Chapter 53: The Manga Secret and Lingering Doubts

Bai YuYang swiftly averted his gaze, but alas, it was already too late. Tang Qihuang immediately tossed the list she held, rushing desperately to retrieve the manga book from the floor.

Her movements were so frantic that she nearly toppled from her chair. Fortunately, she braced herself against the desk with an arm, preventing the young lady from face-planting onto the ground.

“Pres… President?”

Bai YuYang inquired cautiously.

Tang Qihuang kept her head bowed, her expression unreadable as she clutched the manga tightly to her chest.

After a prolonged silence, she finally looked up, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. Gone was her usual composed demeanor; her words now came out in halting stutters.

“B-Bai… Bai YuYang? This book… it’s, it’s one I confiscated from other students, you see? No, wait! Who gave you permission to suddenly stand in front of my desk?!”

‘Two rhetorical questions won’t help your case, Qihuang. Even a fool would know you didn’t confiscate this. Would the esteemed Young Lady Tang personally patrol for such trivial matters? Impossible.’

‘And can you really blame me for this?’

‘In my previous life, I only discovered Qihuang’s fondness for manga and ACG culture when she was nearing graduation from her third year of high school.’

‘This time, it all fell apart in a second!’

Bai YuYang retreated two steps, an awkward smile plastered on his face. “My, my apologies, President. I was too abrupt. If there’s nothing else… I… I’ll be taking my leave!”

“Stop!”

‘Yikes!’

Just as Bai YuYang turned to slip away, he heard her rare command, laced with a tone of mortified indignation.

He stiffly turned back. Tang Qihuang was staring directly at him, and then…

As if in an act of self-abandonment, she slammed the manga book forcefully onto the desktop.

“Y-You tell me! How much will it cost for you not to tell anyone about this?!”

‘How are you finding new ways to give me money?!’

‘Yes, liking manga was the deepest secret for her in high school.’

‘Coupled with Sishi’s secret, why do I have so many secrets I need to keep quiet about?!’

‘If it’s a secret, then the placement of this book is far too careless, isn’t it?’

Bai YuYang was quick-witted. From this point, a huge question mark formed in his mind regarding whether Tang Qihuang had deliberately placed the book there for him to see.

‘If it was intentional, then are you truly a reborn individual?’

Bai YuYang couldn’t be certain. Looking at Tang Qihuang’s current state, she appeared genuinely infuriated, showing no intention of letting him leave, and it didn’t seem like an act.

It was also possible it was a genuine coincidence. Bai YuYang couldn’t draw a conclusion yet, but keeping a girl in such a state was hardly the act of a gentleman, was it?

Thus, Bai YuYang quickly waved his hands.

“There’s no need, President! I am always tight-lipped. Things that don’t concern me, I have no reason to spread around. Please believe me on this.”

“You… you’re serious?”

“Of course, I am.”

“H-How can I trust you…?”

At this moment, Qihuang’s somewhat dazed expression showed a glimpse of her true personality. In truth, her elegance and authority were merely a disguise.

While her original personality was also very intelligent, she would occasionally be a little clumsy.

Regardless of whether she was acting or not, Bai YuYang felt that this ‘little airhead’ was still unconvinced, so he added another sentence.

“Because even if you told me to speak, I wouldn’t dare! What kind of power does the Tang family wield in Qifeng City? As a local, there’s no way I wouldn’t know. If I were to spread this around, I probably wouldn’t even live to see tomorrow’s sunrise.”

“Cough, cough, it’s not that exaggerated,” Tang Qihuang quickly and discreetly tucked away the manga book.

Tang Qihuang could no longer maintain her calm. She cast a sharp glance at him, gritting her teeth as she spoke.

“Bai YuYang, you may return to your classroom! But! Remember what you just said! If you dare utter a single word… you understand, don’t you? Also, the matter of the vice president still stands. Contact me anytime!”

“Understood, President. Then… then I’ll take my leave!”

