Even if she was deceiving herself, there had to be an end to it.
It was time to wake up.
Chi Qingya sighed, patted her cheeks, and lifted her spirits.
She watched the others walking in pairs or groups; in the past, she would have felt envious.
But now, even though her heart felt a little bitter, she didn’t think it was a big deal.
She had lived this kind of life before; it was just returning to how things used to be.
Returning to the past didn’t seem so bad.
Even though she had always wanted to escape her small mountain village, looking back, she had come this far without any problems.
At the very least, she was a good student in her teacher’s eyes.
That was how she should have been.
If she kept cutting herself off from her past self, even wanting to completely sever ties, she had become a repulsive version of herself.
Even she felt that her current self was incredibly unfamiliar.
On the other hand, her younger sister had never changed.
‘The former me was more attractive, wasn’t she?’
‘After all, it was the previous me who became good friends with Su Li.’
‘Maybe turning back into that former self would be a good thing?’
As for what she used to be like, Chi Qingya couldn’t quite remember.
It seemed that finding out what her old self was like would take some effort.
……
Chi Qingyao followed behind Su Li, staring at Su Li whose expression was unchanged, having returned to her usual calm demeanor, and fell into thought.
‘If Su Li is an NPC, since she took my money, she shouldn’t mind if I do some extra things, right?’
‘For example, directly calling over Chi Qingya, that is, my elder sister.’
‘But I’m not sure if doing so will lower affinity.’
‘After all, according to the current setting, given the conflict between these two, Su Li should really hate my sister.’
‘If they really knew each other, calling over someone she hates during a gathering or meal would make her reconsider if that person is still suitable as a friend.’
As for Su Li, Chi Qingyao felt that Su Li was different from herself.
‘But I don’t know the consequences of doing this either.’
‘Still, I want to give it a try.’
‘After all, I know too little about Su Li; I have to figure out many things through trial and error.’
‘I want to see if there will be any unexpected results.’
‘If Su Li resists my sister, I’ll know that Su Li does have some affection.’
‘For now, it seems the only thing Su Li likes is money.’
“Sis, come here quickly.”
“Share location.”
“Don’t talk when you get here.”
Chi Qingyao secretly sent Chi Qingya a message and glanced at Su Li’s expression. Su Li was walking.
It was as if, for Su Li, the entire purpose of this trip was to lead the way.
Su Li didn’t express any opinion.
‘She should know I took out my phone to send my sister a message, right?’
‘After all, for going to the dining hall, it would be my sister leading the way.’
‘Right, then why didn’t Su Li just let me follow my sister directly?’
‘So she really is an NPC, right?’
‘Because I spent money and triggered a keyword, she started a conversation with me.’
‘No wonder Su Li stays alone at school and keeps people at a distance—it’s because no one can trigger her keywords, isn’t it?’
‘I don’t know if my sister can catch up, but anyway, I’ll secretly observe during the meal.’
As for the experiences Su Li and her sister shared when they lived together, Chi Qingyao grew even more curious.
‘It can’t be that back then you just kept saying “money equals affinity,” right?’
‘That shouldn’t be it. There must be a mechanism I haven’t discovered yet.’
As they passed the school gate, Chi Qingyao felt a gaze watching her.
Actually, while walking on campus, because of her outstanding appearance, she couldn’t avoid such stares, but this time it felt different to Chi Qingyao.
This stare…
‘I can’t really describe the feeling—it’s as if I’ve taken something from someone.’
‘Maybe that’s how to describe it.’
‘Is it Su Li?’
Chi Qingyao followed the direction of the gaze toward the school gate but didn’t notice anything.
‘It must have been my imagination.’
She looked at Su Li beside her. Su Li’s face still showed no change, as if she was unaware of such things.
Even though many people on the road cast glances at Su Li, it didn’t affect her in the slightest.
‘As expected, that cold expression in the photo wasn’t an act.’
‘After all, she’s an NPC. It’s normal for her not to react to the stares of passersby; it’s not like everyone is as clever as I am to discover Su Li’s secret.’
“Yao Yao, is this okay?”
Chi Qingya looked at the location her sister had shared and finally clicked on it.
Her heart was pounding, an indescribable nervousness and unease.
She was afraid she would ruin the friendship between Su Li and her sister.
But she also wanted to see Su Li.
It didn’t matter if she couldn’t say a word.
‘If it’s my sister, she can do it, right?’
‘She can definitely get along well with Su Li, right?’
Chi Qingya thought to herself. She felt she should trust her younger sister.
Her younger sister was really good at making friends.
‘Maybe…’
‘My sister can resolve the conflict between Su Li and me, and we can make up.’
Chi Qingya thought with a hint of hope.
In the end, her desire to see Su Li won out.
She decided to follow her sister, even if she did nothing at all.
Even if she couldn’t get close to her sister, just watching her and Su Li being close from a distance would be enough.
If she couldn’t make up with Su Li, at least her sister and Su Li could become good friends.
That way, she could secretly watch Su Li for the rest of her life.
Even if Su Li’s gaze never landed on her, it was fine.
As she passed by Starbucks, Chi Qingya hurriedly ordered three cups.
But then her movement suddenly stopped.
She suddenly remembered the time with Caixiangxiang and the other two.
‘I could have easily brought Su Li a Starbucks along the way.’
‘Why…’
‘Why did I buy Su Li a cheap Mixue Bingcheng?’
‘I clearly wanted to make up with Su Li, so why did I do something like that?’
‘Real friends shouldn’t be like this.’
Chi Qingya held the Starbucks bag, and suddenly the cup in her hand felt much heavier.
She didn’t know why, but she only realized this now.
In the past, even her apologies had been so insincere.
What exactly had she been doing?