Ex? Be a Little Jealous

Although she’d been off campus for less than a month, a lot had happened at school.

Rumor had it that after the recommended-admission quota was finally settled, complaints were still pouring in, and the entire college had been thrown into chaos.

But none of that had anything to do with Li Xingqing. She’d come back for two reasons: first, to finish the final stage of a competition from the first half of the year; second, to prepare her graduation thesis topic as required.

Universities really were small societies of their own. The moment Li Xingqing got back to campus, she started hearing gossip she hadn’t heard in ages.

One of her teammates for the competition happened to be a junior in the same major. For some reason, she’d heard something from somewhere and was excitedly telling the person next to her. Li Xingqing was revising the PPT at the time, and while she listened in by accident, she quickly got the gist.

There was a master’s student in the School of Finance doing a dual degree, and apparently he was dating his advisor.

An advisor-student relationship was rare enough already, let alone one involving that kind of moral scandal; more importantly, they were both men.

Even if the university culture seemed open-minded, that openness mostly stopped at young people respecting and understanding one another. When it came to real support, there wasn’t much.

Besides, everyone was a decent person. Saying things in private was one thing, but no one would drag something like that out into the open.

So this scandalous advisor-student relationship that crossed social boundaries had not been exposed by either of the two people involved.

It was the advisor’s other master’s student who had secretly followed them, taken photos, and compiled them into a PDF before reporting it directly to the dean. Worried it wouldn’t cause enough trouble, he’d even posted it online.

They were all from the School of Finance, and Li Xingqing had actually seen the advisor twice before. But that was all; they weren’t familiar at all.

“An advisor and a student? How many years apart are they?”

“At least ten, right? That’s not even the main issue!”

“Exactly. If my advisor ever got together with another senior and handed all the first-author spots to him, I wouldn’t be able to take it either.”

“That bad?”

“Yeah, and I heard there’s something even worse...”

The more Li Xingqing listened, the more absurd it sounded. In the end, she coughed and cut in.

“This chart still needs a little more precision. Who can help me with it?”

“I will, senior.” One of the two immediately stood up and took it on.

The competition itself wasn’t large, and Li Xingqing was the team leader. Most of the time, she’d handled everything herself.

At a time like this, asking others to lend a hand did seem only natural.

The gossip topic finally died down. Li Xingqing exhaled and went back to adjusting the PPT layout.

The PowerPoint the other team members had made wasn’t unusable, but something that only barely scraped past the line of adequacy was not something anyone could tolerate in a competition.

As the library’s research carrels gradually emptied out, the others left early and left Li Xingqing alone behind.

By the time she came out, it was almost closing time.

There were still two days left in the National Day holiday, and the library was empty except for students carrying huge bags and boxes as they prepared for the postgraduate entrance exam and civil service exams.

Li Xingqing left before the closing music started, then took a walk by the lake alone and called Xi Zhen.

She hadn’t actually expected Xi Zhen to answer, and she didn’t really know why she’d chosen to call instead of text.

Clearly, because of Yin Yi’s influence before, she used to hate phone calls the most.

But now, she just wanted to hear Xi Zhen’s voice.

Unexpectedly, Xi Zhen answered very quickly; the call connected before the ringtone had even finished the third ring.

“Baby?” That familiar, slightly embarrassing form of address again.

Li Xingqing really couldn’t figure out why Xi Zhen liked calling her that. The indulgent tone made it sound as if she were treating her like a child who didn’t know any better.

And yet Xi Zhen’s faintly lazy voice made her a little addicted to being called that.

“Sister.” She called out. Because she hadn’t expected Xi Zhen to pick up, her mind went blank for a moment, and she didn’t know what to say.

But Xi Zhen was very good at conversation. Even as the one answering the call, once she realized Li Xingqing had nothing to say, she quickly found a topic.

She asked what Li Xingqing had been up to these past two days, and the two of them chatted about each other’s lives as if they were still in City D and had never been apart.

A University A’s campus was huge; she’d heard that when it was built, a large piece of land had been reserved for it. The lake Li Xingqing was walking around was also quite big. She walked and paused when Xi Zhen suddenly asked, “Are you wearing a coat?”

Of course she was wearing a coat; Li Xingqing didn’t have the habit of mistreating herself.

She’d originally thought Xi Zhen was worried she might catch a cold, but the next thing the other woman said was, “There are so many mosquitoes out there. Be careful not to get bitten; go back to your dorm first.”

Xi Zhen’s concern wasn’t unfounded. Autumn mosquitoes were often even fiercer than summer ones; as if they knew their time was running out, they greedily sucked at every drop of blood.

Li Xingqing had only walked by the lake for a short while, but even though she kept moving, she could already feel a faint itch.

She just hadn’t expected Xi Zhen to be so attentive. She probably really had worked as an assistant before, Li Xingqing thought.

By the time the call finally ended, it was already past midnight.

Seeing that Li Xingqing had only just returned to campus and was busy, Xi Zhen didn’t make any plans to meet up. She only gently reminded her to go to bed early.

Looking at the call screen after hanging up, Li Xingqing suddenly had an impulse and opened WeChat.

At the top of the pinned contacts list was the little bird with a broken wing in Xi Zhen’s avatar. Li Xingqing seemed to suddenly realize something; she reached out and tapped it.

【You patted the other party】

A line of text popped up on the screen. Li Xingqing, flustered, didn’t even have time to undo it before she saw the other side send a question mark.

Shiju: 【?】

Shiju: 【Still not asleep?】

Shiju: 【Don’t you still have things to be busy with tomorrow?】

Li Xingqing looked at the messages and tapped at her phone screen.

“Accidentally clicked the wrong thing...” Delete.

“Why are you using this avatar...” Delete.

