Xia Qingyu slept soundly through the night. Upon waking, she saw that it was drizzling outside and, wanting to savor the warmth and comfort of her bed, she dozed off for a while longer.
When she had finished her morning ablutions and went downstairs with her schoolbag, she saw her family at the dining table and greeted them good morning.
"Good morning," Xia Qingtian said, spearing a half sausage on her plate with her fork. "The sausages are especially good today. You should try them too."
"Okay." Xia Qingyu sat down next to Xia Qingtian and glanced at her sister, then asked curiously, "Are you wearing makeup today, Sister? And your attire is quite formal."
"Yes, I have a meeting at the Xia Corporation today," Xia Qingtian replied. "I'll be heading to the company with Dad shortly."
"Oh..." Xia Qingyu nodded, then turned her gaze to Xia Honglang, noticing his furrowed brow as he stared at his tablet. She asked again, "Dad, what are you looking at?"
"This morning's news. The world is too chaotic right now," Xia Honglang said, handing the tablet to Xia Qingyu. "This street seems to be not far from City First High School. You should head home earlier after school from now on."
He felt it was necessary to remind Xia Qingyu that times were still turbulent, and public security needed improvement.
"Alright." Xia Qingyu responded, taking the tablet. She froze after a single glance.
It was a news report about young university students getting into a drunken brawl on the street. Several photos were very clear. Although the faces of the young men were pixelated, she recognized them as the people she had seen in the park last night.
Furthermore, in one close-up shot, a young man whose face was blurred was raising his hand to cover his face. The cigarette burn marks on his arm made Xia Qingyu's heart clench.
Nie Qingkong's face, with its hint of a smile, instantly flashed in her mind.
Did he do it?
"What's wrong?" Seeing Xia Qingyu's solemn expression, Xia Qingtian leaned over to take a look. "It's fine. You're driven to and from school, so this sort of thing won't involve you."
"Mhmm." Xia Qingyu managed a dry laugh at her sister's words and returned the tablet to Xia Honglang.
Later, at the dining table, Xia Qingtian seemed to say something else to her, but Xia Qingyu's mind was elsewhere, and she hadn't heard a word.
It wasn't until after breakfast and her arrival at City First High School by car that Xia Qingyu returned to her senses.
"Second Young Lady, please take your umbrella," the driver reminded her as she seemed a little distracted.
"Thank you," Xia Qingyu replied, taking a pink umbrella with white polka dots and walking into the school gate.
As soon as she entered, Xia Qingyu heard someone calling her name. Turning around, she saw Shi Xingwu, looking excited, and Li Xiaozhong, with his usual cold expression.
They exchanged good mornings, and the three of them walked towards the teaching building together.
"I predicted it would rain last night, but my dad didn't believe me," Shi Xingwu said, full of energy since the morning. "I should have bet with him."
Xia Qingyu and Li Xiaozhong listened silently, only interjecting occasionally to prevent him from speaking solo.
Not far behind them, Nie Qingkong walked alone under his umbrella, his gaze on Xia Qingyu and Li Xiaozhong tinged with coldness.
"Nie Qingkong, what happened to your hand?" The girls chasing after him had initially intended to greet him, but upon seeing the bandages and gauze wrapped around his hand, they changed their question.
"It's nothing. I accidentally burned myself while cooking last night," Nie Qingkong said, curling his lips into his usual gentle smile.
"Ah? Does it hurt?" One of the girls immediately asked empathetically. "It looks quite serious! Are you alright!"
"I'm fine, thank you for your concern." Nie Qingkong's smile didn't reach his eyes as he quickened his pace, seemingly trying to shake them off.
However, these chattering girls didn't seem to grasp Nie Qingkong's intention and instead followed him more closely, their chatter growing louder.
Hearing the noise behind her, Xia Qingyu turned her head and saw Nie Qingkong surrounded by the girls. Seeing his feigned smile, Xia Qingyu's lips turned downward.
"Hey, it's great to be popular," Shi Xingwu couldn't help but sigh enviously as he looked back.
"Give up. That day will never come for you," Li Xiaozhong shot Shi Xingwu a glare.
This muscle-brained fellow lacked Nie Qingkong's cunning and would likely just scare girls away with his actions.
"Tsk, what do you know? I'm a sunny type of guy, very popular," Shi Xingwu deliberately showed off his muscles and then touched his short, slightly prickly hair.
"Twenty years ago?" Li Xiaozhong raised an eyebrow.
"Pfft." Xia Qingyu couldn't help but chuckle at Li Xiaozhong's remark.
"Li Xiaozhong!" Shi Xingwu was already annoyed by Li Xiaozhong's comment. Seeing his goddess laughing at him, he felt a sense of insult. "Take this Blood Droplet!"
As he spoke, Shi Xingwu twirled his umbrella.
The water droplets hanging from the umbrella's edge immediately splashed out. Xia Qingyu took a large step back to avoid getting wet, but she accidentally bumped into someone's embrace.
"Sorry!" Xia Qingyu immediately turned to apologize, meeting a pair of eyes with a hint of a smile.
Looking into those eyes, Xia Qingyu immediately recalled the news she had seen that morning, and her whole body shivered.
Did Nie Qingkong really do that?
With what expression did he do such a thing?
Nie Qingkong looked at Xia Qingyu, his smile widening.
"Hey! Xia Qingyu! You already have Li Xiaozhong and Shi Xingwu. You don't need to throw yourself at Nie Qingkong too!" A girl, seeing Xia Qingyu lingering in Nie Qingkong's embrace, said enviously.
"Exactly..."
"What are you doing... Using such an old trick..."
"Tsk..."
The girls' murmurs made Xia Qingyu's cheeks flush. She mumbled an apology and was about to move away when the edge of her umbrella's frame got tangled with Nie Qingkong's.
Hearing the girls' almost mocking whispers, Xia Qingyu's blush deepened. She increased the force in her hand and yanked hard, directly flicking Nie Qingkong's umbrella away.
The poor umbrella spun twice in the air before falling directly to the ground. Shi Xingwu, who was still chasing Li Xiaozhong with his "Blood Droplet" technique, carelessly stepped on it.
With a crunch, the umbrella's ribs snapped. Shi Xingwu slipped and did a slide tackle, falling down, and the umbrella he had been twirling was completely broken by him.
The scene fell into an awkward silence.
Finally, Shi Xingwu broke the strange quiet. "Li Xiaozhong! Quick! Share an umbrella with me!"
"Who cares about you!"
"Don't be so disloyal!"
Watching Shi Xingwu chase Li Xiaozhong away, Xia Qingyu sighed softly and tilted her umbrella towards Nie Qingkong. "Perhaps... I can give you this umbrella as compensation..."
Nie Qingkong looked at the pink umbrella with white polka dots, a classic example of a young girl's aesthetic, and was momentarily speechless.
Was this Xia Qingyu specifically sent to torment him?