Chapter 7

News of Qian You spread through the school like a stone dropped in a lake, suddenly everything was a roar, and there were all kinds of rumors.
Qiao Zhenzhen had lived through this same public fuss once before. She had no interest in what people were speculating, and she didn’t want to join their conversations. She had more important things to do.
She had been secretly following Chi Shen for three days.
Three days earlier, when she raised her mirror again to peek, she found Chi Shen not staring at her but nodding off like a little chick, drowsy, exhausted, completely stripped of that furtive, gloomy air he’d once had.
She’d never seen him sleep in class before, so she grew suspicious. Worried he might be being bullied, she waited after evening study. When he got on a bus in front of her, she had the driver stop at the first corner and quietly tailed him with her bag on her back.
She watched him enter a psychiatric hospital.
Chengde High School’s senior evening study ended at nine, an hour later than the lower grades. Chi Shen usually walked, so by the time he went into the psychiatric hospital it was nearly ten.
The hospital was in a remote area. At ten at night the streets were quiet; only the streetlights and the hospital’s LED sign remained lit. The empty entrance glowed faintly, like a gaping mouth, eerie in every way.
Qiao Zhenzhen stood frozen at the hospital door for a long time after seeing him go in. When she finally snapped out of it and hurried inside, it was too late, Chi Shen was nowhere to be seen. She returned to the entrance and waited. Almost an hour later she saw him come out.
At first she thought he must have a relative inside, which is why he’d gone late at night. But the next day, following him again, she found him visiting two other hospitals. On the third day he went to three different psychiatric facilities in one night.
If she hadn’t been tailing him she never would have known there were so many psychiatric hospitals in Xiang City. The discovery left her speechless and increasingly uneasy. The more she thought about it, the more convinced she became that it wasn’t a family member’s illness, something was wrong with Chi Shen’s mind.
"He’s only seventeen or eighteen, right in the middle of sensitive adolescence. His parents scold him to his face, his classmates talk about him behind his back, it's no wonder his mind’s in bad shape," Qiao Zhenzhen shared her worries with Xiao Ba. "I just don’t know what the problem is, or how serious it is… Going to so many hospitals has to be a bad sign, doesn’t it?"
"Why don’t you just ask him directly, since you eat with him every day?" Xiao Ba asked, puzzled.
"People with mental illness are very sensitive. What if asking him makes it worse?" Qiao Zhenzhen frowned, then suddenly thought of something. "Can affection points cure him?"
"They can’t, but hospitals can," Xiao Ba answered plainly.
Qiao Zhenzhen pulled one corner of her mouth. "If hospitals could fix it, he wouldn’t be hopping from place to place."
In her experience, only severe cases required frequent switching of hospitals.
Worrying this way, she began to fret: "After I extend his lifespan, he won’t die until his allotted time runs out, right?"
"Not necessarily. Added lifespan just extends time. If the person whose life you lengthen commits suicide or is fatally injured, and the damage is severe enough, they can still die."
Qiao Zhenzhen’s brow knitted even tighter. "If it really is a mental illness, then the risk of suicide or accidental harm is too high."
The more she thought, the more agitated she became. The morning slipped away like that. When the noon bell rang and students poured out toward the cafeteria, the classroom quickly emptied.
She turned and saw Chi Shen sitting quietly at his desk, watching her intently. Ever since she’d threatened him into eating with her a few days ago, he waited for her at lunchtime and again at dinner, just like today.
After five days of eating together she’d already gained eighty affection points.
Seeing the faint bruise beneath his eye made her wince. She waved at him. "Let’s go, time to eat."
Chi Shen’s lashes fluttered. He rose obediently, but didn’t take another step forward.
Qiao Zhenzhen sighed, turned and walked out alone. After a short distance she looked back and saw Chi Shen had fallen in behind her, so she resumed walking at a steady pace.
They’d been like this for a while: Chi Shen was the sort who adored the idea of something but recoiled from its reality; she had to play the patient dragon, always keeping her distance. Apart from the half hour they ate together, they rarely came closer than a meter. She’d thought about gradually narrowing that gap, but after seeing Chi Shen go in and out of psychiatric hospitals so often, she’d set that plan aside.
What if she pushed too fast and pushed him over the edge?
