Chapter 35

Su Xiaoxiao could feel all the eyes on them. Her cheeks burned like they’d been dropped in boiling water.
Meanwhile, Jin Qishan stood beside her cool as ever, hands on his hips, not a hint of embarrassment.
She risked a glance at him, only to find him looking straight at her.
Their eyes met, and she panicked, whipping her head to the side so fast her heart nearly leapt out of her chest.
Deep breaths. Calm down. Breathe.
Still, she couldn’t shake the flustered heat rushing through her. Her hands trembled as she pressed the back of one against her cheek, trying to cool down.
Jin Qishan blinked, confused. Why’s she ignoring me? I just played that well, and she won’t even look at me?
Bending down until his face was level with hers, he asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Su Xiaoxiao nearly died on the spot. Oh no, is he going to ask why I’m blushing?!
Clutching the bottle in one hand and covering her face with the other, she stammered, “I, I need to use the restroom!” and bolted.
Teacher Cao had seen plenty of students over the years. When he noticed Jin Qishan run straight over to a girl after the match, and then ask her to hold his water bottle, he knew exactly what that meant.
He’d been young once too, after all. As long as his students didn’t cross any lines, he wasn’t going to interfere. Especially not when the pair in question, Jin Qishan and Su Xiaoxiao, were both bright, well-behaved, and frankly, a perfect match.
Just then, Class 7’s teacher, Chen Fei, walked over, smiling. “Senior Cao, your little couple’s adorable.”
Cao chuckled. “Don’t tease, they’re just good friends.”
Then he walked over to Jin Qishan, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, “Nice work out there. Keep it up for the second half.”
“Got it.”
“Still got energy?”
“No problem.”
Soon, the rest of the players returned from their break. They huddled around Jin Qishan, strategizing for the next half.
One teammate admitted he was too tired and asked to be subbed out, giving Zhang Dongshan, who’d been warming the bench, his long-awaited chance to play.
Across the court, Class 7’s players were slumped and dejected after their poor first half.
Their teacher, Chen Fei, clapped her hands to rally them. “Come on, boys! We’ve still got the second half! Win or lose, what matters is the fight, give it everything you’ve got! Let’s go! Go! Go!”
Their captain added, “That No. 7 from Class 1 used up all his energy in the first half. He’s bound to slow down, just keep pressure on him and he’ll break.”
The others nodded, regaining a flicker of confidence. It was true, no one could keep that pace forever.
Except, as Shen Yi silently thought, Jin Qishan wasn’t like everyone else.
The whistle blew, and the second half began. Su Xiaoxiao returned just in time.
Jin Qishan wondered if she’d ignored him earlier because she thought he hadn’t played well enough, hadn’t widened the score enough.
So he pushed himself harder.
The players from Class 7, who thought he’d be out of stamina, were left gaping.
What the hell, how is he even faster now?
Is he still human?!
With flawless teamwork between Jin Qishan and Zhang Dongshan, Class 1 completely crushed Class 7, winning by sixteen points.
As soon as the final whistle blew, Jin Qishan turned to look for Su Xiaoxiao, but before he could reach her, Zhang Dongshan leapt on him in excitement.
“Holy crap, Shange!” Zhang shouted, hugging him tight. “We actually won!”
Before Jin Qishan could react, more and more classmates surrounded him, cheering and tossing him into the air.
Teacher Cao patted their shoulders, thrilled but speechless. “Good job, everyone. Go eat and rest up.”
Among the crowd watching was Zang Xiaoya, now a student in Class 7. When Shen Yi first transferred in, she’d fallen for him at first sight.
Today, she’d even put on makeup to cheer for him, but on the court, her attention had been completely stolen by someone else.
She hadn’t expected it, but Jin Qishan had grown taller since middle school, and much more handsome. Watching him play was magnetic.
Sure, things between them had ended badly back then. But now, she figured, he was worth forgiving.
The bottle of water in her hand had been meant for Shen Yi. She changed her mind.
Dressed in the same white shirt and black skirt as the other girls, she somehow looked more striking, her slim waist, long straight legs catching eyes all around.
More than a few boys were already sneaking glances her way.
She walked gracefully across the court to Jin Qishan, holding out the bottle. “Brother Shan, long time no see. Want some water?” she said sweetly.
Jin Qishan was still scanning the crowd for Su Xiaoxiao, too distracted to care. “No need.”
“Brother Shan,” she tried again, cheeks flushing. “I didn’t know you were this good at basketball. You look, amazing out there.”
She thought he’d understand the message behind her flattery, the offer of water, the soft tone, the shy smile.
But Jin Qishan just gave her a cold, puzzled look. They’d never been friends. Why act so familiar now? Just because he could play basketball?
