Even as the three of them arrived at the entrance of the supermarket together, Chu Qing's mind was still in a daze. She realized that when she was dating Qi Weichen, they had never gone grocery shopping together... They had been to bookstores, spending entire afternoons on dates buying ten test prep books, which left her with an indelible psychological trauma.
She glanced at Qi Weichen on her left, then at Qi Muyang on her right, standing between the two tall young men, still feeling a sense of unreality.
Seeing her bewildered eyes, Qi Muyang interpreted it as awkwardness from inexperience. He felt an indescribable emotion and, unusually without any impatience, said, "Get whatever you want to eat, as much as you like. I've got this." This statement implied that he would be treating.
Chu Qing looked at him thoughtfully. He seemed to have started acting strangely after they had discussed living expenses. Could it be that—
"Are you pitying me?" she asked directly.
She had meant to speak her mind, but Qi Muyang suddenly exploded: "Who's pitying you! Why the hell would I pity you? What nonsense are you spouting!"
Chu Qing's lips twitched. She wanted to ask why he was reacting so intensely, but before she could speak, Qi Weichen beside her took action first.
Chu Qing felt that everything she saw next seemed to suddenly go into slow motion, and the world fell silent with it. She watched as Qi Weichen reached out his hand, easily passing over her head, and bypassing her to pinch Qi Muyang's face. At the moment he pinched Qi Muyang, time resumed its normal flow, and the noisy sounds returned to her ears.
Accompanying the chaotic sounds of the supermarket was Qi Weichen's cool voice: "Don't use foul language with her."
Chu Qing: "..."
Qi Muyang was petrified. Seeing that he had stopped talking, Qi Weichen finally released his hand. After surveying the supermarket, he calmly walked towards the refrigerators.
After a long moment of rigidity, Qi Muyang let out a throaty: "...What the fuck?"
Chu Qing thought his questioning tone of 'What the fuck' was very appropriate, accurately expressing her current confused and frustrated state of mind. It was worth noting that in her six months of dating Qi Weichen, she had never received such face-pinching treatment. What was the deal with this turkey chick that not only made him treat, but also allowed such intimate gestures?
She looked at Qi Muyang with complex emotions, then saw his face turning red with anger, his colorful hair shaking along with it, fully transforming into a ruffled turkey chick: "What the hell does he mean! What right does he have to pinch my face! I'm gonna fight him..."
"Shh," Chu Qing interrupted him, "Don't you want to see his card balance?"
Suddenly reminded, Qi Muyang's aggressive posture froze, making him look not very bright. Chu Qing glanced at him, thinking that they say boys inherit their intelligence from their mothers, so this guy's silly behavior probably meant his mother wasn't too smart either.
What a pity, she thought. Although he had a face very similar to Qi Weichen's, his brain was far inferior. With a sense of regret, Chu Qing walked into the supermarket, planning to casually grab a few things to appease the situation and prevent the little turkey from getting ruffled again.
Suddenly, only Qi Muyang was left at the supermarket entrance. After his outburst was interrupted, he also felt it pointless to continue. He rubbed the spot where he had been pinched, following them inside with an unhappy face.
Chu Qing picked up a packet of instant noodles and, upon seeing Qi Weichen, approached him curiously asking, "What exactly is your relationship with Qi Muyang? Why are you so special towards him?"
Qi Weichen, who was checking the production date on a bottle of yogurt, turned his head to look at her upon hearing this. His calm eyes showed no trace of emotion as he said, "You don't know?"
"...Why should I know?" Chu Qing was puzzled, but for some reason felt a bit guilty under his gaze.
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment: "You'll find out."
Chu Qing: "..." She had come to ask him specifically, why was he being so cryptic?
Just as she was about to persevere and ask again, Qi Muyang sauntered in, immediately noticing the instant noodles in her hand: "Fuck, is that all you're eating?"
"What's wrong with it?" Chu Qing raised an eyebrow.
Qi Muyang frowned slightly, then without another word went to the shelves and grabbed a bunch of snacks, piling them directly onto the checkout counter. Chu Qing knew at a glance that he had picked them for her and was about to refuse when she was suddenly gripped by the arm by the person next to her.
The weather was hot, and she was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, her fair and delicate arm exposed. When he suddenly reached out to grasp it, the heat from his palm immediately transferred to her skin. The warm sensation made half of her body stiffen. Qi Weichen had only meant to stop her, but after grabbing her, he paused slightly before slowly releasing her.
"He bought those for you, just take them," he said coolly after letting go of Chu Qing.
Chu Qing's neck was tinged with a faint red as she coughed and said dryly, "Why would I want anything from him?"
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment, only saying: "It's what he should do."
This statement was a bit too strange. Why was it that Qi Muyang buying things for her was something he "should do"? Chu Qing stared at him thoughtfully for a while, then suddenly realized: "I get it."
