Sweet Oxygen - Chapter 16

Chapter 16 – Shut the Door

Stay inside and wait obediently

——

Qin Han always made an unconscious throwing gesture whenever she mentioned her “Brother.”

At first, Luo Shijin didn’t quite catch on, but after watching a couple more times, he suddenly felt a sense of familiarity.

After thinking for a moment, he retrieved a memory buried under a pile of fruit trade data in his mind—just a few days ago, he had recorded a video for Zhang Yuqing.

When Zhang Yuqing tossed that toy ball, wasn’t it the exact same motion?

Luo Shijin picked up a piece of watermelon rind that had been bitten unevenly and pointed at Qin Han. “Wait a minute. A few days ago, the video Qing-ge sent you—it had this exact gesture, didn’t it?”

Qin Han was startled.

Busted!

She suddenly felt embarrassed, her face and the skin on her neck flushing pink.

As an honest and straightforward person who wasn’t good at lying, she could only lower her head, tucking her chin almost into her chest. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s: “Zhang Yuqing looked a lot like that brother.”

Zhang Yuqing looked a lot like her “Brother”? Not the other way around?

Zhang Yuqing raised an eyebrow slightly, letting out a subtle laugh.

Luo Shijin was incredulous. “Wait, what are you saying? Don’t tell me you’re using Qing-ge as a stand-in for that guy of yours?”

Qin Han quickly shook her head and weakly countered, “I’m not… I just think they look alike.”

She trailed off, realizing that the more she tried to explain, the more it sounded like she was convicting herself. So instead, she turned to Zhang Yuqing for help.

Zhang Yuqing rested an elbow on the table, casually flipping a bottle of tattoo ink up and down in his hand, teasing Beibei in the process.

The little golden retriever was only about as long as his forearm. It stood on the table, wagging its tail, pressing its paws on the ink bottle while trying to lick his fingers.

He seemed completely unbothered by their conversation, but he still smiled and curved his lips slightly. “Looks like me, huh? Well, then he must be pretty handsome.”

Luo Shijin had initially been worried about his Qing-ge getting entangled with this well-off young lady.

But now, hearing her tone, it almost sounded like she thought her Brother was superior to Qing-ge?

That didn’t sit well with him. He tossed the watermelon rind into the trash can and said indignantly, “You’re making it sound like my Qing-ge is just a stand-in. Let me tell you, my Qing-ge is amazing. Back in the day, he was the top dog in school! If it weren’t for all the family drama, he’d be a distinguished university graduate by now.”

Zhang Yuqing glanced at Luo Shijin, cutting him off nonchalantly. “Eat your watermelon.”

“Oh.”

Luo Shijin swallowed the rest of his words and took another bite of watermelon, as if trying to choke back what he hadn’t finished saying.

In the past few days, the capital city had been hit with constant rain. The notice Qin Han had posted at Zhang Yuqing’s shop entrance had long been swept away by the wind and rain.

However, there was a new one on the table, likely drawn by Zhang Yuqing.

His drawing skills were genuinely impressive—the chibi version of the little golden retriever looked exactly like Beibei, capturing its expression perfectly.

Compared to the dog Qin Han had drawn earlier, which looked more like an alpaca, the difference was like night and day.

What was even more surprising, though, was Zhang Yuqing’s handwriting.

Back in school, teachers always nagged the boys to practice their messy handwriting, so that the college entrance examiners would be able to read clearly and not misinterpret.

At the time, the girls’ neat, meticulously written characters were constantly praised.

But Zhang Yuqing’s handwriting was different. It had balance and grace, its structure fluid and effortless—just like him, carrying an air of unrestrained ease.

Qin Han glanced at Zhang Yuqing’s profile. At that moment, he happened to turn toward her. She instinctively lowered her head, avoiding his gaze, and before she even understood why she was dodging, she spoke up. “Are you planning to post this one up?”

“This one?” Zhang Yuqing glanced at the notice, then casually tossed it back onto the table. “I was, but I’ve changed my mind.”

“Why?”

He ran his fingers through Beibei’s silky white-gold fur and chuckled. “I can’t bear to.”

“That makes sense, since you’ve had it for quite a few days now,” Qin Han sighed in understanding.

If it were her, she’d probably be reluctant to part with Beibei too.

Zhang Yuqing joked, “Beibei already ate dozens of cans of premium beef dog food. You think I’d let it go that easily?”

He wasn’t really the type to be so calculative, but he still made the joke. Qin Han laughed along and blurted out something silly. “So what now, make Beibei vomit them out?”

Their conversation shifted to what would happen to Beibei.

Zhang Yuqing said that if someone came to claim the puppy, he would personally give the owner all the dog food.

If no one did, well, he’d just keep Beibei himself.

By the time they finished talking, the evening was setting in. Casually, Zhang Yuqing asked, “Staying for dinner?”

Luo Shijin, who had been silent for a while, suddenly let out a cold scoff, startling Qin Han.

She waved her hands repeatedly, looking a little embarrassed. “No, no need. I should be heading home.”

Zhang Yuqing walked her to the door. Qin Han smiled and said, “I’m leaving now.”

He suddenly leaned in close to her ear and lowered his voice. “Don’t take Luo Shijin’s attitude to heart. I’ll scold him later.”

“Mm.”

