Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 18

Xie Bufei’s palm was warm, pressing lightly against Yu Qiao’s cheek for just a fleeting second. It was a touch-and-go contact, soft as a feather, devoid of even a hint of pain.

This wasn’t a punishment; on the contrary, it felt like she was being teased.

Yu Qiao’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening slightly behind her black-rimmed glasses.

Xie Bufei curled her lips, looking at her with an air of feigned innocence. “What’s wrong? Does it hurt?” She was asking something she already knew the answer to.

Yu Qiao lowered her gaze and asked, “Is Senior taking revenge on me?”

Xie Bufei blinked. “Revenge?”

Yu Qiao: “Because I pinched your cheek earlier.”

Xie Bufei let out a soft “Mm,” her eyes dancing with amusement. “No, it’s not that.”

A light breeze occasionally swept through the broad, tree-lined path. The searing white light filtered through the treetops, swaying along with the leaves and scattering in fragments into the girl’s light-colored eyes.

She stood with her hands behind her back, leaning in slightly toward Yu Qiao, her gaze clear and bright. “It’s because Qiaoqiao is so cute that I wanted to tease you.”

Called cute again.

Yu Qiao adjusted her glasses helplessly. “Senior, please don’t do that.” She was always saying such confusing things.

“Do what?” Xie Bufei straightened up, her tone sounding a bit aggrieved. She pursed her lips slightly, her voice softening. “So you really thought I would hit you? What kind of person do you take me for?”

Yu Qiao didn’t doubt her for a second and said hurriedly, “No, I never thought that.”

“So that’s how Qiaoqiao sees me in her heart…”

Xie Bufei lowered her head. The stray hairs on her forehead obscured her eyes, making her expression unreadable. Her hands were tightly clasped in front of her skirt; she truly looked like a wilted lily-of-the-valley.

Seeing this, Yu Qiao was utterly at a loss.

This was her first time encountering a situation like this—upsetting a friend and not knowing how to coax them. A look of bewilderment appeared on her usually calm face.

“Senior?”

Xie Bufei kept her head down, saying nothing.

Anxious, Yu Qiao actually took a step forward and directly grabbed her hand, her voice tinged with urgency: “Senior, I really didn’t think that, you’ve misunderstood!”

Xie Bufei couldn’t help but look up at her, her tone resentful. “Really?”

“Really.” Yu Qiao’s expression was earnest. “I’ve always thought you were a very good person.”

Xie Bufei secretly curled her pinky finger, scratching Yu Qiao’s palm a few times. “Then coax me a bit more, and I’ll believe you.” She looked at Yu Qiao with anticipation.

Yu Qiao met her gaze, weighed her words carefully, and said, “Then… to show my sincerity, Senior can ask me to do anything you want.”

“That’s not the kind of ‘coaxing’ I meant.” Xie Bufei finally couldn’t hold it back anymore and burst into laughter. “You really are so cute.”

Yu Qiao blinked in confusion. “Eh?”

“Alright, I wasn’t actually angry, I just wanted to tease you.” Xie Bufei held her hand and swung it back and forth, her voice trailing upward playfully. “But Qiaoqiao, don’t be so well-behaved all the time.”

She suddenly lowered her voice. Her upturned eyes curved into slender crescents, looking innocent and naive, yet her words were quite mischievous: “It makes me really want to bully you.”

Yu Qiao paused but let out a sigh of relief. “As long as Senior isn’t mad at me, it’s fine.”

Xie Bufei smiled slightly. “So it’s okay if I bully you?”

Yu Qiao nodded. “It’s okay.”

She could feel that Xie Bufei didn’t actually have any ill intent. These actions… were probably just the typical playfulness between friends. Having never had very close friends, she assumed this was how friends naturally acted just like how teenage girls went to the restroom together or walked hand-in-hand to the convenience store.

Xie Bufei widened her eyes and looked at her with perplexity, murmuring, “You should I call you an idiot, or are you just too ‘natural’ for your own good?”

At their feet, Curry clung tightly to Yu Qiao’s sneakers, letting out a weak cry.

Only then did Xie Bufei remember the “unlucky child” was still there, and she immediately knit her slender brows. Yu Qiao looked at her and urged persistently, “Senior, don’t hit the cat.”

Xie Bufei let out a long sigh and nodded helplessly. “Fine, fine, fine, I won’t hit him. Let’s find a place to sit for a while; I’ll tell you the story of this stinky cat.”

They went to a coffee shop on campus. It was quiet in the morning with few people inside; the server was behind the counter playing on a phone.

Xie Bufei found a secluded corner to sit down. “I’ll go order coffee. What do you want?”

Yu Qiao shook her head. “No need, I brought water.”

Xie Bufei rested her chin on her hand. The pale orange light of the cafe spilled over her face, tinting those beautiful eyes a hazy amber, making her look quite gentle. Her fingertips tapped rhythmically on the table as she said with a smile, “Qiaoqiao, you can’t let me drink coffee alone, can you? Just take it as a thank you for helping me find Curry, okay?”

Yu Qiao met her gaze and eventually nodded. “Okay.”

Xie Bufei returned with two lattes. The snow-white milk foam on the dark brown surface formed a flower-like shape, releasing a lingering fragrance. Yu Qiao thanked her and took a small sip; the light bitterness was mixed with the sweetness of the milk, and it was a bit hot. She set it aside to let it cool.

“Curry was the cat I originally raised; I had him for about two years. Later, after Xie Ke moved in, I couldn’t keep him anymore,” Xie Bufei said calmly. “Her health is poor; she gets sick often and struggles to breathe. Someone said it was because of the cat, so my dad tried to secretly give the cat away behind my back.”

Yu Qiao frowned. “He was wrong to do that. How could he hide it from you?”

“Because he knew I wouldn’t let Curry go,” Xie Bufei said with a mocking smile. “A servant couldn’t stand it and told me secretly… because of that, I had a huge fight with him. In the end, neither of us could convince the other.”

Yu Qiao pieced together the whole picture. “So, you fostered the cat at Senior Cheng’s place.”

Xie Bufei snapped her fingers and laughed. “Exactly. Qiaoqiao, you’re so smart.”

She gently rubbed Curry, who was curled into a ball on her lap, her tone turning a bit lonely. “If I hadn’t been completely out of options, I wouldn’t have thought of dumping him on Cheng Yeli. My home can’t take him, and someone in the dorms is allergic to cat hair…”

Xie Bufei paused, looking up at her with a hint of urgency in her eyes. “Qiaoqiao, do you like Curry?”

Yu Qiao answered without a second thought, “I do.”

Xie Bufei smiled softly. “That’s good.”

“That’s great, now three people like you.” She looked down and pinched the kitten’s pointed ears, her tone intentionally fierce. “In a bit, I’m handing you back to Cheng Yeli to be locked in a cage. Let’s see how you run then.”

Yu Qiao went quiet for a moment after hearing that, then suddenly said, “If Senior doesn’t mind, you can leave Curry with me.”

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