Chapter 10

Nan Qi’s heartfelt confession threw Bo Ranying’s mind into complete disarray. She had never imagined a plot twist like this.

In that moment, she felt like a small boat adrift on the open sea. Suddenly, the skies darkened, and massive waves crashed down, flipping the boat over, smashing it to splinters, and sending it to sink forever into the endless ocean depths.

Their hands were tangled together in a chaotic mess, twisted almost into pretzels.

Stumbling over her words, Bo Ranying explained, “I… I kiss you because I like kissing you. So many times, I just think you’re so cute, and I want to… kiss you.”

Nan Qi’s heart went cold for an instant.

It was as if she couldn’t comprehend Bo Ranying’s words at all. She understood every individual syllable, but when they came together, they formed something hazy and incomprehensible. Instinctively, she refused to interpret it in a negative way.

Yet this fog of confusion couldn’t persist forever. It had to clear up eventually.

Unconsciously, her teeth sank into her lower lip, carving a deep indentation.

Her voice trembled on the edge of tears.

“So you don’t like me… you just like kissing me…?”

Bo Ranying watched her cautiously. “Um…”

“But I kiss you because I like you—!”

“How can we two even have completely different logic?” The unexpected answer left Nan Qi on the brink of collapse.

How could anyone be like this? Why did Bo Ranying have to be so cruel? She clearly didn’t like Nan Qi, harbored no such feelings for her, yet she had taken the initiative to tease her—stirring ripples across her heart, filling her mind with wild thoughts and endless longing, leaving her anxious and unsettled. It had taken Nan Qi so long to come to the conclusion that she liked Bo Ranying, that she liked girls, and that their feelings were mutual. And now, this—a devastating blow to the head.

All those agonizing questions that had troubled her for so long were wrong.

Completely wrong!

But how could she untangle the chaos in her heart and set it right?

Bo Ranying was such a jerk.

With tears brimming in her eyes, Nan Qi thought she should curse her out fiercely, berate her, then storm away in a huff—cutting off all ties with Bo Ranying for the rest of her life.

That would be the rational choice.

But she couldn’t do it. She liked Bo Ranying far too much. She liked her so intensely that even stealing one more glance—even if it pierced her heart with the panic on Bo Ranying’s face—made her want to keep chasing, to forgive Bo Ranying for all her teasing without any accountability.

“You’re too much, waaah…”

Faced with Nan Qi’s accusation, Bo Ranying had no way to defend herself.

Only now did she suddenly realize that the intimate gestures she had dismissed as mere friendship were actually boundary-crossing mistakes, utterly inappropriate. She had no idea that her casual behavior had caused Nan Qi so much turmoil…

Shamefaced, she lowered her gaze, unable to bear looking into those red, despair-filled eyes any longer.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know you… didn’t know you liked me. I just can’t—”

She couldn’t reciprocate your feelings.

Before she could finish, Nan Qi cut her off in a rush.

“Think about it again—properly!”

Her fingernails dug hard into the pads of her fingers. The shallow, healed-over wound split open once more, blood oozing steadily. The unrelenting pain sharpened Nan Qi’s mind, letting her weigh her options clearly.

She tallied up all her bargaining chips, going all-in on a gamble for the slimmest chance of victory.

“You’d get so many benefits from being with me. Or if you don’t want to start dating too early, we could just confirm our relationship for now—act like regular friends until after the college entrance exams, then make it official! You can come to me anytime with homework you don’t understand. I’ll go wherever you want, do whatever you like, support you unconditionally, show up for every one of your performances, protect you if danger comes your way, fulfill any request you have—even accept keeping our relationship a secret…”

Nan Qi listed out every single thing she could offer, coaxing and pleading in hopes of a positive response from Bo Ranying.

Bo Ranying kept twisting her fingers, her thoughts a whirlwind of confusion. The worldview she had built since childhood was shattering and reforming before her eyes.

She raised her gaze and caught sight of Nan Qi’s tear-streaked eyes. Panic surged through her.

She had made the Class President cry.

She had vowed never to see the Class President’s tears again.

And yet, she had become the one to hurt her…

A long moment passed, but Bo Ranying still couldn’t convince herself to simply accept Nan Qi’s feelings.

Then she pinpointed the real issue and voiced her doubt. “But Little Qi, if I don’t agree, are you going to take back all those kindnesses? Stop doing all the things you just listed?”

Nan Qi froze, then shook her head.

No, she wouldn’t.

In dejected frustration, she realized that if Bo Ranying refused to be her girlfriend, she still wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye to her.

The moment that thought hit, she could already predict Bo Ranying’s follow-up:

If that’s the case, then why should I say yes?

How infuriating, Ranran.

Nan Qi could no longer hold back her overwhelming sadness. The tears she had bottled up for so long burst forth, streaming down her cheeks. Her vision blurred into a watery haze; she could barely make out Bo Ranying’s face. In utter disarray, she raised a hand to wipe her eyes, but her efforts were clumsy—the more she rubbed, the less she could see.

Vaguely, she heard Bo Ranying let out a sigh.

Then came the sound of footsteps—fading into the distance, then returning.

Bo Ranying had fetched a towel soaked in warm water. She gently cupped Nan Qi’s chin. “Our Class President is crying like a little tabby cat.” With tender care, she wiped away the tears.

“Waaah… You won’t agree… I’m so sad. I don’t want to cry.”

“Don’t cry anymore. We’ve got school tomorrow.”

“I’m so pitiful. Even in a state like this, I still have to go to school.” The thought made Nan Qi even sadder.

Bo Ranying guided Nan Qi to sit properly in the chair. In silence, she gathered up the textbooks and homework scattered across the desk.

Because Nan Qi had dragged her chair over to huddle close, their homework notebooks—each labeled with both their names—lay jumbled together, showing their starkly different results. It took Bo Ranying some effort to sort them out properly.

She stuffed Nan Qi’s share of the homework into her backpack.

Bo Ranying zipped it up, slung it over her shoulder, and turned her head away, unable to meet Nan Qi’s eyes. “I think we should take some time apart. Let’s not bother each other for a while, okay?”

It was the clear posture of someone seeing off a guest—her decision made, acceptance optional.

Nan Qi’s heart twisted in agony. She hadn’t expected Bo Ranying to strip away even their friendship.

Her lips parted; she had so many words she wanted to say. In the end, though, she simply gazed at Bo Ranying’s figure with reluctant longing and murmured, “Okay.”

She took the backpack. “Then I’ll head home first. No need to walk me out.”

Straightening her spine with determination, she strode away briskly. She refused to let Bo Ranying see her walking off with slumped shoulders.

She walked far, far away from Bo Ranying’s house.

Nan Qi unfurled her clenched fist. Her palm was crisscrossed with winding, crusted bloodstains—dense and intricate.

Strangely, it didn’t hurt at all.