novelraw Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Chapter 31 [First Update]Qin Qing wasn’t sure why, but a title that others could easily say felt so difficult for her to utter.
After finally mustering up the courage to call him, she kept her head down, waiting for a response that didn’t come.
Hesitating for a moment, she finally looked up.
The boy standing in front of her, leaning against the big locust tree, was staring at her intently with his dark eyes, filled with a complex, indescribable emotion.
Being stared at like this by Wen Yufeng triggered an instinctual sense of danger in Qin Qing, like a small animal sensing a predator.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Qin Qing quickly grabbed her backpack and turned to run toward the school gate.
In reality, Wen Yufeng had already snapped out of his daze the moment she moved. But he didn’t act impulsively—he feared that if he did something rash, his “new deskmate” might slip away before he even had a chance to enjoy it.
Though he tried to reassure himself, he still found it hard to suppress his emotions.
Wen Yufeng’s dark eyes followed the girl’s retreating figure, and his sharp jaw tightened as he swallowed.
…It’s okay.
Wen Yufeng lowered his gaze, forcing himself to look away—
There’s plenty of time ahead.
Just as he was calming himself down, he noticed Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui approaching from a distance.
“Hey? Yu-ge?”
Li Xiang was the first to spot Wen Yufeng standing under the big locust tree off the main path.
Curious, he walked over. “Where’s the new classmate? Why are you here alone, Yu-ge?”
Zhao Zirui quickly pulled Li Xiang aside.
He had already noticed before getting close that the girls’ bag Wen Yufeng had been holding was nowhere in sight—clearly, something had happened, and they had gone their separate ways.
Unfortunately, even though Zhao Zirui tried to intervene, he couldn’t stop Li Xiang from saying something he shouldn’t have.
“…”
Wen Yufeng’s gaze shifted to Li Xiang, his expression a mix of amusement and coldness.
But his eyes were icy.
Li Xiang shrank back, realizing he had just stepped on a landmine.
Even someone as slow as him could tell he had hit a sore spot with Yu-ge.
Still, he couldn’t help but be curious about what had happened between the new classmate and Yu-ge—everything seemed fine when they left the classroom earlier.
Sensing Li Xiang’s thoughts, Wen Yufeng straightened up from where he had been leaning against the locust tree, hands in his pockets, and started walking away.
As he walked, he spoke nonchalantly, “Her second brother came to pick her up, so she left first.”
Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui exchanged a glance as they started to follow.
Li Xiang lowered his voice, “I’ve figured it out—this little girl has Yu-ge wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?”
Zhao Zirui sighed, “…You just figured that out?”
“…”
Annoyed by Zhao Zirui’s condescending look, Li Xiang retorted, “I knew it all along; I just didn’t say anything!”
Trying to redeem himself, Li Xiang added, “I’m telling you, those girls like Ling and Qi Lulu failed because they were too clingy. If they’d played it cool like our new classmate, keeping a bit of distance, Yu-ge would’ve—”
“Would’ve what?”
A low, amused voice suddenly cut Li Xiang off mid-sentence.
“…”
Li Xiang felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
—He realized that Yu-ge’s senses and reflexes were becoming superhuman, and most concerningly, he now walked without making any noise.
Li Xiang silently cursed his luck but had no choice but to turn around and face the storm he knew was coming.
Wen Yufeng stood not far in front of him, his thin lips slightly curled, though there was no warmth in his eyes.
Seeing Li Xiang turn around, Wen Yufeng took a slow step forward, his gaze turning cold and sharp—
“Li Xiang, let me remind you one last time—when it comes to her, you’d better not say another word.”
As he spoke, the smile faded from his lips.
“…Because I despise anyone who speaks ill of her.”
By the time he finished, Wen Yufeng’s face was expressionless, though his eyes still held a deep, turbulent emotion.
Li Xiang swallowed hard, forcing a smile.
“Got it, Yu-ge, it won’t happen again. I… I promise.”
“I have something to do, so I’m heading back.”
With that, Wen Yufeng turned and left, his face still devoid of emotion.
Meanwhile, in a nearby parked car—
“Xiao Qing, what are you looking at?”
Qin Hao, sitting in the driver’s seat, followed her gaze and saw a figure in a thin white shirt and school pants disappearing into the crowd.
But when he turned back to Qin Qing, he noticed she was still staring outside, lost in thought.
“Xiao Qing??” Qin Hao raised his voice slightly.
Qin Qing snapped out of her daze, her expression momentarily flustered. She quickly replayed the words that had drifted past her ears earlier and then shook her head.
“It’s nothing… nothing, I was just spacing out.”
But Qin Hao narrowed his eyes and glanced again in the direction she had been looking before speaking to her, “So the guy who just walked by, is he the classmate you mentioned who gave you that school uniform jacket?”
Qin Qing hesitated for a moment, but under Qin Hao’s gaze, she found it hard to lie.
After a couple of seconds, she slowly nodded.
“…Yes.”
In that single word, the alarm bells in Qin Hao’s mind rang out about eighteen times. His heart was filled with the overwhelming feeling that some “bad boy” was eyeing his little sister.
It was only now that he suddenly realized the blush on Qin Qing’s cheeks when she got in the car earlier—he had assumed it was due to her cold or fever, but now it seemed there might be another reason entirely?
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
“Xiao Qing,” Qin Hao said as he started the car, silently reminding himself to stay calm, “starting today, I’ll come to pick you up after school at noon as well.”
“…Huh?”
Qin Qing was startled and looked up at Qin Hao in confusion.
