Chapter 9: That Delicate Flower (9)

After hearing Song Qi, the system suddenly didn’t know what to say.

It was true that, compared with what Song Qi had been through, Qin Xiao’s problems weren’t much. But… there had only been one Song Qi in several centuries.

Not everyone could handle pressure as well as she could.

Song Qi leaned against the desk behind her, a faint hint of violence in her eyes.

The system had been about to try a different approach and persuade her again, but it saw Song Qi’s expression and kept quiet.

Forget it. Better not provoke her. Though she can’t actually hit me right now.

Qin Xiao skipped the last class. The homeroom teacher pretended not to notice. He didn’t come back until the dismissal bell rang, and he reeked of cigarettes. He’d clearly spent the whole period smoking.

Song Qi packed her bag without even looking at him, though her brow furrowed.

I really want to throw this guy out.

Qin Xiao glanced at Song Qi. He didn’t get it. She’d been the one to offend him first, so why was she acting like he was the one bullying her?

This is so frustrating.

And he couldn’t even say anything to a girl.

Gu Si poked her head into the classroom. Seeing no teacher, she hurried inside. Qin Xiao’s sour expression startled her. She thought for a moment, swallowed the words “Brother Qin Xiao,” then went over to Song Qi and lowered her voice.

“Yangnuan, what’s wrong with Brother Qin Xiao?”

“I don’t know.”

Qin Xiao let out a couple of cold laughs.

Gu Si looked from Qin Xiao to Song Qi. “But what happened?”

Song Qi finished packing, took Gu Si by the hand, and led her away.

“He isn’t going on the second,” Song Qi said.

“Huh? Why not?” Gu Si wore a suitably disappointed expression.

Song Qi glanced at her. “So, do you still want to go out?”

“Of course! We finally get a chance to relax.” Gu Si looped her arm through Song Qi’s and gave it a little swing, smiling brightly. “Then let’s go see a movie. I heard there’s a new trendy milk tea shop downtown, too. We can try it. I’ve got a whole list of places I want to check in at.”

“All right,” Song Qi said.

When they got home, Xu Yangnuan’s parents still hadn’t returned.

Song Qi went straight to her room to do her homework.

There was a mountain of it: eight math test booklets, sixteen pages in all; three English tests and ten extra practice sheets. Altogether, there were sixty or seventy pages.

The teachers were monsters.

Their class hadn’t done well, so they’d gotten a few more pages than everyone else.

Song Qi wanted to ask if she could just not do it.

On the first, she worked from six in the morning until midnight and barely finished half of it.

The system watched her speed and thought she was probably just scribbling nonsense.

But it didn’t dare say or ask a thing.

Song Qi and Gu Si had agreed to meet at the subway station at 8:30 on the morning of the second. Song Qi agonized over what to wear for ages. Because of Xu Yangnuan’s image, her wardrobe was almost all skirts, with hardly any pants.

She’d never given this sort of thing much thought before. Her closet had been full of uniforms; she only had to choose the right one for the occasion. As for casual clothes, she barely owned any. She’d hardly ever worn a skirt in her life.

In the end, Song Qi picked a dress the system called “Lolita.” They were all dresses anyway, so she might as well choose the most extravagant one.

She put on light makeup, added a hair accessory, and coordinated the rest of her outfit.

She did it all without changing expression.

With Xu Yangnuan’s face, the look wasn’t bad. She could even pass as a model.

But the moment the system remembered that Song Qi’s soul was inside, the whole thing felt bizarre. It silently took a picture, then swapped in Song Qi’s face.

That was even stranger.

Song Qi was a recognized beauty, too, but in a cute outfit like this, the look was one hundred percent out of place.

Song Qi looked at herself in the mirror and narrowed her eyes. “It just occurred to me that it might be fun to try clothes that are completely different from my usual style once in a while.”

“So, Host, when you go back…” The system’s voice crackled.

“I think I might give it a try.” Song Qi turned in a circle, satisfied.

The system: “!”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“No.”

Song Qi picked a bag, grabbed her phone, and headed out.

Xu’s father was sitting on the sofa reading the paper. He looked up at Song Qi and smiled. “My daughter sure is pretty.”

“Of course.” Song Qi beamed at him. “I’m off, Dad.”

“You have enough money?”

“Yep.” Song Qi waved and headed out.

The moment she stepped outside, her expression went blank again.

She checked the time and hurried to the subway station.

There were a lot of people out during National Day, especially in a major tourist city like theirs. Song Qi drew countless glances along the way.

When she reached the station, she spotted Gu Si at once.

She froze.

What were the odds they’d be wearing the same dress?

Song Qi had no idea.

“Wow, what a coincidence!” Gu Si’s eyes lit up when she saw Song Qi. “I’ve never twinned with anyone before.”

“Yeah. What a coincidence.” Song Qi looked Gu Si over. The only word that came to mind was cute.

They went into the subway station. It was packed, and Song Qi frowned. She took Gu Si’s hand and followed the crowd.

“Good thing I bought tickets for the eleven o’clock movie,” Gu Si said with a sigh. “I guess I had the foresight to plan ahead.”

