After returning from the hospital, Jiang Yi made a few good friends. Although they were all Alphas, Jiang Yi was no longer alone when eating in the cafeteria.
Before long, the sight of four Alphas trailing one undifferentiated girl became a striking feature of the girls’ high school cafeteria.
Once, at the cafeteria entrance, Jiang Yi and her group ran into Song Yi’s clique. Song Yi, seeing the four Alphas flanking Jiang Yi, scurried away, entering through another door.
This incident further cemented Jiang Yi’s status as the campus top dog, making her a figure of considerable attention at school. Especially with her companions all being Alphas, their group appeared even more formidable.
Jiang Yi, having inexplicably become the campus top dog, found herself firmly bound to the little monitor’s crew. Despite not having differentiated yet, rumors began to circulate that Jiang Yi was, in fact, an Alpha.
Every day, Jiang Yi heard new rumors about herself from the little monitor. For instance, that she, the school bully, had challenged the bully from the neighboring school to a fight and even kicked them.
Jiang Yi heard this particular rumor from the little monitor after lunch on their way back from the cafeteria. Jiang Yi couldn’t help but complain, “Are the students at our school really that bored? Why are there always these ridiculous rumors?”
The little monitor grinned. “Well, they’re high school students. The source of gossip and excitement in their lives is either celebrity chasing or the school’s influential figures. You know, since you transferred, our school has gained another rising star.”
Jiang Yi pointed at herself. “A rising star? Are you talking about me?”
The little monitor nodded. “Yeah. You’re good-looking, and you did something earth-shattering. Of course, you’re getting attention. Have you checked our school forum? A few days ago, there was a poll asking ‘Who is the Alpha at our school you most want to date?’ You were one of the options.”
Jiang Yi was shocked. “I’m not even an Alpha! Why are they dragging me into this nonsense!”
Chen Wanzhou, beside her, pushed up her glasses and calmly stated, “Before Jiang Sixian differentiated, she topped that list. Of course, even now that she’s an Omega, many people still want to date her.”
Jiang Yi nodded. “I’m not surprised by that at all. Jiang Sixian is very pretty and seems quite gentle.”
The little monitor narrowed her eyes. “Gentle? No way, everyone says she’s really aloof.”
The little monitor leaned closer to Jiang Yi, asking with a grin, “Or is she only gentle with you? Jiang Yi, there’s definitely some secret between you two, right?”
Jiang Yi really didn’t want to bring their parents into this. She couldn’t exactly say her mother was dating Jiang Sixian’s mother.
Besides, thinking about Jiang Sixian still troubled her. Of course, half of that trouble stemmed from guilt.
Jiang Yi reached out and poked the little monitor’s forehead. “You’re overthinking it. I already told you, our families are friends. She’s nice to me out of consideration for her mother. Asking you for homework before was the same principle.”
Everyone chorused, “Oh~ So she’s nice to you.”
Jiang Yi clicked her tongue. “You Alphas are seriously gossipy and boring.”
Ignoring them, Jiang Yi walked straight to the back door of the classroom, pulled out her chair, and sat down. She looked up at the little monitor who had followed her in. “The teacher assigned homework this morning. If you don’t want to take a nap, then do your homework.”
Jin Duolai nodded. “Okay.” She looked at Jiang Yi, smiling shyly. “Let’s do it together then.”
Jiang Yi gave an OK gesture. Jin Duolai went back to her seat, grabbed her workbook, and came over to negotiate a seat swap with the student sitting in front of Jiang Yi.
Jiang Yi lifted her desk lid with one hand, pulling out her workbook, but was surprised to find a beautifully wrapped gift bag inside.
Slightly startled, Jiang Yi pulled out the gift bag, placed it on her desk, and asked, “What’s this? Did you guys give it to me?”
She looked towards the little monitor. Catching the signal, the little monitor eagerly walked back, looked at the item on Jiang Yi’s desk, and exclaimed excitedly, “What’s up, what’s up? Ah, Jiang Yi, you got a gift?”
The little monitor urged her on, “Quick, open it and see!”
