"So what's going on? What flu? What quarantine?" Little Chu Qing suddenly had many questions.
Qi Weichen, feeling a bit better after a night's sleep, leaned against his pillow and frowned as he opened his phone to check the news. After they had time-traveled, they hadn't used the phones they brought with them, leaving them at home in 2042. When they suddenly returned, they hadn't brought the phones, but fortunately, he had several old phones, so they each took one to use for now.
After reading some news, Qi Weichen slowly said, "The news came out on the 28th, but I was busy helping you find suitable review materials those days, so I didn't pay attention. You love being online so much, why didn't you know about this?"
"I was busy... busy thinking about how to break up with you those days," Chu Qing said softly.
Although the breakup was in the past, every time he heard her mention those two words, Qi Weichen still instinctively felt displeased. Chu Qing coughed and quickly changed the subject: "Surely they must notify people before quarantine, right? As a resident of this community, why didn't you know?"
"Didn't log into WeChat," Qi Weichen calmly replied, then opened the app on his old phone, logged in, and said flatly, "There's a notice in the residents' group, I just didn't know."
"...So what do we do now?" Chu Qing looked at him speechlessly.
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment: "Get up, I'll take you out."
"Is that okay?" Chu Qing was a bit uncertain.
Qi Weichen nodded: "You're not from this community, it should be fine."
Seeing him so certain, Chu Qing felt a bit more at ease. After changing her clothes, she quickly followed him out the door.
Ten minutes later, facing the inquiries of the staff on duty, Qi Weichen honestly answered, "Yes, I had a low fever yesterday, but it's gone today."
"...You had a fever, so she was in close contact with you, right?" The staff member's expression became more serious when looking at Chu Qing.
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment: "I probably just got sick from not dressing warmly enough."
"I'm sorry, we can't be certain about that at the moment, but since you had a fever and she was in close contact with you, for the sake of others, I suggest you both go back and self-isolate for now," the staff member said officially.
Chu Qing became anxious: "But, but I'm not from this community!"
"There's nothing we can do about that. You're visiting relatives, right? The whole of City A is under quarantine now. Even if you go home, you'll just be staying indoors, so you might as well stay here for now," the staff member said.
Seeing that the other party wouldn't budge, they had no choice but to return home together. On the way, Chu Qing couldn't help complaining: "Why did you tell him about the fever? Everyone's already so cautious about the flu, now that you've said that, they definitely won't let me leave."
"In times of national crisis, we must tell the truth," Qi Weichen gave her eight words.
Chu Qing's lips moved, but in the end, she just sighed deeply: "But you clearly know why you got sick."
"I know, that's why I reported the situation truthfully, to avoid causing them trouble," Qi Weichen's voice softened.
Chu Qing was anxious about going home, but also felt he was right. After struggling for a moment, she couldn't help but rub her face in frustration: "So what do we do now? If I'm quarantined with you, my mom will definitely kill me!"
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of a WeChat video call rang out. She jumped in fright and quickly hung up. The phone was quiet for three seconds before ringing again.
Chu Qing carried her phone like a bomb all the way back to Qi Weichen's house. Only when she sat down on the sofa did she tearfully click to accept the call. Her mother's voice immediately came through the phone—
"You little brat, where did you run off to? Disappearing early in the morning, come back right now! There are viruses everywhere outside, you're not allowed to go anywhere after you come back!"
Mother paused after speaking, suddenly realizing something was wrong: "Let me see what's behind you, are you at someone's house?"
"Mom, I might not be able to come back," Chu Qing said pitifully like a little lamb, "I came to see a friend, but ran into the quarantine and got isolated at his house."
Qi Weichen paused when he heard how she defined their relationship, but didn't say anything.
Mother frowned as she looked at her daughter: "Which friend's house?"
"Just... a normal friend," Chu Qing said, then felt Qi Weichen's gloomy gaze and couldn't help but swallow.
Mother had raised her for over a decade and immediately saw something was off. She coldly said, "Chu Qing, call your friend over."
"Mom..."
"Hurry up!"
Chu Qing's hand trembled as she looked timidly at Qi Weichen. Just as she was debating whether to ask him to show his face, Qi Weichen graciously took the phone and politely greeted the mother on the screen: "Hello, Auntie. My name is Qi Weichen, I'm Chu Qing's friend."
Hearing him emphasize the word 'friend', Chu Qing silently shrank away.
There was a moment of silence from the phone, then Mother's calm voice came through: "Please give the phone to my daughter."
Qi Weichen paused, then obediently handed the phone back to Chu Qing, who was almost scared to tears: "Mom..."
