Chapter 14

Qiao Zhenzhen had come to see Chi Shen secretly. She knocked while trying not to be spotted by her mother, her whole demeanor tense.
“Chi Shen, are you asleep?” she called a few times. When no one opened the door, she hesitated, ready to give up.
Inside, Chi Shen listened to her furtive voice and the dark depths of his eyes softened like melting ice.
[Affection +10, now 110]
Qiao Zhenzhen: “...I know you aren’t asleep. Open the door quickly.”
[Affection +10, now 120]
Qiao Zhenzhen laughed in exasperation. “Still pretending, huh? Want me to force the door open?”
[Affection +10, now 130]
“I didn’t really have any reason to come. I was just worried you wouldn’t be used to my home, so I came to check. If you don’t want to open the door, then just go to sleep.”
After saying that, Qiao Zhenzhen tiptoed away. She had only taken a few steps when the lock clicked. She turned, sensing it, and met Chi Shen’s calm gaze.
She was still for a moment, then whispered, “Good night.”
Chi Shen said nothing.
Qiao Zhenzhen smiled and trotted back to her room.
Chi Shen watched the door close. His lips moved silently: Good night.
After closing the door again, the sense of misplaced loneliness seemed to vanish in an instant. He glanced at the neat bed, paused for a moment, then lay down on the rug by the door, curling up and sleeping there through the night.
The next morning, Qiao Zhenzhen woke up half an hour earlier than usual. She opened her eyes and didn’t even bother washing her face before going to Chi Shen’s room, only to find it empty.
“He’s already gone,” Qin Jing said from behind. “That kid was so polite, he came to thank me first thing and then left right away.”
“Why didn’t you stop him?” Qiao Zhenzhen asked, a little anxious.
Qin Jing shot her a look. “How could I stop him if he wanted to leave? He’s so reserved; maybe he’ll feel more at ease at school. Don’t worry, I had the driver take him; I didn’t let him go on his own.”
Qiao Zhenzhen pursed her lips. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Stop pouting. Your father’s downstairs. We haven’t had a family meal together in ages. Finish breakfast before you go, don’t just take a sandwich to school every day.” Qin Jing poked her on the head with a finger.
When Qiao Zhenzhen heard that Qiao Jian was also there, she frowned. Seeing Qin Jing smiling, she felt reluctant but still followed her downstairs.
Qiao Jian was already seated at the table. When he saw them come in together he showed no reaction, just continued eating by himself. Qiao Zhenzhen glanced at him, sat down next to Qin Jing, and said, "Dad."
"Mm," Qiao Jian said, picking up a slice of toast. "That boy just now, was he one of your classmates?"
He had come back before dawn today and happened to run into Chi Shen.
"Yes." Qiao Zhenzhen sat up straighter.
"Even if he's a classmate, you can't let your guard down. You're a girl, bringing a boy home, what does that look like? And you're not a child anymore; you should know who it's appropriate to hang out with without me telling you. Anyone who looks like they're on financial aid, stay away from them." Qiao Jian frowned at the memory of Chi Shen's cheap clothes.
Qin Jing didn't really agree with him, but seeing his sour mood she didn't argue.
Qiao Zhenzhen gave a half-smile, half-smirk: "Dad, I seem to remember you were on financial aid in college, weren't you?"
Qiao Jian's face went cold in an instant; he put his toast down.
"Zhenzhen, watch how you talk to your father," Qin Jing frowned.
Qiao Zhenzhen looked innocent. "What did I say? Is getting financial aid something to be ashamed of?"
"Enough. You're getting more rebellious," Qiao Jian said angrily as he stood up, then turned to scold Qin Jing, "You sit at home all day with nothing to do, why don't you keep a better eye on her?"
Qiao Zhenzhen frowned. "If you're scolding me, scold me, what does my mother have to do with it?"
"Alright, it's early, can you keep it down?" Qin Jing interjected, rubbing her temples.
"I agree, the house is getting noisier and noisier." Seeing Qin Jing wouldn't back him up, Qiao Jian turned and left.
Qin Jing watched him walk away in silence, then looked at Qiao Zhenzhen. "You brat, knowing how much your father hates talking about being poor, you bring it up on purpose. Do you think he wouldn't be angry?"
"He was poor back then. If it weren't for Grandpa and Uncle helping him, he'd still be dirt poor. We can't always protect his pride at the cost of letting him look down on people worse off than him, can we?" Qiao Zhenzhen said, half-playful to Qin Jing.
Qin Jing shot her a look. "If he's a pauper, then you're the little pauper."
"As long as Mom is happy every day, I'm fine being the little pauper," Qiao Zhenzhen said with a smile.
Qin Jing finally gave in. "You, don't make your father angry, and I'll be happy."
The smile on Qiao Zhenzhen's face faded. After a long moment she said slowly, "Mom, I thought it's the slow season, why is Dad getting busier and busier?"
"The company's expanding its business," Qin Jing answered, not entirely sure herself.
Qiao Zhenzhen lowered her head and chuckled softly. "Not necessarily, though."
Qin Jing looked up at her. "What do you mean?"
"It's nothing. I just feel like Dad's getting more and more impatient with us," Qiao Zhenzhen said. Qin Jing frowned; she lowered her head and focused on her meal, saying no more.
