novelraw Chapter 23
Chapter 23
Chapter 23 Intimate [Two-in-One]In the morning, Qin Qing sat at her grandmother’s dining table, staring blankly at the radish cake in front of her, its edges perfectly golden.
She hadn’t slept well the previous night, as her dreams were haunted by that one sentence he had suddenly whispered while narrowing his eyes at her.
…”Starting tomorrow morning, how about you give me a ride to school?”
The deep, husky voice seemed to echo in her ears again. Qin Qing’s chopsticks trembled, causing the radish cake to fall back onto the porcelain plate in front of her.
The plate clattered lightly, snapping Qin Qing back to reality.
“Sweetie, is the workload in your sophomore year too much for you?”
Grandma Qin looked up at the sound, her expression concerned as she asked, “Why do you seem so out of it this morning?”
Qin Qing waved her hand dismissively.
“It’s nothing, Grandma… I was just lost in thought.”
“Well, there’s no rush. You can take your time. I noticed you woke up earlier than usual this morning, so it’s okay if you take it easy.”
Prompted by Grandma Qin, Qin Qing glanced at the clock on the wall.
It was already seven o’clock.
With only ten minutes left before the agreed-upon time, Qin Qing hastily bit into the radish cake, then got up and rushed to her room to gather her things.
“I have something to do at school today,” she explained while packing her bag. “So I need to leave early this morning.”
“What? You haven’t even finished your porridge yet. Why are you in such a hurry?”
“Mmhmm,” Qin Qing nodded firmly.
Grandma Qin had no choice but to relent. As she cleared the table, she muttered, “What could be so important that you can’t finish your breakfast? And they keep these students in night classes until so late—this school is just too much…”
Qin Qing listened guiltily.
Even though they had agreed on 7:10, it was her responsibility to make amends, so she couldn’t afford to be late and keep him waiting.
With that in mind, Qin Qing had already slung her small backpack over her shoulders and was heading toward the entryway.
“Make sure to come back home early after school,” Grandma Qin called from the dining room.
“I know, Grandma. Goodbye.”
Qin Qing replied as she pushed open the front door.
She quickly scanned the porch outside the neighbor’s door, saw no movement, and finally relaxed enough to step out.
As the security door closed behind her, Qin Qing headed toward the elevator.
Turning the corner, she saw the morning sunlight pouring onto the floor ahead, warm and inviting, naturally lifting her spirits.
With a slight smile, her gaze fell on the window by the elevator.
And then she paused.
Leaning casually against the window was a boy dressed in a well-fitted school uniform. The standard pants accentuated his long, straight legs, and even as he stood lazily with them crossed, it didn’t diminish his elegance. His uniform blazer was unbuttoned, the fabric hanging loosely by his sides, revealing a slim waist under a white shirt.
His silhouette continued upward, finally disappearing under a black blazer.
He must have just finished a morning run and showered, as his black hair was still damp.
When he heard her approach, he lifted his gaze, and those dark eyes seemed to still hold a trace of lingering mist.
For some reason, Qin Qing was suddenly reminded of the time she had seen him at the mixed martial arts venue—a version of him that felt completely unfamiliar, exuding an indescribable sense of danger.
While she was lost in thought, a flicker of discomfort briefly crossed Wen Yufeng’s dark eyes.
The cigarette he had been holding between his lips was swiftly removed and extinguished in the nearby metal ashtray. He waved away the remaining smoke, his eyes narrowing slightly in what could almost be seen as embarrassment.
After checking his watch, he noticed it was 7:01, nine minutes earlier than the time they had agreed upon.
Wen Yufeng chuckled softly to himself.
He should have known that his little classmate was so well-behaved that she’d likely leave home early—he shouldn’t have been smoking here.
On the first day, too…
Tch.
Wen Yufeng sighed irritably, narrowing his eyes.
“Smoking is bad for your health.”
He was startled out of his thoughts by the voice of the girl who had somehow walked up to him. Her pretty little face was set in a serious expression, her black-and-white eyes staring earnestly at him.
“You’re still young, so it’s not good for your health in the long run. Even if you don’t notice any problems now, you’ll definitely suffer when you get older.”
Wen Yufeng looked down at her, and there was no trace of any other emotion in her eyes, just genuine concern and a gentle, almost parental, tone.
“…”
He fell silent.
After a few seconds, his previously dark mood lifted completely. He turned his face away and let out a soft laugh.
Bathed in the golden light of the morning sun, his smile seemed like a beautiful painting, causing Qin Qing to pause for a moment.
When she finally regained her senses, she wondered curiously: How could such a strange thing happen?
——
Despite the fact that this person skipped school, cut classes, fought, smoked… pretty much everything that, in her mind, a bad student would do.
Yet somehow, just one smile from him was like a clear mountain spring, washing away all her negative feelings and leaving her with nothing but joy and admiration.
That’s probably why she was unwilling to believe that he was the bad student everyone said he was.
After all, he smiled so purely and beautifully, brighter than any smile she’d ever seen…
How could someone like him be a bad student?
When Wen Yufeng returned to reality, he saw that the girl standing in front of him was now looking up at him, seemingly troubled by something significant.
