Chapter 16: That Delicate Flower (16)

The girls on the ground scooted backward, staring at Song Qi as if she were some kind of monster.

Song Qi had seen that look plenty of times, but she still couldn’t get used to it.

“Don’t look at me like that.” She spoke each word slowly and clearly.

The girls flinched.

“It wasn’t my idea to come after you!” one of them cried. “Someone asked us to help them out.”

“Oh?” Song Qi looked at her. “And?”

“Don’t you want to know who?”

“Not interested.”

Song Qi turned and walked out of the alley, leaving the others to stare at one another. After a moment, they picked themselves up and went into the book café across the street.

A few people sitting inside jumped when they came in.

Gu Si watched them stop beside her table and shrank into herself.

“What are you doing here?” one of the girls asked in a low voice, glancing at the others with displeasure.

“Ha. You’re worried we’re making you look bad, are you?” The girl at the front gave her a chilly look and slapped a hand on the table. “Why didn’t you tell us she could fight?”

“I didn’t know.”

Gu Si bit her lip and shivered. “Stop arguing. This is all my fault.”

“Sisi, what does this have to do with you?”

“You were only trying to stand up for me.” Gu Si rose to her feet and glanced at the bruises on the girl’s face. “I’m sorry. I should get going.”

She wiped at her eyes as she walked away. Once she was somewhere nearly deserted, she lowered her hand.

Gu Si took a deep breath. She was starting to panic.

She had a bad feeling she was about to blow her cover with Song Qi.

“Didn’t you say you were going out?”

Song Qi’s voice was cool. Gu Si flinched and looked at her, forgetting to hide the shock and fear on her face.

“I changed my mind.”

Song Qi looked at Gu Si but didn’t call her out. She took a sip of milk tea. “Going back?”

“Yeah.” Gu Si nodded, then gave Song Qi a once-over.

Her uniform was still clean and neat. She didn’t look at all like she’d just been in a fight.

They walked down the road together without saying a word.

It was quiet.

Song Qi glanced sideways at Gu Si.

Host, it’s about time to write Gu Si out. The ending we arranged for her is a transfer in the second semester of her junior year.

I know. Song Qi felt the warmth of the milk tea in her hands.

Gu Si noticed Song Qi watching her, but she didn’t dare turn to meet her gaze. She kept walking, her body stiff.

“Are you afraid of me?” Song Qi asked.

Gu Si jolted. “Huh?”

“If you’re not afraid of me, why are you shaking?”

“I’m cold…” Gu Si had no idea what had come over her. She pressed her hand directly against Song Qi’s cheek.

It was cold.

Song Qi sighed and pulled Gu Si’s hand away, then wrapped it around the warm cup of milk tea. She held Gu Si’s hand there and glanced up at her. “Better?”

“Much better.” Gu Si parted her lips.

“Want me to warm the other hand too?”

“No, that’s okay.” Gu Si’s voice grew quieter.

This is getting more and more suspicious, the system observed.

They walked slowly. Gu Si felt as if Song Qi’s hand around hers was making her left hand catch fire.

Her head was swimming. Her thoughts had turned to mush.

By the time they reached the entrance to her apartment complex, she still hadn’t come back to her senses.

“You’re home.” Song Qi let go and pinched Gu Si’s cheek.

“Huh?” Gu Si looked up at her, then at the gate. “Oh. I’m home. I’ll go in, then. See you tomorrow, Yangnuan.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Song Qi watched Gu Si dart into the complex. Before long, she disappeared from sight.

Song Qi chuckled softly.

I really wonder what Gu Si is going to try next.

The second monthly exams were drawing near. Since that day, Gu Si hadn’t come looking for Song Qi at night, and she’d grown more distant during the day, too.

Qin Xiao was delighted.

He no longer had to listen to that clingy voice that made his skin crawl. It was a huge relief.

“Did you have a falling-out with that girl?” Qin Xiao asked as Song Qi graded his exam.

“No.” Song Qi marked an answer with a firm X.

“Then why haven’t I seen her around lately?” he asked with a grin.

Song Qi didn’t look up. “If you miss her, I can ask her to come over.”

“No need.” Qin Xiao shook his head at once.

“Why are you always worrying about such boring things? Weren’t you going to beat me?” Song Qi pushed the paper toward him. “You got this many wrong. Who exactly are you planning to beat?”

Qin Xiao glanced over the page. He’d gotten three out of fifteen English multiple-choice questions wrong.

That was still near the top of the class. But Song Qi had gotten them all right, and in her eyes, anyone who scored below her was trash.

Song Qi glanced at Qin Xiao. “What are you staring at? Correct your answers.”

After tutoring him for a while, Song Qi knew he wasn’t stupid. Quite the opposite—he was exceptionally bright and quick to apply what he learned.

No wonder he was the male lead. He might be a fool, but he wasn’t dumb.

The monthly exams came around again soon enough.

The results were posted just as quickly. This time, Song Qi took first place, beating Zhong Yi by seventeen points.

Song Qi didn’t feel guilty about it. She hadn’t been familiar with a lot of the material here, and she’d relied on the female lead’s existing knowledge as well as her own hard work.

“You’re amazing,” Zhong Yi said.

“Thanks.”

“But I’ll work harder, too.”

