Senior, Stop Pretending to be an Alpha - Chapter 48

In early November, the weather gradually turned cooler, and the cold wind began to cut like a knife. Air conditioners were no longer running in the dormitories, and most people had started changing into thick clothes to ward off the chill.

After a small class ended, the counselor asked the entire class to stay behind for a brief meeting to mobilize the freshmen for their first final exams.

 

“Did everyone hear that? What does the student handbook say? You absolutely must not cheat. Cheating will result in the direct cancellation of your degree…”

 

She droned on incessantly. Many students lost their patience and began surreptitiously playing on their phones under their desks.

 

Yu Qiao listened quietly, her back straight. No matter the time or occasion, she always maintained a serious attitude.

 

By the time the meeting ended, it was already after twelve noon. Yao Rudong was famished and urged everyone to pack up and leave quickly.

 

As Yu Qiao stood up and shouldered her backpack, the counselor suddenly called out to her, “Yu Qiao, come here for a moment.”

 

“You guys go ahead and eat first.” Facing two pairs of pitiful eyes, Yu Qiao said decisively, “I’ll find you once I’m finished.”

 

Lu Yun hesitated for a moment and nodded. “Then hurry up.”

 

As the two headed to the cafeteria, Yu Qiao approached the counselor.

 

The middle-aged woman looked at her with kind eyes and said gently, “Yu Qiao, I called you here for a specific reason. The school has a financial aid project for students in need recently. I know your family situation is somewhat difficult, so I wanted to discuss this with you.

 

“Every class has a quota for this student aid certification. I’ve already spoken to some other students, and there are two spots left. Do you want me to submit your name?”

 

Yu Qiao thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay. Thank you for the trouble, Teacher.”

 

The counselor smiled. “It’s no trouble. Just remember to send me the certification materials later.”

 

She looked down to organize her documents and added casually, “By the way, there’s also a university information security competition in the neighboring county. I wonder if you’re interested?”

 

On the way to the cafeteria, Yu Qiao kept thinking about it.

 

“That sounds great!” Yao Rudong said, her mouth full as she tirelessly shoveled food. “Doesn’t this add to your comprehensive assessment score? It would be such a waste if you didn’t go!”

 

Lu Yun asked, “Don’t you have to build a new system project for this kind of competition? Final exams are coming up; will you have enough time?”

 

Yu Qiao considered it for a while and said, “I should be able to manage.”

 

“Then go for it. I heard these national-level competitions are linked to awards and honors,” Yao Rudong urged. “Many people in the other class are fighting for a spot.”

 

Hearing this, Lu Yun wavered as well. “It really is quite good. Why don’t you give it a try?”

 

Yu Qiao was still somewhat hesitant.

 

When she returned to the dorm that night, she mentioned it to Xie Bufei.

 

“Go, why wouldn’t you go?” Xie Bufei seemed to be eating something; a crunching sound accompanied her voice. “It’s a great chance to practice. You should go out and see more of the world.”

 

Yu Qiao looked at the registration form on her computer screen and said softly, “I’d have to go to the neighboring county and stay for a week.”

 

“Isn’t it just seven days? That’ll pass quickly.” Xie Bufei’s slender fingers picked up a potato chip and crunched it.

 

Yu Qiao: “It’s very far.”

 

“Isn’t it just next door?”

 

Yu Qiao was quiet for a moment, then said, “I’m afraid I won’t get used to staying there. I might get homesick or sick from the environment.”

 

Seeing her nitpicking like this, Xie Bufei found it strange. “Really?”

 

Yu Qiao didn’t seem like the type of person to complain about such things.

 

She paused, her voice carrying a knowing, leisurely smile as she said, “Could it be that Qiaoqiao can’t bear to be away from me?”

 

The girl’s voice was soft, and though separated by a phone screen, it felt like a breath of air brushing against Yu Qiao’s ear, light and thin, as if she were right there.

 

A sudden heat rushed to Yu Qiao’s face.

 

Holding her phone, she walked toward the balcony. The cold wind rushed in, brushing the stray hairs away from her neck and revealing her reddening ears.

 

As if her secret thoughts had been exposed, Yu Qiao looked down and remained silent.

 

She truly did not want to leave Xie Bufei right now.

 

She wanted to be closer to Xie Bufei, to stay with her every day…

 

Am I being too clingy? Will Senior find me annoying?

