75 Chapter 75

◎Sister, you're too naive◎

During the afternoon activity period, Zhan Xinyue, unusually, did not do her homework in the classroom. Instead, she went to the back playground and wandered aimlessly along the track by herself.

The next day, Xu Shen didn't go back to work all day and was dragged to stand outside Lao Fang's office again.

Old Fang originally only said to make him stand for one night, but after going back last night, he felt something was wrong. He felt that he had been fooled by this kid but could not find any evidence. So, he rushed to Class 10 early this morning and ordered Xu Shen to continue standing and reflecting on his actions.

Because of this, Lao Zhou was clearly in a bad mood. He turned the entire morning class into a class meeting, giving everyone a stern lecture, determined to nip any potential problems in the bud and prevent them from learning his lawless ways.

Xu Shen has always been like this, whether in his past life or now.

Although Xu Shen was popular, he wasn't universally loved. There were many people on campus who disapproved of his flamboyant behavior. Everyone else lived a conventional life, but someone could live so freely, which was enough to make some people hate him.

However, Zhan Xinyue does not belong to this type of person. On the contrary, perhaps because she was well-behaved in her previous life and rarely did anything out of line, she was easily moved by Xu Shen's flamboyant, passionate, and unrestrained personality.

Although he can sometimes be considered reckless and impulsive, acting without regard for the consequences, this is a precious quality unique to youth and is also Xu Shen's greatest charm.

Especially for Zhan Xinyue, everything is quite different.

In that tender and innocent age when she was just beginning to experience love, there was someone who made no attempt to hide his affection for her, openly proclaiming it to the world.

As a result of the curiosity and attention that followed, she was caught off guard and became the center of attention several times. She was both apprehensive and shy, but she couldn't help but feel a slight stirring in her heart because of his ardent feelings.

After walking around a few times, she went up the steps by the playground to the stands and found a seat.

A few rows below, a small figure was already seated. It was a little girl, her school uniform disheveled, sitting with her legs drawn up, revealing a beautifully sculpted profile.

Zhan Xinyue glanced at her face unconsciously a few times, and suddenly felt that this person looked familiar. Then she noticed a strand of orange hair peeking out from behind her ear, and finally remembered that this little girl was Shi Ziqian's sister.

I remember Shi Ziqian mentioned last time that he and Shi Qiyue were half-siblings. Judging from Shi Ziqian's appearance, Zhan Xinyue had no doubt that his mother must have been a great beauty. And now, judging from his appearance, his stepmother, who is also Shi Qiyue's mother, must also be extremely beautiful. After all, Shi Qiyue is only twelve or thirteen years old and has not yet fully grown up, but it is not difficult to see that she is a beauty in the making. At this moment, she is sitting there loosely, and even just showing a side profile is enough to attract attention.

The playground was bustling with activity, but she sat alone on the bleachers, gazing down with an air of detachment beyond her years. Zhan Xinyue had a good impression of her from their last meeting, finding the girl both quirky and surprisingly well-behaved, quite unlike Shi Ziqian's personality.

Zhan Xinyue remained seated, showing no intention of going over to greet them.

Below, Shi Qiyue sat lazily, her face turned to the side, revealing a white object dangling from her mouth.

This is… Zhan Xinyue fell silent. As expected of Shi Ziqian’s sister, could she have been influenced by him?

After a moment of internal struggle, Zhan Xinyue sighed inwardly, got up, went down the stairs, and sat down next to her.

Shi Qiyue didn't react much to the presence of another person beside her. She merely lifted her eyelids and lazily glanced to the side, but showed a slight surprise after recognizing Zhan Xinyue's face: "Hmm, sister?"

It seems that Shi Qiyue still remembers her.

"Hello, what a coincidence to run into you." Zhan Xinyue carefully chose her words, "But kids can't smoke, you know..."

Shi Qiyue raised an eyebrow, a strange expression on her face.

As the exhibition crescent moon drew closer, it became clear that what she was holding in her mouth didn't look like a cigarette at all, but rather a thin, white plastic stick. As if to corroborate her discovery, Shi Qiyue also opened her mouth and took it out; the other end of the stick was wrapped with a round candy ball—it was a lollipop.

