novelraw Chapter 26
Chapter 26
Chapter 26 Fierce WolfIn the teaching building of Yishi High School, a petite girl was walking down the corridor with a stack of papers in her arms. Her delicate and beautiful face was tightly composed, giving off an aura of seriousness and propriety as she looked straight ahead.
Behind her, however, was a persistent tail she couldn’t shake off—
“Qin, you have to believe me!”
Li Xiang whined, circling around Qin Qing from the left and right, trying to keep up with her unyielding pace.
“Really! That magazine is mine, the math book cover and the wrapping paper are mine too. It has nothing to do with Yu-ge at all!”
“…”
Qin Qing ignored him, but images of what she had seen earlier involuntarily flashed through her mind.
Her cheeks turned slightly red, a thin layer of annoyance added to her clear eyes. She bit her lip lightly, and her steps quickened.
“Oh, my dear Qin Qing, you’ve really misunderstood—”
Li Xiang continued to complain bitterly as he chased after her, “You can’t falsely accuse someone who’s innocent, can you?”
Hearing this, Qin Qing finally stopped.
Still holding the stack of papers, she turned around and stared directly at Li Xiang.
Li Xiang, caught off guard by her serious gaze, instinctively restrained his playful demeanor.
Then he heard the girl softly speak, “That magazine is yours?”
“Yes!”
Li Xiang nodded frantically.
“Then why was it on Wen Yufeng’s desk?”
Without hesitation, Li Xiang replied, “I put it there, Yu-ge didn’t know about it.”
“Do you have a lot of stuff on your desk?”
Qin Qing pursed her lips and looked up at Li Xiang without blinking.
Li Xiang, feeling guilty, shook his head, “Well… not a lot, but not as spacious as Yu-ge’s desk. He doesn’t use half of his desk, so I put some magazines there to keep the teachers from finding them.”
Qin Qing frowned, “If you’re not afraid of the teachers finding them, then why did you wrap them in a math book cover?”
“…”
Li Xiang was at a loss for words.
He couldn’t exactly say that it was because a girl named Qi Lulu had come looking for Wen Yufeng before, and he didn’t want Yu-ge to take the blame, could he?
—Especially since he had just told the girl earlier that Yu-ge was “clean and self-respecting.” If he brought up Qi Lulu now, Yu-ge would probably skin him alive…
Seeing that Li Xiang didn’t answer, Qin Qing pursed her lips, “So your reason for putting the magazine there doesn’t hold up.”
Li Xiang broke out in a cold sweat, “No… well…”
“Let me ask you one more question.” Qin Qing tightened her grip on the papers, “Did Wen Yufeng ever touch those magazines?”
Li Xiang instinctively wanted to shake his head, but just before doing so, he suddenly remembered—
The last time Qi Lulu came, Yu-ge did pick up the magazine and flipped through it a couple of times before tossing it back on the desk.
Seeing Li Xiang hesitate, Qin Qing knew the answer.
The girl let out a rare soft huff, cast an annoyed glance at Li Xiang, and turned to leave.
The ends of her long, slightly curly chestnut hair swayed behind her, clearly reflecting that her mood was anything but calm.
Li Xiang was left behind, nearly in tears, wishing he could scratch the wall—
His explanation had only made things worse. Now, all he could hope for was that Yu-ge would spare him…
…
During the afternoon break, Zhuo Anke came looking for Qin Qing outside the classroom of Class 6, Grade 11.
The classmates were already familiar with the girl who often came to their class, so when the student who had just stepped out was stopped, they spoke up before Zhuo Anke could, “You’re looking for Qin Qing, right?”
Zhuo Anke was momentarily surprised but then smiled and nodded.
Before long, Qin Qing was called out.
As soon as they exchanged greetings, Zhuo Anke glanced Qin Qing up and down.
Then she raised an eyebrow, “Who made our little Qing upset?”
Qin Qing was startled, “I’m not upset…”
“Don’t try to hide it from me,” Zhuo Anke teased, gently tapping her nose, “Your mood is written all over that little face of yours.”
