Chapter 12: Will You Be My Lock? (4)

Youth: You’re my Redemption
Chapter 12: Will You Be My Lock? (4)

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The door to the side hall closed once again.

Song Shu, deep in thought, turned back. She couldn’t tell if it was her imagination, but she always felt that Qin Lou had been a bit odd lately—although eccentricity was the usual demeanor of the little madman, recently it seemed different from before.

For instance, she felt that this current strangeness was directed towards her…

“Sister.”

The voice brought Song Shu back from her distant thoughts. She turned her head and found Luan Qiaoqing standing beside her chair, looking deeply troubled.

“What’s wrong?” Song Shu pondered. “Is the homework too difficult?”

Luan Qiaoqing: “…”

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Nwyd Ckysikdt: “Gb yb yb, es usw jdso yduvbkdt svbla vbyd bsxlosaj??”

Fsdt Fbw alxykdle lmralppksdzlpp. “Zsw aydjle vbkae qasx zypv kd vbl nzypp zypv plxlpvla qkdyzp. R byhld’v vsze uswa ywdv ulv.”

Nwyd Ckysikdt: “…” Fbl pbswzed’v byhl ypjle.

Qkhkdt wr sd vaukdt vs twkel Fsdt Fbw okvb kdprkayvksdyz yehknl, Nwyd Ckysikdt rwzzle bla wr qasx vbl nbyka yde eayttle bla vsoyaep vbl cyvbassx kd vbl pkel byzz.

“Ls, ds, R nyd’v vyjl kv yduxsal, R byhl vs xyjl vbkp nzlya vs usw.”

“?”

Fsdt Fbw oyp clokzelale ulv nyzx. Fbl oyp rwzzle kdvs vbl cyvbassx kd vbl pkel byzz cu Nwyd Ckysikdt.

Mbl essa oyp pbwv, zlyhkdt vbl nwakswp lulp sq vbl Fsdt pkczkdtp swvpkel.

Song Shu and Luan Qiaoqing stopped in front of the mirror at the sink. Luan Qiaoqing turned around, her face flushed with excitement, but when she opened her mouth, it seemed like she choked up, unable to speak for quite some time.

In the end, Song Shu asked, “What do you want to clarify with me?”

Luan Qiaoqing knocked her own head in frustration.
“Sister, I just have one question for you.”

“Okay.”

“Seriously think about it. What exactly is your relationship with Qin Lou?”

“?”

“If you can’t figure it out, it’s okay. Let me analyze it for you—Classmates? Definitely not. With so many students in the school, who would dare to be half as casual in front of Qin Lou as you? They’d probably have been crushed long ago. Friends? Nope, friends don’t usually demand every second of another person’s time, wanting to revolve around them every day of the year. Relatives? Bullsh!t, you two aren’t related by blood—”

“Don’t say ‘ Bullsh!t,’ it’s rude,” Song Shu calmly corrected her.

Luan Qiaoqing: “…”

Luan Qiaoqing nearly exploded on the spot, spiraling into frustration. “Is this the point?? Is this the POINT—my sister, can’t you just wake up!?”

Luan Qiaoqing’s voice reverberated loudly in the enclosed bathroom. Song Shu endured her for a couple of seconds before poking her forehead with her index finger.

“You’re too loud.”

“…,” Luan Qiaoqing fumed.

Song Shu lowered her hand. “So what are you trying to say?”

Luan Qiaoqing covered her face, turned and leaned against the wall, scratching the reflective porcelain tiles as she lamented, “My sister, Qin Lou clearly likes you! Not as a classmate, not as a friend, not as family—just that kind of liking where he wants to possess you!”

“…”

In the mirror, the usually calm and emotionless girl was left stunned. Then she slowly frowned.

After Luan Qiaoqing finished wailing, she came back to her senses and carefully turned her head. Looking at her sister’s changing emotions, she suddenly felt a bit scared.

What if Song Shu retreated? If Qin Lou found out the truth, wouldn’t he just… snap her neck?

Luan Qiaoqing quickly covered her chilly neck.

At that moment, Song Shu, who had been frowning and deep in thought behind her, seemed to have figured something out—like she had suddenly solved a math problem that had puzzled her for days. Song Shu’s delicate and beautiful face showed a look of realization. She lightly clapped her hands.

“So that’s how it is.”

Luan Qiaoqing: “…”

Luan Qiaoqing: “????”

What kind of reaction is this?

Having resolved her confusion, Song Shu seemed to be in a great mood, her eyes curved slightly with a smile. “Is this what you wanted to say?”

Luan Qiaoqing numbly nodded.

Song Shu chuckled. “Then I understand, let’s go out.”

“…?”

Luan Qiaoqing was deeply immersed in her existential crisis when Song Shu, who had just turned to leave, suddenly stopped and turned back.

