A Paranoid Alpha Childhood Friend is Acting Spoiled Again - Chapter 22

“Nuo Fanxi, tell me the truth—are you brewing some bad idea?” Once Liao Ling headed back to her seat with the paper and Chu Tongtong was called over by a classmate to help, Tang Mo took the chance while no one was watching to start her “interrogation.”

Nuo Fanxi had originally planned to wait until they were on the way home after school to bring it up—after all, she wanted to leave her dear Student Momo a little bit of face. But as a junior high student at the age where secrets start burning holes in pockets, she said directly: “Student Momo, do you remember what you said yesterday? Hmm?”

“I-I-I… what did I say yesterday?” Student Momo was prepared to deny everything to the death. “Lingling was the one who wanted to borrow it from you, not me!”

“Re~ally?” Nuo Fanxi’s eyes curved like a little fox’s. “You heard it just now; Lingling said you sent her over to borrow it. Student Momo, lying is not something a good girl should do.”

To be honest, Tang Mo really had never lied since she was small. Usually, she just repeated what others said, or if she didn’t want to talk, she’d just stay silent—which was basically the same as an answer anyway.

Because Nuo Fanxi mentioned this point, Tang Mo was instantly cornered again.

“I-I admit I didn’t finish my paper, but I didn’t tell Lingling to borrow the homework. Lingling wanted to borrow it herself! She was just worried you wouldn’t lend it to her, so she said I sent her!”

“But Student Momo, you didn’t deny it just now when Liao Ling said you were the one borrowing it.”

“I…!” Tang Mo was momentarily at a loss for words, having failed to react in time to object. “I-I-I… I forgot!”

Nuo Fanxi said, “My mom says that if a person doesn’t object to something they care about, it means that subconsciously, they actually wanted to do it. Student Momo, are you sure you didn’t think that?”

Tang Mo couldn’t say she hadn’t. After all, she really hadn’t finished the paper, and she didn’t want the Physics teacher to punish her with a week of cleaning the classroom. When Liao Ling suggested borrowing from Nuo Fanxi, even though she acted stubborn, she didn’t stop her.

So, did she subconsciously want someone else to borrow the paper from Nuo Fanxi for her?

But Nuo Fanxi, this “bad thing,” was just too wicked. She just wanted to see her as a laughingstock, knowing she wasn’t as smart and didn’t learn as fast, even mocking her for being slow. What a rotten person!

“I-I-I did not!”

“Come on, Student Momo, look into my eyes and say it. Say you didn’t.”

Nuo Fanxi leaned her face in very close—so close that Tang Mo could feel her breath. She dazed for a moment, then turned her head away. “Fine, fine, fine! I did! Happy now?!”

Hmph, Nuo Fanxi, you bad thing. Laugh all you want. Adults always say ‘dumb people have dumb luck,’ my luck is yet to come!

As soon as Tang Mo turned her head back, she saw Nuo Fanxi laughing. “Student Momo, then I won this time. You can’t go back on your word.”

Tang Mo’s youthful face instantly puffed up like a pufferfish. She grabbed a textbook from the desk and—thwack—hit her with it. “You’re still laughing?!”

Nuo Fanxi quickly pinched her own thigh to force the laughter back down. “I’m stopping, I’m stopping! Spare me, Hero Tang!”

“Hmph!”

Tang Mo was just putting on an act; she didn’t really hit hard. She wanted to, but because it was Nuo Fanxi, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She could only make threatening gestures to express how angry she was at that moment.

But people can’t help being a bit playful, especially when they find the other person fun and want to get their attention.

Nuo Fanxi hadn’t even been begging for mercy for a few minutes before she started being a brat again. “Student Momo, I’ve already lent you the paper. So, for my cleaning duty this week, I’ll leave it to you. Good luck!”

Tang Mo had almost forgotten about this. Nuo Fanxi had indeed said this yesterday, but because she was trying to be stubborn, she thought she wouldn’t need to borrow the paper. She didn’t expect to be defeated by reality.

“Student Momo, why aren’t you talking?”

“Momo, are you too excited? I understand, actually. I also think cleaning duty is a very meaningful thing. Don’t you think so, Momo?”

“Momo, don’t thank me too much. I’m just very helpful!”

Tang Mo’s face turned red and then purple with rage. She wanted to give her a hard kick, but a bet was a bet. Since she lost, there was nothing to deny. As the ancients said, “One must be able to bend and stretch to succeed.” Liao Ling was right: cleaning the classroom for a week was better than… well, it was better than the alternative!

