Chapter 65: The Humiliated Heiress of the Arranged Marriage (10) Part 2

For now, the first order of business was to report for duty.

Bai Qian had no clue what Miaohan had said to her just minutes earlier. She slipped on her shoes and stepped out the door when Shan Chan’s call came through.

Sensing that the other girl’s anger had finally ebbed, Bai Qian chuckled lightly. “What’s up? Not mad at this scumbag woman anymore?”

The girl on the other end mumbled, “Bai Qian, I’m giving you one last chance. Repent and change your ways, and you’ll still be my good friend.”

Bai Qian sighed helplessly. “Fine, I’ll be straight with you. We haven’t officially confirmed our relationship yet.”

“Scumbag woman!”

“But it’s probably going to happen soon.”

Shan Chan’s CP-shipping enthusiasm reignited at that. “What do you mean by that?”

Bai Qian countered with a question of her own. “If your little sister Dan Ying suddenly ran up to you one day and confessed that she liked you, what would you do?”

“I’d slap her across the face and tell her to scram.”

“That’s what I should’ve done too… but the truth is, I didn’t.”

She had even gone so far as to indulge the girl.

Shan Chan shot back indignantly, “You two aren’t blood sisters—how can you even compare that to me and Dan Ying? If that brat ever got any incestuous ideas, forget me—Mom would break her legs first!”

“There’s no blood relation between us, but at the start, I really did see her as my little sister.”

“Wait, hold on. So all that stuff you said back then about the real heiress and the fake one… that was true?”

Bai Qian wasn’t sure whether to be glad her friend was finally starting to believe her. “Yeah, I wasn’t lying to you at all.”

“Hang on, let me piece this together myself.” Shan Chan fell silent for a long moment before speaking again. “I won’t pry into what exactly happened between you two before. But what did you mean by ‘soon’?”

Bai Qian let out a sigh. “I do like her. But I’m not sure yet what kind of ‘like’ it is. Once I figure that out for myself, the answer will be clear.”

Shan Chan might have a fiery temper, but Miaohan knew she was the type who could keep a secret when it mattered.

That was why Bai Qian didn’t hesitate much before confiding in her—even sharing things she could never bring herself to tell Miaohan.

By the time she hung up, Bai Qian felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

She had no idea when that fateful day would come, but no matter how long it took, she had to wait. Otherwise, responding to the girl’s pure, heartfelt affection with her own muddled emotions would be deeply unfair to her.

~~~

Once reporting was done, Bai Qian headed straight to Chi Miaohan’s school across the street.

Miaohan had casually snapped a photo of the campus map from the orientation guide and sent it to her earlier. Bai Qian pulled up the class schedule, noted the classroom for Miaohan’s last period, and followed the map’s directions to the teaching building.

By the time she reached the classroom door, there were only three minutes left before the bell.

The students had just come from the adjacent room, so it took them no time at all to file in. When Bai Qian stepped inside, nearly every seat was taken.

She spotted Chi Miaohan right away, seated by the window in the third row. Bai Qian entered through the back door, and with most students glued to their phones, she drew little attention.

Even those who happened to glance her way were momentarily stunned by her striking looks before returning to their own business—after all, classes had only just started, and not everyone had memorized all their classmates’ faces yet. They simply assumed Bai Qian was one of them.

Except for two girls with sharp eyes for faces. The moment they saw her, their eyes lit up.

But they didn’t dare speak too loudly, lest she overhear. Instead, they huddled together, heads close, stealing glances at the stunning young lady making her way toward the front while whispering excitedly.

“If I’m not mistaken, she’s not in our class, right?”

“Has to be from another class. She’s way too pretty for me to forget her. Probably no class next period, so she came looking for her boyfriend?”

“She’s heading straight for Liu Zitao! No way—is Little Sister seriously dating him? Is she blind? She’d be better off with me.”

“Wait, no, she’s not going for Liu Zitao. Didn’t even glance his way. Just kept walking. Who’s that in the second row? Kong Minghui? Nah, he’s no good either. Hold on—why’d she stop? Who’s sitting behind Kong Minghui? Tsk, that top student I tried to add on WeChat the first day of school and got shot down. What’s her name again? Why’s my brain blanking out at a time like this?”

Her friend gave her head a light rap without much force. “Dummy. Chi Miaohan. Number one in the major, gorgeous too. And you forgot?”

“Right, right! Now it comes back to me. Can’t be looking for her, though. Haven’t seen her crack a smile all semester. Personality that frosty? No way she’s got a girlfriend. Hey, speaking of which, isn’t today’s teacher for this class someone new? You don’t think this pretty Little Sister is actually our prof, do you?”

The moment she said it, the two of them shot bolt upright in perfect sync, eyes locked dead ahead on that striking figure. They exchanged a glance, and everything was said without a word.