After breakfast, Qiao Zhenzhen went to school. At the gate she immediately scanned the usual corner, sure enough, Chi Shen wasn't there.
Although she'd expected it, she still sighed. But thinking it was easier that he hadn't followed her, she brightened, turned, and left the school.
She headed to the food street.
It was about six or seven in the morning; the morning market on the food street was already open. The narrow lane was packed with electric bikes and pedestrians, with shouting and cursing everywhere. Chi Shen's parents stood at the door of their little shop, chatting with neighbors and laughing loudly, completely unconcerned that their injured son hadn't come home overnight.
"Host, what are you doing here?" Xiao Ba asked curiously in her head.
Qiao Zhenzhen hid behind an advertising board and peered into the shop. "Chi Shen will definitely come home tonight. I need to do something so they're too tired to bother him."
She paused for a second. "If I use pauses sporadically to save favorability, will the points consumed keep stacking up?"
"No. The system isn't that harsh. If you use pause several times in a short span, those pauses will cost the same points," Xiao Ba answered seriously.
"Got it," Qiao Zhenzhen said, rubbing her hands. She sneaked over to the tin fish tank. "Pause for thirty seconds."
[Spent 25, Remaining 105]
Time froze. Qiao Zhenzhen stepped on the thin tin rim, crushed a corner flat, then used the remaining seconds to rush into the shop and hide.
When time resumed, the water and fish flowed out of the tank. Chi Shen's parents screamed, grabbed whatever they could, and began scooping the fish off the floor. Taking advantage of the chaos, Qiao Zhenzhen swept everything from the shop's cutting boards onto the ground. As the clatter exploded, she paused time again.
Thirty more seconds later, she'd smashed everything she could inside. In the last few seconds as she made for the door, something went wrong, she stepped on a fish and went down hard.
When time resumed, the bald man saw her on the floor and his eyes widened. In the next instant time froze again.
"...This time, pause for a minute," Qiao Zhenzhen said, still shaken.
"Okay, Host. So far you've paused two minutes, consuming 100 points; 30 remaining," Xiao Ba reported.
Qiao Zhenzhen rubbed the grazes on her arm and set about wrecking the fish stall again. Remembering how the bald man had treated Chi Shen yesterday, she gritted her teeth and kicked him once. One kick wasn't enough, she kicked him several more times until Xiao Ba warned that the police had been alerted, and only then did she flee in a hurry.
Time flowed again. The bald man clutched his knee in pain, looked toward where Qiao Zhenzhen had fallen, and saw no one.
"What are you dawdling for? Get the fish!" the middle-aged woman snapped.
The bald man mumbled, "Must've really lost my mind..."
Qiao Zhenzhen ran out of the food street in one go, and only let out a deep breath after she was in a taxi.
"...Host, during the brief moments when pauses ended, the surveillance might have captured you. If they check the footage after calling the police, how will you explain it? The system's existence can't be exposed in the novel world," Xiao Ba warned.
Qiao Zhenzhen leaned back in her seat with an air of ease. “Don’t worry, the surveillance is busted.” She had glanced at it earlier; the wiring had been cut right through.
Xiao Ba relaxed at that.
By the time the taxi reached the school, it was just after the first period had ended.
She hurried toward the building and only slowed when she reached the corridor.
“Qiao Zhenzhen? Did you just get here?” a boy walking the same way suddenly asked.
Qiao Zhenzhen paused, then nodded when she recognized him as a classmate.
“Did you get leave? If you didn’t, you’re lucky, the teacher skipped first period, so we had study hall. No one noticed you were missing,” the boy chattered on.
She replied absently, “Is that so?”
“Come to think of it, I saw Chi Shen in class earlier. He didn’t wait outside for you, maybe he finally figured it out?” the boy clicked his tongue.
Qiao Zhenzhen bristled at the way he spoke of Chi Shen and couldn’t help frowning.
The boy went on, “It’s better he’s not following you. Honestly, he’s dangerous. Last time I said in the bathroom that he was a jinx, whoever gets close to him has bad luck, like when you had that stomachache, he gave me this look like he wanted to kill me. It was just… wrong.”
“What did you say?” Qiao Zhenzhen stopped dead.
The boy blinked. “I said… he’s not normal.”
“Not that,” she said, frowning.
“I,I said I called him a jinx in the bathroom, that whoever’s near him gets unlucky, and, well, when you had that stomach pain and went to the nurse that day…”
Qiao Zhenzhen took a deep breath and finally understood why Chi Shen had acted so strangely. She ignored the boy completely, stormed into the classroom with a dark face, and slammed her backpack onto the desk, drawing everyone’s attention.
Expressionless, she emptied everything from the desk cubby into her bag, then, in front of the whole class, moved to the empty desk beside Chi Shen and set her bag down. “I’m sitting here from now on.”
Everyone in the class froze; Zhao Lianqiao looked especially stunned.
Chi Shen’s thin lips pressed together. He was about to refuse when she spoke coolly, “My stomach hurt, I’m the only one it concerns.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he stared at her.
Meeting his dark eyes, she let out a helpless little sigh. “You don’t strike me as someone who cares what others think. So why do you turn into someone else the moment I’m involved?
Chi Shen, if you really care about me, stop hiding from me.”