Chapter 19: Seven Scratches
It took a lot of effort to make sense of Lin Xiaoxue’s “logic,” but the result was that the whole class’s mood was badly affected.
Gu Qinghuan took a moment to recover, her expression serious. “If that really is the case, then Qin Yue is right — we have to talk to Lin Xiaoxue first and make it clear that Xie Xiangxue has absolutely no interest in Yan Zhengqing.”
“Lock that crazy man and woman together and keep them from wreaking havoc on humanity,” Jiang Chuchu enunciated.
Because Yan Zhengqing had delayed them for so long, a few classmates who had other things to do had to hurry off. Xie Xiangxue felt a bit guilty, thinking her matter had wasted everyone’s time, but was instead comforted in return.
“It’s not your fault — this bill should go to Yan Zhengqing,” said Qian Xiaolan, who was the one in a rush to get to tutoring. “Besides, it didn’t take that long.”
Xu Xinghe shoved things from her desk into her bag and nodded firmly. “Exactly. And next time something like this happens, don’t leave me out. How could watching the drama possibly delay business? If it really came to a fight, I could lend a hand too.”
Seeing that the situation had finally calmed down, Gu Qinghuan also breathed a sigh of relief. She was about to head to her seat to pack up her bag when she noticed Xia He was still standing beside her. Startled, she blurted out, “Ah! Sorry! I forgot about you!”
Xia He shook his head. “It’s fine. I understand — big sister has her own things to handle. I don’t mind waiting a little longer.”
Jiang Chuchu’s face went blank. Is this really Xia He?
Hearing him say that only made Gu Qinghuan feel guiltier. The only reason Yan Zhengqing had left just now was thanks to Xia He reminding him of the dinner party.
Although being tailed like this still made her a little uncomfortable, she was much more at ease accepting it now. “Just wait a sec. I’ll finish packing and we’ll head out together.”
She didn’t even bother to ask whether Xia He’s route matched hers. Since he knew about the Yan family’s banquet, he obviously had a certain family background. Even if it wasn’t on his way, it would just mean his driver taking a slightly longer route.
Jiang Chuchu wanted to say something, but one look at Xia He’s smiling eyes and she chose instead to give a cautious reminder: “Mind your classmate-distance.”
Gu Qinghuan knew she meant Xia He, but she had thought it through — for now, Xia He hadn’t caused her any real trouble. The only thing was that the “big sister” title was uncomfortably mushy.
Given that, she would just focus on doing her student council work well and keeping him in check.
As they walked toward the school gates, Xia He still kept chatting: “Big sister, are you going to find Lin Xiaoxue?”
“Of course we have to. We’ve got to clear up her misunderstanding right away so she won’t drag Xie Xiangxue into it again,” Gu Qinghuan sighed.
From what she knew, Xie Xiangxue’s family owned a company, but it couldn’t compare to the Yan family. She studied at Mingde High mainly because Mingde had better international exchange student resources.
Xie Xiangxue was a dance major, planning to study abroad, and wanted to spend a year as an exchange student in high school to get a feel for things.
For Gu Qinghuan, studying abroad wasn’t in her dictionary, but she could imagine: if Yan Zhengqing decided to interfere, getting that international exchange slot would be much harder for Xie Xiangxue.
“But with Lin Xiaoxue’s brain, I don’t think you can reason with her,” Xia He said slowly, delivering a sharp comment.
Gu Qinghuan’s face wrinkled like a bitter melon.
“How about letting those two shift their target?” Xia He suggested. “There’s bound to be some girl who does want to cling to Yan Zhengqing. As long as you create an opening, he’ll definitely shift his attention to her.”
Gu Qinghuan stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Xia He.
For some reason, Xia He felt a little nervous. He’d never been nervous even facing that old man from the Xia family. “Big sister?”
“I don’t want to drag unrelated people into this,” Gu Qinghuan said. “No matter how bad the girl you’re imagining might be, I’m not going to hand her that kind of ladder.”
She didn’t elaborate further — after all, who was she to talk big?
“It’s better to start with Lin Xiaoxue,” Gu Qinghuan took a breath. “First, find out which class she’s in, then go talk to her in person.”
“I bet she’s in Class 12!” Xia He raised his hand.
Mingde High had enrolled 252 first-year students that year, split into 12 classes, each with about 20 students.
“How do you know?” Gu Qinghuan asked.
“Because Yan Zhengqing is in Class 12, so I guessed she is too,” Xia He said.
It was quite possible — judging by Yan Zhengqing, he would probably want to be in the same class as the girl he liked.
While they were talking, they reached the school gates.
Gu Qinghuan was about to head toward the bus stop when Xia He waved. A black sedan pulled up in front of them.
Xia He pulled open the car door. “Let’s go, big sister! Oh, right — where’s your house?”
Gu Qinghuan took a deep breath. Fine. She’d expected this; she might as well get used to it sooner.
The Xia family’s car wasn’t quite like Jiang Chuchu’s. It wasn’t about the interior configuration or space — there was just this indescribable sense of pressure.
Feeling a little nervous, Gu Qinghuan didn’t give her home address, instead naming a food street near her house, saying she wanted to pick up something to eat.
They had a decent chat on the way, and soon they were close to the food street. Gu Qinghuan was getting ready to get out.
“Big sister, when are you going to find Lin Xiaoxue? I want to come too,” Xia He said.
Bringing Xia He along wasn’t impossible, but Gu Qinghuan was worried that with too many people, given Lin Xiaoxue’s “logic,” she might misunderstand again.
She shook her head. “I plan to ask Yu Xin if she’s willing to come with me.”
Yu Xin could understand Lin Xiaoxue’s thinking and might be helpful — but it depended on whether she wanted to come.
If Yu Xin didn’t, she’d go alone.
Xia He was a little disappointed but still said, “If anything happens, you can always contact me.”
“If something really happens, I’ll contact everyone I can,” Gu Qinghuan replied.
Xia He pouted. Fine. No need to rush — getting closer couldn’t be forced.
He was wondering if he should hide nearby the next day when he noticed Gu Qinghuan looking at his arm — or rather, at the scratches on it.
“Big sister, are you looking at this?” Xia He extended his arm toward her.
“Mm,” Gu Qinghuan admitted readily. “Today and yesterday, the number of scratches is the same.”
Yesterday, when she tried to pick at them, she’d counted — there were seven in total. The closer to the wrist, the older they looked; the newest, the seventh, was already near the crook of his elbow.
“No increase — isn’t that good?” Gu Qinghuan said.
Xia He tilted his head. “If there’s never an increase again, will big sister be happy?”
“Yes,” Gu Qinghuan nodded firmly. “If they can decrease, I’ll be even happier.”
“Then I’ll work hard,” Xia He smiled. “When that happens, big sister has to praise me!”
“I can even treat you to milk tea and fried chicken,” Gu Qinghuan said, spotting a fried chicken shop outside the window.
“It’s a deal,” Xia He said, satisfied.
Once Gu Qinghuan got out and went into a braised food shop, Xia He finally said lightly, “Back to the villa.”
He didn’t mean the Xia family’s villa, but another one under the old master’s name where he lived alone, only occasionally returning to the main house.
Living in a hotel long-term had been fine, but when the old master got angry and said it was inappropriate, he’d gone along and taken this villa instead.
A courtyard of over a thousand square meters, nearly 1,500 square meters indoors, one floor underground, three above.
And he especially liked the underground library.
When the old master had said this villa would be his in the future, those two couples had nearly died of anger.
Remembering their faces then made Xia He chuckle again.
He wondered when he could bring Gu Qinghuan to see the villa — would she be shocked?
