I Fall Every Time I Meet an Alpha [Transmigrated into a Book] - Chapter 20

While Zhong Xiaoxiao was still suffering in silence, Zhong Yuanyuan called from outside the room, “Xiaoxiao, Xiaoqing, dinner is ready. Come out and eat first.”

Zhong Xiaoxiao felt instantly relieved, as if she had been rescued. With a head full of confusion, she turned to Meng Yuqing and said, “My mom’s calling us for dinner.”

“Alright, let’s eat first,” Meng Yuqing agreed easily. When she saw Zhong Xiaoxiao’s soft, chubby cheeks and her eager face, she couldn’t resist reaching out and giving them a pinch.

Zhong Xiaoxiao froze.

What was wrong with Meng Yuqing? Why did she keep pinching her?

She didn’t dare say anything out loud, but she shot her a glare and quickly pulled her face away from her hand. It actually hurt.

Before Zhong Xiaoxiao could complain, Zhong Yuanyuan knocked on the door again. “Xiaoxiao, Xiaoqing, dinner’s ready.”

“Coming, Mom,” Zhong Xiaoxiao replied, getting up to open the door. One thing she could truly appreciate about her mom was that she always knocked before entering. That was something Zhong Xiaoxiao found comforting.

She stepped out, and Meng Yuqing followed behind.

At the dinner table, it was Zhong Yuanyuan who now seemed a bit uncomfortable. Looking at Meng Yuqing, she kept feeling like she was staring at a boy. But the voice was clearly hers. The mismatch between what she saw and what she heard made her feel strangely disoriented.

“Xiaoqing, does Auntie’s cooking suit your taste?” she asked politely.

“It’s really good, Auntie,” Meng Yuqing replied.

“I’m glad you like it.”

As she looked across the table at the two of them, Zhong Yuanyuan felt a little emotional. In the past, Xiaoxiao never brought friends home. She had no idea what her daughter’s school life was like. Now, at least, it seemed like she got along well with Meng Yuqing.

“Our Xiaoxiao is lucky to have you at school. She never really had friends before,” Zhong Yuanyuan added.

Zhong Xiaoxiao frowned. How was she lucky to have Meng Yuqing looking after her? Without her so-called help, maybe she would have lived a couple more peaceful years.

“Mom, let’s just eat,” Zhong Xiaoxiao interrupted before her mother could say more.

“This child…” Zhong Yuanyuan couldn’t scold her too much in front of Meng Yuqing, so she simply gave her a sharp look. Then she turned to Meng Yuqing and said, “Alright, let’s eat. We can talk more after dinner.”

Meng Yuqing smiled politely and nodded.

After dinner, Zhong Yuanyuan asked, “Xiaoqing, are you staying the night?”

Meng Yuqing answered, “Sorry, Auntie, I need to head home.”

“You’re leaving already?” Zhong Yuanyuan glanced at the clock. It was already past nine. “It’s getting late. Alright then, go ahead and don’t stay out too long.”

“I’ll walk her downstairs,” Zhong Xiaoxiao quickly offered. She was more than eager to get Meng Yuqing out of the house.

As they went down together, it really felt like a girlfriend seeing her boyfriend off. Inside the elevator, an unspoken tension lingered in the air.

Zhong Xiaoxiao stared straight at the red digital numbers above the elevator door, silently praying they would hurry up and reach the first floor.

“I’m heading out now, Zhong Xiaoxiao. Don’t miss me too much.”

“Who would miss you? Shameless.”

“Your mom seems convinced now. You can date my brother openly from now on.”

Zhong Xiaoxiao had no response to that.

The moment the elevator reached the ground floor, she quickly said, “Alright, you’re here. I’ll stop here.”

Meng Yuqing noticed how eager she looked to see her gone and felt the urge to tease her again.

“You really want me gone, huh?” Meng Yuqing leaned in a little closer. Zhong Xiaoxiao stepped back instinctively.

“No, I just thought it’s getting late…”

Meng Yuqing moved in another step. Zhong Xiaoxiao became flustered.

