Treasure

Luo Xue stared into Lin Che's eyes and demanded,

"That wasn't my fault, either..."

"Shut up! Don't bring it up again!"

Before Lin Che could finish, another wild punch landed on his chest, knocking the wind out of him.

Luo Xue folded her arms and returned to her usual unreasonable self.

"I'm a cute and beautiful young girl, and I can cosplay, too. Lots of people at school want to date me, but I've turned them all down. Such a great opportunity is right in front of you, so what are you hesitating for?"

She stared hard at Lin Che, waiting for his answer.

Luo Xue couldn't believe that anyone in the world wouldn't be moved by her confession!

"Fine, then. What do I get out of being your boyfriend?"

"What do you get? You should be thrilled just to be my boyfriend! And you still want more?"

Luo Xue's expression grew increasingly smug.

"Every morning, you'll buy breakfast and wait for me downstairs so we can walk to school together!"

"At school, you'll go to the convenience store and grab me a freshly cooked sausage!"

"At lunchtime, you'll line up in the cafeteria and get my food for me..."

"After school, you'll do my cleaning duty and tidy up..."

"And if... if you do a good job, maybe I'll reward you with a kiss after the college entrance exams..."

"That's enough."

After hearing Luo Xue out, Lin Che could only stare at her in disbelief.

Luo Xue really had let Little Red Book brainwash her.

Her understanding of a normal romantic relationship was completely warped!

She wasn't looking for a boyfriend at all. She wanted a lovesick doormat to make her life more convenient.

Lin Che could already imagine how miserable his life would be if he accepted Luo Xue's confession.

Luo Xue would always act like she was above him, using the lines she'd learned on Little Red Book to trample on his dignity.

In Luo Xue's eyes, a woman never had to give anything in a relationship. Even granting her boyfriend the most basic kiss was a favor.

Actually, as she went on, Luo Xue had started to feel that some of her demands were a bit much.

But Little Red Book said men were pathetic: the higher your demands, the more excited they got. If you were too kind to a man, he'd think you were cheap and too easy, and he'd never cherish you.

That was what gave Luo Xue the confidence to act so brazenly.

"I know you're too insecure and think you're not good enough for me, but that's fine. I can give you a chance!"

After saying that, Luo Xue saw Lin Che's brows knit together.

He looked at her as though she were an alien.

"Hey, what's with that look? Hurry up and accept my offer gratefully!"

Luo Xue said, holding her chin high.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she started to regret them.

The little bit of romantic tension that had built up during the competition had been completely destroyed. The atmosphere between them had dropped to freezing.

But she'd already said it. All she could do was take a gamble and hope Lin Che was the kind of spineless guy Little Red Book described, someone a woman could easily control.

But then—

Lin Che said, "Luo Xue, what the hell is wrong with you?"

"Huh? Y-you said what? You don't agree to be my boyfriend? You should be happy! My feet hurt, so go get my slippers..."

Luo Xue doubled down, even though she knew she'd messed up. She tried to hide her panic.

"Luo Xue, you really need to spend less time on Little Red Book!"

"Do you think that just because you're pretty, everyone has to worship you?"

"I helped you compete because Gu Yilan asked me to. I helped you win the championship, and now you're humiliating me like this? I shouldn't have played this stupid game with you!"

Even the most mild-mannered person had a breaking point.

Lin Che was genuinely angry.

This woman had been brainwashed so badly that she was living in a fantasy world made up by Little Red Book. She was completely unreasonable.

After saying that, Lin Che turned and walked away.

Lin Che had always been easygoing.

When Luo Xue saw him get angry, she knew she'd gone too far.

"Hey, Lin Che! That's not what I meant!"

She tried to stop him.

"I just meant that if you're going to be my boyfriend, you need to show me you're sincere..."

"Girls need to feel secure. I can only trust you with my heart when I see you love me with everything you've got..."

Even now, Luo Xue was still trapped in the bubble woven by radical feminism.

Lin Che wasn't having it.

"Lin Che..."

Luo Xue kept repeating his name, but only the quiet air answered her.

