A Paranoid Alpha Childhood Friend is Acting Spoiled Again - Chapter 24

After the trouble at home, Nuo Fanxi became quiet and withdrawn. She stopped smiling and no longer took the initiative to speak to others. She spoke only when asked, providing short, concise answers without a single unnecessary word.

Even with Tang Mo, she was like this.

But Tang Mo knew it was only natural for her to be this way, so she often tried to think of ways to cheer her up. The effects were minimal; Nuo Fanxi still rarely smiled. All Tang Mo could do was sit beside her with her knees pulled to her chest, hoping that her presence might make Nuo Fanxi feel a little better.

“I’m fine, Momo. You should go back.”

“The tutor had something today and isn’t coming… I-I-I don’t have classes!”

She still didn’t know how to lie.

In primary school, Tang Mo already had a heavier workload than everyone else; how could she have less now that she was older? Her schedule would only get busier. Tang Mo was clearly delaying her studies just to take care of her.

When Tang Mo went home, she would likely be scolded by those “old folks” in the clan.

Nuo Fanxi buried her face in her arms, her brow furrowing tighter. Slowly, she lifted her head and turned to look at Tang Mo.

Tang Mo let go of her knees and scooted closer, gently tugging at Nuo Fanxi’s sleeve. “Nuo Fanxi, if you’re sad, just cry. It won’t hurt so much once you let it out.”

It had been quite some time since the incident with Tao Wanqing and Nuo Lin, yet Tang Mo had never seen Nuo Fanxi cry—not even a single tear. Keeping it all bottled up inside was bound to cause problems.

But Tang Mo didn’t know what to do to help. She couldn’t assist with Tao Wanqing and Nuo Lin’s situation; that depended on Tang Cheng and Bai Xiaozhu.

“I’m fine.”

You don’t look fine at all!

Tang Mo grabbed her hand and said, “Mommy says that Godmother and Uncle Nuo were framed. It’s just very difficult to find evidence to prove their innocence. But don’t worry, Xixi—Daddy and Mommy will definitely work hard to find the bad people who set them up!”

“Momo, can you give me a hug?”

Tang Mo froze. This was the first time Nuo Fanxi had ever shown such vulnerability in front of her. Her heart ached instantly, and she burst into tears.

Seeing her cry, Nuo Fanxi felt even worse. She reached for a tissue on the desk and slowly wiped the tears from Tang Mo’s cheeks. “Don’t cry. I’m the one who’s supposed to be comforted here.”

Tang Mo’s tears fell even harder. “B-but… whenever I see Xixi like this, the t-tears just fall on their own.”

Nuo Fanxi sighed. After drying the tears, she hugged her and patted her back. “Don’t cry. I’m okay.”

Tang Mo had only been dropping “little pearls” before, but hearing this, she couldn’t hold back and wailed out loud.

“If you keep crying, the house is going to be flooded.”

“As if!”

Nuo Fanxi let go of her, worried she might hyperventilate from crying, and stood up to make her a cup of fruit tea.

Tang Mo clutched the cup, her breath still hitching. She watched as Nuo Fanxi busied herself nearby, looking for something. After searching for a while, Nuo Fanxi turned around.

“What are you doing?”

Nuo Fanxi, seemingly unable to find what she wanted, walked back into her room. “Aren’t we going to school tomorrow? I don’t know where I threw my admission letter.”

Originally, Nuo Fanxi hadn’t planned on continuing her studies, so she had tossed the letter for the school Bai Xiaozhu had arranged. She had no mood and no desire to read; she just wanted to lock herself in her room, do nothing, think nothing, and slowly wait for death. Though she felt sorry for the burden of her parents’ upbringing, she felt a deep sense of despair over her inability to save them.

But then she thought: If I die, how will I find the people responsible?

Wouldn’t Tao Wanqing and Nuo Lin be in prison for nothing?

And what about Tang Mo?

She… didn’t seem to want Tang Mo to be with anyone else in the future.

“What is it?” Tang Mo noticed Nuo Fanxi staring at her and instinctively touched her face. “Is there something on me?”

Nuo Fanxi gently traced the red corners of Tang Mo’s eyes. “Nothing. Is it good?”

Tang Mo nodded. “It’s delicious! Xixi, how did you learn to make this?”

“I followed a video.”

“Oh.”

“A problem?”

“I thought you made it up yourself.”

Nuo Fanxi asked, puzzled, “Doesn’t this count as me making it?”

Tang Mo shook her head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Just teasing you.”

