novelraw Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Chapter 27 The Wolf’s Claws Are OutAs Wen Yufeng walked towards the edge of the court, the cheers from the surrounding students gradually quieted down.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Wen Yufeng, filled with curiosity and interest.
Standing at the end of the direction in which he was walking, Qin Qing felt a hint of panic flash in her eyes. She pursed her lips, which were dry.
However, she quickly suppressed the slight panic in her heart and turned to Zhuo Anke—
“Anke, the game is over. Let’s go?”
Zhuo Anke was just about to teasingly say something to the girl, but when she saw Qin Qing’s expression, her smile paused. Then, hesitating, she glanced at the boy walking toward them.
Those pitch-black, bottomless eyes were indeed a bit intimidating, causing Zhuo Anke to instinctively freeze for a couple of seconds.
By the time she recovered and wanted to say something to Qin Qing, it was already too late.
—
The boy had already reached them.
Wen Yufeng stopped and stared at Qin Qing, his gaze unwavering.
In that moment, it seemed like a thousand words were hidden in those dark eyes, but before he could speak, the girl at the focus of his attention took a small step back.
She lowered her eyes, her long, curled lashes casting a faint shadow on her fair skin.
“…”
Wen Yufeng’s eyes flickered.
After a moment, he shifted his gaze, looking at a boy sitting on a nearby bench, who was staring at him in confusion.
“Got any water?”
His voice, still hoarse and deep from the recent exercise, carried a magnetic quality.
The boy was startled but quickly snapped out of it and hurriedly pulled a bottle of water from a case of mineral water under the bench, handing it to Wen Yufeng.
Wen Yufeng took the bottle, twisted the cap loose, but didn’t drink. Instead, he held it in his hand and, almost carelessly, took a step forward.
He was already close to the crowd, and this step brought him nearly face-to-face with Qin Qing.
With other students surrounding her, Qin Qing had no room to retreat. Annoyed, she furrowed her delicate brows, only to hear his voice from above.
—
“Could you let me through?… Little one.”
The tone was lazy and indifferent, with a hint of inexplicable distance.
As soon as he spoke, everyone around Qin Qing stepped aside, giving her space to move as well.
She stepped to the side without looking at him, keeping her eyes lowered.
“…”
Wen Yufeng looked at the path now clear before him, suppressing the tumultuous emotions in his heart until he finally calmed down a bit.
After pausing for two seconds, he let out a soft, amused sigh and handed the bottle of water to the girl beside him, who still wouldn’t look at him.
Qin Qing instinctively took it, then looked up with her beautiful almond-shaped eyes, slightly confused.
“Thanks for letting me through.”
Leaving those four words behind, the boy slipped his hands into his pockets and walked out.
Qin Qing stood there silently for a couple of seconds, licking her dry lips.
The curious and hesitant gazes around her turned toward her.
Some students, their curiosity piqued, were about to approach her, but seeing this, Zhuo Anke quickly grabbed Qin Qing’s hand.
“Let’s go back to the classroom.”
Before finishing her sentence, she was already pulling Qin Qing quickly out of the basketball court.
After they left, the students who had crowded three deep around the court began to gradually disperse.
Meanwhile, in the center of the court, Li Xiang, panting heavily, walked over to Zhao Zirui, and together they looked in the direction the three had left.
After a couple of seconds, Li Xiang said irritably, “I just don’t get it. It’s just a magazine. He only glanced at it, so why make such a big deal out of it? Even when Qi Lulu looked at it, nothing happened!”
“…”
Zhao Zirui turned back to glare at him. “You really know how to compare, don’t you?”
Without another word, he started walking out.
Li Xiang was stunned, then chased after him, “What did I do? Did I say something wrong?”
Zhao Zirui couldn’t be bothered to look back at him.
“Comparing Qi Lulu to the new girl? Are you an idiot, Li Xiang?”
Li Xiang’s face flushed red and then turned pale as he argued, “Aren’t they—”
“Aren’t they what?”
Zhao Zirui sneered as he glanced back at him.
“Tell me, besides their looks, which you can chalk up to a difference in taste, what else does Qi Lulu have that compares to the new girl?”
“…”
Li Xiang was at a loss for words and angrily glared at Zhao Zirui. “Didn’t you just say a couple of days ago that Qi Lulu looked pretty good?”
“That’s the thing,” Zhao Zirui shrugged as he picked up his school jacket from the bench and walked away. “People look bad when you start comparing them to others. For example, your intelligence compared to everyone else’s.”
“Pah! You unfaithful jerk,” Li Xiang retorted.
A few seconds later, his eyes lit up, and he eagerly sidled up to Zhao Zirui. “So, do you think Yu-ge and the new girl have a chance?”
Zhao Zirui thought for a moment. “I think it’s unlikely.”
“Why?”
Zhao Zirui turned back to look at Li Xiang. “You saw what happened today. Do you think it was just a coincidence?”
“…”
Li Xiang was stunned for a few seconds. “Isn’t that obvious? I just tossed the book over without thinking, who could’ve predicted that the new girl would end up helping Yu-ge with his math problems?”
