When Chu Qing returned after eating, there was a box of walnut cookies on her desk. She stared at it expressionlessly for a moment, very much wanting to throw the thing in the trash.
After Qi Weichen entered the classroom, he followed her gaze and paused when he saw the walnut cookies on her desk: "It wasn't me."
"...I didn't say it was," Chu Qing mumbled, not looking at his face.
Just as she sat down, someone jumped up and raised their hand: "It was me..."
Chu Qing paused, and when she turned to look, she saw the Lackey who had just returned from outside grinning and pointing at the cool guy next to him: "The boss bought it."
Seeing her looking at him, Qi Muyang pretended to casually look away, but his eyes kept glancing at her.
Chu Qing was silent for a moment: "Why?"
"You got punished this morning because of him, so the boss felt really guilty and bought you a little snack. He hopes you won't be mad at him anymore," the Lackey, as Qi Muyang's number one sidekick, took on the task of explaining without hesitation.
Qi Muyang, who had been trying to act cool nearby, noticed her expression had improved a lot and immediately seized the opportunity: "I really didn't mean to, don't take it to heart. Walnuts are good for the brain, eat more."
Chu Qing: "..."
Qi Weichen: "..."
Even by the time the first class started, Qi Muyang still couldn't figure out why, when he had almost succeeded in appeasing her, he suddenly failed. He spent the entire class secretly glancing at Chu Qing, completely neglecting his studies... Of course, even if he wasn't glancing at Chu Qing, he wouldn't have been studying anyway.
Qi Muyang was like a silly cat who had done something naughty, looking furtive and thinking he was hiding it well. A hint of amusement flashed in Chu Qing's eyes as she found him increasingly entertaining.
In truth, she was just a bit irritable from having her nap interrupted, not really angry at him. But she didn't plan to tell him that yet. Tired and sleepy, she needed a loyal little slave to watch the teacher for her. Qi Muyang looked like someone who didn't learn his lesson easily, so rather than dealing with him now, she might as well take advantage of his guilty conscience first.
"Hey," Chu Qing glanced at him sideways.
Qi Muyang startled but tried to act nonchalant: "What?"
"Keep an eye on the teacher for me, I'm going to sleep," Chu Qing said and then put her head down.
Qi Muyang paused, grumbling unhappily: "Why should I..."
However, despite his words of protest, he was more diligent than anyone when it came to standing guard. At the slightest movement, he would immediately wake Chu Qing up, becoming the loyal little slave she had wished for.
Thanks to him, Chu Qing slept well through two consecutive classes and quickly regained her energy. The second break was a long one, with twenty minutes of rest time. After waking up, Chu Qing's mind was still a bit foggy. As soon as class ended, she stood up with her water cup: "Move aside."
Qi Muyang immediately made way for her. After watching her walk to the water dispenser, he frowned and poked Qi Weichen's back with his pen: "Hey."
Qi Weichen turned around, looking at him with cold eyes.
"...Don't stare at me like that," it always made him feel like he was having a staring contest with his dad, how could they communicate like this? Qi Muyang's mouth twitched, and noticing Chu Qing was about to return, he quickly lowered his voice and said to Qi Weichen, "Her temper is even more grudge-holding than mine. Since you're quite familiar with her, help me persuade her not to be so petty."
As he spoke, Chu Qing had already finished a cup of water and was refilling it to return. Qi Muyang quickly poked Qi Weichen in the back again.
Qi Weichen glanced at him, calmly stood up, and as Chu Qing walked past, he slowly began to speak: "He already knows he was wrong..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Chu Qing had already whisked past him without even a sidelong glance. The classmates in the back two rows who had been watching later reported that they only felt a desolate breeze blow by, and the scene was very awkward, extremely awkward.
A faint, indiscernible ripple appeared in Qi Weichen's eyes, and it took him a while to slowly sit down. Qi Muyang looked at these two with a strange expression, and after understanding what had happened, he genuinely cursed under his breath.
...So he had also made her angry, yet he was still blabbering advice to him. If he was really that capable, why hadn't he appeased her himself? Qi Muyang had a belly full of complaints about him, but seeing his straight and lonely back, he suddenly felt a bit sorry for him for some reason.
Tch, better to rely on oneself than on others. He decided not to seek outside help anymore.
As soon as the class bell rang, Qi Muyang started scribbling in a small notebook. Chu Qing, who was now wide awake, curiously glanced at him, and the notebook was promptly pushed in front of her. There was a line written on it:
'I've apologized, bought you snacks too. If you still ignore me, don't blame me for not being nice!'
...This was indeed a very Qi Muyang-style apology. Chu Qing, in a good mood after her nap, curved her lips and wrote back: I can forgive you, but answer a question for me first.
Qi Muyang glanced at the notebook, raised his eyebrows at her like she had done, indicating for her to ask. Chu Qing then wrote on the notebook: Walnuts are good for the brain, but whose brain?
Qi Muyang was about to answer that it was for her brain, but as he was about to write, a flash of inspiration hit him, and he suddenly had the perfect answer: For my brain, I'm not very smart.
Chu Qing was thoroughly satisfied. She raised her chin at him, indicating that she wasn't angry anymore. Qi Muyang stared at her for a while, unable to hold back his laughter: "...Damn."
