Chapter 11: I Have a Friend 

Su Yao couldn’t take the pain in her foot anymore, so she sat down by a flowerbed to rest.

She rolled up her pant leg and sock, pressing lightly on the sore spot—

Only to wince at the aching sting and pull her hand away.

Originally, it probably would’ve healed in two more days, but after all the chaos just now?

Great. Now it would take at least two more.

She glanced in the direction she had come from.

No sign of the senpai chasing her—thankfully.

Still, Su Yao wasn’t at ease.

If she didn’t have class in the afternoon, she would’ve just run straight home.

Reaching up to feel her head, she suddenly realized—

She’d forgotten to put on her hat.

Panic flashed across her face.

She quickly pulled the hood of her sweatshirt up, tucked all her long hair inside, and tightened the brim to hide as much of her face as she could.

After making sure no one else was around, she slipped away like a suspicious cartoon character.

Not far off, a girl with braided pigtails and glasses peeked out from around a corner, half her face visible.

She watched Su Yao’s retreating back with gleeful satisfaction.

Then glanced down at her phone—on the screen was a photo she’d just snapped.

A mischievous smile tugged at her lips.

“Ah~ Su-chan’s secret is out~ Even though I already knew, hehe. Gotta take lots more photos~♡”

Humming a cheerful tune, she sent the picture to a QQ contact labeled “Esteemed Big Sister.”

***

After classes ended that day, Su Yao went straight home.

Wang Jing hadn’t come looking for her again in the afternoon.

Only after unlocking the door and stepping into her apartment did Su Yao finally feel like she could breathe again.

As usual, she dumped her bag somewhere random, flopped onto her personal, single-person sofa, and began worming around restlessly.

But the moment she thought back to the conversation with Wang Jing…

Her whole body tensed up with discomfort.

It wasn’t that she disliked Wang Jing—

But this just wasn’t right.

Really… really not right.

Twisting and turning, she accidentally twisted herself right off the sofa, falling with a thud.

The jolt sobered her up a little.

Now sprawled in the narrow gap between the couch and the wooden coffee table, her long hair messy around her, Su Yao stared at the ceiling in a daze.

She stayed like that for several minutes before slowly sitting up.

Wrapping her arms around her chest, she tugged at the fabric to relieve some pressure from her shoulders.

Ever since her “growth spurt,” even lying down gave her a noticeable sense of… weight.

Too fast.

Everything changed way too fast.

So fast, in fact, that Su Yao hadn’t even had time to adjust—before it was already like this.

Would it get even bigger in the future?

She didn’t dare think about it.

***

It was just past 4 PM.

She rinsed some rice and set the rice cooker.

Then went downstairs to buy groceries.

This time, she didn’t wear a hat.

Nor did she hunch her shoulders to hide her chest.

Still worried someone might recognize her, she chose to go to a farther produce market instead of the one nearby.

She picked up some pork and vegetables… and on impulse, bought a full-length mirror.

Seeing that she was a girl carrying so many things, the delivery man offered to bring it up to her door for free.

Su Yao also picked up a package from the courier pickup point downstairs.

By the time she got home, it was already 5:30 PM.

She whipped up a simple dinner and sat down to eat—alone.

***

During evening self-study, Su Yao got bored and started reading a novel written by her own apprentice.

At first, she had low expectations—

She assumed it would be like reading a school essay.

But the more she read, the more impressed she became.

As expected of my disciple. A fine student from a fine teacher!

The comments section was full of praise too.

Unfortunately, it was a bit short—only 10,000 words so far.

But hey, it was still early. 

Gotta be encouraging.

She messaged her apprentice.

[Su Yao]: Can I call you by your pen name from now on?

[Disciple]: Sure!

Su Yao stared at the pen name for a moment—then smiled.

This one’s a seasoned veteran too, huh.

Her disciple’s pen name was totally random and chaotic: “About to Become an Oyster.”

[Su Yao]: Then I’ll call you ‘Oyster-chan’ from now on!

[Disciple]: Why add ‘chan’?

[Su Yao]: Garlic sauce.

