Right after getting dumped, He suddenly learned that his best buddy was the legendary cold-as-ice school beauty. - Chapter 57

Ji Qingqian stepped out of the infirmary.
She removed the cap she’d worn for military training, intending to redo her slightly messy hair.
Just as she held the hair tie between her teeth and began gathering her long hair at the back,
her eyes caught sight of a familiar boy standing not far away.
In front of him was a girl Ji Qingqian had never seen before.
…Yibei? Who’s she with?
……
This was something Lu Yibei hadn’t anticipated.
He had rushed to the infirmary and, seeing the heroine seemingly fine, had planned to wait outside to ask her about it.
Standing right at the doorway didn’t feel right.
He kept a slight distance; after all, everyone had to pass this way eventually.
He’d catch her eventually.
But before Ji Qingqian could appear, a girl emerged from another room of the infirmary, purpose unknown.
Lu Yibei was leaning against the white wall, and upon hearing a sound, glanced up—meeting the girl’s gaze.
Her eyes sparkled with a certain subtle intensity.
Lu Yibei’s lips twitched.
He had a bad feeling.
The next moment, as he feared, it came true.
The girl quickly approached.
“Hi… can I add you on WeChat?”
Nowadays, girls were really bold.
Lu Yibei scratched the back of his neck, wondering how to refuse—saying he didn’t have his phone was clearly no longer an option.
He had been on his phone while waiting for the heroine, still holding it now.
Before he could refuse… the girl’s gaze suddenly fell on the aqua-and-white hair tie wrapped around his right wrist.
Her face flushed. She looked down, cheeks red, and murmured:
“Sorry, I bothered you…”
With that, she turned and walked away.
Lu Yibei: …
He lifted his wrist, staring at the pretty hair tie.
Then…
“…Heroine, the magical artifact you gave me really works.”
He muttered, though really, it was meant for the heroine, who wasn’t far behind.
Lu Yibei had keenly noticed her hiding behind the wall.
Ji Qingqian: …
She slowly peeked out, her cold, delicate, oval-shaped face tinged with a hint of resentment.
“Sorry for ruining your fun.”
“What fun? You actually solved a little problem for me,” Lu Yibei said with a smile.
As he walked over, Ji Qingqian finally stepped fully from around the corner.
Her face was pale and calm, breathing steady. Apart from a trace of displeasure in her eyes, she looked just like always.
Lu Yibei exhaled in relief… and began addressing her “displeasure.”
“I don’t know her.”
“I know.”
“First time meeting her.”
“I can tell.”
“Didn’t give her my WeChat.”
“You think I’m deaf? I heard it.”
Ji Qingqian understood—A Bei was popular because he was excellent. That should be something to feel happy about.
But… hm. She couldn’t feel happy. A certain feeling called “possessiveness” had taken root.
Lu Yibei sighed.
“Do you want the hair tie back?”
“If you want to give it back, go ahead.”
“Then I’ll keep it. It’s giving me a buff,” Lu Yibei said.
At some point, an unspoken rule had formed in this world:
If a boy wore a hair tie on his wrist, it must belong to his girlfriend… in other words, boys with hair ties on their wrists were taken.
That was why the girl had stopped bothering Lu Yibei when she saw it.
…Of course, this wasn’t absolute. Take Lu Yibei’s roommate Zhao Sun—he had long hair and owned a bunch of hair ties himself.
“But if I wear it all the time, it might break. Can you give me another then?” Lu Yibei teased.
Ji Qingqian picked up on the phrase “all the time.”
Her displeasure vanished instantly. Her eyes curved into a smile:
“You can ask me anytime… I have plenty.”
“No matter how many, hope you don’t just give them away,” Lu Yibei joked.
“Never,” Ji Qingqian said softly, wrinkling her small, pale nose. “I only gave it to you…”
Her heart thumped twice as she said this—soft, clear, and a little teasing. She quickly tucked a stray strand behind her ear and switched topics:
“If you can’t find it…”
—A girlfriend shouldn’t leave that sentence hanging.
She fell silent, realizing it sounded like a curse on herself.
“Why are you here?”
Returning to the point, she asked, “Not feeling well?”
She lifted her hand to Lu Yibei’s forehead.
Many people did this, as if any problem could be diagnosed by feeling the forehead.
Lu Yibei didn’t pull away, letting her hand rest lightly against his brow.
“No,” he said.
“Then you…”
Ji Qingqian lowered her hand. She remembered the sound of the infirmary door just now: “Did you open the door?”
“Yeah,” Lu Yibei nodded.
Ji Qingqian understood immediately:
“You came looking for me?”
Lu Yibei smiled: “Yes.”
“…Why so early?” she asked.
Lu Yibei usually came around noon. If she had class, he’d watch her military training before her afternoon lessons.
But now it was only past ten.
So she hadn’t insisted on returning her phone; she thought she could just rejoin the line before noon.
She hadn’t expected Lu Yibei to change his schedule…
“Just passing by,” he said.
“Made you worry for nothing,” she said softly.
“Worrying for nothing isn’t bad…” Lu Yibei smiled. “Worrying for nothing means everything’s fine. Did you bring a classmate to the infirmary?”
“Yeah, Chu Chu—she got heatstroke,” Ji Qingqian explained, introducing her since Lu Yibei didn’t know her. “She’s my roommate.”
“You carried her here?”
“Yes.”
Lu Yibei looked at the scorching sunlight outside. “…You really are a Northeast superwoman.”
“That’s why I said, no need to worry about me.”
Ji Qingqian suddenly remembered: “Don’t you have class today?”
“…How did you know?”
“You showed me your schedule.”
“Remembered so clearly?”
“I’m a genius. One look and I memorized it,” she said.
Actually, she’d studied Lu Yibei’s schedule for a while.
Though still in military training, her class schedule was out. She was planning to find a time when neither had class to hang out.
“Skipped,” Lu Yibei admitted.
“Bad student,” Ji Qingqian chided.
“Elective. No big deal,” Lu Yibei said, noticing her sharp, expressive eyes. He immediately guessed what she was thinking: “I skipped because I was worried about you. Don’t follow my example! I’m otherwise always on time.”
“I see.”
Ji Qingqian folded her hands behind her back and nodded. She paused, then said: “Sorry… I took away your precious first time.”
Lu Yibei: …
He pressed his cup of iced juice against her cheek.
The sudden cold made her shiver.
“Drink up. Even juice can’t shut that mouth of yours,” Lu Yibei said.