Chapter 38: Let's see if he can still sit still.

Qin Man was stunned by the kiss, and Jiang Xuchi dragged her into the car.

Since she had no choice but to remain silent and gaze out the window, she said nothing.

She probably won't be able to wait any longer for Jiang Xuchi to speak properly.

Upon arriving at the destination, Qin Man looked at the familiar villa and said, "My clothes are still at home."

"I've already sent someone to get it."

"Does this count as trafficking women?"

"You still want to go back to that apartment whose lock was picked?" Jiang Xuchi's tone became sharp and serious. "Who knows how many hidden cameras were buried there."

Qin Man recalled the days of fear and trepidation she had been living recently, and there was no way she would go back to her apartment. But if she moved to a new apartment, she would still be living alone, which would be troublesome.

Since she and Jiang Xuchi were going to continue their entanglement, she might as well take advantage of the proximity and move in to make things easier.

Qin Man followed him into the house. "Am I still staying in the same room as before?"

"Um."

Less than a year has passed, and the house is still decorated almost exactly as it was before she left. There's even a dress on the sofa that she didn't take with her.

The skirt was all wrinkled and rumpled, and Qin Man glanced at Jiang Xuchi sideways: "You didn't do anything to my skirt, did you?"

Jiang Xuchi leaned against the entryway cabinet and asked her in return, "What do you think I would do?"

"..."

"Or do you want me to do something?"

Qin Man threw her coat at his face: "Shut up, you're all talk and no action."

Jiang Xuchi narrowed his eyes. "Do you think I wouldn't dare?"

Seeing his face darken, Qin Man immediately cowered. She knew that if she continued to provoke him, Jiang Xuchi wouldn't do anything; instead, she would lose control of her emotions.

So he decided to call it quits, turned around and walked back to his room without saying another word.

After moving in with Jiang Xuchi, Qin Man finally relaxed and no longer had to worry about people suddenly breaking into her home or multiple security cameras appearing. She was able to get a good night's sleep, which was a rare treat.

Early in the morning, Qin Man dressed herself up beautifully and went to the dance studio without eating breakfast.

Today is a very important day. A well-known dance troupe from the neighborhood came to their school to recruit people. The person in charge of the troupe has resources and connections in major theaters and is very prestigious.

Qin Man always has a strong drive to not lose to others in dance, and she is also very proud. If she is not chosen, where will she put her face?

"Hey, I knew you'd come so early." Lin Xian greeted her and handed her a bag of bread. "You haven't had breakfast yet, have some, or you might faint from low blood sugar and become a laughingstock."

"Thanks."

Qin Man opened the packaging bag and sat in the corner of the dance studio. There weren't many people there yet, but voices could be heard coming from the corridor.

"Didn't they say Qin Man was the chosen one? Why should I go? It's too tiring."

Even the most beautiful flowers need green leaves to set them off; even if the outcome is predetermined, there are still runners-up.

"So annoying, go away, go to hell. I don't want to be a foil for Qin Man."

...

Lin Xian chuckled upon hearing these words: "Look, your hard work is seen as talent by others."

"...Stop making sarcastic remarks."

"But did they really choose you?" Lin Xian asked. "If they really chose you, it means they have good judgment and have their eye on you. What's there to be dissatisfied about?"

"How come I didn't know I was pre-selected?"

Qin Man finished the bread in two bites, stood up and threw the bag into the trash.

The girl who had just entered the classroom saw her, paused for a moment, and then looked embarrassed.

Qin Man glanced at them expressionlessly, then sat back down next to Lin Xian.

She is now at peace and is no longer the easily frightened girl she once was. Others' words no longer become weapons in her world.

She has learned to ignore it.

The time was almost up, and the dance class students gradually gathered. Qin Man and Lin Xian stood in the front row, waiting for the dance troupe leader to call their names to perform on stage.

Most people were not enthusiastic, after all, with Qin Man around, no one could get around her, but quite a few people were holding their breath, just wanting to make a good impression on the person in charge.

After one round, the person in charge wrote down two names in the notebook, one of which was Qin Man.

When the event ended, the person in charge called Qin Man over.

"I hope you can participate in the next dance troupe performance. There are still twenty days left. Can you keep up with the training?"

The person in charge is a very serious woman with a toned figure and some fine lines on her face. She used to be the leader of the dance troupe, but later she took the initiative to move behind the scenes for the development of the dance troupe.

