After Becoming a Spare Tire, I Got Together with My White Moonlight - Chapter 9.1

After returning to school, Qin Xiangxi became the center of attention across the entire college.

Not long before, the kidnapping case had just been settled. To cooperate with the investigation, six or seven students had missed the final flight and registration opportunity, forcing them to reluctantly give up on the training camp and the performance.

If it had truly been an accident, it might have been easier to accept. But the root cause of it all lay with Qin Xiangxi herself.

First, she was late, then she claimed to have brought the wrong documents. The team leader made the decision to reschedule the flight, only to encounter a delay, forcing them to stay an extra night at a hotel.

The next morning, a student from the neighboring room knocked on her door to wake her up, only to find that Qin Xiangxi wasn’t in her room. The front desk downstairs said they had seen her go out to buy breakfast.

After that, she never returned. It wasn’t until that evening, when the teacher reported her missing, that they were informed she was already in the hospital.

Due to Qin Xiangxi’s testimony, several students and teachers were detained as suspects or witnesses to assist in the investigation. In the end, it was discovered that one of the teachers, whose family member was critically ill and in urgent need of money, had noticed that Qin Xiangxi was being targeted by robbers and impulsively decided to collaborate with them, pretending to stage an act to extort money from her family.

However, not long after returning, the teacher began to regret it. He delayed until that evening and finally, urged by the students, reported the incident to the police.

The teacher eventually confessed and was arrested, his career and future completely ruined. The remaining students, however, had suffered an entirely undeserved misfortune.

These students had never gotten along well with Qin Xiangxi to begin with, and after this incident, they couldn’t help but direct their resentment toward her. Even her roommate stopped speaking to her.

Qin Xiangxi felt somewhat wronged but didn’t dare voice it. She kept her head down as she moved around the campus for two days before gradually sensing that the direction of the rumors seemed off.

When she went to the cafeteria to eat, as soon as she sat down, people started staring at her.

In no time, it seemed like the news spread from one to ten, and ten to a hundred. More and more people were looking at her, their eyes faintly carrying a hint of pity?

When she returned to her dorm, her roommate, who had been implicated in the incident, came back with a friend from next door, whispering about something. Qin Xiangxi overheard her own name.

When they looked up and saw her standing at the door, the two girls immediately fell silent, their expressions turning awkward.

The girl from next door coughed lightly, waved her hand, and hurriedly opened the door to go inside.

For the first time since returning, her roommate looked directly at Qin Xiangxi, her expression complex as if she wanted to say something but ultimately only let out a soft sigh.

“You’ve had it rough,” her roommate remarked sympathetically.

“What’s going on?” Qin Xiangxi asked, completely bewildered.

“You still don’t know?” Her roommate gave her a pitying look, hesitating for a moment as if unsure whether to speak. “It’s about Yan Guiqiu.”

The rumor that “Yan Guiqiu likes Qin Xiangxi” was already widely known at the school. Whenever Yan Guiqiu was mentioned, someone would inevitably think of Qin Xiangxi.

And vice versa.

Qin Xiangxi instinctively frowned.

“It seems she’s fallen for someone else,” her roommate said cautiously.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Qin Xiangxi smiled, genuinely relieved by the news.

Since leaving the hospital, her aversion to Yan Guiqiu had escalated to disgust and resentment.

Not only was Yan Guiqiu inconsiderate, talking about money with a patient, but she was also casual and frivolous, treating emotions as a joke to be tossed around lightly.

Someone like that she wished to stay as far away from her as possible.

But how pitiful must the person she likes be?

Qin Xiangxi thought to herself, but Yan Guiqiu’s words from earlier involuntarily surfaced in her mind.

“I’m going to chase Jiang Xuehe too.”

That was probably just a joke, right? Qin Xiangxi suddenly felt a bit flustered.

Her roommate continued, “It’s the owner of the art gallery. Yan Guiqiu doesn’t come back to school, but she brings flowers to the gallery every day for the owner. When others ask her about it, she doesn’t deny it.”

Qin Xiangxi’s expression shifted slightly. “Which art gallery?”

“The one two streets south of the school’s south gate, the newly opened one,” the roommate said. “It hasn’t officially opened yet, but lots of people have already been there. The owner is really beautiful, and I heard she just came back from studying abroad.”

Qin Xiangxi’s smile froze completely on her face.

Her roommate stopped talking, taking her reaction as understanding, how could Qin Xiangxi truly remain unmoved after being “devotedly” pursued for so long?

So, her roommate’s expression turned to nothing but pity and sympathy. She glanced at Qin Xiangxi out of the corner of her eye, as if seeing a gleaming green hat perched on her head.

“There are plenty of fish in the sea.” The roommate paused, then spoke with solemn gravity, “My condolences.”

Qin Xiangxi: “…”

At the art gallery.

Yan Guiqiu shuddered, alertly turning her head to look, but all she saw was a tightly closed door.

This was the studio at the back of the gallery Jiang Xuehe’s future private workspace. The place was still cluttered with newly moved-in items scattered all over, but Jiang Xuehe disliked having others handle her personal belongings, so only Yan Guiqiu was occasionally allowed in and out.

At the moment, there was no one else in the room.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Xuehe asked from nearby.

“Nothing. I just felt like someone was cursing me behind my back.” Yan Guiqiu rubbed the back of her neck, then turned back and placed the flowers in her hand into a transparent vase.

Today’s bouquet was made of white lilies, their faint fragrance filling the spacious studio.

Jiang Xuehe was unpacking a parcel that had been mailed from overseas. She glanced at the flowers on the table and smiled. “Maybe they were thinking of you, who knows?”

Yan Guiqiu laughed along. “Not that many people think of me.”

Jiang Xuehe simply smiled without responding.

Someone like Yan Guiqiu even without deliberately investigating was easy to guess as being well-liked. There was Song Anchen before, and now the students who came to the gallery to check it out would all greet Yan Guiqiu. Unintentionally or not, they brought along the rumors circulating around the campus.

The junior who had come in the morning was familiar with Yan Guiqiu they had apparently been in the same club. He’d said he came to the gallery to gather material for a school newspaper feature, but once there, his eyes were practically glued to Yan Guiqiu.

Yan Guiqiu bustled around the shop, volunteering her help without pay, and Jiang Xuehe didn’t mind her closeness. Whatever that junior had imagined, when he left with several pages of notes, his eyes were full of melancholy as he looked back.

Jiang Xuehe saw it all clearly but didn’t point it out to Yan Guiqiu.

Yan Guiqiu seemed completely unaware. She waved goodbye to the junior, then threw herself back into organizing the gallery, never bringing it up again.

Jiang Xuehe didn’t dare admit out loud that it made her somewhat happy saying so would feel too petty so she kept it to herself.

“Next month, a friend of mine is coming back to the country for a visit. I’d like to treat him to a meal, but I’m not quite sure which restaurants in Yunhua City would be suitable.” Jiang Xuehe asked as she unpacked items from a box.

The box was filled with books. After arranging the flowers, Yan Guiqiu came over to help and asked, “Is he also into painting?”

Jiang Xuehe shook her head and said, “He’s more of a businessperson. There are a few things we need to discuss, so I’d prefer somewhere a bit quieter.”

A businessperson…

That made sense. With Jiang Xuehe’s personality, it was unlikely she’d just settle for a quiet, uneventful life and do nothing.

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