After Being Marked By A Love Rival - Chapter 18

Although there were no major changes in the expression on Qi Musi’s face, her mind went temporarily blank. It wasn’t just because she hadn’t expected Xie Rong to know about this matter; it was even more so because she had never imagined that Xie Rong would be sought out.

Qi Musi had never thought that Zhao Moran would be unrepentant and obsessed even after her firm rejection. Even though she had deleted all of Zhao Moran’s contact information and completely ignored her friend requests, Zhao Moran still hadn’t given up. Not only did she harass Qi Musi, but she also harassed Xie Rong.

Qi Musi couldn’t help but frown, a dark glint flashing in her eyes.

When she herself was being relentlessly pestered by Zhao Moran, she didn’t feel any discomfort or anger. She simply explained the situation peacefully and acted decisively, giving the other party no room for fantasy or retention.

She hadn’t paid any mind to the subsequent various requests she received, nor had she cared about them. This was because Qi Musi was such a person although her exterior was gentle and polite, her heart was quite indifferent. Once she decided on something, she wouldn’t change it.

Therefore, she wouldn’t pay attention to such matters, nor would she be angry or bothered by them. Zhao Moran would give up on her own once she hit enough walls.

But Qi Musi hadn’t expected her to find Xie Rong.

At that moment, a fire rose in her heart a never before felt sense of concern and anger that nearly scorched her mind and destroyed her rationality.

It wasn’t just because her private matter had been exposed to Xie Rong it was mainly because Xie Rong had suffered such harassment.

She didn’t care what happened to herself, but if it involved Xie Rong, and especially if it caused Xie Rong difficulty… Qi Musi could no longer accept it as usual.

But Qi Musi quickly reined in this emotion, knowing that Xie Rong’s current purpose was not to “complain.”

Qi Musi’s fingertips paused, followed by active contemplation.

It wasn’t a difficult thing to figure out. Soon, Qi Musi understood Xie Rong’s true intention.

The expression on her face subtly shifted, and she sighed softly, “Xiao Rong, don’t be so angry. Sit down and rest for a moment, and listen to my explanation.”

This was not a delaying tactic. After all, strictly speaking, this matter had nothing to do with Qi Musi, and she was not guilty, so when she mentioned asking Xie Rong to sit down and rest first, her expression was calm, and she still wore her usual smile, without a trace of panic.

Hearing Qi Musi say this, Zhao Rongrong also cautiously chimed in to persuade, “That’s right, Xiao Rong, don’t be so angry. Just listen to Musi’s explanation.”

Xie Rong looked down, let out a short, cold laugh, and then sat back in her seat.

“Fine, speak.”

“That person…” Qi Musi paused slightly. Her originally smooth explanation halted when her gaze met Xie Rong’s dark eyes.

She was indeed clear conscienced, but the explanation would inevitably involve things she had done in the past. If it had been before, Qi Musi wouldn’t have cared about telling her, or she could have chosen not to, as Xie Rong had nothing to do with her.

But now was different.

Qi Musi began to care about Xie Rong’s opinion of her, and even her image in Xie Rong’s mind. Although Qi Musi never cared about outsiders, Xie Rong was no longer an outsider to her…

She still dared not delve deeply into what position and role Xie Rong held in her heart, but Qi Musi subconsciously did not want her image to be tarnished in Xie Rong’s eyes.

However… not explaining now was not an option. If she confirmed Xie Rong’s misunderstanding, her image would truly be irredeemable.

So Qi Musi paused, took a breath, and continued, “Her name is Zhao Moran. She’s a friend I met unexpectedly during the summer vacation. At the time, perhaps the things I did, my actions toward her, were too boundless and caused her some misunderstanding, so she mistakenly thought I was pursuing her.”

Upon saying this, Qi Musi frowned slightly and bit her molar, feeling inexplicably embarrassed.

In the past, she never thought that her behavior was bad or wrong, because Qi Musi was used to wearing a gentle facade to everyone, but this didn’t mean she had improper intentions towards them. She just… didn’t want to create enmity with people and was too lazy to let outsiders glimpse her true personality.

She just hadn’t expected Zhao Moran to misunderstand her intention.

Qi Musi continued, “But I had no such intention. What I did was purely a helpful gesture. After realizing she had a misunderstanding, I explained everything clearly to her and drew a clear boundary. But Zhao Moran didn’t seem to want it to end this way, so she continued to pester me, which led to today’s incident.”

She lowered her gaze, her face showing some apology: “I’m very sorry that my matter has disturbed you all. I will make things clear to Zhao Moran and ensure she doesn’t bother you again.”

After briefly explaining everything, Qi Musi finally said to Xie Rong, “Whatever you’re thinking, I want to say that no, Xiao Rong, I haven’t done any of those bad things you’re thinking of.”

She knew Xie Rong suspected she might be two timing or ‘fishing,’ pursuing Zhuang Xinbai while also hooking other Omegas.

But she genuinely hadn’t.

Qi Musi didn’t want Xie Rong to misunderstand her, so she had to explain things clearly.

After listening, Zhao Rongrong and Mo Li didn’t think much of it. Although both of them had also received friend requests, one hadn’t accepted because she felt the person seemed like a pyramid scheme seller, and the other hadn’t had a chance to inform Qi Musi because she was still hesitating about how to approach the subject.

Thus, this was the first time they had heard the truth of the matter.

Fortunately, the matter didn’t sound too serious and could be resolved by explaining. To be honest, they were both startled when Xie Rong entered the room and questioned Qi Musi, almost thinking a Version 2.0 fight was about to ensue.

