Dazzling

An hour later, Xing Wu already felt like his hand no longer belonged to him. The total amount of writing he had done in two years of high school was less than what he had written tonight.

He cracked the window open, stood by it, lit a cigarette, and looked down at his own flamboyant handwriting. He wondered if Qing Ye would even be able to read it, then gave a slight smirk. At least he was helping her copy the notes.

He glanced over at the person lying on the bed. She had curled herself into a ball and hadn’t changed positions for a long time, wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon—somehow looking a bit silly.

Xing Wu took a cigarette break and then picked up the pen again to continue copying. He hadn’t even finished two questions when Quan Ya called and asked, “What are you up to?”

Xing Wu, writing swiftly with one hand and holding the phone with the other, replied, “Doing homework.”

“…” Quan Ya was momentarily stunned on the other end, and then Xing Wu heard a burst of wild, chaotic laughter.

“Wu, next time you brag, at least come up with a better story.”

Xing Wu hung up directly, took a photo of the densely packed questions and the mountain of study materials, and sent it over. Quan Ya immediately called back in disbelief, blurting out, “What’s gotten into you?”

“…”

Behind him, Qing Ye turned over. Xing Wu glanced back and lowered his voice, saying, “Alright, I’m busy. Don’t call again.”

As soon as he hung up, he heard Qing Ye’s faint voice calling, “Xing Wu, I’m cold.”

Xing Wu got up, closed the window tightly, went out to boil water, filled a hot water bottle, and brought it upstairs. He nudged Qing Ye and said, “Here.”

Qing Ye mumbled a few words with her eyes closed, not moving at all. Xing Wu simply lifted the corner of the blanket and placed the hot water bottle inside for her. As he did, his hand brushed against hers—it was still as cold as ice.

Qing Ye suddenly felt the warmth and murmured, “What is it?”

“A hot water bottle. Keep it on your stomach.”

“Mm…”

She moved closer to hug the hot water bottle, but Xing Wu’s hand hadn’t pulled back in time and accidentally brushed against her… chest.

Qing Ye’s eyes snapped open, staring straight at him. Xing Wu had already withdrawn his hand and was looking back at her. Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Finally, Xing Wu stood up, cleared his throat, and walked back to the desk as if nothing had happened.

Qing Ye had no idea whether Xing Wu had slept at all that night. Originally, she had only meant for him to copy a few key questions from the test papers—she planned to review them again during the day to reinforce her understanding. Little did she expect that he would copy all the key questions from eight booklets, compiling them into a thick notebook that left Qing Ye utterly stunned.

The truth was, every time Xing Wu stopped writing, he could still feel that soft sensation. Although he had noticed Qing Ye’s figure before, actually touching it felt strangely intoxicating and lingered in his mind.

As a result, the next morning when Qing Ye woke up, the notebook Xing Wu had copied was left on the desk, and he was long gone.

However, because Qing Ye had flawlessly performed an impromptu translation in front of the entire school that day, her reputation at An Zhong High instantly soared.If before, students from other classes and grades had only heard about her academic excellence, all-around capabilities, and good looks, then after her recent appearance in front of the entire school, everyone genuinely acknowledged her as Anzhong's current top academic achiever from the bottom of their hearts. Lately, more and more people had been approaching Qing Ye to ask about study methods, which admittedly troubled her somewhat.

However, along with the troubles, this incident also brought about another happy development.

Zhazha Pavilion No. 38, Dazzle Island Hair Salon—a street address Qing Ye still found disastrous, almost like an insult—had suddenly become popular recently. Who would have thought that in just a few days, this No. 38 would spread by word of mouth, gradually becoming overcrowded.

Originally, Liu Nian and Du Qiyan had hardly any business after 5 p.m., but lately, for some reason, especially on weekends or after school, waves of students came in for perms.

Anzhong did share one similarity with the international school Qing Ye had attended before: the teachers weren’t too strict about students styling their hair. As long as it wasn’t too extreme, they generally turned a blind eye. This led to Qing Ye’s trendy woolly perm instantly setting a fashion trend at Anzhong. Walking through campus every day, she was essentially a live advertisement. Recently, even students from An Vocational School and Jin Zhong had come seeking the same style.

