After the Scheming Girl Joined a Dating Show - Chapter 10

“Huh?” For a moment, Xia Mozhu forgot she was still live-streaming. She looked at Su Qin like a panicked white puppy, her dark pupils trembling slightly.

“The others are ‘sisters,’ but I am ‘the others’.” Su Qin’s tone seemed devoid of emotion, but to those listening, it felt like being put on trial.

The sentence was a bit of a tongue-twister, but it perfectly mirrored what Xia Mozhu had just said, so it wasn’t hard to understand.

Fan Comments:

• AHHHH! That’s Su Qin, right?!

• Double fandom joy!

• Is Sister Su Qin actually… jealous?

• No way! That’s Su the Celestial!

• Exactly! Even if I ate dirt, it’s impossible for Su the Celestial to be jealous.

• Why won’t she just call her ‘Sister Su Qin’? So disrespectful to a senior!

• Are they all ganging up to exclude the Celestial?

Antis and haters started muddying the waters in the comments.

Only then did Su Qin notice that Xia Mozhu was live-streaming. She walked over, glanced at the comments, and responded on Xia Mozhu’s behalf: “I’m not being excluded. Whether she calls me ‘Sister’ or not is none of your business.”

Although more and more stars were joining the live-streaming craze, Su Qin had never done it before—not even for those commercial “e-commerce” streams where celebrities just sit there like wooden dolls. Her appearance in Xia Mozhu’s lens was like a massive rock thrown into a quiet pond.

The comments scrolled at lightning speed:

• WTF WTF WTF! That was Su the Celestial in the frame for two seconds, right?!

• Sister is so fierce, I love it!

• Sister! Look at me! My ID is the shape of my love for you!

• Sister is too beautiful, I’m crying!

• …

Xia Mozhu’s brain was still racing for an explanation. Even as haters popped up in the chat, she didn’t have time to argue.

“Um… I didn’t mean you were ‘the others’ in a bad way,” Xia Mozhu said. “It’s just that I hadn’t gotten to you yet.”

She looked incredibly sincere: “I was just about to brag to them—Teacher Su Qin is my roommate!”

“Teacher Su Qin?” Su Qin seemed to have a particular objection to this title.

Xia Mozhu scratched her nose and asked guiltily, “Is something wrong?”

Su Qin: “If you like calling me ‘Teacher,’ then I should probably start teaching you something.”

Xia Mozhu instantly perked up: “Then teach me how to radiate charm every single second.”

Su Qin was standing just outside the live-stream frame, so the audience couldn’t see her expression, but the production crew’s cameras caught it: Her face stiffened instantly, the muscles in her cheeks twitched slightly, and her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but no sound came out.

Xia Mozhu chickened out immediately: “I was just joking! Don’t take it seriously! It’s just that I really like you, and my fans really like you—you’re just very charming!”

Represented by her words, the fans had no choice but to play along. What else could they do? This was their own “daughter”; they had to spoil her.

Just then, a “Prestige” comment with special effects floated over Xia Mozhu’s head:

• My baby has finally made it! She’s learned how to flirt with her Big Sister!

Xia Mozhu had just taken a sip of water to clear her throat. When she saw this comment, she let out a loud “Pfft,” spraying water everywhere.

Viewer Comments:

• I’m getting rained on!

• Me too!

• +1

• I’m soaked!

Xia Mozhu reached for a tissue, but one was already being handed to her. Su Qin’s pale, elegant hand entered the frame, causing another wave of “screaming chicken” reactions from the fans.

Because of this interlude, the viewership of Xia Mozhu’s stream was triple its usual amount, and her follower count shot up.

After ending the stream, Xia Mozhu looked at the data and marveled. As expected of Su Qin—just appearing for a few seconds caused so many people to follow her by association. She really had to thank her.

Xia Mozhu’s mind was simple; she wasn’t upset that her data only spiked because of Su Qin, nor did she feel she was “clout-chasing.” She was happy her fans liked her, and she was happy they liked Su Qin.

“For you.” Xia Mozhu handed Su Qin a carton of chocolate milk.

