Dazzling

At this moment, Xing Wu and his group had already entered the school. More than half of the students who were originally attending evening self-study had come downstairs, while the other half were craning their necks to watch the commotion. Qing Ye, unfazed by the stares, walked directly in front of Xing Wu and blocked his path.

Xing Wu stared at her in surprise. When he noticed the anger in her eyes, he slightly furrowed his brows and said in a low voice, "Are you sure you want to stand in front of me like this?"

His hands were tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants, and his entire demeanor was unusually calm. Qing Ye immediately curled her lips into a mocking smile. "Do you think I'm afraid?"

Xing Wu tilted his head and let out a cynical laugh, then gradually sobered up and stared at her. "Do you know what happens when you get involved with people like us? By tomorrow noon, the school administrators will be taking turns questioning you. Have you even considered the consequences?"

Huang Mao, standing nearby, quickly interjected, "Yeah, Qing Ye, you should leave now. Don’t let any teachers see you with us. If anyone asks you about the students from other schools tomorrow, just say you don’t know and push the blame onto us."

Qing Ye blew a strand of hair away from her forehead, raised her head with a cold laugh, and stared straight at Xing Wu. Suddenly, she took a step closer to him and told him word by word, "Do you really think other people’s opinions of me can affect my grades or stop me from getting into a top university? Hah, you’re underestimating me."

The last rays of the setting sun shone on her resolute face. At that moment, it was as if she radiated boundless light. Xing Wu was slightly taken aback. He had never seen anyone so confident—so confident that it seemed as if the future was firmly in her grasp. She had the ability to control everything and wouldn’t be swayed even a fraction by others.

He tilted his head toward Huang Mao and the others and said, "You guys go ahead first."

After saying that, he headed toward the bicycle shed. Huang Mao and the others dispersed, and Xing Wu’s figure vanished into the night. The students who had been watching from upstairs, seeing that there was nothing left to observe, withdrew and returned to their evening self-study.

When Qing Ye entered the bicycle shed, Xing Wu was sitting on a bicycle. In the darkness, his tall figure was silhouetted, and the glowing ember of his cigarette flickered intermittently, his dark eyes fixed intently on her.

Qing Ye walked over and leaned against another bicycle opposite him, watching him in return. A few seconds of silence passed between them before Qing Ye spoke first, "Didn’t you want to keep your distance from me? Then why did you step in just now?"

Xing Wu took a drag of his cigarette and said calmly, "Huang Mao told you, didn’t he?"

It didn’t take much for Xing Wu to figure out what had happened. No wonder Qing Ye had deliberately provoked him that night, asking him to teach her how to ride a balance board at school.

His voice carried a chill. "So you deliberately brought them to the back gate, so sure that I would intervene?"

Qing Ye slowly crossed her arms and raised her eyes slightly. The outcome had already proven that she had been absolutely certain.

Xing Wu’s brows tightened. "You’re playing with fire."

Qing Ye turned her head to look outside the shed. In the dim light, her innocent features paired with that mocking smile made her seem like a perfect angel harboring a hidden little demon inside. If Xing Wu had initially thought of her as nothing more than a spoiled, naive rich girl—unfamiliar with the ways of the world and ignorant of hardship—over the past few days, he had gradually realized that she wasn’t as simple as she appeared on the surface. At the very least, she could quickly adapt to this muddy environment and tenaciously seek a way to survive in the cracks. That bold resilience was, without a doubt, a fatal attraction to Xing Wu.After a long while, she withdrew her gaze, her expression serene and captivating, a faint smile at her lips greeting the gentle early autumn breeze. Xing Wu's fingers, holding a cigarette, tightened slightly.

She suddenly spoke up: "I want to focus on my studies too, but I'm just too eye-catching. There are always people who won't leave me alone. What do you think I should do?"

Xing Wu suddenly laughed. If anyone else had dared to say "I'm just too eye-catching" in front of him, they would have been punched long ago. Yet Qing Ye said it with such conviction that he couldn't refute her at all.

She stared intently at him, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction: "Did you think keeping my distance from you would mean no trouble for me? You've seen it yourself—I don't look for trouble, but trouble finds me. My abilities just don't allow me to keep a low profile."

Xing Wu lowered his head slightly, a smile spreading at the corners of his lips as he looked at her with amusement: "Have you thought this through? If the school authorities decide you're getting too close to us, it won't do you any good."

Qing Ye shot him a disdainful glance: "I, Qing Ye, don't need their favor to still top the rankings in your county."

Outside the shed, the streetlights suddenly lit up, casting a warm glow on her profile. The confident, bold sparkle in her eyes was reflected in Xing Wu's pupils, striking him right in the chest. He lowered his head, took the last drag of his cigarette, crushed the butt under his foot, and suddenly walked toward Qing Ye. His tall figure loomed before her, blocking out all the light.

