Chapter 24

Shen Hua stood in front of the register, trapped between waves of customers coming and going. She couldn’t find a chance to quietly ask the shopkeeper for what she needed. The longer she waited, the more anxious she grew, Su Xiaoxiao must be waiting, and she was about to cry.
Just then, a voice spoke beside her.
“What did Su Xiaoxiao ask you to buy?”
The sudden question startled her so much she jumped. Turning around, she saw Jin Qishan standing there.
Why is he here?!
There was no way she could tell him what she was trying to buy. That would be mortifying!
“I-it’s nothing,” she stammered.
Jin Qishan frowned. “Nothing? Then why are you crying? Su Xiaoxiao’s still waiting for you in the classroom.”
Of course Shen Hua knew Xiaoxiao was waiting for her back in the classroom, but how could she buy that with Jin Qishan standing right there?
The more she thought about it, the more flustered she became. Her eyes turned red, and tears began to pool at the corners.
Seeing her like that, Jin Qishan gave up trying to get an answer. He looked up at the shelf in front of them, tissues, toilet paper, sanitary pads, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, shower gel,
All just everyday items, mostly for boarding students, none of which Su Xiaoxiao should need.
Then, suddenly, something clicked. He froze, scanning the shelves again.
Tissues, toilet paper, sanitary pads,
Oh. Sanitary pads.
His eyelid twitched twice. He swallowed hard, cleared his throat, and said quietly, “Auntie, could you help me get something from that shelf?”
The shopkeeper walked over. “What do you need?”
He pointed vaguely toward the shelf. “That.”
The woman frowned, uncertain, and put her hand on a pack of pads. “This?”
Jin Qishan’s face went scarlet. He gave a barely perceptible nod.
Realization dawned instantly on the shopkeeper’s face, ah, so the boy was buying them for his girlfriend!
“Day use or night use?”
???
That question landed straight in Jin Qishan’s zone of complete ignorance.
His ears went bright red. “Uh, whichever.”
The auntie kindly packed both, one day pack and one night pack, into a black plastic bag. “That’ll be thirty-one yuan.”
Just then, he heard voices behind him.
“Hey, that guy’s buying pads.”
“Ew, gross.”
“Probably for some girl.”
“Still gross. Pervert.”
“Yeah.”
Jin Qishan shoved the money onto the counter, grabbed the bag, and bolted from the store at full sprint like his life depended on it.
“Jin Qishan, wait for me!” Shen Hua called, hurrying after him. “Wait! Why are you running so fast? I can’t keep up!”
When they were finally alone, he stopped, whirled around, and glared daggers at her, furious she’d shouted his name out loud in public.
“I, I’m sorry,” Shen Hua stammered, not even sure what she’d done wrong but instinctively apologizing.
Jin Qishan’s expression shifted instantly. Within a second, the nervous boy from before was gone, replaced by his usual cold arrogance.
“Hmph.” He gave a small snort, voice light but mocking. “You couldn’t even handle something that simple? Such a coward.”
Shen Hua lowered her head, embarrassed. “Mm.” It was true, she was timid. But wow, Jin Qishan was incredible. How could he just say that word out loud?
When the two of them got back to the classroom, Su Xiaoxiao was nowhere in sight.
Shen Hua panicked. “Where’s Xiaoxiao? Did she leave already?”
Jin Qishan scanned the room. His gaze landed on the direction of the girls’ restroom. “Go check in there.”
“Oh, okay.” Shen Hua took the black plastic bag from his hand, glanced around nervously, and then shoved it into her arms, clutching it awkwardly like a thief sneaking contraband.
Jin Qishan sighed and covered his eyes. Seriously, can she be any more obvious?
Shen Hua slipped into the bathroom and whispered like she was plotting a heist, “Xiaoxiao? Xiaoxiao, are you in here?”
“Yeah, second stall,” came Su Xiaoxiao’s voice. A hand stretched out from beneath the door. “Just pass it under.”
“Oh, okay!” Shen Hua fumbled with the bag. “Do you want day-use or night-use?”
“Day-use. Just one is fine.” Su Xiaoxiao chuckled, her Hua Hua was really thoughtful, even buying both types.
A moment later, something soft landed in her palm.
When she came out, Su Xiaoxiao was washing her hands, smiling. “Hua Hua, thank you so much. You saved my life, what would I have done without you?”
Shen Hua’s face turned crimson. She waved her hands quickly. “It wasn’t me, it was Jin Qishan.”
“Huh? What about him?” Su Xiaoxiao looked up, and there he was, standing outside the classroom, the evening sun setting behind him.
The golden light outlined his figure, tracing the edges of his shoulders and hair in a soft halo.
When he turned his head toward her, that same light flared across his profile, dazzling her eyes.
He wasn’t exactly handsome, but somehow, Su Xiaoxiao’s heart skipped a beat.
She could swear she could hear it pounding in her chest.
What the heck, she scolded herself, shaking her head to chase away the thought.
Shen Hua leaned close and whispered in her ear, “Actually, Jin Qishan was the one who bought them.”
???
Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened in shock. She stared at Shen Hua, who nodded seriously in confirmation.
Even after living over twenty years and thinking her skin was thick enough, she still felt a flicker of embarrassment at the idea of a boy buying pads for her.
Her cheeks flushed a deep pink. She tugged at her ponytail, pretending to act casual. “Qishan, thanks.”
Jin Qishan awkwardly looked up at the sky. “Don’t mention it.”
“Xiaoxiao, I’m sorry,” Shen Hua said softly, still guilty over her own cowardice.
