Chapter 57: The Unseen Rivalry and a Sweet Marshmallow’s Scheme

Just as the class bell rang, Su Mian slipped into the classroom, her head bowed.

Her gaze instinctively darted to that familiar spot.

As expected, Xiao Moyuan was still seated beside Shen Zhixia. It was a seat Su Mian had once yearned for, but now found glaringly painful due to a whirlwind of complex emotions.

Normally, Su Mian would have inevitably stiffened her neck, deliberately making a ruckus, or silently protesting her ‘rival’s’ presence with her eyes.

But today, she was uncharacteristically silent.

Her mind was still reeling from the embarrassing memory of clinging to him like a koala last night, the mortifying friction in the car this morning, and the final, tell-tale dampness on the seat.

A powerful wave of shame, like an invisible shackles, made her feel inexplicably weak-kneed when facing Xiao Moyuan, diminishing even her courage to look up.

She moved silently and swiftly to the row behind them, like a small creature trying to minimize its presence. Pulling out a chair, she sat down and propped up her books, attempting to create a small, safe screen around herself.

Yet, her ears twitched involuntarily, keenly picking up every sound from the front row.

She soon noticed that Shen Zhixia also seemed somewhat off today.

Throughout the entire afternoon’s lessons, she appeared distracted. She didn’t seize every opportunity to turn and whisper to Xiao Moyuan as she usually would.

Instead, she sat quietly, her gaze occasionally falling upon her textbook, but more often staring blankly ahead. Her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, as if she were burdened by a heavy concern.

Just as Su Mian was secretly observing, Xiao Moyuan’s cool voice broke the prolonged silence between the two in front:

“Is something on your mind?”

These four simple words instantly stirred vastly different ripples in the hearts of both Su Mian and Shen Zhixia.

Shen Zhixia snapped back to reality, a flicker of unbelievable surprise crossing her face. She turned to Xiao Moyuan, almost overwhelmed with flattery.

‘He… he actually initiated caring about me?’

‘This is truly a first!’

In the back, Su Mian was so startled she nearly leaped out of her chair, her eyes wide with shock.

‘What’s going on?!’

‘Last night, I clearly managed to ruin any chance of them being alone, even preventing Xiao Moyuan from stepping foot near Shen Zhixia’s building. So why has their relationship not only failed to cool down, but seems… to have grown closer?’

‘Xiao Moyuan actually initiated a conversation?’

‘In the past month, I, Su Mian, have personally witnessed Xiao Moyuan’s aloofness and politeness towards Shen Zhixia, limiting himself to only necessary responses. When has he ever offered such an active greeting?’

An absurd thought, chilling her heart, involuntarily surfaced: ‘Could it be… while I was sleeping soundly in Xiao Moyuan’s arms last night, the two of them were actually chatting on their phones the entire time?’

‘All night long?!’

Shen Zhixia quickly suppressed her surging emotions, adjusted her expression, and managed a slightly fragile smile. Her voice softened as she said, “It’s nothing, perhaps… I’m just feeling a little unwell.”

She hoped to elicit a touch of pity.

However, Xiao Moyuan’s reaction was as bland as plain water.

He merely gave a faint “Mm,” then offered a piece of ‘care’ that was a benchmark for clueless men: “Then drink more hot water.”

Shen Zhixia: “…”

Her smile instantly stiffened.

‘Did he just show concern for me, but only a tiny bit?’

Listening from behind, Su Mian couldn’t help but twitch her lips.

‘Xiao Moyuan’s thought process… when he chats with me, whether we’re bickering with my male account or flirting with my female account, he seems so at ease, even with a hint of mischievous fun. But when it comes to Shen Zhixia, he turns into a completely clueless blockhead?’

‘Could it be… he’s deliberately maintaining his ‘aloof campus idol’ persona in reality?’

‘Or perhaps, he doesn’t actually care that much about Shen Zhixia?’

This conjecture inexplicably eased a tiny bit of tension in Su Mian’s heart, but it was immediately replaced by a greater sense of crisis.

