Chapter 53

“I want to… kiss you.”

The heat spread from her ears to her cheeks. Qin Xiaoxiao forced herself to maintain a calm demeanor. “Isn’t that too fast?”

“Too fast?” Ji Wenchen continued to approach until the tip of his nose was less than ten centimeters away from hers. “I don’t think it’s fast at all.”

“How is it not fast?”

In Qin Xiaoxiao’s opinion, today was only their second—no, third day of officially being together. This pace was way too fast.

“No way.”

“Then tell me—” Ji Wenchen asked in a rather serious tone, “when will it be ‘okay’?”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s upward-curving eyelashes trembled slightly, stirring ripples in the clear pools of her eyes. “When… you make it into the top fifty in the grade.”

“Tsk.” Ji Wenchen raised a hand, his fingers resting on her fair, delicate forehead. He slid them lightly down her brow, the curve of his fingers brushing along the bridge of her nose and grazing her nose tip.

His fingertips paused at the edge of her lips before moving gently to the corner of her mouth.

Qin Xiaoxiao, who was half a beat too slow in stepping back, was held firmly by Ji Wenchen’s other hand pressing against the small of her back.

“Don’t move.” The warmth of Ji Wenchen’s fingertips lingered at the corner of her lips, his faintly warm breath brushing against her face like a whisper. “It’s been too long. How about letting me get a little taste in advance?”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s fingers, hanging loosely by her sides, curled slightly and brushed against her pants. Her mind was almost entirely blank.

Her field of vision was filled entirely with his face under the night sky, drawing closer bit by bit.

A warm, slightly soft sensation pressed against her cheek.

It was his lips.

One second, two seconds…

At this moment, the faintly warm woody scent of cedar enveloped her…

Time seemed to slow down.

Qin Xiaoxiao froze slightly, hearing her own heart thunder like a drum.

“Last time, you kissed my left cheek. This time,” Ji Wenchen’s lips moved to her left ear, half-covered by strands of hair, “it’s only fair.”

…

Qin Xiaoxiao went up to the third floor.

Standing at her doorstep, she took out her keys, only to realize she was still wearing Ji Wenchen’s scarf around her neck.

She hurriedly took the scarf off.

Her small backpack didn’t have enough space to fit it.

After thinking for two seconds, Qin Xiaoxiao unzipped her jacket, placed the folded scarf in front of her abdomen, and zipped it back up.

A soft wall lamp was lit in the living room, likely left on by her mother for her.

The lights in her parents’ bedroom were off, but the door was open.

Qin Xiaoxiao tried her best to change her shoes and set down her keys quietly.

“Xiaoxiao?” Her mother’s drowsy voice came from the bedroom.

“Yes, Mom, I’m back.”

The creak of the bed and the soft sound of slippers shuffling followed. Her mother, draped in a coat, walked out of the bedroom. “Did your classmate get home too?”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s nerves tightened slightly, but she worked hard to appear natural. “Yes, yes.”

“Oh, good, good… Get some rest early.”

“Mm, you should go back to sleep too.”

After returning to her room and closing the door, Qin Xiaoxiao quietly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had hidden the scarf under her jacket…

…

In the morning, the alarm clock rang promptly at 7:30.

It pulled Qin Xiaoxiao out of her dream.

Her hand reflexively reached out from under the covers, found her phone, and silenced the alarm.

Her half-open eyes drowsily lifted for a moment before closing again.

She wanted to return to that dream.

However, she couldn’t get back in.

The contents of the dream had mostly faded in the moment of semi-wakefulness.

Qin Xiaoxiao only remembered it was a bizarre yet vivid dream, leaving behind just a few scattered fragments—

She opened the Jinjiang novel reading app, where her bookshelf showed that 《The Cool and Arrogant School Bully Falls for Me》 had an update.

Feeling bored, she clicked on it, but the most recently read page was completely blank. Curiously flipping through a few more pages, she found that they were all blank.

Then, for no apparent reason, the page automatically jumped back to the novel’s synopsis page.

The rest of the synopsis was blurry, but what remained clear was the main characters’ section: “Qin Xiaoxiao, Ji Wenchen”…

Bizarre. Strange.

Qin Xiaoxiao opened her eyes and stared at the pale-patterned ceiling light.

