As the end of the school day approached, Qi Weichen returned to the classroom. The moment he entered, the room fell silent for an instant, with everyone secretly glancing at him, except for two people in the back corner.
Well, those two were openly staring at him.
After returning to his seat, Qi Weichen didn't sit down. Instead, he grabbed his things and walked towards the back row. Seeing him approach, Chu Qing's heart skipped a beat... Could it be that he was scolded by the teacher and, in a fit of anger, wanted to drop out of school with her? Her meager living expenses would leave her homeless in no time if she left school.
Just as she was worrying about her future, Qi Weichen stopped diagonally in front of her. Noticing her furrowed brow, he paused for a moment before silently sitting down next to Chen Xiu.
Chu Qing: "?"
Qi Muyang: "..."
"Are... are you going to sit here from now on?" Chen Xiu asked, stammering slightly.
Qi Weichen glanced at his new desk mate, then lowered his gaze to organize his desk.
Chen Xiu swallowed and carefully tried to make conversation: "So I guess we're desk mates now. I'm Chen Xiu. If you need anything, just let me know. Oh, I have some potato chips here, would you like some?"
Chu Qing: "..." Weren't those chips from her?
She quietly leaned back against the wall to distance herself and asked Qi Muyang in a low voice, "Why is he being so attentive to Qi Weichen?"
"Except for failing grades, he's like this with all the good students," Qi Muyang replied with an exasperated expression. He then impatiently smacked Chen Xiu on the head, "Can't you have some self-respect? Do you think being nice to him will make him help you with your homework?"
Chen Xiu, having been hit, retreated into a sullen silence, leaving Qi Weichen's surroundings suddenly peaceful. However, this peace lasted less than ten minutes before he felt a gentle poke on his arm. He turned his head silently to see Chen Xiu furtively whispering, "Would you like some chewing gum?"
"...I can hear you," Qi Muyang's voice drifted from behind, "And when did you buy chewing gum? Why didn't you share with me?"
Chen Xiu: "..."
After being shut down twice and having both his chips and gum confiscated, Chen Xiu didn't dare to make another sound. He sat quietly until the evening self-study session ended. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, Qi Muyang and the others vanished in an instant. Chu Qing slowly tied up her large bag of snacks by herself. Just as she was about to leave with it, a tall figure blocked her path.
She looked up and met his eyes, which betrayed no emotion.
"The teacher made me change seats," he said quietly, looking at her.
Chu Qing paused for a moment: "I guessed as much. Did the teacher scold you?"
Seeing that she didn't show any aversion to him, Qi Weichen's thin lips pressed together slightly, and he remained silent for a moment. Chu Qing, mistaking his silence for a bad mood due to being reprimanded, sighed and said, "Let's walk and talk."
Qi Weichen lowered his gaze and quietly walked beside her. The two of them left the teaching building together, heading towards the dormitories. Although the summer night was hot, it was a tolerable, gentle heat. When a breeze blew by, every pore seemed to relax.
"You shouldn't take it too much to heart. The teacher doesn't know your abilities yet, so of course they'll trust him more. After all, he's the top student in our grade," Chu Qing tried to comfort him. "Once you've made a name for yourself academically, you'll be able to strut around the whole school, just like before."
"Did I strut around before?" Qi Weichen asked.
Chu Qing's mouth twitched: "...Do you have some misconception about yourself?" Although he was a academic genius, he often ignored school rules, skipped classes, arrived late, and left early, yet no teacher dared to stop him. If that wasn't strutting around, what was?
Qi Weichen was silent for a while before asking, "Was I annoying?"
"Of course not," Chu Qing immediately replied. If he were only slightly better than average, perhaps some people would be jealous or dislike him. But when he was so far above everyone else, others could only look up to him in admiration.
After all, no matter how impressive a mortal might be, they wouldn't be jealous of a god.
Qi Weichen glanced at her and continued walking quietly. Although his expression remained unchanged, Chu Qing sensed that his mood had improved... What had happened?
Chu Qing followed him, puzzled. As they passed by a supermarket, she peeked inside and happened to see someone eating ice cream. She couldn't help but swallow.
"Do you want to buy one?" Qi Weichen asked.
Chu Qing was stunned for a moment, then realized he was referring to the ice cream. She was confused: "Weren't you not looking at me just now? How did you know I wanted to eat that?"
Qi Weichen was silent for a moment: "I heard you swallow."
Chu Qing: "..." Fair enough.
After a brief moment of awkwardness, she shook her head: "I'm not buying."
"Why not?"
"I don't have money. The 41-year-old you only gave me a thousand yuan for living expenses, so I have to be frugal," Chu Qing said, then looked at him meaningfully.
Qi Weichen paused, his eyes showing a slight ripple of emotion.
Chu Qing stared at him for a while, then suddenly had an idea: "You have so much money, surely you can't spend it all. So, could you lend me some? I'll pay you back as soon as we return."