Thus, the once struggling Dazzle Island suddenly saw a boom in business. At first, Liu Nian and Du Qiyan didn’t think anyone would prepay for membership cards, given the local spending habits that tended to avoid advance payments. Surprisingly, quite a few people had signed up for cards recently. Li Lanfang even stopped playing mahjong, busy collecting payments until her hands were sore. At dinner, she happily bought an extra two jin of pork ribs to make soup for Qing Ye.

Xing Wu was also baffled by how these three seemingly ordinary individuals had suddenly managed to turn the business around.

During the initial chaotic period, Li Lanfang kept complaining to Xing Wu about being tired and achy, so Xing Wu had Quan Ya and the others come over to help out for a few days.

It wasn’t until Qing Ye came up with a solution—issuing queue numbers, such as limiting the number of perms they could do per day and managing the flow—that the crowded, disorderly situation in the shop improved.

Once the process was optimized, the hectic pace eased. On Quan Ya and Hua Bi’s last day helping out, Xing Wu treated them to a meal. Being close friends, they didn’t stand on ceremony and just had a hotpot dinner at home.

When Qing Ye returned in the evening, she learned from Du Qiyan that Xing Wu had invited them to stay for dinner.

She went upstairs first to put her things away and wash her hands. When she came down to the backyard, a large group was already seated around the table—even Shu Han and Da Hei had come, making it quite lively.

Du Qiyan had saved a seat for Qing Ye beside her, so Qing Ye went over and sat between Du Qiyan and Liu Nian. Xing Wu sat across from her, with Quan Ya on his left and Shu Han on the other side.

Shu Han was dressed quite seductively today, in a black bodycon dress and bold red lips, exuding a mix of charm and cool elegance. Like Xing Wu and the others, she was drinking beer and seemed to have an endless capacity for it. Qing Ye, who planned to do practice problems later, stuck to soft drinks and didn’t say much, keeping her head down as she ate.

When she glanced up, her eyes met Shu Han’s gaze. They held eye contact for two seconds before Shu Han suddenly picked up her glass and shook it toward Qing Ye: “We haven’t officially met yet. Shu Han.”

Qing Ye raised her drink: “Qing Ye.”

Shu Han slightly furrowed her brows and smiled, “Orange juice, huh?”Xing Wu said indifferently, "She needs to study later, no alcohol."

Shu Han gave Xing Wu a meaningful glance but said nothing, downing his drink in one go while Qing Ye continued eating her meal with a sip of her beverage.

Shu Han cooked a few slices of mutton and placed them in Xing Wu's bowl. Xing Wu was smoking while talking to Quan Ya when Hua Bi beside him suddenly interjected, "I say, Sister Shu and Brother Wu, why don't you just get together already? What's the point of dragging it out like this?"

The faint smile at the corner of Xing Wu's lips instantly vanished as he flicked his cigarette ash. Shu Han expressionlessly took a slender cigarette from the nearby pack and lit it. Liu Nian and Du Qiyan looked back and forth between Shu Han and Xing Wu with bewildered expressions, while Quan Ya watched his older sister with keen interest. Da Hei appeared thoroughly entertained by the unfolding drama.

At the entire table, only Qing Ye seemed completely detached, continuing to eat without pause.

Hua Bi, who had probably been holding this in for quite some time, decided to speak his mind now that the topic had been broached: "We're all brothers here, so don't blame me for being blunt. Seriously, Brother Wu, your mom just joked about recognizing Sister Shu as her daughter-in-law when she saw her earlier. Why can't you take the initiative and make it official?"

Xing Wu lifted his gaze and saw Qing Ye still picking at her food as if nothing had happened, quietly bringing it to her mouth without showing any emotion.

He suddenly stubbed out his cigarette and glared at Hua Bi: "Can't this table full of food shut you up?"

Shu Han lowered her head with a faint smile, the curve of her lips carrying a touch of chill.

Quan Ya smoothly defused the tension: "The monk isn't anxious, but the eunuch is. I haven't even said anything yet—Ma Bin, are you on something today?"

"Boss Jiang wants Sister Shu to be with him."

Hua Bi's words froze everyone at the table in their seats. Even Qing Ye stopped using her chopsticks and looked up at them.

Quan Ya suddenly shouted, "Shut the fuck up!"

