After Dumping the Student Council President, I Got Held Back - Chapter 2

The Young Miss was capricious, and if she didn’t want to give you a ride, she wouldn’t. Ling Xiang could only comply.

She didn’t ask questions or say a word. Silently, she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. The moment Ling Xiang closed the door, the sports car’s engine roared to life, and it sped away without a backward glance.

It completely ignored Ling Xiang, left stranded on this remote, godforsaken mountainside where taxis were impossible to find. How was she supposed to get back?

Still, she was used to Ruan Qingcheng’s personality. After the car had completely disappeared, the girl who had been so meek and quiet moments before suddenly smiled, her expression instantly lightening.

The invisible pressure lifted, and the dark light in Ling Xiang’s eyes seemed to brighten, as if the dense fog over a gloomy, rain-shrouded pool were slowly being dispersed by the rising sun.

She realized she wasn’t the only one who was good at pretending. Ling Xiang was quite skilled at it too.

Having spent nearly half a year with the Young Miss, she had become adept at playing the role of “Ruan Qingcheng’s girlfriend.” Ruan Qingcheng preferred obedient, compliant, and quiet companions.

So, Ling Xiang simply had to silently wear this face a face that was likely being used as a stand-in—to satisfy the Young Miss’s boring substitution game.

Ling Xiang guessed that the “white moonlight” must be someone with this kind of quiet personality.

She felt like a diligent NPC from a Disney movie, complete with a fully developed persona she had to maintain at work. But once her shift ended, she could finally let her true self shine.

In reality, Ling Xiang was indeed quite reserved, but she didn’t always wear this kind of listless, world-weary expression. Like most college students, she was generally a hardworking, optimistic, and vibrant young woman.

Still wearing the high heels that matched her outfit, Ling Xiang had no intention of making things difficult for herself by walking over an hour down the mountain.

She tried calling a taxi through the ride-hailing app, but as expected, this hillside location was already beyond the drivers’ service range.

With a sigh, she pulled out her roommate Lin Sheng’s number and called her. “Where are you?”

Lin Sheng’s voice sounded groggy, as if she hadn’t fully woken up yet. “Hmm? I don’t have classes these past few days, so I went home. What’s up?”

“Home?” Ling Xiang replied. “Oh. Never mind then.”

Ling Xiang had initially considered asking Lin Sheng to pick her up by taxi if she had free time at school. But since Lin Sheng was at home and her own house was in the next city, the drive would take at least two hours.

That was too much trouble, so Ling Xiang didn’t even consider it.

“What’s wrong, Xiangxiang?” Lin Sheng’s sleepiness faded, and she became more alert. A possibility occurred to her: “What’s going on? Is that Young Miss giving you trouble again?!”

Lin Sheng and Ling Xiang had been roommates since freshman year. Their personalities meshed well, and they got along famously, making Lin Sheng Ling Xiang’s closest friend at school. She also had a general understanding of the dynamics between Ling Xiang and Ruan Qingcheng.

So even though Ruan Qingcheng had a perfect image in the eyes of the school, Lin Sheng couldn’t stand the Young Miss.

From her perspective, her friend was being taken advantage of too much. Ling Xiang was practically serving Ruan Qingcheng like a servant, available at a moment’s notice. There had been several times when Ruan Qingcheng called her past midnight, forcing Ling Xiang to drag herself out of bed and rush over, even after she had already gone to sleep.

What kind of girlfriend acts like this?

“Nothing’s wrong,” Ling Xiang denied, quickly making up an excuse. “I just wanted to ask where you were. I was thinking of asking you to grab dinner together.”

“Think about it,” Lin Sheng said, still worried. “Normally, I wouldn’t interfere in my friend’s love life, but you and Ruan Qingcheng… If we’re not happy, let’s end it. Don’t force yourself—”

She paused, then continued, “We’re just not from the same world as people like Ruan Qingcheng.”

Being from different worlds yet trying to force themselves together was like trying to eat a gourmet meal at a bustling street food stall—awkward and out of place.

Ling Xiang knew that everyone at school was watching, waiting to see when Ruan Qingcheng would get bored and ditch her as an insignificant accessory.

How could anyone be so clueless? she thought. Daring to confess to Miss Ruan.

“I know,” Ling Xiang said with a smile, her tone light. “Thanks for your concern, my dear roommate. Don’t worry, I’ll protect myself well. No one from any world can hurt me.”

“Tsk, still in the mood for jokes? Looks like you’re really fine,” Lin Sheng clicked her tongue. “I’ll be back at school the day after tomorrow. Let’s grab a meal then.”

“Alright, I’ll be in touch,” Ling Xiang said, hanging up the phone. She shook her head helplessly, another method of descending the mountain rejected.

She looked up at the sky, which was rapidly darkening. Only the last sliver of the sun remained, its orange glow bleeding into the encroaching darkness like a dying ember.

If she didn’t start descending soon, night would fall completely.

She gave a wry smile. Do I really have to walk down?

Ling Xiang stared at her feet, contemplating whether it would be better to walk for an hour in high heels or take them off and go barefoot.

