I'm not going home.
Qi Wang was taken aback by Zhou Qingchi's greeting. It wasn't that Zhou Qingchi looked particularly scary, but he could tell that although the man was smiling, there wasn't much kindness in his eyes.
But he didn't leave him standing there. He reached out and shook Zhou Qingchi's hand, smiling, "Hello, hello, my name is Qi Wang."
Zhou Qingchi nodded. "I know, Xia Xia mentioned you to me. She said you're really good at cosplay."
This was a pleasant surprise for Qi Wang, who couldn't help but laugh even harder, saying loudly, "Really?"
Bai Yixia was the most talkative, and after meeting Qi Wang, she made a fuss in the group chat. Listening to the two of them chatting so casually, she suddenly felt that the atmosphere was a bit strange, neither cool nor warm.
Bai Yixia scratched her cheek and interjected during a break in their conversation, "Yes, yes, I even went to look at your previous cosplays. They were all very accurate and beautiful."
Upon receiving her praise, Qi Wang tilted his head shyly.
After Bai Yixia finished speaking, she was still pondering how to talk to Zhou Qingchi while sucking on her straw. But before she could think of anything, she heard him say, "Then let's go, Xia, let's go home."
Normally, Bai Yixia would have happily followed behind him, but today she had other plans. She unconsciously bit her straw and mumbled, "Brother Zhou, I'm not going home this week."
Zhou Qingchi paused in his movement, "Not going home?"
“Yes.” Bai Yixia calmly explained the reason to him, “Time is a bit tight, so we plan to start as soon as possible.”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Qingchi glanced at Qi Wangfei, seemingly implying that he was unreliable. He nodded, then looked at Bai Yixia with a different expression, saying apologetically, "It seems I've disturbed your plans again."
Bai Yixia was truly afraid of him acting like this, fearing that his next words would be "I'm sorry." She shook her head, "No, this was only decided this afternoon."
Thinking of this, she smirked in dissatisfaction. "Besides, if you had replied to the message I sent you this afternoon, you would have known about this."
Zhou Qingchi didn't expect her to react this way. He took out his phone from his pocket and handed it to her helplessly: "I was in a hurry to go to class this morning and didn't fully charge it. It turned off as soon as I got off the bus."
"Really? Then what is this?" Bai Yixia looked at him suspiciously, shaking the grape smoothie in her hand.
Zhou Qingchi pulled out a few more bills, "I just happened to have some cash with me."
"So you're planning to snipe me blindly here?" Bai Yixia said, both amused and exasperated. "What if I'm not planning to go home this week and don't even leave the school gates?"
"Isn't this a perfect coincidence? I was just about to borrow a phone from a friendly-looking classmate to call you when I got here and saw you coming out with your head down." Zhou Qingchi shrugged. "Your eyes are practically glued to your phone."
Bai Yixia choked up, thinking to herself: Who is it that's causing my absent-mindedness?!
She gave a soft hum and took a power bank out of her bag, handing it to him. "Here, kind-looking classmate, you can use it to recharge."
She had been holding the iced glass, her fingertips were cool. Zhou Qingchi happened to touch it when he took the power bank. After plugging in his phone, he saw Bai Yixia sucking on the straw as if she was playing, without drinking anything for a long time. He habitually reached out his hand, "If you're not going to drink, give me the glass, it's very cold."
Bai Yixia didn't seem to mind, simply grunting in response before handing the cup to him. Looking up, she met Qi Wang's gaze, his eyes clearly showing surprise, his lips pressed together in silence.
Bai Yixia was startled, only then realizing that this action might seem unusual to others.
But for her, it had always been like this since she was little. Zhou Qingchi was the oldest of the three of them. Although he was only four months older than Bai Yixia, the adults always liked to say, "This is Brother Qingchi. Brother should take good care of his sister."
In addition, Bai Yixia was the youngest and had a gentle temperament. Compared to Nie Jiayuan, who was a stubborn boy who refused to call Qingchi "brother" even when he grew up, she was truly taken care of by this brother for a long time.
It seems like it's been from the time I can remember until now.
As Bai Yixia thought about it, she felt a tightness in her chest again. Was Zhou Qingchi addicted to taking care of people, which was why he was so good to her? If only she hadn't been so obedient when she was little, she might have been like Nie Jiayuan and could have held a different place in Zhou Qingchi's heart, at least not as a younger sister.
Zhou Qingchi, who was standing to the side, also noticed Qi Wang's surprised look. He smiled and said, "Sorry, I didn't expect to have other friends with me, so I only bought one cup."
Qi Wang forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. I just ate ice cream, and I don't really want to eat any more right now."
Bai Yixia perked up upon hearing this, "That's right. Brother Zhou, if you have the chance, you must come to my school to play. I'll treat you to the mango shaved ice at the academy's cafe, it's so delicious."
Zhou Qingchi nodded. "There will be opportunities." He then changed the subject, "But you've already eaten ice today, so you can't eat this."
Upon hearing this, Bai Yixia's eyes widened, and Qi Wang beside her also took a deep breath.
"What should we do with this? It's such a waste."
Bai Yixia wanted to try again, reaching out to grab the cup, but Zhou Qingchi raised his hand high and tapped her on the head with his other free hand, saying, "What else can you do? Just wait for it to dissolve before drinking the juice."
Bai Yixia pouted in dissatisfaction, and Qi Wang breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the bus arrived. Bai Yixia felt reluctant to part with him and kept glancing at Zhou Qingchi's face. "Are you going back, Brother Zhou? Remember to call your mother and ask her to cook your meal."
