บท 4: Chapter 4:Phone number

It took some time for Wallance to register the fact that Qiao An said no to his request. He thought that Qiao An was kidding when she said 'No' but her face remained serious and stoic after that. It made Wallance a little bit sad for being rejected.

However, no harm was done. Wallance laughed it off and took it as he was too straightforward and it scared the girl. Shen Jun Shan said nothing, and he just excused themselves to go back to his office. Qiao An did not mean to be rude, but Shen Jun Shan could see that Qiao An was quite happy when they said they're leaving.

Qiao An spent too much time in the town library that she came back late. Since she did not have any engagement that evening nor she has anything significant to do, she spent most of her time reading a book and searching for other reference books she deemed could be any use for her.

When Qiao An came out from her car, she saw from afar that Shen Jun Shan was heading towards her direction in sports attire. She picked up her book hastily so that she could walk away without having to talk to Shen Jun Shan.

Seeing how Qiao An picking something hurried from her back seat, Shen Jun Shan walked faster so he could catch up with her. Of course, he knew that Qiao An was trying to avoid talking to him, but the more she tried to steer clear from him, the more excited he gets. It was like playing tag, and Shen Jun Shan was the wolf.

"Coming back late, I see. I wonder what business you have in town. Out for dating?" Shen Jun Shan stood next to Qiao An When he saw the book, he rectified his question. "From the library? Can you read all these?" Shen Jun Shan naturally took the book from Qiao An.

All she wanted was to return to her home quietly, but Shen Jun Shan had to talk to her. Qiao An nodded and gave another book to Shen Jun Shan. Qiao An had two books with her, and Shen Jun Shan had another two books with him. Both of them walked up the stairs in tandem with Qiao An in front.

"Are you alone in the library? Or maybe you have a library date…" before Shen Jun Shan could finish his sentence, Qiao An turned to look at him.

"Do you think I have time to date and read a book at the same time?" Qiao An had a serious expression on her face.

"Is that why you don't want to give your phone number to my friend? Because you don't have time?" Shen Jun Shan was curious as to why Qiao An said no to Wallance. It's not his place to be nosy, but women rarely said no to Wallance.

Both of them reached Qiao An's front door. Qiao An held the two books on one hand while her other hand rummaged through her handbag to search for her keys. Shen Jun Shan took away the book from Qiao An like it was the most natural thing to do – like they have done this a million times before.

Qiao An unlocked her door, opened it and took her books from Shen Jun Shan.

"I am on energy-conserving policy, and I don't engage in a random conversation with someone I don't know. Thank you for helping me out. Please tell Amy that our plan this weekend is on" Qiao Shen spoke calmly, and when she finished talking, she walked into her house but stopped by Shen Jun Shan.

"Wait. Wait. Why don't you tell her yourself? I don't want to be the messenger. Here, give me your phone number. I'll pass it to Amy so the two of you can communicate like how other modern people communicate." Shen Jun Shan took out his phone. "Your number?"

After getting Qiao An's phone number, Shen Jun Shan went back to his house. His sister was not around, and he was too lazy to cook. He was about to call for takeout when he saw his recent call log.

An.

Right after he saved Qiao An's number, he dialled the number to let Qiao An know of his number. For some reason, he felt a sense of superiority over Wallance. Wallance was denied meanwhile it was so easy for him to get Qiao An's number.

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That weekend, Amy Shen and Qiao An made a plan to go out shopping together. This was the first time for Shen Jun Shan to see a very excited Amy since they moved to City L. Amy had a lot of female and male friends as well, but she rarely goes out with them. She either went out alone or with Shen Jun Shan if she needed help to carry things.

Shen Jun Shan found it weird for his sister to be fixated to Qiao An especially when Qiao An was indifferent about a lot of things. Of course Qiao An was slightly better compared to the first time she talked to him, but still, that girl is so cold, and her personality was the polar opposite with his sister.

"Sis, tell me honestly. Do you have a crush with An? Like, you know, you like a girl or something like that. Why do you like spending time with her so much when she is indifferent towards everything?" The Shen siblings are always close to each other since they were little. They usually don't keep secrets from each other.

"She might be disinterested towards a lot of things, but she is a good person. I wanted to become a friend with her since high school, but I never get the chance to. But why are you calling her An? Since when are you that familiar to her?"

Amy Shen was looking at her brother, thoughtfully. Her brother is a good man. Amy Shen thought that her brother is cool and he deserves the best in everything. Rather than spending his time taking care of his sister, Amy Shen preferred her brother to go out with someone, but ever since his ex-girlfriend left him, her brother was not close to any other female. Amy Shen thought that maybe if her brother spent much time with them, he'd recover from the pain.

"This weekend is supposed to be our girls time but would you like to go watch a movie with us?"

Since he has nothing to do, Shen Jun Shan agreed with Amy Shen.

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Ten years ago.

Three girls were gossiping inside the toilet while fixing their ponytail.

Girl 1, who appeared to be the leader of the three, took out a lip and applied it to her lips. "I saw Xie Zheng from Class 3 confessed to Amy Shen near the basketball court, but she rejected him".

"You mean, the handsome Xie Zheng? Why did all the handsome boy like Amy Shen? She's not that pretty" Girl 2 fixed the pin on her hair.

"Maybe because her family is well off. But her brother is handsome, though. Amy Shen is also on top 10 students from our grade, but who cares? We are also in the top 10". Girl 3 took out a lip tint and dabbed it on her lips.

Qiao An entered the toilet and looked at the three girls. She went into one of the empty stalls near an occupied one.

"But still, our Qiao An is our pride. Amy Shen will never beat her in ranking" Girl 1 purposely talked louder so that Qiao An would hear them from the toilet stall.

After Qiao An went out of the toilet, she went into the sink to wash her hands. "You all better hurry up. Mrs Lee won't tolerate tardiness during a lab experiment".

The three girls wanted to bring Qiao An into their circle, so girl 2 started gossiping. "Qiao An, don't worry. We will still get in the top 10 even though we come late for a lab experiment. No Amy Shen or other people will kick us from our ranking. She is just a pretty face, and her family is quite well off, she's not that smart. You think so too, right?"

"I don't know why she has so many admirers. I think you are better than her" Girl 1 added.

Qiao An dried her hands by using the dryer. After that, she turned and looked at her three classmates.

"Are you jealous?" Qiao An knew that girl 1 liked someone from their class before, but that guy liked Amy Shen. Since then, girl 1 had been talking bad about Amy Shen. The three girls were furious, and before they could retort to Qiao An's question, Qiao An spoke and rendered them speechless.

"Having a pretty face, rich family and a lot of admirers are the strength that some people might not have. Adding the fact that she is intelligent too, I can understand why you girls like to hate on her but if you want to beat and win over her, then be smart. If not, it sounds so much like an excuse to justify your jealousy".

After saying all that in one go, Qiao An walked out from the toilet.

"What a bitch! Just because she is number one on the school ranking of our grade, does she think she has the right to say that to us?" Girl 1 put away her lip balm and walked out from the toilet, followed by her entourage behind.

After a few minutes, the door to the occupied stall opened to reveal a sad Amy Shen. She did nothing but people, especially girls, like to hate on her. But still, she was glad. Someone defended her even though they were not close.

From that day, Amy Shen always looks up to Qiao An.