“So the answer is, you don’t hate me.”
Jiang Xiao smiled brightly and warmly, his eyes locked unwaveringly onto Song Qiuyu’s, as if casting a white magic spell that made her heart race and her body unable to move.
Song Qiuyu wasn’t blind.
And she had a heart—how could she not feel how happy and joyful Jiang Xiao was right now?
Damn this kid! Could he stop looking at her with that “I’ve found someone I like again” expression? It was seriously inappropriate everywhere!
She couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to run, but her body wouldn’t obey; even Guo Guang couldn’t pull her gaze away from Jiang Xiao’s eyes.
She bit her lip nervously, pressing her mouth into a thin line, conflicted.
Her heart was pounding so fast!
It had to be from shock, some kind of suspension bridge effect, right?
“Not denying it?”
Jiang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“Then that means you admit it?”
Song Qiuyu’s carefully prepared line was on the tip of her tongue, but no matter what, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. How could she not know those words would hurt Jiang Xiao?
But long-term pain was worse than a short one—Hajixiao, rather than starting a twisted love the wrong way, it was better to kill it in the cradle. It might hurt now, but once he found a good woman later…
No, she didn’t need Jiang Xiao’s thanks. It was enough if he could find happiness with a woman.
Someone like her should just rot away in some unnoticed dark corner, lonely until the end.
But then again, how did Jiang Xiao end up liking her twice in a row? That was just bad luck!
“You’re overthinking it. I was just—”
Song Qiuyu was seriously about to start hurting the person in front of her.
“If you’re going to lie, Song Qiuyu, it’s better not to say anything at all.”
Unexpectedly, Jiang Xiao interrupted her.
Song Qiuyu was stunned.
At that moment, she felt deep regret, already missing the Jiang Xiao from the beginning of school.
A dark thought crept into her mind: maybe the introverted, depressed Jiang Xiao was easier to get along with.
Because then, everything was still under her control. But now this feeling that the child had grown up and was no longer obedient—how annoying.
Jiang Xiao looked at her quietly, his eyes deepening.
He knew what she was about to say. Probably that ruthless bastard from the rumors was standing right in front of him!
Jiang Xiao wouldn’t give her a chance to say it.
But more importantly, those words were a double-edged sword—they would hurt two people.
Stupid Song Qiuyu.
“So…”
Knowing she was in the wrong, Song Qiuyu could only stand there uneasily, not knowing what to do.
“Back to the topic just now.”
Jiang Xiao fought to suppress his anger and looked at her seriously.
“Unfortunately, I don’t hate you either.”
As soon as he said that, Song Qiuyu’s mind thundered, and she looked up at him in shock.
For the first time, she felt the person in front of her was unfamiliar, like another side of Jiang Xiao she’d never seen before. Or rather,
his true self?
“Jiang Xiao, you haven’t been influenced by those fanfics or the comments online, have you? You need to stay calm!”
Song Qiuyu ground her teeth and mentally cursed the people writing fanfics and the cyber matchmaking enthusiasts who paired them together—ten thousand curses.
How could a straight guy suddenly bend? And to top it off, fall for her?
“Do you think that’s possible?”
Jiang Xiao laughed in disbelief.
What kind of bizarre things were running through Song Qiuyu’s head?
Seeing this, Song Qiuyu parted her lips, then fell silent for a moment, swallowing nervously and shrinking her neck.
She forced a smile. “Jiang Xiao, don’t you think it’s possible you just miss Xixi too much since she’s been gone so long, and since I’m the person you know best and who takes care of you most, you just mistakenly turned your gratitude toward me into a feeling of love?”
Jiang Xiao was taken aback.
Just a moment ago he was mocking Song Qiuyu’s lack of smarts, but this answer was, in a way, somewhat reasonable.
He chose to play dumb and retreat: “I’m not sure either. After all, I’ve only ever liked two people. One was Shen Xi, and the other… should be you.”
Song Qiuyu held her breath, unsure where to look, feeling extremely guilty.
Her heart raced even faster.
Not liking him because of Shen Xi—but liking Song Qiuyu?
She must be crazy to even want to ask the question.
Did he like Shen Xi more, or Song Qiuyu?
But the answer seemed obvious.
One hundred percent Shen Xi.
“Song Qiuyu, you probably have more dating experience than I do. How about you help me analyze this?”
Seeing her increasingly flustered reaction, Jiang Xiao’s lips curved slightly.
He pretty much understood why she pretended to be Shen Xi.
All this guilt, and since the start of school, her attentiveness—what else could it be?
Song Qiuyu, you really are a bastard.
The bastard closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, then frowned and said, “I do have a lot of dating experience, can’t even count on one hand!”
Of course, all that experience was with paper wives.
Girls in real life were hard to deal with.
Women’s hearts were needles at the bottom of the sea, impossible to read.
One wrong move and they’d drain your gold coins, and then hand you a Good Person Card.
The scariest thing was thinking you’d found true love, only for the other party to prepare for a divorce and take half your assets!
“But I’m not good at analyzing other people’s feelings. Anyway, I don’t think you really like me, and honestly, I can’t accept men.”
“Yeah, I probably can’t accept anyone but you.”
Jiang Xiao smiled again unconsciously, all sincere, with no hint of exaggeration or falsehood.
Hearing her say “I have lots of dating experience,” he frankly didn’t believe a word.
That smile, catching Song Qiuyu’s eyes, made her heart pound wildly, her cheeks flush slightly. Maybe her brain hadn’t recovered yet from that burst of desire.
She suddenly felt a little shy. Was this right?
“Jiang Xiao, can I move out now?”
She hesitated for a few seconds, then finally spoke.
“Hm?”
Jiang Xiao seemed a bit stunned.
“Of course you can, but you probably won’t find better conditions than this.”
Jiang Xiao sounded a little disappointed, his voice lower. “But you don’t trust me that much? Are you afraid I’ll just pounce on you anytime?”
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu felt guilty. Suddenly, she understood why Jiang Xiao wanted to move out—it was for himself!
But she was really scared. Hajixiao, dare you look back at the contents of the last two chapters and touch your conscience?
She definitely didn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night and find Jiang Xiao staring at her while snuggling her legs under the covers.
[Awake? You’re about to become a mom soon. Since you didn’t sleep well, now that you’re awake, you might as well help out more.]
And then Jiang Xiao smiled and said such terrifying things!
“In any case, moving out is going to happen, but first, we have to find a suitable place.”
“Alright, but before that, let’s go for our morning run, since we agreed last night?”
Jiang Xiao showed no surprise, seeming to accept her rejection calmly.
Suppressing her tangled thoughts, Song Qiuyu forced herself to calm down and smiled slightly, nodding.
According to online info, moderate exercise during your period helps blood circulation!
Besides, the Physical Fitness Test was coming up. Running more would help.
She still wanted to get a scholarship. If she failed the Physical Fitness Test, no matter how good her other grades were, she wouldn’t get it.
A 1.2-mile run.
Suddenly, her phone vibrated quietly in her pocket.
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