Hearing there was gossip, Chen Wanzhou and the others also gathered around. Jiang Yi eyed them suspiciously. “Are you sure this isn’t some prank by you guys?”
Chen Wanzhou replied coolly, “We know each other well enough now, no need for that. Hurry up and open it, see what’s inside.”
Alright, judging by their expressions, it really wasn’t them.
Jiang Yi muttered, “Who knows what’s inside? What if it’s a prank?” as she opened the gift bag. Inside, she found some snacks and a carton of milk, arranged quite thoughtfully.
The little monitor let out an exaggerated “Wow!” “Quick, see if there’s a note inside, what did they say?”
Jiang Yi glanced at her, rummaged through the snacks, and indeed found one.
Amidst her friends’ excited gazes, Jiang Yi unfolded the note and saw a line of elegant handwriting. Zhang Tiantian, taller than Jiang Yi, peered over her shoulder, accurately read the note aloud, and slowly recited, “‘You are like the sun. Seeing you each day brightens my mood immensely.'”
Perhaps it was Zhang Tiantian’s tone, but the sentence sounded rather comical coming from her.
Chen Wanzhou pushed up her glasses. “Oh… like the sun…”
The little monitor chimed in, “Seeing you brightens my mood immensely…”
Chen Wanzhou: “Tsk, it’s a love letter.”
The little monitor cooperated: “Tsk… it’s a confession…”
Their back-and-forth banter left Jiang Yi speechless. She folded the note, tucked it back where she found it, and placed the gift bag on the windowsill next to her seat. “Why don’t you two go do crosstalk? What love letter? They didn’t even sign their name. Forget it.”
Jiang Yi waved her hand, dismissing them. “Go back and do your homework.”
The little monitor pointed at the snacks in the gift bag. “Someone kindly sent them to you. Aren’t you going to eat them?”
Jiang Yi gave her a disdainful look. “Didn’t your family ever tell you not to eat things from unknown sources? It wasn’t given face-to-face. What if someone’s trying to frame me?” Like that childish Song Yi, what if she’d put something in the milk?
Chen Wanzhou shook her head and sighed. “Jiang Yi, you’re giving high school students too much credit. They wouldn’t think of something so malicious.”
Jiang Yi wrapped up the gift box with one hand. “Comrade Xiao Chen, people can be treacherous. Girls need to protect themselves when they’re out and about.”
Jiang Yi placed the gift on the windowsill, intending to ignore it and let the matter pass.
Her friends, seeing her lack of curiosity, dispersed, somewhat disappointed.
Jiang Yi initially thought this little episode would blow over quickly. But the next day, at the same time, she received an identical gift.
For three or four consecutive days, Jiang Yi found similar small gifts in her desk. Each time, the gift-giver left a note. Sometimes it mentioned the weather and Jiang Yi’s smile, sometimes the sunlight and how Jiang Yi’s slightly crooked tie matched it, sometimes commenting on how nice Jiang Yi’s jawline was.
Jiang Yi belatedly realized someone seemed to have taken a liking to her.
It wasn’t the first time someone had liked her, but it was the first time she’d been liked by such a thoughtful girl.
Jiang Yi didn’t know what to say. She currently had no plans for romance. After all, since Jiang Sixian had misunderstood that incident, she had kept her distance from Jiang Yi. They hadn’t spoken for a week, and Jiang Yi felt her plan might actually succeed.
Besides, her mind wasn’t focused on romance, so she wanted to reject the admirer.
Unable to find a better way, she wrote a note and left it in her desk: “Thank you for your kindness, but please don’t send these anymore. I don’t need them.”
Perhaps her reply was too impersonal, as the little monitor expressed her disapproval. “Someone went to all the trouble of sending you snacks for days, and that’s how you reply? Jiang Yi, you’ll have trouble finding a partner like this.”
Chen Wanzhou also shared her opinion: “Yes, that’s too cold and heartless. A bit scummy.”
Jiang Yi felt helpless. “Then what should I do? I can’t confront the person directly and reject them. What other way is there?”
The shy Jin Duolai thought seriously for a moment. “Actually, there is a way, but it takes a little time.”
All eyes turned to Jin Duolai. “What way? Duolai, tell us quickly.”
