Chapter 14

That long-awaited round of points left Yan Xiao floating in bliss all day. Even when her mom came to pick her up after school, she was still smiling from ear to ear, she laughed from the kindergarten gates all the way home.
That night, after her bath, she was still grinning like a fool under her blanket until her mom had to remind her that if she didn’t stop giggling and go to sleep, she’d be late for school tomorrow. Only then did she reluctantly close her eyes and drift off.
The next morning, she arrived ten minutes earlier than usual, ready to ride her winning streak and give Qiu Li a “surprise.”
But the moment she got out of the car, she spotted Qiu Li already standing by the school gate, looking her way.
Yan Xiao: “…”
Was he so mad about yesterday that he came early just to confront me?
She felt as if she’d just swallowed a whole jar of energy supplements, her whole body buzzed with excitement.
After waving goodbye to her mom, she sprinted toward the gate, her little backpack bouncing behind her.
Chen Ziyi could only smile helplessly at her daughter’s increasingly “heartless” back.
Qiu Li had come early for a different reason. He simply wanted to see her sooner, to hand her the cotton candy she liked most.
The sight of the girl’s dimples as she ran toward him made the gloom from Qiu Zhan’s morning mockery vanish completely.
“Hey?”
As soon as Yan Xiao reached him, she spotted the scab on his cheek. Frowning, she demanded, “Why didn’t you put the band-aid on?”
She deliberately put on a stern face, but inside, she was delighted.
She knew it! Of course he wouldn’t wear it. He hated her, hated anything colorful or cute.
Qiu Li froze.
He wanted to say he just couldn’t bear to cover it, that the wound was fine, but that kind of excuse was too awkward to say aloud. So he just stood there silently.
His blank reaction made her even happier. If she didn’t bite her lip, she would’ve laughed out loud.
Feigning seriousness, she said, “Good thing I came prepared”
Digging into her little bag, she produced another band-aid.
“I’ll do it for you!” she announced, tearing it open and tiptoeing to press it onto his cheek.
Qiu Li hadn’t expected her to do this again. The moment her soft little fingers touched his face, he went completely still.
Seeing him too stunned to speak, Yan Xiao clapped her hands and declared, chin raised like a tiny general, “You’re not allowed to take it off!”
The early winter breeze was cool, but Qiu Li suddenly felt warm, the spot where she’d touched him tingled, and his chest felt just as hot.
So this is what it feels like to be cared for, he realized.
He stood there, savoring the moment. When he finally came back to himself, he noticed Yan Xiao watching him closely. Startled, he hurriedly fumbled through his bag and pulled out two pieces of cotton candy, holding them out to her.
Two.
Yan Xiao: “……”
Double retaliation?
Clearly, yesterday had really gotten under his skin. And since she’d just slapped another childish, cutesy band-aid on his face, she could already picture how furious he’d be soon.
But the cotton candy was innocent, so she grabbed both pieces without hesitation.
“I’m going to class now!” she said cheerfully, stuffing the sweets into her pocket and waving her tiny hand. “You should go too!”
Qiu Li opened his mouth, as if to say something,
But before he could, she bolted.
Because one of the most infuriating things in the world was to provoke someone and then not give them the chance to retaliate.
Watching her little figure disappear, Qiu Li bit his lip and sighed softly. She’d forgotten to give him his daily cotton candy.
But still…
He reached up and touched the band-aid on his cheek again, and his lips curved upward.
“Ew~”
Chen Yao, freshly recovered from the humiliation of nearly being beaten up, caught up to him, pointing and laughing. “Using girl stuff? So sissy! How embarrassing!”
Qiu Li’s expression went cold in an instant. He shot Chen Yao a glance, said nothing, and kept walking.
Seeing him stay silent, Chen Yao only got bolder. “What, can’t even talk back? You girly little loser, using girls’ things! What, too poor to buy your own? Don’t you feel ashamed? Hey everyone, look! Qiu Li’s using girl stuff, hahaha”
A few of the older kids overheard and joined in the laughter.
Qiu Li’s small hands clenched tight around his backpack straps. Just as his anger hit the breaking point, ready to make him charge into Chen Yao, a crisp little voice echoed in his head:
They were just talking nonsense. Don’t listen to them!
Don’t pay them any attention!
Qiu Li’s pale face slowly calmed. He took a breath, turned, and walked toward his classroom as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Chen Yao, seeing his lack of reaction, quickly lost interest and turned away to find someone else to bother.


