“What was that sound?” Liang Sheng shot to her feet and pulled back the white curtain.
The infirmary stood empty inside, its door gaping wide open as if mocking her.
“Huh?” Liang Sheng rubbed her head and glanced at Mo Qingrou, who was still sitting on the floor. “Sister Mo Qingrou, this door… was it blown open by the wind? No way…”
Mo Qingrou rose slowly. She shot a glance toward the door and said, “It looks like someone came in and left without closing it behind them.”
“Someone… came in…?” An uneasy premonition stirred in Liang Sheng’s heart.
Who could it have been? No one should just barge into the infirmary like that—people always knocked first. And even without knocking, pushing the door open would have made noise. She and Mo Qingrou definitely would have heard it and noticed.
Wait! Liang Sheng slapped her forehead. The music had been blaring out loud for so long—could it be…? Her heart lurched.
Ahem, no way it’s that much of a coincidence! Liang Sheng soothed her fragile nerves. Who said it had to be one of the girls she knew? The world wasn’t that small. She was just overthinking it!
Right, the world didn’t have coincidences that perfect… except it did.
Ever heard the saying that no tale is complete without a twist of fate?
While she and Mo Qingrou—that lovey-dovey girl-on-girl pair—were tangled up together, a certain handsome senior sister named Gu Yuqi had scraped her elbow playing basketball during free time after lunch. She’d come to the infirmary for some rubbing alcohol to disinfect it.
She knocked for ages with no answer, while deafening music pounded from inside.
Gu Yuqi was sure someone was in there, so she knocked a few more times. As blood dripped from her elbow wound onto the floor, she finally couldn’t wait any longer. She pushed the door open, planning to apologize and grab the medicine herself.
And that’s when the pure cliché melodrama kicked in. She ended up standing right behind that white curtain, overhearing Liang Sheng and Mo Qingrou’s conversation.
Ah, that dialogue dripping with flirtatious vibes. Ah, that pose loaded with steamy visuals. Ah, that sour tang of jealousy on the tongue.
Gu Yuqi froze in place as if struck by lightning. Her body refused to obey her brain. In that moment, her mind held just two words: “Run.” She had to escape this heartbreaking mess of a place fast.
She bolted, fleeing the scene.
Just as she ran off, Ni Sihan rounded the corner of the hallway.
Bam! Gu Yuqi slammed straight into her, sending Ni Sihan sprawling to the ground.
“Sorry!” Gu Yuqi didn’t have the presence of mind to help the poor girl she’d knocked over. She just muttered an apology and hurried away.
That person was… Ni Sihan narrowed her eyes. Gu Yuqi.
Why did she seem so off? Ni Sihan grumbled to herself in dissatisfaction. Knocking her down and not even helping her up—what a jerk.
Ni Sihan hauled herself to her feet on her own. She turned and spotted Liang Sheng peeking her head out from the infirmary.
Huh? What was Liang Sheng doing here? Ni Sihan started to dash over for a greeting—to grind some adoration value—but then a spark of insight hit her. She connected Gu Yuqi’s bizarre behavior to Liang Sheng.
Right on cue, Mo Qingrou’s hand landed on Liang Sheng’s shoulder. Liang Sheng seemed to smile, said something to her, and ducked back into the infirmary.
Hmm! Something was definitely up! Ni Sihan’s brainpower spiked several levels in an instant.
Time to eavesdrop.
Once Liang Sheng had shut the infirmary door again, Ni Sihan crept up to it on tiptoe. She pressed the side of her body against the door, ear flat to the wood, and listened intently.
“Sister Mo Qingrou, I just can’t shake this uneasy feeling.” The two voices inside were muffled slightly by the door, but Ni Sihan could make them out well enough.
Mo Qingrou asked, “What are you worried about?”
Liang Sheng hemmed and hawed. “I keep thinking someone might have overheard what we said earlier. Maybe even saw what we were doing. I mean, look at that door hanging open just now…”
She trailed off there. Deep down, Liang Sheng was now convinced that someone had discovered her little secret with Mo Qingrou. She just didn’t know who.
Mo Qingrou, for her part, didn’t seem fazed. “If they saw or heard, so what? We’re going to be together in the end anyway. Don’t worry about it.”
Liang Sheng gave a wry smile. “It’s not a sure thing, Sister Mo Qingrou. Right now, I really just see you as a friend.”
“Who can say for sure?” Mo Qingrou shot back.
Liang Sheng fell silent. When it came to feelings—who you liked, why you liked them—she wasn’t entirely clear on it herself.
Oh~~ Ni Sihan felt like she’d just overheard something huge. Excitement flushed her face bright red.
Perfect! This was perfect! Now she had a real shot at boosting her adoration value!
Ni Sihan wanted to keep listening, but the voices from the infirmary went quiet.
She waited ages, but the sporadic chatter from before had completely stopped.
Sigh. Guess that was all. Ni Sihan straightened up, stretched a bit, and felt pretty satisfied with what she’d gathered. She flexed her limbs a little more, hands on her hips, then bounced off with a spring in her step.
On the sports field, she plopped down on a bench and started scheming.
“Sister Hoshiko, that stuff we just heard… think we can work it from this angle?” After days of agonizing with no way to make a move on these girls, Ni Sihan wasn’t about to let this breakthrough slip.
Akino Hoshiko materialized, legs crossed casually as she lounged in midair. “Sure, it’s all about how you scheme and pull it off~”
Ni Sihan bowed her head, deep in thought.
Yeah, she could tell these girls all liked that woman named Liang Sheng to some degree. If she wanted them to like her instead, she’d have to make them dislike Liang Sheng. And how to do that…?
Ni Sihan’s eyes darkened. She’d have to resort to some dirty tricks.
Spreading misunderstandings, sowing discord, framing her on purpose—all that stuff.
Sure, Ni Sihan was a vain woman, but she hadn’t pulled much of that before. Well, okay, she had been the “little three,” stealing some rich second-gen’s boyfriend (though he’d dumped her in the end and gone back to his ex). She’d gossiped behind other girls’ backs too.
But!
This was crucial!
Even if she’d done those shady things!
She was still a good girl!
With that, an idea for sowing discord crept into Ni Sihan’s mind. Alright—time to put it into action!
