Chapter 41: Buy Me a New One Instead
Qiao Nan: “So, what do you think?”
Mu Xiangxiang stared at him blankly.
Under the night sky and neon lights, his eyes looked impossibly deep, as though there were no end to them. She tried to read some emotion from his half-smiling expression, but he still looked as flippant and casual as ever.
Mu Xiangxiang held her breath. Was he serious?
When Qiao Nan didn’t get an answer immediately, he raised a brow after five seconds of silence. “You—”
It was as if his voice snapped her back to reality. The words burst out of her mouth before she could stop them: “Are you confessing to me?”
Qiao Nan: “……”
“Hey!”
It was like someone had suddenly pinched him back to life. He immediately turned his head away and began explaining at lightning speed: “…I’m just analyzing this possibility, okay? I said it casually! With the way our bodies are now, what, are you seriously going to find some woman in the future? Setting aside whether you even can… uh… that… tch!”
The topic seemed to have veered into dangerous territory. Qiao Nan frowned hard, the leaf he’d been toying with in his palm already nearly crushed to bits. He whipped his head back toward her sharply. “Why do you have so many questions? Can’t you just answer properly? I’m the one nobly sacrificing myself here, alright?”
Mu Xiangxiang: “……”
She looked away first. “Oh.”
Qiao Nan still looked dissatisfied. “What does ‘oh’ mean?”
Mu Xiangxiang herself couldn’t quite explain what she was feeling right now. Lowering her eyes, she turned and continued walking toward home. “…Then your sacrifice really is huge.”
Qiao Nan: “………………”
Qiao Nan: “Hey—”
Mu Xiangxiang walked ahead with her back to him. Neither of them could see the other’s expression. Out of her sight, Qiao Nan irritably raked a hand through his hair before quickly catching up to her. Unfortunately, Mu Xiangxiang had already decided not to pay attention to him anymore. Her gaze stayed fixed elsewhere, her temperament reverting to that calm, indifferent state from before they came to the hospital.
Qiao Nan: “……”
He covered his face and sighed.
Then he picked up a stone irritably and flung it into the distance. The flat stone skipped lightly across the surface of the pond four or five times before silently sinking beneath the water, sending ripples spreading across the previously calm surface.
Squatting atop a decorative rock by the shore, he stared at the disturbed water. In his ears echoed the usual sounds of the park at night: elderly people dancing in the square, the strains of erhu and saxophone music, groups playing Chinese chess and Go, fortune tellers reading palms. Chengxi Park was always lively at night.
The Mu family’s new home was quite far from here, and Qiao Nan hadn’t passed by in a long time. The most recent time had been when he heard Cao Wei was causing trouble for Mu Xiangxiang and came here with Yan Zhiyang and the others. Even then, they’d mostly stayed near the pavilion and never approached this pond.
The child drowning incident had brought noticeable changes to the park. A fence had now been built around the pond, along with several eye-catching warning signs. Qiao Nan’s gaze lingered on the signs for a moment before quietly drifting toward Mu Xiangxiang, who stood nearby leaning against a tree trunk.
Mu Xiangxiang stared blankly at the pond, remembering the day they first met there.
Qiao Nan had appeared on the stone path leading to the pavilion wearing No. 12 High School’s questionably colored uniform under an ordinary black down jacket. Yet he looked no different from the dazzling, radiant figure she remembered. He had been talking on the phone while casually glancing at her with the indifferent look one gave a stranger.
Then she heard him explain to his friend on the phone: “I ran into a Yingcheng student.”
But to Qiao Nan, she really had only been “a Yingcheng student.”
“Hey, are you done sulking yet?” His voice suddenly drifted over from nearby. Mu Xiangxiang looked over and met Qiao Nan’s glittering eyes, reflecting the pond water and lights.
Even in a girl’s body, his squatting posture was outrageously unrestrained, completely unable to hide the arrogance that seemed etched into his bones. Mu Xiangxiang paused at the sight. She wanted to say she wasn’t angry at all, but before she could speak, the girl who’d finished skipping stones had already clapped her hands against her knees and stood up. Stretching lazily, she jumped off the rock and shoved both hands into her pockets before sighing at Mu Xiangxiang. “I’m hungry. Come eat something with me.”