 

Xie Bufei’s voice came through the phone: “Hmm? Did I hit the nail on the head?”

 

After a moment, Yu Qiao gave a muffled “Mm,” a single syllable filled with the frustration of having her heart seen through.

 

Xie Bufei couldn’t stop her lips from curling up. She stood up abruptly and spun around in the dorm room over and over until she felt dizzy.

 

She was both happy and a bit proud. She hadn’t expected the “Little Wood” to be so surprisingly clingy…

 

When she finds a partner in the future, will she also cling to them every day?

 

The thought made Xie Bufei feel sour again, and she wrinkled her nose slightly.

 

She wondered who would be lucky enough to see the way this Little Wood looked when she finally realized her feelings.

 

Just imagining that scene sparked a subtle jealousy that only intensified.

 

When Yu Qiao found a partner, would they still be able to be friends? Their relationship certainly wouldn’t be as good as it was now, right?

 

When the silence stretched on, Yu Qiao asked anxiously, “Senior, why aren’t you talking?”

 

Could she really find me too clingy and annoying…

 

“I understand. I’ll go,” she said, her voice tight as she suppressed a lump in her throat.

 

Xie Bufei snapped out of it and asked, “Why the sudden change of heart?”

 

Yu Qiao: “I just feel that Senior is right. I should go out and challenge myself.”

 

“Then you should go,” Xie Bufei said, feigning calmness. “I’ll call you every night to check in on you.”

 

Yu Qiao froze. “Check in?”

 

Xie Bufei let out a lazy laugh. “To see if you’re secretly doing anything bad behind my back, or if you’ve met any bad people.”

 

The girl’s laughter was soft, like a graceful melody played on a string, tugging at one’s heartstrings. Yu Qiao’s ears burned. She gripped her phone tightly, gazing at the distant night sky. “I won’t.”

 

“That’s hard to say,” Xie Bufei huffed softly.

 

The two chatted for a while and said goodnight. Yu Qiao brushed her teeth and washed her face before walking back into the dorm.

 

Lu Yun, who was watching a show, turned around with a meaningful look. “A marathon phone call with Senior? That long?”

 

Yu Qiao: “Mm.”

 

She walked to her computer, filled out the registration form, and submitted it along with her student aid certification materials.

 

Yao Rudong leaned over to take a look. “Finally decided to go?”

 

Lu Yun: “See? No matter how we urged her, she wouldn’t listen. But as soon as Senior Xie spoke, she agreed.”

 

Yao Rudong: “Yep. Putting romance before friends!”

 

Yu Qiao: “…”

 

The counselor replied quickly and immediately added her to a competition group chat. Yu Qiao looked through it; they were all students from the Computer Science department, ranging from freshmen to juniors.

 

There was a list of participants in the group, and she found her name. Besides Yu Qiao, two other people from Class 1 were also participating.

 

Each class only had three spots, so it was no wonder the competition was fierce.

 

The competition entries were self-designed as long as they were related to information security technology. She now had a full week to decide on her topic and general direction.

 

Yu Qiao looked up a lot of information, including the lists of winners from previous years. It took her three days to build a rough prototype of a project plan.

 

Classes were heavy these few days. She stayed up late several times. While Yao Rudong and Lu Yun were already in bed, Yu Qiao kept her small desk lamp on its lowest setting, seriously typing out code.

 

Xie Bufei also knew she was busy lately and took the initiative to reduce contact, shortening their daily chats to just saying goodnight.

 

“Hey, come back to earth!” Yao Rudong snapped her fingers in front of her. “What are you thinking about?!”

 

Yu Qiao snapped out of it and instinctively said, “MD5 encryption algorithms and decryption technology.”

 

“Still thinking about the competition topic?” Lu Yun said. “Didn’t you already decide?”

 

Yu Qiao pushed her glasses up with her slender finger. “I’m afraid I won’t have enough time once I get there, so I want to set up the basic framework and plugins first.”

 

Yao Rudong sighed. “See? Opportunity favors the prepared.” Someone like her, with terminal procrastination, could never empathize with Yu Qiao.

 

Lu Yun: “So, what are we eating for lunch?”

 

Yu Qiao ordered takeout, turned a deaf ear to the world outside, and continued typing on her keyboard.

 

The autumn was coming to an end.

 

During the Marxist Philosophy class, the boy in the seat in front of her turned around and lowered his voice. “Are you participating in the competition too?”