“…”
Qin Qing wasn’t used to such intimate gestures between girls, so Zhuo Anke’s sudden action left her frozen for a few seconds, even making her ears turn slightly pink.
Seeing this, Zhuo Anke burst into laughter, “Qin Qing, with your thin skin, how will your boyfriend ever handle it in the future?”
Qin Qing sighed, “Please stop teasing me.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t tease you anymore.”
Zhuo Anke stifled her laughter, though the amusement in her eyes was still evident, “Since you’re in a bad mood, and the sun isn’t too harsh today, how about we take a walk around the track?”
Qin Qing thought for a moment, realizing she didn’t have anything urgent to do, and smiled, “Sure.”
With that settled, Zhuo Anke took Qin Qing’s hand, and they headed downstairs.
It was mid-to-late September, and the weather in Qingcheng was still a bit hot during the day. Fortunately, the clouds were layered today, often blocking out the sun, so walking under the shade didn’t feel too scorching.
The track wasn’t far from the Grade 11 teaching building, and since it was break time, students were scattered everywhere. Following the crowd, it didn’t take long for Qin Qing and Zhuo Anke to reach the west gate of the track.
Qin Qing wasn’t physically strong and wasn’t fond of sports. Besides Zhuo Anke, she didn’t have many friends in Yishi High School, so she rarely went out for walks.
This track had only seen her footsteps during military training and physical education classes.
But Zhuo Anke was the restless type, so as soon as they reached the track and saw the relatively empty running lanes, her eyes lit up.
“There might be some competition today, want to check it out?”
“Competition?”
Qin Qing was taken aback.
But before she could respond, Zhuo Anke enthusiastically pulled her across the field toward the basketball court, which was a few large stone steps higher than the field.
Sure enough, as soon as they reached the bottom of the steps, they heard a lively commotion coming from above.
“Why is it so lively? Could the school basketball team be playing a match?” Zhuo Anke mused to herself, “That can’t be right, though—I haven’t heard anything about the basketball team having any activities lately…”
Standing beside her, Qin Qing felt a headache coming on as soon as she heard the loud cheering and shouting.
She frowned slightly, “Anke, I don’t understand the rules of basketball. I won’t get anything out of watching…”
“Look at you being all honest,” Zhuo Anke said with a smile, her eyes curving, “Who said anything about watching the game? We’re here to check out the players! Let me tell you, there are several really handsome seniors on the school basketball team. Come on, I’ll show you some eye candy.”
With that, Zhuo Anke began to pull Qin Qing up the large stone steps.
But the steps were so high that Qin Qing felt like she would have to climb them. She hesitated, looking at them nervously, and then silently walked over to a smaller, normal-sized stone staircase on the side.
Zhuo Anke had already climbed two or three of the large steps when she looked back and found no trace of Qin Qing.
She was puzzled for a moment before she spotted Qin Qing taking the smaller steps off to the side.
At first, Zhuo Anke didn’t understand, but after a moment, when she realized why Qin Qing had gone that way, she doubled over with laughter.
“…”
Ignoring the laughter behind her, Qin Qing quietly climbed the steps, her face flushed, pretending she hadn’t noticed Zhuo Anke’s reaction.
When the two of them finally reached the top of the steps, even though they had been mentally prepared, they were still startled by the sight of the crowd, packed three deep on all sides.
“…What’s going on?”
Zhuo Anke, having just stopped laughing, stared in surprise for a couple of seconds before tapping an excited girl next to her on the shoulder, asking, “Why are there so many people today? Is there some internal match with the school basketball team?”
The girl, who had been trying to push her way forward on tiptoe, was a bit annoyed at being interrupted. Without turning her head, she replied impatiently, “What school basketball team? It’s that Wen Yufeng from Grade 11, playing with a few others. They split into two teams and are playing inside.”
Hearing this, Zhuo Anke’s eyes immediately lit up.
