TFS | Chapter 19

On the weekend, the club got together for a small hangout, and Xu Zhou was once again stood up by the young master Qi.

He was pretty annoyed now. Ever since that guy started dating Xu Linruan, he no longer bothered to pay attention to their group of brothers. Every time Xu Zhou called him out, the guy was either glued to his phone, staring at it nonstop, or leaving early. It left the rest of them feeling helpless too.

They had known each other for so many years, and Xu Zhou had never seen Qi Yue this serious before. It wasn’t like he had never chased other girls in the past, but those flings had never lasted more than two weeks. The young master only had to hook a finger, and a whole swarm of pretty girls would be circling behind him.

And now look at him.

Xu Zhou glanced at Qi Yue sitting in the back row, and his eye twitched. What had he just seen?

That arrogant, good-for-nothing young master was actually holding an English dictionary and reading English words. What a joke. Weren’t they supposed to be slacking off together as bad students? And he was secretly studying behind Xu Zhou’s back?

Xu Zhou immediately felt like he had gone blind. A sense of betrayal by his friend rose straight up from the bottom of his heart. Where was even a trace of that delinquent school tyrant now?

Was Xu Linruan that woman cursed or what? Could a spoiled rich kid who was rotten to the core actually be transformed by her into a model student?

He nudged the young master’s arm with his elbow and couldn’t help asking, “What are you doing? Won’t looking at that thing make your head spin?”

His good buddy gave him a handsome eye roll. “What do you know? This is a prodigal son turning over a new leaf, and it’s worth more than gold. I’m aiming for the top fifty in the class.”

Xu Zhou was speechless inside. He didn’t even have the heart to laugh at him. There were only a little over sixty people in the class, brother, and you want to rank in the top fifty? Isn’t that asking a bit much?

As for whether it was too much, Qi Yue wasn’t sure either. His grades were notoriously terrible, but that day Xu Linruan had told him that if he improved by ten places on the exam, she would reward him with a kiss. The young master had agreed on the spot after hearing that, and solemnly declared that did he look like the kind of person who cared about just one kiss? The key was that he loved studying.

Of course, he would never say that to the guy in front of him.

Seeing that this guy looked so serious, Xu Zhou’s curiosity was piqued too. Thinking of something, he asked again, “I’m saying, Qi Yue, you didn’t forget that bet, did you?”

He was talking about the bet from the last time they all got together. Qi Yue had lost and been told to spend a month pursuing the campus goddess, Xu Linruan.

Naturally, Qi Yue hadn’t forgotten. But hearing him bring it up out of nowhere still made him uncomfortable.

Xu Zhou immediately felt trouble brewing. If Xu Linruan had a simpler personality, he would have been happy to see the two of them together too. But he had witnessed that girl’s tactics at his house before. Her schemes ran so deep, how could Qi Yue ever play her game?

And most importantly, Xu Linruan didn’t like him at all. No one knew what purpose there was in her being with Qi Yue?

So while the young master still had a bit of reason left, he absolutely could not let him fall into it.

He also knew the young master cared about face, so he patted his shoulder and teased, “No way, Qi Yue. It’s just a bet. You couldn’t really have fallen for that girl, could you?”

He said it on purpose, with a hint of probing in his tone. The few brothers beside him also looked over, clearly enjoying the drama and wanting it to get messier.

Qi Yue got a little impatient. The discomfort in his chest spread even further. But he cared about saving face, especially in front of a bunch of useless friends, so he bit back, “What nonsense. Didn’t you all say it was just a bet? I was just taking it more seriously, that’s all. How could I possibly really like her?”

The moment he finished speaking, he regretted it, but there was no taking it back now.

Qi Yue frowned, looking at the dictionary in his hands, and felt even worse. Yet the group around him didn’t notice his mood at all. They all burst out laughing and started chattering in a flurry about the bet.

The more he listened, the more irritated he became. He kicked the stool aside. “What the hell are you laughing at? What’s so funny?” The young master flew into a temper and turned to leave.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

…

Although Jiang Mian knew Qi Yue was a mess, she had never expected those people to be this vile, to actually use Xu Linruan as a bet.

She had seen that girl at his house before too. She was very beautiful, and she had heard her grades were good as well, a true campus belle of No. 1 High School.