Qin Man readily agreed.

She loves the stage; otherwise, she wouldn't have thought of joining such a dance troupe and getting the opportunity to perform.

"And you?" The person in charge looked at another girl she had chosen.

Lin Xian smiled and said, "Of course I can keep up."

Lin Xian is a dance student who works even harder than Qin Man. There is a certain spirit in her bones that coincides with Qin Man's.

Lin Xian once told her that he had been practicing dance since he was a child, for sixteen years, and had endured all kinds of hardships.

"Let's go celebrate." Lin Xian walked out of the school gate with her, put his arm around her shoulder, and said, "We're going to be rising stars in the dance troupe from now on. Let's have a big meal first, and then we'll control our weight."

Qin Man followed her to a hot pot restaurant that wasn't exactly close by. The food was delicious, but there was a wait.

The two of them were about to sit down on the chairs by the door to study the recipe when someone called out, "Qin Man!"

The sound was very loud even in the noisy entrance of the hot pot restaurant.

Qin Man turned her head and saw an annoying face.

Jiang Chenyao.

Behind Jiang Chenyao were two trendy young men. Together, they looked fashionable but not sophisticated; they seemed more like delinquents.

"Why don't you join us at a table? There are three of us here, so we can have a big table and wait in line."

Qin Man didn't understand why they were making such a fuss, so she stood up and said, "We're not eating."

Lin Xian suddenly tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Let's eat. That's Jiang Chenyao, and the guy behind him is the son of the dance troupe's sponsor."

Qin Man was somewhat annoyed.

The second young master of the Jiang family came here to join in the fun and have a meal. He probably only got interested because he happened to pass by and saw the two of them.

But before Qin Man could refuse again, Lin Xian spoke up: "Okay, let's get another number for the five of us."

The large tables were indeed booked quickly; their number was called within minutes, and they were even given a private room.

The entire dinner was spent chatting with Lin Xian and the others.

Qin Man found it noisy, so she sat to one side playing on her phone while eating pastries.

She noticed someone was watching her, so she looked up and stared back.

Jiang Chenyao flashed that innocent smile again, "Qin Man, I just heard Lin Xian say that you two have both joined the Qingyang Dance Troupe?"

As he spoke, he nudged the guy next to him on the shoulder, "Xingjie, look, you have to take care of this."

Liu Xingjie is the son of the dance troupe sponsor that Lin Xian mentioned.

That's really something, what a coincidence.

Liu Xingjie didn't respond, but simply picked up his water glass, took a sip, and looked back and forth between the two of them with interest.

Qin Man immediately got goosebumps.

She remains sensitive to other people's gazes, especially those with ill intentions.

But Jiang Chenyao seemed to enjoy contacting her all the time. He used to contact her frequently, but she always turned him down.

Sometimes when they run into him while eating out, if Gu Lingqing and Qin Chen are present, he will behave himself and not come up to talk to them.

When she's alone or with friends, Jiang Chenyao reveals his true colors, relentlessly pursuing her until he gets close to her.

His thoughts are written all over his face.

Qin Man disdained to deal with him.

He's just a child who lacked love growing up, and he always has to compete with his brother for everything. What does he take her for?

Qin Man was uninterested, but Lin Xian was not.

She seized the opportunity, drank with them, joked around, and eventually added Liu Xingjie's WeChat account.

After finishing their meal and everyone had left, Qin Man said to Lin Xian, "Be careful. You don't have to offend them, but don't go along with them too much either."

"You're a rich girl, but I'm not." Lin Xian looked down at her phone and said nonchalantly, "I don't have a family to back me up. I'll have to make my own way in the future."

Qin Man had no way to refute this.

She got into this university through a special admission program, but Lin Xian didn't; Lin Xian got in through the actual entrance exam.

That's why Qin Man didn't want to see Lin Xian like that just now.

Thinking of this, Qin Man suddenly said, "If you need anything in the future, just tell me, and I'll help you."

Hearing her serious tone, Lin Xian was taken aback, put away her phone, and replied with a gentle smile: "Yes, thank you."

"I'll head back now, bye."

Autumn has arrived, and the evening breeze is pleasant. Qin Man drank some hot wine and ate hot pot, and still wanted to get rid of the smell on her body, so she decided to walk back by herself.

She was walking along the road toward the villa area when a car suddenly stopped beside her.

