After Qin Yuan left, the surrounding clamor rushed back in, but the atmosphere was completely different from just a few minutes ago.
For quite a while, no one here spoke. Aside from Xie Fengbei, everyone else at the table, his friends like Yang Yan, as well as Fang Chen, Wang Xiao, and the others, looked at one another with too many questions they wanted to ask.
Yet the biggest question in everyone’s heart was one they simply lacked the guts to ask Xie Fengbei directly at a time like this.
Even if they changed locations, no one would dare voice that question to Xie Fengbei.
His former lover had suddenly gotten so close to Qin Yuan, and looking at the situation, they by no means looked like they had just met today.
If that was the case, they might have already known each other before Xie Fengbei broke up with his lover.
Extrapolating further, even someone as close as Yang Yan couldn’t help but glance toward the top of Xie Fengbei’s head at that moment.
In any other circumstance, he would never have imagined such a thing.
Yet right now, too many details were pointing to a single conclusion.
Namely, Xie Fengbei might just be wearing a green hat.
Although Xie Fengbei had never held any emotional attachment toward his lovers, keeping them around merely like pretty vases, ignoring them to the point of not even casting a second glance, they were still legally and nominally his people.
Yang Yan turned his head to look down through the window, but Qin Yuan’s figure had already completely vanished.
To step back ten thousand paces, even if Qin Yuan hadn’t cuckolded Xie Fengbei, the fact that he had casually picked up the lover Xie Fengbei had discarded would be viewed by anyone as Qin Yuan deliberately looking for trouble.
Yang Yan pursed his lips slightly and once more observed Xie Fengbei’s expression.
That cold, stern, handsome face betrayed absolutely no extra emotion.
Yang Yan lowered his head to take a bite of his food, his state of mind mirroring everyone else’s at the table.
Though everyone harbored countless speculations inwardly, not a single person dared to voice them in front of Xie Fengbei.
This meal felt unpalatable to quite a few of them.
Over on Fang Chen’s end, not long after Qin Yuan left, he grabbed his phone and rapidly fired off a barrage of questions.
“Qin Yuan, did you steal Xie Fengbei’s lover?”
“Did you not know?”
“No wait, you must have known. What on earth are you playing at? Out of all the people to pick up, why did you have to pick up Xie Fengbei’s person?”
“Are you living too comfortably and deliberately looking for trouble?”
“Did something happen between you two? Did he tick you off?”
Otherwise, Fang Chen simply couldn’t fathom why Qin Yuan, out of nowhere, would suddenly target Xie Fengbei like this.
Right, Fang Chen suddenly recalled something else: just a few days ago, Qin Yuan had casually tossed away tens of millions.
At the time, he had lost a bet to Xie Fengbei, an event known to many that very day.
“Qin Yuan, answer me.”
Fang Chen was already angry.
In his memory, Qin Yuan wasn’t the kind of person to act without a sense of proportion. Sure, the guy loved to play around and casually find company, but never to the point of going head-to-head with Xie Fengbei.
Fang Chen gripped his phone so tightly that his screen almost felt like it was going to crack under the pressure.
Qin Yuan, along with Li Yan and Ou Ming, had already entered the hot spring resort by this time, and they split up to change clothes.
Qin Yuan changed into swim trunks, grabbed his phone, and slid it into a waterproof pouch.
As soon as he picked it up, a barrage of text messages bombed his screen.
Qin Yuan gave them a quick scan and smiled as he replied to Fang Chen.
“What are you scared of? Afraid my trouble is going to drag you down with me?”
“Don’t worry, if something actually happens, I’ll take full responsibility by myself and won’t implicate you guys at all.”
“You can rest easy.”
“What kind of talk is that? Am I the type to fear death?”
“What is wrong with you anyway? Why do you have to pick a fight with Xie Fengbei?” Fang Chen felt irritated enough to smash a table.
“I’m not picking a fight with him. The person he didn’t want, the person he considered valueless, I happen to think is a treasure.”
“What, does anyone touched by Xie Fengbei carry his brand for the rest of their lives?”
“There’s no such unreasonable logic in this world.”
“Alright, I’m going to soak in the hot springs now.”
“Let me repeat myself: there is no conflict between him and me. If anything, it’s just a coincidence.”
Qin Yuan turned off his phone. No matter how anxious Fang Chen was on the other end, he didn’t give it a second thought.
