Qin Yichi: A Secret Crush in a Past Life (1)

"Only when the first ray of sunlight shines into the heart and disperses the darkness does his world begin to gain color."

Qin Yichi had been beaten again.

His biological father, Qin Chong, was a subservient coward in the outside world, but at home, he ruled with his fists, forcing his wife, Lin Zhi, to give him money for gambling. When he grabbed Lin Zhi by the hair, Qin Yichi could no longer stand it and rushed forward to fight him, only to be pinned to the ground and brutally pummeled. The sound of bones cracking echoed incessantly.

Lin Zhi crawled over with red, tear-filled eyes, sobbing as she begged, "Stop! I’ll give you money, I’ll give it to you... just don't hit Xiao Chi..."

The dark, damp room was permeated with a rotting, foul stench.

Later, Qin Chong left, satisfied with the money in his pocket. Lin Zhi locked herself in her room. The muffled sound of her crying drifted through the door into Qin Yichi’s ears, a suffocating pressure that made it hard for him to breathe.

No one remembered that today was his tenth birthday.

Accustomed to this, Qin Yichi silently cleaned up the shards of a broken glass, his expression devoid of emotion.

The next second, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

He paused, his hands still clutching the broken glass, and opened the door with a blank face.

A young girl peeked her head in, clutching a backpack, and said softly and cheerfully, "Brother Chi, I’m here to celebrate your birthday with you!"

Qin Yichi froze.

Qiao Zhen wore a white nightgown, looking like a little angel in pure white, radiating a soft light. Her eyes were as clear as crystal, and she asked cautiously, "I saw that your dad just left. Can I come in now?"

Qin Yichi turned around, looking at the disheveled and filthy living room, and bit his lip in distress. He blocked the doorway, his voice calm, "Let's go outside."

Behind the apartment complex was a lawn, secluded and rarely visited.

The two sat quietly on the grass, looking at the brilliant stars in the night sky, each one flickering brightly. The evening breeze ruffled Qiao Zhen’s hair as she pulled a cream-filled bun from her small bag and tucked it into his arms, smiling sweetly:

"Happy birthday! Even though there’s no birthday cake, this bread is absolutely, incredibly delicious!"

Qin Yichi turned to look at her. She seemed to possess some kind of magic; when she smiled, her beautiful eyes curved softly, and two dimples appeared at the corners of her lips, like blooming jasmine flowers, making it impossible for anyone to look away.

Qin Yichi let his gaze linger on her face for a long time before looking down to silently tear open the plastic packaging of the bread. "Thank you."

Just as he was about to take a bite, Qiao Zhen suddenly grabbed his wrist, blinking her eyes. "Qin Yichi, did you make a wish?"

Qin Yichi: "...I don't have any wishes."

It was useless anyway. He had made so many wishes in the past, and none of them had ever come true.

It didn't matter.

When he finished speaking, Qiao Zhen looked visibly disappointed, leaning silently against his side.

Qin Yichi watched her for a while and asked, "Can you sing me a birthday song?"

"I can!" Qiao Zhen’s spirits lifted instantly, and she began to sing softly for him.

The girl's voice was soothing to the heart, like a gentle breeze in Jiangnan—clean and natural. Qin Yichi lowered his head to eat the bread, the dense cream filling melting on the tip of his tongue.

The winter wind gradually blew away the clouds, revealing the crescent moon, which cast a lingering, bright silver light. For some reason, Qin Yichi’s heart hammered against his ribs.

The bread was sweet. Her song was, too.

—

Fourth grade of elementary school.

Qin Yichi’s grades had always been poor; he didn't do his homework, slept in class, and whenever he was called upon to answer questions, he would stay silent and then be punished by being made to stand. He didn't understand math, so he would simply lay his head down to sleep, yawning as he randomly filled in a few multiple-choice answers before handing in his paper.

He perfectly avoided every correct answer.

Zero points.

The math teacher was a middle-aged man with a violent temper. He ripped Qin Yichi’s test paper to shreds and coldly demanded, "Qin Yichi, is there something wrong with your brain? Do you want me to refer you to a neurologist?"

"If you don't finish your corrections, don't even think about going home tonight, you hear me?!"

Qin Yichi took a fresh, blank test paper and returned to the classroom, his face expressionless.

That afternoon, before eating lunch, Qiao Zhen snuck over to teach him the problems. When she explained them, her voice was pleasant and melodious. She broke them down repeatedly and praised and encouraged him.

Qin Yichi suddenly realized that it wasn't actually that difficult.

Before leaving, Qiao Zhen stuffed a handful of candies into his desk, smiling lightly. "If you have any questions you don't understand, come ask me again. I'll teach you!"

They were lemon-flavored hard candies.

Qin Yichi was silent for a long time before giving a soft "Hmm."

But when he encountered problems he didn't understand again, he still didn't ask Qiao Zhen, fearing she would think him stupid too. Forget it, let it be bad; no one cared about his grades anyway.

On his way back to the classroom from the office another time, he accidentally overheard a conversation between Qiao Zhen and some other girls.

"Zhenzhen, maybe you should stay away from that Qin Yichi. He looks so fierce; I heard he even hit someone last time. I heard his father is a domestic abuser, and you know that kind of thing is hereditary!"

Qiao Zhen immediately looked up to refute her, her tone firm: "He wouldn't just hit people; there must have been something wrong with the other person!"

The girl sighed, "Anyway, you should stay away from him. He’s at the bottom of the class, doesn't do his homework, and besides you, who else would want to hang out with him? Besides, my mom doesn't allow me to make friends with people who have bad grades; otherwise, my own grades will drop, too. You shouldn't hang out with him either..."

The two figures gradually walked away. Qin Yichi leaned against the wall at the corner, not having heard what Qiao Zhen replied. But in that instant, for the first time, he felt an intense desire to study hard.

If Qiao Zhen had questions she didn't understand in the future, he wanted to be the one to teach her.

—

Qin Yichi was a man of action.

He spent the entire summer vacation studying hard and diligently completing his homework. During a test after the new semester started, he scored 98 in math.

The moment the test papers were handed back, he couldn't help but wonder what Qiao Zhen would think if she knew. Regardless, she wouldn't stay away from him like that classmate said.

Qiao Zhen ran to his classroom to give him chocolate, and when she saw his math test, she froze in place, her eyes slowly widening:

"Qin Yichi, you are so amaz—"

Before she could finish, the math teacher stormed in, filled with rage, and questioned him: "Qin Yichi, admit it right now! Who did you copy from on this exam? You've got some nerve, haven't you?!"

The bell for class rang, and Qiao Zhen had to lower her head and walk away dejectedly.

Qin Yichi looked at her departing back, his throat dry, as if it were stuffed with cotton, unable to say a single word.

She must have misunderstood him.

The students around him immediately cast strange looks his way—disdainful, disgusted, mocking, hateful...

No one believed him.

Even when the truth finally came to light later and the math teacher apologized to him in private, he didn't feel that anything had been made right.

After school, just as Qin Yichi was about to clarify, Qiao Zhen spoke first:

"Qin Yichi, I believe you. You couldn't have copied anyone. You’re just really smart!"

The girl grabbed his hand firmly, her eyes gentle and resolute.

A breeze blew by, completely stirring the lake of his heart. Qin Yichi heard his own clear, powerful heartbeat, deafeningly loud...

—

Another birthday came around.

This time, Qin Yichi had a new birthday wish:

He hoped that when he grew up, he could be like a knight, always by Qiao Zhen’s side, protecting her forever.