Chapter 43: The Schemed School Beauty (13)

Bai Qian felt like she must be sick in the head. To think she was wasting her energy worrying about this girl.

After laying her feelings bare, Fu Siwan was a completely different person from before—like night and day.

It no longer made sense to describe her as a prickly little rabbit. If she had to pick an animal that fit, nothing suited this shameless little puppy better.

How could someone who spent every day plastering on that thick-skinned grin, begging to date and be together, have anything to do with all those negative labels?

Once again defeated by the girl’s brazenness, Bai Qian kept her face cold and ignored her the whole way back.

She was trying to send a clear message with her attitude: If you don’t change that photo, don’t even dream of me talking to you again!

But this childish tactic was obviously useless. Having evolved into a full-fledged lapdog, the girl wouldn’t be deterred even without a treat from her owner. She’d just stick by her side and go about her usual routine without a care.

Bai Qian unilaterally waged a cold war against her for three whole days.

On the fourth day at noon, the cold war came to an abrupt end—thanks to a contrived little “accident.”

Fu Siwan had cut her finger while slicing fruit in the kitchen. She emerged with red-rimmed eyes and held out her injured index finger pitifully for Bai Qian to see.

The cut wasn’t deep, but tiny beads of blood kept welling up from the thin slit.

Bai Qian instantly forgot all about the cold war. She hurried to grab the first-aid kit and carefully tended to the wound while asking with concern, “How did you manage to cut yourself like this?”

Fu Siwan mumbled evasively without answering, her almond-shaped eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She looked utterly heartbreaking.

“It hurts,” she whimpered.

Bai Qian leaned in and gently blew on the cut a few times. When she looked up, she caught the glint of scheming triumph in the girl’s eyes before it could be hidden.

“…”

Bai Qian nearly laughed from sheer exasperation. “Fu Siwan, are you out of your mind? This is your hand—you used your own body to manipulate me?”

With her little ploy exposed, the girl dropped the fragile-Daiyu act and declared righteously, “Who asked Sister to ignore me!”

Bai Qian wanted to scold her, but the girl’s reckless stunt left her too stunned. A tangle of frustration churned in her chest, refusing to rise or settle. In the end, all she could do was say helplessly, “If you ever pull something like this again—joking with your own body—I’ll never speak to you again for the rest of my life. Got it?”

Fu Siwan hummed and hawed without responding. As soon as the Band-Aid was applied and Bai Qian started to stand, she lunged forward and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“Sister smells so good. I could sniff you forever and never get enough.”

Bai Qian had grown numb to these occasional bouts of creepy obsession from her. Without batting an eye, she grabbed the back of the girl’s collar and yanked her away.

“Don’t push your luck. Get up—I’ve got to head back to the company for some urgent overtime. You stay home and wait for me.”

“I’ll go with you!”

“I’m going to work. You think it’s playtime?”

The girl cleverly deployed her exquisite, innocent face, putting on an obedient, impossible-to-refuse expression. She held up a finger and said sweetly, “Sister, I promise! I’ll just sit quietly in your office and wait. I absolutely won’t disturb you!”

“…”

Word that President Bai had brought a young, beautiful girl into her office spread like wildfire through the company in under ten minutes.

As Bai Qian’s closest subordinate, Xie Chao was forced into the role amid pleading looks from his colleagues. He knocked on the door.

Before he could say a word, a melodious female voice rang out clearly from inside.

“Sister, your office even has a rest room? When you’re tired from work, you wouldn’t… sneak off into there with some other woman for a little ‘rest,’ would you?”

The eavesdroppers outside instantly erupted in excitement—silently, of course. They exchanged glances, everyone intuitively knowing exactly what the others were thinking.

—The eternally single President Bai really does have a girlfriend! And this clingy little thing is super jealous!

The moment Bai Qian saw the complicated look in Xie Chao’s eyes, combined with the eerie silence outside, she knew Fu Siwan’s words had been overheard by everyone.

She could guess how this baseless rumor would twist and spread. There was no point explaining—some things only got messier the more you tried.

Let it be. It wouldn’t be long before some fresh gossip pushed it aside.

Xie Chao was clearly the tool everyone had shoved in to fish for details. Seeing him hem and haw without a good excuse to enter, Bai Qian waved him off and sent him packing.

With the outsider gone, it was time to deal with the feigned innocent in the room.

“I don’t recall you ever being this loud at home, do I, classmate Fu Siwan?”

The girl wore the perfect look of confusion. “What are you talking about, Sister?”

Bai Qian was truly at a loss with her. The Little Rabbit who had once resisted everything was now bold enough to direct her little schemes at Bai Qian herself—and it was all her own doing, spoiling her like this.

“Play quietly on your phone. Remember what you promised at home, understand?”

Fu Siwan nodded obediently.

