Chapter 123: No matter what you become, I'm not afraid

"Tsk."

"Brother Qin."

A voice came from behind.

Xie Qin and Shen Li looked to the side at the same time and saw Zhang Shanfeng carrying a suitcase, followed by a fair and clean girl with a pure appearance. Her hair was tied into a bun, with two strands of hair by her ears, and her temperament was pure and gentle.

When they walked up, the girl also called out, her voice soft: "Brother Qin."

The languor on Xie Qin's face instantly converged. His gaze swept past the girl lightly, and he straightened his body, preparing to give her ideological education later. Then his gaze fell on Zhang Shanfeng: "Where are you two preparing to go?"

Zhang Shanfeng took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and was about to pull one out for him, but Xie Qin refused: "Quit."

Zhang Shanfeng looked at Shen Li on the side and reacted quickly. The expression on his face was a bit meaningful; they were all men, they understood.

As he spoke, he put the cigarette away. "We both dropped out. Just finished moving my girlfriend into the dormitory, and we're preparing to finish the withdrawal procedures and leave this afternoon."

Xie Qin just remembered the matter Xu Zhouyuan mentioned last night and didn't expect it to be true. "Preparing to go back to inherit the family business in the future?"

"Where? My dad is living well, inherit what family business? I'm not interested in my family's stuff; I'm more interested in typing on a keyboard for computer science." Zhang Shanfeng hugged her shoulders, the two snuggling together sweetly, looking at each other. "Staying in this broken school is meaningless. We're preparing to repeat a year."

"See if we can aim for the computer science department of Jiang University next year, want to do something of our own."

"Lived enough of the mixed life, have to settle down."

Jiangchuan University was the best university in Wuchuan City, and the score threshold was also above 670.

Zhang Shanfeng, like Xie Qin, was a mixer, just with a bit of family foundation, and neither was interested in studying. One was the school boss, the other the school's second-in-command. The two big thorns in the school had caused a lot of trouble for the school.

Shen Li looked at the girl: "Then what about you? Are you preparing to repeat a year when you go back?"

Ling Yan nodded: "Yeah. We're still young, and we don't know what to do if we don't continue studying. I originally wanted to go to work and find a job. Third brother wouldn't let me do that. We both thought about it and finally decided it's better to take the exam for the same university."

Zhang Shanfeng looked at the time: "Then let's do that. Won't delay your date anymore. We still have to go through the procedures, leaving first."

Xie Qin had one hand in his pocket and nodded: "Yeah."

Shen Li's thoughts were immersed, not knowing what she was thinking, until there was a warm breath in her ear, shallowly fluttering on her neck, dropping a very light sentence that only the two of them could hear, speaking nonchalantly: "You... what do you say."

"..."

"Repeat a year?"

"..."

"I'll support you."

Shen Li pursed her thin lips faintly and looked at him incomparably seriously: "I can support myself."

Hearing this unexpected sentence, Xie Qin had a smile in his eyes, probably also used to it.

Whenever he was proactive, Shen Li acted as if she couldn't see it, which made him a bit depressed.

Instead, she would flirt and counter-tease him, without any sense of proportion. One sentence, one expression, was enough to be eaten to death by her.

He called her: "Shen Li."

"Hmm?" Shen Li looked at his improper appearance, lowering her eyes. The rogue air in her eyes didn't converge at all, as if letting her see the Xie Qin from when school started, the Xie Qin she first met, compared to how he was now—mixing, fighting, smoking, drinking, and losing his temper at girls, unable to control his violent temper.

She had only seen these bad things once.

There hadn't been any since.

Xie Qin: "Are you... afraid that one day, I'll start to lose control of myself and pull you into the abyss, making you become like me?"

Shen Li's expression was as usual, shaking her head: "Not afraid."

"No matter what you become, I'm not afraid."

Because even if Xie Qin became worse, he wouldn't hurt her.

The Xie Qin she saw now wasn't the complete Xie Qin. She was even more mixed than he imagined, and hadn't been as easy to talk to as she was now.

The Xie Qin of the past had no soft ribs, was uniquely gifted, and looked down on everyone. Even if he fought and picked fights, he could risk his life, even if he was full of mess, it didn't matter. Now... he had his own concerns. He had never thought that his relationship with Shen Li was just for fun. They all said that at the age of eighteen, one didn't need to be too serious about feelings. At the beginning... perhaps Xie Qin would indeed think so, but he... just happened to be serious.

Not only did he have concerns, but he was afraid that all his past messy things would be spread out in front of her, and she would dislike him.

He was messy, but she couldn't be...

Afraid she would go down the wrong path and never be able to return.

Even if she used him as a stepping stone, Xie Qin was willing to become her lift.

Xie Qin was completely defeated. "Except for you, no one else can make me this angry."

Shen Li's head was already a bit dizzy and confused. What he said seemed to make her not understand, and her thoughts were a bit slow.

In the autumn of October, there was no noisy buzzing of insects like in summer. Beisong South Street near the school was the liveliest place near the school, with a lot of people.

On both sides of the street were plane trees taller than the houses, with golden leaves falling all over the ground—it was the most beautiful time of the season.

Xie Qin was afraid she would get lost, so he changed from holding hands to interlacing fingers.

Shen Li had always been alone before, had no friends, so she rarely went shopping in Haishi. It wasn't that she hadn't thought about it, but she was alone, so she was too lazy to go.

As time went on, she had even fewer thoughts of going out.

The two walked in silence all the way.

"I haven't been here before, so many people."

Xie Qin lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on her, watching her: "Last time with that... who was it, your grandfather's student, didn't you come shopping together?"

Shen Li didn't know why he had to bring him up for no reason. She shook her head: "He was quite busy, just passing by to see me. Last time, he just took me to walk around our school. I don't like going out on weekdays, and I don't know where is fun."

Hearing her finish, Xie Qin's eyebrows relaxed a bit, and he curled his lips.

Passing by a stall set up by an old grandmother, there were several young couples standing there, with girls putting handmade woven hair ropes on their boyfriends.

One of the girls warned: "I'm telling you, don't take it off. That way others will know you have a partner. The girl who ran over to add you on WeChat last time—did you delete her?"

The boy hurriedly said: "Deleted, deleted long ago. Why would I keep her? I don't like her."

"Good for you."

Shen Li curiously pulled Xie Qin over, watching several girls choosing hair ropes on the stall cart, and the old grandmother was weaving them, and then they would put them on their boyfriends.

The stall owner, the old grandmother, saw the young couple who had just arrived—one handsome, one beautiful—and felt they were pleasing to the eye no matter how she looked at them.

"Little girl, see what color you like, pick one for your boyfriend." ===== CHAPTER 124 =====