"This is the nutritional porridge I made for you. Your injuries haven't healed yet, so have some." Xu Rou ladled out the porridge and handed it to Pei Jinchuan.
But the despondent young man no longer wished to engage with this person.
"I don't want porridge. I need to rest. You should leave."
"You—" Xu Rou's face turned ashen.
She had painstakingly steeled herself, only for this jerk to show such ingratitude.
Before she could say another word, the young man lay down, pulling the blanket over himself and leaving her with only a cold, rigid back.
[Host, don't be angry, don't be angry. Pei Jinchuan is the Qiyun Zhi Zi. Offending him will make it harder for you to Capture him in the future.]
Xitong hurriedly emerged to comfort Xu Rou.
[Ahhhhhh, damn Pei Jinchuan! Is he out of his mind?!] Xu Rou completely exploded, unable to even force a smile on her face.
[I came to visit him. Shouldn't he be weeping with gratitude and thanking me profusely? What kind of attitude is this?!]
Xitong also found it outrageous, but in its years of experience, it had encountered its fair share of difficult Conquest targets like Pei Jinchuan.
[Host, enduring hardship leads to greatness!]
Xu Rou's face alternated between green and pale, but in the end, she chose to swallow her anger.
"Then rest well. I'll leave the porridge here."
Forcing the words out, Xu Rou placed the porridge on the bedside table. Seeing that Pei Jinchuan still only gave her his back, she gritted her teeth and stormed off in a huff.
Watching from the screen, Xu Qiao's brows furrowed into a tight knot.
Pei Jinchuan was completely impervious to reason, like water off a duck's back.
Capturing him would be an uphill battle.
A moment later, just as she was about to turn off the surveillance feed, she saw the "white dumpling" lying in bed suddenly sit up and dump the box of nutritional porridge directly into the nearby trash can.
His resolute manner showed not a hint of hesitation.
Huh?
What an ungrateful fellow.
Even though the porridge wasn't made by Xu Rou, at that moment, Xu Qiao couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for her.
With no more drama to watch, Xu Qiao turned off her tablet.
Meanwhile, in the hospital room, the young man who had discarded the porridge inadvertently glanced at the air conditioner on the opposite wall.
He even deliberately placed the empty container on the most conspicuous spot on the bedside table.
As if intentionally showing it to someone.
·
Song Zhiyu realized that the sandalwood prayer beads he had worn on his wrist for years were missing.
At first, he thought he had accidentally left them at home, but the servants searched high and low and couldn't find them.
Later, he remembered bumping into a girl at the biology college that afternoon and guessed he must have lost them then.
He returned to the school to look, and sure enough, he found them in the grass beneath the lawn.
He had worn these beads for years, never parting with them. They weren't valuable, but a temple master had given them to him when he was young and sickly, to protect his health and safety.
After wearing them for over a decade, he had grown accustomed to them, and their absence felt uncomfortable.
Early that morning, Song Zhiyu went to the biology college research lab as usual to conduct his studies.
But as soon as he arrived at the college entrance and had taken only a few steps, he ran into an acquaintance.
"Wangye?"
"What a rare guest. What brings you to the biology college?" He walked over, a rare smile appearing on his usually cool and solemn face.
But no sooner had the words left his mouth than he was met with a punch.
"You—"
"Song Zhiyu, I considered you a brother. Is this how you treat me?" Jiang Wangye felt one punch wasn't enough and swung his arm for another.
But this time, Song Zhiyu was clearly prepared. When the fist swung toward him, he nimbly dodged and replied in a cold, low voice, "You lunatic! What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? You know perfectly well that I like Xu Qiao, yet you still have designs on her!"
Jiang Wangye took a step forward and threw another punch. "I considered you my best brother, confided everything in you, and this is how you treat me?"
Song Zhiyu was utterly confused, dodging Jiang Wangye's attacks while trying to make sense of his words.
It was clear that Jiang Wangye meant he had taken a fancy to his childhood sweetheart.
But he had never even met Xu Qiao—how could he possibly have taken a fancy to her?
Facing his friend's eyes, brimming with fury, even the most patient person would lose their temper.
"Have you lost your mind? Do you think everyone is as foolish as you?"
"Or do you think your childhood sweetheart is some celestial beauty? I haven't even seen her—how could I possibly like her?"
Jiang Wangye froze for a moment, his movements slowing slightly.
What did he mean, he hadn't seen her?
But he had clearly seen them embracing!
Seizing the moment of Jiang Wangye's distraction, Song Zhiyu didn't hold back. With a swift counter-throw, he pinned him to the ground.
"Last time, with the student council post, I helped you. You didn't even come to thank me, and now you're acting foolish right in front of me. Jiang Wangye, is your head filled with nothing but water?"
With that, he landed a heavy punch squarely on that arrogant, unrestrained face.
The two of them traded blow for blow on the lawn, their hands heavy, and soon their strikingly handsome faces were bruised and swollen.
These two prodigies were already the center of attention at school, and now, with such a commotion, it didn't take long for a crowd to gather.
"Oh my god! Who provoked Young Master Jiang again? That's way too brutal—just looking at it hurts."
"Isn't that Student Council President Song? I thought he and Young Master Jiang were close! How did they end up fighting in public like this?"
"I know, I know! Check out the forum post—#Ice Prince President Song and Campus Belle Miss Xu Share a Passionate Kiss on the Lawn#—Young Master Jiang must be jealous. He came to pick a fight with President Song."
