My Girlfriend is a Cold and Aloof Sickly Beauty 30

Chapter 30: Ears Tinged with Pink

The “ghost” Xiao Luohan, hand in hand with Jiang Xue, floated into the dance studio.

As soon as she entered, she felt a wave of warmth. Glancing around, her gaze landed on the white cabinet in the corner.

That must be the “air conditioner,” right? People in this world used it to cool down and stay warm, calling it “one of mankind’s greatest inventions.”

Thinking this, her gaze shifted from the air conditioner to the most conspicuous woman in the crowd.

The woman was looking down at her phone, the sword dance music playing from it. She must be reviewing her movements.

Xiao Luohan stared at her, mesmerized.

She wanted to approach her, to hug her, to say something to her.

But she knew clearly—that wasn’t her elder sister, just Jiang Xue’s older sister, who resembled her elder sister.

“Sit there,” Jiang Xue said softly, moving a stool over. “I’m afraid they’ll sit on you during the break.”

Xiao Luohan came back to her senses, smiled faintly, and replied, “Okay.” She went to the designated spot and sat down, quietly observing.

Even with an “invisible audience member,” the rehearsal continued as usual.

She watched as Jiang Xue, holding the telescopic sword, joined the group, as if seeing another version of herself in a dream.

“You really don’t need to watch the video anymore?” she heard the girl playing the video ask.

“No, I’ve already learned it,” she saw Jiang Xue reply confidently. “Let’s do a run-through.”

The young woman wielded the telescopic sword with practiced ease. The slightly bulky school uniform didn’t hinder her movements, only making them look a bit comical, but all the details were in place.

Although it was clearly her first time dancing this part, she performed more proficiently than the others.

“Amazing! No need for practice at all!”

After this segment, one of the girls couldn’t help but exclaim, “I think we’re ready to go on stage now!”

The other dancers echoed her sentiment:

“Even if we get nervous and forget the movements, we can just glance at Jiang Xue!”

“A-Xue, you’re our savior!!”

The student who had been making mistakes hadn’t come to rehearsal after being asked to withdraw. Everyone knew about her lack of effort and resented it, but they didn’t gossip about her behind her back.

It was better to spend that time practicing and then go back for a nap.

“Then… shall we do another run-through from the beginning?” Jiang Xue didn’t dare be careless during the first run, putting all her effort into perfecting the details, and she was still a little breathless. “The solo dance is next. Let’s see what our reinforcement is capable of.”

Jiang Mei was already prepared. She took off her jacket and stood up, wearing only a close-fitting black thermal shirt, and nodded to Dan Yuanyuan.

The music for the solo dance started. She drew her heavy, plum blossom-carved sword and flawlessly replicated the dance movements from the video.

Jiang Xue’s sword dance solo had been adjusted by her. Only by understanding the original movements to a certain extent could she know how to modify them to best suit the dancer.

Compared to the slightly weaker Jiang Xue, her movements were more powerful and flexible, and she even added details to several key movements that enhanced the aesthetic appeal for a female dancer.

At first, when Xiao Luohan watched Jiang Mei’s sword dance, she couldn’t help but compare it to her elder sister’s, but as Jiang Mei got into the rhythm, she noticed the difference between the two.

If her elder sister was like a red fox, Jiang Xue’s sister was like a nimble black panther.

She was more reserved than her elder sister, concealing her sharpness, but at just the right moment, she would release it through her gaze and the aura of her movements.

Somewhat inappropriately, Xiao Luohan recalled Jiang Xue mentioning in her second-year diary, “My sister’s death glare is killing me.”

The music ended, and Jiang Mei finished with a flourish, sheathing her sword.

Applause erupted from somewhere, then spread throughout the room. Everyone was genuinely happy about the powerful reinforcement.

Xiao Luohan couldn’t describe her emotions at this moment. Her mind felt blank, and the scene and sounds before her seemed to fade away.

She felt like she was back in the fog, but now, warm light shone from above.

But she hesitated, unsure whether she should reach out and touch it, whether accepting the warmth and gentleness of that light meant betraying her past.

“What’s wrong, Your Highness?”

Jiang Xue’s voice suddenly rang out.

Xiao Luohan looked up in surprise. The next second, her trembling hands were held.

“We made a lot of progress today, and everyone has already left.” Jiang Xue explained. “Look, it’s just me, A-Xi, and my sister. If you’re not feeling well, you can leave the dream and rest, or you can talk to us to distract yourself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard the click of Xie Xitong locking the classroom door.

“What’s wrong, Third Princess?” Jiang Mei, the only one who couldn’t see Xiao Luohan, put on her jacket and approached, asking with concern.

Being surrounded by the three of them, Xiao Luohan felt a little embarrassed. The feeling of being lost in the fog was dispelled by their words of concern.

“It’s nothing, I just thought of my elder sister.” But because of this, she hid her feelings even deeper. “You still have classes this afternoon, right? Don’t worry about me. I’ll walk around nearby and then go back.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Jiang Xue said. “We agreed on this last time.”