“You just asked what I think my relationship with Qin Lou is, right?”

“Uh, yes.”

“In my view, my relationship with Qin Lou is simply the relationship between Qin Lou and I.”

“…What?”

Song Shu smiled.

In that moment, Luan Qiaoqing actually saw the same carefree spirit in her sister’s gentle smile that she saw in Qin Lou.

“We don’t need definitions like classmates, friends, or relatives. The definition of my relationship with Qin Lou is simply ‘me and Qin Lou’—there’s nothing in this world that adequately defines us, because no one else can replace either of us. It’s us, together, that has made us who we are now.”

“…”

Luan Qiaoqing’s brain struggled to follow her train of thought, only to become even more confused.

Seeing through her confusion, Song Shu lightly poked her forehead.

“You’ll understand in the future.”

With that, Song Shu left the bathroom.

Slowly regaining her senses, Luan Qiaoqing reached up and touched her forehead where Song Shu had poked her, sighing with a complex mix of emotions.

In truth, she wasn’t completely clueless.

Having been around these two for nearly two years now, there were many times when she felt a strange sensation seeing them together—

As if whenever these two were together, something separated them from everyone and everything else in the world.

In that little world, there were only the two of them.

In that little world, except for them, no one else could enter.

And as the solitary bystander, Luan Qiaoqing herself wasn’t sure whom she envied more.

~

The meeting before the New Year’s Eve dinner lasted particularly long.

The side hall and the main hall weren’t far apart; a few steps down the corridor outside the side hall would take you past the main hall. Voices from there could be heard intermittently.

Qin Lou wasn’t present, so the Song siblings were quite relaxed. Before long, Song Ruyu couldn’t sit still and went to the side hall door, eavesdropping with her ear against the door.

After listening for a moment, she walked back to the table and said to Song Shuai, “Grandfather is so biased.”

“What happened?”

“He seems to want our cousin and…” Song Ruyu glanced at Song Shu, then turned back discontentedly, “He wants them to study abroad together.”

Song Shuai’s eyes lit up.

Being able to go abroad meant freedom from restrictions, the chance to do whatever he wanted, and naturally, he wanted to go too. “What about us?”

Song Ruyu replied, “We, of course, can only stay in the country and take exams.”

Song Shuai’s face immediately fell.

Song Ruyu pouted, “I really don’t know who his real grandchildren are.”

Song Shu had long since passed the point of arguing with Song Ruyu, so she acted as if she hadn’t heard, focusing intently on her math problem.

But Luan Qiaoqing wasn’t the type to hold back her temper. Hearing Song Ruyu’s words, she sneered, “Oh, please. When it comes to grades, sending my sister and Qin Lou abroad brings glory to the country. Sending you abroad would be for what? To make a fool of yourself?”

“You—you, how can you talk like that!”

Song Ruyu turned red with anger, her sore spot hit.

Luan Qiaoqing made a face at her, “Nyeh nyeh nyeh.”

Song Ruyu: “…Hmph, I’m not going to stoop to the level of a child! After all, you’re just an orphan with no mother—”

“Bang.”

The petal-shaped teacup in the shape of a red rose knocked against the long table, cutting off Song Ruyu’s voice.

Instinctively, Song Ruyu looked over and met a pair of emotionless eyes.

She felt a chill down her spine and froze for two seconds before forcing herself to retort, “Why are you looking at… looking at me like that?”

Song Shu maintained his expression and replied calmly, “I’m looking at you because you spoke out of turn.”

“…”

Song Ruyu wanted to argue, but the words wouldn’t come out—she knew she had been too harsh with her words, and feeling in the wrong, she swallowed them back.

Silence fell over the side hall once again.

However, the quiet didn’t last long this time. It was shattered by a woman’s scream from the direction of the main hall.

“Qin Lou! Are you trying to kill me?! Have you gone mad?!”

The expressions of everyone in the side hall changed instantly. There was no doubt that voice belonged to Qin Fujun. Without hesitation, they all stood up and hurried towards the exit of the side hall leading to the main hall.

In the corridor leading to the main hall, several household servants gathered nervously in a corner.

Song Shuai asked urgently, “What’s going on?”

An elderly person from the household spoke up with a troubled expression, “Master Qin wanted to arrange for Young Master Qin Lou and Song Shu to get engaged and study abroad, and then hand over the company affairs to Miss Bai for management. Miss Fujun disagreed and it escalated. She accidentally mentioned Young Master Qin Lou’s parents…”

The remaining words were needless to say; the chaos in the main hall indicated the outcome clearly.
During this interval, Qin Fujun’s voice came through again, trembling with fear:

“Do… do you dare to try and touch me?!”

No one paid attention anymore. Including Song Shu, they quickened their pace towards the main hall.
When they stopped on the steps beside the main hall, they saw a scene of utter chaos inside.

