Chapter 386: Too Disappointing

Li Yuan was afraid he would doze off while the call was still connected as he did not want her to hear him writhing in pain like the last time, so he could not sleep the whole night.

“It’s dawn,” Li Yuan let out a low sigh. His eyes were gentle as he looked at Shen Xi’s sweet smile on his phone. He said in a deep voice, “Go and prepare the ingredients. I want to make breakfast.”

Kun Lun respectfully answered, “Yes, sir.”

Li Yuan’s body was already weak in the first place, so it was bad for him to stay up all night. Kun Lun wondered if he should tell Shen Xi about it.

When Shen Xi got up, she heard someone knocking on the door, so she put on her jacket and hurriedly opened the door. Kun Lun came over to invite her for breakfast next door.

Toffeecito looked at Shen Xi like she was crazy because she was humming while skipping around. The kitten was afraid that Shen Xi would step on him for being too excited, so it jumped onto the table.

Shen Xi was elated and was thinking about what she should wear and what makeup she should put on. She spent a long time looking through her closet and put on some light makeup before she carried Toffeecito next door for breakfast.

This was the first time Shen Xi had a meal with Li Yuan, so she had to dress up nicely.

Li Yuan waited for her at the living room door and watched as she flew over like a happy lark, right into his heart.

Shen Xi wore a white woolen sweater with a red tweed jacket over it, which made her already cute face lovelier, like a ripe apple that made him want to take a bite.

Her hat was a little slanted and that made her look playful and endearing.

Kun Lun’s eyes also lit up. Shen Xi was beautiful, but she never usually dressed up. In winter, she would even wrap herself up into a ball.

Now that it was spring, Shen Xi finally took off her heavy down jacket and changed into slightly lighter clothes. She looked so much livelier, more youthful, beautiful, and charming.

Breakfast was already on the table waiting for her. It was not elaborated, just some eggs, sandwiches, and milk.

Shen Xi did not mind what they were going to eat as long as she could eat with Li Yuan. She was up on cloud nine that she wanted to spin in circles. Even cold water tasted sweet to her. “Brother, did you make this?”

Li Yuan took a bite of the sandwich. It did not taste very good, so he looked at her and said, “Just make do with this first. I’ll try my best next time.”

Shen Xi stuck out her thumb and smiled with arched eyes. “It’s delicious! The best and tastiest sandwich I’ve ever eaten!”

She was especially sincere in praising him. Her eyes shone like bright stars, which melted his heart and that was the most pleasant sight.

Li Yuan laughed delightedly and said in a warm voice, “Then you can eat here for the next few days.”

The girl could not cook, so when her parents were not home, she would only order take-out or eat instant noodles, which was not very healthy.

Shen Xi was waiting for him to say this. Her heart was bursting with joy, but she still had some self-restraint and only said, “Okay then!”

After breakfast, Shen Xi went to school with her backpack.

Li Yuan walked her to the door and looked at the girl. “Wait a minute.”

Shen Xi paused in her footsteps, then took two steps back and squatted to look at him.

Li Yuan took away the blanket covering his legs to reveal the red scarf underneath. He picked up the scarf and put it around her. “It’s chilly in the morning, so don’t catch a cold.”

Shen Xi took out her hands which had been hidden in her pockets and smiled as she said, “I’m not cold!”

She was wearing warm gloves.

Li Yuan looked at her gloves and smiled wider. He wrapped the scarf neatly around her neck and said warmly, “Just in case.”

“Okay.” Shen Xi complied. She reached out and covered the blanket on his lap before standing up, “Brother, I’ll get going then.”

“Take care!” Li Yuan watched as the girl reluctantly waved to him. He felt a little lost when her figure gradually disappeared. The light in his eyes also dimmed.

**

No. 4 High was calm and quiet.

The recent talk of the school was about Qi Xiu who had apparently become No. 4 High’s new idol. He was handsome, talented, and produced good songs. The rookie who had just debuted his album also served as the Music Director of Cosmos Entertainment. Apart from the three main songs, the rest of the titles in his debut album were single-handedly done by him.

Lyrics: Qi Xiu.

Song: Qi Xiu.

Arrangement: Qi Xiu.

Producer: Qi Xiu.

