Chapter 19: Avoiding Her

An Yu sat expressionlessly at her desk, quietly attending class.

After that incident, no one else came to trouble her.

After all, at this point, few people even knew about her connection to An Qing, let alone dared to stir up trouble.

The real plot would likely only unfold after the Recognition Banquet. 

By then, An Qing probably wouldn’t remain as passive as she was now.

Instead, she’d likely start dismantling An Yu’s relationships bit by bit.

But…

To the current An Yu, that didn’t matter at all.

She didn’t even bother thinking about what An Qing might do. It’s not like it would affect her napping with Ning Wanciu.

“Ha~” Letting out a tired yawn, An Yu felt sleepy again as the afternoon wore on.

Unfortunately, after school, she couldn’t nap in Ning Wanciu’s arms.

An Yu gently shook her little head—she needed to stay awake.

She had other plans to carry out today, so she couldn’t afford to stay half-asleep.

Ding-ling—

The bell signaling the end of school rang, and the students became lively again, including the trio.

“So, what’s the plan today? There’s a new milk tea shop outside school—wanna check it out?” Huai Xiang asked the other two for their opinions.

“Sure~” Cheng Shimumeng nodded, but her eyes kept drifting toward Ning Wanciu, a faint smile on her lips.

Ning Wanciu: …

She’d just escaped the torment of being interrogated, only to plunge straight into a new kind of hell.

It was her own fault for not noticing her expressions, letting the sharp-eyed Cheng Shimumeng catch her. Now she was in for another round of teasing.

But Ning Wanciu couldn’t help it—seeing the resilient An Yu brought back memories of past events.

That time, she’d realized too late, leading to a bad outcome.

This time was different. Ning Wanciu wouldn’t just stand by and watch An Yu get bullied.

Fortunately, she hadn’t even needed to act—the matter was resolved.

“Hey~ Wanciu, what’re you spacing out for? Xiangxiang’s asking if you want to get milk tea~” Cheng Shimumeng sidled up to Ning Wanciu with a mischievous grin. “Or is it that you can’t think of anything but her?”

“I-I’m not thinking about An Yu!” As soon as the words left her mouth, Ning Wanciu realized something was off.

“Hm? I don’t think I mentioned little An Yu, did I?” Cheng Shimumeng chuckled lightly, giving a knowing look.

“Huh? What’s that? Something about little An Yu?” Even Huai Xiang looked at Ning Wanciu with confusion.

“Tch…”

Despite all her precautions, she’d fallen for Cheng Shimumeng’s trap. Ning Wanciu pursed her lips in frustration.

At this point, she could only pretend nothing had happened.

“Milk tea, right? Let’s go.”

Ning Wanciu quickly composed herself, putting on a cool facade as she stood to leave.

“Oh~ Changing the subject?”

“I’m not. The topic was always about whether to get milk tea.”

Seeing Ning Wanciu stride off, Cheng Shimumeng wasn’t about to let her off easily. 

She grabbed the slightly confused Huai Xiang and followed closely behind.

“Is that so? But it seems our dear Wanciu wants to talk about something else~”

“I don’t!”

A faint blush crept onto Ning Wanciu’s face. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to—she hadn’t thought of anything else since meeting An Yu yesterday morning. Her mind was full of this unpredictable girl.

“Hmm~” Cheng Shimumeng covered her mouth and giggled. She wasn’t buying it.

Since yesterday after school, she’d noticed Ning Wanciu’s gaze toward An Yu was off.

And at noon today, the guilt and intense protectiveness in Ning Wanciu’s eyes—she’d seen it all.

She knew Ning Wanciu was likely thinking of her younger sister again.

An Yu’s existence had become so special to Ning Wanciu that she was almost like another little sister.

Maybe even…

“Hehe~”

Cheng Shimumeng let out a delighted laugh. With An Yu around, the days ahead wouldn’t be boring.

The trio quickly passed by An Qing, who was alone. 

Neither side looked at the other—except for Cheng Shimumeng.

She glanced back at the seemingly gentle and refined transfer student, the smile vanishing from her face.

Be it her identity or something else, this one’s a dangerous figure…

Cheng Shimumeng shook her head helplessly, no longer looking at An Qing, and refocused on teasing her friend.

At that moment, no one noticed a little tail trailing behind the trio.

***

With no major announcements to make, the An Family had only sent a regular driver for pick-up today.

An Qing sat in the car, her smile nearly impossible to maintain.

Though she didn’t want to admit it, An Yu was clearly avoiding her.

An Yu left early in the morning and vanished quickly after school—it was all too obvious.

If An Yu’s behavior didn’t match the An Yu she knew, and if she hadn’t shown any hatred toward her, An Qing might’ve suspected An Yu was reborn too.

“Miss… An Qing, should we wait?” 

The driver in the front seat wiped a bead of sweat. These big family emotional dramas were not something he could get involved in—he was just the driver.

“…Drive.”

An Qing shook her head, not making things difficult for the driver, and ordered him to go. She knew An Yu wouldn’t show up.

The driver started the car with relief and drove away from the school.

An Qing leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes in thought.

Was it my behavior yesterday that made An Yu suspicious, leading to this?

Or did my changed actions indirectly cause An Yu’s behavior to shift as well?

Either way, she was certain An Yu wouldn’t be riding to or from school with her anymore.

That suited her just fine. She didn’t want to see An Yu’s hypocritical face every day anyway.

Since An Yu chose to avoid her, that was perfect. She wouldn’t hold back—her plans wouldn’t change and might even proceed more smoothly.

Because there’d be no obstacle named An Yu.

***

Meanwhile, completely unaware that she was on someone’s mind, An Yu wouldn’t have cared even if she knew.

Right now, she only felt exhausted.

First, she slipped away while An Qing wasn’t looking, then secretly followed the trio. Her small frame was about to collapse from fatigue.

But this way, she could avoid An Qing and ensure she had something to do instead of going home—a win-win.

Her plan was perfect, except for one problem.

They were walking too fast, and An Yu couldn’t keep up!

An Yu calmly looked up, only to find the trio’s figures had vanished.

Great, she’d lost them!

“Ha…”

Perfect. Now she had no choice but to go home.

But it wasn’t entirely her fault—mostly An Qing’s!

The reborn heroine is too weird. Riding in the same car? 

Nope. 

Getting out before her? 

Also nope. 

So everything I’m doing is for An Qing’s sake!

Otherwise, why would I bother with all this?

So, An Qing, could you maybe lower your Hatred Value by a few hundred points for my noble efforts and let the System boost my stamina?

Walking home is exhausting…