Chapter 05

Yang Min returned after throwing away the apple core, and the conversation between Qin Xiaoxiao and Tao Lei had already ended.

“I swear, the school bully was just looking at you!” Yang Min grabbed Qin Xiaoxiao’s sleeve as soon as she sat down, though she remembered to keep her voice low.

Qin Xiaoxiao remained calm. “Huh?”

“Really! He wasn’t sleeping; he was resting his chin on his hand and staring in your direction.” Yang Min imitated his posture. “Ah, but I can’t replicate that boss-like gaze.”

Qin Xiaoxiao almost burst out laughing. “Alright, sure.”

“Ah, do you think he might have a thing for you?”

“You’re overthinking it. Class is starting.”

Yang Min let out a “hmm” and added, “Honestly, I think the school bully is really handsome. He’s tall too, but I heard his personality is just too…”

“The teacher’s here,” Qin Xiaoxiao interrupted expressionlessly. “Don’t disturb me while I’m listening to the lesson.”

“Ugh,” Yang Min pouted in frustration.

…

The homeroom teacher, Guo Hairuo, asked Qin Xiaoxiao to stop by the office during evening self-study.

Qin Xiaoxiao went.

“You’ve made some progress in this monthly exam.” 

Guo Hairuo said in a calm tone. “But your Chinese and biology, especially biology, lost quite a lot of points.”

“Mm.” Qin Xiaoxiao, standing properly, nodded.

“Spend more time on these weaker subjects in the future and aim to score higher.”

“Mm.” Qin Xiaoxiao’s gaze shifted to the teacher management books on the desk.

After a few seconds, Qin Xiaoxiao assumed she could return to the classroom.

“One more thing…” Guo Hairuo pulled a pen from the pen holder, then placed it back.

Qin Xiaoxiao waited quietly.

“Help me call Ji Wenchen down here.”

Calling Ji Wenchen again? Qin Xiaoxiao felt a bit conflicted. Why did it seem like this was the real reason the homeroom teacher had asked her to come to the office?

Qin Xiaoxiao’s guess was spot on.

Ji Wenchen was, without a doubt, the most difficult student Guo Hairuo had ever encountered in her teaching career. Last time, Guo Hairuo casually asked Qin Xiaoxiao to call Ji Wenchen down, not expecting that the notoriously uncooperative Ji Wenchen—who wouldn’t even listen to other classmates or even her—actually showed up at the office.

So, Guo Hairuo decided to try again today.

A faint half-moon hung between the treetops by the edge of the playground, and the night breeze was damp and cool.

Qin Xiaoxiao walked through the corridor. During evening self-study, the sound of teachers explaining topics could be heard from some classrooms.

Hmm?

Who else could that be coming out of the eastern stairwell if not Ji Wenchen?

Judging by his demeanor, he was clearly planning to skip evening self-study and go have fun.

Should she deliver the homeroom teacher’s message to him? Qin Xiaoxiao made a decision almost instantly: pretend she didn’t see him and wait until the self-study session ended to tell the teacher that Ji Wenchen wasn’t in the classroom.

Not far away, Ji Wenchen seemed to sense something and looked straight over.

Behind him, Jiang Zhousi also stopped and glanced over, saying something to him.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but wonder at the wrong time: why was Jiang Zhousi, a senior in his third year, appearing in the second year teaching building?

Wait, why was Ji Wenchen walking over?

“Are you free Saturday night?”

He was asking if she was free on Saturday night? Qin Xiaoxiao replied without thinking, “I have something to do at home.”

Ji Wenchen responded with an emotionless “Oh.”

It seemed like he was just going through the motions of asking, not caring what her answer was.

Under the hazy moonlight and the corridor’s illumination, the boy in the white hoodie looked almost otherworldly in his handsomeness.

It was a sharp kind of handsomeness that inexplicably carried an edge.

“The homeroom teacher wants you to go to the office.” After throwing out this sentence, Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t wait for his reaction and quickly walked toward the west stairwell, heading upstairs.

In the classroom, many students were chatting in low voices, creating a faint, fragmented buzz. This was normal—Class 8 was usually in this kind of state when there wasn’t a teacher around.

