I Don't Want To Fall In Love With The Heroine [Quick Wear] - Chapter 37

Sunday was the day the boarding students returned to campus.

Fu Siwan’s situation was unique; having just transferred the previous week, she had already spent seven days at the school. From this week onward, she was expected to follow the routine and head back to campus on Sunday evenings like everyone else.

Dinner was served early today. Bai Qian ate quickly, and by the time she set down her chopsticks, Fu Siwan was still focused on gnawing on a braised pig’s trotter, the meat soft and tender.

Bai Qian gathered the dishes and brought them to the sink. “Where’s your backpack? Is everything packed?”

Her concern was natural and effortless, identical to that of any parent preparing to send their child back to school.

Fu Siwan followed her into the kitchen. Her oily left hand gripped a white porcelain bowl as she handed it over, her mouth still busy working on a piece of gristle. “Put it on the sofa,” she mumbled.

Bai Qian shot her a look of mock disgust but took the bowl anyway. She squeezed a drop of dish soap into her palm, added a splash of water, and reached out to rub the suds onto the girl’s greasy fingers.

Fu Siwan looked up. Catching a glimpse of the woman’s elegant, gentle profile, she awkwardly averted her gaze.

The backpack was a new one Bai Qian had bought the week before. As her slender fingers unzipped it, she found it pathetically light—containing nothing but a single Chinese Literature textbook. The softness vanished from Bai Qian’s face, replaced by a look of sheer exasperation.

“Fu Siwan! You had two whole days this weekend and you only brought one book? And there isn’t a single note inside?”

The girl had finished her meal but showed no sign of resting; she was already back on the sofa, tearing into a bag of shredded squid. She paused mid-chew, her face colored with the rare embarrassment of a child caught red-handed by a guardian.

“The teacher spent the whole week going over the practice exams from the week before,” she muttered. “I just got there. I don’t have the papers.”

“What about the exams themselves? Did you not ask the teacher for a copy after class?”

Without missing a beat, Fu Siwan lied. “I did. The teacher said they ran out.”

Bai Qian knew a lie when she heard one. She set the backpack down and walked over, intending to give the girl a proper lecture. But the “little rabbit” struck first, her voice defensive.

“I never liked studying anyway! If you’re only raising me to be some high-achieving tool, then you might as well just send me back!”

The sheer defiance in her tone was infuriating. Bai Qian looked at her and instinctively raised her hand.

Fu Siwan’s eyes flickered at the movement. Her “rabbit eyes” turned a faint, tell-tale red, yet she tilted her chin up stubbornly, presenting a face that said: Go ahead, hit me.

Bai Qian sighed. She wanted to reach out and stroke the girl’s hair, but remembering Siwan’s previous aversion to being touched, she pulled her hand back. “Fine. Starting tomorrow, you’re taking a leave of absence from school.”

The girl’s rigid composure shattered at those words. She bit her lip until it turned white, yet she remained as stubborn as an ox, refusing to utter a single word of apology or plea.

“Keep eating,” Bai Qian said. “I have to make a call.”

*****

Bai Qian went to her room and had a long talk with the homeroom teacher. When the call ended, she rubbed her aching temples. Emerging from her room, she saw the lonely silhouette of Fu Siwan, backpack already on, heading for the door.

“Fu Siwan, where are you going? I’ve already spoken to your teacher. You don’t need to go back to school starting today.”

Out of Bai Qian’s sight, the girl’s hands clenched into white-knuckled fists, her nails digging deep into her palms.

Bai Qian noticed she wasn’t stopping; if anything, her pace quickened. Realizing something was wrong, she rushed out and managed to intercept her right in front of the elevator.

“Did you misunderstand something?”

Fu Siwan kept her head down, refusing to acknowledge her. Bai Qian reached out, cupping the girl’s chin and applying just enough pressure to force her to look up.

She was met with the heart-wrenching sight of the little rabbit’s eyes brimming with tears. Bai Qian sighed internally. When did this girl become such a crybaby?

Still, the fact that she was willing to cry in front of her meant something. The “little rabbit” was finally beginning to show her true, raw emotions.

Wiping away the girl’s tears, Bai Qian softened her voice. “Taking a leave of absence doesn’t mean I’m done with your education, and it certainly doesn’t mean I’m giving up on you.”

As expected, the girl’s stiff body relaxed visibly at the explanation.

“I didn’t think it through before. I only thought about changing your environment, but I forgot to look at it from your perspective. Now that I’ve actually used my head, your progress is far behind the rest of the class. Forcing you to jump into that pace would do more harm than good. So, starting tomorrow, I’m hiring private tutors. They’ll give you one-on-one sessions to help you make the most of the time we have left. Do you understand now?”

The girl’s mood gradually settled under the woman’s soothing tone. Flushed with a hint of shame, she wrenched her chin from Bai Qian’s hand and took two hurried, awkward steps back toward the apartment.

“That shredded squid was actually pretty good,” she grumbled, her voice muffled and shy. “Go buy me a few more bags!”

