Chapter 39 The Incident
Pu Xia began to look forward to it very much.
This was a state she used to avoid drastically, because expectations often lead to disappointment, and her life didn't need any more of that emotion.
But Xie Sheng was different; she was willing to unconditionally place all her hopes on him, even though she had only learned of his existence a few months ago.
Therefore, it must be admitted that blood ties and destiny can defeat time.
Pu Xia tirelessly imagined their future home, searching for interior design pictures, categorizing them according to his favorites, and then sending them to Xie Sheng.
She enjoys discussing how to decorate their future home together; she hopes Xie Sheng can feel that sense of security as well.
They have always been peering at the outside world from their own closed-off world. The only thing that can hurt them is emotional attachment, but as long as they don't get involved in anything or any emotion, uncertainty can be eliminated, and danger will disappear.
However, after meeting each other, they forgot the lessons learned over the past ten years.
Because he cared, Xie Sheng was plunged into self-doubt and self-blame after her injury. So Pu Xia wanted to go with him to his home in the provincial capital to see if she could overcome her unease with something definite and concrete.
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With a few days left until the weekend, Xie Sheng has been so busy this week that he's almost never seen anyone, all in order to have some free time then.
Pu Xia saw him every day around five or six in the morning—he would return to her dormitory, carrying the chill of the air and the cool scent of dew. If she wasn't awake, he would take a nap in the bed next to her, still fully clothed, and then they would go to class together after she woke up.
After finishing his morning classes and having lunch with her, Xie Sheng would leave the school.
At this time, two tall boys, each about 1.8 meters tall, would appear beside Pu Xia, acting like bodyguards and almost inseparable from her.
Pu Xia had no idea how Xie Sheng had managed to persuade them.
However, the two of them were quite good at finding their own amusement. They usually sat in Xie Sheng's row and joked around with Guan Yan while playing cards.
In their words:
"It doesn't matter where you play, it's still playing."
"We're already adapting to our future work—helping Brother Sheng solve his problems."
Pu Xia's words were all cut off, so he stopped asking any further questions.
The midterm results came out that day, and Pu Xia got the score she expected.
She never expected to be first in all subjects, surpassing the second-place student by a significant margin. What surprised her most was that this exam was a joint exam, and her score firmly secured her the top spot in Liucheng.
She used to have good grades, consistently ranking in the top ten. But first place was something she had never achieved before.
However, not only had she never won one, but the county high school had never won one either. The school was so eager to broadcast the good news to the city so that Pu Xia could give ten speeches under the national flag and have a good time.
Finally, this absurd idea was extinguished by Pu Xia's merciless cold water—
"Teacher, this is just a joint exam."
"I'm only a junior in high school, there's no need to make it seem like I've passed the college entrance exam with flying colors."
"I have nothing to share, not even good news."
...
Xie Sheng, in a very annoying way, watched the spectacle from the sidelines, and even went to take a picture of the congratulatory notice that hadn't been taken down yet, and set it as his profile picture.
When Pu Manli found out, she was overjoyed and insisted that Xie Sheng bring back a copy of the good news so that she could frame it and hang it in the living room.
"No problem, I'll do it right away."
Xie Sheng had never been so obedient before; that very night, he carried a picture frame that was half his height home.
This series of actions infuriated Pu Xia so much that she almost blocked him. Xie Sheng had to coax her for a long time with a smile to calm her down.
As a result, Pu Xia's name spread more widely throughout the school. Along with this came her emotional entanglements with Xie Sheng and Guan Yan.
In response, Guan Yan solemnly echoed the public statement previously released by her agency on her private social media platform, stating that these were all pure rumors.
After sending it, she even showed it to Pu Xia and Xie Sheng, but the two of them didn't even glance at her, focusing intently on their tablets and browsing online home furnishing stores.
"..."
Feeling ignored here, Guan Yan shifted her focus and tried to find A Jie and the other two, but they were so engrossed in playing PUBG that they couldn't spare any attention for them.
Musicians are always lonely and misunderstood.
Guan Yan put on her headphones expressionlessly, tapped the screen hard, and sent a message to her agent, "Midterm exams are over! I don't want to stay in school anymore, I want to go perform!"
...
Everyone's future seems brighter, but crises are always lurking in the shadows.
Xie Sheng and Zhang Meng were arguing about the site selection when a text message interrupted their conversation.
Zhang Meng pinched the bridge of his nose and said with a troubled expression, "You should reply to my message first, let me calm down."
Xie Sheng tapped the screen, and his previously relaxed brows instantly furrowed.
Ah Jie: Brother Sheng, I have some bad news...
Attached to his conversation was a screenshot of a group chat, with the message stating—
Breaking news! That couple everyone knows about are actually siblings...
Xie Sheng was frozen in place, his mind quickly filled with panic and anger.
His first reaction was that Pu Xia absolutely could not find out.
Xie Sheng got up and went to the outdoor balcony, and immediately called A-Jie back.
The call connected quickly on the other end. "Brother Sheng! What, what's going on?"
"How many groups are sending this message right now?"
"It's in almost every group I'm in..."
"I don't care what method you use, whether you warn them one by one or have people sing a different tune to suppress the matter, just don't let it spread any further."
Most importantly, Puxia must not find out.
"The beginning is fine, but the end... what if she joined some group, or someone told her..."
“She hasn’t joined many groups, and she doesn’t have many friends at school… Wait, find Chen Yu, who’s in our class, and tell her not to tell Pu Xia anything.”
"Okay, okay, that makes things much easier to control."
A-Jie on the other end didn't ask any more questions and immediately did as Xie Sheng said.
After hanging up the phone, Xie Sheng didn't go back to his room. Instead, he stared blankly at the streetlights downstairs, lost in thought.
He had considered the possibility of this happening before, but when it actually occurred, he was far from being as calm and composed as he had imagined.
He looked at his hands, which had turned white from gripping the windowsill so tightly, and tried to calm himself down.
He still has Puxia; he can't afford to act rashly.
Their lives were just starting to get better, and they couldn't let anything ruin it.
"What's wrong? Is there anything I can help you with?" Seeing that Xie Sheng hadn't come out, Zhang Meng went to the balcony.
Xie Sheng was usually nonchalant or cold-hearted, and Zhang Meng rarely saw him so distracted, so he couldn't help but worry.
Xie Sheng paused for a moment, lit a cigarette, and then turned around to say, "Brother, I'm sure of it. I'm going to take over his territory."
Zhang Meng was slightly taken aback, realizing he was serious, and then smiled and said, "Sure, as long as you don't mind the trouble."
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