Sweetheart, It's Time To Pay Your Debt - Chapter 15

Qin Mingyan’s shoulders tensed instantly. As a model student who was never good at lying, she couldn’t even force out a “no.”

Bo Liye let out a light hum and a smirk, a soft sound, as if she didn’t truly care whether Qin Mingyan answered or not. Her delighted eyes already betrayed a sense of satisfaction and triumph. After all, no one but her could make Qin Mingyan show such a panicked and conflicted expression.

“I’m so bad, yet you can still fall for me.”

Bo Liye stroked Qin Mingyan’s neck, feeling the powerful thrum of the carotid artery after exercise, as if she held Qin Mingyan’s vigorous life force right in the palm of her hand. She leaned in and kissed Qin Mingyan’s chin, contemplating which part of her body to mark with a hickey today. “Should I give you a reward?”

Just when Bo Liye thought Qin Mingyan would remain silent to the end, her hand was suddenly grabbed.

Bo Liye lifted her eyelids, glancing lazily at Qin Mingyan. She didn’t get the expected push-away, instead, she heard a very soft whisper: “You aren’t bad. Don’t listen to those evaluations that are filled with nothing but malice.”

Bo Liye froze for a moment, almost thinking she had hallucinated. “What did you say?”

Qin Mingyan held her and repeated word for word: “You aren’t bad.”

Bo Liye locked eyes with Qin Mingyan.

Her family background was so prestigious that she had been able to obtain resources others couldn’t dream of since childhood. She was arrogant and willful. Despite such favorable conditions, she hadn’t become the prodigy her parents’ circle expected, nor the model student her teachers hoped for. She loved dressing up and playing around. Even when her friends were seeking out the opposite sex to date, she had rebelliously set her sights on Qin Mingyan.

Though her abrasive personality was somewhat restrained with others, many were still dissatisfied with her. When it came to Qin Mingyan, she rarely inconvenienced herself. But at this moment, Qin Mingyan was telling her with total earnestness, that she wasn’t bad.

It felt as if something had lightly pricked the softest part of her heart. The taunts she had intended to hurl at Qin Mingyan were swallowed back down.

Bo Liye shook off Qin Mingyan’s hand, and the folded mascot costume was thrown to the floor. Looking at the mess, she felt a surge of irritation. “Put away that ‘noble model student’ act of yours.”

Qin Mingyan knelt to pick up the costume, saying softly, “I’m not…”

“Not what?” Bo Liye felt her own mind was a mess. “You’re just a toy I can summon with a wave of my hand. You don’t actually think that because I’ve kissed you a few times, you’re my girlfriend, do you? Who gave you permission to judge me?”

Qin Mingyan’s movements to tidy the LinaBell costume stopped. Her well-defined knuckles gripped the pink fur so tightly they turned white with the effort.

“I know. Your willingness to help me by letting me be your tutor has already been a great help. Actually, the people in class, especially those who transferred with me from No. 1 High, are quite grateful to you. They appreciate that you applied for single dorms for us at the beginning of the transfer…”

“Enough! Shut up!”

Bo Liye couldn’t stand it when people spoke to her like this. She paced in circles, her expression becoming extremely unnatural. “Helping you switch to single dorms was just because you people from No. 1 High were so fussy and complained that four persons dorms were too noisy! Everyone complained the single dorms were expensive, so we just had to swap ours for yours.”

Because of this, Xia Yiwen would occasionally complain to Bo Liye after a nap that the air conditioning in the four persons dorms wasn’t cool enough.

Even after being scolded like this, Qin Mingyan showed no resentment. When she looked up, her eyes were clear and shimmering, carrying a faint hint of a smile.

Bo Liye turned her head away, picked up the mascot head from the floor, and walked out, not wanting to spend another second in that restroom.

The stalker who had sent the texts wasn’t outside. Bo Liye and Qin Mingyan returned the costumes one after the other and then rushed to the podium for the sports meet’s closing ceremony. Class 1 ended up in second place for the grade. Seventh Class took first place because they had many sports recruits, pulling ahead by nearly forty points.

After the sports meet, the school officially entered the study atmosphere for the first mock exams. Even the students whose futures were already arranged by their families and thus didn’t need the Gaokao, consciously put away their phones so as not to disturb those around them.

At the end of October, Hucheng No. 1 High opened its pre-competition training for the Math Olympiad. Since Haichuan High had never had a student make the national team before, they sent their qualifying students to No. 1 High on weekends for training classes.

The first time Bo Liye drove Qin Mingyan there, she got out to wander around No. 1 High. She encountered a woman carrying a folder who recognized Qin Mingyan. The woman glanced at them a few times, seemingly identifying them, and then walked over to say hello.

“Qin Mingyan, do you remember me?”

Qin Mingyan turned her head and greeted her politely: “Teacher Luo.”

“I was on maternity leave before. When I came back, they said you had already transferred.”

Luo Xueyin was wearing a knee-length cotton fishtail skirt with a matching knit top. Her long hair was half-tied, and a pair of thin silver rimmed glasses sat on her nose. She spoke very gently but maintained a perfect sense of professional distance.

Qin Mingyan said, “Yes, I’m at Haichuan now.”

Luo Xueyin looked visibly stunned. “You actually went to that private school, Haichuan?”

Qin Mingyan nodded. “Yes.”

Luo Xueyin’s expression became somewhat awkward. “Why would you transfer to a school like Haichuan?”

Qin Mingyan’s voice cooled down. “Teacher Luo, Haichuan is very good. It hasn’t been established much later than No. 1 High, its faculty is powerful, and the principal values the university entrance rate just as much.”

Only then did Luo Xueyin realize her slip of the tongue and quickly apologized. “I’m sorry, I haven’t looked into Haichuan specifically. Since you’ve transferred, I hope everything goes smoothly for you. Oh, you’re here for the competition training, right? Many universities will release early admission slots this semester; you should keep an eye out.”

