Although Qin Zigui had always been the best student and the most worry-free and sensible child in the family compound since childhood, Sheng Yan had always been the most liked and loved one.
The reasons are simple. First, he was good-looking from a young age, with red lips and white teeth, delicate features, and his eyes crinkled when he smiled, which everyone liked. Second, he was clever and cute, and he was also very sweet-talking and knew how to act cute, which made all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters in the entire residential compound revolve around him.
Even Qin Zigui, the cool young man who had just been brought back to Nanwu by Qin Ru, was not spared. On the first day he arrived at the small courtyard full of roses, he was bewitched by the pretty little girl in overalls holding a small flower and saying in a sweet voice that she wanted to give it to him.
For many years afterward, whenever Sheng Yan wanted to steal milk candy, raise pets, pretend to be sick to stay in bed, not want to do his homework, or make a mistake that angered Qin Zigui, all he had to do was blink his eyes pitifully and say, "Brother Zigui, please," and Qin Zigui would have no choice.
So even though he said these coquettish things less and less as he got older, Sheng Yan still subconsciously felt that as long as he asked, Qin Zigui would be willing to help.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not ashamed to say such things.
Sheng Yan originally thought that since he couldn't see the person over the phone, he would just pretend that the words were said to a dog and then turn his back on Qin Zigui after he had tricked him into coming. However, he did not expect that Qin Zigui would come so quickly.
Not only did he come, but he also slowly and deliberately repeated the four words "Brother Zigui" in front of him. As each word fell into his ears, Sheng Yan's ears were burning so badly they were almost bleeding.
But he couldn't very well hit someone in public, so he could only lower his hat brim and grit his teeth as he whispered to Qin Zigui, who was already approaching, "Qin Zigui, are you doing this on purpose?"
Qin Zigui calmly paid the bill: "If Zigui is not a good bird and did it on purpose, then I did not do it on purpose either."
Sheng Yan: "..."
mean!
Is it really worth holding such a grudge over something so trivial?
But when the topic came up, Sheng Yan still felt a little guilty and couldn't be too self-righteous. He could only awkwardly pinch the brim of his hat and pull it down further, saying irritably, "Why are you being so stingy, you're a grown man? I already treated you to milk tea, can't we just let this go?"
Qin Zigui took the cup of thick, almost solid liquid from the teller, shook it, and the contents barely moved: "I thought you were inviting me to have some porridge."
"..." Sheng Yan said confidently, "I call this magnanimity."
Qin Zigui did not deny it: "Yes, it's generous, but it was paid for with my money."
Sheng Yan: "..."
This person is so annoying.
Sheng Yan has always been the type who can argue with people outside, but is just a bully at home. Too lazy to waste words with Qin Zigui, he simply stretched out his hand and acted like a rogue: "Who asked you to pay for me? Give me your phone, I'll transfer the money to you, and then we'll be done with each other."
One minute he was obediently pleading with "Brother Zigui, please," and the next he was fiercely ignoring everything. Their young master Sheng really is a man of great character, able to bend and stretch.
However, perhaps because he hadn't heard "Brother Zigui" twice in a long time, Qin Zigui was in a pretty good mood and didn't mind. He took out Sheng Yan's phone and placed it in his palm.
Sheng Yan pulled the phone back, turned around and left. He casually looked down and tapped on the profile picture of his WeChat friend [Qin Chou Dan], changed the nickname to [Snobbish Qin Dujuan], and then transferred 200 yuan.
"Consider the remaining money as a tip for your hard work, so you won't say I owe you anything." The young master was always generous.
In any case, problems that can be solved with money aren't really problems.
Thinking of this, Sheng Yan had already clicked on the business card of the most handsome man in the world that Gou You had sent him.
He doesn't use QQ very often. His profile picture and nickname are still the ones he used in junior high school, but they are still much more stylish than the non-mainstream profile picture of the "Funeral Love Family" in front of him. Moreover, his name is so flashy. Is this person reliable or not?
While still harboring doubts, Sheng Yan clicked the request to add a friend.
The other party accepted the request almost instantly, and then a long message popped up.
[Purchase all materials for Grade 11 subjects and receive a free copy of Grade 11 first semester basic knowledge points (personal study material, limited supply). Price: 399. QR code below. Please include your email address in the payment notes. One PDF and one Word file will be sent. The layout is user-friendly and easy to print. If needed, a stunning autographed photo of the school's most handsome boy will also be included. First come, first served. Don't miss out!]
Sheng Yan: "..."
This is truly an ordinary little business prodigy.
