Rebirth: A Cinderella's Counterattack

Chapter 190: Chapter 178: Today is Monday

Early in the morning, Luo Qianqian crawled out of bed, washed up without needing her mother or brother to take turns calling her to get up, and by the time Luo Shufan came out, she was already sitting on the stool, starting to eat breakfast with a smile.

”Brother, good morning,” Luo Qianqian said cheerfully.

”Good morning,” The sister, who never greeted him before, suddenly did so today—couldn’t help but feel it was some kind of illusion, right?

”Brother Lin hasn’t gotten up yet? I’ll put his share in the microwave so he can heat it up when he wakes up,” Luo Qianqian finished her soy milk, grabbed a couple of buns, two sticks of fried dough, and placed another cup of soy milk in the microwave, then pulled out a sticky note to leave a message indicating where his meal was.

”Do you need to be so excited, considering what’s going on tonight, to be this proactive in the morning?” Luo Shufan shook his head and ate his breakfast.

”I’m just in a good mood,” Luo Qianqian said with a grin, ”Are you coming tonight?”

”I’ll ask for the afternoon off, so I should make it before you get out of school,” Luo Shufan nodded.

”Don’t fall behind in your classes, you still need to tutor Brother Lin. It would be embarrassing if you can’t get first place,” Luo Qianqian watched her brother’s relaxed demeanor and pouted. Why is everyone around her so composed?

”Don’t worry,” Luo Shufan looked meaningfully at his sister, ”Even if I’m not as good as Xu Tianyi, I’m still your brother. Can’t you have a little faith in me?”

How could she have faith? After all, it was Xu Tianyi he consulted for questions. But she wondered how he was doing. The thought of that embrace sent a flush to Luo Qianqian’s face.

By the time they arrived at school, the Pei brothers, Yuhao and Tianyi, were already there. They had visited the siblings over the weekend and had known since then about what was going to happen today. They were very excited, yet they couldn’t share it with anyone, so they hadn’t spoken to Luo Qianqian all day, pretending that they had a falling out with her to lower someone’s guard.

Luo Qianqian too was struggling today, playing the pitiful role. Everyone she saw was met with an expression as though she was about to cry, which according to her past life, could be referred to as a ”White Lotus Flower” act.

Li Qi came over to ask questions but was met with Luo Qianqian’s timid gaze, which left her stunned and with an expression as though she had seen a ghost. Thankfully, Luo Qianqian had called ahead, because even though Li Qi was amazed by her performance, she still thought it a pity not to become an actress.

”Qianqian, what’s wrong?” Li Qi took a deep breath and feigned ignorance as she asked.

Luo Qianqian blinked, and two big tears rolled down onto the desk. Li Qi was completely dumbfounded and stopped thinking about what to say, clumsily reaching out with a tissue to wipe Luo Qianqian’s tears, ”What happened, speak up, don’t cry dear, be good, don’t cry, okay? Tell sister who bullied you, and I’ll help you get revenge.”

Luo Qianqian shook her head with her head bowed, not saying a word.

”Say something, what’s the matter? Aren’t we friends anymore?” Li Qi slammed her hand on the Pei brothers’ desk, ”Explain yourselves! How come she’s asking for leaves and looks so aggrieved after eating with you? What did you guys do? How is that friendship?”

Pei Yuhao looked up wearily—weariness caused by the excitement from the night before that had kept him awake—”How would I know? Friends aren’t there to take out your frustrations on.” Pei Yuhao played along excellently, having made no explanations for the last few days and showing no reaction. Even today, when Luo Qianqian arrived, he had kept a cold face, although his heart was pounding as if it would jump out.

”What do you mean by that?” Li Qi, ready to punch someone, reached out her fist but was stopped by Luo Qianqian tugging at her sleeve. Looking back, she only saw Luo Qianqian shaking her head from side to side. Pei Yuhao slumped back to his desk, his shoulders shaking, fists clenched. Everyone around thought he was angry, but he was actually holding back laughter. After he leaned down, his face was red, his mouth agape, and he panted heavily.

Luo Qianqian, unable to think of anything sad anymore, pinched her thigh hard to keep the tears from drying until class started. She then breathed a sigh of relief, wiped her tears, and pretended to be timid, keeping her head down, not looking at the blackboard or the teacher.