Shi Qiyue blinked her big eyes at her: "Sister, how could you think of me like that?"

Zhan Xinyue was immediately ashamed of her misunderstanding. Shi Qiyue was only in the first or second year of junior high school, and she had actually made such a guess. She quickly apologized to her, "I'm sorry, I just misread it."

Shi Qiyue added, "Only a madman would sit on the playground smoking, as if he's afraid others won't see him?"

Looking at Shi Qiyue's matter-of-fact expression, Zhan Xinyue didn't know what to say, so she awkwardly changed the subject: "Why aren't you going out to play? Why are you sitting here all by yourself?"

Shi Qiyue turned back, put the lollipop in her mouth again, and looked at the noisy crowd on the playground below: "Boring, there's nothing to talk about with them, they're too childish."

Zhan Xinyue couldn't help but laugh. "What, are you that mature?"

Shi Qiyue let out a silent "hmm" through her nose, expressing her disdain.

The aura between people is a mysterious thing. For example, Zhan Xinyue hadn't actually met her many times, but she had a good impression of this cool little girl. Of course, it could also just be because she was very pretty.

"And you, why are you alone too?" Shi Qiyue asked, her face pressed against her knees, turning her head to look at her.

Zhan Xinyue said, "People spend most of their time alone."

Shi Qiyue nodded and then asked, "Where's my brother?"

"Um?"

"Where did Shi Ziqian go?" Shi Qiyue asked.

“Oh, he went to the hospital,” Zhan Xinyue said. “He has a dog, and he often has to ask for leave during activity periods to take it for physical therapy.”

“He really does have a dog,” Shi Qiyue said. “He wouldn’t even let me go see it. He’s so stingy.”

"The dog is still injured and hasn't fully recovered. It should agree to let you see it once it's better," Zhan Xinyue guessed.

"Tch, if you don't want me to see it, then don't. I don't care." Shi Qiyue turned to look at her again. "Sister, why did he suddenly get a dog, and a sick one at that? Has he lost his mind?"

After these few interactions, Zhan Xinyue had become quite accustomed to the way she and Shi Ziqian communicated: "Maybe it's because he likes small animals."

"Him?" Shi Qiyue's face showed a strange expression again. "Does he look like a pet lover?"

Shi Ziqian's appearance did seem too aloof, not like someone who would like these furry creatures. But the truth is, he was very patient and attentive to Panpan. Zhan Xinyue recalled the day Shi Ziqian knelt on the ground in the pavilion, teasing Panpan, and the corners of her mouth curved into a smile: "That's not necessarily true, you can't judge a book by its cover."

“That’s absolutely impossible,” Shi Qiyue said firmly. “Knowing him as I do, dogs would definitely be in the top three things my brother hates most.”

"The thing you hate the most?" Zhan Xinyue was taken aback.

“Yes, that’s right.” Shi Qiyue said with certainty.

Zhan Xinyue was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who are the other two?"

“Well,” Shi Qiyue said, “the person he hates the most is Zhu Qing, oh, that’s my dad’s mistress.”

She had heard Shi Ziqian mention this matter before; at that time, he only mentioned that his father's third marriage was to his aunt, but he never imagined that it involved a third party interfering in the marriage. Hearing her speak so openly about her family's private matters now, Zhan Xinyue couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

However, Shi Qiyue didn't see anything wrong with it and continued, "That woman insisted on getting together with her brother-in-law, which made Shi Ziqian's grandmother very ill and she passed away not long after. If I were Shi Ziqian, I would hate her too."

Zhan Xinyue paused, a memory suddenly flashing before her eyes of Shi Ziqian's somber gaze when he mentioned the watch his grandmother had bought for him. After a moment of silence, she changed the subject: "There's one more thing, what else does he dislike?"

Shi Qiyue: "Then it's uncertain. Maybe it's my dad, or maybe it's me, haha."

Zhan Xinyue was a little surprised that she would think that way, and said seriously, "Don't think like that. I think your brother is very good to you. How could he hate you?"