Beside Chengxi Park was a short late-night food street, still decorated with red lanterns no one had bothered taking down since Lunar New Year. The noisy chatter of diners and the rich scent of food filled the air. Crawfish, skewers, hotpot, stinky tofu—everything imaginable lined the street.
Qiao Nan walked ahead, swinging his motorcycle keys casually. “What do you want to eat?”
Mu Xiangxiang wasn’t in the mood for food. “Anything.”
Qiao Nan glanced back at her. For some reason, he seemed oddly helpless as he sighed, ruffling his hair while looking around. “How about barbecue?”
Mu Xiangxiang nodded indifferently.
The barbecue stall sat right at the entrance to the food street. Business was booming; the dining area behind it was packed with customers drinking and shouting merrily. The owner was a plump bald man squinting in concentration as he grilled food amid smoke and flames. Fat dripped from the meat onto the charcoal, sizzling loudly in the heat.
Qiao Nan pointed at the rows of ingredients displayed on the stall. “Want lamb skewers?”
“Anything.”
“How about some yellow croaker?”
“Anything.”
“Squid? Grilled squid skewers?”
“Anything.”
After several rounds of the exact same exchange, Qiao Nan looked utterly exhausted. The stall owner, who had been turning skewers behind the grill, finally couldn’t listen anymore. Looking disapprovingly at Mu Xiangxiang, he spoke up: “I’m telling you, handsome, why are you still sulking when your girlfriend cares about you this much? We, men, shouldn’t be so petty about conflicts. If you really hurt her feelings, the one who’ll feel bad in the end is still you.”
It took Mu Xiangxiang two whole seconds to realize he was talking to her. There were so many things wrong with that sentence that she didn’t even know which part to correct first. “…Um, you misunderstood. I’m not angry, and he’s not my—”
“Boss.” Qiao Nan suddenly cut her off, pointing at the ingredients he’d already asked about earlier. “This, this, this, this, and this—ten skewers each. Do you want spicy?”
He turned to ask Mu Xiangxiang.
Mu Xiangxiang stared blankly at him. When no answer came, Qiao Nan clicked his tongue and turned back around. “Forget it, just make everything mildly spicy. Your family’s food tastes pretty light anyway.”
The equally plump owner’s wife swiftly gathered ingredients onto a tray. As she worked, her gaze kept darting between the two of them. After taking in the strange atmosphere between them, she smiled knowingly and chatted with Qiao Nan: “Your boyfriend’s temper really reminds me of my husband’s. Stubborn and quiet, always bottling everything up inside.”
Qiao Nan shot Mu Xiangxiang a meaningful sidelong glance at the woman’s helpless tone. “What can you do? I can only indulge her.”
“Exactly,” the owner’s wife laughed. “That’s what happens when you fall hard for someone.”
The burly bald owner immediately became embarrassed and started loudly protesting things like “When have I ever been stubborn and quiet?” Amid the sudden laughter and teasing, Mu Xiangxiang stared blankly at Qiao Nan. In the end, under his unreadable gaze, she looked away and fixed her eyes intensely on a tray of oysters instead.
Even while handing over the bag of grilled food, the owner’s wife kept enthusiastically lecturing: “Alright now, handsome. What problem can’t a young couple solve by talking things out? With such a pretty girlfriend, you should know how to treasure her…”
Mu Xiangxiang realized that she hadn’t even bothered correcting her anymore. In fact, inwardly, she completely agreed with the owner’s wife’s assessment that “Qiao Nan” was very pretty.
Had being stuck in Qiao Nan’s body for too long damaged her brain or something? Why did even her way of thinking seem to be changing along with it?
She practically fled from the stall in embarrassment. After randomly finding a quieter spot, the aroma of food drifted out from the opened plastic bag. With a pop, Qiao Nan cracked open a can.
“Want some?” he asked casually after noticing her glance. Then he seemed to remember something, rummaged through the bag, pulled out a bottle of cola, opened it, and handed it to her instead. “You should drink this.”
The river wind blew straight toward them. They were standing on the embankment now. Qiao Nan leaned forward against the railing, gazing silently at the night scenery across the river as he took a sip of beer.