Hua Bi stared at Xing Wu with bloodshot eyes: "I'm saying it today. Aren't you all afraid of making things difficult for Brother Wu? I'm not afraid to be the bad guy. We grew up together, shared everything. When we were short on money, Sister Shu always found ways to help us. Everyone knows how Sister Shu feels about Brother Wu. Brother Wu has helped Boss Jiang before too—if you'd just agree, Boss Jiang would consider Sister Shu your woman and leave her alone."

With a sharp crack, Shu Han suddenly slammed her cigarette on the table, shot Hua Bi a fierce glare, turned and strode toward the kitchen, slamming the door shut behind her.

Liu Nian and Du Qiyan looked utterly terrified. Quan Ya glared angrily at Hua Bi while Xing Wu bowed his head, his brow deeply furrowed.

Even Da Hei was momentarily stunned before asking, "Is Sister Shu okay?"

Xing Wu downed the drink beside him in one gulp, stood up, and walked toward the kitchen.

Qing Ye lifted her gaze, following his figure with her eyes as he entered the kitchen. The door opened, then closed behind him.

Qing Ye quietly lowered her eyelids, gradually set down her chopsticks, and said calmly, "I'm going upstairs to study."

Then she just left. No one paid her any attention, except for Da Hei who muttered, "Brother Wu's relative still has the mind to study at a time like this?"

After returning to her room and closing the door, Qing Ye leaned against it for a while in a daze. Then she mechanically walked to the window, sat down, opened a booklet, tore out a test paper and began solving problems.

Qing Ye had always believed she possessed an extraordinary ability: no matter how agitated she felt, as long as she calmed her mind and started working on problems, she could quickly block out everything and everyone around her.But today, even after completing two problems, she still couldn't calm down. Instead, she felt a restless heat burning inside her, an inexplicable urge to lash out.

Halfway through the third problem, she suddenly crumpled the test paper into a ball, threw it on the desk, and stood up. A strange impulse seized her—she desperately wanted ice cream, right now, immediately!

Without another thought, she threw on her jacket, grabbed her phone and money, and headed downstairs. The backyard was still noisy—Quan Ya and Hua Bi seemed to be arguing, with Da Hei trying to mediate in loud voices. She ignored the commotion completely and walked straight out the front door of Dazzle Island.

After dark, Zhazha Pavilion lost some of its bustling market atmosphere, instead resembling an abandoned small town from the 1980s—desolate and lonely. When she first arrived here months ago, she never imagined such a small, rundown place could be filled with so much chaotic drama every day.

She had thought she was just here to attend school for a year, that her cheap aunt's house was merely a temporary lodging. She believed she wouldn't have much contact with these people, nor would they affect her in any way.

But tonight, a single meal had left her unsettled and agitated. Qing Ye found it almost laughable herself—she urgently needed a big mouthful of ice cream to clear her head.

Qing Ye remembered passing a dessert shop last time she took a tuk-tuk to Electronics Street. She wasn't entirely sure if they sold ice cream there, but she wanted to go check.

After Xing Wu and Shu Han talked for a while, they emerged from the kitchen both appearing calm. Meanwhile, the others outside had been arguing all this time. Xing Wu scanned the room and asked, "Where's Qing Ye?"

Liu Nian said, "She went upstairs to study."

Xing Wu didn't respond. The others stopped arguing when they saw them come out. Noticing Xing Wu's dark expression, they decided not to press the sensitive issue further. Originally, Hua Bi just felt that Xing Wu should at least be informed about the matter—what they decided afterward was beyond his control anyway.

Xing Wu sat for twenty minutes before getting up to pour a cup of hot water in the kitchen. Seeing Qing Ye's cup still on the checkout counter, he poured one for her too. But when he brought it upstairs, he froze—Qing Ye wasn't in her room. On the desk lay only a crumpled test paper she had balled up. His heart suddenly sank. He put down the water cup and rushed downstairs.

Da Hei happened to walk in and asked what was wrong. Xing Wu shouted, "Didn't you say Qing Ye was upstairs? Where is she?"

Quan Ya also ran in asking, "What's going on? Qing Ye isn't upstairs?"

Xing Wu pulled out his phone and dashed out of Dazzle Island...