Chapter Twelve May Not Like It, But Will Eventually Get Used To It

  Since the unexpected "bedroom door" incident, the secret passage has been exposed, and Situ Xuan has become even more reckless in using that small window to enter and exit. She would sneak in while Yao Qiyun was still in the room, disappear from his sight at the window, and suddenly appear outside when he was sitting at his desk reading, jumping lightly onto the floor with her feet on the table, bringing in a few fallen leaves of four seasons green, as if she had entered an uninhabited territory.

  In these processes, they usually have little communication. Situ Xuan has always adhered to the principle of "if the words don't fit, half a sentence is too much", and Yao Qiyun seems to have completely lost interest in talking to her after repeated conflicts. Most of the time, he chooses to ignore her behavior, even if she comes with stars and moon on her head, he doesn't even want to lift his eyelids, at most, after she successfully enters the house, he coldly brushes away the dust she brings, with an expression as if she were a cricket that came uninvited.

  At first, Situ Xuan was still worried that Yao Qiyun would betray her in front of her parents, but after waiting for a while without hearing any news, she finally confirmed that he really didn't plan to betray her. She also didn't know why the hypocritical person who usually liked to be her parents' "eyes and ears" and enjoyed "tattling for rewards" was keeping his mouth shut this time. After thinking about it for a long time, she found a most reasonable explanation: Yao Qiyun was afraid that if her parents knew, they would ask questions and accidentally reveal the fact that Situ Xuan had hidden in his bed that night. That time, he also had a share of lying, and if Situ Xuan were to retaliate, even jumping into the Yellow River couldn't wash it clean. Even if Situ's mother believed in his character, it would still damage his carefully crafted "perfect image". Otherwise, he wouldn't be so kind-hearted.

  Occasionally, Situ Xuan would feel a slight twinge of guilt. She thought to herself that using someone else's room as a passageway so brazenly might be going too far. However, every time this nascent "conscience" arose, it would be dispelled by the disgust and coldness in his eyes. This room was originally hers; if not for him, things wouldn't have turned out like this today. So, whenever she felt uneasy at heart, thinking about his despicable behavior immediately calmed her down, making her want to spite him even more.

  However, getting to know Qi Yun was a difficult and massive project. He hid his emotions too well, and most of the time, he seemed like someone without emotions. He rarely laughed heartily or lost control in anger. He was always steady, silent, polite, and proper, with a caution and self-control that far exceeded his age. Even Situ Xuan once secretly heard her mother say this to her father: "This child Qi Yun, you can't find any fault with him, but at the same time, you can't see through him either. I admit he's sensible, but somehow it feels like there's a layer of distance between us."

  "Children from that kind of environment are all like this, can't help but grow up a bit earlier. That's why they say poor people's children become adults early. Those who haven't suffered at all are like your daughter, without a care in the world. I think this child is not bad, down-to-earth, good character and temperament. As for what you said 'being distant', it'll get better with time."

  In school, Yao Qiyun was also a loner, having no friends and not getting into trouble with others. He rarely greeted Shi Tu Jue when they met in school, so few people knew about their relationship, except for Wu Jiang and Mei Mei, who were closer to Shi Tu Jue. What Shi Tu Jue heard from others about Yao Qiyun was either "introverted" or "a strange person with a retainer who rarely speaks". Even Mei Mei had said in front of Shi Tu Jue that although Yao Qiyun wasn't aggressive at all and was far from being "ferocious", she couldn't help but feel a little scared when she saw him. Probably this was also because he was new to the school, didn't fit in well, and not many people would intentionally provoke him, after all, everyone understood the logic of "a dog that won't bark won't bite".

  Situ Xuan can understand where Mei's "fear" comes from. Yao Qiyun has a kind of inherent sense of alienation and gloom, as if he had set up a fence between himself and the outside world, which was also particularly evident when she first met him. However, what she is more aware of than others is that he is not as mysterious and unpredictable as he seems.

  He doesn't like to talk, apart from his personality, it's more because he doesn't want his accent to attract attention and ridicule. He doesn't smile either, partly because of that ugly dental brace. He doesn't like to interact with people, not because he looks down on others or is naturally introverted, but because he is deeply insecure, afraid of being rejected, so he rejects others from the start.

  More importantly, his emotions, although well-hidden, don't mean he doesn't have any.

  He also sweated profusely, just like that night when her father made a surprise attack.

  He would also be anxious and worried, every time he tried to do everything perfectly at home, but was met with Xue Shaoping's gentle yet reserved gaze.

