Youth: You’re my Redemption
Chapter 11: Will You Be My Lock? (3)
Song Shu didn’t know that Luan Qiaoqing had come to challenge her, nor did she know that she had been called to cheer for Luan Qiaoqing.
After Luan Qiaoqing stuttered through an explanation of the situation, Song Shu nodded calmly and asked, “What was your total score on this month’s exam?”
Luan Qiaoqing remained silent.
Top students have a magical power: no matter the topic, they can always steer the conversation back to studies. This was absolutely the topic that academic underachievers most wanted to avoid.
So Luan Qiaoqing pretended not to hear and asked, “Sis, do you know Qin Lou?” She glanced back over her shoulder.
When the young man first saw Song Shu, his eyes clearly showed an irresistible urge to rush up. However, after Song Shu asked him, “Have you memorized ‘Song of Everlasting Sorrow’?” he seemed to be fixed in place, lazily sitting down at the table under the shade of a tree. He swung his legs idly about three or four meters away, looking perfectly despondent and disheartened, which was quite fitting for the occasion.
Except for occasional glances that clearly concealed a somewhat… dog-intense gaze.
Luan Qiaoqing withdrew her gaze upon hearing Song Shu say, “As I mentioned to you, he’s Grandpa Qin’s grandson.”
Luan Qiaoqing choked a bit, “You mean the one who can solve any 6th-order magic cube in under two minutes?”
“Yeah.”
“… Really.”
It’s not fair.
Handsome and smart. Not only is he good-looking, but his brain works so well too. Does he leave any room for others to shine?
While Luan Qiaoqing grumbled internally, Song Shu seemed to contemplate something for a few seconds, then turned her gaze towards the direction behind Luan Qiaoqing.
“Qin Lou,” the girl called out.
In the blink of an eye, the young man, who moments ago had looked completely disillusioned with the world, was now standing next to Song Shu. His speed was so quick that Luan Qiaoqing was left a bit bewildered.
Song Shu gestured towards Luan Qiaoqing, “This is my cousin, Qiaoqiao. Qiaoqiao, this is Qin Lou, who’s two years older than you.”
Looking closely at his handsome face, Luan Qiaoqing, as someone who is a beauty lover, felt a bit flustered. “Hi… big brother.”
Qin Lou squinted slightly, his gaze quickly shifting away from Luan Qiaoqing and back to Song Shu. “If I call you sister too, can I move into your house?”
Luan Qiaoqing: “…?”
Song Shu remained calm. “No, you can’t.”
“You can move back home though.”
“Grandpa Qin wouldn’t agree.”
“Then I’ll move out and live with you.”
“Qin Lou, stop messing around.”
“…”
Watching her usually emotionless sister display a helpless expression and utter the words “stop messing around,” Luan Qiaoqing felt as if a thunderbolt had struck her squarely on the head. It took several seconds for her to find her voice again.
“Sis, are you… boyfriend and girlfriend?”
The air suddenly became still.
The young man who had just been laughing carelessly a moment ago turned abruptly, his gaze cold and suppressing some kind of volatile emotion as he glanced at her. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
It was the first time he had looked directly at her, his eyes conveying a warning born from Song Shu.
Luan Qiaoqing froze in place.
Meanwhile, Song Shu, with a stern expression, seemed to disapprove as she looked at her. “Don’t let your imagination run wild. Focus on your studies.”
Luan Qiaoqing: “—?”
Was she really letting her imagination run wild??
It wasn’t until the two of them talked about leaving that Luan Qiaoqing snapped out of her daze, wearing a face full of existential doubt.
At this moment, the boy who had come with Qin Lou stepped forward from behind, smiling apologetically. “Sorry about that, Luan Meimei. If you had just said you were Song Shu’s sister earlier, we wouldn’t have dared to give you a hard time.”
Luan Qiaoqing asked instinctively, “Why?”
“Haha, why else? Everyone is afraid of Lou Ge. And Lou Ge listens to Song Shu alone. So, if we substitute you in as her sister, then we all listen to Song Shu,” he explained with a chuckle.
Luan Qiaoqing grew more bewildered as she listened. “So, they are not…”
“Hey hey, little sister, don’t mention that term in front of Lou Ge.”
“But the way he looks at my sister is clearly…”
“Like a dog sees a bone, right? We all know,” the boy laughed. “The whole school knows how crazy Lou Ge is about Song Shu, but she doesn’t even realize it herself. I heard they grew up together, and Song Shu probably thinks Lou Ge is just a childhood friend or a brother to her.”