 

Yu Qiao: “Are you?”

 

Boy: “No, I was just asking.” He added, “The whole class knows about this. The counselor specifically mentioned it in the group. Don’t be nervous, good luck with the competition.”

 

Yu Qiao nodded, her voice clear. “Thank you.”

 

The boy looked at her for a moment, his face turning a bit red, and he quickly turned back around.

 

After class, as they walked out of the classroom, Yu Qiao bumped straight into a girl.

 

“Ouch!”

 

The other person stepped back a few paces, rubbed her shoulder, and gave a cold laugh. “You must be very proud right now, Yu Qiao.”

 

Yu Qiao said nothing.

 

“Oh, isn’t this He Li?” Yao Rudong said with a grin. “I heard you recently broke up with your boyfriend?”

 

Lu Yun added slowly, “That’s failure in love and failure in the workplace.”

 

He Li frowned indignantly. “You… don’t go too far!” Her face flushed between red and green. She suddenly turned and walked away, her high heels clicking loudly.

 

Yao Rudong rolled her eyes. “Is she crazy? I don’t even understand what she’s talking about.”

 

“Why bother with someone like that? Let her be,” Lu Yun said, tugging at her sleeve.

 

Yu Qiao watched He Li’s sharp, receding back and frowned.

 

Time soon reached Friday. In two days, Yu Qiao would leave the school to participate in the competition in an unfamiliar city.

 

For some reason, the alarm didn’t go off today. Everyone in Dorm 301 slept in and nearly missed their class.

 

The three of them hurriedly ate breakfast and rushed to class, finally stepping into the classroom just as the bell rang.

 

As Yu Qiao entered the room, the surrounding chatter died down simultaneously. An indescribable atmosphere filled the air.

 

Yao Rudong slumped into her chair, panting. “I’m so tired from running…”

 

Yu Qiao sat down beside her and took out her textbook and pen.

 

Several gazes fell on her back, remarkably obvious. She turned her head and saw several people quickly look away.

 

Lu Yun rubbed the goosebumps on her arms and hissed, “Why does today feel so weird? Is there some exam I forgot about?”

 

The classroom remained quiet for a moment before the fragmented whispers started up again, uncontrollably reaching Yu Qiao’s ears.

 

The voices were too disjointed, but she managed to catch a few key words.

 

“Father… prison…”

 

“No way… how scary…”

 

Yu Qiao’s movements paused. She looked up and slowly put down the pen in her hand.

 

Beside her, Yao Rudong was looking at her phone, her expression gradually changing.

 

“Qiaoqiao, you…” She swallowed hard. “Don’t look at your phone for now…”

 

Yu Qiao suddenly reached out and took her phone.

 

Yao Rudong’s voice grew smaller. “Don’t look…”

 

The screen was displaying the school’s confession wall page.

 

“Wall-kun, I just heard some gossip. It’s a bit explosive, sharing anonymously.”

 

“A certain freshman genius in the Computer Science department has a father in prison. Apparently, it was for domestic violence or something.”

 

“Then she personally sent her father to prison. In high school, she got into a fight with a classmate over this and was expelled. I heard that classmate suffered a concussion and still has lingering effects today.”

 

“I’m just sharing this to remind everyone. This kind of person looks dangerous; it’s best to stay away from her.”

 

The first comment: “Hiss, I think I’ve decoded who it is… She looks so quiet and a bit introverted. She doesn’t seem like the type of person who would do such a thing.”

 

Someone replied: “You can’t judge a book by its cover. The more introverted a person is, the scarier they are when they snap.”

 

“Oh my god! I’m a bit scared. Do you think she inherited her dad’s violent genes.”

 

“Emmm, domestic violence is hard to judge; she’s a victim too. As for the fight, we don’t know the reason. Anyway, I’m just sitting on the fence for now.”

 

“No matter how big the conflict, you shouldn’t beat someone until they get a concussion, right?!”

 

Yu Qiao fell silent, stood up, and walked out of the classroom under everyone’s watchful eyes.

 

The late autumn wind blew against her face, tossing her long hair. Yu Qiao stood in the empty corridor, her hands gripping the railing until the veins on the back of her hands bulged.

 

She took deep, forceful breaths, her face pale. Like a dying fish out of water, she felt as if she were losing her balance entirely.

 

She did not return for the rest of the class.