Chapter 105 - 104: Pei Xuan Chasing to Kill, Little Girlfriend
Chapter 105: Chapter 104: Pei Xuan Chasing to Kill, Little Girlfriend
Xie Qingshi’s gaze turned cold as he said icily, "Does Young Master Pei have nothing better to do all day than spy on me?"
He had only been in the hospital for about ten minutes, yet Pei Xuan already knew. It was clear that he was being monitored very closely. Naturally, he couldn’t hide his visit to Jianghuai High School from Pei Xuan, nor had he intended to. After all, Pei Xuan had always been the sponsor of Jianghuai High School’s financial aid program. That was why he had used a campus tour as an excuse to have the vice principal take him to see Shi Changying.
"Of course I do, which is why I only have the time now." Pei Xuan raised his voice over the phone. "Besides, how is keeping an eye on you not an important matter?"
Xie Qingshi’s expression remained glacial. He let out a soft, mocking chuckle. "It’s truly a pity you didn’t become a paparazzo."
Pei Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as his smile faded. "Xie Qingshi, what’s wrong? Did you get diagnosed with a terminal illness? Are you dying? Is that why you’re throwing such a huge temper?"
He knew Xie Qingshi too well. Being blinded by his own biological mother’s poison was an incident that loomed over his entire life like a dark storm cloud. What he could not obtain in his youth, he still could not obtain in adulthood. This caused Xie Qingshi to develop an incredibly quiet temperament. However, beneath that quietness lay not cowardice or timidity, but a storm brewing from the precipitation of time.
It had been a long time since Pei Xuan had seen Xie Qingshi so enraged.
The last time was when Empress Qingyun, who had just ascended the throne, demanded that he alter the procedures of a major ceremony according to her whims and replace several ceremonial officials just days before the event. In response, he chose to resign immediately, stepping down from his position as Minister of the Ministry of Rites. One couldn’t blame Xie Qingshi for his fury; he had meticulously prepared for half a year, only to be told at the last minute to make sweeping changes that would discard their long-standing traditional culture. Afterward, Empress Qingyun sincerely expressed her apologies, but Xie Qingshi still returned to Linsu.
What was the reason this time?
"Think whatever you want," Xie Qingshi replied. Unwilling to exchange another word with Pei Xuan, he hung up.
He furrowed his brows and turned his head to look down the corridor, where Shaoyuan was standing with the medical examination forms.
The young man stood tall and slender amidst the interplay of light and shadow, his head tilted slightly as he watched the crowd coming and going. Yet, it was clear that his eyes held no one. They reflected only the neon lights outside the window, shimmering in his pupils like a brilliant galaxy.
Xie Qingshi reflected that the era four hundred years ago had produced a generation of exceptional leaders, all of whom were merely teenagers of seventeen or eighteen. If this young man had been born four centuries ago, given Shi Changying’s temperament, she surely would have gone to recruit him in person.
Despite the distance of over a dozen meters between them, Shaoyuan seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up.
Xie Qingshi gave a slight nod before turning to leave. His top priority was to first deal with the restless variable that was Pei Xuan.
Shaoyuan withdrew his gaze and waited quietly for Shi Changying to emerge from the examination room.
An hour passed.
After undergoing a series of cardiac tests, Shi Changying was wilted once again.
She sat expressionlessly on the chair, staring at the doctor’s bald head. She wondered, "Can modern medicine really not even cure hair loss?"
"There are no problems. You are very healthy, though you still need to supplement your nutrition properly," the doctor said earnestly. "Little girl, your body is far too weak. That simply won’t do. You are the flower of our nation, after all."
"I don’t want to be one anymore," Shi Changying said. "Just snip me off."
The doctor was left speechless.
Why were kids nowadays all so stubborn and full of defiance?
The doctor could only hand the prescription to Shaoyuan, who was standing nearby, and instruct him, "Young man, you must make sure your little girlfriend eats well. Only with a full stomach will she have the energy to do anything else. She is at the age where she is still growing. Do not let her go on a diet just to pursue a slim figure!"
Shaoyuan took the prescription and replied casually, "Mhm, I will talk to her."
He turned and was about to leave, only to see Shi Changying still staring at the doctor’s head. "Aren’t you leaving?"
"You need to eat more, too. That way, you can grow some hair," Shi Changying told the doctor. She then followed Shaoyuan out, leaving the doctor sitting there, dumbstruck.
After quite a while, the doctor finally reached up to touch his bald head, plunging himself into deeper sorrow.
The evening breeze blew gently, and the moon broke through the clouds.
Shi Changying used her last ten yuan to treat Shaoyuan to a cup of lemonade. She bought one for herself as well, suddenly asking, "Girlfriend is girlfriend, but why did he have to add the word ’little’?"
Shaoyuan paused his movements and asked with an ambiguous tone, "What do you think ’girlfriend’ means, Miss?"
Shi Changying replied, "An abbreviation for female friend. Is there a problem with that?"
She had been constantly learning new vocabulary from four hundred years in the future, as the meanings of some words were entirely different from how they had been during the Xuan Dynasty.
"From a literal standpoint, there is no problem. However, nowadays, ’girlfriend’ specifically refers to a female partner, emphasizing a romantic relationship," Shaoyuan explained unhurriedly. "Do you know what the word means now, little girlfriend?"
Shi Changying looked thoughtful. "Chinese culture is truly profound and extensive."
She had learned something new again.
Shaoyuan said flatly, "Don’t just use words carelessly."
Her phone vibrated. Shi Changying quickly finished her lemonade before unlocking the screen.
[Thank You]: I have an urgent matter to deal with. Wait for me.
[Only I am the first]: Go do your thing. Don’t delay your own affairs because of me.
Seeing this reply, Xie Qingshi spaced out for a moment.
When she had come to Linsu to recruit him as a court official back then, her methods could only be described as ruthless. She gave off an intense aura that suggested she would simply kill him if he refused. Yet, once he actually became the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, she gave him ample freedom.
SCREECH—
The ear-piercing screech of brakes pulled Xie Qingshi back from his old memories. He lowered his eyelashes, his expression impassive as he watched the car window roll down.
Pei Xuan’s flamboyant face appeared before him, sporting his signature smirk. "You look quite energetic. Could it be that your brain scan revealed a problem?"
Xie Qingshi didn’t speak. Instead, he walked around to the other side, pulled the door open, and sat in the passenger seat. He buckled his seatbelt before speaking calmly, "Pei Xuan, you probably don’t want tomorrow morning’s headline to be me suing you for invading my privacy, do you?"
Pei Xuan’s smile vanished. "Xie Qingshi, what do you mean by that?"
He stared straight ahead, catching a glimpse of Xie Qingshi’s icy eyes through the rearview mirror.
"It means that if you keep spying on me, I won’t mind leaking this matter to the Pei family’s rivals." Xie Qingshi offered a faint smile. "I imagine there are people who would be very interested."
ROAR—
The moment those words fell, the car suddenly accelerated out of nowhere. It practically rampaged forward, catching people completely off guard.
Xie Qingshi remained perfectly serene until the car finally screeched to a halt by the riverbank.
"Good, you’ve got guts." Pei Xuan suddenly burst into loud laughter. "That’s the real you, Xie Qingshi. That harmless facade you usually wear is truly deceiving."
Xie Qingshi remained noncommittal.
Pei Xuan asked, seemingly casually, "And what was your purpose in visiting Jianghuai High School today?"