Shen Zhixia clearly wasn’t willing to give up this rare opportunity for interaction. She temporarily pushed down the gloom in her heart caused by Xia’s threat, putting on a bright smile once more. Her voice was filled with anticipation:

“Moyuan, tomorrow is Saturday. Would you like to go see a movie together?”

“I heard that ‘Love in the Star Sea,’ which premiered during the Mid-Autumn Festival, has a great reputation. I went home for Mid-Autumn, so I couldn’t see it then. I wonder if you’d be willing to accompany me to catch it tomorrow?”

“Went home for Mid-Autumn?” Su Mian in the back keenly caught this piece of information, and her heart sank.

‘Something’s not right! That Mid-Autumn night, I clearly called Shen Zhixia, and she told me herself that she ‘didn’t go back home this Mid-Autumn, and was still in N City.’

‘So what’s this ‘went home’ she’s telling Xiao Moyuan now?’

‘Is she lying to me? Or is she lying to Xiao Moyuan?’

Su Mian’s little brain raced.

However, at least one thing could be confirmed from Shen Zhixia’s words—on Mid-Autumn Day, she and Xiao Moyuan were not together!

This realization, like a ray of sunlight, instantly dispelled the dark cloud that had hovered in her heart for days.

She suddenly recalled that Mid-Autumn night, when she was anxious because she couldn’t reach Shen Zhixia, Xiao Moyuan had proactively called her.

His voice then, transmitted through the phone, seemed even deeper and gentler than usual, carrying a hint of imperceptible patience as he assured her he “wasn’t with any other girls”…

At the time, she had dismissed it as a scoundrel’s perfunctory excuse. But now, recalling it in conjunction with Shen Zhixia’s lie, a tiny, sweet bubble of emotion uncontrollably rose in Su Mian’s heart.

‘At least… in that moment, what Xiao Moyuan said to ‘Sweet Marshmallow’ seemed… true?’

‘He really wasn’t with Shen Zhixia that night, doing all those things I had wildly imagined.’

A faint blush crept onto her cheeks, causing her to hurriedly lower her head and nervously curl the corner of a book page with her finger.

However, another question immediately surfaced: ‘What about Shen Zhixia’s strange gasping sound on the phone that Mid-Autumn night, and the faint, unfamiliar male voice?’

‘It seems there are also some secrets about Zhixia that I don’t know…’

Su Mian vigorously shook her head, temporarily casting aside these jumbled thoughts.

‘Now is not the time to delve into these things.’

‘The immediate priority is to prevent Xiao Moyuan and Shen Zhixia’s date tomorrow!’

She immediately pulled out her phone, skillfully switched to her ‘Sweet Marshmallow’ account, and her fingertips flew across the screen, her tone sickeningly sweet:

[Sweet Marshmallow: Big Brother~ Tomorrow is the weekend, are you free? I miss you so much, I want to make it up to you properly and have a sweet date with you~ (kitten holding heart.jpg)]

[Sweet Marshmallow: This time… how about I wear your favorite JK uniform to the movies with you? I guarantee Big Brother’s eyes will light up~ (playful wink.gif)]

In the front row, Xiao Moyuan felt his phone vibrate twice in his pocket.

He subtly took out his phone and glanced at the screen. When he saw the words “JK uniform,” a nearly imperceptible glint flashed in his eyes, and a faint, knowing curve appeared on his lips.

‘This little fox… really can’t hold back at all.’

‘Indeed, she won’t leave a single opportunity for Shen Zhixia.’

He looked up, making a ‘please wait’ gesture to Shen Zhixia, who was watching him expectantly. His tone was flat: “Let me check a message.”

[Yuan: Okay. I’ll pick you up at your school tomorrow. Send me the exact location.]

He replied this way deliberately, with a hint of subtle probing.

On this end of the phone, Su Mian’s heart sank when she saw this message. ‘Oh no!’ she thought.

