Mad Dog

Chapter 7: If You Comfort Me, The Pain Will Go Away

Zhi Qi, having no information about her midnight race for tickets with tens of thousands of people, simply waited for Jiang Ying’s message after returning to school.

After waiting for a few days without receiving any official announcement about the fan meeting from the “Gazing at the Sky” drama group, a trending topic about Jiang Qi suddenly appeared on Weibo.

The headline was shocking for innocent bystanders:

#The Real Reason Behind Jiang Qi’s Imprisonment? [Explosive]#

Zhi Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and she involuntarily furrowed her eyebrows, trembling as she clicked into the trending topic. No artist would buy such a trending topic. Jiang Qi’s situation was genuinely discovered by netizens, and the number of vile comments inside was overwhelming.

At the top of the discussion was ‘Orange Entertainment,’ which considered itself an exposé revealing the truth. The news article was filled with malice:

[Orange Entertainment V: Jiang Qi, who debuted with the role of ‘Purple Microstar’ in Director Shen Lei’s movie, is he a real Purple Microstar or a deceitful black lotus? According to an informant, Jiang Qi had been imprisoned before entering the entertainment industry, and after thorough investigation, it seems to be related to ‘peach-colored news’…]

A lengthy paragraph followed, practically insinuating that Jiang Qi had been imprisoned for ‘molesting girls,’ ‘sexual assault attempts,’ and other reasons.

Jiang Qi, with excellent personal conditions, unexpectedly emerged in the entertainment industry, blocking the path for countless others. Orange Entertainment was willing to be the first bird to attract firepower. Once this news was released, it would naturally be reposted by various marketing accounts, and almost every Weibo post became a battlefield without gunpowder.

Apart from Jiang Qi’s fans, almost no one was willing to verify the truth for concrete evidence. The bystanders joined forces to curse fiercely—perhaps, they hoped the news itself was true, eagerly venting their criticism from the moral high ground as keyboard warriors, feeling an unmatched glory.

After all, the entertainment industry had been too dull for too long.

Jiang Qi’s appearance and the surrounding news around him were like a provocative card.

Watching the online rumors and discussions, Zhi Qi’s face turned pale. She couldn’t help but toss her phone fiercely. The usually gentle and delicate features seemed to have a thin layer of ice, and she muttered coldly, “Nonsense.”

It was all f*cking nonsense. The young girl couldn’t help but curse in her mind, her slender fingers tightly clenched. Meng Chunyu happened to come back with a bowl of sesame noodles. She pushed open the dormitory door and saw Zhi Qi’s icy demeanor.

—She almost thought she had walked into the wrong room.

In the three years as roommates, Meng Chunyu had never seen Zhi Qi, this little fairy, look so “cold and murderous.”

She couldn’t help but take a deep breath, walked over, and cautiously poked Zhi Qi’s shoulder, asking softly, “Qiqi, what’s, what’s wrong with you?”

Zhi Qi pursed her lips and remained silent, staring at her phone. Following her gaze, Meng Chunyu looked over and, somewhat skeptical, picked up the phone. The result…

“Oh damn, so f*cking sensational!” Zhi Qi’s phone was still unlocked, and the lit screen displayed Jiang Qi’s ‘exclusive revelations.’ Meng Chunyu’s eyes widened, and her voice stumbled, “This, this, is it… true? My goodness, can he really be whitewashed after this?”

Zhi Qi, like a cat with its tail stepped on, stood up without hesitation and said, “Of course, it’s fake! He didn’t do anything wrong, why should he be whitewashed?!”

…

Meng Chunyu was stunned for a moment, then raised her eyebrows skeptically and looked at Zhi Qi, “How do you know? And why are you so sure?”

Although fan filters were a real thing, Zhi Qi’s recent appearance made it seem as if she really knew the truth. In fact, shouldn’t everyone still be guessing about this gossip? Why was Zhi Qi so confident?

Meng Chunyu’s keenness made Zhi Qi pause for a moment. Biting her lip, she defended herself, “I… I just feel that he’s not that kind of person.”

.

The explanation seemed a bit weak. If it’s just a ‘feeling,’ the tone shouldn’t be like it was just now.

“Qiqi, I always feel it’s strange how obsessed you are with Jiang Qi.” Meng Chunyu herself was a very intelligent girl, adept at following leads and drawing conclusions. She thought for a moment, tilting her head as she probed, “What exactly attracts you to him?”

Zhi Qi lowered her head in silence. After a while, she took a deep breath and looked at Meng Chunyu.

“I know him.”

“So… I understand what kind of person he is.”

Actually, telling Meng Chunyu wasn’t a big deal because she didn’t want her own acquaintances, good friends, to have bias against Jiang Qi. She knew clearly why Jiang Qi ended up in that situation, and Zhi Qi knew one thing for sure—there should never be any scandal involving Jiang Qi.

Because she believed that, apart from herself, the young man wouldn’t like anyone.

*

In the sixth grade, Zhi Qi realized that her ‘protective instinct’ towards Jiang Qi had become quite serious. At that time, they had spent almost two years together in the same school. As graduation approached, the little girl was naturally reluctant to part ways.

“Jiang Qi.” During lunch break, as usual, Zhi Qi ran over to bring lunch to the boy. The two ‘elementary school students’ huddled in a corner of the school playground, each holding a lunch box. While Jiang Qi was eating, Zhi Qi found it hard to eat.