If he remembered correctly, she was one of the people who’d hurt Su Xiaoxiao. Su Xiaoxiao might not hold grudges, but he did.
“What’s this?” he said with a mocking smirk. “You into me again?”
He crossed his arms, gaze sharp and full of disdain. “Sorry. I’m not into you.”
And with that, he brushed past her without another glance.
Zhang Dongshan trailed behind him, stunned.
Qishan just rejected a beauty like that? Not even a little mercy?
He wanted to comfort her, but since Jin Qishan had already walked off, he hurried to follow.
Zang Xiaoya stood frozen, utterly mortified. She hadn’t expected him to be so blunt, so ruthless.
She hadn’t expected that someone else was standing behind Jin Qishan, and had heard everything.
The moment Zang Xiaoya saw Zhang Dongshan, her face turned red, then white, then red again. A humiliation she’d never felt before surged up in her chest.
She gripped the bottle of water so tightly her knuckles turned pale, as if crushing it could somehow crush Jin Qishan’s head instead.
Just you wait, Jin Qishan. I’ll pay you back for this.
Meanwhile, the Class 7 basketball team was heading off the court. They all saw Zang Xiaoya go offer water to their opponent, and get rejected on the spot.
Mortified, Zang Xiaoya quickly noticed that her teammates were approaching. Shen Yi, however, was nowhere to be found.
Knowing Pan Yang had a soft spot for her, she decided to reclaim some dignity. Putting on a sweet smile, she walked up to him and held out the bottle. “Bother Yang, have some water.”
But Pan Yang wasn’t in the mood. Not after losing the game, and especially not when she was handing him the water their rival had turned down.
“Keep it,” he said coldly. “You need it more.”
Rejected again, her face stiffened. Her voice turned sharp and mocking. “Wow, lose one game and suddenly you’ve all got tempers? You’re pathetic. Everyone says Class 1’s full of weaklings, and you still couldn’t beat them?”
Their captain sighed. “That Jin Qishan from Class 1, he played like he didn’t care about his life. We couldn’t keep up.”
Zang Xiaoya scoffed. “Then why couldn’t you play like that?”
That did it. Pan Yang snapped. They were already upset about the loss, and now she was rubbing salt in the wound.
“If you were as pretty as Su Xiaoxiao, Shen Hua, or Cai Meng,” he shot back, “and you screamed yourself hoarse cheering for me, maybe I’d have fought harder!”
He didn’t realize that he’d just stabbed right where it hurt most.
Zang Xiaoya had already felt humiliated about failing to get into the honors class.
But once she’d been placed in Class 7, filled with well-off, high-status kids, she’d convinced herself that it suited her just fine. And with Su Xiaoxiao, Shen Hua, and Cai Meng all gone, she’d become the recognized “class beauty.” The boys adored her, and she secretly basked in it.
Now, to hear that even the boy who’d once liked her thought those girls were prettier, she wanted to sink through the floor.

After dinner, Jin Qishan returned to the classroom and found Su Xiaoxiao bent over her notebook, working on problems.
He picked up a bottle from her desk, uncapped it, and took a sip. “So,” he said casually, “this is the water you fled the battlefield with?”
Su Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened as she watched his pink lips touch the bottle rim. Heat crept up her cheeks again.
He’s drinking from my bottle, the same spot I drank from,
When he noticed her dazed expression, Jin Qishan waved a hand in front of her face. “What are you thinking about?”
Softly, she said, “That’s, my water. Yours is still on your desk.”
“Oh.” Jin Qishan set the bottle back down in front of her. “Then I’ll return it.”
Su Xiaoxiao froze. Return it? After you’ve already drunk from it? You expect me to drink it now? No way!
When Jin Qishan went back to his seat, he stared at the bottle on his desk, touched his lips, and couldn’t help grinning.
His deskmate, Li Xu, shuddered. “Dude, why are you smiling at a water bottle like a creep?”
“Shut up,” Jin Qishan muttered, hiding his smirk and taking another swig, his ears glowing red.

Teacher Cao was in an unusually good mood. After the first evening self-study period, he generously treated everyone to drinks from the campus shop.
Zhang Dongshan stared at his soda in disbelief. “You think Old Cao borrowed money for this? Why wait until after study hall to treat us? Must’ve been broke right after the game.”
“I heard him complaining to another teacher,” Zhang Dongshan added dramatically. “Said ever since he got engaged, he has to hand over all his paychecks.”
Jin Qishan raised a brow. “Oh?”
Zhang Dongshan sighed like a philosopher. “Man, marriage, no freedom at all. My dad’s the same way. Wants a beer, he has to file a formal request.”
“What about you?” he asked. “Would you hand over your whole salary?”
Jin Qishan took a sip of water, his tone light. “If she wants it, she can have it.”
