These four words caused a slight flicker in Qi Chenyan’s eyes as he lifted the corner of his lips. “Don’t be too envious. After all, even if you wanted to act flirtatious, you wouldn’t have anyone to flirt with.”
Song Zhibo: “?”
He wasn’t satisfied. “What do you mean I don’t have anyone? If I wanted to, there are plenty of women, okay? I just don’t want to!”
“Is that so?”
Qi Chenyan walked toward the door, his tone casual. “You don’t want Miss Jiang either, right? Well, that’s perfect. You don’t need to know her whereabouts then.”
“!”
Song Zhibo’s expression changed instantly. He immediately stood up and rushed to Qi Chenyan’s side. “Third Brother, do you have news about Jiang Jiang?”
Qi Chenyan glanced at him sideways. “What? I thought you didn’t want her. Why do you need her news?”
So he really did have it!
“I do want her, I do!”
Song Zhibo instantly softened. “Third Brother, please, give me her news.”
Qi Chenyan had already reached the doorway. He glanced at Song Zhibo sideways. “Are you flirtatious or not?”
Song Zhibo didn’t hesitate. “I am.”
He said earnestly, “I’m flirtatious, I’m the most flirtatious!”
Qi Chenyan scoffed softly. “Hong Kong. Go find her.”
A glimmer flashed in Song Zhibo’s eyes. “Thank you, Third Brother.”
With that, he left without a moment’s delay.
Liang Zeheng on the sofa: “?”
He fell silent for a moment, somewhat skeptical. “Is that Jiang girl really in Hong Kong?”
Qi Chenyan nodded. “Yes. I received the news as soon as she arrived in Hong Kong this afternoon.”
After speaking, he looked at Song Zhibo, who had already hurried into the elevator, and pursed his lips. “However, I heard she already has a boyfriend. She went to Hong Kong with him.”
“?”
Liang Zeheng frowned. “Then what about A Bo…”
Qi Chenyan narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone calm. “If he can win her back, that’s his skill. If he can’t, he has to face reality. After all, it was his own actions that drove her away in the first place. He can’t blame anyone else.”
After saying this, he didn’t bring up the matter again and only said to Liang Zeheng, “Sit for a while. I’m going downstairs to pack Shi Xingxing’s things.”
Liang Zeheng sighed softly and nodded. “Alright, go ahead.”
Qi Chenyan went downstairs to pack Shi Xing’s change of clothes.
As soon as he opened the door, the cat at home rushed over. Seeing it was him, it meowed and rubbed against his legs, acting coquettishly.
Qi Chenyan lowered his gaze to look at it, bent down to rub its head, and asked softly, “Why were you so fierce to Shi Xingxing?”
The cat couldn’t answer him, only rubbing its head against his palm.
Qi Chenyan sighed softly and patted its head. “Acting coquettish with me is useless. I’ll have someone come trim your claws tomorrow.”
After saying this, he stood up and ignored it, heading straight for the bedroom.
The cat followed him.
This was originally Qi Chenyan’s apartment, and the layout was the same as the one upstairs. He knew exactly where the master bedroom was.
Pushing the door open and turning on the light, he raised an eyebrow.
In just a month, Shi Xingxing had turned this master bedroom into a soft, pink haven—truly a little princess.
He didn’t look around much and went straight into the walk-in closet.
Shi Xing didn’t have many clothes, as she hadn’t moved in long ago. Moreover, she had left home without bringing anything, and over the past month or so, she hadn’t bought many clothes, saving every penny to buy the haute couture outfit she was wearing.
Still, Qi Chenyan frowned as he looked at the scattered dresses and outfits in the walk-in closet.
She loved beauty the most. In the past, he had never seen her wear the same outfit twice. But upon closer thought, the few times he had run into her this month, she seemed to be wearing the same two dresses.
Pursing his lips lightly, Qi Chenyan didn’t take any of her clothes, only picking out a nightgown.When he opened the drawer and saw the underwear, his ears flushed slightly. He didn’t dare to look too closely, pursed his lips, picked up the exceptionally smooth fabric, and tossed it into the paper bag.
Only then did he go to gather the skincare products and other things she had mentioned.
There were indeed several large boxes neatly arranged on the dressing table.
His gaze swept over them but paused when he noticed a small black velvet box.
He had seen this box before. A few days ago, when he had “bumped into” Shi Xing at the styling studio, she was sitting on the sofa, fiddling with this very box in her hands.
At the time, she had asked Song Lan beside her, her tone hesitant, “Isn’t it too simple, too shabby? Will he like it?”
Song Lan rolled her eyes. “Even if you gave him something more expensive, he might not like it. Besides, given your current situation, it’s already good enough that you’re even thinking of giving him a gift.”
Shi Xing sighed and nodded. “You’re right.”
Then she noticed him, her gaze flickering as she turned her face away, her lips parting slightly. Qi Chenyan didn’t catch what she muttered.
But it was probably something along the lines of how unlucky it was to run into him everywhere.
Even without them explaining, Qi Chenyan could guess who the gift inside the box was for.
At that moment, an indescribable emotion took hold of him, compelling him to pick up the box. His fingers trembled slightly as he lifted the lid.
Inside lay a silver tie clip.
Beneath the tie clip was a folded pink note.
Qi Chenyan swallowed hard, his movements stiff as he pulled out the note.
“Happy birthday, A Sheng.”
The six delicate characters sent his heart sinking to the depths.
Of course.
Even though he had already known, seeing the tie clip and these six words still left him with an unbearable ache.
But if he remembered correctly, He Sheng’s birthday was three days ago.
Why hadn’t she given him this gift?
