After Qi Mingyang returned to his room, he lay on his bed and began to ponder what his grandfather had said, wondering if there was any merit to it.

In the spring semester, Qi Mingyang had only been back in the country for a little over half a year. As it happened, his father was friends with the president of Beijing University. When the president met him and learned about his specialization, he immediately wanted to hire him to teach at Beijing University.

Qi Mingyang thought about it, felt it was a pretty good offer, and accepted.

The first time he met He Ziqing was in the school cafeteria.

She was in line ahead of him, getting food.

The cafeteria at Beijing University was decent, with a wide variety of dishes, yet she only got a serving of rice and a small portion of vegetables. The classmate with her said, "Ziqing, are you a little rabbit? Why do you only eat vegetables?" 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

He Ziqing smiled and said, "I eat meat once a week, but I’ve already used up this week’s quota."

Her classmate said, "You’re so frugal. Do you even have the energy to study when you eat so poorly?"

He Ziqing said, "Rice is a staple grain, how can you call that eating poorly? You’ve never experienced going hungry for days, so you wouldn’t understand."

"You’ve really gone days without food before?"

He Ziqing nodded. "It was when I was little. There was a drought where I lived, and the harvest failed completely. I went hungry for a few days."

"That’s awful."

Kids from the city never had that kind of experience.

At the time, Qi Mingyang only overheard bits and pieces, but it made him think about himself. He’d never experienced going days without food. ’Wouldn’t you starve to death?’

The second time he saw He Ziqing was in the lab. As her teacher, Qi Mingyang noticed she asked a lot of questions, always going into great detail, and her notes were exceptionally thorough.

Later, during a school break, there was a project, and Qi Mingyang spent every day in the lab with her and a few other students.

She was innocent but earnest, and her sparkling eyes were exceptionally bright.

Even Qi Mingyang himself didn’t know when it started, but his gaze would always unconsciously drift to her.

Then, one evening just before graduation this year, Qi Mingyang went out for some fresh air and stumbled upon someone confessing their feelings to He Ziqing in the hallway. He recognized the guy—it was her class president. Suddenly, Qi Mingyang felt a surge of panic.

Although she rejected him on the spot, he still felt uneasy. He quietly walked up behind her, not yet ready with what to say.

He Ziqing suddenly turned around. Qi Mingyang lowered his head, and the unexpected kiss left them both a little stunned.

Though it was only for a moment, the soft, sweet feeling of her lips was impossible to get out of his mind.

When He Ziqing saw it was him, she was so flustered she could barely speak, apologizing over and over.

Qi Mingyang looked at her panicked expression, then turned and left.

After he got back, he lay in bed, sleepless all night. He thought for a long time and finally made a decision. ’She’s the one.’

The next day, he went to find He Ziqing, only to discover that she ran away the moment she saw him.

A few days passed like this. Finally, on the day before the break, he cornered her on campus.

"M-Mr. Qi."

He Ziqing kept her head down, so nervous that she was stuttering.

Qi Mingyang watched her for a long moment. "Avoiding me?"

He Ziqing froze for a second, then quickly shook her head. "No."

"No? Are you trying to hide from me because you feel you took advantage of me?"

He Ziqing clearly hadn’t expected Qi Mingyang to say that. Blushing, she looked up at him.

"Mr. Qi, I already said it was an accident. Besides, you’re a grown man. If anyone was at a disadvantage, it should be me, right?"

As He Ziqing thought about that kiss, she could almost feel that cool sensation on her lips again.

Qi Mingyang raised an eyebrow and let out a soft snort.

"I’m twenty-eight years old. Before this, no one other than my family has ever touched me, especially not in such an intimate place. That was my first kiss. I was saving it for my wife. Now that you’ve stolen it, tell me, how do you plan to compensate me?"

He Ziqing bit her lip, glanced at Qi Mingyang’s lips, and then quickly lowered her head.

"I don’t have any money."

Qi Mingyang paused, looking at the top of He Ziqing’s head.

"I don’t want money either."

"My family is from the countryside. I don’t have anything." He Ziqing seemed to be laying all her cards on the table, just short of saying, ’I have no money, just my life to give.’

Qi Mingyang shook his head. "No, you do have something. Since you took a privilege meant for my wife, you can just compensate me with yourself."

He Ziqing stared at Qi Mingyang in astonishment, as if she doubted he was being serious, or perhaps that he had simply gone mad.

"Mr. Qi, did you misspeak, or did I mishear you?"

Qi Mingyang smiled.

That smile made He Ziqing take a step back as if she’d seen a ghost.

This was the first time He Ziqing had ever seen Qi Mingyang smile. She had always thought he was incapable of it. But why did this smile look so terrifying? It gave He Ziqing goosebumps.

"I asked you to be my girlfriend. Is it really that scary?"

He Ziqing’s brow furrowed. She glanced left and right—no one was around.

She pleaded, "M-Mr. Qi, I’m not right for you. I’m not good enough for you. I’m just a girl from the countryside with nothing to my name. I’m begging you, please be the bigger person and let me go."

Qi Mingyang’s voice turned a little cold.

"I said I want you to be my girlfriend. My name is Qi Mingyang. And stop being so formal. We’re peers."

He Ziqing was silent for a moment. "What if I say no?"

Qi Mingyang seemed to smile again.

"Then things get complicated. I’ll have to go talk to the president and tell him someone stole my innocence and refuses to take responsibility. Wouldn’t that be considered hooliganism? I hear you’ve applied for the graduate program here. I wonder if this might affect your application. And don’t think you’re the only victim here; I feel pretty wronged myself. I haven’t slept well in days. Whenever I close my eyes, I just feel a pair of soft lips on mine. I don’t know if you can relate, but I refuse to be the only one suffering."

He Ziqing’s face was beet red. She muttered, "Hooligan. Shameless."

Qi Mingyang heard her and nodded. "The feeling’s mutual. You stole my innocence, so it’s only right that I ask you to take responsibility. I don’t admit to being a hooligan. I think you’re quite the hooligan yourself. I’d say I’m just a little thick-skinned."

"So you admit you’re thick-skinned! I barely kissed you, and now you’re trying to blackmail me over it! Who even does that? Fine, why don’t you kiss me back, and we’ll call it even?" He Ziqing said angrily.

Qi Mingyang gave He Ziqing a meaningful look and slowly started walking toward her.

He Ziqing’s eyes darted around, her fists clenched. As he got closer and closer, she could feel her whole body tense up.

Qi Mingyang drew near, his gaze fixed on He Ziqing’s lips. The sensation of their kiss surfaced in his mind again.

As Qi Mingyang’s face leaned in, his hot breath washed over He Ziqing’s face. She felt like her heart was about to stop.