It had clearly been fine just yesterday. He had even begun to imagine being together. What he thought was things gradually getting better was completely shattered at this moment.
But he felt there had to be a reason. It could not be what she said about having no feelings and being unsuitable. If she truly had no feelings, then why did she not hit him when he kissed her?
He wanted to take her hand and change to another place to talk properly, but before he could touch her, she dodged away in fear.
Yang Qin froze.
“I’ve already said everything I needed to say,” Wen Quhua forced herself to look at him, her gaze resolute.
She really left, as if afraid he would chase after her.
Yang Qin stood where he was, his expression dark, not knowing what he was thinking.
When Yang Qin returned to the construction site, Yang Tian originally wanted to offer a few words of congratulations, but the moment he turned his head, he saw Yang Qin’s gloomy expression.
Did they quarrel?
Yang Tian did not dare to say anything anymore, and Yang Qin went to find Supervisor Wang.
All afternoon, he calmly busied himself with work at the construction site. By six or seven in the evening, the workers gradually got off work one after another.
Yang Qin did not leave. Yang Tian wanted to say something, but in the end, he held back and left first.
Yang Qin sat at the construction site until eight or nine o’clock. He could not figure it out, no matter how much he thought. After sitting for who knew how long, he stood up and walked toward the seaside.
It could not just end like this without clarity. He wanted to find her and ask for a clear explanation.
When he reached the barbecue stall, he saw that the lights of the sweet soup shop were off. It was not yet ten o’clock, and she had already closed. The lights on the second floor, however, were on.
Yang Qin curled his lips into a mocking smile, realizing that she was avoiding him.
Even if he stood in the box at the back door all night until dawn, she would not come downstairs.
He stood still, his expression hard to read.
There were quite a few people at the barbecue stall who knew him. Langcheng was not big to begin with. They warmly came over, wanting to pull him in to drink together.
Yang Qin refused all of them. He walked around in a circle and returned to the alley at the back door. He stood quietly in the alley, head lowered.
Upstairs, at eleven o’clock, Wen Quhua lifted the curtain slightly and glanced downstairs.
She hoped he would not come.
But with just that one glance, she saw him again. He was standing silently downstairs.
Wen Quhua immediately pulled the curtain closed as if she had been burned. She sat uneasily in front of the dressing table, applying skincare.
Before the accident in her previous life, she had always lived under her parents’ protection, and her living environment had been relatively simple. In her mind, a man who would commit crimes in the future might have an abnormal psychological state, or perhaps be obsessive.
She was very afraid that Yang Qin would cling to her like this, and she did not want to face him at all anymore.
But she also could not leave Langcheng now. Yang Qin still had a hardship in his fate this year that he had not yet overcome. She was afraid that if she could not complete her mission, she would not be able to change her family’s fate.
She bit her lip, looking extremely conflicted.
After applying her skincare, she lay down on the bed, but could not fall asleep for a long while.
She quietly got up again, lifted the curtain to take a look. Through the swaying shadows, the figure was still standing in place. He had not left.
Wen Quhua felt even more irritated and lay back down.
Forget it. She would not care anymore. He could stand there for as long as he wanted.
By the latter half of the night, Yang Qin understood that she truly would not come downstairs.
The seaside air was salty and damp. He had stood there for most of the night, and his clothes had become damp. He tugged at his lips and let out a mocking laugh.
How well he had imagined things last night was how ironic it was tonight. He thought things were improving, but in reality, it was just his own wishful thinking.
What she had been thinking about was how to reject him.
Clinging like this looked ugly and was meaningless.
He stood for a while longer, then lifted his foot and left.
After returning to his place, he did not even have the strength to shower. He collapsed directly onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
She had not even treated him kindly yet, and he had already been thinking about changing rooms.
Now, he truly felt embarrassed. Yet for him to give up just like this, Yang Qin found it almost laughable that he was unwilling to do so.
A few days passed quickly. When Wen Quhua lifted the curtain at night, she no longer saw him. She finally let out a sigh of relief, thinking he had given up.
That was normal. Anyone who had been rejected like that would not keep coming back.
Wen Quhua resumed her normal life again. The sweet soup shop’s business was good, and more and more people came because of its reputation. In the evenings, quite a few young couples would deliberately come to the seaside for a walk and then have a bowl of sweet soup.
Wen Quhua and Manman were busy and fulfilled. Tonight, she was at the counter doing the accounts.
“Welcome.”
When she heard Manman’s voice, she did not even lift her head. She carefully checked the accounts. After nearly two months of opening, they had begun to make a profit.
“What would you like to order?”
The person did not speak, and Manman felt a bit puzzled.
At that moment, Wen Quhua finally lifted her head. When she saw who it was, she froze, clearly startled.
The person she had not seen for several days was now standing in her shop.
Wen Quhua subconsciously said to Manman, “It’s late. You can get off work first.”
