Crisis farce
After receiving the reply, Qi Xu played a few more games before finally falling into a deep sleep.
In the early morning, everyone went about their business, some to school, some to work. Just as Qi Xu came downstairs, he saw Han Xue straddling her bicycle.
"Shall I take you?" Han Xue looked at her.
"No need." She refused decisively and walked straight ahead.
Han Xue had no choice but to ride her bicycle to school.
Qi Xu's eyes followed the bicycle until it disappeared around the street corner.
Hao Nan spotted Qi Xu ahead at a glance, pedaled hard a few times to catch up with her, and squeezed the brakes to stop: "I'll give you a ride."
"Exercise," she said matter-of-factly, her low steps never faltering.
Without saying a word, Hao Nan locked his car to the side, picked up his schoolbag, and quickly caught up with her, walking side by side.
"Why aren't you riding your bike?" she asked, somewhat surprised.
“Exercising in the morning is good for your health.” He turned his head and looked at her with a smile.
The two fell silent for a moment.
Hao Nan broke the silence by thinking about the game last night: "I played a newbie game with me last night. Tsk, she was ridiculously bad. I asked her to jump with me, and she canceled it immediately. Then she was eliminated as soon as she landed. What's even more ridiculous is that she didn't even know where the ready button was."
He got more and more excited as he spoke, completely oblivious to Qi Xu's gloomy face, and added with a laugh at the end, "Tell me, isn't that stupid?"
Before he could finish speaking, Qi Xu suddenly stopped and approached him with a fierce look in his eyes.
Hao Nan's lips twitched slightly, and he subconsciously took a half step back, asking cautiously, "W-what's wrong?"
"Are you done talking?" Qi Xu's voice was cold.
Hao Nan nodded, somewhat bewildered.
"You said you're a newbie, can't you be a little more understanding? If you want to teach me, then teach me, if you don't want to, then don't. After you teach me, you scold me. I think you're really... stupid!" Qi Xu's anger, mixed with dissatisfaction, came crashing down on him.
Hao Nan was completely bewildered by the scolding and felt wronged: I just made a few complaints, why did they get so angry? He carefully recalled what he had said and didn't think he had gone too far.
Unbeknownst to him, Qi Xu, listening to those words, seemed to see his clumsy actions being mercilessly mocked. For the rest of the journey, the two remained silent, the air thick with awkwardness.
The journey was silent...
During break, Wan Xiaoyi suddenly leaned close to Qi Xu and asked, "Want to get your ears pierced?"
"Yes, I've wanted to play for a long time, but I've never had the chance." Qi Xu put down his pen, his eyes lighting up.
"How about we go to my sister's shop to play after school? Want to come?" Wan Xiaoyi warmly invited her.
“Let’s go!” Qi Xu readily agreed.
Hao Nan suddenly leaned over and said, "I want to go too."
Qi Xu glared at him: "What are you going to do?"
Wan Xiaoyi chimed in, "That's right, why are you getting involved in girls' affairs?"
He suddenly became self-righteous: "Didn't you say you'd let me go to the library with you? Now you're going back on your word?"
"I can go to the library any day. I can go whenever I want, and I can stay home whenever I don't want to. Is that not allowed?" Qi Xu raised his chin, exuding an air of authority.
Hao Nan sighed helplessly and sat back down in his seat. But in his heart, he was secretly plotting: They won't let me go? Hmph, I'll just sneak off with you, Qi Xu, you can't escape.
Meng Wanyi was chatting sweetly with her boyfriend, Xia Zhou. Xia Zhou's gaze inadvertently swept over Qi Xu, and he asked Meng Wanyi, "Is that the new student in your class?"
"Hmm, her name is Qi Xu," Meng Wanyi casually introduced, unaware of the playful look in her boyfriend's eyes.
When Qi Xu heard his name called, he glanced at the two people in front of him being affectionate, then looked away with disgust.