Just then, a warm summer breeze swept past her ear and cheek, carrying the heat that had been baking under the sun all day.

For a moment, she couldn’t tell if the warmth on her earlobe came from the summer wind—or the heat of his breath.

Qin Han quickly nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear to cover up the flustered feeling inside.

That feeling lingered, refusing to fade, even as she neared the street corner.

Her ears felt broken—her earlobes were growing hotter by the second. She had no idea what was happening to her.

Then—

“Ugh, that’s so fucking disgusting!”

“I swear, if I look at him any longer, I’m gonna grow a sty!”

“Fucking freak. Are you even human? You crawl out of your mom like that?”

“Gross. Fucking sissy.”

A commotion erupted from a small alley in Yaonan Alley. Qin Han had been distracted, puzzled by her burning ears, when those filthy words suddenly reached her ears. Instinctively, she looked in the direction of the noise.

A group of boys had surrounded a long-haired girl, their bicycles messily clustered together behind them. Maybe it was the contrast, but the girl they had trapped seemed especially small and pitiful.

One of the boys held half a brick, sneering as he mocked her. “Wearing a skirt? You’re fucking disgusting. What, are you wearing women’s underwear too?”

As he spoke, he reached out his hand.

The long-haired girl suddenly lifted their head, revealing their face, and shouted, “I’m not! Don’t touch me!”

Qin Han froze.

A boy?

And not just any boy—someone she knew.

The boy was Qin Han’s high school classmate.

His name—she suddenly couldn’t recall it.

They hadn’t had much interaction during their three years of high school. Running into him here in Yaonan Alley was surprising enough.

But even more surprising was that he was wearing a plaid short skirt and had long, wavy hair cascading past his shoulders.

Qin Han’s classmate had curled himself into a ball, his bangs messily sticking to his sweaty forehead beneath the wig.

After he shouted, the boys surrounding him only grew more aggressive. They continued hurling insults, shoving him, waving lit cigarettes and bricks in his face. Someone even kicked him.

He was wearing the skirt with bare legs.

His calves and knees were covered in dusty shoe prints, bruises, and scraped skin with fresh blood.

Qin Han was terrified too—she had never encountered thugs before. Her legs trembled with fear.

But she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.

How could she stop them?

This wasn’t school—she couldn’t just “tell the teacher.”

Taking a deep breath, she suddenly rushed forward and kicked the row of bicycles the boys had parked together.

With a loud crash, the bicycles toppled over. While no none was reacting, Qin Han grabbed the boy’s wrist and shouted, “Run!”

They took off.

The summer air smacked against their faces as they ran. Qin Han’s mind was blank except for one thought—

She needed to find Zhang Yuqing.

The boys behind them realized what had happened and cursed as they gave chase.

Thankfully, they didn’t think to get on their bikes.

Qin Han’s classmate, despite wearing a skirt, barely managed to keep pace with her.

Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it would leap from her throat. The ringing in her ears drowned out everything else.

The more panicked she was, the less control she had over her legs. She wasn’t fast enough—her chest felt like it was being crushed by a heavy stone, making it hard to breathe.

They’re going to catch me and beat me to death with bricks, she thought.

Then, just ahead—

Standing in the doorway of his shop was Zhang Yuqing.

A lollipop between his lips, he looked surprised to see Qin Han at first, probably assuming she had forgotten something again.

But then his gaze shifted behind her, and his expression instantly turned cold.

“Zhang Yuqing!”

That was all Qin Han managed to shout.

She was too panicked, stumbling on the last few steps. She tripped over a raised stone and fell toward him.

Zhang Yuqing caught her steadily, quickly checking to make sure she was unharmed before pushing both her and her classmate inside the shop.

Yaonan Alley was lined with old buildings. The wealthier ones used iron roll-up doors for security, but most shops relied on a more traditional method—wooden panels over their doors and windows, locked up at night.

After shoving them inside, Zhang Yuqing shut the wooden security door.

He leaned against the panel, calmly looking at the kids who had chased them.

The gang hesitated, glancing at each other. One of them wiped sweat from his forehead and sneered, “Mind your own business!”

Zhang Yuqing smirked slightly, raising his eyes. “What if I don’t?”

Inside, Qin Han’s initial adrenaline rush faded, only to be replaced by a new fear—

Zhang Yuqing was still outside!

Would he be okay? Would he get hurt?!

The wooden door had been locked from the outside. She banged on it anxiously. “Zhang Yuqing! Open the door!”

Animals could probably sense the tension more keenly. Beibei, the little golden retriever, jumped onto the table and barked furiously out the window.

Only then did Qin Han realize—

The window was open!

She scrambled over, but before she could do anything, a hand reached in from outside—clean, with long, well-defined fingers. Zhang Yuqing’s hand.

He gently patted Beibei’s head, his voice soft. “Don’t make a fuss. Be good and wait.”

Beibei was easily soothed. But Qin Han was still frantic.

She had never been in a fight—had never even watched one before. She didn’t know what to do. She grabbed an empty beer bottle from the table and, after a moment’s hesitation, solemnly passed it through the window. “Use this!”

Zhang Yuqing glanced over, amusement flickering in his dark eyes.

He didn’t take the bottle. Instead, he reached in and lightly patted her head. “You too,” he said. “Stay inside and wait obediently.”

Then, he shut the wooden window panel as well.