Late into the night, Jiang Zheng lay in bed, still thinking about Bai Qiming’s words. No matter how many excuses he found for himself, he had to admit that he seemed to have developed a different kind of feeling for Yu Qian.

Thinking back on everything he had done recently— going out of his way to get her concert tickets, picking her up late at night, rushing over without a second thought when she hurt her foot, disliking Bai Qiming getting too close to her, calling her on purpose because he was afraid she’d feel scared alone in the hospital……

Not to mention the times he brought her food or talked to her.

“Damn……”

Jiang Zheng irritably kicked his bed, his heart pounding like a drum.

He pulled out his phone and scrolled to a picture of Yu Qian sleeping, tapping the screen absentmindedly with his finger. Now that he looked at her this way, she really was quite cute.

Although she could be fierce like a little tigress at times, most of the time, she looked especially obedient and endearing. Especially when she cried— it made him want to pluck the stars and moon down for her.

The more he looked, the more a smile tugged at his lips. But when his phone screen dimmed, he caught sight of his own lovestruck grin reflected back at him. His expression changed instantly, and he flung the phone far away.

What the hell? Was he turning into a creep like Bai Qiming, who was obsessed with raising a girl from a young age? Yu Qian wasn’t even seventeen yet! He was a beast!

Jiang Zheng had always thought Bai Qiming was insane for openly doting on Lin Niannian since childhood. He had even used Bai Qiming as a cautionary tale for himself to never fall for any girl.

Just look at Bai Qiming. The calmer he appeared on the surface, the more deranged he was inside. He guarded one person so carefully, not even daring to express his feelings outright for fear of burdening her mentally. Jiang Zheng had long worried that Bai Qiming would drive himself mad one day.

But he never expected that love— this damn thing— would come so unreasonably and without warning.

Jiang Zheng let out a defeated sigh. Now, he could understand Bai Qiming a little. The person he liked wasn’t even an adult yet and the future was filled with uncertainties. Before he was fully prepared, what could he do?

He could only stay by her side quietly, slowly occupying the most important place in her heart and fighting for a future for himself.

As he thought about it, he finally understood why people said ‘birds of a feather flock together’. He had always assumed Bai Qiming was an outlier. Who the hell locked themselves into a lifelong commitment so early? But now, he had fallen headfirst into the same pit and was even content to stay there.

Truly, all crows under heaven were just as black!

Jiang Zheng sighed and picked up his phone from the floor. Opening Yu Qian’s WeChat profile, he jabbed at her cartoon avatar in frustration. It was all her fault— smiling so sweetly all the time and making him unable to harden his heart against her.

Though he scolded her in his mind, his hands betrayed him, changing her contact name to ‘Little Fish^[1]Xiao Yu’er’.

────ρя


Yu Qian felt that Jiang Zheng’s gaze was strange. Unlike before, when he always carried a teasing expression, there was now an extra layer of…… warmth?

Warmth???

She must have gone crazy. How could this person and the word ‘warmth’ possibly go together?

“Spit it out, Jiang Zheng. How did I offend you?” Yu Qian snapped, unable to concentrate on memorizing her textbook with his stare burning into her.

“How could you have offended me? I like you too much for that.” Jiang Zheng spoke with a cheeky grin, disguising his true thoughts as a joke.

Unfortunately, no one in the class— except for Bai Qiming— believed him.

“Can you stop staring at me all the time?” Yu Qian was on the verge of a breakdown. He had already secured a guaranteed university admission, while she still had to take the college entrance exam!

“Little Fish, why don’t you be my deskmate? I can tutor you in math.” Jiang Zheng’s peach blossom eyes curved into a smile as he gazed at her.

Yu Qian didn’t react at all to the new nickname. He called her all sorts of names anyway.

Before she could respond, Jiang Zheng’s current deskmate let out a dramatic wail. “Brother Jiang! Are you abandoning our three-year friendship? Why replace me?!”

“Scram. I don’t feel like looking at guys right now— it’s unsettling.” Jiang Zheng shot his deskmate a look of pure disdain before turning back to Yu Qian with a hint of anticipation.

“No.” Yu Qian rolled her eyes at him. What nonsense was he up to now?

It was the answer he had expected, but Jiang Zheng still felt a little dejected. He glanced at Lin Li, then let out a cold huff. In his eyes, Lin Li was now nothing more than a scheming third party trying to steal his spot. Hah.

────ρя


Between banter and class, the morning passed quickly.

As usual, Lin Niannian pulled Yu Qian along in front, while Jiang Zheng and Bai Qiming walked behind them. Bai Qiming had taken note of all of Jiang Zheng’s odd behaviors today.

The two exchanged a knowing glance but said nothing.

Yu Qian got her usual meal— one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a soup. Watching her eat with such relish, Jiang Zheng sighed. “Little Fish, where does all the food you eat go? You eat so much, but you never seem to grow.”

Yu Qian: “……” Why did it sound like he was talking about a pig?

Sure enough, Jiang Zheng continued, “Even raising pigs is more rewarding than raising you. At least pigs gain weight, but with you, this is a complete loss-making investment.”

No matter how easygoing Yu Qian was, she was still a teenage girl. Hearing him say that, she couldn’t help but kick him under the table— only to miss her mark slightly.

Jiang Zheng’s face instantly turned green. Clutching ‘that place’, he gritted his teeth. “Are you trying to make sure I have no descendants?!”

Yu Qian, who had only meant to kick his foot, didn’t catch the implication of his words. Seeing his pained expression, her confidence wavered.

Bai Qiming, however, gave Jiang Zheng a meaningful look. He had thought his friend had finally matured, but clearly, as long as Jiang Zheng had a mouth, he would eventually dig his own grave.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to kick the wrong place.” Yu Qian awkwardly apologized, her voice small. “Should we…… go to the infirmary?”

“No!” Jiang Zheng hissed, still feeling residual pain. “Good thing you only have one working foot. If both your feet were in action, I’d be dead by now.”

Yu Qian let him ramble at first, but as he kept going, she lost patience and snapped back, “Well, if you hadn’t been sitting with your legs spread so wide, would I have even been able to kick there?”

Seeing her trying to turn the tables on him, Jiang Zheng sneered, “Have you ever seen a guy sit with his legs clamped together? Do you not know that guys have—”

“Cough…… Shut up.” Bai Qiming’s face darkened as he glanced at Lin Niannian, who was watching with great interest. He had to step in before things went any further.

Realizing what he had been about to say, Jiang Zheng’s face turned pale, then red. Yu Qian, too, looked thoroughly embarrassed.

For a moment, an awkward silence hung between them.