Mad Dog

Chapter 5: Getting To Know Each Other

Zhi Qi almost thought she liked Jiang Qi…

She remembered Jiang Qi’s gaze for a long time.

For a ten-year-old girl, encountering a boy with such a bloodthirsty look should have been frightening, but she strangely wasn’t afraid. Because those pure pupils could capture the struggling soul beneath a person’s surface. Instead of fear, Zhi Qi was more concerned about the fact that Jiang Qi was being suppressed and bullied at this moment. He was in pain.

So, Zhi Qi pursed her lips and did something quite bold for her.

No one responded to the little girl knocking and calling at the door. Seeing Jiang Qi being beaten by those older students inside, her heart burned with urgency. Without further ado, she took her own stationery box from her backpack and forcefully smashed it against the glass window that was blocking the door!

The school’s substandard construction couldn’t withstand the pure iron stationery box bought by the girl from a well-off family. With a loud “clatter,” everyone inside froze.

In the dimly lit classroom, the several boys were startled, suddenly looking up—

“Jiang Qi!” Zhi Qi, relying on the gaze coming through the window, accurately saw Jiang Qi’s position and swiftly kicked a piece of glass towards him. “Take it!”

Occasionally, some people need more extreme violence to be resolved.

For example, now, those older male students saw the sharp glass in Jiang Qi’s hand and dared not approach him with punches like before. They just stared alternately at Zhi Qi and Jiang Qi, swearing under their breath as they left before the school security patrol noticed.

Zhi Qi, after all, was doing something ‘dangerous’ for the first time. Once they were gone, the courage she had mustered up left her, and she leaned against the wall behind her, her face pale and breath rapid.

Jiang Qi, under a hint of moonlight, looked at her without saying a word.

After a while, he finally heard the soft voice of the girl whimpering, “You… you didn’t take your backpack.”

Zhi Qi hadn’t forgotten the reason she came to find Jiang Qi. The boy lowered his gaze, silent, and walked to her. He bent down to pick up his backpack.

“Jiang Qi.” Perhaps because of the recent scare, the girl’s voice was somewhat weak as she timidly asked him, “Can you help me up?”

She was feeling a bit weak in the legs. So, Jiang Qi discarded the broken glass in his hand, grabbed Zhi Qi’s hand, and pulled her up with a firm grip.

It was the first time they held hands. Jiang Qi wasn’t consciously aware that, compared to his rough hands from years of picking vegetables, the girl’s hand was incredibly soft due to her pampered upbringing. However, that contact was very brief.

Yet, Zhi Qi softly exclaimed, “Huh.”

In the darkness, unable to see the boy’s hand clearly, she curiously tilted her head and asked, “Jiang Qi, do you have something on your hand?”

She accidentally touched a scar on the back of the boy’s hand but didn’t know what it was.

Jiang Qi’s fingers immediately stiffened. He pursed his lips, released her, and resumed his indifferent tone, “Let’s go.”

Later on, Zhi Qi and her parents explained that they accidentally broke a piece of glass at school and compensated the school with money. After that incident, Jiang Qi, upon learning about it, came to Zhi Qi’s classroom on his own for the first time after class.

The little girl was surprised and happily ran over, “Jiang Qi, why are you here?”

In the midst of people coming and going, Jiang Qi, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, straightened up and looked at her with his light-colored eyes, “How much money?”

A slight stiffness appeared on Zhi Qi’s smiling face. She wrinkled her brows in confusion, “What money?”

“The classroom glass.” After saying that, Jiang Qi seemed a bit embarrassed and paused before continuing, “I will pay you back.”

Her small hand hanging by her side unconsciously tightened. Since he could remember, everything related to money made Jiang Qi feel ashamed. However, he didn’t want to owe Zhi Qi. Perhaps it was the understanding of the responsibilities that come early in life for children from poor families. Even at a young age, Jiang Qi understood the meaning of ‘self-respect.’

“Oh, that.” Zhi Qi blinked her long eyelashes, feeling a bit disappointed for some reason. However, she quickly ignored this fleeting emotion and smiled again, “Why do you want to repay me? It was my fault in the first place.”

Although she was young, Zhi Qi understood the principle of taking responsibility.

“No.” Jiang Qi’s voice was rigid. “It’s because of me.”

“How could that be?” Zhi Qi had already leaned against the railing, drinking milk. Her voice was somewhat muffled, “I broke it, and besides, it’s not much money. My mom and the teacher said it’s fine as long as I wasn’t hurt. It was only fifty yuan…”

Fifty yuan.

She completely didn’t care about this matter, but Jiang Qi silently noted the number. He softly uttered an acknowledgment.

It wasn’t until much later, much later, that Zhi Qi truly understood just how stubborn Jiang Qi could be.

In the year they graduated from elementary school, he insisted on giving her fifty yuan. For the little boy who needed to help his uncle sell vegetables to earn money for school books, fifty yuan was accumulated painstakingly over two years, yet he remained determined to repay her.

*

Breaking free from the memories, Zhi Qi realized she had unknowingly saved a folder full of pictures of Jiang Qi. They were all sourced from the internet, high-quality images, pixelated images – she saved almost everything.

Unfortunately, there weren’t many pictures of Jiang Qi, and even less information about him. She sighed with some regret. When Meng Chunyu opened the dormitory door, she saw Zhi Qi eagerly staring at the computer screen.

“Oh my god…” Seeing that the screen was filled with pictures of Jiang Qi, Meng Chunyu’s mouth widened in surprise. She walked over quickly and asked, “Zhi Qi, you’re not falling for this Jiang Qi, are you?”

Zhi Qi’s heart skipped a beat. Her fair face turned pink at a visible speed. She tightened her grip on the mouse and nervously asked, “H-how did you know?”

