Chapter 25 Distancing Herself From Jiang Xuchi She didn't want to be manipulated by him anymore. ...

Jiang Xuchi was very quiet during self-study. Qin Man knew he was a focused person, but she didn't expect him to actually be there to study.

Qin Man recalled that Jiang Xuchi had always been among the top students in his class, and his name was frequently seen on the school bulletin board.

He's just a boring honor student.

No wonder Qin Man never paid attention to him before.

Qin Man sat down next to him and gradually calmed down, slowly writing down her questions. Time passed relatively quickly.

After finishing her self-study session, the sun had just set, and a full moon was faintly visible. Qin Man walked to the school gate and saw a dazzling red supercar parked on the side of the road.

Many people gathered around, and even the worldly young ladies and gentlemen showed great interest in the car.

They would always let out a soft gasp as they passed by, or boldly approach the car, only to step back and quickly slip away once they saw someone inside.

Qin Man scoffed, somewhat disdainful of the others' behavior. It's just a car, why make such a fuss?

Until the supercar moved up, revealing Qin Chen's tall figure and his perpetually melancholy face.

Qin Man: "..."

However, Qin Chen wasn't sitting in the driver's seat, but in the passenger seat. In the driver's seat sat a beautiful woman, the same woman Qin Man had seen when Qin Chen suddenly returned that night.

"Hey, what are you standing there for?"

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Qin Chen greeted Qin Man.

Qin Man couldn't help but smile, but she didn't show any real surprise and walked over with a tight smile.

The pretty girl sitting next to him said, "Little sister, you got out of school so late today."

This woman had a very pleasant voice, and her gentle smile balanced her overly beautiful features. After she finished speaking, Qin Man suddenly couldn't bring herself to dislike Qin Chen anymore.

"I studied for a while today."

Qin Chen looked up, glancing past Qin Man at Jiang Xuchi behind her. "You hang out with this brat at school every day?"

Qin Man turned around, and Jiang Xuchi had already stopped and was standing by the school's large iron gate not far away, looking at her expressionlessly.

"We're just classmates, Qin Chen, don't wrong me."

My sister smiled and said, "Get in the car."

Qin Man got into the car.

Throughout the journey, Qin Man was very curious about the beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared.

She was especially curious about how this older sister could have fallen for her trashy older brother, but she didn't dare to ask.

The elevated road was very congested, but the older sister skillfully cut in line and drove around the traffic. Qin Chen couldn't help but say from the side, "Lingqing, you drive really recklessly."

Gu Lingqing: "Who would dare to hit my car? They all slam on the brakes when they see me, and they practically avoid me."

Qin Chen clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"Chen, are you jealous? If you're envious, go buy one yourself," Gu Lingqing teased him with a smile.

Qin Chen: "..."

Qin Man was also a little shocked.

This was the first time she had ever been embarrassed in front of outsiders when she met Qin Chen.

Gu Lingqing took them both home, leaving only Qin Chen and Qin Man. Just as Qin Man was about to ask a question, Qin Chen interrupted her.

"Don't ask anything. That woman is too troublesome. I can't be bothered to explain."

Qin Man: "Being a kept man is being a kept man, what's there to be ashamed of?"

Qin Chen raised an eyebrow but did not refute her words.

Qin Man gave a satisfied hum.

The expressions that the brother and sister sometimes showed were quite similar.

It's infuriating just looking at it.

The next day, Qin Man entered the classroom and noticed that the atmosphere was not right. She had gotten used to the malicious stares, deliberate ignoring and alienation from others, but today was different.

Pei Shiyu was the first to walk up to her as usual, chatting with her about the latest gossip, while her girlfriends also gathered around and chattered away.

This feeling is like going back to the beginning of her first year of high school, when everyone was surrounding her and looking at her with nothing but envy.

I never knew a car could change so much.

So they were all such opportunistic people.

That's true.

Qin Man actually knew all along.

The students of Celay gathered together to perpetuate the social circles of their parents' class, and anyone who lost their place would be shooed away like a fly.

Once resources are allocated to certain individuals, their opinions will also shift accordingly, and they may even flock to such individuals.

Qin Man brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a pearl earring on her earlobe that shimmered softly.

Many classmates began to praise her, and their faces would always be full of smiles when they saw her.

They seemed to have never heard the rumors about Qin Man.

Qin Man was indeed enjoying the moment.

She was born to be here.

...

During lunch break, Qin Man was pushed by Pei Shiyu to walk towards the cafeteria in Xilai.

The food at Xilai's cafeteria wasn't bad, but Qin Man had long been tired of the cafeteria's taste and had been eating lunch outside of school since her second year of high school. However, a few girls in her class liked to eat the cafeteria's vegetable salad in order to shape their bodies.

Since rumors started circulating about Qin Man's family and her father's economic crimes, Qin Man has rarely been invited to the cafeteria by her classmates, making this a rare occasion for her to come to the cafeteria.

Gathering in the noisy cafeteria to gossip is a more exciting and engaging activity.

The girls gathered together, chattering away, gossiping about all sorts of celebrities in the entertainment industry.

Each of them has powerful connections in various fields, so they can easily get gossip about minor celebrities. They love to talk about these things in their spare time because they are all true stories.

Their information network is very extensive and well-connected; they know about even the slightest disturbance.

Everything will be judged in the most brutal way at such a dinner party.

Qin Man suddenly lost her appetite.

She put down her chopsticks, suppressing her nausea, and said, "The cafeteria food is still awful. I'm going out to eat."

Pei Shiyu: "Hey—you should have said so earlier."

"Only you guys can eat this much." Qin Man stood up and left her seat with a displeased expression.