“It’s fine,” Su Xiaoxiao said with a smile. She remembered her own first time, she hadn’t dared buy them herself either. Until college, her mom always bought them for her.
Even in university, she’d still sneak around the store, embarrassed. Shen Hua’s willingness to help truly touched her.
Meanwhile, Shen Hua sighed in frustration, puffing out her cheeks adorably.
Most people sigh with pursed lips, but Shen Hua’s little pout made her look irresistibly cute.
Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch her cheek. “Hua Hua, you’re just too cute.”
“Are we going home or not?” Jin Qishan asked, his voice back to its usual flat tone. He walked into the classroom, grabbed Su Xiaoxiao’s backpack, and slung it over one shoulder. “Come on, I’ll give you a ride.”
Su Xiaoxiao said, “No need, I can go home myself. You can go play basketball.”
Jin Qishan looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. “You sure?”
Under his gaze, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered the large stain on her pants, if she rode her bike, it might show. She hesitated, then muttered, “Alright, fine.”
They first walked Shen Hua to the bus stop and waited until her bus came. After she got on, the two of them left together.
From the window, Shen Hua looked back at Su Xiaoxiao and Jin Qishan.
For some reason, Su Xiaoxiao lightly punched Jin Qishan on the arm. He said something back, and Su Xiaoxiao burst into laughter.
Watching the two of them joke and play like that, Shen Hua felt a pang of envy. Jin Qishan might look cold and speak in a sarcastic tone sometimes, but when it came to Su Xiaoxiao, he was endlessly patient.
She thought of her childhood friend, Pangpang. They’d been so close once... but she’d lost touch with him long ago.

Riding on the back of Jin Qishan’s bike, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly remembered something and asked, “Why did you go to the shop too?”
He gave a low snort. “Didn’t trust her.”
He meant Shen Hua, the way she’d looked so panicked and sneaky, he hadn’t trusted her to handle things properly for Su Xiaoxiao.
But to Su Xiaoxiao’s ears, it sounded completely different. It sounded like Jin Qishan didn’t trust Shen Hua because he cared about her.
Her eyes widened slightly. Wait, could it be? Has he started liking Shen Hua?
The plot had already gone off-script, Jin Qishan was no longer bullied, Shen Hua had never rescued him, never comforted his wounded, sensitive heart, and yet, was he still destined to fall for her?
Maybe, it was fate.
…
The midterm exams arrived as scheduled.
Su Xiaoxiao felt no pressure and did even better than before, perfect scores in math and English, and first place in Chinese across the entire grade.
Zang Xiaoya, who had sworn to surpass Su Xiaoxiao, lost five points on a math problem because she misplaced a decimal.
Class 1 was already filled with top students, so that mistake cost her dearly, she dropped from the top ten all the way to eighteenth from the bottom.
The proud and competitive Zang Xiaoya couldn’t handle it. Her confidence shattered, and she burst into tears in the middle of class.
For a long while afterward, she couldn’t focus at all, dreading even being called on by the teacher. Wang Qing, their homeroom teacher, spoke with her several times, but it didn’t help much.
Though Su Xiaoxiao didn’t particularly like Zang Xiaoya, she still felt sorry for her.
One self-study period, Zang Xiaoya got stuck on a question and asked Cai Meng for help.
Cai Meng didn’t know either, so she scribbled the problem on a note and passed it to Su Xiaoxiao.
Su Xiaoxiao glanced at it, quickly worked through the steps on scrap paper, and handed it back.
Her process was so clear and detailed that Cai Meng understood it at once.
Delighted, she passed the paper to Zang Xiaoya, who suddenly tore it to pieces.
“Who asked for Su Xiaoxiao’s fake kindness?!” she shouted, her voice sharp and trembling. “I don’t need her help! She probably just wants to rub it in my face!”
It was a self-study session, quiet, everyone minding their own work. Zang Xiaoya’s sudden outburst made several people jump.
Su Xiaoxiao froze, completely bewildered by the scene.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“Why’s she yelling at Su Xiaoxiao?”
The classroom buzzed with whispers.
Then Jin Qishan spoke up, his voice calm but cutting: “Zang Xiaoya, what the hell is wrong with you? If you’re sick, go get treated.”
He leaned back in his chair, eyes sharp and mocking. “You can’t even solve a question, and you’re mad because Su Xiaoxiao’s smarter than you? Don’t treat her like your rival, she doesn’t even see you.”
His tone wasn’t loud, but everyone heard it.
“Oh, so that’s what this is about? She couldn’t solve a problem?”
“Then just admit it, why scream like that?”
“She actually wants to compete with Su Xiaoxiao? That’s hilarious.”
“Yeah, Xiaoxiao doesn’t even care about her. If she’s going to compare herself to someone, it’d be Shen Hua or Cai Meng.”
“Zang Xiaoya’s probably cracking under pressure. She’s been slipping in grades lately.”
“Yeah, she can barely answer questions now.”
The murmurs spread fast.
Zang Xiaoya’s face went pale. Jin Qishan’s words had struck right at her pride, and now her classmates were echoing it, her last shred of composure crumbled.
She let out a sob and buried her face in her arms, crying uncontrollably.
Su Xiaoxiao turned around and caught Jin Qishan’s expression, he was still looking at Zang Xiaoya, a faint, cold smirk on his lips.
She’d never seen that kind of chill in his eyes before.
And in that moment, one thought crossed her mind:
The little puppy’s grown up, and it bites now.