His dark eyes still held a hint of a smile as he slipped his hands into his pockets, leaned down slightly, and lowered his voice to ask with a chuckle, “Ever since last time, I’ve been curious—who taught you to say things like that?”
Qin Qing was pulled out of her thoughts by his question. She didn’t even realize how close he was, instinctively replying, “My uncle said the same thing to my second brother.”
“…Your second brother?”
Wen Yufeng’s smile faded slightly as he straightened up, his eyes narrowing a bit.
“The one who picks you up from school every night?”
Qin Qing didn’t notice the dangerous glint in his eyes and nodded, “Mhm.”
“You two seem very close, huh?”
“Yes! My second brother is great to me. He’s always—”
At the mention of this, Qin Qing’s eyes lit up with a smile as she looked up at him.
But when she saw the oddly dangerous look on his face, she suddenly came to her senses—
Why was she talking about all this with an outsider?
Flustered, she quickly averted her gaze and walked over to the elevator, pressing the down button.
“We should get going to school.”
“…”
Wen Yufeng said nothing, just following her with his long strides.
It wasn’t until they reached the ground floor that Qin Qing suddenly noticed that the person beside her hadn’t brought a single thing with him.
She stopped in her tracks, her pretty almond eyes widening slightly—
“You’re going to school without a backpack?”
Wen Yufeng raised an eyebrow, “Do you think I have any use for a book?”
Hearing this, Qin Qing couldn’t help but frown, realizing that Wen Yufeng rarely showed up in class and never handed in his math assignments. “You don’t like studying?” she asked.
Wen Yufeng didn’t answer immediately, but his eyes met hers with a hint of amusement.
Still pondering, Qin Qing continued, “You’re the only one, along with Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui, who doesn’t submit math assignments… but math can actually be really fun.”
She looked up at him seriously. “Especially the problems that don’t have fixed solutions, like the permutations and combinations we’ll study in our second year of high school. Finding a simpler method to solve a problem, aiming for the fewest calculation steps, and arriving at an unconventional answer before verifying it with a third method—that can give you a great sense of accomplishment!”
As she spoke, her clear, bright eyes seemed to light up with excitement.
By the time they walked out of Fulin Garden together, greeted by the security guard, Qin Qing finally snapped out of her musings.
The youthful enthusiasm that had been bubbling inside her suddenly dimmed, and she blushed, lowering her head slightly. “Did you not like hearing me talk about all that?” she asked, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“I don’t like studying,” Wen Yufeng replied, noticing how her head seemed to dip even lower. He let out a light laugh. “But I like listening to you talk.”
“…Huh?” Qin Qing looked up, puzzled.
“The bus is here,” Wen Yufeng said, dodging her clear gaze as he started walking toward the nearby bus stop.
Before Qin Qing could fully grasp the deeper meaning of his previous words, she noticed the bus had already arrived. She quickly picked up her pace to follow him.
Fortunately, there were still plenty of passengers waiting at the stop, so by the time Qin Qing and Wen Yufeng reached the bus, the earlier passengers hadn’t all boarded yet.
Qin Qing obediently followed Wen Yufeng, standing in line as they got on the bus.
It wasn’t until they were inside, with the bus already moving, that Qin Qing suddenly realized something. She looked at Wen Yufeng in confusion. “Weren’t we going to walk to school?”
Wen Yufeng, who had just dropped in their bus fare, smiled slightly. “…That would be too fast.”
“What?” Qin Qing asked, not quite catching his low words.
“Nothing,” he replied, leading her toward the standing area by the bus’s rear door.
Navigating through the crowded bus, Qin Qing’s thoughts wandered. “And I think this bus is taking a longer route to get to school, right?”
Wen Yufeng’s eyes glinted, a faint smile flickering in his dark eyes. “…Yes.”
He gently tightened his grip on her slender wrist as they continued moving toward the rear door.
Finally reaching the standing area, Wen Yufeng maneuvered Qin Qing against the wall of the bus, shielding her from the surrounding crowd.
With the noise around her momentarily quieted, Qin Qing let out a long breath.
Wen Yufeng, who had been watching her intently, couldn’t help but smile slightly at her subtle expressions.
But before Qin Qing could fully relax, the bus suddenly braked sharply.
With no experience riding the bus, Qin Qing lost her balance and instinctively grabbed Wen Yufeng’s arm to steady herself.
Once the momentum had subsided, Qin Qing realized she was still holding onto his arm, which was now creased from her grip on his school blazer.
Blushing, she looked up. “Sorry, I—”
Her voice trailed off as she noticed him leaning close, his sharp jawline and thin lips curving into a playful smile as he looked at her.
His dark eyes sparkled with amusement, making Qin Qing feel both embarrassed and flustered.
She quickly released his arm and lowered her gaze.
Wen Yufeng wanted to tease his little classmate a bit more, curious to see what other adorable reactions she might have. But seeing her ears turning slightly pink, he decided against it. Clearing his throat, he looked away.
…He didn’t want to scare her off.
But as fate would have it, things didn’t go as planned.
