Chapter 22: That Delicate Flower (22)

Song Qi’s behavior made Gu Si uneasy. She didn’t like the feeling.

But Song Qi seemed as gentle as ever, and Gu Si couldn’t find anything wrong with her. Besides, she’d even given her several packets of medicinal foot soak.

Things between them stayed lukewarm right through finals.

Gu Si tried all kinds of ways to get closer to Song Qi, but every attempt was like throwing something at a patch of cotton.

It landed softly, weightless. Some of her efforts even seemed to bounce right back.

As expected, Song Qi came first in the final exams once again. She had the highest score in the entire city, twenty-three points ahead of the second-place student.

The system’s description: This woman is a monster.

If Song Qi hadn’t chosen to go to the front lines back then, she would have been terrifying in a laboratory too.

Meanwhile, Qin Xiao had cleared the cutoff for a top university by ten points. That meant Song Qi’s “raising a son” project was officially over.

To reward him, she bought a sheet of gold stars from the little shop outside the school—two for a yuan—and covered a whole notebook with them.

“This is my reward?” Qin Xiao looked at the notebook, the corner of his mouth twitching.

“Didn’t I say I’d give you gold stars? What else do you want?” Song Qi tapped the notebook. “Sixty gold stars. Aren’t you happy?”

Qin Xiao forced a smile. “Thrilled.”

“Keep it up. Beat me next time.” Song Qi patted his shoulder with a kindly smile. “I still remember what you said.”

Thinking about Song Qi’s nearly perfect score, Qin Xiao smiled again. “Heh.”

Gu Si had barely scraped past the cutoff for a second-tier university. Her score was more than thirty points lower than the last monthly exam.

Song Qi didn’t ask her about it.

Until lunch break, when a teacher summoned Song Qi to the office. Gu Si was there too, crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.

Gu Si glanced at Song Qi, then lowered her head.

“Yangnuan, you did extremely well this time.”

“So, Teacher, does that mean I don’t have to do the winter break homework?” Song Qi blinked.

The teacher fell silent for a few seconds.

“I have my own targeted practice to work on, and winter break is only fifteen days.”

The homeroom teacher nodded. “That’s true. You can skip my assignments. I’ll ask the other teachers too. Keep it up—I’m counting on you to be the top scorer in the gaokao.”

“All right.” Song Qi smiled.

“You really don’t know how to be modest,” the homeroom teacher said, amused.

Song Qi kept smiling. “If you have the ability and still pretend to be modest, it feels a little fake.”

The homeroom teacher laughed again, unable to hide the smile spreading across her face. She was a complete contrast to Gu Si’s teacher beside them.

“Here’s the thing: the school would like you to give a speech at this semester’s academic assembly. Could you prepare something?”

“Sure.” Song Qi nodded.

“It should cover some of your study methods and what you’re looking forward to in the future.”

“Okay.” Song Qi nodded again.

The homeroom teacher beside them started shouting too.

“Gu Si, look at your math score this time! Fourteen fill-in-the-blank questions, and you got eight wrong! How is that even possible? What have you been doing lately? Have you given up on studying?”

Gu Si sobbed quietly.

“You and Xu Yangnuan are so close. How come you haven’t learned anything from her?”

Song Qi glanced at Gu Si’s teacher, then quickly left the office.

She’d meant to leave, but in the end she waited outside the door.

Gu Si didn’t come out until ten minutes later. Her eyes were red. When she saw Song Qi, she froze. The tears she’d managed to stop started falling again. She raised a hand to wipe them away, but they wouldn’t stop. “Why are you here?”

“Waiting for you.” Song Qi led Gu Si to a small balcony.

As soon as Gu Si saw there was no one around, she threw herself into Song Qi’s arms and cried softly.

Song Qi leaned against the railing and looked down at the top of Gu Si’s head.

It was about 27°F. Honestly, it was cold.

“I don’t know why my scores keep getting worse,” Gu Si said. “I’m trying so hard, but… but I’m still getting worse.”

Song Qi patted her head.

“I wanted to go to the same city as you. I thought maybe we could even go to the same university, but now there’s no way.” Gu Si took a deep breath.

“Keep trying. You can do it.”

Actually, she can’t… In this world, the protagonist’s and antagonist’s auras are connected. The stronger your aura gets, the stronger you become, and the weaker she gets. In a way, your rise and Qin Xiao’s have probably siphoned off Gu Si’s luck, the system cut in.

“Oh.” Song Qi patted Gu Si’s back and checked the time. “Go back and get some rest at lunch. Don’t overthink it.”

“Mm.” Gu Si clutched Song Qi’s sleeve and looked up at her. “Can I study with you over winter break?”

Song Qi was silent for a few seconds. “I’m not planning to study over winter break.”

