Chapter Fifteen
First, possess yourself, then possess others.
The moment Zhou Mo turned around, her smile vanished. She continued walking on her own. In Yu Xi's eyes, Zhou Mo seemed to be in a good mood, taking small, wobbly steps, like a toddler showing off a skill after mastering it.
Although it might seem a bit childish for Zhou Mo at her age, Yu Xi thought it was pretty good.
Having someone around doing things that are inappropriate for his age is actually in line with his personality.
Qi Xiao took another three days off. When Zhou Mo saw her again, the injury on Qi Xiao's face had almost healed, and she looked much better than she had at the market that day.
Their eyes met for only a moment, neither of them spoke, both ignoring the point of contact. After that, they remained as they were before the earthquake, with no further interaction.
Senior year of high school was still monotonous. Even with new family members, the daily repetition couldn't stop the irritability, and Zhou Mo's mood was still affected.
After writing the wrong answer formula for the third time, Zhou Mo finally put down her pen. After evening classes, some people would stay behind to study on their own, and Zhou Mo was one of them.
Perhaps she was too engrossed in doing her homework tonight, because when she looked up, everyone around her had already left. There was a pink sticky note on the corner of the table, left by her deskmate.
—Take care of yourself, don't overwork yourself. This was followed by a cute emoticon.
Zhou Mo unconsciously curled the corners of her lips, and suddenly her vision went dark. When she looked up, she saw Qi Xiao.
The faint smile at the corner of his mouth was like a fleeting shooting star, disappearing in an instant.
Qi Xiao kept her eyes on Zhou Mo, and naturally didn't miss this change in expression. She thought Zhou Mo didn't want to see her.
But she couldn't just sit idly by.
“Zhou Mo, you really can’t hang out with Yu Xi. He’s really not a good person.”
Zhou Mo twirled the pen in her hand, the black pen barrel contrasting beautifully with her pale fingers, while the soft white light in the classroom cast a hazy glow on her skin.
"If you want to convince me, you have to give me a reason."
"Yu Xi is not a good person."
“This is your subjective opinion, not an objective reason that can convince me.” Zhou Mo rested her chin on her hand and looked at Qi Xiao. She could clearly sense Qi Xiao’s anxiety and worry. What a sincere face. She couldn’t help but imagine what Qi Xiao’s expression was when she gave him his photo—panicked and scared, hesitant and nervous, or calm and composed.
Thinking this, Zhou Mo felt a surge of irritation, not because of her studies, but because of recent trivial matters. She had never thought so much about interpersonal relationships before, nor had she ever felt that managing interpersonal relationships was such a tiring thing.
Why?
There's no need to take people you meet by chance too seriously.
Negative emotions arise because we care.
Oh, so she cares about Qi Xiao.
Zhou Mo stopped twirling her pen and stood up. She was about the same height as Qi Xiao. They looked directly into each other's eyes. Qi Xiao's anxiety was miraculously soothed by Zhou Mo's calm gaze. She stopped repeating that meaningless sentence, and her pent-up grievances found an outlet, pouring out little by little.
"I..." Qi Xiao began, her voice trembling with tears, "Why don't you hit me, scold me, don't talk to me so seriously, Zhou Mo, I really consider you a friend, but I don't know how to treat a friend, how to be a good friend? The safest way to be my friend is not to be my friend."
Zhou Mo listened quietly, only occasionally reaching out to wipe away the tears that lingered on Qi Xiao's chin.
What are you doing?
"I'm afraid it will tickle you and affect your performance."
Qi Xiao burst into laughter through her tears, "Zhou Mo, you're really crazy."
"I stopped being angry with you a long time ago."
Qi Xiao was taken aback. She stared straight at Zhou Mo, her eyes still wet, like a newborn puppy looking longingly at a kind passerby. Her tone was tinged with resentment and grievance, "Then why didn't you talk to me for several days? I thought you didn't want me as a friend anymore."
"Do you think I don't think the same way?" Zhou Mo said, her head down. "You were the one who wanted to be friends with me first, and you were the one who apologized to me first."
“So I was the one who broke the ice first.” Qi Xiao took Zhou Mo’s hand, and her anxiety was instantly cured by Zhou Mo’s princess-like temperament.
“Zhou Mo, what they said is true.”
Zhou Mo: "I know I don't care about your family, I only care about you as a person. You want to be friends with me, and I want to too, isn't that enough?"
Why?
Qi Xiao never voiced her confusion.
Two girls walked hand in hand under the streetlights, their shadows cast long shadows. They swayed back and forth, adjusting the angle and posture of their shadows, enjoying themselves immensely. They didn't even need to speak; a single gesture was enough for them to understand each other perfectly.
Zhou Mo was immersed in the relaxed atmosphere. The evening breeze seemed to blow away all her worries and anxieties.
She turned her head to look at Qi Xiao, revealing her first genuine smile of the day.
Her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket, forcing her to pull back her smile before it could even bloom. She took out her phone and saw the name "Uncle Zhang," and the huge weight that had been hanging over her heart for so long finally lifted.
She answered the phone quietly. The voice on the other end was urgent yet reassuring. She nodded, then belatedly realized the person on the other end couldn't see her, and finally said "Mm".
Qi Xiao, who was standing nearby, noticed that Zhou Mo was in a bad mood. "Was it Yu Xi who called?"
"Um."