Manman responded with an “okay.” She usually worked from two in the afternoon until night, and the boss paid her well, so she usually stayed to help close the shop.
But since the boss told her to leave early, she untied her apron and went out without looking much.
After Manman left, Wen Quhua frowned. She deliberately glanced outside the window, afraid that Yang Qin coming in like this would make others think nonsense.
After all, a man like Yang Qin did not look like someone who would be a customer of a sweet soup shop.
After looking, Wen Quhua still did not speak and continued lowering her head to do the accounts.
Yang Qin looked at her distant and cold attitude, and his expression was not good either.
He realized that as long as he did not come, he truly would not see her at all.
Tonight, he really could not hold back anymore. He still wanted to try again, to see if he could get some kind of answer.
Seeing that she was busy with the accounts, Yang Qin glanced at the tables outside that had not yet been cleared and simply went to help her with the work.
Hearing the noise, she lifted her head in shock and hurried out to stop him. “Don’t help me with work.”
This was too obvious!
She glared at him. Yang Qin did not mind and said lightly, “If you stand here pulling and tugging with me, it will make people misunderstand even more.”
But he could not just help her like this!
Yang Qin had no intention of stopping. He folded the umbrellas and moved the tables, completely unconcerned about others watching.
Wen Quhua was so angry she could not stand it. She stood in the shop and looked at him coldly.
“What you’re doing is completely meaningless.” Her voice was cold, as if coated in ice.
Yang Qin’s hand stiffened. After a pause, he continued tidying up.
She realized that tonight, his skin was truly thick.
She could not drive him away, so she angrily went back to do the accounts, out of sight, out of mind.
But in just a short while, he finished clearing up outside and even turned off the outside lights.
However, as long as the windows were lit, people outside could still see the figures inside the shop.
Wen Quhua could no longer continue doing the accounts. She looked at him, arms crossed. “Come with me.”
At this moment, he was quite obedient and followed her to the area by the back door wall, where it was blocked from view. That way, people outside could not see them.
Her behavior of being afraid of being misunderstood made Yang Qin’s gaze grow colder again.
“What exactly do you want?” she asked, frowning at him, her tone far from good.
Yang Qin looked at her and said calmly, “The reason.”
The reason why she suddenly avoided him like the plague.
Wen Quhua replied coldly, “Isn’t not liking you a reason?”
Hearing the words “not liking” again, Yang Qin did not feel good. He curled his lips and even somewhat maliciously said, “When I kissed you, you clearly liked it too.”
She froze, unable to believe he would speak so boldly.
When he kissed her, she had indeed been moved.
But that was human nature. Being gently kissed by a man who was handsome and liked her, her enjoyment had outweighed her resistance. It was simply a natural bodily reaction.
If she had not eased her relationship with him over the past few days, Yang Qin would not have clung to her like this. But in just these few days, from the heavy rain to him accompanying her to the hospital, to her being willing to stroll through the park with him, and even obediently letting him kiss her in the alley, he did not believe she did not like him at all.
Wen Quhua spoke nonsense, “We people from Hong Kong City aren’t that conservative. It was just a kiss.”
Just a kiss?
His gaze flickered. He was truly so angry that his heart ached.
Then would she casually kiss others like that too?
Yang Qin suddenly stepped closer, his oppressive presence pressing down on her. Wen Quhua instantly realized she had said something foolish.
“Yang Qin, you’re not allowed! You’re not allowed to kiss me again!” she hurriedly scolded him, even raising her hand to cover her lips.
“Didn’t you say it was just a kiss?” he mocked her.
Wen Quhua glared at him angrily. “Even so, I won’t let you kiss me!”
She would not let him, yet he had already kissed her plenty before. His eyes darkened, and his face slowly moved closer to hers, his sharp gaze fixed on the hand covering her lips.
Wen Quhua was truly frightened by the way he was acting. Stripped of his usual gentleness, Yang Qin was no longer accommodating toward her, and his true nature was fully exposed.
But he stopped at the back of her hand. His breath brushed against it, and his voice was low. “I don’t accept the reason you gave.”
Even if she did not like him, she could slowly come to like him. He would not accept being completely rejected like this.
“If you can’t give a real reason, then I’ll pursue you openly and properly.” Just like tonight, when he walked into the sweet soup shop through the front door.
Seeing her widen her eyes in disbelief, he gave a smile with an unclear meaning. “What are you afraid of? You should have plenty of experience being pursued.”
With her looks, she would not lack admirers.
She did not like this feeling of being pressured. She lowered her hand and said coldly, “I also have plenty of experience rejecting people.”
“Then that’s settled. You can reject me, but I’m the kind of person who is quite persistent.” The restless feeling deep in his heart gradually disappeared as he saw her and got closer to her. He realized that just seeing her made him feel better.
It was not as if she had never avoided him before. He would just treat it as starting over again.
He released her and asked, “Should I leave through the front door or the back door?”
He still had the nerve to ask!
Wen Quhua replied irritably, “Go however you want.”