Back then, when she saw how viciously that guy treated her, but then turned around and was so gentle with another girl, Jiang Mian had actually felt a little wronged and jealous. She thought she wasn’t bad at all, so why was he only so fierce with her?

But now that she knew Qi Yue was only playing around, she felt a little sympathy for Xu Linruan, and also a feeling she couldn’t quite explain, almost like relief.

She watched Qi Yue’s retreating back, bit her lip, and hesitated for a moment, not knowing whether she should tell that girl about this.

…………

Qi Yue was in a bad mood, so he went to the restroom and smoked a cigarette. But since he hadn’t smoked in ages, he took one hard drag and almost coughed his lungs out.

The young master disgustedly tossed the cigarette away, and before he knew it, he had wandered over to Xu Linruan’s classroom. He saw his dear girlfriend in her school uniform, seated at her desk and writing an exam paper. Her black hair fell smoothly down her back, and she looked gentle and beautiful. Unfortunately, she hadn’t noticed at all that he had come.

Qi Yue just leaned against the window and stared at her. His girlfriend’s reaction was too slow. He had been staring for so long, and she still hadn’t even turned her head.

That was really heartbreaking.

The young master grumbled inwardly a few times, and then his gaze was drawn again to his girlfriend’s raven-black hair.

Because it was lunch break, there weren’t many people in the class. Qi Yue easily climbed through the window into the classroom without making a sound, and landed right behind Xu Linruan.

The young master lay across the desktop and reached out to catch a lock of his girlfriend’s hair, twirling it around his fingertips. His movements were very gentle. His clearly defined fingers wrapped around the soft, slender strands, creating a refreshing little air of sweet romance.

He couldn’t resist snapping a photo. A grin split across his face. He felt that he and Xu Linruan were just too well matched, a perfect pairing of talent and beauty, so he stared at the picture on his phone and laughed like an idiot.

Xu Linruan still hadn’t noticed him. Qi Yue secretly started braiding little thin plaits in his girlfriend’s hair. He thought he actually had quite a talent for it, because the braids came out neat and delicate.

Qi Yue got a little interested, and before he realized it, his grip tightened. Xu Linruan felt a slight ache at her scalp and couldn’t help turning around.

“What are you doing?”

The young master jumped in alarm. When he came back to his senses, he quickly untangled the mess of hair in his hand, then looked at her with a pitiful expression.

He hadn’t meant to do anything. He just thought it was a little fun and played with it unconsciously. But in the end, he hadn’t noticed that he’d tied the hair into knots. He had originally been trying to undo it, but his fingers were too clumsy and he had accidentally hurt her.

“Did you have your fun?” His girlfriend looked over with those beautiful eyes. She didn’t seem angry, and her tone was very calm. “Qi Xiaoyue, you’re getting bolder and bolder, aren’t you?”

The moment he heard her mention being bold, Qi Yue couldn’t help thinking of what had happened at his house last week. He didn’t think too deeply about it, just a little bit, but then that handsome face of his slowly turned red anyway.

He thought he was really shameless. At a time like this, he still had time to think about those messy things. His girlfriend was already about to get angry, and he was still spacing out in front of her?

Qi Yue despised himself severely in his heart.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.” The young master admitted his mistake and corrected it right away, apologizing seriously. Seeing that she still had no reaction, he continued, “How about you tug on mine too?”

He took her hand and pressed it against his head. His girlfriend’s fingers were soft, and he couldn’t help squeezing them twice. That feeling was really nice…

Xu Linruan glanced at the expression on the young master’s face, then slowly brushed her fingers over his ear. His earlobe was red as if it might drip blood, with that look of restrained endurance on his face. As if she didn’t know exactly what scene he was imagining.

Her fingers twisted his ear and pinched hard.

Qi Yue hissed in pain and widened his eyes. His eyes were watery, and he looked at her with a hint of grievance. “Ruanruan… could you be gentler?”

He still wasn’t angry?

Xu Linruan was a little surprised too. This guy wasn’t exactly known for a good temper. If he really got annoyed, he would beat up both men and women without distinction.

So she slowly loosened her grip, then gently rubbed his ear, asking in a comforting tone, “Doesn’t it hurt?”

The corners of the young master’s mouth curved up. He knew it, Ruanruan cared about him. So he smiled even brighter. “It doesn’t hurt. I’m thick-skinned. Does your hand hurt?”