Song Qi looked at Zhong Yi’s pale face and dark circles, then leaned closer. “How many hours do you sleep a night?”

“I go to bed at two and get up at five. I take a half-hour break at noon.”

Song Qi…

“Take care of yourself.” Song Qi patted Zhong Yi’s shoulder. She’d always respected people who worked hard.

Gu Si stood at a distance, watching Song Qi lean toward Zhong Yi and say something, then pat her on the shoulder with easy affection.

She took a deep breath and walked over, calling out brightly, “Yangnuan.”

Song Qi nodded. Gu Si thought she seemed a little cold and bit her lip.

Zhong Yi glanced at Gu Si, then continued what she’d been saying to Song Qi. “If you want, we could study together.”

“Sure, but I’m not used to staying up so late.”

“That’s fine. We can work through difficult math problems together, and physics, too. We can handle the rest on our own.” Zhong Yi yawned. “I’ll get going.”

“Okay. See you.” Song Qi nodded, then looked at Gu Si. “What is it?”

“You did so well!” Gu Si smiled. “Are you and Zhong Yi close?”

“We get along.”

The two of them headed upstairs together.

Gu Si clutched her uniform tightly. She didn’t even know what she was upset about.

A few boys came running up the stairs, laughing. Gu Si stumbled and nearly fell.

She caught her balance and looked at Song Qi.

“Be careful.” Song Qi kept her hands in her pockets and made no move to help.

Gu Si blinked at her. Her eyes turned red at once, but she forced the tears back. “Mm.”

Song Qi continued upstairs, with Gu Si behind her. Gu Si tried to catch up and walk beside her, but she couldn’t close the distance.

Song Qi didn’t look back until they reached the classroom door. “See you.”

“See you.”

Song Qi went back to her seat. Gu Si lingered in the doorway for a moment before leaving.

Something about this is really strange, but I can’t figure out what, the system thought.

It checked all of Gu Si’s data and found nothing unusual.

When Qin Xiao saw Song Qi come in, he gave a few deliberate coughs and set his score sheet on the desk. The hint was obvious.

“Mm. At least you didn’t come in last. Keep it up.” Song Qi glanced casually at the sheet.

“Way to be encouraging.”

“Weren’t you going to beat me? You’re still more than a hundred points behind. Keep trying.” Song Qi sat down, then turned to Qin Xiao and gave him a few flat claps. “You’re amazing.”

Qin Xiao…

“Do you think I’m a little kid?”

Song Qi looked at him with genuine surprise. “You’re only figuring that out now? Be good. Study hard, keep improving, and if you do well, Big Sis will give you a gold star.”

Sometimes Song Qi really felt as if she had a son whenever she was around Qin Xiao.

Qin Xiao’s expression darkened. He put the score sheet away in his drawer. He’d bought snacks to thank Song Qi, but now he didn’t feel like giving them to her.

“Qin Xiao, the homeroom teacher wants to see you.”

Qin Xiao froze. The homeroom teacher had never called him in all the time he’d been in the class.

Song Qi glanced at him, already guessing what it was about. “If the teacher needs something, tell them to call me too.”

“What would I need you for?” Qin Xiao kicked his chair aside and walked out.

Song Qi looked at the student who’d delivered the message. “Did the teacher say what it was about?”

“Something about your scores being suspicious, I think…” the student said quietly.

Song Qi rubbed her temples. She’d known it.

She picked up the notebook beside her and opened it. Page after page was filled with notes about everything Qin Xiao had done to study each day. Then she pulled a stack of practice papers and a few notebooks from his desk drawer.

“I really am a kind soul,” Song Qi said.

The system…

A couple of minutes later, someone ran in. “Qin Xiao’s arguing with the teacher!”

Song Qi silently gathered her things and headed to the office.

Before she reached the door, she heard Qin Xiao roar, “I wasn’t even afraid to hand in a blank exam! Why the hell would I cheat?”

Song Qi’s mouth twitched. He was proud of handing in a blank exam, apparently.

She could see the flaw in the teacher’s reasoning. They hadn’t cared whether he paid attention in class, but now they wanted to accuse him of cheating.

Song Qi knocked and went in. “Teacher, Qin Xiao didn’t cheat. This is what he’s been doing lately.”

She didn’t look at Qin Xiao as she set everything on the desk. “This is a summary I put together while tutoring him.”

Song Qi slid the notebook toward the teacher.

Qin Xiao glanced at her, his expression sour. “Who asked you to come?”

“I don’t like having my ability questioned.” Song Qi shot him a sharp look. “I’ve been teaching you all this time. You should be able to get a score like this.”

The homeroom teacher flipped through the papers, then looked at Song Qi’s notebook. “I admit he’s been working hard, but that doesn’t prove he didn’t cheat.”

“Then can you prove that he did?” Song Qi smiled. “If you can’t prove he cheated, there’s no reason to make him prove he didn’t.”

“Someone reported him and said they saw him.”

“Then you need evidence. You can’t just believe whatever someone says because they flap their gums.”

Qin Xiao rolled his eyes. “Don’t bother arguing with her. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t cheat.”

“Did I tell you to speak?” Song Qi fixed Qin Xiao with a sharp look.

Qin Xiao stared back, blinking. He looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he kept quiet.

The system had heard Song Qi was fiercely protective of her own. It hadn’t expected to get the chance to see it firsthand.