Mu Xiangxiang also drank some icy cola and turned to look at him. They were both just drinking, but somehow, the way Qiao Nan absentmindedly held the can loosely between two relaxed fingers gave him a completely different aura from ordinary people. He seemed lost in thought. Only after a while did he snap out of it and nudge the paper bag toward her. “Eat.”
Mu Xiangxiang hugged the can in both hands and shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
Qiao Nan stared at her for a while before sighing again. At this point, even he probably didn’t know how many times he’d sighed today. Then he squeezed his eyes shut hard before turning back toward the night view.
Mu Xiangxiang stared blankly at the untouched barbecue they’d bought when she suddenly heard him call her name.
“I surrender, alright?”
Mu Xiangxiang: “??”
Then he ruffled her head. “Seriously, what’s with you? Sulking this long?”
Mu Xiangxiang leaned backward, trying to dodge his hand. “…I’m not—”
But once she dodged, Qiao Nan couldn’t reach her even standing on tiptoe. Irritated, he clicked his tongue and simply grabbed her ear instead. Tugging her by the earlobe until she bent down, he immediately pinched both her cheeks.
Qiao Nan looked extremely annoyed as he squeezed her face. “Fine, alright? I suck at talking!”
He was clearly very unaccustomed to backing down. His brows were twisted so tightly they practically knotted together, but he still forced himself to continue. “Do you seriously think I’m some damn saint? My moral conduct grades have literally never passed in my whole life!”
Mu Xiangxiang, who had been about to struggle free, froze instantly and looked at him in confusion.
“Hey!” Qiao Nan was exasperated by her slow reaction. Grabbing her cheeks, he shook them hard. “Did you get it? I’m not some noble self-sacrificing hero who goes around throwing himself away for other people!”
He finally let go. Mu Xiangxiang straightened up blankly, covering her aching cheeks. Instinctively, she took a sip of cola to calm herself down.
Mu Xiangxiang: “…………”
Qiao Nan: “……”
Mu Xiangxiang: “……”
Qiao Nan: “……”
The atmosphere completely froze. Qiao Nan’s gaze flicked to her lips, dampened slightly by cola. He coughed and quickly turned his head away, grabbing the beer from the embankment beside him and taking a huge gulp. “That’s what I mean.”
Mu Xiangxiang had completely short-circuited. She even stopped breathing for a few seconds. Covering her face, she stared blankly at Qiao Nan’s every movement before suddenly turning bright red.
Pressing her lips together, at a total loss for what to do, she also turned to look toward the river. But the corners of her mouth kept uncontrollably lifting upward.
A long while later, Qiao Nan’s irritated voice drifted through the river wind—
“Hey! How are you eating this much? At least leave me one lamb skewer!”
“I’m hungry.”
“Didn’t you just say you had no appetite?!”
“I’m hungry now.”
“Holy shit, that’s already over forty skewers! Plus two bottles of cola! If you eat this much at night without exercising, what’s gonna happen to your abs?!”
“I’m hungry.”
“#￥@%￥………”
After a string of curses—
“Still want grilled squid?”
“Mhm.”
“Lamb skewers?”
“Mhm.”
“Want another dozen oysters too?”
“Yes. More chili, and iced cola.”
“I seriously want to smack you…” Qiao Nan let out a long sigh. “Wait here!”
****
When they parted ways, both of them were acting strangely.
Qiao Nan only turned to leave after watching Mu Xiangxiang disappear through the entrance of her apartment complex. He jogged all the way back to the Mu family home. While washing up, he lifted his head—and discovered the reflection in the mirror wore an unbearably smug expression.
That expression, so uniquely his, really didn’t suit this face at all. Qiao Nan tried hard to suppress it, but every time he remembered the tips of Mu Xiangxiang’s ears turning red before she left, all his efforts failed.
In the end, he simply leaned closer to the mirror and carefully examined this face for the first time.
Mu Xiangxiang’s skin was very pale—fair and delicate. Even though he’d never seen her use skincare products, there was barely a trace of pores on her face. She looked a lot like her mother: big eyes, a pert nose, a tiny face, and lips naturally curved like she was smiling. He’d heard that kind of lip shape was pretty rare.
