Chapter 30

Halfway through the break, Yan Yangcan held a rolled-up math practice booklet, intending to find Qin Xiaoxiao to discuss some problems.

Seeing someone standing by her desk, and noticing that she was explaining questions to that person, Yan Yangcan unrolled the booklet and placed it back on his desk.

The warm smile on his face faded slightly: this transfer student, who arrived later than him, was truly… an eyesore.

“Is this correct?” Bi Chun asked, somewhat uncertain.

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded. “Yes.”

“Ah! I got it!” Bi Chun exclaimed happily, looking at Qin Xiaoxiao with a pair of crescent-shaped almond eyes. “Thank you.”

Qin Xiaoxiao responded with a faint smile.

“There’s one more question, this one. Please take a look for me.”

“Didn’t you already get the answer?”

“Uh… more like a mix of guessing and luck.”

Qin Xiaoxiao took the pencil, glanced over the question, and recalled the thought process for solving it in her mind. “After releasing B, there’s relative sliding between A and the wooden board, right?”

As she explained, she unconsciously engaged in interaction.

“Mm,” Bi Chun responded.

“The tension on the rope is T…”

Focused, serious, and with a touch of gentleness.

Ji Wenchen’s eyes darkened slightly as he withdrew his gaze.

He had never seen her show this side to him…

The first holiday since the start of their final year—National Day—was approaching, but the school leadership had cut the break down to just three days.

Feng Maoxing’s family planned a road trip to visit an ancient town in a nearby city and invited Qin Xiaoxiao to join them.

Qin Xiaoxiao politely declined. She planned to stay home to read and work on practice problems, and help her mother when she had the time.

On October 2nd, the autumn sunlight was clear and warm. During her midday nap, Qin Xiaoxiao had a sweet dream and, for once, slept a little longer than usual.

When she opened her eyes, the dream faded away like the tide retreating from a beach, leaving behind barely any traces.

Qin Xiaoxiao sat up slowly, her head feeling as though it was stuffed with cotton. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish whether it was afternoon or morning, a hazy sensation as if the whole world had vanished into chaos.

While rubbing her cheeks, she leaned over to grab her phone from the desk beside her bed, pressing the screen to check the time.

Her parents had learned to use smartphones and had installed a router at home during the summer break. Qin Xiaoxiao’s phone automatically connected to the WiFi at home.

The notification center on the screen displayed: “You have received a WeChat message,” with “1 more notification” below it.

Qin Xiaoxiao tapped on it.

Ji Wenchen: 【Are you free tonight?】

Ji Wenchen: 【Let’s go watch a movie.】

He was asking her to go to a movie? Qin Xiaoxiao typed on the virtual keyboard with one hand: 【Not going.】

After sending it, she added another message: 【I need to study at home.】

Shouldn’t he be asking the female lead instead? Hasn’t he developed feelings for her yet…

She pressed the lock button and placed the phone back on the desk. After getting out of bed, Qin Xiaoxiao stretched lazily.

On the other end.

Ji Wenchen stared at the reply that came over an hour later, a wave of irritation surging through his chest.

The ironic part was that, deep down, he had already expected this answer.

“Brother Chen, any plans for tonight? Want to check out the newly opened—”

“Not going.”

Ji Wenchen pushed open the private room door and left.

He left behind a group of men and women, all staring at each other in confusion, unsure why Brother Chen’s mood had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

As he opened the door to his home, Ji Wenchen was surprised to see a figure in the living room—both familiar and yet somewhat unfamiliar.

His body stiffened for a moment before he walked straight up the stairs without so much as a glance.

How rare, he thought. So he still remembers he has a “home,” huh.

“Are your eyes and mouth just for show? Do you still recognize me as your father?”

A stern, cold voice of a middle-aged man came from the living room.

Ji Wenchen paused mid-step but didn’t turn around.

“What kind of attitude is this? Do you still consider me your father?”

Ji Wenchen tugged lightly at the corner of his lips, his eyelashes lowering to hide his expression.

“I provide for your food and clothing. Even this house you’re living in belongs to me—”

“The allowance you give me hasn’t been touched. I use what my mom left me. This house is hers, too.”

“You! Is this how you talk to your father?”

Something whizzed through the air from behind him. Ji Wenchen stepped aside to dodge it.

Crash!

The ashtray smashed against the staircase, shattering into pieces, the sharp sound echoing painfully in the spacious house.

“So young, yet so unambitious. All you do is fight all day. What do you think you look like?”

Ji Wenchen turned around and looked at his nominal father, Ji Hui. “Isn’t it because no one taught me?”

“You ungrateful brat!” Ji Hui’s fury boiled within him. “Are you trying to drive me to my grave?”

“I wouldn’t dare,” Ji Wenchen replied coldly, his expression impassive.

“Let me make this clear today: Yilan will marry into the Ji family. Since when do I need your approval to take a wife?” Ji Hui declared.

Ji Wenchen’s gaze turned icy, his words laced with coldness. “Can Grandfather control you?”

The thought of his grandfather being so enraged by Ji Hui’s mess that he ended up in the hospital made Ji Wenchen clench his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking audibly.

“…His health wasn’t great to begin with. I’ll patiently explain things to him and make sure everything is handled properly,” Ji Hui said.

Ji Wenchen let out a cold sneer and went upstairs to his room.

