

Seeing the friend request accepted on her phone, Li Xingya secretly rejoiced that she was one step closer to “tying down” Meng Yiqiao.

“By the way, sis, our first class today is vocal music, right?”

Meng Yiqiao nodded.

“Sis, are you… really good at singing?”

Faced with Li Xingya’s curious gaze, even someone as cold as Meng Yiqiao couldn’t help feeling a bit smug.

Meng Yiqiao wasn’t boasting; she was indeed very good at singing.

After all, she was ranked 41st on the Starlight Ranking. A student who could reach that level had to be proficient in singing, dancing, and acting.

“I-it’s not bad.”

Meng Yiqiao pretended to be calm.

In response, Li Xingya’s tone was full of envy.

“That’s great. If only I could be like you, sis… I’m not good at singing, and I’m not as pretty as you either.”

‘No.’

‘That part is a lie.’

‘There’s no doubt about this face.’

‘I’m definitely prettier than Meng Yiqiao.’

Even Meng Yiqiao, who was being praised, subconsciously said,

“Don’t talk nonsense. When it comes to beauty, you’re much prettier than me.”

“It’s not nonsense.”

Li Xingya hugged Meng Yiqiao’s arm.

“I mean every word. You’re really beautiful, sis, really.”

Li Xingya stood on tiptoe and sniffed near Meng Yiqiao’s face.

“And you smell so good. Did you use some perfume?”

Li Xingya’s barrage of attacks left Meng Yiqiao overwhelmed.

“Li Xingya…”

“Yes?”

Li Xingya was startled.

“A lot of people are watching us.”

Li Xingya was confused.

She looked around.

It was true—the academy gate already had a lot of foot traffic, and Meng Yiqiao was popular. Plus, both of them were ridiculously beautiful. Such actions would naturally attract attention.

Li Xingya let go and stepped back a few steps.

“I’m sorry… Sis, I caused you trouble.”

Watching Li Xingya pull away, Meng Yiqiao’s first reaction was actually feeling an emptiness in her arm.

‘Why not hold on a little longer?’

“It’s fine. Let’s go. We’ll head to the vocal music classroom first.”

Meng Yiqiao changed the subject.

The two walked along Stargazing Avenue.

Taking the opportunity, Li Xingya opened StarJoy and checked the morning’s Starlight Ranking.

Li Xingya—Rank 1273.

‘Ah.’

‘My rank went up.’

‘I must have ridden on Meng Yiqiao’s popularity.’

‘…Though I don’t really care about rankings.’

‘But the feeling of seeing my rank rise—it really is satisfying.’

‘It feels like I’ve found a new form of entertainment.’

Li Xingya thought as she looked toward the Talent Scout Department beside them, and at the super-long camera in their hands, she flashed a fake smile that held no sincerity.