"You were wearing his clothes yesterday?" Mother interrupted her.
Chu Qing carefully glanced at Qi Weichen and lied: "No."
Qi Weichen's eyes darkened for a moment.
The phone went quiet again, and just as Chu Qing was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Mother suddenly exploded: "Chu Qing, you little brat! Do you think your mom's forty-plus years of life have been for nothing?! His hoodie is the same brand as the down jacket you wore yesterday! Stop lying to me!"
Chu Qing was so startled that her hand shook and the phone fell to the ground.
Qi Weichen glanced at her and picked up the phone. He calmly looked at the furious mother on the screen. Seeing his face, Mother fell silent again.
"Auntie, it's all my fault. Please don't be angry with Chu Qing," Qi Weichen said slowly. He looked very calm, but his fingers holding the phone were white from gripping it so tightly.
Hearing him speak, Mother calmed down a bit: "Let me ask you, how far have you two gone?"
Qi Weichen was about to speak when Chu Qing hurriedly said: "We're just normal friends, how far could we have gone?"
"Chu Qing, if you lie to me one more time, don't bother coming home ever again," Mother threatened coldly.
Chu Qing immediately didn't dare speak. Ignoring the meaningful looks she was giving him, Qi Weichen honestly answered Mother's question: "We're together, but we haven't had sex."
Hearing him be so direct, Chu Qing was about to lose it: "Hey, Qi Weichen..."
"You be quiet!" Mother scolded her, and she immediately didn't dare make a sound.
Qi Weichen frowned slightly, hiding his faint displeasure: "Auntie, she's very well-behaved. Please don't yell at her."
"I can't even scold my own daughter?" Mother retorted, though her tone towards him had softened. "Let me ask you, when did you two start dating?"
"Not long after the start of our senior year," Qi Weichen answered.
Chu Qing covered her face in despair, feeling she was truly doomed.
Hearing this, Mother was about to explode again, but then suddenly realized something: "Chu Qing's grades seemed to improve a bit in the first half of the year. She kept bringing home study materials."
"She improved by twenty places. I prepared the study materials for her," Qi Weichen replied.
Though they were talking about recent report cards, it had actually been over a year since their final exams in 2019. Chu Qing was surprised he remembered so clearly, and felt an untimely sweetness in her heart.
Mother was silent for a moment: "Is it related to dating you?"
"Yes, I've been tutoring her," Qi Weichen said, suddenly grasping how to please his future mother-in-law, "She came to see me today for tutoring too. She's been improving quickly lately. When school starts again, she should be able to rank in the top ten of our class."
"Her? Even if you want to sweet talk me, at least find a better excuse," Mother scoffed.
"Auntie, I'm the top student in our grade at school," Qi Weichen said calmly.
Mother was immediately speechless.
Chu Qing had a sudden inspiration and quickly leaned into the phone screen: "Mom, he's amazing. He's not just the top student at our school, he was also first in science for all of City A in the last unified exam. If he performs steadily in the college entrance exam, he'll definitely be the top science student."
"Who are you trying to fool? Why would the top science student date you?" Mother exclaimed in disbelief.
Chu Qing was silent for a moment, then said sincerely, "It's because I'm good-looking, isn't it?"
A hint of amusement flashed in Qi Weichen's eyes, and the gloom he felt earlier due to her not admitting to their relationship completely disappeared.
Mother had calmed down considerably, and Chu Qing boldly said, "Mom, don't worry. Even if we're quarantined together, we won't do anything bad before the college entrance exam. I need to save my energy to get into A University."
"You still think you can get into A University? I don't even expect you to get into any university, and now you're aiming for a top school?" Mother's voice sounded more relaxed.
Chu Qing was dissatisfied: "Don't underestimate me. I've been improving really fast lately. You'll see when school starts."
"We'll talk about that when school starts. You two can't be quarantined alone together. I don't trust it," Mother frowned. "Your father and I will think of something, see if we can bring you back home."
"Mom..."
"Enough, no more arguments. I'm going to discuss this with your father." With that, Mother abruptly hung up the phone.
Chu Qing immediately let out a sigh of relief: "She loves children who do well in school. When she hears how good your grades are, she should start to like you. Don't worry."
"You seem to be the one who's more relieved," Qi Weichen calmly pointed out.
Chu Qing gave him a sidelong glance: "And whose fault is that? If you hadn't suddenly fallen ill, I wouldn't have come to find you, and now Mom's discovered we're dating because of this."
"I'll take responsibility for you," Qi Weichen said softly.
