Chapter 22: I'm Not That Shallow
"Why haven't I seen that woman today?" Wang Xiaoxiang asked with a gloomy face as she looked through the crowd for Tian Siyi.
"Sister Xiaoxiang, are you still planning to cause trouble for her?"
When Wang Xiaoxiang's followers remembered what had happened yesterday, they all covered either their faces or their stomachs.
They hadn't gone to trouble Tian Siyi.
They had only ended up getting themselves beaten.
Wang Xiaoxiang glared at them.
"What's wrong with you? Why do all of you look like that?"
"But... we really can't beat her."
Wang Xiaoxiang scolded her immediately.
"And you're not embarrassed to say that? Aren't you a red belt in taekwondo? You couldn't even beat one little girl!"
"She's really strong. Even when I spar with my coach, I don't feel that powerless."
"Useless!"
She knew that even if all of them went after Tian Siyi again, they would probably just get beaten once more.
So they needed a different way to deal with her.
One of them suggested, "How about we make a big deal out of her having a relationship with a staff member?"
Wang Xiaoxiang's eyes lit up.
"That's right! She came out of the staff dormitory yesterday. She must have some improper relationship with someone there! If we can get a photo... then post it on the school forum..."
"Exactly! She'll definitely go there again today. We'll wait outside the staff dormitory. She can't avoid us forever!"
Bai Hang was also looking for Tian Siyi.
He couldn't help worrying about her.
Did she get sick? I wonder if it's serious.
He still hadn't even asked for her contact information.
Maybe I should ask Wang Luyao.
As Tian Siyi's roommate, Wang Luyao might know where she was.
Meanwhile, the boys around him were chatting.
"I heard there's a really pretty new girl in the medical room."
"So what if she's pretty? It has nothing to do with us."
"Of course it does. I heard she's one of our classmates who came here for military training with us. She got injured halfway through, so now she's helping in the medical room."
"Our classmate? Then I want to see her."
"There seem to be a lot of pretty girls in this year's class. I saw two really beautiful girls in the cafeteria yesterday. I wonder how this one compares."
"Why don't we just go take a look?"
"Now? We're about to gather. Let's go at lunch after training ends."
Teenage boys seemed to share an unspoken understanding. They were always curious about pretty girls.
By lunchtime, the entrance to the medical room was already crowded with people.
Everyone was talking about the new "goddess" of the medical room.
"She's so pretty, but it's a shame she's limping. I saw her walking with a limp."
"Are you blind? She's just injured, not permanently disabled. Besides, doesn't that make people want to protect her even more?"
"I'm telling you, she's incredibly gentle. She's just like an angel."
"And if you stare at her with a creepy look, she'll look back at you like you're trash. It's amazing!"
"So what does she actually look like? Why are the curtains closed?"
Just then, the door to the medical room opened.
Qin Siyu walked out and shouted at the group of boys,
"This is the medical room, not your break room! Why are you all gathered here? If none of you want to rest, I'll go tell your instructors to give you extra training!"
"No, no, no!"
"We're leaving! We're leaving!"
No one wanted to upset an instructor, and no one wanted extra training under the hot midday sun. With just one sentence from Qin Siyu, the crowded group quickly scattered.
Qin Siyu watched the crowd slowly leave, sighed, shook her head, and went back into the medical room.
Seeing Qin Siyu return looking much more relaxed, Tian Siyi smiled and asked, "Is it taken care of?"
After sitting down and taking a drink of water, Qin Siyu nodded.
"Yeah. I just scared them by mentioning their instructor and extra military training, and they all ran off."
"Sister Qin, you're amazing! So many clueless boys came just to watch, and you solved the problem so easily."
Qin Siyu glanced at her and smiled calmly.
"Alright, stop flattering me. I'm not young anymore. What's there to look at? Don't tell me you don't know they all came to see you."
"What are you talking about, Sister Qin? You're still very beautiful."
Qin Siyu laughed.
"Isn't that something people usually say to older women?"
"It doesn't matter. Everyone grows older. As long as you stay healthy and beautiful, you'll never really be old."
Qin Siyu walked over, gently rubbed Tian Siyi's head, and smiled.
"You really know how to sweet-talk people. You're pretty, and you say such nice things. No wonder all those boys wanted to see you. If I were a man, I'd probably want to compete with your boyfriend too."
"The person from yesterday really isn't my boyfriend."
Qin Siyu looked surprised.
If Tian Siyi had denied it yesterday because she was shy, then why deny it again now, when it was just the two of them?
Did I really misunderstand?
"What? You don't like him?"
"It's not that I like him or dislike him. I just don't think about him that way."
Gossip seemed to be naturally interesting to women. As soon as the topic turned to relationships, even Qin Siyu, who had been working for several years, became curious.
"You mean you don't have those feelings? Or he doesn't?"
She pulled her chair next to Tian Siyi and sat down, ready to hear the story.
Tian Siyi scratched her cheek, carefully choosing her words before speaking.
"I think... neither of us does. Our relationship isn't that shallow."
Qin Siyu laughed.
"How is it shallow? You're quite bold to say that. This is the first time I've ever heard someone call a romantic relationship shallow."
"We've known each other for many years. We eat together, live together, and spend almost all our time together. The moment he opens his mouth, I already know what nonsense he's about to say. Isn't a relationship like that much stronger than those sweet promises people only say with their mouths?"
When Tian Siyi put it that way, many of those romances where people claimed they couldn't live without each other after only knowing each other for a few months really did seem shallow.
"So you two are childhood friends?"
"I guess you could say that."
"Then are you planning to find a boyfriend someday?"
"Not for now. I'm actually very busy. Our music academy is different from other schools. Students at other schools usually think about work after graduation. But for us, if we don't build a name for ourselves while we're still in school, it'll be much harder to find opportunities later. I also have to earn my own tuition, so where would I even find the time to fall in love?"
After hearing that, Qin Siyu remembered that their school really was different.
The students there were mainly divided into two groups.
One group was made up of children from wealthy and powerful families. They came partly to develop their artistic taste and manners, and partly to build connections with other influential families.
The other group consisted of students who were seriously studying music. They would later become musicians, performers, managers, and other professionals in the music industry.
Only a small number of them would debut as singers. Most of those who became famous had already built a good reputation while they were still students.
It seemed Tian Siyi wanted to become one of them.
"So... are you planning to become a singer?"