Sweetheart, It's Time To Pay Your Debt - Chapter 11

When Bo Liye returned from the office, it was nearly time for class to end. Students were trickling out of the classroom to head to the cafeteria for lunch.

Qin Mingyan’s original desk mate was an outstanding student who had been “lured” over from the No. 1 High School by the principal. Their grades consistently ranked within the top ten of the grade, and the principal had specifically assigned them to sit together from the start.

In just that short span of time, Qin Mingyan was back at her desk, focused intently on her homework. Her white school shirt was so clean it was eye catching, even though everyone wore the same uniform, she always possessed a uniquely clean and gentle aura when wearing it.

Bo Liye stood by the door and admired the view for a moment before stepping inside.

Since Qin Mingyan’s original desk mate wasn’t in the classroom, Bo Liye found the girl’s WeChat in the class group and messaged her to explain the seat swap.

Having secured the other party’s permission, she walked over to Qin Mingyan and began moving the desks.

A high school senior’s desk is filled inside and out with books. Since Bo Liye was moving someone else’s property, she had to be extremely careful not to mess anything up, moving at a snail’s pace.

The classroom suddenly became very quiet.

Xia Yiwen poked Gu Baifan’s back with a pen and pointed toward Bo Liye, her level of shock no less than it had been earlier in the hallway.

“Should we… not help right now?”

Seeing that Xia Yiwen finally had a modicum of situational awareness, Gu Baifan grabbed her meal card, pulled her away, and shooed the rest of the curious onlookers out of the room.

Bo Liye’s original seat wasn’t far from Qin Mingyan’s, only one row apart but after last week’s rotation, they had ended up on opposite sides of the classroom.

Bo Liye wasn’t very strong. After several minutes, she had barely moved the desk a few inches. Every few steps, she had to steady the water bottle on the surface and readjust the mountain of books.

Despite the central air conditioning, it didn’t take long for a thin layer of sweat to break out on her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips slightly pale. Her clean uniform had picked up a faint streak of dust from the side of the desk, though subtle, it was glaringly obvious if one looked closely.

As the bell rang for the end of class, Qin Mingyan finally couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She stood up and walked toward Bo Liye, her voice soft: “What are you doing?”

Bo Liye was feeling a bit dizzy from hunger. If it were anyone else, she might have asked for help, but seeing it was Qin Mingyan, she instinctively placed the girl in the “needs to be looked after” category. “Can’t you see? I’m moving seats. From now on we sit together, so it’s easier for you to tutor me.”

Qin Mingyan hesitated for a moment. “Is this… appropriate?”

Bo Liye replied expressionlessly, “The homeroom teacher told me to move. You have a problem with that?”

Qin Mingyan shook her head. “Do you need help?”

Bo Liye pushed her aside. “You’ve got a leg injury, you can’t lift things. Just wait there.”

“I only fell. It’s just a scrape.”

Bo Liye’s hands were starting to shake from the effort. Faced with a helping hand, she hesitated for two seconds before reluctantly accepting. “Fine, help me move the chairs in.”

The corner of Qin Mingyan’s mouth quirked up almost imperceptibly before she quickly resumed her cool demeanor. “Okay.”

The aisles were lined with high-backed chairs. Qin Mingyan moved them one by one, waiting for Bo Liye to push the desk through, quietly assisting with the heavy lifting when necessary.

By the time they finished, nearly ten minutes had passed. After Bo Liye sat down, she started drinking water and playing on her phone, showing no intention of going to lunch.

Her seat was on the outside, as long as she blocked the way, Qin Mingyan couldn’t leave.

However, the glances Bo Liye occasionally flicked over made it clear she was waiting for Qin Mingyan to say something.

Resting a hand on the edge of the desk, Qin Mingyan said softly, “I’ll make up for the tutoring sessions we missed last week later. If you have any questions, you can ask me anytime.”

This wasn’t what Bo Liye wanted to hear. She gave a flat “Mm” and didn’t budge.

Qin Mingyan added, “Thank you for accompanying me to the infirmary today.”

Bo Liye gave another perfunctory “Mm” but still didn’t move.

Qin Mingyan lowered her gaze and sat there silently. Bo Liye had already figured she wouldn’t get a “Thank you for moving here to be with me” or anything of the sort, so she didn’t force it.

She stood up proactively, her tone somewhat lazy and nonchalant. “I moved here so it’s easier to order you around. Now, come with me to lunch.”