Since he was already prepared to give it a shot, he didn't bother to check if the other party was legitimate or not. He simply scanned the QR code to pay, and after completing the payment, the other party suddenly sent a question mark: [?]
? ?
What's the meaning?
Sheng Yan was about to ask a question, but before he could even type it out, his forehead suddenly bumped into something that was neither too hard nor too soft. The pain made him gasp, and he frowned as he looked up. He was about to question it when he stopped.
It seems he bumped into Qin Zigui's hand.
Before he could react and speak, Qin Zigui had already casually withdrawn his right hand, which had been red from being bumped against the glass door, and said in a low voice, "Watch where you're going, don't play on your phone."
"Oh." Sheng Yan was actually a little worried about Qin Zigui's hand injury, but he was too embarrassed to ask, so he could only obediently put his phone away for the time being.
Qin Zigui's phone rang at that moment.
He took it out and looked at it.
[Wild]: What triggered Sheng Yan's reaction?
[Q]: ?
[Wild]: The word "study" has actually appeared in his world. (Attached: [Screenshot of chat about purchasing study materials.jpg])
[Q]: ...
The person who sent him the WeChat message was his best junior from junior high school, a year below him. Back then, they were both ranked first in their respective grades, and they were also key players on the school basketball team. So they had a very good relationship. However, due to some special reasons, he did not go directly to the high school of Shishi Foreign Language School, but they have always kept in touch.
It was just a coincidence that Sheng Yan ended up buying his own smurf head when he bought study materials.
Or rather, the key point is not that he was the one buying the materials, but that Sheng Yan actually started buying study materials.
It's important to understand that Sheng Yan's poor academic performance is not due to any innate intellectual deficiency, but rather to a complete lack of effort in studying.
Even in elementary school, Sheng Yan was a well-known smart kid. Although he didn't like doing homework, he had an exceptional memory and was the fastest in the class at mental arithmetic.
However, as time went on, the material conditions improved, and there were more things to do. He became proficient in everything from shooting practice and playing games to building models and playing basketball. Coupled with being pampered and indulged in various ways, Sheng Yan's mind was increasingly elsewhere from his studies. He didn't attend a class for 360 out of 365 days a year.
There are only two possibilities when a spoiled young master who is used to playing suddenly starts studying.
First, his family had fallen on hard times, so he had no choice but to strive to improve his situation.
Secondly, I want to pass all the mock exams next time, and then escape from myself.
The answer is obvious.
It seems that Sheng Yan really doesn't want to be with me now.
Remembering how Sheng Yan would cry and throw a tantrum every time they changed seats in elementary school, insisting on sitting next to her, Qin Zigui lowered her eyelashes, concealing the emotions in her eyes, and replied: [Maybe he's just being stubborn with me.]
The other party didn't ask any further questions, but simply replied slowly: "[Oh, okay then. I have another account here called 'The Most Poor Person in the World,' you can borrow it if you need it.]"
[Q]: ?
[Wild]: Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle.
[Wild]: And remember, men can be affectionate, brothers can be a little sullen, and sulking is a minor issue.
behave in a spoiled manner.
Qin Zigui tapped the two characters twice with his fingertips, seemingly lost in thought.
Before he could come up with a solution, Sheng Yan, who had been walking along peacefully, suddenly patted him on the shoulder: "Qin Zigui! Quick! Help me catch the cat! Don't let it get away!"
After saying that, he quickly ran to a corner opposite the fried chicken shop that was piled with clutter, stepped on the clutter, flipped over, and disappeared in an instant.
Qin Zigui remembered that when he met Sheng Yan last night, he seemed to be looking for a cat, so he followed him, flipped cleanly, and landed lightly.
Meanwhile, Sheng Yan on the other side of the wall finally caught the spoiled little fugitive. He raised his hands high and fiercely barked at it, "Run! Run again! If you run again, you won't get any food, you know that!"
"..."
Qin Zigui was unsure whether he should remind Sheng Yan that a tough guy shouldn't use reduplicated words.
Fortunately, Sheng Yan didn't seem to realize that he had used a reduplicated word. He just turned his head to look at Qin Zigui and said, "Can I take it back to the classroom first? The cat food is still in my bag."
Qin Zigui did see several cans of cat food in Sheng Yan's backpack.
It's clearly the top-of-the-line, most expensive, and most exquisite kind.
He glanced again at the cat in Sheng Yan's hand, a small orange tabby without any noble bloodline. It was at most just cute-looking, probably about three or four months old. It probably didn't have a parent or an owner. It was dirty and extremely thin, like a creature from a completely different world from the clean and handsome young master.
He asked Sheng Yan, "Are you planning to keep it?"