  He also blushes and feels embarrassed, for example, after taking a bath and walking out of the bathroom with his upper body exposed, he is caught off guard by Si Tu Jue who suddenly appears and looks him up and down with a smirk on her face.

  He also gets angry, although not often, but at least Situ Xing has been "lucky" enough to see it a few times. The more he burns with "fierce anger" in his heart, the more he wants to suppress it, looking like nothing's wrong on his face, but his eyes are as cold as a poisonous snake.

  Of course, he wasn't always so annoying. When her dad made her do chores, he would silently take on some of the workload; on gloomy mornings, he would bring an extra umbrella and quietly hand it to her when she was standing under the school building with many others waiting for the rain to clear; on nights after self-study sessions, he would intentionally or unintentionally wait for her to walk home together, and when she was chatting and laughing with a group of friends, he would lag behind in the distance, and only catch up when everyone had dispersed and she was walking alone for the last short stretch, his footsteps just a few steps behind.

  Although many of these actions were instructed by her parents, Si Tu Jue was not completely indifferent. For this reason, in school and in front of her friends, although she kept a distance from Yao Qi Yun, she never spoke ill of him. When encountering people who knew their relationship and made fun of Yao Qi Yun in front of her, she often took the initiative to terminate the conversation.

  She and Yao Qiyun couldn't become friends because their interactions always started with a little softening and adjustment, only to encounter another bigger friction afterwards, and then they would reject each other again, repeating the cycle, unable to achieve thorough reconciliation.

  He loathed her while taking care of her.

  She also hated him while pitying him at the same time.

  Life is like this, two people under the same roof, looking up and not seeing each other, looking down and seeing each other, they may not necessarily like each other, but sooner or later they will get used to each other.

  It was as if Si Tu Jue didn't know either, from what time on, she gradually figured out Yao Qi Yun's temperament in the midst of constant big and small contradictions, unknowingly becoming the person who understood him the most.

  Situ Xuan and Yao Qiyun, from their initial cat-and-dog-like relationship to their later separate lives, had a relatively peaceful coexistence. This made Situ Ji'an, who was worried that Yao Qiyun wouldn't fit in with the family and would be bullied by Situ Xuan, feel slightly relieved. However, women's hearts are more delicate, and Xue Shaoping once ran into Situ Xuan coming out of Yao Qiyun's room, which sparked her suspicions.

  Needless to say, at that time, Situ Xuan just used Yao Qiyun's room as a passage again. However, facing her mother's questioning, she had to tell a lie, saying that she came to discuss homework with Yao Qiyun.

  Xue Shaoping didn't say anything at the time, but afterwards she called her daughter into the room, closed the door, and seemingly casually asked her: "You and Qiyun seem to have gotten a lot closer recently?"

  Cen Xue is not a fool, since she entered the so-called youth period, her mother has been watching her very tightly, afraid that her daughter would easily get into romantic relationships and start dating early, even Wu Jiang, a boy who knows his roots, was ordered to keep a distance from her, let alone others. In the past, when Cen Xue and Yao Qiyun had a falling out, Xue Ping pretended to be a peacemaker on the surface, but didn't worry too much, now that she discovered her daughter sneaking out of his room at night, how could she not be anxious.

  "Who's close to him? If our chemistry teacher wasn't their class advisor, I'd go ask him for the key questions and see his expression?" Siu Yuk said with a smirk.

  Xue Shaoping hesitated, still carefully instructing her once again, still letting her save face and not get along with Yao Qiyun, but absolutely cannot be too close.

  From her mother's words, Citu Xuan understood a few implications. Unlike his father's attitude of hoping she would be in the same family as Yao Qiyun, his mother was still very cautious towards Yao Qiyun. At least she absolutely did not want Citu Xuan to develop ambiguous feelings with Yao Qiyun from their daily interactions. She reluctantly acknowledged her husband's insistence on bringing back this "adopted son", but would never accept the "adopted son" becoming a "son-in-law".

  This attitude made Sī Tù Jīn put down a big stone in her heart, she was worried that Wú Jiāng's ominous words would come true, and with her father's fondness for Yáo Qǐ Yún, it was highly likely that he would try to pair her up with Yáo Qǐ Yún. Just thinking about this made her have nightmares every night.

  Xue Shaoping's sensitivity as a mother is not wrong, it's just that the direction is not correct. At this time, Situ Xin was indeed blooming in the hormonal spring breeze, opening the first peach blossom of her life, but the object was absolutely not Yao Qiyun.

