Li Qing'er

"Grandpa, Uncle, Auntie, Cousin, Happy New Year!" The moment Zhang Yao's aunt's daughter stepped through the door, she sweetly offered everyone her New Year greetings. Zhang Yao's grandfather and parents listened with smiles, then took out the lucky money they had prepared long beforehand and handed it to her.

Zhang Yao's aunt's daughter was named Li Qing'er. Like Zhang Yao, she was in her final year of high school. However, her school was one of the very best in all of South City, far beyond comparison with the third-rate high school Zhang Yao attended. On top of that, Li Qing'er was pretty, did well in school, and had a kind heart. She had always been the darling of Zhang Yao's entire family.

Li Qing'er cheerfully accepted the lucky money from her elders, then skipped toward Zhang Yao.

As Zhang Yao watched the smiling Li Qing'er draw closer and closer, he felt a headache coming on. In the eyes of their elders or outsiders, Li Qing'er might always be a good little girl, but in Zhang Yao's eyes, she was a she-devil through and through.

Ever since they were little, Li Qing'er had relied on acting cute and pitiful to steal Zhang Yao's candy. As she grew older, she learned to play the villain who cried foul first. Whenever she did something bad, she would run straight to their elders and complain, leaving the innocent Zhang Yao to take the beatings and scoldings. In short, throughout their childhood, whenever they were together, any mistakes were always Zhang Yao's fault, while any praise always went to Li Qing'er.

Thus, a lifetime of oppression had given Zhang Yao the habit of getting a headache whenever he saw Li Qing'er.

"Auntie, Uncle, Happy New Year! Mom, call me when dinner's ready. I'm going to catch another nap!" Zhang Yao hurriedly greeted his aunt and uncle, then made his escape before he even had time to ask for his lucky money.

Zhang Yao rushed back to his room and shut the door before finally letting out a long breath. Unfortunately, he had celebrated too soon. He was just about to use this time to practice his skills and see how it differed from practicing in Rodos.

Knock, knock...

A series of knocks rang out.

"Cousin, open up!"

Li Qing'er's sweet voice followed.

Zhang Yao glanced at the door and finally decided to pretend he was already asleep and ignore Li Qing'er.

"Cousin, hurry up and open the door. I know you're not asleep! Come on... if you don't open up, I'll go tell Uncle about that fight you got into last time..." Before Li Qing'er could finish, Zhang Yao had already yanked the door open.

Li Qing'er immediately burst into bright, clear laughter. "Heehee, that's more like it! You should know you can't resist me!"

"Li Qing'er, will you listen to reason? That last fight only happened because you dragged me along to help! Otherwise, why would a reformed man like me go fight those guys for no reason?" Zhang Yao glared at Li Qing'er, fury blazing inside him.

The mere mention of that fight made Zhang Yao's temper flare. After moving to South City, he had decided to study hard, improve himself every day, and be a good kid. Who could have guessed that barely two days after making that decision, Li Qing'er would make him break his vow?

At the time, Li Qing'er had dragged Zhang Yao along, saying she would give him a proper tour of her school so he could experience what a prestigious school was like. Yet when they reached the gates, Zhang Yao found none of that prestigious atmosphere. Instead, he found the familiar feel of his old school in North City. The row of punks squatting outside the gates, their shirts hanging open or their torsos bare, cigarettes dangling from their mouths, every other word a curse about someone's mother or father, made Zhang Yao feel as though he were dreaming and had returned to his school in North City.

Looking at those punks, Zhang Yao was just about to ask Li Qing'er, bewildered, how a school as good as hers could have such a scene outside its gates. Before he could, Li Qing'er darted over to the group, kicked one of the punks, and shouted, "You little thugs beat up my classmate yesterday! Follow me if you've got the guts!" After shouting, she ran behind Zhang Yao and waved her fists at the punks threateningly.

The punks immediately got to their feet and surrounded Zhang Yao in a flash. By then, how could Zhang Yao fail to realize he had been used as someone else's weapon again? He turned his head at once, glared fiercely at Li Qing'er, and said through gritted teeth, "So this is the prestigious-school experience you wanted me to have?"

"Yep, exactly! You used to fight people outside those third-rate schools all the time. Today, I've found you a chance to fight outside a prestigious school. No need to thank me!" Li Qing'er explained with complete seriousness.

"Uh..." Listening to Li Qing'er, Zhang Yao felt like crying. Then he turned his grief into strength and charged at the punks with a furious roar. The battle ended with him sustaining minor injuries and the other side wiped out.

After dealing with the punks, Zhang Yao was about to settle the score with Li Qing'er, only to discover that she had long since vanished without a trace. Left with no other choice, he could only head home, clutching his aching bruises and grimacing in pain.

The thought of his miserable state back then made the flames of anger in Zhang Yao's heart burn even hotter. If his eyes could have shot fire, the flames pouring out now would probably have melted steel.

"Oh, really? Then why did I notice someone looking awfully excited when he started fighting those little thugs? Did my eyes deceive me?" Completely ignoring Zhang Yao's furious glare, Li Qing'er looked at him with a smile and spoke as breezily as drifting clouds in a light wind.

"Hmph!" Seeing Li Qing'er smiling and utterly disregarding him, Zhang Yao let out a cold snort, turned around, sat on the bed, and looked away, refusing to acknowledge her. A lifetime of experience had taught him that getting a sow to climb a tree would be easier than reasoning with Li Qing'er.

"Tsk, tsk. We haven't seen each other in over a month, and your temper's certainly grown, Cousin!" Li Qing'er walked over to stand in front of Zhang Yao and clicked her tongue as she appraised him.

Zhang Yao turned again, presenting his back to Li Qing'er. If I can't afford to provoke you, can't I at least hide from you? If I can't win an argument, I just won't talk. With that attitude, he prepared to hold out against Li Qing'er to the bitter end.

"They say that after three days apart, you should look at someone with fresh eyes. I didn't believe it at first, but it turns out to be true! Cousin, you really have changed so much. I remember how innocent and close we were growing up, childhood sweethearts. Can you really bear to treat me so coldly now?" Li Qing'er's voice caught, and she looked on the verge of tears. Her two delicate hands gently wrapped around Zhang Yao's arm, drawing it against her chest.

The arm caught between Li Qing'er's hands was pressed firmly against her full breasts. A wonderfully soft sensation immediately washed over Zhang Yao, leaving him briefly dazed. But he quickly came to his senses and realized Li Qing'er was putting on an act. He hurriedly pulled free of her hands and continued using his earlier strategy against her.

"Zhang Yao, you!" Seeing Zhang Yao still acting so lifeless and unresponsive, Li Qing'er immediately grew angry. Her willow-leaf brows knitted, her phoenix eyes widened in a glare, and she pointed at him. "Fine! Fine! Fine! We haven't seen each other in a while, and my cousin really has grown capable-now he's even bullying his own little cousin! I'm going to tell Uncle right now. Let's see how he deals with you!" As she spoke, she made to leave.

(PS: Today is New Year's Day. Since Tuifei has a lot to do over the New Year holiday, the update schedule will change a little: the first chapter will go up in the morning and the second in the evening. Once the holiday is over, the original update schedule will resume~~~~)