“What are you staring at? Go get a blanket and make up the couch.”
Cheng Qin pressed at his temples.
“I’m dead tired.”
“Thanks, Uncle. Um… do you want me to push the couch together for you? You’re so tall—it won’t be comfortable to sleep on.”
The corner of Cheng Qin’s eye twitched.
“Who said I’m sleeping there?”
Cheng Simian blinked.
Cheng Qin smacked the back of her head.
“Hurry up and get it! If you don’t, you’ll be covering yourself with your own clothes tonight!”
“Wait—” Cheng Simian widened her eyes.
“You mean I’m sleeping on the couch?”
“Who else, me?” Cheng Qin snapped.
“You showed up out of nowhere, and I didn’t prepare a bed for you. Tomorrow I’ll clear out the study and buy you a bed. For tonight, just make do.”
With that, Cheng Qin lifted his foot and headed upstairs.
Cheng Simian took a deep breath.
When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to bow your head!
“Uncle, I’m a girl, and you’re making me sleep in the living room?”
She followed after him, offering a kind reminder.
“Don’t forget you have roommates—and they’re men.”
Cheng Qin paused and turned to look at her.
“My roommate, you mean Su Xianyan?”
Cheng Simian wanted to nod, but thinking of the man who had just cooked dumplings for her, she suddenly lost her confidence.
“…I’m not used to sleeping on the couch.”
Cheng Qin shot her a glare.
“Why do you have so many issues? Can’t even sleep on a couch?”
“I’m telling the truth.”
“You—” Cheng Qin was utterly exhausted that night.
“Forget it. I’ll take a blanket and sleep on the couch, okay? I’m dying of sleepiness. Stop bothering me.”
“Okay~”
After happily agreeing, Cheng Simian followed Cheng Qin into her room.
But the moment she stepped inside, she froze. Clothes scattered everywhere, a bed that looked like a dog’s nest… Was this even fit for a human to sleep in?
Cheng Simian swallowed.
“…Uncle, you’ve worked hard. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Cheng Qin, “?”
…
The next day.
Cheng Simian groggily got up from the couch and looked around. The unfamiliar surroundings caught her off guard for a moment. Then it came back to her—right, she wasn’t at home anymore. She had come to seek refuge with her uncle.
She scratched her head, took out some clothes and toiletries from her suitcase, and went into the bathroom. After washing up, she checked her watch—7:10 a.m. Still early. She wouldn’t be late for school today.
Speaking of school, she had only transferred to this new one a few days ago. The reason for her previous transfer? Repeatedly provoking trouble and getting into fights. No matter how much money her father tried to stuff into the school, they still politely insisted on expelling her.
Provoking trouble? Fighting?
Please. It was clearly those little girls deliberately picking fights with her. Did she really have nothing better to do?
After changing, Cheng Simian came out of the bathroom. With forty minutes left, she went upstairs and knocked on Cheng Qin’s door.
“Uncle, are you awake?”
No response. She knocked harder.
“Uncle? Uncle, wake up!”
“Uncle, I have class today! I don’t have money for a taxi—you have to take me to school! Uncle? Uncle!”
She knocked several more times, still no reaction.
“Stop knocking.”
A gentle, warm voice suddenly sounded behind her. Cheng Simian froze and quickly turned around.
“He probably drank too much last night. You won’t wake him.”
Her gaze lingered briefly on Su Xianyan’s simple, clean shirt before she looked up at him.
“But I need to go to school. It’s kind of far from here.”
Su Xianyan frowned slightly, his eyes dark as ink.
“Where’s your school?”
“XX Road.”
He raised his brows in mild surprise.
“Come with me. It’s on my way.”
“Huh? Really?”
Cheng Simian followed Su Xianyan downstairs in delight.
“Yes. It’s near my company.”
“Thanks.”
Cheng Simian had a very good impression of Su Xianyan. He was gentle and polite, unlike Cheng Qin’s irritability and recklessness. He was also nothing like the spoiled rich kids she’d met before—those people were self-important, childish, and boring. Su Xianyan, on the other hand, was steady and restrained, carrying an indescribable air of maturity.
In short, to Cheng Simian, Su Xianyan was a completely new species.
“Su Xianyan, how did you meet my uncle?”
Su Xianyan opened the car door for her.
“He was my junior in school.”
“Huh? So you’re older than my uncle?”
Su Xianyan curled his lips slightly and hummed in confirmation. He walked around the front of the car to the driver’s seat and started the engine.
As the car slowly left the villa area, Cheng Simian rested her chin on her hand and looked at him curiously.
“Oh, I just remembered. A long time ago, my uncle mentioned that there was a really impressive senior at his school. He said he wanted to start a business with him. I don’t remember clearly—was that you?”
“A long time ago? You and your uncle were close?”
“When I was little, my uncle treated me really well. Later we drifted apart, I guess. But that’s not important—relationships can always be rebuilt, right?”
Su Xianyan was amused and smiled.
Cheng Simian froze slightly. Watching his smiling profile, she blurted out,
“Su Xianyan, you have the nicest smile I’ve ever seen.”
The smile on his face softened a little. He turned his head and looked at her, his gaze calm and warm.
“Thank you.”
Twenty minutes later, Su Xianyan parked the car at the school gate.
“We’re here.”
Cheng Simian pulled her backpack from the back seat to the front.
“Thanks.”
She opened the door and got out, but after walking a few steps, she suddenly turned back.
Su Xianyan looked at her, puzzled.
“Did you forget something?”
“No. I noticed you haven’t had breakfast either. Wait for me five minutes—there’s a breakfast shop over there that’s super good.”