She listened to the faint rustling of leaves outside the window, separated by the glass.

Gradually, she collected herself.

Qin Xiaoxiao was a calm and laid-back person most of the time, but no matter how you put it, she was still an ordinary person. Suddenly finding herself in the world of a novel, she couldn’t help but have some concerns due to having read the story—although, when it came to Ji Wenchen and facing her own feelings, she had been fearless for once.

Someone who rarely dreamed, she suddenly had this dream… Was it some kind of metaphor?

Qin Xiaoxiao sat up, got dressed, and pulled open the curtains.

The sun had unexpectedly come out, with its soft, bright rays slanting through the glass window, dancing and shimmering.

Whether it was because of the dream or the winter morning sunlight, Qin Xiaoxiao’s mood gradually cleared and brightened.

It felt akin to stepping into spring, touching blooming flowers; or like an invisible sword hanging overhead being removed.

Qin Xiaoxiao curved her lips into a smile, opened her door, and walked out. She greeted her mother on the balcony and her father in the kitchen with a cheerful “Happy New Year.”

…

Until the end of the first semester of his final year, Ji Wenchen never returned to school to attend classes.

However, he did return to take the final exams on time.

On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, final year students went on vacation, and the results of the final exams were sent to each student’s personal QQ mailbox the next day.

Ji Wenchen opened his long-unused email inbox.

When he saw the number in the grade ranking section, his long eyes narrowed, and he immediately closed the webpage.

After downing half a bottle of cold mineral water, he leaned back against the chair, pressing his fingers against his temple.

After a while, he let out a frustrated “Tsk.”

…

Qin Xiaoxiao opened the class’s overall score ranking summary. After checking her own score, her gaze moved downward.

Ji Wenchen: Chinese… class rank 6, grade rank 71.

It was somewhat expected.

Qin Xiaoxiao knew that Ji Wenchen had been hiring tutors for daily lessons and that he was naturally smart. However, the closer one got to the top, the fiercer the competition and the harder it was to climb higher.

At the time, she hadn’t given it much thought—it was just a casual condition she had thrown out.

In the original novel’s timeline, the story only went up to December of the first semester of their final year. It never got around to mentioning whether Ji Wenchen took the national college entrance exam or what happened to him after graduating high school.

Qin Xiaoxiao bit her lip. Maybe Ji Wenchen wasn’t planning to follow the traditional college entrance exam path at all?

He was born into that kind of family. His relatives were probably planning to send him abroad for his studies.

Qin Xiaoxiao had to admit that she was a little selfish. She hoped he would take studying seriously, rely on himself to take the national college entrance exam, and, if possible… it would be ideal if he could attend university in the same city as her.

But now that she thought about it, was the condition she had set a bit unreasonable and inappropriate?

While juggling his daily work responsibilities, he also had to carve out time to study. If this continued for too long, his body might not be able to handle it.

Qin Xiaoxiao picked up her phone, intending to send Ji Wenchen a message to say that the condition didn’t count anymore.

However, that condition was tied to… a kiss.

She felt a bit too embarrassed to bring it up.

Speaking of which, it was already past nine, and she still hadn’t received a message from him—since New Year’s Day, Ji Wenchen had been sending her at least one morning and one evening greeting every day.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Xiaoxiao opened her message thread with Ji Wenchen and typed: 【Good morning.】

She sent it.

Half a minute later.

Ji Wenchen: 【Good morning. Have you had breakfast yet?】

Through the screen, the reply seemed no different from usual.

…

As the Spring Festival approached, Qin Xiaoxiao was either following her parents to visit relatives or staying home to receive visiting relatives.

Every day was lively and bustling.

She received a total of 3,350 yuan in New Year’s money, 1,800 of which came from Ji Wenchen.

This 1,800 yuan of New Year’s money arrived the most punctually.

On New Year’s Eve, Qin Xiaoxiao was watching the Spring Festival Gala with her family.

Just a few seconds before midnight, her phone chimed with the custom WeChat notification tone she had set for Ji Wenchen.

She opened the chat window to find a series of red envelopes—

【The first one: New Year’s money for age 1】

【The second one: New Year’s money for age 2】

【The third one: New Year’s money for age 3】

…

Eighteen of them were sent in a row.

This trick, wherever he had learned it, was a bit overused, but Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t deny that she felt somewhat touched.

