Tang Qiqi placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “You’re stronger than you think, Qianchi. You don’t have to let him get to you.”
Xia Qianchi looked up, her eyes searching Tang Qiqi’s face. “But it’s hard. No matter how much I try to brush it off, it always lingers.”
“Then let’s tackle it together,” Tang Qiqi said firmly. “I won’t let him bring you down.”
Xia Qianchi managed a small smile, grateful for her friend’s support. “Thank you, Qiqi. I really appreciate it.”
Together, they stood in the quiet of the maple forest, letting the moment and their friendship bring them solace.
She wanted to tell her everything but didn’t know where to start. Should she tell Qiqi that her brother actually kissed her? No, no! She couldn’t say something so embarrassing! She couldn’t imagine Qiqi’s reaction!
“Tell me, Qianchi!”
“Sorry, Qiqi, I… I don’t know how to tell you.”
Another self-study class.
Except for the rustling of pages turning, the classroom was so quiet that even a pin dropping would be audible. Tang Qiqi lay on her desk, boringly flipping through the school magazine. Originally, as a senior high school student, she should have been studying hard like other classmates. However, her nerves, already stretched to the limit, wouldn’t allow her to do so. From some unknown point, her life had become nothing but books and studying – she even dreamed of memorizing English vocabulary. If this continued, she wondered if she could survive until the college entrance exam.
She glanced at the empty seat beside her and unconsciously sighed.
Qian Qi was on sick leave.
She wondered what terrible thing that demon Xing Tuo had done to her. Something significant must have happened to make the usually calm Qian Qi lose her composure like that. Tang Qiqi racked her brain but couldn’t figure it out.
