Chasing You Like a Tenacious Falcon

The sky had already darkened.

Quan Zhisui sat in the back seat of the car, silently gazing out the window.

Beside her, Zuo Zichen was chattering nonstop, even getting so excited at one point that he mimed a basketball shooting motion.

"You were so cool today, sis!" he shouted.

Quan Zhisui responded with a faint acknowledgment.

Zuo Zichen continued, "I want to play basketball too! I want to join the basketball team!"

Quan Zhisui glanced at him, "What about your studies?"

Zuo Zichen's enthusiasm dimmed a bit, "Well, there really isn’t time for that."

Quan Zhisui propped her chin on her hand and continued staring out the window, feeling inexplicably irritable.

By the time they got home, dinner time had already passed. Ma Xinwei reheated the dishes and brought them to the table.

Quan Zhisui's phone lit up.

[Fang Yue: I’ve purchased a new property and moved in.]

The message included a location tag, but it was retracted two minutes later.

Quan Zhisui expressionlessly shoveled a bite of food into her mouth and took out her phone to look it up online.

It wasn’t a mansion, but it wasn’t bad either—a duplex in the city center, fully furnished and quite spacious at 300 square meters.

Was Zuo Zhiyu living there alone?

It didn’t seem like it.

After dinner, Quan Zhisui went upstairs to do her homework, while Zuo Zichen brought his textbooks to her room and practiced kneeling in a meditative pose.

After working for a while, Quan Zhisui turned to look at her brother, "Zuo Zichen."

"Huh?" Zuo Zichen looked up, his expression dazed, as if he’d been memorizing formulas to the point of stupor.

Quan Zhisui studied him, "Is something going on with you lately?"

Zuo Zichen was startled, thinking she was asking about Wei Shixu. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he lowered his head without a word!

Quan Zhisui frowned, puzzled, "You’ve stopped playing games and have been studying nonstop. Did someone hit you or threaten you?"

Zuo Zichen breathed a sigh of relief. Oh, so that’s what she meant.

He almost had a heart attack!

He explained honestly, "I confessed to Zhuge Ying, but she rejected me."

Quan Zhisui nodded, "Go on."

Zuo Zichen blinked, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, "She gave me a reality check and made me see my future clearly."

Quan Zhisui raised an eyebrow, "Your future?"

Zuo Zichen nodded, "I don’t have the ability to inherit the Zuo family fortune. If I don’t study hard and get a good education, I’ll end up with nothing."

Quan Zhisui asked, "So why are you always hanging around me then…?"

Zuo Zichen straightened up, "I’m hoping that when you take over the Zuo family business in the future, you’ll take me under your wing."

Quan ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‍Zhisui turned back to her homework, "You’re barking up the wrong tree. Your dad isn’t going to hand the family assets to me. You should go talk to him—after all, he’s the one giving you a hefty allowance."

Zuo Zichen: "…"

The next morning, just as the morning reading session ended, the school broadcast suddenly came on. It was the principal himself making the announcement.

"Lu Qin from Class 8, Grade 11, has been found guilty of hiring outsiders to secretly take photos, causing a severe negative impact. This is a school-wide reprimand, and she will be given a disciplinary record."

The announcement came out of nowhere and was packed with shocking details, leaving no room for face-saving.

The classroom immediately erupted!

"Secretly taking photos? Was it that photo with Wei Shixu?"

"Damn! I thought it was just a random classmate who took that photo, but it turns out Lu Qin hired someone to do it?"

"And it was an outsider! How did they even get in?"

"Wait, doesn’t this seem a bit terrifying? She kept saying she had nothing to do with Wei Shixu, that it was just about repaying a favor, but she was pulling this kind of stunt behind the scenes?"

"Ugh! Calling him ‘Grandpa Wei’ all the time makes me want to puke."

"What was she even trying to do?"

"Isn’t it obvious?"

"Such a blatant scheme, such a dirty tactic!"

"Wow! Yesterday she got owned by Quan Zhisui, and today the truth about her sneaky photos comes out and she gets a disciplinary record. If I were her, I wouldn’t even dare show my face at school!"

