"It's fine, I trust her. Her name is Han Qianqian, she's also from China and in the same class as me," Qin Yuxing said, gesturing for her to walk along the right side.
Xiaoxiao nodded and quickened her pace.
Qin Yuxing watched her figure gradually disappear, then grabbed the girl and quickly ran towards the low wall they could climb over.
Han Qianqian's face flushed when he suddenly grabbed her hand. She ran with him, feeling as if the night air itself was sweet.
Qin Yuxing ran too fast, and she struggled to keep up. She called out, "Qin Yuxing! Slow down, we're almost there. Let me lead the way."
He stopped then, realizing he had grabbed Han Qianqian's hand in his haste. He quickly let go and said, "Then you go ahead, and hurry. Xiaoxiao will get there first and will be scared if she can't hear us."
Han Qianqian caught her breath and immediately took the lead, asking, "Your sister's name is Xiaoxiao? That's a festive name. She speaks Chinese quite well and has a Chinese name. It seems she really is your sister. Are you also of mixed heritage?"
She spoke a lot, but received no response from Qin Yuxing. She turned to see if he was still there, only to bump into him following closely behind her.
Han Qianqian cried out in pain, clutching her forehead, "Heavens, why are you following so closely? And not saying anything, are you trying to scare me to death?"
Qin Yuxing hadn't expected her to stop and turn so suddenly. His chin hit her forehead hard, and he winced in pain, covering his chin and saying coldly, "What exactly do you want? Can't you even walk properly?"
"I was talking, why weren't you saying anything?" Han Qianqian retorted.
"Noisy," Qin Yuxing replied impatiently.
Just then, they faintly heard Xiaoxiao's voice from outside the wall not far away, "Brother Xingxing, are you guys inside?"
Qin Yuxing hurried towards the sound and replied, "We're here." He then quickly asked Han Qianqian, "Is this the wall?"
"No, a little further ahead," Han Qianqian said, moving ahead.
Qin Yuxing quickly called out to the wall, "Xiaoxiao, keep going forward. Stop when we tell you to."
"Okay."
They walked a short distance further. This section of the wall was indeed lower, and the streetlights were dim.
Han Qianqian quickly said, "It's here. I'll climb out and bring your sister in."
Saying this, Han Qianqian went to move a nearby stone to use as a step to climb the wall.
Qin Yuxing stopped her, "Wait for me here. I'll go help Xiaoxiao climb over."
He stepped onto the stone and agilely climbed over the wall.
Han Qianqian stared, amazed. She hadn't expected this top student to be so athletic, in addition to being good at studying. She herself always had to put in a lot of effort to climb this low wall, and sometimes even sprained her ankle.
After climbing over, Qin Yuxing finally saw Xiaoxiao. He ruffled her hair and asked, "After I left, did your father give you a hard time? Did Uncle An Jing think of a way to take you back?"
"I'm not going back with him," Xiaoxiao said, tears welling up in her eyes. She threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly, "Brother Xingxing, I missed you so much. I just want to be with you. Can we just rely on each other from now on?"
Qin Yuxing was stunned. He had also thought about being with her forever, protecting her always. But being held by her like this, feeling her warmth, stirred his heart, and he didn't know what to say or do.
"Qin Yuxing! What are you guys doing outside the wall? Hurry up, it'll be bad if the patrolling teacher finds us!"
"Oh, okay." Qin Yuxing snapped back to reality, responding to Han Qianqian inside the wall. He straightened Xiaoxiao and said, "Let's get into the school first. You can stay at Han Qianqian's dorm tonight. I'll figure out a place for you tomorrow."
Xiaoxiao wiped her tears and nodded.
Qin Yuxing squatted down and let her step on his shoulders to climb over.
Having often climbed walls and crawled through holes when she lived in the castle, this low wall was no problem for her. She skillfully climbed over.
Han Qianqian prepared to catch her, extending her hands, but it was unnecessary. Seeing her land nimbly on the stone, she couldn't help but marvel, "They really are siblings."
Qin Yuxing quickly climbed back over. The three of them then carefully left the area and reached the sports field, where the light was finally brighter.
"Xiaoxiao, come back to my dorm with me," Han Qianqian said, pulling her along.
Xiaoxiao, however, pulled her hand away. She didn't want to be too familiar with her and asked, "How did you know my name is Xiaoxiao?"
"I heard your brother call you," Han Qianqian replied with a smile.
Xiaoxiao then shook her off and grabbed Qin Yuxing's hand, asking, "Brother Xingxing, why can't I go to your dorm? Isn't your dorm also a single room?"
Qin Yuxing's face turned red again. Before he could answer, Han Qianqian replied for him, "Your brother has a single room, but the building he lives in is all male dorms. The administrators won't let girls in."
"Right," Qin Yuxing echoed. Feeling embarrassed about holding her hand, he gently pulled his hand away and said, "You must be tired from coming all this way to find me. Go with Han Qianqian to the girls' dorm and get some rest early."
Xiaoxiao noticed a red mark on Brother Xingxing's chin, and that Han Qianqian's forehead also had a red patch. It was clear that Brother Xingxing's chin had bumped against Han Qianqian's forehead.
Did they... embrace each other inside the wall?
Xiaoxiao imagined the scene and felt even more uncomfortable. She asked, "Brother Xingxing, what happened to your chin?"
"It's nothing, I just bumped it while climbing the wall," Qin Yuxing mumbled.
Xiaoxiao looked back at Han Qianqian, who was covering her forehead and smiling at her, "Come on, Xiaoxiao, it's almost lights out. You can tell your brother anything tomorrow."
Seeing that Brother Xingxing wasn't keeping her back, Xiaoxiao could only smile and followed Han Qianqian to the girls' dorm.
Qin Yuxing watched their retreating figures. The knot in his heart that had been there since his parents brought him back to school from the castle had finally loosened. He felt an indescribable joy.
Xiaoxiao had finally escaped her father. From now on, he could always take care of her and never be separated from her again.
Qin Yuxing happily jumped on the sports field and even let out a "Yeah!" by himself.
Xiaoxiao followed Han Qianqian to the girls' dorm. When they entered her room, she saw that it was large and spacious, completely unlike what she had imagined a dorm to be.
Han Qianqian's single room had everything, decorated in a pink theme favored by girls.
There was a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, and balcony. The renovation and decoration were luxurious, truly befitting a renowned aristocratic school.
Xiaoxiao looked at Han Qianqian, who was beautiful, lively, and had a good figure – the kind of girl everyone liked. She felt both envy and jealousy.
Han Qianqian, seeing that Xiaoxiao was alone and had no luggage, said, "You can wear my pajamas. Take a bath and then you can sleep. However, you'll have to sleep on the sofa tonight. This sofa is very comfortable. Don't believe me? Try lying on it."
She enthusiastically pulled Xiaoxiao to sit on the sofa and patted it, saying, "When I unfold it, it's no different from a bed."