Su Qingyu turned her head to look, while letting go of Qiao Lingling at the same time.
The girl on the stairs was facing them, standing against the light, her face not very clear, but Su Qingyu still recognized Qiao Ying.
Wasn't this the one who had squeezed her out of the school belle position and leapt to become the most popular figure on campus?
"Sister, please save me quickly, they want to beat me up." Qiao Lingling pleaded to Qiao Ying for help in tears, clinging to her like a lifebuoy.
"Sister? She's actually your sister?" Su Qingyu sneered coldly.
She thought, sure enough, like sister, like sister – both so annoying.
She stepped forward with her arms akimbo, looking at Qiao Ying, her stance was as if Qiao Ying dared intervene, she would take care of Qiao Ying as well.
Qiao Ying just paused slightly, glanced indifferently, then walked straight past them as if she didn't even recognize Qiao Lingling.
Su Qingyu was thrilled and turned back to appreciate the despair on Qiao Lingling's face.
"Not bad, like sister, like sister indeed. What a pair of cowards, and here I thought she was somebody."
"Let's count it as her running fast enough today. Otherwise I'd have taken care of her as well. I'll settle the score with you first today and find your sister to settle up afterwards."
Xu Zhiyi saw Qiao Lingling on his way back to the lab.
As a result, when Qiao Lingling heard Xu Zhiyi calling her, she hesitated, then quickened her pace and ran away without looking back.
Sensing something wrong, Xu Zhiyi caught up.
"What happened to your face?"
Qiao Lingling covered her reddened cheek where she had been grabbed, turning her face away.
"It's nothing, just bumped it by accident."
"It was Su Qingyu, wasn't it?" Xu Zhiyi said angrily: "I'm going to find her."
Qiao Lingling grabbed Xu Zhiyi's hand, "Teacher Xu, don't go."
"This is school, not her personal playground for bullying others as she pleases." Xu Zhiyi was prepared to inform the principal.
Qiao Lingling pleaded in tears: "Teacher Xu, I beg you, they won't let me off if you do. I'm just an ordinary person with no power or connections. I can't win against them. Just pretend you didn't see anything, don't get involved."
Seeing her state, Xu Zhiyi could only placate Qiao Lingling first.
After Qiao Lingling calmed down, she said, "Weren't you saying you wanted to discuss a question with me? Give me the question and I'll study it when I get back."
Xu Zhiyi was a little surprised. Previously when he had wanted to ask Qiao Lingling for help with questions, she had always found various excuses to decline.
Xu Zhiyi could only assume she had spent too much energy in the past two months solving that question on the forum and needed time to recharge.
Since she had brought it up herself this time, Xu Zhiyi also dispelled certain doubts in his mind and nodded, "Alright, I'll send it to you later."
Qiao Ying finished lunch and came out of the cafeteria.
"Sister--" Qiao Lingling, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed over.
Qiao Ying ignored her directly and walked past her.
Like chewing gum, Qiao Lingling stuck to her, "Sister, sister, why didn't you help me earlier? I'm your sister..."
Qiao Lingling's eyes were still red, her voice choked with sobs. Gone was her previous harshness and arrogance towards Qiao Ying. She seemed weak all of a sudden.
She didn't even dare show resentment on her face, only grievance.
"Why should I help you? In the past when I was bullied at school, which time did you not run even faster than a dog when you saw it happening?"
After saying this, Qiao Ying lifted her foot to leave again.
Qiao Lingling persisted in following her, "Sister, sister, I was wrong, I really know I was wrong. I was just too scared to come out and help you before. People all say that there's no siblings who don't fight and quarrel. We are blood sisters, we are family, even when the bones are broken the tendons are still connected."
Qiao Ying had influence. Even the mayor of Yuncheng City was respectfully calling her Miss Qiao. She needed Qiao Ying's protection at Peking University. Even if it meant Qiao Ying and Su Qingyu mutually destroying each other, that would work too.
She needed Qiao Ying's help to solve questions even more. Xu Zhiyi must already be getting suspicious. If she didn't do something soon, she would be exposed before long.
"I didn't know better in the past. Now I truly realize my mistakes. From now on I will change. I'm apologizing to you. I will make it up to you properly. Please forgive me and let's get along well from now on, okay?"
Qiao Lingling wept piteously, looking quite pitiful.
