Chapter 15

At the international school, winter break started in mid-December. A week before break, Yan Xiao finally received the limited-edition, autographed Transformers figure she’d begged her aunt to get for her.
The signature belonged to a famous athlete, Qiu Li’s favorite, his lifelong idol.
It had taken this long because her aunt had actually flown overseas to get the athlete’s personal autograph, complete with a handwritten “To” dedication.
The night before, Yan Xiao had stuffed the Transformers into her backpack. Thankfully, her aunt had bought her several bags in different sizes, or this one wouldn’t have fit at all.
Early the next morning, Chen Ziyi spotted her daughter sneaking toward the car with that giant backpack.
Pretending not to notice, she kept setting the breakfast table.
Yan Xiao had gone behind her parents’ backs to pull this off, asking her aunt for help in secret. She and her aunt had even agreed it would stay between them, her parents couldn’t know, or they’d start teasing her again about being “such good friends with Qiu Li.”
Once she’d stashed the backpack under her car seat, she casually strolled back inside to finish breakfast.
Watching her daughter’s exaggeratedly casual act, Chen Ziyi had to hold back a laugh. “So early, where were you off to?”
Yan Xiao climbed onto her high chair, face serious, pretending nothing was up. “I just went to see if it’s snowing yet.”
The sun was practically up. Snow? Really?
Even she realized how suspicious that sounded, so she quickly added, “But it’s sunny, probably won’t snow today. Sigh…”
Drooping her head, she let out an exaggerated sigh. “When will it finally snow”
“Soon,” Chen Ziyi said, humoring her. “The forecast says next week.”
Yan Xiao’s eyes sparkled. “That’s great!”
Next week was break. She’d been worrying about finding an excuse to visit the Qiu family, now she could just say she was going over to have a snowball fight with Qiu Yan.

“Vacation’s almost here,” Chen Ziyi said after breakfast, holding up a gift bag she’d prepared. “These are cookies I baked myself. Take them and share with your classmates, okay?”
But Yan Xiao’s thoughts were far away, she only wanted to get to school and hand that Transformers figure to Qiu Li.
At school, she pulled the backpack out from under the car seat. When she looked up, she met her mother’s knowing, amused gaze.
Yan Xiao: “…”
Busted.
“I, I brought it…” she stammered, scratching her head, “as a gift for a friend.”
Chen Ziyi of course knew exactly which “friend” that meant, her sister had already warned her not to ruin the secret. If she told, Xiao-xiao would think her aunt was untrustworthy and never confide in her again.
So Chen Ziyi just smiled. “Alright.” She adjusted her daughter’s scarf. “Go on, then. Want me to carry the cookies in for you?”
Yan Xiao, burdened with a backpack nearly as tall as she was, waved both hands frantically. “No, no! I can do it myself!”
At barely four years old, bundled up in hat, scarf, and a puffy coat down to her ankles, she looked like a walking snowball. The oversized backpack and giant cookie bag only added to the image.
From a distance, Chen Ziyi nearly burst out laughing. She finally relaxed when she saw Qiu Li run over to take the cookie bag from her daughter’s hands.
“What’s this?” he asked, carrying it for her as they walked toward the school gates.
“Cookies!” muffled a small, milky voice. With only her big round eyes peeking out from under her scarf, Yan Xiao tugged at the thick wool around her face, her words coming out soft and unclear. “My mom made them herself. I’m supposed to share the cookies with the class.”
A flicker of envy flashed through Qiu Li’s downcast eyes.
“I brought a box for you too!” She finally pulled the scarf down and let out a long breath of relief.
Qiu Li looked up at her, his eyes brightening, He gets one too?
Meanwhile, Yan Xiao was struggling to remove her backpack. But with all her winter layers, her short little arms, and that enormous bag, she just couldn’t get it off. She was seconds away from jumping up and down in frustration.
Before she could call a teacher for help, she suddenly felt the weight on her shoulders lighten.
Turning around, she saw Qiu Li helping her unhook the bag. “It’s this full just because of cookies?”
“No.” Yan Xiao’s face turned pink, it was embarrassing being unable to take off her own backpack.
Still, Qiu Li didn’t talk much or gossip with others, so he probably wouldn’t say anything. Thinking this comforted her a bit, until she looked up and saw the tiniest tug at the corner of his lips.
Even that little curve was enough to tell, he was laughing.
“…”
He’s laughing at me?!
Today, Yan Xiao looked like a little ball of snow. Her long puffy coat was creamy white, her hat and boots matched, and until she’d pulled the scarf down, only her two black eyes were visible. With her cute nose and flushed cheeks now exposed and her breath puffing out in little clouds, she looked even more adorable.
And when the backpack came off, a pair of tiny beige wings on the back of her coat were revealed.