"Oh my god, wasn't President Song supposed to be indifferent to women? How did he fall for Miss Xu too?"
…
The surrounding whispers rose and fell. After the initial exchange of words, the two of them already knew this was a misunderstanding.
But having been punched, neither was willing to back down first. It wasn't until Fang Gao, who had run over, dispersed the crowd that the two finally stopped.
"Brother Jiang, this has to be a misunderstanding. Don't you know President Song's personality? How could he possibly be interested in Miss Xu? The photo looks like it was taken from a misleading angle."
Fang Gao had wanted to say this earlier but couldn't catch up to Jiang Wangye. Now, seeing the two of them bruised and battered, his voice trembled slightly.
"What photo?" Song Zhiyu had also overheard the words "passionate kiss" earlier and found it utterly absurd.
He took Fang Gao's phone, zoomed in on the image, and gave it a quick glance.
Instantly, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
In the photo, he was pinned beneath a girl on the vast lawn, with not a single gap between them.
The shot was taken from behind and to the side, their faces pressed together, making it look as if they were kissing.
Another photo showed him helping the girl up from the ground, his arm around her waist.
The two looked as intimate as a couple deeply in love.
"Who took this?" Song Zhiyu's voice suddenly rose three octaves. If not for the fact that his handsome face was currently flushed with anger, his tone would likely have been icy cold.
"Is it really necessary to care who took it now? Just tell me, did you kiss Qiaoqiao? Did you hug her? Did you take advantage of her?" Jiang Wangye snatched the phone, his eyes blazing with fury.
He had initially realized it was just a misunderstanding, but seeing that photo now, his anger flared up uncontrollably again.
"Are you an idiot? This is clearly a forced perspective shot. That day, I accidentally bumped into that girl. I didn’t even remember her face."
Song Zhiyu couldn’t be bothered to argue with this fool, his tone growing colder and colder.
This guy really becomes utterly stupid whenever Xu Qiao is involved!
As soon as he finished speaking, the image of the girl’s moist almond-shaped eyes and crimson lips flashed through his mind—like red plum blossoms blooming on porcelain snow.
Song Zhiyu had thought Xu Qiao would pester him after asking for his WeChat, but she only accepted his transfer.
For several days in a row, there wasn’t a single message from her.
His impression of her improved slightly, but she was still just a little different from other girls.
Now, learning that she was the childhood friend who made Jiang Wangye act so foolishly, the memory of those almond eyes and red lips seemed to fade a bit.
"Really?" Jiang Wangye didn’t believe him.
Even though he knew Song Zhiyu was a genuine, stone-cold ascetic, he had witnessed Xu Qiao’s charm firsthand.
He had never met anyone who didn’t like Qiaoqiao.
"Hah! If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do. Not everyone is as stupid as you!" Song Zhiyu touched his bruised lip, hissing softly as he suppressed his anger, then turned and walked into the School of Biology.
"Brother Jiang, you really acted impulsively this time. You know what Brother Song is like—he hasn’t even met Miss Xu." Fang Gao looked troubled, cautiously trying to reason with him.
He agreed with Song Zhiyu. Brother Jiang had truly acted foolishly this time.
Without even clarifying the truth of the matter, he rushed over to confront him.
If it weren’t for Brother Song understanding his temperament, anyone else would have refused to let it go.
"Judging by Brother Song’s reaction just now, if you hadn’t come to him, he probably wouldn’t have even known that girl was Miss Xu. You really wronged him."
Jiang Wangye’s expression was extremely grim.
He was well aware of everything Fang Gao said.
He didn’t dare to ask Qiaoqiao. The moment he saw that photo, he was so furious his head felt like it was about to explode. In a fit of rage, he ran to vent his anger on Song Zhiyu.
He knew he was being absurd, but he simply couldn’t control himself.
Why didn’t Qiaoqiao like him?
"Let’s go." The usually unrestrained Eldest Young Master Jiang’s brown eyes were filled with sorrow.
Fang Gao followed him. After walking a few steps, he noticed they weren’t heading back to the club and instinctively asked, "Brother, where are we going now? You still need to treat the injuries on your face…"
"To the campus clinic." Jiang Wangye’s tone was despondent. "To buy medicine and apologize."
Seeing him like this, Fang Gao also felt upset.
When had the triumphant Eldest Young Master Jiang from the boxing ring ever looked so dejected?
"Baby, how do you feel about two handsome young men fighting over you?"
Su Jiaojiao, who had just finished listening to a recorded live broadcast at home, looked at Xu Qiao quietly assembling Lego beside her and teased with a smile.
The girl picked up a piece, comparing it to the instruction manual. Her hands never stopped moving, her expression calm and unchanged. "Just average."
"They're fighting like this, I bet you'll be trending on the campus forum again tomorrow." Su Jiaojiao's eyes sparkled as she covered her mouth with a laugh.
After a moment, as if realizing something, she exclaimed urgently, "But with Jiang Wangye making such a scene, won't Song Zhiyu find out that you're Xu Qiao? If you try to get close to him later, he'll definitely be wary of you."
Xu Qiao continued her movements without pause, but a shadow flickered in her eyes.
"Then I just won't approach him as Xu Qiao."
"What do you mean by that? Have you already thought of a plan?"
Su Jiaojiao perked up with interest. Her previously lounging posture on the sofa froze, and she instantly sat up straight.