He slowly bent down. In an instant, Qing Ye felt his presence enveloping her, carrying a hint of unavoidable intrusion. Her heartbeat suddenly raced as she heard him say: "You're planning to take advantage of the shade under a big tree, but have you considered that this tree might bring you even more trouble?"

Qing Ye lifted her head to meet his gaze and said calmly: "I can't think of anything worse than living in your house and transferring to this crappy school."

A smile tugged at the corner of Xing Wu's lips. On this autumn evening, with its slight stuffiness, Qing Ye looked into his dark, powerful eyes and for the first time felt her breathing grow somewhat disordered. Disordered? Because of a worthless, non-blood-related cousin? A country bumpkin leader? This was just too unscientific. Yet at this moment, his gaze held an unknown magic that left her unable to move, holding her breath in a silent standoff with him without relenting.

In that moment, Qing Ye even felt a sense of confusion. She didn't know why Xing Wu was looking at her like this? Why was he staying silent and locking eyes with her like this? She didn't even know what he was thinking right now? How long did he plan to keep staring? But when her eyes drifted to his lightly pressed lips, she suddenly turned her head away uncomfortably.

Finally, Xing Wu let out a slow, cold "heh" and pulled out his phone to call Huang Mao: "Come to the back gate."

After saying this, Xing Wu swung his arms and walked out of the bike shed. Qing Ye turned her head and asked him: "Where are we going?"

"To get something to eat." Xing Wu said without looking back, then heard footsteps following behind him. He glanced sideways at Qing Ye: "Why are you still following me?"

Qing Ye turned her face away and said: "I'm going out to eat with you. Did you think I was going back to your house to star in some transformation reality show?"

"..."Qing Ye finally understood why Xing Wu often skipped meals at home—the food outside was simply more enticing. As she sat down at a roadside night market stall with a group of delinquent boys, she felt completely at ease, realizing her adaptability had grown remarkably. Just two months ago when she first arrived in Anzi County, her heart would tremble at the sight of tattooed men on Electronics Street. But after spending time with Huang Mao and the others, she could now sit and eat with these guys without any awkwardness.

Of course, she knew this comfort stemmed entirely from the person beside her. Had Xing Wu not been present, she would never have stayed with this crowd. Qing Ye privately labeled this subtle sense of security as "bargain-bin family bonds." Though she had no intention of acknowledging this makeshift relative, she couldn't deny his ability to provide protection at school.

While Qing Ye felt completely natural, the table of delinquent boys had been unusually restrained since sitting down. Accustomed to crude jokes and raunchy banter among themselves, the sudden presence of a girl—especially the recently transferred academic celebrity from Anzhong High—left them tongue-tied. To them, such girls were like distant goddesses to be admired from afar.

They'd have no problem hanging out with wayward girls, but facing a well-behaved top student like Qing Ye made the whole group uneasy. They couldn't figure out how she'd become acquainted with their "Brother Wu."

Huang Mao, being more familiar with Qing Ye, broke the ice. As she scanned the table after sitting down, she asked him: "Where's our class monitor?"

Huang Mao stuck a cigarette between his lips: "Attending evening self-study."

Qing Ye looked surprised: "He actually goes to self-study sessions?"

Huang Mao explained: "Pang Hu's different from us. His family has certain expectations—they want him to at least get into a vocational college."

This was news to Qing Ye. Suddenly recalling his name, she chuckled: "What were his parents thinking? Naming him Fan Tong (resembles 'rice bucket' in Chinese)?"

Xing Wu handed the completed barbecue order to the vendor before turning with a smirk: "Ever considered they might've wanted a descriptive name?"

The whole table erupted in laughter. Qing Ye's eyes curved: "But I still don't understand your class monitor selection criteria."

Zhang Kai from Class Four across the table told her: "Monitors are democratically elected. Brother Wu led the voting for Pang Hu in Class Two—who'd dare disagree?"

Qing Ye turned to Xing Wu in astonishment: "So you installed your own person as class cadre? Colluding for mutual benefit?"

Xing Wu half-smiled as he rinsed a glass with hot water, pouring cola for Qing Ye: "Think this is Infernal Affairs? I'm just keeping the fat guy busy. Being a class cadre looks good for college applications. Besides, the Old Witch isn't stupid."

Qing Ye was gradually discovering that beneath Xing Wu's fierce exterior lay genuine loyalty to those around him.

