See the truth.

Three days had passed since the incident with the seating arrangements.

That evening, just before the self-study period, Xiao Gang appeared before her, his expression serious. "Mu Qingxi, I want to talk to you," he said.

"Alright, let's go over to the plane tree," she replied. For reasons she couldn't quite explain, she had grown fond of that tree. In this place of harsh winters and biting cold, she admired how resilient the plane tree was—thriving, growing thick and strong, and despite its towering height, blossoming with tiny flowers that could even be used as medicine.

Mu Qingxi wished she could be like the tree—understood and cherished by someone.

When they reached the plane tree, she asked, "What is it, Xiao Gang?"

Xiao Gang told her, "Mu Mu, Xi Haifei isn't what you imagine him to be. During our three years in high school, he was the class monitor—always authoritative and domineering with people. That’s just his nature, and also his duty. That’s why everyone calls him 'Brother Hai' when they see him. You shouldn’t be prejudiced."

She took his words to heart. So Xi Haifei wasn’t the “gangster” she’d imagined. The thought made her laugh at her own assumptions. Smiling, she said to Xiao Gang, "Guess how I used to see Xi Haifei?"

Xiao Gang looked puzzled. "How?"

Trying to stifle her laughter, she confessed, "I always thought he was some underworld figure. I even said that if one were to admire a gangster, it’d be better to admire the Black Society. I never expected I was so wrong."

Xiao Gang was momentarily stunned, and then the two of them burst out laughing. Afterward, her relationship with Xiao Gang grew closer, and the misunderstanding with Xi Haifei was cleared up. Still, she didn’t care for his domineering ways.

She took the chance to ask, "Xiao Gang, what about Bai Fanhao? What kind of guy is he?"

"Bai Fanhao?" Xiao Gang considered. "I don’t know him well. I only know he and Xi Haifei are good friends."

She pondered this. How did Bai Fanhao know her, then? She continued, "Xiao Gang, were you always together with Shen Bin before?"

"No," he replied, "Xi Haifei and I were in the same class. Shen Bin was in the neighboring class. We got to know each other because we were all class officers."

...

They talked for a long time, right up until the self-study period began. Xiao Gang went in ahead of her, and as she entered the classroom, she noticed a boy trailing behind her, glaring at her with a sullen look. Annoyed, she shot him a fierce glare, snorted, and strode into the room with her head held high. How inexplicable—she didn’t even know this guy and certainly didn’t owe him five hundred silver dollars, so what right did he have to be angry with her?

Xi Haifei, already in the classroom, stood up to let her take her seat. Once she sat down, he fixed her with a cold stare. Mu Qingxi chose to ignore it until his voice finally broke the silence, "Where did you go?"

She glared at him and retorted, "You're being a little too nosy."

Xi Haifei didn’t think he was meddling too much and, somewhat irritated, said, "Mu Qingxi, can’t you speak properly?"

She ignored him. If words failed to connect, there was no point in speaking further. Neither of them said another word.

Over the next week, Mu Qingxi and Xi Haifei spoke little, but his displeasure was obvious. His face grew darker by the day. Whenever he tidied up his desk, he did it with such force that it made a racket. If Mu Qingxi ignored him, he would snort heavily through his nose before walking away.

As soon as Xi Haifei left, Qin Yu turned to her in surprise, "Mu Mu, Xi Haifei is just too adorable. I never noticed before—hahaha!"

Mu Qingxi had to admit he was rather endearing, though a bit awkward as well. She had let go of her prejudices against him, but she still didn’t want to face the intensity of his feelings. She had no idea where his affections for her had come from or what exactly he liked about her. The thought troubled her.

At eleven that night, Mu Qingxi’s phone chimed. It was a text message. She opened it:

"Mu Qingxi, I want to take care of you, for a lifetime. —Xi Haifei"

Mu Qingxi stared at the message for a long moment before replying:

"Xi Haifei, not everyone needs those empty, powerless promises. Don’t make promises lightly, because I’ve never believed in promises—I only believe in actions."

After receiving Xi Haifei's message, she found herself unable to focus on her reading any longer.