“Are you serious?” Song Wan seemed quite dissatisfied with Su Jin’s answer.
“I am serious… setting aside the fact that she was tied up, did you notice how pitiful Qin Sheng was acting just now?
Or rather, why did Shen Xiyan help untie her?”
“Isn’t it just because he’s soft-hearted?”
Song Wan frowned with a look of disdain. “I can tell. He only refused verbally. If the one chasing him now was some ugly woman weighing three hundred pounds, do you think he’d be so polite?”
“If I don’t keep an eye on her, I really worry Qin Sheng will claim she’s pregnant one day.”
“Wait… didn’t you notice Qin Sheng was struggling just now?”
“Has she ever stopped struggling?”
Su Jin asked again, “Did you notice she was rubbing her shoulder back and forth, leaving it red and raw?”
“???”
“You couldn’t see it from your angle. I only saw it when she was being untied…”
“Even when you just scolded her for being so shameless, I was startled, but she didn’t even frown. It was Shen Xiyan who couldn’t stand it…” Su Jin gave a meaningful look.
“Are you trying to break them up? Somehow, I feel like you’re actually helping.”
“Expecting her to give up on her own? I don’t think that’s possible… But as for Shen Xiyan, if every time they meet he just slaps her, then maybe. The premise is that Qin Sheng can’t get any pleasure out of this.
If by some twist of fate she develops masochistic tendencies, then Song Wan can just hug her blanket and cry. Your little sister is completely ruined.”
“I can already picture it—Shen Xiyan buying a rope, a leather whip, tying her up in the living room, a collar around her neck, a ball gag in her mouth, blindfolded, whipping her while laughing heartily…”
“Stop it! Can you be serious for once?”
Song Wan was exasperated but had to admit there really was such a possibility.
“Can’t help it…”
Su Jin spread her hands and gave up. “As a species, humans are biologically wired to yearn for love—not just for reproduction but as a psychological need.”
“You’re the older sister, bossing everyone around, and you think you can control who falls in love early?”
Song Wan glared.
Su Jin immediately backed down halfway, smiling, “Instead of thinking about how to make Qin Sheng stop liking him, why not figure out why Qin Sheng likes him, then fix the root of the problem?”
“You think I haven’t thought about that?”
“What did she say?”
“She said liking someone is just liking them—no reason!”
“If that’s the case…” Su Jin’s eyes sparkled, “When’s the wedding? I want to eat wedding candy!”
“Stop joking. Just help me out, okay?”
“How?”
“Don’t know. Anyway, you’re not exactly a good woman yourself, so just make sure they don’t get together. They’re together all day, plenty of chances. I’m starting to seriously doubt Qin Sheng’s sanity.”
Su Jin shrugged. As the “bad woman” in Song Wan’s eyes, she had no reason to refuse and nodded. “… Fine, I’ll try.”
Song Wan let out a breath of relief, then asked, “How’s the new book?”
“Editors look down on it~~” Su Jin laughed foolishly and collapsed on the sofa to rest.
“You can even be looked down on by editors?”
“It’s not like anyone can guarantee their books will be hits. Readers liking my book and readers coming because it’s me are two different things. I hate the latter.”
“Sorry, sorry, but hearing this from a ‘big shot’ like you feels so strange.”
“Stepping out of your comfort zone is like that. I wanted to try the Xianxia Detective Style, but got slapped in the face with rookie-level writing.”
“That guy didn’t even know you need ten thousand characters plus an outline before posting, yet his writing flowed better than mine! So frustrating!”
Su Jin couldn’t describe the feeling.
She felt that if she had enough time, she could write a similar beginning. Their ideas were eerily similar, and his outline was even richer.
It was ridiculous!
Better not get caught by her, or she’d have to pry open her brain to see what’s inside.
Where does this kind of writerly telepathy even come from?
Downstairs.
Shen Xiyan and Qin Sheng walked in sync, one after the other.
Qin Sheng didn’t ask to walk side by side, nor did she push her limits to cling to Shen Xiyan’s arm.
Shen Xiyan was willing to slow down and walk with her for a bit but sighed inwardly.
He didn’t want to waste time here—firstly, it was hot, and secondly, it was awkward to be seen.
So when he planned to turn off onto a quiet path back to the cafeteria, deliberately avoiding the main school road, Qin Sheng suddenly asked coldly, “Xiyan! Why don’t we take the main road?”
“Cough!”
Shen Xiyan cleared his throat. “Are you out of your mind? You want to get sunburned?”
“Come on! You just don’t want to show off your relationship with me, do you?” Qin Sheng glared at him. She wasn’t stupid.
Shen Xiyan was speechless. “What relationship do we have to show off right now?”
“Walking together isn’t it? Perfect match of a talented man and beautiful woman.”
“I’m not begging you to walk with me. If you want to take the main road, go ahead!”
Seeing her attitude, Shen Xiyan could turn and leave if Qin Sheng was unhappy.