Qiu Li couldn’t help it, right there at the busy school gate, surrounded by students and teachers coming and going, he smiled.
Just once. But still, he quickly straightened his face again, pretending nothing had happened.
Yan Xiao, who had caught that brief grin, almost exploded inside.
Wow. That’s just mean.
All that trouble she’d gone through, sweet-talking and bribing her aunt with kisses to get this autograph, and this was how he repaid her?
Completely wasted effort!
Still holding the oversized backpack, Qiu Li had no idea what was going on in her head. He gave it a little shake. “What’s in here?” It wasn’t heavy, just bulky.
Yan Xiao: “…” Still mocking me, huh?
When she didn’t answer, he asked again, “Another gift for your classmates?”
She never brought this backpack before.
“No,” she muttered.
Forget it. Why argue with a kid?
She took the bag from him, unzipped it, pulled out the Transformers box, and handed it straight to him. “Here! It’s for you!”
Qiu Li: “…”
The Transformers logo on the packaging was impossible to miss. He froze completely.
She’d wanted to say, This is to replace the one I broke, but what came out instead was, “Isn’t it a hundred times better than that one that broke so easily?”
“…”
Qiu Li lowered his head, glancing at the gift box tied with a red ribbon, then back at her. His lips pressed together tightly.
She remembered.
Ever since that day, he’d been waiting, waiting for the Transformers she’d promised.
He didn’t even like Transformers. In fact, because Qiu Zhan loved them, he’d always hated that toy line.
But a gift from her was different.
He had waited so long. When nothing came, he’d felt a little disappointed, but he told himself she was young and probably forgot. They still met every morning, still exchanged candies, and she always came to sit with him at lunch, little by little, that disappointment faded away.
She was just a child, after all. Forgetfulness was normal.
But now…
His fingers clenched around the box. He squeezed so hard that his fingertips turned pale, and his eyes reddened faintly.
No one had ever given him something this nice before.
Yan Xiao noticed the strange look on his face. Seriously? Such a big ego, I didn’t even say anything, and he’s already mad?
Trying to smooth things over, she pointed to a corner of the box. “Look, it’s got XX’s autograph, limited edition. There’s only one like this in the whole world.”
Qiu Li’s eyes followed her finger to the bottom corner, where neat handwriting read:
To Paul
Paul, his English name.
His fingers tightened even more around the box.
Yan Xiao watched him quietly. He kept his head bowed, clutching the gift like he was holding something fragile and precious, his whole body trembling faintly. She decided not to say anything else.
After all, this wasn’t meant to be a “points” gift.
But,
[Ding! 35 points.]
Yan Xiao: “……”
She blinked in disbelief, staring at Qiu Li, who was still staring at the Transformers.
Five points?!
That one limited edition toy had earned her five whole points?!
Was he that angry?
She gawked at him, studying his small, serious face. He didn’t look angry, just quiet. But apparently, even his silence scored high.
So this is what they call “a happy accident.”
Well, hard to believe or not, five free points were five free points. She was thrilled.
It was freezing outside, though, and after delivering the gift, she was ready to go back to class. From her cookie bag, she pulled out a box and placed it gently on top of the Transformers. “This is for you too. I’m going to class.”
“Yan Xiao…”
Just as she lifted her backpack, his voice stopped her. Her ears twitched under the hat, his tone sounded odd. Almost like he was about to cry?
She turned around.
His face was strange, hard to describe, a mix of emotions she couldn’t name. She bit her lip nervously. Wow, so touchy. Guess the system was right, the future villain boss really does have a fragile, lonely, brooding personality and holds grudges.
She tilted her head. “What is it?”
He wasn’t about to snap and “eliminate” her on the spot, was he?
“Thank you,” Qiu Li said softly.
“…”
She froze, swallowing hard. Th-thank you? Thank you for what?
That had to be sarcasm, right?
Every TV villain smiled politely before doing something terrible.
She instinctively took a step back.
Qiu Li thought she was just struggling with the heavy bags and reached out to take them from her.
But at the exact same moment, she swung her short little arm backward, clutching the bags tightly behind her.
You’re not throwing away my stuff!
“…”
He thought she was just being stubborn, so he didn’t insist. After a moment, he rummaged through his own bag and pulled out a brand-new packet of cotton candy, holding it out to her. “Here.”
Yan Xiao’s eyes went wide.
So he was holding a grudge!
She’d thought the candies he returned each day were just the ones she’d given him before, but no, he’d actually gone out and bought identical ones just to match hers. Such effort. Such scheming.
She glanced at the full bag of cotton candy, then at him, her tiny brows knitting together.
He really went out, bought a whole pack, just to retaliate over a toy?
As expected of a villain boss.