“What?”

Seeing how serious she looked, Nuo Fanxi couldn’t help but smile. “How are you so easy to fool? You couldn’t even tell I was joking.”

Seeing her smile, Tang Mo smiled too, but countered: “Nuo Fanxi, don’t think I can’t hear you—you’re laughing at me.”

“Oh, here.”

Nuo Fanxi successfully changed the subject, and Tang Mo forgot what she was going to say. But it didn’t matter; Nuo Fanxi had smiled, which meant she was in a decent mood today. Tang Mo could relax a little.

“Xixi, sit on the sofa tomorrow…” Tang Mo sat cross-legged, holding the Kuromi plushie Nuo Fanxi had bought her, her hair falling over her shoulders.

Nuo Fanxi was washing the cups and lowered her eyes. After a moment, she said, “I’ll just bike over. It’s not far.”

“Half an hour—how is that not far!”

“I’ll take the bus then.”

Tang Mo hugged the plushie dejectedly. “Fine then.”

Nuo Fanxi added, “Next time I want to sleep in, I’ll go with you.”

Tang Mo sat up straight, hopped off the sofa with the plushie, and ran over to peek out from behind her. “When do you want to sleep in? Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday, Thursday? Or Friday?”

Nuo Fanxi put the clean cups away and walked past Tang Mo toward the sofa. “We’ll see when the time comes.”

Left with no choice, Tang Mo let it go.

Monday was the opening ceremony. The teachers had reminded everyone to arrive early and find their class’s position on the playground. In reality, two weeks had already passed since the start of term. The ceremony was supposed to be the Tuesday before last, but the weather hadn’t cooperated, raining for an entire week. Concerned about students getting soaked, the school had postponed it.

Tang Mo arrived at the classroom early but saw no sign of Nuo Fanxi. Phones had to be turned in during school hours, and she could no longer wear the smartwatches meant for primary schoolers. After waiting a long time with no sign of her, and under the Class Monitor’s urging, Tang Mo had to head to the playground first.

“Have you heard?”

“Heard what?”

“Our class has a transfer student today—a female Alpha.”

“Transfer student? From where? It’s been two weeks; why transfer now?”

“I don’t know. I heard Teacher Chen mention it this morning, saying she’d arrive today.”

“But the ceremony is about to start and I don’t see anyone unfamiliar? Does she not attend the ceremony?”

Once the topic of a new student came up, everyone turned into gossip mongers, chatting away happily.

Everyone was curious about the background of this new student who could transfer in after two weeks. While their school wasn’t the absolute top “key” high school in City B, it was still excellent—ranking either first or second. Enrollment was strictly required in the first week, or they wouldn’t take you.

Now it was the third week, and classes had been ongoing. There were only two guesses for someone entering now: either the family had significant background, or they were a relative of the school leadership.

“I bet the family is powerful!” Zhang Rou poked her seatmate, Tang Mo. “Momo, what do you think?”

Tang Mo was sensitive to her classmates’ attitudes toward status and didn’t want to express too much. She gave a perfunctory, “I don’t know.”

Zhang Rou scoffed and turned to talk to someone behind her, looking back at Tang Mo with a very strange expression.

But Tang Mo ignored it. Even if she couldn’t hear them, she could guess what Zhang Rou was saying—nothing but childish, boring remarks. She didn’t take them to heart.

The ceremony began shortly. The Principal and various leaders took turns speaking. They mostly read from prepared scripts, making everyone drowsy. After the leaders finished, it was the student representative’s turn. Though they also read from a script, their tone was passionate and inspiring, making people feel so pumped up they felt like they could write an entire set of test papers right there.

But Tang Mo cared about none of this. Her only concern was when Nuo Fanxi would arrive. The head teacher and subject teachers for this class were quite fierce; she didn’t want Nuo Fanxi to be scolded in front of everyone.

“Momo, what’s wrong today? You look listless. Do you have something on your mind?”

The person asking was Tang Mo’s usual close friend, Mu Ke. She was an Omega who often asked Tang Mo to go shopping and shared celebrity gossip with her.

“No,” Tang Mo said. “Don’t overthink it.”

Mu Ke, standing in front of Tang Mo, leaned in and whispered, “Does it have to do with the new student transferring in today?”

Tang Mo didn’t speak, and Mu Ke knew she had guessed correctly.

Now it was Mu Ke’s turn to be curious. “We’re so close—Momo, tell me who she is! I swear, I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

Tang Mo shook her head. “You’ll see in a bit.”

