Chapter 21 Part 3

Because the umbrella was blocking her view, Jiang Chan didn’t see what she was doing. Just as Bai Shuangshuang started to stand, Jiang Chan shoved her hard to one side. “Don’t fucking touch them.”

Bai Shuangshuang didn’t have her footing yet and tumbled straight to the ground. Her clean pants now bore a thick streak of mud, and the umbrella slipped from her grasp, flying off to the side as her strength gave out.

Now even her long underwear underneath felt the chill seep in.

Bai Shuangshuang was caught off guard. What the hell? Why had Jiang Chan suddenly turned violent on her like that?

Jiang Chan, who had been radiating menace just moments before, froze when she spotted the half-eaten little cake sitting in front of the kitten. She turned her head and saw Bai Shuangshuang already back on her feet, glaring at her with clear annoyance.

“Jiang Chan, I haven’t done anything to wrong you, have I?”

She’d seen Jiang Chan lose her temper plenty of times before, but this was the first time she’d ever laid hands on her so bluntly.

Her good mood was utterly shattered. Bai Shuangshuang pulled a tissue from her pocket and dabbed at the spot on her backside. It came away soaked and smeared with a huge black stain right away.

She knew more wiping would just waste tissues, so she gave up, bent down to retrieve both dripping umbrellas, gave them a shake to flick off most of the water droplets from the insides, and held them overhead once more.

Obviously, it was just as pointless a gesture as before.

“Bai Shuangshuang.”

Jiang Chan, who had been standing silently until then, finally spoke.

It was the first time she’d ever said her full name with such gravity.

And it came right after shoving her.

Bai Shuangshuang wasn’t the type to play the victim in front of strangers. A slap followed by a sweet? Fat chance she’d swallow that.

Gone was her usual warmth; her face blank, she moved to brush past Jiang Chan. But a hand shot out and clamped down on her backpack strap.

“Sorry.”

Bai Shuangshuang’s lips twitched into a mirthless smile, her eyes cold. “How about I slap you back and say sorry? Think that’d make it even?”

Jiang Chan didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. Sure.”

Bai Shuangshuang: “…”

“Jiang Chan, you think a normal person wouldn’t get pissed off in a situation like this?”

She admitted it plainly. “They would.”

“Fine, since you get that, let go. A single ‘sorry’ isn’t gonna make me forgive what you just did. So before I really lose it, release my umbrella. I’m heading home.”

“This was my mistake, so I’m apologizing, Bai Shuangshuang. I’m sorry.”

With that, she bowed deeply toward her—precisely ninety degrees, by the look of it.

Jiang Chan wore only a thin button-up shirt, which the prolonged downpour had rendered all but transparent. As she bent at the waist, the clear outline of her sports bra stood out.

Bai Shuangshuang felt a sharp twist of contradiction inside her.

The one who’d shoved her to the ground without warning was Jiang Chan.

The one who’d foolishly stripped off her jacket to shelter the kittens was Jiang Chan too.

Good and evil, laid bare in the same person.

“I didn’t realize you were feeding the cats, so I pushed you without thinking. Sorry.”

Bai Shuangshuang picked up on the implication in her words and frowned. “What else would I have been doing if not feeding them?”

Jiang Chan straightened, and Bai Shuangshuang could plainly see the chill in her eyes. “What else? Abusing them.”

She blinked, stunned. By the time she processed it, Jiang Chan was already crouching in front of the kittens. She unpacked the takeout food and set it down for them.

The kittens seemed utterly dependent on her. Instead of digging in, one stuck out its tiny pink tongue to lick her hand.

A softness kindled in Jiang Chan’s eyes, a gentle warmth radiating from her whole being.

Bai Shuangshuang found herself drifting closer, instinctively angling the umbrella to cover her as well. “What was that supposed to mean? Who’s abusing cats?”

Jiang Chan said nothing, just gazed tenderly at the three little ones and stroked their heads.

“Jiang Chan, who’s abusing cats?”

Jiang Chan looked up, her expression laced with mockery. “You’d believe me if I told you?”

She nodded. “Tell me.”

Jiang Chan’s face didn’t soften a bit. “What if I said it was Wang Shishi? Would you buy that?”

Wang Shishi?

That paragon of virtue Wang Shishi—the one everyone called the reincarnation of Tang Seng, who could mope for days over accidentally stepping on an ant?

Bai Shuangshuang froze.

The mockery in Jiang Chan’s eyes sharpened at her reaction. “Go on home.”

“I believe you.”

Jiang Chan faltered. The raw, unfeigned trust shining in Bai Shuangshuang’s eyes left her at a loss for words.

Bai Shuangshuang met her gaze steadily and repeated herself. “I believe you.”

Jiang Chan’s eyes flickered, as if something had burrowed into them.

She lowered her head again, pretending not to have heard a thing, and stroked the little kitten’s head without any intention of paying Bai Shuangshuang any more attention.

The knot in Bai Shuangshuang’s heart had already unraveled because of Jiang Chan’s words.

She looked at Jiang Chan, who was only wearing a thin inner shirt, thought for a moment, and reached out to grasp the zipper of her own autumn jacket.

“This scar was carved by that person with an engraving knife.”

Jiang Chan suddenly spoke up.

Bai Shuangshuang instinctively glanced down and saw a faint scratch hidden beneath the fine fur on the gray-furred little kitten’s cheek.

“I happened to stumble upon it and hadn’t even said a word to her when she bolted first. Luckily, I got there in time—otherwise, I can’t guarantee that this kitten would only have this one scar on its body.”