Chu Qing scoffed: "Who needs you to take responsibility? My parents will definitely come to take me back."
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment: "It probably won't be that easy."
"How could it not be? With my parents on the case, it'll definitely work out. This outbreak is quite serious. After I leave, we probably won't be able to see each other for a long time. Take good care of yourself, okay?" Chu Qing cupped his face as she spoke, unable to hold back her laughter. Under his supervision, she had to study even during summer vacation. Now, finally free from his monitoring, she could properly relax.
A hint of amusement flashed in Qi Weichen's eyes: "I think you're giving your farewell speech too early."
Chu Qing let out a light snort, not taking his words seriously. She calmly waited for her parents to come and take her home. However, as evening approached, no one had arrived. Instead, she received another video call from Mother. This time, both parents were sitting in front of the phone, looking at her with serious expressions: "He had a fever before?"
"...Yes, but it was just a normal fever. He caught a cold the day before yesterday because he wasn't dressed warmly enough. He's better now." Chu Qing quickly explained, afraid they would worry about her.
Hearing this, her parents' expressions relaxed slightly, but they still didn't look happy. Chu Qing cautiously asked, "What's wrong?"
"He had a fever, and you've had too much contact with him. Their community won't let you leave. You'll have to quarantine with him," Father said stiffly.
Chu Qing swallowed: "For... for how long?"
"Until the quarantine is lifted," Father said, then his face suddenly darkened. "Get him over here."
Chu Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, "If you have something to say, you can just tell me. Why do you need to call him? Let me be clear, I won't do anything bad, and don't try to force us to break up. I won't agree to it!"
She had lied before when trying to keep it a secret, but now that they had been found out, she naturally had to stand her ground. Qi Weichen, who was preparing dinner, heard this and looked at her tenderly.
Drawing courage from his gaze, Chu Qing took a deep breath and said to her parents, "I want to be with him!"
"You!" Father's face turned purple with anger. "I didn't say you had to break up! Get him over here! If you two are going to be quarantined together, I need to know his basic information!"
Chu Qing hesitated for a moment, torn about whether to call him over. Just then, Qi Weichen took the phone from her. He sat properly on the sofa, holding the phone and politely greeting, "Hello, Uncle. Hello, Aunt."
"So you're Qi Weichen?" Father frowned. "I just asked your homeroom teacher. Your grades are very good."
Qi Weichen nodded politely.
Father looked at him disapprovingly: "How tall are you?"
"Over 185 centimeters, I think. I measured my height over a year ago and haven't measured since, so I'm not sure if I've grown," Qi Weichen answered.
Father clicked his tongue: "What do your parents do?"
"My father is a university professor, and my mother is in business," Qi Weichen seemed to know what they wanted to ask, so he answered directly without waiting for them to continue. "They divorced a few years ago. I don't know if they'll remarry in the future, but currently, they both have their own lives. I've been living alone since I was very young."
"Then how do you eat usually?" Mother couldn't help but interject, her eyes inadvertently revealing her concern.
Qi Weichen replied gently: "I can cook."
"So you're alone now?" Father asked again, his brow furrowing even deeper.
Qi Weichen paused for a moment: "I have the ability to live independently. Currently, this apartment is 130 square meters and is my personal property. Before my grandfather passed away, he also left me two properties and some stocks and funds, which is enough for Chu Qing and me to live on."
"...Who asked about your financial situation? You're just a high school student, you're thinking too far ahead," Father snorted lightly.
Chu Qing couldn't help but quip: "If you don't care about the financial situation, why did you relax so much when you heard he's rich?"
"Be quiet, who do you think I'm doing this for?" Father glared at her.
Chu Qing stuck out her tongue at him and obediently sat down next to Qi Weichen without saying a word. Seeing her so outgoing, Father felt his chest tighten with anger. Mother's attitude, however, had softened considerably: "How many times have you dated before? Be honest, Uncle and Aunt can tell if you're lying."
"Chu Qing is my first love," Qi Weichen paused after speaking, "and she'll be my only love for life."
Chu Qing giggled happily.
Mother glanced at her askance and spoke slowly: "From what I've seen, your family is wealthy, your grades are excellent, and you're tall and handsome. You seem to have a bright future ahead of you, right?"
Qi Weichen wasn't sure whether he should nod, but Chu Qing beside him kept agreeing enthusiastically.
Mother and Father exchanged a glance, finally voicing their heartfelt confusion: "So, being so outstanding yourself, why would you be interested in Chu Qing, this good-for-nothing little troublemaker?"
Chu Qing: "..." Who... who's a good-for-nothing little troublemaker?
