Chapter 67: The weather is hot

Inside the SUV.

Song Wan had heard the full story about what happened at the neighborhood gate. She leaned lazily against the seatback, a posture that perfectly showcased her proud chest.

“You guys don’t need to fuss over who should carry who these days. Just wait at the gate after school—since it’s close, I’ll take you home.”

“No need…”

Song Wan glanced at Shen Xiyan, a faint smile playing on her lips. “Then how do you plan to deal with Qin Sheng? If she’s blocking you every day going to and from school, what will you do?”

Was she just unwilling to let the names Qin Sheng and Shen Xiyan be linked together?

“I don’t know if you’re annoying or not, but I do know there will definitely be rumors at school…”

“The principal worked so hard to keep your matters under control, and the posts on the Tieba took a lot of effort to get deleted. Can you guys just stop looking for trouble?”

Shen Xiyan paused, confused. “I’m already like this, why are you still pestering me?”

Qin Sheng pouted, putting on a pitiful act. “After thinking it over carefully at home, I realized you’re actually doing it for my own good…”

“How come I never knew?”

Shen Xiyan was baffled.

Wasn’t he just being “unreasonably difficult”?

May I ask, miss, where exactly did you see that I’m doing this for your sake?

Qin Sheng then recounted the events from that day.

Song Wan, Lin Ci, and Wenwen all looked enlightened, though each focused on different aspects.

Song Wan was mostly surprised; she never thought Shen Xiyan could say something like that and had assumed he was just angry because Qin Sheng deceived him.

Lin Ci also didn’t expect Shen Xiyan to say that, but her feelings were more bitter.

What did “even if it’s just for show” mean?

You pamper her that much?

Wenwen, being uninvolved, stayed silent, sensing the tense atmosphere in the car.

Shen Xiyan felt embarrassed.

His deliberate unreasonable behavior, when described by Qin Sheng, somehow became reasonable and even carried a hint of deep affection.

Song Wan looked at Qin Sheng, who was all dreamy-eyed, and her head started to ache a little. She reached into the small car fridge, fished out an ice pack, shook it at Lin Ci, and asked, “Want an ice pack?”

Lin Ci shook her head. “No… thanks.”

“Take it. Your foot looks swollen. At least it’ll be more comfortable on the way.”

Shen Xiyan took it. The small fridge was pretty effective; holding the pack in his own hand made his skin tingle with cold.

***

After applying it for a while, he handed it to Lin Ci to rest for a moment before putting it back on.

Lin Ci’s frown relaxed considerably.

But Qin Sheng couldn’t stand it any longer, her eyes red as she demanded, “Xiyan! Me too!”

Shen Xiyan feigned death.

Song Wan raised an eyebrow and casually grabbed another pack, asking, “Want me to get one for you?”

Qin Sheng said “Oh” and stretched her foot out.

“???”

This time Song Wan was the one surprised. Why did Qin Sheng agree so readily? Wasn’t she supposed to make a fuss?

But Qin Sheng had her reasons. Brutes never ended well.

She had already admitted her fault; if she didn’t now show genuine remorse, it would be pointless.

Now that Shen Xiyan was softening, she had to fan the flames and not stubbornly resist.

Xiyan only responded to softness, not hardness. She had known this for a long time.

Yeah… she had known all along.

Shen Xiyan liked softness; she liked hardness.

She went from soft to hard, Shen Xiyan from hard to soft.

The car’s air conditioning was a bit chilly, and combined with the cold compress, Qin Sheng inevitably felt cold, curling up into a ball.

At first, she chattered to Shen Xiyan, but as he ignored her, she gradually fell silent, quietly staring at him in a daze.

Shen Xiyan occasionally looked up, their eyes meeting. She immediately lowered her gaze in guilt.

“Sorry… I really won’t do it next time.”

Shen Xiyan frowned. “You’re the one who’s hurt. Don’t apologize to me, apologize to yourself.”

There was no hope that Qin Sheng would “acknowledge her mistakes and change.”

Every apology was heartfelt, but the next time the same situation arose, she would still knowingly do wrong.

Shen Xiyan didn’t believe it—at least not yet.

When they got out of the car, Song Wan reminded, “Remember to come to the Student Council at noon.”

Qin Sheng snapped, “Why?”

“It’s nothing to do with you…”

“Song Wan, don’t be too much!”

Shen Xiyan had no interest in the sisters’ quarrel. He glanced at Lin Ci’s ankle and tentatively asked, “Want me to carry you back to class?”

“No, just help me walk there. It’s just a short distance.”

“Then tell me if it hurts.”

“Okay.”

Lin Ci hobbled toward the teaching building and casually asked, “Song Wan just said to go to the Student Council?”

“She agreed to help me deal with Qin Sheng…”

Lin Ci was a bit surprised. “Isn’t she Qin Sheng’s cousin?”

“Exactly why she doesn’t like me. If Wenwen were to date, would you like that jerk?”

Wenwen was inexplicably targeted and a little annoyed. “What does that have to do with me?”

“No way.” Lin Ci frowned.

Shen Xiyan added viciously, “I’d break his legs!”

Wenwen didn’t have to worry about relationships. She ended up single in her previous life, but if she had a boyfriend, maybe Qin Sheng wouldn’t have targeted her.

No, what am I thinking?

Whether Wenwen had a boyfriend or not wasn’t the reason Qin Sheng targeted her.

Wasn’t Qin Sheng the problem?

The morning classes dragged on.

As they grew older, their logical thinking also changed.

Those harder subjects remained hard no matter what.

But the ones that depended on practice, like simple addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division in elementary school, which had felt difficult then, seemed ridiculously easy a year later.

Looking at the classmates in the back row—some were sleeping, some reading novels, some gaming—none studying.

These were the “slackers” in the teacher’s eyes.

When bored, Shen Xiyan would watch Lin Ci up front to pass the time.

She listened attentively, sitting straight with proper posture, legs neatly folded in a ladylike manner.

It seemed she had been this serious since the first day of school.

That was why in their previous life, Shen Xiyan often borrowed her notes to copy. Back then, she wondered how someone’s notes could be so neat and beautiful.

Until the class split in second year, Shen Xiyan discovered a little secret.

In first year, Lin Ci took every subject’s notes seriously.

But by second year, they were separated into arts and science classes. Only language, math, and English were taken seriously; the others were noted only enough to understand.

At the time, Shen Xiyan hadn’t realized it. By the time she did, it was too late to say thanks.

The warm June breeze drifted into the classroom, stirring the girl’s hair.

Lin Ci bent her delicate fingers to tuck the wind-tousled strands behind her ear.

Then a pen rolled off the desk with a soft clatter.

Lin Ci bent down to pick it up and looked up, locking eyes with Shen Xiyan.

He stared.

She stared.

He smiled as he stared.

She poked him with the pen, her eyes fierce!

Shen Xiyan smiled even brighter, his smile sweet enough to enchant a girl’s heart.

Sitting up straight again, her deskmate noticed something different.

“Lin Ci, why is your face so red?”

“… It’s just so hot.”