The Tragic Heroine Fell in Love with Me - Chapter 16

“Ah Qi, what brings you here?” Xiao San jumped up and went over to Zheng Qi, taking her hand.

Zheng Qi steadied Xiao San and glanced at Lü Yu. “What were you talking about that made you so happy?”

“Ah, it’s nothing but…”

“San’er!” Lü Yu pleaded as she looked at Xiao San.

“Lü Yu accidentally fell. Look at her, so grown up yet can’t even walk steadily,” Xiao San giggled.

Zheng Qi stared at Xiao San. Just when Xiao San thought she couldn’t hold out and was about to reveal the real topic, Zheng Qi’s index finger traced from Xiao San’s cheek down to her chin, and her thumb rested beneath her lower lip. “Is that so?”

Zheng Qi seemed to believe it, and Xiao San quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Wait, why was she so nervous?

Xiao San gave Lü Yu an OK sign and pulled Zheng Qi out of the dorm.

Only after Zheng Qi and Xiao San had left did Lü Yu finally relax.

“Why do I always feel like she doesn’t really like me?” Lü Yu tilted her head in confusion. “It must be an illusion.”

Lü Yu and Xiao San had similar personalities both were carefree and didn’t take things to heart. Besides, summer vacation was just around the corner. Soon, her entire mind and body were immersed in the joy of the upcoming break.

“San’er, what are you planning to do during the vacation?” Lü Yu asked.

Xiao San sighed. “What else can I do? I’ll be working a summer job, of course.”Ah, it’s not easy to get a break.” Don’t you want to rest for a few days? Why are you still going to work?”

Xiao San calculated her savings. “No can do. I still need to save up to buy a house.”

“By the way, what about your good friend? Is she going to work with you?” For some reason, Lü Yu felt that Zheng Qi would definitely be with Xiao San.

Xiao San shook her head. “No, she’s going back home.”

“Ah, so you’re going to work alone?”

“Yeah, but this time it’s different. My dad found me a place, and it seems like I can earn over six thousand a month.” As a sophomore, earning six thousand for tuition made Xiao San quite happy.

“Then let’s meet after the summer break. Don’t forget to call me during the vacation!”

Xiao San nodded, bringing her index and middle fingers together and tapping them to her forehead. “Don’t worry, absolutely.”

Xiao San packed her things, pulled a large suitcase, and walked to the school gate where Zheng Qi was already waiting.

Unlike Xiao San, Zheng Qi had already gotten her driver’s license and owned a rather expensive car. Zheng Qi’s school had an earlier break, and she had specifically come today to wait for Xiao San so they could go home together.

“Ah Qi, come help!” Xiao San, who had been walking briskly the whole way, suddenly felt too tired to move as she approached the school gate. She coquettishly called out to Zheng Qi.

Zheng Qi quickly walked over to Xiao San, took the suitcase, pulled it along, opened the trunk, and placed the suitcase inside.

“Get in the car, let’s go home.”Zheng Qi’s voice sounded somewhat cold, but Xiao San didn’t notice anything unusual.” She happily got into the passenger seat. “Let’s go!”

“I can’t accompany you to work this summer. San’er, you won’t be mad, will you?” Zheng Qi’s fingers lightly tapped on the steering wheel as cheerful love songs played on loop inside the car.

[That light was too warm, warm enough to scorch her eyes.]

【She pretended not to care, quietly pondering your tone】

【She feigned destruction, only afraid she wasn’t the exception】

【She just wanted to get closer, yet didn’t dare】

Inside the car, Shen Lanshan’s new song “She Just Wanted to Get Closer” played on loop. Zheng Qi’s voice flickered in and out within the music, drifting into Xiao San’s ears, giving her the impression that Zheng Qi resembled the somewhat twisted protagonist in Shen Lanshan’s song.

She glanced at Zheng Qi and noticed that her expression was indeed a bit strange.

“Ah Qi?” Xiao San didn’t dare to speak too loudly, especially since Zheng Qi was driving.

Sensing Xiao San’s unease, Zheng Qi turned to look at her.

Zheng Qi’s pupils were light brown, but surrounded by a bright black ring. When she looked at you, your reflection would sink deep into her pupils.

And there, it was a black, sunless abyss.

At that moment, Xiao San felt as though she were drowning in that gaze.

“I asked you, you’re not angry, are you? It seems like this is the first time in two years we’ll be apart for so long.” Zheng Qi suddenly laughed, as if everything just now had been Xiao San’s imagination.

Xiao San awkwardly looked out the window.

Why had she felt that way just now?

It was as if Zheng Qi had been looking at her without any emotion. She lowered her head, her voice seeming to echo only within her chest. “Oh, it’s fine. After summer break, we’ll see each other again, won’t we?”

Zheng Qi said, “Okay.”

For the rest of the journey, neither of them spoke. Only the song “She Just Wanted to Get Closer” played on repeat. Listening to the somewhat dark story in the lyrics, Xiao San felt increasingly suffocated.

