Chapter 28

For several days after they got back, every time Su Xiaoxiao saw Jin Qishan, her lips would tingle faintly, as if that accidental brush had left a burn.
It wasn’t even a real kiss, just a clumsy bump against his collarbone, yet her heart still raced every time she thought about it.
During class one day, Jin Qishan kicked the leg of her chair.
Su Xiaoxiao leaned back slightly against his desk.
He murmured, “Underneath.”
She slipped her hand beneath his desk, and when he pushed a folded note into her palm, their fingers brushed.
It was something they’d done countless times before, but now, even that brief touch felt strangely charged.
Su Xiaoxiao lightly patted her own cheeks, half-laughing at herself. What’s wrong with me? Is this puberty? Since when did Jin Qishan start seeming, kind of attractive?

When the high school entrance exams ended, Su Xiaoxiao returned to N City.
Life there was simple, she spent her days writing web novels and occasionally chatting with classmates on QQ.
Jin Qishan had even paid for a full row of VIP diamonds, his account lighting up with a fancy notification every time he logged in.
Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but laugh. All that flashiness, it’s so not like him.
Before long, summer was over, and high school was about to begin.
The day before returning to S County, she messaged him. He said he’d meet her at the station.
When she stepped out into the crowd, she spotted him immediately.
A black baseball cap. A white T-shirt. Faded jeans. Black canvas shoes.
He was tall and lean, his features refined, his aura cool and distant. Hands in his pockets, he looked like he’d walked straight out of a manga panel, earning more than a few lingering glances from nearby girls.
It had only been two months, but Su Xiaoxiao swore he’d grown again, he must be at least 182 cm now.
While she was still dazed, Jin Qishan strode toward her with those long legs of his, and the first thing he did was ruffle her hair.
???
What the heck? Did he get a girlfriend over the summer or secretly take a course in flirting?
Catching her dazed look, he asked, “What are you thinking about?”
She shot back, “Did you grow taller again?”
The corner of his lips curved faintly. “Didn’t measure, but my pants did get shorter.”
When high school started, Su Xiaoxiao, Jin Qishan, Shen Hua, and Zhang Dongshan all ended up in the same class again, since placements were based on exam rankings, just like in junior high.
Su Xiaoxiao wasn’t the only one who noticed Jin Qishan’s height. Zhang Dongshan discovered, to his horror, that he only reached Jin Qishan’s nose now.
Back in seventh grade, Jin Qishan had been 162 cm, and Zhang Dongshan 165.
Now, entering tenth grade, Jin Qishan was 184 cm, while Zhang Dongshan was stuck at 171.
Zhang stared in disbelief. “Bro, did you eat pig feed over the summer? How’d you grow ten centimeters in a month?”
Jin Qishan gave him a lazy glance. “If I did, would you eat it too?”
Zhang Dongshan choked for a second, then said solemnly, “Of course I would. Pig feed, chicken feed, duck feed, whatever it takes to get taller, I’ll eat it.”
Su Xiaoxiao laughed. “That’s genetics. His dad’s at least 185.”
Zhang slumped. “Never mind then. No one in my family’s even hit 175.”
Still unconvinced, he pulled out his new phone and started searching how to grow taller fast.
“You bought a phone?” Su Xiaoxiao asked, pulling out her own. “What’s your number?”
Zhang glanced at her device and froze.
Theirs cost maybe a few hundred yuan, but hers looked like it cost several thousand.
He swallowed hard. “Uh, not to be rude, but, your family rich or something?”
Jin Qishan raised an eyebrow. “Just say it.”
Zhang grinned awkwardly. “Seriously though, Xiaoxiao, how come you’re so loaded?”
“My family’s not rich,” she said, taking her phone back. “It’s just my mom working. We don’t have much money.”
That matched what she’d said before, she lived with her grandparents, the whole family relying on her grandpa’s pension. In fact, her situation was probably worse than his.
“Then how’s your phone so fancy?”
She deadpanned, “It’s a knockoff. Not expensive.”
Zhang burst out laughing. “Pretty convincing knockoff though. Hey, Qishan, what’s your number? I’ll save it too.”
Before Su Xiaoxiao could even ask, Shen Hua blurted it out first.
Su Xiaoxiao’s gaze flicked between the two of them. Did something happen over the summer? They seem, closer than before.
And that reminded her, the male lead, Shen Yi, should be showing up soon.
He hadn’t attended military training, so he’d make his entrance later, on the first official day of class.
In the original story, that day, class monitor Shen Hua had been carrying a stack of exercise books up the stairs when she ran straight into Shen Yi hurrying down.
Her arm got knocked, and the notebooks went flying, fluttering down the staircase like scattered petals.
Both of them knelt to pick them up, and when they reached for the last one, their hands touched at the same time.
