Chapter 26

Li Qiuhe's heart instantly went cold.

He probed further. "Are Class One's questions not fresh enough anymore? Not as interesting as what the others ask?"

Chi Ning patted Li Qiuhe on the shoulder. "No. Stop talking like Lin Daiyu and hand them over. I've got something to do later."

His backpack was still with Qin Heng. He had to find a chance to get it back.

Li Qiuhe gave a couple of hums and quit while he was ahead. "Hey! I thought someone from another class had lured you away. Those people in Class Two were dying of anxiety after seeing how much we improved this time. They want your notes but don't dare ask."

Chi Ning smiled. "Just make them copies. We're all from the same school. No need to keep things hidden."

Li Qiuhe felt conflicted. "Aren't you afraid Ye Xinran will surpass you?"

"If he can surpass me, that's his own ability." Chi Ning pulled over Li Qiuhe's worksheet and pen, writing as he spoke. "It's just a small favor."

Li Qiuhe knew that this kind of help couldn't possibly be summed up as a small favor. If he really got into S University, Chi Ning would be his greatest benefactor.

That was S University. If he really managed to get in, he could serve Chi Ning tea, wait on him hand and foot, work himself to the bone for him.

Chi Ning handed the completed solution back to Li Qiuhe. "Take this to make copies and hand them out to whoever needs them. I'll explain it during morning self-study."

Li Qiuhe accepted it with both hands. "Okay, Teacher Chi."

God Chi, merciful and compassionate, savior of the suffering, the Guanyin of Chi who enlightened all living beings!

Ah, what a wonderful study god. Now they had to share him with Class Two.

Just as Li Qiuhe ran off to make copies, Qin Heng sent Chi Ning a message.

[Bag. Come get it. Bamboo grove.]

Chi Ning picked up his phone and felt like the text message was some kind of underground operative rendezvous. It was rather amusing. He replied with a 1, quietly slipped out through the classroom's back door, and headed straight for the bamboo grove.

"How was yesterday?" Qin Heng asked.

"Not bad." Chi Ning sighed.

Getting caught climbing over the wall was nothing anymore. Checking his bank card was what truly frightened him. Compared to those things, he was more worried about his parents' and older brother's safety.

He took his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, then suddenly caught an untimely scent.

This definitely wasn't Qin Heng's scent. It was a cloyingly sweet perfume smell, so strong it made his head spin.

Chi Ning paused and glanced at Qin Heng.

Ever since he had acknowledged a godfather, Qin Heng no longer lacked clothes to wear. The somewhat shabby windbreaker that had been washed too many times had disappeared somewhere. He wore his school uniform shirt beneath a loose cotton casual jacket, making him look somewhat more refined.

Clothes made the man, as the saddle made the horse.

Chi Ning withdrew his gaze, but from the corner of his eye, he noticed a flash of pink poking out of Qin Heng's pocket, like some exquisitely made pendant.

A gift from some girl?

He pressed his lips together. "I'll get going first."

Qin Heng said, "Wait."

Chi Ning paused, turned back, and lowered his eyes to glance at the pendant in Qin Heng's pocket. "What is it?"

"Bayberry juice." Qin Heng handed him the glass bottle.

"Oh." Chi Ning accepted it.

Why hadn't he noticed Qin Heng carrying bayberry juice earlier?

Something was off.

He turned the bottle over in his hand. The glass bottle had been changed, and there was no longer a Ning character on the bottom.

Glug. A bubble rose in the upside-down bayberry juice.

Chi Ning felt as if someone had shoved a round puzzle piece into a square hole. It fit, but not completely, and the shape was wrong.

As he walked, he shook the bayberry juice. Five bayberries surfed through the bottle with the bubbles, and the clear juice quickly turned cloudy.

No payment, no customer service.

There wasn't even any writing on the bottle.

Chi Ning gave a cold little laugh. "Businessman."

Class 18, Senior Year.

Qin Heng took the item from his pocket and tossed it onto Zhang Qiuwen's desk. "What fucking use was it? He didn't even ask."

Zhang Qiuwen picked it up and sniffed it, nearly gagging from the smell. "It's fragrant enough, isn't it? Can't he smell it? I poured in half a whole bottle of that perfume and let it soak overnight. He didn't ask?"

He hesitated, his voice weakening. "If he doesn't like you, then no matter what you carry, he won't get jealous."

Qin Heng shot him a glance.

Zhang Qiuwen's mind buzzed.

He carefully defended Brother Qin's tender young heart. "Bro, when you covered his mouth, he didn't resist. Maybe it was because that kind of thing doesn't mean anything between two guys. When he held on tighter while you were riding, it was because you were going too fast and he was scared. So... what it looks like on the surface is what it is underneath."

There weren't that many hidden meanings.

"Bro." Zhang Qiuwen hesitated, stopped, then hesitated again before finally saying, "Don't overthink it, okay? And could you... not call me in the middle of the night?"

He was so sleepy he felt as though someone had drained all his vitality.

Qin Heng gave a derisive laugh. Before he could speak, Zhang Qiuwen immediately said helplessly, "Call, call, call."

Who told him he was currently living in a place Brother Qin had given him?

For his brother, he could take however many calls it took.

