Xia Qingkong smoothly shifted the topic from cafeteria food to school life. She swallowed a mouthful of rice, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Qiu Mian with great enthusiasm.
“By the way, Qiu Mian, Qiu Kui, we’re all transfer students and still unfamiliar with the school, right? After class this afternoon, want to explore together? I heard that Holy Iris Academy has an incredibly rich club scene with tons of unique clubs you can’t find anywhere else! The school has a long history and powerful backing, so there are all kinds of weird but interesting clubs! What do you think? Interested?”
As she spoke, she leaned slightly forward, radiating natural warmth. It was as if the sunlight itself concentrated more brightly around their table.
However, Qiu Mian’s mind was still tangled up with the fleeting glimpse of the fox mask earlier and the back of the girl who had hurriedly left.
Clubs… unique clubs… The girl with the fox mask—could she have joined one of them? Investigating through club activities would be much more efficient than blindly wandering around, right?
And Xia Qingkong… She’s the “protagonist.” According to standard tropes, following the protagonist often triggers key plot points or clues… Plus, she has a cheerful personality and is probably well-connected. The information she can access might be on a completely different level… Maybe… I can make use of this? Turn her into my “information collector” without her realizing it?
This thought brought a faint trace of guilt to Qiu Mian’s heart, but it was quickly crushed by a much stronger will to survive.
She needed information. She needed a way to break the deadlock. And right now, Xia Qingkong seemed like the safest and most effective entry point available.
“Unique clubs…” Qiu Mian repeated softly. Her tone gave away nothing, as though she were carefully weighing the idea.
She raised her eyes toward Xia Qingkong, trying to make her gaze look critical—fitting for a villain evaluating a potential “tool.”
However, the moment she lifted her gaze, the difference in sitting posture and height created an unfortunate angle.
Xia Qingkong was standing and leaning slightly over the table as she spoke, while Qiu Mian was seated. Her line of sight landed squarely on the curved chest area of Xia Qingkong’s uniform, accentuated by her forward lean, and those long, straight legs wrapped in knee-high socks and the school skirt.
The sunlight outlined full, healthy curves and firm, youthful leg lines that radiated vibrant energy.
Xia Qingkong happened to shift her weight, lifting one leg slightly to rest on the other.
A flash of white fabric passed before her eyes.
“——!”
Qiu Mian’s brain went completely blank for 0.1 seconds.
Immediately afterward, a scorching wave of heat boomed from the soles of her feet straight to the top of her head. Her cheeks and ears burst into a violent red! She could even feel her neck burning!
What the hell did I just look at?!
No! It wasn’t on purpose! It was the angle!
But… they’re so…
Chaotic shame and fury at her own pathetic reaction instantly shattered the cold mask she had struggled to maintain.
Slap!
A crisp slap against the table rang out sharply, standing out even in the somewhat noisy cafeteria.
Qiu Mian shot up from her seat. The chair legs scraped loudly against the floor.
The sudden, exaggerated movement startled Qiu Kui, who had been quietly nibbling on vegetables while still working through her “mountain” of food. Her chopsticks nearly dropped as she looked up in alarm at her suddenly explosive sister.
“Who—who wants to go club-hunting with you!” Qiu Mian’s voice rose sharply from embarrassment and anger. Her face was as red as a boiled shrimp, and her eyes darted everywhere, refusing to look at Xia Qingkong again.
“Are we that close?! Stop trying to act familiar!”
She blurted out the incoherent outburst and didn’t give Xia Qingkong any chance to respond. She grabbed the still-dazed Qiu Kui’s wrist and yanked her up from her seat as well.
“Let’s go!”
Throwing down those words, Qiu Mian didn’t look back once. She dragged the stumbling Qiu Kui through the tables and crowd of the cafeteria, hurrying toward the exit with quick, messy steps.
Her entire escape reeked of guilty panic.
Left standing alone at the table, Xia Qingkong froze for two seconds. She watched the sisters’ near-desperate retreat—especially Qiu Mian’s ears, which were so red they looked ready to bleed, and her obviously flustered footsteps. She blinked. Then blinked again.