After she left, the sisters around Pei Shiyu glanced at each other, and one of them said, "Sure enough, Qin Man is Qin Man. A rich girl like her wouldn't bother eating grass with us."

"I was trying to get along with her, but with her attitude, it's a shame I was so kind."

"She was so happy when she agreed to have dinner with us, but then her attitude changed completely."

Pei Shiyu rolled her eyes and said, "We've known her for a while now. She's just like this, let's ignore her."

Qin Man walked outside the school. It was already halfway through lunch break, so she randomly found a hamburger shop and sat down.

Just as Qin Man finished ordering her food, she saw Jiang Xuchi walking out of the school gate from the window.

Unsure if he had seen her, Qin Man subconsciously lowered her head.

Rumors about them were circulating in the class, that they would break up and get back together, but in reality, their relationship was more complicated than they guessed.

On one hand, they are childhood sweethearts; on the other hand, they have a strange and inexplicable relationship.

She didn't want to continue.

Qin Man's meal arrived. The owner placed the set meal in front of her and turned to leave. Jiang Xuchi, who was behind her, sat down with the tray.

Xi Yue, who was standing nearby, whistled and said to the other brothers, "Let's go eat over there and not bother them."

Qin Man: "..."

Jiang Xuchi: "You come to eat alone, so unsociable."

"Why are you being so nosy?" Qin Man felt that he was just spouting nonsense, only saying things she didn't want to hear. "You know I'm all alone, so why did you have to sit here?"

"I came to you to ask why you haven't replied to my messages."

Qin Man remained silent.

She wanted to gradually distance herself from Jiang Xuchi, but it was clear that Jiang Xuchi still wouldn't let her go.

Jiang Xuchi wouldn't ask again after asking once, and sat down in front of her to finish his meal.

Qin Man ate slowly, and Jiang Xuchi waited for her for quite a while.

Then we'll go back to the classroom together.

Pei Shiyu and the two girls beside her looked knowing when they saw her walk in with Jiang Xuchi.

Someone whispered, "What a green tea bitch. She should just say it if she's going out to eat with a guy. What's so hard about saying it?"

*

When the school bell rang, Qin Man picked up her bag and went to the study room. Jiang Xuchi was already sitting in his usual spot.

This time, she wasn't made to wait.

Qin Man sat down, and Jiang Xuchi tapped her open notebook with his pen.

"This question."

Qin Man: "Hmm?"

"Could you explain it to me?"

This is a physics problem. Qin Man has always been very good at physics, while Jiang Xuchi is a little weaker.

Just as Qin Man was about to refuse, she suddenly wrinkled her nose and sniffed at him.

She exclaimed in surprise, "You've been drinking?!"

She didn't see Jiang Xuchi in the afternoon. Before he sent her a message, she thought he had taken the day off.

Turns out he skipped class to go drinking.

What a genius!

Why do you drink?

"What's it to you?" Jiang Xuchi sneered. "When did you become so nosy?"

He must be in a very bad mood right now.

But Qin Man didn't want to delve into the cause of his displeasure. "You've been drinking, and you're still studying. You really love studying."

Jiang Xuchi reached out and grabbed her hand, pointing to the question in the notebook. "Qin Man, explain the question."

"don't want."

Qin Mancai refused to explain the problem to the drunkard.

Jiang Xuchi put his arm around her waist and patted her lower back.

Qin Man hated him making that gesture; it felt extremely awkward to her.

"Jiang Xuchi, don't move your hands."

Qin Man lowered her voice. They were still in the study room, so Jiang Xuchi wasn't afraid of being seen by others.

"Why won't you even explain a simple problem to me?"

"I don't think you want to hear this."

"Who said that?"

"Jiang Xuchi, you're in a bad mood," Qin Man said. "I don't explain problems to people who are in a bad mood."

“So,” Jiang Xuchi reached out and closed the notebook, “you’re ignoring me today because Qin Chen is back, so you feel you have a backer and want to stay away from me.”

Qin Man wasn't surprised that he had seen through her thoughts completely.

She didn't want to be manipulated by Jiang Xuchi anymore.

"I just don't like listening to you, Jiang Xuchi. The more you try to control me, the more I hate you."

Since Jiang Xuchi transferred to the class, Qin Man has been almost completely obedient to him, even though she says she hates him.

Jiang Xuchi took a small box out of his jacket pocket.

It was another jewelry box, and Qin Man recognized the logo on it.

She turned her head away, "Don't always try to coax me with these things."

Jiang Xuchi remained silent, simply holding the earring in his hand and gesturing it to Qin Man's earlobe, "But you do suit this style."

Qin Man blinked.

"Even if it suits me perfectly, I'd still rather buy it myself. It's not like I'm so poor I can't afford to buy everything—"

Qin Man suddenly felt a sharp pain in her ear, and she cried out, "Jiang Xuchi!"

Jiang Xuchi removed her original earrings and inserted the new pearls from his hand into her ear piercings. The rough method caused her a sharp pain.

Qin Man immediately wanted to take it off.

"Wearing it."

"No, are you crazy? You're forcing me to buy something."

“You clearly liked it a lot, and you even wore the necklace that day.” Jiang Xuchi pinched her ear until it turned red. “You couldn’t resist because these things belonged to you, and you wouldn’t abandon them.”

She made a foolish mistake that day. She thought Jiang Xuchi would like wearing it, and she subconsciously tried to please him.

Once she realized this, she immediately didn't want to wear it anymore.

That's why I dislike him even more.

Qin Man didn't say anything more. Ignoring the pain in her ear, she quickly took off the earring and threw it in front of Jiang Xuchi.

I don't want your stuff.

She stood up, hastily gathered the books and notes on the table, and turned to leave.

Jiang Xu did not catch up.