Feeling like still water?

The two rested for a while before getting up and continuing their journey.

Hao Nan still carried the heavier suitcase, only letting her take a lighter piece of luggage.

She flagged down a car on the roadside and it drove her all the way to her new place.

Hao Nan looked around at the surroundings, his brows furrowed: "You live here?" His tone was full of disbelief.

She nodded calmly, her expression suggesting that she already knew everything and had silently accepted all the unpleasantness.

He was clearly very dissatisfied with the environment of this residential area: "Shall we go and look at other places?"

"Hao Nan." Qi Xu looked at him and gently shook his head.

He abruptly stopped in his tracks, about to leave, and asked in a soft voice, "Have you thought it through?"

"Since I chose this path, I should bear all the difficulties that lie ahead." Her attitude was exceptionally firm, and she refused to waver even slightly.

Hao Nan wanted to say something more, but when he met her incredibly stubborn eyes, all the words stuck in his throat, and he finally recognized the reality.

Qi Xu had already walked forward. He watched her back, his eyes surging with unconcealable heartache.

Seeing that he hadn't followed, Qi Xu assumed he had something urgent to attend to but couldn't bring himself to say it, so she turned back to his side and reached out to take his suitcase: "If you have something important to do, you should go back first."

"I'm fine, I'm free." He dodged her outstretched hand and walked straight ahead.

Qi Xu quickly followed, and the two entered the room together.

The room was tiny and the environment was far from ideal. Hao Nan kept a sullen face throughout as he helped Qi Xu pack his luggage.

The suitcase was mostly filled with odds and ends, while the clothes were packed in the small bags she was carrying.

While packing, a box slipped out of his luggage. He recognized it immediately; it was the earring he had given her in high school. He opened the box, and the earring was still lying quietly inside.

Butterflies should be flying freely, exploring a wider world, but now they are confined to this small room, suffering the torment of being unfree.

Even its former luster has faded considerably, losing its former brilliance.

His nose stung, and he forced back the tears welling in his eyes, turning his head away to calm himself. Finally, he closed the box and placed it on the corner of the table.

After packing his things in the bedroom, Qi Xu went to the living room. He wanted to help Hao Nan sort out the odds and ends in his suitcase, but he didn't expect that Hao Nan had already packed everything neatly and even cleaned the room. His efficiency was astonishing.

"You packed so quickly?" Qi Xu looked at him in shock and disbelief.

Hao Nan had just finished cleaning the sofa and was sitting on it, resting. He hadn't yet recovered from the emotions he'd just been feeling, and was using his work to calm himself down. He didn't look into her eyes, just stared blankly at the ground, giving a soft "hmm" as a response.

Qi Xu also sat down on the sofa to rest, occasionally taking out his phone to look for jobs.

The two of them just sat there, neither of them saying a word.

"Seven Xu." Hao Nan's gaze fell on the red box on the table, and he called her gently.

"Hmm? What's wrong?" Qi Xu replied while scrolling through his phone.

Are your ear piercings still there?

Before she could answer, Hao Nan had already picked up the gift box and opened it. Inside lay a pair of exquisite butterfly earrings.

"What are you trying to do?" Qi Xu's lips twitched slightly as he asked cautiously.

"You are much like this butterfly. You should break free from this narrow space and venture into the wider world."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xu felt a sudden unease and stood frozen in place.

He took the earrings out of the gift box: "So I'm putting them on for you. Nothing can stop you from going out into a wider world and finding your own meaning. Just like these butterfly earrings, they only have real meaning after escaping the little box."

He gently brushed aside the stray hairs that fell beside her ears, and with his fingertips he softly pinched her earlobe, helping her put on one.

The two were very close. After putting on one, he picked up the other, and their foreheads almost touched.

Their hair gently brushed against each other's, and the moment their eyes met, his eyes were filled with tenderness and love.

Qi Xu's eyes were still somewhat vacant, and he hadn't recovered from what she had just said.

He still used gentle movements to help her put on the other earring.

The two of them put a little distance between them, and the pair of butterfly earrings on her ears shone brightly, exuding a vibrant vitality, as if they had suddenly come to life.

Qi Xu's eyes flickered slightly, then she smiled faintly and replied softly, "Yes, butterflies should fly freely and not be trapped."

Then she picked up a mirror, smiled, and tucked her stray hairs behind her ears, revealing the butterfly earrings on her ears.

Her mood immediately improved, and she kept looking at her earrings in the mirror, unable to resist admiring herself.

Hao Nan watched her being as happy as a child, and unconsciously curled the corners of his mouth, saying in a teasing tone, "Isn't she beautiful? You two are a match made in heaven."

Qi Xu was still admiring the scene with great satisfaction when suddenly, as if remembering something, she got up, strode over and sat down next to him, a sly smile on her face, staring straight at him.

Hao Nan's smile froze instantly. He sat there, stunned, staring at her. His cheeks flushed rapidly, and he quickly looked away, trying to hide his panic.

"Why are you hiding?" Qi Xu tilted his head and looked at him, his eyes full of mockery.

"I...no, you...you're mistaken." His voice trembled with nervousness, and his cheeks flushed.

She kept staring at him, but he kept avoiding her gaze.