“Mm.” Song Qi glanced at her.

Gu Si looked at Song Qi’s face. “That was so halfhearted.”

Song Qi gave a quiet laugh. “How would you like me to praise you, then?”

“Isn’t that for you to figure out? Why should I have to come up with it?”

“You’re clever, talented, full of foresight, and amazing.”

Gu Si gave her a look of disdain. “That’s all you can come up with, and you’re third in the year?”

“I’m not usually in the habit of praising people.” Song Qi wanted to ruffle Gu Si’s hair, but after looking at the way she’d styled it, she settled for touching one of her pigtails.

It was the first time the system had seen a heroine get along so well with a villainess.

They finally made it onto the train, which was even more crowded. People were packed together shoulder to shoulder.

Six stops wasn’t a long time, but it wasn’t short, either.

“Can I hold on to you? I’m really bad at keeping my balance,” Gu Si asked, looking up at her.

“Sure.”

Gu Si clung to Song Qi’s left arm as the train rocked. Eventually, Song Qi slipped an arm around Gu Si’s shoulders and pulled her against her.

“Is this better?”

“Mm…” Gu Si bit her lip.

Ahhh! What’s with this heroine? Seriously, what is she doing?!

The two of them were quiet and didn’t say much.

Then Gu Si suddenly shuddered and looked up at Song Qi.

“What’s wrong?”

“Someone touched me.” Gu Si’s eyes reddened at once. She lowered her voice. “They… touched my thigh.”

Song Qi frowned. The car was crowded, and no one looked suspicious.

She reached behind her and caught the hand on Gu Si’s thigh. She noticed a change in one man’s expression.

For some reason, the man froze, then squeezed Song Qi’s hand.

Song Qi scowled and tightened her grip.

The man’s agonized shriek rang through the entire car.

The people around them jumped.

Gu Si looked up at Song Qi.

The man clutched his hand. His wrist was dislocated. He looked from Gu Si to Song Qi.

He seemed to want to say something, but didn’t dare.

Song Qi took out her phone and snapped a few pictures of him, then called the police. “You’ll need to come to the station later and explain why you were groping her.”

“How can you make something like that up?” The man noticed everyone around him looking at him and grew flustered and angry.

Song Qi gave him a crooked smile. “I accidentally dislocated the wrist of the man who had his hand on my friend’s thigh. That wasn’t you? You’re the only one screaming.”

“That’s bullshit!” The train pulled into a station. The man tried to get off, but people blocked his way.

Everyone was staring at him.

“Why would a girl make something like that up?”

“Exactly. Grown man like you, picking on a kid. Shame on you!”

“Scum!” an older woman beside them cursed.

“What are you all talking about?” the man yelled. Then he cried out again. “Which bitch stepped on me?!”

He yelped again.

By the time the police took him away, he could barely walk.

But the car had been so crowded that no one could tell who’d stepped on him, so the matter went no further.

When they left the police station and reached the cinema, the movie was about ten minutes from starting.

“Good thing we left early,” Gu Si said. She held her popcorn and sat obediently in her chair, swinging her legs.

“If we’d left a little later, maybe that wouldn’t have happened,” Song Qi said with a frown.

Gu Si sighed and held a piece of popcorn to Song Qi’s lips. “It’s okay. We dealt with it. No big deal.”

Song Qi plucked the popcorn from her fingers, accidentally brushing them. If that had happened on her turf, the man would’ve been sent to the mines as a slave.

Gu Si quickly pulled her hand away. She looked at Song Qi, her cheeks turning pink.

Song Qi came back to herself and gave Gu Si a puzzled look. “What?”

Gu Si cleared her throat. “Is it good?”

“Sweet. Delicious.”

Gu Si turned her gaze away. “Then take some yourself.”

“You’re not going to feed me?” Song Qi noticed Gu Si’s blush and leaned closer, resting an arm on the armrest and her chin in her hand as she watched her.

Gu Si leaned back. “Quit it! The movie’s about to start.”

“There’s still five minutes.”

“Use your own hands. It’s not like you don’t have any.” Gu Si silently looked away, grabbed a handful of popcorn, and stuffed it into her mouth. Some of it spilled all over her.

Song Qi laughed and settled back into her seat.

The movie was a suspense thriller, a little scary. Before long, Gu Si slowly leaned against Song Qi.

Song Qi silently shifted away, startling Gu Si.

Gu Si turned to look at her, a little confused. The theater was dark, but Song Qi could see her eyes clearly.

“You’re too hot. Move away.”

Gu Si narrowed her eyes, dragged Song Qi back, and clung tightly to her arm.

Song Qi’s smile deepened.

When the movie ended, Gu Si looked a little pale. “That was so scary. We should’ve watched something else.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Song Qi followed behind her. “What do you want for lunch?”

“What do you think of this restaurant?” Gu Si held up her phone for Song Qi to see.

Song Qi glanced at it. Nothing seemed particularly special. “Sure.”

“The plating there is so pretty.” Gu Si was thrilled. “I’ll take a picture and post it. It’ll look great.”

Song Qi looked at her.

She really didn’t understand girls these days.