“Ling Xiang?” A clear, bright female voice suddenly called out from behind her. Ling Xiang turned around in surprise.

A pretty girl with a warm demeanor was pushing an electric scooter nearby, smiling at her.

“Senior Jiang?” A chord within Ling Xiang’s heart seemed to hum softly, memories surging and then receding, leaving behind only a faint sense of peace.

She smiled back and walked closer. “What are you doing here?”

Jiang Zhili pointed upward toward the cluster of villas hidden halfway up the mountain. “I’m tutoring someone’s child. I just finished and I’m heading back to school.”

“A tutor? You” Ling Xiang paused, leaving her sentence unfinished, but she knew Jiang Zhili was a biochemistry major currently pursuing her master’s degree.

Many at Nanda knew that Jiang Zhili, the “flower of the biochemistry department,” was exceptionally talented. Even as a first-year graduate student, she was already participating in research projects with her advisor. With her skills, she should have been able to earn some internship pay, even without a formal salary.

Sensing the unspoken question in Ling Xiang’s words, Jiang Zhili answered frankly, “Who wouldn’t want to earn more? Right?”

Likely aware of Jiang Zhili’s family circumstances, Ling Xiang felt a pang of sympathy and admiration for the strong, independent young woman. She nodded. “Exactly. Earning money through our own efforts isn’t shameful.”

Earning money through our own efforts… As this thought crossed her mind, Ling Xiang looked down at her phone, which lit up with a notification.

Perhaps Miss Ruan had finally realized how inconsiderate it was to leave Ling Xiang stranded halfway up the mountain. She had sent another 1000 yuan transfer, with the note “Taxi fare.”

Ruan Qingcheng’s way of interacting was to simply throw money at any problem.

A more prideful person might have flung the money back with a retort like, “I don’t need your dirty money!” But Ling Xiang stared at the number for a moment before tapping to accept the payment.

Ever since she realized her arrangement with Ruan Qingcheng was a mutually beneficial arrangement, Ling Xiang accepted the money without any guilt.

After all, who would complain about earning more?

Given the same family background, she couldn’t compare to Jiang Zhili, who was truly independent and relied solely on herself.

“Can’t make it down the mountain?” Jiang Zhili didn’t ask what Ling Xiang was doing there, instead teasing, “Junior Sister Ling, you aren’t planning to walk down in those heels, are you?”

Ling Xiang replied helplessly, “You know, I actually considered it for a moment.”

“Here comes your savior,” Jiang Zhili said, patting the seat of her electric scooter with a smile. “No need to walk. Hop on? Senior Jiang will give you a ride back.”

The sun slowly sank into the embrace of the distant mountains, painting the horizon where sky met peaks in a warm, melting orange.

The girl before her had a radiant smile, and the slanting sunlight gilded each strand of her hair with a golden edge.

She was soft and gentle, like diluted honey or aged fruit wine, sweet but not cloying.

Just like every sweet, slowly unfolding memory of Ling Xiang’s youth.

Ling Xiang’s eyelashes fluttered, and after a moment, she smiled. “Okay.”

As dusk deepened, the world seemed to fall silent except for the rustling of leaves in the gentle breeze. The red electric scooter slowly navigated the winding mountain road.

The two girls, one in a red helmet and the other in blue, sat one behind the other. Jiang Zhili held the handlebars, her voice soft as she reminded Ling Xiang to hold on tighter. “Be careful and hold on tight. The road’s quite steep.”

Ling Xiang hummed softly, her fingers tightening on the edge of Jiang Zhili’s shirt. Her gaze fell to the nape of the girl’s neck, where a few strands of hair had escaped.

She had a secret.

This secret was that the girl before her had once carried all the ambiguous feelings of Ling Xiang’s teenage years.

Yes, she had once harbored a secret crush on Jiang Zhili.

They had attended the same middle school. It all began in their third year, when Ling Xiang occasionally encountered the warm-smiling Senior Jiang in the hallway. This youthful infatuation continued until Jiang Zhili graduated and went to college, a year ahead of her. The three-year secret crush ended abruptly, without a word.

When Ling Xiang applied to Nanda, she couldn’t help but hope to run into Jiang Zhili here. As it turned out, she did reconnect with Senior Jiang. But three or four years had passed, and the flutter of her heart had long since faded into acceptance.

We were young and foolish back then. Everyone has their youthful crushes.

“It just occurred to me,” Jiang Zhili said softly ahead of her, “that we used to ride our bikes to and from school together every day in high school. Time flies so fast. Now, our bikes have become electric scooters.”

Though Ling Xiang’s and Jiang Zhili’s homes weren’t next to each other, they lived in the same direction and shared a stretch of road. It was during those shared rides that they grew familiar with each other. For three years, those brief minutes of cycling became the highlight of Ling Xiang’s day.

And now… the person was still the same, as if nothing had changed, yet as if everything had.

“After all,” Ling Xiang said quietly, “we’ve grown up.”

Soon, she would be graduating from college too.

And once she graduated… her eyes shimmered slightly, her mind fixed on a decision she had long made.

She was going to break up with Ruan Qingcheng.

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