Mad Dog

Because she promised Zhi Qi that she would cook for her that evening, the two of them didn’t return to the hospital after leaving the rescue station but instead headed to the supermarket.
While shopping, Zhi Qi couldn’t shake off her unease after seeing Jiang Chi earlier, and her mood turned a bit gloomy.
Jiang Qi noticed that the girl was distracted, but he struggled to find the right words to say. After a moment of thought, he could only ask, “Qi Qi, what do you want to eat?”
He leaned over, looking obedient, his eyes hopeful like a little puppy.
Zhi Qi glanced at him and couldn’t help but smile, feeling her earlier gloom lift.
“Chicken wings,” she said, taking a bag of frozen chicken wings from the nearby freezer and tossing it into the cart. “I haven’t had them in a while.”
Seeing Zhi Qi smile, Jiang Qi sighed in relief.
Besides the chicken wings, they bought some other items. By the time they left the supermarket, it was already getting dark.
“Oh no, the rehabilitation center wants us back by eight.” After getting into the car, Zhi Qi checked her watch and sighed while leaning over the front passenger seat. Her mischievous dark eyes turned, and she feigned regret, saying, “It seems like we won’t have time to cook. What should we do?”
“Then we won’t go back today.” Jiang Qi, unconcerned, said without hesitation, “Let’s go back tomorrow.”
Even school has breaks; not to mention, he had just been in the hospital.
Zhi Qi didn’t intend to treat Jiang Qi like a little student to manage. She smiled at his suggestion and didn’t oppose it.
The two returned to Jiang Qi’s rental place, which had been unoccupied for over half a month. Upon entering, the cold air seemed to be filled with dust, making the boy frown slightly—Jiang Qi liked cleanliness. After a moment of thought, he decided to clean up the room first.
He tidied the sofa so that Zhi Qi could sit and watch TV while he busied himself cleaning the room like a diligent housekeeper.
Zhi Qi had never done housework in her life; she had always been pampered. Now, she sat cross-legged on the sofa, munching on snacks and watching Jiang Qi move around the room with skillful efficiency.
As she ate her donut, she realized it lost its flavor.
Jiang Qi must have done a lot of work to be so quick, but even though she already knew this, witnessing it firsthand was different.
After pondering for a moment, the little girl, in her slippers, shuffled over, intending to help him clean.
“Qi Qi.” However, Jiang Qi wouldn’t allow it, blocking her way. “Just sit there.”
Zhi Qi insisted, “Let me wipe the table.”
“No need.” Jiang Qi said firmly, very stubbornly. “I’ll handle this.”
……
Jiang Qi was practically a ‘man of virtue’ at level ten, and Zhi Qi found it both amusing and helpless to watch him.
In the end, she complied and went back to lounging on the sofa like a sloth.
It seemed that being with Jiang Qi brought about a feeling of ‘stability’—the two of them nestled in one room, cleaning and cooking, like countless ordinary couples around the world.
Simple and happy.
Even with the sounds of Jiang Qi cleaning and cooking nearby, Zhi Qi leaned back on the sofa, her eyelids growing heavier without her noticing.
In a daze, it felt as if she were sinking into a soft cotton cloud, and soon the girl fell asleep.
She didn’t know how long she had been sleeping when the delicious aroma of food roused her. In her dreamlike state, she instinctively licked her lips, resembling a lazy cat waking up from a nap.
“Jiang Qi?” Zhi Qi didn’t open her eyes, instinctively mumbling in a soft, sleepy voice.
She heard a response: “Mm?”
“Mm?” Zhi Qi, surprised, opened her drowsy eyes to see Jiang Qi’s pupils up close, a light glassy color, crystal-like.
She didn’t know when he had knelt down in front of the sofa to watch her sleep so soundly, nor how long he had been doing so.
Zhi Qi was momentarily stunned, her fair face slowly flushing red without her realizing it.
“What… are you looking at?” Zhi Qi hurriedly sat up, her long chestnut hair slightly disheveled, a few strands clinging to her jawbone, resembling a sleepy, fluffy little rabbit.
Jiang Qi stared at her and smiled gently. “Watching you.”
His earnest answer made her feel a bit shy.
Zhi Qi curled her toes on the sofa, unable to resist curling them up, her small feet, white as jade, especially eye-catching against the gray sofa.
