An Yu said nothing and obediently followed behind An Qing.
Since the heroine liked to act, there was no need to expose her. Pretending not to know was fine. The better she acted, the more comfortable An Yu’s life would be.
An Qing was silent too, quietly leading the way ahead, leaving only her back for An Yu.
An Yu didn’t know what she was thinking and had no interest in guessing. Whatever she planned to do, An Yu was powerless to resist anyway.
Soon, the two reached the school gate. The An family car was already waiting.
Seeing their figures, the window rolled down. A middle-aged man greeted them kindly.
That was An Yunfan, the father of both girls.
He had specially made time today to pick them up from school. There was probably something important to discuss.
An Yu followed behind An Qing expressionlessly. Even seeing An Yunfan, she showed no unusual reaction.
Making expressions was tiring.
Meanwhile, An Qing behaved elegantly, smiling like a true young lady as she greeted him: “Father, thank you for personally coming to pick us up.”
An Yu instinctively glanced at An Qing, whose lips curved in a smile. A trace of pity rose in her heart.
Just to get revenge on me, she has to act in front of people she hates even after rebirth. How pitiful.
Since she’s like this, why should I struggle? I give up.
Reaffirming her decision to slack off, An Yu silently nodded.
“Hahaha, it’s no trouble, no trouble. What’s hard about picking up my adorable daughters?” An Yunfan laughed heartily, looking every bit the loving father.
If An Yu hadn’t seen his actions in the original plot, she might have believed it.
As expected of a family. Great acting. I’d give you 100 points too.
“Alright, alright, get in the car. Let’s go home.” An Yunfan’s smile didn’t fade as he waved for them to board.
An Qing nodded with a smile and opened the car door.
“An Yu, come… get in.” She gently held the door for An Yu, appearing very caring.
But An Yu showed no reaction. Instead, she turned to look elsewhere.
A flicker of confusion passed through An Qing’s eyes. Following An Yu’s gaze, she saw three girls walking side by side. The red-haired and green-haired girls were playfully teasing the blonde one.
She froze for a moment. Almost instinctively, she lowered her head to look at An Yu and saw a scene she didn’t want to see.
An Yu was smiling—at Ning Wanciu.
And Ning Wanciu responded gently.
“An Yu……”
An Qing’s gentleness vanished in an instant. She reached out and grabbed An Yu’s arm, gripping it tightly beyond her control.
“Mmm……” An Yu winced in pain and turned back, looking at An Qing innocently with slightly furrowed brows.
An Yu had indeed been smiling at Ning Wanciu. Just moments ago, she heard the trio’s playful banter behind her.
To use the pillow long-term, I need to be friendly. So even though she was too lazy to make expressions, she forced a smile.
But now, the heroine suddenly snapped for no reason. She grabbed An Yu’s arm with incredible force, making it feel like it might break.
“What are you doing… let go.”
An Yu finally couldn’t hold back and spoke. It was her first sentence to An Qing, delivered in a completely emotionless tone.
Hearing An Yu’s cold voice, An Qing snapped out of it as if waking from a dream. She released her grip. Her expression shifted several times before settling on apology.
“Sorry, An Yu. Did I hurt you? You were just spacing out, so I wanted to remind you to get in the car.”
“Oh.”
Rubbing her aching arm, An Yu nodded coldly. Without further interaction with An Qing, she slipped into the car in a flash.
Watching An Yu disappear quickly before her eyes, An Qing was stunned. She stood there blankly for a while before reacting.
An Qing raised her hand and clenched the palm that had just grabbed An Yu. Then, as if nothing had happened, she got into An Yunfan’s car.
***
Ning Wanciu felt extremely awkward. Because of An Yu, her two best friends had been pestering her all day.
But she really, really, really didn’t know how to explain!
Was she supposed to say that she just sat there and the class’s cute mascot delivered herself?
Who would believe that?
Obviously, Huai Xiang and Cheng Shimumeng wouldn’t.
They were still pressing Ning Wanciu on why she could get along so well with An Yu.
“Mmm… please, please, Wanciu, just tell us～ I’m so curious. If you don’t, I definitely won’t sleep tonight!”
Seeing that pressure wasn’t working, Huai Xiang switched tactics and started acting cute.
Ning Wanciu could only remain silent. She had nothing to say. And if they knew the truth, Huai Xiang would be even more sleepless!
“Ah, it’s little An Yu.”
Interrupting the tug-of-war, Cheng Shimumeng pointed at the luxury car ahead.
An Yu and An Qing were standing there.
Huai Xiang, who had been paying extra attention to An Yu, immediately let go of Ning Wanciu and looked where Cheng Shimumeng pointed: “It really is. But why is that transfer student with her?”
Clearly, seeing An Yu and An Qing together surprised her.
“Ah, she turned around!”
Right in front of the three, An Yu turned and lightly waved.
Seeing An Yu greeting her, Ning Wanciu instinctively raised her hand and waved back.
As if seeing Ning Wanciu’s response, An Yu’s lips curved up into a smile. It looked very beautiful.
Ning Wanciu felt her heartbeat slow by half a beat. In her vision, only An Yu remained.
“Hey, hey… HEY!!!”
Huai Xiang called her name several times before Ning Wanciu snapped out of that strange feeling. She turned instinctively and met Huai Xiang’s deeply suspicious face.
“Hmph hmph hmph, Wanciu, oh Wanciu. Still saying nothing happened? Why did little An Yu smile only at you?!”
Though all three were standing together, Huai Xiang felt that smile was just for Ning Wanciu. Don’t ask why—woman’s intuition!
Unlike Huai Xiang’s directness, Cheng Shimumeng said nothing. She just looked at Ning Wanciu’s expression thoughtfully.
Ning Wanciu pursed her lips and didn’t respond. Instead, she lowered her head.
An Yu’s smile was beautiful—cute in a way that could heal the heart.
But it was extremely unnatural, as if forced by some threat.
Wasn’t that too strange?
They were at school. The people beside her should be family coming to pick her up……
She silently raised her head and looked toward An Yu’s position.
At that moment, An Yu had her back to Ning Wanciu. She gently protected her wrist. Her petite figure exuded helplessness.
She stepped aside from the transfer student, lowered her head, and got into the car.
In that instant, Ning Wanciu saw An Yu’s profile. There was no trace of a smile on that face—only endless coldness.