"What?" Qi Weichen stared at her, his eyes finally showing a hint of emotion.
Chu Qing curled her lips: "You look so alike and have the same surname. You two must be relatives, right? Given the age difference, you're the elder, I'm your classmate, so by extension, I'm also an elder. That's why you think it's normal for him to buy things for me, isn't that right?"
Hearing her conclusion, Qi Weichen remained silent for a long time. He turned and picked up a box of walnut cookies, then stood behind Qi Muyang in the queue. Chu Qing looked at him perplexedly for a while before finally following, eyeing the walnut cookies in his hand and asking, "Don't you dislike walnuts?"
"They're for you," Qi Weichen said without looking at her.
Chu Qing was confused: "Why are you giving them to me?"
"Brain food."
Chu Qing: "?"
"Hey, I'll pay for these. You just pay for the walnut cookies, and we'll call it even," Qi Muyang said casually, leaning against the checkout counter after swiping his ID card, waiting for Qi Weichen to pay.
To remind students to top up their living expenses in time, the school's card reader had a display screen that would show the balance for three seconds after swiping. He had gone through all this trouble just to see how much money Qi Weichen had in those three seconds.
...It probably wouldn't be much, he thought. With how expensive he was to raise, it must already be difficult for his parents. Where would they get so much money for an illegitimate child? While sympathizing with the two of them, Qi Muyang couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of superiority.
Hearing that the main event was about to unfold, Chu Qing also surreptitiously moved closer, pretending to casually glance at the card reader. Qi Weichen took out his ID card from his jacket pocket and swiped it on the machine before entering his password. As he input the password, the two onlookers respectfully averted their eyes, only to snap their gazes back as soon as the sound of button pressing ended—
Then they saw the digits: ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands...
Qi Muyang stared at the six-digit number displayed on the card reader screen, his eyes gradually widening. After a while, another sound escaped his throat: "What the fuck?"
Chu Qing felt that once again, he had used a single phrase to summarize all of her feelings—
Holy crap! The 41-year-old Qi Weichen was so rich that he could casually give his 18-year-old self over a hundred thousand in living expenses, yet he was unwilling to give his former girlfriend a few hundred more each month for food! She had really misjudged him before, thinking he was generous. Now it seemed that even after more than twenty years, he was still holding a grudge over her initiating the breakup!
Qi Muyang's frustration at this moment was no less than Chu Qing's. After the initial shock, he asked indignantly, "Why do you have so much money?!"
"Is it a lot?" Qi Weichen asked in return.
Qi Muyang: "..."
Chu Qing: "..."
Qi Weichen didn't mean anything by it. After all, in 2042, ID cards usually held a person's entire savings, and his savings in 2019 were already several times this amount. So he genuinely didn't think there was anything surprising about it.
However, his words fell on Qi Muyang's ears as extremely arrogant boasting. Qi Muyang's sense of superiority was thoroughly shattered. Even as they returned to the classroom and sat down, he still wore a gloomy expression.
The physics teacher was spouting saliva at the podium, while Chu Qing was dozing off in the corner. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard the person next to her say darkly, "I'm going to make my mom divorce him."
Chu Qing's head nearly slammed onto the desk as she suddenly jolted awake. Hearing Qi Muyang's words, she was confused: "Divorce who? Your dad?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Why?" Chu Qing didn't understand.
Qi Muyang frowned, "There's no reason. We're just getting divorced."
Chu Qing: "..." This kid's brain really is broken.
She yawned, about to offer some advice as an elder to this post-2000s generation kid. But before she could speak, the class suddenly became restless. She paused and looked up, realizing the physics teacher had left and was now standing at the door chatting with their homeroom teacher. Next to them stood a boy with greasy hair who looked rather unkempt.
"Damn, why is he here? Boss, we're not going to be in the same class as 'Failing Grade' again, are we?" The sycophant grimaced as he spoke to Qi Muyang across the aisle.
A flash of disgust crossed Qi Muyang's eyes, but he said nothing.
Chu Qing grew curious: "Failing Grade? That guy outside? Are his grades that bad?" All she could tell was that his hair was very oily.
"He's always been first in our grade, from freshman to senior year. He's never ranked second," Chen Xiu, sitting in front of Chu Qing, turned and said. His eyes were full of envy when speaking of the boy's grades.
Chu Qing raised an eyebrow: "Then why call him 'Failing Grade'?"
"It's what he always says himself. Whenever someone asks him after an exam, he always says he failed. After a while, everyone just started calling him that," the sycophant chimed in, unwilling to be left out.
Chu Qing clicked her tongue: "That is pretty annoying, but it seems tolerable. Why do you all dislike him so much?"
"You'll see in a bit," the sycophant wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Chu Qing's curiosity was thoroughly piqued. She watched with interest as the homeroom teacher brought 'Failing Grade' into the classroom. The class immediately fell silent.
