Just Wanting to Divorce My Love Rival - Chapter 22

Inside the classroom, Xiao Xiaoli and Mu Cheng sat side-by-side in the same row.

The person on the podium was talking incessantly, while those below were yawning non-stop.

Xiao Xiaoli let out several yawns in a row, twirling the pen in her hand. She checked her phone occasionally, constantly calculating how much time was left until the end of class.

She caught a glimpse of a leave-of-absence slip tucked under Mu Cheng’s book and asked in confusion, “You’re taking a leave?”

Mu Cheng was staring at the podium with a focused expression, but she didn’t look like she was actually listening to the lecture. Instead, she looked as if her mind was miles away.

Xiao Xiaoli nudged her shoulder. No reaction. She nudged her again.

Mu Cheng snapped out of it. “What is it?”

“What’s with you? You’re usually the most attentive student in class. Why are you spacing out today?” Xiao Xiaoli asked, slightly surprised.

Mu Cheng shrugged. “Just thinking about some things.”

Xiao Xiaoli pointed to the slip under the book. “So? You’re taking a leave?”

Mu Cheng nodded. “Yeah, I have some things to deal with back home.”

Although it was still many years before Grandmother Mu would suffer a stroke and pass away, Mu Cheng couldn’t wait another second. She had to rush back now to see her grandmother to put her mind at ease. While she was at it, she needed to urge her to get a physical check-up. If possible, she had to make her exercise more—she had to preemptively eliminate all potential accidents.

Mu Cheng picked up the leave slip. Underneath it was another piece of paper. Upon closer inspection, it read: Application for Dormitory Transfer.

Xiao Xiaoli made a fuss. “Changing dorms? Why are you suddenly moving out?”

In her excitement, Xiao Xiaoli’s voice rose slightly, causing several classmates to look over. The teacher on stage put down the textbook and glared at them.

Xiao Xiaoli gave a sheepish smile and quickly lowered her head.

“What’s the deal? You’re actually abandoning me, and so suddenly too! Tell me, are you moving out because you’ve hooked up with some other little vixen? Are you going to play fast and loose with my heart and then dump me?” Xiao Xiaoli lowered her voice, sounding like a slighted little wife.

Mu Cheng flicked her chin. “Sister isn’t into your type. There hasn’t even been a ‘start,’ so where would the ‘dumping’ come from?”

Xiao Xiaoli swatted her hand away. “You aren’t moving because of Yingzhi, are you? What, are you going to say she has designs on your beauty again?”

Mu Cheng looked at her with a dead serious expression. “You might not believe this, but nine years from now, she and I are married. And I seemingly have zero status in the household. I live a life of oppression—you have no idea how miserable it is.”

“You’re losing your mind again.” Xiao Xiaoli shook her head and tutted. “Day in and day out, I don’t know what kind of nonsense you’re babbling about.”

Mu Cheng shrugged helplessly. “You’re the one who asked. I tell you the truth and you don’t believe me.”

Xiao Xiaoli pondered for a moment. As if a lightbulb went off, her eyes lit up. “Have you actually fallen for Yingzhi?”

Mu Cheng, who had just opened her water bottle and taken a sip, sprayed it out instantly. The male student in front of her bore the brunt of it. He clutched his hair, which was now soaked, and turned around to look at Mu Cheng in total shock.

Mu Cheng choked and coughed violently, apologizing between gasps: “Sorry! I’m so sorry!”

The male student frowned. “What is wrong with you?”

Mu Cheng hurriedly grabbed some tissues to help him wipe it off. The student snatched the tissues from her hand and did it himself. Seeing that Mu Cheng’s apology was sincere, he didn’t pursue the matter further.

Xiao Xiaoli watched this with a sharp gaze and murmured, “So much agitation just from a sip of water. Looks like I hit the mark.”

Mu Cheng: “Hit what mark? You’re talking pure nonsense.”