  That was a boy in Wu Jiang's class, named Lian Quan. He was one year senior to Si Tu Xuan and was already in his third year of high school at the time. Lian Quan's reputation had long been heard by Si Tu Xuan, he was just like Si Tu Xuan, both were the focus of the school, from the first year of high school, Si Tu Xuan often heard Mei Mei and others discussing how great Lian Quan was. This "how great" can be translated into high school students' vocabulary, which is nothing more than being handsome, good at sports, having good grades, being liked by teachers, and being admired by girls... Due to the frequent visits to Wu Jiang, Si Tu Xuan and Lian Quan were not unfamiliar with each other, but did not leave a particularly deep impression. In rumors, he was also an extremely arrogant person, and few people could enter his eyes.

  Logically speaking, it's usually difficult for two extremely arrogant people to have anything in common. That was the case with Situ Xin and Lian Quan.

  The problem started in the second year of high school, during a school sports meeting. Sutu Xuan and Mei Mei were cheering on their classmates on the playground, but the championship was taken away by another person - Lian Quan. At that time, Sutu Xuan was standing opposite him, watching him land lightly amidst cheers, and instead of being disappointed for her classmate, she noticed that he was a very good-looking boy when he carelessly wiped the sweat from his face with a smile, like a white crystal in the sunlight, shining brightly from every angle. She liked looking at such a boy.

  At the award ceremony, as a member of the school's etiquette team, Situ Xuan held a tray and personally presented the award to Lian Quan behind the principal. As he passed by him, Situ Xuan couldn't help but give him a gentle smile, but at that time, he didn't react at all.

  When Situ Xuan mentioned this to Mei Mei, Mei Mei said that Lian Quan not taking a liking to the girl was not the first time. She was also sparked by Situ's sudden curiosity about Lian Quan, and laughed, saying that if she really conquered Lian Quan, it would be Situ Xuan's true skill.

  To be honest, Situ Xuan has always been confused about the feelings between men and women, not knowing much about it. After reading so many comics that describe first love as dreamy and illusory, she couldn't help but feel curious to try it out for herself. She had a good impression of Lian Quan, which wasn't common, and Mei's words stirred up her competitive spirit even more. There were many boys who liked Situ Xuan, but she didn't want any of them, yet she met someone like Lian Quan, which made her feel challenged and gave her more motivation.

  She's a gutsy and action-oriented person, once she makes up her mind, she'll go all out. She directly asked Wu Jiang to introduce them, using playing ball as an excuse to invite Lian Quan out to play together.

  Lian Quan was initially surprised by Si Tu Jue's sudden interest, but she wasn't as cold and resistant as the rumors had it. After a few encounters, they both found each other to be quite interesting people. When Si Tu Jue missed a few games due to a cold, Lian Quan even asked Wu Jiang for her phone number and called her at home to show concern, and also took the initiative to ask her out to play alone together after she recovered.

  Situ Xin was unable to adapt to this sudden change in circumstances. She was like a fully armed mountaineer, who had just taken a deep breath and was about to climb up, but before she knew it, she had already reached the top. Her enthusiasm and energy hadn't even had time to be unleashed, leaving her with a sense of melancholy. However, Lianquan's pursuit of her continued smoothly, Situ Xin had started something, but in the end, she couldn't help but follow along.

  Lianquan likes Situ Xin, and Situ Xin also likes to be with Lianquan. The two of them are a perfect match, like crystal and bright pearls shining together, looking incredibly good and harmonious. They often play sports together on the field, sweating profusely, and after self-study, they would sneak past their teachers' and classmates' ears and ride side by side to the school's bicycle shed, chatting freely about life and ideals. Lianquan's home is four streets away from Situ's home, but every evening, he would ride his bike in a big circle to send her back.

  Situ Xuan later also mentioned to Wu Jiang that little bit of awkwardness, originally thought that Lian Quan was really solid as gold, didn't expect that he would also surrender so easily, it was all because of Mei Mei's incorrect intelligence that misled her, how could he be considered "difficult to deal with", not as good as Yao Qi Yun's bad temper that made people helpless. Wu Jiang directly laughed at her for being "shameless", someone who has never fallen before, even the taste of pain is something to look forward to.

  However, that night, Situ Xuan sat on the back seat of a rickety bicycle, feeling the wind blowing up her skirt. Lian Quan told an interesting story, making her laugh non-stop. When she first put her arm around his waist, she felt him take out one hand to hold hers tightly, causing the bike to shake violently for a moment. At that time, Situ Xuan's happiness was also true and real. She leaned close to him, his sweaty breath carrying the vigor of youth, as clean and beautiful as the morning sunlight.

