Chapter 80: So Young, and Already Kissing
The next day, Su Keke, as usual, gulped down her milk in a few big swallows. After finishing, she showed her uncle the bottom of the cup.
“Uncle, I’m off to school. See you tonight!”
The little girl dashed away like a puff of smoke, and Qin Mochen couldn’t help but shake his head.
Aunt Lin smiled from the side. “Keke’s in a hurry to go see her friend.”
The moment Qin Mochen heard the word “friend,” he thought of the fact that the little girl had even made a male friend.
When it came to making friends, he absolutely couldn’t indulge her. The little girl’s outlook on life and values hadn’t fully taken shape yet—he had to guide her well, so she wouldn’t stray down the wrong path. Especially when it came to boundaries between men and women, he’d have to say a few more words in the future.
“Aunt Lin.”
Aunt Lin quickly answered, “Fourth Master.”
“I might come back a bit late today. If the girl comes back and asks about me, explain it to her.”
Right after saying that, Qin Mochen added, “Forget it. I’ll tell her myself.”
So, while Su Keke was still on the subway memorizing words, she received a text from her uncle:
Girl, I’ll be back a little late today. Eat dinner first—don’t wait for me.
Su Keke immediately asked: Are you working overtime? Uncle, take care of yourself, don’t get too tired. If you’re not back before eight, I’m going to look for you—because I’m Uncle’s little bodyguard.
Qin Mochen replied: Not overtime. Someone needs a beating—I’m going to fix him up. If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll be back before eight.
Su Keke thought: Uncle is going to beat someone up?
Uncle is actually going to beat someone up?
After spacing out for a bit, Su Keke replied: Okay, Uncle. If it’s necessary, let Uncle’s bodyguards do it instead. Beating people is tiring too.
On the other side, when Qin Mochen saw that message, he let out a pleased chuckle.
The girl’s focus was actually on whether he’d get tired from hitting someone.
How could that be? That kid Qin Junchi couldn’t take a beating at all—he wouldn’t wear him out.
Su Keke stepped through the school gates and merged into the stream of students.
At a glance, it was a sea of boys and girls all in the same school uniforms, chatting and laughing as they walked toward the teaching building.
She quite liked this kind of atmosphere.
Back in Peach Blossom Village, she was used to studying alone—sitting at the small wooden table inside the thatched cottage, or dragging out a little stool to sit in front of the cottage. When her eyes got sore from reading, she would look up at the peach trees on the mountain—sometimes the whole mountain would be a wash of pink blossoms, sometimes tiny peaches had already formed, and sometimes it was nothing but bare branches, with sparrows chirping noisily on the trunks.
What she felt now was completely different from back then, but it wasn’t bad either. Sitting in a classroom, that tense, studious atmosphere could make a person’s desire to learn even stronger.
“Manman, Daxing—I really miss you guys,” Su Keke said bluntly, not hiding her feelings at all.
Qin Xing was speechless. “Keke, it’s only been two days. You’re making it sound like we haven’t seen each other for a whole month.”
Su Keke giggled. “But it feels like a long time. The ancients said, ‘One day apart feels like three autumns.’ If you take it literally, it matches how I feel right now.”
Luo Man burst out laughing and asked her, “Keke, did you memorize the key points I organized for you?”
“I did. I remember most of them. I should be able to finish the rest before the exam.”
Luo Man gave her a thumbs-up. “Awesome. If you keep this up, it’ll be no problem for your score to beat the class average this time.”
“Class is about to start. Let’s talk later,” Zhao Kexin reminded them.
Su Keke went back to her seat in the last row. When she saw the bare backrest, she let out a small “Huh?”
She had previously stuck a cut piece of yellow talisman paper on the outer side of the backrest. Why was it gone now?
Bao Chen in front turned around to look at her. “Classmate Su Keke, are you looking for that yellow paper with the character ‘mountain’ written on it?”
Su Keke nodded.
Bao Chen explained, “The hygiene committee member thought your thing affected the class appearance, so they had someone tear it off. But why did you stick a yellow paper on the chair, and even write ‘mountain’ on it?”
Su Keke hadn’t planned to tell anyone about this, but since someone asked, she explained anyway. “I sit in the last row of the classroom. There’s no support behind me, and that’s a feng shui taboo. In front is the desk; behind you should have a ‘backing mountain.’ Only then can it form a layout where the study area is surrounded by living qi. When qi is旺, your luck is旺 too, and it’s easier to calm your mind while studying.”
Bao Chen listened in a daze, stunned by every word.
After Su Keke finished explaining, her gaze fell on the area between his brows. Out of kindness, she added a reminder: “Classmate Bao Chen, don’t walk alone today. If you’re going anywhere, go with someone.”
Bao Chen shot her a baffled look and felt that Su Keke was kind of strange.
As for her warning, he naturally didn’t take it to heart. He was a boy, not a girl—why would he need to do everything in a group? Childish.
Seeing his unconcerned attitude, Su Keke didn’t say anything more.
The space between Bao Chen’s brows was faintly dark; within today he would have a blood mishap. But it wouldn’t be serious, so she only reminded him. If he didn’t care, then forget it.
Unexpectedly, it came true very quickly.
During break-time exercises, Bao Chen didn’t come back. It was said that several people teamed up, dragged him into a corner, and beat him. Later, a passing classmate sent him to the infirmary.
The few people in front of Su Keke were quietly discussing it.
“I heard that early this morning, Class 1’s school belle Jiang Fangfei and senior Xu Hao were called to the office for a talk. Bao Chen getting beaten is probably related to that.”
“What happened? Tell us, tell us!”
“According to gossip, last Friday night, Bao Chen ran into those two hiding in the little grove kissing—tsk, his hands were even inside her clothes. Who would’ve thought? So many people pursue the school belle, and she never clearly said who she liked, and then suddenly a third-year Xu Hao pops up.”
“Holy crap—why Xu Hao? Besides having a good family, what else does he have?”
“Listen to you, so sour. Just being born into the Xu family is enough. One of the four great wealthy clans in the capital, you know.”
“But my goddess’s family isn’t bad either—the Jiang family ranks in the top ten in the capital. So I think my goddess must’ve been forced by that spoiled rich kid…”
Su Keke heard only halfway before she didn’t dare keep listening. Her small face quietly turned red.
Su Keke had grown up in Peach Blossom Village. The people she had the most contact with were her Shifu and ghosts. The books she read were all feng shui books. She thought she understood men-and-women matters very well—when in fact she was just a silly little fool who believed you could have a baby simply by sharing a blanket and chatting.
After all, Su Keke and Old Su were too poor. They didn’t even have a TV. Their phones were both ancient antiques. Other than occasionally going out to buy yellow talisman paper and a luopan compass and such, the only time the little girl got to see the world was when Shifu went out to take jobs and she followed along.
People said that in ancient times, even if a proper young lady didn’t go out, there were nannies and elders to teach her manners, rules, and those things between men and women—but Su Keke had none of that. Old Su was a rough old man. Aside from teaching her feng shui, he never taught her anything about that side of things.
Su Keke’s understanding of it all was stuck in her narrow little experience and what she’d read in books.
So now Su Keke was extremely shy. She knew modern people weren’t like the ancients in books—the customs were very open. But—
In ancient times, people married at fifteen or sixteen. Nowadays, people don’t marry until their twenties, even their thirties. So in modern terms, seventeen or eighteen was basically the same as eleven or twelve back then, right?
Th-This… they’re still so young—how can they already be kissing?