It made people almost unable to bear not pitying her when they saw her like this.
Qiao Ying stopped and looked at her tearful and weak appearance. She grabbed Qiao Lingling's hand that was clutching her clothes, clutching it tighter and tighter.
Seeing the hopeful and delighted look in Qiao Lingling's eyes, Qiao Ying shook her hand forcefully and flung Qiao Lingling's hand away abruptly, almost sending the girl stumbling.
Qiao Lingling played the weak act to the end. Taking the opportunity to lose her balance, she deliberately fell sitting on the ground, eyes brimming with tears, trying to elicit some sympathy from Qiao Ying.
"Forgiveness? What nerve you've got to say that?"
Qiao Ying squatted down expressionlessly before her, "From when we were young till now, how you've bullied me, shall I help you recall it?"
As she spoke, Qiao Ying raised her hand.
Qiao Lingling was so frightened that she used her arms to shield her head, afraid of being slapped by Qiao Ying.
Qiao Ying gave a cold mocking laugh.
Seeing that Qiao Ying did not actually hit her, Qiao Lingling slowly put her arms back down bit by bit, "Sister...I really was wrong..."
"Don't call me sister. I only have one brother, Qiao Yi."
Next, Qiao Ying leaned to Qiao Lingling's ear and said coldly, "If you dare try any more tricks with me, I'll twist your neck off."
Qiao Lingling couldn't help shivering.
By the time she came back to her senses, Qiao Ying had already walked far away.
Watching Qiao Ying's disappearing back, Qiao Lingling's crying and tears stopped almost instantly.
She clenched her fists tightly, hatred growing in her gloomy eyes.
Qiao Ying had asked for leave on the first day of night self-study and left school after the last big lecture ended, a little past 5 pm.
She took a taxi to Mingshan Hall and handed Older Ming two new medicinal formulas, grabbing new medicine for Qiao Yi.
Older Ming was very interested in her medicinal formulas, but since Qiao Ying had not been willing to disclose the last time, Older Ming did not ask further.
Qiao Ying was in quite a good mood today, so she took the initiative to chat with him about these two formulas and resolve his doubts. Older Ming was overjoyed, as if awakened to sudden understanding. He quickly invited her into the tea room and served her hot tea.
In the end, he even took out a notebook and carefully took notes, "So these two medicines can produce such an effect when used together."
As Older Ming exclaimed admiringly while taking notes, he held the notebook as if it were a priceless treasure, frankly saying it was nice meeting her, even if belatedly.
"I really didn't expect that Miss Qiao is so accomplished and has such deep insights in traditional Chinese medicine at such a young age, more so than I, an old fogey."
With just one oral "info dump", Qiao Ying had completely won Older Ming over. He marveled at the young overtaking the old in excellence. They finally had new blood in the field of traditional Chinese medicine.
"So Miss Qiao is from the Peking University School of Medicine?"
"No, the School of Computer Science."
"Ah? Computer Science?" Older Ming was stunned.
Qiao Ying checked the time. She still had to go mail medicine, so she bid Older Ming goodbye.
Qin Yuchen strode into Mingshan Hall only to see Older Ming smilingly sending off a girl.
The girl was very pretty. She had an air of aloofness and nonconformity that was quite captivating.
Qin Yuchen couldn't help looking over subconsciously.
Unexpectedly, the girl also looked towards him.
The two made direct eye contact.
Qin Yuchen was taken aback a little. Those eyebrows...seemed familiar to him.
"Miss Qiao is leaving then." Older Ming sent the girl off at the door.
"Young Master Qin is here as well." And then greeted Qin Yuchen.
As a result, Qin Yuchen murmured while staring blankly at Qiao Ying, "Miss Qiao...surname Qiao..." before running out.
Leaving Older Ming utterly confused.
"Wait, please wait!" Qin Yuchen caught up to Qiao Ying.
"Yes?" Qiao Ying looked at him.
Qin Yuchen carefully compared Qiao Ying's features. The more he looked, the more she resembled that person, "Sorry to disturb you, but you...you wouldn't happen to be surnamed Qiao? I don't mean anything bad. It's just you resemble a girl I know very much. She's also surnamed Qiao..."
Before Qin Yuchen could finish,
Qiao Ying said, "No need to ask further, it's me."
