Chapter 39: Afraid of Her Part 3

Qin Jiashu knew Lin San would beg her for mercy on Ji Yan’s behalf.

Ji Yan would have to agree, whether she liked it or not—unless she was willing to give up the chance to spend time with Xu Yinian.

It had taken a collective effort to get Xu Yinian to sign that contract. Though they each had their own hidden agendas, they had to accept the result of “sharing Xu Yinian.”

Course selection and club recruitment were just around the corner, and the air was thick with discussion. Xu Yinian’s phone was also much busier than usual.

Jiang Ke: [Sister, quickly teach me which courses to pick! There are so many, my head is spinning. T_T]

She followed the message with a cute, tearful emoji, reminding Xu Yinian of Jiang Ke’s previous sniffling.

Xu Yinian had indeed done her homework, but it was all tailored to her own needs—classes that were easy to grab, required minimal social interaction, and were related to the Chinese Department.

For a social butterfly like Jiang Ke, those would definitely be unsuitable. Thus, Xu Yinian specifically picked out a few courses that would suit Jiang Ke and sent them over.

The reply came quickly: [Sister, are you picking these same ones tomorrow?]

Seeing that sentence, Xu Yinian realized Jiang Ke’s little scheme. The girl clearly wanted to take the same classes as her, yet she pretended to ask for advice.

However, Xu Yinian didn’t want to tell her that she was choosing something else. If they wanted to spend time together, they had plenty of opportunities; missing a class or two wouldn’t hurt. As the older sister, she hoped Jiang Ke would take elective courses that were actually useful for her major.

So, she told a white lie: [I might not be able to grab a spot. Good luck.]

To prevent Jiang Ke from throwing a tantrum, she did mention that she was choosing Yoga for her physical education credit. At least they could be together for that one.

Just as she finished replying to Jiang Ke, a message from Senior Sister Qin followed, also asking about her course selection.

Only then did Xu Yinian remember that elective courses mixed different years and classes. As a junior, Qin Jiashu probably only needed two more courses to complete her credits.

But then she remembered that Qin Jiashu was Ji Yan’s girlfriend. The thought of picking the same class and potentially being bullied by Ji Yan even in the middle of a lecture made her shudder.

She was already afraid of running into Ji Yan again at the recording studio.

She had even troubled Sister Ran because of it… Thinking about how she had exploited Bai Ran’s protection today, Xu Yinian still felt a pang of guilt.

From now on, every time she went to record, Bai Ran would accompany her.

Although she felt it was too much trouble, Bai Ran insisted that they could go out and have some fun together after finishing their part-time work. Having been sickly since childhood, Bai Ran hadn’t even visited many of the local sights in the Capital.

Even though she knew Bai Ran was saying that just to comfort her, Xu Yinian was still moved.

With that in mind, Xu Yinian replied to the senior: [You should just pick whatever you like, Senior. Since it’s your last year, you should go for the popular ones. I haven’t decided yet; I’ll just pick whatever has spots left.]

In reality, it wasn’t entirely a lie. She had picked several backups and would see which ones she could actually get into.

[Alright then, but if you decide tomorrow, can you let me know?]

[We’ll talk tomorrow.]

Qin Jiashu had just made a deal with Ji Yan regarding the role, so she actually felt a bit guilty toward Xu Yinian. Seeing the polite refusal, she didn’t push any further.

However, she couldn’t help but notice that the junior’s WeChat style was quite a contrast to her real-life persona. On text, she seemed rather concise and cold.

After replying to both of them, Xu Yinian hadn’t actually told either one her plans. Although she had different reasons for each, she had to admit that she preferred attending classes by herself.

Her habit of being a “good student” meant she didn’t want to be distracted by chatting or arriving late in university.

As for Shen Ruoshuang and Ji Yan, Xu Yinian absolutely did not want to share a class with them. Living in the dorm with the Protagonist-top and the Protagonist-bottom was already taxing enough.

With military training almost over, nothing was going to stop her from spending her days hiding in the study lounge.

Just as she was thinking this, a message from Shen Ruoshuang arrived, making her heart habitually skip a beat.

But truthfully, since the last time she had brought Shen Ruoshuang water, their relationship had softened significantly.

Although Shen Ruoshuang left early and returned late, her position as a flag bearer put her closest to the spectator stands. Over the past few days, as Xu Yinian sat quietly reading, she would occasionally look up and catch sight of Shen Ruoshuang’s glowing figure amidst the crowd.

She was simply too conspicuous. During the repeated drills, she held the most important role, guarding the side of the flag.

Sometimes, Shen Ruoshuang would come up to find her. At first, she would bring desserts or milk tea, but seeing that Xu Yinian refused to accept them, she eventually just came up to chat.

Every time, they were the center of attention. Everyone in the Injury Company knew that Shen Ruoshuang was her roommate.

People would voice their envy over how close they were, leaving Xu Yinian to only offer an awkward smile. Some even approached her asking for Shen Ruoshuang’s contact information.

Whenever that happened, Xu Yinian would shake her head in refusal as if facing a mortal enemy, not saying a single word.

If it weren’t for these waves of pursuers, Xu Yinian might have actually forgotten that they had an unpleasant past. Because of this, she didn’t dare mention these things to Shen Ruoshuang, fearing the other woman would remember that incident as well.

Seeing Shen Ruoshuang’s message now, Xu Yinian naturally assumed she was asking about course selection.

She prepared to refuse without a second thought. It wasn’t that she was hiding from Shen Ruoshuang anymore, but rather she wanted to avoid the Protagonist-bottom to stay out of the plot’s reach.

Unexpectedly, Shen Ruoshuang didn’t mention classes at all.

Srs: [Tomorrow is a holiday. Do you want to grab lunch together? I’ve pre-booked a hot pot place near the CBD.]

Xu Yinian froze at the sudden invitation.

Since neither she nor Bai Ran had to participate in military training, they had developed a habit of eating before the training groups were dismissed. She hadn’t actually paid attention to how Shen Ruoshuang ate.

Does she always eat alone?

For some reason, Xu Yinian suddenly remembered that during Shen Ruoshuang’s brief months in Yuanwu during high school, she always seemed to be alone then, too.

In the double seats by the window, there was always only her solitary, upright silhouette. The light would filter through the glass, resting quietly on her long, straight black hair, coating her in a sacred halo.

It was as if an Ice Queen like Shen Ruoshuang was naturally meant to walk alone.

As if sensing Xu Yinian’s hesitation, Shen Ruoshuang sent another message to ease her mind:

[It was supposed to be a dorm dinner. We haven’t eaten together once since Room 503 started the semester, and I am the Dorm Head, after all. I asked the other two, but they both declined.]

Xu Yinian looked at the two screenshots Shen Ruoshuang sent of the rejections.

…She suddenly felt that Shen Ruoshuang was a rather pitiful Dorm Head.

Ji Yan was a given, but even Sister Ran had declined?

Xu Yinian’s heart softened slightly.

[…Alright then.]*