Chapter 06

Why did he come over to help Qin Xiaoxiao carry her backpack?

Ji Wenchen recalled what Jiang Zhousi had said: no matter what, Qin Xiaoxiao was his girlfriend now. “Even if you don’t want to do the things a boyfriend should do, at least don’t treat her so coldly.”

At that time, he had let out a soft scoff and didn’t take it to heart.

Now… Ji Wenchen lowered his gaze to the backpack he was holding, his lips pressed into a straight line.

Before entering the cemetery, there was a winding mountain staircase nearly a hundred meters long. When walking along it, one could see fresh green branches dripping with dew at the foot of the mountain, admire the pale pink peach blossoms scattered among the hills, and occasionally hear the clear chirping of orioles.

Qin Xiaoxiao, however, had no mind to appreciate any of it. Climbing the stairs was exhausting for her; her legs felt as if they were filled with lead, and every step she took drained the little energy she had left.

She was relying entirely on the staircase railing for support.

“Xiaoxiao, you…” Wu Li wanted to say something to Qin Xiaoxiao, but when she noticed the school bully in front of them seemingly about to turn around, she instantly fell silent.

Ji Wenchen, tall with long legs and plenty of stamina, had walked far ahead, leaving Qin Xiaoxiao far behind. Upon hearing someone call out the name “Qin Xiaoxiao,” he unconsciously stopped in his tracks.

The girl gripped the railing with both hands, almost half her body leaning against it. Her long-sleeved T-shirt, slightly fitted, revealed a certain rise and fall in her chest with each breath… Ji Wenchen quickly shifted his gaze upward. Her fair and delicate neck was slightly bowed, her lips parted as she gasped for air, and her eyes—more captivating than the mountain peach blossoms—seemed to glimmer with rippling waves of light.

At this moment, the face represented by the name “Qin Xiaoxiao” finally became clear in his eyes. Ji Wenchen couldn’t help but somewhat agree with Jiang Zhousi and the others—Qin Xiaoxiao was strikingly beautiful, the kind that drew people in.

The person standing a dozen steps ahead on the staircase, looking down from above, brought an inexplicable sense of pressure to her.

Qin Xiaoxiao deliberately ignored Ji Wenchen’s gaze, caught her breath for a moment, and continued walking forward.

Ji Wenchen stood still in place.

When Qin Xiaoxiao finally “climbed” her way up to his side, she paused for a moment. Considering the fact that he had helped carry her backpack, she still decided to speak up, “Not moving?”

Ji Wenchen answered directly with his actions.

In less than three minutes, he had effortlessly pulled far ahead of her again.

Qin Xiaoxiao looked at his tall, upright figure ahead, her feelings a mix of envy and helplessness.

Relying on sheer determination, Qin Xiaoxiao finally made it to the top of the staircase, only to find Ji Wenchen waiting near the end of the steps.

“The backpack…”

As soon as she began to speak, his distinctively jointed hand handed her the backpack.

She immediately took it.

Not far away was a wide, open clearing where teachers and students coming up from different paths were gathering.

Qin Xiaoxiao didn’t want too many people to notice any interaction between her and Ji Wenchen.

“I’m waiting here for my roommate,” she said, subtly hinting to Ji Wenchen: You can go ahead.

Ji Wenchen caught the underlying meaning in her words. Recalling the text message from a few days ago, his lips pressed slightly tighter as he strode away.

Qin Xiaoxiao relaxed, found a clean rock, and leaned against it to sit down.

The mountain breeze gradually dried the sweat on her skin, but it didn’t make her feel much more comfortable.

“Xiaoxiao? Phew—why—why are you—sitting here?” Wu Li finally made it up the stairs.

“Waiting for you.”

Wu Li’s cheeks were flushed. “Re—really? Then—phew—let’s go over together.”

In the class, small cliques had naturally formed: students who excelled academically hung out with others like them, the attractive ones grouped together, the wealthy ones stuck to their own circle… Someone like Wu Li, who was unremarkable in every aspect, overweight, and introverted, barely had any close friends in the class.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s friendly attitude, despite her striking beauty, made Wu Li genuinely happy.

Qin Xiaoxiao wasn’t feeling very well and had initially wanted to sit for a while longer. However, hearing Wu Li’s suggestion, she agreed and went to join the gathering.

