Chapter 1: Why Isn’t the Boyfriend Nodding?

‘Wen Qi, that liar, is always deceiving me. I know this state should probably end, but I’d rather it continue. Once it stops, I’m not sure what I’ll do.’

— From “Wei Qingxuan’s ‘Being Deceived’ Diary”

****

In the height of June’s blazing summer, heat waves rose from the asphalt, and the ginkgo leaves along the roadside were scorched until their edges curled.

Holding an umbrella, Wen Qi walked along with her lotus-pink short sleeves clinging to her body, beneath denim shorts revealing long, well-proportioned, fair legs that looked almost overexposed under the sunlight.

She lowered her head, pulled out her phone, and stared at the string of pickup codes on the screen, casually scrolling up and down.

“Tsk!”

She spotted a package she had no memory of ordering.

The courier station entrance was crowded with people coming and going.

Wen Qi stepped aside, preparing to take a closer look at the package.

“Wen Qi! Is that you? You’re here to pick up packages too?” a boy beside her shouted loudly.

His expression was exaggerated, as if running into Wen Qi here was something astonishing.

Wen Qi rolled her eyes.

This was the only courier station near the old tube-style apartment building, if she didn’t pick up packages here, where else would she go?

Five hundred meters east of the courier station stood an old tube-style apartment building, worn with age.

In most places, hardly anyone would still live in such a building, yet this one was packed full.

The reason was simple: it had good luck.

It was close to No. 1 High School.

In Zhi’an City, the two most famous high schools were No. 1 High School and No. 3 High School, located in the east and west of the city respectively.

As long as you got into either one, it was basically like stepping halfway through the gates of university.

Parents in Zhi’an City firmly believed this.

So they pulled every connection possible to send their children there.

Naturally, the tube-style apartments near No. 1 High School became highly sought after.

Especially for students like Wen Qi, who disliked boarding school.

No, she was a graduate now.

She had just finished the college entrance exam a few days ago.

Qi Junnan paid no mind to Wen Qi’s eye-roll.

After casually saying a few words to someone beside him, he jogged over to her.

“Are you moving back home soon? I can help you move!”

The previous year’s top scorer had lived here, so as soon as the exams ended, the apartments were snapped up like crazy, some had even been reserved a year in advance.

These days, graduates moving out could be seen everywhere.

“No need, thanks,” Wen Qi replied coolly.

Qi Junnan grew even more enthusiastic.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about bothering me, I’m doing it voluntarily. I’ve been helping classmates move lately anyway, moving one is moving, moving two is the same.”

“What floor do you live on?”

“When are you planning to move?”

Annoyed by Qi Junnan’s pestering, Wen Qi turned off her phone screen and headed straight into the courier station.

Just who sent her a package without telling her?

As soon as she moved, Qi Junnan followed her inside.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you find me annoying?”

“Yeah,” Wen Qi answered lazily, wondering if she hadn’t been obvious enough already.

Qi Junnan widened his eyes in disbelief.

“You really find me annoying?”

Wen Qi stopped searching for her package.

Just then, someone passed by carrying a single item, yet still bumped into her arm, scraping it painfully.

She was about to step forward and demand an explanation.

But Qi Junnan suddenly grabbed the spot where she’d been scraped.

Hiss…

She sucked in a breath from the pain.

Qi Junnan didn’t notice.

“Why do you find me annoying?”

He hadn’t done anything that should make her hate him, right?

Was it just because he pursued her too actively, to the point that the whole class knew, and people would tease whenever he got close to her?
But that wasn’t something he could control.

Wen Qi forcefully pulled her arm free and stared at him coldly, her tone dropping.

“You’d better learn the difference between pursuing someone and harassing them.”

After she had clearly rejected him, he still kept sending her junk messages, even digging up her social media accounts to stalk her daily, claiming it was to understand her better.

To hell with that.

Wen Qi wasn’t impressed, she only found it disgusting.

“You think I’m harassing you?” Qi Junnan shouted.

“I’m clearly trying so hard to pursue you!”

His voice was loud enough that many people in the courier station stopped and looked over.

“Graduation season is breakup season!”

“What breakup? Didn’t you hear him say he’s chasing her?”

“Oh, looks like a simp.”

“Do you even know who she is?”

“Who?”

“Wen Qi, our school’s super pretty one, almost on par with celebrities. No, she is No. 1 High’s celebrity. You’ve seen her at the flag-raising ceremony plenty of times.”

“No wonder he’s simping. A toad dreaming of eating swan meat.”

“Hahaha…”

The chatter made Qi Junnan’s face flush red.

