Chapter Seven: The Love Story of Sister Qin

The next morning, Qin Xuan watched Qin Lin’er, who was standing and eating her meal, full of puzzlement.

It was Saturday. After breakfast, Liu Ruoxi insisted on taking Lin’er out to look at pet cats. She had originally wanted to bring Qin Xuan along, but he had no interest in such things.

At a park near Sichuan University, Qin Xuan lounged on a wicker chair like a salted fish, though the passing couples made him recall the term “single dog.”

“Qin Xuan?” Liu Qin, feeling troubled, was carrying some groceries through the park when she spotted Qin Xuan reclining with his eyes half-closed on the bench. Ever since Qin Xuan and his friends had helped her out of a predicament, she’d felt a kind of fondness for the three of them, though only in a friendly way.

“Hmm? Ms. Liu,” Qin Xuan opened his eyes and saw her standing before him. He had to admit, today she looked very much like the girl next door.

“Why don’t you call me Sister Qin like Ruoxi and the others?” Liu Qin said with a bright smile. “What are you doing here? Didn’t see your two female companions today.”

“Sister Qin,” Qin Xuan knew she was teasing him. “Don’t make fun of me. One is my childhood friend, the other is my sister.”

Liu Qin laughed. “Well, you’re so close, what can I say? But you and your sister don’t look alike at all!”

Qin Xuan feigned surprise. “That’s actually in line with the laws of genetics.”

“What are you up to, Sister Qin?”

“Oh,” Liu Qin lifted her groceries to show him. “I felt like having hotpot, so I went to the supermarket for some veggies and meat.”

“Why not just eat out?” Qin Xuan asked, puzzled. “It’s less trouble.”

Liu Qin hesitated a bit. “Well, I’ve just come to Sichuan University and don’t have many friends here, so... would you like to join me for a meal?”

Qin Xuan considered it for a moment. He was still curious about what had happened yesterday. “Alright, I’ll carry those for you.”

Without further ado, he took the groceries from her hands.

Liu Qin’s place was only a ten-minute walk from the park—a single apartment with a balcony and a kitchen, compact but complete.

Qin Xuan looked around and noticed the withered branches in a flowerpot on the balcony.

Liu Qin, returning with a glass of water, saw him looking and explained, “That’s a plum blossom. Don’t be fooled by how it looks now—it blooms beautifully in winter.”

“Plum blossom?” Qin Xuan smiled. “So Sister Qin, you like plum blossoms.”

“Yes, don’t you think the plum blossom suits me?”

He thought for a moment. “It really does.”

The atmosphere gradually quieted. Qin Xuan asked, pretending nonchalance, “Sister Qin, what happened yesterday between you and your boyfriend?”

“My ex-boyfriend,” Liu Qin corrected him. “It’s a long story.”

She took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Simply put, he cheated on me and I found out, but he keeps pestering me.”

“I see.” Qin Xuan understood. If that was all there was, it didn’t seem too complicated. Perhaps he’d worried too much. He didn’t notice the dimness in her eyes.

“Alright, you watch some TV. I’ll get the hotpot ready.” Liu Qin called out.

Watching her figure as she walked away, Qin Xuan couldn’t help but sigh: How could Yang Sheng not treasure such a virtuous girlfriend?

Half an hour later.

Qin Xuan looked at the hotpot before him with some trepidation, but Liu Qin had thoughtfully made it only mildly spicy to suit his taste.

He couldn’t help but wonder how, after only a few days in Shudu, he had already formed such a fateful bond with hotpot.

“Want a drink?” Liu Qin asked, taking a can of beer from the fridge.

“A little is fine,” he replied. It wasn’t that he couldn’t drink; he just preferred to keep a clear head. He didn’t like the muddled feeling of being drunk.

“I’ll drink with you.”

Liu Qin readily opened two cans, handing one to him.

Qin Xuan frowned slightly. “Sister Qin, is something on your mind?”

“No,” she replied, taking a sip and gazing at the bubbling pot.

“Alright, let’s start cooking,” she cut him off.

They ate hotpot and chatted idly.

“Qin Xuan, I don’t get it,” Liu Qin asked in confusion. “You and Liu Ruoxi grew up together—why aren’t you two together?”

Qin Xuan took a bite of beef. Delicious! Not as spicy as last time—just within his tolerance. “Maybe we just don’t have those feelings for each other.”

“Is that so?” Liu Qin looked up at him. “But in all those novels, childhood sweethearts always end up together!”

“That’s just fiction. In reality, we annoy each other.”

“But I’ve noticed that the way Liu Ruoxi looks at you isn’t quite as you say.”

“Oh?” Qin Xuan’s hand holding the chopsticks paused, then he smiled. “She’s probably just thinking of new ways to torment me.”

“But the three of you are an odd bunch! Don’t you ever argue?”

Qin Xuan thought: Have you discovered the truth?

“It’s fine. We’ve played together since childhood,” he replied, though in his heart he thought: More like fought together since childhood.

Liu Qin downed half a can of beer.

Softly, she said, “He and I were childhood sweethearts too. Why couldn’t we be like you?”

“Yang Sheng, you mean?” Qin Xuan began to understand.

“We got together in high school—nine years,” Liu Qin confessed, emboldened by the alcohol.

“I thought we’d make it to marriage,” she said, growing emotional. “I even picked out a wedding dress, the style he liked. But why…”

Her chopsticks slipped from her fingers, falling to the floor.

Qin Xuan sighed. Perhaps he could never quite understand that kind of feeling. What did a nineteen-year-old single guy know? All he could do was silently hand her a tissue.

She didn’t take it, and he awkwardly set it aside.

But Liu Qin continued, “I never thought that nine years of love could be overwhelmed by a few months of passion. I know he probably got tired of me. I kept trying to find some common ground, but it seemed useless…”

“I actually realized early on. When he was with me, he was always looking at his phone,” she said with a trace of acceptance. “And the smile on his face, the one that used to belong to me, no longer did.”

Qin Xuan watched her sob, realizing that this Sister Qin, who loved plum blossoms, also had this side of her.

“I just don’t understand!” Using her hand, she wiped away her tears. “I really had everything planned for our future, but I never thought that in his plans, I wasn’t there.”

The scene left Qin Xuan at a loss.

“Sister Qin, go ahead and cry. It’s better to let it out.”

“It’s fine,” she said, grabbing a tissue and drying her tears, eyes red but trying to hold back the sobs. “I’ve cried enough already.”

“Sorry to let you see me like this. Don’t go telling anyone,” she added, perhaps simply needing to vent after all the pressure she felt.

“Don’t worry, I won’t breathe a word,” Qin Xuan promised. He was known for keeping secrets.

“Alright, I feel much better after talking about it,” she said. “Eat up, or Liu Ruoxi and the others will be angry if you’re late.”

“Yes, alright,” Qin Xuan replied, seeing she had calmed down and needing no further comfort.

Meanwhile, on the other side—

“That idiot! I even brought him lunch, and who knows where he’s run off to mess around!”