"If you come any closer, I'll scream for help!"
"Go ahead, but too bad there's no one at home today, so scream all you want."
...
"Bang, bang..."
"Qiao Yu, get up. You promised Teacher Lan you'd go to school today."
As Qiao Xi's voice forcefully drilled into his ears, Qiao Yu suddenly opened his eyes. Oh, it was just a shameful dream.
He didn't want to talk about the people in the dream.
He picked up the phone by his pillow and glanced at it; it was already 6:40 in the morning. For third year students, the required arrival time at school was 7:30. Then there would be twenty minutes of morning reading, with classes starting at 8:00.
Being late was possible, but you'd have to go to the superintendent and write a self-critique, which was quite annoying.
He responded casually, got out of bed, and walked out of the room expressionless. He put on his school uniform and started washing up.
The phone by his hand suddenly made a "whoosh" sound.
Qiao Yu picked up the phone and glanced at it. It was a WeChat message from Xia Keke.
Keke the Invincible: "Auntie said you're going to school today. I'm coming down to meet you right now, don't take off without me! Or face the consequences."
There was also a cool emoji with sunglasses at the end.
Qiao Yu felt a bit stifled. How did this girl act like nothing happened last night?
So he replied directly: "Sorry, little girl, you're too late. I'm already at Zhang's Noodle Shop slurping up the last noodle."
The phone chimed again.
No words, just an emoji with a cold smile.
Qiao Yu quickened his pace washing up, but just as he finished wiping his face, he heard knocking on the living room door, followed by Qiao Xi's voice.
"Here to pick up Qiao Yu for school, right? Hang on, he's still brushing his teeth."
Then the voices of the two women became softer, chatting about something, followed by their pleasant laughter.
His mood inexplicably became more depressed.
Living too close had its downside—rushing down from upstairs took less than a minute, making it impossible to hide.
Wait, why should I, a grown man, hide?
Qiao Yu realized, then confidently walked out of the bathroom. The first thing he saw was Xia Keke sitting on the sofa with her backpack. The girl waved at him as if nothing had happened, greeting him.
"Good morning, big brother."
"Oh." Qiao Yu slowly poured himself a cup of cold boiled water. Just as he was about to take a sip, he heard Qiao Xi's reproachful voice: "Hurry up, you need to have breakfast with Keke. You may not fear being late, but Keke is a good student in the Rocket Class."
"Teacher Lan said I could get a guaranteed entry to Yanbei!" Qiao Yu couldn't help but retort.
"Ha... My former music teacher once said I could be a movie star!"
You can't argue with women, especially not with your own mom. Qiao Yu reminded himself internally, quickly drank his water, and obediently prepared to leave.
"Brother Qiao, aren't you taking your backpack?"
"I left it at school."
"Wow, Brother Qiao, you're awesome."
Qiao Yu found it hard to understand what was so awesome about that...
"He's awesome, my foot. Since he got into the lower class through his own antics, I haven't seen him do any homework for a whole year. Keke, keep an eye on him at school for me, remind him to pay attention to his studies."
"Don't worry, Auntie."
"Bang!" Annoyed, Qiao Yu directly shut the door. At the next moment, his hand was naturally grabbed by someone else.
"Hurry up. To celebrate your reformation starting today, I've decided to treat you to the best fresh fish noodles at the South Gate."
"What do you mean by reformation? Doing so from scratch? Keke, if you don't know how to use the words, don't misuse them."
"Hey, that's exactly what Auntie said yesterday, I'm just quoting."
Qiao Yu had nothing to say.
His hand was still being held, forcing him to quicken his pace. Wait a minute, how can this girl so naturally hold his hand?
As they exited the apartment building, the grasp on his hand naturally loosened.
Qiao Yu breathed a sigh of relief but instinctively glanced at her fair little hands, suddenly feeling an inexplicable emptiness in his heart.
Damn, he's sick, and it's not a mild case.
"Brother Qiao, are you really that good at math?"
"I'm just okay." Qiao Yu replied nonchalantly.
"I only scored 115 on last week's diagnostic math exam. I lost five points on the second question of the composite problem of functions and geometry," Xia Keke said, sounding a bit troubled.
Qiao Yu scratched his head and stayed silent.