When Jiang Qi’s gaze fell on them, it deepened in intensity.
Zhi Qi’s feet… were still the same as before, small and fair, seemingly small enough for one hand to grasp.
Noticing Jiang Qi’s gaze, Zhi Qi instinctively pulled her feet back.
The boy’s slender neck moved slightly, and he then averted his gaze, saying softly, “Let’s eat.”
“Mm.”
Zhi Qi quickly nodded in agreement, obediently following Jiang Qi toward the dining table.
On the table were three dishes and a soup: deep-fried Coca-Cola chicken wings, translucent shrimp stir-fried with cucumbers, sautéed lettuce with garlic, and a clay pot filled with soft and tender lotus root and pork rib soup.
As soon as Zhi Qi entered, her stomach audibly rumbled.
Feeling quite embarrassed, she instinctively covered her flat stomach, her porcelain-white teeth biting her rosy lip.
Jiang Qi, this ‘ironclad straight man,’ couldn’t see Zhi Qi’s embarrassment at all and asked, “Are you hungry?”
……
Zhi Qi couldn’t help but shoot him a glare.
But Jiang Qi’s eyes were pure and innocent, making it difficult for her to get angry, so she merely responded with a soft “Mm.”
Jiang Qi’s cooking skills were genuinely impressive, far surpassing the various canteens and takeouts Zhi Qi had tried. Compared to the aunt’s cooking at her home, his was equally good. Perhaps the key reason was that the food was ‘made by Jiang Qi,’ making Zhi Qi find it even more delicious.
She typically had a small appetite and was often called a ‘cat-eater’ by those around her, but today she finished the bowl of rice Jiang Qi served her.
After eating, she felt pleasantly full, bordering on stuffed.
Zhi Qi looked down, rubbed her belly, and pouted slightly in frustration. “Am I going to gain weight?”
While Jiang Qi was cleaning up the dishes, he simply replied, “Nonsense.”
Maybe girls would always be dissatisfied with their weight. In his eyes, Zhi Qi was clearly thin to the point of being almost skin and bones; she should at least eat a bowl of rice at every meal.
Both of them ate slowly, and with the time spent tidying up and cooking, the clock on the wall had already struck ten before they realized it.
Yet Zhi Qi never mentioned going back to school. Twice, Jiang Qi almost suggested taking her back, but the girl discreetly interrupted him each time.
She only said, “Wait a bit.”
Then, she sat beside Jiang Qi on the sofa—actually, they weren’t doing anything but sitting on the couch watching TV, yet it felt like a ‘first time.’
Zhi Qi, absentmindedly watching TV, suddenly turned her head to look at Jiang Qi’s tense jawline and asked with a smile, “Jiang Qi, isn’t this the first time we’ve sat together to watch TV?”
Jiang Qi’s body stiffened unconsciously, and he responded in a low, hoarse voice, “Mm.”
“Hehe.” Zhi Qi inched closer to him, leaning her delicate head against his thin shoulder and murmured, “This feeling is so new.”
In truth, she had longed for this moment—to just sit quietly and chat with Jiang Qi.
However, Jiang Qi couldn’t help but feel increasingly nervous, nearly to the point of being at a loss.
In this dim, enclosed room, the distance between them was remarkably ‘close.’ The atmosphere was charged, and when no one spoke, it felt both obscure and ambiguous, making the boy’s heart race. Even his fingers, resting beside him, involuntarily tightened.
The girl leaning against him smelled delightful.
“Qi Qi.” Jiang Qi’s cool voice took on a hint of huskiness, reminding her, “I should take you back to school.”
Zhi Qi fell silent for a moment before suddenly asking, “Can’t we stay here? There’s a guest room.”
Jiang Qi’s brow twitched, and he instinctively refused, “No.”
“Why not?” Zhi Qi seemed a bit disappointed, sighing lightly. “Our school dormitory is locked at this time. If you force me to go back, I’ll lose credits.”
……
So Zhi Qi had deliberately been stalling for time!
Jiang Qi felt both amused and helpless as he looked down at the girl’s fair face. “Why don’t you want to go back?”
“I still have to watch you go to the hospital tomorrow morning.” Zhi Qi yawned, speaking lazily. “If I don’t watch you, I’m afraid you won’t go obediently.”
Jiang Qi parted his lips, wanting to assure her that he would definitely be good—yet it wouldn’t matter.