He knew about her family’s “no sugar” rule, everyone did. Thinking she didn’t dare accept it, he quietly tucked the candy into her backpack himself. “Hide it,” he said. “Your parents won’t find out.”
Yan Xiao felt like an arrow had pierced her heart.
Did he just imply I can’t even afford candy?!
A few minutes ago, he’d only laughed at her silently, now he was mocking her verbally!
She huffed, turned on her heel, and stomped off.
Because she was furious and carrying too much, the little wings on her coat wobbled with every step.
And for the first time, the boy who never believed in angels thought maybe they were real.
Because he had met one.

That afternoon, when Yan Xiao went to the older class to look for Qiu Li again, the teacher told her he’d gone home.
She’d cooled off by then, it was silly to stay angry at another kid, but hearing he’d left still confused her.
He didn’t go home because he was too angry, right?
When the teacher wasn’t looking, she snuck off to ask the older kids.
And when she found out why, her temper flared right back up.
Qiu Li had been sent home because of a fight. Both sets of parents had come to school to take their kids home.
And the one he’d fought with, was Chen Yao.
She didn’t even need to ask what happened. It was obvious that chubby Chen Yao must’ve said something awful again and pushed Qiu Li too far.
What’s wrong with that family? Yan Xiao frowned all the way back to her classroom. Do they not teach their kid any manners?
Still fuming, she couldn’t nap during rest time, and during the afternoon games, she could barely keep her eyes open from exhaustion.

Originally, Yan Xiao had planned to wait and observe for a couple of days first, she didn’t want to rush in and get herself “insta-killed” like a cannon-fodder side character.
But starting from that day, all the way until winter break began, Qiu Li never came back to school.
After break started, her parents and aunt were all busy, so she spent a week at her grandparents’ house and never got a chance to visit the Qiu family.
By Christmas Eve, fifteen whole days with zero progress on her points, Yan Xiao couldn’t take it anymore.
Not a single point in fifteen days.
Not only that, she had no idea how Qiu Li was doing now.
The uncertainty made her restless, so after dinner that night, she secretly begged her aunt to take her out “to buy durian”, but their real destination was the Qiu residence.
“But Qiu Yan’s abroad for an art exhibition right now,” Aunt Chen Zilu said with feigned confusion, pretending not to know her niece’s true motive. “He’s not even home, you wouldn’t see him anyway.”
“Oh…I just want to have a look,” Yan Xiao mumbled.
Chen Zilu barely managed to hold back her laughter. “How about this, let’s just buy the durian and head back, hmm? When Qiu Yan returns, I’ll bring you to visit right away, deal?”
“I just want to check. Maybe Brother Qiu Yan already came back,” the little girl insisted.
Chen Zilu nearly burst out laughing.
She had no idea what kind of scheme her niece was running this time, but she decided to humor her anyway.
When they reached the Qiu house, Yan Xiao, worried that her aunt might start asking questions, decided to get ahead of it. “Auntie, you wait outside. I’ll just go in, have a quick look, and come right back.”
Chen Zilu was dying of laughter inside. She’s not even four, how can she already be this sneaky?
When she didn’t respond, Yan Xiao quickly leaned over and planted a kiss on her cheek.
Smack.
Chen Zilu tapped the other cheek. Yan Xiao giggled and kissed that one too.
“Go on, then,” her aunt said, smiling. “But be quick.”
Yan Xiao nodded hard and ran off.
Watching her little figure bounce away, Chen Zilu leaned against the car door, laughing silently until she shook.
Because she was one of the few kids who could actually play with Qiu Yan, the facial recognition at the main gate let her through without a problem.
But when she reached the door of the house, her face-scan access stopped working. She pressed the doorbell, and the person who appeared on the video screen was Qiu Zhan.
The door opened moments later.
As soon as she stepped inside, Yan Xiao felt something was off.
Even in the courtyard earlier, she’d noticed the strange quiet. It was only eight o’clock, yet not a single servant was around. Inside the house, same thing. Empty.
“Xiao-xiao, what are you doing here at this hour?” Qiu Zhan asked while coming down the stairs.
She glanced around. “Brother Qiu Zhan, are you here all alone?”
His smile paused for a split second, but quickly returned. “Yeah. My parents went with Qiu Yan for his exhibition. They won’t be back until next week. There’s nothing going on at home, so I let the staff go early for the holiday.”
“Oh…” Yan Xiao nodded.
“You still haven’t said,” Qiu Zhan continued, reaching out to pinch her cheek. “Why’d you come by? All alone?”
“My aunt’s here!” she said quickly, pointing toward the door. “She’s waiting outside. I just came to see if Brother Qiu Yan came back yet”
Qiu Zhan’s mood had been dark lately, but hearing that, seeing her little face looking so serious, brightened him a little.
