Chapter 6: Giving the Hairpin
1293 Words
Evening
The next time Su Yueyue saw Bai Haoxuan, his hair had been dyed back to black, and he looked much more obedient than before.
Even Qin Yixue was slightly surprised when she saw her son.
She had noticed the day before that Bai Haoxuan seemed to really like Yueyue, so she had thought about having Yueyue try to persuade him to dye his hair back to black.
Honestly, she hadn’t expected much from it, but to her surprise, her son actually dyed it back.
However, it didn’t take long for her to realize something else. She then asked, "Haoxuan, you still have class today—when did you have the time to dye your hair?"
"Mom, what are you thinking? Of course, I went out at noon," Bai Haoxuan replied, then looked toward Bai Lichen, "I’m not like my brother. I never skip class~"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Bai Haoxuan received a cold glare from his older brother.
"Mom, I’m going back to my room!" Bai Haoxuan quickly excused himself, nearly fleeing the scene.
"Alright, you two, hurry up and get ready. After you’re done, rest quickly; you have school tomorrow," Qin Yixue reminded them as she rubbed Yueyue’s head and walked off to do other things.
These days, Qin Yixue had been gathering some information about Su Yueyue. She had learned that after Yueyue’s mother, Su Ruolan, passed away, her father, Zhang Guohua, often sent her to live with one relative for a while, then another.
Since Yueyue was six, she had lived a life of constantly moving from place to place, never truly feeling at home anywhere.
From the time she had spent with Yueyue, she could tell that the girl’s temperament had taken after her mother—gentle and soft like water.
At the same time, she understood why Yueyue was always so cautious. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of life Yueyue had endured before...
As Qin Yixue walked past the coffee table and picked up a cup, she noticed a blue hairpin lying there.
It must be Yueyue’s, she thought.
Just as she was about to take the hairpin to Yueyue’s room, she saw Bai Lichen come out of the bathroom.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. It seemed like the relationship between Bai Lichen and Yueyue hadn’t been very good, and perhaps she should try to get them to interact more. If they became more familiar with each other, she wouldn’t have to worry about Yueyue being bullied by Bai Lichen anymore.
"Cheng Cheng, take this to your sister," Qin Yixue said, handing him the hairpin.
Before Bai Lichen could refuse, she added, "Put on your clothes first."
"...Okay," Bai Lichen responded resignedly, taking the hairpin and heading upstairs.
Knock knock knock—
The sound of knocking echoed through the room. Su Yueyue, who had been sitting at her desk doing homework, quickly dropped her pen and rushed to open the door.
The room was bathed in warm yellow light, with only a small desk lamp illuminating the workspace.
Standing at the door was Bai Lichen, his eyes lazily half-closed. His hair was still wet, the droplets running down his smooth skin and dripping onto the towel around his neck.
Bai Lichen was only wearing a pair of black long pants. The light from outside the door framed his tall figure, accentuating his slim waist and the muscle lines that became softer in the warm light inside the room.
He leaned one arm against the doorframe, his pale fingers holding the blue hairpin.
Su Yueyue froze for a moment, her hand still on the doorknob, staring at the boy in front of her.
"What are you staring at?" Bai Lichen pinched her cheek with one hand, bending slightly toward her. His peach blossom eyes held a hint of playfulness and indifference.
Su Yueyue quickly snapped back to her senses, immediately closing her eyes. Her face turned bright red in an instant.
Bai Lichen could even feel her face becoming slightly warmer under his hand.
He watched her reaction and suddenly found this little fool to be unexpectedly cute.
Quickly, he let go of her cheek and returned to his usual indifferent tone. "I came to give you this..."
Su Yueyue opened her eyes, and saw his hand lift up with the hairpin.
"Don’t—" she flinched, trembling slightly, and then hurriedly crouched down, clutching her head with both hands.
Bai Lichen looked at her in confusion, the hand holding the hairpin pausing in mid-air.
Was a simple hairpin delivery really that terrifying?
After a moment of silence, the imagined pain never came. Su Yueyue finally let go of her hands and stood up slowly.
When she saw the blue hairpin in Bai Lichen’s hand, she hesitated for a while before reaching out to take it. She forced a pale smile and said, "Thank you, brother..."
Bai Lichen’s gaze became complicated as he observed her.
The blush had faded from her face, leaving her pale, and her eyes held a lingering sense of fear and unease.
"Is there anything else?" Su Yueyue’s voice trembled slightly.
Bai Lichen snapped out of his thoughts, hiding the doubt in his eyes, and said, "Nothing."
After he turned and left, Su Yueyue slowly closed the door and walked back to her desk.
She picked up her pen again but found herself unable to write.
Painful memories surged in her heart, weighing her down and making it hard for her to breathe.
Plop!
A clear teardrop fell onto the paper, smudging the ink and spreading across the words.
The second class break at Jinghai High School was followed by a large recess, giving the students a 30-minute break.
"Chen Ge, Chen Ge, those troublemakers are waiting by the back gate," Luo Ziyang suddenly leaned in to speak to Bai Lichen.
"Let’s go," Bai Lichen stood up, preparing to leave.
"Brother, where are you going?" Su Yueyue looked up, sensing that Luo Ziyang’s words sounded off.
"I told you not to call me brother," Bai Lichen replied coldly.
"Then... then what are you two going to do?" Su Yueyue quickly corrected herself, her concern growing. She had a feeling that whatever the two of them were about to do wasn’t good.
"It’s nothing," Bai Lichen said simply, and left without waiting for her reply.
Su Yueyue couldn’t stop him, so she sat back in her seat, her mind wandering.
"Yueyue, what’s wrong? You look really worried," Yun Duo ran over and leaned on the desk, asking.
Seeing Yun Duo, Su Yueyue forced a small smile and shook her head. "I’m fine."
But Yun Duo, noticing that Yueyue kept glancing toward the door, guessed what she was worried about.
"You don’t have to worry about him. They’re just going out to deal with a few guys. They’ll be back soon," Yun Duo said casually.
After all, Bai Lichen was notorious for his fighting skills. Beating up a few boys was just a regular day for him.
But Su Yueyue didn’t know this. She had also promised Aunt Qin two things, and the second was to keep an eye on Bai Lichen, making sure he went to class and studied properly.
"Yun Duo, I’m going out for a bit."
Before Yun Duo could explain further, Su Yueyue had already rushed out.
Nearby, some classmates began chatting again.
"Hey, do you think Su Su’s really being threatened by the school bully? That’s so sad!"
"I heard that Su Yueyue’s staying at the school bully’s house. Maybe that’s why she seems so meek..."
"Wow, I’m so jealous she gets to live with the school bully. Lucky girl!"
"Why is she staying at Bai Lichen’s house, though?"
"I’m not sure about that..."
- Writer