If she wanted something he already had, he’d give it.
If she wanted something he didn’t, he’d find a way to get it for her.
Zhang gawked. He hadn’t expected Jin Qishan to answer at all. Usually, the guy never bothered with these kinds of hypotheticals.
Now that he had, Zhang Dongshan didn’t even know what to say. He’d actually be willing?
“Jin Qishan, Zhang Dongshan, what are you two whispering about? Get over here,” Teacher Cao called.
They both went over, leaving their bottles on the counter.
“Does anyone want anything else?” Cao asked with a cheerful grin.
Feeling guilty for assuming he’d borrowed money, Zhang Dongshan waved his hands. “No, no, we’re good! Ate plenty at dinner.”
Everyone else echoed, “No, thanks!”
Cao laughed. “Don’t save me money, eat, drink, enjoy yourselves!”
But no one budged, so he finally sighed. “Alright then, head back to class for the next study session.”
Jin Qishan and Zhang Dongshan grabbed their bottles and started walking back.
Halfway there, Zhang Dongshan glanced down. “Crap, Brother Shan, we swapped drinks! Mine’s the green one, yours is the yellow one!”
Jin Qishan looked, sure enough, they’d mixed them up.
“Did you drink it yet?” Zhang asked.
“No.” Jin Qishan handed the right bottle back, calm as ever.
Zhang Dongshan wasn’t so calm. “Good thing! Otherwise, we’d have, uh, indirectly kissed!”
He blinked, then gasped dramatically. “Wait, you took a sip earlier, didn’t you?! Holy crap, Qishan, we indirectly kissed!”
Indirectly kissed? Jin Qishan thought dryly. Pretty sure we didn’t even drink it.
If you wanted to talk about “indirect kisses,” he’d had one, with Su Xiaoxiao.
The thought of her soft, petal-pink lips made his whole body stiffen. Blood rushed to his head.
Damn it!

Though it was just a small preliminary match, the rush of victory had everyone pumped.
Zhang Dongshan suggested that after evening study, they all go to the barbecue stall by the school gate to celebrate.
Seven players from the team went, plus Su Xiaoxiao and Shen Hua.
After class, the group rode their bikes in a noisy procession down the street.
On the way, they ran into Shen Yi.
After Su Xiaoxiao greeted him, he looked at the crowd behind her and smiled. “Wow, what’s this? You all heading to a gang fight?”
Zhang Dongshan grinned. “Nah, barbecue.”
Jin Qishan, wanting to needle him, added coolly, “Celebrating our victory over you. Wanna join?”
But Shen Yi wasn’t the kind to care about wins or losses. What impressed him wasn’t the defeat, but the fire and determination Jin Qishan had shown on the court.
He smiled. “Sure.”
“...What?”
Su Xiaoxiao blinked. Sure?
She’d thought Jin Qishan was being a jerk, rubbing in the win right in front of Shen Yi’s face. But instead of being annoyed, he actually agreed to come?
She wasn’t the only one stunned. The whole group was.
Shange really invited the guy he just beat to the victory dinner? The audacity!
Jin Qishan, meanwhile, was dying inside. What was supposed to make Shen Yi uncomfortable had completely backfired.
He’d only managed to make himself uncomfortable.
Later, after the meal, Jin Qishan paid the bill.
He glanced at his now-flat wallet, then at Su Xiaoxiao laughing and chatting with Shen Yi, and felt like he’d just taken the biggest loss of his life.

On the ride home, Su Xiaoxiao could tell Jin Qishan was sulking, though she had no idea why.
Neither of them spoke.
The night was quiet, so quiet that even their footsteps up the stairs made no sound, not enough to trigger the motion lights.
Pale moonlight streamed through the stairwell windows, casting soft shadows on the narrow steps.
They climbed in silence, one in front, one behind.
No, this isn’t right, Su Xiaoxiao thought. It shouldn’t feel like this.
They’d won today, she hadn’t even congratulated him yet.
Only four or five steps left before he reached his floor.
In a burst of courage, Su Xiaoxiao reached forward, and caught Jin Qishan’s hand.
In the dark stairwell, a sudden warmth brushed against Jin Qishan’s hand, soft, delicate, and shockingly real. His whole body stiffened, half from surprise, half from disbelief.
When he finally realized what it was, he turned slowly.
Su Xiaoxiao was holding his hand. Her voice was soft. “Qishan.”
He looked down at her, answering with a low hum.
Her head tilted upward, lips slightly parted.
Whatever words she’d meant to say vanished from her mind. All she could hear was her heartbeat, wild and frantic.
Jin Qishan stared into her eyes, clear, luminous, rippling like a pool of spring water.
Below them were the lips that had been tormenting his thoughts all day, rosy, full, impossibly tempting.