Wen Qi, however, ignored it all, she only cared about her package.

She bent down and picked up the heavy parcel.

‘So heavy!!!’

Wen Qi immediately abandoned the idea of picking up her other packages.

Flipping it over, she glanced at the shipping label and saw a familiar name.

“Wei Qingxuan,” Wen Qi murmured softly.

How strange, after three years of no messages or calls, he thought to send her a package first.

Qi Junnan happened to hear the name.

It was clearly a guy’s name, and Wen Qi spoke it in a tone he’d never heard before, gentle, tinged with nostalgia.

He frowned.

“You have a boyfriend?”

Wen Qi chuckled casually.

“Yeah.”

Seeing Qi Junnan freeze, she added, “A childhood sweetheart, at that.”

Having a boyfriend didn’t mean they couldn’t break up!

As long as he liked Wen Qi, even a past boyfriend didn’t matter.

That thought flashed through Qi Junnan’s mind instantly, shocking even himself.

After scanning the code and leaving the courier station, Qi Junnan still followed behind.

Wen Qi walked too fast for him to speak again, so in his hurry, he grabbed her arm once more.

The last shred of Wen Qi’s patience snapped.

“Get lost.”

She turned impatiently and elbowed him in the chest, venting her anger and issuing a warning with full force.

Qi Junnan stumbled back repeatedly, a dull pain blooming in his chest.

Wen Qi issued her final warning.

“I’m telling you, if you get that close to me again, I’ll beat you until your face is swollen and bruised.”

Qi Junnan had never seen a girl like her before.

Once, during a school assembly announcing students who’d gotten into a fight, there was a row of boys on the flag platform, and Wen Qi, the only girl.

She delivered her self-criticism openly and calmly.

“Hello everyone, I’m Wen Qi. I’m here to reflect on beating up classmate Zhang Qiming last week. But before that, I’d like to explain why I beat him.”

“From the start of the semester until last week, Zhang Qiming had been extorting protection money from three younger female students.”

“…”

“When it comes to fighting, please take me as a warning and don’t act so impulsively. But when it comes to protecting younger students, you can take me as a role model.”

Cheers erupted below the platform, some even applauded, making the principal furious.

But considering Wen Qi’s intentions, she ultimately wasn’t given a demerit.

That was when Qi Junnan remembered her.

Wen Qi.

Cocky enough.

Cool enough.

And intense enough.

Wen Qi lived on the third floor, right next to the room once occupied by the previous year’s top scorer.

Many parents came hoping to bask in some “immortal aura.”

It was said the room still hadn’t been rented out, the landlord planned to let the highest bidder win.

Wen Qi scoffed at this.

If that “aura” worked, she’d lived here for a year, sharing a wall, she should’ve absorbed some too.

If she got into Chengyu University, she wouldn’t mind coming back to burn a couple sticks of incense next door.

When she reached her door, many people were crowding around the neighboring unit, probably there to view the apartment.

Wen Qi glanced once and withdrew her gaze, pulling out her key to go inside.

Among the crowd, a pair of eyes lingered on Wen Qi’s door.

The room wasn’t small, but after being piled with all sorts of clutter, it felt cramped.

Wen Qi didn’t really care, she lived alone anyway.

Ring ring ring!

Her phone suddenly rang.

Setting the package down, Wen Qi washed her hands, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder.

“Hello.”

A woman’s voice came through, older, tinged with reproach.

“Qiqi, are you really not coming to England with Mom? Uncle Zhang has always hoped the two of you would get along better.”

“He really cares about you.”

Cares?

Wen Qi couldn’t help laughing.

“What are you laughing at?” Li Yu asked.

“Mom, you really sound happy right now.”

So happy that some things could be selectively ignored.

Her parents divorced when she was in middle school.

Her father went abroad, and she stayed with her mother.

In her first year of high school, her mother remarried.

From then on, Wen Qi boarded at school, rarely going home.

In her second year, she suddenly had a so-called younger brother.

The atmosphere at home was strange and silent.

Wen Qi knew it was because of her.

When she wasn’t around, they were a real family of three, happy and harmonious, just like the family in her memories.

Li Yu repeated every day that she loved Wen Qi and her brother equally, yet still had Wen Qi move out of the place called home.

Boarding in first and second year.

Living in the tube-style apartments in third year.

During the most crucial three years, she had always been alone.

Last month, Li Yu had suggested that Wen Qi could travel with her during the summer after the exams.

Yesterday, she called again to say they’d booked a trip to England and asked if Wen Qi wanted to join, just in time.

