The White Moonlight is So Scheming - Chapter 11

It was mealtime.

The first-floor cafeteria buzzed with noise as students carrying trays came and went but Shen Juexia’s eyes were fixed on only one
person.

Unblinking, she watched Ji Zhijie approach, the corners of her lips curling slightly. That face, she could never get tired of
looking at it.

“How can you not know anything?” Ji Zhijie sighed, bending to sit down and handing Shen Juexia a set of utensils.

Blinking innocently, Shen Juexia took the chopsticks and spoon, her gaze full of dependence. “Because you know everything.”

“…” There was no reasoning with her.

Ji Zhijie lowered her head and ate quietly, nearly burying her face in the tray.

Watching Ji Zhijie’s adorable mannerisms, Shen Juexia found the unappetizing lunch in her own bowl suddenly tasted much better.

“I’m done.” Taking out a tissue, Shen Juexia dabbed her lips and handed another to Ji Zhijie.

She finished so quickly?

Dazedly accepting the tissue, Ji Zhijie glanced at the leftovers in Shen Juexia’s bowl, she had barely touched anything.

“You should eat on the second floor from now on,” Ji Zhijie muttered, her fingers tightening around the chopsticks until they
turned white, her voice muffled, like a jellyfish trapped in an aquarium.

“Will you go to the second floor too?” Shen Juexia propped her chin on her hand, her eyes clear.
Ji Zhijie didn’t answer.

She only shook her head silently.

“If you’re not going, why should I? I don’t want what you don’t want.” Swinging her slender legs, Shen Juexia had her own logic,
her tone light.

“Suit yourself.” Stabbing the uneaten potatoes on her plate twice, Ji Zhijie stood up, grabbed her tray, and walked away without
another word.

So temperamental.

Getting Ji Zhijie to like her probably wouldn’t be easy.

As if foreseeing the rough road ahead, a shadow of worry crept between Shen Juexia’s brows. She dutifully stood up, picked up her
tray, and hurried after Ji Zhijie.

Finally catching up, Shen Juexia shouted angrily, “Why didn’t you wait for me again?”

Ji Zhijie kept her eyes forward, ignoring her completely.

She didn’t spare Shen Juexia another glance, smoothly setting down her tray and tossing the leftovers, chopsticks, and tray one by
one into the labeled recycling bins.

Shen Juexia, trailing behind, clumsily mimicked her actions.

The afternoon air grew warmer.

On the tree-lined path, sparrows tirelessly chirped their grating songs, grating on the nerves.

Perhaps affected by the sun’s heat, the noisy little birds lost their energy, trailing behind Ji Zhijie like zombies, unusually
docile.

They wandered aimlessly all the way.

Just before reaching the classroom door, Shen Juexia suddenly dashed forward, slipping inside in the blink of an eye.

The blast of cool air was the best stimulant, Shen Juexia perked up instantly. “I’m finally alive again!”

Right behind her, Ji Zhijie entered the classroom too.

“Your Highness, please enter~” Shen Juexia pulled out a chair with exaggerated courtesy, leaning against the desk with her arms
crossed in a mock-gentlemanly bow.

A flicker of discomfort crossed Ji Zhijie’s eyes.

Feeling the curious stares of their classmates, her ears burned, and a blush spread across her cheeks.

“Can you act normal for once?”

Sitting down swiftly, Ji Zhijie buried her head on the desk, fingers lightly tugging at Shen Juexia’s sleeve as she whispered, “Sit
down quickly—so many people are staring at you!”

Following her pull obediently, Shen Juexia sat down.

Mimicking Ji Zhijie’s posture, Shen Juexia rested one hand beneath her cheek while the other draped casually over the desk, quietly
lying face-down.

The girl tilted her head, gaze fixed intently on the girl before her, her voice laced with a subtle sweetness. “I thought you’d
decided never to speak to me again.”

As if she could.

Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Ji Zhijie found her utterly impossible to handle.

Twirling a soft lock of hair around her finger, Shen Juexia murmured as if to herself, “Ji Zhijie, why are you angry again? Why
won’t you talk?”

Receiving no response, Shen Juexia picked at her nails, grumbling inwardly: She’d never met anyone harder to appease than Ji
Zhijie. If she could win her over, she’d surely succeed at anything in the future.

“Are you even listening to me?” After rambling on with no reaction, Shen Juexia only realized when Ji Zhijie finally looked up, the
young miss had been daydreaming.

Caught red-handed.

Even Shen Juexia couldn’t help feeling a little awkward. “I was listening! Of course, I was…”

“Then tell me, what did I just say?”

Under her piercing stare, Shen Juexia pouted, mumbling slowly, “You’re so harsh, interrogating me like a criminal.”

Hah.

Ji Zhijie nearly laughed in frustration. She steadied her breathing, lowering her gaze for a moment. “I said I want you to stay
away from me from now on.”

The words struck without warning.

Shen Juexia’s throat tightened, her heart lurching violently.

The scene before her overlapped with her deepest fears. Clutching her chest, her breaths grew ragged, vision blurring.

