Sweetheart, It's Time To Pay Your Debt - Chapter 3

Bo Liye hurriedly blacklisted the voyeur’s number in a panic, offering a brief explanation to Gu Baifan. “My family is pressuring me to get home early.” On the way to the parking lot, she was in a state of constant jumpiness.

Even the curious and envious glances from passing students made her feel deeply uncomfortable. Grabbing Gu Baifan’s wrist and ignoring the pain in her injured foot, she walked faster and faster.

The white Mulsanne was already waiting at the parking lot entrance. Bo Liye hurriedly said goodbye to Gu Baifan and climbed into the back seat with Qin Mingyan.

Her schoolbag was already on the seat, likely brought along by Qin Mingyan. Bo Liye wasn’t in the mood to talk; after getting into the car, she simply stared at the scenery outside the window, her lips pressed pale.

To her horror, once the car hit the elevated highway, a new text message popped up on her phone:

【Sweetheart looks so beautiful when she cries.】

【The taste of being kissed while crying must be wonderful.】

【Don’t blacklist me, okay? Otherwise, I’ll have to fall asleep looking at these photos every night.】

The third message was a photo. The background was the restroom from earlier, in the tilted camera angle, she was huddled in Qin Mingyan’s arms, her misty eyes rimmed with tears that were about to fall, the corners of her eyes a vivid, watery red.

It was a new number, a jumble of disordered digits just like the last one, probably a five yuan prepaid card from a newsstand.

Inside the superior insulation of the luxury car, a chaotic buzzing filled Bo Liye’s ears, and the veins at her temples throbbed with pain.

Why, why, why must they follow me?

Bo Liye didn’t dare blacklist this new number. Her head ached fiercely, as soon as she reached home, she rushed straight to her bedroom, locked the door tight, drew all the curtains, and shut off all her electronic devices.

Hiding under the covers, she was no longer the popular “Big Miss” of the school; she only wanted to wrap herself up and briefly escape that stalker.

During this time, the hired auntie seemed to knock a few times, but Bo Liye remained in a daze and didn’t answer. By the time the door was forcibly opened, it was already 8:00 PM.

The sudden light and the ensuing footsteps jolted Bo Liye from her dream. Drenched in cold sweat and before her vision could focus, a phone was thrust in front of her face.

“Bo Liye, Auntie Wang said you locked yourself away the moment you got home today, no talking, no eating. What are you doing now?”

Bo Jingxian’s voice came through. Bo Liye’s eyes finally focused on the screen, seeing her own reflection: eyes bloodshot, face deathly pale, and her school uniform completely disheveled.

She opened her mouth, enduring the dizziness of just waking up: “Mom, I’m feeling a bit unwell.”

Bo Jingxian was dressed in a dignified, stern black suit, having just come out of a meeting, her speech still carried an air of authority. “I’m asking you, what exactly is your problem today? I offered you a tutor and you refused. Fine. I found the student with the best grades in your school to come over and study with you. On the very first day, you give them the cold shoulder and refuse to be seen. How come you never feel ‘unwell’ when you’re out shopping and swiping cards?”

“I…”

The words about the stalker almost burst from Bo Liye’s lips. “Then why don’t you ask me why I’m unwell?”

Bo Jingxian looked at her coldly. “What else could it be? Bo Liye, you are an adult. We have provided you with the best environment to grow up in. Don’t be so fragile.”

“If you don’t want dinner, don’t eat it. But tonight’s lessons must be made up in full.”

When the icy voice hung up, the words stuck at the tip of Bo Liye’s tongue couldn’t find their way out.

After a moment, Auntie Wang, who was standing nearby, asked patiently, “Xiaoye, why don’t you eat something first? I’ll stir-fry a few fresh dishes for you?”

Bo Liye knew that if she refused again, another phone call would be coming. She nodded and forced a strained smile. “Okay. Sorry for the trouble, Auntie Wang.”

Seeing her willing to eat, Auntie Wang let out a sigh of relief. “No trouble at all! What would you like? We have fresh hairy crabs today, and I can pair them with bamboo shoot and river shrimp soup, sweet and sour pork, and then two vegetable dishes for you, okay?”

Bo Liye rubbed her eyes. “Anything is fine.”

Auntie Wang took the phone and left. Bo Liye’s sprained ankle was more swollen now than when she arrived home. She dragged it carefully, intending to shower first, when she suddenly noticed a gaze from the doorway.

Bo Liye snapped her head up and saw Qin Mingyan standing at her door. She didn’t know how long she had been watching, but Qin Mingyan’s brow was slightly furrowed. Looking down at her, she didn’t seem as cold as usual, it looked more like…

Pity?

