Ch. 33 - Bai Lu's Friend

Looking into Bai Lu's watery, resentful eyes, I could feel cold sweat streaming down my forehead uncontrollably. Not far away, Tang Xin—who had been slightly bent over while looking at Bai Lu—also turned her attention toward me. How was this a case of me hanging around with that fox, Tang Xin? She was the one who kept dragging me into things!

Honestly, she'd probably simulated this exact scene countless times in her head already. When she stuffed those tickets into her bag this morning, she was probably feeling like Zhuge Liang laying a trap and waiting for the enemy to walk right into it. After all, the meaning of this woman's existence seemed to be teasing me. How could a little rabbit whose teeth hurt from chewing grass ever fall for a cunning hunter?

I shot Tang Xin a glare as she stood there smiling sweetly and playing with her silver hair. Faced with Bai Lu's questioning, I felt like a child sitting through a parent-teacher conference. My body stiffened as I awkwardly pretended to admire the scenery around us. Sorry for being such a spineless older brother.

Seeing my hesitant expression, Bai Lu's resentful gaze softened. She pursed her lips helplessly.

"Honestly, Brother...There are a lot of bad women like this out there."

Then she turned around. The gentle look vanished instantly. A chill entered her voice as she stared at Tang Xin's smiling face. It felt as though the surrounding temperature dropped several degrees.

"Stay away from my brother."

"Don't be so cold, Little Sister."

Tang Xin acted as if she hadn't noticed Bai Lu's hostility at all. She smiled sweetly. Then she looked at me and blinked her bright blue eyes.

"I'm very good to the Vice President, you know. Isn't that right, my dear Vice President?"

Stop lying with those beautiful blue eyes, you evil woman! I screamed internally, but faced with that unmistakably threatening look, I quickly avoided her gaze and muttered quietly,

"How exactly are you good to me..."

Tang Xin's smile deepened. She tilted her head slightly.

"Hm?"

"I mean—yes! The President treats me very well!"

I practically jumped in fright and corrected myself immediately. Surrendering now was for the sake of preserving the peace of my entire high school life. Satisfied, Tang Xin nodded and turned back to Bai Lu.

"See? Even the Vice President says so."

Of course Bai Lu had noticed the smile Tang Xin had just directed at me. Looking at the still-pretending-to-be-innocent Tang Xin, Bai Lu's already cold expression seemed capable of freezing solid. Her teeth clenched tightly. Her eyes gradually lost warmth and became eerily empty as she stared at Tang Xin.

Bai Lu was usually gentle and refined, always carrying a smile as soft as spring rain. It was difficult to imagine her getting angry. Even as her brother, I had rarely seen her display any strong emotions. But that didn't mean she couldn't get angry. And right now—This was definitely the warning sign. People who rarely got angry were terrifying once they finally exploded.

Unfortunately, Tang Xin, who remained smiling as usual, seemed completely unaware of how dangerous the situation had become. By now, most of the people nearby had begun paying attention to us. Some watched with curiosity, while others looked at me with amusement or outright hostility. Judging from their indignant expressions, they probably thought I'd been caught cheating on two girls. One was the student council president. The other was my little sister! How had they even reached that conclusion?!

Just as I was panicking and desperately trying to stop Bai Lu's anger meter from reaching maximum capacity—Someone suddenly pushed through the crowd. A girl wearing a Xingzhihua Middle School uniform. She was fairly pretty. Her long black hair was tied simply behind her back, and her clear eyes were framed by long eyelashes. Combined with her school uniform, she looked exactly like the kind of class monitor everyone remembered from middle school.

"Bai Lu!"

The girl hurried over and grabbed Bai Lu's hand.

"We've been looking for you everywhere!"

Completely unaware of the atmosphere she had just barged into. Bai Lu froze. The icy expression on her face quickly softened.

"Xiao Yuan..."

Her attention finally shifted away from Tang Xin.

"I've been searching all over for you."

The girl looked anxious.

"Everyone from our school who came to support you is waiting over there to take photos with you."

Bai Lu hesitated. Then lowered her head apologetically.

"I had... something to take care of here."

"What thing...?"

The girl followed Bai Lu's gaze and looked toward Tang Xin and me. Then her eyes widened.

"Oh!"

"Aren't you the brother Bai Lu talks about all the time?"

The moment she said that, Bai Lu's face reddened. She lowered her head shyly like a little kitten. This girl knew me? I looked at her carefully. A sense of familiarity emerged. Had I seen her somewhere before?

"We met outside the rehearsal theater the evening before yesterday."

Seeing my confused expression, she kindly reminded me. Realization dawned. She was the girl who had stayed with Bai Lu waiting for me when I went to pick her up after unsuccessfully rejecting Wu Yaoyao. That had been the day Bai Lu told her I was a huge idiot. I remembered being depressed about that for quite a while.

"Oh, right. I remember now."

I smiled. Anyone willing to wait with Bai Lu that late already earned a good impression from me.

"My name is Wu Xiaoyuan."

She nodded energetically.

"Bai Lu's friend. You can call me Xiaoyuan, just like Bai Lu does."

The youthful energy unique to middle school students radiated from her. I nodded.

"And this is..."

Xiaoyuan turned toward Tang Xin. She stared for two seconds, clearly captivated by Tang Xin's exquisite mixed-race features and silver-white hair. Then she carefully asked,

"Your girlfriend?"

My mouth twitched. Having a girlfriend as manipulative and black-hearted as Tang Xin? I'd probably be teased to death every single day. Beside Xiaoyuan, Bai Lu's face immediately turned cold. Then, almost pitifully, she stared at me with nervous anticipation.

"She's not—"

"Hello."

Tang Xin smoothly interrupted me before I could deny anything. She extended her hand toward Xiaoyuan with a smile.

"My name is Tang Xin."

"Just call me 'Big Sister' the same way you call Bai Lu 'Little Sister.'"

What kind of scheme is this woman cooking up now? And besides, wasn't "Fox" the only title Bai Lu ever used for her?

"Ah... Hello, Big Sister."

The energetic Xiaoyuan looked a little nervous. She reached out to shake Tang Xin's hand. But before their hands could meet— Bai Lu tugged on Xiaoyuan's sleeve from behind. The handshake stopped immediately.

"I've never called her 'Big Sister.'"

The anger that had only just subsided began quietly rising once more.

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