Zhao Rongrong cleared her throat and instinctively tried to smooth things over: “Haha, well, if that’s the case, then it’s nothing big, just a minor matter. I won’t get involved then, Musi, you go talk to her yourself.”

Qi Musi lowered her eyes and nodded, then looked up at Xie Rong, the person she cared about most.

Xie Rong hadn’t spoken since hearing Qi Musi’s explanation. Now she was just leaning back in her chair, eyes lowered, making her expression unreadable.

Qi Musi’s heart was thumping, carrying a sense of nervousness. She clenched her fingers, feeling her throat dry.

This was a very novel yet heavy emotion for Qi Musi. She had never before experienced this feeling of being… both facing a formidable enemy and being restless.

All the emotions in her heart hinged on the single thought of the person opposite her.

At this moment, Xie Rong stood up. She glanced at Qi Musi and said, “Come with me.”

Qi Musi was slightly stunned but still stood up and followed Xie Rong.

Zhao Rongrong subconsciously poked Mo Li, but the latter blocked her and whispered almost inaudibly, “Stop it, shush, don’t make noise.”

Zhao Rongrong wanted to say something, but out of fear of disturbing Xie Rong, she nervously kept her mouth shut.

Qi Musi followed Xie Rong into the bathroom and then closed the door.

“Xiao Rong,” she called softly.

Because there were two doors separating them, they didn’t have to worry about the people outside hearing their conversation here.

Qi Musi hadn’t fully relaxed, guessing that Xie Rong had called her here precisely to ask questions regarding the matter just discussed, and this was the point she needed to focus on.

“Do you… have something you want to ask me?” Qi Musi inquired.

“Of course,” Xie Rong replied without disguise.

She believed Qi Musi’s explanation. After all, Qi Musi wouldn’t lie, but the core of the issue wasn’t just in the explanation itself.

Xie Rong cared about something else.

Qi Musi could cause an Omega to misunderstand her due to her ambiguous attitude in the past. What about now? Based on her usual attitude toward outsiders, Xie Rong didn’t think that after Zhao Moran disappeared, there wouldn’t be a Zhang Moran or Xu Moran to take her place.

This wasn’t baseless suspicion.

Xie Rong recalled a time when she returned to the dormitory and glimpsed Qi Musi having an intimate conversation with a chocolate scented Omega under the pavilion.

At that time, she didn’t know that Qi Musi was also pursuing Zhuang Xinbai, so when she saw her with a strange Omega, she even mistakenly thought it was her girlfriend.

Looking back now, there were already signs.

Xie Rong had no right to interfere with Qi Musi’s manner of dealing with people. She could be casually gentle and sweet to everyone, and she could be ambiguously tender, causing the Omegas around her to misunderstand that was all fine.

But these absolutely must not be the things she does while pursuing Zhuang Xinbai.

Xie Rong bit her tongue, suppressing the displeasure in her heart.

She looked up, her dark eyes fixed on Qi Musi. Then she took a step forward, her brow cold and sharp, as if containing an icy blade.

“Do you treat all unfamiliar Omegas this way in your daily life?” She placed one hand on the closed bathroom door.

Qi Musi’s heart skipped a beat. Her gaze slowly retracted from Xie Rong’s arm and landed on her excessively beautiful and exquisite face.

“What do you mean?” She could barely maintain her gentle facade now.

Xie Rong smiled with a slight mockery: “When you talk to unfamiliar Omegas, do you always use the same gentle and ambiguous manner to make them misunderstand?”

Qi Musi clenched her fingers, allowing her fingertips to dig into her palm. Her heart was pounding. Hearing Xie Rong’s words, which were practically volatile and even seemed like jealousy, Qi Musi couldn’t help but form other associations.

She knew Xie Rong had no unusual feelings for her, and she asked this only for Zhuang Xinbai’s sake. But at that moment, Qi Musi still couldn’t help but lose herself in thought.

Could it be that Xie Rong herself cared a great deal? That’s why she brought her here for a private inquiry.

Qi Musi pursed her lips, looked up and stared at the other person, and couldn’t help but ask in return, “And then what? What are you going to do?”

Qi Musi rationally knew that what she should do now was calmly explain, not retort and ask a question in return, but… she couldn’t help it.

Qi Musi looked at Xie Rong, whose cold expression had been broken, and couldn’t help but taunt: “Even if that’s the case, so what? What is the reason for your current appearance, so concerned and so bothered?”

“So what,” Xie Rong repeated softly. “Indeed, I can’t control you, and I won’t. Normally, you can do whatever you want, but…”

Her gaze turned cold: “You tell me you’re pursuing and like Xinbai, yet you leave affection everywhere. What a gentle and passionate Alpha you are.”

Hearing Xie Rong’s words, Qi Musi’s heart chilled.

All her previous guesses were now shattered, as if dashed with ice water.

She knew it. Xie Rong was doing this for Zhuang Xinbai.

Zhuang Xinbai, Zhuang Xinbai, she never strayed from Zhuang Xinbai. The first person she liked was Zhuang Xinbai, and she was angry with her roommate also for Zhuang Xinbai. Zhuang Xinbai clearly didn’t even like her, yet she still acted like a loyal knight, diligently monitoring even her pursuer, practically a devoted…

Qi Musi closed her eyes, the surging anger in her heart burning to her chest.

A moment later, she suddenly smiled and opened her eyes.

“You asked me what kind of gesture makes those Omegas misunderstand?” Qi Musi’s eyes were deeply dark, yet her lips curved into a smile, her peach-blossom eyes cryptic.

She grabbed Xie Rong’s wrist, and before the other party could react, she pushed her against the door.