Under the scorching sun, she found herself standing behind the boy, shaded from the sun. Unconsciously, her gaze was fixed on the back of Jiang Qi’s head, and she murmured, “Which middle school will you go to?”

For some reason, Jiang Qi was taller than boys of the same age. Zhi Qi remembered that two years ago, she was significantly shorter than him. Now, two years later, at the age of thirteen, Jiang Qi had grown a head taller than her—strange, weren’t girls supposed to grow taller first?

She mumbled somewhat disappointedly when she heard the boy’s calm voice, “I don’t know.”

“Oh,” Zhi Qi muttered in disappointment. Her double ponytails, tied tightly, seemed to droop along with her mood.

She looked like a pitiful and tender little rabbit. Jiang Qi wasn’t very good at discerning when Zhi Qi was playfully acting pitiful and when she was genuinely unhappy. He just felt at a loss when he saw the disappointed look on the girl’s face.

The boy’s slender fingers unconsciously tugged at his clothes. After pursing his lips for a while, he explained with difficulty, “I really don’t know.”

“My household registration might be moved to my uncle’s place, and I don’t know which school district I’ll be in.”

He was genuinely uncertain about his future, not trying to evade or pacify Zhi Qi.

“Oh,” but Zhi Qi didn’t feel happy hearing that—how could she be happy when she couldn’t find out where Jiang Qi would go?

The little girl could only sigh in a mature manner and tell him about her destination, “I might go to Eighth Middle School. How about you?”

…

Jiang Qi couldn’t make promises about such things.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” The girl, with her small and sharp chin resting on the lunchbox, blinked her eyes like black grapes, revealing undisguised anticipation, “Isn’t it good for us to be in the same school?”

For the first time in his life, someone looked at him with ‘expectation’ in their eyes. He couldn’t bear to refuse Zhi Qi’s request. Although not very expressive, in the two years of elementary school together, he rarely said no to the girl. For example, when Zhi Qi asked him to help with her homework, to eat together, or even to braid the girl’s hair that had accidentally come undone…

Jiang Qi had unconsciously become quite adept at these things.

Perhaps Zhi Qi had grown accustomed to having him in her life and didn’t want to experience the separation that graduation would bring. Similarly, Jiang Qi was reluctant to part with her.

Under Zhi Qi’s eager gaze, the boy nodded slowly, “I… I’ll ask.”

He still couldn’t directly commit because deciding where he wanted to go was never entirely up to him.

“That’s great! You must ask, okay?” Zhi Qi smiled, her big eyes forming crescents, and the obsidian-like pupils glittering, “I don’t want to be apart from you.”

What if someone bullied Jiang Qi again?

For the past two years, Zhi Qi had gotten used to following Jiang Qi like a little tail. Even senior boys who once thought about throwing punches at the boy would cleverly avoid her. Until they also reached the sixth grade and became ‘senior’ students. The girl’s open attachment made Jiang Qi unconsciously feel a flutter in his heart. His sapphire-colored pupils stared at Zhi Qi’s doll-like face. Jiang Qi heard his own voice gently asking—

“Why don’t you want to be apart from me?”

The abrupt question startled the girl, who had never considered this. Zhi Qi pouted her rosy lips, thought for a moment, and then shook her head, “No reason, I just don’t want to.”

The true answer in her heart was that she still wanted to be with him, not wanting the boy to be bullied and scarred. Zhi Qi still remembered a day in fifth grade when Jiang Qi didn’t come to school without notice. He arrived at school only at noon. The boy’s pale face showed distinct bruises, clearly indicating that he had been beaten. There was a long cut on his arm, still oozing blood.

The girl, not accustomed to such a ‘bloody’ scene, burst into tears.

Even though Jiang Qi was naturally not good with words, he had to endure the pain and comfort her. Pretending to be gruff, he said, “Why are you crying?”

“What, what happened to you?” Zhi Qi’s fair face was now red-eyed. She cried breathlessly, as if she were the one who had been beaten and was bleeding, “Did someone hit you again?”

The word ‘again’ caused the boy’s slender body to stiffen. Jiang Qi felt somewhat embarrassed and awkwardly responded with a reluctant “Hmm.”

“Don’t fight anymore, okay?” Zhi Qi took out a few adhesive bandages, as if afraid he might be in pain, and clumsily applied them to Jiang Qi’s wounds. A layer of mist seemed to have gathered on her long eyelashes as she timidly looked at him.

“Does it hurt a lot?” She really looked like a little rabbit.

Almost involuntarily, Jiang Qi said something he would never say according to his usual character, “If you comfort me, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Zhi Qi clearly seemed surprised.

“How should I comfort you?” The girl had never actively ‘comforted’ anyone before, except for the coquetry to please her parents. She thought earnestly for a moment and then smiled at Jiang Qi, “Don’t fight anymore, I’ll protect you, okay?”

In fact, Zhi Qi vaguely knew that there were many things wrong with Jiang Qi, but she still hoped she could protect him. And from the beginning to the end, she consistently carried out this clumsy protection.

At this moment, when the boy asked the question, “Why don’t you want to be apart from me?” Zhi Qi asked her still tender heart and quickly found an answer.

Because of her extreme protective instinct towards Jiang Qi.

*

[We promised to be together from the age of thirteen.]

[Although the boy lied along the way, he wouldn’t like anyone else, right?]

[Jiang Qi, so I don’t believe any rumors about you.]

[DAY.35.]