Qin Hai raved and ranted at the mental hospital. His barbed words were unpleasant to the ears. Qin Shu, as the victim of her father’s anger, weathered the storm of his words quietly with her head bowed.

  Ye Luo stood silently at one side. He was not comfortable intervening in the private affairs between father and daughter.

  Qin Shu: “Where is Mu Lan? What about her daughter?”


  Ye Luo: “I’m looking for them. We’ll discover their whereabouts soon.”


  Qin Shu: “Let me know when you find them.”


  Ye Luo: “I will.”


  A cold glint flashed in Qin Shu’s eyes. She would not let Mu Lan and her daughter off so easily.

  Around four in the afternoon, the doorbell rang.

  Thinking it was Jun Li who had come calling, Qin Shu opened the door to her apartment without hesitation. Instead, she was greeted by the sight of a slender man wearing a white shirt and a pair of black pants. Standing at 1.75 metres, he was not particularly tall.

  The man’s hair was cropped short into a neat cut. He sported a mole in a small corner next to his right eye. His skin was as fair as porcelain which, when combined with his shapely eyes and brows, lent him an air of angelic beauty.

  Beside him was someone she knew. It was Qiao Ran.

  Just as Qin Shu was sizing up the cherubic young man, so too was he studying her.

  Qin Shu had been wearing her black-rimmed spectacles for a day now. She needed to get used to wearing them.

  Despite having her glasses on, no one would doubt her beauty. Her skin was as pale as jade, smooth and unblemished. It complimented her exquisite looks perfectly.

  “Senior Qiao, who is this?” Qin Shu sent Qiao Ran a questioning look.

  “Qin Shu, this is Bo Ye, a freshman who will be living in the same apartment as you.” Qiao Ran introduced politely.

  Qin Shu greeted Bo Ye with a warm smile. “Hello, my name is Qin Shu. It’s nice to meet you.”


  “Likewise. My name is Bo Ye.”


  Bo Ye’s voice was cold and indifferent.

  Turning to Qin Shu, Qiao Ran said, “You two should try and get to know each other.”


  Qin Shu nodded with a smile, “Don’t worry, Senior Qiao. We’ll get ourselves acquainted in no time.”


  “I’m glad. I’ll be taking my leave, then. The student council is quite busy at the moment. I should head back to help.” Qiao Ran bade farewell and left.

  “Come in, Bo Ye.” Qin Shu made way for him to enter.

  Bo Ye walked past her with his password box in hand.

  Qin Shu closed the door and followed him in.

  “There are a few rooms here. You may pick whichever one you’d like.”


  “Thank you.”


  Carrying his password box, Bo Ye made for an unoccupied room on the second floor.

  Qin Shu followed Bo Ye’s movements with a keen eye. He seemed rather aloof.

  Bo Ye rarely ventured out of his room. Though he was not the friendliest person around, he was more than willing to help out whenever he could.

  The days passed routinely. Qin Shu noted a certain habit of his. Bo Ye did not eat breakfast.

  On a particular day, before leaving the house, Qin Shu gave him a bowl of lean meat porridge and a bottle of soy milk. “You should have something to eat before going out.”


  Bo Ye stared at Qin Shu in disbelief. “Is this for me?”


  Qin Shu nodded. “Yes, I bought it along the way. It isn’t good for your stomach if you don’t eat breakfast.”


  “Thank you.” Bo Ye accepted the food gratefully, parting with a small remonstration. “You don’t have to buy one for me next time.” Bo Ye stepped out of the apartment with the food in hand.

  Qin Shu shook her head and followed him out.

  It was the start of a new semester.

  Entering her lecture hall, Qin Shu looked around in search of a seat. Her eyes landed on a figure hunched in a corner. Although the figure’s hair was draped over her face in a messy curtain, Qin Shu instantly recognized Ye Xue for who she was with her natural blond hair.

  She sat alone.

  As she had been busy as of late, Qin Shu did not know how Ye Xue was doing.

