Chapter 32: The Ice Queen’s Fierce Love
Winter days were short, and by 6:30 PM, darkness had already fallen.
No. 12 High School ended classes around 5:10 PM, and the bubble tea shop experienced its usual after-school rush, the last wave of customers dwindling by six.
Xu Qiuyi’s shift ended at 6:30 PM, and after saying goodbye to Meng Qian, she and Tao Ning decided to grab some dinner.
Wherever there were students, there was business, and hearing about a nearby street food market, Tao Ning, her curiosity piqued, immediately dragged Xu Qiuyi along.
Xu Qiuyi, however, was worried. She wasn’t sure if Tao Ning, a pampered heiress, would appreciate the chaotic, often unsanitary, environment. Having grown up caring for her frail younger sister, Xu Qiuyi was meticulous about food safety and hygiene, not even allowing Zhichun to drink day-old water, let alone the often greasy, heavily seasoned street food.
She had also noticed Tao Ning’s slight, though not debilitating, OCD, her aversion to cluttered and unclean spaces.
Tao Ning, however, had never experienced the joys of street food, and her curiosity, combined with the irresistible logic of “we’re already here,” won out.
Xu Qiuyi relented.
Not seeing Uncle Liu’s car nearby, Xu Qiuyi wondered where the resourceful chauffeur, with his impressive driving skills, martial arts expertise, and rudimentary medical knowledge, had hidden it.
They decided to walk. It wasn’t far.
Bathed in moonlight, they strolled towards the bustling market, the noise and energy growing louder as they approached.
Street food markets were ubiquitous, their offerings predictable: stinky tofu, grilled gluten, takoyaki, freshly squeezed lemonade. The aroma of grilled squid, sizzling on the barbecue, seasoned with cumin and chili flakes, mingled with the sweet scent of egg waffles and ice cream.
The vibrant atmosphere, however, was mostly for show. After wandering through the crowded stalls, their hands empty, their clothes absorbing the smells of a thousand different dishes, they decided a proper sit-down dinner was more appealing.
Nothing warmed the body and soul on a cold winter night like hot pot. They chose a restaurant at random, emerging hours later, their stomachs full, each carrying a bottle of plum juice and a bag of complimentary sweet rice cakes.
They walked along the street, their conversation flowing easily.
Xu Qiuyi, gesturing towards a nearby building, said, “My middle school is just around the corner. I used to walk this route every day. No. 12 High School is further down the street. I was planning to go there for high school.”
Tao Ning, her eyes half-closed, enjoying the cool night air, said, “Then Mingrui stole you away.”
Xu Qiuyi nodded. “Yes. And then… I met you.”
Before accepting Mingrui’s offer, Xu Qiuyi had carefully considered her options, researching the school, knowing that even without the generous scholarship, she needed to be prepared for the challenges, the pressures, of such a privileged environment.
School was an ivory tower, but Mingrui was a gilded cage, filled with temptations.
Grandma Pan had asked her, “If you go there, can you resist the temptations? That’s the most important thing.”
Xu Qiuyi had replied confidently, “Yes. I’ll use it as a stepping stone.” And she had.
Every incident at Mingrui, except for the initial betrayal by her friends, had been anticipated, her emotional responses carefully controlled. She knew she was an outsider, an anomaly in that world of privilege.
She glanced at Tao Ning, her expression softening. Tao Ning, however, had been unexpected, a welcome surprise.
Tao Ning, looking ahead, the streetlights illuminating their path, imagined Xu Qiuyi walking this same route years ago, in the early morning mist, on her way to school.
“Let’s go see your middle school,” she said suddenly.
“Sure, but the lights will probably be off,” Xu Qiuyi replied. She didn’t have strong feelings about her middle school, but if Tao Ning wanted to see it, she would take her.
As Xu Qiuyi had predicted, the school was dark, closed for the holiday, only the security office at the entrance illuminated.
Tao Ning looked at the building from a distance, finding nothing remarkable about it, suddenly feeling foolish for suggesting it.
It was strange. Anything associated with Xu Qiuyi seemed… interesting, compelling, demanding her attention. Perhaps it was an occupational hazard.
