Ji Xian was followed by three or four male students. One of them caught sight of Qiao Zhen and looked at her with undisguised contempt:
“Yo, Qiao Zhen, why don’t you come over and have lunch with our Young Master Ji?”
The mocking words landed abruptly.
Qiao Zhen’s hand suddenly froze, her face paling slightly.
She recognized this rich second-generation heir—Yuwen Jian.
An idle, ill-behaved good-for-nothing who got into Jing University only because his family donated a few buildings.
Back in her first year of high school, Yuwen Jian had inexplicably showered her with a pile of luxury gifts.
After Qiao Zhen politely declined, Yuwen Jian immediately lost his composure and viciously slandered and belittled her in front of Ji Xian, mocking her for not knowing designer brands, sneering at her poor family background, and saying she wasn’t worthy of hanging around them.
In her previous life, Yuwen Jian had worn the same arrogant, condescending face.
Qiao Zhen’s breath hitched briefly, a buzzing sound ringing in her ears.
In the past, she used to trail behind Ji Xian and his friends, eating lunch together with them, responsible for fetching spoons and chopsticks for him and his buddies.
All just to be a little closer to Ji Xian.
Eating together was something Ji Xian tacitly allowed—and as for other activities, it was only after Ji Xian nodded in agreement that she would follow along with joy shining in her eyes. She never pestered or clung to him.
At school, there was a huge crowd of girls chasing after Ji Xian, and they all wanted to eat with him, go to the campus convenience store with him.
Ji Xian turned them all down without hesitation.
But he never refused Qiao Zhen.
It was precisely this special treatment that gave her a strange feeling, making her actually believe that her devoted efforts could melt his heart.
How ridiculous.
She had willingly burned like a flame for Ji Xian, wanting to warm him—but he had never felt it.
No, when a fire is blazing right beside you, how could a person not feel even a trace of warmth?
Qiao Zhen’s eyes grew uncontrollably moist, her vision gradually blurring.
Ji Xian simply assumed she would never leave, never burn out—so he never cared about how she felt…
At the same time, another male student behind Ji Xian also noticed her.
His tone was lazy and casual: “Come on over, if you’re not here, no one’s getting us our chopsticks~”
From start to finish, Ji Xian didn’t say a single word, taking it for granted that she would definitely come over.
Ji Xian never defended her either, letting the people around him belittle and mock her as they pleased.
It was like this now, and it had been like this in her previous life…
Off to the side, Qin Yichi’s whole body was tense, his eyes full of wariness and displeasure, his heart feeling as if a giant hand were viciously squeezing it, making it hard to breathe.
Beneath the table, his hand was clenched tightly into a fist, his fingertips gradually turning white as he held himself back.
The two groups of boys had never gotten along well to begin with, and now the atmosphere was beginning to sour, tension crackling in the air.
Qiao Zhen’s expression was dazed, her fingertips curling slightly as she forcibly suppressed the bitterness churning endlessly in her chest.
She took a deep breath, looked at Ji Xian, and spoke in a calm yet earnest tone:
“I won’t be joining you all anymore from now on.”
Never again. Ever.
Thankfully, dreaming of those fragments from her previous life had saved her from taking the long way around and let her give up on him ahead of time.
Having finally awakened in an instant, she needed to stay far, far away from these people.
Qiao Zhen’s voice wasn’t very loud, but it was enough for everyone at both tables to hear clearly. The crowd was stunned, faces filled with astonishment.
Almost everyone at Jing University knew that there was a pretty junior in the School of Art named Qiao Zhen who chased after Ji Xian every day, from high school all the way to university, deeply devoted—how could she suddenly change her ways?
Yuwen Jian’s mouth twitched slightly, his face full of disbelief as he raised his voice: “What did you just say?!”
Qiao Zhen lowered her eyes and repeated what she had just said: “From now on, I won’t be hanging out with you guys anymore.”
But the moment the words left her mouth, a layer of icy frost instantly settled over Ji Xian’s gaze, his cold, clear eyes betraying no emotion whatsoever.
His expression darkened, and in a frigid tone that brooked no refusal, he commanded word by word:
“Qiao Zhen, come here.”
Yet Qiao Zhen’s lashes trembled slightly as she remained seated in place, showing no sign of moving.
She shook her head, a silent refusal.