Just in time…

Wen Qi mulled over the phrase.

It didn’t seem timely at all.

She already had plans for this summer.

Li Yu asked what plans.

Wen Qi laughed over the phone and said it wasn’t something she needed to worry about.

Li Yu hung up angrily.

Wen Qi hadn’t expected her to call again, after all, in Li Yu’s eyes, this was already a concession.

But Wen Qi had no interest in recording the happiness of someone else’s family of three.

“Thanks for your concern, but I really do have plans. I’m not the kind of person who breaks promises.”

Li Yu hung up angrily again.

Wen Qi pulled a utility knife from under the coffee table and tossed her phone casually onto the sofa, too lazy to think further.

Where fate led, she would follow, she never forced things.

She nudged the package upright and sliced through the tape.

Now she finally understood why it was so heavy.

Just the top layer alone had four books.

A dark line crossed Wen Qi’s face, but she patiently kept digging.

The items below were far less “old-fashioned.”

Snacks.

Notebooks.

At the very bottom was a carefully wrapped box, its contents hidden.

Not wanting to ruin the packaging, Wen Qi grabbed the knife again.

When she opened it, she found the latest model smartphone inside.

Another dark line crossed her face.

Wei Qingxuan always went big with gifts, how was she supposed to return the favor later?

She was pretty short on cash right now.

She was about to call the number on the shipping label.

But Xiang Weishi’s call came in first.

“What is it?” Wen Qi frowned.

“Oh my god. You promised to come drinking, everyone’s here except you and Xie Hejing. Could you at least be punctual?”

Hearing that, Wen Qi glanced out the window.

At some point, night had already fallen.

“Got it. I’m coming now.”

Calling Wei Qingxuan would have to wait.

Wen Qi snapped a photo of the shipping label, planning to ask later, time was tight.

She casually draped a jacket over her arm.

In canvas shoes, no jewelry, her slender neck pale as jade.

The loose white T-shirt fluttered in the wind, revealing a faint glimpse of her waistline.

Wen Qi lowered her head, casually knotted one corner of the shirt and tucked it into her denim shorts.

As the bar doors opened, deafening drumbeats rushed toward her.

The doorman stamped her wrist with a pale blue vine-flower mark.

“Please.”

As she bent and slipped through the crowd, a strip of cool, fair skin flashed at her lower back before being covered again.

Xiang Weishi and the others were seated in the innermost booth.

The booths were divided into two groups, those playing games and those drinking.

She knew everyone there, but had no interest in games tonight.

After greeting them, she went to find Xiang Weishi.

“Where’s Xie Hejing? Didn’t he come?”

She scanned the area and tossed her jacket onto the sofa.

Xiang Weishi shrugged.

“Nope. He’s been acting like he lost his soul lately.”

“If he lost it, why didn’t you help him find it?” Wen Qi laughed.

Xiang Weishi quickly mixed a drink and slid it in front of her.

“So what, I’ve gotta moonlight as a shaman too?”

Wen Qi took a sip, it was sour, then pushed it back, signaling him to redo it.

“With your talent, you could go full-time.”

“…”

“His soul followed Nan Xu overseas. No way to get it back.”

Xiang Weishi did have some talent for bartending, just not much.

But he was enthusiastic despite being bad.

Whenever they went out, he was usually the one mixing drinks.

Tonight, Wen Qi was in a rare leisurely mood and sampled many of his experimental concoctions.

Under Xiang Weishi’s expectant gaze, she delivered her verdict in two words.

“Terrible.”

So angry he wanted to strangle her.

“Wen Qi, Xiang Weishi, stop just drinking, come play!” someone called from nearby.

“I just learned a fun new game.”

“Going?” Xiang Weishi asked.

Wen Qi shook her head, pulling out her phone from her jacket.

“You guys play. I’m going to make a call.”

“Sure thing, busy lady.”

Too lazy to banter, Wen Qi found a relatively quiet spot and dialed the number from the shipping label.

The call connected quickly.

“Hello,” Wen Qi spoke first.

But there was no sound on the other end.

She glanced at the screen to confirm the call hadn’t dropped, then said, “You’d better tell me you know who I am.”

On the other end, Wei Qingxuan was idly turning over a photo in his hand.

A little girl smiling at a little boy.

A red X had been drawn over the boy’s head.

When Wei Qingxuan’s gaze fell on it, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He wanted to tear that half off, but feared damaging the other half.

In the end, he endured the boy’s presence, his thumb brushing over the girl’s crescent-shaped smiling eyes.

That was Wen Qi in her childhood.

So well-behaved.

