The farce finally subsided. Jiang Lu closed his eyes briefly. As he looked at the tea spilled all over the floor, a faint ripple stirred in his heart.

He turned his head slightly to glance at Qi An’an, and sure enough, her round, clear eyes were fixed on him, full of worry.

As if shocked by electricity, Jiang Lu quickly looked away and strode out the door.

“Hey, Jiang Lu—” Qi An’an tried to chase after him but was yanked back by Qi Yan.

“Get back here. What’s wrong with you? You dare charge into anything! If I hadn’t been here today, what would you have done if someone bullied you?”

“Aiyo, I only dared because you’re here.” Qi An’an pursed her lips. “Brother, don’t listen to that sleazy guy’s nonsense. Jiang Lu is my classmate. He’s a good person, nothing like what that guy said.”

Qi Yan shot her a glance. “I’ll judge for myself what kind of person he is. No wonder you insisted on coming with me. Did you already know he was the one I wanted you to sign?”

Qi An’an smiled and tugged at his sleeve. “I did know, but my classmate’s situation is a bit special. I was just afraid something might go wrong and you wouldn’t sign him. Then how would we even face each other as classmates?”

Qi Yan glared at her. “You think I’m the kind of person who makes decisions based on idle gossip? From now on, stop being so reckless out there. What will you do if you get bullied?”

Well, wasn’t that exactly what happened in the novel? He believed some gossip and ended up humiliating Jiang Lu. Although, that was largely because Book Qi An’an had helped fan the flames. But of course, Qi An’an couldn’t say any of that. She obediently nodded. “I get it. I won’t do it again. Can I go check on my classmate now?”

Before he could reply, she dashed off so fast that Qi Yan couldn’t catch her. He could only glare at her in frustration, planning to settle the score once they got home.

As a hardcore mother fan, Qi An’an knew Jiang Lu extremely well. She headed straight for the restroom, and sure enough, she found Jiang Lu at the public sink washing his hands.

The palm that had just grabbed that man’s wrist was already rubbed raw and red.

Yet he seemed unaware of the pain, still scrubbing his hand hard over and over.

“Jiang Lu, what are you doing?!” No mother could stand by and watch her cub hurt himself like this. Qi An’an rushed forward and seized his hand.

His fingers were pale and icy, but his palm was hot and flushed. The heat seemed laced with a kind of despair.

“Alright, why are you scrubbing so hard? It’s already clean and it’s red like this.” Qi An’an pulled him away from the sink and grabbed two tissues, placing them in his hand.

Jiang Lu finally came back to himself. Qi An’an’s small hand was cupping his, its soft touch impossibly clean. He jerked his hand away like he’d been shocked.

The tissues in his palm were already wet. He slowly closed his hand around them.

Only now did Jiang Lu feel like his hand was truly clean. The wave of nausea had finally begun to fade.

“I’m going.” Jiang Lu said after a pause, his voice hoarse. “You should hurry and go home with your brother.”

Qi An’an studied his face. He still looked a little pale, but much calmer than before. Still worried, she reminded him, “Don’t overthink it. And stop torturing your poor hand.”

Jiang Lu nodded. “Got it.”

Qi An’an smiled again, like a little sun. “And Jiang Lu, thank you for earlier.”

Jiang Lu knew what she meant. That man had been furious and had raised a fist to strike Qi An’an. He hadn’t even had time to think. His body had reacted on instinct, blocking the blow.

Thank him? He hadn’t even thanked her yet.

He stared at Qi An’an’s smiling face. Her fair little face was tilted up, her eyes crescent-shaped, and her smile incredibly infectious.

Suppressing the urge to smile back, he lowered his voice, “Your brother was there too. He wouldn’t have let anything happen to you.”

Twice, he tried to say ‘thank you for stepping in to protect me’, but he’d never spoken such tender words in his life. It felt too soft, too intimate. He couldn’t bring himself to say it. So he buried the words deep in his heart.

────ρя


“An’an, what’s your classmate’s family background, anyway?” Qi Yan asked on the way home after Jiang Lu had left.

Qi An’an thought for a moment and skipped over the more sensitive parts of Jiang Lu’s background, only mentioning what could be said. Even if Jiang Lu didn’t come from a respectable background, it didn’t diminish his excellence. A person shouldn’t be judged solely by their origins.

Qi Yan stayed silent after hearing her out. Qi An’an, however, was curious about how their discussion went. “Brother, how did the contract talk go? Was it smooth? How many years did you sign him for?”

Qi Yan said, “He didn’t sign.”

“Huh? He didn’t sign?” Qi An’an sat up straighter, leaning toward him. “Why? Did you bully him?”

“Sit properly. Don’t flail around, or you’ll bump into something.” Qi Yan pushed her back like a grumpy old father. “I bullied him? More like he bullied me. He was the one who said he wouldn’t sign. Don’t blame it on me.”

Jiang Lu chose not to sign? Why?

Qi An’an couldn’t understand. The novel clearly said he wanted to sign the contract, but external interference got in the way. Now that all the obstacles had been cleared, why would he walk away from it himself?

Could there be a better opportunity that she didn’t know about? If that were the case, then fine. So long as he was happy.

Qi An’an stayed quiet for a while. At a red light, Qi Yan glanced at her a couple of times. The concern he’d been holding back finally escaped. After some deliberation, he asked, “An’an, tell me the truth. Are you in a puppy love relationship? You and that classmate……”

“Of course not!” Qi An’an’s eyes widened. “Brother, what are you thinking? How could I possibly date Jiang Lu?”

Just thinking about it felt utterly unreliable. How could that even be possible? Qi An’an scrunched up her little face, giving Qi Yan a look that clearly said, ‘I can’t believe your mind went there. How impure!’

Qi Yan didn’t buy it. “Then why are you so concerned about him? You’re way too nice to him.”

“I’m nice to him because……” Qi An’an paused. Because she genuinely shipped her CP! Both her precious boy and precious girl were her favorites. How could she not spoil them?

But she couldn’t say that. Instead, she offered, “Ah, you just love to overthink. We just have a really good relationship. It’s like he’s my son, you know? Like how you might have a bro so close you want to be his dad?”

Qi Yan: “……”

He hadn’t expected that his delicate-looking little sister could be this unfiltered. “Alright, you’re being so open about it, I’ll believe you. But I have to say this. You can be friends with him. I won’t stop you. But dating him is absolutely not allowed.”

Qi An’an didn’t have any thoughts about dating Jiang Lu, but now she was genuinely curious. “Why not? Didn’t you say you think he’s a good kid?”

Well, that depended on the perspective. From a man’s point of view, Qi Yan greatly admired Jiang Lu. A young man with such composure and bearing was destined for greatness. A golden-scaled dragon is not meant for the pond.

“He’s extremely smart, and in the future, he’ll be extremely difficult to control. Whether he’s ‘good’ depends on how you define it.” Qi Yan shot her a glance. “In any case, you absolutely can’t date him. With the way you are, he could play you to death.”