Chapter 255: Lying Dormant

Chapter 255: Chapter 255: Lying Dormant

Qi Pei’er was a little surprised.

She knew some of Xiao Hu’s story.

She’d heard his parents didn’t want him to continue his studies. They wanted him to drop out, farm at home, and once he was old enough, go work in one of the coastal cities.

It was only through the insistence of his teachers and his maternal grandmother that he was able to continue his education.

So, when Qi Pei’er made her offer, she naturally assumed Xiao Hu would ask for something practical, like a new household item for his family or a bicycle to make his commute to school easier. But instead...

Qi Pei’er mentally kicked herself for her own cynical adult prejudice!

But her momentary silence was misinterpreted by Xiao Hu.

The boy who had been so calm and composed scaling walls just moments ago now wrung his hands helplessly:

"It... it doesn’t have to be a great guitar. An old one... an old one is fine, as long as it makes a sound..."

Xiao Hu’s voice trailed off, growing fainter until it was barely a whisper.

Qi Pei’er snapped out of it.

"Of course not!"

Xiao Hu’s face went white for a second. He inwardly cursed himself, thinking his request had been too much to ask.

But then Qi Pei’er immediately followed up with:

"How could I possibly give you a used guitar? As it happens, I ordered a new one a while back. It just arrived in Yanjing yesterday, but it’ll take a few days to ship to Guisheng Province... Just you wait, Xiao Hu. I promise I’ll get it to you before I leave Cuishui Village! You can count on me!"

Qi Pei’er promised, patting her chest.

Xiao Hu was both shocked and overjoyed, and could only manage to stammer out a clumsy thank you.

In reality, Xiao Hu had no idea—

The guitar Qi Pei’er mentioned was a custom, handmade instrument from a master luthier abroad, with a five-figure price tag.

But she decided to give it to Xiao Hu without a moment’s hesitation.

It wasn’t just out of gratitude, but also because of the genuine love for music she saw in his eyes.

Dreams are priceless.

Moreover, Qi Pei’er told Xiao Hu that for as long as she was in Cuishui Village, he could come to her with any questions he had about music.

She promised that even after she left Cuishui Village, she would give him her contact information so they could stay in touch online.

"Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be a famous singer everyone knows!"

Qi Pei’er said, patting Xiao Hu’s shoulder encouragingly.

Xiao Hu smiled shyly.

Neither of them imagined that one day, her words would actually come true.

For now, though, Qi Pei’er urged Xiao Hu to head back to class before sneaking back to the office herself.

Teacher Xiao Lin stopped her.

"Xiao Qi, where did you go? Your cameraman is looking for you!"

Qi Pei’er had used the excuse of needing the restroom to slip away from the livestream.

But her trip to the restroom had taken half an hour. It wasn’t just the viewers; even the production crew was starting to worry something had happened to her.

They had even sent someone to the restrooms to look for her, but came up empty.

"I had to take a call. It was urgent, and I got held up."

After brushing it off with a casual excuse, Qi Pei’er immediately asked,

"What about Teacher Nan? Isn’t she in the classroom?"

Teacher Xiao Lin didn’t think much of it and replied:

"Teacher Nan only has classes in the morning. Since she’s free this afternoon, the principal gave her permission to leave campus and take care of other things."

This was news to Qi Pei’er.

"So where did she go?"

Teacher Xiao Lin thought for a moment.

"I think I heard her say she was going home?"

Qi Pei’er ran out of the school without another word.

She went to Nan Zhi’s house first, but no one was home.

She tried calling Nan Zhi, but there was no answer.

Then, she ran to where Fu Chao and the others were working, but still couldn’t find her.

She had no choice but to circle back to Nan Zhi’s house and wait, squatting dejectedly at the side of the road.

Just then, Nan Zhi finally appeared, riding an old, classic roadster bicycle.

Nan Zhi’s slender, delicate frame looked almost too small for the tall bicycle.

But she was a good cyclist, riding with a steady, confident posture.

Her simple cotton-linen clothes, braided hair, and straw hat, combined with the bicycle, created a perfectly authentic and strong retro vibe.

Qi Pei’er jogged over to meet her.

"Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you... Where’d you get the bike?"

Sure enough, her eyes kept drifting to the bicycle, which seemed to have completely captured her attention.

It couldn’t be helped. Qi Pei’er had a common affliction among artists: a deep fascination with retro items that had a unique charm. Her home was full of such collectibles.

"I borrowed it."

Master Xu Jin’s house was quite a distance away. By the time Nan Zhi rode back, a thin sheen of sweat had already formed on her forehead.

In response to what Qi Pei’er had said, Nan Zhi patted the small cloth pouch she was carrying, only to find it empty.

"I must have left in a rush and forgotten my phone at home."

As she spoke, Nan Zhi dismounted, and with a grin, she pushed the bicycle toward Qi Pei’er, asking if she wanted to give it a try.

Qi Pei’er was clearly tempted.

...Fortunately, her rational mind intervened just in time.

"N-no, that’s not right! I came to find you for something important!"

Nan Zhi wheeled Master Xu Jin’s bicycle into the courtyard and parked it, her mind still preoccupied with the recipe they had just discussed.

So, as she listened to Qi Pei’er, she was understandably a bit distracted.

"Hm? What’s up?"

Qi Pei’er didn’t seem to notice her distracted air. She excitedly pulled out her phone and lowered her voice conspiratorially.

"I got something good on video!"

Nan Zhi instantly snapped to attention.

Her first instinct was to glance around.

The recipe she had discussed with Master Xu Jin was a trade secret, which was why Nan Zhi had paused her livestream.

Nan Zhi didn’t see any crew members near Qi Pei’er.

However, there were still numerous cameras operating both inside and outside her courtyard.

Qi Pei’er noticed her glance and understanding dawned on her as well.

They exchanged a look of mutual understanding and moved to a secluded, camera-free corner.

Qi Pei’er didn’t beat around the bush; she immediately pulled up the video on her phone.

The video footage was shaky, but the audio was crystal clear.

Nan Zhi listened quietly.

Her expression grew colder with each passing second.

By the end, her face was practically frozen into an icy mask!

Qi Pei’er had been furious the first time she’d heard it. Listening to it a second time, her anger only grew, and she couldn’t stop herself from cursing that bastard Lai Liang all over again!

In contrast to Qi Pei’er’s explosive anger, Nan Zhi seemed unnervingly calm.

Qi Pei’er trailed off mid-curse, still not having fully vented, and turned to look at Nan Zhi. Only then did she see the dark storm raging in the depths of her eyes.

Qi Pei’er swore to herself that it was the first time she had ever seen such intense emotion in the usually gentle and kind Nan Zhi!

That sharp gaze looked like it could slice through the night, burning with an incomparable, consuming rage!

"Zhi... Zhizhi..."

Qi Pei’er was genuinely a little frightened.

Nan Zhi slowly lifted her gaze, her pupils as black as night.

"Don’t worry. I’m just thinking about how to teach him a little lesson."

Qi Pei’er was tense.

"A-are you going to post it online?"

"Of course not."

Nan Zhi met Qi Pei’er’s confused gaze and a slow smile spread across her face.

"With people like him, you don’t make a move unless... you’re going to crush him completely!"