"Is he causing you trouble? Are you two dating? Zhou Mo, he's really not a good person. He may look respectable, but he's really not a good person." Qi Xiao said, but she also felt that her words were not convincing. "When we were kids, he would cause trouble for the neighbor's dog."
"Pfft."
Qi Xiao stared blankly at Zhou Mo, seemingly not understanding why she was laughing.
“Zhou Mo, don’t laugh. This is very serious. Not long after he went to find that dog, it was poisoned to death.”
"Also, I remember when I was little, there was a grandfather who was very kind to us. He often brought us cakes. Later, I saw him hit that grandfather with a stick until he bled. I will remember that look in his eyes for the rest of my life."
"There's a saying that all psychopaths kill animals first, but when animals can't satisfy them, they turn to humans."
Have you been reading mystery novels lately?
Qi Xiao retorted, "No."
“I saw the cover of the novel when I passed by you yesterday, the red one.”
Qi Xiao offered a dry explanation: "I only watched it in my spare time."
"No, is that the point? The point is that Yu Xi is really not a good person. Even if you don't believe that, he fights, he doesn't go to school, he hangs out with other people, and he's ungrateful and turns on you. Apart from his face, he's good for nothing!"
"It seems to be a very fair assessment."
Qi Xiao was a little confused as to whether Zhou Mo had listened or not. She wanted to continue persuading her, but she had already said everything she needed to say. She nudged Zhou Mo with her shoulder and said, "What are you thinking? Do you really like his face that much?"
"We are really not in a romantic relationship."
"What kind of relationship is that?"
"family."
"Family?!" Qi Xiao repeated the word several times, still muttering to herself in disbelief, "Family? Who would choose someone like Yu Xi as family?"
"What kind of person?"
"It's just..." Qi Xiao said, looking up as she did so, and happened to meet Yu Xi's half-smiling eyes. She immediately fell silent.
He turned to look at Zhou Mo and found that Zhou Mo also looked completely bewildered.
Yu Xi put his hands in his pockets. This time, he wore a camel-colored long trench coat with a belt hanging on both sides like two small tails. The style was supposed to be formal, but he managed to make it look a bit casual.
Zhou Mo observed Yu Xi's expression and found that even though he had been spoken ill of, he didn't seem angry.
It seems that Yu Xi has never been angry since they met, only occasionally showing a little temper.
Would someone like that poison a puppy or beat an old man?
She had seen fights before, but the beginnings were quite different from those of school bullies in romance novels. Yu Xi was the one being beaten, and her retaliation was for a reason.
I apologize, the appeal was somewhat flawed.
Yu Xi can't be considered a school bully because he didn't attend school.
In conclusion, Yu Xi seems to be quite different in her eyes from what others say.
"Out for a stroll?"
Yu Xi pointed to the moon hanging high in the sky, "At this hour, you don't really think I'm sleeping on a park bench, do you?"
"Pick me up?"
"With the head of the household not returning for so long, it is difficult for me, as a member of the family, to go to bed."
Zhou Mo rolled her eyes at him, "Watch less period dramas."
"how?"
“I’m afraid that if you see someone else administering arsenic, you’ll do the same to me.”
Yu Xi said with a half-smile, "You're not a puppy, why would I drug you?"
Qi Xiao trembled upon hearing this, but Zhou Mo silently shielded Qi Xiao behind her, glancing at Yu Xi with displeasure.
Yu Xi shrugged, smiled, and said nothing more.
Qi Xiao parted ways with Zhou Mo. Actually, she didn't want to part with Zhou Mo, but she was really afraid that Qi Kai would suddenly come home. Otherwise, she would have definitely brought Zhou Mo home to live with her.
“Zhou Mo…”
"Let's go to the bookstore this weekend, buy some extracurricular books, and relax a bit." Zhou Mo naturally interrupted Qi Xiao, patted Qi Xiao's shoulder, gave her a reassuring look, and waved goodbye.
On the way back, Yu Xi remained silent.
Zhou Mo could sense that Yu Xi's mood wasn't high, perhaps because of what Qi Xiao had said.
As they reached the corner, Zhou Mo clearly sensed that Yu Xi had quickened his pace. Out of curiosity, she also quickened her pace. Just as they were about to turn, a loud shout came from around the corner.
Zhou Mo stood there speechlessly. Yu Xi had turned on a flashlight at some point and held it to her chin, making funny faces to scare Zhou Mo.
Seeing that Zhou Mo remained unmoved, he remarked, "Oh ho, you've got some nerve."
"childish."
"You weren't scared at all?"
"So childish."
"You won't secretly cry under the covers at night, will you?"
"Yu Xi, how old are you?"
Nineteen years old, just one year older than you.
The two bickered as they entered the courtyard, and the quiet, dark courtyard was instantly illuminated by warm yellow lights, making it look incredibly cozy from the outside.
Should I leave a light on for you tonight, sir?
Be careful not to wet the bed tonight.
Yu Xi grinned, showing her white teeth. "I know that. Playing with fire will make you wet the bed, but playing with a lamp won't. Besides, my house doesn't have a kang (heated brick bed)."
Zhou Mo rolled her eyes again, and her response to Yu Xi was to slam the door shut.
Yu Xi leaned against the door, fiddling with her phone.
The screen suddenly lit up, and he casually tapped it, revealing his conversation with Zhang Xing.
Zhang Xing: Take care of her.
Yu Xi smiled slightly; he had already taken good care of her.
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