Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Qi Ying handed Ji Rang her phone’s memo app. It read: “I want to do my homework myself.”
Ji Rang glanced at He Jing, a sinister smile playing on his lips: “If not for my dislike to hitting women, you know what would happen to you, right?”
He Jing and her friend turned pale.
He didn’t bother arguing further, coldly saying, “Pack the bags.”
He Jing, feeling like she’d been granted a pardon, hurriedly packed up the test papers, dusted off the bottom of the bag, and respectfully returned it to Qi Ying.
Qi Ying reached for it, but Ji Rang grabbed it first.
He Jing’s legs went numb; she and her friend supported each other, whispering, “Can we go now?”
Ji Rang held up one finger, saying in a sinister voice, “One last time.”
He Jing understood, her face paling even more. She quickly nodded, pulling her friend away.
Ji Rang slung Qi Ying’s bag over his shoulder, not even glancing at Yu Zhuo’s bag on the ground, and walked away. After taking a few steps, Qi Ying didn’t follow. Looking back, he saw Qi Ying picking up Yu Zhuo’s schoolbag, patting it clean, and holding it in her arms.
Ji Rang had been holding back for a long time, his disgust almost overflowing. Finally, he couldn’t help himself and grabbed the schoolbag, cursing under his breath, “Damn it, don’t let me bump into him.”
Across the street, Qu Dazhuang stared at Liu Haiyang in disbelief and asked, “So, Brother Rang just jumped over the railing to cross the road to help someone carry their schoolbag?”
Liu Haiyang was silent for a moment, then asked, “Didn’t you notice that Brother Rang treats that special student differently?”
Luo Bing looked completely puzzled, “She’s deaf and mute, what does he want? She’s not bad looking, but it’s not that bad, is it? If I had to choose, I’d still prefer Xue Manqing.”
Qu Dazhuang slapped him on the back of the head, “Choose your mother, Xue Manqing wouldn’t even look at you.” He took out his phone and called Ji Rang, “Hey, Brother Rang, where are you going? Are we still going to the arcade?”
Ji Rang said calmly, “You guys go first.”
After hanging up, the group exchanged glances. Liu Haiyang then said, “I think Brother Rang has really messed up this time.”
Luo Bing: “Impossible! We’re Brother Rang’s forever favorites!”
Qu Dazhuang: “You idiot, just wait until Brother Rang beats you to death.”
Luo Bing: “…”
Across the street, Ji Rang stopped after finishing his call and buried himself in typing. Qi Ying tugged at his sleeve with two fingers; when he stopped, she stopped too, tilting her head up to look at him obediently.
Ji Rang turned his phone screen towards her; it read: Where’s your brother?
Qi Ying pointed forward with her slender finger. Ji Rang looked at her suspiciously for a moment, then led her over. When they reached the pool hall, Qi Ying tugged at his sleeve and silently said, “Here.”
Ji Rang looked up, cursed, and just wanted to immediately drag that arrogant calf down and beat him to death on the spot.
What fake family ties! They’re completely unreliable; his sister is less important than pool!
The billiard hall was smoky and chaotic. He didn’t want to take Qi Ying up there, but he was also worried about leaving her alone downstairs while he went up to find her brother. Ji Rang thus paused for a few seconds, his tongue brushing against his teeth, and said in a reluctant tone, “I’ll be a good guy today and take you home.”
His mountain bike was parked swaggeringly on the side of the street.
Yinxiang City was crowded and chaotic, with no traffic regulations. The black and red motorcycle stood out like a crane among chickens among the haphazardly parked shared bicycles and electric bikes.
In just a short while, his bike was stuck in the middle.
In the past, he would usually just kick it, knocking over a bunch of bikes, and clear the way with one kick.
But Ji Rang glanced at Qi Ying standing behind him, suppressed his restless right leg, and went to move the bike with a dark face. After moving the nearby bikes to create space for a U-turn, he thought for a moment and then took out a black helmet that he didn’t usually wear from the back seat.
Ji Rang beckoned Qi Ying with his index finger, and she obediently walked over. He handed her the helmet, saying with a hint of unease, “Put it on.”
Qi Ying had never worn one before.
She held it in her arms, looking it over from side to side, before finally putting it on. It was heavy and bulky, like a hollow stone. It slumped down, hitting her neck and making her stagger. She bent down, and the helmet slipped forward, unable to even fasten the straps.
She was frantic.
She grabbed the helmet with one hand and tugged at Ji Rang’s sleeve.
Ji Rang, who had just mounted the motorcycle, had to get off, stand in front of her, and bend down to help her fasten the straps.
He was too tall; so he had to bend over to do this. As he got closer, he smelled the faint sweetness emanating from the girl.
It was somewhat like the strawberry pudding he had eaten earlier that day— sweet and soft, melting on the tongue with every bite.
He fastened the straps and tapped the helmet expressionlessly: “You can’t do anything.”
The helmet was still too big. Qi Ying held onto it with both hands, her eyes blinking curiously through the glass. As Ji Rang turned the bike around, she climbed onto the back seat on both feet.
The bike tilted slightly forward.
Just as Ji Rang started the engine, he felt a pair of hands wrap around his waist.