The homeroom teacher directed the students of Class 8 to line up in order. Before the tomb-sweeping ceremony, the school leadership’s speeches were a necessary formality.

The principal stood on a half-meter-high platform at the front and gave a brief speech. Following that, the Dean of Moral Education solemnly emphasized disciplinary issues.

“…We must approach this with a solemn and respectful attitude. What are you all doing? You can’t even line up properly. The formation is loose and untidy, huh? Looking across, so many of you can’t even stand straight.”

Feeling dizzy, Qin Xiaoxiao swayed slightly but forced herself to stay upright, straining her nerves to maintain her posture.

“Xiaoxiao, your face looks so pale…” Wu Li, standing to her left, couldn’t help but whisper.

Qin Xiaoxiao shook her head, signaling that she didn’t need any attention.

She struggled to suppress the overwhelming nausea rising within her.

“Ah!” Yang Min, who was standing in front, turned around. “You really look weak. Should we tell the teacher so you can go rest?”

Qin Xiaoxiao furrowed her delicate brows but didn’t have time to respond before hearing the Dean of Moral Education reprimand, “Students at the back are still chatting? Huh?”

“Turn back around,” Qin Xiaoxiao barely moved her lips, speaking to Yang Min in a breathy whisper.

“Some students from Class 3, 5, 6, 8, 11, and 12, especially those boys at the back—have you talked enough, huh? Do you know where we are, and what day it is today, huh? Everyone, stand still and upright, and reflect for ten minutes!”

After uttering those brief words, Qin Xiaoxiao felt even more nauseous. She closed her eyes and tried to endure it, but there was no improvement at all. Even her legs were trembling and turning weak.

Qin Xiaoxiao resigned herself and weakly raised her hand halfway. “Report… ugh—” The nausea surged up her throat, and she bent over, vomiting out the contents of her stomach.

Nearby classmates stepped aside, some letting out startled cries.

The homeroom teacher, Guo Hairuo, quickly came over. “Are you okay?” While supporting Qin Xiaoxiao, she took a pack of tissues from her bag and handed it to her. “Go over there to get some fresh air and rest.”

“Teacher, let me help,” Yang Min offered, instinctively placing Qin Xiaoxiao’s other arm over her shoulder.

With the support of the two, Qin Xiaoxiao was helped to an open area about seven or eight meters away. After rinsing her mouth with bottled water, she leaned against a stone railing to rest.

Yang Min, following Guo Hairuo’s instructions, stayed by her side to accompany her.

“Do you want some warm water?”

Qin Xiaoxiao weakly replied, “No need…”

“I have some in my backpack. Let me get it for you.”

When Qin Xiaoxiao vomited, she accidentally soiled her sneakers and the cuffs of her pants. She used up several damp tissues trying to clean them, but they still looked unsightly. The stains were especially noticeable on her cotton pants.

With her mild germophobia, Qin Xiaoxiao now wished for nothing more than to take off her pants and shoes and have a hot shower.

“Here,” Yang Min said, opening her thermos and pouring some warm water into the lid before handing it to Qin Xiaoxiao.

“I want to go home early.”

“Huh? Go home?”

Qin Xiaoxiao weakly nodded.

“Like this,” Yang Min thought for a moment and then said, “After the tomb-sweeping ends, we’ll just have a class meeting back at school before the break starts. You should be able to go home early.”

“Then I’ll help you ask Miss Ruo for leave.”

Yang Min jogged off to find Guo Hairuo. The two exchanged a few words, after which Guo Hairuo walked to the back of the class lineup and said something to the boys there.

The boys all turned their gazes toward Qin Xiaoxiao’s direction.

The most prominent one—due to his height, demeanor, and appearance—also glanced over.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s heart skipped a beat as she saw him walking over with Yang Min.

“What’s going on?” Qin Xiaoxiao tried to ask her deskmate with her eyes, questioning why she had brought him over.

With the infamously fierce school bully behind her, Yang Min was so nervous that she stammered, “Miss-Miss-Miss Ruo agreed to let you-you go back. I-I-I’m heading back to the line now.”

“You—”

But Yang Min had already run off.

Could the homeroom teacher have asked Ji Wenchen to escort her down the mountain?

Qin Xiaoxiao held her packed backpack and slowly stood up.

