12.2 Wednesday

Two days later, Yufei Han repeatedly tried to approach Qinmu. But Qinmu either treated her coldly or ignored her completely, leaving Yufei Han deeply frustrated.

--- Class ---

Qinmu stared blankly at the blackboard. Far away in the first row, Yufei Han fixed her gaze on Qinmu’s back. Beside her, Tu Shen watched Yufei Han staring at Qinmu, her expression sour. It was probably because Qinmu had been ignoring her lately, and she’d also completely fallen out with the person next to her. This string of irritating little troubles left her feeling deeply unsettled.

"Nangong Qinmu, can you explain how to solve this problem?" the teacher asked, randomly calling on a student.

"...Yes! For this problem, I think we can determine the range using Lagrange’s Mean Value Theorem..." Qinmu was relieved she hadn’t been caught daydreaming, thanks to her quick reflexes.

"Lagrange? That method is beyond the syllabus. Better to solve it using high school methods," the teacher said, seemingly pleased that at least one student had self-studied college material.

"Then, take the derivative, set up the equations step by step, and solve using the problem’s given conditions," Qinmu answered smoothly.

"Good job, Qinmu. Take your seat," the teacher said, satisfied and completely unaware that Qinmu had been spacing out moments earlier.

Qinmu let out a sigh of relief and sat down. She brushed back her bangs, which had nearly covered her eyes, and stared intently at her textbook, deep in thought.

"What’s wrong? Are you troubled by something?" Yue Yang asked softly, her voice gentle and caring.

"Hmm, nothing. It’s fine," Qinmu replied reluctantly, her tone halting. It was hard not to suspect she was hiding something.

"Oh, alright. But I trust you’ll tell me when you’re ready," Yue Yang said with a faint smile, showing no intention of prying further.

--- After Class ---

Yufei Han caught up to Qinmu, who was heading to the administrative building to use the restroom.

"What do you want?" Qinmu asked coldly.

"That... um, about what I said the other day..." Yufei Han stammered, struggling to get her words out.

"Whatever. If you can’t say it clearly, don’t bother. I have things to do. Goodbye," Qinmu said, quickly brushing past her and heading down the stairs.

Yufei Han chased after her again and blocked Qinmu’s path.

"It was my fault that day. I’m sorry! Please forgive me! I was too willful," Yufei Han said pitifully, tears welling in her eyes as if she had been deeply wronged.

Qinmu paused, her cold expression softening slightly. "Do you really understand your mistake?" But she remained wary. After all, this girl wasn’t as innocent as she appeared—now acting this way, soon reverting to her old self. She was full of tricks.

"Really, I’m truly sorry. I shouldn’t have done such an awful thing to you. Please forgive me," Yufei Han said, bowing deeply again.

Seeing she wasn’t faking it, Qinmu wavered. "I can forgive you, but you must agree to one condition."

"A condition!?" Yufei Han blurted out. She had always been the one in control, and now Nangong Qinmu dared to set terms for her. But she instantly softened and whispered, "What condition?"

"Simple: from now on, no touching me, no unreasonable demands, and no interfering in my private affairs. That shouldn’t be hard, right?" Qinmu said with a faint smile. Outwardly calm, but inside she was screaming: "You arrogant demon girl, you’ve finally met your match!"

"I can accept the first two, but the last one—I absolutely cannot accept! That would let you do absolutely anything with any girl!!" Yufei Han had completely forgotten her defeated position. After all, she was the one who had sought Qinmu’s forgiveness.

"Fine then, if you can’t agree, so be it. Let’s minimize contact from now on. After all, it’s against school rules for a girl like you to keep chasing a boy like me," Qinmu said, turning the tables. She had long figured out Yufei Han’s personality and predicted her reaction.

"Hmph! Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose your secret—that you’re actually a girl?" Yufei Han played her trump card.

"Go ahead, I don’t care. In fact, it’d be better if you did. I’ve long hated binding my chest and wearing boys’ clothes every day," Qinmu said, deliberately acting fearless.

"...How did you become so bold... Ugh, fine, I agree. Just don’t ignore me," Yufei Han said, seeing her tactic fail and having no choice but to surrender.

"Alright then, I’m off to the restroom. See you later," Qinmu said, a victorious smile spreading across her face.

"Going to the admin building to use the restroom? Are you nuts? Aren’t there girls’ restrooms on every floor?" Yufei Han asked, confused.

"I’m posing as a boy now. If I show up in the girls’ restroom, would you call me a pervert? Anyway, that’s all," Qinmu said, heading towards the administrative building.

Yufei Han stamped her foot at Qinmu’s back. "Ahhh!! How could I be so stupid to agree to her terms? Ugh, now I can’t do anything to her anymore?"

--- Classroom ---

Tu Shen turned her back to Yufei Han. "Why are you chasing Qinmu again? She’s already ignoring you. Why bother making a fool of yourself?"

Yufei Han laughed coldly. "I’m afraid it’s you she’s ignoring. These past few days, she hasn’t spoken a word to you."

"Hmph, so what? Does that prove my relationship with her is bad?" Tu Shen snorted disdainfully.

"It’s not much, really. It just means she doesn’t like you. And you’re not making any effort. Probably in a few more days, she won’t even recognize you," Yufei Han said deliberately in a regretful tone.

"Hmph, I’ll prove it to you later—whether she really doesn’t recognize me," Tu Shen retorted, refusing to back down. But it was true that for two days now, Qinmu had barely acknowledged her. She faintly sensed it might be because she was caught in the crossfire of Yufei Han’s fallout.

Qinmu entered the classroom with a relaxed stride.

"Qinmu! Come here for a sec!" Tu Shen called out, feigning cheerfulness.

Puzzled, Qinmu walked over. "What is it? What’s up?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to say hi. You haven’t spoken to me for days," Tu Shen said. She could now confirm that Qinmu’s dislike wasn’t for her, but only for Yufei Han. A proud smile unconsciously spread across her face.

"Oh, I see. Sorry about that. I’ve been in a bad mood these past two days. How about I treat you to takoyaki after school? There’s a pretty good place near the school," Qinmu said casually.

Yufei Han was furious. Why such a stark difference in attitude? Just moments ago, she had humbled herself to get Qinmu to barely speak to her. Yet this girl beside her had done nothing, and Qinmu was inviting her out to eat.

"I’m going too!" Yufei Han declared righteously.

"What for? Qinmu invited me!" Tu Shen snapped, very displeased with Yufei Han’s random intrusion.

"Then let’s all go together. HuiXiang is coming to school today, so it’s also a small celebration for her," Qinmu said. She didn’t really care; inviting more people was just to make it lively.

"Your sister? She’s finally here! I must go. I want to see if this supposedly identical sister really looks just like Qinmu," Yufei Han said excitedly.

"How can you talk like that? Calling someone else’s sister ‘unreal’? That’s so rude," Tu Shen criticized directly, without holding back.

...The two argued fiercely over this trivial topic, their faces flushed red.

"Do as you please about coming, but I don’t want HuiXiang to see you two fighting," Qinmu said bluntly. She didn’t want the nice celebration to turn into their debate session. Especially since Sister Qingyu was also coming; if Sister Qingyu found out her friends were such awful people, Qinmu would lose face.