Heist 1

Nanqi said guiltily, "Um... you knew everything..."

Song Zhao said speechlessly, "How could I not know you were selling things at school?"

"I just wanted to make some money, I didn't mean to hide it from you."

Song Zhao stopped and gently patted her forehead. "You want to pay back the money Li Jia borrowed for her, right?"

Nanqi grinned and said with a silly smile, "Hey, how come I can't hide anything from you?"

Why are you being so distant with me?

“It’s not that I’m being distant, it’s just that I feel it’s one thing for me to spend this money myself, but it’s another thing for me to lend it to someone else. Besides, I know that if I weren’t your boyfriend, you definitely wouldn’t lend it to me.”

Song Zhao retorted angrily, "So you know me now? And 'ifs'? There are no 'ifs' in this world. You're my boyfriend. Whether you lend me money or I lend you money, it's essentially the same thing. If you dare to take anything from me again, I'll..."

"So what?"

Song Zhao grinned mischievously, "I'll ignore you for a week."

Nanqi said anxiously, "You're ignoring me again. We already have so little time to see each other. If you ignore me for another week, I might as well go bang my head against a wall."

"Bumping into a wall?"

"Mmm!" Nanqi muttered, "So that I don't keep thinking about you. It's so painful to think about you but not be able to see you."

Song Zhao couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"You're still laughing at me? Do you know how hard this past month has been for me? I finally got to see you rest, and you're ignoring me instead," Nanqi said, feeling extremely wronged.

"Then do you still dare to treat me like a stranger?"

"Don't be so formal." Nanqi threw herself into her arms, hooking her arms around her neck. "Don't be angry with me. I was wrong. I promise I won't do it again."

"No, I'm still angry."

Nanqi looked into her eyes and said unhappily, "Ah~"

"I'll teach you a lesson later." Song Zhao gave her an aggressive look and gently pinched her chin.

Nanqi blushed and chuckled awkwardly, then hooked her arm around Song Zhao's. "Let's go."

The hotel wasn't far from the school; there was one near the nearest bus station. It wasn't very big, but it was clean. Song Zhao took a shower first, and Nan Qi sat on the bed waiting for her.

Although it wasn't the first time, it was definitely the first time doing this in a hotel, and Nanqi felt extremely uneasy, as if she had done something wrong behind her parents' backs.

After taking a shower, Song Zhao wrapped himself in a towel and lay down next to Nan Qi.

"Do you want to take a shower?" Song Zhao asked, untying his towel and drying his hair.

Nanqi's blood surged instantly, and she couldn't help but swallow, stiffly uttering a "hmm".

Nanqi entered the bathroom and had just started showering when Song Zhao walked in.

What are you doing?

"Let me rub your back."

"No need, you can wait in bed."

"I can't wait any longer, it's been so long since we've been close." Song Zhao hugged Nan Qi from behind, whispering his desires in her ear over and over again until Nan Qi gave in, body and soul.

"Nanqi, I love you~, really, I love you so much~"

"Hmm... be gentle..."

Before entering school the next day, Nanqi put a band-aid on her collarbone to cover up the mark, but the exposed band-aid made her feel guilty, so she tried to zip the zipper up as high as possible to completely cover it up.

Song Zhao asked her, "What's the purpose of this band-aid?"

She said, "An extra layer of protection is safer."

After the first class, Zhang Bing called Nan Qi to the director's office, where the physical education teacher and several younger students were also present.

"I have good news for you. Teacher Sun has secured spots for you to participate in the National Middle School Track and Field Competition. To ensure fairness, the school has decided that the top three students from the previous sports meet will participate, which means you guys. If you can achieve a good ranking in the competition, you will not only bring glory to the school, but you will also get extra points in your college entrance examination."

Teacher Sun gave them the registration forms and said, "Fill out the forms today and hand them in to my office tomorrow morning."

“Great…” The students were overjoyed, looking at each other and celebrating.

After everyone else left, Zhang Bing called Nan Qi aside and asked, "Do you know why I kept you here?"

"Let me participate in the competition properly," Nanqi said with a shrug and a smile.

Zhang Bing patted the back of her head, "Stop being so unreliable all the time."

Nanqi retorted, unconvinced, "I didn't..."

"You're the only senior in high school among us. If you win the championship, you'll get 20 extra points on your college entrance exam, and you might even get a guaranteed admission to a sports academy. You better train hard, you hear me?"

Zhang Bing gave her a disappointed look, fearing that she might have a bad attitude during the competition and miss such a good opportunity.

"I heard you, and I'm not someone who doesn't know right from wrong," Nanqi explained to herself.

Looking at the registration form in her hand, Nanqi was quite happy. She wanted to tell Song Zhao the good news right away, so she ran and jumped towards Song Zhao's class. The more she thought about it, the happier she became. Maybe they could really go to university in the same city in the future.

As she ran up to the third-floor stairwell, Xue suddenly called out to her. Nanqi thought it was because she hadn't greeted her when she went upstairs, and just as she turned around to say hello to the teacher, Teacher Xue spoke first, telling her to go to the office.