“Pfft!”
She burst out laughing. The laughter grew louder until she had to cover her mouth, shoulders shaking. Her eyes were filled with undisguised interest and delight.
“Oh my…” She wiped away the tears of laughter at the corners of her eyes, watching the sisters nearly disappear through the cafeteria doors. She murmured to herself, her tone rising playfully.
“This ‘Qiu Mian’ classmate… is way more interesting than she looks~”
“On the surface she’s fierce and icy, acting all ‘stay away from me’…”
“But just saying a few words up close makes her blush like that and overreact so badly…”
“Plus she gave her little sister so much food without even realizing it…”
“Really… too interesting!”
She shook her head with a smile, her gaze falling on the sisters’ unfinished trays.
Qiu Mian’s tray still had quite a bit of food left, while the “small mountain” in front of Qiu Kui had been reduced somewhat through great effort but remained impressive.
“They ran off so fast they didn’t even clear their trays.” Xia Qingkong smiled helplessly, but her actions were very natural.
She first picked up her own finished tray, then walked over to the sisters’ seats. She skillfully scraped their remaining food into the compost bin and placed the empty trays and chopsticks in the return area.
After finishing, she looked toward the cafeteria exit again. The sisters were long gone.
“Qiu Mian…” she whispered the name softly. The corners of her mouth curved into a meaningful arc.
“Looks like life at this new school won’t be boring at all.”
“Especially… with you here.”
She picked up her tray, humming a little tune as she headed toward the exit. Her steps were light and brisk, and a跃跃欲试 sparkle shone in her eyes.
On the other side, Qiu Mian dragged Qiu Kui all the way out of the cafeteria. Only after reaching a relatively empty tree-lined path did she finally stop, panting heavily.
Qiu Kui was also breathing a little hard from being pulled along. Her cheeks were flushed and her wrist still tightly gripped, a bit sore, but she didn’t make a sound. She simply watched Qiu Mian carefully with those purple eyes that still carried a trace of grievance and confusion.
Qiu Mian released her hand and leaned against a nearby tree trunk, gulping down air.
The heat on her face still hadn’t completely faded, and her heartbeat was racing wildly.
So embarrassing! So unbelievably embarrassing!
How could I… how could I have looked there of all places!
It’s over. My villain image has completely collapsed! Though it wasn’t that solid to begin with…
She ruffled her hair in frustration, cursing herself a hundred times in her heart.
“J-Jie-jie…” Qiu Kui’s soft voice sounded. “Your… your face is so red… Are you feeling unwell?”
Qiu Mian froze. She abruptly turned around, showing her back to Qiu Kui, and tried to cover it up with her fiercest tone.
“None of your business! Go eat your food!”
The moment the words left her mouth, she remembered—they had left before finishing their meal, and there was still that huge pile in Qiu Kui’s tray…
Sure enough, Qiu Kui fell silent. She simply watched her sister’s bright red earlobes and unnaturally stiff back, fingers twisting together anxiously.
The air grew quiet for a moment. Only the rustling of leaves in the wind and Qiu Mian’s still slightly rapid breathing could be heard.
After a long while, Qiu Mian finally managed to calm her emotions and the temperature of her face.
She turned back around, still keeping a straight face, but her tone softened just a tiny bit. “…This afternoon. After school.”
Qiu Kui looked up at her in confusion.
“Let’s go check out some clubs.” Qiu Mian turned her face away, looking toward the distant school building. Her voice was stiff, as if she were issuing a difficult order. “Just the two of us.”
Since Xia Qingkong had brought it up, and since it could be a viable direction for investigation… then they might as well go take a look.
But absolutely not with Xia Qingkong!
At least… not right now.
Qiu Kui stared at her. Her purple eyes widened slightly in surprise, then gradually filled with soft, gentle light.
She nodded gently, her voice soft and carrying a barely noticeable trace of lightness.
“Mm. I’ll listen to Jie-jie.”