“Oh, right.” Ye Zhiqiu put down his phone and remembered something. “In a while, our company is doing a new product launch with another brand. We’ll meet in the coming days to finalize cooperation details, followed by a small dinner.”
The man drew closer and closer, until he stood right before him.
Only then did Qi Xin notice the faint bruises peeking out from beneath the edge of his scarf.
“Xiaoqiu.”
His heart lurched.
Before he knew it, his hand lifted, reaching for Ye Zhiqiu’s injured cheek.
Ye Zhiqiu dodged the touch without a sound.
Qi Xin pressed his lips together, embarrassed.
His gaze lingered on the young man’s exquisite features.
“How did you get hurt? Is it serious?”
“Just a small scratch. Nothing serious,” Ye Zhiqiu said coolly.
The wind outside was cold.
As he spoke, Ye Zhiqiu raised a hand to adjust the scarf around his neck.
The gesture jolted Qi Xin awake.
He snapped out of his daze and quickly opened the car door for Ye Zhiqiu.
Inside the car, it was warm and bright.
Ye Zhiqiu removed his scarf, and Qi Xin finally got a clear look at the injury on his face.
He could also tell it had already been carefully treated.
“What happened?” Qi Xin asked. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”
“By the time you got me to a hospital, the wound would’ve healed already.” Ye Zhiqiu let out a soft laugh.
“Then…” Qi Xin looked at him. “Let me take you somewhere good to eat?”
He added, “You’ll definitely like it.”
Qi Xin was still haunted by the last Hunan cuisine experience.
Strike first or be struck—when it came to choosing a restaurant, he wanted to keep the upper hand.
Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu neither agreed nor refused.
He simply looked at Qi Xin with a faint smile.
“How was that Hunan food last time?” he asked.
Qi Xin: “…”
“You see? What I think is good, you don’t necessarily like.” Ye Zhiqiu smiled.
He looked especially beautiful when he smiled.
His rosy lips curved into a perfect arc.
His eyes crinkled at the corners, bright and clear, exceptionally pure.
“Then let’s choose what you like,” Qi Xin heard himself say after a long moment.
“You choose.” Ye Zhiqiu stopped teasing him.
Slept too late last night, woke too early this morning. Studying, working, dealing with all kinds of people…
He leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.
“Wake me when we get there.”
The young man’s thick lashes drooped, casting two faint shadows on his fair skin.
Without those strikingly expressive eyes, his tightly pressed rosy lips became especially eye-catching.
Bright.
Soft.
Like cherries perfectly ripe on a tree.
For some reason, a string of flames seemed to ignite in Qi Xin’s chest, scorching him, leaving his mouth dry.
He didn’t dare look at Ye Zhiqiu any longer.
He hastily looked away.
The car moved in fits and starts.
About half an hour later, it finally stopped.
Before Qi Xin could speak, Ye Zhiqiu opened his eyes.
“Here?” he asked, his voice slightly husky.
“Mm.” Qi Xin got out and opened the door for Ye Zhiqiu. “Japanese food. Like it?”
“Anything’s fine,” Ye Zhiqiu said.
His eyelids were a little heavy, his expression slightly dazed.
Softer than usual.
Very cute.
But that hint of daze didn’t last long.
Once inside the private room, he slipped off his shoes and resumed his usual demeanor.
His shapely feet were wrapped in long socks.
Ye Zhiqiu swung them back and forth.
He leaned back on his hands, sitting casually, tilting his head to watch Qi Xin place food on his plate.
Watching with a smile.
Qi Xin’s heart pounded wildly.
This time, no temper, no sulking, not even a single harsh word…
It was perfectly normal behavior, yet Qi Xin felt inexplicably flattered.
“Eat more.” Qi Xin grew even more attentive.
When Ye Zhiqiu picked up his chopsticks and took a bite, Qi Xin immediately asked, “Is it good?”
“Not bad,” Ye Zhiqiu said. “But still not as good as homemade food.”
Homemade?
Home cooking?
