Chapter 24: Two Tigers Cannot Share One Mountain

Shen Qing walked ahead alone, while Chubby quickly caught up, pushing his bicycle.
“Shen Qing, where do you live?” Chubby was cheerful and talkative, the kind of person who made friends with anyone.
“Tianyuan.” Shen Qing slowed her pace a little.
Chubby nodded; the property prices in Tianyuan were quite high, the location was excellent, and the security was strong. It seemed Shen Qing’s family was doing well.
“That’s a shame, I’m not on your way. But Chuyu, you could walk Shen Qing home!” Chubby pulled Chuyu, who had been dawdling behind, over.
Chuyu shot him a glare—he didn’t want to walk Shen Qing home!
“Chuyu, Shen Qing lives in Tianyuan. That’s close to your place, you two are going in the same direction,” Chubby continued, oblivious to Chuyu’s death glare.
Shen Qing glanced at the two of them but said nothing.
As the three left the school gate, Chubby hopped onto his bicycle, waved goodbye to them with a grin, and rode off.
Chuyu looked at Shen Qing. The girl was tall, and her skin appeared even paler under the streetlights.
“Let’s go,” Chuyu said. He didn’t get on his bike but walked alongside Shen Qing.
He had a mountain bike with no extra seat to carry anyone.
Shen Qing raised her eyebrows slightly. “Go ahead without me.”
Chuyu didn’t hear her clearly. “What?”
“Ride your bike and go by yourself.”
“Do you think I want to walk with you? If anything happens to you on the way, the one who’ll be worried is Sister Huan,” Chuyu muttered, curling his lip. If it weren’t for Sister Huan’s fondness for her, he wouldn’t bother!
“Suit yourself.” Shen Qing tossed out the words and picked up her pace.
Chuyu was caught off guard—she had already gone several steps ahead. Worse yet, he couldn’t catch up unless he ran.
A bit embarrassing...
After more than ten minutes, Shen Qing walked straight into the Tianyuan community gate without so much as a backward glance at Chuyu.
“Damn! Heartless,” Chuyu gasped, leaning on his bike.
A girl, and yet she ran like the wind!
*

Shen Qing unlocked the door with her key. Xia Mang was curled up on the living room sofa, watching TV.
“Hey! You’re back.”
“Mm.” Shen Qing kicked off her shoes and padded in barefoot.
“How was school?”
“Slept like a baby.”
Xia Mang: …
Shen Qing grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to shower.
“Qingqing, do you want me to scrub your back?”
“You don’t want your arm anymore?” Shen Qing’s voice was as cold as ice from the bathroom.
“You really don’t know how to joke,” Xia Mang muttered.
When Shen Qing came out, it was already eleven at night. Xia Mang was still in the living room watching a muted TV.
Shen Qing walked into her room. It was plain: a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and chair. Everything was either white or gray.
On the desk, a clear glass vase held a bouquet of red roses. She didn’t need to guess—Xia Mang had put them there.
She loved playing with these showy things.
Lying in bed, Shen Qing opened her laptop and logged onto a website. The stocks she’d bought earlier were climbing fast and still on the rise.
There was a message from Dragon King in the inbox, sent two days ago.
[Dragon King: Take your profits while you can.]
Shen Qing replied with a quiet “Mm,” then quickly sold off all her stocks, making two hundred million.
***
First High’s morning reading started at 6:50. It wasn’t so bad in summer, but in winter, tardy students were as plentiful as Xie Mingming’s hair—grab a handful, and you’d have a bunch.
Yao Panpan, the class monitor, was in charge of recording latecomers every day.
But if Shen Qing wasn’t there, how was she supposed to mark her down?
Chuyu brought breakfast for Nie Huan: custard buns and egg soup.

“No need to pay me, it’s my treat.” Chuyu put five yuan on Nie Huan’s desk.
“Next time, then.”
“All right.” Chuyu reluctantly took the money, then glanced at Shen Qing’s empty desk. The first period was about to start, and she still wasn’t there?
When the bell rang, Shen Qing entered at the same time as the physics teacher, one through the back door, one through the front.
Mr. Cao was an elderly man, thin and wiry, with glasses perched on his nose.
“The school gates were closed. How did you get in?” Hearing the voice behind him, Chuyu couldn’t help but ask.
Shen Qing leaned lazily against Nie Huan, almost boneless. “Climbed the wall.”
Chuyu: …
Why did he ask a delinquent girl that question?
“If you don’t study, don’t drag Sister Huan down with you.” Chuyu shot a meaningful look at Shen Qing, who was leaning on Nie Huan’s shoulder.
“What’s it to you?”
Chuyu: …
“Hey! No talking in the back row. You two girls—what are you doing together?” Mr. Cao adjusted his glasses, tossing a piece of chalk in their direction.
Shen Qing reached out and caught the flying chalk with ease.
The class gasped: Damn! That was way too cool!
Everyone was already imagining Shen Qing catching bullets with her bare hands.
“Nothing at all.” Shen Qing tossed the chalk into the trash can behind her and straightened up off Nie Huan.
“Tired? You can lean on me a bit longer,” Nie Huan said, seeing the red rims around Shen Qing’s eyes. Her sleep quality had always been poor.
Chuyu nearly fell off his chair—what in the world were they saying to each other?!
The rest of the class was startled too, sensing something between the two…
There can’t be two tigers on one mountain—unless there’s something going on!