“Alright, alright, stop hiding it. I think I’ve figured it out. The real reason you’re changing dorms is that you’ve fallen for Yingzhi, but you know deep down there’s no future for you two. Out of desperation, you can only distance yourself.” Xiao Xiaoli stroked her chin, looking like a master strategist. “What trope is this? Right, the ‘Tragic Female Second Lead’ script! And it’s a tragic second lead from a romance novel—you fell in love with the halo-wearing female lead, Zhong Yingzhi, but the female lead is destined for the male lead, so you…”

Xiao Xiaoli’s analysis was so methodical that Mu Cheng was left speechless, marveling at the woman’s power of association.

Finally, Xiao Xiaoli patted Mu Cheng’s shoulder and comforted her, “Look on the bright side. There’s nothing wrong with liking a girl. Your only mistake was falling for someone you shouldn’t—it was overestimating yourself, unrealistic, and a total pipe dream.”

Mu Cheng spat at her. “Do you even know how to talk? You learned a few idioms and just can’t wait to show them off, can you? You aren’t even using them right.”

Xiao Xiaoli put the joking aside. “So why won’t you tell me why you’re really changing dorms? Give me a reason.”

Mu Cheng didn’t want to argue further and replied perfunctorily, “Believe whatever you want. Just assume I like her. I like her so much I have to get away. Either way, regardless of the reason, I’m moving.”

The moment those words left her mouth, Xiao Xiaoli suddenly looked behind her, her face full of shock. “Yingzhi? Why are you here? Are you taking this class too?”

“How could she be here? What, just because I said I like her, she’s going to manifest behind me?” Mu Cheng didn’t turn around, assuming Xiao Xiaoli was just pranking her.

Xiao Xiaoli nudged her with her elbow, winking frantically as a warning.

Mu Cheng gave her a sharp look. “Stop acting. You think I’ll fall for it? This isn’t a TV drama—and even dramas need logic. She’s in Finance, we’re in Literature. We have nothing to do with each other. How could she possibly be in the same class as us, and sitting right behind us to boot?”

A cold, familiar voice came from behind. “This is a general elective course.”

Mu Cheng froze.

This cursed coincidence! Mu Cheng felt like she was about to spit out a mouthful of blood.

Melodramatic! Heavens, to force a pair together, you’ll truly do anything! Mu Cheng complained internally.

Mu Cheng exhaled a long breath and calmly turned around. “Everything I just said to Li-zi was a joke. Don’t take it seriously.”

Zhong Yingzhi raised an eyebrow with a half-smile. “Is that so?”

Mu Cheng nodded. “Yes.”

Xiao Xiaoli, the troublemaker, felt like things weren’t messy enough and chimed in, “So, the person in your wet dream back then really was Yingzhi?”

Mu Cheng’s body wobbled, nearly falling off her stool. “Xiao Xiaoli! I suggest you pack up that wandering ‘yellow’ (dirty) mind of yours. You’re making it sound so real—when did I ever have a dream like that?”

Xiao Xiaoli tilted her head in thought. “A long time ago. The day Jiang Zhengzhi rejected you. You woke up from a nap in a panic. I asked if it was a nightmare; you said no, but you dreamed of Yingzhi and that it was painful. Wouldn’t that be…”

Mu Cheng covered her annoying mouth. “Shut up! If your mouth keeps going, my reputation will be dragged through the mud even if I’m perfectly innocent.”

Zhong Yingzhi listened and watched quietly, her fountain pen tapping lightly against her notebook, her brow slightly arched.

Mu Cheng wanted to explain more to Zhong Yingzhi, but a targeted scolding came from the podium. “Some students, don’t think that just because this is an elective, you can treat it sloppily and disrupt the class. If you don’t want to listen, get out.”

Mu Cheng immediately dared not speak again. She turned back and listened to the lecture seriously.

Once the teacher stopped paying attention to her, Mu Cheng leaned back slightly and whispered an explanation: “I’m 100% straight. I really don’t feel that way about you.”

Zhong Yingzhi looked up at her, her expression unchanged. It was impossible to tell if she believed her.

Xiao Xiaoli leaned in and whispered, “Xiao Cheng, stop explaining. You’re making yourself look cheap. It just looks like you’re trying to hide it.”

Mu Cheng propped one hand on the desk and stared coldly at the troublemaker Xiao Xiaoli without blinking.

Xiao Xiaoli made a zipping gesture across her mouth. “OK, I’m shutting up.”