As Nie Qingkong stepped closer, Xia Qingyu took half a step back. "What do you want?"
"Is this how you treat your benefactor?" Nie Qingkong raised an eyebrow slightly. "Xia Qingyu, I've helped you twice. I just can't understand, where is your conscience?"
"I can't understand either," Xia Qingyu met Nie Qingkong's gaze.
"What?" Nie Qingkong frowned slightly at her words.
Xia Qingyu took a deep breath before speaking. "Before, at the pet hospital, you said you were very disappointed in me. That look and tone of voice didn't seem like you wanted anything more to do with me."
"The next day it was raining, and your umbrella broke. If you had so much as snapped your fingers, there would have been plenty of girls willing to share an umbrella with you. Why did you have to make things difficult for me? When I offered to buy you a new umbrella, you complained about my taste in choosing it! I know you hate me, but is it necessary to make things so hard for me?"
"And today, do you know what would have happened if that really was sulfuric acid?"
"If you had been splashed with sulfuric acid, would you have preferred me to die to atone for my actions, or to live with guilt for a lifetime? I really don't know why you would do this!"
Hearing Xia Qingyu's words, Nie Qingkong couldn't help but raise his voice. "Is that what you think of me? You think I did that so you would die to atone, so you would live with guilt for a lifetime?"
"I said I don't know! If you know why you did it, then tell me!" Xia Qingyu's voice, with its raised decibels, drowned out Nie Qingkong's.
"I..." Nie Qingkong himself didn't know what he was thinking. It was a subconscious reaction at the time. By the time he realized it, he had already moved to shield Xia Qingyu, angered by her disregard for her own safety, her thought of shielding someone from sulfuric acid with her own body!
Who knew what tragedy would result if that substance splashed onto someone!
How dare she?
She…
Nie Qingkong paused, then instantly understood Xia Qingyu's outburst. Once he understood, Nie Qingkong's voice became much calmer. "You were worried about me?"
"Are you crazy?" Xia Qingyu frowned, looking at Nie Qingkong. "If you're sick, go get treatment. There's a pet hospital nearby. Just find a vet with the right specialty and don't delay treatment!"
"Xia Qingyu, will you die if you don't speak properly?" Nie Qingkong couldn't help but say, hearing the condescension in Xia Qingyu's words.
If anyone else had dared to speak to him like that, they would already be a corpse.
It was only this Xia Qingyu, with her sharp tongue, who was so irritating!
"Will you die if you don't bully me?" Xia Qingyu retorted.
For a moment, they seemed to be locked in a subtle stalemate, glaring at each other, neither willing to back down or admit defeat.
Just then, a mother and daughter walked past the park entrance. The little girl pointed at Xia Qingyu and Nie Qingkong. "Mommy, a couple is arguing…"
"Shh, don't point," the mother pulled her daughter's hand and hurried away.
Xia Qingyu then uncomfortably shifted her gaze away, and Nie Qingkong turned his head to the other side, his expression awkward.
"Thank you for today, but… in the future, don't meddle in my affairs," Xia Qingyu said in a low voice.
"Do you think I *want* to meddle?" Nie Qingkong replied gruffly.
"That would be best," Xia Qingyu said, and then turned to leave.
Nie Qingkong watched Xia Qingyu's retreating back, his brows furrowed.
Not long after Xia Qingyu left, Nie Qingkong also walked out of the small park. With a stern face, he inexplicably found himself walking towards the nearby pet hospital.
The pet hospital staff remembered Nie Qingkong and enthusiastically led him to see the stray dog that Xia Qingyu had rescued.
The stray dog looked like it had been well cared for at the hospital; not only did it seem more lively, but its fur also looked much fluffier.
"Xiao Qing, come and see who this is!" the staff member called softly to the stray dog, which was chasing its tail.
"Xiao Qing?" Nie Qingkong looked at the stray dog, which tilted its head and studied him.
"That's the name given by the girl who often came to see it. She said she hoped it would stay away from rainy misfortune and have clear skies throughout its doggy life." As the staff member finished speaking, the bell at the entrance rang, signaling a customer, and they immediately went downstairs to attend to guests bringing pets for grooming.
Nie Qingkong, left alone, murmured the words "Xiao Qing" before squatting down and extending his hand, commanding, "Come here!"
Xiao Qing looked at Nie Qingkong's hand, then at Nie Qingkong. Instinctively, it felt a sense of danger, backing away and baring its teeth.
Nie Qingkong was slightly taken aback.
This little creature, which he could crush with a squeeze, dared to bare its teeth at him.
It was clearly trembling with fear, yet it was putting on a fierce display.
It inexplicably reminded Nie Qingkong of Xia Qingyu.
"Xiao Qing… hehe." Nie Qingkong's lips curved upwards, and he repeated the name, this time with a much gentler tone. "Come here."
Xiao Qing walked towards Nie Qingkong, hesitantly resting its head in Nie Qingkong's palm, looking up at him with its bright, round black eyes.
"Ungrateful little thing…" Nie Qingkong murmured, then retracted his hand and sat cross-legged on the ground. Xiao Qing began wagging its tail and bounding towards him.
As Nie Qingkong played with Xiao Qing, he poked open his lemon freeze tea with a straw and took a large sip before muttering to himself, "This… is quite good…"
…
Meanwhile, Xia Qingyu saw Xia Qingtian as she reached the school gate. Her sister seemed to be on the phone with someone.
Xia Qingtian also spotted Xia Qingyu and waved at her.
After Xia Qingtian finished her call, Xia Qingyu stepped forward and handed her sister the taro pearl milk tea she liked. "Sis, this cup is yours."
"Thank you," Xia Qingtian said with a smile. "Did your little handsome classmate leave? Did you thank him properly?"
"Yes," Xia Qingyu replied with a dry laugh. "I treated him to a lemon freeze tea."
"Haven't tried it, a new flavor?" Xia Qingtian asked, sipping her taro pearl milk tea.
"I think so." Xia Qingyu then asked, "Sis, did you look into my situation earlier?"
"Yes," Xia Qingtian said. "We've found out who it is. There are quite a few people involved, and I wanted to ask for your thoughts."
Xia Qingyu slightly lowered her head. "If I want the people targeting me to be expelled… would that be too much?"
"The moment she decided to do evil, she became an evildoer," Xia Qingtian told Xia Qingyu. "Qingyu, not letting them stay by your side and giving them another chance to hurt you is basic self-preservation. You're not wrong."
"Okay, sister, I'll remember that," Xia Qingyu nodded. "Sis, thank you for protecting me."
"What silly talk is that?" Xia Qingtian smiled at Xia Qingyu. "Let me try yours to see if it's good. Hmm… not as good as mine. Want to try mine?"
"Okay, it's so sweet…"
"See! Milk tea should always be sweet."