If You Can’t Eat Chili, Don’t Pretend You Can Love Me

The hotpot restaurant was right at the entrance of the food street, not far from the Finance and Economics College. It was visible as soon as you stepped out of the car.
During the lunch rush, the place was exceptionally lively. The spicy, fragrant aroma carried on the wind for a long way, warming the entire street with its enticing smell.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his scarf and gave Li Shaojun’s name to the hostess with a smile. He was immediately ushered upstairs to the private room section.

“It’s still our Little Bai who’s the best! Ah, I love Bai Bai!” As soon as the private room door opened, Jin Baobao’s excited, dramatic voice immediately reached them.

“You two are finally here,” Li Shaojun said with a stern face. “If you’d been any later, I would have ejected this human source of noise pollution.”

“What’s up?” Ye Zhiqiu pulled out a chair and sat down, casually crossing his legs. “I heard you talking about Bai You from way over there. Thought he came with you.”
“He doesn’t have time. He’s been running around everywhere for auditions lately,” Jin Baobao said, then excitedly thrust his phone in front of Ye Zhiqiu. “Look.”

On the screen were two invitation cards for the “Scorching Heart” film celebration banquet.
It was precisely with “Scorching Heart” that Meng Qingyan had just won his second Best Actor trophy.

“Wow,” Tang Le’s eyes widened. “How did you get those?”

“I’m just lucky,” Jin Baobao said smugly. “Yan Yan’s team assistant was careless and mistakenly sent the invitations to Little Bai’s place. Little Bai was going to return them, but I intercepted them.”
“Bai You really dotes on you,” Tang Le said. “I’m jealous.”
“Of course he does,” Jin Baobao said happily, then leaned close to Ye Zhiqiu’s ear and lowered his voice. “Scorching Heart’s primary investor is Q.L. I heard their reclusive top boss will be there this time too.”
He blinked. “Come with me?”

Q.L. had already extended an olive branch to Ye Zhiqiu. If he had a chance to get familiar with the company’s leadership before joining, it might mean more convenience and less trouble in his future work.

Ye Zhiqiu knew Jin Baobao was doing this for his own good.
But he still said, “No.”
After a pause, he added, “I’ve already settled on VIA.”

Besides, on the day of the Scorching Heart celebration banquet, he already had work scheduled.

“Ah?” Jin Baobao’s expression instantly froze, looking rather comical.
“Why?” he asked, puzzled. “Which one is VIA?”
“Didn’t you say before that if you chose, you’d only pick one of the two high-end brands, C.H. or Q.L.?” Li Shaojun also frowned. “C.H. is a foreign brand. You don’t want to leave your family, so giving up that chance is understandable. But Q.L.?”

Li Shaojun and Jin Baobao weren’t studying fashion. They knew nothing about a niche brand like VIA.
But Tang Le knew. Hearing this, he was also very surprised.

“Why choose VIA?” he asked.

Tang Le had also participated in the previous international fashion design competition.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t as lucky as Ye Zhiqiu; he didn’t even make it to the finals.

Regarding Ye Zhiqiu’s talent, skill, and achievements, Tang Le was both deeply admiring and not without jealousy.
However, he also knew Ye Zhiqiu’s career path likely wouldn’t be very smooth.
Because Tao Ruoqing would absolutely never give him this chance to grow his wings.

He could well make a choice based on the offers from various brands, but Tao Ruoqing would have her own countermeasures in private.

However, if he chose VIA, then it probably wouldn’t be a problem.
Their teacher had mentioned the VIA brand in class before.
As a representative example of a brand in decline.

Ye Zhiqiu choosing such a brand was undoubtedly seeking his own ruin. It was highly likely that even the光环 of his fashion competition championship would be completely tarnished because of it.

However, there was a benefit. At least he, Tang Le, wouldn’t need to figure out how to persuade Ye Zhiqiu to “focus on his studies” first.

“What do you mean, ‘why’?” Ye Zhiqiu smiled nonchalantly. “I liked it, so I chose it.”

Right, it was Ye Zhiqiu, after all—always willful and self-centered, acting on every whim.

“Listen,” Tang Le didn’t speak further, but Li Shaojun couldn’t hold back. “A career isn’t something to play around with. You have real talent in this field. Think it through carefully; don’t waste it.”
“If I achieved such good results in a dance competition like you did, I’d definitely choose the best dance company,” Jin Baobao also said. “There’s no reason to go to a small brand.”

The red broth in the pot bubbled and churned. Ye Zhiqiu motioned for Li Shaojun to start putting ingredients in.

“I have my own plans,” he said. “Can’t you guys trust me a little?”

“Then let’s all raise a toast,” Tang Le was the first to lift his glass. “To Xiao Qiu’s bright future.”