"Zhen Youzhi has transferred from Class 3 today. He'll be studying with you all from now on. Everyone, please welcome him," the homeroom teacher was clearly pleased to have the top student in his class.
A brief chorus of boos erupted from the class, mostly from the back rows. Chu Qing looked at them helplessly, not wanting to join in.
'Failing Grade' seemed completely unaffected. He even cast a contemptuous glance at the back rows: "We're already in our senior year, and studies should be our priority. The classroom is a place for learning. I hope that from now on, everyone can maintain silence in the classroom, whether during class or breaks. Try not to make any noise at all. Remember, if you're not studying, someone else is. You can't afford to jeopardize others' futures. Thank you all."
Ignoring the increased booing, he scanned the room before his gaze settled on the empty seat next to Qi Weichen. Just as Chu Qing had a bad feeling, he walked over and sat down next to Qi Weichen with his backpack.
"Tch, how unlucky," the sycophant started to gloat but, remembering the other's relationship with his boss, he shut up after just one comment.
Chu Qing frowned slightly and leaned forward to ask him, "Qi Weichen barely speaks. How could he offend him?"
The sycophant glanced at Qi Muyang and, seeing no sign of disapproval, continued, "Failing Grade is a pure idiot. He's fussy, selfish, and thin-skinned. He hates having a desk mate the most. Even if you put a rock next to him, he'd find fault with it, let alone a living person. Just watch, he'll definitely try to drive Qi Weichen away and then hog both seats for himself."
"Pick on Qi Weichen? No way," Chu Qing was skeptical.
The sycophant gave her a sidelong glance: "You'll see."
Chu Qing shrugged and said no more.
The events of the next break time proved just how insufferable the top student could be. Chatting and horsing around during breaks was normal, but he would curse every now and then, scolding almost the entire class. Though no one paid him any attention, it was annoying enough.
Heeding the sycophant's words, Chu Qing kept a close eye on Qi Weichen and 'Failing Grade'. Sure enough, she saw 'Failing Grade' constantly trying various tactics to drive Qi Weichen away and occupy both seats for himself. However, while this approach might have angered others or even led to a fight, it had absolutely no effect on Qi Weichen.
Because Qi Weichen treated him like air.
After several failed attempts, 'Failing Grade' not only failed to provoke Qi Weichen but ended up fuming himself. Seeing this, Chu Qing was thoroughly relieved. As expected of a boss, even in a different time and space, he could remain unperturbed while driving others to distraction.
After dinner, evening self-study began. Since it was the first day of school, teachers had various meetings to attend, so this session was unsupervised. And unsupervised evening study sessions were prone to getting out of hand.
'Failing Grade' made a few more sarcastic remarks, but seeing Qi Weichen still not taking the bait, he was itching to roll up his sleeves and fight. However, every time he met Qi Weichen's cold gaze, he couldn't help but chicken out. As his anger built up, 'Failing Grade' finally slammed the table and stood up, turning his fire on the laughing group in the back: "Can't you all be quiet? Can't you see I'm doing math problems?"
"Am I stopping you?" the sycophant narrowed his eyes, and the chubby kid next to him and others immediately put on fierce expressions, looking as if they might bite.
The classroom fell silent, and the atmosphere grew tense after the sycophant's words.
Although 'Failing Grade' was insufferable, he was also afraid of getting beaten up. His eyes darted around for a few moments before landing on Chu Qing, who was watching the drama unfold from the corner. He immediately found a way to save face: "You're the noisiest! Can you stop talking and laughing? Do you think acting crazy makes you look cool?!"
"Me?" Chu Qing looked bewildered, "When did I talk or laugh?"
"It was you! Don't deny it! You're so disgusting..."
Before 'Failing Grade' could finish, Qi Weichen, who had been treating him like air, stood up. At 6'1", he towered over 'Failing Grade', who unconsciously took a step back while trying to maintain a haughty expression: "What do you want?"
"You got the last big question wrong," Qi Weichen said coldly.
'Failing Grade' instinctively retorted: "Impossible! I wouldn't make a mistake..." As he spoke, he started flipping to the answers in the back, only to freeze when he saw the correct solution.
"You got three multiple-choice questions wrong, one fill-in-the-blank, and two big questions," Qi Weichen said flatly.
'Failing Grade' quickly checked the answers, and finding everything Qi Weichen said was correct, he emotionally challenged: "Did you memorize the answers beforehand?! How could you possibly know which questions I got wrong?!"
"Why would I need to memorize the answers?" Qi Weichen asked nonchalantly.
Qi Muyang in the back row paused, suddenly believing that when Qi Weichen had asked him at the supermarket if money was a lot, it wasn't sarcasm. Because now, when he was truly being sarcastic... even Qi Muyang wanted to hit him.
'Failing Grade' stared at Qi Weichen in shock, seemingly unable to process what was happening.
Qi Weichen calmly delivered the final blow: "You should wash your hair."
Chu Qing: "..."
