Chapter 24 – Thin-Skinned?

Qi Ze set down his phone and picked up his cup, intending to go downstairs for a drink of water. Just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of an argument coming from downstairs.

He curved his lips in amusement.

He opened the door slightly so he could hear more clearly.

“Can you stop making a scene!” Qi Fengyuan’s furious roar came through, accompanied by the sound of a cup shattering on the floor.

A moment of silence followed, then came Li Li’s even more intense shouting.

“I’m making a scene? Yes, I am! If I don’t make a scene, you’ll have your happy little family reunion out there. All these years, you’ve been flirting around outside, constantly with other women — I turned a blind eye to all that. But you can’t go so far as to have a child with someone else outside.”

Li Li’s voice was sharp and full of bitter anger.

“Now, not only do you have a five-year-old daughter out there, but also a pregnant mistress. You really know how to enjoy the best of both worlds, don’t you?”

“Enough. Stop meddling in these matters and behave yourself as Mrs. Qi.”

Qi Fengyuan roared, but then softened his tone. “Don’t worry. The one I love the most is still you. The ones outside were just momentary indulgences. If you don’t like it, I’ll be more careful in the future. Please don’t make a scene, alright?”

As their voices gradually faded, Qi Ze closed the door.

He let out a cold laugh.

So-called loving couples were nothing more than hypocritical, filthy accomplices.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

The alarm rang. A fair, delicate hand groped to turn it off, and the person turned over groggily, waiting for the next alarm.

Suddenly, the person in bed sat up like a carp leaping from water.

“Ouch!” She had used too much force, and pain shot through her ankle.

Jiang Mingyue didn’t pay much attention. She turned and grabbed the phone charging by the bedside.

6:33 a.m.

“Good, good.”

She let out a long breath of relief.

She sat on the bed in a daze for another two minutes.

Only when the clock turned 6:35 did she get out of bed.

After washing up, she supported herself against the railing and went downstairs.

“Xixi and Haha, good morning. Aunt Du, good morning.”

“You’re up so early today. I was just about to go upstairs to call you.”

Aunt Du saw her coming downstairs and quickly stepped forward to help her sit down.

Jiang Mingyue took the opportunity to inform Aunt Du that Qi Ze would be picking her up.

“Aunt Du, you don’t need to take me to school today. A classmate of mine happens to be passing by and will give me a ride.” Jiang Mingyue said as she took a bite of cold lotus root slices.

Aunt Du asked: “Is it the same classmate who brought you back yesterday?”

“Yes.” Jiang Mingyue replied.

“He’s taking you on a motorcycle… is that safe?” Aunt Du placed some freshly made pumpkin pancakes in front of her.

Jiang Mingyue glanced at the time.

Seven o’clock sharp.

“It’s safe. He rides very slowly, don’t worry.”

“All right, then.”

Jiang Mingyue looked at the pumpkin pancakes with interest. “Aunt Du, are there more of these pumpkin pancakes? I’d like to bring some for my classmates.”

Aunt Du smiled warmly. “Yes, I made extra because I know you like to share with your classmates.”

“Thank you, Aunt Du. Could you also pack a few of those rice balls for me?”

“Of course.”

Jiang Mingyue quickly finished her meal and left the house at 7:09 a.m.

Qi Ze was leaning against his motorcycle, holding his helmet in his arms and looking down at his phone.

The morning sunlight filtered through the leaves above him, scattering spots of light on his body like stars, dancing gently in the breeze.

Before Jiang Mingyue could even call out to him, Xixi and Haha squeezed out through the gap in the door.

They wagged their tails and ran up to Qi Ze, barking: “Woof woof woof.”

“Morning, you two.” Qi Ze crouched down to play with them.

Jiang Mingyue suddenly wondered if Qi Ze had come to pick her up just to use the chance to play with the dogs.

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

Suddenly, she felt like an unnecessary extra. Wuwuwu, sob.

“Come on, let me help you onto the bike.” Aunt Du said, patting her shoulder.

Jiang Mingyue snapped out of her thoughts. “Oh, okay.”

“Qi Ze, good morning.” Jiang Mingyue waved at him.

“Morning. Good morning, Auntie.” Qi Ze stood up and greeted them.

Aunt Du smiled. “Good morning, good morning. I’ll have to trouble you with Yueyue.”

“It’s no trouble. We’re in the same class.” Qi Ze replied.

“Then be careful on the road.”

“Alright.”

Qi Ze handed her the helmet, put his own on, and mounted the motorcycle.

