Chapter 50

Those three words, “I like you”, hit her like a thunderclap.
Yan Xiao froze where she stood, completely stunned.
By the time she recovered, she didn’t even dare look him in the eyes. She spun on her heel and ran.
Watching her disappear into the elevator, Qiu Li’s lips curved into a small smile before he turned to leave.
Even though Yan Xiao knew that Qiu Li hated her, that this was all some elaborate revenge plot, her heart still wouldn’t stop pounding. No matter how hard she tried, her emotions refused to fall in line with reason.
So much so that when she finally arrived at her lab meeting, she could barely focus.
And to make matters worse, that cursed system wouldn’t stop dinging.
007: [I’m not cursed.]
Yan Xiao frowned. “Shut up!”
Unfortunately, she’d said it out loud.
The junior who was presenting his slides froze mid-sentence. Around the table, every single person in the small conference room turned to stare at her.
It took Yan Xiao a second to realize what had happened. The moment it hit her, her face went completely white, and then, immediately after, bright red.
Her labmates, seeing her expression, exchanged worried looks.
“Xiao-xiao, are you alright? You don’t look so good,” asked her senior brother.
“Yeah, you seem really tired. Did you overdo it in class this morning?” said another.
Even the senior sister frowned in concern. “If you’re not feeling well, we can pause for a bit.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
That only made her blush harder. She felt especially guilty toward the poor junior whose presentation she’d interrupted.
“No, no, I’m fine!” she stammered quickly. Then, turning to the presenter, she said earnestly, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t talking about you. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Their lab had always been friendly, and no one took offense. The junior just looked a little confused, after all, Yan Xiao was usually sharp and energetic during meetings, not dazed and muttering strange things under her breath.
“It’s okay,” he said kindly. “Let’s just take a short break.”
Yan Xiao wanted to refuse, not wanting to waste everyone’s time, but her mind really wasn’t cooperating. Reluctantly, she nodded.
The atmosphere relaxed. Someone brought in drinks and fruit, and chatter filled the room.
One of the girls in her year leaned over, smiling. “So? What’s going on? Is it because of that confession?”
Everyone had heard about it, after all, even if you hadn’t attended the morning lecture, news spread fast when it involved the two most talked-about people on campus.
Yan Xiao gave her a brief look, then smiled faintly.
Ah.
The girl’s expression brightened in realization. “So that is it,” she teased. “You’re that conflicted, huh? Can’t even focus in a meeting, guess you’re really considering it?”
Yan Xiao frowned slightly. She wasn’t conflicted, not really. She was just annoyed. Deeply, hopelessly annoyed.
The girl tilted her head. “Then why not give it some thought?”
Yan Xiao blinked.
She’d never once imagined being in a relationship with Qiu Li. Never. Especially not with someone who supposedly hated her, the man whose hostility score had literally maxed out! She’d have to be insane to date him.
Wait.
A sudden realization hit her.
If she was so sure she’d never like someone who despised her, then why did she feel so miserable right now?
Once she figured it out, Yan Xiao immediately shook her head.
The girl beside her chuckled. Seeing that dazed, slightly panicked look on Yan Xiao’s face, wide-eyed and clueless, she couldn’t help but reach out and ruffle her hair. Ahh, as expected of their lab’s little mascot. So soft.
Because Yan Xiao was several years younger than her peers, everyone in the lab tended to treat her like a kid sister.
Even now, as a first-year grad student, she still looked and acted like a high schooler. It was impossible not to feel protective of her.
“But you’re so conflicted,” the girl said gently, assuming that Yan Xiao was simply too young and too smart for her own good, someone who hadn’t yet figured out love or boys. “You know, people who really feel nothing don’t get this worked up about it.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
I haven’t even said I rejected him yet!
The girl smiled again, her heart melting at the sight of that confused little face. She gave her chin a playful scratch. “You could give it a try, you know. Campus romance is actually really sweet.”
Then she winked.
Yan Xiao: “…”
She shuddered and got goosebumps all over.
Date Qiu Li?
She could never outplay that calculating villain!
The man had spent years laying out traps just to toy with her, how terrifying was that level of scheming?
Besides, all she wanted was to make good use of her time and study!
Her blank, slightly bewildered expression only made the girl more amused. She leaned closer, eyes sparkling. “You must be feeling totally lost right now, huh?”
Yan Xiao asked weakly, “Is it that obvious?”
The girl laughed. “What do you think?”
Yan Xiao: “…”
After a pause, she gave a helpless smile.
The girl suddenly thought of something and added, “Honestly, we all thought you and Qiu Li would end up together.”
Yan Xiao’s smile froze on her lips. She didn’t even stop to wonder why they thought that, she blurted out, “Why would you think that?”
Her tone startled the girl, and before she could answer, a senior sister across the room, who’d been listening, burst out laughing. “Why? Because you two are perfect for each other, silly!”
Yan Xiao was speechless. What the heck, has Qiu Li’s acting really fooled them all this badly?
“Yeah,” her classmate chimed in. “He treats you so well! You’ve been childhood friends forever, and”
She suddenly stopped talking.
