“Get up!” Jiang Qiqi said.
“I won’t!” The boy was stubborn as a mule.
Jiang Qiqi rolled her eyes speechlessly, then lifted him up with one hand as easily as picking up a chick. His legs flailed wildly in the air. Only when she was sure he could stand on his own did she put him down.
Jiang Qiqi: I don’t even know you. Go home.
The boy refused, digging his heels in and refusing to leave.
“Give me your parents’ phone number. I’ll call them to come get you.”
For some reason, this struck a nerve. He wailed loudly, “They won’t answer! They don’t care about me at all! They don’t love me, wuwuwu…”
Jiang Qiqi’s heart remained unmoved. “Fine then, I’ll call the police.”
“—No, don’t!” The boy quickly covered her phone screen. “Sister, I’ve come to seek refuge with you!”
Seek refuge? She wasn’t some gang leader in a game, nor was she Liu Bei or Sun Quan from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. Jiang Qiqi laughed and went to close the door. Panicked, the boy shouted, “I’m Qin Jiao’s friend!”
Jiang Qiqi’s hand paused. She looked him up and down, then *swish*—she closed the door right in his face.
The boy was stunned. He checked the house number against the note in his hand again to make sure he had the right place, then helplessly wrung the water out of his clothes.
Just as he was wondering whether to knock again, the door opened. This time, Qin Jiao was standing behind Jiang Qiqi, peeking out.
Jiang Qiqi: Is he your classmate?
Qin Jiao looked at the boy without the slightest change in expression. Facing the boy’s hopeful eyes, he said bluntly, “I don’t know him.”
Trusting him unconditionally, Jiang Qiqi immediately shut the door again.
Rejected twice, the boy was devastated and started wailing outside.
.
In the end, they still let him in.
Qin Jiao saw that Jiang Qiqi was getting a headache from the noise, so he finally admitted that the drenched stray dog was indeed his classmate. The boy was soaked through and had cried so hard he was shivering violently on the sofa.
Jiang Qiqi’s heart softened eventually. She sighed, found a clean towel and some clothes she had bought for Qin Jiao a few days ago but forgot to return because they were too big, and tossed them over. “Go straight, turn left. Take a shower.”
The boy looked up at Qin Jiao guiltily. “Big bro…”
“Stop talking and go! You’ll catch a cold!”
Jiang Qiqi tended to forget her own abnormal strength unless she was dealing with Qin Jiao. Her pat sent a shock through the boy, making him jump up from the sofa and rush towards the bathroom with the clothes.
Jiang Qiqi held her forehead, grabbed him by the collar, and turned him around. “Wrong way. It’s this side.”
“Oh right, right!” The boy bowed deeply to her. “Thank you, thank you!”
Once the noisy kid was in the shower, the living room became quiet again.
Ever since he came in, Jiang Qiqi’s attention had mostly been on him. Qin Jiao felt an indescribable unhappiness rising in his chest. “When are we sending him home?”
Jiang Qiqi wasn’t used to having guests either. “What’s his name? I’ll contact your homeroom teacher to get his parents to pick him up.”
“Song Jiaming.”
“Song Jiaming… that name sounds familiar.” Jiang Qiqi had a good memory and quickly realized. “Was he the boy in the office that time?”
Qin Jiao: “Yes.”
“You guys get along well?”
“Not really.”
“I am Big Bro’s best friend at school!”
…
The two conflicting answers clashed. Song Jiaming, who had just finished a quick shower and ran out, looked heartbroken. He strode over and hugged Qin Jiao, wailing, “Big Bro, saying that makes me so sad——”
The noise made Jiang Qiqi’s head throb. She rubbed her temples. Seeing this, Qin Jiao immediately clamped his hand over Song Jiaming’s mouth. Song Jiaming stared wide-eyed, accusing him with his gaze. Only after Qin Jiao made him promise with his eyes not to make a sound did he let go. Qin Jiao then went to the bathroom to wash his hands.
Song Jiaming finally behaved, sitting properly on the sofa with his hands on his knees. “Sister, let me introduce myself properly. I’m Song Jiaming, Qin Jiao’s best friend at school!”
He emphasized the last few words, his eyes shining brightly.
Jiang Qiqi leaned back on the other end of the sofa, resting her cheek on her hand, and smiled. “I know. You’re the boy who framed Qin Jiao before.”
“I didn’t!”
“No?”
Song Jiaming immediately apologized. “Sorry…”
It seemed they really were close. Although she didn’t know exactly what had happened, Jiang Qiqi was glad to see Qin Jiao had a friend at school, even if her first impression of this boy wasn’t great.
Song Jiaming sensed her attitude softening. He knew that if not for his relationship with Qin Jiao, she would have probably thrown him out immediately over what happened before.
He stammered, trying to explain. “Sister Jiang, please listen to me…”
Jiang Qiqi nodded. “Go ahead.”
Now that it was time to talk, he scratched his head and face, not knowing where to start. He rambled disjointedly, but Jiang Qiqi managed to piece it together.