She turned back to Qin Qing and excitedly said, “Xiao Qing, did you hear that? Our school’s top dog, Wen Yufeng, is playing basketball! What a great opportunity! Hurry, let’s go bring him some water and a towel!”
“…”
From the moment the girl mentioned Wen Yufeng’s name, Qin Qing had the urge to turn and run. There was no way she would play along with Zhuo Anke’s joke now.
She gently tugged at her hand but couldn’t free her wrist from Zhuo Anke’s grip. In the end, she could only protest softly, “Anke, stop messing around… I’m a bit thirsty. Let’s go buy some water.”
“No way.”
Zhuo Anke refused without a second thought, her expression serious for less than a second before breaking into a grin. “I’ve always heard that our school’s top dog is incredibly handsome when he plays basketball, but it’s hard to catch him because he usually plays during class. Now that we’ve finally caught him playing during a break, we have to watch, even if it’s just for a little while!”
Seeing Qin Qing’s troubled expression, Zhuo Anke, half forceful and half pleading, tugged Qin Qing towards the court. “Even if you’re not interested, satisfy my curiosity, okay? I promise, we’ll just take a quick look and leave.”
Unable to refuse, Qin Qing had no choice but to be dragged along.
Zhuo Anke, being tall and sharp-eyed, quickly found a spot where the crowd was thinner. She pulled Qin Qing along, using their slender frames to carefully push their way inward.
After finally making it to the inner circle, Qin Qing felt like there was hardly any air left in her lungs.
Once they were settled, she looked up towards the court.
Inside, there were two groups of players—one wearing brightly colored jerseys, the other in white shirts under their school uniforms, clearly to distinguish between the teams.
Maybe because he was too striking, Qin Qing spotted Wen Yufeng immediately on her first glance inside.
His white shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing his well-defined, graceful forearms. The muscles weren’t exaggerated, but the smooth lines and natural movement exuded the vigor of youth.
He had likely been playing for a while, as most of the players were drenched in sweat, yet he showed no sign of fatigue. Only the black strands of his hair were slightly damp with sweat, but it didn’t detract from the visual appeal of his sharp features.
Even though Qin Qing didn’t understand basketball, she could tell that he was at ease on the court—every time he faced off against someone with the ball, the curve of his thin lips was lazy and relaxed, like he was taking a leisurely stroll after a meal. It was no wonder that no matter where he was on the court, he was undeniably the center of attention.
He’s truly one of a kind…
As Qin Qing was thinking this, she heard Zhuo Anke exclaim in surprise beside her.
“What is it?”
Qin Qing turned back, puzzled.
Zhuo Anke was staring at the court with a curious expression. “I heard that Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui always stick with Wen Yufeng, so why is Li Xiang on the other team today?”
Before Qin Qing could respond, a boy who had just been substituted out on the bench in front of them turned around and laughed, saying, “Didn’t you see how Wen Yufeng trained Li Xiang just now? He must’ve done something to tick him off again. And it’s obvious that he messed up pretty badly this time!”
“…”
Qin Qing suddenly felt a bit guilty.
But then she reconsidered—high school students shouldn’t be reading that kind of magazine in school in the first place, so she wasn’t the one who should be feeling guilty…
With that thought, Qin Qing glanced at someone on the court with a bit of annoyance.
Perhaps her gaze was so intense that it almost felt tangible because the boy, who had been focused on dribbling, suddenly paused and looked towards the crowd.
The next second, he bounced the basketball off the ground towards someone on his side.
Then he straightened up and walked towards the edge of the court.
“Yu-ge?”
Zhao Zirui, who had caught the ball, wiped his sweat and looked in confusion at Wen Yufeng, who was already walking away.
“…I’m done.”
Wen Yufeng’s thin lips moved slightly as he continued towards the edge of the court without looking back.
As he walked, he kept his eyes fixed on a girl outside the court, then he squinted slightly.
“…”
Qin Qing’s back stiffened.
The look in his eyes as he approached reminded her all too easily of a predator about to catch its prey.