With this, the two had cleared up their misunderstanding and quickly returned to their previous mode of interaction, as if they had never quarreled in the first place. However, it wasn't so easy for Qi Weichen. Although Chu Qing sat diagonally behind him, she never acknowledged him once.
Under her disregard, Qi Weichen seemed normal, except his gaze was more indifferent than usual, and the aura around him seemed to be mixed with ice shards, making Chen Xiu next to him shiver.
Another day of early self-study, when Chu Qing entered the classroom, she saw a plastic bag full of snacks on her seat. She paused and asked Qi Muyang beside her, puzzled: "Did you buy this?"
"Qi Weichen," Qi Muyang mumbled, dozing on his desk.
Chu Qing blinked, then sat down and put the bag by her feet. Seeing her normal expression, Qi Muyang couldn't help but ask: "What did he do to make you so angry?"
"I'm not angry," Chu Qing said, but her face grew stern.
Qi Muyang sneered: "Huh."
"...Forget it if you don't believe me." Chu Qing couldn't be bothered to explain to him and glanced at him sideways before listlessly putting her head down. Of course she was angry. The same words from Qi Muyang might have been unintentional, but coming from Qi Weichen, it meant he really thought that way.
If he thought her brain wasn't good, why did he date her in the first place? Only after breaking up did he start mocking her intelligence, what was he doing before? Of course, she wasn't just angry at Qi Weichen, but more at herself.
...The half year of dating had been really miserable, but that night when she saw Qi Weichen's face, her heart still couldn't help but race. She had no sense at all, how could she not be angry at herself?
Chu Qing pouted, deciding not to think about these vexing matters for now. She didn't acknowledge Qi Weichen all day, and when the last evening self-study class ended, she shoved the plastic bag into his arms, glanced at him sideways, and ran off.
Qi Weichen looked at the bag that suddenly appeared in his arms, his cool eyes showing no emotion, but people passing by him all quietly moved a bit further away.
When he returned to the dormitory carrying the plastic bag, Qi Muyang was already there, lying on the bed playing a game. Hearing movement at the door, he glanced over, and seeing the plastic bag in Qi Weichen's hand, he was stunned: "She gave it back to you?"
Qi Weichen lowered his eyes as he walked in, silently sitting down on a chair.
Qi Muyang glanced at him again, then focused on the battle in his game. Twenty minutes later, when the game ended, he saw Qi Weichen still sitting there... this habit of just sitting there stupidly when unhappy was exactly like their dad.
Qi Muyang clicked his tongue, impatiently walked over, and snatched the plastic bag away, picking out one he liked and starting to eat: "How did you make her angry?"
Qi Weichen pondered for a moment: "Probably because of the walnut cookies."
Qi Muyang: "...Also walnut cookies?"
"Mm."
"What did you say to her? About brain health?" Qi Muyang looked at him strangely.
Qi Weichen fell silent. The two stared at each other in silence, and after a brief pause, Qi Muyang clicked his tongue and lowered his head to continue eating the snacks: "Sending snacks doesn't work, just look at me. You still need to coax her."
"How do I coax her?" Qi Weichen asked.
Qi Muyang paused for a moment, then looked up at him with a smirk, speaking rather arrogantly, "Beg me. If you beg, I'll tell you."
This person always had an air of disregarding everything, as if no one was worthy of his attention. Now that he actually needed someone's help, how could Qi Muyang easily let him off the hook? Given his personality, he definitely wouldn't be able to utter words of begging, so he would just...
"I beg you," Qi Weichen said flatly.
Qi Muyang, who was still thinking about how to tease him, was stunned. "What?"
"I beg you," Qi Weichen calmly repeated.
Qi Muyang: "..." Just like that? So easy? Why did it feel like punching a pillow?
Surprised that Qi Weichen had given in so quickly, Qi Muyang was confused. By the time he realized it, he had already told him how to appease Chu Qing.
"Really?" Qi Weichen frowned, looking as if he didn't quite trust the method.
Qi Muyang glanced at him sideways. "Believe it or not, it's up to you."
Qi Weichen lowered his eyes thoughtfully, considering the speed at which they had reconciled, and decided to try it the next day.
The following day at noon, when Chu Qing was returning to her dormitory after lunch, she encountered Qi Weichen. She saw him standing like a white poplar under the sun, still holding the plastic bag from yesterday, though for some reason, the bag looked much smaller than before.
The midday sun was at its fiercest. His temples were soaked with sweat, and his usually pale skin had taken on a faint pink hue. Who knew how long he had been standing there? Chu Qing pursed her lips. She had initially intended to ignore him but eventually walked over. "Waiting for me?"
"Mm," Qi Weichen's gaze was deep, never leaving her since she appeared.
Chu Qing glanced at him and said with a straight face, "Do you need something?"
Qi Weichen silently held her gaze for a long while, then suddenly said, "I eat walnut cookies, I'm the one who needs brain nourishment."
Chu Qing: "?"
She was stunned for a while. When she finally understood his meaning, she let out a cold laugh. A few days without talking, and this guy had learned sarcasm?
Her reaction wasn't quite what Qi Muyang had predicted. Qi Weichen paused for a moment before slowly saying, "Qi Muyang taught me to say that."
"..."