Sheng Yan didn't quite understand why Qin Zigui suddenly asked this, and casually replied, "Not for now. Ms. Xu is allergic to cat fur, so we can't keep her at home."
"If you don't plan to keep it, it's best not to feed it too much high-quality cat food." Qin Zigui's tone seemed somewhat indifferent.
Sheng Yan raised an eyebrow, not quite understanding.
Qin Zigui explained, “Many cats, after eating high-end canned cat food, refuse to eat other foods or even cat food. So if you treat it well now and give it the best of everything, it will become dependent on you. But if one day you can no longer treat it like this, it may become anorexic or depressed, or even feel abandoned a second time. Have you thought about this?”
I never thought about it.
Sheng Yan felt that he had met this cat, the cat liked him very much, and he liked the cat very much. This was fate. In his mind, if he liked something, he would give it all the best he could.
Just like when I found Qin Zigui at my doorstep. I was kind to him simply because I liked him at first sight.
As for other things, I didn't think about them that much.
But now, after Qin Zigui said that, it's as if he's done something wrong.
And how did he become someone who abandoned someone twice?
Sheng Yan felt that Qin Zigui's words had a hidden meaning, and a nameless anger suddenly welled up inside him: "Qin Zigui, what do you mean? What do you mean by 'on a whim' and 'abandoning it a second time'? Can you stop assuming that everything I do is bad? When I met this cat, it was so small. Without me, it wouldn't have survived. And although I can't keep it, I've taken it for vaccinations, taken it to the vet, and am looking for someone to adopt it. Why do you think I just had a whim and won't take responsibility for it? What kind of person am I in your eyes?!"
The more Sheng Yan cursed, the angrier and more aggrieved he became. In the end, he didn't want to pay any more attention to Qin Zigui, so he picked up Miaomiao and walked out of the alley.
However, after taking only a few steps, she couldn't hold back any longer and turned back to Qin Zigui, fiercely yelling, "Besides, I said I would take care of it and I will, but it ran away on its own! It's ignoring me! Don't try to pin everything on me!"
After saying that, she turned around, lowered her head, hugged the cat, and quickly walked towards the alley entrance, looking genuinely angry.
Whether it was Qin Zigui's imagination or not, at that moment, he felt that Sheng Yan's harsh words seemed to hide a lot of other grievances.
He ran off first and ignored me.
Thinking of those words, Qin Zigui's fingers, hanging by his side, unconsciously curled slightly.
In his heart, Sheng Yan was always that young master who didn't understand anything because he was too well protected, but in fact, Sheng Yan might understand much more than he thought.
So much so that he suddenly didn't know whether he should still chase after Sheng Yan like before, and coax and tease him again.
However, the deepest instincts formed in his subconscious over the past decade or so always outpace his thinking.
When Qin Zigui saw a bicycle speeding down the slope outside the alley as if it had gone out of control, heading straight for the narrow alley without thinking, he pulled Sheng Yan into his arms, turned around, and tightly protected him and the cat in front of him.
Then the out-of-control bicycle speeding down the road crashed straight into Qin Zigui, bike and rider alike.
After a loud impact, a low groan came from beside him, and Qin Zigui, who was holding him, involuntarily bent his legs slightly.
Sheng Yan realized what had happened in an instant.
He yanked Qin Zigui's hand away, squatted down, and rolled up Qin Zigui's trouser leg without a second thought.
When the bicycle fell over, the stiff wire tied to the handlebars tore the school trousers, and a deep, long, bloody gash was also cut on the leg, which looked extremely painful.
Sheng Yan finally couldn't hold back any longer. He raised his head and shouted at Qin Zigui, "Qin Zigui, are you out of your mind?! Didn't you know to call me and let me get out of the way?! What are you blocking my way for?! Do you think you're some kind of hero?! Do you think this will stop me from getting angry?! Keep dreaming! I will never forgive you!"
Sheng Yan cursed fiercely, but as he cursed, his eyes reddened, and his fierceness lost all its intimidation, making him seem like a bluffing little leopard.
It was exactly the same way he used to protect him from Gian when they were kids, not allowing them to call him an orphan, as if he had never changed over the years.
At that moment, Qin Zigui suddenly understood a principle.
Sheng Yan, who has always been willing to feed stray cats the best canned food, may not be wrong in itself. What is wrong is that the cats, fearing that they will never be able to eat such good canned food again, refuse to eat the canned food they are currently eating.
So in that instant, he made a decision, looked down at Sheng Yan, and whispered, "Ayan, don't be fierce, it hurts."
Author's Note:
Azalea, also known as camellia or white lotus (bushi)
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