Gu Qianshi had originally stepped out of the bar because he received a call from Chen Yiyi and could not hear clearly inside.
He did not expect that the moment he came out, he would see Qiao Qingman running toward him with a look of grief and indignation on her face. Without saying a word, she stomped hard on his foot, snorted coldly, and ran off fiercely.
From beginning to end, she did not say a second word.
Gu Qianshi’s left foot throbbed with pain. He could not understand how Qiao Qingman, who looked so soft and delicate on the outside, could have so much strength.
His brows knitted tightly as he clenched his phone so hard that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
Qiao Qingman. What kind of madness was this woman having?
“You’re right. I have looks and money. Why would I throw myself at you? I’m tired of it. We’ll never see each other again.”
“Qiao Qingman, you’d better mean what you say.”
“Of course.”
The words Qiao Qingman had said before leaving last night suddenly surfaced in Gu Qianshi’s mind.
So, Qiao Qingman was no longer going to throw herself at him and had instead switched to violent retaliation?
How childish.
“Cousin?” A familiar voice reached Gu Qianshi’s ears.
Gu Qianshi turned around and saw Chen Yiyi curiously looking in the direction he had just been watching Qiao Qingman leave. She asked in confusion as she looked, “What are you looking at?”
Gu Qianshi withdrew his gaze and said lightly, “…Nothing.”
“Why did you call me?”
“Oh, I, um… I called earlier because I wanted to tell you that my best friend isn’t in a good mood today. Can we all hang out together?”
Before Gu Qianshi could speak, Chen Yiyi suddenly waved excitedly in a certain direction.
“Su Xia, over here, over here.”
Following her voice, Gu Qianshi froze in place.
He saw a girl wearing a light cyan, form-fitting qipao walking toward the two of them step by step.
The girl’s features were gentle and sweet. Her light makeup brought out her natural beauty from within. The warm glow outside the bar fell upon her, making her appear even more noble and elegant amid the haze.
Coupled with her innate grace and composure, and her perfectly proportioned figure, she became the focus of attention the moment she appeared.
And Gu Qianshi’s heart skipped a beat.
The girl ignored the scorching gazes cast her way from time to time. She walked up to Chen Yiyi, smiled slightly, and spoke in a clear, gentle voice, “Yiyi.”
Chen Yiyi happily hooked her arm through the girl’s. “Let me introduce you. This is my cousin, Gu Qianshi.”
“Cousin, this is my best friend, Su Xia.”
The girl’s charming peach-blossom eyes curved slightly, shimmering with warmth. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”
Gu Qianshi was still standing there in a daze, his deep eyes fixed straight on the girl before him.
“Hello.”
Seeing her cousin, who usually kept his distance from women, like this, Chen Yiyi could not help but laugh secretly.
In fact, this was the real reason she had insisted on making it up to him after breaking the vase last night. She wanted to introduce her best friend to Gu Qianshi.
Naturally, when Gu Qianshi saw the undisguised smile on Chen Yiyi’s face, he understood his cousin’s intentions.
Watching the two girls walk briskly toward the bar, the man’s heavy gaze locked onto the girl called Su Xia.
Different from the stifling sense of powerlessness he felt when he was stirred by Qiao Qingman, the girl before him instead gave rise to an indescribable feeling of fate, as if he wanted to break free of all restraints and rush toward her no matter what.
He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest, where his heartbeat had already fallen into disorder the moment he saw Su Xia. In his deep eyes, there was nothing but coldness.
*
Qiao Qingman rushed back to her car in one breath. When she reached out to take out her keys, she realized that the car keys were missing.
Could it be that when she stomped on the male lead’s foot earlier, she had used too much force and the keys had fallen out?
And on top of that, she was starting to feel sleepy again.
Qiao Qingman had no choice but to force herself to retrace her steps and look for the car keys. When she was almost back at the bar entrance, she stuck her head out and confirmed that the male lead was no longer there before stepping out with relief.
But she still did not find the car keys at the entrance. Qiao Qingman felt lost, her muddled mind barely functioning at all.
The only thought in her head was this. Could it be that she had dropped them while kissing the male lead?
Although the bar’s atmosphere was quiet and elegant, there was music, soft conversations, and on top of that, her mind had gone blank while being held and kissed by that man.
It was not impossible.
But if she went back inside now and ran into the male lead, what would she do?
But with the female lead present, the male lead would not kiss her, right?
Honestly, why did the male lead always kiss her back every time? This was really hard to understand.