Yan Xiao frowned. “And what?”
The girl looked a little embarrassed. It didn’t feel quite right to say this aloud, but under Yan Xiao’s unwavering stare, she finally chose her words carefully. “Personally, I think Qiu Li really likes you. Like, the romantic kind of like, not the brother-sister kind. Actually, we all think so. The whole lab.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
Figures. The manipulative villain’s fooled every last one of you.
When she didn’t respond, the girl rushed to add, “Well, Chen Chen’s a good guy too. If you want to try dating, you could give him a chance.”
Yan Xiao blinked. “Wait, who said I was talking about him?”
The girl froze. “There’s another guy who confessed to you?!”
Yan Xiao nodded.
The girl: “!”
But then she caught herself. Right, this was Yan Xiao they were talking about, brilliant, beautiful, and accomplished. There was never a shortage of people confessing to her, even from other universities.
Still, her reactions today were a little odd. The girl studied her, then smiled slyly. “Don’t overthink it. If you like someone, just give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, break up, it’s not marriage, what’s there to be scared of?”
Her words only made Yan Xiao even more frustrated.
When the meeting ended, Yan Xiao packed up her notes but had no energy to stay in the lab. And more importantly, she didn’t want to run into Qiu Li later, he always came to pick her up after her sessions, right on time.
But to her dismay, even though she’d left a full hour early, there he was. Standing in his usual spot, wearing his usual easy smile.
Yan Xiao: “…”
Qiu Li walked over. “You’re early today. Lucky I showed up when I did.”
In truth, he’d stopped by the lab earlier just to check, and then come back here to wait.
Just as he’d expected.
Watching her startled expression, he sighed inwardly. After all these years, how could he not know her by now?
“Why didn’t you text me?” she asked stiffly once she’d regained her composure.
“Hmm?” He smiled. “Didn’t want to bother you. And I wanted it to be a surprise.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
A surprise? More like a jump scare!
Wait, how did he know she’d be leaving early? Had someone from the lab told him? No, that didn’t make sense. Her decision to leave early had been totally spontaneous. She’d packed up and gone straight to the elevator, three minutes, tops. Even if someone had texted him the moment she left, he wouldn’t have made it in time.
Unless…
She looked up sharply, staring at him.
Qiu Li blinked. “What’s wrong?”
Yan Xiao shook her head quickly.
He sighed softly and reached out to pat her head. “You’re really out of it today. That confession earlier scared you, huh?”
The touch sent an electric current down her spine. On instinct, she flinched away.
His hand froze midair. He blinked, then said gently, “I’m not going to force you. Just follow your heart, okay?”
Yan Xiao opened her mouth to reply,
But then he added, “Still, don’t rush to reject me, either.”
Yan Xiao: “…”
He held up his hand, thumb and forefinger forming a tiny space between them. “Just give me this little bit of time. Let me prove myself, okay?”
No one could tell, but when he said that, every muscle in his body was taut with tension. He was terrified of pushing too hard, of scaring her away, so he hid it all behind that calm, easy smile.
Suddenly, Yan Xiao remembered what her classmate and senior sister had said to her earlier. She bit her lip. No, she needed to clear things up. Given Qiu Li’s obsessive and brooding personality, it was too dangerous to let this misunderstanding linger.
If she agreed to “give it a try” just to see what tricks he might pull next, and he decided to do something intimate, what then?
No, she couldn’t risk it. It would be better to be upfront, since he hated her anyway.
She was just about to speak when a shrill, almost painful screech echoed in her mind, making her frown instinctively.
You stupid, scammy system, what are you doing? Have you gone mad?! she shouted inwardly.
007 stammered, sounding flustered and guilty: [Um, well, uh…]
Yan Xiao, furious, snapped: Out with it!
[I think I… might’ve read the numbers wrong.]
Read them wrong? She rolled her eyes. What’s there to read wrong? You stopped showing the exact numbers ages ago! Every day it’s just ding, ding, ding, like a broken microwave! What could possibly be wrong now?!
She’d already maxed out the meter! What, was it going to reset now? If so, she was going to blow this trash system to pieces!
[It’s not resetting, it’s, um, I missed a symbol.]
What symbol?
[Well, the hostility value…it’s negative.]
What does that even mean?
[It means, uh, negative values represent the opposite, so, not hostility, but affection.]
Yan Xiao went completely blank. Her face turned pale, her mind splitting open from the shock. She stood frozen for a long time before stiffly turning her head toward Qiu Li, who was watching her with clear worry etched into his face, brows drawn tight, tiny beads of sweat forming at his temples.
And then,
[So right now, it means Qiu Li’s affection for you is off the charts.]
Yan Xiao: “…”

Author’s Note:
Yan Xiao: You worthless hunk of junk! I’m going to blow you up!
007: Whine~ You can’t blame me! I’ve never seen anyone turn a hatred score into a love score before…
Qiu Li: I don’t think Xiao-xiao dislikes me, she’s just young and doesn’t understand her feelings yet (#^.^#).