The cafeteria was packed at this hour. Even though Haichuan High had five cafeterias, Bo Liye didn’t want to squeeze through the crowds, so she led Qin Mingyan straight to the food street outside the school.

The security guard at the gate, used to such sights, let them pass, even adding a helpful reminder: “Remember to come back for class after you eat!”

Bo Liye waved a hand. Turning back and seeing Qin Mingyan looking uncomfortable, she immediately made a guess: “You’ve never skipped school before, have you?”

Qin Mingyan pursed her lips. Just as she was about to speak, Bo Liye suddenly burst out laughing, finding it incredibly rare. “Seriously? Not even once?”

It was no wonder Gu Baifan and the others called Qin Mingyan a “model student.” The kids from No. 1 High really were “good” students.

Once she finished laughing, Bo Liye took the initiative to grab Qin Mingyan’s hand. “You’re this nervous just coming out for a meal? If I ever take you to climb walls and cut class, you’ll probably be scared to death.”

Qin Mingyan’s attention was entirely focused on Bo Liye’s palm holding hers. That warm palm held her firmly, for some reason, it was far more exhilarating than the kiss outside the convenience store.

The sun was scorching, and the cicadas buzzed in the trees, drowning out all the roadside noise. It felt as if only the two of them remained, time stretching into infinity.

Only one thought remained in her mind: It’s really so soft.

It wasn’t until Bo Liye, dissatisfied with her silence, suddenly pinched her cheek that Qin Mingyan’s attention snapped back.

“You dare to zone out while you’re with me?”

Qin Mingyan turned her head away awkwardly. Bo Liye’s tone soured: “Then who were you thinking about?”

“Your original desk mate?”

“No,” Qin Mingyan said.

Then who?

Just as Bo Liye was about to make more wild guesses, Qin Mingyan said, “My knee hurts. Can we walk a little slower?”

Bo Liye had no experience taking care of patients. When her own ankle was sprained, she had forced Qin Mingyan to match her pace, now that the roles were reversed, she lacked that self-awareness.

She glanced at the gauze on Qin Mingyan’s knee; fortunately, no blood was seeping through.

She looked away, looking down to tug at the hem of her skirt, muttering vaguely, “If I’m going too fast, why didn’t you just say so?”

Qin Mingyan lowered her eyes again, looking somewhat pitiful from Bo Liye’s perspective.

Bo Liye sighed and decided against going to the stir-fry restaurant across the street. Instead, she pulled Qin Mingyan into the nearest BBQ joint.

The BBQ place offered a grilling service. While waiting for the food to cook, Bo Liye gazed absentmindedly at Qin Mingyan, feeling more and more frustrated the more she looked.

Purely in terms of appearance, Qin Mingyan had a natural “misanthropic” face, like white jade soaked in water. Her cold, aloof elegance was something most carefully groomed rich second generation kids couldn’t match. She was calm, rational, and her clothes were always spotless.

Now, because she had fallen while chasing Bo Liye and was being dragged out to eat with an injured leg, she did look a bit pathetic.

Bo Liye couldn’t bring herself to apologize, so she simply kept a cold face while piling grilled meat and seafood onto Qin Mingyan’s plate.

Halfway through the meal, Bo Liye felt thirsty and got up to get a drink from the fridge.

Just as she pulled out a can of Red Bull, another hand took it away. Bo Liye turned her head in annoyance, assuming Qin Mingyan was going to forbid her from drinking such things just like her parents did.

However, Qin Mingyan merely glanced at the can in her hand, put it back, pulled another can from the very back of the shelf, checked it over, and then handed it to Bo Liye.

Bo Liye was baffled. “What are you doing?”

“This shop is near the school gate but doesn’t have much business, so there’s a high chance the drinks are near their expiration date. The ones at the front usually have the shortest shelf life.”

Bo Liye froze for a second. Usually, she shopped at high-end malls, even when buying fresh milk, she never had to check the dates. “There’s actually a difference?”

She pulled out the can that had been put back; sure enough, it had less than a month left.

“Do you want one? I’ll get one for you?”

Before Qin Mingyan could nod, Bo Liye made the decision for her. “Forget it, you have a wound, you shouldn’t drink this. I’ll get you a Want Milk.”

Qin Mingyan took it and said, “Thank you.”