She usually had to talk, even if there was nothing to say, she would always find some random topic. But now, she felt too afraid to speak.

It was as if the car had been plunged into the depths of the ocean.

In the end, Xiao San could only pretend to be tired and closed her eyes.

Before long, she fell asleep.

When she woke up again, they had already arrived home.

The sky had darkened.

“San’er, we’re here. Time to get out of the car.”

Zheng Qi gently patted Xiao San’s shoulder to wake her.

“Don’t sleep anymore, we’re home,” Zheng Qi called out in a voice that even she found nauseating.

Fortunately, Xiao San finally woke up, and she no longer had to force that tone, sparing herself further self-loathing.

Xiao San smiled. Every time she smiled, her eyes would squint, making her look like an adorable little kitten.

If it weren’t for getting close to Shen Lin, Zheng Qi wouldn’t have needed to be with someone like this, pretending to be so gentle and kind, approaching someone who had never experienced pain.

She truly despised Xiao San’s smile. Every time Xiao San smiled, she felt an urge to destroy it.

“Ah Qi, we’re here. You’re so good.” Xiao San opened the car door, got out, and jogged to the trunk.

Xiao San stood behind the car.

Xiao San was foolishly naive.

All she had to do was tell a couple of lies, make Xiao San stand there without moving, and then reverse the car to run her over.

She didn’t do it.

She smiled at Xiao San. “San’er, wait a moment. I’ll open the trunk for you.”

After opening the trunk, Zheng Qi also got out of the car and helped Xiao San with her luggage. “Go on home.”

“Ah Qi, have a great summer.” Suddenly, without warning, Xiao San wrapped her in a tight hug.

She froze for a moment, feeling her stomach churning violently as if she were about to vomit.

She reached out and gently patted Xiao San’s back. “Mm, have a great summer break.”

“A Qi, you’re the best, the greatest, I love you the most!” Xiao San kept making heart gestures at her, continuing even as she closed the trunk, got into the driver’s seat, and started the car. Even when the car had driven far away, she could still see Xiao San standing by the roadside, waving energetically.

She glanced in the rearview mirror, where Xiao San was still waving with all her might, even jumping up and down in her efforts.

Suddenly, Zheng Qi caught sight of her own reflection in the rearview mirror.

She was actually smiling, the corners of her lips lifted.

She immediately wiped the smile off her face.

How could she smile because of such a foolish person?

It must be true that spending too much time with an idiot would eventually turn you into one too.

Zheng Qi had wanted to kill Xiao San many times.

The most obvious occasion was in the middle school swimming pool, where she couldn’t resist pushing Xiao San into the water. Unfortunately, she didn’t die.

Lately, her disgust for Xiao San had become increasingly difficult to conceal.

No.

Zheng Qi told herself.

She had finally managed to make Shen Lin notice her and feel guilty toward her.

She couldn’t let all her efforts go to waste at this critical moment.

At this moment, Zheng Qi’s face was filled with nothing but madness and thick layers of calculation.

If Xiao San were to see Zheng Qi like this, she might even mistake her for someone who merely resembled Zheng Qi.

The car pulled into the garage.

Zheng Qi didn’t get out immediately. Instead, she closed her eyes in the car for a long while, mentally preparing herself.

Even though it had only been one semester since she last returned to this house, it felt as if a lifetime had passed.

She was truly tired of pretending to be so gentle and weak.

She kept telling herself that all of this was only temporary one day, she would completely escape this life.

Zheng Qi stepped out of the car and walked step by step toward that abyss, her home.

“Oh my, isn’t it our young mistress returning?” Yu Shan sat on the sofa, lightly clipping her nails with a nail clipper. When she saw Zheng Qi enter, she shot her a sidelong glance and spoke in a mocking tone.

Zheng Qi ignored her and headed straight upstairs.

Yu Shan stood up. She was wearing a bright red, floor-length dress that ended just above her ankles, paired with eight-centimeter platform heels. Her waist was so slender it seemed as if it could be held in one hand Zheng Quanqiang, Zheng Qi’s father, adored that about her.

She swayed her hips with every step, her toes tapping the ground deliberately. “So you’ve been to university now. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d become the mayor. Coming home and not even greeting your elders.”

Zheng Qi paused for a moment, then continued upstairs.

Yu Shan continued her sarcastic remarks from below, but Zheng Qi was used to it and paid her no mind. She walked into her room and closed the door behind her.

Zheng Qi sat on the edge of her bed, her expression eerily calm.

Her room contained only a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk with a few of her textbooks on it.

Beyond that, there was nothing else.

Just returning to this place had drained all her strength.

She hated this weak and powerless version of herself. No matter how well she could pretend outside, she always ended up easily wounded in this place, easily exposing her vulnerabilities.

Perhaps it was because this place held not only her pain, but also many beautiful memories she could never forget.

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