Like a lightning bolt striking his mind, Qi Xin suddenly realized an opportunity had arrived.
The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, right?
“I’ll cook for you sometime,” he said immediately.
So Qi Xin could cook after all, Ye Zhiqiu couldn’t help thinking.
“What relationship do we have?” He spooned some hot soup and blew on it, amused. “I wouldn’t dare impose on you to cook for me.”
“I’m pursuing you, Xiaoqiu.” Qi Xin’s expression turned serious. “Give me a chance. Let me cook for you.”
“Tomorrow,” he added. “How about tomorrow? Come to my place tomorrow. I’ll cook for you myself.”
In his past life, Qi Xin had never cooked once.
He said he didn’t know how. Said he was allergic to oil smoke.
Later, after Qiyun developed, he claimed restaurant food didn’t suit his taste and coaxed Ye Zhiqiu into cooking three meals a day for him.
Slowly, he made Ye Zhiqiu drift away from his career, becoming a “househusband” who could only depend on him.
Thinking back, it was truly laughable.
Such a clumsy trick, merely sugar-coated, and it had him completely wrapped around Qi Xin’s finger.
Ye Zhiqiu was still smiling.
But those beautiful eyes held a barely perceptible flicker of mockery.
“Sorry.” The enthusiasm died like doused flames, leaving only smoke and ashes. “I was too eager.”
Qi Xin apologized.
But how could he give up such a precious opportunity to see Ye Zhiqiu regularly?
Even though every attempt at testing the waters ended poorly, Qi Xin still cautiously extended his toe.
“How about this,” he said. “I’ll cook it and bring it to your school?”
Ye Zhiqiu had finished eating.
He set down his utensils and leaned back leisurely.
Hearing this, he couldn’t help but laugh.
There were cigarettes in his coat pocket.
Ye Zhiqiu pulled one out, lowered his head, and lit it.
The soft click of the lighter was like a trigger being pulled, startling Qi Xin.
He began to waver, second-guessing himself, wondering if he’d overstepped.
“Whatever you want.” Ye Zhiqiu smiled at him, a wisp of gray-white smoke curling from his rosy lips.
Qi Xin didn’t smoke.
In fact, he hated it.
He tolerated it when working outside, but at home, he never allowed Ye Zhiqiu to smoke in front of him.
So in the last few years of his past life, despite Ye Zhiqiu’s heavy addiction, he only smoked when Qi Xin wasn’t home, or secretly on the balcony.
And every time he stood on that balcony, he needed immense willpower not to jump.
The scent of cigarettes quickly filled the small private room.
Through the hazy smoke, Ye Zhiqiu looked at Qi Xin across from him.
Qi Xin looked back at him.
No disgust, no aversion.
His gaze was as intense as ever.
Ye Zhiqiu smiled again.
The smile made Qi Xin inexplicably uneasy.
A phone rang abruptly.
Seeing it was an unfamiliar number, Ye Zhiqiu hung up directly.
Elsewhere, in a quiet lounge bar, Wang Qitang watched Yu Renzhi stare dumbfounded at his phone and laughed.
“We never exchanged numbers,” Yu Renzhi explained. “Little beauty probably thought it was spam.”
“Is it not spam?” Qin Jianhe raised an eyebrow slightly, asking expressionlessly.
Wang Qitang laughed even harder.
Yu Renzhi: “…I’ll call again.”
Yu Renzhi redialed and put it on speaker.
This time, the other party answered quickly.
A young man’s clear voice came through, exceptionally pleasant to hear.
“Who is this?”
“It’s me, Yu Renzhi.” Yu Renzhi replied, then smugly raised his chin at the two across from him.
“Yu Renzhi?” The other side slowly repeated the name.
After a long pause, he finally seemed to remember. “Hello.”
“We didn’t get to talk last time. You free today?” Yu Renzhi ignored Wang Qitang, who was laughing again. “Come out for a drink. I can introduce you to some friends. Good for your future career development.”
