Time passed quickly as they sat in the living room, sipping tea and chatting.
Before they knew it, it was almost ten in the evening.
After bidding farewell to Old Xia and his future mother-in-law, Qin Tian and the other two prepared to leave.
Xia Zhengping and his wife saw them to the door and watched as they entered the elevator.
Qin Tian drove, taking his mother to the hotel that Old Xia had booked first.
Carrying the suitcase, he went to the front desk and helped his mother complete the check-in procedures.
The hotel environment was indeed very good, arguably one of the more upscale ones in Jiangcheng.
"Alright, give me the suitcase, I'll go up by myself. You two hurry back to school!"
Tang Xiu Xia beckoned for the suitcase.
"No rush, we'll take you up!"
Qin Tian said.
"Yes, Auntie, the dorms close at eleven, there's still plenty of time!"
Xia Nuannuan checked the time on her phone and said with a sweet smile.
Tang Xiu Xia found herself increasingly unable to resist what her future daughter-in-law said, so she didn't say anything further.
The three of them went upstairs and quickly found the room according to the number on the room card.
After opening the door and entering, they inserted the room card into the slot, and the lights immediately turned on.
They looked around, and all three were quite satisfied.
The room was spacious and bright, also clean and tidy. The window was open, and the air inside was very good.
"Mmm, it's quite good!"
Tang Xiu Xia nodded with a smile.
Qin Tian placed the suitcase aside and said, "Mom, then we'll head back to school. After class tomorrow, we'll come find you again and take you to see our house that's being renovated."
"Okay, okay, go ahead, hurry back to school with Nuannuan!"
Tang Xiu Xia replied quickly.
"Auntie, Merry Christmas Eve, this apple is for you."
Xia Nuannuan suddenly took out a gift box from her bag and handed it over.
She had prepared gifts for her own parents too, which she had secretly left in their bedroom and should have been discovered by now.
Tang Xiu Xia was momentarily taken aback, then accepted the gift box with a bright smile.
"This is a holiday for you young people. It's my first time receiving a 'peace apple,' Nuannuan, thank you!"
"You're still very young, of course you should celebrate this holiday too!"
Xia Nuannuan said with a sweet smile.
"Oh my, you are so cute, girl."
Tang Xiu Xia affectionately pinched her cheek.
Qin Tian liked this too. Xia Nuannuan would always pretend to be displeased.
But with her future mother-in-law doing it now, her happiness was genuine, and she looked joyful.
"Be careful on the road, and be safe."
Tang Xiu Xia looked at her son and instructed.
"Understood!"
Qin Tian smiled and nodded.
"Bye Auntie, see you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow!"
...
...
Christmas was not a statutory holiday in China, so schools generally did not close.
However, with the end of the semester approaching, there weren't many classes left.
The next day, Qin Tian's class only had the first period in the morning; the other two courses had already concluded.
Upon entering the classroom, as soon as Qin Tian sat down in the seat next to Xia Nuannuan, he saw Cheng Meng in front and Shen Siqi on the other side of the aisle looking at him with strange expressions.
"What's up?"
Qin Tian asked with a puzzled look, then glanced at Xia Nuannuan inside. He saw she was gazing out the window at a forty-five-degree angle.
"Class monitor, I'd like to interview you. What's it like to receive roses and 'peace apples' from boys?"
Cheng Meng asked with a mischievous smile.
Qin Tian's expression froze.
"Pfft!"
Shen Siqi next to him couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Nuannuan?"
Qin Tian slowly turned his head and glared at Xia Nuannuan.
Xia Nuannuan pretended not to hear and kept her back to him.
Qin Tian lifted his large right hand, placed it on the back of her head, and gently rotated her towards him.
"I, I was wrong."
Xia Nuannuan feigned a pitiful expression and apologized with a blink of her large eyes.
"Don't try to act cute with me, it's useless!"
Qin Tian said with a cold face.
"What's going on? Did a guy send Brother Tian roses yesterday? Holy crap, Brother Tian is gay?"
Chen Zhuang blurted out astonishingly.
"Pfft!"
"Hahaha..."
The surrounding people burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"What? The class monitor is gay?"
"No way, no way?"
"Who's gay? The class monitor? Chen Zhuang, clarify!"
"Geez, it's Christmas today, and you drop such explosive news?"
The misunderstanding spread through the classroom like ripples in water. Both classes erupted, and disbelieving eyes were cast towards Qin Tian.
Qin Tian's entire face turned as black as the bottom of a pot, a faint killing aura emanating from him.
Chen Zhuang realized the danger, a look of terror appearing on his face.
Qin Tian moved his hand away from Xia Nuannuan's head, looked at Chen Zhuang expressionlessly, and squeezed out three words almost through his teeth.
"Chen! Da! Zhuang!"
"Brother Tian, I was wrong!"
Chen Zhuang's Adam's apple involuntarily twitched, and he conceded very submissively.
Xia Nuannuan raised her small hand, gently patted her chest with lingering fear, then opened her expressive, seemingly talking eyes wide, and watched the unfolding spectacle with great interest.
"What did you just say? Say it again."
Qin Tian said hatefully.
"I didn't say anything."
Chen Zhuang shook his head like a rattle drum.
Qin Tian remained silent, just looking at him with his imposing gaze.
"Oh, right, I just said... Brother Tian, you're a real man, you couldn't possibly be gay!"
Chen Zhuang said with a serious tone.
"Tch!!"
Shen Siqi gave him a disgusted eye-roll.
"Ugh..."
A wave of contemptuous boos rose from the students in the classroom.
"No, that's not what you said just now."
Qin Tian said with a mild expression.
"Then you must have misheard. That's exactly what I said."
Chen Zhuang replied solemnly.
"Chen Dazhuang, as expected of you, you're shameless."
Cao Mingliang chimed in with a sarcastic remark.
"Hahaha..."
Laughter erupted throughout the classroom.
"Cao thief, get lost! If you have the guts, let's go outside and settle this!"
Chen Zhuang glared, pointing outside the classroom, and shouted.
He couldn't beat Qin Tian, but he could still deal with this Cao thief, right?
"Heh, you can only act tough with me. If you have guts, be tougher and go settle it with Brother Tian!"
Cao Mingliang said with a pouting expression.
"I'm content with just acting tough with you, you idiot!"
"Trash!"
They both gave each other the middle finger.
Qin Tian, too lazy to deal with these two idiots, explained the situation yesterday to Cheng Meng.
He originally didn't intend to explain, but Chen Zhuang's sudden remark compelled him to prove he wasn't gay.
"Oh, the male student who played the shooter a few days ago? That doesn't make sense. If he liked that girl, shouldn't he want you and Xia Nuannuan to be together?"
Cheng Meng asked with a surprised expression.
"Who knows!"
Qin Tian shrugged indifferently.
"Jealousy breeds hatred, he lost his mind!"
Shen Siqi interjected.
"Makes sense!"
Cheng Meng nodded in agreement.
Qin Tian looked at Xia Nuannuan beside him again.
Xia Nuannuan shrunk her neck and winked at him mischievously.