“Thank you,” Ye Zhiqiu’s beautiful eyes curved into shallow arcs. But just as his hand touched his glass, the phone on the corner of the table rang first.

“My brother,” he set down the glass he had just picked up and said with a smile, “Let me take this first.”

“Are you free after school this afternoon? If so, let’s go finalize the car together,” Ye Zheng got straight to the point as soon as the call connected.
“Didn’t we agree you’d just give me the money?” Ye Zhiqiu objected.
“I thought about it. I’m not comfortable putting such a large sum in your hands,” Ye Zheng said. “Tell me yourself, when has money ever stayed in your hands for long?”
Ye Zhiqiu’s tone turned cold. “Hmph…”
“I’ll pick you up after school,” Ye Zheng coaxed him, his voice softening.
“I have plans this afternoon. Don’t come,” Ye Zhiqiu said coldly. “I’ll send you the car model I picked later. You go and finalize it yourself.”

With that, not waiting for Ye Zheng to reply, he hung up directly.

“What’s up?” Jin Baobao asked, puzzled. “You short on money?”
“No,” Ye Zhiqiu said. “I want to buy a car.”
“What car? Let’s hear it for reference,” Li Shaojun asked.
Ye Zhiqiu directly sent the two car models he had chosen to the group chat. “Which one do you think is better?”

“Holy,” Jin Baobao had a beef ball in his mouth. “Did you forget about last time’s accident? Are you trying to get yourself killed, still playing with race cars?”
“Last time, if someone hadn’t swapped cars with you last minute, you would have been the one in the accident,” Li Shaojun reminded him.

“Let me tell you,” Jin Baobao swallowed the beef ball. “Other things can slide, but you really can’t play with race cars anymore. This stuff costs lives.”

When that accident happened years ago, Jin Baobao was also at the scene.
A very skilled racer was making a bet on the spot, insisting on using Ye Zhiqiu’s entry-level race car to compete against another top-tier race car, to prove that the driver’s skill was more important than the car’s quality.

Because of this little incident, Ye Zhiqiu, who should have been competing, could only stand with Jin Baobao and the others as a cheering squad, screaming their lungs out.

Unfortunately, that race never reached a conclusion.
Whether driver skill or car quality was more important remained an unsolved mystery for Ye Zhiqiu to this day.

Because that race wasn’t completed successfully.
During a curve overtake, Ye Zhiqiu’s car suddenly went out of control and slammed into the car in front.
The driver of the front car died on the spot. The driver piloting Ye Zhiqiu’s car, though he kept his life, ultimately lost a leg and could never race again.

Back then, the incident was classified as an accident.
But now, looking back, Ye Zhiqiu was no longer that naive.
Between accident and deliberate act, he was more inclined to believe someone had done it on purpose.

Just this time, he didn’t actually plan to race, and with Tang Le present, it was neither necessary nor appropriate to explain too much.

“My life is a charmed one,” he declared with a defiant raise of his eyebrow, lifting his glass. “When I have my new car’s maiden race, you all have to come cheer me on.”

“Come on,” he said, brimming with youthful spirit, “Wish me a triumphant victory.”

Jin Baobao: “…”
Li Shaojun: “…”

Among the three, in terms of family wealth, the Ye family was actually far inferior to the Jin and Li families.
But for some reason, Ye Zhiqiu just had that charisma and power to inspire.
Whenever he made a decision, they seemed completely unable to not show their support.

After a moment of silence, Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun had no choice but to raise their glasses, both muttering, “Wish you a triumphant victory.”

* * * *

At 4:30 in the afternoon, Qi Xin arrived at the Fashion Institute’s main gate early to wait.
This wait lasted nearly an hour and a half. Only when the sky was completely dark did Ye Zhiqiu finally emerge from the school gate, holding his phone and strolling leisurely.

The young man stood tall and straight. He wore a simple beige overcoat with a model’s poise. Even his casual posture of holding his schoolbag while on the phone exuded an indescribable sense of beauty.

For some reason, Qi Xin began to feel nervous again.
He took a deep breath, then jumped out of the car and quickly went to meet Ye Zhiqiu. “Xiao Qiu.”
Ye Zhiqiu didn’t acknowledge him, only looked up and made a “quiet” gesture.

“There will be opportunities for cooperation in the future,” Qi Xin heard him saying to the person on the phone. “My school isn’t far from your area. I can see the cafe downstairs from your company building when I pass by occasionally. If we must meet, let’s make it there.”

He had come down in a hurry; Qi Xin hadn’t worn an overcoat. Now the cold wind felt like needles pricking his skin.
He rubbed his hands together, but Ye Zhiqiu acted as if he didn’t see, lowering his gaze and stopping, focusing entirely on the call.
The person on the other end was clearly long-winded. Ye Zhiqiu listened with a slight smile for quite a while longer. Only when Qi Xin was nearly frozen stiff did he hear him softly say “okay” and hang up.

