I Became the Female Lead’s Current Obsession - Chapter 42

After getting into the car, Jiang Qing messaged Xu Miao saying she was leaving first. Jiang Xing sat beside her, hesitating, trying to figure out how to start the conversation.

Jiang Qing, lost in thought, gently patted Jiang Xing’s hand as a gesture of comfort.

“Sis, maybe Dad is just getting forgetful…” Jiang Xing finally came up with this tentative opening, but after that, he couldn’t bring himself to say more. This issue clearly wasn’t about forgetfulness. He felt his father had gone crazy this time, actually trying to arrange a marriage alliance.

It made no sense at all. Given the current status of the Jiang family, even if a marriage alliance was necessary, the Wang family wasn’t a suitable match — not to mention Jiang Qing herself.

Jiang Xing thought with displeasure: Jiang Yan would be a much better fit than Jiang Qing.

First it was the necklace, now the marriage alliance. Jiang Qing couldn’t quite pinpoint what was wrong, and though she wasn’t exactly calm, she had a younger brother beside her and couldn’t afford to lose her composure.

“Let’s talk about it later. This isn’t urgent.” Jiang Qing switched off her phone and answered the call.

Indeed, there was no rush. Jiang Qing was still underage, and this was a society ruled by law. No matter how anxious Jiang Bin and the Wang family were, it wouldn’t change anything.

What she really needed to worry about now was whether to ask Hou Xue about the necklace first or to tell her that Jiang Bin had gone mad and wanted to arrange a marriage.

And whether to tell Hou Xue about the marriage alliance at all was still an open question.

If she didn’t say anything, this could actually serve as a useful test…

Thinking of this, Jiang Qing even found herself smiling quietly.

Jiang Xing, sitting beside her, puzzled by his sister’s mood: ? How can she be smiling when she’s so serious?

When the car stopped at the Jiang family gate, Jiang Qing still hadn’t decided whether to speak up, and Jiang Xing hadn’t found an opening either.

But Jiang Qing looked much better than Jiang Xing — after all, no matter what, her heart was set on seeing Hou Xue as soon as possible.

How strange.

Only a few hours had passed — could she really like her that much already?

Jiang Qing went upstairs and first entered Hou Xue’s room, but didn’t see anyone, so she returned to her own room.

There was a faint smile on her lips, and deep inside, she hoped to see the figure she had been longing for behind the door.

Hou Xue was indeed in the room — but there was someone else too.

A woman wearing sky-high heels stood beside the desk, mostly blocking the view of Hou Xue, who was bent over some papers.

Jiang Qing’s slight smile faded completely at the sight of this unfamiliar figure. Her eyes sharpened with scrutiny.

The woman heard the noise and turned her head with a hint of surprise. “Jiang Qing? Why are you back so early?”

As the woman moved, the face in Jiang Qing’s memory and the woman’s face perfectly overlapped.

Jiang Yan.

Someone who would never normally appear here at this hour.

The shock Jiang Qing felt tonight was already overwhelming enough, but now she was able to calmly explain to Jiang Yan, “I wasn’t feeling well, so I came back early. By the way, Yan, why didn’t you tell me you’d come back to the country?”

In the original life, Jiang Qing always called Jiang Yan “Yan Jie” (Sister Yan). Jiang Qing did so out of habit. The original Jiang Qing had no close relationship with Jiang Yan — their relationship was about the same as with Jiang Bin, their father. The last time they had any contact was probably five years ago.

From Jiang Qing’s perspective, the original Jiang Qing’s personality change to what it had become was mostly because of Jiang Bin and Jiang Yan.

Losing maternal love too early, having a father who was ineffective and indifferent, plus the only sister’s lukewarm attitude — who left the country early and had no further contact — could all be seen from the fact that Jiang Yan called the original Jiang Qing by her given name, while Jiang Qing always called Jiang Yan “Yan Jie.”

The family’s relationships were cold and rigid. Aside from Jiang Xing, this family brought the original Jiang Qing only negative impacts, which twisted her personality and caused her to present two faces to people and situations.