“Qiu Yan will be back next week,” he said with a gentle smile, crouching to meet her eyes. “When he’s back, I’ll bring him to your house to play, okay?”
Yan Xiao nodded. “Mhm, okay.”
Still, something felt strange. No servants was one thing, but just Qiu Zhan?
“Do you want something to drink?” he asked cheerfully. “I can warm up some milk for you.”
She thought for a moment. Time was short, if she didn’t go out soon, her aunt would start looking for her. “Thank you, Brother Qiu Zhan, but I’m okay.”
The little girl’s serious tone made her sound even cuter.
Qiu Zhan chuckled as he stood. “Then how about some cake?”
Yan Xiao bit her lip, pretending to ask innocently, “Brother Qiu Zhan, is Qiu Li home?”
He’d barely taken two steps toward the kitchen when his feet froze. The smile vanished from his face.
Because she couldn’t see his expression from behind, Yan Xiao missed the flash of hatred that twisted across his features at the mention of that name.
“He’s probably asleep,” he said after a pause, voice cooler now. Opening the fridge, he added casually, “I haven’t seen him since I got back.”
“Really?” Yan Xiao frowned. “I’ll go check. It’s still early, he’s probably not asleep yet.”
The rush of cold air from the fridge brushed across Qiu Zhan’s face. He stayed silent.
Before he could say anything, Yan Xiao had already dashed upstairs.
In her hurry, she reached his room in seconds. But the door to Qiu Li’s bedroom was ajar, and the lights were off.
Was he really asleep?
She frowned and knocked softly.
Maybe the door was too light, or maybe she knocked too hard, but after two knocks, it slowly swung open on its own.
The curtains were wide, moonlight pouring in. The whole room was bright and empty.
“…”
“Brother Qiu Zhan!”
She turned and ran downstairs. “Qiu Li’s gone! He’s not in his room!”
Holding a plate of cake, Qiu Zhan answered evenly, “He’s probably just hiding somewhere. It’s late, I’ll take you back to your aunt.”
Yan Xiao shook her head.
She knew Qiu Li. He wasn’t the type to hide.
“Brother Qiu Zhan, you said you didn’t see him when you got back,” she pressed, her little face serious. “What if he was taken by bad people?”
Crack.
The base of the cake plate shattered in Qiu Zhan’s hand.
Yan Xiao gasped. “We should call the police!”
But remembering there were no adults at home, she turned toward the door. “My aunt’s outside! I’ll tell her, we’ll call the police together”
“Hey” Qiu Zhan grabbed her wrist.
Caught, she looked up in confusion, about to tell him to let go,
Then,
Thunk!
A dull noise echoed from the hallway between the kitchen and the stairs.
“…”
“…”
Another sound followed. Yan Xiao yanked her hand free and ran toward it.
When she saw what it was, she froze.
Qiu Zhan’s face had gone black.
“He… he…” she stammered, pointing at the stalled elevator. “Is he in there?”
Qiu Zhan’s jaw tightened; his tongue pressed against his cheek. “Could be” he said coldly.
“Then, then how do we get him out? I-I can ask my aunt to help”
His pupils constricted sharply.
A second later, he said, “No need. The servants probably switched off the main power before they left.”
A three- or four-year-old wouldn’t be taken seriously even if she went for help.
But her aunt was another matter entirely.
Expression turning cold, Qiu Zhan turned and said, “I’ll check.”
Moments later, the indicator lights flickered back on.
Yan Xiao’s heart lifted, but after waiting a while, the elevator doors still didn’t open.
“Huh?”
“Why-why isn’t he coming out?” Her voice trembled. “He didn’t get hurt, did he?”
Qiu Zhan’s mouth curled into a faint, chilling smile. “Maybe he fell asleep.”
Yan Xiao hesitated. She might be little now, but mentally, she was still a college-bound teen. Qiu Zhan was twelve.
I’m older than him, she reminded herself.
Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath, marched up to the elevator, and pressed the open button.
Inside, Qiu Li sat curled up in the corner, arms wrapped tightly around his knees. Fear and fury trembled through his small frame, his fists clenched white.
The doors slid open. He lifted his pale face, meeting Yan Xiao’s anxious, worried eyes.
“Come out,” she said gently, holding out her hand.
Before he could move, Qiu Zhan’s cold, mocking face appeared behind her.
Instantly, Qiu Li’s fists clenched even tighter.
[Ding, Main character detected deviating from original storyline. Do you wish to correct the plot?
Correct: charge out and fight Qiu Zhan.
Do not correct.]
The sudden, mechanical voice echoed through his head. Shocked and furious, Qiu Li froze.

Author’s Note:
Next chapter marks VIP access! I’ll post 10k words, and after that, we’ll have double updates.
This one’s already pretty meaty, thank you all, my little cuties, for the support! (づ￣ ³￣)づ♡