Silence on the other end for a moment.
“Thank you, but no need.”
Yu Renzhi: “…”
While he was stunned, the other party politely said goodbye and hung up directly.
Yu Renzhi: “…”
Wang Qitang: “Hahaha…”
Qin Jianhe lowered his eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting almost imperceptibly.
“So Young Master Yu can get rejected too.” Wang Qitang laughed until he couldn’t breathe.
“Cold.” Yu Renzhi raised his thumb in approval.
After a moment, he looked puzzled. “I remember clearly telling him last time that Qin Jianhe was my friend?”
“He’s not rejecting me.” Yu Renzhi looked at Qin Jianhe, sowing discord. “He’s rejecting you.”
“What face do I have?” Qin Jianhe curved his lips in a faint, ambiguous smile. “I have no face.”
That was the best joke Yu Renzhi had ever heard in his life.
“There are currently two people in this world I can’t do anything about. One is little beauty…” He raised his hand and pointed at Qin Jianhe. “The other is unquestionably Xiaoyu.”
“Come,” Wang Qitang raised his glass. “Let’s welcome our new friend. Cheers.”
Each one flattering themselves…
Though hanging out with these two felt like lowering his IQ, Qin Jianhe hesitated briefly, then raised his glass anyway.
Ye Zhiqiu had answered the call calmly and coldly.
For some reason, that made Qi Xin feel secretly superior.
“Oh, right.” Ye Zhiqiu put down his phone and remembered something. “In a while, our company is doing a new product launch with another brand. We’ll meet in the coming days to finalize cooperation details, followed by a small dinner.”
“Can you make it?” he asked.
Such invitations were usually only extended to close acquaintances.
First the coldness toward someone else on the phone, now an invitation to him…
Qi Xin was overjoyed.
“I can make it,” he said. “I’ll come whenever you call.”
Ye Zhiqiu smiled, as if pleased.
When Ye Zhiqiu wasn’t throwing tantrums, spending time with him was actually quite pleasant, Qi Xin thought, dazzled by his smile.
He spoke little, just sitting there was a pleasure to behold.
“Want to see a movie?” He felt tempted again.
“Tired.” Ye Zhiqiu stretched lazily. “Take me home.”
The last sentence was a command.
But it didn’t sound offensive.
Instead, it gave one the pleasure of being needed.
Qi Xin nodded and got up to pay the bill.
By the time he finished, Ye Zhiqiu was already dressed and ready.
He seemed especially sensitive to the cold.
Even though the parking lot was just a few steps away, he still wrapped his scarf tightly.
The drive back was silent.
Ye Zhiqiu lounged lazily in his seat, head turned to watch the street scenes blur past outside.
Mottled lights swept across the perfect contours of his profile.
Light and shadow played across his features, making him look beautiful yet strangely mysterious.
Like precious, fragile porcelain—visible from afar, not to be profaned.
Qi Xin brought prepared topics to his lips several times.
But each time, he swallowed them back down.
Only when the car reached the gates of the Ye residence did Ye Zhiqiu sit up straight.
“Goodbye.” He grabbed his backpack and pushed open the door.
Qi Xin hurried out after him.
“Xiaoqiu,” he called.
“Hm?” The young man leaned against the gate, turning his head.
Moonlight fell on his injured cheek.
So beautiful it was startling.
Qi Xin stared for a moment.
Only when he saw Ye Zhiqiu frown impatiently did he remember what he wanted to say.
“Don’t forget to call me about the dinner.”
“Heh…” The young man seemed to laugh. Very softly. Almost immediately scattered by the wind.
Then, without another word, he stepped through the gate and disappeared into the depths of the courtyard.
Long after Ye Zhiqiu’s figure vanished, Qi Xin finally eased himself back into the car.
Only then did he realize how tense he’d been all evening.
He needed to relax.
“Jiang Nan.” Qi Xin dialed a number. “Sorry for troubling you during my illness recently. Haven’t had a chance to thank you properly. Free for a drink?”
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