Chi Qingya hated things slipping out of her control.
Especially after reading a large number of psychology books, she grew to despise that feeling even more.
But she quickly realized that while she was making progress, Su Li was too.
And since both of them had signed up for psychology as their major, it was likely that Su Li had learned a thing or two about her current situation— either from bingeing short videos or reading relevant material, and that might be what prompted her to act out in this vaguely rebellious way.
Of course, it was also possible that she was overthinking it, overestimating Su Li’s complexity.
Maybe Su Li hadn’t changed at all.
Maybe she hadn’t made any calculated moves based on Chi Qingya’s behavior.
Maybe she was just going through a rebellious phase, or maybe she just wanted more attention from her and this was her way of seeking it.
Chi Qingya guessed that when she first went to look for Su Li, the girl was probably inwardly thrilled, simply restraining herself so she could soak up even more of her attention.
It was even possible that Su Li had come to enjoy being the one sought out.
She just didn’t want to show her hand too soon.
People might lie with their words, but their actions? Their actions never lie.
If Su Li truly didn’t like her, she could have moved out long ago.
There was no need for her to hand over an amount of money worth several times the rent.
She just wanted Chi Qingya to live a little better.
Even if that meant taking on a huge loan all by herself.
Besides… when Su Li was eating that pricey boiled fish the other day, didn’t she offer no resistance at all when Chi Qingya took it away?
She must’ve predicted that Chi Qingya and her girlfriends wouldn’t have a place to sit, and intentionally ordered that expensive dish just for her.
She was trying to win her over.
At some point, Su Li had quietly returned to her seat.
Maybe she’d never left at all— maybe that had just been Chi Qingya’s illusion.
Chi Qingya kept sneaking glances at her, trying to understand: how was Su Li managing not to look back at her?
She’d never sat in the front row before, so she didn’t know whether from that position Su Li could catch a glimpse of her with the corner of her eye.
Maybe, just maybe, Su Li was peeking at her out of the corner of her eye at this very moment.
No matter what Su Li’s motive was for walking away from her, Chi Qingya— armed with her psychology knowledge— now knew exactly what she needed to do next.
She had been too forceful with Su Li in the past.
That kind of behavior had raised Su Li’s guard. So all she needed to do now was lower it.
Whatever Su Li’s reason for creating distance— whether it was a cry for attention or something else— it was only by getting her to let her guard down that Chi Qingya could move forward with her plan.
Even if Su Li had secretly found another sugar mama just to provoke her, Chi Qingya needed her to relax in order to find out who was behind her sudden defiance.
Childish tricks.
Once everything clicked into place, a smirk tugged at Chi Qingya’s lips.
She’d seen this tactic before— like a boy who fails to confess to his crush, then dates someone random just to get her attention.
If Su Li really was pulling something like that, then honestly, it made Chi Qingya think a bit more of her.
After all, Su Li used to always have that calm, unreadable face, like nothing in the world could catch her interest.
Chi Qingya kept watching Su Li even after class ended, not hearing her girlfriends call her name a few times.
Following her gaze, they saw that Su Li was reading.
With matching expressions of annoyance and disgust, the girls rolled their eyes and got up to leave.
After the bell rang, Su Li was still reading.
It wasn’t until her phone vibrated that she folded a corner of the page, planning to come back to it later when she had time.
【Hesitant Musician: Same place this afternoon】
Su Li stared at the default profile picture and the contact name— “Hesitant Musician”— and realized it was a message from MOKA.
It had barely been two days since their last meetup, which had been just the day before yesterday.
Su Li found it odd. The message was short and to the point, just like always.
It didn’t match the version of MOKA she had in her head— the feisty netizen always ready to argue online. MOKA barely texted her at all.
It was only after they met up that MOKA would suddenly turn into a dam bursting, her words buzzing endlessly in Su Li’s ear.
They usually met on Saturday afternoons.
But now, just two days later, MOKA already had something new to talk about.
Su Li’s first instinct was to suspect that this was a hacked alt account.
But after she simply replied with a “1,” there was no follow-up message.
There was no way MOKA could scam her out of money from behind the scenes.
After all, MOKA was her client. She wasn’t the one spending money on MOKA.
If anything, if someone tried to scam her using something involving cats, she figured she’d be far more likely to fall for it.
Su Li waited for a while, but no reply came.
That was very on-brand for MOKA.
In fact, she suspected that MOKA had already switched out of her alt account the moment she hit send.
She was never the type to wait around for a reply.
There was no scam as she’d half-expected— though every time she chatted with MOKA, she couldn’t help but feel like she was talking to a con artist.
But the money always landed in her account, no question about that.
Su Li put away her phone.
Morning classes were over, and by now the cafeteria would have food ready.
Although she and MOKA had agreed to meet at 2 p.m., Su Li planned to arrive three hours early to prepare.
Which meant she didn’t have much time left.
When she stood up, the classroom was already empty except for her.
As she packed up her things and prepared to leave, a voice suddenly called out from behind her.
“Wait.”
Footsteps approached, drawing closer. Su Li turned and saw Chi Qingya standing right in front of her, blocking her way.
She looked up with a puzzled expression— Chi Qingya was a little taller, so she had to tilt her head to meet her gaze.
But instead of the delicate fragrance you’d expect from a girl, what came with Chi Qingya was the stale, greasy smell of fried chicken.
Su Li didn’t show any outward reaction.
Though emotionally unfazed, her body instinctively scrunched in a slight reflex of confusion.
She didn’t even notice the change in her own expression.
“Is there something you need, Chi Qingya?”
Looking at Su Li, who was now holding her book protectively in front of her, Chi Qingya felt a strange pang in her chest.
Su Li’s tone hadn’t changed— it was the same as always, but something about her felt unfamiliar.
It was as if all the memories of living together had been a dream, a fantasy she’d made up.
Facing the girl who should’ve felt so familiar, Chi Qingya found herself speechless.
The words caught in her throat.
She clenched her fists tightly.