Then she shook her head, “That’s not necessary, second brother, it would be too much trouble for you. Isn’t your university quite a distance from the city center?”
Qin Hao’s expression didn’t change.
“It’s no trouble. This way, I can come to Grandma’s place every day to taste her cooking. It also saves me from the torture of the university cafeteria.”
Hearing him use this reason, Qin Qing naturally couldn’t refuse anymore, so she could only nod her head.
“All right then, thank you, second brother.”
“…”
Qin Hao nodded, satisfied.
—With him picking up and dropping off Qin Qing morning and evening, there’d be no chance for any bad guys to make a move.
Plus, he could keep a close eye on the situation…
Thinking this, Qin Hao felt he had made a very wise decision, and a somewhat strange smile appeared on his face.
Qin Qing, sitting in the passenger seat, caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of her eye and helplessly frowned, turning her gaze away.
—
What’s going on lately? And now, with Wen Yufeng inexplicably bringing up the Marriage Law… It seems like the people around her aren’t acting quite normal?
…
That afternoon, just before school, Qin Qing received a call from Zhuo Anke.
As soon as she answered, she was greeted by Zhuo Anke’s high-pitched, excited laughter on the other end of the line.
“Haha, Qin Qing, is it true—did I hear right that you’re going to be deskmates with our school’s bad boy, Wen Yufeng??”
“…”
Qin Qing was momentarily stunned by the laughter and words, and it took her a while to find her voice—
“Anke, how did you know?”
After all, she had only agreed to it during the last class that morning, so how had Anke, who was in her first year, already found out by noon?
Still laughing, Zhuo Anke replied, “So it’s true, then? As for how I found out, well, the truth is, lots of people probably know by now. At least in the first-year class group chat, someone already posted the news.”
Hearing this, Qin Qing’s pretty little face scrunched up.
“Why are people so nosy…”
“No, no, no, it’s not about being nosy,” Zhuo Anke said, her tone becoming more serious. “Qin Qing, at least half the girls in Yishi High School are interested in Wen Yufeng. The number of rivals and potential rivals you have is probably staggering, so you better not take this lightly.”
Hearing this, Qin Qing laughed softly, “There you go again, making jokes, Zhuo Anke… Besides, there’s no way half the girls like him. Do you even know how many girls there are at Yishi High School?”
Zhuo Anke was momentarily at a loss.
After a couple of seconds, she recovered and quickly defended herself, “I may not know the exact number, but I’m not speaking without reason.”
Patiently, Zhuo Anke began to explain, “There are three types of girls who like Wen Yufeng. The first type is represented by Qi Lulu—you’ve heard of her, right? Qi Lulu’s obsession with Wen Yufeng is infamous throughout the school.”
Hearing this familiar name, Qin Qing quickly remembered the girl from a conversation she overheard between Li Xiang and Zhao Zirui during her first day at Yishi High School.
She hesitated, “I really don’t know her.”
“Qi Lulu and you don’t…” Zhuo Anke was left speechless by Qin Qing’s response, but she sighed and continued her “education.”
“Qi Lulu was the only real competition for Ling Yu in the school beauty contest. She represents the type of ‘bad girl’ who sticks to her target no matter what. For girls like her, you can imagine the kind of attraction someone like Wen Yufeng has. And with these types of girls, you really have to be on guard.”
Qin Qing found this amusing and couldn’t help but smile.
“But there aren’t many students like that at Yishi, right?”
“But there’s still the second and third types.”
Zhuo Anke went on, “The second type is the kind of girl who excels in all aspects—Ling Yu is the representative of this group. They’re good students with great family backgrounds, admired by many boys, though that group definitely doesn’t include someone like Wen Yufeng.”
Qin Qing was curious, “What kind of person is he?”
Zhuo Anke thought for a moment.
“He’s someone who gets into fights, is very handsome, and has a bit of a rebellious streak; someone who’s bold enough to consistently rank on the school’s blacklist, who smokes, goes to bars, skips class… Someone who dares to do things that us good students wouldn’t even dream of doing.”
Zhuo Anke paused, “And most importantly, he doesn’t mess around with girls or make disrespectful jokes like some boys do… In fact, he doesn’t interact with girls at all, except for a certain someone.”
She put a noticeable emphasis on “except for a certain someone.”
“…”
Qin Qing’s cheeks heated up slightly, though even she didn’t fully understand why.
Of course, Zhuo Anke couldn’t see Qin Qing’s reaction over the phone, so she continued.
“So you see, that’s the appeal for the second type of girl. And the third type makes up the majority of your potential rivals. These are the girls who, when talking about Wen Yufeng, will express disdain or rejection, but in reality, only they know what they truly feel.”
In conclusion, Zhuo Anke summed up, “Believe me, Qin Qing, many girls have fantasized about being liked by a boy like Wen Yufeng… But at the same time, when this becomes reality, many will feel jealous because it’s not happening to them.”
After a moment of silence, Qin Qing nodded.
“I understand. Thank you, Anke.”
—
After hearing all of that, how could she not realize that Zhuo Anke was worried that someone might get jealous and cause her trouble, so she called to warn her?
Zhuo Anke sighed in relief, laughing, “As long as you understand. We should hang out soon.”
Just as she heard Zhuo Anke preparing to hang up, Qin Qing hesitated for a moment but still spoke up, “But Anke, I don’t think he’s like what you described.”
“What?”
“The whole going to bars and fighting thing—I’ve never seen him do any of that… I don’t think he’s that kind of person.”
Qin Qing’s tone was serious as she said this.
Little did she know that this belief of hers would be completely overturned before the afternoon was over.