After all, Zhi Qi had already clearly stated that going back at this time would result in lost
credits.
However, the guest room… didn’t have proper sheets and bedding. As for disposable toiletries, there were some in the bathroom because Qiu Mi occasionally stayed here due to urgent schedules.
So the sheets and bedding in the guest room had all been used by Qiu Mi; how could he let Zhi Qi use them?
Jiang Qi frowned and said directly, “You sleep in the master bedroom, and I’ll go to the guest room.”
Zhi Qi smiled and didn’t argue with him.
Once the boy made a decision, she knew she couldn’t win, especially when it concerned her.
“Well, I won’t sleep for a while; I’m not sleepy yet.” The girl wrapped her arms around Jiang Qi’s, her voice lazy. “I’m not sleepy.”
Her whims kept changing, and her adorably innocent demeanor made Jiang Qi feel a little frozen, reluctant to move.
—Until his phone, which he had left on the table, vibrated.
Jiang Qi furrowed his brows in surprise. Apart from Zhi Qi, the only ones who had his new number were Shen Lei and Qiu Mi, who registered him at the hospital. Who could be calling?
Pondering, Jiang Qi picked up the phone, and sure enough, he saw ‘Shen Lei’ on the screen.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to answer.
“Ah Qi, were you around the marine rescue station in the West District during the day?” As soon as the call connected, Shen Lei’s voice echoed clearly through the phone’s speaker, sounding urgent. Even Zhi Qi, hearing it, straightened her back, frowning.
Jiang Qi replied in confusion, “Brother Shen, how do you know?”
“How do I know?” Shen Lei replied with a chuckle, unable to hold back his laughter. “It’s trending on Weibo; how could I not know? Didn’t you see it? Not only you, but also… your little girlfriend.”
Currently, one of the top trending topics was #Jiang Qi suspected to be seen with girlfriend on the streets#.
The accompanying media images were candid shots taken from afar. In the pictures, Jiang Qi, wearing a hat and mask, couldn’t be clearly identified, but his slender frame was quite recognizable.
Zhi Qi, on the other hand, was not ‘fully armored’; the angle of the shot couldn’t capture her face.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qi immediately thought of the agent who wanted to ‘talk’ to him that afternoon, and a chill ran through his eyes.
He then said nonchalantly, “Brother Shen, I uninstalled Weibo.”
Whether trending or on the front page, he didn’t care anymore.
After saying this, Jiang Qi hung up the phone.
Glancing anxiously at Zhi Qi, he saw the girl eagerly scrolling through Weibo, her focus fixed on the trending topic.
Of course, she wouldn’t be foolish enough to look at the comments, which were bound to be ‘not friendly.’ Instead, she was looking at the blurry photos of herself walking with Jiang Qi.
“Such blurry shots.” Zhi Qi showed the photos to Jiang Qi, surprised. “Can people really recognize you from this?”
The paparazzi had clearly shot from far away; the angle was off, capturing only their profiles and backs. The most noticeable feature was Jiang Qi’s long legs, but…
Before Jiang Qi could respond, Zhi Qi said earnestly, “But we do look good together in the shots.”
No wonder it was such an eye-catching trending topic.
While Zhi Qi spoke with a smile, it was hard to tell if she was upset about being pulled into the trending topic alongside him or if she was okay with it.
Especially when she recalled how she had avoided answering Jiang Yu’s teasing question in the afternoon.
Jiang Qi felt uneasy and, after hesitating, quietly said, “I know this is a misunderstanding.”
Zhi Qi was taken aback, blinking. “What misunderstanding?”
“The talk about a suspected girlfriend.” Jiang Qi avoided Zhi Qi’s gaze, murmuring in a somewhat lonely manner, “I won’t take it seriously.”
After he said this, the previously warm atmosphere became somewhat stagnant. After a while, Zhi Qi finally spoke, almost to herself, “Indeed, you don’t have to take it seriously.”
Even prepared, Jiang Qi couldn’t help but feel a heaviness in his heart.
“Because it’s not a suspicion.” However, Zhi Qi’s next words could revive him; she turned to look at him, her eyes sparkling with joy. “Jiang Qi, don’t you want me to be your girlfriend?”
She had wanted to ask this question for a long time; she had wanted to clarify their relationship.
And today, Zhi Qi finally found the courage to ask.