Qin Mingyan didn’t seem interested. Luo Xueyin had always felt this student was too cold, so she left after a few more words.

Once she was gone, Qin Mingyan explained her identity: “She was my English teacher in my first year. She graduated from No. 1 High herself, then went to Yanda University’s Foreign Languages department. After finishing her Master’s, she returned here to teach. She’s a bit biased toward No. 1 High.”

Bo Liye said sincerely, “She is very excellent. It’s normal.”

Being biased toward No. 1 High was normal, just like the wall of honors they had passed earlier, which was far more abundant than the one at Haichuan. Students who looked similar in school now would undergo earth-shattering changes in a few years. Bo Liye was uncharacteristically quiet, walking silently for the rest of the way.

Once the training time approached, Bo Liye was driven home. Upon getting out of the car, she saw a long-unseen black Audi A8 in the parking lot. The window rolled down, revealing Bo Jingxian’s face.

Bo Liye called out in surprise, “Mom? Why are you back?”

Bo Jingxian’s features were similar to Bo Liye’s, but her edges had grown colder through years of work. Her jawline was sharp and decisive. She frowned at Bo Liye’s outfit. “Go change into something decent. I’m taking you out to dinner tonight.”

It was undoubtedly one of those occasions. Having just come from the clean environment of No. 1 High, Bo Liye instinctively felt repulsed. “I don’t feel well today. Can I stay home?”

Bo Jingxian froze for a second, staring straight at Bo Liye.

Bo Liye looked toward the front of the car, her stubborn eyes naturally reflecting a teenage rebellious streak. Her gaze was still clear, but for some reason, her conversations with Bo Jingxian no longer held their former warmth.

“Do you really feel unwell, or do you just not want to go?” Bo Jingxian opened the car door and stepped out. Her heels made her several centimeters taller than Bo Liye as she looked down at her daughter. “If you don’t want to go, there are plenty of people willing to be my children.”

Bo Jingxian walked toward the house, leaving behind a final sentence: “If you change your mind, come inside. Otherwise, don’t bother coming back at all.”

Bo Liye breathed deeply, feeling as though something was pressing against her chest, making it hard to breathe. She looked at the gate leading out, but she couldn’t bring herself to walk through it. After a long while, she turned stiffly and entered the house.

That evening, Bo Liye wore a white formal dress that satisfied Bo Jingxian. She stood by Bo Cheng’s side, watching Bo Jingxian speak eloquently on stage. At the end of the speech, her mother raised a glass: “Thank you all for your support of our work. May we build this city together for the benefit of the people.”

The brilliant chandeliers reflected in the clinking glasses. Bo Cheng, in a grey suit matching Bo Jingxian’s, led Bo Liye over as her mother stepped down. Executives from other companies came forward to curry favor and inquire about the specific plans for the project. Bo Jingxian handled the topics with ease, while they offered the familiar praise: “A successful career and a happy family.”

Bo Liye held her glass, sipping drink after drink to match her parents’ rhythm. When people who seemed to be on good terms with her mother brought their children over, she would proactively greet them. In dress, manner, and speech, she was flawless.

Once the pleasantries ended, she would politely return a smile to her peers and move on to receive the next couple. Finally, a lady who had been chatting warmly with Bo Jingxian called her son over. The man reached out his hand to Bo Liye: “Miss Bo, we meet again.”

Bo Liye searched her memory and managed to recall his identity, a third generation military family, surname Zhou, who had also attended Haichuan. Someone in his family had gone into business. Under her mother’s smiling gaze, Bo Liye reached out: “Hello, Senior Zhou.”

Fortunately, this person was just like her, a decorative piece brought along to showcase a “happy family.” When he invited her to the dessert area, Bo Liye looked at Bo Jingxian and received permission.

Escaping that suffocating and dizzying circle, Bo Liye exchanged contact info with him and then “accidentally” bumped his glass, spilling pale champagne onto her skirt.

The other party hurriedly grabbed napkins and apologized profusely: “Junior, I am so sorry.”

This had been Bo Liye’s intention all along, but she still put on an embarrassed face. “I’m so sorry, I need to go to the restroom. Please excuse me.”

She then headed for the restroom, finally escaping the event.

Her last WeChat message was from half an hour ago, when she had told Qin Mingyan she didn’t need to come over for tutoring tonight and sent a photo taken before entering the venue. Qin Mingyan hadn’t replied. Bo Liye wondered irrelevantly: What is she doing right now?

She wasn’t one for guessing, so she sent a message: 【What are you doing? Why haven’t you replied to me?】

This time, the reply was quick. It was a photo of a blackboard covered in mathematical formulas, with the text: 【Still in class】

In the past, Bo Liye would have commented on the heavy workload. But now, looking at the photo of the blackboard, she found it much more pleasing to the eye than the environment she was currently in.

Bo Liye finished tidying her dress and was about to head to the sink when a sudden change occurred.

A hand reached from behind and tightly covered her mouth, fingers digging into her cheek as she was dragged directly back into the stall.

Bo Liye struggled violently. The other person was faster, a pre-prepared tie was immediately blindfolded over her eyes, followed by the “click” of the stall door locking.

Hot breath licked at her ear. The sound of the other person’s excited panting caused Bo Liye’s face to turn deathly pale in an instant.

“Which one of those guys were you looking at? Are you going to have an arranged marriage with them?”

This… this person was…?

Bo Liye struggled with all her might, hitting and kicking at the stall door. But the other person wasn’t afraid at all. Their legs easily pinned down her kicking legs, while their upper body pressed lewdly against her back. The person let out a deep, satisfied sigh:

“Sweetheart, I’ve caught you.”