Guitar: Qi Xiu.

Piano: Qi Xiu.

Bass: Qi Xiu.

Harmony: Qi Xiu.

Strings: Qi Xiu.

Studio: Qi Xiu.

Mixer: Qi Xiu.

Post-production planning: Qi Xiu.

Music video shooting: Qi Xiu.

Album cover design: Qi Xiu.

The music industry’s evaluation of him was that he was a one-man team. He was a rising star and a new hope of the Chinese music industry as he possessed true talent without any need for shameless promotions and buying ingenuine fans.

The public affirmed real strength and described Qi Xiu with one word: genius.

Qi Xiu not only had talent in music, but his music video shooting skills and album cover design were also second to none.

His name resounded through the entertainment industry and he became popular throughout China. Nine out of ten stores on any street were playing his music. Those not playing were only because their store did not allow any music.

As for the pride of No. 4 High, celebrity alumnus Su Muyan, his new album had been crushed to death by Qi Xiu whether it came to popularity or album sales. He was completely defeated.

The Top Class, led by Chen Bingbing, made a bet with Shen Xi’s class earlier and refused to admit that they lost.

“Damn it! I want to see how long they’ll hold out for.” Chu Ying went to the Top Class to ask for money and returned angrily.

Shen Xi advised her. “It hasn’t even been a month yet. We’re still half a month short of the agreed date.”

Lin Ge came over and smiled mysteriously. “I’ll tell you a secret. I just heard yesterday that Chen Bingbing’s bedroom is plastered with Qi Xiu’s posters. She even secretly bought hundreds of albums to collect the freebie pictures.”

Chu Ying laughed out loud exaggeratedly. “Seriously?! F*ck, that girl defected so quickly? I thought she could hold out for a while. That’s just too disappointing…”

There were little photos that were given out as freebies for Qi Xiu’s album. Each album had two random pictures of him. All of the shots were artistic and beautiful. They were limited editions and would not be reprinted once they ran out of stock.

A lot of fans who were fond of Qi Xiu had long since started to collect these pictures. It was likened to collecting stamps and was rather addictive. Many of those who were true fanatics would be frustrated if they could not manage to collect them all.

Chapter 387: Making Waves

Due to this, Cosmos Short Vid created a new feature called “Celebrity Topics”, with stars and fans as the main focus. This was specially developed for the celebrity chasers, where fans could communicate with each other and their idols.

Once “Celebrity Topics” was released, fangirls collectively shifted their focus from Weibo to Cosmos Short Vid.

With this feature, the posts were about fans complimenting their idols, fans begging for celebrity picture cards, exchanging cards, and showing off how many picture cards were in their collections.

New cards had been constantly released but no one knew exactly how many there were.

According to their collective statistics, there were about 254 cards released thus far.

Chu Ying and Song Wenye were part of these fans who collected Qi Xiu’s cards. Song Wenye managed to get 200, but Chu Ying struggled desperately and only got 100.

“You girls are really willing to waste your family fortune just to chase an idol.” Lin Ge was impressed yet baffled at their fanaticism. “Cosmos Entertainment is really smart. They earn so much more just from this card collection.”

Chu Ying did not care about Cosmos Entertainment but only the cards. “Do you know how much Chen Bingbing has collected?”

Lin Ge muttered, “How would I know?”

Chu Ying gave him a blank look, ignored him, and ran to Shen Xi. “Xixi, do you know anyone who bought Qi Xiu’s album and doesn’t want the card? I can pay for it!”

Shen Xi was scrolling through her phone and said lazily, “You want that set of cards so badly?”

Chu Ying nodded with an enthralled expression and made a bold statement. “I’m willing to be single for one decade in exchange for that whole set of cards!”

“Then I’ll ask and see if I can get you guys a few sets.” When Shen Xi joined the planning meeting for this gimmick, the cards were intended as a surprise and reward for the fans. They also wanted to show the extra effort they put in for the fans and took more pictures of Qi Xiu during the shoot.

Shen Xi did not expect the fans would go crazy for these small photocards but this was a pleasant surprise. It increased the interactions between fans and created a solid fanbase, which raked in a lot of profits for the company.