The rich second-generation friends around Ji Xian were completely stunned, exchanging bewildered glances, each seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.
No one had expected that Qiao Zhen would actually refuse.
Was she crazy? Had she taken the wrong pills today?
Or was this some kind of playing-hard-to-get tactic?
Ji Xian’s expression turned cold and stern, his eyes narrowing as he stared fixedly at Qiao Zhen.
After a moment, he left expressionlessly, not sparing her another glance, as if nothing had happened.
Only after they had completely left did Qiao Zhen finally catch her breath.
But with her mood stirred up by Ji Xian and his crew, even lunch felt utterly tasteless.
It was hard to imagine how, in her past life, she had managed to trail behind Ji Xian for seven years, how she had been in a relationship with him.
Seven years of mockery and belittlement, seven years of cold violence…
Seven whole years.
The pain and bitterness of her past life surged through her body in that instant, spreading to every limb and bone.
Even breathing became difficult.
Qiao Zhen hung her head in silence, her chin drooping as she kept poking at her bowl with her chopsticks.
Perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, one of the guys eating at the same table started to warm things up:
“Chi-ge, so you know this pretty girl?”
“Know her? That’s an understatement.”
Qin Yichi seemed to let out a small laugh, then said seriously: “Let me formally introduce you. This is Qiao Zhen. Qiao from ‘arbor,’ Zhen from ‘pearl.'”
“She’s my—”
He deliberately drew out the last syllable.
Qiao Zhen’s eyelid twitched, and her heart inexplicably clenched tight.
Everyone present silently perked up their ears, a glimmer of anticipation and curiosity shining in their eyes.
Qin Yichi paused, then added:
“Childhood sweetheart.”
The girl he’d grown up with since they were little.
The guys all made “ooooh~” expressions, their hearts practically sour with envy.
Damn it, why didn’t they have such an adorable, pretty childhood sweetheart?!
Qin Yichi ignored their teasing, mocking looks, merely curving his lips into a faint smile.
His roommate Niu Yifeng patted his chest enthusiastically: “Sis Qiao, since you’re Chi-ge’s childhood sweetheart, that basically makes you our childhood sweetheart sister too!”
His warmth was so sudden it caught everyone off guard.
Qiao Zhen’s brain short-circuited, question marks practically hanging over her fair, soft little face as she said in her sweet, clear voice: “Ah…?”
Was that… how the rounding worked?
The guys all started chiming in: “Qiao Mu—now that’s a nice-sounding name, hahaha!”
Qin Yichi tapped his fingers lightly on the table, correcting him word by word:
“Not Qiao Mu. It’s Qiao Zhen. Zhen from ‘pearl.'”
The other guy hastily shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, suddenly enlightened, and mumbled through his food: “Oh oh oh, sorry about that, Qiao Zhu!”
“…”
Qiao Zhen choked on her words and quickly waved her hands. “It’s… it’s fine.”
By the end of the meal, Qiao Zhen couldn’t help but smile, feeling inwardly that the atmosphere at Qin Yichi’s table was truly wonderful.
It was like being wrapped in a comfortable, natural spring breeze—lighthearted and free to simply be herself.
His brothers were genuinely sincere and warm.
Unlike Ji Xian’s friends, who always acted superior toward her, pointing fingers and nitpicking at everything she did.
And all she could do was tread carefully, reading their expressions, pretending not to understand their snide remarks.
Qiao Zhen lowered her head, her nose inexplicably stinging and her eyes gradually growing hot.
Only with comparison did she realize—
So that was what it felt like back then, so, so exhausting…
The wind outside blew fiercely, golden ginkgo leaves rustling, and the sky gradually darkened, covered in thick clouds.
Ji Xian’s mood seemed to be at an all-time low.
Throughout the entire meal, no one dared to speak at the table, afraid of provoking him.
Ji Xian walked at the very front of the group with a blank expression, his demeanor calm yet distant.
Behind him, Yuwen Jian’s veins bulged with anger as he spoke harshly: “Well, well, this Qiao Zhen—fickle and unfaithful—now she’s clinging to Qin Yichi?!”
The moment those words fell, Ji Xian’s steps suddenly halted. A storm raged in his eyes, sharp glints flashing through them, and his expression turned utterly grim.
The next second, a sudden “boom” of thunder rang out from the sky, lightning slicing through the air like a sharp sword.
A torrential downpour had begun!