“Reject her. You must reject her. Right now, immediately!”
***
It was Friday again.
The weekend was just around the corner, and Mu Nanqiu’s mood was as bright and cloudless as the sky outside.
At least, it was—until she saw the message Su Yao had sent her.
In that instant, her mood flipped from sunny skies to raging thunderclouds.
Even the classmates around her could feel the sudden chill radiating from this normally composed young lady. Tension rippled through the air.
“Nanqiu… are you okay?”
Her deskmate asked cautiously, eyes filled with concern.
Realizing her outburst had drawn attention, Mu Nanqiu took a single breath and immediately tucked away all her killing aura.
Her expression switched seamlessly back to its usual calm and cool.
“I’m fine.”
“…”
Even though nothing about her screamed “fine,” no one pushed.
If she said she was fine, that meant she didn’t want anyone to pry.
So they left it at that… but they couldn’t help mentally gossiping.
What on earth just made Miss Mu lose her composure like that?
Still staring at the “mm” Su Yao had replied with, Mu Nanqiu’s mood didn’t improve.
After a moment of deliberation, she made a decision.
She was going to check things out in person.
Partly because she wanted to see who was meddling—
But more importantly, she wanted to finally see Su Yao in real life.
Behind the screen, it was hard to truly know someone. They were both hiding parts of themselves.
That afternoon, Mu Nanqiu headed to the school’s sports field.
She located Su Yao’s class, but didn’t see her anywhere in the group.
Just as she was about to ask the P.E. teacher, a girl with glasses and two braided pigtails approached her.
“Senior Mu, are you here to see Su Yao?”
“…”
Mu Nanqiu found the girl’s words strange.
How does she know I came to see Su Yao?
But the girl smiled sweetly and explained directly.
“Su Yao’s not here. I think she went to the library.”
“You sure?”
Something about the girl’s voice tickled Mu Nanqiu’s memory.
She’d heard it before—in the background of a call with Hua Mingye.
“I’m sure.”
“Thanks.”
Mu Nanqiu gave a curt reply and turned to leave.
Anyone close to Hua Mingye was either her toy… or just as twisted as her.
Mu Nanqiu considered herself an exception.
But this girl? Definitely the second kind—a bad woman.
“My name is Yun Qing,”
The braided girl finally introduced herself as Mu Nanqiu walked away.
***
Since Su Yao had been injured the week before, she’d been given special treatment.
Most activities were skipped, and even running laps was done with the girls.
Some boys might find that humiliating, but Su Yao’s mind was too full of Wang Jing to care how others saw her.
Wang Jing hadn’t shown up today either—several days in a row now.
Is it because of me?
No… no way. Why would it be because of me?
But…
If she comes back… what kind of face am I supposed to show her?
She thought back to the story Oyster-chan had shared.
And realized: she should give a clear rejection.
Yes, she should.
After all, her senpai had clearly said something like a confession.
If she didn’t respond properly, she’d be the villain here.
But Su Yao… couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Especially with her voice becoming higher and more fragile.
It made her even more afraid to say the words aloud.
What do I do…?
Two versions of herself—one rational, one emotional—bickered in her mind.
Eventually, they escalated from arguing to physically fighting each other.
But neither won.
No “best option” emerged.
Ahhh! This is so frustrating!
“Su Yao.”
A gentle voice snapped her out of her swirling thoughts.
She’d instinctively thought it was Wang Jing—but the voice was different.
Turning around, she saw Yun Qing smiling at her.
“Is something wrong…?”
“Nothing much. I just wanted to invite you to karaoke this afternoon. We’re all classmates and will be spending a lot of time together, so we thought we’d get to know each other better.”
Yun Qing’s tone made it sound like a casual invitation—but also didn’t leave room for refusal.
Su Yao was a traditionally minded person.
KTVs and dance halls had always seemed like places to avoid—
She remembered some old news about shady things happening there.
Terrifying stuff. (No offense intended.)
Yun Qing was dressed in a cream hoodie and pale jeans—slightly oversized, making her look small and soft.
Her thick black hair was tied into two chunky braids, her round cheeks and delicate features framed by large black-rimmed glasses.
The oversized frames made her face look even smaller.
With a little more age, she’d be a solid 9 out of 10.
Even now, she was at least an 8.
Though… it seemed like she intentionally dulled her looks with makeup.
When she noticed the hesitation in Su Yao’s eyes, Yun Qing smiled gently.
“It’s a very proper karaoke place. And it’s just girls—no boys.”
“I…”
Su Yao was about to say she wasn’t going because she was a boy—but Yun Qing’s next words stopped her cold.
“Su Yao, you’re actually a girl, right?”
She froze.
That sentence echoed in her brain on a loop.
By the time Su Yao regained her senses, Yun Qing was already gone.
Before leaving, she’d smiled and said,
“See you tonight at KTV.”
Su Yao reached up and touched the hat still snugly on her head.
But really, what was the point of this self-deception?
A single hat couldn’t hide everything.
And yet… she didn’t have the courage to cut her hair either.
She was always trapped in indecision—
Letting time slip away, letting today’s problems become tomorrow’s lingering mess.
Making sure no one was paying attention, she quietly slipped away.
Su Yao found a quiet corner in the library and sat down.
Now that someone had spoken aloud the truth about her body, she oddly felt like she could finally breathe.
Exhausted, she laid her head down on the desk and tried to empty her mind—just… not think for a while.
But suddenly, she sat up.
She pulled out her phone and opened the class group chat, found Wang Jing’s profile, and sent her a message:
“Senpai, I’ve thought about what you said the other day. I’d like to give you my answer in person… and apologize.”
Wang Jing replied almost immediately:
“Okay. Where are you?”
“The library…”
She sent her exact location.
Then Su Yao slumped back over the desk, face flushed, whole body feeling overheated.
It’s just the heater, right…?
But the rapid pounding of her heart told the real story.
She was nervous.
Afraid.
She pulled her hat down and unzipped her coat, resting her head on the desk again.
She didn’t know what else to do—so she stared blankly at her hands.
Not realizing how much time had passed.
Until—
She heard footsteps nearby.
Lifting her head slowly, Su Yao looked up…
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I hope she rejects her properly and doesn’t lead her on.