Huang Mao added: "Exactly. In schools like ours, especially graduating classes—if some quiet honor student became monitor, nobody would listen."Qing Ye took a sip of cola and began to understand the situation. After a week of classes, it was clear that the rebellious non-mainstream students in the class really needed a class monitor like Pang Hu to keep them in line. Otherwise, getting anyone else to cooperate and hand in assignments would likely be difficult. Lao Yang had naturally considered this, which was why he chose someone like Pang Hu as his right-hand man. The atmosphere and rules at this school were truly different from what she was used to.

Qing Ye had been here for some time now, and she noticed that Xing Wu’s circle of friends was quite mixed. There were dropouts who had entered society early, as well as troublemakers from within the school.

For instance, the group of boys sitting at the table included both second- and third-year students, none of them in the same class, but all essentially the top bullies in their respective classes. As for why these guys from different grades and classes hung out together, Qing Ye chalked it up to “birds of a feather flock together.” So, what did it mean that she was sitting with them now? She raised an eyebrow subtly to herself—it could only mean she was absolutely starving today.

She had known Huang Mao for a while now, and everyone always called him “Huang Mao” without ever using his real name. So when the skewers arrived, Qing Ye picked up a lamb skewer, turned to him, and asked, “What’s your actual name?”

Huang Mao froze for a moment, and the guys around them chuckled quietly. Huang Mao lowered his head, looking almost embarrassed, which made Qing Ye’s eyes curve into a smile. “What’s so secret about this great name of yours?”

Huang Mao didn’t like bringing up his real name, so no one around him ever used it. Qing Ye turned to Xing Wu, who gave a faint smile and said, “Hao Chenggong.”

“……” Uncle Hao’s aspirations were pretty straightforward.

Lang Dai, the guy from the next class over with the nickname “Wolf Dummy,” suddenly brought up what had happened at the school gate and cut in, “What do you think Da Cao meant by that? Sounded like he’s thinking of getting with Qing Ye?”

Mention of Da Cao set off a round of cursing from the table, probably because of the inherent rivalry between An Zhong and An Zhi. Zhang Kai burst out angrily, “Did you see that asshole’s face? If Wu-ge hadn’t been there, who knows how much more arrogant he’d have been. The guys from An Zhi are scared shitless of Wu-ge after all the beatings. Da Cao’s gotta think twice now when he sees Wu-ge.”

Qing Ye glanced over at Xing Wu, who just lowered his gaze slightly, tapping the rim of his glass, and said dismissively, “What’s there to be afraid of? Any guy who tries to get with her would probably go crazy in less than three days.”

The whole group stared blankly at Qing Ye, sensing there was a lot more to Wu-ge’s words than met the eye. Hearing this, Qing Ye immediately glared at Xing Wu. “What’s that supposed to mean about me?”

Xing Wu gave her a lazy sidelong glance. “With your level of self-sufficiency, if you were someone else, would you even want to date yourself?”

Qing Ye slapped her chopsticks down. “Are you kidding? Who would dare think that? Who’d be lucky enough for that?”

“HAHAHAHAHA…”

The night market stall erupted in laughter. Across the table, Lang Dai spat out his drink laughing, and Xing Wu shook his head, a smile spreading across his lips.

Qing Ye’s confidence, mixed with a touch of blunt cuteness, made her all the more interesting to the guys. But just as the conversation was at its liveliest, she suddenly stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder, and announced to everyone, “I’m full. You guys take your time.”

Her abrupt, decisive departure was just so like her—doing exactly as she pleased. Huang Mao looked up in surprise. “You’re leaving already?”

Qing Ye nodded. “Yeah, I’m going back to do practice problems.”It was then that the table of academic underachievers suddenly realized Qing Ye was different from them. After all, she was a top student—able to rein herself in so effortlessly even in such a lively atmosphere. Her self-discipline left the entire table of guys utterly amazed.

After slinging her backpack over her shoulder, Qing Ye kicked Xing Wu’s stool. He glanced sideways at her, and she stood quietly behind him, just watching.

Xing Wu withdrew his gaze, picked up his glass, and downed the drink in one go. He slowly rose to his feet and said to Huang Mao, "This one’s on me. You guys keep eating. I’ll transfer you the money tonight."

With that, he turned and gave Qing Ye a sidelong glance before the two of them walked out one after the other.

The group of guys grew more and more puzzled as they watched Xing Wu and Qing Ye’s retreating figures. Zhang Kai let out a thoughtful "Hiss" and couldn’t help but ask, "What exactly is the deal between our Brother Wu and that top student? Don’t you think there’s something unusual about them? But how could a top student get involved with Brother Wu? Huang Mao, do you know anything?"

Huang Mao wore an inscrutable expression and snapped, "Cut the crap. Didn’t you hear what Qing Ye said in front of Da Cao and the others earlier? That’s the relationship."

The whole group stiffened, exclaiming in unison, "Little brother?"