I Don't Want To Fall In Love With The Heroine [Quick Wear] - Chapter 43

It seems that worrying about Fu Siwan was a complete waste of energy. Since her confession, her “character settings” had undergone a total transformation.

No longer could she be described as a prickly, pitiable little rabbit. If one had to assign her a fitting animal persona, there was nothing more appropriate than a shameless, clingy puppy. How could a girl who spent every waking moment stuck to you, begging for a relationship, ever be associated with negative words again?

Defeated once more by the girl’s thick skin, Bai Qian had given her the cold shoulder for an entire trip. She tried to use silence to send a message: If you don’t change that lock screen photo, don’t even think about me speaking to you!

But this childish tactic was clearly ineffective. Having evolved into a “simp-dog,” Fu Siwan didn’t care if her master gave her a bone or not; she would wag her tail and stay right by her side regardless.

Bai Qian managed a one-sided “cold war” for three days. On the afternoon of the fourth day, the silence was broken by a very deliberate accident.

Fu Siwan had cut her finger while slicing fruit in the kitchen. She walked out with reddened eyes, piteously holding out her injured index finger. It wasn’t a deep cut, but small beads of blood were seeping from the wound.

Bai Qian instantly forgot her vow of silence. She rushed to grab the first-aid kit, carefully treating the wound while asking with concern, “How did you manage to cut yourself?”

Fu Siwan stammered, her eyes shimmering with tears, looking utterly tragic. “It hurts,” she whined.

Bai Qian leaned in and gently blew on the cut. When she looked up, she caught a glimpse of an emotion the girl hadn’t quite managed to hide in time.

“…” Bai Qian was so exasperated she almost laughed. “Fu Siwan, are you insane? This is your own hand! You’re using your own body to scheme against me?”

Seeing her little trick exposed, the girl dropped the “fragile beauty” act and said righteously, “Well, you wouldn’t talk to me!”

Bai Qian wanted to scold her, but the thought of that reckless, deliberate cut chilled her. Her anger swirled around her chest before settling into a helpless sigh. “If you ever joke with your physical safety again, I will never speak to you as long as I live. Do you understand?”

Fu Siwan grumbled noncommittally. Once the bandage was applied and Bai Qian went to stand up, the girl lunged forward, catching her in a full embrace.

“Sister, you smell so good. I can never get enough of it.”

Bai Qian had become quite adept at handling these “creep-like” comments. Without changing her expression, she grabbed the back of the girl’s collar and tugged her back. “Don’t push your luck. Get up. I have to go into the office for some overtime. Stay here and wait for me.”

“I’m coming with you!”

“I’m going to work, not to play.”

The girl cleverly utilized her innocent face, putting on a look of such sweet obedience that it was impossible to refuse. She held up a finger and whispered, “Sister, I promise! I’ll just sit in your office and wait. I won’t disturb you. At all!”

“…”

*****

The gossip that CEO Bai had brought a beautiful young girl to the office spread through the company in under ten minutes. As Bai Qian’s closest subordinate, Xie Chao was forced by the desperate gazes of his colleagues to knock on the door.

Before he could even speak, a clear, melodic female voice drifted through the wood.

“Sister, your office actually has a lounge? When you get tired from work, you don’t… go in there with other women to ‘rest,’ do you?”

The crowd eavesdropping outside instantly went wild—quietly, of course. They exchanged knowing glances, all thinking the same thing: Our eternally single Boss Bai finally has a girlfriend, and the little darling is incredibly jealous!

The moment Bai Qian saw Xie Chao’s complicated expression and sensed the eerie silence outside, she knew everyone had heard. She could guess how this would be distorted into a mountain of rumors, but she didn’t bother explaining. Some things only get messier the more you try to clear them up. Better to let it go; a new scandal would replace it soon enough.

Xie Chao was clearly a sacrificial pawn sent in for gossip. Seeing him stammering without a valid reason to be there, Bai Qian simply waved him out. Once the outsiders were gone, it was time to deal with the “innocent” girl in the room.

“You don’t usually talk that loudly at home, do you, Student Fu?”

The confusion on the girl’s face was perfect. “Sister, what are you talking about?”