"Is Uncle Xu really taking us to the Chi family for Chi Ning's older brother's birthday party?" Zhang Qiuwen clicked his tongue.

Qin Heng gave a hum. "He wants to use this chance to make his position on cooperation clear."

And formally push him into the spotlight as his adopted son.

Zhang Qiuwen sighed. "Then what am I going for?"

Qin Heng fell silent for a moment. "Didn't we agree when we were kids? If I had a bite of meat, you wouldn't go without soup."

Zhang Qiuwen said, "Whoa, I remember. Other than wives, everything else could be shared, right?"

Qin Heng lightly kicked the back of his knee. "What filthy nonsense are you talking about? Get lost."

Zhang Qiuwen grinned. "God Chi tutors you, but I don't see you sharing that with me."

Qin Heng made as if to raise his hand, and Zhang Qiuwen immediately ran off.

That evening, at Tea River Lounge.

Chi Ning looked at Zhang Qiuwen, and the two stared at each other for a while.

Chi Ning turned to Qin Heng. "You want one-on-two tutoring? That costs extra."

Five years of bayberry juice was the price for one person.

Qin Heng scoffed. "One-on-one. Zhang Qiuwen has someone teaching him."

Zhang Qiuwen: I have my ass.

Before he could finish complaining inwardly, he turned and saw a bespectacled thug in a suit coming down from the stairwell, his arms about as thick as Chi Ning's thighs.

The thug held a lesson plan in his hand and pushed up his glasses at Zhang Qiuwen. "Hello, sir. I'm your tutor. I graduated from S University. Here are my diploma and teaching certificate."

Qin Heng curled his lips at Zhang Qiuwen. Didn't he want tutoring? Then he would hire him a professional.

Zhang Qiuwen: Fuck...

Was his brother getting revenge because he had teased Chi Ning? Nothing had even begun yet, and he was already so protective?

After laughing at Zhang Qiuwen, Qin Heng turned and followed Chi Ning into the private room. Just as he was about to sit beside Chi Ning like last time, he saw the boy wrinkle his nose.

Chi Ning said, "Sit across from me."

Qin Heng paused, not understanding. "Wouldn't it be inconvenient to study from across the table?"

Chi Ning shifted farther away from Qin Heng and even raised a hand to open the window.

He fanned the air to disperse the smell and said softly, "You don't smell good today."

How could a scent be stinky and fragrant at the same time?

Strange.

His MHC must dislike Qin Heng.

Chi Ning sneezed from the smell.

Qin Heng had originally wanted to ask just how bad the smell was, whether it was even worse than yesterday's laundry detergent scent. But when he heard Chi Ning sneeze, his urge to tease him immediately faded.

After thinking for a moment, he placed the croissant and butter cheese the waiter had just brought over beside Chi Ning's hand. "Have some?"

The sweet fragrance of the croissant immediately drove away the smell of cheap perfume.

Chi Ning took a bite of the sliced, crispy croissant. The sound of the flaky crust cracking struck straight at his soul, mixed with an overpowering milky aroma that surged from his mouth to his nose.

Delicious.

Qin Heng said, "I'm heading out for a moment. I'll be back in ten minutes. It won't delay the problems."

Chi Ning said, "Okay."

The sweet croissant made his mouth water. He turned to look out the window.

In early September, Yangcheng nights carried a hint of early autumn chill. In the corners of the sidewalk untouched by the dim yellow streetlights, one or two small lamps would occasionally light up, illuminating the small, exquisite stalls before their vendors.

Chi Ning's gaze settled at the end of the street. An elderly grandfather with graying hair had set up a stall there, displaying handmade pendants. Even viewed from the third floor, those pendants still looked delicate and beautiful.

Prettier than the one Qin Heng had tucked into his pocket.

Chi Ning frowned, feeling a little unhappy. It was senior year, such a crucial time. If he had no interest in someone but still accepted gifts from girls, wasn't that just inviting misunderstandings and distractions?

Qin Heng had been so good at deceiving people in his previous life. Who knew whether he had deceived anyone's feelings back in high school?

What a bastard...

Qin Heng left the private room, took the elevator to the top floor of Tea River Lounge, and unlocked a door with his key.

Xu Jiahao lived there.

Qin Heng took a quick shower in the bathroom, changed into spare clothes, and went back downstairs. The entire trip took less than eight minutes. When he returned to the private room, Chi Ning had just about finished his croissant.

He had saved one piece and asked Qin Heng, "Do you want it?"

Qin Heng's gaze darkened slightly. "Mm."

He casually picked up a fork, put the milky bread into his mouth, and took the opportunity to sit beside Chi Ning.

Chi Ning froze. He had thought Qin Heng would just take it with his hand... Qin Heng had changed clothes, and the dizzying smell was gone. All that remained was a faint, familiar scent, fresh and soothing.

Thinking of the luxury cars in Tea River Lounge's garage, he instantly understood that Xu Jiahao's residence was probably upstairs.

Qin Heng said, "What are we studying today?"

"English. Finish Chapter One first, then I'll go straight over your mistakes and vocabulary. It's faster than following the textbook." As Chi Ning spoke, he felt slightly dazed again.

The way Qin Heng handled things reminded him of Boss Qin from his previous life. Mature, calm, measured, composed, considerate, and attentive.