Alright.
He raised his brows slightly and left through the back door. In the end, he still did not want to push her too much.
Moreover, leaving through the back door gave him a sense of closeness to her.
As Yang Qin walked through the alley, his mood was no longer as heavy as it had been last night.
Wen Quhua, however, was not doing well. For the first time, she realized she had provoked a troublesome man. Being cold did not work, and rejecting him did not work either.
Fortunately… she was about to go to Beijing. She could avoid him for a while.
Manman had already gotten the hang of the shop. At worst, she could stay in Beijing for a few months. When the time came for Yang Qin’s grandmother to face trouble, she could come back and help him get through it.
If they did not meet, he would eventually give up.
The more Wen Quhua thought about it, the more she felt it was a good idea. The next day, she began teaching Manman how to receive goods and told her that if anything was missing, she could go to the telephone booth to call her.
Both of them were quite busy. When Yang Qin came again that night, Wen Quhua was not as angry as she had been the night before. She was even rather calm.
Manman was not the talkative type. Seeing the man from last night come again, she quietly went about her work.
Yang Qin placed a box of washed and cut Linglong honeydew melon on the counter. He did not linger. After putting it down, he left.
After he left, Wen Quhua lifted her gaze and looked at his back. She had not expected him to leave so promptly tonight.
But he had come in through the front door of the sweet soup shop. He was truly following through on what he had said, pursuing her openly without fear of others misunderstanding.
For three consecutive days, what he brought each time was different, including limited pastries from Langcheng that required lining up to buy.
He would leave after putting things down each day, giving Wen Quhua no chance to refuse, but it was not enough to trouble her either.
After all, he only came briefly and left. The two of them did not even exchange a word.
However, because of this, the barbecue stall owner, Uncle Zhang and Aunt Zhang from the small shop all came to know that Yang Qin was pursuing her.
He came every day. Tsk, tsk.
Uncle Zhang remarked, “I didn’t expect that kid Yang Qin to be so proactive when it comes to someone he likes.”
Aunt Zhang felt a bit regretful on behalf of her niece. Such a good man.
Capable and attentive. Shen Yan had said he had someone he liked, and that was completely true.
So he really liked the kind of great beauty who came from Hong Kong City.
Aunt Lu even deliberately tried to probe Wen Quhua’s attitude, but Wen Quhua deflected everything with ease.
Three days later, Wen Quhua was leaving. Only Manman knew that Boss Wen was going on a long trip.
Wen Quhua chose the midday lull to go near the old train station to catch a ride. Although the old train station had stopped operating, she had asked around and learned that a few shuttle buses still picked up passengers at the intersection near the station.
She would have to pass by the old train station…
She had calculated that at this time, the workers would all be on their lunch break, so she could avoid running into Yang Qin.
But she never expected that although she did not run into Yang Qin, she ran into Yang Tian.
He was at the construction site holding his lunch box after finishing his meal, looking quite surprised at Boss Wen carrying a large suitcase.
The suitcase was so big that it gave the impression she was leaving Langcheng for good.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Tian went to the site office and said to Yang Qin, who was looking at blueprints, “Brother, Boss Wen is going out. Did you know?”
Yang Qin’s hand holding the blueprint paused. He lifted his eyes and looked at Yang Tian.
So, he did not know.
It seemed that Yang Qin and Boss Wen had still not reconciled. Although his brother’s mood had improved slightly over the past three days, it was only by a little.
Yang Tian said to him, “Brother, if you go now, you might still catch up.”
The buses waited for passengers. They would only depart when full.
Seeing that his brother did not move, Yang Tian stopped meddling and planned to go take a nap before working in the afternoon.
But before he had taken a few steps, he saw his brother walk out of the office.
After Wen Quhua got on the bus, she let out a sigh of relief. She had not run into Yang Qin, and everything had gone smoothly.
She took out a scented tissue and wiped the fine sweat from her face. There were quite a few passengers on the bus, and it quickly filled up.
An older woman sat beside her and chatted with her cheerfully.
Wen Quhua replied gently. After only a few sentences, the bus was about to depart.
She sat properly, but just before the bus doors closed, the last passenger got on. There were no seats left, so he stood in the aisle.
The man was tall and broad, and as soon as he got on, he attracted quite a bit of attention.
As he walked toward the back, Wen Quhua casually lifted her head to take a glance, and then froze.
He stood in the aisle beside the older woman, looking down at her, even smiling at her.
Damn it!
Why was he here?
Wen Quhua instantly felt restless, using her eyes to question him about what he was doing here.
Yang Qin did not respond. Standing in the aisle, his presence was too strong. Wen Quhua only felt that he was being too reckless.
“Young man, where are you going?” The older woman could not help asking when she saw the handsome and sturdy young man standing beside her. “Do you have a partner?”
Yang Qin finally spoke, looking at Wen Quhua. “Ask her.”
The older woman froze for a moment and looked at Wen Quhua.