Qiao Nan couldn’t help reaching up to touch the slightly upturned corners of her mouth, trying to imitate one of Mu Xiangxiang’s expressions. But no matter what, he couldn’t capture the feeling.
Forget anything else—he simply couldn’t reproduce those clear, transparent eyes.
What had she looked like wearing this face before? Qiao Nan tried digging through his memories for clues, only to discover, annoyingly enough, that there were none.
The earliest memory was probably that first encounter at the pavilion in Chengxi Park. But at the time, he hadn’t paid any attention to a completely unfamiliar girl. The strongest impression he retained was merely that long black hair.
Long hair. Quiet. Thin and small. Wearing Yingcheng’s girls’ uniform, reading a book under the park lights at night. A little silly.
But now, the pale little bookworm in his memories suddenly seemed adorable. The thought scratched at his heart unbearably.
Qiao Nan clicked his tongue and tugged irritably at the short bangs he’d personally ruined by cutting them. After being swapped for so long, he suddenly felt a tiny bit regretful.
Then he glanced downward once, and the itch in his heart only worsened. Pretending nothing was wrong, he hurriedly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around himself.
The entire process was conducted with gentlemanly restraint—he deliberately avoided letting his hands touch the body.
But the moment he stepped out of the bathroom and saw the mountain of books piled across the desk, his entire body jolted awake.
What the hell are you flirting for? You’ve got exams next Monday, alright?!
A wave of utter despair galloped through his brain.
Thinking about the days he’d spent studying nonstop recently, sleeping barely three hours a night, Qiao Nan almost started trembling.
But reality was cruel. Even after studying himself half to death, Qiao Nan still couldn’t guarantee he could achieve Mu Xiangxiang’s grades.
This was the girl who had beaten second place by a full forty-two points last semester to rank first in the entire grade at Yingcheng.
Unless Qiao Nan secretly had a supercomputer for a brain, how could he possibly reach that level after abandoning his studies for over a year with only a short burst of effort?
But the moment he thought about the consequences of messing up this exam, Qiao Nan simply couldn’t allow himself to relax.
Setting aside the pressure from Yingcheng itself, just the thought of the couple outside the bedroom door—those parents who had placed such enormous hopes on their daughter—was enough to keep him from bearing the idea of disappointing them.
Those traditional parents had always been so proud of their daughter’s outstanding grades…
The pressure weighed on Qiao Nan so heavily he could barely breathe. Back at the Qiao household, because of how distant their relationship was, his father and older brother had never once expressed expectations about his academics or grades. So after living this long, this was the first time he truly understood what it meant to be a high school student crushed under the pressure of exams and university admissions.
Sitting at the desk, Qiao Nan sighed. He actually hadn’t slept for two straight days now. Every night had been spent staying up until dawn grinding through problem sets.
There was no helping it. Since he had already taken on Mu Xiangxiang’s life—
then from now on, he would also have to shoulder Mu Xiangxiang’s responsibilities.
He made himself another cup of strong coffee, switched on the desk lamp, and opened his workbook and lecture notes. Even if the outcome was basically already decided, at least if he tried his hardest, the guilt would feel a little lighter. Suppressing the dizziness and pounding headache, Qiao Nan was fueled by this strange conviction into an unprecedented passion for studying.
It should have been another sleepless night. He wrote furiously until the first faint light of dawn appeared.
Yet at some unknown point, his vision began to blur.
Mu Xiangxiang suddenly appeared from nowhere, dressed in Yingcheng’s school uniform, those clear transparent eyes wide open, the tips of her ears flushed red as she stood by the embankment.
The river breeze lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, revealing beneath it a pair of pale, slender legs. The wind also scattered her long black hair, letting it flutter loosely and messily around her.
The fitted Yingcheng uniform shirt clung tightly to her body in the wind, outlining her delicate curves. The top button wasn’t fastened all the way, leaving the collar slightly open to expose her slim neck and exquisite collarbones—so pale they were almost dazzling.
She looked shy and delicate. Her face, small enough for Qiao Nan to cover with one hand, was tilted slightly downward, giving off a kind of pure yet hazy temptation.
Beautiful enough that he couldn’t look away.