Aunt Du helped Jiang Mingyue settle into the seat. “Hold on tight.”

“Mm. We’ll head off now. Take Xixi and Haha back inside.”

The two of them stepped through the school gates just before the morning self-study bell rang.

Qi Ze carried her up the stairs on his back, but Jiang Mingyue told him to put her down.

“Just help me walk inside. If you carry me again, the classmates will stare. I’m thin-skinned and will get embarrassed.”

Qi Ze let out a laugh, as if he’d just heard a joke.

If she was considered thin-skinned, then no one could possibly be thick-skinned.

Jiang Mingyue caught the sound of his scoff and glanced up at him. “What, you got a problem with what I said?”

Qi Ze took his backpack from her hands and replied with a perfectly serious expression: “No. You’re absolutely right.”

Jiang Mingyue didn’t believe him, but there was no need to press the matter.

“Wait a moment.” she stopped, opened her backpack, and took out the packed food. “Here, pumpkin pancakes and rice balls.”

Qi Ze hesitated for a moment, then took them.

“What are you two doing standing here? The bell already rang and you’re still not in class for morning study!” A stern voice called out from behind them.

Jiang Mingyue was startled.

She turned around and saw that it was Director Li, the grade-level supervisor, standing in the stairwell, frowning at them.

Director Li was tall and thin, with a refined appearance, though he had a slightly receding hairline despite his young age. To maintain his authority, he often furrowed his brows, which made him look rather stern.

“Teacher, we’re going in right now.” Jiang Mingyue said as she tugged Qi Ze and hopped toward the classroom.

Director Li quickly walked up the stairs. Noticing her raised right foot, he softened his tone and asked: “What happened to your foot?”

“I sprained it.”

Director Li nodded. “Be careful if it’s sprained.”

Then he turned to Qi Ze and said: “Take good care of each other as classmates.”

Qi Ze pressed his lips together and nodded.

“All right, go on in now.”

For the next few days, Qi Ze carried her up and down the stairs and picked her up and dropped her off at school.

After a week, the pain in her ankle had significantly lessened, and she could lightly put weight on it again.

Jiang Mingyue no longer let Qi Ze carry her up and down the stairs. Instead, she supported herself on the railing and walked slowly.

Uncle Gao had recovered from his illness, though he still looked a little pale. Jiang Mingyue told him to rest a few more days.

The truth was, she selfishly wanted to spend more time with Qi Ze.

It wasn’t until three weeks later, when her foot had completely healed, that she allowed Uncle Gao to resume taking her to and from school.

Though she was not exactly thin-skinned, Jiang Mingyue knew that everything needed to be done in moderation. She couldn’t keep troubling Qi Ze forever. What if he grew tired of it? That would only backfire on her efforts.

Still, she had made some progress during this period. Through their time together, Qi Ze’s “darkening value” had already dropped to 80%. That was a decent improvement.

System 118, however, felt her pace was a little too slow.  

【Host, you need to take some action. Be more proactive.】

Jiang Mingyue rested her head on her hand and gazed out the window. The sun was slowly being obscured by clouds, and the sky grew darker. She replied lazily: “Aren’t I already being proactive enough?”

【Not enough. You need to be even more proactive. Show him more care and affection. That’s the only way you’ll win him over!】118 declared firmly.

“What?!”

Jiang Mingyue immediately sat upright.

【I mean strategically win him over—slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue,】118 quickly corrected itself.

“Oh.” Jiang Mingyue leaned to one side again, supporting her head with her hand as she stared out the window.

【You could consider more ‘culinary strategies’, like using food as a way in,】118 suggested.

“All right, I’ll give it some thought.”

The sky had by now turned completely overcast. Before long, a gentle but steady rain began to fall.

Raindrops struck the warm earth, releasing a rich scent of soil that was surprisingly pleasant.

By the time school ended, the rain hadn’t stopped. Instead, it was pouring even harder.

But most of the students here were picked up by car, so the rain did nothing to deter their mad dash out of the classrooms.

Jiang Mingyue packed up her things and walked over to Qi Ze.

Just like the first day she came here, Qi Ze was playing a game after school.

Jiang Mingyue sat down beside him and waited for him to finish.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Lucia: I believe that a relationship that starts with cheating will end in cheating.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆

Lucia: Hi, I made a poll, and THE ONE MOST-VOTED NOVEL WILL HAVE 10 BONUS UPDATES. So, if you want to have a bonus update for this novel, please vote HERE

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