“But I want to know now! Momo, just tell me! I’m not a stranger; I won’t tell them!”

Tang Mo still shook her head. Regarding Nuo Fanxi, she was more cautious than anyone.

Nearly an hour and a half later, the ceremony finally ended. The classes filed out to return to the classrooms. Once off the playground, Mu Ke pulled Tang Mo away from the others.

“Momo, just tell me—who is the new student?”

Tang Mo didn’t want to talk and kept walking. Mu Ke had no choice but to follow.

Once all the students returned, the head teacher stood on the podium and slapped the board, calling for silence. The room became pin-drop quiet.

“Before we start class, I have an announcement. We have a new student today. When she comes in, everyone clap and welcome her.”

Just as the head teacher finished, there was a knock at the door. Every eye in the class turned. A girl stood at the door with her school jacket tied around her waist, her hair cut into a shoulder-length bob, one hand hooked on her bag strap. She looked cold and indifferent.

“Hello, Teacher Zhao.”

Her face was beautiful, yet it carried a natural air of heroism. Combined with her cool tone, the first impression she gave was exceptionally “sharp” and “cool.”

And it truly was cool.

If anyone else tied their jacket around their waist, they’d look like a villager heading to the fields. But this new student was different; because of her height and proportions, plus that handsome face, she looked like a teenage model fresh off a runway—very dashing.

The class couldn’t help but let out a collective “Woah.” Before they could finish, however, the head teacher slammed a ruler onto the desk. Everyone shut their mouths.

“Nuo Fanxi, didn’t you look into things before coming? You can’t take off your jacket and tie it around your waist. How is that any different from the thugs outside? This is a violation of school discipline!” The head teacher was already fuming about having a student “slotted” into her class, and seeing Nuo Fanxi dressed like this made her even angrier. “If you can’t follow school discipline, you can leave right now.”

Nuo Fanxi ignored the head teacher’s rage and explained calmly, “Sorry, Teacher Zhao. I didn’t know that wasn’t allowed. I’ll put it on in a moment.”

“Wait for what? Take it off your waist and put it on properly right now! And how are you carrying your bag? Is that how a good student carries a bag?”

This statement was effectively telling the whole class: “Good students don’t dress like this, only bad students do; good students don’t carry bags like that, only bad students do.”

In short—she had directly labeled Nuo Fanxi a “bad student.”

Tang Mo felt angry listening from below. she wanted to argue back for Nuo Fanxi but worried it would cause more unnecessary trouble, so she held it in.

“Teacher Zhao, today is my first day. I truly wasn’t aware of the discipline rules. I said I’d put the jacket on in a moment, but if the way I dress and carry my bag means I’m a ‘bad student,’ I’m afraid I cannot accept that.” Nuo Fanxi gave the head teacher no face at all. “Please take back what you just said.”

The head teacher had intended to give the newcomer a “show of authority” (xiamawei)—to make this transfer student realize her class didn’t just take any “trash” and that if she wanted to stay, she’d better be obedient. She never expected the girl not only wouldn’t fear her but would actually refute her in front of the whole class, leaving her with no way out.

She was instantly livid.

If she didn’t show her some colors today, which student in this class would listen to her in the future?

“First day and already this attitude toward a teacher. Do you think because you got in through connections, you can do whatever you want and no one can touch you?”

The moment it came out, the head teacher realized she’d spoken her inner thoughts aloud. She decided to go all in. “Go stand outside. You can come back to class when you’ve admitted you were wrong.”

Nuo Fanxi didn’t care. She hadn’t been in the mood for class anyway. If she hadn’t wanted to avoid wasting Bai Xiaozhu’s kindness, she might have enrolled even later.

“Can I go in and put my bag down first?”

The head teacher’s face was almost swollen with rage, but she couldn’t say no. She choked out, “Fine!”

Nuo Fanxi’s seat was in the very last row, near the door, and she sat alone. She knew the head teacher did this on purpose, but she thought it was fine—easy to come and go, and no need to deal with strange looks or questions from a seatmate.

After putting her bag down, Nuo Fanxi walked past Tang Mo’s seat out the front door. Familiar with the routine, she leaned against the wall and began her “punishment.”

Back in junior high, when she was too lazy to do or copy homework, she’d often be punished by the head teacher or subject teachers by standing at the door for a period. To her, it was like a walk in the park.

Occasionally, students from the next class would pass by and eye her with curiosity. They likely thought the face was too unfamiliar, yet too striking, so they kept staring.