The walk back to school after the meal was lively. Many other students had “escaped” to improve their lunch options. Bo Liye and Qin Mingyan walked slowly, and because they both possessed such striking looks, they drew many gazes.

Bo Liye was used to these looks, while Qin Mingyan simply didn’t care. After walking for a while, Bo Liye brought up the incident in the alley that night.

Since she had already forgiven Qin Mingyan’s rude behavior, Bo Liye didn’t dwell on the past and asked directly about those people’s identities: “They weren’t hired by someone at school, were they? Does it have something to do with your family?”

Qin Mingyan’s brow furrowed instantly, her eyes flickering with emotion. After a long moment, she said weakly, “Yes.”

“Why are they looking for trouble with you?” The principal had arranged a private dorm for Qin Mingyan, so Bo Liye didn’t know if she had encountered that group again.

Qin Mingyan clearly didn’t want to elaborate. “It’s just some conflict with my family. It’s nothing.”

“It’s nothing, yet they blocked you in the middle of the night? It’s nothing, yet you ran away and don’t even dare to stay at home?” Bo Liye interrupted her, stepping directly in front of her with her arms crossed, looking very formidable. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll find someone to dig into it. You know the result will be the same.”

Silence fell. Qin Mingyan’s hands slowly clenched, as if she were undergoing a fierce internal struggle.

Bo Liye wasn’t in a hurry. She stayed planted in front of her, even finding the time to smile and wave at passing classmates.

“Qin Shaoyuan, the CEO of Qin Sheng Group… is my father.”

The air went still for several seconds.

Bo Liye almost thought she was hallucinating.

“He has many children. He wants to bring me back to the Qin family, but his other children aren’t willing.”

Qin Mingyan stood under the shade of the trees, light and shadow dancing across her face. As the wind blew through the leaves, a layer of emotion that Bo Liye couldn’t quite decipher surfaced in her eyes.

Qin Mingyan had always wanted to hide her background. But in front of a favored daughter of heaven like Bo Liye, her praised looks and grades seemed insignificant, not just because of the gap in family status, but because…

“I am the product of his extramarital affair.”

“My mother said she was deceived when she was young. She didn’t know Qin Shaoyuan was already married with children until after I was born.”

Qin Mingyan didn’t care about the truth of what happened between her parents back then. In any case, over the years, her mother had been chasing her dreams of wealth, living in a state of madness. She had long since grown used to it.

The silence persisted.

After a long while, Bo Liye gritted her teeth and asked, “So that night in the alley… which of the Qin sons or daughters did it?”

Qin Mingyan looked a bit dazed. “What?”

Even if Qin Mingyan didn’t say it, Bo Liye could imagine their motives. They saw how outstanding Qin Mingyan was and feared she would threaten their interests if she returned to the Qin family.

A surge of irritation rose in Bo Liye. her beautiful features darkened instantly. “What is the Qin family worth? They come to my house to pay their respects every single New Year. Are they really worth you hiding like that?”

Qin Mingyan said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Next time they give you trouble, tell them you’re tutoring me. If they want to ‘borrow’ someone, tell them to go talk to my mother.”

Although Bo Liye often complained about her parents never being home, she had to admit that Bo Jingxian’s name was a perfect “pass” in high society. Having been transferred to a central government agency in her early forties while holding the vast commercial resources of the Bo family and with Bo Cheng’s help in managing them, everyone had to show her some respect.

“Hey, did you hear what I said?” Bo Liye was rarely one to use her family’s power to bully others, even if it was just verbal, and she wouldn’t allow Qin Mingyan’s reaction to be so lukewarm.

If Qin Mingyan dared to say she didn’t need help right now, Bo Liye would definitely turn and leave.

“I heard you.”

“Then you…”

Qin Mingyan slowly took a step forward, reached out her arms, and gently hugged Bo Liye.

Bo Liye remained standing tall, carrying her innate pride and arrogance. Only her slightly trembling voice betrayed her true reaction: “…What are you doing?”

Qin Mingyan held her very lightly, like a soft feather landing on Bo Liye’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

Across that short distance, Qin Mingyan’s body heat radiated through her chest. Despite the 35 degree heat, Bo Liye didn’t find it stifling, instead, she felt that the cold, soapy scent on Qin Mingyan was refreshing to the soul.

It wasn’t until her gaze swept over the still vivid hickey on Qin Mingyan’s left ear that Bo Liye’s own ears began to burn.

She said, as if it were nothing, “Oh. It’s just a small favor.”