After leaving the milk tea shop, Sheng Qingxi didn’t immediately return to Shengkai.
Recently, Sheng Lan had noticed her unusual behavior. Although Sheng Lan didn’t say anything, she was clearly worried and was cautious when speaking to her.
Sheng Qingxi went to a convenience store and bought a big tub of ice cream, heading to a park near No. 1 High School to sit down alone. This was one of her stress-relief methods in her previous life—convenient and effective.
During this time, Sheng Qingxi didn’t know how to interact with Lin Ran.
She couldn’t bring herself to calmly tell Lin Ran about her past, nor had she decided whether to tell him the truth about his death in their previous life.
Because in this life, many things had changed, especially after Cheng Jiayue told her that matter today. In her previous life, she hadn’t heard about this from Lin Yanyan, and based on Lin Ran’s reaction, he seemed to have only learned about it now as well.
Sheng Qingxi could no longer be certain whether those things from the future would still happen.
At the very least… she needed to wait until Lin Ran reached adulthood.
Sheng Qingxi lowered her head, digging into the tub of ice cream. She had already eaten more than half of it.
The cold sensation helped her stay clear-headed.
After sitting for about an hour, Sheng Qingxi started feeling better.
She got up, intending to throw the empty tub into the trash bin when hurried footsteps suddenly approached from behind. At first, Sheng Qingxi didn’t pay attention—people often jogged around here for exercise.
But just as she was about to turn around, she realized something was off.
This time, however, the person didn’t give her a chance to react.
She was tightly embraced from behind, the force so strong it felt as though the person was trying to merge her into their body.
The breathing next to her ear was heavy.
She could even hear the frantic pounding of his heartbeat.
Lin Ran pressed Sheng Qingxi firmly against him. He had come all the way from the west side of the city, searching for her near No. 1 High School, not sparing a single passerby on the way. Finally, he found her by checking the surveillance at the milk tea shop and saw she had gone to the convenience store.
It wasn’t until this moment, when she was safe in his arms, that Lin Ran felt his blood start to circulate again.
Lin Ran had to admit one fact.
There was no cure for him.
After a moment, Lin Ran asked in a hoarse voice, “Why didn’t you go home?”
Sheng Qingxi was silent for a moment before answering honestly, “I wanted ice cream. I was going to go home after I finished it.”
Lin Ran didn’t loosen his grip, in fact, he tightened the hold around her waist.
He didn’t respond to Sheng Qingxi’s explanation, instead bringing up Cheng Jiayue, “The person who came to find you earlier—no matter what she said to you, you’re not allowed to see her again. If she comes to find you again, call me.”
Cheng Jiayue’s expression had unsettled Lin Ran.
He didn’t care what that woman had said to Sheng Qingxi, he only cared about her.
Sheng Qingxi hesitated for a moment, then, after a few seconds, raised her hand and gently placed it over the back of Lin Ran’s hand. She spoke softly, “Lin Ran, you’re holding me too tightly.”
Lin Ran should have let her go.
But at this moment, he couldn’t bring himself to let her leave. He only held her tighter, almost as if gritting his teeth, as though trying to make a point, “No matter how much time you need, I’ll wait.”
Lin Ran felt like he was truly being childish.
He was the one who said the harsh words, and now he was the one regretting them. Song Shiman was absolutely right—he wasn’t worthy.
He couldn’t keep treating her like this.
Sheng Qingxi sighed and responded softly, “Lin Ran, when you turn eighteen, I’ll tell you everything. We can talk about the future then.”
Lin Ran thought he had misheard, “How long did you say?”
It was only June now, and his birthday was in January.
Sheng Qingxi was asking him to wait a full seven months. Lin Ran had thought she’d only stay mad for a month at most.
He hesitated between waiting seven months or losing face for a second before decisively choosing to be shameless.
His voice was low and muffled, “Don’t ignore me. Let me take you home.”
Sheng Qingxi shook her head. “I’ll go home by myself.”
Lin Ran felt a slight bitterness in his heart.
After a moment, he slowly loosened his grip on her. As soon as she felt him let go, Sheng Qingxi tried to put some distance between them. Initially, Lin Ran had intended to release her, but seeing her move away made him unhappy.
Was he really that annoying?
Suddenly, Lin Ran grabbed her again, pulling her back.
Sheng Qingxi: “…”
Sheng Qingxi had always had a hard time dealing with Lin Ran. After thinking for a moment, she said, “You missed the midterm exams last month. Your score on the first monthly exam was 517, ranking 198th in the grade. If you rank within the top 150 in the final exam, I’ll talk to you.”
Lin Ran: ?
For a moment, Lin Ran felt both pathetic and scummy.
After hearing Sheng Qingxi’s words, Lin Ran was silent for a long time. Seeing no reaction from him, Sheng Qingxi added another condition, “If you make it into the top 50, I’ll transfer to Class 1 for senior year.”
Lin Ran: ??
Suddenly, he felt like he could do it!
Although Sheng Qingxi said she didn’t want Lin Ran to escort her, he still shamelessly followed her onto bus 113. Even though she didn’t speak to him the entire ride, Lin Ran still felt like he’d come back to life.
—
Perhaps Sheng Qingxi’s words had worked, as she didn’t see Lin Ran for a while after that.
However, she occasionally heard about him through Gu Mingji, who told her that Lin Ran practically lived in the office. Every time Gu went to see Jiang Mingyuan, he would always find Lin Ran there.
Over the past month, Lin Ran had managed to get to know all the teachers in each class.
It was rare for Gu Mingji to hear Jiang Mingyuan praise anyone, and recently, aside from Sheng Qingxi, Lin Ran was the only other person he’d praised.