Jin Duolai looked a bit embarrassed. “Doesn’t she come every day to leave things? We could pretend to go to another classroom and then wait for the girl to show up.”
Jiang Yi immediately objected, “No way, that’s too creepy. I bet you just want to know who she is, you gossip!” This was purely a scheme hatched out of their desire to gossip about her.
But the others ignored her. The little monitor enthusiastically said, “Good idea! We thought about staking it out before, but it wasn’t appropriate. Since Jiang Yi wants to confront her, we’ll just put in some effort during lunch.”
The little monitor started strategizing, assigning tasks to the others. For example, Jin Duolai would stay in the classroom as lookout, the little monitor would take Jiang Yi to Class A, while Chen Wanzhou and Zhang Tiantian would go to the opposite teaching building to monitor their classroom—after all, those two had excellent eyesight.
Jiang Yi felt like she was going to break down. She didn’t want to play this childish game; she thought the note was sufficient. But as soon as lunch break arrived, the little monitor put the plan into action, dragging her towards the classroom.
Jiang Yi clung to a desk with one hand, refusing to budge, protesting desperately, “I told you the note was enough! Why are you so insistent? I bet you just want to see what she looks like!”
At this moment, the little monitor demonstrated the physical prowess of a female Alpha. She slipped both hands under Jiang Yi’s armpits and dragged her towards Class A. “Don’t you want to know? Someone’s been sending you snacks for a week, practically confessing their love. You should at least see what she looks like before deciding.”
“Don’t be so cold and heartless. Be a little kinder.”
With one injured hand, Jiang Yi was no match for her. Plus, Jiang Yi hadn’t differentiated yet, so her physical strength couldn’t compare to a typical Alpha’s.
Jiang Yi watched helplessly as the little monitor dragged her into the Class A classroom. Her eyes glazed over, staring blankly at the ceiling, her mood plummeting. “I’m not curious about her at all. I don’t care who likes me. I don’t want to date early. Isn’t that reason enough?”
The little monitor retorted, “This isn’t about whether you want to date early. Think about it… a girl has a crush on you, but you don’t even know what she looks like. Isn’t that tragic for her? You’re such a gentle person, would you let something so tragic happen to that girl?”
Jiang Yi was utterly exasperated. “How is that tragic? How is that tragic?!” What kind of tragic event was this? Could it be more tragic than Jiang Sixian’s situation? She had been so kind, so gentle, only to receive a fabricated, cold-hearted rejection.
Jiang Yi made a last-ditch effort to stop the little monitor’s actions.
The little monitor ignored her, dragging her into the Class A classroom. “I’ve arranged everything here. Someone will bring us food. You just hide well and don’t blow our cover.”
Jiang Yi, firmly held by her, let out a sigh of resignation. “Seriously… Lin Yinxi, it’s a real shame you don’t become a gossip reporter or paparazzi later!” Jiang Yi couldn’t compete with this level of dedication to gossip.
The little monitor’s eyes lit up. “Hey, how did you know that’s my dream job? Did I tell you?”
Jiang Yi leaned against her shoulder, letting herself be dragged along, and sneered, “I didn’t need you to tell me, I could see it. The entertainment industry needs tenacious talents like you.”
The two wrestled their way down the short path, causing quite a commotion and attracting onlookers from both classes.
Jiang Sixian, about to head to the cafeteria, saw the little monitor drag Jiang Yi in and settle her in a seat by the window. From their conversation, she gathered quite a bit of information.
From this, she deduced one thing: someone liked Jiang Yi, a secret admirer, and Jiang Yi’s friends wanted to find out who the girl was.
Jiang Sixian watched Jiang Yi sit down by the window, her single hand propping up her chin, her brow furrowed with impatience. For some reason, she recalled the words Jiang Yi had spoken that night, and a sense of discomfort settled in her heart.
She glanced at Jiang Yi, saw that she hadn’t noticed her, lowered her gaze, and unconsciously dug her nails into her palm.
Just as Jiang Yi had said, she only hoped they could be ordinary classmates. Since they were ordinary classmates, there was no need to get involved in each other’s school lives.