Fans who were crazy about collecting these photocards but did not have much money would exchange them with each other or buy them separately, whereas the rich ones would just buy the albums in bulk since they were not lacking money. Then, they would remove the photocards and give those albums away in the “Celebrity Topics” group.

The card collection promoted the physical album sales, so as of now, they had exceeded five million copies, which was more than double that of Su Muyan’s album sales. Qi Xiu’s daily sales were still rising at an alarming rate and had not reached their peak yet.

Chu Ying looked at her in surprise. “Sister Xi, you can do that?! Do you know anyone in Cosmos Entertainment? Are they from management?”

“I’ll try.” Shen Xi thought to herself, ‘I am the management…’ Getting these cards was easy for her and she would willingly give them a set.

Chu Ying was so excited that she wanted to hug her.

Shen Xi pressed one finger on Chu Ying’s forehead to stop and remind her, “Class is in session…”

Chu Ying was so grateful that her eyes were misty with tears. She then ran back to her seat in delight and did not doubt that Shen Xi could get these cards for her.

This afternoon was the last training session before the National Physics Olympiad, which would start at 9:00 am tomorrow in S City.

Shen Xi and Song Wenye sat in the last row of the classroom.

Yu Qiubai sat on Shen Xi’s left and deliberately left an empty seat between them because he was afraid of being driven away by her. He folded his long legs on the table and fiddled with the pen in his hand as he asked Shen Xi. “When will your sister come to the capital?”

Shen Xi’s head remained low and she said in a cold voice, “If you need your ring urgently, I’ll ask my sister to courier it to you.”

Her uncle and aunt said they would need another week to wrap up the family business before they could come to the Capital. They were still waiting for one more payment.

“I’m not in a rush.” Yu Qiubai thought of that gentle and well-behaved girl, then asked another question, “What is your sister planning to do when she comes over?”

Shen Xi swept him a threatening glance. “It has nothing to do with you.”

Yu Qiubai looked at Shen Xi’s protective and wary face that only thought of him as a bad guy. He shrugged his shoulders indifferently and said, “Your sister is coming over to treat her eyes, right?”

Shen Xi did not pay attention to him.

Yu Qiubai sighed and thought, ‘When will I be treated the same as Pei Xu?’

The Top Class was very quiet that day. Not many people talked, even the usually arrogant Chen Bingbing who liked to pick a fight was crestfallen.

Su Ruowan looked at her phone miserably.

Chen Bingbing sat next to her and advised her, “Wanwan, don’t look. They’re all crazy and talking nonsense. Qi Xiu’s nothing and Brother Yan is still the best.”

As she said this, she thought of slapping herself in the face.

Su Ruowan smiled bitterly. “Bingbing, I just feel sorry for you guys for getting so much pressure because of me. I’ll help you girls think of a way to get the money.”

Chen Bingbing was bold. “Don’t talk about money. We’re good friends, so don’t mention it!”

‘Money? Is it called spending money if I spend it on my husband? That’s called willingly buying happiness!’

“That’s right, Wanwan. You don’t have to worry about this. We can still afford this amount.”

“You should stop worrying. Brother Yan’s strength is obvious. Qi Xiu is just lucky.”

“The songs that Qi Xiu composed himself are just average. The main thing is his music producer for his main songs. Anyone would be a hit if they hired that composer!”

A group of girls went around to console Su Ruowan. They did not mention Qi Xiu’s talent and attributed his success instead to the producer of his main songs.

In fact, they admitted that Qi Xiu’s main songs were phenomenal. Any of those songs would make an album popular all over the country. These three main songs in the same album had an explosive effect and raised Qi Xiu onto a pedestal.

Besides the music producer, Qi Xiu himself was capable too. The songs written by Qi Xiu could beat Su Muyan’s hands down.

Not to mention, the Chinese music industry was in a decline lately and needed a strong stimulant. Since Su Muyan’s debut, he had been buying a following to brainwash the public that he was the hope and rising star of the Chinese music industry.

Besides his fans and marketing accounts bragging about his strength and talent, the general public did not acknowledge his title. Professional musicians knew that he was not qualified to be the hope of the Chinese music industry.