She turned her head and saw Jiang Chenyao baring his teeth and waving at her.

He's a guy who's really good at pretending; if we're talking about his personality, he's probably even more arrogant than Jiang Xuchi.

Unfortunately, he is still too young, and there are many storms he needs to weather.

Unlike Jiang Xuchi, he had experienced more things, had a more reserved personality, and his thoughts were so deep that they were hard to fathom.

"You actually listened to me and waited for me here obediently," Jiang Chenyao said. "I thought you would leave without even looking back."

"Stop talking nonsense." Qin Man cut to the chase. "What do you want to do?"

I want to confess my feelings to you.

Qin Man was speechless after hearing Jiang Chenyao's words.

When Jiang Chenyao first met Qin Man, he was thinking that he really wanted to use her to provoke Jiang Xuchi.

His older brother's life was too smooth, which he couldn't stand.

At home, I pretended to be all friendly and coy, acting like I knew everything. I really wanted to see Jiang Xuchi break down, get angry, or be sad.

“You rejected me last time.” Jiang Chenyao put his hands in his pockets and leaned closer to Qin Man. “Why don’t you date me? Even just for a few days would be fine.”

"No."

"Why? Am I not good enough?"

"For no reason."

"Then I'll pursue you, give you gifts every day, and pick you up from get out of class, okay?" Jiang Chenyao said.

Qin Man sneered: "Aren't you still in high school? Oh, you've applied to schools, are you bored?"

"I really like you," Jiang Chenyao said in a flippant manner. "In other words, dating me would be a good thing, as it would make Jiang Xuchi angry and benefit everyone."

Qin Man paused in her steps.

Jiang Xuchi's sullen and silent attitude was truly annoying. Someone should provoke him a little, see if he can still sit still.

"Fine, but I'm not really going to date you." Qin Man made her condition capriciously. "It's just an act. You set the stage, and I'll just play along."

Jiang Chenyao took a step forward, stared at Qin Man for several seconds, and then suddenly smiled.

"You want to use me to make Jiang Xuchi jealous?"

You're overthinking it.

"You like Jiang Xuchi."

"Neuropathy."

Qin Man suddenly regretted telling him this. She shouldn't have acted impulsively and cooperated with this kind of person just to spite Jiang Xuchi.

"You're such a drama queen. Never mind, never mind."

She turned to leave.

But since she was already there, and they were talking about such a juicy topic, how could Jiang Chenyao possibly let her off the hook?

He grabbed Qin Man's hand, "It's too late to regret it now."

Qin Man shook off his hand, even swiping it twice as if it were dirty, and said indifferently, "I just saw that you can't take a joke."

This sentence ignited Jiang Chenyao's anger.

He knew Qin Man was a woman not to be trifled with, and he had witnessed it firsthand in Xilai.

But he thought Qin Man should have learned her lesson by now; at the very least, she should be more wary of her identity.

"You have this attitude when you're asking for a favor, Qin Man, you're really something."

"Want to play or not?" Qin Mancai was too lazy to waste words with him.

Jiang Chenyao gritted his teeth.

"Play."

After Jiang Chenyao left, Qin Man stood there for a while, waiting for her heartbeat to calm down before continuing to walk back.

She shouldn't have gotten involved with Jiang Chenyao; she regretted it the moment the words left her mouth.

Qin Man walked nervously to the entrance of the residential area when someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder from behind.

"Ah!" she cried out in fright.

Jiang Xuchi withdrew his hand, a forced smile on his face, and said, "What's going on? Changing your tactics now? Starting to play dumb?"

"You look like a ghost, how can I not be afraid?" Qin Man pouted and lowered her voice, "I've been worried about someone following me these past few days, and you filming me like this scared me to death."

Hearing her unusually coquettish tone, Jiang Xuchi felt his ears go numb and couldn't help but lick his back teeth.

"Are you worried about walking back like this? Why don't you take a taxi?"

Qin Man said, "I had a meal with Lin Xian nearby."

She didn't mention Jiang Chenyao; her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her chest, and she felt incredibly uneasy.

Jiang Xuchi pulled a handful of her hair, twirled it in his hand, and looked her up and down at the same time.

His gaze moved down her head inch by inch, then pulled back inch by inch, fixing on her eyes.

His laughter made Qin Man's heart race.

"What's wrong? Your face is so red and your heart is beating so fast after eating hot pot?"