“Why are you only just getting back?” Yang Min muttered while flipping through a novel.

Qin Xiaoxiao responded with a simple “Mm,” then opened her biology workbook, Top Student’s Study Guide.

“Damn, this is so heartbreaking!”

…

“Why did the female lead forgive this scumbag so quickly?”

…

Immersed in her novel, Yang Min occasionally voiced her complaints. It wasn’t noisy enough to be disruptive, and Qin Xiaoxiao, with her decent self-control, wasn’t much affected.

After finishing a page of exercises, Qin Xiaoxiao closed her eyes for a brief rest.

“Whoa, is he really this handsome? A hero saving a damsel in distress!”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s heart stirred. The phrase “a hero saving a damsel in distress” felt like a hook, pulling out a scene from 《The Cool and Arrogant School Bully Falls for Me》 in her mind:

The sickly female lead was returning to school from the hospital when she encountered a group of delinquents with ill intentions. The night was murky, the alley sparsely populated, and the delinquents were both robbing the female lead and making lewd jokes at her expense.

The frail female lead leaned against the wall, trembling and shutting her eyes. Just as she was shivering in fear, the passing male lead intervened, swiftly and ruthlessly beating the delinquents into a humiliating retreat.

The surroundings fell silent. The female lead, her body still trembling, opened her eyes to see the handsome male lead who had saved her. She was momentarily dazed…

This was the first meeting between the male and female leads.

It was tonight.

Qin Xiaoxiao wasn’t making random guesses.

Ji Wenchen and Jiang Zhousi climbed over the school wall to sneak out for fun. On their way, they would pass through a sparsely populated alley. According to the original novel, the event took place on a night in late March, and now, it was indeed late March.

Additionally, in the original novel, there was a description from the female lead’s perspective after being rescued:

“He was very tall, with a strikingly handsome face. His captivating eyes swept over casually, without lingering. Shy as always, Bi Chun couldn’t tear her gaze away from him.

His friend asked if they were still going, but he seemed somewhat annoyed by the bloodstains on his white hoodie and light-colored jeans. While frowning, he said, ‘I’m going back to shower.’ Even his voice was so pleasing to the ears.”

A white hoodie and light-colored jeans—exactly what Ji Wenchen was wearing when Qin Xiaoxiao saw him twenty minutes ago.

At this moment, Ji Wenchen was probably meeting the female lead.

Qin Xiaoxiao turned to a new page in her workbook and continued doing exercises.

Unable to handle the overly intense twists and turns of the novel, Yang Min closed the book, intending to take a breather. Her emotions were still surging, and she wanted to find someone to chat with and let it out.

“Why are you studying again, Qin Xiaoxiao?”

“When did you buy the Top Student’s Study Guide?” Yang Min poked her deskmate with her finger. “Come chat with me!”

“Not interested.”

“Ah, don’t be like that. You’ve been so diligent lately. What’s going on?”

“To achieve my life goals, to become a talent for socialist development.”

Yang Min almost choked on her own saliva. “Are you running a fever?”

“Our country is still in the primary stage of socialism. To achieve the goal of building a prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and beautiful modern socialist nation, it requires the efforts of more young people from our generation.”

Yang Min felt a headache coming on as she listened. Fine, she decided not to bother her desk mate, who was so determined to contribute to the nation.

“Qin Xiaoxiao, someone’s looking for you.” Not long after class ended, a classmate called from the front door of the classroom.

It was two senior-year girls, whom the original “Qin Xiaoxiao” had met through the school dance club. Both were fairly good-looking.

In Qin Xiaoxiao’s opinion, the original “Qin Xiaoxiao’s” relationship with them could only be described as an acquaintance: the superficial harmony and friendliness often seen among pretty girls.

“Xiaoxiao, why haven’t you replied to the QQ messages I sent you a few days ago?” The first to speak was Wang Xin, who had sleek, straight long hair and a slim figure.

Qin Xiaoxiao replied, “I haven’t been on QQ much these past few days.”

“What have you been busy with?”

“Wow, Qin Xiaoxiao, you even tied up your bangs?” Bai Yushi, the single-eyelid girl who came with Wang Xin, chimed in. “It actually looks pretty good this way.”