As the bus finally regained its smooth pace, it arrived at the next stop.
This time, more passengers were waiting, and with the front door too crowded, the driver opened the rear door for them to board.
As in many places, Qingcheng wasn’t short of battle-ready elderly ladies. Determined not to miss the bus, one such lady managed to force her way through the rear door, causing a chain reaction that made the passengers inside lean forward involuntarily.
Feeling the sudden surge of pressure from behind, Wen Yufeng quickly extended his arm to shield Qin Qing.
But even with his quick reflexes, he couldn’t fully withstand the crowd’s force.
——
Qin Qing suddenly found herself engulfed in darkness as the boy, who had been a few steps away, leaned in close.
His white shirt was just inches from her nose, and she was surrounded by the faint scent of minty smoke.
The air seemed to thicken, each breath a bit stifling, yet in the sunlight, it sparkled like tiny particles, casting a rainbow-like glow; the noise around her felt distant, like it belonged to another world, leaving her with only the pounding of a heart in her ears.
Thump, thump, thump…
She found it difficult to distinguish whether it was his heartbeat or hers.
As the pressure finally ebbed away like the receding tide, and the crowd gradually settled, a small space opened up.
Qin Qing came back to her senses.
She looked up, her cheeks flushed, her almond eyes glistening.
“…Are you okay?” came the deep, slightly hoarse voice from above.
There was a hint of displeasure in his tone.
Qin Qing blinked, meeting Wen Yufeng’s gaze, and indeed, his dark eyes held a stormy intensity, as if on the brink of unleashing fury.
He turned away, his eyes sweeping over the crowd behind him, locking onto a heavily made-up woman who smirked suggestively at him.
Wen Yufeng’s expression darkened, the fierce emotions in his eyes causing those around him to instinctively shy away.
But before he could let his anger loose, he felt a small, almost imperceptible tug on his sleeve.
Wen Yufeng turned back sharply.
He met Qin Qing’s hesitant gaze.
Perhaps sensing the fierce intensity in his eyes, she shrank back slightly.
But with the wall of the bus behind her, there was nowhere for her to retreat.
Even so, Qin Qing lowered her head slightly and whispered, “They didn’t mean to… Please don’t be angry…”
“…”
Wen Yufeng clenched his fists.
After a few seconds, the dark, heavy emotions in his eyes receded.
With a sigh, he turned back around, once again positioning himself between her and the crowd.
“All right, I’ll listen to you.”
His voice was low and hoarse, like a splash of hot water searing into her heart.
The blush on Qin Qing’s face, which had just begun to fade, returned in full force, bringing with it a surge of emotions that felt overwhelming.
It was as if an invisible tide was about to drown her.
…………
The bus jostled them around for the entire ride but finally brought Qin Qing and Wen Yufeng to the gates of Yishi High School.
Qin Qing couldn’t help but notice the somber mood of the boy beside her, seemingly caused by the earlier incident on the bus.
Even the air around him seemed thick with tension.
Qin Qing had no idea how to comfort him, wrestling with her thoughts the entire way without finding any solutions.
In the end, they walked in silence until they reached the entrance of the second-year, class six.
Qin Qing walked in first, with Wen Yufeng following behind.
The other students barely reacted to the new girl, but when Wen Yufeng entered the classroom, many were visibly startled.
Especially the hygiene monitor who had arrived early to oversee the morning duties—his cup nearly slipped from his hand.
He stared blankly at the clock, confirming it wasn’t his eyes playing tricks on him, before shakily asking the person next to him, “What day is it today…?”
The person next to him was equally shocked, turning back with a look of disbelief. “I must be seeing things. There’s still plenty of time before the first period, and I just saw Yu Ge… No way, when I get home, I’m burning a talisman and drinking the water to ward off evil spirits…”
The hygiene monitor nodded. “Bring me half a bowl too. Thanks, man.”
……
It wasn’t just the students who were surprised. When Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui entered the classroom before the first period and saw Wen Yufeng already seated in the back, they were just as stunned.
“Yu, Yu Ge?”
Li Xiang’s jaw dropped so wide an apple could fit inside. It took him several seconds to close it, and then he quickly checked the clock. “Why are you here so early?”
“…”
Wen Yufeng didn’t respond, his dark eyes flicking up to glance at them coldly.
Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui felt a chill run down their spines, Li Xiang instinctively swallowing hard.
“Who made you angry?” he asked cautiously.
Wen Yufeng remained silent, his expression growing even darker.
Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui exchanged worried looks. It was rare to see Wen Yufeng this angry.
Could it be…
Li Xiang’s gaze shifted to a certain girl in the front row, and his eyes narrowed.
“It has nothing to do with her,” a low, raspy voice suddenly said.
Li Xiang was taken aback, quickly turning back to Wen Yufeng. “Then what happened? Just say the word, and I’ll round up some guys to deal with whoever dared to upset you!”
Wen Yufeng’s expression darkened further.
After a long pause, he finally let out a frustrated breath, his eyes glinting with a sharp, dangerous light.
“This morning, on the bus, some woman grabbed my waist.”
Li Xiang: “…”
“Pfft.”