That was why the original Jiang Qing treated Hou Xue so badly.

In her mindset, no one in this family could find happiness. She accepted this harsh family environment as normal and probably assumed it would last forever — until Jiang Bin brought Cao Fenlan home.

Though Cao Fenlan had no official status, she was Jiang Bin’s “love” from his youth.

To the original Jiang Qing, Jiang Bin betrayed everyone else and gained happiness on his own.

Naturally, she wanted to destroy that happiness but had no target to do it to — she had no contact with Jiang Bin or Cao Fenlan, but Hou Xue, who was close in age, was an easy target to torment and vent her anger on.

Jiang Qing even suspected that the original Jiang Qing’s interest in Nie Rui was also related to this broken family background.

But on the other hand, the original Jiang Qing’s abnormal family situation was no excuse to torment Hou Xue.

From start to finish, the original Jiang Qing’s misfortune had nothing to do with Hou Xue — it was all just displaced anger.

Sad and hateful.

“I wanted to surprise you all, but only Xiao Xue was home,” Jiang Yan said, knowingly or not, this sounded unpleasant to Jiang Qing. What surprised her more was how Jiang Yan addressed Hou Xue — using her full name to Jiang Qing, but a nickname to an outsider.

As for the original story where Hou Xue and Jiang Yan had never met during school, Jiang Qing had no idea what kind of chemistry an early meeting between them might produce.

“Yan Jie, someone cleans your room every day. You’ve been away so long — don’t you want to go check it?” Jiang Qing said sarcastically and didn’t bother to hide her meaning.

So far, all the novel characters’ impressions to Jiang Qing were based on their original roles, but this Jiang Yan before her seemed off somehow.

When she first read Waiting for the Snow to Stop, Jiang Yan felt like a gentle but distant big sister next door. Though in the original, her cold attitude towards the original Jiang Qing was a mystery, her aura and tone now hardly matched that image.

“Alright, I won’t disturb Xiao Xue’s studying anymore.” Jiang Yan finally moved away from Hou Xue’s side. Jiang Qing turned sideways as Jiang Yan left and took a left turn toward her own room.

For some reason, Jiang Qing felt a strange discomfort from Jiang Yan’s gaze as she passed by.

It wasn’t the feeling of being seen through — it was more like… Jiang Qing couldn’t put it into words, but Jiang Yan made her very uneasy.

Too many mysteries needed solving today. Jiang Yan’s early return and that inexplicable aura went on the list of things to figure out later.

For now, Jiang Qing gathered herself.

She had to face Hou Xue.

She closed the door and her eyes settled on Hou Xue, who hadn’t spoken a word.

“Did you miss me?” Honestly, Jiang Qing was a little surprised herself. Despite having so many doubts she wanted answered, the first thing out of her mouth was so far from those questions.

“Yes.” Hou Xue replied, her gaze steady, fixed on Jiang Qing.

Jiang Qing moved gracefully; she hadn’t even taken a good look at tonight’s outfit yet.

“Then may I ask, who gave me the necklace?” Jiang Qing looked down at the necklace before asking.

“I did.” Hou Xue didn’t hide it — there was nothing to hide. Jiang Qing had even given her a computer, so she must have some idea. Besides, Hou Xue didn’t want to keep secrets from Jiang Qing. “The second young lady can give me gifts, but can I not return the favor?” Hou Xue’s words were reasonable, leaving no room for fault.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I found out from Jiang… from Dad’s mouth that he originally wanted to buy this necklace but someone else outbid him.” Jiang Qing stumbled over the words. Regardless of the fact that in reality, her father no longer played a role in her grown-up life, she had barely called Jiang Bin “Dad” since coming here. She twisted her words at the last moment.

Hou Xue showed no surprise; evidently, she knew exactly who she was bidding against when she got the necklace.

Before Jiang Qing could say more, Hou Xue began to explain: “A friend took me to that auction. I thought the necklace was perfect for you. She helped me win the bid.” Jiang Qing frowned and was about to say something when Hou Xue, sensing it, continued, “She asked me to do her a favor, and the necklace was the payment.”

