novelraw Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter 7 SweetieOne minute and forty-one seconds—just as the referee signaled the end of the match.
For a moment, the entire arena fell into dead silence, then suddenly erupted into a sea of cheers and boos.
The match had ended so quickly, setting a record for the past few years. The overwhelming strike had left the opponent defenseless, and the match was brought to a thunderous conclusion. This performance, especially in the late stages of the rookie competition where the participants were more evenly matched, signaled the emergence of a dark horse.
“Feng——!!!”
The cheers gradually drowned out the boos, and after a few seconds, the entire audience began chanting the victor’s nickname in unison.
Many people were red-faced and hysterical, cheering for the hero in the ring and for the thrill in their own hearts.
Amid the deafening screams and whistles, the referee suddenly raised the young man’s arm in victory.
The muscles beneath the hand wraps were sleek and toned, not overly exaggerated, glistening with sweat under the lights. The exuberance of youth and vitality was fully displayed on the young man’s body.
As the referee left, the reporters prepared for post-match interviews rushed into the octagon.
However, the young man, the focus of all the cameras, left the ring immediately, walking directly towards a specific spot in the spectator area under the gaze of the entire audience.
At that moment, in the front row of the spectator area:
“Xiao Qing, the match is over.”
Qin Hao bent down and spoke to the girl beside him, who still hadn’t dared to sit up.
Qin Qing’s eyelashes, hidden in the shadows, trembled slightly.
“…Is he okay?”
Her voice was soft, tinged with a bit of unconscious tremor.
“Don’t you want to see for yourself?”
Before Qin Hao could answer, a low, teasing voice suddenly sounded above Qin Qing’s head.
“…”
Qin Qing froze.
Before she could look up, that familiar voice chuckled again.
“Are you scared, or are you afraid?”
Qin Qing lifted her slightly pale face in confusion.
The young man, bare-chested with smooth, beautiful lines, was leaning against the spectator rail, arms outstretched, looking down at her with a faint smile.
His deep black eyes were like two polished gems, both deep and captivating.
It was the first time Qin Qing had seen a man’s body up close, and it was a body that perfectly exemplified youth and sensuality.
She stared for a second, then, as if flames ignited from her white jade-like earlobes, a rosy blush quickly spread across her cheeks, accompanied by a burning sensation.
She even forgot to ask—what was the difference between being scared and being afraid?
Qin Qing didn’t respond, but Qin Hao, who was beside her, couldn’t hold back any longer.
Even though he had just witnessed the fierce intensity of this young man in the ring, Qin Hao still looked at him with extreme displeasure—
“Who are you?”
“…”
Wen Yufeng lazily glanced at Qin Hao.
After a moment, he refocused his gaze on Qin Qing.
“…That’s the second time.”
Qin Qing blinked, her clear black-and-white eyes innocent and pure.
She didn’t understand what Wen Yufeng meant.
In fact, she was quite puzzled by the sudden tension between the two of them. She looked from one to the other, then hesitantly turned to Qin Hao and said, “He’s a senior at our school. He’s helped me many times before.”
Before Qin Qing could introduce Qin Hao to Wen Yufeng, Qin Hao, who had been thoroughly ignored, spoke up, glaring at Wen Yufeng in displeasure—
“I’m her brother!”
“…”
Wen Yufeng gave a faint, mocking nod, his dark eyes still fixed on Qin Qing.
“A few days ago, didn’t you also call me ‘Brother’?”
“—!?”
Qin Hao turned incredulously to look at Qin Qing, nearly grinding his teeth in frustration.
But Qin Qing wasn’t looking at him. Instead, she was frowning slightly, gazing at Wen Yufeng with those almond-shaped eyes—
“He really is my brother.”
Wen Yufeng didn’t react much, but Qin Hao’s expression changed.
—Qin Qing might not have realized it herself, and the boy in front of them likely didn’t know either, but having grown up with Qin Qing, Qin Hao understood her better than anyone. The familiarity in her tone, even if she wasn’t aware of it, was rare even in her relationships with her female friends, and had never appeared when dealing with the opposite sex.
A sense of unprecedented crisis loomed over Qin Hao’s mind like a giant shadow, a shrill alarm echoing in every corner of his brain.
Almost instinctively, Qin Hao stood up abruptly, stepping between Qin Qing and Wen Yufeng.
Seeing this movement, Wen Yufeng lazily lifted his eyelids, his gaze rising in response.
Their eyes met, and the corner of Qin Hao’s mouth twitched.
…This guy wasn’t even standing up straight.
Even slouching, he was still several centimeters taller…
Are kids these days growing up on pig feed or what?
Qin Hao roared inwardly but maintained a cold, composed expression on his face.