"Do you have a fever?" Qi Xu reached out to touch his forehead.

Hao Nan suddenly stood up and dodged away. He knew that Qi Xu was teasing him and doing this on purpose.

"I have class, I have to go now." He hurriedly got up and walked out without looking back, his cheeks so red they were almost bleeding.

He ran quickly downstairs and finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the blush on his face didn't fade at all.

Watching his retreating figure, Qi Xu chuckled and muttered, "So easily amused?"

She walked to the window and looked down at Hao Nan's figure walking slowly down the road. Her eyes were calm as water, revealing no emotion whatsoever.

Back on the sofa, she picked up her phone again and started looking for jobs, submitting her resume to any suitable company.

She has achieved her goal of street painting, so she no longer needs to do this job. She should focus on finding a proper job. After all, her comic showdown with Ci Yan has only just begun.

Afterwards, she left a message on her account saying that she would no longer be setting up a stall and that people shouldn't come empty-handed. After doing all that, she threw herself into creating the comic she had agreed upon with the tremella artist.

Meanwhile, the writer Yin Er had been silently observing Qi Xu, knowing everything she did. He couldn't help but whisper a compliment: "What an interesting little girl."

His son, Zhao Xin, walked in, looking puzzled, and asked, "Dad, since you admire her and think she's talented, why don't you just recommend her to our company?"

"She's young, so it's good for her to gain more experience outside. When the time is right, I'll naturally bring her into the company."

Zhao Xin nodded, turned and left the chairman's office.

Here, Qi Xu was concentrating on drawing comics when her phone suddenly popped up with dozens of messages, all notifications that her company had rejected her.

She sighed softly, instantly losing all her strength. After resting for a moment in her chair, she picked up her pen again and immersed herself in her writing.

As the days went by, she got better rest than before, but if things continued like this, she would lose the comic book battle sooner or later.

Besides, she was running out of money and needed funds to live on. Having no other choice, she applied for a job as a food delivery rider.

I had just finished a delivery and wanted to take a break when a new order notification popped up.

"Sigh~ Life is tough, and life is unpredictable." Qi Xu muttered to himself, then got on his electric scooter and started delivering again.

After picking up her food at the store, she headed straight to her destination.

On the other side, Hao Nan had just ordered takeout. He glanced at the time and realized it was almost time, so he quickly got up and headed out of the school gate.

Just then, Qi Xu arrived at the entrance of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Although she was wrapped up tightly, Hao Nan recognized her at a glance.

"Seven or so?"

Just as Qi Xu was about to take out her phone to call the recipient, she heard a familiar voice, looked up, and met Hao Nan's distressed eyes.

"What a coincidence." She glanced at the last few digits of the order number, remembering that Hao Nan's number also ended in the same few digits, and walked up to him: "Is this your takeout?"

"Did you have meal?"

"I..." Before she could finish her sentence, her stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

"You eat it." Hao Nan blurted out without thinking, looking away and desperately trying to hold back her tears.

"This is your takeout. You must be hungry too, so don't worry about me."

"I've already eaten. This is for this afternoon." Hao Nan didn't shed any tears, but her voice carried a hint of sobbing.

Qi Xu looked into his eyes but saw no tears. She was filled with doubt but didn't ask any more questions.

Just then, Hao Nan's classmate walked over and couldn't help but tease, "Is this your girlfriend? How come she's a food delivery rider?"

"Shut your mouth!" Hao Nan retorted angrily.

"Hey, young lady, I advise you to break up with him. You're not good enough for him." The boy, however, was incredibly irritating and wouldn't listen to advice. "The school heartthrob, his girlfriend is a delivery girl, that's really something. If it were me..."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xu's anger flared up instantly, but he managed to suppress it.

Hao Nan immediately threw a punch, grabbing the boy by the collar: "Shut up!" Then, he threw another punch.

The boy got anxious and started fighting with Hao Nan.

Qi Xu was completely stunned; she hadn't expected Hao Nan to make a move. In her memory, he had always been a gentle person, but she never imagined he could be even more impulsive than her when he got angry.

She didn't react for a moment and just stood there watching the two fight. It wasn't until someone stepped in to break them up that she came to her senses and quickly went over to try and stop them.

Qi Xu stepped in front of Hao Nan. When he saw her, his anger subsided considerably, his eyes softened, and he reached out to pull her behind him to protect her.

Most people at the scene sided with Hao Nan. That boy was always stirring up trouble and spoke without thinking, so usually not many people wanted to talk to him.

This time, it was clear that Hao Nan's bottom line had been crossed, which prompted him to take action.

The boy slowly got up from the ground, gave Hao Nan a cold smile, and turned to leave.

Hao Nan didn't hit him hard; he just taught him a lesson, and nothing serious happened.

The farce only ended when the crowd dispersed.

Hao Nan turned around, his eyes filled with heartache and a hint of regret: "I'm sorry, I made you suffer."

But Qi Xu's focus was not on this: "You usually seem quite gentle, how come you're so fierce when you fight?" As she spoke, she deliberately took a step back, pretending to be frightened.

Hao Nan saw all her micro-expressions; his dark eyes darted around, filled with panic and fear.

He didn't know what to do, and he couldn't speak anymore; he suddenly became a little mute.