My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 169

Chapter 169: I’m Hurting on Jiang Xue’s Behalf 

Engrossed in her thoughts, Xiao Luohan was startled by Jiang Xue’s trembling, stammering voice.

It was her own problem, yet she had frightened Jiang Xue.

She guiltily reached out to hug Jiang Xue, but then felt that she should apologize first, instead of “acting physically affectionate,” so she withdrew her hand.

But the next second, Jiang Xue firmly grasped her wrist.

The unknown made Jiang Xue panic, and when she grabbed Xiao Luohan’s wrist, she felt a coolness—it was the consecrated jade bracelet she had gotten for Xiao Luohan.

This brief coolness somehow calmed her down.

There was nothing to worry about. If Xiao Luo didn’t want to tell her, or was embarrassed, she could still ask those who were skilled in divination.

She just wanted to hear the reason from Xiao Luo herself.

“Why, Xiao Luo?” Still holding her wrist, she looked into Xiao Luohan’s eyes and asked again, then started guessing, “Is it because the commute is too long, and it takes too much time? Or are you worried that I’ll neglect my studies and be distracted by our relationship, away from my family’s supervision?”

At the mention of “studies,” a thought flashed through her mind, as if she had understood something, but she couldn’t articulate it.

She didn’t know how to explain it to Xiao Luo.

Xiao Luo had been angry because of her “self-sacrifice” of joining a club for her girlfriend, but now, wasn’t Xiao Luo’s “originally planning to stay at the Jiang family’s home, but commuting for her girlfriend” also a form of self-sacrifice?

“What’s wrong with you two? The atmosphere is so tense,” Cheng Shizhu said, walking over. “I heard the words ‘commute’ and ‘back and forth.’ What happened?”

She had just finished washing the dishes and was about to water the plants when she saw the young couple “pulling and tugging,” but the atmosphere between them wasn’t lovey-dovey at all, but rather icy.

And having heard the key words in Jiang Xue’s sentence, she was worried that her earlier request had caused a conflict between them.

Xiao Luohan had also figured things out and said guiltily, “Sorry, it’s my fault this time. A-Xue was seriously discussing ‘self-sacrifice’ with me, but I was overthinking…”

“Then at least tell me what you were overthinking!” Jiang Xue said, relieved, and hugged Xiao Luohan. “You really scared me!”

This was actually a common flaw they both shared. When she was troubled by something and couldn’t figure it out, she also wasn’t willing to talk about it, and Xiao Luo had often been like this since they first met.

Later, it was she who had “coaxed” Xiao Luo into opening up.

And vice versa, although they didn’t seem to learn their lesson each time, frequently “coaxing” each other was still better than before.

Xiao Luohan, hugged tightly by Jiang Xue, didn’t know where to put her hands, so she simply answered, “I was thinking, when I offered to commute with Shizhu Jiejie, wasn’t I subconsciously sacrificing my own rest time and energy?”

“But because the outcome was good, both you and I were happy, and Shizhu Jiejie was also willing to accompany me, so I glorified this sacrifice…”

Jiang Xue was stunned, and Cheng Shizhu also frowned, twirling a strand of her lime green highlighted hair. After some thought, she couldn’t help but comment, “It’s not that serious, is it? It’s fine as long as it’s mutual consent, right? If you feel uncomfortable doing this, even if you can’t explain why, you can just stop and see what happens.”

“Although finding the reason is important, but if you overthink every little thing like this, figuring out whether it’s ‘your sacrifice’ or ‘my sacrifice,’ even quantifying it into ‘how much sacrifice,’ and calculating the gas money and time spent… won’t you be exhausted?”

Perhaps because she wasn’t in a relationship, the issue the young couple was currently worried about seemed trivial to Cheng Shizhu.

“Just communicate if you feel uncomfortable. If the other person can understand and be tolerant, then it’s not a problem. If not, then just stick to your own opinions. You’re both close, there’s nothing wrong with agreeing to disagree,” she continued. “But this is just my opinion. It’s up to you two to decide. Just let me know if there are any changes.”

Jiang Xue, having recovered, already had an idea. She took this opportunity to ask Xiao Luohan, “Then… should we take a break? Like you said, we can each focus on our own things and only meet on weekends or holidays?”

She didn’t dare mention her plan of driving to Xiao Luo every morning. It was precisely because she didn’t want to affect Xiao Luohan’s studies, yet also wanted to see her every day, that Xiao Luohan had offered to come and accompany her after class in the evenings.

Whether their decision back then was right or wrong wasn’t important now, what mattered was Xiao Luo’s current feelings.

Since Xiao Luo was starting to doubt her choice, then they should try a different approach.

So on Monday evening, when Jiang Xue returned home after her military training observation, she only smelled the aroma of food, not seeing Xiao Luohan in her usual spot.

“You’re back? Just in time, the last dish is almost ready,” Cheng Shizhu’s voice came from the kitchen.

Having accepted a salary from Ms. Jiang, she was responsible for all the housework in the new apartment during her gap year, including cooking.

Jiang Xue replied with an “Mm,” put down her backpack and easel, and sat down to wait for dinner, instinctively looking towards Xiao Luohan’s usual spot.

Everything seemed to have returned to how it was before Xiao Luo arrived, but every corner of this new home held traces of her presence.