Qiao Zhenzhen got her tray and sat down somewhere nearby. After Chi Shen finished getting his food and took a table in the corner, she carried her tray over to him.
"You’re really something, you always manage to find the most out-of-the-way corners," she said with a smile as she looked at the solitary table and then at him.
Chi Shen disliked crowds and kept to himself, always sitting at the back corner of the classroom. Even in the cafeteria he picked the most secluded spots, so no one in the class noticed that they were eating together every day.
At her words, Chi Shen’s hand holding his chopsticks froze in midair.
"That’s a compliment," Qiao Zhenzhen added helpfully.
Only then did he begin to eat.
[Affection +5; current total: 85]
"Wow, another five points!" Xiao Ba cheered.
When they first started eating together the affection gains had been large, but as the meals accumulated Chi Shen became somewhat desensitized and the increases dwindled. Lately there’d been none at all; this was the first rise in two days.
Qiao Zhenzhen blinked, then tried again: "You look so elegant when you eat."
Chi Shen froze in mid-motion.
"You're really good-looking," Qiao Zhenzhen continued to flatter.
Chi Shen looked up at her; his jet-black eyes didn't move.
"That skin, those eyes, that nose, are you a little fairy who just descended to the mortal world?" Qiao Zhenzhen pressed on.
Chi Shen set down his chopsticks; his face gradually went pale.
"…Host, don't I get the feeling his expression isn't right?" Xiao Ba offered gently. "He doesn't look like he's been complimented, more like he's been hit."
Qiao Zhenzhen: "…"
After the awkward silence, she tucked her head down and ate in earnest, her face warming faintly as it nearly buried into the plate.
Chi Shen watched her quietly; his deep-set eyes showed no emotion, impossible to read.
After a long moment he finally picked up his chopsticks again. After only a couple of bites, a chicken drumstick silently landed on his plate and he stopped once more, only resuming his meal long afterward.
Qiao Zhenzhen stole glances at him several times; once she was sure he wasn't staring, she feigned nonchalance and pinched two mouthfuls of his greens. Chi Shen kept his head bowed, focused on eating as if unaware of the vegetable thief.
Though neither of them spoke, their companionship was unexpectedly harmonious. Zhao Lianqiao sat in the corner on the other side, gnashing her teeth as she watched Qiao Zhenzhen grin like an idiot.
They'd been in a cold war for almost a week; Qiao Zhenzhen still hadn't come to find her and instead spent all day with Chi Shen, clearly determined to wear her down.
Was she really supposed to be the first to back down this time? The thought of going to apologize made Zhao Lianqiao's eyes burn with hatred, but there was no other way to break the impasse.
Recently the Qiao family had changed drivers, a woman, hired by Qin Jing, so she couldn't boss the driver around like before. And since she was miffed with Qiao Zhenzhen and couldn't bum rides, she had to take taxis home every day; the fares nearly came to a hundred a day.
For years she had refused the pocket money Qiao Jian offered in order to leave a good impression; before, she could rely on what Qiao Zhenzhen provided, but after the cold war she had to pay for everything herself, and the little Zhao Ying gave simply wasn't enough.
Fine, she'd endure it, there would be time to settle scores later. Zhao Lianqiao took a deep breath and, when Qiao Zhenzhen went to the bathroom, hurried after her. She blocked her as she came out. "Zhenzhen, let's talk."
Qiao Zhenzhen frowned the moment she saw her. "We have nothing to talk about."
She turned to leave, and Zhao Lianqiao hurried on: "I know you're still mad at me. I know I was wrong, won't you forgive me this once?"
Qiao Zhenzhen stepped back, displeased.
Zhao Lianqiao's anger flared at her look of disgust, but she forced herself to calm down. "Zhenzhen, you're my best friend, I really don't want to be on bad terms,"
She choked up as she spoke. "Even if you don't want to forgive me right now, could you please stop eating with Chi Shen? Don't put up with it just to spite me, I feel terrible watching it..."
Qiao Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow and watched her little performance with mockery. Only when Zhao Lianqiao was nearly finished did she say calmly, "You're imagining things. I'm not forcing myself to eat with him, on the contrary, it's quite pleasant."
Zhao Lianqiao froze, shocked. "Y-you weren't very afraid of him, were you?"