Seeing her younger sister get up and pull on the air, Jiang Mei felt a little uneasy and was about to follow, but Xie Xitong stopped her. “Mei-jiejie, I thought of a new detail. Could you try dancing it again?”

Their eyes met, and Xie Xitong winked at her.

So Jiang Xue left the dance studio with the Third Princess alone.

There was no air conditioning outside, and the cold wind blew in through the large windows at the end of the corridor.

Jiang Xue put on her hood, tightened her scarf, and quickly put on her gloves.

“Let’s find a place out of the wind.”

She held Xiao Luohan’s hand and led her up the spiral staircase to a sunny glass room.

“Oh, it’s not open today.” Seeing the lock on the door, Jiang Xue said regretfully, “I wanted to take you inside to bask in the sun… Wait! Can you float through the wall?”

Xiao Luohan obediently tried, but the transparent glass wall blocked her.

“Hmm… I guessed you weren’t exactly like a ‘ghost’ after all.” Jiang Xue rubbed her chin and pulled out a chair from under the small round table in front of the glass room. “Come, sit here. Usually, no one comes here during lunch break.”

“What’s inside…?”

“Succulents, all kinds of cute plants with fleshy leaves. The gardening club takes good care of them.” Jiang Xue replied. “If you like any, I’ll get you a pot. Succulents are quite easy to take care of.”

Seeing Xiao Luohan nod silently, she hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Did something happen to Your Highness over there…?”

The Third Princess repeatedly coming to her in dreams was undoubtedly a huge step forward, but precisely because the frequency of crossing over and interaction upgrades had increased significantly, Jiang Xue was worried.

She believed that, whether it was friendship or love, relationships developed in stages.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the “progress” between them should be gradual, slowly getting to know each other.

But the Third Princess’s recent progress was really puzzling. Just looking at their chat logs in the diary, she felt that the Third Princess’s condition was as stable as ever, even improving.

If that was the case, why such a big leap in their interaction?

“Nothing happened,” Xiao Luohan answered without hesitation. “After you caused that commotion, no one has disturbed my peace.”

This answer seemed flawless, but Jiang Xue keenly sensed a hint of unease beneath the calm—Xiao Luohan’s lowered eyelashes were trembling slightly.

What was she afraid of? What was she afraid to say?

“But this peace might not last, right?” Looking into Xiao Luohan’s eyes, Jiang Xue couldn’t help but ask, “Your Highness is a princess sent for marriage alliance, but after arriving in Daying, you’ve been living in Wangmei Pavilion. I haven’t seen any scenes of the wedding in my dreams.”

She didn’t continue. With the Third Princess’s intelligence, she should understand what she meant.

This meant that the wedding probably hadn’t happened yet.

Her elder sister had died in the battle between Daying and Beiliao. To the Third Princess, the entire country of Daying was hostile.

And according to the agreement between the two countries, she was to marry the Crown Prince of Daying and become his consort.

Just thinking about it made Jiang Xue feel disgusted, especially considering the Crown Prince’s character, which she had witnessed.

The road ahead was undoubtedly a dead end. The Third Princess never mentioning the danger didn’t mean it didn’t exist.

Jiang Xue actually had many questions for Xiao Luohan.

Like what she had been thinking before, and why she had suddenly started opening up to her.

And what her plans for the future were, whether she wanted to escape Daying, or… try to come to her world.

But in the end, she didn’t ask any of these questions, only getting up from her seat and hugging Xiao Luohan tightly.

“I’ll start preparing slowly,” she said softly, her voice close to Xiao Luohan’s ear. “What kind of bedding and pillows do you like? What color? What material? Do you prefer simple room decor or lots of decorations? Or maybe a room full of cute plushies like the Shiba Inu?”

“Can you accept the clothes we wear? If not, I’ll take your measurements and have some everyday hanfu made for you. I have some one-size-fits-all cloaks in my wardrobe. I’ll take pictures and show you when I get home.”

The young woman before her clearly wasn’t threatening in any way, but Xiao Luohan’s breath hitched at her words, and her ear, close to the young woman, unconsciously turned pink.

“…Why are you asking these things?” she asked in a low voice, feigning ignorance.

“If you come over, I’ll take care of you!” Jiang Xue smiled. “Don’t underestimate me just because I’m still in school. I’ve saved up quite a bit of money from helping my sister during vacations and tutoring in my free time! When I graduate, I can find a part-time job…”

“Don’t you think I’m despicable?”

The unexpected question interrupted Jiang Xue.

A look of surprise appeared on her face, and then she met Xiao Luohan’s gaze, asking in return, “In what way does Your Highness consider yourself despicable?”

“Wanting to escape a dark and muddy environment, yearning for a more comfortable and secure place to live, and striving to reach it with the help of trustworthy people is, in my opinion, perfectly normal.”

“Those who truly care about Your Highness only wish for you to escape this sea of suffering as soon as possible, not hypocritically use all sorts of methods, speaking of righteousness and morality, saying ‘it’s for your own good,’ while keeping you in a place that everyone knows is terrible.”

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