Su Qin took it and read the English printed on it aloud: “Do you love me?”

“Huh?” Xia Mozhu obviously knew what the English meant, but she didn’t realize Su Qin was just reading the slogan on the carton.

Su Qin held the milk carton up to Xia Mozhu’s face so she could see the words clearly.

Xia Mozhu’s face flushed red instantly. Trying to deflect, she explained why she gave her the milk: “I really like this milk. Thank you for… handing me the tissue during the stream.”

Su Qin: “One person can’t finish it.”

Xia Mozhu froze for a few seconds before saying, “Then let’s drink it together. I’ll go find a cup.”

By the time she returned, Su Qin had already opened the plastic cap on the carton and inserted two straws.

Xia Mozhu looked at the cup in her hand, then at the milk in Su Qin’s, feeling like her hands and feet didn’t belong to her anymore. She didn’t know how to move.

“Do you find me distasteful?” Su Qin asked.

“How could I!” Xia Mozhu shook her head like a rattle. Although she usually never shared food or drinks with anyone, if it was Su Qin, she felt a little giddy about it.

Su Qin handed the carton over. “The first sip tastes better.”

Dazed, Xia Mozhu took it and had a sip. It was sweet with a hint of bitterness, but not too bitter—mostly the fragrance of cocoa. The first sip really was delicious.

But why did Su Qin give the first sip to her?

The first sip tastes better was clearly something you tell children. It’s all in the same carton; of course, it all tastes the same.

Was Su Qin a little childish?

And a little cute.

While Xia Mozhu was dazing off, Su Qin held out her hand, palm up.

For some reason, Xia Mozhu placed her own hand into Su Qin’s. But at that exact moment, she heard Su Qin say: “It’s time to give it back to me.”

Su Qin clearly hadn’t expected Xia Mozhu to offer her hand instead of the milk. Her exquisitely shaped eyes widened—just like a cat—looking both surprised and innocent.

Xia Mozhu: “!!!”

I must be cursed on this show! Why do all my embarrassing moments happen in front of Su Qin!

After getting into bed, Su Qin didn’t lie down immediately. She leaned against the headboard to read a book.

Learning from the previous night, Xia Mozhu rolled herself even tighter into her duvet. If she was a caterpillar yesterday, she was a hermetically sealed silkworm cocoon today. She didn’t even seem afraid of suffocating.

Su Qin glanced sideways, her eyes full of curiosity—curious about what went on in Xia Mozhu’s head every day.

As it turned out, even wrapped like a cocoon, once she fell asleep, Xia Mozhu was like a slippery fish that would slide into another warm nest.

Before Su Qin could even put her book down, Xia Mozhu had already kicked off her own duvet. After a few tosses and turns, she flopped 90 degrees across the bed. As she slept, her head first nudged into Su Qin’s covers, then bumped into her waist. Like a car hitting a roadblock and needing to turn, Xia Mozhu’s body rotated again until she was lying vertically, emerging from the duvet. One couldn’t perform such a maneuver without some serious foundational skills.

One of Su Qin’s arms was pinned down by Xia Mozhu, so she couldn’t turn the pages. She simply placed the book on the nightstand and lay down.

Perhaps disturbed by Su Qin’s movement, Xia Mozhu frowned. Like a baby in the womb, she curled herself into a ball and huddled next to Su Qin. Honestly, she looked a lot like a dog crawling into its master’s covers.

Su Qin couldn’t help but reach out and stroke Xia Mozhu’s hair. It was fluffy and soft—a better texture than dog fur.

The next day, Xia Mozhu woke up to the hateful but unavoidable sound of her phone alarm. Her first instinct was to check if she was still in her own duvet. Unfortunately, her duvet was nowhere to be found, and her pillow had been kicked onto the floor.

Even worse, her head was resting on Su Qin’s arm. She had no idea how long she’d been there.

Su Qin’s arm was so thin; would it be crushed by her head?

Xia Mozhu wanted to flee the scene again, but a voice tinged with “waking-up grumpiness” murmured in her ear: “Don’t move around.” It had a slight post-sleep nasality, and the tone sounded like she was scolding a dog.