“Fine, I’ll walk.”
Qin Sheng was the first to step onto the narrow path with her crutch, as expected.
But the crutch didn’t work well on the cobblestones; it slipped, and Shen Xiyan walked alongside, keeping a close eye on her.
From the shadows of the trees, occasional rustling sounds could be heard—young couples whispering sweet nothings.
Shen Xiyan was already used to it.
During the three years of high school, this place, lush with greenery and empty at lunchtime, was always the spot where young couples couldn’t resist sneaking in secret kisses, even if it meant skipping meals or making long detours, just to taste the sweetness of first love.
Shen Xiyan regretted it.
He worried Qin Sheng might take advantage of the situation, but maybe because of what happened earlier, she was quiet the whole way.
Playing a “left foot, right foot” game alone, she matched her steps to Shen Xiyan’s—left when he stepped left, right when he stepped right.
Sometimes Shen Xiyan would deliberately stop to annoy her, making Qin Sheng hit him twice in frustration.
Then, realizing this was flirtatious teasing, he let her follow until they reached a fork in the road, where he quickened his pace.
“Xiyan! Slow down, slow down…” Qin Sheng struggled to keep up, gasping for breath.
“Your classroom’s this way.”
Shen Xiyan pointed casually and turned away.
Behind him, the tapping of the crutch sounded; Qin Sheng hadn’t fallen behind.
Helpless, he stopped and asked, “What do you want? Do you have to follow me?”
“There’s no class now. I can go wherever I want. Why do you care?”
Shen Xiyan turned again.
Qin Sheng, as if reading his mind, shouted, “If you speed up, I’ll fall!”
Shen Xiyan did speed up.
A sudden thump came from behind, followed by Qin Sheng’s scream.
“Ah!!”
“You forgot what you promised me this morning, huh?”
Shen Xiyan turned around angrily but saw Qin Sheng standing still, holding her crutch, smiling like a little girl.
“Of course I remember… You care about me so much. Why would I torture myself? Just pretend—it’s what you said!”
Shen Xiyan’s brows twitched sharply.
He walked over, grabbed the crutch, and forcefully shoved it back into Qin Sheng’s arms, causing her chest to ache.
He had scolded her once, but now she was even harder to deal with.
Qin Sheng avoided his angry gaze and said, “You have to come with me to the hospital today.”
Shen Xiyan was impatient. “Why?”
“I went yesterday. Aunt’s boss harassed her, and Aunt had to endure his humiliation to keep earning money.”
“Humiliation?” Shen Xiyan gave her a strange look.
“Yeah.”
Qin Sheng opened her palm to look at her hand; the skin was a bit red from gripping the crutch so tightly.
“Qin Sheng, explain clearly! What happened to Aunt?”
“Nothing much… that man is just disgusting. He stared at Aunt and me. It’s sickening!”
Shen Xiyan’s blood pressure rose. “Why didn’t you tell me yesterday!?”
How could such a horrible thing only reach him today?
Well, in his past life, he was just a kid. Aunt never brought the company’s troubles home; she always seemed happy.
Even if Shen Xiyan wanted to know, how could he?
“Afraid you’d still be mad, so I didn’t say much.”
“Then you just let Aunt be disgusted?” Shen Xiyan didn’t even realize the problem with his words.
He expected the Qin Sheng who had loved him for ten years.
But the Qin Sheng now, what did it matter if Aunt was disgusted?
He was the one who didn’t want this girlfriend. Qin Sheng and Aunt basically had no relation.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that,” Qin Sheng naturally and matter-of-factly recounted the whole story, emphasizing her own role.
“You don’t know how ugly his face looked when I shoved him away! Today, if it really doesn’t work out, be the bad guy for Aunt.”
“Make the decisions Aunt can’t bear to make. I’ll handle the work stuff. Otherwise, it’s too pitiful for Aunt to work just to take care of you guys.”
Qin Sheng spoke as if it was completely normal. Apart from guilt, Shen Xiyan found it hard to feel anything else.
Neither spoke.
The strands of hair near their ears fluttered in the breeze; her fair skin seemed slightly flushed.
There was a milky fragrance about her, like the scent of ice cream that automatically conjures sweetness in the mind. Unaccountably, Shen Xiyan found the smell sweet.
“Xiyan… it’s so hot. Want some ice cream? There’s a shop ahead. It’s on me.”
“I’ll go buy it.”
Qin Sheng was “surprised,” twisting her waist and pouting. “No need! It’s so sunny. I’ll just buy it and head back to class.”
“Stop pretending! You said the Aunt thing was just an excuse, right?”
“Hehe…”
“I’m going to bring a bottle of water for Wenwen and the others. You’re just tagging along.”
“Then I’ll wait for you to come back~~”
Qin Sheng sat with her legs bent on the edge of the flower bed. Her long hair flowed behind her with the breeze, a beautiful sight.
Watching this, Shen Xiyan was lost in thought for a long time.
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