Chapter 5: Like mother, like daughter
"You seem to be having a good time," a voice said with lukewarm indifference, startling Li Li, who instinctively looked towards its source. Leaning against the wall stood a tall, slender boy dressed in a beige plaid coat with shoulder-length hair and a handsome face.
The sensation of cold and slippery fear once again wrapped around her body, causing Li Li to involuntarily step back—hearing about Li Meiqing's plans to invite the Liu family over for dinner that evening suddenly flashed through her mind.
"You couldn't find my house?" Li Li asked, her head down and speech hurried, "I'll take you there."
"How boring—I just came out," Liu Qianren said with a smile, his hand resting on Li Li's shoulder, clearly feeling her body stiffen. His smile deepened, "Are you very afraid of me, little sister?"
His devilishly handsome face drew closer to Li Li, his mocking smile magnifying several fold before her eyes. She instinctively resisted his closeness.
"Your rejection of my kindness, it makes this brother feel very sad." His piercing gaze and the words coming out from his thinly outlined lips were completely out of sync—she saw disdain in those eyes amid her panic.
"Let her go!" A familiar voice allowed Li Li to breathe a sigh of relief as she quickly looked up at her savior. Pei Shangxuan was half a head shorter than Liu Qianren, but he was in no way less imposing.
Liu Qianren let go of the hand that was grasping Li Li's shoulder, casually slipping it back into his coat pocket. He spoke with disdain, "I never expected you to have a knight in shining armor at such a young age, a true case of like mother, like daughter."
"What did you say?" Pei Shangxuan, seeing Li Li's face turn pale, sensed that the other party's words were especially venomous. He rushed forward and grabbed Qianren's collar, but unfortunately, the difference in height made his threat seem quite unconvincing.
"Can't you understand?" Liu Qianren sneered, "It's quite normal for someone like you who's not smart and only knows how to use violence to not understand."
Pei Shangxuan, in a fit of anger, was about to punch the irritatingly pretty face, but Li Li grabbed his hand.
"Pei Shangxuan, he's Uncle Liu's son, you can't hit him," she shouted desperately. Liu Qianren seemed like a difficult person to provoke, and she doubted Pei Shangxuan could come out on top.
Liu Qianren pried Pei Shangxuan's fingers loose, coldly eyeing the youth two years his junior before turning his frosty gaze to Li Li, "You'd better remember, I hate your mother, and that includes you."
Pei Shangxuan watched Liu Qianren's retreating figure, then turned to Li Li and said huffily, "I can assure you, I hate him, too."
Years later, even after the memories faded, Pei Shangxuan continued to dislike the handsome man known as Liu Qianren.
Li Meiqing got married to Liu Zhixian on New Year's Eve, and since February 14 coincided with the Lunar New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day in the West, they hurried to get their marriage certificate before the Civil Affairs Bureau closed. Li Li had heard about Li Meiqing's marriage plans from Li Guoqiang and was constantly worried about having to move to the Liu family's house and live with the boy who frightened her. Obsessed with this thought, she lost the title of top student in her grade for the first time in the final exams.
The class advisor, La Fengzhu, called Li Li into the office and inquired indirectly—asking if her academic backsliding had to do with Pei Shangxuan. There had been rumors about the two of them in the school earlier, and La Fengzhu had almost laughed upon hearing them. She joked with the other teachers in the office that if Li Li were even half as pretty as the studious committee member Qiu Yuerong, it might be worth watching for signs of puppy love.
But now, seeing Li Li's grades slip, La Fengzhu had to take the issue seriously. More than once, teachers had reported to her that Pei Shangxuan would badger Li Li during class to chat, and the two appeared quite close in demeanor. La Fengzhu knew of Li Li even before taking over class four, including the incident when she resigned. Years of experience in education had revealed to her the girl's strong-willed nature; compliance was merely a facade, as at heart, she was undoubtedly individualistic.
Such students, in fact, made teaching all the more troublesome. You couldn't control her, and you never knew when she might decide to revolt.
La Fengzhu spoke earnestly, "Li Li, I have high expectations for you and wouldn't want you to be influenced by a poor student."
Li Li slightly raised her chin then quickly withdrew, hanging her head as if deep in reflection. La Fengzhu could only see her light brown hair from the top of her head, unable to see her expression.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Li, I promise I'll regain the top spot in the next exam," she said with her head down, a smug smile curling at the corners of her mouth, "This was just an oversight on my part, a loss of Jingzhou. It has nothing to do with anyone else, especially not Pei Shangxuan."