TFS | Chapter 6

Although it had turned into a joke, Qiyue still went to the infirmary with Xulin Ruan’s support. After the doctor stopped the bleeding and cleaned the wound, the young master finally stopped yelping. He looked at her pitifully, the usual tyrannical, untouchable demon king seeming to have gained a few traces of grievance now that he was injured. His star-bright eyes stayed fixed on Xulin Ruan, as if afraid she might run away.

Under that gaze, Xulin Ruan didn’t feel awkward at all. She raised an eyebrow slightly and looked out the window. “Class is about to start. I should head back first.”

The moment the young master heard that, he instinctively grabbed the girl’s wrist.

“Hey, Xulin Ruan, do you even have a conscience? I’m hurt like this, shouldn’t you, as the person involved, stay by my side and take care of me every step of the way?” He had always been thick-skinned, and he knew how to use his injured, vulnerable state to win sympathy. Right then, with half his handsome face swollen, he looked at her in utter grievance, that expression no different from how one would look at a faithless lover.

Xulin Ruan turned her head back. The young master’s expression was very displeased at the moment, and she chuckled. “You’re injured, and you still have this much strength?”

Qiyue hesitated for a moment and guiltily averted his eyes. Anyway, he was going to shamelessly cling to her. They always said a fierce woman feared a persistent man, and he refused to believe he couldn’t wear her down with his abilities.

The young master brazenly grabbed the other person’s hand and, without blushing or even breathing hard, tugged her closer. “How can that be the same? Anyway, I don’t care. I got hurt because of you, so you’re not allowed to leave.”

Qiyue had used too much force.

Xulin Ruan was pulled off balance by him, her body tipping uncontrollably. Before she knew it, she had bumped into the boy’s shoulder and pressed him straight back into the chair.

Her fragrant, soft body was against his chest, and the boy’s whole body stiffened uncontrollably.

“What stupid thing are you doing, Qiyue?” Xulin Ruan rubbed her left shoulder where she had hit it and couldn’t help rolling her eyes at him. “You ran into me.”

“I, I wasn’t doing it on purpose,” Qiyue said, shifting his face a little away from her chest. Her well-developed chest had almost brushed the tip of his nose, and the boy’s cheeks flushed faintly red. “How was I supposed to know you were so weak, so easy to pull over? Hey, are you okay?”

Pretending not to care, Qiyue helped her up, and for once his face showed a hint of concern.

Xulin Ruan said nothing. Because of inertia, both hands were braced on Qiyue’s shoulders as she pinned him against the back of the chair. Her back curved slightly as she looked down at him from above. At such a close distance, he could clearly see those dark, dense lashes, as if they would tremble once and take flight.

Qiyue stared blankly, obviously tempted by her beauty.

After all, he was only an eighteen-year-old boy. He hadn’t seen much of the world, and his features were still somewhat immature. Although his personality was so bad that even cats and dogs disliked him, he had never actually done anything illegal or outrageous. The most excessive thing he had done was simply run wild and domineer in a campus novel.[[1]]

The boy watched helplessly as she leaned in front of him, so close he could almost hear her breathing.

Xulin Ruan found it a little amusing and couldn’t help teasing him. “You’re staring so hard. What are you thinking about?”

He came back to himself in alarm and almost subconsciously blurted out, “I wasn’t looking at you.” The tone was obviously a perfect example of protesting too much, with no persuasion at all.

“Oh? Then who were you looking at?” The smile on Xulin Ruan’s face deepened, her voice soft and alluring.

Qiyue’s ears burned under her gaze, and he only felt that his whole body was off.

Why did that smile that seemed to attract bees and butterflies make his heart race?

The boy awkwardly looked away and very stiffly changed the subject.

“That kind of thing isn’t important. What’s important is, I heard there’s a new movie coming out this weekend. Do you want to go watch it with me?” Anyway, the movie was fake, dating was real. Qiyue tried carefully to sound casual, but those clear, bright eyes betrayed the anticipation in his heart.

Xulin Ruan didn’t say anything. She slowly straightened up from his chest, then stepped back. Her silky long hair seemed to slip through his fingers by accident, and Qiyue instinctively tightened his hand, but he caught nothing. His heart suddenly went hollow, and a very unpleasant feeling rose up out of nowhere.

The young master disliked that feeling of disappointment very much. He shamelessly leaned in and grabbed the hem of her clothes. “Hey, if you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a yes. Then it’s settled. Don’t you dare go back on your word when the time comes.”

Xulin Ruan struggled a few times in disgust but couldn’t break free. Before this, how had she not noticed this guy also had some sticky, dog-skin-plaster traits, always reaching out to take liberties with people’s hands? He really did have a thick skin.

After getting her tacit approval, Qiyue left in great satisfaction.

Xulin Ruan went back to the classroom with him as well. Before leaving, the boy even specifically reminded her not to stand him up, or he would bite her to death. His arrogant attitude remained as always. Xulin Ruan gave a casual “Mm” and no one knew whether she had actually listened.

When they passed the corridor outside the classroom, a girl in a white T-shirt hurried over, holding a thick stack of homework books. She wasn’t even looking where she was going, and when she turned the corner, she slammed right into him with a loud thud.