~~~

With looks like that on a teacher? We’d learn whatever she taught! Hell, we’d study our asses off!

But reality slapped them in the face soon enough. The pretty girl they’d pegged as the “new teacher” casually reached out and patted the shoulder of that icy top student—like they were old pals.

Chi Miaohan was seriously pissed right now.

During the break after the last class, she’d called Bai Qian, but the girl had still been asleep. Even after the bell rang and class started, she hadn’t picked up.

She’d promised Bai Qian she wouldn’t mess with her phone during lessons. She’d gritted her teeth through the whole hour, and the second the bell sounded, she’d whipped it out—only to see a message from half an hour ago.

Bai Qian explained she’d been handling enrollment stuff, phone buried in her bag with the ringer off. That’s why she hadn’t answered.

Chi Miaohan didn’t even know how to describe the tangle of emotions churning inside her.

It was like being a little puppy. Before her owner headed out, she’d yipped and bounced around her feet, begging to play games when she got home from work. The owner got it, stroked her head, and promised she would.

The puppy waited all day in a frenzy of excitement. Finally, her owner was back! She snatched up the frisbee in her jaws and dashed over—only for the door to slam in her face.

The puppy whined pitifully outside, and at last the owner came back out. But not to play. No—to scold the needy pup pawing at her feet and tell her not to be a bother.

That abandoned little puppy’s heartbreak? Yeah, that was Chi Miaohan right now.

Her big sister had promised that morning before leaving. But now she’d gone and forgotten.

Did she not like her even a little? Was that why her words meant nothing?

The more Chi Miaohan dwelled on it, the stuffier her chest felt. Her eyes, already blank and impassive around others, turned downright glacial—no one could meet that stare.

So when an unfamiliar hand gave her shoulder a light pat, she whipped her head around with obvious irritation.

“Wha— ” Anything you need?

The word died in her throat the instant she saw who it was. Her expression hadn’t softened yet, and her forbidding glare—pure “strangers need not apply”—sent the girl reeling. Her eyes instantly rimmed red.

Right on cue, the bell rang. No matter how much Chi Miaohan inwardly kicked herself, she had no choice but to stand, usher the girl to the seat beside her on the inside, and try to soothe her.

Luckily, her body seemed to sense they were in public and held back from kicking up a fuss like it usually would.

The teacher strode in and launched into the first lesson of the day.

Bai Qian couldn’t stifle her instinctive shivers. She curled into the tiniest ball she could manage and wilted over her desk, looking utterly heartbreaking.

Chi Miaohan clutched her tight, leaning in close. Her voice came out soft and low, brimming with regret and apology. “Big Sis, I didn’t realize it was you. I’m sorry—did I scare you? Big Sis…”

The soothing touch calmed her body down, but it was on the verge of throwing caution to the wind again. Bai Qian clamped down hard on the impulse—god forbid she cause a scene and die of embarrassment in front of the whole class. She turned her head aside and ordered in a voice gone all soft and petulant, “No more talking. Pay attention to the lesson.”

The girl’s eyes were red at the corners, tears pooling in her lashes—a picture of pure misery. But in Chi Miaohan’s eyes right then, it sparked just one savage, primal urge…

That tender voice was like a catalyst, stoking the fire in her chest until it nearly burst free.

She jerked her head away, not daring to look, not daring to dwell. Her usual gentle tone came out roughened and hoarse. “Okay.”

With that, Chi Miaohan took several deep breaths. The chaos in her mind finally settled.

Her right hand took over from her left to hold the girl steady, while her left hand glided up along the girl’s spine, patting gently again and again.

She didn’t dare lean in too close, afraid that intoxicating fragrance would daze her senses and tempt her into doing things she wouldn’t even dare imagine.

But Bai Qian had no idea what inner turmoil Chi Miaohan was grappling with. After lying still for a moment to compose herself, she scooted closer, pressing her body against Chi Miaohan’s.

Chi Miaohan had already sat up straight by then, her attention—guided firmly by reason—locked entirely on the teacher up front.

Feeling the other girl snuggle up against her, Chi Miaohan forgot all about her earlier gritted-teeth restraint. Her head tilted instinctively toward Bai Qian. “Sister, what’s wrong?”

The words had barely left her lips when the girl’s sweet scent filled her nostrils. Chi Miaohan’s face changed in an instant.

Oblivious to Chi Miaohan’s thoughts, Bai Qian’s unsatisfied body began to stir once more. It drove her to burrow bonelessly into the embrace like a needy doll. At last, she let out a soft, aggrieved whimper. “Why isn’t class over yet? I’m so bored… It’s all your fault. You scared me and won’t even hold me to make it better.”

Chi Miaohan could restrain herself no longer. She pulled the girl tightly into her arms, her voice dropping to a dangerously husky timbre.

“Sister, just hold on a little longer. I’ll comfort you properly.”