Qin Yuan turned around to find Ou Ming standing right behind him.
Ou Ming’s brows were tightly knit, and his eye rims were still slightly red, making him look extremely worried and terrified.
Qin Yuan reached out and stroked the space between Ou Ming’s brows.
“Scared Xie Fengbei will come after you?”
“No, I’m not scared. I’m worried about you.”
“About me? You have even less reason to worry about me. He doesn’t have that kind of capability.”
Even if he really had cuckolded him and a genuine rivalry broke out, who would win and who would lose was still anyone’s guess.
“Rest assured, with me here, nobody can touch you.”
Qin Yuan reached out to sling an arm around Ou Ming’s shoulders, and the two walked outside.
Li Yan had already changed her clothes ahead of time and was waiting for them. Standing by the pathway, she caught the gaze of nearly everyone passing by, men and women alike. With Li Yan’s curvaceous and exquisite figure, the moment Qin Yuan walked out and saw her graceful posture, a charming smile spread across his face.
As for Li Yan, seeing Qin Yuan with his arm around Ou Ming and their bodies pressed closely together, the corners of her mouth curled upward.
Knowing Qin Yuan’s personality beforehand, she didn’t mind at all that someone else had suddenly appeared to compete for him.
In fact, the presence of a rival made things feel even more challenging and fun.
She realized they hadn’t formally introduced themselves yet.
“My name is Li Yan, Qin Yuan’s girlfriend.”
Li Yan extended her hand toward Ou Ming.
Ou Ming froze for a fraction of a second before slowly turning his head to look at Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan’s smile was blindingly bright. “Yes, she’s my girlfriend.”
Ou Ming slowly extended his hand and shook hands with Li Yan.
The three of them walked out together. There were both outdoor hot spring pools and indoor ones.
There were dozens of outdoor pools, ranging from large to small.
Some were even situated higher up the mountain.
Since it was Valentine’s Day, the hot spring resort was packed with visitors, the vast majority of whom were couples.
It was already nighttime, and everyone had changed into swimsuits. The surrounding lighting was dim, but even so, when Qin Yuan and his group walked past, they still attracted a mountain of attention.
Qin Yuan wasn’t picky; any hot spring pool would do.
Finding a smaller pool with fewer occupants, all three of them stepped inside.
At first, the water in the pool felt fine, but after a while, it seemed to grow hotter and hotter.
Li Yan got up to move to an adjacent hot spring pool, while Qin Yuan stayed put, leaning back comfortably.
Ou Ming was right beside Qin Yuan when Qin Yuan suddenly hooked an arm around his waist and pulled him into his embrace.
Ou Ming started in surprise and looked up at Qin Yuan, who laughed heartily and freely.
“You’re out to have fun, so don’t overthink things. Having a good time is what matters most.”
Qin Yuan pinched Ou Ming’s chin and spoke to him gently.
At that moment, their lips seemed to be separated by mere centimeters.
For a split second, Ou Ming’s heart raced, and he even wondered if Qin Yuan was about to kiss him.
Yet the next second, Qin Yuan released his grip.
Ou Ming’s fluttering heart sank back down. He quietly stayed to one side while Qin Yuan picked up his phone to browse, acting as though he had quickly forgotten all about Ou Ming.
Ou Ming stood up and left for a hot spring pool on the other side. Many people soaking in the hot springs switched pools every now and then.
Qin Yuan, however, had stayed put in the exact same pool without budging.
He stared at the screen of his phone, where someone had sent him photos and videos. The footage showed a young same-sex couple celebrating their own exclusive Valentine’s Day.
Qin Yuan had paid people to follow Lin Xi and Fu Chen. Even though he mentally told himself to let go of past feelings, actually doing it was immensely difficult.
No matter what, this was the person he had loved in his previous life; wanting to let go wasn’t something that could happen overnight.
Right now, watching their affectionate scenes and using this method to force himself to let go was a method in its own right.
It was just that it was intense, and it made Qin Yuan’s heart ache a little.
Yet this slight heartache was still far more bearable than death.
After watching for a while, Qin Yuan put his phone down.
If he kept watching, whatever good mood he had left for the day would be completely ruined.
Qin Yuan tilted his head back. The night sky was pitch black, devoid of stars or moon, plunged in absolute darkness, much like Qin Yuan’s current state of mind, lost and dejected.
The lively noise all around had nothing to do with him. A curve lingered at the corners of his lips, but not a shred of a smile could be found in his eyes.