“No need—”
Before he could finish speaking, Cheng Simian had already dashed off. Su Xianyan watched her thin, petite figure push open the door of the shop ahead, feeling a little helpless.
Students passed by all around them, every one of them wearing their school uniforms properly and neatly. Cheng Simian soon ran back from afar, carrying two bags. She was also wearing the school uniform, but her skirt had been hitched up above her knees, the shirt tailored smaller and more form-fitting. The short tie wasn’t properly fastened either, hanging loosely around her neck.
Su Xianyan’s gaze lingered on her outfit for a few seconds before shifting to her face. She had an innocent, youthful face. Aside from her slightly unruly way of dressing, she didn’t seem nearly as rebellious as Cheng Qin had described.
“This French sandwich is the best around here. I discovered it on my first day of school,” Cheng Simian said as she handed one of the bags through the car window.
“I’m about to be late. You eat it—I’m heading off.”
With that, she tore open her own sandwich and ran toward the school gate, eating as she went.
She kept running, and before Su Xianyan could say anything, she was already out of sight. He lowered his head and looked at the paper bag in his hand, took out the sandwich inside. It was still warm, and it smelled pretty good.
Cheng Simian finished her breakfast quickly. Just as she stepped into the classroom, the bell rang. She let out a sigh of relief. She had already made up her mind the night before—during this period, she would behave herself and not cause trouble, including not being late or leaving early. She understood perfectly well what “things aren’t what they used to be” meant. If she caused trouble now, Cheng Qin would definitely throw her out without hesitation.
“Cheng… Cheng Simian.”
Cheng Simian had just laid her head down to sleep when someone called her name. She lifted her head impatiently.
“What?”
The one calling her was her deskmate. Cheng Simian had only transferred here recently and had no interaction with her at all—she hadn’t even remembered her name yet.
Fu Ziwen pressed her lips together. She was a little afraid of Cheng Simian. She looked like the stereotypical problem girl, and everyone said she’d been expelled from her previous school for causing trouble—violent and hard to deal with.
“J-just now the class rep came to collect homework. Y-you should take yours out. We have to hand it in soon.”
“Homework?” Cheng Simian looked completely blank.
“There was homework?”
Fu Ziwen nodded and whispered,
“It’s the homeroom teacher’s. If you don’t hand it in, you’ll get scolded.”
“What?!”
Cheng Simian’s drowsiness vanished instantly. She had just decided to behave herself and she was already about to get yelled at? No way!
“Um, what was your name again?”
“Fu Ziwen…”
“Okay, Fu Wenzi—lend me your homework so I can copy it. Quick!”
Fu Ziwen pouted.
“It’s Fu Ziwen, not ‘mosquito.’”
“Which one, which one?” Cheng Simian didn’t listen at all, urging her to hand it over.
Fu Ziwen didn’t dare refuse and reluctantly passed it to her.
“This one.”
“Okay.” Cheng Simian took it.
“Thanks, Mosquito.”
“Ziwen…”
“Okay, Ziwen.” Cheng Simian tilted her head and smiled at her.
“You helped me once. I’ll remember it.”
“Ah? Oh…”
Fu Ziwen was a little dazed. For just a moment, she felt that this supposedly terrible girl actually had a really nice smile. Maybe… she wasn’t that scary after all.
After handing in the homework, Cheng Simian comfortably sprawled back over her desk and went to sleep again.
“Cheng Simian, why are you always sleeping?” Fu Ziwen asked, puzzled.
“I’m tired.”
“Don’t you sleep at night?”
“I do.” Cheng Simian yawned.
“But the moment I get to the classroom, I get sleepy. And listening to that old guy up there talk makes me even sleepier.”
Fu Ziwen, “……”
“Tell me when school’s out.”
“…Okay.”
Cheng Simian hummed in response and buried her head back down.
Finally, school ended. Cheng Simian grabbed her backpack and headed out. When she reached the door, a horrifying thought suddenly struck her.
She hadn’t seen her uncle today—so she hadn’t gotten any money!
She’d been so busy looking at Su Xianyan that she forgot to borrow money too!
Was she supposed to walk all the way back?
Cheng Simian felt miserable.
Walking along the road outside the school, she wondered if she should borrow money from some student along the way…
“Cheng Simian.”
“Hm?”
She turned toward the voice. When she saw who it was, her expression immediately darkened.
“I’ve been waiting for you forever. Does your class always end this late?”
Cheng Simian replied coldly,
“Get lost.”
“Heh? Still acting tough? Your family’s got nothing left—what are you still being arrogant for?”
Cheng Simian looked at the fashionably dressed girl in front of her. It was Lin Yinghan, her sworn enemy from her previous school.
“What do you want?”
“Nothing. Just here to tell you—thanks to you, I transferred to this school too.”
Cheng Simian sneered.
“Well, what a coincidence.”
“Hmph. If it weren’t for you, would I have had to change schools? Let me tell you, you can’t compare with me anymore. I’ll give you a chance to apologize—otherwise, you’re going to regret it.”
“What?” Cheng Simian picked at her ear.
“Say that again.”
“I said, apologize to me!”
Cheng Simian looked at her speechlessly.
“You want me to apologize to some lunatic who was all high and mighty and then cried after I slapped her once? Are you out of your mind?”
“Say that again!”
“Move aside, move aside. I’ve got things to do. Miss Lin, could you please stop blocking my way?”
“You! Get her!”
Lin Yinghan had several girls behind her. At her shout, they immediately rushed forward to grab Cheng Simian.