"No," Qiao Zhenzhen replied. "Who said I was afraid of him? Would you eat with someone you're scared of?" She shot her a sidelong look. "Don't bother me. I have a princess temperament, being my friend isn't for everyone."
Zhao Lianqiao was utterly dumbstruck.
The reason she'd so quickly become Qiao Zhenzhen's friend in the first place had been her exploitation of Qiao Zhenzhen's fear of Chi Shen and her inability to be alone, brainwashing her about how terrifying Chi Shen was so she'd become dependent on Zhao Lianqiao.
If Qiao Zhenzhen wasn't afraid of Chi Shen anymore, then half of Zhao Lianqiao's purpose would be gone. No wonder Qiao Zhenzhen was being so unyielding this time.
Panic crept in. Just as she opened her mouth to say something, Qiao Zhenzhen slipped past her and left the bathroom.
Qiao Zhenzhen walked straight out; the moment she stepped through the bathroom door she saw Chi Shen two meters away, standing perfectly still like a statue.
She'd been talking with Zhao Lianqiao at the bathroom door and hadn't bothered to lower her voice, he must have heard everything.
Having heard her admit she wasn't afraid of him, he should be pleased, right? Qiao Zhenzhen blinked, waiting to see if that would earn her any extra goodwill.
A minute passed, no notification chimed.
Qiao Zhenzhen didn't lose heart. After signaling him to return to class, she took the initiative and walked on. Chi Shen watched her back in silence; every muscle in his body ached from the tension.
After a long while, he quietly followed.
All afternoon Chi Shen watched Qiao Zhenzhen's back in silence. Though his eyes remained placid, Qiao Zhenzhen had the sense he was preoccupied.
Was he thinking about the psychiatric hospital? The thought weighed on her and she felt heavy too.
After evening self-study, Qiao Zhenzhen walked off campus as usual, thinking that today she couldn't just stop outside the hospital, she had to follow him all the way in and find out what was wrong with him.
As she thought this, her backpack was suddenly poked.
Qiao Zhenzhen tugged at her shoulder strap and was about to keep walking, but then she realized and stopped short, eyes wide. She turned slowly and saw the boy who should have been three meters behind her had suddenly appeared at her back, head bowed, watching her in silence.
"...What's the matter?" It was the first time he'd stopped her; Qiao Zhenzhen's voice was cautious, afraid a wrong word would scare him away.
Chi Shen pressed his thin lips together. After a moment he took a brown paper bag from his backpack and quietly handed it to her.
Puzzled, Qiao Zhenzhen took it. It felt heavy in her hand; when she pinched it casually it was at least a centimeter thick.
"What's this?" she asked, puzzled.
Chi Shen stared at her for a long moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice: "Open it when you get home."
"...Okay." Qiao Zhenzhen hugged it to her chest immediately, her heart racing.
Seeing that Chi Shen had nothing more to say, she climbed into the car at once and impatiently told the driver to go.
“Heading straight home?” the driver asked.
“Yes, straight home!” Although she wanted to stay with Chi Shen, right now the brown paper bag was clearly more important.
What had he given her? It felt like a thick stack of paper, love letters? Qiao Zhenzhen dismissed the idea at once; Chi Shen didn’t seem like the type to write love letters.
So what was it?
The more she thought about it, the more anxious she grew. She barely made it home before bolting for the bedroom the moment she opened the car door.
“Back so early today?” Qin Jing asked, surprised.
“Home to sleep!” Qiao Zhenzhen said, trotting back to her room, locking the door and sitting down on the bed.
Her heart rate quickened. She took a deep breath, hands trembling with anticipation as she opened the paper bag and carefully pulled out the thick stack inside,
Manuals for psychiatric hospitals…?
She froze, then flipped through them one by one. Not only were there brochures for various psychiatric hospitals, but Chi Shen’s notes as well: who the best doctor at each hospital was, what treatments they specialized in, how many cases they’d cured, everything was recorded. His annotations on six hospitals filled over a dozen pages.
“Is he…” Qiao Zhenzhen hesitated, “asking me to help him pick a hospital?”
Xiao Ba was silent for a moment, then chose his words: “Xiao Ba thinks he’s recommending hospitals to you.”
Qiao Zhenzhen: “?”