Qi Xiu and Xixi, his main songs’ composer, came out of nowhere and made a huge splash in the music industry, creating new hope in the increasingly stagnant music scene.

The music industry’s big shots had also expressed their heartfelt hope and expectations for this new singer.

“Thanks, girls.” Su Ruowan looked at them gratefully.

Chapter 388: She Switched Sides

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Thanks, girls.” Su Ruowan looked at them gratefully.

Su Muyan, this useless piece of trash, could not even beat a mere newcomer. He was still making excuses for himself, saying that Qi Xiu was no big deal but rather it was Qi Xiu’s music producer that was talented.

The composer named Xixi had gone to their office to look for Su Muyan, wanting to work with him, but was rejected by his music director and agent. That was why he missed out on this great opportunity to be at the top of the music industry.

Su Muyan had gone crazy these days, using all means to search for Xixi but this Xixi was very mysterious. Not one bit of information could be found as if he appeared out of nowhere.

“Cheer up! Tell Brother Yan that I’ll always be his loyal fan. Qi Xiu should just go back to where he came from. No one even knows who he is..” Chen Bingbing was two-faced about this as her words did not match her actions.

Chen Bingbing was destined to only secretly like and support her husband Qi Xiu. It was miserable.

Her husband was Brother Yan’s rival, so Chen Bingbing did not want to let Wanwan and the Class President find out that she had defected. Otherwise, she would lose her friends and would not be able to stay in the Top Class.

Chen Bingbing was laying low, but Song Wenye wanted to provoke her. When she heard Chen Bingbing, she was amused and stood up to look at her. “Chen Bingbing, your Brother Yan has lost so badly, so you should admit defeat! When are you guys gonna buy 10,000 albums each?”

‘Haha! Why didn’t Chen Bingbing tell Su Ruowan that she bought Qi Xiu’s album behind her back and even collected Qi Xiu’s pictures?’

“Song Wenye, this album has only been released for ten days, and you’re too anxious. Our Brother Yan is a late bloomer, but he’ll certainly surpass Qi Xiu! Don’t be so smug!” Chen Bingbing was being stubborn.

Chen Bingbing had realized since day one after listening to Qi Xiu’s songs that Su Muyan did not stand a chance. She had already admitted defeat when she bought a thousand digital albums and called Qi Xiu her husband while staring at his posters.

It had been ten days since the release. Su Muyan’s album sales peaked on the first day and had been declining ever since, whereas Qi Xiu’s album sales had been increasing since and going strong still. None could tell when the sales were going to peak.

Solely on their physical albums, Qi Xiu had achieved more than double that of Su Muyan. Plus, Qi Xiu sold 80 million digital albums.

Qi Xiu was so popular that his fans started to collect and exchange his picture cards. His fans were everywhere on all major sites and online platforms. His songs were played on the streets and were liked by too many people.

“You’re just stubborn, right? You won’t know my power if I don’t show you what I’m capable of!” Song Wenye walked aggressively toward Chen Bingbing.

Chen Bingbing did not know what Song Wenye was doing. Song Wenye pushed her away and yanked her school bag out of her drawer. She then panicked and yelled, “Song Wenye! Are you a thug? I don’t have any money in my school bag!”

Song Wenye was much faster than Chen Bingbing. She teased Chen Bingbing by grabbing her school bag and ran to the podium. She then threw a sidelong glance at Chen Bingbing and stretched her sentence, “Who said I wanted money…?”

Chen Bingbing had a bad premonition and could not react before Song Wenye unzipped her school bag.

A few books, a makeup bag, and a few little trinkets fell on the desk. Besides these, plenty of little collector’s cards fell like snowflakes.

Song Wenye moved around violently, so those cards were scattered all around the room. The handsome young man’s face on the cards was none other than Qi Xiu.

The Top Class were dumbfounded. They looked at Chen Bingbing baffled, especially the few girls that made the bet with her. Their faces were extremely glum.

Chen Bingbing said she would stick to Su Muyan forever with her girls. She even promised that whoever defected to the other side should go to hell. The other girls had been persistent, but Chen Bingbing had surrendered and fell in love with the enemy!

Chen Bingbing’s face was ashen. She screamed in anger and felt hatred surging in her heart as she rushed to fight Song Wenye.