Xu Qiuyi, her expression calm, showed no signs of nostalgia. She wasn’t one to dwell on the past. Besides, she didn’t remember much.
Since they were already there, however, she walked around the perimeter, sharing a few positive memories, the few she had retained.
As they walked back, passing by the hot pot restaurant, Tao Ning, remembering the girls from earlier, asked, “Were those… colorful individuals also from your middle school?”
Xu Qiuyi replied, “Probably. But I don’t remember them.”
She had encountered too many people like that, her responses swift and decisive, retaliating against every insult, every attempt to belittle her. She didn’t bother remembering their names.
Speak of the devil. As they turned a corner, they ran into the same group.
Xu Qiuyi and Tao Ning: “…”
The girl with chestnut brown hair: “…”
They stared at each other, Tao Ning noticing two new additions to the group, both sporting prominent tattoos, even in the winter cold, their expressions… not particularly intelligent.
The girl suddenly pointed at Tao Ning, her voice shrill. “That’s her! She threatened me! Gege, avenge me!”
One of the tattooed men stepped forward, his chest puffed out, his voice loud. “You bullied Chenchen?”
Tao Ning whispered something to Xu Qiuyi, who looked at her, surprised, then shook her head, her expression a mix of confusion and respect.
The tattooed man, ignored, felt a surge of anger. “What are you whispering about? Too ashamed to admit what you did?”
Tao Ning looked up at him. “You want to know?”
“Of course!” he replied.
Tao Ning, looking at him with an expression of pity, said, “Trust me, you don’t.”
Her evasiveness only angered him further.
“Just tell me! And speak up!” he yelled.
“Alright, alright,” Tao Ning said, her expression resigned, then, raising her voice, she shouted, “Aren’t you cold, wearing a tank top in the middle of winter?!”
Following his instructions, her voice was indeed loud, attracting the attention of a passing cyclist, who, bundled in a thick winter coat, looked at the tattooed man with an expression of bewilderment before continuing on his way.
The tattooed man: “…”
Everyone: “…”
He hadn’t thought anything of it before, his usual attire, but being called out like that suddenly made him feel… strangely self-conscious.
Tao Ning, adding insult to injury, asked, “Did you think you looked… cool?”
The other tattooed man, feeling targeted, threw his cigarette butt on the ground. “You think you’re so tough? Let’s teach you a lesson.”
Xu Qiuyi, suddenly nervous, grabbed Tao Ning’s arm. “Maybe we should call the police.” Uncle Liu couldn’t reach them here, she had no backup, and they were outnumbered.
Tao Ning, equally concerned, said, “I shouldn’t have given Liao Shishi the day off. I’m not very good at fighting.”
Xu Qiuyi, her hand already reaching for her phone, felt a bag being pressed into her hand. It contained the sweet rice cakes.
“Hold this,” Tao Ning said. “I’ll be right back.”
Before Xu Qiuyi could protest, Tao Ning was gone.
Xu Qiuyi, her phone already dialing the emergency number, reached for Tao Ning, but she was too late. “Don’t…” she started, then stopped, her words caught in her throat.
Tao Ning, striding towards the group, swung her backpack, hitting the first tattooed man, who, seeing the seemingly lightweight bag, had reached out to catch it, a smirk on his face.
The unexpected weight, however, sent him flying, crashing into a trash can, his head hitting the metal with a loud clang.
“…What the… What was that?” he groaned, his head spinning.
The second tattooed man’s attempt at a sneak attack was also thwarted. Tao Ning, turning swiftly, kicked him in the stomach, the force of the blow, amplified by her hard-soled shoes, sending him doubling over, retching.
Her movements were precise, efficient, clearly trained.
The remaining boys, however, fueled by youthful bravado and a desire to prove themselves, though intimidated, weren’t backing down.
The girl with chestnut brown hair, her pride wounded, yelled, “There’s only one of her! Get her!”
Fueled by adrenaline, they charged.
They had expected to overwhelm her with their numbers, but Tao Ning moved like a phantom, slipping through their grasp, dodging their blows, reappearing a few feet away, then suddenly in front of them, delivering swift, precise strikes, leaving them disoriented and in pain.