“Hmph, Nuo Fanxi, don’t be happy too soon. Next time, I’ll make sure you do the cleaning!”

Unlike Tang Mo, Nuo Fanxi wasn’t as good at humanities. While not bad, she paled in comparison to Tang Mo. So usually, they would exchange help with homework. Nuo Fanxi would explain the science parts Tang Mo didn’t understand, and Tang Mo would help with the humanities parts Nuo Fanxi struggled with.

Nuo Fanxi hated humanities; there was just too much to write and memorize. What was worse was that when she felt lazy and didn’t want to do her homework, she’d get creative.

“Sure, I’ll wait for you here. Good luck, Student Momo. I’ll support you in spirit!”

“Go away!”

Nuo Fanxi looked at her own seat and, confirming she hadn’t moved, said, “But Student Momo, this is my seat. Where do you want me to go?”

Tang Mo turned around and gave a heavy Hmph. “Fine, I’ll go!”

Just as she turned, she heard wild laughter erupting behind her.

Truly a bad thing!

However, with Nuo Fanxi’s help, Tang Mo didn’t get punished by the teacher. In return, Tang Mo had to do Nuo Fanxi’s cleaning duty for a day.

It just so happened that it was Nuo Fanxi’s group’s turn for duty this Monday. After school let out at noon, Tang Mo called her butler, Uncle Chen, and told him to pick her up half an hour later.

Chu Tongtong was confused to see Tang Mo staying behind to help. “Momo, it’s our group’s turn today. Why are you staying?”

Tang Mo held the broom, her head lowered as she stammered for a while without saying a word. On the outside, she was expressionless, but inside, she was ranting. It’s all that bad thing Nuo Fanxi’s fault! When the weekend comes, I’m going to teach her a lesson!

“Momo? Are you feeling unwell?”

Tang Mo finally squeezed out two words: “No… nothing.”

“Really? Your face looks a bit off.” Chu Tongtong reached out to touch her forehead. “No fever. Then why aren’t you talking?”

Tang Mo remained clipped: “It’s… nothing.”

Chu Tongtong suddenly thought of something. “Are you waiting for the Vice Monitor? The teacher called her just now; she should be in the head teacher’s office.”

Hearing this, Tang Mo turned to look at Nuo Fanxi’s empty seat. She thought Nuo Fanxi had already gone home, but it turned out she was in the office.

“The head teacher… why did he want her?”

“The Vice Monitor didn’t tell you?”

Tang Mo shook her head. Lately, she didn’t know what Nuo Fanxi was busy with; she rarely came over on weekends. Most of the time, Tang Mo had to call to see if she was free. Nuo Fanxi seemed busy, but she never refused to hang out.

Chu Tongtong said, “You know the Vice Monitor is amazing at math, right? She’s always in the top five in school, and she ranks even in the whole of City B. So the head teacher decided to let her try out for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad class competition.”

Tang Mo hadn’t heard Nuo Fanxi mention this. More importantly, she hadn’t felt anything was off about Nuo Fanxi; she acted the same as always. You couldn’t tell at all that she was preparing for an Olympiad.

“Then Tongtong, how do you know about this?”

“The Vice Monitor really hasn’t told you?”

Tang Mo felt a small pang of disappointment. Before this, regardless of whether it was important, happy, or sad, Nuo Fanxi would always tell her first.

“No.”

Chu Tongtong sensed her unhappiness and thought for a bit. “I think the reason she didn’t tell you is probably because she didn’t know how. I heard them say that this Junior Olympiad class is supposed to last for six months. And if you win an award, you can be directly recruited into the top key public high school in City B. You wouldn’t even have to wait to graduate junior high with the rest of us.”

Directly recruited…

The more Tang Mo heard, the worse her mood became. That meant she wouldn’t be able to go to the same high school as Nuo Fanxi.

“Then Tongtong, do you know when this competition starts?”

“I think in January, but I don’t know the specific time. You can ask the Vice Monitor when she gets back. You’re so close; she’ll definitely tell you.”

Tang Mo gave a muffled “Mhm.”

“But,” Chu Tongtong continued as she wiped the blackboard, “the Vice Monitor was way too much this morning. No, she was too biased!”

Tang Mo was distracted, but as long as it was gossip about Nuo Fanxi, she was alert enough to ask why. “Did she… do something bad this morning?”

Thwack! Chu Tongtong slapped the eraser onto the podium. “Yes!”