‘Damn it! The ‘Sweet Marshmallow’ persona as an out-of-town student was something I made up on the fly. I’m right here at N University, so if Xiao Moyuan comes to pick me up, wouldn’t my cover be immediately blown?’

[Sweet Marshmallow: No need for Big Brother to go to the trouble of picking me up~ Let’s just meet directly at the cinema! Big Brother, just choose the movie and showtime, send me the info, and I promise to be on time! (obedient.jpg)]

She had to control the meeting place to be a public area, far from N University.

Xiao Moyuan’s peripheral vision caught Su Mian in the back row, her body slightly stiff with nervousness, her face betraying an ‘I’m doomed’ expression.

A imperceptible smile touched his lips, his mood thoroughly pleased.

He deliberately paused for a few seconds before replying as if conceding:

[Yuan: Alright, then how about meeting a bit earlier tomorrow?]

[Sweet Marshmallow: Whenever Big Brother wants to meet, that’s when I’ll meet~ (complete reliance.jpg)]

[Yuan: Nine in the morning, alright?]

Su Mian looked at the time and quickly calculated.

Meeting at nine meant she would have to leave early tomorrow morning to find a place to change and get ready.

‘I’ll probably have to find a hotel near the school again today… I can’t possibly change into women’s clothes in the dorm in front of my roommates tomorrow, can I?’

[Sweet Marshmallow: I’ll listen to Big Brother! (happy spinning)]

Having sorted out that matter, Xiao Moyuan turned back to Shen Zhixia, his tone returning to its previous indifference: “I have something on tomorrow.”

The light in Shen Zhixia’s eyes dimmed for a moment, but she wouldn’t give up, pressing on, “Then… the day after tomorrow?”

She had made up her mind that during this date, she would find the right moment to confess her feelings to Xiao Moyuan once more.

In the back, Su Mian’s heart, which had just settled, leaped up again when she heard that. ‘The day after tomorrow?!’ She immediately picked up her phone again, her fingers flying:

[Sweet Marshmallow: Big Brother~ After our date tomorrow, I want to spend the day after with you too~ Please~ (kitten rubbing for affection.jpg)]

Xiao Moyuan looked at Shen Zhixia’s expectant eyes, then glanced at the newly popped-up message on his phone, brimming with possessiveness. He already had a plan.

After a brief thought, he gave Shen Zhixia an ambiguous answer: “The day after tomorrow… ‘might’ be free.”

At the same time, he replied to ‘Sweet Marshmallow’:

[Yuan: The time for the day after tomorrow is still uncertain.]

He was, of course, being deliberate.

Thinking of Xia, who was suspiciously eyeing Su Mian in the dorm, he felt he couldn’t let the little fox go back to stay there. With this provocation, given Su Mian’s (or rather, ‘Sweet Marshmallow’s’) strong ‘possessiveness’ and ‘wariness’ towards Shen Zhixia, she would naturally find ways to cling to him during their date tomorrow, ensuring that the day after tomorrow wouldn’t be taken by Shen Zhixia.

This way, tomorrow night… Su Mian would most likely not be able to return to her dorm.

Upon hearing “might be free,” Shen Zhixia’s face immediately brightened again, and she quickly responded, “Okay! Then I’ll wait for your message tomorrow night!”

Su Mian, in the back, watched Shen Zhixia’s delighted expression, then observed Xiao Moyuan’s composed, almost calculating demeanor, and gritted her back teeth in silent fury.

‘This Xiao Moyuan! He’s truly a complete scoundrel, playing both sides!’

‘He’s stringing along ‘Sweet Marshmallow’ online, yet leaving leeway for Shen Zhixia in reality, wishing to have his cake and eat it too!’

‘No! Absolutely not!’

Su Mian clenched her small fists, a fiery determination igniting in her eyes.

Tomorrow, even if… even if it meant ‘Sweet Marshmallow’ had to sacrifice even more ‘beauty,’ she would completely conquer Xiao Moyuan, monopolize all his time and attention, and leave not even a sliver of an opportunity for him and Zhixia!