Actually, She's Just an Idiot - Chapter 2

This was actually a philosophical question hidden beneath the superficiality of physical appearances.

If Lan Xi had simply asked with genuine curiosity, it would just mean the beautiful girl was in a good mood today and purely wanted someone else’s opinion.

Unfortunately, her expression conveyed no such thing. And since it didn’t mean that, there was only one other possibility.

Wen Yue’s mind raced for a couple of seconds. Once she realized the implication, her breath hitched. As expected, she really had been caught!

She knew that carelessly shipping people would lead to nothing but trouble!

“I wasn’t,” Wen Yue stammered, but halfway through her denial, her conscience suddenly flared with guilt. Feigning composure, she lifted her chin high, her eyes filled with resolute determination.

She nodded, admitting with absolute certainty, “Yes.”

Lan Xi looked at that small, flushed face that couldn’t be hidden even in the dim light, her index finger slowly rubbing against her thumb.

Seeing the girl’s little expression that seemed to say, I did it, hit me if you dare, Lan Xi decided not to tease her anymore.

“Then Teacher Wen had better teach me well,” she said, her lips curving into a perfect smile that made her look like a carefree rogue casually flirting with a good girl. “After all, I’m putting a lot of trust in you.”

To be honest, teaching Wang Qianqian for forty five minutes wasn’t nearly as exhausting as spending five minutes next to Lan Xi.

It wasn’t that Lan Xi was difficult to teach. On the contrary, Wang Qianqian was the one who was terrible at it and refused to practice, constantly finding ways to whine and slack off, desperate to steal even a fraction of a second of rest.

Lan Xi wasn’t like that. She simply watched quietly whenever Wen Yue spoke. Her two beautiful eyes seemed capable of discharging electricity, and looking into them for a second too long felt like enough to turn anyone into a lightning rod.

During the instruction, Wen Yue had to occasionally help adjust Lan Xi’s waist or correct her leg posture. Even though she wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, Wen Yue felt awkwardly stiff all over.

After just a few rounds of kicking, she was already exhausted and drenched in sweat. She even felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

Thank goodness a barrel of gasoline hadn’t accidentally rolled onto the field, otherwise she probably would have exploded and been blasted all the way to the Arctic Circle to dance with polar bears.

When the third period finally arrived, Wen Yue felt like she had found salvation. The PE teacher blew his whistle, calling them to gather. For this part of the class, they weren’t going to practice partner drills, instead, they were told to line up for warm up activities.

Wang Qianqian and Sun Hui thoughtfully saved a spot for her. Before Wen Yue could even find her footing, the two girls began to interrogate her enthusiastically.

“What happened, what happened? Why the sudden partner switch?” Having learned from their previous mistake, they were much more cautious with their gossiping this time, acting as stealthy as secret agents exchanging intelligence.

“It was just a personnel change. Plus, since there were three of us, I just filled in,” Wen Yue explained in a rigid, deadpan manner, sounding as official as someone reading a public notice.

“We’ve been practicing for a week or two already. Isn’t it a bit too sudden to bring up a switch now?”

“Wait,” Wang Qianqian said, hiding behind Wen Yue again, her gaze as sharp as a scout’s. “That Korean guy’s new partner looks a bit familiar.”

Sun Hui narrowed her eyes. “Oh wow, isn’t that the pretty boy who was just sitting behind us?” Whenever they gossiped, they loved using nicknames as code words to prevent unrelated people from stealing their top secret information.

As her voice faded, they exchanged glances once more. However, they didn’t stay silent this time. Wang Qianqian asked with a hint of worry, “Do you think he’ll tell the captain what we were just talking about?”

“We didn’t really say anything bad anyway, so what if he tells her?” Sun Hui shrugged, not particularly bothered by it. After reviewing the situation once more and confirming there was no real harm done, they tossed the matter entirely to the back of their minds.

After doing a few sets of stretching exercises, the PE teacher asked Wen Yue to do a headcount during the final ten minutes before letting everyone have free time. As the reluctantly appointed class monitor, she was also responsible for returning the kick pads back to the equipment room.