Song Wenye dodged her and shoved her school bag in Chen Bingbing’s face. She arrogantly looked towards Su Ruowan and said, “Are you surprised? This is your best friend!”

What bullshit friend?

It was a fake sisterhood.

Darkness flashed across Su Ruowan’s eyes. She did not expect Chen Bingbing to be so two-faced. However, Su Ruowan still smiled gently and said with much understanding, “Song Wenye, don’t try to turn us against each other. I believe Bingbing must have her reasons for doing so.”

Song Wenye was amused and laughed. “What reason would that be? She just likes Qi Xiu and has changed allegiance!”

“I… This isn’t my stuff.” Chen Bingbing had a contemptuous and disgusted gaze aimed at her like she was a traitor. She panicked and detested Song Wenye’s guts, but still defended herself stubbornly. “My cousin is Qi Xiu’s fan. She has been asking me to chase after Qi Xiu with her. Do I look like someone who will change allegiance so easily? I’ll only like Brother Yan in this life!”

After she said that, the looks she got became more complicated. She gulped and looked at Su Ruowan before explaining anxiously, “Wanwan, you have to believe me. I will always like Brother Yan.”

Su Ruowan paused for a moment, nodded, and looked at Chen Bingbing seriously. “I believe you.”

‘Why should I believe her? Her love and admiration are worthless to me,’ Su Ruowan thought.

No wonder Chen Bingbing had been acting strange recently. In the past, Chen Bingbing would be the most gung-ho in boosting Su Muyan’s sales and rankings.

Recently, Chen Bingbing had been extremely stingy that she did not even buy a single copy of Su Muyan’s album. Su Ruowan thought Chen Bingbing did not have enough money for the bet, but it turned out that all her love, passion, and money were transferred to Qi Xiu instead.

Chen Bingbing did not want to expose herself. Although she temporarily found an excuse to brush it off, no one would actually believe her. She righteously pointed to the others and said, “You girls should also empty your bags! I’m sure someone has stuffed Qi Xiu’s card with you all.”

The other girls took out their school bags and dumped the contents of their bags on the table. They only had their things and some of Su Muyan’s merchandise, nothing else.

Chen Bingbing looked bashful and cursed in frustration. “My cousin is too much. I’ll teach her a lesson when I get home!”

She found it unbelievable that her friends did not waver because Qi Xiu was good-looking and talented. Most people would love Qi Xiu after getting to know him.

Although her friends accepted Chen Bingbing’s sophistry, they had their thoughts.

Chen Bingbing chased after Qi Xiu secretly, but every day, she would praise Su Muyan and scold Qi Xiu in front of them. This kind of two-face was appalling.

Chapter 389: Die From Diabetes

Chen Bingbing felt embarrassed and slowly picked up all the collector’s cards on the ground. In order to show her loyalty that she had not switched allegiance, she tearfully threw them into the bin while cursing. “My cousin went overboard with this! I’m so angry that I’ll beat her up when I get back!”

Song Wenye walked over to stop her. “These are my idol’s pictures, so if you don’t want them, give them to me.”

Chen Bingbing’s heart was dripping blood. Only God knew how much effort she actually spent to collect these cards. She felt exasperated to give them to Song Wenye, but she also could not bear throwing them in the trash can.

After weighing the situation, Chen Bingbing finally gave them to Song Wenye. She felt like her heart was being torn apart and could not bear throwing her husband away as trash, so giving these pictures to Song Wenye was the better option.

Song Wenye returned happily with the collector’s cards and was ecstatic to have found that there were more than ten rare ones that she did not have.

Shen Xi looked at the self-conceited Top Class with a mocking smile. The best way to deal with the enemy, besides pulling the enemy to their own camp, was to cause an internal rift.

Chen Bingbing was close to a nymphomaniac and liked handsome men, similar to Song Wenye.

However, Chen Bingbing was not as strong, loyal, and righteous as Song Wenye.

Song Wenye felt Shen Xi looking at her. She suddenly thought of something and asked her sourly, “Did you promise Chu Ying to get her a set of Qi Xiu’s pictures?!”

Shen Xi gave a plain “mm”.

Song Wenye got even more jealous and questioned her. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Shen Xi said, “You didn’t ask for it!”