Nanqi believed she hadn't done anything wrong during this period. Whether it was listening to lectures or doing homework, she had been very serious. She shouldn't be scolded just because she didn't say hello to the teacher.

Just as she was wondering, Teacher Xue went to Class 3 and called Duan Peng over. This time she was even more confused, since the two of them had been called to the office at the same time before when they had made mistakes that required them to meet their parents.

Nanqi folded the registration form and put it in her pocket. She and Duan Peng looked at each other, both of them asking each other what bad things they had done behind each other's backs. They both shook their heads in confusion.

Upon entering the office, Teacher Xue spoke first: "Have you seen Li Jia recently?"

Nanqi was startled: We're going to have to invite Li Jia too?

"Teacher, we really haven't been doing anything lately..." Duan Peng said in a panic.

Xue glanced at him sideways and sighed, "I didn't say what you were doing, I was just asking if you've seen her recently... in the last couple of days."

Nanqi and Duan Peng shook their heads together.

“She missed the monthly exam and was absent from class today without asking for leave. We can’t get through to her parents either. You two have always been close to her. Do you have any news about her?”

Nanqi and Duan Peng exchanged glances, and after confirming that neither of them knew, their expressions turned serious, and they became worried.

"Is there?"

"No," Nanqi said in a low voice, frowning.

Duan Peng also said no.

"Alright then, you guys go back to class first."

As soon as Duan Peng left Teacher Xue's office, he asked nervously, "I hope Jia Jie isn't in trouble."

"I'll call her first."

Nanqi nervously dialed Li Jia's number, and after thirty seconds of ringing, the call was answered.

Nanqi said angrily, "Why didn't you come to school? The teachers couldn't reach you and asked us, which scared us to death, you know?!"

"..."

After a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, a weak voice said, "Daqi, I'm not going to school anymore. I... I'm getting married."

Upon hearing the word "marriage," Nanqi felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She nearly stumbled, leaning against the wall, and stammered, "Marriage..."

Duan Peng was so shocked when he heard this that his eyes widened and almost popped out.

"Wh...when?"

"I have something to do tomorrow." Li Jia's voice was noticeably hoarse. "The two of you don't need to come. It's a bit sudden, and there might not be enough seats."

After Li Jia finished speaking, she quickly hung up the phone.

"Hello? Hello!!"

Nanqi seemed to have lost her mind, staring blankly for a moment, and then, as if she had made up her mind, she ran outside without a care in the world.

Duan Peng chased after her, calling out, "Sister Qi, wait for me!"

Nanqi didn't even care about class anymore. She ran to the roadside, hailed a taxi, and Duan Peng was about to follow when Nanqi closed the car door for him. "Help me ask for leave, anything is fine."

Duan Peng pounded on the car door, calling out, "Sister Qi, Sister Qi..."

Nanqi gave Li Jia's home address and urged the driver to drive off quickly.

Nanqi was in a state of turmoil. She fidgeted with her fingers, recalling what Li Jia had told her last time. Li Jia had said that living at home was boring. Perhaps Li Jia had already been hinting at this to her then. Her expression clearly showed that she had something on her mind. Why hadn't she noticed?

Nanqi couldn't imagine the torment Li Jia had endured these past two days. She wondered how many times she had struggled internally, and to what extent her parents had pressured her to accept that at the age of 18, she would give up her studies, give up her happiness for the rest of her life, and choose to marry a stranger.

As the car drove onto the bumpy road, the distance was not far. Nanqi swayed from side to side, holding onto the handrail, and still urged the driver to speed up.

"Young lady, what urgent matter brings you to be in such a rush?"

Nanqi, her face grim, said, "It's about saving a life."

"Huh? This isn't an ambulance."

Nanqi stared at him with a stern face and unfathomable eyes, as if she were about to devour him. The driver was startled and dared not tease her any further.

Upon arrival at their destination, red lanterns were already hung around the Li family's house, and the Li family members were packing wedding candies in the courtyard.

Li's mother, Wang Suping, was the first to see Nanqi. She stopped what she was doing and walked over with a smile.

"Nanqi, why did you skip class and come here?"

As soon as she spoke, Li Cheng, the eldest son of the Li family, also saw her, looked up and sized her up, and then continued tying the bag of wedding candy.

Nanqi glared fiercely at Li Cheng and asked, "Where is Li Jia?"

Wang Suping said, "She's in the house; a bride can't see anyone before she gets married."

Upon hearing this, Nanqi's anger instantly surged. She kicked the table, sending it flying. Wang Suping screamed in fright, and Li Yanzhang threw away his cigarette, angrily asking, "What are you trying to do?"

Nanqi acted as if she hadn't heard, grabbed Li Cheng by the collar, and was about to punch him. Li Jia, who heard the commotion, came out and called out "Daqi," stopping her.

Li Cheng gave Nan Qi a light shove, saying, "I'm not going to argue with you today." He then turned to Li Jia and snorted coldly, saying, "I don't owe you anything this time."

After saying that, he went back into the house.

“You should leave. You are not welcome in our home,” Li Yanzhang said.

"I'm here today, and I'm not leaving."