Chapter 2: Aren't We Friends Too?

Shi Qi lounged on the sofa until the very last second. Her phone was burning hot from scrolling, her thumb swiping down mechanically, not a single colorful thing on the screen actually registering in her brain.

She glanced at the time. Almost late. Only then did she spring off the sofa, sling her backpack over one shoulder, and head out the door.

Lincheng No. 4 High School wasn’t far from her place—just ten minutes or so on a shared bike. The September wind was still a bit hot, blowing sticky against her face.

Shi Qi steered with one hand, using the other to hold down her hair as it whipped around in the wind, thinking she needed to find a hair tie first thing when she got back to the classroom.

Lincheng No. 4 High was arguably the best school in the city. There were only two kinds of people who got in: those who tested in, and those whose families pulled strings to stuff them in. Either way, none of them were easy to deal with.

Shi Qi was the first kind. She’d done alright on the high school entrance exams, scraping past the cutoff line into the honors class. Later she picked the art track, and now she was in a science class grinding through academic subjects while painting on the side. Neither suffered, but both were exhausting.

The moment she reached the school gate, she spotted a familiar figure standing like a post next to the security booth from afar.

Chen Yu was holding two cups of milk tea, craning his neck to peer in her direction.

Shi Qi parked her bike and walked over.

The second Chen Yu saw her, he looked like he’d found his savior, rushing over two steps at a time.

"Sis! You’re finally here!"

Shi Qi glanced at the milk tea in his hands. Gooming’s new release, water droplets still clinging to the cup. Must’ve just bought it.

Two cups. At least he had some sense, knowing to bring one for her too.

She reached out to take them, but Chen Yu shrank back, looking a little guilty.

"Um… Sis, these two are both for Senior Sister Yu Cheng."

Shi Qi’s hand froze in midair.

Chen Yu hurriedly added, "I’ll buy you one next time! Next time! Just help me deliver these for now, I was afraid one cup wouldn’t be enough—"

Shi Qi stared at him expressionlessly.

Chen Yu’s scalp went numb under her gaze, his voice getting smaller and smaller. "Sis…"

Whatever.

Shi Qi couldn’t be bothered to argue with him and took both cups. Delivering one was delivering, delivering two was delivering. Same amount of effort.

Seeing her take them, the tension on Chen Yu’s face didn’t fade one bit—it actually got more obvious.

He rubbed his hands together and stammered, "Sis, there’s one more thing."

Shi Qi raised her eyes to look at him.

"Um… Senior Sister Yu Cheng, she doesn’t really accept things from other people." Chen Yu’s voice carried a hint of pleading, watching her with puppy-dog eyes. "Just tell her you’re the one giving it, okay? Say it’s from you, don’t mention me."

Shi Qi didn’t say anything.

"Please, Sis," Chen Yu pressed his palms together, practically about to bow down to her. "Help me deliver a few times first, let her remember you, and then you can slowly bring me up. Baby steps. You’re my real sister, I’m begging you just this once in my life."

He’d said that exact thing last time too.

Shi Qi looked down at the two cups of milk tea in her hands, then at her cousin’s face screaming *please please please*, and finally sighed.

"Fine."

Chen Yu looked like he’d been pardoned from death, thanking her several times in a row before bolting off in a flash, probably afraid she’d change her mind.

Shi Qi carried the milk tea toward the teaching building, and the further she walked, the more she felt she’d agreed too quickly just now. She and Yu Cheng weren’t close at all. Since starting high school, they hadn’t exchanged more than a few words.

Suddenly running over to give someone milk tea, and using her own name to do it—the more she thought about it, the weirder it felt.

Forget it, a promise was a promise.

Class 3 of the second year was on the third floor of the teaching building, left turn at the end of the hallway. She set the milk tea on her own desk first, greeted a few classmates who had already arrived, then grabbed the drinks again and headed next door to Class 2.

Class 2 and Class 3 were separated by a single wall. The room layouts were identical, only the number on the sign by the door differed by one. Shi Qi stood at Class 2’s back door and swept her eyes through the window.

Yu Cheng wasn’t here yet.

Her seat was easy to spot—second row by the window. The reason Shi Qi knew was because every time she passed Class 2, that spot was always the liveliest.

Like right now, several things were already piled on the desk. Two bags of snacks, a box of chocolates, and a bottle of strawberry milk. Who knew how long they’d been sitting there.

Shi Qi almost laughed. Looks like her cousin had some serious competition.

She raised a hand and tapped on the glass.

The girl sitting by the window had a ponytail and was writing homework with her head down. Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw the person standing outside.

She froze for a second, then frantically shoved the window open, moving ridiculously fast.

"Sh-Shi Qi?"

That shout made several nearby students look over.

You couldn’t blame them for overreacting. Shi Qi was somewhat of a big name here at No. 4 High.

She was eye-catching. Short hair that just hit her shoulders, the ends curling inward naturally. She usually couldn’t be bothered to style it, just leaving it loose like this.

Standard peach-blossom eyes, paired with narrow inner double eyelids. When she looked at people, the corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, carrying a careless sort of vibe.

Today she wore the most basic white short-sleeve shirt, her uniform jacket draped over her arm. She looked crisp and lazy all at once.

Not to mention she was an art student. Half the names on the outstanding works displayed in the school hallways were hers. Last semester, in that city-wide youth painting competition, she took gold. The principal read her name three times during the flag-raising ceremony. In this honors high school, plenty of people were good at academics, but very few were good at both their major and academics.

So when a person like that suddenly appeared at Class 2’s back window, holding two cups of milk tea, it was hard not to draw attention.

"Why is Shi Qi in our class?"

"Is she looking for someone?"

"What’s she holding, milk tea?"

The girl by the window snapped out of it, her voice a little nervous. "W-who are you looking for?"

Shi Qi handed the two cups over, nodding toward the second row by the window. "Could you put these on Yu Cheng’s desk for me?"

The girl took the milk tea, looked down—Gooming, and two cups at that.

She blinked, then looked back up at Shi Qi, her eyes spelling out *what does this mean*. A short-haired girl next to her had already leaned over, whispering something in her ear. The two exchanged a meaningful look.

Shi Qi knew what they were thinking. She had no intention of explaining. She said "thanks," turned around, and went back to her own classroom.

What she didn’t know was that the moment she left, the back rows of Class 2 blew up.

"Did I see that right? Shi Qi gave Yu Cheng milk tea?"

"That’s Gooming’s new Mango Pomelo Sago, I just had one yesterday."

"When did those two get to know each other? Never heard about it."

"Shi Qi’s never come to our class before either, right? Is today the first time?"

The ponytail girl carefully placed the two cups on Yu Cheng’s desk, terrified of knocking over the pile of snacks beside them.

After setting them down, she took a step back to look. It felt slightly off, so she reached out and straightened the cups a bit.

"Do you think Yu Cheng will accept them?" the short-haired girl asked, leaning over.

"No idea," the ponytail girl shook her head, then added, "but if it were me, I definitely would."

The two looked at each other and didn’t say another word.