“Where shall we eat?” Barely maintaining a smile on his face, Qi Xin pointed to his Porsche parked not far away. “Get in the car first.”

Ye Zhiqiu gave an amused look at the car.
It was clearly rented. In his past life, Qi Xin had told him he had to sell the car to develop Qi Yun, to win his sympathy.
A truly cunning two-birds-one-stone move.

“No need,” Ye Zhiqiu looked at him. Without the haughty attitude from that night at the club, his tone could even be called gentle. “Right across the street.”
As he spoke, he started walking forward.
Qi Xin was stunned for a moment, wanting to go get his coat from the car. But Ye Zhiqiu gave him no chance. The pedestrian signal flashed; he was almost across the street already.
Helpless, Qi Xin had to take a few quick steps to catch up.

After a couple of turns, Ye Zhiqiu skillfully led him into the alley across from the school.
The alley was narrow and drafty, several times colder than outside. Ye Zhiqiu pulled his scarf up higher, covering his mouth and nose.
Qi Xin was shivering so hard his teeth chattered. None of the carefully prepared words he had lined up could be uttered.
After walking for quite a while, Ye Zhiqiu finally stopped in front of a storefront.

The storefront was small, with only four or five tables inside, but it was clean.
Qi Xin looked up and saw three fiery red characters on the sign: Man Jiang Hong (Full River Red).
It was a Hunan cuisine restaurant.

Qi Xin: “…”

On the list Tao Ruoqing gave him, Ye Zhiqiu did love spicy food, but he also liked bread, milk, Western food, and pasta.
For a first date, he had thought a young master like him would at least choose a more respectable place. How could he have never imagined the other would bring him to this kind of hole-in-the-wall eatery?

Heaven knew, he couldn’t handle even a hint of spice.

Resigned, Qi Xin followed Ye Zhiqiu inside, immediately choking on the pungent, spicy air and sneezing.
“Oh,” as if only now noticing he wasn’t wearing a coat, Ye Zhiqiu arched a fine brow. “That outfit of yours… isn’t it a bit disrespectful to winter?”

The shop owners were an elderly couple. Hearing this, they chuckled and sighed. “Youth is wonderful.”
Then they said to Ye Zhiqiu, “The items you pre-ordered are all ready. Do you mind sharing a table, or would you prefer to wait a bit?”
“A shared table is fine,” Ye Zhiqiu said.
Qi Xin: “…”
If they shared a table with others, how was he supposed to say all those private things he had prepared?

The owner went to the table by the window where only one young woman was sitting, first bent down to speak with her quietly for a moment, then waved to Qi Xin. “Young man, come over here and sit down to warm up.”
Qi Xin: “…”
“Go on. Is it right to keep an elderly person waiting?” Ye Zhiqiu looked at him, a trace of disgust suddenly appearing in his eyes. “Your nose is about to run.”
Qi Xin: “…”

The carefully chosen clothes, the careful grooming all morning, the carefully prepared speech…
All that care shattered into nothing at this moment. Qi Xin felt like a complete fool.

He sat down at the shared table in a daze, watching dish after dish being brought out.
Chopped chili fish head, chopped chili and fermented black bean steamed pork ribs, tiger skin chili peppers, spicy stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork, and a dish of green pepper beef strips. Finally, even the soup was hot and sour soup.
Looking over the spread several times, Qi Xin couldn’t bring himself to pick up a single bite.

“What?” Ye Zhiqiu asked, looking up at him between bites.
His expression was mild. His lips, now slightly reddened and glossed with a faint layer of oil, looked as if coated in lip balm, outlining their attractive shape perfectly.
It was just that the words coming out were rather sharp.
“I’m someone who can’t enjoy a meal without spice. If you can’t even eat chili, you might as well leave now,” he said. “I have no intention of compromising or ‘working things out’ for anyone’s sake.”

“I can, I can eat it,” Qi Xin had to say, picking up a piece of bamboo shoot and swallowing it with a mouthful of rice.
Cough, cough, cough, cough… A fit of violent, earth-shaking coughing erupted. The young woman sharing their table pulled her own dishes away with a look of disgust.

“Sorry,” Qi Xin coughed until his eyes streamed with tears, completely unable to see what was in front of him. He only heard Ye Zhiqiu apologizing to the woman. “To make up for it, your bill is on me. If you’d like anything else, please order; it’s my treat.”
“No need, I’m finished anyway,” the woman said, followed by the sound of a chair being pushed back.
He thought the woman had left, but after a moment, her voice sounded again.
“It was an honor to share a table with you today, senior,” she said to Ye Zhiqiu, her voice timid. “Would it be possible to add your WeChat?”

Qi Xin: “…”

Was no one going to notice he was practically coughing his lungs out?