Chapter 83: 83. The Trampled School Bully (13) Part 2

The memory of the dream made her rabbit eyes well up even more. “I’m not even old enough for that—why would I grow a tail? Does that mean I’m dying?”

Zhao Lanzhao finally understood the early-morning frenzy. Amused yet exasperated, she ushered the girl into the living room. Once they were seated, she grabbed a handful of tissues and handed them over before settling in herself.

“You know what happens if a human overindulges in deer penis or tiger penis tonics, right?”

Jiang Yusheng’s train of thought derailed, her face burning with embarrassment. “Why are you bringing that up?!”

“Your situation right now? It’s exactly like that. Does that make sense?”

Little Rabbit shook her head stubbornly. “I didn’t eat any of that stuff. How could I be the same as a human?”

Zhao Lanzhao gave her a light flick on the forehead. “Idiot. You didn’t eat it, but you sure felt it.”

“Huh?”

“Qianqian. Isn’t that way more potent than any tonic?”

Little Rabbit’s cheeks flamed scarlet. “No way! I didn’t do anything to her. How could that happen?!”

“Heh.” Big Rabbit snorted. “You say that with a straight face? Your conscience doesn’t prick at all?”

A brief exchange later, Zhao Lanzhao’s eyelids began to droop again. “There, all explained. No terminal illness, no dying. Happy now? Do me a favor and don’t bang on my door at dawn anymore. I’m not Qianqian—I don’t have infinite patience for you.”

“But how do I fix it?” Jiang Yusheng hesitated, then gritted her teeth and confessed. “Whenever I get close to her, I get nosebleeds. It’s happened multiple times now—my body’s starting to wear out from it.”

“Nosebleeds are normal. Your mom had them all the time when she was young.”

“Really? Why?”

“Same reason as you. Your dad was strictly look-don’t-touch. Hormones went haywire and came out as nosebleeds instead.”

“So how did you deal with it later? Don’t tell me…”

“You’re overthinking it. Didn’t I tell you already? My relationship with your dad isn’t anywhere near as intimate and natural as yours with Qianqian. Holding his hand doesn’t make me nosebleed. Later, hand-holding wasn’t enough, so we moved to hugs. When that stopped cutting it, we started kissing.” With that, she shot her a glance and asked casually, “What stage are you and Qianqian at now? You’ve definitely hugged by this point, right? So if you don’t want to nosebleed, there’s only one solution: kiss her.”

Jiang Yusheng: “…”

Her face stiffened as she brushed off the words. “What if even kissing stops working someday?”

Zhao Lanzhao didn’t answer. She just gave her a look that said it all.

“Alright, I’m heading back to catch some sleep. Oh, and—are you planning to confess to her again?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not together, so how exactly are you going to kiss her? Force it? Honestly, that’s pretty low-class. If I were Qianqian, even if I had a bit of a soft spot for you, I’d block you on the spot if you pulled that.”

The woman yawned and headed back to her room.

Left alone on the sofa, Jiang Yusheng’s face turned ashen.

A forced kiss was low??

Then what was she supposed to do!

She hadn’t forced a kiss last night.

But it had been a stolen one!

Even if it was just the lightest brush of lips!

It still counted as a kiss!

Did a stolen kiss count as forced??

She hadn’t figured out what to do when the door to her own room swung open.

Bai Qian emerged after freshening up and looked at her curiously. “Senior Sister, why are you up so early today?”

Jiang Yusheng’s mind was a whirlwind. Should she tell her about the stolen kiss from last night?

Come clean?

Would she never speak to her again?

Keep it hidden?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when that cat living in her heart darted out again, just like before, and pounced down hard in punishment.

The Little Rabbit, who could hardly breathe and didn’t dare reveal the truth about her midnight stolen kiss, ultimately chose to run.

She bolted back to her room. “I’m sleepy again. Think I’ll catch more Z’s.”

Bai Qian sensed something off in her expression but figured it was just lack of sleep. Hearing that, she simply replied, “Okay.”

The girl headed downstairs to buy breakfast. By the time she’d finished eating, the two rabbits still weren’t up, so she left a note, grabbed her things, and went home.

~~~

Jiang Yusheng slept straight through until noon.

That tormenting cat woke up too and kept relentlessly weighing on her heart.

They said exercise could lift your mood.

She’d been buried in studies lately and hadn’t touched a basketball.

Today, she decided to give herself the day off.

After scarfing down something quick, she sprawled on the sofa to digest for half an hour, then grabbed her basketball and headed out.

She knew Bai Qian rarely came downstairs, so there was no worry of running into her.

She spent over an hour at the court, and that cat really did slink off to the side.

Free of the pressure at last, the Little Rabbit started walking home. Midway, she remembered something.

Back at the start of sophomore year, she and Gu Wanching had scheduled a basketball matchup.

They’d both gotten too busy “studying for love” afterward and quietly let it slip.

Jiang Yusheng suddenly had the perfect way to soothe the cat.

When the elevator doors opened, she didn’t head to her own place. Instead, she used her fingerprint on the door across the hall.

Gu Wanching was sitting alone on the sofa watching a variety show. Spotting Jiang Yusheng, she casually waved her over. “Come watch with me.”

Jiang Yusheng paused. “I just finished playing ball—I’m covered in sweat. You free tomorrow?”

“For what?”

“That basketball game we talked about. How about tomorrow?”

Gu Wanching blinked in surprise. “Basketball? That’s ancient history. Let’s skip it. I’ve got tutoring tomorrow—no time to mess around with you.”

“No way. You have to play me this time.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Gu Wanching frowned. “You didn’t bet someone or anything, did you?”

“Nope.”

—Just betting against herself.

Jiang Yusheng was unusually firm. “Play me. Tomorrow afternoon, two o’clock, usual spot. No need to call anyone—just us.”

Gu Wanching sighed. “Fine, fine. No idea what bee’s gotten in your bonnet.”

