Chapter 4: A Hazy First Love

Something had changed. Tang Qiqi watched Qianzhi staring dreamily out the window and knew it had been this way ever since she came back from the infirmary.

Their classroom window happened to overlook the basketball court. *Could it be? No way.*

"Qianzhi, what are you looking at? You've been staring like that for ages!" Tang Qiqi asked.

"N-nothing. I wasn't looking at anything," Qianzhi said, turning back in a hurry, a guilty look on her face like a thief caught in the act.

"Qianzhi."

"Hm?"

"Want me to go down there with you?" Tang Qiqi asked, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

Qianzhi's face flushed. "What… what are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about—" she deliberately dragged out her words, "—how spring hasn't even arrived, and yet someone's heart is already stirring with love."

Qianzhi's face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Stop making things up!"

"Did I say anything?" she replied, amused.

"Tang Qiqi! You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Exasperated, Qianzhi reached playfully for her friend's neck.

"Cough, cough… all right, all right, I surrender!" Tang Qiqi gasped, raising her hands.

Qianzhi was so amused by her childish antics that she had to laugh, letting her go.

"Okay, let's be serious. Do you really like that basketball player?" Qiqi asked.

"I... I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? It's either yes or no. Can't you just be straight about it?"

"I really don't know. I've never felt this way before," Qianzhi said innocently.

"When you see him, does your heart start pounding? When you think of him, do you get this hazy, happy feeling? Do you get nervous when you talk to him?" Tang Qiqi fired off a series of questions.

Qianzhi stared at her, astonished. "How did you know?"

Putting on an experienced air, she said, "That's how most people are when they're in love! So, how about it? Want me to help you?"

"What?"

"Help you find out about him! And then confess."

Qianzhi shook her head. "I just want to keep watching him from a distance, like this."

"No way! Why?"

"For no reason," Qianzhi said faintly. "I just want to maintain the way things are. I don't want to disrupt someone else's life because of my own feelings."

Tang Qiqi could hardly believe her ears. "For such a ridiculous reason? What if he likes you too? What if he's thinking the same thing as you? Then you'll both miss your chance. Would you be okay with that?"

She let out a soft sigh. "Let's just leave it. I don't dare hope for things that are too happy. I'm afraid it will all just end in emptiness."

Gazing at the sudden sorrow on her friend's face, Qiqi noticed for the first time that a faint melancholy always seemed to linger in her brow. She was, in fact, very good at hiding her emotions. Who was the real her?

Class was in session, and the room was silent. Outside, the cicadas buzzed endlessly in the trees, their drone grating on the nerves. Qianzhi kept her head down, concentrating on her exercises. Tang Qiqi, beside her, nudged her gently with her shoulder. She looked up, and a note appeared before her eyes: "Guess who I just saw in the hallway?"

Qianzhi glanced at her and shook her head. Qiqi took the note back, gave her a mysterious wink, and bent down to write: "Zhong Mingjie! He said their basketball team has a game after school and hopes we'll go watch. It's in the indoor court. Let's go?"

Qianzhi looked at the note, thought for a moment, and wrote back: "But aren't we both on cleaning duty today?"

Qiqi saw it immediately, took the note, and drew a big, exaggerated grimace. Below it, she wrote a sentence: "No matter what, we have to go. This is a great chance to get close to him!"

Qianzhi read it, smiled, and said no more.

"Hurry! The game starts in five minutes." Tang Qiqi dropped her broom, grabbed Qianzhi, and started running.

"Qiqi! Slow down, this is dangerous!" Qianzhi warned, dragged along and out of breath. Although school had been out for a while and most students were gone, sprinting through the hallways like this still carried the risk of running into someone.

"No time... We'll be late if we don't hurry..."

It all happened in a flash. As they rounded a corner on the staircase, several figures suddenly appeared. Tang Qiqi, running in front, managed to dodge aside just in time, but Qianzhi, unable to stop, crashed heavily into them.

*Thud!*

Qianzhi, who had fallen to the ground, scrambled to her feet and instinctively began to apologize. "I'm so—"

"What the hell!" A furious voice cut off her apology. She looked up and met the familiar, fierce face of Xing Tuo.

"Qianzhi, are you okay? Which idiot just came running—" Tang Qiqi turned around angrily, but when she saw who it was, she sucked in a sharp breath, her voice trailing off into silence.

At that moment, Xing Tuo also saw who had run into him. It was her—Xia Qianzhi.

The air seemed to congeal.

Finally, it was Shen Xinghao, standing to the side, who spoke first. "It's you, Qianzhi. I heard Xing Yun say you were transferring to our school this semester. I didn't expect we'd meet under these circumstances. Are you all right?"