One by one, they fell, each having experienced the full weight of her backpack and the force of her fists, their cries of pain echoing through the night.
Xu Qiuyi, watching this unfold, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and… something else, a spark of admiration, even excitement, didn’t even realize she had finished dialing the emergency number and was now giving the operator their location.
Her expression was like a treasure hunter who had stumbled upon a hidden gem, a possessive glint in her eyes.
“What’s in that bag? Bricks?” the girl with chestnut brown hair, clutching her arm, asked, her voice filled with pain.
Tao Ning, her voice calm, replied, “Knowledge.”
As soon as she spoke, a heavy, hardbound English dictionary landed on the ground with a thud, its thickness rivaling a brick.
Everyone: …That’s… a big book.
The backpack, unable to withstand the repeated impacts, finally gave way, its seams splitting, the “knowledge” spilling out.
Tao Ning, picking up the dictionary, smiled. “Oops. Excuse the mess.”
Xu Qiuyi, running over, her voice filled with concern, asked, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
The groaning figures on the ground: Are you blind? She’s fine! We’re the ones who are hurt!
Tao Ning, gently pushing Xu Qiuyi’s hands away, reassured her, “I’m fine. Just a little redness.”
“Let me see,” Xu Qiuyi said, taking Tao Ning’s hand, her own fingers gently tracing the red marks on her palm. “It’s all red,” she said, her voice filled with concern.
The heiress’s pampered skin was delicate, easily bruised, and Tao Ning, flexing her fingers, felt a throbbing ache in her palm.
“It’s nothing,” she said, dismissing Xu Qiuyi’s concern.
Xu Qiuyi’s fingers gently caressed her palm, her touch light, almost reverent. “Such beautiful hands… they shouldn’t be… tarnished,” she murmured.
Tao Ning, not having heard her clearly, asked, “What?”
Xu Qiuyi said, “I called the police. They’ll be here soon.”
Tao Ning, relieved, said, “There are security cameras nearby. They’ll see they started it, that they outnumbered us. It was self-defense. You don’t have to look so worried.”
Xu Qiuyi tried to smile, but failed, her frustration evident. Their rare moment alone had been ruined.
Before the attackers could recover, the police arrived, sirens wailing.
The group, having anticipated a minor scuffle, not police involvement, were terrified, their bravado gone, their legs turning to jelly.
Some of them were minors, still in vocational school, used to getting away with fighting, never expecting to face actual legal consequences.
The others, older, more experienced, glared at Tao Ning, their faces a mask of anger and resentment.
The police officer, recognizing a few familiar faces, looked at the scene, puzzled. “Who called the police?”
Xu Qiuyi stepped forward. “I did. My friend and I were walking by, and they… attacked us.”
Before she could finish, the girl with chestnut brown hair interrupted, her voice shrill. “She’s lying! She attacked us! My boyfriend hit his head on a trash can! Look! He has a bruise! And you’re taking her side?!”
The officer, however, wasn’t swayed by her accusations. Her “boyfriend” was a frequent visitor to the police station.
Tao Ning, looking confused, asked, “Isn’t that her brother?”
“…No,” Xu Qiuyi said, sighing. “Boyfriend.”
Tao Ning’s eyes widened in understanding.
Her reaction only made Xu Qiuyi feel more exasperated. She wanted to crack open Tao Ning’s head and insert a “romance chip,” granting her instant access to the complexities of human relationships.
How could someone so intelligent be so clueless about love?
Would she even notice if someone kissed her? she wondered, a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Tao Ning’s confusion, however, stemmed from the couple’s uncanny resemblance, leading her to believe they were siblings.
It wasn’t sibling resemblance; it was… couple resemblance.
Regardless, the entire group was taken to the police station, the nearby security footage confiscated as evidence.
The tattooed men, humiliated at being defeated by a girl, their pride wounded, yelled as they were being pushed into the police car, “Who are you?! I’ll find you! You better watch your back!”
Their bravado, however, was quickly quelled by the officer’s baton. Threatening people in front of a police officer? Did they think they were above the law?