Qin Xiaoxiao smiled faintly.

“Xiaoxiao, where’s your seat?” Wang Xin kept glancing into the classroom.

“Third group, third-to-last row.”

“Oh, so you sit there.”

“What are your thoughts on the performance program?” Bai Yushi, the former president of the dance club, asked. The former vice president, Wang Xin, had suggested coming along to ask Qin Xiaoxiao about ideas for the school anniversary performance. However, upon arriving, Wang Xin seemed completely distracted.

“I’ve found two dance videos. I’ll send them to you over the weekend for you to check out.”

“OK, then if there’s nothing else, Wang Xin and I will…”

“Don’t be in such a hurry. I… let’s chat a bit more,” Wang Xin said, reluctant to leave.

Qin Xiaoxiao remained silent but turned to look in the direction Wang Xin kept glancing at. Her delicate eyebrows raised slightly.

What? When did he return to the classroom? Wasn’t he supposed to be outside?

Going back and forth between school and saving someone—there shouldn’t have been enough time for that, right?

So… did Ji Wenchen not go out?

Qin Xiaoxiao was a bit stunned, staring at the open workbook on her desk for several minutes.

“Ah, aren’t you supposed to be building socialism? Why aren’t you studying?”

“…Thanks for the reminder.”

***

Before the Qingming Festival^[1]Qingming Festival (清明节), also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese festival observed on April 4th or 5th each year. It is a day for honoring ancestors and deceased loved ones by … Continue reading, the Second High School organized a tomb-sweeping trip to the Martyrs’ Cemetery for the first-year and second-year students.

It was over ten kilometers away, and the students had to walk there. For the first few kilometers, they were like birds just released from their cages, spirits high, chatting and laughing as they walked. But halfway through the journey, exhaustion set in, and one by one, they grew weary. The once neat formation became sparse and scattered.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s body was indeed weak. Even after nearly two weeks of participating in morning runs, she was still out of breath every time she finished. Now, during the hike, she had fallen from the middle of Class 8 to somewhere near Class 10… nearly at the back of the entire first-year group.

Fortunately, she wasn’t alone. A chubby girl from her dormitory, Wu Li, was keeping her company as they “struggled to survive,” trudging along at a snail’s pace.

“Do you want some glucose?”

Oh, there were also a few male classmates from the same class who had fallen behind.

Qin Xiaoxiao wiped the sweat from her temples and shook her head.

“I…” The rejected male classmate didn’t give up. “How about I carry your backpack for you?”

Qin Xiaoxiao shook her head. “No need.”

The other two male classmates deliberately let out mocking laughter, directed at the bold boy trying to show his attentiveness.

Qin Xiaoxiao paid no attention to them and focused on walking forward alongside Wu Li.

Wu Li sneaked a glance at those boys, then shifted her gaze to Qin Xiaoxiao beside her. She felt a bit envious. Xiaoxiao was truly beautiful—even now, with her hair casually tied up, her face flushed with exhaustion, and her lips pale from exertion, she still looked like a little fairy. No wonder so many boys had a crush on her.

Huh? Wait—was she so tired that her eyes were playing tricks on her? Why was the school bully… coming over??

“How are you?”

No mistake—it really was the school bully! Wu Li, intimidated, quickly moved aside. Then, to her surprise, she realized that the supposedly fierce school bully was speaking to Xiaoxiao!

Qin Xiaoxiao cleared her throat slightly. “I’m fine.”

Ji Wenchen noticed the sweat on her temples and nose. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, “Give me your backpack.” Without waiting for a response, he swiftly took her backpack off her shoulders and carried it in his hand.

“?!” Qin Xiaoxiao was stunned. What was Ji Wenchen doing?

Why was he even participating in this activity? She hadn’t even noticed him in the lineup during the assembly…

No, no—what was even stranger was why he would take the initiative to help her carry something.

“Can’t walk anymore?” Ji Wenchen’s expression was cool and indifferent, his profile so striking it carried an air of unapproachability.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s scalp tingled, and she didn’t dare to stop walking.

The surrounding classmates, like quails, instinctively gave them a space with a radius of about one meter.

Qin Xiaoxiao felt inexplicably a bit embarrassed.