~~~

It wasn’t the first time Jiang Yusheng had competed against Gu Wanching.

But it was the first time she’d been this anxious about the outcome.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep, and finally threw off the covers to sit up.

Zhao Lanzhao came out of her room with a glass of water and spotted the figure on the sofa. She knew this little rabbit had something on her mind again.

The woman sat down beside her and gave her a look. “What’s up? In heat again?”

Hearing the teasing undertone in the woman’s words, Jiang Yusheng unusually held her temper. With a dejected expression, she asked, “Aren’t you good at reading people? So, did you pick up on how deep her feelings for me are?”

Big Rabbit let out a light scoff. “I don’t know which rabbit it was that clung to me back then, insisting Qianqian definitely liked her. How’d she get so unconfident all of a sudden?”

Little Rabbit flushed with embarrassment and snapped back, “That’s totally different! Who’s to say you can’t just talk big?”

“True enough, there’s no rule against that. But by the same token, whether Qianqian likes you now or not, what business is it of yours? Sure, your grades have improved some, but your ranking’s still miles behind hers. Didn’t we agree you’d wait until they were neck-and-neck before confessing? You’re not seriously thinking of doing it now, are you?”

Little Rabbit fidgeted irritably. “What else am I supposed to do? It’s all this damn body’s fault! I don’t wanna keep nosebleeding like an idiot, so yeah—my only move left is to kiss her.”

Lady Zhao Lanzhao was at a loss for words. “If you can’t keep it together, don’t go blaming everything else. But you know, hearing that actually makes me think you should confess sooner rather than later.”

“Why?”

“Think about it. If it works, boom—goal achieved. Best-case scenario. And if it flops? No sweat. Rejection would probably leave you so down in the dumps and moping that you wouldn’t spring another nosebleed, right?”

No one knew her body better than Jiang Yusheng did. “You’re overthinking it. If I get shot down, it’ll go even crazier.”

“…” Zhao Lanzhao rolled her eyes. “What the hell kind of body is that? Doesn’t act like a normal rabbit’s at all.”

“That’s exactly why I’m asking! What’s my shot at success?”

The woman mulled it over for a moment, then shook her head. “Hard to say. Qianqian’s got a sweet temperament by nature, so who knows if she’s just especially nice to you… or if she treats everyone that way.”

“…”

“Ah, whatever. If you’ve made up your mind, just go for it. You’re young—what’s one little failure gonna—?” Zhao Lanzhao’s face suddenly fell. “Wait, no. You can’t confess.”

“Hm?”

“I told you from the start—Qianqian’s still not—”

Little Rabbit cut in with a grin. “I checked her ID last time. She’s already legal.”

“Huh? So she’s the same age as you?”

“You forgot—I hated school as a kid and dragged my feet for a whole extra year before starting.”

Which meant she was still a year older than Bai Qian.

“Oh, right. Well, okay then. I’m not worried about Qianqian anyway; she’s way more level-headed than you. If it’s not gonna happen, she’ll turn you down flat. So, when are you popping the question? Where at?”

Jiang Yusheng clearly had it all mapped out. “Tomorrow. If I beat Gu Wanching in our match, I’ll do it.”

Zhao Lanzhao knew all too well how she and Gu had been rivals in everything since they were kids—basketball most of all. They’d squared off who knew how many times over the years.

“And if you lose? Skip the confession?”

Little Rabbit bristled. “Pfft, pfft, pfft! As if I’d lose! No way in hell! Pfft, pfft, pfft! Don’t you dare jinx me! Pfft, pfft, pfft!”

“…”

Zhao Lanzhao couldn’t help wondering if she’d eaten something dodgy while pregnant. How else could she have ended up with such a nutcase of a rabbit?

~~~

Jiang Yusheng had planned to settle this match with Gu Wanching one-on-one.

Then Lin Erxing called, inviting her to hit the hot springs.

She was just about to head out and offhandedly mentioned the upcoming game—then instantly regretted it.

Predictably, Lin Little Dog lit up with excitement. “I’ll come cheer you on!” Before Jiang Yusheng could even respond, she blurted, “Sheng Jie, lemme go tell Xu Zhiyu!” and hung up.

Jiang Yusheng: “…”

It wasn’t that she minded the company. It was just that the girl got ridiculously loud during games. Sure, it was all cheers and hype for her sake, but today wasn’t like old times. She didn’t want anyone throwing off her shooting rhythm.

Too late now—the cat was out of the bag. All she could do was hope all her luck for the month had saved up for today.

Turned out, the crowd for this showdown was way bigger than she’d expected.

Lin Erxing, that big-mouthed motormouth who couldn’t keep a secret to save her life, had even rounded up all those friends she hadn’t scrapped with Gu alongside in ages.

Someone got the bright idea to bring a banner, too.

Jiang Yusheng was utterly speechless.

But she wasn’t about to kill the vibe for everyone.

She shot a glance toward Bai Qian’s place, praying the racket wouldn’t draw her out.

Her focus wasn’t ironclad—with the girl watching, she’d lose it for sure.

One of the friends stepped up as ref, whistle at the ready. She blew a sharp tweet.

The match officially began.

Lin Erxing lived up to her reputation. Her cheers alone drowned out everyone else’s.

Fortunately, Jiang Yusheng had steeled herself mentally and wasn’t thrown off.