Tang Mo knew Nuo Fanxi was a brat, but she remembered that aside from teasing her, Nuo Fanxi hadn’t done anything excessive this morning.

“I heard it from Little Fatty. He asked to borrow her Physics paper yesterday, but the Vice Monitor told him she already lent it to someone else. But I found out this morning—she hadn’t lent it to anyone yet!” Chu Tongtong said with fake indignation. “She said that on purpose! She wanted to save the paper for you, Student Momo!”

??????

What? Save it for her?

That meant that no matter whether she asked or not, that “bad thing” Nuo Fanxi would have lent her the paper anyway. But to bully her, Nuo Fanxi deliberately waited for her to come and ask so she could make her do the cleaning duty.

Tang Mo had been immersed in the sadness of Nuo Fanxi going to an Olympiad and potentially not attending the same high school. After hearing Chu Tongtong, that sadness vanished instantly.

“Little Fatty really said that?”

“Really! If you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.”

Chu Tongtong then stood at the podium and shouted toward the hall, “Little Fatty! Tang Mo wants you for something, come in!”

Little Fatty was in Nuo Fanxi’s cleaning group and was currently sweeping the corridor. Hearing Chu Tongtong, he ran in like a very agile ball of a boy. “Who’s calling for the handsome and suave Young Master Fatty?!”

“Here, Momo wants you.”

Little Fatty felt a bit shy facing Tang Mo. He scratched his head. “Momo, what… what do you want to ask?”

Tang Mo was direct. “Did you ask Nuo Fanxi to borrow her Physics paper last night?”

Little Fatty nodded truthfully. “Yeah, I asked her, but she told me she already lent it to someone else, so I had to borrow it from the Subject Rep. Why, Momo? Did she refuse to lend it to you? You’re her best friend; she shouldn’t have refused you.”

At this point, Little Fatty finally noticed something was wrong. “Wait, it’s not your group’s turn to clean today. School’s out—why are you still here?”

Chu Tongtong was quite clever and quickly figured it out. “Oh~ I know why.”

Little Fatty looked at her, confused. “What do you know?”

Chu Tongtong laughed. “I know why Momo stayed behind for duty. Momo, did you make a bet with the Vice Monitor and lose, so you have to help her with her shift today?”

Tang Mo remained silent. Chu Tongtong knew she had guessed right and protested loudly from the podium: “The Vice Monitor is way too much! To escape cleaning duty, she’d even stoop to making a bet. I want to make a bet with someone too! I don’t want to clean either!”

Just as she finished shouting, Nuo Fanxi returned from the office.

The moment Tang Mo saw her, she picked up a broom without a word and swung.

Whap—

Nuo Fanxi’s eyes widened, and she scrambled to the side. “Momo, what are you doing?! Why are you hitting me with a broom for no reason? Did I do something wrong?”

Tang Mo glared at her and swung again. “Nuo. Fan. Xi. Prepare to die!”

For a while, the sound of a broom hitting the floor (and nearly hitting a person) echoed through the corridor. Eventually, Nuo Fanxi couldn’t run anymore and raised her hands in surrender. Only then did Tang Mo pull the broom back.

“Do you know what you did wrong?”

“…”

Nuo Fanxi had a pretty good idea why Tang Mo was angry. Someone must have blabbed to her. With Tang Mo’s usual slow reaction time, she never would have guessed on her own.

“I was wrong, I apologize. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Forgive me, Student Momo, I won’t dare do it again.”

Tang Mo wasn’t going to believe this “bad thing” anymore. She had trusted her yesterday, and look where it got her.

“This apology has zero sincerity!” Tang Mo shouted angrily. “You said the same thing yesterday, and then you lied to me again today! I am never believing your apologies again!”

Nuo Fanxi felt very guilty. She hadn’t actually planned to do this; last night she intended to just send the answers to Tang Mo. But when Tang Mo acted so stubborn, a few “fun” ideas popped into her head and she decided to tease her.

“I swear, this time I’m sincerely apologizing!” Nuo Fanxi held up three fingers. “If I lie to Student Momo again, then…”

“Then what?”

“Then Student Momo won’t talk to me for the rest of her life!”

“What kind of oath is that? That doesn’t count!”

“Why not?”

“You know I could never actually stop talking to you forever. Nuo Fanxi, you’re just being a rogue again!”

“But besides that, I can’t think of any other oaths.”

Tang Mo didn’t actually need anything; if she wanted something, she just had to tell her parents and she’d get it. As of now, she really didn’t have anything specific she wanted Nuo Fanxi to promise.