Was Qin Mingyan pitying her?

She had solved Qin Mingyan’s financial troubles, she had everything she could ever want. How dared Qin Mingyan look at her with that expression?

Seeing this, Qin Mingyan walked over holding Bo Liye’s schoolbag. “I’ve organized all your assignments for you. Check if anything is missing, you can use my books for now.”

Bo Liye suddenly reached out and slammed the handed over schoolbag onto the floor.

The beautiful beads on the zipper clattered as they scattered everywhere.

Still not satisfied, Bo Liye’s eyes reddened. She forcefully threw the pillows and plushies from the bed, smashing whatever she could reach. A mess instantly surrounded Qin Mingyan.

Only after she had finished her outburst did Qin Mingyan calmly lean down to pick up the items Bo Liye had hurled off the bed, one by one.

Bo Liye bit her lip. Seeing Qin Mingyan’s actions, the irritability in her heart subsided slightly. She knew she should apologize, no one likes someone who throws random tantrums.

But she still kept her chin up stubbornly.

She watched Qin Mingyan until she finished tidying everything up, then spoke coldly.

“Come here.”

Qin Mingyan placed Bo Liye’s phone on the nightstand and turned to face her. Her school uniform was still perfectly neat, just like her persona, untouched by external forces, seemingly devoid of warmth.

Bo Liye’s gaze traveled up and down. She said slowly, “Do you hate me?”

Qin Mingyan’s voice was clean: “No.”

“It seems my mother’s compensation is very generous. I treat you like this, and you can still say ‘no’ without changing your expression.” Bo Liye’s tone was light, but her eyes were cold. “Then do you think I’m pitiful?”

Qin Mingyan still uttered two words: “No.”

Bo Liye laughed.

She had just woken up from a nightmare, and her face was still sickly pale, but her eyes were watery and alluring. Then, she suddenly pulled Qin Mingyan down. Using her uninjured right leg to straddle her, she gripped Qin Mingyan’s collar tightly.

She gritted her teeth, her words forced through her lips: “Do you think that because you know about my family situation, you can threaten me back? That you can look down on me?”

Qin Mingyan’s long hair spilled across the bed. She half-closed her eyes and said, “I wouldn’t. I came to find you because your mood was wrong when you got home today. If I had known your mother would speak to you like that, I wouldn’t have entered your room with Auntie Wang.”

“So you heard everything.” Confirming that Qin Mingyan had heard the video call, Bo Liye’s anger flared even more. She pressed down on Qin Mingyan with force, wanting her to taste a bit of the same misery.

“Don’t you want to know why I’m in a bad mood? Fine, I’ll tell you. Someone saw us hugging in the restroom. The top student, the competition winner, hugging and holding me in a bathroom, someone took a photo of that. What do you think people will think when they see it?”

Vindictively, Bo Liye pulled up the photo from the voyeur and shoved the screen in front of Qin Mingyan’s face.

Qin Mingyan glanced at it and said calmly, “We go to school to study. There’s no need to care about such a photo. If the person actually dares to publish it, you can call the police.”

“Call the police?”

Bo Liye’s voice grew even colder. “You’re telling me to call the police?”

The air was thick with danger.

If it were any other student in the school, they would already be trying to coax and soothe Bo Liye.

But Qin Mingyan only remained silent for a few seconds before saying in a level tone, “Do you know who it is? If not, the police can help.”

Bo Liye stared down at Qin Mingyan for a long time. If she dared to call the police, her mother would definitely get her hands on all her chat logs before the police even found out who the stalker was.

“You want me to call the police? Is it to catch that person, or so my family finds out about us so I’ll let you go?” Bo Liye untied Qin Mingyan’s necktie and pushed the shirt collar aside, revealing skin that was smooth and fair, the marks from the afternoon already gone.

She warned Qin Mingyan: “Don’t forget how expensive your mother’s monthly medical and nursing fees are. Besides me, how many people in school would pay this much for a tutor? Even if you worked ten jobs outside, it wouldn’t match what I give you.”

“What you give is already very generous.” Qin Mingyan turned her face away, avoiding the breath Bo Liye exhaled as she leaned down. “Moreover, if your family finds out about us, they certainly won’t let me off.”

Hearing Qin Mingyan’s rare admission of vulnerability, Bo Liye felt much better. It was true, where else could a high schooler like Qin Mingyan find a job that paid so much without conflicting with her studies?