“Good night, sis...” Delete.

Xi Zhen watched the endless “typing...” indicator above the chat window and had no idea what Li Xingqing was writing. In the end, she sent a reply: 【Stop typing and go to sleep.】

Sure enough, the next second, the cute little rabbit sticker appeared again.

Li Xingqing: 【Good night.】

---

Li Xingqing’s thesis advisor was a female professor she knew fairly well; her academic style was rigorous, and she was very responsible.

Even though there was still at least a month before the topic submission deadline, she had already taken the initiative to contact Li Xingqing.

Fortunately, the diligent and exemplary Li Xingqing didn’t have the habit of procrastinating. She had already come up with quite a few topics she was interested in and sent them to the advisor, waiting only to settle on the one with the greatest research value.

Time passed very quickly. The competition defense ended, and as expected, they won first prize. The junior teammate, blissfully enjoying the benefits of clinging to a strong thigh, asked to treat senior to a meal. But when the message came through, Li Xingqing declined.

Li Xingqing: 【Sorry, you all go ahead. I still have something to handle here.】

Junior: 【Then senior, take care of your business first. I bought a coffee card for you; when you have time, go have a drink.】

The other party was polite and proper, seeming to genuinely want to make it up to her.

Li Xingqing didn’t refuse; she sent a thank-you, then stuffed her phone back into her pocket.

The white-and-dark-blue S09 soon pulled up in front of her. The window rolled down, and Xi Zhen’s bright face leaned out from inside. “Let’s go, kid.”

During their late-night call, Li Xingqing had more or less mentioned her schedule.

Xi Zhen knew her competition had ended today. Since her little one had won first prize, of course she had to celebrate properly.

Li Xingqing opened the car door and got in. She was still wearing the loose suit from the competition, which somehow made her look even more proper.

Xi Zhen found her increasingly pleasing to the eye. She reached over and helped fasten Li Xingqing’s seat belt.

With a click, the belt locked into place, but Xi Zhen showed no sign of pulling away.

Smiling, she took off Li Xingqing’s glasses and set them aside, then wrapped an arm around her neck and kissed her.

They hadn’t seen each other for nearly a week, so missing each other was only natural. The two of them kissed with such intensity that the car behind them impatiently honked. Only then did Xi Zhen return to the driver’s seat.

The car pulled back onto the road, and the scenery on both sides kept slipping away. The window was cracked open a little, and the wind rushed in. It didn’t feel cold; instead, it carried the coolness of evening.

“Open the drawer in front of you, baby.” While waiting at a red light, Xi Zhen motioned for Li Xingqing to take a look.

Li Xingqing opened the drawer, and a small box fell out. A ten-centimeter square wooden box, heavy and textured in her hand. She asked, “What is this?”

“A reward.”

“A reward for winning first prize?”

“A reward for being Li Xingqing.” Xi Zhen smiled, and the green light came on at just the right moment. “Open it and see.” She turned the steering wheel and stepped on the gas while watching the road.

Li Xingqing was moved by that slightly inexplicable answer; her heart thudded wildly, but her fingers still opened the wooden box.

Inside was a bracelet, carrying a faint fragrance. Li Xingqing picked it up and rubbed it between her fingers, confirming that it was made of medicinal clay.

“Do you like it?” Xi Zhen asked from the side.

“Yes. Did Sister... buy this?”

“Baby guessed wrong. You can’t buy this. The maker is far away, and also right in front of you.”

They had arrived at the restaurant they’d booked in advance. Xi Zhen parked properly, pulled the handbrake, and unfastened her seat belt. “Let’s go eat first.” She got out first, walked around to the passenger side, and was just about to open the door for Li Xingqing.

“Xi Zhen?”

The car door had just opened and Li Xingqing hadn’t even gotten out when she heard a female voice from not far away. She steadied herself and said nothing as she got out of the car. Tall and straight, she stood beside Xi Zhen and looked at the unexpected visitor walking toward them.

The newcomer had a textbook oval face, her skin smooth as jade. Even though Li Xingqing didn’t pay much attention to the entertainment industry, she recognized the woman at a glance as the hottest rising star right now: Song Xunqing.

Xi Zhen hadn’t expected to run into her here either. Her expression cooled for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.

“Long time no see.” Xi Zhen gave a perfunctory greeting, with no intention at all of introducing Li Xingqing to her.

But Song Xunqing seemed not to notice Xi Zhen’s coldness. She turned to look Li Xingqing up and down, then smiled. “Sister Zhen, aren’t you going to introduce me? If there’s ever a need later, I can help her out.” Clearly, she’d mistaken Li Xingqing for a newcomer trying to break into the entertainment industry.

Xi Zhen’s hand slipped back into her pocket as if she were looking for something. Too bad the coat she was wearing today was new; not to mention a lighter, she couldn’t even find a cigarette.

“Too kind. She isn’t.” Xi Zhen shifted slightly to stand in front of Li Xingqing, blocking Song Xunqing’s unfriendly gaze.

“Sister Zhen doesn’t need to be so guarded around me.” The smile on Song Xunqing’s face faded into a hint of bitterness, like a child who’d been wrongly accused. Only, that expression made her beautiful face look oddly unnatural.

Looking at the exquisitely pretty face before her, one that no longer held even a trace of the past, Xi Zhen finally sighed.

“Xunqing, from now on, we’ll go our separate ways. That’s what you said yourself back then.”

“That was just angry talk, Sister Zhen...”

“Next time we meet, let’s just pretend we’re strangers.” After cutting her off coldly, Xi Zhen took Li Xingqing by the hand and turned to leave, leaving Song Xunqing standing alone where she was.

Author’s note:

The ex is back~

Welcome, welcome