Tao Ning, watching them with a cold gaze, said, “My name is Tao Ning. Tao, as in ‘earthenware.’ Ning, as in ‘unrest.’”
The two tattooed men froze, exchanging bewildered looks, their eyes wide with shock.
They had worked as security guards at a building opposite the Crown Club, until they were fired for wanting to get tattoos. That had been after winter break.
They had witnessed the aftermath of the raid, the club’s sudden closure, and they had heard their drunk boss ranting about how the Crown Club had offended someone powerful, the sole heir to the Tao Corporation, someone named Tao Ning.
He had said her name sounded peaceful, but she had brought chaos and ruin upon the Crown Club, its empire collapsing overnight.
He had also said it was good for business, that all the Crown Club’s customers would now come to their establishment, and that he would love to thank this… benefactor personally. But he knew it was impossible. Someone like him could never meet the Tao heiress.
No way, they thought. It can’t be… There must be other people with the same name.
But one of them couldn’t help but ask his friend, “Was it… the Crown Club…?”
A voice beside them asked, “You know about the Crown Club? And you still think you’re above the law?”
They turned to see the girl who had introduced herself as “Ning, as in ‘unrest,’” the girl who had indeed brought unrest upon their lives.
Their faces paled. Few people knew about the Crown Club’s inner workings. They had only learned about it from their boss’s drunken ramblings. This girl had to be the real deal.
One of the tattooed men, exhausted and in pain, couldn’t help but complain, “Why? Why would a rich heiress like you eat street food? You have chauffeurs and… everything!”
Tao Ning replied, “You wear a tank top in the middle of winter because you want to. I eat street food because I want to. And you assaulted us. That’s not okay.”
The police officer, looking bewildered, led the two men away, their faces a mixture of anger and despair, their bravado gone. They were repeat offenders and would be questioned separately from the minors.
The girl with chestnut brown hair, sensing something was amiss, wanted to ask, but she didn’t dare.
Xu Qiuyi, however, ignored her completely, not even acknowledging her presence.
She hadn’t considered the girl worth her attention since middle school, even after being locked in a bathroom and having cold water thrown on her. Xu Qiuyi had simply retaliated in kind, the next day, in front of the entire class, drenching the girl with a bucket of water, then calmly sitting through the rest of the day in her wet uniform.
Xu Qiuyi had always been aloof, untouchable, her indifference infuriating.
The teachers, seemingly blind to the girl’s provocations, had always favored Xu Qiuyi.
Sometimes, being ignored was worse than being hated, and it was Xu Qiuyi’s indifference, her complete lack of concern, that had fueled the girl’s resentment for years.
As Tao Ning sat down, Uncle Liu, who had mysteriously disappeared earlier, finally arrived, his suit impeccable, his expression, however, unusually grim.
He strode through the crowded police station, ignoring a drunk man’s attempt to hug him, his face relaxing slightly upon seeing Tao Ning unharmed.
He approached her, his voice low. “Miss Tao, please allow us to accompany you in the future, for your safety.”
Tao Ning replied, “We’ll discuss that later. Don’t tell my mother. I’ll talk to her myself. I have… other matters to attend to.”
Uncle Liu, knowing she wasn’t joking, turned to speak to the officer.
The officer, instructing the minors to wait for their parents, saw Uncle Liu and asked, “Whose guardian are you?”
After confirming his identity, Uncle Liu was led away to sign some forms.
Tao Ning, seeing him emerge, stood up, stretched, and turned to Xu Qiuyi. “Let’s go. I’ll take you home.”
Xu Qiuyi, allowing herself to be pulled up, asked, “Didn’t you say you had something important to do?”
Tao Ning replied, “Yes. Taking you home.”
Xu Qiuyi, speechless, said, “That’s not… important.”
Tao Ning said, “Okay, then there’s another important thing. Second most important thing.”
Xu Qiuyi, intrigued, asked, “What is it?”
“I’m hungry,” Tao Ning said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the exit. “All that fighting worked up an appetite. Let’s get some food. What are you in the mood for?”
And so, Xu Qiuyi, once again, found herself being dragged along by Tao Ning, ending up at a noodle shop, then being driven home.
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