Qiao Nan stared in a daze, anxious at the same time. There were so many people by the night market—how could Mu Xiangxiang let others see her looking like this?!
He immediately stripped off his jacket and hurried over to drape it around her shoulders. But before he could succeed, his arm was caught by a cool little hand.
That hand was tiny and soft, fingers tender and pale like scallions, the joints and nails tinged faintly pink. Her wrist looked fragile enough to snap with the slightest pressure. Qiao Nan didn’t even dare pull away, afraid he might accidentally hurt her.
Mu Xiangxiang simply looked up at him pitifully, blinking slowly, her eyelashes fluttering.
Her moist lips parted, and her voice sounded absurdly pleasant, like someone teasing the inside of his ear with a feather. “Qiao Nan.”
Staring at her lips, Qiao Nan unconsciously softened his breathing. “What is it?” he asked carefully.
Mu Xiangxiang rose onto her tiptoes and leaned closer little by little. Qiao Nan could practically feel the ticklish warmth of her breath brushing his cheek. Then he heard that beautiful voice whisper softly—
“I’m hungry.”
I’m hungry.
I’m hungry…
Qiao Nan jolted violently and abruptly opened his eyes. Staring at the ceiling light above him, he still hadn’t escaped the lingering panic of trying to figure out where to buy food for Mu Xiangxiang.
Then his thoughts slowly cleared, and he immediately started cursing internally. Holy shit! Why the hell would he dream something this bizarre?!
As a perfectly normal young man, he obviously knew what that kind of dream meant. His body was still tense from the lingering effects of the dream as he cursed under his breath and shoved a hand beneath the blanket, irritably trying to deal with the hard—
Qiao Nan: “……”
Qiao Nan: “????”
Qiao Nan: “!!!!”
His eyes flew open wide as he abruptly sat upright in bed.
Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!
He looked wildly around— The spacious room, nearly empty in its vastness. The enormous bed large enough for several more people to sleep on. Behind the not-quite-closed curtains, he could vaguely make out the floor-to-ceiling windows spanning an entire wall, revealing an unbelievably expansive view outside.
This place—
Was his!
His own room!
Nearly dazed, Qiao Nan threw off the blanket. He was wearing his own neatly buttoned pajamas. His waistband was loosened, and he could still see a certain little something standing proudly at attention.
He swallowed hard. A figure suddenly flashed through his mind. He immediately turned to grab the phone he usually kept beside his pillow.
But beside the pillow now lay a self-study German textbook. Qiao Nan stared at the cover for a moment before forcing himself to calm down. He found the phone on the bedside table, unlocked it, immediately searched for his own number, and dialed.
No answer.
Right. Qiao Nan remembered that yesterday, in order to study without distractions, he had set his phone to silent after drinking coffee.
Taking several deep breaths, he thought for a moment before quickly typing out a message: [Don’t panic. I’m coming to find you right now.]
Then he immediately got up.
Mu Xiangxiang had kept his life astonishingly organized. The clothes for the next day had already been neatly folded and placed on the bench beside the bed. Qiao Nan picked them up and shook them open, discovering a low-key casual outfit.
Not his style at all. But at this point, he couldn’t care less. After washing up, and experiencing the long-missed sensation of peeing while standing, Qiao Nan realized his mood was strangely calm. For someone who had always been impatient, this was incredibly rare. Maybe it was because he’d spent time living with that family who constantly needed care and attention—he had somehow started learning Mu Xiangxiang’s brand of peacefulness too.
Unfortunately, that peace shattered only a few minutes later.
After hurriedly changing clothes, Qiao Nan shuffled downstairs in slippers and opened the door— Only to immediately realize that his house had undergone changes so drastic it was almost unrecognizable. The once spacious home now looked visually smaller somehow. But after a closer look, he realized it was simply because there was far more stuff inside.
The Qiao family’s perpetually empty living room had somehow sprouted a jungle of plants— Two kumquat trees loaded with fruit beside the TV. Rows of orchids lined atop tall stands. Unknown flowers and greenery by the windows. Hanging racks suspended from the ceiling displaying everything from miniature pine trees to ornamental bamboo. The entire place had been arranged with obvious care for aesthetics.