  Lian Quan wanted to send Si Tu Xuan to her doorstep, but she didn't let him. They were still hundreds of meters away from home when she asked him to stop. The two said their goodbyes. She had originally planned to sneak out again after going home, and was afraid of being discovered, so she didn't dare let him appear in front of her parents.

  Just as they were reluctantly parting ways, a rain cloud floated over, accompanied by a strong gust of wind, and large raindrops started pouring down. Sending off Lian Quan, Si Tu Xie rushed back home in the rain, and when he arrived at Yao Qi Yun's window, his body was already half soaked, with water dripping from his hair onto his neck. He was about to push open the window as usual, but was shocked to find that it had been bolted shut from the inside for the first time, and the lights in the room were also out.

  Xī Tuò Xīn's heart skipped a beat, and she felt as anxious as an ant on a hot skillet. She didn't dare to shout loudly, so she lightly tapped on the windowpane and called out in a low voice, "Hey, hey, what do you want? Open the window!"

  The moment she opened her mouth, she tasted the rainwater. She stood under the window for a while and got even wetter. The sound of wind and rain covered up her movements. She thought to herself that Yao Qiyun was either asleep or intentionally teasing her.

  Situ Xuan's heart was secretly resentful, but he couldn't help letting out a sneeze under the cold air. At this time, the light in Yao Qiyun's room finally turned on. With a brushing sound, the curtains were pulled open by someone with force, and behind the glass splashed with rainwater, his perennially unchanged ugly face appeared, only with his mouth pursed even tighter.

  "Open the window!" Si Tu Jue made a gesture.

  Yao Qiyun didn't say a word, but coldly stared at her disheveled state. Situ Xuan was willing to swear on heaven that she saw a delighted expression in his eyes. This perverted guy, who usually endured silently, had been waiting for an opportunity to take revenge all along.

  She waited for a few more seconds, still not seeing him open the window, and her anger reached its peak. Unfortunately, when you're under someone's roof, you can't help but bow your head, and this sentence was especially fitting for her current situation.

  It's not a good idea to let him laugh at her, so Situ Xuan looked around and decided to find a place to avoid the rain, and then settle accounts with him after the rain stopped. Just as she took a few steps outside, "creak" - the window was finally pushed open by him. She held back her anger and climbed inside, her heart still fuming and anxious, and the wet windowsill was very slippery, almost causing her to slip when she stepped on it, luckily Yao Qiyun quickly grabbed her and helped her jump in safely.

  She had barely stood firm when he shook her off with force.

  Situ Xuan broke free from the predicament, let out a long sigh, wrung out the water from his hair, and opened his mouth to scold: "Are you sick? You always do things that harm others but not yourself. Are you happy now?"

  Yao Qiyun looked at her coldly, "It's raining so heavily, how could you not close the window? Besides, I was already asleep just now, who has time to care about your thieving matters?"

  Just as Situ Xuan was about to retort, a towel was thrown over her face, covering it entirely. She took advantage of the situation and used the towel to wipe herself down, and her original anger dissipated somewhat. What he said wasn't unreasonable either; indeed, she had brought trouble upon herself.

  She shook her hair loose and rubbed it until no more water dripped down, and just as she was covering her face with the towel, she said in a muffled voice: "Thanks."

  Yao Qiyun, however, didn't take it kindly and sat down on a nearby chair, coldly smiling: "What's there to thank me for? Isn't the saying 'those who have feelings drink water to quench their thirst'? Drinking more rainwater is also fitting for the occasion. I'm just afraid that I appeared at the wrong time. Are you satisfied now?"

  "What nonsense." Xīu Jìng said, after a while, digesting what he said, suddenly felt like there was something strange about it, no matter how she listened to it, it didn't sound right. Living together every day, Yáo Qǐyún wouldn't be completely unaware of her and Lián Quán's affairs, could it be that he did this on purpose to bully her?

  "What's wrong with you? You're acting like this for no reason!" She walked around him in a circle, her face full of suspicion. "Tell me, are you jealous or something?"

  Yao Qiyun seemed to jump in fright, and immediately let out the most sarcastic laugh that Situ Xuan had ever heard. "Situ Xuan, don't be too full of yourself, not everyone's aesthetic is as unique as yours, standing on the podium like you're one with the blackboard... are you worth it?"