The fingers were slender; and through the thin fabric, he could almost feel the soft fingertips.
Ji Rang almost lost his balance and fell off the bike.
He turned halfway back, gritting his teeth: “You girl, how can you be so unreserved!”
Qi Ying, of course, couldn’t hear him. She obediently held onto that slender waist, silently thinking, “The general’s waist is still the same as before; it feels so safe to hold it.”
Ji Rang angrily started the bike.
Due to road restrictions and the presence of someone in the back seat, he didn’t drive recklessly as usual, driving in strict accordance with the new socialist traffic regulations.
Besides, the soft pressure around his waist kept distracting him.
Qi Ying’s home wasn’t far from the school; a half-hour bus ride, but Ji Rang arrived in just over ten minutes.
The nearby residential area was neither new nor old, Yu Zhuo had moved here after entering junior high. The landscaping was nice, and there were several crisscrossing crabapple-lined paths outside the complex.
The crabapple blossoms had long since faded this season, but the branches and leaves were still lush, blocking most of the slanting sunlight, leaving only dappled spots of light on the ground.
Ji Rang parked his bike at the alley entrance.
Qi Ying’s ponytail was a little messy from her helmet, and the soft, upturned strands of hair fluttered in the breeze through the gaps in the leaves. Ji Rang felt there was a faint scent of strawberries in the air.
He stared at her lips for a few moments.
Her lips then curved into a beautiful arc, as if Qi Ying was silently saying, “Thank you.”
She obediently slung her backpack over her shoulder and then went to get Yu Zhuo’s.
Ji Rang thought to himself, “Damn it, I’ll finish this good deed.”
He grabbed Yu Zhuo’s backpack and gestured for her to lead the way.
Qi Ying paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up with happiness, shining brightly.
Ji Rang quickly looked away, cursing under his breath, “Damn it, I told you not to smile at me.”
Her apartment building was further inside, and Ji Rang, carrying Yu Zhuo’s schoolbag, followed her, turning left and right, his head spinning. He cursed inwardly, “What a stupid developer built this road.”
Just as he was lost in thought, Qi Ying stopped abruptly, turned around as if startled, grabbed his wrist, and pulled him behind a nearby building. She pressed him against the wall with one hand and put the other to her lips in a shushing gesture.
She was panting, like a startled rabbit, her cheeks flushed. After a long while, she cautiously peeked out.
Yu Cheng, wearing slippers, had already thrown away the trash and turned to go back inside.
Qi Ying patted her chest in relief.
Good heavens, why did Uncle get off work so early today?
She turned to look at Ji Rang, blinking apologetically.
Ji Rang leaned against the wall, looking down at her. After a long pause, he chuckled, “You’re not going to wall-slam me, aren’t you?”
Qi Ying, not understanding what he meant, tilted her head and looked at him curiously.
Ji Rang tightened his grip, then relaxed, his expression returning to its indifferent state. He then nodded his chin in the direction of her house, “Go back.”
He handed her Yu Zhuo’s schoolbag, which Qi Ying took and hugged, waving goodbye.
He straightened up, patted her shoulder, put his hands back in his pockets, and lazily walked away. After walking a distance, he looked back and saw Qi Ying still standing there, obediently watching him.
He cursed, “What an idiot, what can you see in flowers?”
After cursing, he quickened his pace and walked out of her sight.
Only then did Qi Ying head home.
When she got home, Yu Cheng opened the door for her. Seeing her carrying two schoolbags, she looked back and, not seeing Yu Zhuo, asked in surprise, “Ying Ying, why are you back alone? Where’s your brother? That brat, making you carry his schoolbags!”
Qi Ying went inside, put her things down, and took out her phone. Yu Zhuo hadn’t replied to her message yet.
She sent another message: “I got our schoolbags back, I’m home.”
A dozen minutes later, she received a reply from Yu Zhuo: “Sis, why did you run away? I looked everywhere for you! What schoolbags? Who’s so arrogant as to steal schoolbags in broad daylight? I’m coming right back!”
He didn’t get home until dark, and inevitably received another scolding from Yu Cheng.
Yu Zhuo dejectedly went back to his room to do his homework.
He opened it and…
Holy crap?
Can the questions on the test paper be done by itself now?
Test paper, test paper, you’re a mature learning tool now, it’s time to learn how to do the questions yourself, huh?
Thinking back to what his sister had said about his schoolbag being snatched, Yu Zhuo felt that perhaps the other person’s purpose wasn’t to steal the bag, but rather out of a love for learning.
Even if it meant snatching it, they still helped him finish his test paper, showing a fanatical level of dedication to studying!
Yu Zhuo couldn’t help but feel a deep respect.
Yu Zhuo, who didn’t have to do homework, enjoyed a very pleasant weekend.
On Monday, when school started, he heard everyone talking about it as soon as he entered the school gate.
The school bully had changed his methods of tormenting people; he wouldn’t hit or scold you, he’d just force you to do your homework in the street.
And not only that, but you weren’t allowed to get a single question wrong.
All the underachievers in the school trembled in fear.
“You might as well just beat us up!”
It was said that the head of the teaching department was quite pleased after hearing about this.
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