Liu Xia, a student, did not dare to wait for Qi Fei, another student, right by the main building entrance. She deliberately circled to a clump of holly on the opposite side of the school gate.
Qi Fei soon emerged, and Liu Xia, drawing her body inward, waved her hand and quietly called out to him.
He quickly jogged over two steps, and before speaking, he smiled.
“Why are you hiding here?” he asked.
Liu Xia hoisted her bag higher onto her shoulder, trying to save face, “I’m just afraid of blocking other people’s way. It’s lunchtime; everyone’s rushing to eat.”
Qi Fei nodded, “That’s true. Well, let’s go eat too.”
There he goes again with “let’s go.” Who is “let’s go” with you? she internally groaned.
Liu Xia diverted the topic, “Didn’t you say you had something to talk to me about?”
“After we eat.”
“I have something to do in a little while, so you’d better tell me first.”
Qi Fei pointed to the artificial lake behind Building No. 3, “Then let’s go talk there.”
Liu Xia looked blankly, “We can’t talk here?”
“It’s too busy here with people coming and going; it’s not very convenient.”
Was he going to tell her some state secret? Why did he need to specifically find a secluded place?
Regardless, the area near the building entrance was too dangerous; getting away from the center of controversy was exactly what Liu Xia wanted.
The two walked around to the lake and randomly found a bench to sit on. From this spot, they could clearly see the location on the diagonal opposite shore where she had previously sat with her patron, Gu Lingluo.
Qi Fei took a deep breath, gazing at the shimmering lake surface, and asked, “Do you have a boyfriend?”
Such a sensitive question…
Please, my dear classmate, don’t tell me you want to be my boyfriend!
I’m only concerned with saving my life right now; dating is like floating clouds!
“I…”
“Do you?”
Should she say she did… or she didn’t?
She thought for a moment. She was, after all, the former campus belle, so she should probably avoid gossip.
She answered honestly, “No.”
“Then…” Qi Fei stole a glance at her. His cool and handsome pose, which he had been practicing for a long time, wavered slightly. After blinking for a while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence, “Do you have anyone you like?”
“Yes, I do!”
“Ah?” Qi Fei instantly looked deflated. “Well, do I know this person?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Who?”
Liu Xia started counting off on her fingers, “Hao Yan, Gai Gai, Gu Lingluo…”
Everyone they both knew, regardless of gender, she counted.
“Oh, well, there are just lots of people! All my classmates are pretty nice.”
Qi Fei turned his head, shot her a look of exasperation, and said, “You know I don’t mean it that way.”
She, of course, knew he didn’t mean it that way, but couldn’t he tell what she meant?
Liu Xia returned a very innocent and silly smile, “What exactly did you want to see me about?”
Having successfully changed the subject, Qi Fei bashfully turned his head again.
“I was trying to say that if you don’t have anyone you like…”
Whatever he said next, Liu Xia could no longer hear. Her eyes had gone straight, her body rigid. The warm sun was shining high at noon, yet she was chilled, developing a case of goosebumps.
Her… her patron mother, Gu Lingluo!!
Shouldn’t she have gone home? Why would she appear here?!
On the diagonal opposite shore, the familiar spot she had just been grumbling about, Gu Lingluo (the patron/junior student) had bent down and was seated. Her legs were crossed, and she elegantly spread open the familiar-looking French original text.
Last time, Gu Lingluo had nearly tortured her to death over an undone assignment; her arm still ached from that experience. Now, just a few days later, she was responsible for Liu Xia having a point deduction again…
The consequences were too terrifying to imagine. She dared not even think about it.
Although death eventually comes to all, why rush to find a hanging rope when a reprieve might be possible?
She had better slip away quickly before her patron noticed her!
“Liu Xia? Liu Xia!”
“Ah? What?”
“I asked you a question. Do you agree?”
“Yes, yes! I’m hungry; can we go eat first?”
Qi Fei instantly beamed with joy, “Then, then, this… take it.”