Bai Qian was truly at her wits’ end. The prickly rabbit of the past now dared to use “mind games” on her—and it was all her own fault for spoiling her. “Just play on your phone quietly. Remember what you promised at home, okay?”

Fu Siwan nodded obediently. However, ten minutes later, she was yawning and curled up on the sofa fast asleep.

When Bai Qian noticed, the girl’s leg was dangled precariously off the edge of the cushions, looking like she might roll onto the floor at any second. Bai Qian walked over, picked her up, and carried her into the lounge—a room she herself had never used since arriving in this world.

Just as she tucked a thin blanket around her, the girl’s eyes fluttered open. She looked groggy, clearly caught between sleep and wakefulness. She stared softly at Bai Qian and asked, her voice small and jealous, “Has anyone else ever lied here? Besides you?”

Bai Qian didn’t want to answer such a pointless question. As she turned to leave, her sleeve was caught in a tight grip. Fu Siwan’s eyes were red, and she fought her silently, her stubbornness demanding an answer.

Bai Qian gently pried the girl’s hand away. Just as she looked ready to throw a tantrum, Bai Qian whispered, “Only you. Now go to sleep, little one.”

A figure sat up from the bed like a bolt of lightning. Before Bai Qian could process it, the girl stole a kiss from her lips and immediately dove back under the covers.

Bai Qian looked down at the “I’m sleeping now, don’t bother me” act and felt a mix of anger and amusement. This girl hadn’t learned a single good thing, but she had mastered the art of taking liberties while making it impossible to stay mad at her.

******

Bai Qian had originally chosen to live in Lanmei Court because it was near a cluster of prestigious universities. However, the university that actually accepted Fu Siwan, while still in City A, was on the complete opposite side of the map.

It required two subway transfers and a long walk—a three-hour commute. Bai Qian had hired a professional consultant to help with the applications; she knew the girl wouldn’t leave the city, so she had only specified “City A.” Fu Siwan hadn’t cared about the specific school, and Bai Qian had been too busy to micromanage the elite consultant.

Now that the results were in, the girl looked ready to cry. Before Bai Qian could even say a word, Fu Siwan had rushed back to her room and slammed the door.

She stayed there for an entire day. Bai Qian knocked a few times, but the girl who was usually as clingy as a puppy remained uncharacteristically silent, stewing in her room.

Bai Qian knew exactly why she was upset. As soon as the exams ended, the girl had told her she didn’t want to live in the dorms. At first, Bai Qian hadn’t agreed; kids that age needed to socialize with their peers. Only after Fu Siwan promised she would make an effort to make friends did Bai Qian relent.

But with the school being so far from Lanmei Court, living at home was an impossibility.

Seeing that dinner time had passed and the girl hadn’t eaten all day, Bai Qian cooked a bowl of wontons and knocked on the door again. “I made wontons. Come eat a little.”

As expected, no reply. Bai Qian used the spare key.

Inside, Fu Siwan was curled up by the bed with her head buried in her arms. She didn’t react to Bai Qian’s entrance. Bai Qian set the bowl down, walked over, and sat on her heels, stroking the girl’s soft black hair.

“What do you get out of sulking like this, besides making yourself miserable? You get nothing. It’s a bad deal, isn’t it?”

“You said we were friends, and that you’d tell me whatever was on your mind without holding back. Now, someone claims to ‘love’ me, but can’t even manage that. How am I supposed to believe in this love?”

Hearing that, Fu Siwan snapped her head up. She glared like a puppy trying to look fierce. “No one loves you more than I do! No one!”

Bai Qian wiped a stray bead of sweat from the girl’s forehead, her voice as soft as a spring breeze. “Then tell me, what are you thinking? Hmm?”

Fu Siwan’s tears burst forth. “What’s the use in telling you?! You’ve been dying for me to live at school! I begged you for so long before you finally agreed, and now… sob… now the school is so far away, you must be thrilled!”

The mystery of the day-long silence was finally solved. Bai Qian was amused by the interrogation but also felt a pang of heartache at the girl’s distress. She stopped teasing and said helplessly, “You’re so tough when it’s just us, but why do you lose your nerve when it actually matters?”

Fu Siwan’s nose was red, her expression confused and lost.

Bai Qian reached out and tapped the girl’s cute, petite nose with a smile. “Did it ever occur to you to ask me to move over there with you?”

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