Basically, he was a kid starved for attention who thought getting into fights would make his parents notice him. Qin Bao had talked him into provoking Qin Jiao. The fight never happened because he accidentally fell down himself, and then on Qin Bao’s advice, he blamed it all on Qin Jiao.
Jiang Qiqi felt a headache coming on and covered her face. In the end, she simply said, “You are really childish. And stupid.”
Song Jiaming didn’t argue, accepting the scolding meekly. “That’s why I’ve always felt guilty towards Qin Jiao. So I made him my Big Bro, and I’m determined to be his best friend and most loyal underling!”
Jiang Qiqi: “…As long as you’re happy.”
Her phone pinged. She glanced at it and frowned. “You said your mom isn’t answering?”
“She hasn’t come home since that incident.”
“What about your dad?”
“Dad basically never comes home anyway.”
Jiang Qiqi couldn’t believe how irresponsible some parents could be. “So you’re all alone every day?”
Song Jiaming shook his head. “No, there’s an aunt who comes to cook meals.”
After washing his hands until he felt they were clean, Qin Jiao came out of the bathroom. Seeing the two of them chatting animatedly, he walked over and sat right between them on the sofa, blocking their view of each other.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, I was thinking whether we should let him stay for the night.”
Qin Jiao understood she was asking for his opinion. He didn’t object. “Whatever Sister decides.”
“Okay.” Jiang Qiqi nodded, then thought for a second. “But we only have two bedrooms. Hmm, are you okay with him sleeping in your room? If not, he can sleep on the sofa.” Though it was too cold for that this time of year.
She felt she was already being generous enough. If Qin Jiao wasn’t comfortable, letting the boy sleep on the sofa was perfectly fine.
The sofa was definitely not as comfortable as a bed. Song Jiaming looked at Qin Jiao with puppy eyes, moving closer and clinging to him, begging to be allowed to stay.
Qin Jiao was annoyed. “Do whatever you want.” He stood up and went back to his room.
Song Jiaming jumped up excitedly and followed him. Qin Jiao stopped and turned. “Why are you following me?”
“Where else would I go?”
“I’m doing homework. Are you?”
“Huh???”
.
Song Jiaming was allowed to stay in the room, but on one condition—no noise, and keep talking to a minimum.
Song Jiaming was usually very chatty, but being left alone in the living room with Jiang Qiqi sounded way too scary. So he willingly sacrificed his right to speak just to stay there.
Qin Jiao’s room was very clean and sparsely furnished. The bookshelf was mostly filled with textbooks and study guides. However, three bright red books stood out like a sore thumb.
Song Jiaming was curious and couldn’t hold it back anymore. Glancing at Qin Jiao, who was focused on his homework and paying him no attention, he slowly reached out towards the thickest one—and touched it!
Before he could even feel proud, a voice snapped, “What are you doing?” It scared him so much his soul nearly left his body. *Thump!* The book fell to the floor, and several sheets of paper scattered out. Every single drawing was of the same person.
His secret was exposed. Qin Jiao’s face instantly turned cold, and he was about to shout, “Get out—”
“Did you draw these? They’re so good! I want to draw too!”
The words died in his throat. Qin Jiao was stunned. “What did you say?”
“I’m actually really good at drawing! All the aunties and sisters I know praise me. I’ve drawn for so many people!”
Qin Jiao was confused. “Why do you draw for so many people?”
Song Jiaming carefully gathered the papers and put them back, muttering “my bad, my bad” as he treated the book like a treasure and put it back on the shelf. “Because those sisters and aunties are nice to me, and they like my drawings. I don’t have any other talents. If I give them other things they won’t accept, but if I give them drawings, they take them and praise me. Like Sister Lan next door, she framed my drawing and hung it in her living room! Said it’s her favorite!”
“Hmm, I guess it’s a way to show you like them or are grateful, right? Have you ever thought about giving these to your sister?”
Qin Jiao shook his head. He didn’t even dare let Jiang Qiqi see them. Those strange emotions seemed to bleed into the drawings, feelings he couldn’t name or explain. Yesterday she almost saw them, and he panicked and hid them quickly.
He put them in those three red books because Jiang Qiqi didn’t like them and would never look through them. Yet in just a few hours, Song Jiaming had found them.
“Why not?”
Qin Jiao didn’t know how to answer. Instead, he asked, “So… is it normal to want to draw just one person?”
“Super normal! I do it all the time!”
Is that so?
Always drawing someone unconsciously, only wanting to draw that one person. Having no interest in art at all, yet studying it diligently just for this. No matter how many drawings you make, they never seem as beautiful as the real person in your eyes. Is that really normal?
Maybe so, Qin Jiao thought.
“What are you thinking about?” Song Jiaming, being taller, draped an arm over Qin Jiao’s shoulders. Qin Jiao pushed him away in disgust. “Get off.”
“No, no, no! Do you have paper? I want to draw your sister too!”
“No.”
“Scrap paper will do!”
“No.”
“I saw you have some!”
“Shut up. Keep talking and get out!”
Song Jiaming went quiet again.