Bai Qian chased after her and grabbed her arm, chuckling. “I’m not your servant. If you want something, you’re coming with me to buy it.”

*****

The university entrance exams in this world were split into Liberal Arts and Sciences. At Li Lanzhao’s insistence, Fu Siwan had chosen Sciences.

Science classes have more boys—that had been Li Lanzhao’s logic.

Fu Siwan had no interest in studying to begin with, so the subject didn’t matter to her. Bai Qian, however, hired a tutor for every single subject and even enlisted a senior teacher to create a customized weekly study plan based on Siwan’s current level.

And just like that, Fu Siwan brought the “school” home.

As the Lunar New Year approached, Fu Siwan took a private mock final exam at home. It was Bai Qian’s requirement to check the girl’s progress.

The girl already knew her own worth. The moment the tutor handed the exam papers to Bai Qian with a helpless expression, Fu Siwan stood up and bolted.

Looking at the dismal scores on the paper, Bai Qian felt her blood pressure spike. “Fu Siwan!”

SLAM. The bedroom door shut tight, cutting off the woman’s thunderous roar.

The tutors had told Bai Qian that Siwan’s attitude in class was always serious and that she never dawdled. Bai Qian had actually started to believe the girl was learning something, but the scores—which were an eyesore, to say the least—were a slap in the face.

The tutor left with a sigh, leaving Bai Qian alone to stare at the score column: a two-digit number starting with a 3. It was so bad it was almost funny.

She calmed herself, smoothed out the crumpled exam paper, and went to knock on the guest room door. “Fu Siwan, are you sure you want me to go get the spare key again?”

Two seconds later, the door creaked open. The girl peered through a tiny sliver, showing only half her face. Her defiant expression was undercut by an underlying anxiety; she looked like a Husky that had trashed the house while its owner was out—only, while a dog looks stupid, she looked pitiable.

Bai Qian was amused by the look, her anger evaporating completely. “Can we talk?”

Fu Siwan stared at her for a moment before opening the door a bit wider. Bai Qian opened a new bag of shredded squid and handed it to the girl, who was now sitting on the edge of the bed.

As Fu Siwan popped a strand into her mouth, Bai Qian began. “You know, this is my first time being a parent.”

When Bai Qian spoke, she had a habit of standing very straight, and to maintain eye contact, she would tilt her chin down. Conversely, for Fu Siwan to look at her, she was forced to look up.

This “subordinate” posture grated on the girl. Her fine brows knit together, and she stopped chewing the squid in her mouth.

Bai Qian didn’t notice the tension at first. “Beyond being a guardian, I actually want to be your friend. The kind of friend you’re willing to talk to, no matter what happens.”

She watched as the girl’s expression grew darker and darker. Realizing the issue, Bai Qian slowly knelt down until she was at eye level with her. Only then did she try again. “Now, little Fu Siwan… are you willing to be my friend?”

The girl’s heart gave a violent jolt at the gesture. A sudden, invisible light seemed to pierce her eyes, making them ache with a sharp, stinging pain. This half-kneeling position couldn’t be comfortable, yet the woman’s expression remained unchanged—full of the same unconditional indulgence she always showed.

“Do you… find my bed dirty?” Fu Siwan’s voice was raspy, thick with a fragile grievance that felt like it would flood the room if touched.

Bai Qian laughed at her “goldfish memory.” “Last week, when I wanted to help you clean the room, who was the one who told me ‘don’t touch my stuff’?”

She didn’t mind the girl’s “puppy marking its territory” attitude. If she wasn’t allowed to touch anything, it just saved her the energy of cleaning.

Fu Siwan awkwardly looked away, remembering the incident.

Bai Qian pulled the conversation back to the point. “That doesn’t matter. You have your boundaries, and I won’t force my way in. What I want to say is this: Fu Siwan, you’re an adult. You don’t need me to tell you how important the entrance exams are. I’m not here to lecture you. I want to talk to you like a friend. So tell me—what are you actually thinking?”

Bai Qian took the girl’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “I regret that I wasn’t there for the first eighteen years of your life. Coming into your world so suddenly, my perspective was bound to be a bit narrow. For that, I apologize. Looking at it now, I realize you haven’t exactly spent much energy on studying in the past.”

“Forcing you into such an intense study routine was bound to cause resistance. I was right to reflect on that. So, Fu Siwan, I’m giving the choice to you. Take some time. Think about it calmly. What kind of person do you want to be? What do you want your future to look like?”

Bai Qian turned back one last time as she walked toward the door.

“I know there’s more than one path to success. But no matter what you do, you need to learn. If you can’t even handle basic theoretical study now, how do you expect to succeed in the future?”

“I’ll be waiting outside. When you’ve made up your mind, come out and tell me what you’re thinking. I won’t rush you; after all, thinking about one’s life is never easy. But I hope you don’t make me wait too long. Because while I’m waiting for you, your future self is surely waiting for your answer, too. Don’t you think?”

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