Song Wenye was vexed and looked at her bitterly as she said one word at a time. “I want it too!”

Shen Xi answered indifferently without raising her head, “Okay.”

Song Wenye was finally satisfied and hummed Qi Xiu’s song. She even cheered herself up by saying, “I’ll collect two sets of cards!”

Shen Xi thought, ‘I can give you ten sets if you want…’

Since this card collection was a hobby, Song Wenye would only have a sense of achievement after she gathered them by herself.

Song Wenye sorted the cards she got from Chen Bingbing and muttered, “Xixi, do you know how many cards there are in total?”

Shen Xi said, “I don’t know.”

Song Wenye pursed her lips and obviously did not believe her. She had a feeling that Shen Xi was involved in the management of Cosmos Entertainment and knew about it. Otherwise, how could Shen Xi have offered her a role in Cosmos Entertainment without even so much as an interview?

However, nothing could compare to the happiness of collecting these cards at the moment. As long as she finished the collection, Song Wenye would be the only one who had two complete sets.

Shen Xi had never been so excited to get home from school.

As soon as the school bell rang, she picked up her backpack. Even though she looked calm on the surface, her heart had already flown home. She could not wait to get back.

Song Wenye felt Shen Xi was acting a bit strange, so she hastily packed up her things and chased after her. “Xixi! Wait for me!”

Shen Xi did not wait for the bus today because she could not wait any longer, so she called a cab.

When Song Wenye wanted to tag along, Shen Xi pushed her away and gave her a sidelong glance. “Go back to your own house.”

“Your parents aren’t home. Aren’t you afraid? I’ll stay with you and keep you company!” Song Wenye looked at her intently and was about to squeeze into the car.

“I’m not alone.” Shen Xi smiled and her voice was pleased.

Song Wenye looked at Shen Xi’s eyes that were overflowing with sweetness, which made her heart melt. She suddenly realized something and said, “Toffeecito’s dad?!”

Shen Xi pushed Song Wenye out and slammed the car door shut.

Song Wenye had just found out a big secret and was extremely excited. She ran after Shen Xi’s cab. “Don’t go! Are you living with Toffeecito’s dad?”

‘It must be! Look at how sweet her smile was! Haha… I’m about to die from diabetes.”

Shen Xi did not return to her house. When she got to the door, she stopped and took a deep breath to calm her pounding heart because she ran over. She then calmly pushed the door open.

There was no one in the yard but a nice aroma drifted to her nose.

Toffeecito heard Shen Xi’s movement and rushed to her from the living room. The kitten followed her and rubbed against her legs as it meowed.

When Li Yuan came out of the kitchen with two plates of food, he saw Shen Xi carrying her school bag while holding Toffeecito in her arms.

The two cuties were coming towards him. Shen Xi’s face was a little flushed and she was panting. Her hair on her forehead was slightly wet, so she clearly ran over.

Shen Xi put down her school bag before running into the kitchen. “Brother, what do I have to do?”

The man’s back was facing her as he held two dishes and smiled. “Get the cutlery.”

Shen Xi entered the kitchen for the first time and looked around. This kitchen was evidently built to his height. Everything was new because it had been remodeled and renovated recently.

Kun Lun helped to bring out the rice cooker and glanced at the kitchen out of the corner of his eye. His expression was complicated.

Since Li Yuan broke his legs, he became rather weird. He insisted that no one was allowed to transform anything from his daily life to be disabled-friendly.

After his accident, Uncle Li took the initiative to refurbish the house to be accessible by Li Yuan so he could move around easily when he got out of the hospital.

That was the first time Li Yuan got angry with Uncle Li. He was furious and dismantled everything, reverting it to the way it was.

This insistence was Li Yuan’s last pride and dignity.

However, when Li Yuan started practicing to cook for Shen Xi, he found that it was not convenient and finally allowed the kitchen to be renovated.

After dinner, Shen Xi tried to peel apples for them, but she had horrible knife skills. The peel was either too thin or too thick. Too much of the flesh had been cut off that there was barely anything left.

Li Yuan watched with trepidation as he was afraid that Shen Xi would accidentally cut her hand. He could not stand it anymore and said, “Give it to me.”