And that wasn’t all. On the display shelves, TV cabinet, coffee table, shoe cabinet—basically every visible surface—stood flower vases stuffed with blooming fresh flowers, their fragrance faintly drifting through the air.
The dark green leather sofa had mysteriously acquired a pile of plump round cushions in every imaginable color, tossed around haphazardly. Some had even fallen onto the rug between the sofa and coffee table.
Even the rug had been replaced!
The Turkish-style ethnic rug he’d originally picked out was gone, swapped out for fluffy cream-colored… sheepskin rugs!?
Everything looked soft and plush enough that just looking at it made you want to touch it and roll around on it. One glance from wall to floor revealed an explosion of warm, lively colors.
The elegant minimalist aesthetic the Qiao household had always cultivated was utterly gone. Qiao Nan slowed midway down the stairs.
His movements unconsciously became more careful, and he instinctively reached out to grip the stair railing.
The paintings that once hung along the staircase wall—those expensive famous artworks—had all been removed. In their place now hung photo frames of various sizes.
The largest frame held an old-fashioned glamour portrait. In the photograph, a beautiful woman with gentle features wore an especially elaborate gown, sitting sideways on an extravagantly gaudy European-style sofa. Looking toward the camera, she smiled with a hint of shyness.
Qiao Nan stared blankly into her eyes as he slowly descended the stairs, step by step, until he stopped directly in front of the photo.
This was a picture of his mother— one he had never seen before.
From that photograph of his mother spread countless scenes like a spiderweb— His parents’ old black-and-white wedding photo, so aged the edges had already begun yellowing. His older brother as a baby, struggling free of his swaddling cloth with chubby arms and legs exposed while bawling loudly. A slightly older version of his brother curiously clinging to the edge of a crib, peering at the baby version of Qiao Nan sleeping inside. The family of four spreading out a picnic blanket outdoors and laughing toward the camera. A much younger father crawling on the ground pretending to be a horse for one of the children. The two boys, older now, holding hands while carrying matching little schoolbags…
And even—
His mother, aged and worn by illness, lying in a hospital bed with him and his brother in her arms, head lowered slightly, still smiling with that same waterlike gentleness.
Some of these photos, he had seen not long ago while using Mu Xiangxiang’s body to secretly flip through the old family albums his father treasured.
But many more—he had never seen at all.
How could they possibly be displayed here?
Ever since Luo Meisheng married his father, the existence of his mother had become a taboo subject within the Qiao family. Everyone had worked hard to avoid touching that wound. Any public mention of her inevitably came with tearing pain.
And yet now—right here on the staircase wall of his own home— he was seeing her enlarged smiling face hanging openly. Not far away was even a formal solo portrait of Luo Meisheng herself.
But strangely enough, seeing this scene now, Qiao Nan didn’t instinctively feel anger the way he used to.
Suddenly, a door upstairs opened. He snapped out of his daze and looked up, immediately meeting a pair of sharp eyes.
Qiao Nan jolted slightly and straightened instinctively. His older brother looked exactly like someone about to pick a fight—and back in previous years, their relationship definitely hadn’t been pleasant.
The moment Qiao Rui saw him, his eyes lit up. Sure enough, he walked directly over. Seeing the hostile expression on his brother’s face, Qiao Nan reflexively felt his own aggression rising in response. But before he could even frown—Qiao Rui had already stepped up close and raised something in front of him.
Qiao Nan froze. Focusing on it carefully, he realized it was actually a… glittering tie clip?
An extremely familiar kind of ugly.
Qiao Rui’s expression remained severe. Qiao Nan stared warily and in confusion. What was this supposed to mean?
After a brief moment of eye contact, his older brother stepped even closer, brows slightly furrowed, his aura sharp and intimidating.
Then—
“A rhinestone fell off.” Qiao Rui pointed at a tiny missing spot on the tie clip and complained in that cold, nearly emotionless voice: “The quality is terrible. Buy me a new one.”
Qiao Nan: “………………”
Qiao Nan: “????”
-----------------
Author’s Note:
Big Brother [furious]: “What brand even makes tie clips like this?! The weather’s getting cold—it’s about time they went bankrupt!”
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