She replied with 【Happy New Year】 but didn’t open any of the red envelopes.

On WeChat, there were also many New Year blessings from Yang Min, Dong Yunfang, Bi Chun, Wu Li… Qin Xiaoxiao replied to each one.

A few minutes later, Ji Wenchen sent her a voice message:

“This is your New Year’s money. I earned it myself, so you have to accept it.”

In the background, the faint bang-bang of fireworks could be heard, adding a touch of worldly warmth to his usually clear and magnetic voice.

His tone was, admittedly, a bit overbearing.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but let her lips curve into a slight smile.

Sitting next to her and watching the Spring Festival Gala, Feng Xiuling glanced at her daughter a couple of times.

…

The shortened winter break passed in a flash, and the final-year students entered their second semester.

There was a small test every week and a major test every two weeks.

Time felt as though an invisible hand had pressed the fast-forward button.

Qin Xiaoxiao felt as if she had just opened her eyes to the morning light when nightfall would arrive again.

The words “college entrance exam” and “university” began to appear more frequently in the conversations of her roommates and classmates.

Everyone had their ideal university or a shortlist of universities in mind.

It was like a group of mountaineers setting out from the foot of the mountain with their backpacks, each taking their own path toward the summit.

Even Valentine’s Day on February 14th hardly caught anyone’s attention.

Of course, Yang Min was among the few who still had the leisure to pay attention to such things.

After the evening self-study session, on the way back to the dormitory.

Yang Min quietly told her friend, “Today is Valentine’s Day, you know.”

“Mm.” Qin Xiaoxiao’s expression remained calm, though the fingers in her coat pocket twitched slightly.

Half a month ago, Yang Min had already confirmed from Xiaoxiao herself that she was in a relationship with the school bully.

“The forum thread about you and the school bully hasn’t been updated in ages…” Yang Min blinked. “Ah, but there are still lots of people replying every day, keeping the thread alive.”

“Oh.”

Yang Min was quite curious whether the school bully would return to school to study and, if so, when he would come back.

Seeing that Xiaoxiao didn’t seem inclined to say more, Yang Min changed the subject.

Unaware that Ji Wenchen was busy with family matters, Yang Min grumbled internally: Sigh, the school bully is really something. Skipping class all the time is one thing, but not even making an effort for Valentine’s Day? He doesn’t even come to school to spend it with Xiaoxiao.

Back at the dormitory, after washing up, Qin Xiaoxiao was about to climb into bed when a roommate pulled her aside to ask about a chemistry problem.

“Xiaoxiao, why isn’t the answer C for this question?”

At this stage, many students brought practice materials back to the dormitory after evening self-study to squeeze in extra study time.

Qin Xiaoxiao glanced over the question—it happened to be one she had worked on that afternoon.

“22.4 liters per mole applies to gases under standard conditions. Chloroform is a liquid at standard conditions, so 2.24 liters of chloroform…”

“Oh, right! How could I forget that chloroform isn’t a gas under standard conditions?” The roommate immediately realized her mistake after the hint.

Qin Xiaoxiao chuckled softly. “You have to be careful with questions like this. It’s a common trap involving Avogadro’s constant.”

“Mm, mm! Thank you so much, Xiaoxiao!”

“You’re welcome.”

“I have another question I want to ask…”

“Mm, which one?”

It wasn’t until the dorm lights went out that Qin Xiaoxiao finally climbed onto her bunk.

As she lifted her blanket, she noticed her phone screen glowing underneath—it had lit up from an incoming text message.

Ji Wenchen: 【What are you doing?】 (13 minutes ago)

Ji Wenchen: 【Asleep?】 (Just now)

Qin Xiaoxiao settled into bed and replied: 【No.】

Ji Wenchen: 【Can you come out to the balcony?】

Qin Xiaoxiao’s fingers paused for a moment before typing: 【Now? The dorm balcony?】

Ji Wenchen: 【Mm. The dorm balcony.】

The dormitory was silent, with no one speaking.

The curtain of Wu Li’s bed, near the door, glowed faintly from the light inside—she was likely studying.

Qin Xiaoxiao carefully put on her sweater and outer pants, ensuring her movements were quiet. After confirming there were no teachers patrolling the dormitory corridor, she gently climbed down the ladder from her bunk.