Shen Xi shook her head and was very insistent. “I have to be independent.”

Li Yuan looked helpless as he stared at her hands. His voice was tense and said, “Be careful.”

As Shen Xi spoke, the knife in her hand suddenly slipped.

Li Yuan’s eyes widened. “Be careful!”

The knife brushed her fingertips but did not cut her. Shen Xi then looked up at him and smiled. “Don’t worry. My hand is quite steady.”

Li Yuan held his breath for a moment. He looked baffled and thought, ‘You call this a steady hand?!’

Shen Xi finally finished peeling the apple, but it looked very bumpy and weird. She admired her own masterpiece before handing it to Li Yuan with a smile. “Here, have some!”

Li Yuan looked at the girl’s proud face and took the apple she had peeled with great effort. He held it but did not know how to eat it.

Shen Xi took another apple and did not peel it. She just took a huge bite and said, “Brother, why don’t you eat the apple?”

Li Yuan bit into it and tasted the sweetness in his mouth. The apple was as sweet as her smile. The corners of his lips hooked up slightly as he said in a deep and pleasant voice, “It’s very sweet.”

Shen Xi smiled brighter like a gorgeous blooming flower. She inclined her head to look at him and said, “Brother, I have to go to S City tomorrow. I’m leaving early in the morning, so you don’t have to make breakfast for me. You don’t need to get up early either.”

Li Yuan looked at her. “Is it very early?”

Shen Xi nodded and explained, “The official exam is at 9:00 am, so I have to be in S City by 8:00 am. It’s a two-hour flight, which means I’ll have to get up at 3:30 am.”

Li Yuan said, “Alright then.”

Shen Xi was a little upset and began to complain to him about how the school leaders were being stupid. They could have gone to S City today and spent the night there so they would go into the exam energized.

The school was so inconsiderate and did not think about the students’ wellbeing. How could they fly there on the same day and take the test properly?

Li Yuan listened quietly to the girl’s grumblings as he ate the apple she peeled for him and was in a great mood.

Shen Xi was like a little hamster and ate faster than him. She soon finished her apple and got up to wash her hands, but she noticed something suddenly and sat down again with a red face.

Chapter 390: Quiet and Desolate

Shen Xi’s face was red with shame. She did not know how to get up, but if she did not, she would certainly stain the sofa.

Her period came too suddenly. When she got up, she could feel warm liquid flowing out, so her little face wrinkled as she looked at Li Yuan. “Brother, I’m sorry!”

Li Yuan looked at the girl’s sudden red face and she seemed to be embarrassed, but he had no idea what was wrong, so he rolled his wheelchair over.

Shen Xi was like a frightened bunny and pointed at him as she shouted, “D-Don’t come over!”

Li Yuan was anxious. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

Shen Xi shook her head.

Li Yuan had no clue what to do and was so anxious that his voice changed. “Tell me, what’s wrong?”

Shen Xi’s face was red as she said, “I… I just got my period…”

She then took a random thing nearby to cover her face in embarrassment.

Toffeecito was suddenly lifted as a pillow and felt dumbfounded. The kitten stared at Li Yuan in confusion and did not know what to make of this situation.

Li Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief and felt like laughing, but he did not want her to feel worse. “I’ll ask Kun Lun to buy some sanitary pads. Which brand do you want? What size?”

Shen Xi could only feel her face burning. Toffeecito was waving its limbs in resistance, so Shen Xi finally realized she grabbed the wrong pillow. She peeked from behind Toffeecito to reveal her big eyes. “I have them at home, so I’ll go by myself.”

Li Yuan nodded and said warmly, “Okay.”

Shen Xi jumped off the sofa and ran to the door. However, two steps in, Li Yuan pulled her by the arm. She felt so ashamed that she dared not look back.

It was only when she felt the man’s cool hand touching her ankle that she opened her eyes gently. Her heart was thumping for a moment.

The man bent over slightly to clasp her ankle and lift her foot one at a time with his long slender fingers to put on her slippers.

Li Yuan then said pleasantly, “Now you can go.”

Shen Xi was relieved and thought, ‘What’s the big deal? What’s there to be ashamed of? Menstruation is a natural thing…’ She then looked at the man seriously. “Brother, I’ll wash the sofa cover later.”