Hou Xue’s explanation left Jiang Qing’s feelings mixed.

She wasn’t worried that Hou Xue was hiding something; rather, she thought that even spending every day together, being mysterious, making friends, earning money, and developing storylines was part of being a proper heroine.

Jiang Qing didn’t doubt Hou Xue’s ability to make money — she hadn’t forgotten Hou Xue’s reputation for business genius. And since the necklace was just a return gift — not what Jiang Qing had initially suspected — the matter was quickly put to rest.

Jiang Qing continued, “What about just now? Why was Jiang Yan looking for you?”

Hou Xue recalled Jiang Yan’s expression when she opened the door, hesitated, then said, “She opened the door herself. She wasn’t surprised to see me. After greeting each other, we just chatted for a bit before you came in.”

Jiang Qing nodded thoughtfully, no longer questioning Hou Xue, and sat down at the vanity as if preparing to remove her makeup.

Hou Xue stopped writing her test papers and stood behind Jiang Qing.

“What is it?” Jiang Qing asked, looking at her through the mirror.

“To help you take off the necklace.” Hou Xue bent down and focused on the clasp she had fastened a few hours ago on the back of Jiang Qing’s neck.

Jiang Qing said nothing, quietly watching Hou Xue in the mirror.

She hadn’t mentioned the marriage alliance, hadn’t found the right moment, and couldn’t quite explain what she was thinking. Perhaps she had an inexplicable confidence that Hou Xue would solve it without knowing.

The necklace slipped down along her collarbone, and Hou Xue’s breath brushed the back of her neck.

Jiang Qing was distracted and almost didn’t react.

Hou Xue’s lips brushed her right temple very briefly — a fleeting touch.

Memories slowly returned. Jiang Qing recalled that when she left this room earlier, she had boldly kissed Hou Xue’s temple. The atmosphere and motion had been natural; she felt no pressure, no blush, no racing heart. After the kiss, she ran away, and a string of events quickly pushed the memory to the back of her mind.

Hou Xue had been waiting in this room, and for her temperament, it was only fair to return the gesture.

Jiang Qing’s romantic thoughts hadn’t drifted far when she suddenly turned sharply.

In the original story, everyone who acted against Hou Xue had a bad ending, and the original Jiang Qing’s ending wasn’t exactly happy either. But the original Jiang Qing was different from those characters in one important way.

Those others were brought down by Hou Xue behind the scenes, but the original Jiang Qing’s downfall was self-inflicted. In other words, the original Jiang Qing was the only one Hou Xue never retaliated against.

At first, Jiang Qing thought Hou Xue simply didn’t want to bother with her stepsister, but now, thinking carefully, that wasn’t the case at all.

So why?

Why was the original Jiang Qing the exception?

Hou Xue raised her eyebrows and placed the necklace on the table. She wasn’t sure what Jiang Qing was thinking, since Jiang Qing showed no reaction, acting as if nothing had happened. Jiang Qing almost seemed too light in her responses — maybe she didn’t feel anything at all.

Lost deep in thought, Jiang Qing’s mind drifted far away — from the belief she could change the story to the continuous timeline shifts and the enigma that was the original Jiang Qing.

In the original, “Jiang Qing” barely had any scenes. She was just a side character, the stepping stone to Hou Xue’s story.

Not to mention Jiang Bin, Jiang Yan, and Wang Shicheng—these were characters who existed mostly through dialogue in the original story.

So Jiang Qing was completely in the dark.

She felt a twinge of frustration. *If only I’d memorized the entire novel before landing here.* But fate had its own cruel sense of humor. Miss your chance, and it’s gone forever.

Hou Xue returned to her seat, only to find Jiang Qing sitting motionless, lost in thought. She was just about to nudge her and ask what she was spacing out about when a knock came at the door.

Two quick, sharp knocks—*dong dong*—snapped Jiang Qing out of her daze.

“Who is it?” she called out.

A voice responded from outside:
“Xiao Xue, can you come out for a moment? I need to talk to you about something.”