He chuckled softly.

“What?”

The bar’s sudden cheers drowned out Wei Qingxuan’s voice.

Thinking he’d said something, Wen Qi repeated herself.

“I know.”

Wei Qingxuan’s voice was cool and clear, just like him.

Unruffled by nature, no storm could stir even a ripple in his heart.

Since Wei Qingxuan moved away, this was their only call in three years.

If Wen Qi didn’t know there was nothing between them, she’d really think this felt like exes talking on the phone.

Familiar, yet distant.

“Why did you suddenly send me a package? And even a phone, that’s expensive.”

Someone passed by.

Wen Qi turned sideways and covered the receiver, unsure if Wei Qingxuan had spoken just now.

“Miss me?” she asked with a smile.

She’d always liked teasing Wei Qingxuan.

Watching someone so aloof get flustered was endlessly entertaining.

Wei Qingxuan’s gaze remained glued to her photo.

Perhaps from frequent handling, even though he’d preserved it carefully, the edges had yellowed and creased.

He thought he should replace it.

With a recent photo of Wen Qi.

Smiling.

Eyes holding only him.

“Mm.”

The answer was absurdly brief.

Wen Qi froze, doubting her ears.

“You really miss me?”

Wei Qingxuan went silent.

What was going on?

Wen Qi couldn’t quite process it.

She even suspected Wei Qingxuan had been waiting for her call.

Otherwise, how could he answer an unfamiliar number so quickly?

She named the bar.

“Then… want to meet?”

Before Wei Qingxuan could answer, she hung up.

She wasn’t giving him the chance to refuse.

When Wen Qi returned to the booth, they were playing 789.

Xiang Weishi, a black hole for games, had already been forced to drink several cups.

She stepped in and immediately got everyone else drunk, prompting complaints that she must be cheating with the dice.

Why was it always them drinking?

Wen Qi shrugged, saying being too good was also a burden.

Time flew by as she played with gusto.

Without realizing it, several people had gathered around the booth.

When Qi Junnan spotted Wen Qi, he could hardly believe it.

They’d run into each other again so soon.

Another man from the neighboring booth had been drawn by the lively atmosphere.

When he focused his gaze, he spotted Wen Qi, a beauty, and scanned the people around her.

Seeing she was playing, he politely didn’t interrupt.

Only when Wen Qi stopped and took a sip of her drink did he step forward.

Qi Junnan waited for the man to be shut down, he’d experienced it many times himself.

But he didn’t know what the man said; Wen Qi actually took out her phone, flipped the screen, and showed it to him.

The sight made Qi Junnan gape.

He completely forgot Wen Qi’s warning.

Walking up, he pointed at her with his index finger, wearing a betrayed expression.

“You-!”

Wen Qi narrowed her eyes, tempted to snap that finger.

But someone beat her to it.

“How dare you point at her?”

The newcomer’s voice was calm.

A well-defined hand clasped Qi Junnan’s finger and bent it downward, inch by inch.

The movement looked casual, yet Qi Junnan let out a strangled cry of pain.

“Who the hell are you?”

Seeing him clearly, Wen Qi’s eyes lit up.

“Wei Qingxuan.”

He wore a black shirt, bangs swaying lightly.

His eyes were cold at the corners, Adam’s apple taut, his grip unrelenting.

Qi Junnan’s face twisted in pain.

Only when it seemed sufficient did Wen Qi speak.

“Wei Qingxuan, stop.”

No matter how Qi Junnan cried out, nothing worked like those words.

Wei Qingxuan slowly released his finger, then took a tissue from his pocket and wiped the fingertips that had touched him.

Qi Junnan wanted to curse, but when he met Wei Qingxuan’s gaze, his whole body shuddered.

He was certain, if Wen Qi hadn’t told him to stop, this man really would’ve snapped his finger.

Wait-

Recalling Wen Qi’s earlier address, Qi Junnan blurted out,

“You’re Wei Qingxuan?”

“Mm.”

Wei Qingxuan nodded, tossing the tissue into a nearby trash can.

So-so, really.

Just a bit handsome.

A bit strong.

Unwilling to give up, Qi Junnan sized him up.

“You’re Wen Qi’s boyfriend?”

Wei Qingxuan’s movement stalled.

He looked at Wen Qi.

In that instant of eye contact, ripples slowly surfaced in his pitch-black eyes. Like the tremor before a massive creature breaks the surface.  Yet his exterior remained cold and controlled.

Wen Qi tilted her head, a smile spreading from the corner of her eyes.

“Why isn’t the boyfriend nodding?”