Jiang Xue couldn’t help but think of Xiao Luo naming her social media account “Traces of Xue Luo.”

Cheng Shizhu’s cooking was as good as ever, but Jiang Xue couldn’t quite enjoy tonight’s dinner.

Not having received any messages from Xiao Luo, she put down her chopsticks, took a picture of her food, and sent it over: 【I’m having dinner at home! What are you having for dinner?】

Almost immediately, she received a picture from Xiao Luohan, with the caption: 【Professor Yan’s class ran late, just got home.】

In Xiao Luohan’s picture, the white cat was running towards her at the Jiang family’s gate, its body a blur.

Jiang Xue, forcing a smile, cropped the cat from the picture and sent it back: 【Dancing in the shadows.】

Putting down her phone, she continued eating, finally feeling that the food had some flavor.

That evening, in the Jiang family’s study.

Xiao Luohan originally wanted to practice the new piece she had learned, but whether it was because of the melancholic melody, or because the person she wanted to see most wasn’t beside her, she kept making mistakes and finally had to stop.

This wouldn’t do, it would affect her progress.

She didn’t have much time left and had to ensure she could also be admitted to N University next year.

But she couldn’t focus, so after some thought, she knocked on Jiang Mei’s door and asked if she could supervise her practice.

Jiang Mei immediately understood what was going on. She had experienced similar situations after Xie Xitong went to university, even subconsciously calling out to A-Xi when she needed something for work, only realizing after receiving no response.

Fortunately, she had been working for many years and had another version of herself in her consciousness, so she could quickly adjust.

But she knew that her situation wasn’t applicable to Xiao Luo. She didn’t agree to supervise, but instead offered a suggestion: “Try practicing while livestreaming? I’ve seen ‘study with me’ livestreams. You can let your fans supervise you, it’s more effective. And… A-Xue will probably also be listening.”

The two younger sisters were like twins. Since Xiao Luo crossed over, they had rarely been apart, and even when they were, it was a planned separation, but adapting to it might still be difficult.

Ten minutes later, after adjusting the camera and microphone, Xiao Luohan changed the livestream title to “Practice Accompaniment” and started streaming.

To let Jiang Xue see her, she planned to do a face-reveal livestream from now on.

The fans who received the notification and entered the livestream were excited to see her face, spamming the chat with messages like “I’m so happy,” and there were also many comments from CP fans:

【Where’s Xue Wife?】

【Wife is at school, I’m livestreaming .jpg】

【So Xiao Luo and Xiao Xue aren’t in the same grade?】

【No same-frame tonight? qwq】

Xiao Luohan’s main purpose for the livestream was to practice the new pieces for the grading exam, so after answering a few comments, she sat in front of the guqin, looked at the music score, and calmed herself down.

At the same time, Jiang Xue, who was showering, heard the livestream notification, immediately turned off the water, dried her hands, rushed out of the bathroom, and grabbed her phone from the sink.

Opening M-Station, she saw Xiao Luohan’s face.

She was wearing loose-fitting pajamas, her hair down and her face bare of makeup, her hands gracefully and meticulously plucking the strings, playing a new Level 8 piece.

Jiang Xue carried her phone back to the bathroom, placed it on a shelf out of the water’s reach, and finished her shower, accompanied by the guqin music, thinking about what kind of gift to send Xiao Luo.

Expensive gifts had special effects and notifications, which would definitely distract Xiao Luo, and after the livestream, she might even record the large expense in her notes app to repay her later.

Then… the cheapest and most sincere gift, red roses?

Having made up her mind, as soon as she finished showering, dried herself, and got dressed, Jiang Xue sent 99 red roses to Xiao Luo.

She had never donated to a livestreamer before, having always chosen large gifts when supporting Cang Ling. This was her first time sending so many roses, and she hadn’t expected 99 red roses to also have special effects!

【Yu Xue sent 99 red roses, [My love for the streamer is eternal!]】

【Okay, she’s satisfied now.】

【Xue Wife!!!】

【Sending gifts but not appearing on camera, it seems they’re truly in a long-distance relationship because of school.】

【Xue Wife, focus on your studies, we’ll accompany Xiao Luo for you [dog head]】

【Wait, why is someone encouraging studying at night?】

【But isn’t Xiao Luo studying right now~】

Jiang Xue: …

She put her phone on the pillow, buried her face in the covers, and, surrounded by Xiao Luohan’s faint plum blossom fragrance, let out a frustrated groan.

The special effects of 99 red roses were hard to miss. After finishing the piece, Xiao Luohan curiously looked at the gift notification and, seeing Jiang Xue’s ID, although it was within her expectations, her heart still skipped a beat.

“Thank you for the 99 red roses, girlfriend,” she said softly. “I’ll stream for about another hour.”

Through the screen, she didn’t know what Jiang Xue’s current state was, whether she had closed the livestream after sending the gift, or was still watching, so she stopped there, planning to wait for her response before deciding what to say next.

But the comments section started going wild:

【Understood, a private concert in an hour.】

【What can’t we hear in an hour?】

【Fast forward to an hour later, when Xiao Luo’s hands are on Xue Wife instead of the guqin!】

【I’m the guqin, I can testify!!】

Jiang Xue, who was thinking about what to comment: ???