After soaking for over half an hour, another group of people walked in.
A large, swaggering entourage numbering over a dozen.
The moment Qin Yuan raised his head, he spotted a single person among the crowd.
Even though that person wasn’t walking at the very front but slightly toward the back, Qin Yuan still found it effortless to pick him out.
That handsome face looked like a carved sculpture with an indifferent expression. Qin Yuan stared intently at Xie Fengbei; this was a man who would never be consumed by emotions.
He would never fall hopelessly in love with someone, suffer from unrequited yearning, or let himself be damaged by romance.
A trace of envy involuntarily crept into Qin Yuan’s gaze. People who lived without emotional attachments were the ones who truly knew how to enjoy life to the fullest.
Only those devoid of emotions could completely relish existence.
After entering, Fang Chen searched everywhere for Qin Yuan’s figure. It wasn’t too difficult to find; after walking forward for a short while, he spotted a lone figure sitting in one of the pools.
Even though everyone wore swimsuits, the men shirtless in just swim trunks, Qin Yuan’s face, even from the back, stood out completely from everyone else.
“Over there.”
Spotting Qin Yuan, Fang Chen turned to inform Wang Xiao and the others.
Wang Xiao looked in the direction of Fang Chen’s finger. Qin Yuan was lounging in the hot spring; after he left, everyone had been worried sick about him, yet Qin Yuan looked completely unfazed, leisurely and unhurriedly enjoying himself.
Wang Xiao walked over to Qin Yuan, stepping directly into the pool. Finding the built-in seating underwater, he sat down, the water rising nearly to his neck.
“Done eating?”
Qin Yuan raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, we came straight over after finishing.”
“Didn’t take a bit longer to digest?”
Qin Yuan’s gaze drifted past Wang Xiao toward the back. Xie Fengbei’s group hadn’t come over; they had headed to a different set of spring pools.
Wang Xiao curved his lips. “Didn’t eat too much, no need to digest.”
“I figure not just me, a lot of people didn’t get their fill.”
“Then we can grab some more to eat after we’re done soaking?”
“Sure.”
Seeing that Qin Yuan remained completely unbothered, his friends simply couldn’t be bothered to worry for him anymore.
If things really went south, it would just be a matter between Qin Yuan and Xie Fengbei; outsiders like them had no business meddling.
Fang Chen hung his towel on a rack and stepped into the hot spring pool as well.
His gaze fixed heavily on Qin Yuan.
Qin Yuan wore an expression of complete, leisurely amusement. Anyone else in his shoes probably wouldn’t even be able to crack a smile.
“Hah.”
After a moment, Fang Chen let out a sudden chuckle.
If Qin Yuan wasn’t in a rush, what was he getting worked up for?
Fang Chen casually placed his phone on the edge of the bank, sinking his body deeper into the water to properly relax and soak.
Different hot spring pools offered different therapeutic benefits, which was why many people liked to soak here for a bit before wandering off to try another spot.
After lingering for over ten minutes, Fang Chen stood up to change locations.
Seeing this, Qin Yuan stood up right along with him.
“Thought you weren’t going to budge from that spot.”
“Got to move around a bit, otherwise it’s a waste of money.”
“Since when do you care about wasting money?”
Tossing away tens of millions without a second thought, in Qin Yuan’s world, money had always just been a string of numbers.
Soaked from head to toe, Qin Yuan walked along the bank and looked up the mountain, where several more pools were built into the steps. Qin Yuan started walking upward by himself.
There were significantly fewer people up top compared to the lower levels.
Qin Yuan randomly picked one of the fork paths to walk down. Upon entering, he peered closely to see who was in the pool, but they were all unfamiliar faces.
Qin Yuan sat down near the edge, suddenly feeling an itch for a cigarette. He wanted to smoke one, but he hadn’t brought any inside, and smoking while soaking in a hot spring didn’t seem quite appropriate either.
Qin Yuan brushed his hair back, letting a stray strand fall across his forehead. Someone in the pool began to leave, leaving only two people behind: Qin Yuan and one other person.
Qin Yuan still didn’t look at the other person, closing his eyes to enjoy the soak.
After a short while, however, he felt a gaze resting on him that was entirely too prominent to ignore.
Qin Yuan opened his eyes and looked over at the other person.
What a coincidence.
Qin Yuan couldn’t help a soft chuckle.