[Disciple]: Fine. Just don’t use scallions.

And just like that, they continued chatting—nonsense, really.

Useless, pointless words with no meaning.

But that kind of meaningless chatter made time fly—

Almost like she had accidentally skipped to the end of class without noticing.

***

Accompanied by the chilly evening wind, Su Yao walked slowly along a familiar path she had taken many times before.

She’d glance at her messages every now and then…

And sometimes stop walking to type back more seriously.

[Su Yao]: Manju-sensei, have you ever had your heart broken?

[Oyster-chan]: You mean like, someone punched me in the chest?

[Su Yao]: Like… magic damage.

[Oyster-chan]: ……

[Su Yao]: Just imagining it makes me mad.

You don’t know how awful this person is.

They were getting played so hard, and my friend couldn’t take it anymore—

She went and beat the crap out of the one who was manipulating them.

That’s how they met.

[Oyster-chan]: Knight saves maiden, huh?

Good job, Oyster-chan! 🐼👍

[Oyster-chan] 🐼 scratches head with goofy grin.jpg

“And then what happened?”

“After that, huh…”

Su Yao was completely drawn into the story Oyster-chan was telling.

In her imagination, Oyster-chan had become the image of a devoted, sincere soul.

Meanwhile, the “co-star” in the story? A classic seductress. A manipulative fox spirit.

Oyster-chan spent money and time on her, shielded her from wind and rain, comforted her when she was sad.

She gave everything—wealth, energy, emotions—just to make this fox spirit smile every day.

Those days were like something out of a dream.

No matter how hard or exhausting it was for her, Oyster-chan was happy to endure it.

But over time, expectations began to grow in her heart.

One day, Oyster-chan proposed to the fox spirit.

It should have been a beautiful, happy ending…

But mutual love?

That had only ever existed in Oyster-chan’s imagination.

The fox spirit rejected her—not with words, not even with a goodbye.

She just disappeared from Oyster-chan’s life without a trace.

After giving so much, Oyster-chan didn’t even get the decency of a direct refusal.

From that day on, the fox spirit was gone, and Oyster-chan was left behind as the “pathetic nice girl” in everyone’s eyes.

Su Yao wiped her eyes.

I’m dying. I’m literally crying over this.

That woman—no, that vampire—

She enjoyed everything Oyster-chan gave her and still abandoned her in the end!

That’s… ugh, that’s just so evil!

[Su Yao]: Don’t be sad, Oyster-chan. There’ll be someone even better.

[Oyster-chan]: It was my friend’s story.

Oyster-chan was so good at telling it, though… it really felt like she’d lived through it.

Of course Su Yao knew—this so-called “friend” was clearly Oyster-chan herself.

But since she didn’t want to admit it, Su Yao played along. She wasn’t completely clueless about tact.

[Su Yao]: Mhm! Tell your ‘friend’ that there’s definitely someone better out there.
No need to hang yourself on one tree!

[Oyster-chan]: But she was really… that kind of…

[Su Yao]: I get it. She was your unreachable white moonlight.

[Oyster-chan]: …

[Su Yao]: But she still abandoned you.

[Oyster-chan]: My friend.

[Su Yao]: She still abandoned your friend.

She gave nothing, yet got so much, and in the end she could still turn around and throw it all away.

Isn’t that the definition of a heartless woman?!
Someone like that isn’t worth your friend’s attention at all!

[Oyster-chan]: You’re right. She’s just a straight-up b*tch.

The tone shifted abruptly, and Su Yao blinked, stunned for a second.

Once it hit her, she got way too into it, joining in on the scolding.

The more she cursed the “vampire woman,” the more fired up she got—

As if she were the tragic protagonist of the story.

And beside her, Mu Nanqiu fanned the flames, egging her on with perfect timing.

How could anyone not fall for a sweet, rich, sincere person like Oyster-chan?!

That seductress must have absurdly high standards, huh?

Does she think she’s some magical beauty that can charm anyone with a smile?

Fueled by curiosity, Su Yao finally asked:

[Su Yao]: Was she really that pretty?