Volume 2 Chapter 18

Volume 2 + Chapter 18: Bai Yuxuan’s Feelings

(Ah, I’m going to lose…) At this moment, upon seeing Ouyang Qianxue’s exquisite and flawless performance, Bai Yuxuan already understood in her heart that her defeat was a foregone conclusion.

However, at that very moment, the situation suddenly reversed. Ouyang Qianxue made an unexpected mistake during her performance, and from that mistake onward, the rest of her playing completely fell apart.

“What’s going on with her?” Bai Yuxuan looked at Ouyang Qianxue in confusion, and then she noticed that Qianxue’s body was trembling uncontrollably, and her forehead was covered in beads of sweat.

(Could it be that she’s forcing herself again like last time?) 

At this thought, Bai Yuxuan clenched her fists tightly.

As the performance continued, Ouyang Qianxue’s trembling grew even worse. By the second half of the piece, it could no longer even be called a performance.

(No, I have to stop her. But someone as stubborn as her would never voluntarily forfeit, would she? If that’s the case, then I have no choice but to…) 

Thinking this, Bai Yuxuan was about to speak to the teacher on the side and propose forfeiting, but just then—

“I announce that Bai Yuxuan is the winner of this match.” The teacher stopped the competition, and both Ning Caiwei and the teacher hurriedly went forward to check on Ouyang Qianxue’s condition.

However, Qianxue quickly fled from the music classroom. After a brief moment of shock, Ning Caiwei chased after her.

At this moment, Bai Yuxuan was also very worried about Qianxue’s condition. She desperately wanted to chase after her and check on her, but unfortunately, the two of them were only rivals. So Bai Yuxuan could only ask someone else to help her inquire about Qianxue’s situation.

That night, Bai Yuxuan sat alone in her apartment, her mind filled entirely with thoughts of Ouyang Qianxue.

“I didn’t expect that I would actually win this time… What should I ask her for now?” Since she had learned beforehand that the competition event was Ouyang Qianxue’s specialty—the piano—Bai Yuxuan never thought she could win. So now, facing this chance to make a request of Ouyang Qianxue, Bai Yuxuan was at a loss.

(What kind of request should I make?)

At that moment, an image flashed through Bai Yuxuan’s mind: Ouyang Qianxue chatting and laughing happily with Ning Caiwei and Wang Qian.

Ever since Ouyang Qianxue saved Ning Caiwei last time, Ning Caiwei had been extremely warm toward her. After class, she would come to chat with Ouyang Qianxue or bring out homemade desserts for her to taste. The two had gradually grown very close.

This deeply stung Bai Yuxuan. Watching others grow closer and closer to Ouyang Qianxue made Bai Yuxuan feel that she herself was drifting farther and farther away from her. Every time this happened, Ning Caiwei’s words—“If you keep this up, you’ll only grow more and more distant from Ouyang Qianxue”—would echo in her mind.

So she felt that she couldn’t go on like this any longer. She had to take action, to actively close the distance between herself and Ouyang Qianxue—such as becoming her friend or something like that.

“That’s it! I’ll just use this opportunity to order her not to leave me! No… That would basically be like imprisoning her at my side, wouldn’t it? That’s not the kind of relationship I want. I want a genuine friendship!”

Just then, a knock at the door shattered the silence in Bai Yuxuan’s apartment.

“Come in!” With Bai Yuxuan’s permission, a woman in a suit entered the room.

“Young Master, that girl named Ouyang Qianxue is fine—just seems to have hurt her butt a little.”

“I see. Thank you, Xiao Liu. Sit with me for a while.”

“Yes.” The woman in the suit poured a cup of tea for Bai Yuxuan, then sat respectfully to the side.

“Xiao Liu, I want to ask you a question.”

“Please ask, Young Master.”

“How do you think one can close the distance between two people?”

“That depends on the situation, Young Master. Are you talking about getting closer to that girl named Ouyang Qianxue?” Xiao Liu immediately guessed Bai Yuxuan’s thoughts. After all, last time when Ouyang Qianxue had escorted Ning Caiwei back, Bai Yuxuan specifically instructed her to keep an eye on Qianxue and make sure she returned to school safely. In Xiao Liu’s impression, Bai Yuxuan had never cared about anyone the way she cared about Ouyang Qianxue.

“As expected, I can’t hide anything from you. Yes, you’re right. If I want to get closer to her or become friends with her, what should I do?”

“Can’t you just say it directly? Just tell her you want to be friends.”

“But I’ve done some really awful things to her before…”

At this moment, Bai Yuxuan seemed a bit shy—completely different from her usual self.

(Clearly, in business and other areas, he’s more capable than most adults. But when it comes to emotions, he’s like a little child. Maybe that’s because he’s always been so lonely…) Xiao Liu sighed inwardly.

(But the Young Master is my benefactor. I have to do something for him!) She thought to herself.

“Then apologize.”

“But will she accept it?”

“As long as you show your sincerity, it’ll be fine. From what I’ve observed these past few days, Ouyang Qianxue seems like a very magnanimous person.”

“Then how do I show sincerity?”

“That’s something you need to think of yourself. After all, genuine kindness from the heart is what moves people the most.”

Bai Yuxuan fell silent in thought. After a long time, her eyes suddenly lit up.

“Xiao Liu, do you remember when I had you investigate Ouyang Qianxue? Do you still have that file? Let me see it.”

With that, Xiao Liu searched on the computer for a while, then pulled up the file and showed it to Bai Yuxuan.

“Ah, I knew I wasn’t mistaken. I know what to do now.”

The next day after school—

“Ouyang Qianxue, you haven’t forgotten that you lost to me that day, have you?” As soon as Bai Yuxuan saw Ouyang Qianxue, she revealed a sly smile.

“You… What do you want?” Seeing Bai Yuxuan’s smile, Ouyang Qianxue thought he had come up with some new scheme against him, and he looked a little fearful.

“Three days from now, come to my house to find me. You’ll understand then.” After saying that, Bai Yuxuan left the classroom.

“He really said that?” Wang Qian asked as she stood in front of Ouyang Qianxue.

As soon as she returned to the dorm, Ouyang Qianxue immediately told Wang Qian what Bai Yuxuan had said.

“Mm. What should I do?”

“For now, you can only agree. When the time comes, I’ll secretly follow you. Bring your phone with you—if anything happens, call me right away.”

“Yes.”

“And another thing.”

“What?”

“You said before that the original competition was already over, and this rematch happened because you were impulsive, right?”

“Sorry.” Ouyang Qianxue lowered her head.

“What’s done is done. But after this is over, you absolutely must not have any more involvement with Bai Yuxuan. No matter what excessive request he makes this time, you can’t act on impulse. Just maintain a normal classmate relationship with him. You have to understand—Bai Yuxuan is an extremely dangerous person. If you keep getting involved with him, even a slight mistake could cause your mission to fail. And then your mother and sister…”

“I understand!” Ouyang Qianxue said firmly, as if making some kind of resolve.