Though Sheng Qingxi hadn’t seen Lin Ran in person during this time, every night, whether at the gates of No. 1 High School or at the Shengkai Orphanage, she’d spot people keeping an eye on her. Whenever she got on or off the bus, these two people would quickly lower their heads to send text messages.
It was clear that Lin Ran had sent them.
Sheng Qingxi pretended not to notice, allowing them to report her whereabouts to Lin Ran.
She knew Lin Ran was worried about her, especially since he had already lost his temper several times over her habit of not carrying a phone.
…
Before she knew it, July had arrived. No. 1 High School was preparing for the final exams, and after that, all the second-year students would be able to enjoy their last summer vacation.
Since the first monthly exam, Sheng Qingxi had never left the top exam room, while Lin Ran, after missing that exam, had ended up back in the last exam room.
Over the past month, Lin Ran had meticulously studied the scores of the top 50 students in the grade.
His girl was sitting securely in the first-place spot, never once dropping down. She kept surpassing herself, leaving everyone else far behind—no one could catch up to her.
For the first time, Lin Ran truly felt the vast distance between him and Sheng Qingxi.
It wasn’t until one minute before the exam started that Lin Ran finally closed his notebook.
Next to him, He Mo and Xie Zhen were as quiet as chickens. Lately, Lin Ran had been acting like he’d lost his mind. While they were asleep, he was doing practice exams, and when they woke up, he was already up reading.
Lin Ran hadn’t even worked this hard during the middle school entrance exams.
They figured Lin Ran had been hit hard by the breakup. One minute he was skipping classes, the next he was practically living in the office—if that wasn’t a split personality, what was?
But neither of them dared to say anything, fearing that one day Lin Ran might disappear altogether.
After the math exam that afternoon, Sheng Qingxi knew that the chances of Lin Ran making it into the top 50 were slim. Most people were groaning after the exam, and some even came up to Sheng Qingxi to compare answers as soon as it was over.
While the overall mood was gloomy, the atmosphere on He Mo and Xie Zhen’s side had dropped to freezing.
Lin Ran left the school with a dark expression the moment the exam was over.
Apart from his two precious babies, 2009 and 2018, Lin Ran didn’t take anything else with him when he left.
His summer homework sat abandoned on the desk, looking lonely.
—
That night, at the Mingmen Club.
He Mo and Xie Zhen didn’t dare make a sound.
The rest of the private room was lively, but Lin Ran’s corner felt as cold as the Arctic Circle.
One of the underclassmen on Lin Ran’s team had somehow heard about his breakup. Tonight, he had secretly invited the school beauty from No. 6 High to come over. This school beauty had a bit of a backstory with Lin Ran.
A month ago, when Lin Ran was going out every week to pick fights, he happened to come across some punks harassing the girl. Since he was in a bad mood, he beat them up, but he didn’t pay any attention to the school beauty afterward—he just walked away.
Originally, the school beauty hadn’t planned on coming tonight, but when she heard Lin Ran’s name and saw a photo, she realized he was the guy who had saved her that day.
The underclassman sat with the school beauty on one side, pointing toward Lin Ran and whispering, “Sis, my brother Ran just went through a breakup. Look at him—good looks, rich too—you two are a perfect match! I think tonight’s the perfect opportunity.”
The school beauty hesitated and whispered back, “He doesn’t seem to have a great temper. He was really fierce when he was fighting that day. And I don’t think he was saving me—it seemed like he just wanted to fight.”
The underclassman slapped his thigh, “No way! Who goes out looking for fights just for fun? That would be crazy!”
The school beauty thought for a moment but didn’t respond.
While the underclassman and the school beauty were deep in conversation, Xie Zhen couldn’t take it anymore.
He quietly pulled out his phone and began texting Sheng Qingxi.
Since Sheng Qingxi had helped them find Lin Ran before, both He Mo and Xie Zhen had added her on WeChat to thank her.
[Pandadada: Fairy! Help! Brother Ran seems to have split personalities!]
[Pandadada: He’s drinking like crazy tonight. If you have time, please come over and check on him QAQ]
[Little Fairy: Where are you guys?]
As soon as Xie Zhen saw this reply, he knew there was hope. He quickly sent her the address of Mingmen and the location of their private room.
Finally, someone was coming to rescue him and He Mo.
Half an hour later.
Xie Zhen received a message from Sheng Qingxi and quietly slipped out of the private room to go downstairs and meet her.
Meanwhile, the school beauty from No. 6 High had downed a glass of wine, the alcohol giving her a bit of courage. Although Lin Ran looked fierce, he was handsome. She reassured herself, “A handsome guy is always good to me.”
Taking a deep breath, she pushed her way through the dim, crowded room and headed toward Lin Ran’s corner.
Lin Ran was biting a cigarette, not even lifting his head to acknowledge the person standing in front of him, as if he hadn’t noticed her at all. Even He Mo was a bit confused—why was this girl just standing there, not saying anything? Who was she?
The school beauty from No. 6 High lowered her head, too nervous to look directly at Lin Ran, fidgeting with the hem of her dress as she spoke one word at a time, “Lin Ran, thank you for saving me that day. I came today to thank you in person.”
“And… do you, do you have a girlfriend?”
Just as Xie Zhen pushed the door open, he was dumbstruck by the scene of the girl confessing to Lin Ran.
He and Sheng Qingxi had witnessed the whole thing—this girl walking up to Lin Ran and starting to talk to him. In a panic, Xie Zhen glanced at Sheng Qingxi, stammering, “Fairy, this…”
But the next second, Xie Zhen clammed up.
Because Sheng Qingxi had already stepped past him and was heading straight for that corner.