QTIMP -Chapter 157 Character Persona – Love Brained (Part 28)

Although Si Qiu couldn’t control the ache in her heart, she wasn’t that fragile. Not wanting everyone to see her suffering, she said she was going to visit a classmate and left.

She drove to Tian Shuang’s house. Tian Shuang had gone to work, but Xu Duo and Chang Li were there.

As soon as the door opened, Xu Duo noticed something was wrong—Si Qiu’s eyes were red and swollen, and her complexion looked off.

She hurriedly pulled her inside. “What happened?”

Chang Li, who had been tidying up, also came out when she heard the voice. Seeing her like this, she quickly set aside the cloth she was holding and went over to hug her.

Si Qiu forced a smile. “I broke up with that person.”

Both of them felt a little pang of sympathy, but their expressions remained calm. Chang Li even nodded. “You two had been together for almost three months, right? Just the other day when the three of us were chatting, we were saying it was probably coming to an end soon.”

Xu Duo bumped her with her shoulder. Why did she always speak bluntly? Si Qiu was already hurting—this wasn’t helping.

But then she turned around and saw Si Qiu, tears dripping down her face, still nodding in agreement.

“I know… in the end, relationships always end with arguments, coldness, conflicts, and separation… but I still feel so sad… sob sob sob…”

A familiar comfort routine followed. Both of them knew that no matter how much they tried to console her, Si Qiu’s state would last at least three to ten days—unless during that time she met her next “lover.”

Meanwhile, they were both thinking about the connections they had at school—wondering if there were any handsome guys around.

Don’t be fooled by Si Qiu’s love-brained tendencies—she had high standards for a partner! Appearance, character, talent—if any of these didn’t measure up, she wouldn’t trigger her love-brain.

Of course, they didn’t dare introduce anyone like that. What if by some twist of fate, she fell for someone and triggered her love-brain? That would be a huge headache.

That evening, Tian Shuang returned with a crate of alcohol. Chang Li, who opened the door, helped carry it inside.

“You bought all this wine?”

Tian Shuang said while changing his shoes, “At the company today, Director Si specifically told me to pay extra attention to Qiu Qiu these days.”

Then she gave Chang Li a knowing look that everyone understood.

Xu Duo leaned closer and whispered, “Luckily, it’s the National Day holiday, so she can rest a few extra days. Otherwise, the students at school would make fun of her again.”

Chang Li rolled her eyes. “Right? Otherwise, it’d be like high school again—everyone would spread rumors that Si Qiu couldn’t live without that guy. Honestly, it wouldn’t even take three months. After ten days, she might not even remember who he was.”

“So… where’s Qiu Qiu now?”

“She probably didn’t sleep well last night. She’s sleeping now.”

Xu Duo helped wash the vegetables, and the others started cooking.

But they moved quietly, carefully.

Even so, when school started on Monday, their relationship became the topic of gossip.

When Zhou Chenyu went to play basketball again, more girls gathered around him, even more attentive than before.

But he had become colder overall, speaking to everyone with a detached tone.

Gradually, public opinion started to shift.

Chang Li came back and slammed her book onto the desk with a loud thump. She put her hands on her hips, took a few deep breaths, and drank half a bottle of water.

Si Qiu opened a bottle of milk and placed it beside her, then took the empty water bottle and tossed it into the trash.

“What happened? Who pissed off our Chang the Beauty like this? Tell your sisters quickly—let us go teach them a lesson.”

Chang Li glared at her. “It’s because of you, of course. I don’t even know which unlucky guy spread the rumor, saying that Zhou Chenyu dumped you because you were too controlling, that he’s planning to accept a family-arranged marriage, and that the match has already been finalized.”

Si Qiu sat at her desk. “If we’re talking about the first part, anyone could have spread it. But the second part—you know who could spread such a thing. It has to be Huang Ziying. She’s using the rumor to assert her position and simultaneously step on me in my own social circle.”

Xu Duo turned and pulled a chair to sit beside her. “What are you going to do? Just let her step on you to rise?”

Si Qiu noticed everyone’s eyes on her. She hid the lower half of her face behind a book and blinked slowly.

“Do you think I’m that kind of person with a good temper?”

The three of them shook their heads in unison. Normally, Si Qiu would let little things slide, but if you really angered her, her revenge would come from morning till night.

The part of her eyes not hidden by the book curved into a sly smile. “Strike the snake at its seven-inch spot. If you hit someone, you hit them in the face. Of course I won’t let this slide easily. But self-exoneration is the biggest trap—I’ll make the person spreading the rumor clarify it publicly themselves.”

Although the others didn’t know exactly what she would do, they had complete confidence in her words and spontaneously gave her thumbs up.

Si Qiu was not one to turn the other cheek. On the second day after the banquet, she had already called Ms. Song Qian and her cousin.

Underestimating her family background? Fine, she’d use their family status to give them a hard time. They thought she was easy to bully? Not at all.

They planned the next steps carefully, now just waiting for the National Day holiday to pass. After all, you can’t be causing trouble at such an important time and smear reputations.

But Huang Ziying moved even faster. Though she was young, it was just child’s play for her, dealing with these petty, harmless matters.

Sure enough, as the rumors spread wider, Huang Ziying’s uncle was investigated for breaking the law—caught under the “shuang gui” system, personally reported by his superior.

The Huang family could live in the military district compound because of the elder Huang’s merits, but he was a level below the elder Lin.

Huang Ziying’s father was the second son of the elder Huang, not very capable, and only now a regiment commander, due to conflicts with the eldest son and main branch.

So with her uncle in trouble, the Huang family wouldn’t intervene too much.

And what does this have to do with the Zhou family? The Song family wasn’t targeting the Zhous; Xu Fengluan couldn’t represent the Zhou family anyway.

If the Zhous didn’t step in, the Song family wouldn’t let Xu Fengluan off easily either—it would be good for her to feel some pain.

If the Zhous had intervened, Si Qiu would have told her uncle and cousin: sacrifice the useless Xu second son, and gain a favor with the Zhou family—no loss there.

This whole plan not only vented Si Qiu’s anger but also solidified the Song family’s influence in the police system.

Yet the Song family thought, because of Xu Fengluan’s connections with the Zhous, they could never truly trouble her, leaving Si Qiu feeling incredibly wronged.

Perhaps… this is what love is—always feeling indebted.

But Si Qiu had seen a lot in life. She viewed such matters with clarity. Even if the Song family weren’t indirectly avenging her, she would swallow this anger without hesitation.

After all, it wasn’t yet a life-or-death matter.

If it ever came to that point, she believed she could even go as far as annihilating a whole clan.