But letting her off was too easy. She had to teach this brat a lesson!

“I don’t want an oath. You tricked me into doing your cleaning today, so fine—you will do my cleaning duty for two months. The price for doing bad things is paying back double.” Tang Mo stared at her intensely. “If you can’t do it, then I won’t talk to you for three months!”

“Two… TWO MONTHS?!!!”

“Yes. Two. Months.”

“Two months is too long… can we do less? One month, maybe?”

“Then let’s make it three months.”

Nuo Fanxi let out a gasp and then said submissively, “Fine, two months it is.”

She decided she’d never do something like this again. The person she ended up hurting the most was herself.

Since noon recess wasn’t long, the two didn’t slack off. Having settled their personal score, they joined their classmates and quickly finished cleaning the classroom.

After about fifteen minutes, the room was spotless. Tang Mo had originally told Uncle Chen to pick her up later, but thinking about what Chu Tongtong had told her, she called him back and said not to come—she was going home with Nuo Fanxi.

Nuo Fanxi hadn’t taken Uncle Chen’s car since entering junior high. First, she didn’t want to be a burden; she had troubled him enough in primary school. Now that she was older, she felt she shouldn’t. Second, her status was different from Tang Mo’s. If she hitched a ride every day, Tang Mo’s relatives would surely gossip to her Godmother, which would be bad for her.

Seeing Tang Mo following her out without heading toward the school gate, Nuo Fanxi stopped. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you called Uncle Chen? He should be here. Why are you still standing here?”

Thinking of the Olympiad made Tang Mo’s mood sour, and hearing Nuo Fanxi’s words made it worse. “What do you mean by that? Nuo Fanxi, are you trying to drive me away?”

Nuo Fanxi put her bag in the bike basket and bent down to unlock the wheel. Hearing Tang Mo’s tone, she stood up immediately. “I’m not driving you away! But doesn’t Uncle Chen usually pick you up? It’s already 12:30. If you don’t go, you won’t have time for your nap.”

Tang Mo had a habit of needing a noon nap, or she’d have no energy for class and even get a headache. Nuo Fanxi was different—she was a “terrifying junior high student” who could run wild all day without rest. Sometimes if she stayed late for school work, she’d just grab a bite at home and rush back.

“Then I just won’t sleep. Don’t you often skip your nap too?”

“I don’t get headaches if I don’t sleep. You get them all the time!”

Nuo Fanxi felt Tang Mo was being a bit strange today, but she couldn’t ask directly. If Tang Mo wanted to talk, she would.

“I called Uncle Chen and told him not to pick me up this noon,” Tang Mo said. “Nuo Fanxi, you take me back.”

Helpless, Nuo Fanxi patted the back rack of her bike. “Hop on.”

The Tang villa wasn’t far—only a ten-minute ride.

However, Tang Mo was silent the whole way, sitting quietly on the back. Nuo Fanxi, a chatterbox by nature, found the silence unbearable. Usually, they’d be chatting up a storm.

“Momo, is something bothering you today? Just tell me. Is someone at school bullying you?”

Tang Mo replied dully, “No.”

“Then why are you so unhappy?”

Is she still mad at me? Nuo Fanxi wondered. Shouldn’t be. She was laughing while we were cleaning.

“Tongtong said the head teacher wants you to join the Junior Olympiad competition. Is it true?” Tang Mo asked softly. “Are you really going?”

Nuo Fanxi finally understood the source of the gloom. “I am! Such a rare opportunity—I have to give it a try.”

Tang Mo sat up straight, her head peeking around Nuo Fanxi’s side. “Tongtong said if you win, you’ll be recruited into the best key high school in the city and won’t graduate junior high with us.”

“Momo, is that why you’re unhappy?”

Tang Mo gave a muffled “Mhm.”

Nuo Fanxi said quickly, “Don’t worry. It’s just a ‘try-out.’ It’s not a given that I’ll win. So many amazing students are participating; that kind of award is hard to get. Besides, even if I do win, I’ll definitely graduate at the same time as you.”

“Really?” Tang Mo’s watery eyes lit up instantly. “You’re not lying to me?”

Nuo Fanxi laughed. “Why would I lie about that? I didn’t tell you before because nothing was certain. The teacher is still fighting for the slots. I couldn’t tell you if I wasn’t sure. What if I wasn’t chosen? Then you’d be disappointed with me.”

Tang Mo’s annoyance vanished instantly. She peeked her head out and teased: “I thought you were super confident. It turns out Student Nuo Fanxi has times when she’s not confident too.”