Xia Zhou's gaze remained fixed on Qi Xu. Hao Nan keenly noticed this and immediately plopped down in the empty seat Wan Xiaoyi had left, blocking the line of sight, his eyes clearly saying, "What are you looking at?"
Xia Zhou curled the corners of his lips and looked away.
Meng Wanyi was displeased and yelled at Hao Nan, "Hao Nan! What kind of look is that?"
"None of your business?" Hao Nan said impatiently.
"You glare at my boyfriend, and I can't even ask you a question?"
Hao Nan scoffed, "One cry will do the trick."
"What do you mean?"
Hao Nan was too lazy to pay attention to her anymore.
During break, Qi Xu went to the convenience store to buy a notebook, and as soon as he came out, he was blocked at the door by several people.
"What's up?" she asked in a flat tone.
Xia Zhou, who was in the lead, smiled knowingly: "Want to be friends?"
"Not interested." Qi Xu turned to leave.
The people next to him immediately blocked his way.
Qi Xu's patience ran out instantly, and he asked impatiently, "What exactly do you want?"
Xia Zhou lowered his head, leaned closer to her, and whispered, "I've taken a liking to you. Be my girlfriend."
A strong feeling of nausea surged up his throat, and Qi Xu covered his mouth and gagged. Xia Zhou's face instantly turned ashen.
Qi Xu suppressed his discomfort and said expressionlessly, "I'm not feeling well today, let's talk another day." He then made as if to leave again.
Xia Zhou reached out to grab her wrist, but a figure suddenly rushed over and pulled Qi Xu behind him.
"Xia Zhou, behave yourself!" Hao Nan stood in front, his eyes sharp.
Xia Zhou seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and his underlings behind him burst into laughter.
"Tell Brother Xia to behave? Who do you think you are?"
Xia Zhou narrowed his eyes: "The person who can make me behave hasn't been born yet, so what gives you the right?"
Before Hao Nan could reply, Qi Xu suddenly grabbed his wrist and pulled him away quickly. She appeared calm, but her palms were slightly sweaty. Both Hao Nan and Xia Zhou were stunned by her sudden action.
Xia Zhou watched the two figures disappear into the distance, gritting his teeth inwardly: This girl is too bold!
After walking a short distance, Hao Nan was finally released by Qi Xu. He stared at her, his voice tinged with barely perceptible grievance: "Are you... with him?"
Qi Xu rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "Am I blind? How could I possibly be interested in him?"
"Then why did he let you go so easily?"
How would I know?
Upon hearing the negative answer, Hao Nan's eyes lit up, but he quickly concealed it and cautiously asked, "Then... what type do you like?"
Hao Nan silently kept this "thirty years old" in his heart.
Not long after the two returned to the classroom, Meng Wanyi suddenly rushed into the classroom from outside, threw herself on the table, and burst into tears.
The commotion was so loud that all the students' eyes were drawn to it.
Her friend Ren Yue patted her back and comforted her, "Don't cry, it's not worth it for someone like that..."
As a result, Meng Wanyi cried even harder.
Ren Yue suddenly looked up, glared fiercely at Qi Xu, and shrieked, "You're seducing someone else's boyfriend! Have you no shame?!"
Qi Xu frowned and coldly uttered a few words: "Stupid. Foolish. Brainless."
Ren Yue was so angry that he was about to rush over and hit someone, but Wan Xiaoyi stopped him: "What are you doing!"
Ren Yue withdrew his hand, pointed at Qi Xu and continued to berate her: "You think you're right for seducing someone else's boyfriend!"
The corridor outside the door was instantly crowded with students from other classes who came to watch the spectacle.
Wan Xiaoyi shouted angrily, "What are you looking at!" She walked over and slammed the curtains shut, closing the classroom door behind her.
"Explain yourself," Qi Xu stood up, her voice low but clear, "Would I be out of my mind to seduce him? What good would that do me?"
"Benefits? Who doesn't know Xia Zhou is handsome! So many girls want to get close to him!" Ren Yue retorted loudly.