His tone matched this icy demeanor, “I don’t care who you are—I’m telling you, as Qin Qing’s cousin, and on behalf of her parents, stay away from her from now on.”
Qin Hao briefly imagined how his aunt would react upon seeing this young man, then mimicked that imagined expression by raising his chin slightly, his gaze and tone tinged with contempt and a forced politeness.
“Our Qin Qing is smart, sensible, and has a bright future ahead of her—she’ll do just fine on her own. What right do you, someone who plays around with dangerous fighting, have to get involved with her?”
“…Second Brother!”
Qin Qing couldn’t believe such harsh words had come out of her cousin’s mouth. It took her a few seconds after Qin Hao finished speaking to react, standing up with a slightly pale face.
Meanwhile, the young man inside the ring remained expressionless.
Only his eyes, partially obscured by his dark bangs, seemed to flicker with a dangerous intensity, like tiny flames of ink smoldering deep within, threatening to ignite.
Qin Hao held Qin Qing back as she tried to speak, smiling as he did so.
“It seems our Xiao Qing doesn’t like me speaking to you that way, so let me put it differently—given the heights she’s capable of reaching, she can grow up in the most peaceful and comfortable environment. So why should she get tangled up with someone like you…?”
“…”
The three of them stood there in silence for a moment, then the young man in the ring suddenly chuckled softly, lowering his head.
He lifted his chin, narrowing his dark eyes slightly, and gave Qin Qing a lazy, mocking smile.
“Why didn’t you run?”
Qin Qing remained silent.
Because she was afraid that if she left, something might happen to him.
Even though it seemed like it had nothing to do with her…
When no response came from the girl, Wen Yufeng appeared unconcerned.
His thin lips curled into a cold smile.
“The last time.”
His tone was light, but each word felt like it was squeezed through gritted teeth.
Unlike his usual manner, this time his voice carried an inexplicable hint of bloodthirsty danger.
…Like the scent of a predator before the hunt.
The untamed beast in his heart had already extended its giant, needle-like claws, greedily lurking and prowling in the underbrush.
Wen Yufeng gave the girl one last deep look, then turned and left.
What he didn’t see was Qin Qing instinctively taking a step back behind the railings, frowning slightly as she watched his retreating figure.
Her clear, black-and-white eyes were filled with confusion.
—Besides the instinct to hunt, living beings clearly also possess the innate ability to sense and escape from threats.
But before Qin Qing could figure out where this sudden sense of danger was coming from, Qin Hao had already pulled her away in the opposite direction.
It wasn’t until they had exited the MMA arena and returned to the loud, cicada-filled world of glaring sunlight that Qin Hao stopped walking.
He turned to face Qin Qing, speaking earnestly, “Xiao Qing, don’t get involved with him.”
“…”
Qin Qing neither nodded nor shook her head. Instead, she looked up at Qin Hao with her beautiful, clear eyes, not blinking.
Qin Hao sighed and repeated himself.
“Don’t get involved with him, Xiao Qing… Otherwise, with Auntie’s personality, it’s you who’ll end up hurt in the end.”
Qin Qing was silent for a long time.
“…I won’t get involved with him.”
After a while, she turned away, her voice calm, her expression unchanged. She looked like a beautiful yet emotionless doll in a display case—
“But, Second Brother, you’re just like her—in your eyes, I can’t make new friends, and if I do, they have to be ones you approve of… You’re both like this.”
She lowered her eyelashes and began to walk away.
“We don’t have to wait until the end… I’m already hurt.”
………
On the last day of summer vacation, Qin Qing woke up early.
Li Jinghe had finalized her plans to work in another province and was worried about leaving Qin Qing alone at home. So, at just half-past six, Qin Qing followed her mother’s instructions and arrived at her grandmother’s apartment in the Fulinyuan complex.
The moving company’s workers began loading the packed luggage, one item at a time, into the elevator.
Since it was only Qin Qing’s personal belongings, there were just a few suitcases. Qin Qing followed the last mover into the elevator.
The elevator stopped on the 12th floor.
Qin Qing was the first to step out and turn the corner. Her grandmother, who had recently received a phone call, was already waiting outside the door.
“Grandma—”
As soon as Qin Qing showed her face, she immediately called out with a joyful smile.
Upon hearing her voice, her grandmother responded with a cheerful laugh even before she fully lifted her head—
“Sweetie, you’re here?”
“…”
Qin Qing’s smile froze for a moment, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Nowadays, her grandmother was probably the only one who still liked to call her by her nickname. It was fine at home, but outside, especially in front of strangers…
Qin Qing couldn’t help but feel a bit inexplicably embarrassed.