"…"

Quan Zhisui was also taken aback. She’d encountered secret photography once before.

But Lu Qin secretly taking photos of herself? That was a whole new level of audacity.

At that moment, Wei Shixu walked over from the front of the classroom and pulled up a chair next to Quan Zhisui.

Quan Zhisui thought he was there to help her with a problem, so she instinctively opened her notebook.

But Wei Shixu said, "Your good friend Ling Ruoyun is returning to school today. She was originally supposed to come back with her team from the provincial capital this afternoon, but due to some circumstances, she’s arriving early. You’ll probably see her by noon."

Quan Zhisui looked at him in confusion, "You… actually care about this kind of thing?"

And with such detail!

She had always thought Wei Shixu was the type to stay out of the loop, someone who didn’t pay attention to or care about anyone, spending all his time watching gory horror movies.

Wei Shixu took her notebook and smiled, "There’s going to be a good show at lunch."

In Class 8, Lu Qin was completely stunned by the announcement!

She had just been humiliated by Quan Zhisui the day before, and now, first thing in the morning, an even bigger blow had landed.

How had they found out about her?

This was impossible!

The photography team had assured her they wouldn’t expose her!

And it was so strange—why would the principal himself announce a disciplinary record?

That was the principal, not some department head!

Her classmates were pointing and whispering, the murmurs growing louder.

The composure Lu Qin had managed to regain overnight shattered once again.

Zhuge Ying was the happiest of all. During the break, she strolled into the student council office, smiling at a group of senior students while delivering a barrage of sarcastic remarks.

"Wow! Yesterday’s drama wasn’t enough, so today we get an even bigger show, huh?"

"Your Lu Qin not only can’t play basketball as well as my Quan Zhisui, but her character is trash too!"

"Putting someone with such a bad reputation on the front page—what were you all thinking?"

"Oh, and by the way, the announcement was made by the principal himself. Hmm, I wonder if someone gave the order?"

"Could it have been Wei Shixu’s idea?"

"Wow! Trying to curry favor with the Wei family! Wow! Riding on their coattails!"

After her tirade, the student council president and vice president looked utterly mortified.

Zhuge Ying left with one final jab, "If you can’t handle it, maybe you should step down. The president’s position should go to someone capable."

The president looked like he was about to spit blood.

At lunchtime, Quan Zhisui was too curious about the "good show" Wei Shixu had mentioned, so she agreed to go to the cafeteria with him.

Kong Mingze and Zhuge Ying joined them, and the four of them regrouped.

They had just sat down with their food when a group of boys came over to greet Quan Zhisui. Not long after, a group of girls also approached, chattering excitedly.

Before she could even start eating, Quan Zhisui’s face was stiff from smiling.

So many people were greeting her, so many were talking to her—so, so many!

Overnight, she had become the most popular person at Liang Secondary School!

All because she could dunk?

Quan Zhisui was stunned.

Zhuge Ying laughed beside her, "It’s not surprising. Even though your running video didn’t go viral, a lot of people saw you playing basketball. Students who were at evening self-study recorded it, and there are videos from every angle. They’ve been circulating everywhere."

Kong Mingze leaned in and nodded enthusiastically, "I’ve got like ten videos of it. So cool! A dunk, man!"

Just as they were getting into the conversation, a commotion broke out nearby.

Ling Ruoyun, still in her uniform and carrying her gear bag, stormed into the cafeteria.

She marched straight over to Lu Qin, who was sitting in a corner, and kicked her hard!

Bam!

The force was so strong that Lu Qin was knocked to the ground.

Lu Qin, who had been keeping her head down the whole time due to the whispers, was caught completely off guard. She fell and couldn’t get up right away.

Ling Ruoyun’s voice rang out across the cafeteria, "Lu Qin! You shameless b*tch!!!"

Gasps filled the room, and many people quickly moved out of the way.

Wei Shixu pulled Quan Zhisui, who was frozen in shock, to her feet, "Come on, let’s go watch the show."