After arriving at the police station, the two of them went to make their statements.
When she saw the name Qiao Nan written on the registration form, the girl widened her eyes in surprise, “Qiao Nan?”
Qiao Nan looked at her in confusion.
The girl pulled up her WeChat chat interface and showed him, “I’m Xie Ruanruan.”
He hadn’t expected such a coincidence.
Qiao Nan sized her up in disbelief, “You’ve changed a lot since you were little.”
In his memory, Xie Ruanruan was just like her name—an extremely quiet and introverted girl. Because her health wasn’t good since childhood, she rarely went out to play.
When Qiao Nan visited the Xie family, she would come out to greet the guests, but most of the time she’d just obediently sit off to the side.
He hadn’t expected her to become so lively and cheerful now.
Xie Ruanruan smiled, “Back then, it was because I wasn’t healthy. I couldn’t get too tired or have big emotional swings, but I’m all better now.”
She pressed her index finger to her lips and whispered, “But don’t tell my parents about this, okay? If they find out, they’ll definitely come to Nanjiang again.”
She made a cute little face.
“It was so hard for me to persuade them to let me come study in Nanjiang.”
Qiao Nan had no choice but to agree.
Once the statements were done, the two of them could leave.
Those four little thugs already had criminal records at the police station.
After the police checked the surveillance footage and confirmed it was the other side who started the fight, they detained them on the spot.
The whole process of making statements took less time than expected.
When the two came out of the police station, Xie Ruanruan looked at the bruise on Qiao Nan’s face and said worriedly, “You should get that injury checked out. Want me to go to the hospital with you?”
“It’s just a minor injury. The infirmary will be enough.”
Qiao Nan was just about to call Wang Shu to tell him not to come, but as soon as he stepped out of the police station, he saw a dazzling black Bentley pull up at the entrance.
Pei Xu got out of the car, gave him a steady look, and then walked over, “It’s all taken care of?”
“Yeah, just had to give a statement.”
Qiao Nan subconsciously turned his face aside and muttered, “Why are you here?”
He’d clearly told Wang Shu not to tell Pei Xu.
As for how Pei Xu found out, it was naturally Old K who notified him.
Qiao Nan had no idea that Old K had always been secretly protecting him.
That’s why, for minor disputes that didn’t involve personal safety, Old K usually wouldn’t show up.
But the moment Qiao Nan got into a conflict with those thugs, Old K had already called the police.
Pei Xu didn’t answer his question. His gaze fell on the bruise under Qiao Nan’s chin, his voice a little heavy, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Qiao Nan didn’t really want to go, but seeing his brother’s frowning, unhappy face, he didn’t argue.
“Let’s take Xie Ruanruan back to school first.”
Only then did Pei Xu notice the girl standing to the side.
He had thought Qiao Nan was just being a Good Samaritan, but it turned out they knew each other.
“She’s your friend?”
He sized her up, his scrutiny subtle.
She was a very pretty girl, looking about the same age as Qiao Nan.
He frowned ever so slightly.
“She’s the youngest daughter of Xie Shushu’s family from Yan Jing. You’ve probably met her once before.”
Qiao Nan then turned to introduce Xie Ruanruan, “This is my brother, Pei Xu.”
In front of elders, Xie Ruanruan was always well-behaved.
She smiled at Pei Xu and greeted him sweetly, “Gege.”
Pei Xu nodded, then turned and opened the back car door, “I’ll take you back first.”
After dropping Xie Ruanruan off at school, they planned to head to the hospital.
Xie Ruanruan waved to Qiao Nan and said, “When you’re back at school, let me treat you to a meal.”
Qiao Nan waved back at her too, and only after the car had driven off did he roll the window up.
Pei Xu saw the smile on his face through the rearview mirror, his own expression darkening a bit.
He asked calmly, “When did Xie Ruanruan come to Nanjiang? Are you two still in touch?”
“She just got here recently. She got into Nanjiang Art Academy, same department as me.”
Qiao Nan said, “Her health isn’t too good. She just had surgery over the summer, so Xie Shushu was worried and asked my mom to have me look after her.”
Pei Xu just made a “hmph” sound and didn’t say anything else, as if it was just a casual question.
When they got to the hospital, Qiao Nan went for an X-ray first, then waited over an hour for the results.
By the time he finally came out of the hospital, it was already afternoon.
Qiao Nan muttered quietly, “I told you the infirmary would be enough, nothing was wrong in the first place.”
Pei Xu pretended not to hear his grumbling and said gently, “I’ll take you home. Tonight I’ll have Chen Yi make some light dishes, and boil two eggs for you to use as a compress.”
“Didn’t you not want to go home?”
Qiao Nan lowered his head and mumbled, “I can just take a taxi back myself.”
Pei Xu paused, his voice a little stiff, “It’s not that I don’t want to go home…”
“I know, you have work and you’re chasing after your beloved, where would you have time to come home.”
And even less time to look after your little brother.
Mentioning this made Qiao Nan unhappy again, so he quickly stopped himself and didn’t want to say more, “I get it, I get it.”
He casually hailed a taxi from the roadside, waved at Pei Xu as he got in, “I can go back myself, bye.”
Pei Xu stood there, watching the taxi slowly disappear into the distance, and only after a long while did he return to his own car.
Because of the arcade incident, Xie Ruanruan and Qiao Nan quickly became familiar with each other.
She didn’t have to attend military training, so when she was bored in the dormitory, she’d go to Qiao Nan’s studio to pass the time.