Could it be that, like her, he also had a kissing task?
Qiao Qingman was amused by her own thoughts and forced herself to stay alert.
At that moment, a tall figure suddenly appeared ahead, blocking Qiao Qingman’s path. She lifted her head in confusion and saw a strange man.
The man reeked of alcohol. Holding a wine glass, he staggered as he walked. When he saw that the person blocking his way was a striking beauty, his good-looking eyes lit up. Believing himself elegant and charming, he raised his glass toward her. “Hey, beauty. Here alone? How about I buy you a drink?”
He then lowered his voice and added, “I lost a bet with my friends. Do me a favor, yeah?”
Seeing that Qiao Qingman completely ignored him and even covered her mouth as she tried to walk past him, the man, who was usually very confident in striking up conversations, grew displeased.
With the alcohol surging, his voice rose unconsciously. “I’m talking to you. Didn’t you hear me?”
And what was with covering her mouth? Did he smell that bad?
Qiao Qingman, whose eyes were barely staying open from sleepiness and who had just yawned: “?”
What? What was this man saying?
Seeing his aggressive-looking demeanor, Qiao Qingman forced a polite smile and casually made up a reason. “Do you know you’re very noisy? Oh, I forgot to mention, I’m a friend of the owner of this bar. If you don’t want to be thrown out by security, could you shut up?”
With that, she stopped paying attention to the man and lowered her head to focus on looking for her car keys.
She was really afraid that if she could not find them soon, she would fall asleep right there in the bar.
Zhuo Junhuan, who had stopped Qiao Qingman to flirt with her, was instead amused.
Who didn’t know that the behind-the-scenes owner of this bar was extremely mysterious? Very mysterious.
It was said to be opened by a mysterious super-rich tycoon who had returned from abroad. Even his cousin did not know who it was.
And now this random girl was claiming to be a friend of the owner? Was she kidding him?
Zhuo Junhuan sneered and was just about to reach out and grab Qiao Qingman. But just as his hand was about to touch her wrist, it was seized first by a man dressed in a bar staff uniform, who looked like a bodyguard with a stern expression.
“That lady said she’s a friend of our boss. Didn’t you hear her?”
The bodyguard spoke in an emotionless, businesslike tone.
The drunken Zhuo Junhuan sobered up instantly.
He looked in astonishment at Qiao Qingman, who had already blended back into the crowd and was still looking down for something, then at the bodyguard. Facing the gazes of several buddies in a nearby private room who were watching the show, he asked unwillingly and awkwardly, “A friend of the boss? She really is your boss’s friend?”
“Even if she’s the boss’s friend, does that mean I can’t even talk to her? I was just trying to say hello and get to know her…”
“Mr. Zhuo, you are not welcome here.”
Before Zhuo Junhuan could say anything else, he was firmly grabbed by two bodyguards and, without further explanation, directly thrown out.
Qiao Qingman had no idea about the small incident that happened behind her, nor did she know that, at a relatively hidden spot on the second floor that also happened to be the best viewing point, the man she had kissed not long ago was holding a set of car keys in his hand, his gaze full of interest as it rested on her.
After searching around without finding the car keys, Qiao Qingman’s eyelids were practically drooping shut.
Helpless, she thought that she might as well just take a taxi home. She could have the family driver come pick up the car tomorrow.
Just as she was about to leave, a clear female voice sounded in her ear.
“Qiao Qingman?”
Chen Yiyi, who had just completed the important task of introducing her best friend to her cousin, stepped out of the private room and immediately saw Qiao Qingman, who had always chased after her cousin relentlessly, looking around everywhere.
Could it be that she knew her cousin was here and had come to stage another “chance encounter”?
It was not like Qiao Qingman had never done that before.
“Qiao Qingman, didn’t you tell my cousin ‘we’ll never see each other again’?”
Chen Yiyi looked down at Qiao Qingman with a condescending gaze and let out a mocking sneer. “How long has it been? Not even a full day, right? And you already can’t help coming to look for my cousin again? But how did you know my cousin would be here? Did Chen Leyan tell you?”
Chen Yiyi really felt disappointed in her brother. He clearly knew that Qiao Qingman’s heart was completely set on their cousin Gu Qianshi, yet he still refused to give up.
Today was even worse. How could he tell Qiao Qingman that her cousin was at the bar? Look at this, she even showed up here.