“What about Qin Lou? Doesn’t he explain himself?” Luan Qiaoqing couldn’t understand why she was getting worked up.
“Lou Ge…” The boy paused for a few seconds, sighed, and chuckled. “He just loves her too much.”
At that moment, Luan Qiaoqing didn’t quite understand the meaning of those words. In her mind, the more you loved someone, the more you should express it.
But later, after spending two years around those two, she slowly, gradually understood—
Love could even teach a madman restraint.
When love reached its extreme, even the most unrestrained madman became cautious and walked on thin ice.
Because he feared losing her.
That was the one thing he couldn’t bear.
~
On New Year’s Eve of 2009, Qin Liang made an exception and invited Bai Song to their home, saying there were important matters concerning both public and private affairs that required both families to sit down and discuss.
Throughout the whole day, there was an uneasy smile on Qin Fujun’s face.
Song Chengjun and Qin Fujun’s two children were present, along with Bai Song, who brought Song Shu and Luan Qiaoqing. Adding Qin Lou into the mix, several similarly-aged minors sat in the side hall, yet the atmosphere was so quiet it was suffocating.
Song Ruyu and Song Shuai had become much more obedient in recent years. Whenever they encountered Song Shu at home or school, they would tiptoe around her, fearing that they might inadvertently provoke her and incur the wrath of the “Great Demon King.”
—A fatal debuff with additional damage-over-time effects, no cooldown, and once triggered, it could lead to a complete game over.
Over time, their shadowy fear of their cousin Qin Lou only increased. Even though Qin Lou wasn’t as “crazy” as he was in his childhood, it did nothing to diminish the instinctive fear they felt upon seeing him.
For example, at this moment.
Qin Lou leaned back in his chair, his long legs propped up on the table. He lazily turned the Rubik’s Cube in his hands, his eyes half-lidded with disinterest.
Yet, this nonchalant demeanor was enough to unsettle the two sitting opposite him, their faces pale and their spirits trembling.
Luan Qiaoqing watched with a mix of schadenfreude and delight. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
The eerie silence persisted until Song Shu came downstairs. The eyes of the person playing with the Rubik’s Cube seemed to instantly light up, their attention shifting directly towards her.
“Done?” Song Shu asked.
“Yeah.”
“Was it difficult?”
“It was alright.”
“…”
Luan Qiaoqing, now a first-year high school student, could guess what these two were talking about. She couldn’t help but burst into tears beside them—
What was a top student? Probably someone who, despite facing an inhumane amount of practice test papers during the winter break of their senior year, could still finish them all before halfway through the break.
What was a genius student? Probably someone who could casually play with a 6th-order Rubik’s Cube with their legs crossed, not write a single word of winter break homework, and still approach near-perfect scores in math and science.
What was an academic underachiever?
No need to guess—it’s her.
Luan Qiaoqing felt so miserable that she almost gnawed on the corner of the table.
Before Luan Qiaoqing could act on her emotions, there was a knock on the door leading from the side hall to the main hall. A household servant cautiously poked their head in and spoke softly:
“Young Master Qin Lou, the elderly gentleman requests your presence in the main hall. He said there’s something important to discuss.”
Qin Lou was currently leaning next to his small table, engrossed in trying to solve a difficult mathematical problem using a special approach. Upon hearing this, he turned his head.
“Just me?”
The servant was quick to gauge the situation. “The elderly gentleman didn’t specify, but if the young master is willing, you could naturally invite Miss Song Shu to join you.”
Qin Lou nodded in satisfaction, then noticed that the girl beside him had her full attention focused on the mathematical problem he had just solved.
Qin Lou internally sighed at his own predicament. He stood up and said, “Shall I leave first?”
“Yeah, go ahead,” Luan Qiaoqing replied absentmindedly.
The girl nodded, her pen swiftly dancing across the paper. There was a strand of unruly hair beside her face that bobbed up and down with each nod, finally settling near the corner of her lips, slightly curled.
Qin Lou’s gaze deepened.
He couldn’t resist reaching out, but hesitated just before touching the girl’s lips or that soft strand of hair. His hand fell back to his side, his long fingers slowly curling into a tight fist.
“What’s wrong?” the girl asked, sensing something.
Qin Lou quickly suppressed the turbulent emotions swirling in his eyes. He smirked, reverting to his carefree self.
“Nothing,” he said lightly.
The girl hummed uncertainly.
Turning away, the smile and the depth in his eyes both faded in an instant.
On the back of his clenched hand, faint blue veins bulged.
He didn’t know—how much longer could he endure?
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