By the time she came back out, she saw Wang Qianqian sitting in a corner of the lawn with her legs curled up, playing on her phone.

“Where’s Xiao Hui?”

“She slipped away to go take a shower.”

Wang Qianqian unscrewed the cap of the icy water she had just bought from the vending machine, took a sip, and offered it to Wen Yue. “Want some?” Since Wen Yue had just been moving equipment, she hadn’t had the chance to wash her hands yet.

“Let me feed you.” Seeing her conflicted expression, the girl volunteered to help.

But just as Wang Qianqian pinched her chin, preparing to pour the water into her mouth, Lan Xi silently walked past them and leaned against the railing about two meters away.

Even though she knew the older girl wasn’t intentionally paying attention to them, Wen Yue suddenly felt a bit embarrassed in Lan Xi’s presence. She gently pulled away from Wang Qianqian’s grasp on her chin, smiled warmly, and held up her hands. “I’m not that thirsty, I’ll go wash my hands first.”

“Huh? Wait,” Wang Qianqian quickly called out to her upon seeing her flustered state. “Ah Yue, I won’t be heading back to the dorms with you later.” Seeing Wen Yue’s confused expression, she tapped her phone with her free hand and explained, “I need to go pick up a package.”

Since there were only a few minutes left before class ended, Wang Qianqian decided to mention it early so Wen Yue wouldn’t end up looking for her later.

“Okay.” Understanding the situation, Wen Yue replied obediently before turning to find a sink.

She was someone who naturally moved slowly. After washing her hands, she even had to fish out a small packet of tissues to wipe them completely dry. By the time she finished this entire routine, five minutes had already passed since the dismissal bell rang. When she walked back out, there were barely any people left on the field.

Late at night at this hour, apart from a few scattered people strolling and chatting, everyone was eager to hurry back to their dormitories to wash up and rest. Wen Yue’s small crossbody bag was still sitting by the edge of the synthetic track.

Just as she rounded the corner of the flowerbed, she spotted an unexpected person standing right next to her destination. The older girl had moved her base of operations from the railing to the lawn.

Hearing the footsteps, Lan Xi looked up. Upon seeing that it was Wen Yue, she didn’t show the slightest bit of surprise. She simply slipped the phone she had been playing with into her pocket, her bright eyes fixed intently on the person standing foolishly a short distance away.

The small crossbody bag sat quietly in its original spot, and Wen Yue slowly shuffled over to pick it up. Lan Xi didn’t speak, but Wen Yue felt that this beautiful girl was far too eye catching, making her feel too awkward to leave without saying hello.

After dawdling and finishing packing up, Wen Yue turned to meet the other girl’s gaze, asking softly, “Senior, is there something else?”

The girl didn’t answer, she merely held a hand out toward her.

Wen Yue stared at those slender, pale fingers in confusion for a couple of seconds, subconsciously patting her own pockets. After racking her brain for a long time, she finally, trembling slightly, placed her small crossbody bag into the other girl’s hand.

Acting much like a student turning in an exam paper early, Wen Yue let out a sigh of relief and peeked at Lan Xi. But the expected look of praise never materialized.

Lan Xi simply shifted the crossbody bag into her other hand and reached out toward her again. This time, she gave Wen Yue a clear instruction. With a helpless look on her face, she said, “Pull me up.”

“Huh? Ah, oh.” The one who had guessed wrong flushed deeply. Wen Yue grabbed the girl’s wrist with both hands and pulled her to her feet.

Before she could figure out what to say, a bottle of water was shoved into her hands. The outside felt damp to the touch, as if it had been sitting at room temperature for a while.

The small crossbody bag that Wen Yue had foolishly handed over was casually slung over Lan Xi’s shoulder. In her own hand, Lan Xi held an identical bottle of water, except hers had already been drank from a few times.

Seeing the older girl hand her the water and immediately start walking out of the field, Wen Yue cowardly glanced at her bag still resting on Lan Xi’s shoulder. Ultimately, she didn’t dare say a word and simply followed closely behind Lan Xi.