Qi Chenyan closed his eyes.
Shi Xing, why did you suddenly choose him? Were you hurt by He Sheng, and now you’re using me as his replacement?
Controlling the trembling in his fingertips, Qi Chenyan placed the box back, finished gathering Shi Xing’s things, and turned to leave.
When he returned to the bedroom, the sound of running water in the bathroom hadn’t stopped yet.
Qi Chenyan hung the bag on the door and knocked. Soon, the water stopped, and the girl’s soft, sweet voice asked, “A Yan?”
“Mm.”
Qi Chenyan spoke, his voice slightly hoarse. “I hung your clothes on the door. Come get them yourself in a bit. I left one of my jackets on the bed—put it on before you come out.”
“Okay.”
She replied, “I’m almost done.”
Qi Chenyan said, “No need to rush.”
After a pause, he wanted to say something more, but in the end, he just lowered his gaze and turned to leave.
About ten minutes later, Shi Xing finally emerged from the bedroom.
Fresh from her bath, the girl carried a damp, dewy aura, her skin even more radiant and her eyes like clear water.
Her hair was still wet, and she wore his black casual jacket over her nightgown. The jacket reached her thighs, covering her fair skin.
Shi Xing sat down beside Qi Chenyan, letting Liang Zeheng administer her vaccine.
She had pulled the zipper of the jacket down slightly, revealing half of her pale, delicate shoulder and slender arm.
Qi Chenyan watched from the side, frowning.
As the needle pierced Shi Xing’s arm, a faint sting echoed in his own.
Qi Chenyan’s gaze flickered.
It wasn’t an illusion or a hallucination.
It was real pain.
Liang Zeheng had long wanted to leave. As a single man, he could keenly sense the strange tension in the air.So after administering the vaccine and explaining the precautions along with the next injection time, he quickly left.
Soon, only Shi Xing and Qi Chenyan remained at home.
Shi Xing blinked, tilting her head to look at Qi Chenyan.
He was leaning against the sofa, also tilting his head to gaze at her, his eyes deep and intense.
“A Yan, what’s wrong?”
Shi Xing asked, puzzled.
Not just Liang Zeheng, Shi Xing could sense even more clearly that something was off with Qi Chenyan’s mood. It had been perfectly fine before she went to take a shower.
Qi Chenyan didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his hand, his slender fingers hooking around the damp ends of her hair, twirling them gently. In a low voice, he said, “Didn’t I tell you not to rush? Why did you come out without even drying your hair?”
Shi Xing whispered, “I was afraid of keeping Dr. Liang waiting too long. It didn’t seem right.”
Qi Chenyan released her, stood up, and went to the bathroom to fetch the hairdryer. He had her turn her back to him, sat behind her, gathered her damp strands in his palm, and carefully dried them section by section.
The room was filled only with the hum of the hairdryer.
After a while, once her hair was completely dry, Qi Chenyan set the hairdryer aside. His fingers brushed through her soft locks as he called her name softly, “Xing Xing~”
Shi Xing turned her head, “What is it?”
Perhaps it was because of the hairdryer, but the warmth had left her cheeks flushed and her gaze alluring.
Her eyes were still dewy, and under the warm glow of the room’s lighting, they shimmered like a galaxy, with scattered stars floating within.
Qi Chenyan cupped the back of her head with his palm, leaned down, and pressed his thin lips to her star-like eyes in a gentle kiss, then slowly moved downward.
From her cheeks to the side of her ear.
It tickled, and Shi Xing shivered slightly.
But the moment she moved, he leaned over and pressed her down onto the sofa.
His lips still lingered near her ear, lightly kissing the delicate skin there, while his slender fingers hooked onto the zipper of her black jacket, slowly pulling it down.
The faint sound of the zipper sliding open was particularly suggestive in the quiet room. Shi Xing’s fingers twitched slightly, and her red lips pursed gently.
She closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around his waist, held him tightly, and called out to him in a tender, lingering voice, “A Yan~”
She didn’t know what he intended to do, whether it was what she was thinking.
But whatever he wanted to do, she was willing.
The zipper of her jacket was pulled all the way down. As her shoulders and arms met the slightly cool air, Shi Xing couldn’t help but tremble lightly.
In the next moment, the man’s warm, almost feverish palm pressed against her shoulder, slowly stroking downward until it reached her arm.
It was the spot where the vaccine had been injected earlier. He gently rubbed it, whispering close to her ear, “Does it hurt?”
Shi Xing swallowed, her voice slightly hoarse, “Not too much.”
After she spoke, the man’s lips pressed against her earlobe, kissing it softly. In an equally husky voice, he called her by an even more intimate name, “Baby~”
For over a decade, he had long regarded her as his one and only treasure, but this term of endearment—he had never dared to utter it to her.
Until now.
He called her “Baby” in a raspy voice, yet his heart ached to the point of numbness.
He wanted to tear his heart out and show her just how precious she was to him.
He wanted to ask her why she couldn’t truly love him—what was it about him that fell short compared to He Sheng!
Shi Xing tightened her arms around his waist, responding to him with a hint of impatience, “A Yan, I’m here.”
Qi Chenyan took her earlobe into his mouth, sucking it gently. Feeling her tremble, he released it, gazing at the small earlobe he had just kissed—now pink and moist.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he lightly stroked her smooth arm, his voice growing even more husky, “Will you marry me?”Shi Xing’s eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. “Get married?”
He was still pressed close to her ear, avoiding her gaze, unwilling to see any hint of rejection or disgust.
He only gently teased her earlobe with the tip of his tongue, responding with a soft “Mm,” before slowly adding, “Get married now.”