Li Yuan nodded. “Okay.”

Shen Xi changed her clothes and came back to his house. She threw the sofa cover into the washing machine before sitting in front of the washing machine and stared at it intently.

Li Yuan watched helplessly and dotingly as the girl sat in front of the washing machine looking as if she was on a mission. He asked, “You don’t have homework?”

Shen Xi shook her head. “No.”

Li Yuan said, “Then go to bed early. Don’t you have to get up early tomorrow?”

Shen Xi thought for a moment and shook her head. “It’s too early. I can’t sleep.”

Li Yuan said, “Then if you can’t sleep, just lie down on the bed and rest. I’ll watch the washing machine.”

Shen Xi insisted. “No.”

Kun Lun stood nearby and was baffled when he saw the two people in the laundry room. ‘It’s a fully automatic washing machine, so what is there to watch?!’

The sofa cover was also changed every day. They could just throw it out and need not go through so much trouble to clean it.

Shen Xi’s gaze was fixated on the washing machine. When it was done washing, she took the cover out to dry, before looking at him solemnly and said, “Brother, have a good rest. I’ll go back now.”

Li Yuan nodded and sent her to the door. He then smiled and said, “Don’t forget to take your stuff.”

Shen Xi turned around and saw the man holding Toffeecito while smiling at her.

Li Yuan gave her Toffeecito and said gently, “Rest well.”

Shen Xi hugged Toffeecito and nodded before she waved her hand reluctantly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” Li Yuan was still at the same place as he watched the girl enter her house. He shouted, “Lock the door!”

The girl’s soft and sweet voice sounded distant in his ears. “Okay!”

When Li Yuan returned to the courtyard and heard a sweet and soft voice calling him from the wall, he lifted his head and saw the girl poking out her small head. He looked at her helplessly and dotingly. “Go to sleep!”

Shen Xi was silent and only looked at him. The bright moonlight shone on her little face and her black eyes glimmered like stars.

Li Yuan met the girl’s expectant eyes and finally remembered what he had forgotten to say. He then said in a deep voice, “I wish you all the best for tomorrow’s exam and hope that you have a triumphant return.”

Shen Xi was finally happy and nodded contentedly. “I’ll try my best!”

Li Yuan watched as she got down from the wall and laughed out loud. His eyes and heart were tinged with joy.

The sound of the girl’s brisk footsteps soon disappeared. When he looked up again, he saw the lights on the second floor. Since the curtains were not drawn, he could see her silhouette.

He sat in the courtyard until the lights in her room were turned off before going back inside.

Since Shen Xi was young, she would have period cramps. Yun Jinping would usually boil some brown sugar water and fill a warm water pouch for Shen Xi, but this time, no one was home.

Shen Xi put Toffeecito on her stomach to act as a heater.

Toffeecito was well-behaved and obediently nestled on Shen Xi’s belly. The plush warmth was even more comfortable than the hot pack.

Right before dawn, Shen Xi crawled out of her warm covers, washed her face, packed up, and went out with her school bag.

When she got to the courtyard, she glanced next door and felt a little disappointed when she saw that it was dark everywhere.

People were strange creatures. Shen Xi felt bad for Li Yuan and did not want him to get up so early so that he could rest more.

However, she felt a little sad and lost when there was no action from him.

This was the coldest time of the night during spring. The wind was a little strong and it was drizzling, but Shen Xi did not bother to take an umbrella and only put on her hat when she went out of the house.

The only light was the street light near the door. At this time of the day, everyone was asleep, so it felt very quiet and desolate. A sudden gust of wind blew over, which made her shiver.

After she locked the door, she stood at the door for a while before she turned around to leave. Shen Xi was all alone, and her shadow was elongated by the street light.

There was a black car not far away.

Li Yuan was sitting in the car and watched as the girl stood at the door, looking towards his house. Her lonely appearance ached his heart.

When the girl finally left, he instructed Kun Lun. “Follow her.”

Li Yuan could not rest assured knowing she was leaving by herself in the middle of the night.

Shen Xi heard the sound of a car engine behind her and frowned. ‘Who would get up so early in the middle of the night?!’