She was beautiful and cheerful, and every time she came she’d bring lots of snacks to share with everyone.
She soon became friends with the others in the studio.
“On September 30th there’s the School Opening Gala. Do you guys want to come watch?”
Xie Ruanruan asked.
“Are you performing?”
Zhao Yutong was very supportive.
“If you’re performing, we’ll definitely go!”
“I am.”
Xie Ruanruan smiled shyly and glanced at Qiao Nan, “Qiao Nan, will you come too? I’ll ask the senior arranging the seats to save a few front row spots for you all.”
Zhao Yutong gave a meaningful “hmph” and winked, “Don’t worry, I guarantee I’ll tie him up and bring him over for you.”
“Deal, then.” Xie Ruanruan flashed him a bright smile.
After she left, Zhao Yutong nudged Qiao Nan with his elbow, “She’s being so proactive, why aren’t you showing any sign at all?”
Qiao Nan was baffled, “What sign?”
Zhao Yutong was shocked, “Obviously, you should take the initiative and pursue her! Don’t tell me you’re waiting for the girl to chase you? Let me tell you, Xie Ruanruan is the Xihua of the freshmen, lots of people want to go after her, you better seize the chance.”
Qiao Nan felt helpless, “Our families are family friends, and her parents specifically asked me to look after her. She’s basically like a little sister to me. Don’t joke about this next time, it’ll just embarrass her.”
“She’s not your real sister.”
Zhao Yutong muttered.
Qiao Nan couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and just ignored him.
On the day of the School Opening Gala, Zhao Yutong dragged Qiao Nan over early to save seats.
That day, Xie Ruanruan had only casually mentioned she had a performance, but when the gala started, they realized her act was actually the opening dance.
She wore glamorous stage makeup and a spicy, sexy outfit, looking completely different from her usual quiet self.
The fiery opening dance lit up the whole atmosphere of the gala, and the audience kept screaming and shouting out their confessions.
Zhao Yutong was so excited he nearly jumped up, grumbling, “See, see, see, if you don’t try harder, your little sister is going to get snatched away by some other guy!”
Qiao Nan rolled his eyes and shook off his hand, scooting away in annoyance.
After the dance ended, Qiao Nan went backstage to look for her.
When Xie Ruanruan saw him, she waved at him through the crowd and ran over, “Did you see my performance?”
“I did, you did great.”
Qiao Nan praised her.
Xie Ruanruan smiled happily.
Qiao Nan said, “The day after tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival.
My parents are coming back to Nanjiang and asked me to see if you’d like to come have dinner at our place.”
“Of course I’ll go if uncle and auntie invited me.”
Xie Ruanruan said, “But I can’t show up empty-handed. What do uncle and auntie like? I’ll buy a gift in advance.”
Qiao Nan shook his head, “No need to be so formal, just bring yourself.”
Seeing how firm he was, Xie Ruanruan didn’t insist, deciding to ask her mom for advice later.
This year, National Day and the Mid-Autumn Festival overlapped, giving them an eight-day holiday.
The past two years, his parents had been too busy to come back for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but this year they finally made time and were paying special attention to it.
They had Wang Shu reserve a private room at a hotel so the whole family could celebrate together.
Pei Xu was the last to arrive.
When the attendant led him into the private room, he saw that aside from Qiao Shi’an and his wife and Qiao Nan, there was a familiar girl sitting between Zhou Ruo and Qiao Nan—it was the Xie Ruanruan he’d met once before.
His steps faltered slightly, but he quickly composed himself and walked in as if nothing had happened.
Zhou Ruo took the initiative to introduce, “This is Xie Shushu’s youngest daughter. She’s studying alone in Nanjiang, so I invited her to join us.”
Pei Xu sat down in the empty seat to Qiao Nan’s left and nodded, “We met once before at Nanjiang Art Academy.”
Zhou Ruo smiled, “So you’ve already met.”
It was just an ordinary remark, but to Pei Xu’s ears, it seemed to carry some other meaning, making his heart sink a little.
With Xie Ruanruan there, the atmosphere at the dinner table was warmer than usual—even the normally stern Qiao Shi’an seemed especially kind.
After dinner, Zhou Ruo asked Qiao Nan to take her back to school.
By the time Qiao Nan returned home after dropping her off, it was already past ten at night.
Zhou Ruo hadn’t gone to bed yet and was watching the news in the living room.
When she saw Qiao Nan come in, she waved him over to sit down.
“What do you think of Ruanruan?”
Qiao Nan saw his mother’s expression and immediately got wary, “She’s great, but I only see her as a little sister, nothing more.”
“How would you know there’s nothing more if you don’t give it a try?”
Zhou Ruo wasn’t angry.
“You’ve never dated anyone since you were a kid, it’s time you found a girlfriend. The Xie family and ours are a good match, Ruanruan’s pretty and has a good personality, she’s suitable in every way. I’m not saying you have to get married now, but at your age, it’s perfectly normal to date.”
“But I really don’t like her.”
Qiao Nan made a face.
Zhou Ruo was about to lecture him when Pei Xu came downstairs and, exasperated, tapped Qiao Nan’s forehead.
“Even your brother has someone he likes. Why are you still so clueless?”
She turned to Pei Xu, “I heard from Wang Shu last time that you have someone you like. When are you bringing them home for us to meet?”
Pei Xu poured himself a glass of water and looked down, saying, “It’s not settled yet. I’ll bring him home when it is.”