Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Qin Si has not asked for the tuition and living expenses that she offered. Lu Nian interprets this as a sign that he probably hasn't cooled down yet.

She probably won't be welcomed by him, she recalls that Qin Si never liked her in the past.

During the year they were separated, Lu Nian did a lot of thinking. Even though Qin Si's words were hurtful, she realized that she shouldn't have forced him like that. After all, his reluctance to stay in the Lu family, considering how he was treated, was quite understandable.

She should have sat down with Qin Si for a calm discussion back then, instead of forcing him emotionally to join the school; after all, it wasn't the only school with a high standard of education.

He must have spent this year begrudgingly.

Lost in thought, Lu Nian seemed distant, remaining silent as if she was trying hard to remember something.

The young man pressed his lips together, stepping in front of her, "I am Qin Si."

His voice had deepened compared to before, losing much of its youthful naivety. With no detectable emotion in his dark eyes, he said flatly, "If you don't recognize me, that's fine."

He never expected to hold any significant place in Lu Nian's heart; after all, a rich girl has as many toys as she wishes - one more or less wouldn't make a difference.

Gu Yayan interjected, puzzled, "You two know each other?"

Before she could turn back to see Lu Nian's reaction, the young man had already turned to leave after saying those words.

Hearing those words, Lu Nian was overtaken by shock, reacting a beat too late. She could only manage to greet Gu Ya Yan before hastily shouldering her backpack and chasing after him.

The young man halted upon hearing her, a faint frown forming as he turned to look at her.

Despite being evidently frail, why was she running like this?

Seeing him pause, Lu Nian finally approached him at a slower pace.

But now that she had really caught up to him, Lu Nian found herself at a loss for words. It had been a year since they last met, and she took her time, scrutinizing Qin Si meticulously from head to toe.

She feared that he might stubbornly refuse her financial help, only to revert to his previous miserable state where he struggled with inadequate food and sleep.

Qin Si had always been of a slender build, but having grown much taller recently, he now appeared elongated and well-proportioned. His face had developed more pronounced contours, and his eyes revealed a subtle transformation towards an elongated, phoenix-like shape, radiating a refreshing purity.

Thankfully, his growth had been symmetrical, aside from being a tad skinny, there were no signs of ill health reflected in his complexion.

She scrutinized him with genuine attentiveness – albeit acknowledging that he had indeed changed considerably.

Under her intense gaze, a hint of heat crept up the young man’s ears. He pressed his lips together and murmured, "If there’s nothing else, I should get going."

Lu Nian suddenly remembered the vital issue at hand, exclaiming, "Wait!"

"About the argument we had last time..." she began, with earnest gravity.

Mention of this made Qin Si's complexion pale slightly.

His conscience weighed heavily on him, and even a year later, he hadn't been able to let go of the incident.

Over the past year, numerous times he contemplated apologizing to her, even revisiting Lu's family home and the school several times. But now, confronted with her presence, the words got stuck at the tip of his tongue, especially when she gazed at him in such a manner.

Lu Nian voiced, "I want to apologize for what happened. I shouldn't have pressured you at that time."

She continued, "If you want to transfer schools later, you can. I will do my best to support you, and from now on, I won't interfere in your life anymore. You can be free..."

The young man listened silently, before interrupting abruptly, his voice slightly hoarse, "I don't want to transfer."

Lu Nian was puzzled, "?"

He looked at her, her big, pitch-black eyes pure and bright.

This reminded him of those tear-streaked eyes from back then.

"...I was the one who was wrong." He said this extremely quickly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Lu Nian was completely baffled, "???" She wondered if she had experienced some auditory hallucination, as she had never seen Qin Si yield to anyone before, his words often tinged with sarcasm and ridicule, to say the least.

The young man’s ears had turned a deep red. He turned away and walked ahead of her, his pace quickening.

Lu Nian caught up, chattering eagerly, "What did you just say? Did I hear it wrong? Did you say..."

The young man couldn't bear to listen anymore.

His heart raced uncontrollably, his ears burning fiercely. Yet, he could not curb his body's involuntary reactions, nor could he articulate whom his mounting frustration was directed at.

At last, unable to restrain himself any longer, he gritted his teeth and asked her, "Aren't you looking for the way?"

It was only then that Lu Nian remembered that they were on their way to the classroom and were still lost. "Right," she said, "we need to hurry to the classroom, otherwise we'll be late."

Having finally voiced the words that had been weighing on her heart, Lu Nian felt a great deal lighter. She ran back to call Gu Ya Yan, saying, "Let's go together."

Qin Si led the way for them.

Gu Ya Yan had yet to recover from her surprise, staring blankly at the young man's retreating figure, she asked, "You knew each other before, is he a relative of yours?"

"He's so handsome," she surreptitiously admired Qin Si's retreating figure, whispering quietly into Lu Nian's ear.

In the tender age of adolescence, when young girls begin to notice the opposite sex, they naturally start to pay attention to the appearance of boys around them.

It was the first time Lu Nian heard such a compliment from someone else. However, after a moment of surprise, she quickly accepted it.

Others have eyes too and could certainly see his good looks. She hoped that more people would appreciate Qin Si.

"Yes," she replied, "He was very good-looking even as a child..."

The two young girls whispered secretively to each other all the way.

Qin Si escorted her to the bottom of the building, advising, "Third floor, you can go straight up the stairs."

Seeing him well and having spoken about that matter, Lu Nian was in a good mood now, bidding him a brisk farewell.

Subsequently, she entered the classroom with a light and relaxed demeanor.

The young man paused at the bottom of the building, caught off guard as a small head popped out from above, waving at him and calling, "Are you busy tonight? Wait for me."