But since her grandmother used the nickname affectionately, Qin Qing didn’t want to spoil the moment, so she quietly responded and quickly ran over.
Because there wasn’t much luggage, it didn’t take long for the movers to arrange everything as instructed by her grandmother, and then they left.
Qin Qing, now in her new room, began cleaning up with her grandmother.
“Sweetie, I heard from your mother that you’ve transferred to Yishi High School?”
Grandma asked as she spread out the light-colored bed sheet.
Qin Qing was busy hanging up her clothes with hangers.
“Yes, I’ll be studying at Yishi High School after the term starts.”
“That’s great! It’s close to Grandma’s place, and the uniforms are so pretty!”
Grandma paused her work, smiling as she turned to Qin Qing, “There are quite a few Yishi High School students in Fulinyuan. I’ve seen those girls in plaid skirts before and thought to myself, if our Sweetie wore that, she’d definitely look prettier than all of them.”
Qin Qing, balancing on her tiptoes, struggled for a while before finally managing to hang the first piece of clothing in the wardrobe.
Afterward, she turned back with a small, frustrated frown—
“Grandma, your wardrobe is too tall.”
Watching the whole process, Grandma couldn’t stop laughing—
“It’s not the wardrobe that’s too tall, Sweetie. You’re just growing too slowly! You’re about to start high school, but you still look like a little seedling—so small and thin.”
Qin Qing: “…”
She didn’t want to admit it, even though it was true.
Seeing Qin Qing’s deflated reaction, Grandma stopped teasing her and walked over, still smiling, to take the clothes from Qin Qing’s hands.
“You go make the bed; I’ll hang these up for you.”
Qin Qing’s eyes lit up, and she quickly nodded, turning towards the bed.
The two of them worked together for over ten minutes, finally finishing tidying up Qin Qing’s new room.
Besides the now clean and tidy small room, there were also two small bags of trash placed outside the door.
Satisfied with the neat room, Qin Qing clapped her hands lightly.
“Grandma, I’ll go downstairs to take out the trash.”
Grandma nodded, “Just in time, I’ll go warm up some milk for you in the kitchen. We’ll have breakfast when you come back.”
“Okay.”
Qin Qing’s eyes curved into a soft smile.
As Grandma headed to the kitchen, Qin Qing grabbed the two small bags of trash and changed her shoes at the entrance.
Then she walked out the door, heading straight for the elevator.
One of the elevators was slowly ascending from the first floor. Qin Qing pressed the down button and waited outside the elevator.
It was still not yet seven o’clock, and there weren’t many residents coming and going. The red numbers on the display kept climbing without stopping.
Just as Qin Qing thought the elevator would continue rising, it stopped.
“12.”
Qin Qing blinked, glanced at the nearby sign, and confirmed that she was indeed on the 12th floor.
Could the elevator be empty? Or did it just so happen that a neighbor was also heading out?
Before Qin Qing could finish pondering, the elevator door opened with a “ding.”
A figure appeared behind the door.
Inside the elevator stood a young man who had just returned from a morning run, with an undeniably excellent physique—even in a plain light gray cotton tracksuit with no particular design, his figure was tall and lean. His well-defined, strong body lines were clearly outlined by the material, unreservedly displayed in front of Qin Qing.
As the elevator door opened, a pair of ink-black eyes, slightly damp with sweat beneath dark tousled hair, lifted.
In the next second, a slight smile appeared on the handsome, expressionless face.
His eyes flashed.
“Tsk… I must be going crazy.”
His voice, slightly raspy from exercise, carried a bewitching smile as he spoke.
Qin Qing: “…”
Shouldn’t that line have been hers?
Just as Qin Qing was about to turn around and head back home, she heard the sound of the door opening, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching.
Grandma appeared in the elevator hallway, holding a bag of kitchen waste, her voice loud and clear—
“Sweetie, take this bag down too.”
“…”
Feeling the almost tangible gaze full of interest in front of her, Qin Qing’s cheeks turned bright red as she quickly responded in a small voice and ran over to grab the bag.
Grandma, oblivious to anything amiss, turned around and went back inside.
The remaining two or three meters felt like a snail’s pace for Qin Qing as she inched forward.
But no matter how slow she went, two or three meters didn’t take long to cover.
“…”
Under the slightly teasing gaze, Qin Qing kept her head down as she walked into the elevator.
The long fingers that had been holding the door open retreated, and the elevator door closed.
—He didn’t get off.
Qin Qing silently shrank into the corner of the elevator.
A shadow, however, followed her movement, leaning in close.
Accompanied by a low, raspy laugh, every air molecule in the confined space seemed to tremble slightly—
“…Sweetie?”
The unfamiliar, slightly warm breath seemed to be right by her ear.