Shi Qiyue thought for a moment: "Okay, he's been alright to me." She braced herself on the seat beneath her, her slender legs swaying back and forth: "But maybe out of guilt, he feels a little sorry for me."

After a moment, she murmured to herself, "Actually, it has nothing to do with him."

Zhan Xinyue didn't want to comment too much on their family affairs. Seeing that she was in a low mood, she didn't bring up the topic again, but instead asked, "By the way, why did you say that Shi Ziqian doesn't like dogs?"

"I can't really explain it, maybe he's a bit of a germaphobe or something, and he was bitten by a dog before, haha." Shi Qiyue, who had been feeling down just moments before, suddenly burst out laughing as she recalled the scene of Shi Ziqian being bitten by a dog.

Zhan Xinyue wasn't quite used to her quirky personality yet, but she still chuckled twice.

“I also have an older brother named Shi Qile. He had a dog when he was little, and that dog bit Shi Ziqian on the first day he came to our house. After that, I never saw those two creatures in the same room again. Fortunately, Shi Qile took the dog with him when he left…”

Shi Qiyue kept talking, but Zhan Xinyue gradually stopped listening to what she was saying and stared blankly ahead.

If he really didn't like dogs, why did he keep Panpan? Zhan Xinyue recalled the scene when she found Panpan; it seemed that he had taken the initiative to suggest it.

Was it because of her? Actually, he didn't need to go to such lengths.

Seeing that she was absent-minded, Shi Qiyue didn't say anything. She gradually fell silent and continued to sit there lazily, crunching the lollipop in her mouth.

After sitting for a while, Shi Qiyue turned her head listlessly and asked, "I'm hungry. Sister, is there anything to eat?"

"The cafeteria must be open by now," Zhan Xinyue said, reaching into her pocket and finding a package. She immediately knew what it was and, suddenly intrigued, said mysteriously to Shi Qiyue, "Open your mouth, and I'll give you something fun to eat."

There was a packet of popping candy in my pocket; I don't even know when I put it there.

Shi Qiyue opened her mouth with a hint of disbelief, and Zhan Xinyue poured some candy onto her tongue. The popping candy immediately crackled and popped in her mouth.

Zhan Xinyue laughed, "How are you feeling? Aren't you a little happier?"

Shi Qiyue closed her mouth expressionlessly: "Sister, you're so childish."

"Ah... how come you're not surprised at all?"

"It's just popping candy, right? The generation gap between us doesn't seem that big." Shi Qiyue curled her lips, closed her eyes, and rolled her eyes. "Although this thing is already a relic of the past, I unfortunately still caught the tail end of the era."

Shi Qiyue's expression wasn't exactly polite, but it looked incredibly cute on her still-chubby face. Zhan Xinyue wasn't offended, but said with a hint of regret, "Your reaction is so different from your brother's."

"Him? What was his reaction?" Shi Qiyue asked suspiciously.

"When he first ate popping candy, he was startled and stared at me for a long time without saying a word. Thinking about it now, it's quite funny; it's rare to see him make that kind of expression."

Shi Qiyue's expression was complicated, revealing a look that was hard to describe: "Sister, are you sure the person you just described is my brother? He was scared by the candy?"

"Yes, it was his first time eating it."

"He's faking it, isn't he? He's definitely faking it." Shi Qiyue seemed to be imagining that scene, her body trembling dramatically. "Do you really believe he's never even eaten popping candy?"

Zhan Xinyue lost her confidence because of her tone, and weakly retorted, "It's normal for boys not to have eaten these things much."

Shi Qiyue looked at her as if she were looking at something extremely interesting. After a while, she said, "Sister, you are too naive. You can easily be deceived by men."

She reached out and took the bag of candy from Zhan Xinyue's hand, pouring it all into her mouth. The candy granules jumped up and down, exploding in her mouth like a string of tiny firecrackers. Shi Qiyue kept her mouth tightly shut, waiting for the series of explosions to finally end before muttering in a low voice that Zhan Xinyue couldn't hear, "Scheming man!"