He turned his hand, lacing his fingers with hers, and stepped down one stair closer.
Su Xiaoxiao was already standing sideways on the steps. Startled by his sudden nearness, she instinctively leaned back, pressing against the wall.
Jin Qishan braced one hand beside her head and lowered his voice, rough and low. “What were you going to say? Hmm?”
Say?
Say what?
Her lashes fluttered uncontrollably. “I, I wanted to say, you played really well today.”
He leaned in closer. “And?”
“And, um, congratulations. You, you won the game.”
Watching her mouth move, Jin Qishan’s mind was screaming, Kiss her. Kiss her. Kiss her.
But reason clawed desperately at him, No. You can’t. If you do this, there’s no going back. Not even as friends.
His chest heaved. He was fighting a war inside his head. His grip on her hand unconsciously tightened.
Su Xiaoxiao trembled, half in fear, half in anticipation.
He just kept looking at her, her eyes, her lips,
It felt like an invitation.
Time hung still. In Su Xiaoxiao’s head, one thought echoed: Kiss or don’t kiss?
She grabbed the collar of his shirt, closed her eyes, and rose on tiptoe.
“Why are you back so late? Don’t wake your mom when you go in.”
“Mm. The crab tonight was delicious.”
“You liked it?”
“Yeah.”
“Then give me a kiss,”
“Mwah~”
The voices from downstairs grew louder, Li Yue and her husband.
Su Xiaoxiao froze, recognizing them immediately. She shoved Jin Qishan away, pulled her hand free, and bolted upstairs.
She pushed me?
He looked down, dazed. The warmth of her palm was gone, leaving his own hand cold and empty, just like his chest.
Her door shut quietly, almost soundlessly. For a moment, he wondered if he’d imagined everything.
Then came a sudden “Ah!” from below, followed by the stairway lights flicking on floor by floor, flooding the space with brightness.
The light felt harsh after the dark. He blinked, pulled out his keys, and opened his door.
Li Yue was just coming up. “Oh, Qishan, you just got home?”
“Mm.” His voice was flat. He slipped inside and shut the door with a sharp bang.
Li Yue chuckled. “Still the same temper as when he was little. If our Xiaobao turns out half as smart as him, I’ll be happy.”
Her husband laughed. “He will.”
“Will, my foot. He’s as clueless as you are.”
Inside, Su Xiaoxiao leaned against her door, listening to their voices fade down the hall. Only when she heard their door close did her heart finally settle.
…
After her shower, Su Xiaoxiao tossed her barbecue-scented clothes into the laundry basket.
It was past eleven, but she still sat down to finish a full English test paper.
She wasn’t one of those naturally gifted students, whatever advantage she’d had as a kid was long gone. To stay at the top now, she had to work twice as hard.
When she finished, she began packing her stationery away, only to feel the familiar bottle of mineral water she’d shoved into her bag after school.
She’d meant to throw it out.
Instead, she took it out, placed it on her nightstand, turned on the small lamp, and switched off the ceiling light.
Lying in bed, she picked up the bottle again. After hesitating for a long moment, she unscrewed the cap, blushing, and took a tiny sip.
The moment she swallowed, shame hit her like a wave. She turned off the light and dove under the covers.
But drinking from his bottle wasn’t the only shameful thing she’d done today.
She’d held his hand. She’d almost kissed him.
Oh God.
Just let me die.
What will he think of me now?
She rolled back and forth under the blanket, trying to bury her thoughts, but every time she calmed down, the scene replayed again and again in her head.
Why? Why did I have to be so bold?!
If only there were a pill for regret, or amnesia, she’d take it in a heartbeat.
Actually, forget the pills. Just launch her off the planet.
Goodbye, Grandma. I’m emigrating to space tonight.
She didn’t know how long she tossed and turned before she finally fell asleep at dawn.
And in her dreams, she saw Jin Qishan again, drinking from her bottle, lips pink against the rim.
This time, she blurted out, “Your lips are prettier than a girl’s.”
Then she grabbed his collar, and kissed him.
Just before their lips touched, her alarm went off.
Why? Why?! Why is reality and the dream equally cruel?!
Her first reaction wasn’t embarrassment at how bold she’d been, it was frustration.
Why didn’t I get to kiss him again?!
“Ugh!!!”
She yanked the blanket over her head, trying to fall back asleep and finish the dream, but it was useless.
Soon her grandmother’s voice came through the door. “Xiaoxiao, time to get up! Why are you still in bed?”
No matter how miserable she felt, she had to get dressed and face the day.
At that exact same moment, Jin Qishan snapped awake too, heart pounding.
In his dream, Su Xiaoxiao had called his name over and over, her voice just like it had sounded in the stairwell.