In the school infirmary, soft light spilled across white walls, blue curtains partitioning private spaces.

“Low blood sugar, plus the sudden temperature shift from outdoors to air-conditioning.” The school doctor lifted the girl’s wrist,
deftly swabbing her hand with antiseptic before sliding the IV needle in. “Nothing serious. This glucose drip should fix her up.”

“Thank you,” Ji Zhijie murmured hoarsely.

“No need—just doing my job.” The doctor adjusted the IV flow, slipping her hands into her pockets. “Aren’t you returning to class?”

Fingers tightening over her knees, Ji Zhijie shook her head.

Though the doctor had diagnosed Shen Juexia’s fainting as heatstroke from low blood sugar, Ji Zhijie couldn’t shake the guilt,
she’d scared her.

“Suit yourself.” With a shrug, the doctor left it at that.

Hearing their voices, Shen Juexia slowly opened her eyes to sterile whiteness.

“Where am I?” Blinking sleepily, she asked, her voice thick with grogginess.

“Infirmary.”

Turning toward the voice, Shen Juexia spotted Ji Zhijie beside the bed. Confusion flickered in her gaze. “Why am I here?”

“You collapsed suddenly in class,” Ji Zhijie answered, eyes fixed on the IV drip, her tone subdued.

“What?! Then how did I get here?!” Shen Juexia stiffened as if struck by lightning, pupils trembling violently.

Could it be that some guy carried her here?

She didn’t want that!!!

Lowering her gaze to the tiled floor, Ji Zhijie’s voice carried a faint trace of guilt. “It was my words that made you faint, so of
course I should be the one to bring you to the infirmary.”

Thank goodness!

It was her who had carried her here.

Her anxious heart suddenly settled, and Shen Juexia blinked. “Actually, you can’t really blame—”

“What?” Ji Zhijie looked up, not catching her words.

“I mean, you have no idea how much your words crushed me.” Her eyes brimming with resentment, Shen Juexia wrinkled her nose
pitifully and lifted her left hand, where an IV needle was inserted. “And I hate pain the most.”

That last part was true.

Which made Shen Juexia’s dejected mood seem all the more genuine.

Are we really that close?

Close enough that a harsh word from me would break your heart?

Though she thought this, Ji Zhijie didn’t dare provoke Shen Juexia again.

She quietly bowed her head.
And let her complain.

Unfamiliar with the concept of stopping while ahead, Shen Juexia’s dictionary only contained the phrase press the advantage. “Ji
Zhijie, why are you ignoring me again? Do you really hate me that much? Am I really that unlikable?”

“Mom, am I really unlikable?”

Back when she was ostracized by her classmates, Ji Zhijie hadn’t looked upset just calmly asked the question.

Her heart ached bitterly.

Gazing at her well-behaved daughter, Ji Wan snipped away the gum-stained strands of her hair, guilt lacing her voice. “Zhizhi is
the sweetest child. It’s all Mom’s fault.”

“What does this have to do with you?” Though only seven, Ji Zhijie already had strong opinions. “If my classmates don’t want to
play with me, it must be my fault.”

Setting down the scissors, Ji Wan hugged her sensible daughter tightly, her voice trembling with anger and helplessness. “How could
this be your fault?”

“That’s what the teacher said.”
Noticing Ji Wan’s body shaking, Ji Zhijie gently patted her back to comfort her. “Don’t be sad, Mom. Zhijie was just asking.”

Tilting her head up, Ji Wan forced her eyes wide open, fighting back tears. “The teacher was wrong. Zhizhi is the best treasure in
the world. Someone will definitely want to be your friend someday.”

Shaking her head quietly, Ji Zhijie rested her chin on Ji Wan’s shoulder and whispered, “Zhijie doesn’t want friends.”

“Ji Zhijie?” Shen Juexia had thought her woe-is-me act would soften Ji Zhijie’s heart only to find her utterly unmoved.

Eyes downcast, Ji Zhijie tugged at the corner of her lips and spoke slowly. “You don’t need to be likable. The right people will
like you as you are. I avoid you not because I dislike you, but…”

At the crucial moment—

Ji Zhijie fell silent.

Frustration burning inside her, Shen Juexia nearly sat up from the bed. Gnawing on her lower lip, she snapped impatiently, “But
what? Spit it out already!”

“We’re not from the same world.” Fingers curling slightly, Ji Zhijie pressed her lips into a thin line.

Whipping her head around, Shen Juexia glared at her in utter disbelief. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you an alien or
something?”

She never expected—
That Ji Zhijie would go so far as to make up such nonsense just to avoid her.

“Pfft.” Ji Zhijie turned his face away, unable to suppress a soft chuckle.

“What are you suddenly laughing at now?” Pouting, Shen Juexia shot him another glare with her eyes. Her mood was absolutely
terrible at the moment.

Looking at Shen Juexia’s silly expression, Ji Zhijie struggled to contain his amusement. “Nothing, I just suddenly thought you were
adorable.”

“Huh?” Her gaze turned bewildered.

Shen Juexia couldn’t make heads or tails of Ji Zhijie’s thoughts at all.