The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

What do you like about Ye Shu?

The question, once raised, did not bring forth a clear answer, but rather stirred up a deeper and more distant memory.

Xia Qing found it a little difficult to say that one point.

The feeling wasn't a sudden "it's him," but rather a natural, gradual change.

When did it start?

There doesn't seem to be a specific time.

But if I had to pinpoint it, it would be the night she dislocated her shoulder.

On the taxi ride home, she was in a lot of pain and felt very wronged, but she was already used to it. This time, however, someone took over everything for her in a gentle way and faced it with her.

From that night on, it was as if a crack had been pried open in that wary corner of her heart, and a sense of dependence that left her somewhat helpless began to slowly grow.

Xia Qing has always felt that she is standing "outside," fighting against something.

She was used to using flamboyance, nonchalance, and fierceness to arm herself, draw boundaries, and protect the other person inside her.

She remembered when she was still in school, every time she woke up she would find herself either in a stall in the girls' restroom or in a corner of the playground where no one could see her. Her body would ache all over, and she would feel a burning anger inside.

And in front of you, there are often a few faces, some you know and some you don't, with malice and some just watching the show.

She rarely cried or asked for help.

Each time, without having to think about who did it, she would simply wipe away her tears, stare at the ringleader or the one shouting the loudest, and pounce on them without a second thought.

There's only one goal: to take down that one person and beat them to a pulp.

She fights without any strategy, relying solely on ruthlessness, showing no restraint in her attacks, and completely disregarding how many blows she takes.

She had only one thought in her mind: to make the person who made her feel bad feel even worse.

Whenever his parents were called to the school because of this, An Jianxing would rush there and see his daughter, who was bruised and swollen but stubbornly holding her head high, with eyes as hard as a rock. He would never compromise or say a harsh word to Xia Qing when he heard her attempts to smooth things over with excuses like "both sides are responsible" or "it's just kids fighting."

An Jianxing would always shield his daughter behind him and then lash out at the teacher, questioning the school's safety management and its indifference to the bullying.

After several attempts with little success, An Jianxing's patience finally ran out.

Once, when he brought Xia Qing home from school with a bruised and swollen face, and watched Shen Jingwan clean her wounds, he suddenly raised his hand, slammed it on the table, and then waved his hand, saying only three words.

"I'm not going."

Not long after, he completed the withdrawal procedures for Xia Qing, so that she would no longer go to that place that filled her with unhappiness.

In An Jianxing's words:

"Isn't it true that you can learn anywhere?"

An Jianxing then hired many private tutors for her, with many famous teachers providing one-on-one tutoring.

Some people told An Jianxing that he was spoiling his child too much and that he would ruin the child.

At these times, An Jianxing would simply sneer and directly retort to the person who said such a thing:

"My daughter, I can raise her however I want, it has nothing to do with you. I can afford to raise her and protect her. She can live however she wants in the future. At worst, I'll support her for the rest of her life."

At worst, I'll support her for the rest of my life.

This sentence became Xia Qing's greatest source of confidence, and also provided the hardest lining for Xia Qing's armor full of spikes.

She knew her father was her support, someone who would always stand by her side.

But from that time on, she seemed to get more used to facing the harsh realities of the outside world alone, and to fighting against them.

Until... Ye Shu appeared.

He was different. He wasn't the kind of person who tried to break through her armor, nor was he the kind of person who admired the gleam of her armor from afar.

He seemed to simply... naturally step into her safe zone and then quietly stay there.

He would keep an eye on her, not letting her eat too much cold or spicy food, he would pull her back when she was reckless, and he would stay by her side when she was vulnerable.

He wasn't a strong harbor like her father, shielding her from all storms; he was more like land, allowing her little boat, accustomed to battling the elements, to slowly lower its anchor and dock.

When she's with Ye Shu, she doesn't seem to need to be on guard all the time, and the vigilance she's developed since childhood unconsciously relaxes.

You can be lazy, you can be willful, you can show a less formidable side, and you don't have to force yourself to play the invincible Xia Qing.

Does this count as liking someone?

Xia Qing didn't know.

This was completely different from the passionate, earth-shattering feeling she had encountered in the novels and TV dramas she had read.

There weren't many heart-wrenching moments; instead, there were more mundane daily routines, the familiar closeness of habits, and a sense of peace that made her feel grounded.

And there's another point, which Xia Qing mentioned back when she confessed her feelings to Ye Shu.

The way Ye Shu looked at her was different from how he looked at most people.

He didn't see himself as a case that needed special treatment. In Ye Shu's eyes, she was Xia Qing, the loud, unreasonable, but secretly caring "Sister Xia Qing".

She is a complete, living person with joys and sorrows, not just another personality of An Suxue.

Over the years, Xia Qing has been able to discern that kind of gaze.

Aside from her parents, whose gazes were pure and unadulterated with love, everyone else... even smiling relatives, would always unconsciously reveal something else deep in their eyes.

There is curiosity, fear, regret, or a special kind of attention that one thinks is well hidden but is actually full of loopholes.

She hated that look.

An Jianxing and Shen Jingwan also hated that kind of gaze. They did their best to build a normal world for her and for them.

Xia Qing still receives a message from a relative who visited her home many years ago. After a few drinks, perhaps out of genuine concern, or perhaps feigning drunkenness, the relative advised An Jianxing to have another child while he was still young.

Then Xia Qing saw An Jianxing's face darken instantly. While the relative was still oblivious and picking up food, An Jianxing stood up and overturned the table.

Everything on the table was on the floor, cups and plates scattered everywhere. An Jianxing, his eyes bloodshot, pointed at his terrified relative, veins bulging on his neck, and roared:

"Get lost! How we live is none of your business!"

After that incident, An Jianxing never had any contact with that relative again.

But Ye Shu did not.

His eyes were clear and innocent, without the uncomfortable scrutiny, the cautious weighing of emotions, or the calculations of "Is she having another episode? How can I safely interact with her?"

In front of Ye Shu, she can simply be Xia Qing. She can be domineering, she can be coquettish, she can be lazy, she can be vulnerable, and she can also take care of others.

Ye Shu wouldn't simply attribute any of her emotions or behaviors to "that illness." He treated her like anyone else he cared about, being kind to her, managing her, feeling helpless, and indulging her.

This feeling of being treated normally touched Xia Qing more deeply than any romantic confession or the beautiful words of Tsinghua University.

Her grip on the orange segment loosened, and her gaze returned to Qin Lili's face:

"Because, in his eyes, I am just me, Xia Qing, nothing more."