The moment they looked up, both of them felt a strange sense of deja vu, as if they’d seen each other somewhere before.
But just then, the class bell rang. Shen Hua quickly muttered a “thank you,” scooped up the notebooks in her arms, and ran off.
At her desk, Su Xiaoxiao stole a glance at Jin Qishan. Did he, still like Shen Hua? Or not?
If things were following the original plot and he really did like her, then what should she do? Help him, or not?
If she were being honest with herself, she just wanted Jin Qishan to be happy.
…
The week-long military training ended quickly. Once everyone shed their identical uniforms and put on their own clothes, some students immediately stood out, like Shen Hua and Su Xiaoxiao.
During training, their looks had been buried under hats and camouflage. But now, with their own outfits and fresh faces, the two of them were undeniably stunning.
Zhang Dongshan shared a thread from the school’s forum in their group chat, it was titled “The Battle for No.1 School Beauty: Shen Hua vs. Su Xiaoxiao.”
Zhang Dongshan:
Doesn’t matter who wins. Either way, I’ll always be the school beauty’s best friend.
Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help laughing. She didn’t think she was as pretty as Shen Hua at all, just being mentioned alongside her felt like an honor.
Shen Hua’s beauty was effortless, natural. Su Xiaoxiao’s, on the other hand, came from careful effort.
Her skin was fair, but not as porcelain-pale as Shen Hua’s enviable cool tone. She’d been obsessed with sun protection since elementary school, daily sunscreen, parasols in summer, never skipping a day.
Her brows? Drawn on. Her natural shape wasn’t great.
Even her much-praised rosy lips were the result of tinted balm.
And her clothes? They didn’t look good because she was pretty, she looked good because every outfit was carefully chosen to flatter her.
When Jin Qishan opened the post, he was just about to quietly vote for Su Xiaoxiao, but suddenly, Zhang Dongshan leaned over, bumping his arm. The screen flashed: Vote submitted: Shen Hua.
“Ah! Qishan voted for Shen Hua!” Zhang Dongshan crowed, smacking Su Xiaoxiao on the back. “So biased! Didn’t even hesitate!”
“See me? I didn’t vote for anyone.”
He leaned closer conspiratorially. “Actually, I’ve been holding something in for years. Back in middle school, I said you were pretty, and Qishan told me to get my eyes checked.”
“Seriously, that guy needs checking himself. You spoil him too much, that’s why he’s gone feral.”
Jin Qishan shot him a deadly look, watching his mouth flap on and on, and for a moment he really wanted to strangle him.
Su Xiaoxiao turned toward him, stunned, so he had been that protective of her even back then? That kind of bias really was fearless.
Just then, their homeroom teacher, Mr. Cao Feng, came in. “Su Xiaoxiao, come with me.”
Since she’d ranked first in the entire county on the entrance exam, he remembered her best and often called on her for help.
He handed her a key. “Go to my office and bring back the attendance book, my lesson plans, and my water bottle.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding.
On her way back, hurried footsteps echoed from the stairs above. She quickly stepped aside, but the person coming down was too fast, her stack of papers and books went flying.
“Sorry!” the boy said, crouching to help pick them up.
When they both looked up…
Holy crap.
It was Shen Yi.
He looked exactly like the image she’d had in her head, handsome to the point of perfection.
Shen Yi gathered up the books, a faint smile playing on his lips. “What’s your name?”
“Su Xiaoxiao,” she replied, still a little dazed.
“Which class?”
“Class 1, Grade 10.”
“Got it,” he said with an easy grin. “Sorry, I’m in a rush right now. Next time I’ll make it up to you properly.”
He gave a crisp, playful salute, then turned and strode away.
Su Xiaoxiao returned to the classroom still a little shell-shocked. Wait, how did I end up being the one to meet him first?
After delivering the items to Mr. Cao, she went back to her seat, but noticed Shen Hua wasn’t there.
She turned to Jin Qishan. “Where’s Shen Hua?”
Zhang Dongshan answered instead. “Teacher sent her to get the new exercise books.”
Su Xiaoxiao blinked. So Shen Hua’s off fetching homework, meaning the male and female leads’ story hasn’t veered too far off track after all.
She was quietly puzzled.
Soon after, Shen Hua returned.
“Hua, did you run into anyone on the stairs?”
“No? Why?”
“Someone bumped into me, that’s all.”
“Oh. You okay?”
“Yeah.”
Su Xiaoxiao hesitated. Should she tell Shen Hua that Shen Yi was her childhood friend?
But what if Shen Hua asked how she knew him? Was she supposed to say she just knew the male lead from another life? That’d expose her for sure.
Maybe it was better to first let the two of them meet naturally. Once they did, she could explain it later, avoid all the messy misunderstandings.
Lost in thought, she turned, and caught Jin Qishan watching her.
Just as she opened her mouth, he asked, “Where did you bump into him?”