“I’ll carry you.”

The straightforward tone successfully made Qin Xiaoxiao’s fingers tremble slightly.

“Thank you, but no…” Qin Xiaoxiao caught a glimpse of his expression darkening slightly. “No… no need to trouble you.” She forced her weak body to start walking down the mountain path.

She had no desire to attract attention or to be associated with Ji Wenchen in the eyes of her classmates and teachers.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s vision blurred for a moment, and the tall boy with long legs had already walked down several steps ahead of her.

“Get on.”

He was wearing a gray crewneck sweatshirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his back slightly hunched as he waited.

One second, two seconds… He maintained this posture.

If they kept stalling, the other classmates would soon disperse. Besides, she truly didn’t have the strength to continue walking.

“Then, thank you,” Qin Xiaoxiao said, biting her lower lip. She slung her backpack over her shoulders and carefully leaned onto his back.

Qin Xiaoxiao tried to avoid too much physical contact with Ji Wenchen, awkwardly keeping her slender legs half-suspended and stretched out on either side of his body.

What she didn’t realize was that this caused her entire upper body to press even closer against him.

Ji Wenchen remained still.

Qin Xiaoxiao hesitated and asked, “Am I too heavy…” Is that why you can’t move?

Suddenly, she felt a tightness behind her knees as her legs were folded and lifted, resting against his waist.

Even through the layer of cotton fabric, she could feel the domineering strength and warmth of his hands.

Qin Xiaoxiao was left speechless.

He maintained that firm grip on her legs as he carried her down the mountain.

As the saying goes, it’s easier to go up a mountain than to come down. But that didn’t apply to Ji Wenchen. His pace wasn’t slow, and his steps remained steady.

Occasionally, the chirping of birds and the rustling of the wind could be heard in the mountain air, but the dizzy Qin Xiaoxiao had no mind to appreciate it.

Neither did Ji Wenchen.

Firstly, he had to focus on the path. Secondly… the sensation on his back was hard to ignore. Even through the fabric, the occasional soft pressure brushing against him felt like a feather teasing his skin, sending an itch that burrowed from his back into his heart, spreading deep and permeating to his entire body.

Ji Wenchen pressed the tip of his tongue against the inner wall of his mouth and was just about to speak.

Unexpectedly, two people came walking up from the corner ahead. Seeing that they were about to collide, he immediately stopped and straightened his forward-leaning posture—he didn’t like being too close to others.

Qin Xiaoxiao, who had her head lowered, let out a soft hum. When Ji Wenchen straightened up, his back pressed tightly against her chest. It wasn’t painful, but there was a strange sense of pressure that felt rather unusual.

Qin Xiaoxiao hurriedly pulled her upper body away from him.

“S-sorry.”

Qin Xiaoxiao looked toward the girl who had apologized. She wasn’t very tall, had thin bangs, short hair that reached her earlobes, a round face, and almond-shaped eyes… matching perfectly with the description of a character’s appearance from a novel.

Coupled with a certain intuition in her mind, Qin Xiaoxiao was certain that the girl climbing the mountain with her companion was none other than the heroine of the original novel, Bi Chun.

Had she not paid enough attention while reading? Wasn’t there no mention in the original novel of the male and female leads meeting on the day of the tomb-sweeping event?

If she remembered correctly, the original story didn’t even mention this tomb-sweeping activity at all.

Qin Xiaoxiao silently transformed into a bystander, ready to watch the sparks fly between the male and female leads during this unexpected encounter.

Wait…??

Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at the heroine, who was gradually being left behind, and was stunned.

Ji Wenchen just walked off without giving the female lead any response?

That’s not right, is it?

Qin Xiaoxiao frowned, silently grumbling to herself. Ji Wenchen, are you still the male lead? What on earth are you doing as the male lead?

Judging by the situation between the two, and the shift in the heroine’s expression from apologetic to awestruck, Qin Xiaoxiao was certain that this was the male and female lead’s first meeting.

So, that night, her suspicions were confirmed: on the day when the male and female leads were supposed to have their first meeting, where the male lead heroically saves the heroine, Ji Wenchen hadn’t even left the school and didn’t rescue the female lead.

This… had deviated from the original plot!

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Author’s Note:

This chapter was accidentally delayed a bit. From now on, updates will be posted before 10:00 PM.