Qiyue was knocked back several steps. His chest hurt sharply, and he almost couldn’t catch his breath. The girl opposite him was not so lucky. She fell onto her butt, and the homework books in her arms scattered all over the floor.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. Are you okay? Huh, why is it you, you jerk…” The girl cried out in shock. After coming back to her senses, she immediately apologized, but before she even finished speaking, she had clearly recognized the rich young master who had bullied her at the club.

The young master saw who had crashed into him, and his little universe instantly exploded. “Damn it, do you have eyes or not? There’s such a big living person standing right in front of you, and you still ran into me. I’m saying, were you doing that on purpose?”

If it had been any other day, Qiyue might not have been this angry. But today was different. He had been slapped in the face in the morning and then rammed in the chest in the afternoon. It wasn’t like there was any serious injury, but wasn’t he just absurdly unlucky today? Why did everything seem to be against him?

It had to be said, Qiyue was indeed a little intimidating when he put on a cold face.

The girl was so berated by him that she couldn’t say a word.

Jiang Mian also felt utterly wronged. It was her first day transferring schools today, and she still couldn’t tell east from west. Only after hearing the class bell did she realize she had gone to the wrong classroom. In a hurry to get to Class Eleven, she had accidentally bumped into someone.

She had hurt herself too, okay? And why was this guy so fierce? He didn’t have the slightest bit of gentlemanly behavior. So what if she had bumped into him once? It wasn’t that big of a deal. She had already apologized, so what more did he want?

The girl stared at Qiyue with red-rimmed eyes, her face full of stubborn defiance.

The young master let out a “heh” and had no intention of being considerate to her at all. “What kind of expression is that? Did I do something to you? You’re the one who ran into someone and still has the nerve to feel wronged. Who do you think you are? Crying twice and it’ll be over? If I’m not bothering to argue with you, it’s because I’m kind. If you piss me off again next time, I’ll make sure you won’t know what hit you!”

Qiyue patted his clothes, vented his anger, then swaggered off.

That left Jiang Mian behind, clenching her fingers tightly, her eyes red as she practically wanted to rush up and beat him up.

Perhaps it was fate. Just as Qiyue stepped into the classroom, Jiang Mian came in right after him. The teacher could do nothing about the unstudious rich young master, but the female lead wasn’t so lucky. She was late on her very first day after transferring, got hauled up and scolded in front of the whole class, then was thrown out to stand in punishment.

Girls around that age tended to be thin-skinned, and Jiang Mian’s face quickly turned red. Looking wronged and miserable, she held her textbook and stood in the corridor.

But in the original story, the plot wasn’t like this. The lively, adorable female lead accidentally bumped into the domineering, overbearing young master. Because of the tiny bit of goodwill in his heart, Qiyue teased the girl for a bit, then took her along to Class Eleven. In that situation, the teacher hadn’t said anything, let alone punished her.

It wasn’t until after class that she returned to her seat. Jiang Mian, whose confidence had been severely battered, bit her lip hard, tears trembling in her eyes.

On the other side, Xu Zhou nudged Qiyue’s arm with the back of his hand. “Hey, isn’t that… the girl who snatched your phone at the club that day? Why is she staring at you like that? You bullied her again?”

Qiyue didn’t even lift his head, looking like he couldn’t be bothered to deal with him. One extra glance felt like a waste of time. “Tch, who knows!”

Seeing that he wasn’t very interested, Xu Zhou raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment before laughing. “What’s with you? So much temper. Don’t tell me that you still haven’t won over that Xulin Ruan yet?”

The moment he mentioned that, Qiyue’s expression immediately became a little strange. He turned his head and glared at him unhappily. “Why are you asking so much? Are you annoying or what?”

Xu Zhou smiled. “What’s there to be annoyed about? I’m just saying, could it be that you failed to chase her and ended up falling for her yourself instead?”

The young master exploded at once. “What a joke. Do you think your dad is that superficial?”

“Although she really was beautiful, had good grades, was tall, had long legs, and was fair-skinned and gorgeous, with a big chest and a slim waist, very much fitting his fantasy of the ideal girlfriend…”

But could he be the kind of shallow man who only looked at faces and never at personality? Could he?

Qiyue wore a self-righteous, proud expression, the kind filled with a strange confidence rising from within. Sure, Xulin Ruan really did have a lot of strengths, but he wasn’t bad himself either. He was handsome and rich, and… well, his athletic ability was decent too. Although he didn’t have many strengths, the most important thing was that his stamina was super good.

He would never fall for her, hmph!

Xu Zhou: “…”

Fine, young master, so this was the kind of shameless, seductive dog you were.

The two had known each other for years, and Xu Zhou could be considered to understand Qiyue’s habit of saying one thing and meaning another. He didn’t actually know much about the girl called Xulin Ruan, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying a good show. “I’m saying, Qiyue, you didn’t really fall for that Xulin Ruan, did you? Don’t forget, the one-month bet only has half a month left. Don’t end up failing to win her over and dragging yourself into it too.”

He patted Qiyue’s shoulder, smiling as he spoke.

Qiyue, however, felt vaguely uncomfortable. A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old boy was at the age of rebellion and pride. The young master snorted, his tone deliberately relaxed. “Didn’t I say it was just a game? Relax, how could I possibly like her?”