Qin Lou stood in the center, his slender fingers tightly gripping something that seemed to be shards of a teacup, fresh blood staining the pure white porcelain, dripping onto the floor from his fingertips. The corners of his eyes were red, but he was smiling with a wild look in his eyes.

“Come on, try me if you dare.”

“Qin Lou, let go of your aunt!”

“Young Master!!”

“Qin Lou—”

The young man paid no attention. He already had a grip on the neckline of a woman’s dress, seemingly about to use the porcelain shards.

“Qin Lou!”

A voice echoed from outside the main hall.

The young man’s figure froze.

After two or three seconds of silence, he slowly raised his eyes.

Standing in the midst of the three bewildered individuals, Song Shu clenched his fists tightly, his face somewhat pale. The redness had drained from his lips.

But she calmly met the young man’s gaze without a hint of fear or avoidance.

“My pencil for drawing is dull… could you come help me sharpen it?”

Qin Lou froze for two seconds, lowered his eyes, and suddenly smiled.

He tossed away the piece of broken porcelain stained with his own blood, jumped off the sofa, and strode out of the main hall.

The three people standing next to the hall instinctively backed away from his handsome face, now tinged with a grim and terrifying expression.
Only Song Shu, standing in the middle, didn’t move.

He walked up to her, grabbed her wrist with a force that almost made the girl stagger, and pulled her directly into the corridor.

The servants in the corridor were frightened and retreated to the sides, while the young man ignored them and dragged her into the side hall.

“Bang—!”

A loud noise, and the door slammed shut suddenly.

Outside the door, everyone regained their senses, each looking paler than the other.

Inside the room, Song Shu was pressed against the wall by Qin Lou. The young man’s breathing was rapid, suppressing the volatile emotions that contorted his handsome yet pained expression.

After a few seconds, he raised his head, laughing hoarsely.

“Do you always dare to provoke hatred against yourself… Little clamshell, aren’t you afraid of death?”

Song Shu thought for a moment and shook her head.

Qin Lou’s eyes darkened. “Do you know that there are things scarier than death?”

Song Shu shook her head again.

It seemed she had reverted to being that unyielding little clamshell.

“…”

Emotions churned in Qin Lou’s eyes, struggling and tearing apart, making his gaze locked in a terrifying hostility as he stared at Song Shu.

He unconsciously tightened his grip on the girl’s hand. At a certain moment, the last strand of rationality in his mind suddenly snapped.
Emotions of ferocity surged in his eyes, consuming clarity.

Like an addict, he hungrily gazed at the girl’s pale lips and delicate neck, then leaned in—

“Qiao Qiao said you like me.” The girl’s voice suddenly rang out.

“——!”

Qin Lou’s figure abruptly halted. After a moment, he laughed hoarsely, listening to himself in the quiet side hall. “… Now you want to call it quits? Don’t you think it’s a bit late?”

Song Shu furrowed her brow slightly, looking somewhat vexed.

“I didn’t call it quits. You know, I’m not very good at… expressing myself.”

Qin Lou: “So what?”

This time, Song Shu pondered a bit longer. “So, you don’t need to hide yourself so hard.”

“…”

“You can vent to me, whatever emotions you have.”

“——!”

Qin Lou suddenly lifted his eyes.

In that instant, the young man’s emotions erupted even more uncontrollably than before, his pitch-black eyes almost blazing with fiery intensity. He stared at her intensely, his breath growing heavier.

“Qin Lou—”

The rest of her words were muffled by the young man’s hand.

He lowered his head, his ink-black eyes fixed on hers. Then the young man grinned, “You must want to die in my hands to dare speak like that.”

Song Shu blinked quietly, not struggling.

Qin Lou pressed her mouth tighter, his desire darkening in his eyes. He laughed, a manic edge to his voice.

“Alright then. I’ll grant your wish.”

He leaned in closer.

Darkness replaced the light.

At the last moment, Song Shu closed her eyes tightly, her eyelashes fluttering slightly. She was scared, actually scared. How could she not be afraid at all? But if it was Qin Lou…

The air was eerily quiet.

Nothing happened.

When Song Shu came to, she cautiously opened her eyes—

The young man with eyes bloodshot was covering her mouth, only kissing his own hand. His eyes were lost in a crazed obsession, while his trembling lips displayed restraint.

Seeing her open her eyes, the young man chuckled softly, his voice trembling.

“Don’t be afraid of me… little clamshell.”

Song Shu’s heart suddenly ached.

The young man slowly, slowly lowered his head to rest against the wall near her ear.

He held her tightly.

His voice was hoarse, choked with emotion.

“Will you be my lock?”

“With you around, maybe I won’t lose my mind.”

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Sansukini: Oh my heart hurts for Qin Lou. 3 more chapters before the second arc.

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