Volume 2 Chapter 69
by Golden DragonVolume 2 + Chapter 69: Final Chapter
“Yo! Looks like I showed up at just the right time!” Bai Yuxuan said with a grin as she pulled open the window and looked at Ouyang Qianxue.
“Bai Yuxuan!” Ouyang Qianxue exclaimed in shock upon seeing the boy sitting on the windowsill.
“Hmph, I figured you must be bored out of your mind right now, so I came to check on you. Well? Aren’t I a thoughtful friend? Even though you made me dress up as a maid to humiliate me, I still came to see you without holding a grudge.”
“You’ve got some nerve saying that! If it weren’t for you getting my phone confiscated, would I be suffering like this right now? And you promised to be my maid for a whole day, but I barely got to look at you in that outfit before my phone was taken away! That doesn’t count. You have to redo it and be my maid for another full day!”
“No can do. A day is a day. Even if it was short, I, Bai Yuxuan, already fulfilled my promise. If you want to blame someone, blame your own bad luck,” Bai Yuxuan said, flashing a smug smile.
“Bai Yuxuan! Just you wait! Once I’m discharged, I’ll definitely tell everyone about you wearing a maid outfit, and how you acted all shy that night in front of me!”
“But who would believe you? Who would believe that the usually cold and ruthless Bai Yuxuan would do something like that?” Bai Yuxuan replied, her lips curling into a sly smile.
“On the contrary, it seems you still haven’t realized your current situation. Have you forgotten? I still have leverage over you.”
“Leverage?”
“Take a look at this.” Bai Yuxuan swiped on her phone and opened an encrypted folder. A high-definition photo of a blonde maid appeared right before Qianxue’s eyes.
“Y-you… you didn’t delete it?” Ouyang Qianxue nearly coughed up blood at the sight. He had assumed that during the time when their relationship had broken down, Bai Yuxuan had already erased that photo.
“Of course not. This is a treasure, how could I bear to delete it? You’re currently the most popular girl at Sakura Academy, no, someone as outstanding as you, a campus beauty like this, has barely appeared in Sakura Academy’s history. If the students found out about this maid photo of yours, they’d fight over it just to buy it.”
“If you dare sell that, I’ll fight you to the death!”
“Relax, don’t get so worked up. On second thought, I think keeping it is even more valuable. If I hold leverage over the president of the three major societies at Sakura Academy, someone with power second only to me, then the value of this photo far exceeds its aesthetic or commercial worth.”
“Bai Yuxuan, you’re despicable!”
“Hm? What did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that,” Bai Yuxuan said, lightly waving her phone.
“Uh… I said Bai Yuxuan, you’re the best! Aren’t we friends? Friends should trust each other, how can you use leverage to threaten me?”
“Oh really? But I recall that not too long ago, someone used the fact that I owed them a favor to threaten me into becoming their maid.”
“But didn’t I save your life? Compared to a life-saving favor, being a maid for a day is nothing!”
“And that’s why I came to keep you company, isn’t it?” Bai Yuxuan said with a soft smile as she sat down beside the hospital bed.
“I don’t need your company! All you ever do is bully your friend!” Qianxue huffed stubbornly.
“Is that so? What a shame… I was planning to give this to you.”
With that, Bai Yuxuan pulled out another phone from his pocket. Unlocking it, he showed Qianxue the screen. It was already loaded with various apps for novels, movies, and music, all with premium subscriptions activated.
“I take back what I just said!” Qianxue instantly changed his attitude.
“Just taking it back?” Bai Yuxuan asked with a mischievous grin.
“What else do you want?”
“It really hurt hearing my friend say they didn’t need me,” Bai Yuxuan said, clutching her chest in exaggerated pain, sneaking a glance at Qianxue with one eye.
“Alright, alright, I get it. Bai Yuxuan, you’re the best. You’re my most thoughtful and closest friend,” Qianxue said.
Bai Yuxuan smiled and handed over the phone. Qianxue took it as if it were a priceless treasure, so moved he nearly teared up, after all, he had been bored out of his mind all afternoon.
“Hey…” Bai Yuxuan began, looking at the “girl” on the hospital bed fiddling with the phone.
“I still can’t quite believe all of this. Have we really become friends? It feels like a dream.”
“That’s because you’ve gotten used to being alone,” Ouyang Qianxue said, setting the phone aside and looking at the boy with a hint of concern.
“But don’t worry, I’m just the key that opened the door. From now on, you’ll have more and more friends…”
Before he could finish, Bai Yuxuan suddenly grabbed his hand, visibly emotional.
“No. I only need one friend, you. I don’t need anyone else!”
“Don’t say something so lonely,” Qianxue said gently, reaching out to pat Bai Yuxuan’s head.
(Despite how strong he looks on the outside, his longing for warmth is just like a child’s…)
Qianxue thought as he looked into Bai Yuxuan’s eyes.
(He’s just like Qianyue back then…)
Memories surfaced, back when their father abandoned the family, and their mother was hospitalized. Qianyue had insisted on sleeping beside him every night, her eyes filled with the same fear of being left alone, the very same expression Bai Yuxuan wore now.
“Qianxue, stop patting my head! I’m not a kid!” Bai Yuxuan protested, though she made no move to resist.
“Hey, Bai Yuxuan…”
“What is it?”
“Stay a bit longer tonight. Talk with me some more.”
But Bai Yuxuan only smiled and shook her head.
“If I stay any longer, you might get exposed. It’s almost time for the hospital rounds. Compared to you, my own selfish desires don’t matter at all. Do you know how terrified I was that day?”
“When the bullet pierced your chest, it felt like it tore a hole through mine as well. And after learning everything you did for me, that hole only kept growing.”
“You don’t need to blame yourself. I did all that willingly.”
“You’re too kind for your own good! You were already so exhausted you saw death as a release! You nearly lost your life for someone else! Ouyang Qianxue, I’m begging you!” Bai Yuxuan said, her voice trembling with emotion.
“You need to care more about yourself, you’re the one who needs love the most!”
Hearing those words, Qianxue froze for a moment before smiling softly.
“Bai Yuxuan, you think too highly of me. I’m not as perfect as you imagine. I’m just… a hypocrite, perhaps. Maybe all my efforts for others are just my way of finding meaning for my own existence.”
“That’s not true! Ouyang Qianxue, I don’t care how others see you, or even how you see yourself. To me, you are the most genuine person there is!”
With that, Bai Yuxuan pointed to her chest, then climbed back out through the window.
Watching her disappear into the night, Ouyang Qianxue let out a faint, wry smile.
“That stubbornness of his… is quite similar to mine.”
“It hasn’t even been a full semester since I came to Sakura Academy, and yet so much has already happened. I wonder if I’ll be able to make it through the next two years…”
Gazing at the bright moon outside, Ouyang Qianxue sighed softly.
[End of Volume 2.]
[Author’s Note: P.S. Over the past couple of days, the author has been writing on a phone while away from home, so there may be missing or incorrect characters due to input issues. If you spot any errors or omissions, please let the author know promptly.]
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