“Aren’t you going to leave?”

Just then, the elevator doors opened again. Someone else stepped in, and Meng Yuqing gave up on her teasing with a look of regret.

“Alright, I’m leaving.”

“Okay,” Zhong Xiaoxiao nodded rapidly.

Once Meng Yuqing was finally out the door, Zhong Xiaoxiao let out a deep sigh of relief and pressed the button for the eighth floor.

Back at Meng Yuqing’s home, she arrived just in time to see her brother coming downstairs. She was already back in her regular clothes, looking completely like her usual self. If anyone asked, it would seem like she had simply gone to tutor someone and returned.

Meng Yuzhou glanced at her, sizing her up briefly before asking, “You and Zhong Xiaoxiao, nothing happened, right?”

“What do you think could possibly happen between me and Zhong Xiaoxiao?” Meng Yuqing asked with an amused look.

“As long as nothing happened, that’s good,” Meng Yuzhou replied, not wanting to dwell on it further. He walked past her toward the kitchen.

Meng Yuqing had already eaten at Zhong Xiaoxiao’s place, so she went straight upstairs to rest.

System 666 spoke up. “Everything is finally developing as we hoped. Now the male and female leads can start building their relationship without any obstacles.”

Meng Yuqing replied, “Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.”

System 666 added, “It’s time to return to your role as the villainous supporting character.”

Meng Yuqing nodded. “I know.”

Bullying Zhong Xiaoxiao wasn’t something she enjoyed. In fact, she found it annoying. But she had no choice if she wanted to maintain her character.

The next day arrived, bright and fresh.

Zhong Xiaoxiao walked into school feeling relieved. When she saw Meng Yuzhou, she gave him a shy smile. It was time to return to the romantic storyline. But just as she felt relaxed, her nerves began to tighten again. After all, this was the male lead. There was no such thing as a peaceful life ahead.

Meng Yuzhou felt reassured seeing that Zhong Xiaoxiao seemed fine.

“If there’s anything you don’t understand at school, you can ask me. You don’t always have to ask my sister to tutor you.”

“Alright, then I’ll come to you from now on.” Having completed the mission of fooling the female lead’s mother, Zhong Xiaoxiao was now all smiles and agreeable to everything Meng Yuzhou said.

“What are you having trouble with?” Meng Yuzhou looked like he was ready to start helping immediately.

“Uh…” Zhong Xiaoxiao hesitated. She wasn’t exactly thrilled to start the morning with a math session. Yesterday’s lesson with Meng Yuqing had already left her head spinning. And now here she was again, unable to escape this fate.

Seriously, what was the point of math anyway?

After graduation, even basic mental math couldn’t beat the vegetable vendors. And as for things like analytic geometry and linear algebra, they were pretty useless in real life for most people. Based on that logic, Zhong Xiaoxiao felt even less motivated to study.

“You’re not interested in math?” Meng Yuzhou noticed her lack of enthusiasm and asked.

“Not really. It just doesn’t feel useful,” she answered honestly.

“Actually, math is still quite important,” Meng Yuzhou explained patiently. “Aside from calculations, it helps train logical thinking and spatial reasoning. People who are good at math usually think clearly and handle problems carefully.”

“I see…” Zhong Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered that Meng Yuqing was good at math. No wonder her logic was so sharp, always thinking of things she couldn’t.

While the two chatted quietly about the usefulness of math, Meng Yuqing was not paying attention to the topic at all. Her gaze was fixed on the back of Zhong Xiaoxiao’s head.

She thought to herself, this girl was actually quite easy to mess with. She was gentle, like a rabbit, but even rabbits bite when cornered.

Just when she and Zhong Xiaoxiao had started to develop a bit of mutual understanding, Meng Yuqing really didn’t want to ruin that fragile connection. She knew she wasn’t exactly a good person, but she wasn’t completely bad either.

Now being forced to step back into the role of the villainous supporting character felt harder than she thought. Back when there were no emotional attachments, playing the villain had been easy. But now, there was a weight in her heart.

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