Having just gained two new points, Yan Xiao sat in a pile of plush toys, laughing so hard she nearly fell over.
Two points!
21 points!
She’d finally broken past 20!
Yan Xiao was ecstatic.
When you’re happy, you celebrate, and for her, that meant eating a piece of cotton candy to “calm her nerves.” And today, she deserved two.
Chewing happily, she started counting the few pieces of cotton candy left in her tiny backpack.
It was Friday, and her weekly candy supply was almost gone. She counted carefully,
Huh?
She froze mid-count.
Why is there one extra?
She knew exactly how many candies she had, she’d memorized the number, mainly to make sure no one stole any. But how could there be more instead of less?
She counted again. Yes. Definitely one extra.
Wide-eyed, she glanced around at her classmates, a group of tiny toddlers. Who snuck candy into my bag?
But that didn’t make sense either. She’d counted in the car just before arriving. And since entering school, she hadn’t taken her backpack off even once, no one had been near it.
As she puzzled over it, her eyes suddenly widened.
She’d forgotten her daily task, giving Qiu Li his candy!
She was so happy this morning that she’d completely forgotten her “mission.” That couldn’t happen again.
Since class was about to start, she couldn’t make it to Building One now, so she decided to postpone the task until lunch.
She’d hand him the candy and claim her seat beside him at the same time, a perfect two-in-one combo. For now, she’d let him stew a little.

Qiu Li had been stewing, all morning.
He hadn’t heard a single word of the story the teacher was reading. His mind was stuck on that one candy she hadn’t given him.
He still had the band-aid on, but that didn’t stop the quiet worry in his chest, what if she never gave him candy again? What if their morning “meet-ups” stopped too?
He worried about it the whole morning.
At lunch, as Yan Xiao carried her tray toward the dining room, she saw him through the window, head down, his little face clearly sulking.
Yan Xiao: “…”
Her tactic was working perfectly!
The moment her pink lunch tray landed in the empty spot beside him, Qiu Li looked up.
“Here.” Yan Xiao smiled brightly and held out her hand. “This is today’s.”
Qiu Li: “…”
When he didn’t move, just stared at her, she raised her chin in mock pride, stretching her short arm even further across the table, she had to lean forward to reach him.
Relieved, Qiu Li finally took the candy, slipping it into his pocket. That feeling of lost-and-found joy made his cheeks burn, and he ducked his head, eating quietly, not daring to look at her again.
Watching him like this, Yan Xiao grinned. Yeah, “little villain” really does suit him better. So easy to farm points off!

As lunch neared its end, a voice echoed excitedly through the hall:
“It’s raining!”
The moment the kids heard rain, chaos broke loose.
Children loved to play, didn’t matter with what. Even a drizzle could turn into the day’s grand adventure. One after another, they bolted outside without umbrellas or raincoats, squealing with delight. The teachers couldn’t stop them all, they had to chase each one down to make them put on raincoats.
Yan Xiao, however, had zero interest in something as childish as splashing through puddles. She couldn’t even begin to understand what was so funny about leaping around in the rain.
Just as she turned back to her food, she caught Qiu Li’s expression, an unmistakable look of disgust at the chaos outside.
Her eyes lit up.
He doesn’t like it either?!
“Let’s go play in the rain!” she said eagerly.
Her voice was full of excitement.
Qiu Li blinked in surprise.
What? That look, was that shock? Annoyance?
She didn’t give him time to react. Grabbing his wrist, she tugged him toward the door.
A teacher, busy rounding up other kids, saw two more running out without rain gear and shouted, “Put your raincoats on first!”
Yan Xiao pretended not to hear. The rain wasn’t even heavy, barely enough to dampen a strand of hair.
Cool drops landed on Qiu Li’s face. He blinked, and the usual dislike he’d felt toward rain, born from all the times Qiu Zhan forced him to stand in it, began to fade.
Watching Yan Xiao’s bright, excited face, he couldn’t help but smile faintly. Maybe rainy days weren’t so bad after all.
[Ding! 24 points!]
Yan Xiao: “!!!”
She’d earned five points in a single morning! Overwhelmed with joy, she acted purely on instinct, she turned around and threw her arms around the nearest person.
That person being Qiu Li.
Qiu Li: “…”

Author’s Note:
Little Qiu Li: happy (^▽^)
Xiao-xiao: Even heaven’s helping me! My golden finger is unbeatable! (#^.^#)
System: The true essence of humankind…is being a double-standard dog.