Seeing this, Wang Wei never considered that Luo Qianqian had put so much effort into her act just to make sure he didn’t escape after school. He was inwardly delighted, believing the people he found had been successful. As long as he got the photos, Luo Qianqian would have to follow his commands in the future—she couldn’t head west if he said east, nor south if he directed north. The thought exhilarated him, and he couldn’t keep the smile from spreading across his face.

”Don’t you feel that Luo Qianqian is a bit off today?” Han Lei looked at Luo Qianqian, then at the Pei brothers, then at Li Qi, and whispered behind his book to his desk mate Shen Yan.

”It’s clearly an act,” Shen Yan snorted, ”Pei Yuhao is too green. If the other side had a little more wit, they wouldn’t be so smug right now.”

As Shen Yan’s gaze shifted towards Wang Wei’s direction, a cold glint flashed in her eyes, and a lightbulb went off in her head, ”Are you saying it’s him?” Her finger subtly pointed in the direction of Wang Wei behind the book.

Shen Yan nodded, lifting the corners of her lips, ”I’m actually quite looking forward to the next part of the drama. It seems like big moves are coming.”

Han Lei didn’t harbor any doubts, nodded, and quietly lay his head on the desk to observe the situation. He couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so he closed his eyes to sleep. If there was a show to watch, Shen Yan would naturally wake him.

Luo Qianqian watched as Wang Wei sneakily ran out after class, frowning. Had her act been so fake that she’d been found out? Was he going out to contact a parent to ask for a leave of absence?

Seeing Luo Qianqian frown, Pei Yutian restrained Pei Yuhao, who was all too prone to impulsiveness. He followed Wang Wei out of the classroom and returned moments later with a dark expression, murmuring, ”He was making a phone call, arranging for someone to get some photos after school.” They all knew exactly what he meant, ”It seems like the other party agreed, and the meeting time was set.”

As soon as Pei Yutian finished speaking, Luo Qianqian’s phone vibrated, and a text message popped up.

Luo Qianqian, with her head down, curved her lips into a smile. Giving yourself up for a downfall? You’ve got some nerve.

”They’ve set the meeting at Peninsula Café,” Luo Qianqian whispered to the Pei brothers, making no significant gesture to avoid suspicion from anyone who might be watching.

Pei Yutian glanced at Luo Qianqian’s phone and nodded, ”So when do we head there after school?”

”We’ll stay in the classroom and do homework, wait for the right time, then set off,” Luo Qianqian narrowed her eyes, sent a couple of messages to her brother, and then put away her phone.

Pei Yuhao continued to lie down. He’d been too excited the night before and was still sleep-deprived, even though he had slept all morning, noon, and half the afternoon. His eyes, however, already showed that he was in good spirits, bright and clear.

Luo Qianqian stared at the exercise booklet in her hands, doing problems to pass the time out of boredom, for paying too much attention to that person would bore her to death, right?

Finally, the end-of-school bell rang. Luo Qianqian packed her bag leisurely, watching as Wang Wei was the first to dash out of the classroom, a smile playing on her lips.

”When are we heading out?” Pei Yuhao asked eagerly as the classroom emptied except for a few friends.

”Why go so early? We’re not going to take any action,” Luo Qianqian retorted, looking at the confused faces before her. She slowly explained today’s abnormal behavior and the upcoming events, bluntly saying that someone was going to get beaten up. Xia Qi frowned, and just as Li Qi was about to speak, she saw Xia Qi pushing Luo Qianqian in indignation, ”You didn’t even tell us about such a big deal, do you even consider us friends anymore?”

Luo Qianqian gave a wry smile, ”I was afraid you’d get too excited and give us away.” She glanced at Pei Yuhao who looked away awkwardly.

”Hmph, don’t think that we’ll forgive you just because you said that,” Xia Qi said, grabbing the hands of Li Qi and Shen Yan, her demeanor unyielding.

Li Qi blinked, not daring to speak—was she supposed to disclose that she knew some of it, albeit only a little?

”So, what do you want me to do?” Luo Qianqian chuckled while packing her bag, ”Hurry back home. Your mom is calling you to come home for dinner.”

”We want to be onlookers too.” Xia Qi declared their demand unequivocally, causing Luo Qianqian to nearly tumble off her chair in surprise, ”What did you say?”

”We want to go too.” Seeing that Li Qi and Shen Yan were also determined to be onlookers, Luo Qianqian nodded, ”Fine, but don’t get spotted. Otherwise, be careful you don’t get targeted for a scam.” With someone like Wang Wei, it wouldn’t be surprising if, after getting hurt, he’d accuse anyone he ran into on the street.