During last week's math exam, he happened to feel sleepy, so he just slept on his desk, saving the math teacher from grading one more paper.
Scores were something top students needed to worry about. According to Qiao Yu's plan, he intended to finish his nine years of compulsory education and directly start working in society. He had already lined up work opportunities, so grades didn't really matter to him.
"So, we need to work hard together!" Not caring about Qiao Yu's lack of response, Xia Keke clenched her little fist as if cheering both of them on.
Qiao Yu knew Xia Keke's grades were usually around 640.
In Star City, this score just about crossed the A-grade line, still about twenty points shy of the requirements for the four top schools. Ideally, she could get into an A-class high school outside the top four, even if she did a bit worse, a B-class high school would still be an easy pass for her.
Of course, a stellar performance during the entrance exam might even make it to the four top schools, so five points indeed mattered to Xia Keke.
However, Qiao Yu couldn't help much.
His scattered studying method was certainly not as scientific as what the Rocket Class teachers would teach.
...
"Boss, two bowls of fresh fish noodles." At the fresh fish noodle shop near the community's South Gate, the little girl joyously called to the owner.
While Xia Keke was placing her backpack down and looking for money from the outer pocket, Qiao Yu directly pulled out his phone from his pocket, intending to pay. Qiao Yu had principles; how could he truly let the little follower who trailed after him since childhood treat him to a meal?
According to Railway First Middle School's regulations, students theoretically were not allowed to bring phones or any electronic devices to school.
But as everyone knew, school rules were meant to constrain the good students, especially in middle school.
For a hopeless student like Qiao Yu, bringing a phone was not an issue as long as he wasn't blatant about it and didn't get seen by the superintendent. The teachers wouldn't make a fuss.
But just as Qiao Yu took out his phone, a small hand suddenly reached over and snatched it away.
"I'll keep it for you. Come find me after school to get it back."
Qiao Yu looked up and glared at the girl across from him, but Xia Keke had already turned her head, placed the phone in her backpack, then pulled out thirty yuan and handed it to the owner.
"Why do you get to keep my phone?" Qiao Yu couldn't help but laugh in disbelief and scolded in a low voice.
"Because I promised Auntie I'd supervise your study." Xia Keke said, self-assuredly.
"In the Rocket Class, bringing a phone will get it confiscated!" Qiao Yu quickly thought of a reason.
"The teacher has never checked my backpack!" Xia Keke rebutted.
Qiao Yu could swear, if it wasn't for the crowd in the noodle shop, he'd definitely let this little girl know how many eyes Lord Qiao had. But in Star City, starting the day with a bowl of noodles was no joke, especially in a popular fish noodle shop, it was crowded.
Luckily, the fragrant fish noodles could cure all unhappiness.
The milky-white fish soup and delicate fish meat mixed with rice noodles exuded an alluring aroma, which, when paired with the owner's homemade pickled cabbage, was tantalizing.
However, dissatisfaction arose as they walked out of the noodle shop. When he habitually reached for his lighter and cigarettes from his pocket, they were swiftly snatched away.
This time it was even more excessive; they were tossed directly into the trash bin nearby.
Qiao Yu glanced at the wet trash can full of all sorts of leftovers, ultimately losing the urge to rescue them.
However, before he could get angry, the little girl in front of him pouted and said, "From today on, no smoking until you're an adult! If you want to smoke, wait until you're at Yanbei University!"
Qiao Yu was stunned, tugging on the corner of his mouth, suddenly reminded of last night's events, feeling inexplicably guilty.
"Then give me my phone first."
"No!"
"Stupid pumpkin, I didn't mute it. What if someone calls during class?"
"Oh, I see." Xia Keke nodded, looking earnest, then said, "Well, you unlock it with your fingerprint, and I'll set it up. Also, don't call me a stupid pumpkin or a little girl anymore!"
The proceeding process made Qiao Yu very unhappy; the little girl clutched the phone as if guarding it from a thief, only allowing him to use his fingerprint to unlock it.
The feeling of distrust was infuriating, yet he was powerless.
Because Qiao Yu did plan to trick her into giving back the phone and just run into school; once there, would this girl still dare to be so presumptuous?
Alas, the little girl who once trusted his words unequivocally had changed after all.
Why do some people become less adorable as they grow up?