After Being Marked By A Love Rival - Chapter 67

The necklace was adorned with a silver swan pendant, its belly set with an aqua blue gemstone that sparkled brilliantly under the dormitory lights.

Xie Rong paused slightly, unable to resist picking up the necklace. She didn’t even dare to touch the gemstone part, afraid she might damage or dirty it.

Qi Musi watched her actions with lowered eyes, then chuckled softly, “There’s a little easter egg, try to find it?”

Xie Rong looked up at her, puzzled, not understanding how a necklace could hide an easter egg. But Qi Musi just smiled without speaking, offering no hints or clues, so Xie Rong had to look down and search for herself.

To be honest, she didn’t find this process annoying or tedious. Although, given Xie Rong’s personality, she usually didn’t enjoy the so-called “find the easter egg” game, if it was about this gift… Xie Rong didn’t feel repulsed; on the contrary, there was a sense of pleasant anticipation and exploration in her heart.

Xie Rong’s fingers moved slowly along the chain, then stopped at the connecting point.

She lowered her gaze, using her fingertip to fiddle with the clasp, and discovered the so-called easter egg.

The connecting point wasn’t one of the common clasp shapes found on the market instead, it was formed by two very distinct letters clasped together.

Xie Rong looked at the two letters and easily recognized what they were.

One M, one R.

They had been crafted into an exquisitely shaped clasp.

Xie Rong nudged it with her hand and, sure enough, unlocked the necklace.

Seeing her action, Qi Musi couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, “Found it?”

Xie Rong pursed her lips.

The meaning of these two letters was self-evident, and Qi Musi’s intention was “plainly obvious.” If Xie Rong hadn’t figured it out by now, she would truly be an idiot.

But Xie Rong wasn’t.

She felt a slight emotional tremor in her heart, unsure how to respond or what to say next.

Qi Musi leaned against the edge of Xie Rong’s desk, standing next to her. Because the other girl was looking down, Qi Musi couldn’t clearly see the expression on Xie Rong’s face, making it difficult to guess more. She could only venture a few tentative guesses.

“I’m sorry, I might have been a bit too impatient, and also… I couldn’t hold back,” Qi Musi apologized.

In any case, apologizing was never wrong, and she knew Xie Rong would certainly not blame her for this matter.

Just as expected, upon hearing Qi Musi’s words, Xie Rong didn’t flare up. She simply maintained her previous posture, looking down.

The smile on Qi Musi’s lips deepened, “I know it’s not good to leave my mark on a gift for you like this, and it’s disrespectful to you, but Xiaorong… I still hope, I hope my gift can bear some trace of me, and at the same time, I hope these gifts with my trace can stay by your side. Perhaps this is the last effort I can make.”

She lowered her eyes, her long lashes concealing the emotions within.

Hearing her final sentence, Xie Rong finally moved this time. She looked up at Qi Musi, meeting the other girl’s eyes without surprise.

Xie Rong quickly shifted her gaze, but didn’t completely turn her head away. She asked faintly, “The last thing you’ll do? Are you sure?”

Qi Musi raised an eyebrow slightly, seemingly not understanding her meaning.

Xie Rong withdrew her gaze. Although she didn’t say anything in the end, she couldn’t help but glance at Qi Musi.

The emotion revealed in that look was perfectly captured by Qi Musi.

It was probably saying… this is Qi Musi’s last effort? Not necessarily; maybe after the necklace, Qi Musi would continue to do other things.

Qi Musi couldn’t help but bend her lips and laugh silently. She had to admit that the glance Xie Rong had just thrown her way was incredibly cute, and the emotion revealed in the other girl’s eyes was not wrong she had guessed it completely.

How could Qi Musi stop after just giving a necklace?

However…

“Xiaorong, aren’t you angry?”

Xie Rong lowered her eyes and put the necklace away, not sure if she was answering Qi Musi or simply comforting herself, “The gift wasn’t mine to begin with. Since it came from your hands, its form is naturally up to you.”

However, this ambiguous statement made Qi Musi’s eyes light up. She knew that to Xie Rong, such words were already tantamount to compromise.

How could this not make her happy?

So Qi Musi said, “Shall I help you put it on, Xiaorong?”

Xie Rong hesitated. Qi Musi caught her emotion and asked acutely, “You don’t want to?”

Xie Rong looked up and glanced at her, saying faintly, “I’m just worried it’s too precious. Will it get damaged if I wear it like this?”

Qi Musi couldn’t help but burst into laughter, “A necklace is meant to be worn. Why worry so much?”

Xie Rong couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.

So Qi Musi immediately stopped laughing, took the velvet box from Xie Rong’s hand, opened it, and took out the necklace. “Come, let me help you.”

Since the other person said so, Xie Rong couldn’t push back anymore.

She reached up and swept her long hair to the front, then turned sideways, facing Qi Musi’s direction.

This was the second time Qi Musi had seen Xie Rong’s neck and the soft scent gland on it so closely and clearly since the marking incident.

Qi Musi only needed one glance to be instantly reminded of what happened back then.

But she knew this was not the time to be thinking about such things. If Xie Rong knew some of the thoughts in her mind, the goodwill she had painstakingly built up might plummet again. Qi Musi couldn’t take that risk.

