Right after getting dumped, He suddenly learned that his best buddy was the legendary cold-as-ice school beauty. - Chapter 34

“How much did you get on your first exam?” Lu Yibei asked.

“Eighty points lower than you,” Ji Qingqian replied.

She was frustrated with that number. If she’d studied properly before, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.

“Eighty… that’s not too low. You can still get into college,” Lu Yibei said.

“I have high standards for myself. Not okay?” Ji Qingqian said calmly.

“Okay.”

Lu Yibei asked quietly, “Your family doesn’t complain?”

The college entrance exam was a student’s top priority.

Repeating a year didn’t even guarantee better results.

Lu Yibei thought Ji Qingqian was acting irrationally. No matter what, she should at least consider her own future.

“My family practices a ‘free-range’ approach,” she said. “Besides… did you forget?”

“Uh?”

“My family is rich.”

Lu Yibei: …

Oh, right.

It turned out he hadn’t thought carefully enough. Ji Qingqian had already planned her future clearly.

So, good kids, don’t try this at home.

Ji Qingqian muttered softly, “Idiot.”

What could Lu Yibei say? All he could do was give her a thumbs-up.

“Awesome.”

Ji Qingqian leaned back on her hands, gazing at the dark sky.

“Abbei.”

“Hmm?”

“You said you wanted to hug me the first time we met.”

“Mm…”

“But since it was our first meeting, you didn’t want to go too far, so you waited until today.”

“That’s right.”

“Now it’s been… over a week since we first met.”

“About.”

Ji Qingqian’s calm gaze fixed on him:

“Only a week and you already think you can hug me. I dare not imagine what you’d do if I gave you another month.”

Lu Yibei hurried to defend himself: “No, come on! Don’t make me sound like some kind of pervert!”

Ji Qingqian squinted: “Oh? Really?”

“Y-Yeah,” Lu Yibei stammered, maybe… probably… uh-huh.

Ji Qingqian emphasized: “Anyway, you scared me.”

Her heart was still racing…

She was terrible with these sudden situations—whether it was the indirect kiss during their first barbecue, picking watermelon seeds together, or this hug…

“Sorry…” Lu Yibei apologized again.

“Next time, you have to ask first,” Ji Qingqian said.

“??”

Lu Yibei was completely baffled.

Ji Qingqian continued slowly: “I’ll approve it if it’s okay.”

“What? You can approve it?” Lu Yibei asked.

Mind-boggling. Really mind-boggling.

Ji Qingqian, cool as ever, said: “Depends on my mood.”

Weird. Really weird.

So, if her mood was good, asking for a hug might actually be allowed?

“Actually,” Ji Qingqian’s tone softened, “I wanted to hug you the first time we met too, but I was shy.”

“Oh…”

Then, Ji Qingqian looked at him with mock disdain:

“But I’m still restraining myself, while you’ve become a slave to your desires. Pathetic, Lu Yibei.”

“No, don’t say it like that, Heroine!”

“Isn’t it true?”

“Yes, but… can’t we phrase it differently?”

“For example…”

“After getting to know each other better, taking the first brave step, something like that?”

“The first step is a sneak attack? Even if I called the police right now, it’d be justified,” Ji Qingqian said, expressionless.

“Nooo, Heroine, okay, okay, I admit my mistake!”

Lu Yibei pressed his palms together above his head in surrender. Ji Qingqian’s lips curved slightly—she was quite pleased with his attitude.

They sat together a while longer. It was almost eleven o’clock.

“Let’s head back, it’s getting late,” Lu Yibei suggested.

Ji Qingqian pulled out her phone to check the time—and just then, Chu Ru called.

“Roommate,” she said to Lu Yibei.

He nodded, casually checking his messages. Still no sign from the guys in the boys’ dorm—only Zhao Sun had left a message:

[Zhao Sun: Back yet?]

Lu Yibei’s single apartment was a short-term three-month rental, so the monthly rent was pricey. Renting for six months was cheaper. He had simply extended it until year-end.

Sometimes he was busy with work, and though his son never complained, he didn’t want to disturb them late at night.

His son was still growing—sleep was important.

They probably thought he, as a dad, was out at the safe house.

…

Ji Qingqian hurried downstairs. Her roommates started discussing the story she’d told.

The most pressing question: Was the “friend’s friend” she mentioned actually herself?

Then again, a friend’s friend could technically be herself…

But was she the male lead or the female lead?

In the story, the male lead liked the female lead, who liked the bad second male…

But their icy goddess clearly wasn’t the type to fall for anyone.

Plus, the male lead got a bad ending…

Wang Jue caught one key clue—Abbei.

She understood bits and pieces, but not the whole story. Everything was still clouded in mystery.

“I think it might be Ji Qingqian… but probably not her,” Chu Ru said.

By then, Ma Jiajiao had finished showering and was ready to rest; Wang Jue was already lying down.

“Ji Qingqian still hasn’t come back,” Ma Jiajiao said.

“Call her. Didn’t we add her on WeChat?” Chu Ru suggested.

“Who’ll call?” Ma Jiajiao asked.

The two stared at each other, hesitant. The icy girl was intimidating—what if they disturbed her?

Wang Jue was about to volunteer when Chu Ru gritted her teeth:

“I’ll call. Even if she scolds me, it’s better than something happening to her.”

She dialed.

Thinking back, Ji Qingqian hadn’t really scolded her before; she had even bought her ice cream a few days ago.

Still… her aura was strong enough to make one feel like she could get scolded.

…

“Ji Qingqian, it’s almost curfew. Why aren’t you back?”

Lu Yibei, standing close, could hear the female voice clearly.

“I’m…”

Ji Qingqian didn’t know how to answer.

Lu Yibei moved his lips silently, teaching her with lip-reading.

“I got lost on a walk, just found my way back,” she said, following his instructions: “It’s okay, the auntie is nice, I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded after the other side spoke a few more words, then hung up.

Lu Yibei didn’t understand—why was she nodding while on the phone? How dumb.

“She’s close with her roommates, and they care about you,” he said with a smile.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Ji Qingqian checked the time and dimmed the screen—it was almost eleven.

But the auntie said she could stay until 11:30.

She stretched, looked at the boy standing up, and asked coldly:

“Just hugged me and now you want to leave?”

Lu Yibei: …

“Such a scumbag.”

He opened his mouth to say something, but seeing Ji Qingqian’s attitude of wanting to stay a bit longer, he swallowed his words.

“Then we’ll stay a while longer,” he said, sending a message to Zhao Sun:

[YibeiNorth: Not coming back.]