Chapter 2

Qiu Li had learned early that he was an illegitimate child, a shame to the Qiu family.
He’d overheard it in whispers from servants and from Qiu Zhan’s mocking lips.
At first, he didn’t even understand what the word illegitimate meant. He only knew that no one liked him, and no one wanted to play with him.
For a while, he thought maybe it was his fault, maybe he just wasn’t friendly enough, so he studied games other kids liked and tried joining them.
He tried five times.
Got scolded three times, beaten twice.
After that, he never tried again.
Even if a tiny part of him still hoped, he buried it deep, where it couldn’t hurt anymore.
As he got older, that faint spark of hope disappeared completely.
At home, he spent all his time in his room, playing alone, doing homework alone.
Unless absolutely necessary, he never stepped outside.
It was the weekend, and the house was full of guests. Qiu Li had glanced out the window once, then quickly shut the curtains and gone back to his craft project. His kindergarten teacher had assigned a “family activity,” but since he rarely saw his father, and wouldn’t dare ask for help even if he did, and Aunt Xu certainly wouldn’t care, he could only work on it alone.
He wanted to finish early. It wasn’t fun, but at least it was something he could control.
He’d been forced out of his room by Qiu Zhan, his older brother, who’d insisted he “come play games” with them.
Qiu Li wasn’t stupid. He knew perfectly well that Qiu Zhan hated him. There was no such thing as an invitation, only humiliation.
But he couldn’t refuse. There were too many of them, and they were older. If he resisted, they’d just hit him.
Their so-called “game” was cruelly simple: they sat inside the conservatory, eating snacks and playing video games, while he stood outside on the grass, motionless, playing “statue.”
It was a game they played often.
He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there. His legs ached, his feet throbbed.
Eventually, Qiu Zhan grew bored, came out, and tossed him a box of milk.
“Here,” he’d said. “Drink it for us. Make it funny.”
They always did that, handed him things they didn’t want.
He hated milk.
He hated even more that it was their milk, like he was some kind of trash can they could throw things into.
He couldn’t describe the feeling, but he knew it wasn’t right.
Still, if he refused, they wouldn’t let him go back inside.
And he needed to finish his project.
So he lifted the carton, and then, out of nowhere, a small girl came running up, her cheeks flushed, ponytail bouncing wildly as she panted and snatched it straight out of his hand, throwing it to the ground.
He stared, blankly, at the little girl.
Who was this?
What was she doing?
He glanced down at the spilled milk, then at her again. She stood there, chin lifted, staring up at him expectantly, like she was waiting for something.
He frowned, puzzled.
The moment she saw his brows knit together, Yan Xiao’s heart leapt with excitement.
It worked?!
Perfect! Come on, hate me, hate me more!
It wasn’t like she’d done anything terrible, just tossed a carton of milk.
Surely a rich family like the Qius wouldn’t care about that, not even for a child who wasn’t favored.
One less drink wasn’t the end of the world. He could easily get another.
He’d only lost one carton of milk, but she might have just saved her own life!
Feeling very proud of herself, Yan Xiao couldn’t hold back a tiny grin.
007? she called silently.
[Here.]
Did his hatred go up? How much?
A pause. Then the system’s icy reply:
[The increase is too minor to detect. Only once it reaches a certain threshold will the data appear.]
Yan Xiao pouted.
Well, fair enough.
It made sense, throwing away his milk wasn’t exactly life-ruining.
She couldn’t expect him to hate her for that.
If someone bumped into her once, she wouldn’t hold a grudge either.
But if they kept bumping into her, again, and again, and again, eventually she’d hate them.
So that was it.
She just needed to keep at it.
Persistence makes progress, after all.
Step by step, annoyance becomes dislike, dislike becomes hate!
The system seemed to humor her with a rare response:
[Affirmative.]
As she was mentally celebrating the start of her grand “Villain-Hate-Me” mission, her aunt came rushing over.
The moment she’d seen her niece bolt off after being set down, Chen Zilu’s heart had nearly stopped. Even in the Qiu household, she didn’t feel at ease leaving her unattended.
“Xiao-xiao! Why are you running so fast? What if you fall…”
Her words cut off when she noticed the milk spilled on the ground, and the strange tension between the two children.
Her face darkened slightly as she crouched down beside Yan Xiao.
“Xiao-xiao, sweetie, that’s not nice. You can’t throw someone else’s milk away like that. It’s very impolite.”
Yan Xiao blinked innocently.
I know! I’m being terribly rude! Now hate me already!
But outwardly, she just grinned triumphantly at Qiu Li.
The boy said nothing. His lashes lowered, casting long shadows over his eyes. He looked frighteningly calm.
Is he angry?
Yan Xiao bit her lip, trying to read him.
Chen Zilu knew Qiu Li’s situation, how he was treated in this house. She didn’t want to scold him or her niece too harshly. But Xiao-xiao’s behavior was unusual; she was normally polite and sweet. Where had she picked up this attitude?
She sighed inwardly. Clearly, some correction was needed.
“Qiu Li,” she said gently, turning to the silent boy, “Xiao-xiao didn’t mean to throw your milk. Why don’t we have her apologize?”
Qiu Li blinked in surprise.
Apologize?
No one had ever apologized to him before.
When he looked up, there wasn’t any anger in his eyes, only quiet confusion.
Chen Zilu, relieved, smiled and urged, “Go on, Xiao-xiao. Say you’re sorry.”
Yan Xiao clenched her teeth.
Apologize? Absolutely not! That would ruin everything!
Seeing her stubborn silence, Chen Zilu assumed it was childish pride. She softened her tone. “All right, then. Since you threw his milk, why don’t you give him a piece of candy instead? As a little peace offering, okay?”
Candy?
Yan Xiao’s eyes lit up.
Right! If he hates sweets, this would be perfect!
She remembered the part of the novel where Qiu Li’s distaste for sugar had caused a conflict with the male lead.
Suppressing a giggle, she smiled brightly, her dimples deepening. “I have lots of candy!”
Digging into her little backpack, she pulled out the biggest, fluffiest, strawberry-flavored marshmallow she had, held it up proudly, and said, “Here! For you!”
Qiu Li looked at the pink, cloud-shaped candy, then at her, then at Chen Zilu. He didn’t move.
Chen Zilu chuckled, thinking he was just shy. “Go on, take it. She’s saying sorry.”
Qiu Li said nothing, just pressed his lips tighter together.
So this was what being apologized to felt like.
He glanced at the girl again.
She’d come out of nowhere, thrown away his milk, and now was handing him candy.
It didn’t make sense.
Yan Xiao, meanwhile, was internally screaming. Stop saying it’s an apology!
Without thinking, she shoved the marshmallow right into his hand.
There. Done. He had to hate her now.
Then she grabbed her aunt’s hand and marched off, mission complete.
Her goal wasn’t to make him hate her guts, just to annoy him enough to raise her score.
If she pushed too far, she’d be the one getting crushed by the future villain.
As the two of them walked away, the glass conservatory behind them fell quiet.
Qiu Zhan and his little entourage, who’d been watching the show, quickly dispersed, leaving Qiu Li standing alone, holding the candy, staring at the spot where the girl had been.
Qiu Li watched the little girl’s retreating figure for a long time. Then his gaze dropped to the fluffy pink candy in his hand. After a quiet moment, the corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
He’d never tasted cotton candy before.

Author’s Note:
Baby Qiu Li: Ooh… cotton candy! So happy! (#^.^#)
[Reverse Operation +2]