Regardless of whether she was reborn, Bai YuYang truly believed that in this life, he could no longer get involved with her.

Otherwise, the painful vortex would resurface, and Bai YuYang would rather die than endure the agony of choice once more.

Having received permission, Bai YuYang slowly closed the activity room door, quickly slipped out, took the elevator, and jogged out of the clock tower.

And Tang Qihuang?

Her tense face, which had watched Bai YuYang’s retreating back from the activity room, gradually relaxed.

Finally, it transformed into an unconcealable smile.

She took out the manga again, casually flipping through a few pages.

Her crimson eyes flickered with light and shadow, as if reminiscing about the past.

“YuYang, we used to read this manga together, you know… Right here, shoulder to shoulder… You even said the character I liked was a bit clumsy… Sigh, even though the character you liked was even clumsier…”

“Why did you run away…?”

Amidst her soliloquy.

A film of mist actually gathered in the corners of her eyes.

It was a feeling of grievance, an unutterable unwillingness.

‘Are you really so unwilling to join the student council? Is your Mo Sishi truly that wonderful? Why can’t you give me another chance?’

To be honest, Tang Qihuang had been a bit impulsive today.

She had planned everything perfectly and had no intention of bringing this manga out.

However… Bai YuYang’s strong resistance to joining the student council, even though it was within Tang Qihuang’s expectations and calculations, still deeply hurt her when he so decisively rejected her.

So she gave up on her plans. She would use the manga incident to express her dissatisfaction to Bai YuYang.

Yes, the manga falling out was too sudden; it would easily make Bai YuYang suspect if she had been reborn and was deliberately putting on an act.

‘Then I’ll just make you suspect, but unable to confirm.’

‘Should I call it a small act of feminine retaliation, or a strategy?’

Perhaps Tang Qihuang was also gambling: if no other girl revealed the truth of their rebirth, and only she hinted at it without explicitly stating it, would the effect be even better?

Because in that case, Bai YuYang would intentionally or unintentionally think a lot more about her, wouldn’t he?

Including their past memories…

‘If I don’t try, I won’t have the chance to reach a conclusion.’

Tang Qihuang believed this wholeheartedly.

****

Only after jogging out of the clock tower did Bai YuYang finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He looked up to see Xiao Qing and Xiao Guang still standing in the open area outside the clock tower.

Bai YuYang initially intended to walk straight past, but the two girls had already spotted him.

Xiao Qing, unable to contain her surging curiosity, quickly approached him, asking secretively, “Bai YuYang, are you two done?!”

“D-Done?”

Bai YuYang used a question, as their discussion was indeed finished, but Xiao Guang’s tone sounded rather strange.

“They… they really are done! Xiao Guang, did you hear that? I told you so!”

“Eh… I think your understanding might be a bit off, Xiao Qing…”

“There’ll be no misunderstanding! Right, Bai YuYang, hey Bai—”

Xiao Qing turned back to find Bai YuYang already some distance away, waving his hand with a wry smile as he called out, “I’m heading back now! Got to make it to class!”

Xiao Qing and Xiao Guang were still the same lively pair as in his previous life, even if he didn’t quite understand what they were chattering about.

Ignoring them, Bai YuYang’s thoughts were actually in disarray.

He was increasingly confused about whether Tang Qihuang was a reborn individual. He had come specifically to confirm this, yet he was leaving even more uncertain.

‘Tsk… this is truly difficult.’

On another note…

Ever since he’d left the clock tower, Bai YuYang had felt a persistent gaze on him.

He paused in his steps.

He looked around but didn’t spot anyone.

‘A hallucination?’

***

Ouyang Ning, hidden behind a large tree, sat watching Bai YuYang resume his walk towards the teaching building before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

She took out her phone and found a very handsome photo she had just taken of Bai YuYang walking.

Ouyang Ning’s usually expressionless face, after examining the photo from various angles, actually blossomed into a lovely smile.

“Mm, Brother YuYang… Set as wallpaper, pretty… satisfied…”

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