"Handsome?" Qi Xu scoffed, his face full of undisguised disdain. "What good is being handsome! He's full of bad habits, idle and good-for-nothing, he has no skills whatsoever, what can he do for me? He's just a piece of trash."
The classroom fell into a deathly silence after those words were spoken.
That's Xia Zhou, the school bully! Hao Nan was anxiously trying to rush into the classroom, but Wan Xiaoyi held him back tightly: "Let the girls handle their own affairs! You'll only make things worse if you go in!"
Han Xue, sitting in the corner, subtly smiled, secretly praising her sister: "She's truly my sister, she has backbone."
The undisguised contempt in Qi Xu's eyes left Ren Yue speechless, unsure how to refute him.
Meng Wanyi suddenly raised her head, her eyes brimming with tears, and pointed at Qi Xu, crying out in a shrill voice, "Who knows what you're thinking! You're just someone who steals other people's boyfriends..." She ultimately didn't dare to utter the last two words.
"Slap!" A crisp slap echoed through the classroom.
Han Xue had already walked up to Meng Wanyi without her noticing, her eyes icy cold: "Watch your mouth! You got dumped, so you start biting people? Don't you know what kind of person your boyfriend is?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable authority.
Meng Wanyi covered her face, staring at Han Xue in terror, not daring to utter a single word. Everyone in the classroom watched this scene in shock. Han Xue was known at school for her "I won't offend others unless they offend me" attitude, but today she actually took action for Qi Xu?
After hitting the person, Han Xue sat back down in her corner as if nothing had happened, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds, as if she had just swatted a mosquito.
The farce ended abruptly with Han Xue's forceful intervention.
Qi Xu's gaze fell on Han Xue with a complicated expression. Han Xue noticed this, raised an eyebrow and smiled: "What? Want to thank me? Call me 'sister' and let me hear it."
Qi Xu immediately looked away and stopped looking at her.
The day's classes are finally over.
Wan Xiaoyi excitedly pulled Qi Xu along: "Come on, let's go get our ears pierced at my sister's place!"
The two were walking home from school. Qi Xu felt a chill run down his spine and whispered to Wan Xiaoyi, "Xiaoyi, it feels like someone is following us."
Wan Xiaoyi instinctively wanted to turn around, but Qi Xu grabbed her arm and said, "Don't turn around!"
Wan Xiaoyi understood, pretending to fix her hair, but her eyes darted around quickly, and she also became nervous: "Hmm, there was a boy wearing a black mask, acting suspiciously..."
The two exchanged a glance, quickened their pace in unison, and slipped into the corner of a roadside shopping mall.
Sure enough, a figure wearing a black mask hurriedly caught up and stopped where they had been, looking around blankly: "Where is everyone?"
In the blink of an eye, Qi Xu suddenly sprang out from his hiding place and kicked the man in the shin!
Caught off guard, the other person fell hard.
Qi Xu ripped off his mask—it was Hao Nan!
"Hao Nan?! What are you doing, sneaking around following us?" Qi Xu was both surprised and angry.
Wan Xiaoyi, hands on her hips, said aggressively, "Confess now! Do you have some bad intentions? Hmm?"
Hao Nan rubbed his leg, looking completely innocent: "What bad intentions could I possibly have? After what happened today, I'm afraid Qi Xu will be bullied by those blind fools again..." He stole a glance at Qi Xu, his ears turning slightly red.
Qi Xu was simple-minded and thought he was just being loyal. Also, remembering that she still owed him the task of teaching him to draw, she softened her tone: "Thanks. But it's all in the past now, so it should be fine."
"Nothing happened?" Wan Xiaoyi interjected from the side, "You insulted the school bully in front of so many people! There's no way he'll let it go!"
"We've already insulted him, he'll find out sooner or later." Qi Xu seemed quite calm, but in reality, he was very panicked.
Hao Nan immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry! With me here, I'll definitely protect you!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a familiar yet annoying voice came from not far away.
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