If she had known Zhou Qingchi was coming back today, she definitely wouldn't have been in such a hurry to set up the scene with Qi Wang. But since she had already said it, she couldn't go back on her word, so Bai Yixia sighed silently.
To everyone's surprise, Zhou Qingchi asked, "Can I go with you?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yixia suddenly looked up at him, her face beaming with delight. Qi Wang also paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. Although somewhat reluctant, he still said, "You're Xia's friend, of course you can."
Having received the consent of the person in question, Bai Yixia became excited. "And it's like having another helper. Little Zhou is quite capable too!"
Qi Wang tried to join the two, but couldn't manage a smile.
There were many people going out on Friday, and the three of them couldn't find seats after getting on the bus, so they had to hold onto the handrails.
Bai Yixia was nestled between two boys, and although it was a bit crowded, she kept talking non-stop about what she might be doing later. Qi Wang answered her questions one by one, but he seemed a little absent-minded, repeatedly thinking about their relationship.
A child suddenly appeared on the road, and the driver slammed on the brakes, causing everyone in the car to lurch forward uncontrollably.
Qi Wang's mind was no longer on himself, and his grip on the handle loosened slightly. Caught off guard by the sudden braking, he was pulled forward. He was almost ready to fall, but unexpectedly, a hand supported his shoulder, and someone grabbed his backpack behind him.
Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Bai Yixia had caught him. She gripped the railing tightly with one hand and rested her other hand on his shoulder, her delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed. "What were you daydreaming about? You almost fell."
The backpack behind him suddenly felt heavy, and Zhou Qingchi let go of it, saying calmly, "Be careful."
Qi Wang ignored Zhou Qingchi and stared blankly at Bai Yixia. After a long while, he managed to stammer out, "Xia, you're really strong."
Bai Yixia tilted her chin up proudly, "That's right. You don't know, I have several large pieces of equipment at home. Sometimes when I go out to play, I have to carry them for several hours to shoot videos."
Zhou Qingchi smiled upon hearing this, "I don't know what you filmed, only Aunt Lin was willing to do it, she even burned a CD for you and kept it neatly."
Bai Yixia pouted in dissatisfaction and nudged him with her hand, "So what? My mom loves me!"
"Yes, I love you," Zhou Qingchi said softly, looking down at her.
Qi Wang's brow twitched; these words startled him.
But Bai Yixia didn't think of anything else at the moment. She frowned and felt that Zhou Qingchi was teasing her. "Why does it feel like you're not being very sincere?"
Zhou Qingchi looked away, a smirk playing on her lips, and said, "Where?"
"Huh? You did! You were even smiling!" In public, Bai Yixia could only mutter to him in a low voice.
Just then, the bus arrived at the station. Zhou Qingchi glanced at the platform, put an arm around Bai Yixia's shoulder, and led her towards the door. "Alright, alright, Aunt Lin loves you. Loves you. We've arrived, let's get off."
He got out of the car first, then turned back and took Bai Yixia's hand, repeatedly saying, "Be careful, be careful."
Qi Wang followed behind them, awkwardly tugged at his backpack strap, licked his lips, and smiled, "You guys have a really good relationship."
Bai Yixia gently slapped Zhou Qingchi's hand away after getting out of the car. Hearing this, she laughed, "Of course. We grew up together. We're great neighbors, living right across from each other."
Bai Yixia doesn't have the habit of spreading her secret crush around, especially since the person in question is right here, so it's unlikely she'd say it outright.
She sensed that Qi Wang seemed a little off about her, but she couldn't point it out directly. So she could only continue as before.
She thought there was nothing wrong with what she said, but she didn't expect Qi Wang's eyes to light up when he heard this, while Zhou Qingchi, who had just slapped her hand away, paused for a long time.
Bai Yixia was still basking in her own cleverness when she turned her head and saw Zhou Qingchi's raised hand. She looked at him with a puzzled expression and tentatively gave him a high five: "Yay! Celebrating our safe arrival!"
Zhou Qingchi: "..."
Zhou Qingchi lowered his hand and said, following her words, "Yes."
Watching their interactions along the way, Qi Wang didn't know whether he should take a deep breath or relax.
Bai Yixia said, "Qi Wang, could you please lead the way?"
“How can you say it’s a hassle? I’m the one who troubled you first.” Qi Wang replied quickly, taking out his phone to find the address. “It’s not far, it’s in that office building over there.”
Bai Yixia looked up and saw that their school wasn't particularly remote, and there was a startup park nearby with many tall office buildings.
She remembered that Lao Bai had said that the rent here wasn't cheap.
Bai Yixia blinked, then turned to meet Zhou Qingchi's gaze: This guy is also quite wealthy.
Zhou Qingchi shrugged indifferently.
Bai Yixia thought about Qi Wang's room full of cosplay outfits and custom-made props, and he really didn't seem like someone who would be short of money.
Just as I was thinking this, someone called out Qi Wang's name from ahead.
The three of them looked over at the woman, who appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She was dressed casually, had neat shoulder-length short hair, and was waving in their direction.
She had clearly come here specifically to wait for Qi Wang.
Bai Yixia has a wide circle of friends and is never shy in public. In Nie Jiayuan's words, she is practically a social tyrant.
The social butterfly, without any restraint, raised his hand and waved to the woman, sweetly greeting, "Hello, sister!"
The woman's smile widened upon hearing this, but she hesitated again after glancing at the unexpected Zhou Qingchi.
She glanced at the distance between Qi Wang and Bai Yixia, then at the distance between Bai Yixia and Zhou Qingchi, a look of confusion flashing across her face.
When Qi Wang walked up to her, she grabbed his backpack strap, pulling him down a bit, and whispered, "No? You're going to be a mistress?"
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