“I’m telling you, Qiao Qingman. Even if Chen Leyan helps you, playing hard to get will absolutely not work on my cousin. Stop wasting your effort. My cousin will never like you.”
Qiao Qingman was trying hard to remember who “Chen Leyan” was when she suddenly heard Chen Yiyi’s words.
She was momentarily speechless. Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, she said, “…What is playing hard to get? Can you eat it? Sorry, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not here to look for your cousin.”
I’m here to kiss him.
Wait—when she thought about it like this, didn’t it actually look a lot like “playing hard to get”?
Recalling how she had been deeply kissed by that big jerk again, and even questioned until she was left speechless, Qiao Qingman could not help frowning.
Meeting Chen Yiyi’s clearly disbelieving expression, Qiao Qingman had no mood to continue dealing with her. “I didn’t even know your cousin would be here. But now that I do, I’ll leave first.”
Before her words even finished, Qiao Qingman, who was unbearably sleepy, turned around and left the bar without the slightest hesitation.
Chen Yiyi gave a light snort. “Running away the moment you’re exposed? I thought you, Qiao Qingman, had more backbone than that.”
Then she turned her head and saw the very center of her conversation with Qiao Qingman, Gu Qianshi, standing not far away with a calm expression, clearly having overheard at least part of their exchange.
Chen Yiyi did not think much of it. After all, her cousin did not like Qiao Qingman.
Who would have thought that the next moment, she would watch in shock as her cousin ignored Su Xia, who was stunningly beautiful inside the private room, and actually chased after Qiao Qingman out of the bar?
What was going on?
At the same time.
Qiao Qingman stepped outside the bar. She had originally planned to call the family driver to pick her up, but after thinking it over, she decided against it.
She would just take a taxi.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be a bad time to get one. Qiao Qingman waited until she was almost falling asleep. The phone screen grew increasingly blurry, and no one accepted her ride request.
Just as she was about to lose her balance, a car pulled over by the roadside.
The car door opened, revealing a handsome face.
Hm? Who was this?
He looked somewhat familiar?
The system answered in time: [Host, this is Chen Leyan.]
Chen Leyan? Chen Yiyi’s older brother, the male lead’s cousin. Tall and well-built, with a gentle, sunny disposition.
He was also the only man in the book who truly liked her, yet had never once received her genuine attention.
In fact, the current Qiao Qingman had no idea that Chen Leyan liked her. She did not even remember that a person called “Chen Leyan” existed before her consciousness awakened.
She only felt a vague sense of familiarity when she saw him.
The man in the driver’s seat had already opened the door and gotten out. “Miss Qiao, why are you alone? W-would you like me to drive you home?”
Qiao Qingman instinctively wanted to refuse, but when she saw the nervous, slightly awkward look on his face, her refusal stalled.
Thinking of what Chen Yiyi had said earlier, Qiao Qingman could not help asking suspiciously, “Why are you here?”
Chen Leyan froze. He lowered his lashes slightly, rubbed his nose, and said shyly, “I—I just happened to be passing by.”
Just happened to pass by? That sounded fake the moment she heard it.
Most likely, he had guessed she would come looking for Gu Qianshi and deliberately waited here.
Before her consciousness awakened, Qiao Qingman had treated Gu Qianshi as her faith. She knew all too well the agony of liking someone who did not like you back.
Her heart felt a little heavy.
“No need, Mr. Chen. I’m calling a taxi. It’ll be quick…”
“Qiao Qingman—”
A man’s deep voice, laced with cold warning, interrupted her words.
She turned around and saw a tall, noble-looking man stepping out of the bar with a detached expression. If it was not the male lead, Gu Qianshi, who else could it be?
Gu Qianshi stared at her coldly. Under the warm light at the bar entrance, fine points of light flickered in his deep eyes. His upright, restrained face carried an unmistakably aloof temperament.
With one hand in his pocket, he raised the other toward Qiao Qingman and commanded in an unquestionable tone, “Come here.”
Come here?
Was the male lead calling a dog?
Qiao Qingman, who was once again on the verge of yawning and nearly squeezing out tears from holding it in, tugged the corner of her mouth almost imperceptibly.
It seemed that the stomp earlier had still been too light.
This big pig trotter was clearly asking for a beating.
And by the floor-to-ceiling window on the second-floor balcony, a man holding a set of car keys with a green little cat charm cast a meaning-laden glance at Gu Qianshi, who was clearly standing over Qiao Qingman in a position of dominance. His cool, emotionless gaze then shifted and settled on Qiao Qingman.