Chapter 484 : Déjà Vu
As the afternoon classes ended, Ling Ning cheerfully approached Xia You and said, “Xia You, want to go for afternoon tea? It’s on someone else~”
“N-no, I can’t. I’ve got something urgent to take care of.”
“Eh? Something urgent again?”
Hearing Ling Ning’s question, Xia You offered an apologetic smile. “I’m really sorry, but it’s super important. I’ll make it up to you when I’m back tonight~” With that, she quickly turned and left the classroom.
Ling Ning blinked. For some reason, she suddenly felt like a neglected wife complaining about her husband’s workaholic tendencies. The sense of déjà vu was incredibly strong.
She shook her head lightly, dismissing the silly thought. No matter how you looked at it, the wife’s role should belong to Xia You. With Ling Ning’s dominant aura, wasn’t she the obvious choice for the husband’s role?
Just as Ling Ning’s thoughts began to wander, her phone buzzed, pulling her back to reality.
She checked her phone to find a message from Li Qian, urging her to hurry up.
“Geez, class just ended,” Ling Ning muttered to herself as she grabbed her bag and left the classroom.
When Ling Ning arrived at the school gate, she spotted Li Qian standing under a tree, looking visibly irritated. Beside her was a handsome boy.
“I already told you, I’m not Li Qian! How many times do I have to say it before you get it?” Li Qian sighed in exasperation. She had no idea what her sister had said to him, but he was now convinced she was Li Qian.
If she had known this would happen, she would have gone home to change into an outfit identical to her sister’s. If even that didn’t work, she’d admit defeat.
“No! This time I won’t get it wrong. You are Li Qian.”
Just as the boy was about to launch into another passionate confession, a voice suddenly interjected, freezing him in place.
“Xiao Meng, sorry to keep you waiting~”
Ling Ning walked up to Li Qian with a bright smile and casually linked arms with her. The intimacy of their gesture caught the attention of several onlookers.
Li Qian was momentarily stunned by Ling Ning’s sudden appearance but quickly recovered, putting on a “been-waiting-forever” expression.
The boy glanced at Ling Ning, then back at Li Qian. Could he have gotten it wrong again?
“Xiao Meng Meng, who’s this?” Ling Ning asked.
“He’s our class president. He always mixes me up with my sister. There’s really nothing I can do about it.”
“Oh~” Ling Ning nodded thoughtfully, then said, “But even though you and your sister look similar, I’m curious. Your sister is arrogant, tsundere, rude, and has a terrible temper. With traits like that, how could he get the two of you mixed up?”
Li Qian’s brow twitched ever so slightly, but she managed to force a smile. “Yeah, I’m curious too. How could our esteemed class president keep making this mistake?”
The boy stood there, dumbfounded by their exaggerated exchange. He opened his mouth to say something but ultimately had no words. In the end, he could only turn and walk away in silence.
Watching him leave, Ling Ning couldn’t help but feel… delighted? No, no, she corrected herself—guilty. Yes, guilty for deceiving such a pure-hearted boy.
Once the boy was gone, Li Qian’s expression immediately darkened. She turned to Ling Ning with a deadpan look. “What did you mean earlier? Arrogant, tsundere, rude temper?”
“Oh, come on. If I hadn’t helped you just now, would you be standing here so leisurely, chatting with me?”
“I… you…” Li Qian gritted her teeth. Fine, let’s call it even. For some reason, whenever she was around Ling Ning, her emotions seemed harder to control. Or maybe it was because, with Ling Ning, she didn’t need to wear the usual mask she kept up around others.
That wasn’t such a bad feeling.
“Fine, let’s go. Where do you want to eat?”
“I know a great dessert shop nearby. Follow me~”
Ling Ning was referring to a dessert shop near Lin Xi’s place. Their desserts were fantastic and reasonably priced. When Ling Ning had been comforting a heartbroken Lin Xi recently, they’d visited the shop almost daily.
In just a short time, Lin Xi had gained quite a bit of weight, scaring her into avoiding desserts altogether. Even Ling Ning herself had started to feel like she’d gained weight—though the scale showed no changes.
Looking at the array of desserts in front of her, Li Qian bit her lip. These were all high-calorie treats. Recently, when she’d weighed herself, she’d noticed a slight increase. She’d been avoiding high-calorie foods ever since.
And now Ling Ning had brought her here. This was a setup for disaster.
Noticing the odd look on Li Qian’s face, Ling Ning asked curiously, “What’s wrong, Xiao Qian Qian? This place is so affordable—no need to be nervous.”
“That’s not the issue…”
Li Qian blinked. She hadn’t had desserts in a while, and now the temptation was stronger than ever. But if she indulged, all her recent workouts would have been for nothing.
“Not the issue?” Ling Ning thought for a moment before a mischievous smile spread across her face. “Don’t tell me… you’re on a diet?”
“…Yes.”
“Oh, I see. Well then… you can just watch me eat~”
Li Qian nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. How could someone be this shameless? She had thought Ling Ning might suggest going somewhere else, but instead, she got this!
“Ling Ning, you’re insufferable!”
“Thank you for the compliment,” Ling Ning chuckled. “But really, dieting doesn’t matter that much. Isn’t the whole point of dieting to enjoy food even more later? Look at me—I’ve never dieted a day in my life. Besides, Xiao Qian Qian, your figure is amazing. You don’t look like you’ve gained a single ounce.”
“Are you bragging about how you don’t gain weight?”
Li Qian shot Ling Ning a blank stare. As much as she liked hearing the compliment, there was no way she’d break her vow to avoid high-calorie foods this month.
“I, Li Qian, would rather starve to death than eat a single bite of dessert from this shop!”
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Author’s Note:
I can’t upload pictures, so just enjoy this salted fish complimenting another salted fish. You can roast me all night for it~