Gu Si: ???

Could she really answer like that?

“Let’s go back to class. We can talk about the rest later.” Song Qi gently pulled away from Gu Si and looked down at the large wet patch on her chest.

She felt a little helpless.

Gu Si looked embarrassed and tried to wipe the wet spot away with her hand. Her fingers brushed against something before she could even register it. Song Qi caught her by the wrist.

“Let’s go back.”

“Okay.” Gu Si nodded, her mind in a whirl. Her gaze flicked toward Song Qi’s chest.

They’re really small.

Song Qi didn’t notice where Gu Si was looking. Back in class, she rested her head on the desk, ready to sleep.

Host, would you lower your score a little for Gu Si?

“No.” Song Qi yawned. “Why would you even think of something that stupid?”

You seem to like her.

“Heh. She’s pretty cute. I could keep one as a pet when I get home.”

System: ???

Finals ended, but school went on for another week before break.

There was plenty of winter homework, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s excitement.

“Yangnuan, what about the winter homework…?” An Yao sidled up to her with a sneaky smile.

“I told the homeroom teacher I’m not doing it.” Song Qi smiled.

An Yao froze, then sighed. “I guess that makes sense. You’re practically getting perfect scores already. When will I ever be as good as you?”

Qin Xiao measured the pile of worksheets with a ruler. It was nearly four inches thick.

“I’m not doing mine either.” He tossed the ruler aside.

Song Qi gave him a cold laugh. “If you don’t do it, I’ll give you ten times as many worksheets when you get back.”

Qin Xiao shot her an annoyed look and quietly stuffed the worksheets back into his backpack.

Honestly, after all those merciless study sessions under Song Qi, he’d started to realize there was something satisfying about studying.

What could be better than watching your grades climb, little by little?

What could be better than solving the hardest math problems, getting every English reading question right, or scoring fifty-something on a Chinese essay?

He felt like he was losing his mind. So, out of sheer stubbornness, he’d kept his growing love of studying to himself.

Word spread through the classroom that Song Qi didn’t have to do the homework.

One envious voice after another rang out.

Song Qi had told the teachers she wanted to study hard, but she went home without bringing a single book. She felt wonderfully free.

The Xu family parents didn’t say anything. As far as they were concerned, their daughter had worked hard to earn those grades. They wanted her to get some proper rest.

They even gave her more than usual for New Year’s money.

It was the first time Song Qi had ever received New Year’s money, and she felt a little conflicted.

At 11:58 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, Gu Si video-called Song Qi.

Gu Si was outside, dressed in red and looking festive. She wore a fluffy hat, and after only a few days of eating well, her cheeks had already filled out.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes. I want to ring in the New Year with you.” Gu Si smiled. Her breath fogged the camera.

The hosts on TV had already started talking.

The new year drew closer and closer.

Firecrackers went off outside. Song Qi couldn’t hear Gu Si, only see her mouth moving.

But she did hear Gu Si’s extra-loud “Happy New Year!”

“Happy New Year,” Song Qi said with a smile.

The fifteen-day winter break passed quickly.

Once school started again, there was a seemingly endless round of practice for the four subject exams. Since Song Qi always got perfect scores, she eventually moved on to competitions.

In the March exams, Song Qi did as usual and earned four As. Qin Xiao got four As too, and the homeroom teacher praised him in front of the class.

Life flowed on, calm as water.

Until a few days before the May Day holiday.

“Let’s go out on May first! Yangnuan, we haven’t gone anywhere together in ages!” Gu Si looked at Song Qi with a pleading expression. “This is our last proper long break in high school.”

Song Qi watched her for a few seconds, then finally nodded.

The second semester of junior year was almost over. It was about time.

“All right. Where should we go?”

“Um… could I stay over at your place?” Gu Si looked at Song Qi. “Don’t worry, my bed’s really big.”

“Sure.” Song Qi nodded again.

Gu Si let out a sigh of relief, though her hand tightened around her chopsticks.

The Xu family parents didn’t object to Song Qi staying at a classmate’s house. They had always supported whatever she wanted to do.

Song Qi spent the day with Gu Si, shopping, eating, and enjoying herself. They were no different from any other girls her age.

At eleven that night, Gu Si took Song Qi to a KTV.

“It’s late,” Song Qi said, looking at the place’s decidedly sketchy-looking entrance.

“It’s fine. We’re going to stay up all night. My parents aren’t home.” Gu Si looped an arm through Song Qi’s, her smile bright.

If Gu Si’s grip hadn’t been getting tighter and tighter, Song Qi might have believed her.

“We’re just going to sing. It’ll be fine,” Gu Si continued.

Song Qi stared at her for a while, then nodded. “All right.”