But she only managed to sit still for a dozen minutes before yawning and curling up on the sofa, drifting off to sleep.

When Bai Qian noticed, half the girl’s leg was dangling off the edge of the sofa in an awkward, unflattering pose that made it seem like she might tumble to the floor at any moment.

She walked over, scooped her up, and carried her into the rest room—the one she hadn’t used once since becoming the original host.

She had just tucked the thin blanket around her when the girl, eyes still tightly shut, slowly fluttered them open.

She was drowsy, caught between sleep and wakefulness, her half-lidded gaze fixed softly on Bai Qian. In a soft, reluctant voice, she asked, “Has anyone besides Sister ever lain here?”

Bai Qian had no interest in answering such a pointless question. She turned to leave, but her hem was seized in a tight grip. Fu Siwan’s eyes were red-rimmed as she silently pleaded with her, stubbornly refusing to let go without an answer.

The woman gently pried the girl’s fingers loose. Just as Fu Siwan seemed about to throw a fit, Bai Qian said helplessly, “Only you. Now go to sleep quietly, all right? Little one.”

In a flash, a figure bolted upright from the bed. Before Bai Qian could react, the girl—who had successfully stolen a kiss from her lips—was already lying back down.

Bai Qian lowered her eyes and took in the girl’s expression: pure “I’m going to sleep now, so don’t disturb me.” It was exasperating and amusing all at once.

This rascal hadn’t picked up a single good habit, but she had perfected the art of taking liberties with Bai Qian in ways that never truly made her angry.

~~~

Bai Qian had chosen to live with the girl at Orchid Plum Pavilion precisely because the surrounding University City was packed with top-tier schools.

The university that had admitted Fu Siwan was in A City too, but it was nowhere near Orchid Plum Pavilion.

It took two subway line changes plus a good walk—a solid three hours.

Bai Qian had hired the teacher to handle the applications. Knowing the girl wouldn’t attend school out of town, she’d only specified A City as the requirement.

Fu Siwan hadn’t cared about the choices, and Bai Qian had been swamped at the time. Besides, she wasn’t as skilled as a gold-medal application consultant, so she’d left it in their hands.

Now, seeing the results, the girl looked on the verge of tears.

Before Bai Qian could say a word, Fu Siwan stormed back to her room in a huff and slammed the door shut.

She stayed holed up there for an entire day.

Bai Qian knocked a few times, but the usually clingy little puppy was uncharacteristically silent today, brooding alone in her room.

Bai Qian knew exactly what was eating at her.

Right after the College Entrance Exam ended, the girl had told her upfront that she wouldn’t live in the dorms for university.

Bai Qian hadn’t agreed at first. Girls her age needed to mingle more with their peers.

Only after Fu Siwan promised to make an effort to befriend people—unlike her reclusive past—did Bai Qian relent.

But with the school so far from Orchid Plum Pavilion, even if Fu Siwan hated dorms, commuting was impossible.

Dinner time came and went, and the girl—who hadn’t eaten all day—still showed no sign of emerging. With a sigh, Bai Qian cooked up a bowl of wontons and carried it to the door, knocking once more.

“I made wontons. Have some.”

No response, as expected.

Bai Qian fished out the spare key and let herself in.

Inside the room,

Fu Siwan lay facedown at the edge of the bed, not even stirring at the sound of Bai Qian entering.

Bai Qian set the bowl aside, walked over, and squatted down, ruffling the girl’s soft black hair.

“Sulking like this will just make you feel worse, little Fu Siwan. What do you get out of it? Nothing at all. So it’s not worth it, right?”

“I told you before to treat me like a friend—to share your thoughts with me, no holding back. But here you are, saying you like me while failing at the simplest thing. How am I supposed to believe you?”

At those words, Fu Siwan jerked her head up.

She glared at Bai Qian like a feisty little dog. “No one likes you more than I do! No one!”

Bai Qian brushed away the fine beads of sweat on her forehead with her fingertip, her voice as gentle as a spring breeze.

“So tell me—what’s on your mind? Hmm?”

Fu Siwan’s tears spilled from her eyes. “What’s the use of telling you? You wanted me to live on campus! Back then, I begged you for so long—sob sob—before you finally agreed, and only then reluctantly. Sob sob sob… Now my school’s so far away; you must be thrilled!”

The mystery of why the little one had ignored her all day was solved.

Bai Qian chuckled at her accusatory tone, but the little girl’s aggrieved expression tugged at her heartstrings. She cut the nonsense and said helplessly, “You’re always so fierce in front of me. How come you chicken out at the crucial moment?”

Fu Siwan’s nose was red, her expression confused and bewildered.

The woman reached out and tapped her dainty, pitiful nose, chuckling softly. “Didn’t it ever occur to you that I could move in with you?”