…

The final-year students, who had returned to school early for extra classes, enjoyed a campus that was emptier than usual.

Even going to the cafeteria for meals didn’t require the usual rush and scramble.

Yang Min walked arm-in-arm with Qin Xiaoxiao under the shade of the trees, leisurely using the tip of her foot to kick at the small fruits that had just fallen by the roadside.

“Walk properly.”

“Xiao ah, why are you acting like my mom?”

“Then stop pulling on me,” Qin Xiaoxiao said, trying to pull her arm free.

“Fine, fine, I won’t kick anymore,” Yang Min said, noticing another companion several meters ahead. “Dong Yunfang, wait for us!”

Dragged along by Yang Min to catch up with Dong Yunfang, Qin Xiaoxiao spotted Bi Chun walking near Dong Yunfang.

Bi Chun noticed her too and flashed a pure, bright smile. “Xiaoxiao.”

Qin Xiaoxiao returned the smile.

“Let’s hurry up and get in line,” Yang Min urged.

“Weren’t you just dawdling earlier?” Dong Yunfang retorted without missing a beat.

Yang Min pouted and muttered, “I’m hungry now and want to eat quickly.”

Bi Chun swallowed back the words she was about to say, “Can I have lunch with you?” Her smile faded slightly.

Once they got in line at the cafeteria, Qin Xiaoxiao told Yang Min to let go of her arm. “Line up properly.”

Yang Min released her and tried to line up behind Qin Xiaoxiao. However, Dong Yunfang grabbed the back of her collar. “Get in line behind me.”

“No, I want to talk to Xiaoxiao.”

“Xiao ah,” Yang Min leaned against Qin Xiaoxiao’s shoulder, pretending to be casual. “Are you close with that Bi Chun?”

Hearing Bi Chun call her “Xiaoxiao” earlier had already made Yang Min feel a bit uncomfortable.

It had only been a few days, and now “Xiaoxiao” was something anyone could casually call her?

Qin Xiaoxiao moved forward with the line. “She’s alright, I guess.”

Since that time Bi Chun had asked her about a physics problem, she would occasionally come to her for help with questions—but for some reason, Bi Chun often asked Qin Xiaoxiao to go over to her instead of coming to her desk.

If Qin Xiaoxiao were to define it, her current relationship with Bi Chun was probably somewhere between ordinary classmates and friends.

“Then am I still your best friend in the class?” Yang Min asked.

“Probably not,” Qin Xiaoxiao replied, half-jokingly.

Did she even have a best friend?

For Qin Xiaoxiao, the existence of friends wasn’t a necessity. Having friends was nice; not having them didn’t matter either.

Yang Min pouted, feeling a slight twinge of bitterness in her heart.

Dong Yunfang, who hadn’t really caught much of their conversation, gave Yang Min a cold look and patted her on the shoulder. “Done talking? Get behind me in line.”

…

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t tell if it was just her imagination, but it seemed like Ji Wenchen had been coming to the classroom far more frequently lately.

For instance, right now, during the early morning self-study period, the school bully was already in the classroom.

Qin Xiaoxiao couldn’t quite understand why he would come to the classroom so early just to sleep. Was the bed at home (since Ji Wenchen rarely stayed in the dormitory) uncomfortable? How could he possibly sleep with all the noise in the classroom?

Sitting next to a deskmate slumped over the desk sleeping, Qin Xiaoxiao opened her Chinese textbook and began reading aloud without hesitation.

Her voice was clear and crisp, lacking the soft, sweet quality typically associated with girls.

When she read, there was a touch more seriousness compared to her usual speaking tone, like a clear spring flowing through a forest or the cool breeze of autumn brushing past one’s ears.

Ji Wenchen found her voice oddly soothing, so much so that it even made him feel… sleepier.

It was strange—she seemed to have a calming and grounding kind of magic. Just sitting next to her, even without doing anything, felt more comforting than drinking or winning a chicken dinner in a game.

His Adam’s apple shifted slightly as he swallowed. His throat felt dry and a little sore, though he wasn’t sure if it was from talking too much on voice chat with Jiang Zhousi during last night’s gaming session or from the cold shower he took afterward.

Resting on the sound of her reading, he gradually drifted off to sleep…

When the early morning study session ended, Qin Xiaoxiao went to the office to pick up the physics test papers to be distributed that day.

Guo Hairuo was busy grading yesterday’s physics assignments. Qin Xiaoxiao greeted softly, “Teacher,” and then instinctively picked up the stack of test papers from the corner of the desk.

Guo Hairuo called out to her physics class representative, “Qin Xiaoxiao, hold on a moment.”

“How… is it sitting with Ji Wenchen as your deskmate? Are you getting used to it?”

“It’s alright, I guess,” Qin Xiaoxiao replied, thinking to herself that they didn’t exactly “interact.” He slept, she studied, and they didn’t interfere with each other.

Guo Hairuo capped the pen she was using to grade assignments, then uncapped it again. “It’s already your final year. Ji Wenchen can’t keep skipping class participation and avoiding homework. How about you try reminding him appropriately?”

Qin Xiaoxiao’s eyelashes fluttered lightly.

“For example, before collecting homework, just casually remind him.”

What if it works? Guo Hairuo mused. It was rare for Ji Wenchen to request to sit with someone, and since Qin Xiaoxiao was a focused and diligent student, perhaps she could influence him to change.

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