“Jiang Xiao, the time we agreed on has already passed. I have to move out now—what are you even doing?” Song Qiuyu tried hard to maintain a relaxed expression as she spoke.
Jiang Xiao stared at her without saying a word.
“Uh, if you’re talking about what we did this afternoon…”
Song Qiuyu couldn’t stand the guilt gnawing at her, and she turned her gaze away, uneasy.
“That was a reward I promised you to make up for it. Whether I let you see or let you touch, it was all a reward!”
She paused, and the places on her body where he’d treated her roughly began to burn again, making her unconsciously press her legs together.
“As for those things that went too far, you don’t have to feel sorry about them. I understand.”
She took a shallow breath, bravely and resolutely looking Jiang Xiao in the eyes.
“As for those reactions, I was just acting!”
“But seeing your face, it looks like I can look forward to the Winter Vacation Business Photoshoot after all. My acting seems to have improved a lot, don’t you think?”
She thought she’d built a solid enough Blueprint of Defense Shield, hiding all her timidity behind it.
“You know my situation. How could I possibly act like that just because you touched me?”
Jiang Xiao watched her performance silently, unable to help but step closer.
Before long, the person in front of him began to blink rapidly, her pretty face flushing red.
“What if I say I regret it and want to break our agreement—what will you do?”
The large hand propped by her face clenched into a fist.
Jiang Xiao tightly gripped her small, struggling-but-not-daring-to-struggle hand, lowering his face to bring his lips close to her ear as he spoke bluntly.
Song Qiuyu shuddered violently, pressing her lips together.
Jiang Xiao turned his face, staring at her obviously swollen lips, and at the lingering red marks on her pretty face, neck, and collarbone…
He narrowed his eyes, almost laughing out of frustration, but held back.
He glanced over his shoulder. Although he couldn’t see, he knew full well that Xi’er had left claw marks all over his back.
She actually wanted to blame all this on acting? His Xi’er was truly too naive in some things.
There was a clumsy feeling, as if she couldn’t even come up with a proper lie.
“Why break a deal we already agreed on?” Song Qiuyu snapped, her eyes brimming with tears.
Hearing that, Jiang Xiao moved his gaze from his back to her tearful face, frowning slightly.
“I advise you not to do this, because I’m not a woman you can mess with. If you insist on breaking the agreement and still want to do those things with me every day, or even go further!”
Song Qiuyu frowned deeply and spoke seriously:
“Then I can only keep playing with you like I did three years ago—tricking you out of your money and feelings, draining you dry every day, and turning you into an Abandoned Person!”
Jiang Xiao recalled her harsh words on the hill, saying she wouldn’t even let him hold her hand, and fell silent for two seconds.
He pressed his clenched fist against the wall, deliberately hitting it hard to scare her.
The effect was immediate—Song Qiuyu trembled violently again.
But she quickly retorted in exasperation, “Actually, aren’t you scared too? Otherwise, why didn’t you just put what I wanted in there just now?”
Jiang Xiao frowned, saying nothing.
“You’ve been thinking about this for Six Years. It’s fine if you want to trick others, but don’t trick your Friend!” As she spoke, in Song Qiuyu’s view, Jiang Xiao, who had just been holding back, seemed ready to attack with a fierce determination, as if he meant to knock her flat.
“Uh…”
Song Qiuyu was so frightened she shivered all over, pressing herself against the wall, wishing she could become Spider-Man and climb up to escape…
Being wall-slammed by Jiang Xiao, her whole body suppressed by his larger frame, reminded her all too well of the shameful scene earlier when he’d pinned her to the bed.
Jiang Xiao’s completely unreserved posture made her uneasy, making every passing second feel dangerously unpredictable.
Her heart was pounding out of control; she couldn’t tell if it was the suspension bridge effect or something else entirely.
“Because.”
Jiang Xiao thought seriously. How could he not understand her intentions? But he didn’t want her to make up for him out of a sense of self-sacrifice.
If he really did it, what a heart-wrenching mess she’d be afterward. And he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself, either.
He didn’t want a love built on anyone’s sacrifice. He wanted to walk hand-in-hand with laughter under the bright sun, to smile, to kiss, to imagine their future together, and to strive for it together.
“I feel like it’s a Trap.”
Jiang Xiao’s final answer left Song Qiuyu dumbstruck for five full seconds before she slowly came to her senses.
Huh?
Trap?
A strange look crossed Song Qiuyu’s face. Her first reaction was to think of all those cases nowadays, where someone is lured into a relationship and then reported to the authorities!
But that thought was gone in a flash—if she did that, it would be the same as exposing herself as a girl.
The point was, something like that would probably get them both publicly shamed by the school, maybe even put their names on a banner or an official notice.
That would destroy both of their lives without question…
She could never do it.
Her second reaction was a surge of panic at the thought that her deepest longing had been exposed, and this feeling easily crushed all her defenses. In front of Jiang Xiao, she was already full of holes.
She suddenly had no idea what to do. The urge to cry that she’d been suppressing for so long flooded her heart.