So she composed herself and calmed down again.

Qi Musi moved around to the back of Xie Rong, and then gently fastened the clasp of the necklace behind her neck before letting go.

“All set.”

Xie Rong raised her head slightly, letting her hair fall back into place.

She looked down at the short pendant resting on her chest, pursed her lips, and couldn’t help but trace it with her fingertips.

She naturally liked it.

At this moment, Zhao Rongrong and Mo Yue also gathered around, curiously checking out Xie Rong’s gift.

Upon seeing the necklace around Xie Rong’s neck, Zhao Rongrong couldn’t help but gasp, “Wow!”

“It’s so beautiful! And it looks so valuable! My goodness, Musi, you’re so good to Xiaorong.”

Zhao Rongrong spoke casually in an exclamation, but Xie Rong, hearing it, took it to heart. She pursed her lips, her ears involuntarily turning red again. Then Xie Rong couldn’t help but glare at Zhao Rongrong, “If you can’t speak properly, you don’t have to say anything.”

Zhao Rongrong blinked innocently. What, what did she say?

After blurting out that sentence, Xie Rong also realized she had slipped up, but she couldn’t take it back, so she could only use adjusting her hair to cover her embarrassment.

Then Xie Rong stood up, “I’m going to buy food first.” She used this as an excuse to escape the previous atmosphere.

Qi Musi smiled, her eyes curving, “I’ll go too.”

Xie Rong glanced at her and couldn’t very well refuse. After all, it was perfectly normal for roommates to go buy food together. If Xie Rong deliberately refused, it would seem strange.

Zhao Rongrong originally wanted to follow the group, but Mo Yue quickly grabbed her arm, and the words Zhao Rongrong hadn’t finished saying were swallowed back.

After the two of them left together, Zhao Rongrong finally asked, “Mo Yue, why did you pull me back?”

Mo Yue raised an eyebrow, “Did you really not notice the vibe between the two of them? Are you sure you still want to butt in?”

Zhao Rongrong: …

She thought back. It was true that the atmosphere between them was more harmonious than before, but had things really progressed so quickly?

Zhao Rongrong was still a bit skeptical. Her impression was still stuck before the winter break.

Mo Yue crossed her arms and slowly raised an eyebrow, “Trust my intuition. I think there’s definitely something going on between those two.”

Zhao Rongrong: “I know Musi has feelings for Xiaorong, but Xiaorong might not feel the same way about Musi, right?”

Mo Yue scoffed, “Want to bet?”

“Bet what?”

“Bet on when they’ll get together.”

Zhao Rongrong was shocked, “What? Has the progress already reached the point of getting together?”

She then calmly and coolly pondered for a moment, “I bet at least a year. Maybe they won’t even be together after graduation.” After all, Xiaorong is so aloof, how could she… ah. Probably.

Mo Yue chuckled softly, “I bet before the end of this semester.”

Zhao Rongrong: “??? I don’t believe it.”

Mo Yue didn’t care whether Zhao Rongrong believed it or not. She simply trusted her observations and intuition.

The only thing stopping these two was Xie Rong recognizing her own feelings, and her feelings were just one step away from being realized.

The two walked down the stairs in silence, neither speaking for a moment.

Xie Rong originally didn’t mind. In fact, she and Qi Musi didn’t have that much to talk about anyway, and Xie Rong was generally quiet. Most of the time, it was Qi Musi who initiated the topics and basically carried most of the conversation.

Xie Rong actually didn’t have many demands or objections to this.

However, as they walked down the stairs floor by floor, and the silence persisted, a slight thought involuntarily arose in Xie Rong’s mind.

Why isn’t Qi Musi saying anything now? Can she… can she endure this much silence?

Or, perhaps, all the longing she had felt during the days they hadn’t seen each other was just her own wishful thinking, her own over emotional imagination. Maybe Qi Musi only said those things, but didn’t genuinely feel that much in her heart.

Xie Rong thought more and more, and the thoughts became increasingly outlandish, eventually making her feel a bit angry with herself.

She decided, if that was the case, why should she overthink it? Let Qi Musi be silent if she wanted to be.

So Xie Rong quickened her pace, almost leaving Qi Musi behind.

By the time they exited the dormitory building, there was already a meter of distance between them.

Qi Musi recovered from her contemplation, smiled helplessly, and then grabbed Xie Rong’s wrist.

“Xiaorong, why are you walking so fast?”

Xie Rong looked up and glanced at her, not really wanting to answer.

But Qi Musi was still waiting for her answer.

She lowered her gaze, her pair of alluring peach-blossom eyes looking at Xie Rong very gently, filled with emotions that were both passionate and tender, making it hard not to get lost in them.

A look like that from her seemed capable of tempting and deceiving people.

Xie Rong even began to wonder, when Qi Musi said she liked her, did she truly mean it?

Could it be the illusion brought on by that marking, merely the effect of pheromones?

Someone from her family background and personality would have to find an Omega to marry eventually, wouldn’t they?

Thinking about marriage, Xie Rong couldn’t stop herself from clenching her fingers. Her brain seemed to be controlled by a strange emotion, starting various irrational lines of thought.

Xie Rong opened her mouth to ask, as if she couldn’t control herself, “What kind of Omega will you marry in the future?”