Those faces, so handsome it looked like they’d accumulated eight lifetimes of good karma, were all looking at you. Could you stay calm?
Well, Qi Qi was calm as hell.
“Oh, little Qi is here! Haven’t seen you in ages.” Qiu Sheng waved enthusiastically when he spotted her.
He and Gu Cheng had been best friends since childhood, and since Qi Qi had been taken in by the Gu family from a young age, she naturally knew Qiu Sheng well.
Qi Qi walked over, her gaze involuntarily landing on Gu Cheng.
Two years apart—some things seemed to have changed, yet nothing at all.
The man was still as gentle as ever. It was just that the one he chose to treat with that gentleness was no longer her.
When had that man, who once only allowed her to get close, suddenly changed?
Oh, she remembered.
It was after she confessed to him at high school graduation.
The result was obvious—she was rejected.
Gu Cheng had never harbored those kinds of improper feelings for her.
Qi Qi was quite grateful she’d chosen April Fools’ Day for her confession. At least she had an excuse to keep herself from looking so pathetic and ridiculous.
But then—
From that day on, Gu Cheng, like an iron tree finally blooming, started changing girlfriends one after another.
What, was it her face that was so cursed it scared him into awakening?
Gu Cheng acted as if he hadn’t seen her, reaching out to rest his arm on the back of the seat behind the woman.
“Why are you here?” His tone was casual, but Qi Qi detected a hint of distance in it.
The man’s intimate gesture toward the leather-skirted woman was like a sharp blade, stabbing into her heart again and again.
She quickly averted her gaze, keeping her voice steady.
“Uncle Wang went to pick up Mom and Dad. He asked me to come check on you.”
“Are you satisfied with what you see?”
Qi Qi looked up again.
There he sat, languid and relaxed, letting the leather-skirted woman sit beside him, looking at her with a teasing glint in his eyes.
Qi Qi felt as if a hand had viciously squeezed her heart, her chest flooding with aching pain.
“Whatever.”
Forcing herself to ignore the pain inside, she casually tossed out those two words.
The air grew inexplicably heavy.
Until—
A soft clink of a glass meeting the table broke the tension.
Jian Yubai set down his cup, resuming his seat, and glanced at the man whose arms were draped over the back of the sofa.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
Qiu Sheng and the others assumed Jian Yubai was jealous because Gu Cheng was holding another woman, and they didn’t dare breathe too loudly.
Qi Qi finally noticed the man who was idly tapping his fingers against the sofa back.
His bone structure was exquisite—the kind of striking handsomeness that retained its masculine edge.
Jian Yubai, Second Young Master of the Jian family.
Though, people often called him the Crown Prince of Jinggang behind his back.
They had all been classmates in middle school and high school. Qi Qi’s impression of Jian Yubai was that he was hard to approach.
And also…
Her gaze swept downward across Jian Yubai’s lower half.
He was gay.
So she’d never really talked to him much.
Qiu Sheng, sensing the inexplicably tense atmosphere, quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
“Brother Jian, you went abroad so early, you probably forgot who she is. This is Xiao Qi.”
The young master of Jian, mishearing: “Oh, hello, Little Chick.”
Everyone: “…”
Qi Qi: “…” You’re the chick. Your whole family are chicks.
Gu Cheng’s eye twitched. “You don’t recognize my sister?”
Jian Yubai coolly uttered four words: “Seen her. Forgot.”
Qiu Sheng thought it was perfectly normal.
Qi Qi had been quite introverted during school, preferring to spend time only with Gu Cheng.
And Jian Yubai had gone to study in England in his senior year of high school, staying there for a full ten years. It was understandable that he’d forgotten Qi Qi.
Qi Qi didn’t want to stay any longer and was about to leave.
Gu Cheng suddenly called out to her, “You’re riding that beat-up motorcycle to work again?”
“That beat-up motorcycle was bought by you!” There was a hint of petulance in her words.
Gu Cheng gazed at her for a long moment, let out a faint sigh, and stood up to walk over.
“Two years apart and your temper has grown. Come back with me. Leave the motorcycle here—I’ll have someone pick it up tomorrow.”
“You’ve been drinking, how are you going to drive?”
Gu Cheng stared at her. “Do I look like an idiot?”
“…Kind of, yeah.” Qi Qi blurted out.
Gu Cheng was instantly amused and exasperated by her, ruffled her head, then tapped his phone to call a designated driver.
The man’s long-unfamiliar gesture made Qi Qi’s spine stiffen, and her eyes inexplicably stung with warmth.
Gu Cheng merely glanced at her slightly reddened eyes, then calmly looked away.
“Let’s go, we’re heading home.”
“Master Qiu, who is that woman?”
Not only was she beautiful and fierce, she could also ride a motorcycle—too bad she was a woman herself.
Qiu Sheng had no idea what the leather-skirted woman was fantasizing about, only assuming she was jealous, so he kindly warned her.
“Better put those thoughts away as soon as possible. That one’s not someone you can afford to offend. Everyone in the circle knows how much Brother Cheng treasures his sister.”
The leather-skirted woman said nothing, just shrugged.
With Gu Cheng gone, she felt awkward staying, so she tactfully took her leave.
After everyone had left, Qiu Sheng finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
“Brother Jian, why did you suddenly go abroad back then? There has to be a reason.”
“Afraid you couldn’t resist falling in love with me.”
Jian Yubai stood up and walked out of the clubhouse nonchalantly.
Qiu Sheng bit his fingernail.
Brother Jian couldn’t actually have fallen for him, could he? Then should he agree or not?
Honestly, with Brother Jian’s face, agreeing wouldn’t be a loss.
But then again—
He was a damn man!
Qiu Sheng followed behind, torn and troubled over the idea that Jian Yubai had fallen for him.
Back in the car,
The atmosphere was subtle and complicated.
The two each stared out their own window, neither speaking first.
Outside, a fine drizzle fell, blurring the city’s outline and also blurring the profile reflected on the car window.
Qi Qi stared blankly at it.
Qiu Sheng’s question uncontrollably resurfaced in her mind.
She rubbed her fingertips and finally broke the silence in the car.
“Brother, how are you… and Jiang Yu? Two years should have been enough to win her over, right?” She tried her best to keep her tone casual.
The two of them had lived together abroad for so long—surely everything that should or shouldn’t have happened had already happened.
Qi Qi didn’t dare look up, afraid Gu Cheng would notice her disheveled state.
But—
After her words fell, silence lingered beside her for a long while.
Qi Qi instinctively looked over and unexpectedly collided with the man’s deep eyes.
Gu Cheng still sat with elegant posture, elbow resting on the car door, hand propping up his temple, yet his gaze was fixed steadily on her.
His eyes were utterly calm, and Qi Qi couldn’t read them.
She leaned over, reached out a finger, and poked him.
“Brother, are you drunk or not? Asleep?”
Gu Cheng glanced at her restless finger. “Have you ever seen anyone sleep with their eyes open?”
Qi Qi sheepishly withdrew her hand.
“You and Jiang Yu—”
“So eager for me to get married?” The man suddenly cut her off.
Qi Qi thought to herself:
No, I’d rather you die alone.
Seeing her hang her head in silence, Gu Cheng looked weary, but still reached out to pat her head in comfort.
“Adult matters aren’t for kids to pry into. Tired from work? Mom said you’ve been holed up in the lab for a while.”
He deliberately avoided the topic. Qi Qi gave a bitter twitch of the lips, habitually swallowing the pain.
“Mm, there’s a case that’s gotten too tangled up.”