"So you're Qianzhi. I've heard so much about you," Lei Xi said with a smile, casting an amused glance at Xing Tuo's suddenly frigid expression.

Qianzhi had a gut feeling that this person's smile was a bit glaring.

"Don't you know how to apologize when you run into someone? You have no upbringing. I truly wonder how your mother raised you!" Xing Tuo's voice was mocking, his gaze cold as ice.

Qianzhi bit her lip, took a deep breath, and looked straight at him. He always knew exactly how to provoke her! She knew nothing good ever came from running into him.

An invisible chill coiled around them, the atmosphere so strange it was suffocating.

"An apology depends on who it's for. Not just any Tom, Dick, or Harry deserves one." Her tone was ice-cold. She and her mother had suffered enough grievances over the years. Why should she have to take this from him here and now?

Xing Tuo closed the distance, a dangerous glint in his eyes. At 185 centimeters, he loomed over her 160. She stood her ground stubbornly, telling herself she would not retreat another step.

"What did you say? Say that again."

"It will be the same no matter how many times I say it. I have no desire to repeat myself," she said faintly.

Suddenly, Xing Tuo smiled. It was a hair-raising smile.

"Xia Qianzhi, you've really got some nerve. Much better than that cowardly mother of yours! But one day, you will regret the words you've spoken. You'd better remember that." The words were vicious, yet his tone was impossibly soft.

"Let's go," Xing Tuo said, then turned and walked away on his own.

Shen Xinghao watched the unusually behaved Xing Tuo with concern. He exchanged a glance with Lei Xi, and without another word, they followed.

"See you, Qianzhi!" Lei Xi called out with a smile as he left.

In a blink, the three towering figures disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Tang Qiqi watched the stone-faced Qianzhi with unease. She had so many questions, but a Qianzhi like this was frightening.

They walked on in silence, both having forgotten about the basketball game.

"You must find it strange, don't you? He and I are half-siblings, same father. And he... has always hated me." After what felt like an eternity, Qianzhi spoke faintly, her face devoid of any expression.

"You're saying... you and Xing Tuo are..." Tang Qiqi's eyes widened in astonishment. She swallowed hard, unable to process the revelation.

Qianzhi nodded, and Tang Qiqi fell silent.

"I know you're siblings, but who knows what terrible things he might do to you if you provoke him," Tang Qiqi said worriedly.

"I'm not afraid of him."

"You have no idea how terrifying he can be. Back then..."

"No matter what, I'm not afraid of him," Qianzhi cut her off. She had truly had enough after all these years. It was time to let him know that she was not to be trifled with.

"What did you say? My brother really said that?" Xing Yun stared at Shen Xinghao, her voice rising. Shen Xinghao nodded. "He did."

"Then what do we do? Oh god!" She paced the room nervously. "This won't do. I have to go find Dad before he does something terrible!"

Shen Xinghao grabbed her arm. "Can you calm down? Maybe he was just talking tough. After all, Xia Qianzhi is your sister, and Tuo's."

Xing Yun violently shook off his hand. "How can I be calm! You know him better than anyone! With my brother's utterly fearless personality, is there anything he isn't capable of doing? Besides, he's never acknowledged Qianzhi as his sister! You remember what happened two years ago, don't you?" The memory made her shiver.

Back then, as a new first-year in high school, he was already arrogant and domineering. A senior tried to put him in his place, and he attacked him. He was like a man possessed; no one dared to intervene. In the end, right in front of everyone, he beat that student to death. She had been there too—the middle school and high school were connected. By the time she was called to the scene, the senior was already lying on the ground, covered in blood, completely unable to fight back. No matter how desperately she cried and screamed for him to stop, it was as if he'd lost his mind and couldn't hear her. A cold smile was fixed on his lips. She would never forget that bloody scene for as long as she lived. Or that terrifying smile—it gave her nightmares for days. Afterward, their family used every connection they had, spent countless sums of money, and hired all the most famous lawyers. In the end, that, combined with the fact that he was still a minor, got the charge reduced to manslaughter. Her maternal uncle also used his political influence to keep it out of the media.

Recalling that incident, Shen Xinghao also frowned. "Don't imagine the worst, alright? That and this are two completely different things. Besides, with me and Xi around, we won't let him do anything that terrible. Don't worry."

"No! I can't stop worrying. I think I'd better go find Dad after all!" With that, she rushed for the door.

"It's no use going to your dad now! If Tuo denies it, what can your father do? Nothing has actually happened yet! Think about it, would Uncle Xing ever believe that Tuo would hurt his own sister?"

His words stopped Xing Yun in her tracks. He was right. Her father would probably just think she was overreacting. But she was genuinely worried. If something really happened to Qianzhi, how could she ever face Auntie Wei? Their family already owed that mother and daughter far, far too much.