After Dumping the Female Lead, It's My Turn to Cry - Chapter 24

The floating train silently glided through the air. As a sliver of starlight pierced the thick clouds and brushed against the gray-tiled rooftops, Ruan Yubai finally followed Qing Ling home.

As for why it was Ruan Yubai following Qing Ling and not the other way around, it was naturally because only the young lady held the key. This little detail incidentally taught us not to rely on luck laziness, even for a moment, could cost more than just the right to go home.

It could also mean losing the right to speak against a bully.

The path leading to the detached house was narrow and quiet. The automated service robot at the street corner had already entered standby mode due to malfunction, leaving only a streetlamp casting a hazy glow over the girl’s thick, smooth black hair. Qing Ling still had wireless earbuds in her ears, occasionally speaking to a translucent video screen.

Ruan Yubai rubbed her hands together and exhaled softly. Winter hadn’t arrived yet, but it was already the deep chill of late autumn. Even a small breath would crystallize into tiny ice particles in the air.

In truth, having changed into long sleeves and pants, Ruan Yubai was dressed relatively warmly compared to the tall, thinly clad girl in front of her. Yet even so, she still felt cold.

What about the female lead?

With mixed emotions, Ruan Yubai glanced at the figure walking ahead, shoulders relaxed. A few trees planted along the edge of the alley cast deep green leaves under the lamplight, their trunks supporting dense branches. The slender, elliptical shadows of white blossoms swayed over the fabric of the student council uniform, flickering sparsely and densely through the silent night, accentuated by the faint scent of freesia that clung to her.

If not for catching that subtle fragrance, Ruan Yubai would have surely thought they lived in two entirely different seasons.

They were both human, after all, and most Omegas had even weaker constitutions. So how could Qing Ling seem completely unfazed by the cold?

“Come in.” Only at the last moment, as she turned the key to unlock the door, did Qing Ling end the video call and step aside to hold the door halfway open for the person behind her.

Ruan Yubai nodded, but before she could speak, she instinctively turned her head and let out a small sneeze.

“Caught a chill?” Qing Ling reached out to pull her inside, frowning slightly. “Your father left some medicinal packets in my room earlier, but I’m not sure if you can take them.”

Ruan Yubai: You might not believe it, but even though I look like a temporary lodger living like an indentured laborer, I’m actually the little landlord of the Ruan family.

The young lady had faint dark circles under her eyes, standing out against her fair skin, a sign of weariness.

From the perspective of slacker Ruan, the female lead seemed almost superhuman. Such a relentless schedule would be unbearable for anyone, yet she could still go boil water now to prepare for brewing medicine later.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a sweet romance novel? Did being a female lead nowadays require an iron-clad physique?

“Don’t trouble yourself.” Ruan Yubai hurriedly reached for the female lead’s wrist, but before she could insist she was fine, she sneezed twice more in quick succession, the tip of her small nose turning slightly red from the effort.

Embarrassed, she scratched her head and murmured, “It’s not that I’m really cold. I’ll be fine after warming up a bit.”

This wasn’t Ruan Yubai trying to comfort anyone. As a certified couch potato who would rather lie still than even roll over, she would shiver and tremble under her quilt in the winter, sneezing nonstop as if it cost nothing. Even the author of “Ode to the Autumn Wind Breaking My Thatched Hut” would shed tears of sympathy for her.

But in reality, there was another thick blanket just three steps away in the wardrobe, and an electric heater sat right under the bookshelf, all she had to do was move it over and flip the switch.

Yet she was too lazy. With every chapter she finished, she’d tell herself, “I’ll go get it after this chapter.” And so, by the time she finished the entire book, she hadn’t budged an inch!

This couldn’t simply be described as laziness, it was on a level where even the founding father of procrastination would gasp in awe and call her his master.

At the time, Ruan Yubai was nearly frozen to the point of tears. When she went downstairs for dinner with watery eyes, she gave her parents quite a scare. They thought she was depressed over her grades and carefully laid out a lavish feast, reassuring her that grades weren’t everything and that life had more to offer.

At that moment, Ruan Yubai, who had been devouring her food, suddenly looked up and said, “Oh right, I almost forgot to check my grades.”

Yes, she was lazy to such an unbelievable extent.

Of course, it wasn’t as if she had never put in effort. There was a time when, spurred by a single remark from Lin Yi, she burned the midnight oil, replacing her bedtime milk with coffee and swapping her novels for study guides.

And then, she proudly made it into Class F, after which she completely gave up struggling and embraced her fate as a drifting couch potato.

In short, it’s not hard to see that in this story, only two things reign supreme above all else.

One is the earnest advice of her childhood sister.

The other is food.

Right now, Ruan Yubai didn’t dare to look at Qing Ling’s expression and coughed again. “I’m just a little hungry.”

Well, not just a little she was extremely hungry.

Because of all the ridiculous Alpha drama today, Ruan Yubai hadn’t had time to eat dinner, and she had only hastily picked at her lunch. The moment she stepped out of the school gates, her stomach had already started protesting, loudly broadcasting its own rendition of “The Empty City Strategy.”