Her voice stuttered nervously.

“Hahaha, how could I not know?” Meng Chunyu couldn’t help but burst into laughter at Zhi Qi’s anxious appearance. “Why are you nervous? You’re the typical starstruck girl!”

…

So, she thought she was a starstruck girl.

Zhi Qi almost thought her liking for Jiang Qi had been discovered again. After all, in high school, everyone knew she had a crush on Jiang Qi.

Hopelessly in love.

But now…

Zhi Qi breathed a sigh of relief imperceptibly and smiled gently, “Maybe.”

Carrying the title of ‘star-chasing girl’ is not a mistake. Jiang Qi herself shines even brighter than the stars.

But Meng Chunyu couldn’t understand her infatuation and shook her head with a sigh, “Baby, you, this 2G girl, finally connected to the internet. Is it your first time liking a male celebrity? This little brother is quite handsome, but having been in jail, he must have received a lot of criticism. Being a girlfriend fan is not satisfying, why not change to someone else to like?”

Zhi Qi couldn’t understand Meng Chunyu’s ‘fan language’ and looked at her blankly.

Seeing this, Meng Chunyu couldn’t help but laugh, pointing her slender finger at Zhi Qi’s head, “Oh, what I mean is that this Jiang Qi doesn’t have much future, probably just a new face that happened to stand out.”

This time Zhi Qi understood, pursing her lips in displeasure.

“Who said that,” she spoke in a mild tone, rarely refuting her roommate, clenching her fist seriously, “He has a promising future!”

…

Meng Chunyu stared at her in amazement, “Have you entered the state of a star-chasing girl so quickly?”

This appearance really resembled her when she stayed up all night online arguing with haters about her favorite idol.

Zhi Qi felt awkward, put down her hand, and said incoherently, “Anyway, don’t talk about him.”

She didn’t like hearing criticism of Jiang Qi from others.

“Okay, okay, I won’t say anything if you like him.” Meng Chunyu squinted and smiled, understandingly patting Zhi Qi’s shoulder, “It’s unexpected that our Qiqi is also into star-chasing. Do you want me, this old fan aunt, to teach you how to get started?”

Do you need someone to teach you how to be a fan?

Zhi Qi was stunned for a moment, but after a while, she realized that she did have some questions to ask Meng Chunyu.

“Chunyu, um…” She thought for a moment, carefully asking, “If I want to meet Jiang Qi, is there any way?”

She just wanted to sneak a glance at Jiang Qi.

“So soon you’re thinking about meeting the brother?” Meng Chunyu was eating old yogurt, almost choking at the words. She looked at Zhi Qi, who seemed earnest, with a puzzled expression, twirling the spoon playfully—

“Well, it’s not impossible. Generally, if I want to meet my idol, I follow the fan support group, follow professional big fans, join groups to know the idol’s schedule, and if there’s a public event, I can try to get tickets to be there.”

The more Zhi Qi listened, the more furrowed her eyebrows became. She wondered why chasing a star was more challenging than writing a research report.

She boldly asked, “What are fan support groups and professional big fans?”

…

“Uh.” Meng Chunyu was silent for a while, somewhat awkwardly saying, “Well, your brother Jiang Qi is still a newcomer, so maybe he doesn’t have those.”

Usually, artists need to gather a considerable fan base to have these formal ‘fan clubs.’

Zhi Qi felt a bit disappointed, lowering her eyes, “What should I do then?”

“Well, don’t be disappointed. If you just want to take a look, there are other ways.” Meng Chunyu, who couldn’t stand to see ‘her fairy friend’ sad, used all her experience in star chasing, “For example, with the success of the movie Jiang Qi is currently in, the better the box office, the more likely there will be a fan meeting. Try to get tickets then. If that doesn’t work, check his Weibo for any updates—by the way, do you have Weibo?”

…

Following Meng Chunyu’s guidance, Zhi Qi downloaded Weibo, registered, gave herself the nickname ‘Zhi Qi’ following the instructions, and the first person she followed was the certified ‘Jiang Qi.’

Looking at Jiang Qi’s Weibo with a tree avatar, Zhi Qi suddenly felt nervous. Like a little mole, she tugged at Meng Chunyu’s sleeve and asked, “Chunyu, if I send him a message, will he reply to me?”

At this point, her heart couldn’t help but beat rapidly, a mix of emotions that wanted to message him yet hesitated, lingering in her chest.

“…What are you thinking?” Meng Chunyu couldn’t help but laugh again, this time more exaggerated and breathless. She leaned against the bed, covering her mouth, “Haha, little fairy, are you teasing me? Can you not do this?”

Zhi Qi felt embarrassed by her laughter, and her ears turned warm.

“Do you know how many fans send private messages to my brother’s Weibo every day? Where would they find the time to read them?”

After laughing enough, Meng Chunyu explained to her in a leisurely manner, “All celebrities don’t read private messages on Weibo. When they register on Weibo, it’s basically just giving fans a confession box.”

Zhi Qi listened attentively, then smiled and pursed her lips.

“Chunyu, thank you.”

Perhaps for others, not getting a response to their messages could be upsetting and disappointing. However, for Zhi Qi, she happened to need a confession box named ‘Jiang Qi.’

Originally afraid of disturbing him but still eager to say something to him, now that Jiang Qi doesn’t read private messages on Weibo, it fits her perfectly. After finishing her evening routine and lying on the bed, Zhi Qi, just like in her childhood, wrapped herself in the blanket and treated the Weibo chat as her ‘confessional diary’ without any reservations—

[I miss you a lot. It rained again today, like in the Lin Lan days.]

[You used to buy red bean milk tea for me on every rainy day.]

[DAY.1.]