“So you snapped at her that day because of this?”

Jiang Chan gave her a mocking look. “For someone like her, even talking to her feels like a waste of breath.”

“You still can’t just curse her out without her even saying a word.”

She looked at her like she was an idiot. “Then why didn’t she think about how much pain the kitten was in when she was abusing it? Don’t give me any of that ‘maybe she had her reasons’ nonsense. I don’t care what the reason was—she did abuse the cat, so in my book, she deserved to get an earful.”

Bai Shuangshuang sighed. “I never said she had some justification for doing it. Just like you said, no matter the reason, hurting a small animal is wrong. But you could let it go with Wang Shishi—why are you so harsh with everyone else too?”

“Bai Shuangshuang, are you stupid or just dense? Aside from people who come provoking me first, have I ever taken the initiative to curse anyone out? And the ones I do curse are all the people who hang out with the likes of Wang Shishi, aren’t they?”

Bai Shuangshuang was stumped by her question. After thinking it over carefully, she suddenly felt quite ashamed.

Because the truth was, it really did seem to be exactly as Jiang Chan had said.

If that was the case, then why had she, just like everyone else, assumed that Jiang Chan was such a terrible person?

Bai Shuangshuang jolted in realization, a chill suddenly running down her spine.

As Jiang Chan’s desk mate, some subjective impression like “Jiang Chan has a bad temper and curses people indiscriminately without rhyme or reason” had been subconsciously planted in her mind. Every time she witnessed Jiang Chan’s actions, it only served to reinforce that impression on a subconscious level—yet she had never once stopped to question whether that was really the truth.

In this moment, she abruptly realized just how terrifying rumors could be, like a knife in the dark.

To think that she, who had lived an extra lifetime, would one day trip up over something as simple as rumors.

“But that first day, didn’t you snap at me pretty harshly to mind my own business?”

Jiang Chan rolled her eyes at her. “You were sticking your nose in where it didn’t belong. Talking back to the Discipline Director was my own affair—if I got punished for it, I wouldn’t have had any complaints. You, on the other hand, aren’t you supposed to be the model student? Acting like a fool and making the Discipline Director lose face in front of everyone like that—if he were the petty type, you’d have ended up with a spot right alongside me, sent home to ‘rest.’ Believe it or not?”

Bai Shuangshuang nodded to show that she believed it. Even as a good student in the teachers’ eyes, once you challenged authority, that title was worth absolutely nothing.

“I used to think most people in the class were hypocrites, all putting on a massive act. Especially someone like Wang Shishi—such a goody-two-shoes on the surface, but ruthless behind closed doors. Anyone who hangs out with her can’t be up to any good either. And you? You seemed all mild-mannered and even-tempered on the outside, but who knows, maybe you’re just another two-faced type who pulls shady tricks in secret. But now, I think I got it wrong. Someone like you probably couldn’t scheme to save your life. After all, you’re genuinely stupid.”

Bai Shuangshuang: “…” She didn’t feel like Jiang Chan was complimenting her at all.

Jiang Chan stood up, snatched the umbrella from her hand, and opened it over both their heads. “Come on, I’ll walk you part of the way. Doesn’t your butt feel cold after sitting here for so long? Why didn’t you just go?”

“…This is my umbrella. If anyone’s escorting, it should be me escorting you. And whose fault is it that I’m in this state right now?”

Jiang Chan casually slung an arm over her shoulder without a care. “Let’s go, let’s go. We’re friends now—no need to nitpick over every little thing.”

Bai Shuangshuang: “…Who said we’re friends?”

Jiang Chan grinned. “Having second thoughts? Too late. I’ve unilaterally stamped us as friends already. As for your half—whether you agree or not doesn’t count.”

Bai Shuangshuang found it amusing and glanced at her. “You gave your jacket to them. What about you? Aren’t you worried about flashing someone?”

“It’s pouring so hard—who’s gonna look? Besides, what’s there to see on an airport like mine? Is that cake of yours meant to take home? Come on, I’ll buy you a new one as compensation for shoving you earlier.”

Bai Shuangshuang couldn’t bear to watch anymore. She took off her backpack and handed it over. “Hold this for a sec.”

Jiang Chan took it quite naturally. On this matter, at least, the two of them were perfectly in sync.

She shrugged off her jacket and draped it over Jiang Chan’s shoulders. “Bring it back to me next week. And remember to wash it clean.”

Jiang Chan started to protest politely, but Bai Shuangshuang flashed a grin, her eyes crinkling into happy crescents. “If you feel bad about it, just buy two extra cakes. Make them matcha flavor—my little sister loves those.”

Jiang Chan glanced at her, then tugged the jacket tighter around herself.

“Bai Shuangshuang, you really are an idiot.”

~~~

Jiang Chan didn’t stop at just the cakes. She threw in two cups of milk tea as well.

“If your sister asks about them, make sure to tell her they came from a pretty, gentle big sister.”

“…”

“My place is just around the corner up ahead, so this is where I leave you. Don’t dawdle on the way home—get back quick. I don’t want to see you next week and have to brew you some cold medicine.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Off you go.”

Watching Jiang Chan dash away, Bai Shuangshuang couldn’t hold back a smile.

She truly hadn’t expected that she’d ever make a friend like Jiang Chan in this lifetime.

Bai Shuangshuang stepped forward, her umbrella held a bit too low. As she lifted it higher, she spotted a girl standing under her own umbrella not far ahead.

The girl’s face was stormy, dark with the promise of trouble brewing.