It was just too hard. Tears as wide as noodles streamed down her heart. As an ally who had stepped up to help an Omega, why couldn’t she even get a proper dinner?

Her burning phone screen was proof: on the way back, she had cast longing glances at every late-night diner still lit up. Her fingers gently swiped through the vibrant, mouth-watering dishes on the food delivery app, her gaze softer than when she looked at her dream lover.

A super-deluxe portion of Maoxuewang, bubbling with bright red oil and savory chili peppers, topped with thinly sliced fatty beef and translucent shrimp dumplings. Tofu puffs, plump and adorable after soaking up the broth, paired with a handful of emerald-green spinach and fragrant, fluffy rice.

Ah, not even a divine romance could compare!

The troubles of delicious food could wash away all the melancholic sorrows of gazing at the sky at a 40-degree angle. Just as Ruan Yubai happily tapped the “Confirm” button, she suddenly realized something was wrong.

Today was the annual Robot Strike Day. All AI delivery robots were on strike, and any orders placed now would only be delivered the next day.

But Ruan Yubai couldn’t bring herself to disturb Qing Ling, who was clearly busy, with such a trivial matter. After reluctantly passing by the last small restaurant at the street corner that was about to close, she let out a heavy sigh, feeling as if her sorrow had reached a point of no return incurable and beyond remedy.

What was that famous saying circulating online again?

There are only three indispensable things in life: eating, eating, and eating.

What kind of “eating fish” is a salted fish without rice? She was nothing but a feverish fish raging in helpless fury.

“Is that all?”

After a long pause, Qing Ling finally spoke, her tone laced with complex emotions. When she saw Ruan Yubai nodding with sorrowful eyes, she didn’t even know what expression to make.

And here she had thought.

Forget it.

Qing Ling took out the last piece of chocolate from her pocket, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into the girl’s mouth, saying with mild exasperation, “Ruan Yubai, can’t you have a little more ambition?”

What even is ambition? Is it tasty?

Ruan Yubai pouted. As Qing Ling went to open the refrigerator, she kindly reminded her, “My dad’s been dieting lately, trying to get back his pre-marriage A4 waist. I told him it’s not healthy, but he snapped at me, saying I was just sour grapes.”

At this, she pinched the soft flesh at her waist with a pout and muttered under her breath, “What’s wrong with gaining a little weight? Only enough fat can protect my abs properly.”

Under the warm yellow light of the living room, the girl’s skin glowed like polished jade. Her shirt had ridden up slightly, revealing a stretch of skin as smooth and lustrous as pearls. Her fingers, slender and pale, unconsciously tugged at the hem of her shirt, exuding a homely, delicate charm.

Qing Ling instinctively averted her gaze.

There was still half a pot of rice left in the rice cooker from the morning. Qing Ling deftly sliced a tomato on the cutting board with a swift, practiced motion and asked without turning around, “Do you eat Spam?”

“I do, but won’t it be too cold? Wouldn’t that upset your stomach?”

“How about goose eggs?”

“All lives are equal to me chickens, ducks, geese, dogs, they’re all precious and delicious in my book.”

“Bird’s eye chili or green pepper?”

“I personally prefer the red ones; they look more appetizing.”

“Scallions and cilantro?”

“I’m fine with them, but someone like you probably dislikes the taste of scallions, right?”

Ruan Yubai answered casually while reading her novel, assuming the female lead was just making small talk. When the warm aroma of food wafted into her nostrils, she could hardly believe it.

“You know how to cook?”

Is there anything the female lead can’t do?!

Feeling both ashamed of being a freeloader and a little envious, Ruan Yubai’s eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of the dish. All her emotions of gratitude transformed into tears, which streamed down excitedly from the corners of her mouth.

In a delicate white porcelain bowl lay half a serving of fried rice with eggs. Though made from simple, everyday ingredients, it felt especially comforting to Ruan Yubai, who was used to all kinds of instant meals.

Every grain of rice was coated in egg, the Spam fried until glossy on all sides, the bird’s eye chili adding just the right amount of spiciness to whet the appetite without being overpowering. Even the finely chopped scallions were a vibrant green, full of enticing color.

What does it mean to unleash the floodgates for a pig?

Ruan Yubai’s cheeks were stuffed full of the fragrant fried rice, leaving her no room to speak. All she could do was repeatedly give the female lead a thumbs-up.

This is just too delicious.

After swallowing the last bite of rice, she blissfully sprawled back in her chair and gave her sincerest praise: “Ms. Qing, how are you this amazing?”

If it weren’t for the fact that Qing Ling was the female lead, Ruan Yubai would have thrown a tantrum just to be friends with her.

“To avoid being kicked out by you.”

Under Ruan Yubai’s abruptly frozen, stunned gaze, Qing Ling wiped her hands with a wet wipe and said leisurely with a faint smile, “My family has fallen on hard times, so I have no choice but to live under someone else’s roof. If even my fiancée despises me, then I have no choice but to do my utmost to please her.”

The dim, warm light mingled with the aroma of home-cooked dishes, softly drifting through the air, outlining the originally aloof young lady with gentle, flowing lines much like her soft, unhurried voice at that moment.

“Miss Ruan, have I managed to please you?”

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