  It's been over a year since Yao Qiyun has been in front of Situ Xuan, and he no longer yields to him as before. He often speaks coldly to her behind Situ Jiusan and his wife, but this is the first time he has said such a long sentence, directly pointing at Situ Xuan's most sensitive spot. Situ Xuan puffs out his chest, takes a step closer to Yao Qiyun with a fierce expression, "Have the guts to say it again!"

  Yao Qiyun glanced at her sideways with his eyes, but immediately shifted his gaze and said uncomfortably: "I'm too lazy to talk about you, why don't you go take a look at yourself?"

  Situ Xuan couldn't help but lower his head to take a look at himself, just about to say "I'm still better looking than you" when he suddenly realized that his light-colored clothes were clinging to his body due to being soaked, revealing every curve.

  She flung the towel at him, "Rascal!"

  "Whoever exposes whoever is a rascal!"

  Fortunately, Si Tu Jue that night was bumpy, but did not get caught by her parents. But as they say, paper can't wrap fire, a few days later, one day, Dad went on a business trip, she and Mom, along with Yao Qi Yun, the three of them were eating dinner together at home. As they ate, Xue Shao Ping suddenly asked Si Tu Jue: "By the way, I remembered something, a colleague told me that he saw you walking very close to a boy on the road yesterday, could it be true?"

  Situ Xuan almost choked on his food, coughing non-stop while secretly glancing at his mother's expression. Had she been seen with Lian Quan by their parents' friends?

  She still didn't know how much her mother knew and couldn't show weakness immediately. So she pretended to be surprised and replied, "What are you talking about? That person must have made a mistake."

  Xue Shaoping looked at her calmly, "That aunt has seen you grow up since childhood, how could she be wrong? You've also been coming home later and later after school recently. Honestly tell mom, have you made some kind of friend?"

  "I can only make friends with Wu Jiang, and at most, we just get along a bit better. I'm used to playing with him, it's always been like this. You guys aren't unaware of this, and nowadays, it's not like the old saying 'men and women shouldn't be too close' is still popular, right?"

  Xue Shaoping put down her chopsticks heavily, "You still don't want to tell the truth? The colleagues in the hospital know you, and they also know Wu Jiang. Besides, I asked Chen Ayi, she said that Wu Jiang hasn't gone out much lately, and even asked why you haven't been visiting their house recently. Who were you with last night?"

  Situ Xuan was about to cry, and just then she saw Yao Qiyun eating quietly, pretending not to notice anything. Last night, Yao Qiyun had indeed been with Lian Quan, but Yao Qiyun had been on duty that evening and had returned around the same time as her. Situ Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly put on an expression of sudden realization, "Right! Yesterday, yesterday evening I was with him when we came back together. I waited for him to finish his night shift, so I was a bit late."

  At this moment, both mother and daughter looked at Yao Qiyun. Sutu Jin was anxious in her heart and secretly kicked him again, asking, "You said so, Qiyun."

  She actually called him "Qiyun", which was the first time in her life, not only did Yao Qiyun's chopsticks stop in mid-air, but Xue Shaoping also felt a little surprised.

  In the past, Yao Qiyun had also taken the blame for her. Sometimes when she broke a vase or ruined her mother's clothes and pushed the blame onto him, he would be spared a scolding. Because Situ Xuan was his own daughter, being lectured was normal, but if it were Yao Qiyun, Situ Jiu'an would say "forget it" and Xue Shaoping wouldn't pursue the matter due to face-saving concerns. At those times, Yao Qiyun silently took the blame for her without a word, thinking that this was also one of the benefits of being an "outsider". And Situ Xuan wasn't someone who would take advantage of others without giving back either - if he helped her once, she would naturally think of ways to repay him, and they wouldn't owe each other anything. This was already one of the few unspoken understandings between them.

  This time she opened her mouth and was so close, with her temper, it wasn't urgent that she wouldn't be like this, the idea of begging and winning over was more obvious. Yao Qiyun's arm suddenly had goosebumps under this "familiar" title, a strange feeling slipped through his heart, but after the palpitations, it was an even deeper chill. The scene where she and Lian Quan walked past him with laughter and conversation appeared in his mind, gradually becoming clearer, and also Xue Shaoping's eyes always had a few points of vigilance.

  "Qiyun, are you with him?" Xue Shaoping looked at Yao Qiyun.

  He remained silent.

  "Come on, kid, say something."

  Yao Qiyun said in a low voice, "Sorry, Ah Yue."