Nuo Fanxi knew people were watching. Perhaps her skin was too thick; she deliberately looked back, making the others walk away in embarrassment.

“I thought it was some genius transferring in, but turns out it’s a delinquent.”

“Tell me about it—first day and she talks back to the head teacher in front of everyone? Who ever saw a good student do that?”

“Did you see that look in her eyes? Arrogant as anything. You’d think she owned the school.”

“Lower your voices. She’s standing right there. If she hears you and comes looking for trouble, what then?”

Zhang Rou peeked outside and whispered in Tang Mo’s ear: “See, I was right! She’s definitely one of those rich kids who doesn’t study, so her parents used connections to send her here to keep her from going bad.”

“She isn’t!”

As soon as Zhang Rou finished, Tang Mo snapped back without hesitation. “You don’t know the specifics of what happened, so don’t talk nonsense.”

Tang Mo knew better than anyone how good Nuo Fanxi’s grades were. Those schools hadn’t taken her simply because of a stereotype—to protect their “school brand,” they used any excuse to shut her out.

Zhang Rou didn’t expect such a strong reaction from Tang Mo. Stunned by the shout, she immediately grew snide. “What are you snapping for? I was just chatting with you. You’re acting like you know exactly what happened. Ridiculous.”

Tang Mo was so angry she wanted to curse, but since they were in class and her upbringing prevented her from using foul language, she simply turned away and treated Zhang Rou as if she didn’t exist.

Ring, ring, ring—

The bell finally rang.

The head teacher had no intention of calling Nuo Fanxi back in. Once the bell rang, she stomped off to her office in her high heels, not forgetting to shoot Nuo Fanxi one last disgusted look.

Nuo Fanxi thought the teacher was unhinged. She understood wanting to show authority—many teachers had that quirk—but being unreasonable was a first. She didn’t feel bad about her lack of respect.

“Hey, classmate, what’s your name?” A student sitting by the window leaned out. He was very interested in this female Alpha. “I’m Wang Yan, the Sports Rep. Man, that way you talked back to the head teacher was so cool. I’m impressed!”

Nuo Fanxi thought he was noisy, but as a classmate taking the initiative, she felt it would be impolite not to respond. “You could try it too.”

Wang Yan grinned. “I have tried.”

“You were punished with standing too?”

“She made me run five laps around the track. She’s insane.”

So being made to stand isn’t even the worst? Nuo Fanxi thought.

Since she had nothing to do, she turned and chatted with Wang Yan. “You talked back like that too?”

“If I talked back like that, it’d be more than five laps.” Wang Yan, finding a kindred spirit, immediately entered “mutual venting” mode. “Let me tell you, I heard from other classes—this head teacher is incredibly petty. When she teaches other classes, if a student says they don’t understand her explanation, she marks them down in her mind and starts finding every excuse to torment them.”

Nuo Fanxi didn’t even lift her eyelids. “I can tell.”

“Xixi.”

While the two were venting, Tang Mo called out. Wang Yan immediately recognized from the name that their relationship was special.

“You guys… know each other?”

Tang Mo had a decent impression of the Sports Rep—he was enthusiastic and didn’t hesitate to help when needed. He was a good classmate.

“None of your business. Don’t pry,” Nuo Fanxi said, immediately snuffing out Wang Yan’s curiosity.

Wang Yan explained, “Don’t misunderstand! I’m not like those gossip mongers. I don’t have an opinion on it; I was just genuinely curious if you knew each other.”

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

“We’re all Alphas, what’s the harm in telling!”

Nuo Fanxi didn’t want to talk to him anymore and turned to Tang Mo. “Why are you out here?”

Tang Mo: “To find you.”

Otherwise, why would she come out? There was nothing fun outside.

Nuo Fanxi didn’t want Tang Mo coming out to see her. If those gossips knew they were acquainted, they’d start all sorts of rumors.

“I’m fine. Go back and sit down.”

“I don’t want to.”

Before Nuo Fanxi could speak again, Tang Mo added, “Teacher Zhao was too much. How could she say that to you in front of the whole class!”

Nuo Fanxi was stunned. She had expected Tang Mo to lecture her—to ask why she was so stubborn when she knew the consequences of talking back. She hadn’t expected her to be indignant on her behalf.

“I’m fine. It’s actually quite nice out here.”

Tang Mo thought Nuo Fanxi had been cooped up so long she’d gone crazy. She said angrily, “What part of this is ‘nice’? What’s nice about being punished!”