Before she even realized it, tears were already streaming down her face.
Jiang Xiao…
Is Jiang Xiao doing this because he truly likes her? If it’s love, being loved should be a blissful thing.
But right now, all she felt was pain, as if a knife had stabbed right through her heart.
Rather than being loved, it felt more like revenge.
Song Qiuyu was Crying.
Haki Xiao, do you even know there’s a kind of love called letting go!
You just need to take what’s offered!
Isn’t this exactly what you need?
Six Years of guilt…
“Xi’er, I was just trying to scare you just now!” Jiang Xiao reached out and patted her small head.
The sudden head-pat and his gentle words made Song Qiuyu freeze, her tearful eyes widening a little.
“I’ll keep my promise. As you wish, we’ll go back to being proper Friend, Roommate, and Classmate.” Jiang Xiao let go of her hand with a smile, taking half a step back.
Of course, this was just a little white lie for Xi’er.
How could he give up? And with how things stood between them now, how could they still be considered innocent? Even if he said so, could she really accept it, truly say their relationship was clean?
Song Qiuyu didn’t buy it at all.
She stared at him in shock, feeling a little relieved as the distance between them widened, but at the same time… there was a faint emptiness in her heart?
Though being pinned against the wall felt uncomfortable, as long as it was Jiang Xiao, she could accept it—and maybe even enjoy it a little.
Had Jiang Xiao already seen through these secret longings she was too shy to speak of?
“We have exams tomorrow morning. Since you need to move out, you should hurry up and finish. But it’s late, and it’s not safe for you to go alone with so much stuff.”
Seeing her spacing out, Jiang Xiao grabbed some tissues from the table to wipe her tears.
“I should at least walk you over—as your Friend, Roommate, and Classmate.”
Hearing Jiang Xiao emphasize their relationship for the second time, Song Qiuyu gave a muffled reply, took the pack of tissues, and wiped her tears herself.
She accidentally caught a glimpse of Little Jiang Xiao, who was still staring at her, and she gritted her teeth, pointing at him without daring to look.
“Then hurry up and get dressed.”
“Mhm.”
Jiang Xiao deliberately turned around, revealing his back covered with her handiwork, letting her see for herself the mess she had made.
“Uh.”
Song Qiuyu, completely unprepared, looked up and saw the sorry state of Jiang Xiao’s back, her pupils dilating as she clenched her hands tightly.
Did I really do that?
She looked down at her neatly trimmed nails, hesitating to speak. All the strength she’d ever mustered in her life had gone into Jiang Xiao’s back.
It was all Jiang Xiao’s fault.
As she wiped her tears, she glanced at Jiang Xiao’s long, jointed hands and couldn’t help but blush at the memories.
So when Jiang Xiao finished getting dressed and turned back, he saw her, red-faced and biting a tissue, as if muttering angrily to herself for some reason.
Jiang Xiao seemed to understand something. He buttoned up his Blue Shirt and quickly threw on a warm Down Jacket.
Song Qiuyu was usually good at pulling herself together, but this time it took her a lot longer—she realized just how complicated it was to sort out her feelings.
That fragile place—she’d always been careful with it herself, afraid something would go wrong.
But for the first time, someone else had taken care of it—and that someone was Jiang Xiao. The way Jiang Xiao cared for her was just too much to handle.
It was also the first time she’d been bullied so thoroughly.
Except for that.
She subconsciously rubbed her chest. That was her most treasured part—how had it turned into dough in the hands of a rookie chef!
Too pathetic.
It seemed those Winter Vacation Study Materials really were necessary for this rookie.
Of course, it wasn’t for her to use—just so this rookie could level up and not be resented by his wife in the future!
Surely Haki Xiao wouldn’t want to get kicked off the bed by his beloved halfway through and end up having to finish in the bathroom alone, right?
After all, those other women weren’t like her—no matter how Jiang Xiao messed around, they’d just grit their teeth and endure.
Once he got the materials, he had to study them well!
She couldn’t let all her effort go to waste.
Shaking her thoughts free, she looked at Jiang Xiao, now fully dressed, took a deep breath, and turned to open the bedroom door.
When they stepped outside, the air was bitterly cold, and the warmth they’d brought from the rented place was swept away in an instant. They walked side by side, their shoulders never too close nor too far apart.
A chilly night wind swept by, and Jiang Xiao pulled down the brim of Song Qiuyu’s hat, then spread his hand to shield her from the cold.
“It’s so windy tonight. Don’t catch a chill. Walk a little behind me, I’m tall and broad—I’ll block the wind for you.” Jiang Xiao spoke with his usual gentle smile.
“I’m not that fragile!”
Song Qiuyu replied in her usual coquettish tone.
“Just in case. I can’t take chances with your health.” Jiang Xiao took the lead, moving in front of her.
Song Qiuyu pouted and ignored him, feeling like he talked about letting go, but she couldn’t see it at all!
When she finally spoke to him again, she’d already picked up the keys and opened the door to her six-thousand-a-month rental.
“Tsk, so this is it?”