At over 170 centimeters tall, the girl had long arms and long legs, moving with an effortless grace. Even though her pace wasn’t particularly fast, it still took quite a bit of effort for Wen Yue to keep up.

Heading toward the dormitory area required passing through a small path. The surroundings were incredibly quiet, and the only sound lingering in their ears was the soft scuffing of their shoes against the concrete floor.

Staring at the girl’s hair fluttering in the gentle breeze, it was as if Wen Yue’s mind suddenly clicked. Only in hindsight did it dawn on her. The reason Lan Xi hadn’t rushed to leave after class ended, was she waiting for her?

Then what did it mean when she shoved a bottle of water into her hands? Did she want her to help hold it?

The condensation on the outside of the bottle had chilled her palms red. Wen Yue gave the bottle a little shake, but unexpectedly, a splashed droplet of water landed squarely on her face, making her let out a tiny, soft yelp.

Because she was too focused on wiping her face, she completely failed to notice that the footsteps right in front of her had abruptly stopped.

Her head suddenly crashed right into a solid wall of a person. Wen Yue stumbled, her nose bumping directly into the other girl’s back. Both her hands instinctively flailed forward, and amidst the panic, Lan Xi caught her by the arms.

Wen Yue saw stars, the bridge of her nose stinging so badly she felt like crying. Seeing that she had steadied herself, Lan Xi amusement clearly evident, kindly twisted the cap off the water bottle and handed it back to her. “Not paying attention while walking.”

Taking a few gulps in a row, Wen Yue rubbed the tip of her nose, her head drooping listlessly.

“Feeling better?”

She took another sip of water, sniffled, and mumbled in a muffled voice, “Thank you, Senior.”

Lan Xi chuckled. “Thank me for what?”

“Thank you for the water,” Wen Yue thought for a moment before adding, “It must have cost you.”

The older girl asked again, “Does it taste good?”

“Huh? Oh,” she glanced down at the water in her hands, not detecting anything particularly special about it. Nevertheless, she answered, “It tastes good.”

This time, she seemed to have said the right thing, because Lan Xi looked very happy. The beautiful older girl looked stunning when she smiled, which inexplicably put Wen Yue in a slightly better mood as well.

“You’ve worked hard, Teacher Wen.” She made a big show of straightening out the small crossbody bag on her shoulder before handing it back to Wen Yue.

Wen Yue paused for a second, assuming the girl was giving her water as thanks for her help during practice. She quickly waved her hands. “You’re too polite, Senior. Even if it weren’t you, I would still teach seriously.”

The moment the words left her mouth, she felt that it sounded a bit off, so she began to stammer, trying to patch up her sentence. “No, I mean, I would put my heart into it.”

She really didn’t know what was wrong with her tonight, her mouth felt incredibly clumsy. Realizing that the more she explained, the worse it sounded, she simply chose to shut her mouth.

Lan Xi’s expression flickered in and out of the glow of the nearby streetlights, making it hard to read. Wen Yue was far too nervous, to the point where she completely failed to notice the faint smile lingering in the older girl’s eyes. Lan Xi nodded and replied, “I know.”

After she said that, their conversation came to a natural pause. The two of them began walking side by side. Wen Yue could no longer see the girl’s back, she could only see their two shadows, one tall and one short, cast out in front of them.

Wen Yue didn’t have the kind of personality that allowed her to chat freely with people she wasn’t close with. As a result, neither of them took the initiative to speak until they were almost at the fork in the road.

Just as Wen Yue let out a sigh of relief and prepared to bid Lan Xi farewell, the person walking beside her suddenly stopped. Her walking rhythm disrupted, Wen Yue naturally froze in place as well.

She looked up, and Lan Xi peered down at her. Her beautiful, expressive eyes gazed intensely, and her lips parted slightly. The look she gave Wen Yue was so focused, yet hesitant, leading Wen Yue to believe that Lan Xi was about to say something very important to her.

So, she turned fully around to face her squarely, maintaining eye contact and waiting for her to speak.

After a moment, Lan Xi pouted very slightly, her tone laced with a faint, almost imperceptible sense of grievance.

She asked, “Last Thursday, why didn’t you reply to the text message I sent you?”