However, Bo Liye wasn’t going to apologize. She leaned in, intimately sniffing the scent on Qin Mingyan’s neck, and said, “Those doctors can treat the physical illness, but they can’t treat her heartache. When the time comes, I’ll have my mother find the best psychologist to talk to her, okay?”

She didn’t know much about Qin Mingyan’s family, only that she was from a single parent home. Her mother had many underlying issues due to leukemia, and her mental state was extremely unstable, in the hospital, she often had to have her hands tied by doctors to cooperate.

This suggestion seemed to move Qin Mingyan. Her eyes lowered, and she whispered a soft, “Thank you.”

Bo Liye began to list examples of people cured of leukemia and severe depression, mentioning which hospital in Shanghai each specialist worked at and subtly implying the Bo family could hire them.

Growing up among the upper class with her parents, she well understood the tactic of “a stick and a carrot.” As they talked, Bo Liye leaned against Qin Mingyan’s shoulder, her fingers tugging at Qin Mingyan’s school shirt, aimlessly playing with fire.

Qin Mingyan’s breathing began to heat up. “Auntie Wang will have dinner ready soon.”

“Not that soon. I need to shower after waking up, she’ll leave time for that.” Bo Liye licked Qin Mingyan’s ear, her warm breath lingering with her words.

With just that, Qin Mingyan’s whole body tensed, her fingers gripping the bedsheets and leaving deep wrinkles.

Bo Liye had often served as an MC for events, people frequently praised her professional broadcasting voice when she spoke seriously, but she usually brushed it off. After all, she received too much praise for it to mean much to her.

Only Qin Mingyan’s reaction was different.

Qin Mingyan was a person of few words, but her body’s reaction didn’t lie.

Bo Liye gently took Qin Mingyan’s earlobe into her mouth, her teeth and tongue wandering over it while her hand moved to Qin Mingyan’s waist, slowly tightening her hold.

Qin Mingyan’s heavy breathing acted like a stimulant, so Bo Liye kissed harder, nibbling on the soft flesh of the earlobe.

Once the fair earlobe was licked red and swollen, and Qin Mingyan was pressing against her shoulder, Bo Liye finally let go and began to kiss Qin Mingyan’s face.

She kissed Qin Mingyan’s cold, pale cheek, her teeth gently grinding against the corner of her mouth until she parted those pale, thin lips.

“I never asked you, am I your first kiss?” Bo Liye lifted her head mid-kiss, her full, red lips pulling a long, thin strand of saliva that fell back onto the corner of Qin Mingyan’s mouth.

In an instant, Qin Mingyan squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to answer or look at anything.

Bo Liye’s right hand moved up her back, resting on the clasp she hadn’t been able to undo in the afternoon, tapping it twice. “Speak.”

Qin Mingyan opened her eyes again, glaring straight at her, the depths of her eyes red with humiliation from the gesture.

Since they were both girls, Bo Liye easily undid one button. “Is it?”

Qin Mingyan gritted her teeth. “No.”

Bo Liye’s eyes narrowed, filled with brewing anger. “Besides me, who else?”

Qin Mingyan stopped speaking.

Bo Liye smirked.

And so, the second button opened.

Aside from her beautiful face, Qin Mingyan’s figure was exceptionally well-developed, absorbing “nutrients” better than the wealthy girls raised on delicacies. Even though Bo Liye was a girl herself, she couldn’t take her eyes off her.

She licked her own lips, and as she flicked her gaze up, she directly blocked that mouth of Qin Mingyan’s that said such unpleasant things. She didn’t want to ask a third time.

The third button opened.

Qin Mingyan struggled violently for an instant, only to stop all movement in disbelief a few seconds later. “You…”

Qin Mingyan’s personality was hard, and her words were hard, but she hadn’t expected her to be so soft. The heat transferring from her fingertips caused Bo Liye’s mind to go blank for a moment.

It wasn’t until she used a bit too much pressure, causing Qin Mingyan to let out a muffled groan, that Bo Liye finally snapped back to her senses, looking down at Qin Mingyan, whose forehead was beaded with fine sweat.

She leaned in and kissed one of the droplets.

It was warm.

This realization made Bo Liye even more excited. She leaned into Qin Mingyan’s left ear and whispered in a low voice: “Take it off yourself. This is inconvenient for me.”

“No…”

Just as Qin Mingyan made a move to push her away, Bo Liye’s finger brushed heavily against her, and she quickly covered Qin Mingyan’s mouth, preventing her from making another sound.

Bo Liye applied pressure with her hand, but her tone was incredibly gentle.

“Be good.”