Zhao Zirui looked at Li Xiang in exasperation. Seeing that Li Xiang still didn’t get it, he patiently explained.
“It wasn’t a coincidence at all—if the new girl and Yu-ge continue to interact, they’re bound to run into these kinds of conflicts sooner or later. You have to understand, the environment she grew up in is probably worlds apart from ours.”
Li Xiang nodded repeatedly. “Go on.”
Zhao Zirui continued, “So even if it wasn’t this magazine today, eventually something else would’ve triggered a conflict between them.”
Li Xiang frowned. “But what does that have to do with whether they’ll work out or not? Who doesn’t argue in a relationship?”
“This isn’t just a simple argument; it’s a fundamental conflict. Someone will have to admit they were wrong or take a step back from their stance.”
Zhao Zirui sighed. “The new girl seems soft and gentle, but she doesn’t look like someone who would easily back down.”
Li Xiang thought about the cold shoulder he got today and nodded in agreement.
Zhao Zirui turned back to him. “And how long have you known Yu-ge? Have you ever seen him admit he was wrong?”
Li Xiang was stumped.
Zhao Zirui pressed on, “Can you even imagine Yu-ge admitting he was wrong?”
Li Xiang: “…”
It wasn’t just a matter of being stumped; the very idea was horrifying.
Zhao Zirui didn’t bother with Li Xiang’s changing expression and continued walking. As he walked, the image of Yu-ge handing over the water bottle earlier flashed in his mind.
After a few seconds of pondering, he suddenly chuckled.
“But maybe it’s not entirely impossible.”
Li Xiang, still lost in thought, looked up. “What’s not impossible?”
Zhao Zirui replied, “Yu-ge already showed a sign of weakness… so maybe admitting he was wrong isn’t completely out of the question.”
Li Xiang was shocked. “Showed weakness? Yu-ge?? When did that happen? How come I didn’t know?”
“…”
Zhao Zirui gave him a deadpan look. “Probably because you’re an idiot.”
“Damn it! Zhao Zirui, get back here!”
…
Qin Qing was pestered by Zhuo Anke all the way to the Grade 11 teaching building, yet she still refused to explain what had happened between them.
Zhuo Anke was dying of curiosity, itching to know the truth.
When they reached the corridor, Qin Qing realized that if she didn’t say something, Zhuo Anke wouldn’t let her go upstairs. She finally spoke.
“Anke, I really can’t tell you about this.”
Zhuo Anke made a face like she was about to cry, holding Qin Qing’s hand and spinning in circles.
“Xiao Qing, just tell me! I’m dying of curiosity—don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone!”
Qin Qing frowned and shook her head.
“If I told you, I’d be going against my principles. It involves someone else’s personal matters, so I can’t say anything.”
Hearing Qin Qing put it that way, Zhuo Anke knew she couldn’t push any further. She nodded regretfully.
“All right… but if you need anything, make sure you tell me!”
A soft smile finally appeared on Qin Qing’s face.
She nodded and agreed, “Okay.”
After watching Zhuo Anke leave, Qin Qing turned and walked into the teaching building.
But as soon as she stepped inside, just a few steps in, a slightly hoarse, amused voice came from the shadows under the staircase—
“I wasn’t aware that this counts as personal business.”
Startled by the sudden voice, Qin Qing instinctively moved aside.
A tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows.
With a faint smile on his handsome face, Wen Yufeng’s dark eyes inexplicably made Qin Qing feel a bit uneasy.
Qin Qing was still holding the bottle of mineral water he had given her, and her emotions and expression were a bit complicated.
After a moment, she extended her hand, offering the bottle back.
“I didn’t drink it… You can have it back.”
“…”
Wen Yufeng let out a small laugh, his cold, dark eyes shifting away.
He had realized that whenever this girl wanted to distance herself from him, the first thing she did was make it clear that their “debts” were settled.
After he finished laughing, his expression became serious as he stepped forward, cornering Qin Qing against the wall near the staircase.
It was the first time Qin Qing had seen him look at her with such an unsettling expression. Unbidden, she recalled the rumors Lin Manxue had mentioned about him, and the ferocity he supposedly showed in the fighting ring, which she hadn’t dared to witness herself.
…Was he really that terrifying?
Qin Qing took one last step back, her slender back pressing against the wall.
Trapped and feeling deeply uneasy, she looked up, her dark eyes brimming with anxiety, like a deer that had lost its way.
But a deer should never look at a predator with anxious eyes, because it only stirs the hunter’s primal instincts.
—
Wen Yufeng’s eyes suddenly seemed to be filled with inky blackness, so dark that no light could penetrate them.
His thin lips curled up slightly as he leaned down toward the small girl in front of him—
“Do you think giving me back the water I gave you means we’re even?”
His dangerous gaze flicked to the bottle in her hand, then back to her face, now with a cold smile.
“Especially since you didn’t even drink it?”
“…”
Qin Qing was stunned for a couple of seconds, staring blankly at Wen Yufeng.
She wondered if she had misheard something.