"Nannan."
The young man half-crouched, his head tilted slightly upward, looking at her. His eyes were filled with a cold mist, and he carried a certain solemnity about him. His words were difficult to pronounce.
In that moment, she could sense the unhappiness in the young man's heart.
The word "Nannan" sent a shiver through Su Qing's heart.
She gripped the handle of the chair, brows lowered, and reached out to pick up a glass of water, handing it to Jiang Sui.
"Have a drink."
Perhaps because of anger, the boy's lips were dry and his throat tight.
Jiang Sui held the glass of water, tilted his head back, drank it all in one gulp, and placed the glass on the table.
Su Qing lowered her head, looking at Jiang Sui. She didn't ask what happened, but spoke calmly, as if they were chatting.
"Will you participate in the English competition?"
Jiang Sui paused, touching the armrest, his fingertips almost stopping when they touched the girl's.
"Not necessarily."
The girl, half-smiling, paused.
"Jiang Sui, you know what? I'm actually most worried. Your English seems pretty good. If you were here, I don't know if I could get first place."
"But, I'm thinking, Jiang Sui, I have to beat you. So, why don't you participate in the English competition?"
"How could I lose to you?"
Su Qing's eyes sparkled, gleaming brightly, dazzlingly.
He had assumed the girl's happiness stemmed from her cunning inability to participate, but he hadn't expected the light in her eyes to sink him.
Jiang Sui lowered his head and said.
"Okay."
He didn't know how close he could get. He was terribly panicked. As an underage boy, his neck stiff, he didn't have the strength to stand up to Jiang Chenghua. As long as he was his guardian, he had no power to make decisions.
Most importantly, he couldn't let Jiang Chenghua go find Su Qing.
No, the feeling of powerlessness rising in Jiang Sui's heart threatened to consume him.
"Su Qing, I might transfer schools."
The boy's back bent slightly for a moment, his throat hoarse with reluctance.
Su Qing paused, her lips pursed. She could see the boy's fine hair obscuring his narrow, beautiful eyes. Her fingers tightened, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.
"Will we meet again?"
The girl's voice softened at that moment.
Jiang Sui looked up, meeting her eyes.
"Yes."
"That will be good. Don't be so unhappy."
She was so carefree, unconcerned, and Jiang Sui felt uneasy. He looked at Su Qing, a girl scattered like the wind and clouds, completely out of reach.
"Su Qing, aren't you sad?"
He was torn between wanting her to be sad and not wanting her to be sad.
"Sad, so what? Will you stay?"
Su Qing turned her head away, no longer looking at Jiang Sui. She tried to keep a smile on her lips, her eyes wandering, her thoughts unsettled.
Jiang Sui's words stuck in his throat, his eyes heavy.
Su Qing held the papers filled with answers on the table, her expression serious, breaking the silence.
"Jiang Sui, you won't get full marks in this test. You got one mistake in the cloze test and one in the reading comprehension section. And, you haven't written the essay yet."
"Jiang Sui, you'll lose to me."
Confidence radiated from her eyes as Su Qing placed the two papers in Jiang Sui's arms.
"Go back now, get some rest, and prepare for tomorrow's exam."
"Otherwise, you'll definitely lose to me!"
Jiang Sui pursed his lips, then stood up and rubbed Su Qing's head, clearing the gloom from his expression.
"It seems you're not completely heartless. At least you know you can't bear to leave your brother Sui."
"I'm telling you, for the rest of your life, your brother Sui will be dependent on you."
Su Qing's hair was tangled up in his hand, ignored his unbridled ramblings and angrily pushed Jiang Sui away!
"Jiang Sui!!!"
After the fight, the door closed.
The air, at that moment, was remarkably quiet, almost uncomfortably so.
Su Qing changed her clothes, rubbed her brow, and washed up, preparing to go to bed when her phone rang.
It was a local number in Jiangcheng, unfamiliar to her.
Inexplicably, Su Qing frowned, but she answered the phone anyway.
"Hello, Xiao Qing Qing, long time no see."
The sound of laughter, like an electric current, entered Su Qing's ears, and her hair stood on end. Holding the phone, Su Qing's first reaction was to hang up.
"What? You're not talking anymore. You want to hang up? Let me tell you, Qing Qing, if you dare hang up, you know your photo, right?"
"Why, you still can't recognize my voice? I'm Li Xu."
Su Qing's fingers dug into her palm, the excruciating pain making her face pale and weak. She could recognize the familiar voice, of course, but she'd rather not.
"What do you want?"
She leaned against the wall, the coolness of it clearing her mind. She turned on the call recording function.
The person on the other end was chewing gum.
"What do I want? Hehe, Xiao Qing Qing, don't you know?"
Photos. Did he take those photos?
Su Qing bit her lip. She wasn't afraid of those photos, the ones of her being beaten. Her eyes darkened, her voice rising slightly, filled with overwhelming fear. Trying to remain calm, he had no idea what photos she was talking about.
She had never imagined that it would be Li Xu who would call her at this moment.
"I don't know."
"Don't you know, Xiao Qing Qing? Is your admission ticket number *********?"
Li Xu's precise string of numbers made Su Qing pale.
"No."
She bit her lip, desperately trying to resist.
"No, didn't your school come to visit ours today? I even organized a basketball game just for you. But, you didn't come."
"I even showed you your designated seat. See how thoughtful I am, Qing Qing."
"Guess where I am now."
...
A demonic voice lingered in Su Qing's ears.
On the other end of the line, someone called out "Li Xu," and then the call was disconnected.
Faintly, Su Qing thought she heard Jiang Sui's name.
She shook her head, convinced she must have misheard.
Su Qing, slumped to the ground, took a long time to stand.
She pulled out a pill she hadn't used in a while, took a pill, and then drank a glass of cold water, which brought her a moment of clarity.
As if nothing had happened, Su Qing set the alarm, then covered herself with the quilt, and mechanically climbed into bed.
She closed her eyes.
But the nightmare came quickly, furrowing her brows and beading her forehead with sweat.
"No."
"No."
A drowning person.