The current prices were similar to those in 2019, so he wouldn't lose out, and it would solve her urgent need. It seemed like a perfect solution. The more Chu Qing thought about it, the better the idea seemed, and she couldn't help but give Qi Weichen a sweet smile.
She hadn't smiled at him like this since their breakup. Qi Weichen looked at her silently for a while, and under her expectant gaze, he opened his mouth—
"No."
Chu Qing's smile froze. She suddenly remembered that whether 18 or 41 years old, it was the same Qi Weichen. If the 41-year-old version was stingy with his ex-girlfriend, how could the 18-year-old version be generous?
"But I can treat you to an ice cream," Qi Weichen added.
At this point, anyone with a bit of pride would tell him to forget about the ice cream and walk away, or give him a good kick to show that they weren't so easily appeased. Chu Qing narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly feeling mischievous: "I want the most expensive one!"
"Okay."
Two minutes later, she was happily eating a double-scoop ice cream, while the bag of snacks she had been carrying was now in Qi Weichen's hands.
They walked quietly towards the dormitory. Just as they reached the entrance, they saw Little Fatty coming out of the security office with a huge suitcase. Chu Qing waved at him: "Fatty."
"Yo! Boss Chu," Little Fatty responded. Ever since he had witnessed Chu Qing beating someone up, they had started calling her this.
Chu Qing finished her last bite of ice cream and took the snack bag back from Qi Weichen before walking over: "What are you up to?"
"The boss's suitcase is here. I'm taking it to his dorm. He only checked into the dorm this morning and was too lazy to come up, so he just left it at the security office," Little Fatty explained. Suddenly noticing Qi Weichen beside her, he immediately became wary. "What's going on here...?"
"Oh, we just happened to run into each other and walked together," Chu Qing hurriedly explained, fearing he might misunderstand. Qi Weichen glanced at her but said nothing.
Hearing it was just a coincidence, Little Fatty immediately relaxed. No way, their boss had finally found a girl he liked, and they couldn't let anyone steal her away.
Chu Qing didn't notice Little Fatty's increasingly bright smile. Instead, she looked at the suitcase: "So why isn't he carrying it himself?"
"He went to dye his hair, remember? You called him a turkey chick, right? The boss didn't seem to like that nickname, so he insisted on dyeing it black today," Little Fatty couldn't help but laugh as he mentioned the nickname.
Chu Qing's lips also curled into a smile: "Where did he go to dye it? The school barbershop should be closed by now."
"Of course it's not in the school. How could my boss settle for the school barbershop?" Little Fatty gave her a knowing look.
Qi Weichen, who had been silent until now, looked at Little Fatty: "He went off campus?"
"You see through it but don't say it out loud, huh," Little Fatty clicked his tongue but didn't deny it, as Qi Weichen didn't seem like the type to tattle.
Qi Weichen thoughtfully looked at the suitcase next to Little Fatty.
Little Fatty noticed the snack bag in Chu Qing's hand and immediately grinned, "Boss Chu, you know, in this long night..."
"Shut up," Chu Qing gave him a sidelong glance and opened the bag, starting to pull out snacks. Little Fatty happily accepted them. She had a generous nature, and even though she didn't have much money now, she couldn't bring herself to be stingy. So, she ended up giving away a third of her stash.
Among the snacks was a box of walnut cookies that Qi Weichen had bought.
Qi Weichen, who hadn't moved until now, silently stepped forward and took back the walnut cookies from Little Fatty's arms. The two who were distributing snacks were momentarily stunned. Little Fatty was the first to react: "Oh, you want to eat them? Then this box is yours. Thanks, Boss Chu, I'll be on my way."
"Go ahead," Chu Qing waved her hand.
After Little Fatty left, she turned to Qi Weichen: "Why did you keep the walnut cookies?"
"I bought them," Qi Weichen said, lowering his eyes.
Chu Qing was taken aback: "So what, they can't be shared with others now?"
Qi Weichen remained silent. Chu Qing clicked her tongue: "Can I eat them then?"
"They were bought for you," Qi Weichen finally looked at her.
Only the person they were bought for can eat them? What is this, elementary school? Chu Qing's mouth twitched: "If something was bought for me, doesn't that make it mine? Can't I give it to others?"
"Mm," Qi Weichen's gaze was cold.
In the past, Chu Qing would have just agreed and let the matter drop, but today, for some reason, she felt like arguing: "I shared the snacks Qi Muyang gave me with everyone. Why can't I do the same with yours?"
"I bought walnut cookies. The main ingredient is walnuts. It's different from his."
Chu Qing was genuinely confused: "How is it different?"
Qi Weichen fell silent. The moonlight not only softened his features but also added a hint of warmth to his eyes. Chu Qing stared at his dark eyes, suddenly feeling that he actually did like her a little, and that being with her wasn't just about enjoying the pleasure of tutoring a poor student.
"Walnuts are good for the brain," he said calmly.
Chu Qing: "..." She must have bubbles in her brain to imagine he liked her.