Lu Nian thought, just one last time, she couldn't quite let go of her concerns about his current life.

Nowadays, Qin Si was taking on many part-time jobs during his free time. Although young, he was intelligent and had experienced much in his childhood. This made him mature, worldly, detached, and ruthless, traits that allowed him to manage reasonably well in society. He wasn't picky; as long as a job could earn him money, he was willing to undertake it, no matter how exhausting.

Ming Ge had made a small fortune in recent years by running an internet café and wanted to venture into investment and financial management. However, with his poor mathematical skills, even primary school math was a challenge. Most of this was managed by Qin Si, whose investment decisions turned out to be surprisingly successful. Nowadays, Ming Ge habitually sought Qin Si's opinions on virtually everything.

Hence, all things considered, Qin Si had no trouble maintaining his livelihood.

The only downside was the tremendous effort involved; he usually went to bed past midnight and had never taken a break even during weekends and holidays, let alone finding time for evening self-study at school.

"Qin Si, are you lying to me? You aren't staying in the dormitory at all, are you?" Lu Nian exclaimed, deeply distressed.

He never used to lie to her before.

She didn't know what kind of job Qin Si had taken up to earn money. Fearing that he might go astray and engage in illegal activities to earn money, considering the potential paths of his future development, she was particularly afraid that he would stray into dangerous paths. She remembered the terrifying version of Qin Si in adulthood from the original story; people with high intelligence like him, once they deviate from the right path, could be far more frightening than the average person.

"It's just regular part-time work," the young man said with pursed lips, "not involved in what you're thinking."

Lu Nian breathed a sigh of relief, but then pressed on immediately, "Tell me then, what have you been doing?"

Normally, if anyone dared to pressure him like this, Qin Si would have turned hostile already. But facing her, he couldn't utter a word, only remaining in a brooding silence.

As the two were at an impasse, a young man and woman, seemingly a year or two older than her, walked towards them, side by side.

Lu Nian realized the girl looked very familiar.

Su Qingyou, with her shoulder-length hair, already carried a graceful and elegant vibe of a young lady. Standing next to her was a handsome, tall, and unfamiliar young man.

She froze, murmuring, "Why is she here too..." It seemed that over the years, she had nearly forgotten about the original female protagonist's existence.

"Ting Yuan," Lu Nian heard Su Qingyou speak softly and warmly to the young man beside her while discussing their recent monthly exam scores.

Ting Yuan... Zhao Ting Yuan.

The name struck a chord in Lu Nian's memory. Wasn't that the name of the original male lead? No wonder the two seemed so close; had they known each other from this time?

However, on the surface, Lu Nian didn't recognize the pair, and they didn't recognize her either. Just when she thought they would pass by without incident, Su Qingyou looked at them in surprise, exclaiming, "Qin Si?"

Zhao Ting Yuan also turned their way. They both seemed to recognize Qin Si, their faces displaying evident astonishment seeing him with a young girl.

Qin Si frowned but remained silent.

Lu Nian was fairly acquainted with the character of the original male lead. Zhao Ting Yuan was a gentleman, particularly gracious for someone from a wealthy family. However, despite his good nature, he seemed... rather ineffectual.

Quite literally ineffectual, with no distinctive skills or abilities.

Lu Nian had criticized this male lead character when reading the book before. Though he was designed as a handsome and wealthy figure, his actions throughout the story revealed only his tepid and ineffective nature, relying solely on his princely good looks to fill the role of the male lead.

Lu Nian remembered that he had a younger brother who was somewhat overshadowed by him. In the story, the Zhao family relied heavily on the younger brother, and their relationship seemed to sour, with the younger sibling even assuming the role of the second main antagonist in the narrative.

However, the Su Qingyou and Zhao Ting Yuan standing before her were still quite young, only about fifteen years old.

As she gazed at Zhao Ting Yuan blankly, she caught his attention.

"Little sister, are you a new student?" Zhao Ting Yuan leaned slightly forward, greeting her with a smile, "Or are you here to visit your older siblings?"

Lu Nian was petite with a youthful face that still bore the innocence of a child, making her appear even younger than her actual age.

Seeing her staring at him with such a cute expression, Zhao Ting Yuan couldn't resist ruffling her hair affectionately. It was a rare occurrence for Lu Nian to be treated this way by someone other than close family members, let alone a boy she just met.

Realizing his gesture might have been somewhat inappropriate, Zhao Ting Yuan hastily withdrew his hand, apologizing with a note of regret in his voice, "I have a younger brother at home. Perhaps I'm too accustomed to being a big brother and acted impulsively. I'm sorry."

She didn't mind much. Seeing his sincere apology, she nodded, "It's okay. I just transferred here and today is my first day of school."

Zhao Ting Yuan chuckled, "You look so young and adorable, I thought you were someone's younger sister visiting the school."

Lu Nian, "... " she could only manage an awkward smile, unsure of how to respond. However, her face naturally wore a radiant smile, which looked sweet no matter how one looked at it.

In this back-and-forth exchange, to an outsider, it seemed as if the two quickly became familiar with each other and were engaged in a lively conversation.

Qin Si's face showed visible signs of displeasure, especially when Zhao Tingyuan touched her hair.

Author's note: Si Si cub: ... I have never touched her head before.

Downing bowls of vinegar (getting jealous), serves you right for being stubborn; had you been a bit more honest...

Teasing Si Si cub is so much fun hahaha, I'm looking forward to forcing him to pursue his wife and confess his feelings, enjoying the rapid transition from tsundere to sycophant, the joy is endless.