  She took the empty seat beside Ye Xue and sat down. Feeling a presence close by, Ye Xue curled in on herself like an armadillo.

  Qin Shu frowned, seeing her classmate’s unusual behaviour. “Ye Xue, what’s wrong?”


  Ye Xue raised her head, seeking the source of the familiar voice.

  “Qin Shu.” Her voice trembled in excitement.

  Ye Xue did not sound like herself. Worriedly, Qin Shu asked, “Is something wrong?”


  Shaking her head, Ye Xue reassured her, “N-no, I-I’m fine. I was just worried about you. I haven’t seen you in a long time. I’m glad you’re okay……”


  Qin Shu giggled at Ye Xue’s words. “How have you been?”


  “I-I’ve been well, thank you……” Ye Xue gripped her pen tightly. The professor had arrived and was standing on the podium.

  Qin Shu bowed her head and conversed with Ye Xue softly. She felt as if she had returned to the past.

  Having met with calamity, Qin Shu thought Ye Xue would be changed irreparably by the experience. Thankfully, no lasting harm to her personality was evident.

  They went their separate ways after the lecture since they were taking different subjects.

  The next class……

  Qin Shu walked into the classroom and found an empty seat to sit down.

  A while later, a person took the seat beside her. It was a tall man with a straight back. When he sat down, his shadow eclipsed her daintier form.

  It was Han Xiao.

  Seeing him caused her to think of the photo he had sent her a few nights past.

  After putting his things down, Han Xiao turned to face Qin Shu. He saw her wearing a pair of black-rimmed spectacles that covered her delicate eyes and brows. It was a shame she was concealing her looks again. “I thought you would be reluctant to leave home.”


  “Why would I be reluctant? I still have classes to attend. It’s not like I’ve already graduated from university.” Qin Shu laughed.

  Han Xiao switched on his laptop, getting ready for class. Scrolling through his chat logs from that night, he asked, “Don’t you think you and Xiao Budian are a lot alike?”


  Qin Shu tilted her head in thought but eventually agreed. “Yes, I do think we share a few similarities.”


  Han Xiao was not sure what to make of Qin Shu’s response. Peering into her limpid eyes, it felt wrong to doubt her. Yet, who else but she could be but his Xiao Budian?

  “Are you pretending not to recognize me?”


  “I’m not pretending – I’m really not!” Qin Shu shook her head repeatedly. “When I was eleven, my mother did not send me to Qishan. If I had been to Qishan at all, don’t you think I would remember?”


  “You went to Qishan two years earlier than we did. You were nine when you arrived at Qishan.” Han Xiao corrected.

  “Even if this Xiao Budian was there two years earlier than everyone else, it couldn’t have been me.” Qin Shu retorted. She felt lost, not knowing what to say. The reason she always wore makeup was to prevent herself from being mistaken for Xiao Budian. She knew it would be troublesome, otherwise. Albeit, she had underestimated just how much trouble her looks would invite.

  “Let’s go to class. You’ve been away for a long time.” Failing to obtain a confession, Han Xiao decided to change the topic. It was enough for him to know that Qin Shu was his Xiao Budian.

  Qin Shu shrugged, glad that he had let the matter drop. Han Xiao was right. She had been absent from lectures for far too long.

  After school……

  On the way back to her apartment, Qin Shu remembered the meeting she had promised Ye Xue she would attend. Spinning on her heel, she headed for the women’s dormitory.

  Elsewhere, dorm room 407 was a hubbub of noise.

  A few girls were sitting around discussing which campus hunk was the most handsome and charming.

  “I think Fu Tingyan is the most handsome. When I looked into his eyes, it felt like a bolt of lightning hit me!”


  “No, no! Jiang Yu is the most handsome. Have you seen how athletic he is? He’s the prince of our university’s basketball team!” Lu Yan cried out dreamily.

  Ye Xue, who was doing some practice questions, pursed her lips when she heard Lu Yan mentioning Jiang Yu’s name.

  “I think your roommate has the hots for him. Are the two of you rivals in love?” A girl chattered slyly in Lu Yan’s ear.