Qi took a deep breath and tapped to answer the call.
“Finally willing to turn your phone on, my dear Qiqi?”
The annoying voice came through again from the other end of the line.
“How did you know I turned it on?”
the black-haired girl retorted.
“Maybe… I’m nearby watching you~”
Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked around.
Even at ten o’clock at night, there were quite a few students still moving about the school grounds, but she didn’t see Bai Qiaoyu anywhere.
Just then, a light laugh came through the phone.
“Look how panicked you are~ I was kidding. I went back a long time ago.”
“I’m still quite sad I didn’t get to see the Qiqi I wanted to see.”
This person, saying such insincere things again.
“Did you take my campus card?”
the black-haired girl asked directly.
“Let me think… I think there was something like that. I was afraid it would be taken by someone else if I left it there, so I kept it safe for you.”
“Then I really must thank the CEO Sister for her kindness…”
Qi forced a sentence of thanks out through gritted teeth.
This time, it really was her own carelessness.
She was in too much of a hurry when she ran away and left something behind.
“No need to thank me. After all, as your pursuer, I naturally have to be constantly thinking of you.”
Bai Qiaoyu’s tone was so matter-of-fact, as if she completely missed the sarcasm in Qi’s words.
“However, Qiqi, you still don’t seem very willing to accept me, do you? Why is that?”
“Will you be angry with me because I didn’t go out with you this time?”
“Of course not. I said, because of my feelings for you, I can allow Qiqi some small willfulness. So, Qiqi will similarly understand and accept some of my small flaws too, right?”
The black-haired girl lowered her gaze slightly.
“Perhaps.”
“Alright, it’s very late now. Qiqi should get some rest too. If you want to get your campus card from me, come find me at the nearby park tomorrow evening at six.”
“Six in the evening? But…”
“You know I don’t have time during the day.”
Bai Qiaoyu cut her off.
“Or, I can come see you now. It’s not too late.”
Qi bit her lip and said nothing more.
The call ended.
The black-haired girl took a moment to calm her emotions a little.
Without the campus card, many of her actions at school would be restricted.
For example, the school cafeteria required the campus card for purchases.
Without it, if she wanted to eat, she’d have to go off-campus.
That person Bai Qiaoyu definitely took it on purpose.
Otherwise, she could have just handed it to the librarian.
This was giving her a headache.
Did she really have to go see Bai Qiaoyu tomorrow?
Qi walked in small steps and, before she knew it, arrived at the dormitory door.
She pushed it open.
Su Xiaoqie was, as usual, playing games.
Not disturbing her, Qi passed directly behind her and slipped into the bathroom.
The whole library ordeal had made her sweat quite a bit, so she needed to clean up before bed.
She’d heard that showering too frequently wasn’t good for the skin, but this body was made by Luo Qing, so it probably didn’t have those minor issues.
She didn’t really care anyway.
Right now, she just wanted to get these damn stockings off.
They’d been holding her back the whole day today, completely useless.
After taking them off, Qi, as if venting her anger, threw the stockings against the wall.
Then she gave herself a quick rinse, letting her body feel refreshed before stepping out of the bathroom.
Showering had another benefit: it could quickly cool her down.
The restlessness that had risen in her heart while being with Jiang Wanli could be mostly washed away along with it.
If wearing thick stockings for too long caused her sensitivity to increase, soaking her legs in cold water could also have a good cooling effect.
After climbing into bed, Qi took off the new pair of stockings she had just put on.
Because of the bed curtain, she always slept bare-legged.
Although it somehow felt strangely thrilling, like sleeping naked in the dorm, the stockings amplified the stimulation on her legs.
Wearing them, she simply couldn’t fall asleep.
It was already well past her usual bedtime, but the black-haired girl didn’t go to sleep immediately.
Instead, she picked up her phone to check the procedures for getting a replacement campus card.
After just a brief look, she gave up on the idea of a replacement.
It said replacements were free, but you could only get one free replacement per year.
If you wanted another replacement within that year, you had to pay a ten-thousand-yuan deposit, which you could get back after a year.
Where did she have ten thousand yuan to splurge like that right now?
And who on earth charges a ten-thousand-yuan deposit?!
Better to just figure out a way to get the campus card back from Bai Qiaoyu.
***
The next morning, without her campus card, Qi could only take out four pieces of chocolate from her stash to serve as breakfast.
Fortunately, Su Xiaoqie had given her a whole box last time, so her reserves were still plentiful.
Plus, she could get one more piece from the small group in the classroom.
It was enough to get through breakfast.
As for lunch… she’d leave that to fate.
Today was definitely going to be a difficult day to get through.
After the morning classes ended, Qi packed her things and went back to the dormitory first.
The purpose of returning to the dorm was simple: to let her legs relax.
Wearing thick stockings and trying not to move much, she could last about half a day.
Any longer than that and she’d probably run into problems.
Taking them off once at noon was just right.
To be honest, no matter what time Qi came back, her roommate was always playing games.
Qi really couldn’t help but suspect whether this girl even went to class at all.
The black-haired girl walked over to her desk, picked up a piece of bread, and tapped it against her head.
“Can I eat this?”
“If you want to eat it, just eat it. Why hit me…”
Su Xiaoqie sounded a bit aggrieved.
“Is that so? I thought you’d say this was a reward.”
“Any hit that’s not from Qiqi’s own hand doesn’t count as a reward!”
her roommate declared righteously.
Alright, her mistake.
She shouldn’t tease this unreliable person.
Qi left the dormitory with a look of disdain.
The black-haired girl always planned out what she needed to do each day from the start.
Before her work at the maid cafe officially began, she intended to spend her afternoons in the library.
On the way to the library, the black-haired girl’s rate of turning heads was unusually high.
She forced herself to stay calm and not pay attention to those gazes.
The reason, ultimately, was because she was wearing black tights today, while her overall dress was in warm tones.
The contrast between top and bottom made her particularly eye-catching on the street.
The first time she appeared wearing white stockings, her rate of turning heads at school had actually increased a lot too.
Compared to black tights, she preferred wearing white stockings more.
Because when she wore black tights, she always felt a very… indecent sensation.
She didn’t know why, but it made Qi very uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, the white stockings were in the wash yesterday.
Aside from the pair Luo Qing gave her, which was so effective she wore it an extra day, she preferred to change the others daily.
This time, she kept a close watch.
She didn’t let anyone steal them again.
She even spotted a few people who were clearly sneaking glances at her stockings.
Unfortunately, there were too many people.
She didn’t know which one had stolen her last pair of stockings.
She couldn’t just go question them one by one, could she?
That would be too embarrassing.
In the end, Qi didn’t bother with the group who had designs on her stockings.
She finished washing her clothes and quickly returned to the dormitory.