Liu Xia didn’t even look, grabbing it and pushing him to leave.
“Taken, taken! I really am hungry; let’s hurry up and go.”
“Okay, then let’s go eat outside.”
“Anywhere is fine, let’s go, let’s go!”
Hustling and rushing like she was fleeing for her life, Liu Xia finally let out a long breath of relief after barely managing to leave the patron’s line of sight. She looked down: Hmm? What was in the square little red box in her hand?
Please don’t be a ring! Please, please don’t be a ring!!
She pushed open the little red box. It was indeed not a ring; there was no setting, only a plain band.
But what’s the difference between this and a ring, dammit?!
Having failed to comfort herself, Liu Xia twisted the small circle. She could clearly see ‘Pt950’ marked on the inner side.
Speechless, she looked up at the beaming Qi Fei. Did you have to skip so many steps, Classmate Qi?!
“Qi Fei…”
“Yes?”
Liu Xia held up the band, “This…”
“I’ll put it on for you.”
Qi Fei took it, intending to slide it onto her finger, but Liu Xia quickly put her hands behind her back.
“No, I didn’t see clearly just now. I can’t accept such a valuable gift.”
“It’s not expensive, less than two thousand [Yuan].”
Two thousand isn’t expensive? Are students nowadays all that rich? The stories of selling a kidney for an iPhone really sound like urban legends.
“I can’t accept gifts without merit. Don’t mention two thousand; I’d have to think about two Yuan.”
Qi Fei smiled, “With the relationship we have, you don’t need to be polite.”
What relationship do we have?
She suddenly remembered that she seemed to have casually agreed to something just now. Could it be that he just happened to ask an inappropriate question, and she just happened to agree?
Could it really be such a coincidence?!
Is Mercury in retrograde for me?
No, apparently not.
She must be overthinking it.
Whether she was truly overthinking it or not, Liu Xia didn’t have the courage to ask what exactly she had agreed to just now.
She figured playing dumb would suffice.
“Uh… um… Shoot! Hao Yan is still waiting for me at the cafeteria! She already got my meal; if I don’t go, she’ll kill me! Well, I have to go now, see you later!”
Before she finished speaking, she had already dashed away.
In the evening, at the library.
Liu Xia, as usual, rushed over to reserve a seat after class. She wasn’t buying coffee anymore—her patron didn’t like it—but she had brewed Yunwu tea (a type of Chinese green tea) and used a specially purchased glass cup for her patron.
After a whole afternoon of reassurance from Hao Yan, Liu Xia’s anxiety had completely subsided.
Hao Yan had said that as long as Liu Xia was sincere, and ideally played up a convincing performance of heartbreaking remorse, Gu Lingluo wouldn’t do anything drastic to her. After all, she still hadn’t fully delivered on the task for Mr. Seider.
Liu Xia strongly agreed.
She mainly panicked this morning because the shock was too much; she realized she was indeed too close to the situation to think clearly.
Now, she started adjusting her expression, striving to capture the essence of deep remorse, hoping to even squeeze out two drops of tears for a smooth passing.
Just as she was brewing her tears, the chair next to her was pulled back with a loud WHOOSH. Liu Xia subconsciously looked up.
“Sorry, this spot is already… Huh? Gu Lingluo?”
Her patron usually arrived precisely on the dot; it was still three minutes early.
Moreover… her patron always had impeccable manners. Not to mention in the library, even in a noisy classroom, she was always light-footed and noise-free. What was the matter today?
Oh no!
Liu Xia gasped.
Did she and Hao Yan miscalculate? Was her patron actually extremely, extremely, extremely angry?!
It’s over, over, over!
The heart she had just settled instantly leaped back into her throat. Liu Xia was frantic.
How do you appease an enraged noblewoman? Online answers, desperately needed!!!
SMACK!
A piece of paper covered densely with German writing was slapped down in front of her.
Translate.Foreverymistake,runthreelapsaroundthetrack.
She truly was furious; she was already resorting to personally creating an assignment to torment her.
Gosh!