Lin Che had already gone far away. If she hadn't chased after him at the start, she wasn't going to catch him now.

Luo Xue suddenly came to her senses.

It was obvious she'd made Lin Che angry.

She'd confessed because the kiss had stirred something in her, but she'd completely blown it!

Luo Xue's bright eyes turned hollow. She hugged the limited-edition figurine tightly to her chest, the prize she and Lin Che had won together.

A feeling of oppression settled over her like a shadow. Her throat tightened, and it became hard to breathe.

"Do you think that just because you're pretty, everyone has to worship you?"

Luo Xue's mind went blank as Lin Che's words echoed over and over in her head.

She was still wondering why he'd rejected her.

Luo Xue loved cosplay and often posted cosplay photos on Little Red Book.

The comments were always full of things like:

"Wow, girl, you look amazing! I'm so jealous of your boyfriend!"

"You're so pretty. You must have tons of guys chasing after you!"

"Girl, make sure you set your standards high. We can't let those stinking men have it easy!"

"Exactly! Don't let men fool you!"

"..."

In Little Red Book's fictional worldview, Luo Xue had been put on such a high pedestal by her fellow girls that she'd assumed Lin Che would be just as much of a simp.

But now, that fantasy had fallen apart.

None of the tricks she'd learned on Little Red Book worked on Lin Che!

Luo Xue wandered around the Comic Exhibition in a daze.

Her Jin Xi cosplay was so beautiful that people wanted to take pictures with her everywhere she went.

Even on a normal day, Luo Xue would turn people down when they asked to take pictures with her. Given how awful she felt now, she was even less inclined to agree.

And so, a Jin Xi who told people to "get lost" appeared at the Comic Exhibition.

"Xiao Xue?"

Her best friend's voice sounded beside her.

Only then did Luo Xue realize she'd somehow wandered back to the dressing room.

Gu Yilan had already changed out of her cosplay costume and back into her cute, innocent everyday clothes.

Seeing her best friend return alone, Gu Yilan naturally asked,

"Xiao Xue, why are you back by yourself? Where's Lin Che?"

"He..."

Luo Xue panicked. She hid the limited-edition figurine behind her back with one hand and pulled one of her twin braids over her chest with the other.

It covered the faint, bright-red hickey on her neck.

"He suddenly had something to do, so he went home first,"

Luo Xue said.

She'd practically forced a kiss on Lin Che and confessed to him. How could she tell her best friend something that embarrassing?!

So Luo Xue could only make up a lie.

"Honestly, Lin Che's so inconsiderate, leaving us behind and running off by himself~"

"D-don't worry about him. Let's find somewhere to eat..."

Luo Xue went into the dressing room and changed out of her Jin Xi cosplay. She put on a collared shirt to cover the hickey on her neck.

The two of them left the Comic Exhibition and found a quiet little restaurant.

Luo Xue deliberately chose a secluded, empty spot. There was something she wanted to ask Gu Yilan!

"Little Yilan, tell me honestly: is there someone you like?"

"Hm... huh?"

Gu Yilan let out a cute little squeal. A charming blush spread across her fair cheeks.

Luo Xue's question had startled her.

Had Luo Xue found out about the pair of black stockings that had gotten dirty?

That couldn't be. Hadn't she put them away?

Gu Yilan had been about to say no.

But then she thought about how she was definitely going to confess to Lin Che someday.

Xiao Xue hated Lin Che so much that she'd be completely dumbfounded when she found out!

So she might as well lay some groundwork now.

"Mm-hmm, there is a boy I like..."

Whenever Gu Yilan thought of Lin Che, the corners of her mouth lifted.

A radiant smile blossomed across her sweet, innocent face, brightening everything around her.

"Really? Actually..." Luo Xue bit her lip, then decided to share what was on her mind with her best friend. "Actually, I've started to feel something special for a guy lately, too."

"OHHHHHH! I thought you'd never like a guy in your whole life, Xiao Xue!"

Gu Yilan let out an excited shriek, then put on a gossipy expression.

"Xiao Xue, tell me! Which guy?"

"We're not even close to anything happening yet..." Luo Xue said with a bitter smile.