I Blocked Him After One Message—And Ruined His World

On such a deep winter night, there wasn’t a single person in sight within the residential compound. Only the wind howled past the windows.

Inside the car, that faint woody scent had long since dissipated, leaving only a cold stillness.

Ye Zhiqiu calmly met Qin Jianhe’s gaze, completely dropping all pretense.

In those beautiful light brown eyes, a gray tone rose, making them exceptionally cold.

He had heard too many good words in his past and present lives.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Qin Jianhe.

Rather, compared to trusting others, he preferred to trust himself.

To trust the path he himself had carved out, not the promises others made.

Even if that someone was Qin Jianhe.

“What gives you the right, or rather, what qualifies you to say ‘we won’t abandon you’?” Ye Zhiqiu asked. “If we’re being honest, we’ve only just met. You don’t even know what kind of person I am.”

After all, this was Qin Jianhe across from him.

The Qin Jianhe whose decisive actions had pulled Q.L. back from the brink of decline years ago, restoring it to the global top three luxury brands.

The Qin Jianhe who, simply because his friend Meng Qingyan entered the entertainment industry, casually invested in several box office champions and made a fortune.

The Qin Jianhe rumored to be ruthless and cold-hearted…

To someone like that, what was Ye Zhiqiu?

Just a stranger who got caught secretly photographing him, and through a series of accidents, ended up here.

Without that initial farce, even if they’d met, it would have been like that day at the fabric factory—polite, distant, at most a slight nod.

Qin Jianhe probably wouldn’t even have given him a second glance.

In his eyes, was he any different from Jiang Nan, or anyone else?

Even if he had some talent in design, someone in Qin Jianhe’s position had surely met people more talented and well-rounded than him.

He was just novel because he appeared at the right time.

“You ask what gives me the right?” Qin Jianhe was completely unmoved by his coldness. “The right of being the head of Q.L., the right of someone who can wield power in the fashion world. Isn’t that enough?”

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu laughed and looked away.

“President Qin certainly knows how to use your authority to intimidate people,” he said.

“I’m not intimidating you.” Qin Jianhe’s voice was calm. “I’m telling you how much weight my promise carries.”

Ye Zhiqiu pressed his lips together and lowered his gaze.

His face was a mask of cold detachment. Qin Jianhe couldn’t tell if he believed a single word he’d just said.

This must be Ye Zhiqiu’s true face, he thought.

Cold, sharp, wrapped in a thick, hard shell.

* * * *

His phone rang again, the ringtone urgent.

Ye Zhiqiu looked down and answered.

“Sister Sun.” His voice was low.

They had already estimated this situation, so Sun Wei’s tone was relatively calm.

“Xiao Ye,” she said, “you’ve seen the news?”

“Yeah.” Ye Zhiqiu replied.

“I didn’t expect Jinqi to take the hype this far—buying internet trolls and trending searches on every platform.” Sun Wei’s voice held a hint of worry. “I’m just afraid Meilan might get scared off by all this and change their minds.”

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu smiled and relayed the content of Luo Wangzhou’s call.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “Let them fly a little higher. The higher they fly, the harder they fall.”

“That’s good to hear.” Sun Wei finally relaxed. “We’re meeting to negotiate the day after tomorrow anyway.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Sister Sun.” Ye Zhiqiu smiled slightly.

“What hard work?” Sun Wei said. “No brand has smooth sailing. Everyone faces storms.”

Sun Wei’s words softened the coldness on Ye Zhiqiu’s face, and the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened slightly.

“Mm.” He smiled in acknowledgment.

* * * *

After he hung up, Qin Jianhe started the engine.

“I’ll take you home.”

“I…” Ye Zhiqiu started to speak, but Qin Jianhe cut him off.

“You.” He chuckled. “I kindly brought you to see Professor Zhang, and you throw a tantrum at me?”

“Just drop me at the next intersection,” Ye Zhiqiu said.

“Freezing yourself just to spite me on a cold night like this. Worth it?” Qin Jianhe asked.

Ye Zhiqiu: “…”

“I’m not being spiteful,” he said after a moment. “I just think I shouldn’t keep troubling you.”

He paused. “I’ve troubled you too much already.”

The more trouble he caused, the more he owed. The more he owed, the harder it was to untangle things between them.

“Who was it that said I might have some special needs in the future?” Qin Jianhe snorted. “Didn’t we agree? Your next time, I’ve reserved it.”

Before Ye Zhiqiu could respond, he turned the tables.

“This is your rightful compensation. What’s there to trouble about?”

Ye Zhiqiu: “…”

What “special needs”?

Had he really said that?

Fine.

He leaned back into the seat.

The car was already moving anyway. Might as well enjoy the ride.

“Taking you to see Professor Zhang today—you said you’d treat me to a meal.” Qin Jianhe wasn’t letting him off. “This time, I want that Hunan restaurant near Q.L.”

Ye Zhiqiu: “…”

Knowing he thought it was expensive, was this guy doing it on purpose?

His relaxed posture instantly stiffened. He sat up straight and glared viciously at Qin Jianhe.

A red light ahead.

Qin Jianhe had just stopped the car.

Seeing this, the coldness in his dark eyes gradually dissipated, replaced by a barely perceptible flicker of amusement.

* * * *

They drove in silence until they reached the Ye family compound.

The guard recognized Ye Zhiqiu. The gate slowly opened as soon as the car stopped.

“I’ll go in myself.” Ye Zhiqiu unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for his backpack.

His backpack was full of books, quite heavy. As soon as he grabbed it, it pulled downward.

“Let me take you to your door.” Qin Jianhe reached over and helped lift the backpack.

“No need.” Ye Zhiqiu said.

Last time he’d been picked up, a driver was at the wheel, and the car had tinted windows. No one in the Ye family had seen Qin Jianhe.

But now, though it was night, he was sitting in the driver’s seat—easily spotted.

Better safe than sorry. If someone did see him, who knew what trouble it would stir up.

The current pace was just right for Ye Zhiqiu. He didn’t want it disrupted. He also didn’t want his messy affairs dragging Qin Jianhe into them.

“My family’s not easy to deal with,” he said. “I don’t want them to see you.”

The blunt statement made Qin Jianhe pause slightly, then he smiled faintly.

Ye Zhiqiu pushed open the door and got out.

But quickly, he turned back, holding the door.

“Thank you,” he said, speaking his name. “Qin Jianhe.”

“Mm.” Qin Jianhe responded, one corner of his mouth lifting ambiguously.

In the dim light, that smile was especially captivating—a little casual, yet also extremely sexy.

Ye Zhiqiu looked at him for a moment. His eyes, cold throughout the ride, finally softened uncontrollably.

Then he waved and, without looking back, walked inside, backpack in hand.

* * * *

Only after Ye Zhiqiu’s figure disappeared from view did Qin Jianhe pull out his phone.

Throughout the drive, Ye Zhiqiu’s phone hadn’t stopped ringing. His hadn’t been idle either.

In the group chat, Yu Renzhi and the others had just realized that the VIA being stabbed in the back by Jinqi was the same VIA Ye Zhiqiu worked for. They were discussing animatedly.

Messages mentioning him poured in one after another.

[Yu Renzhi: Xiaoyu, quick, quick! See that? Your sister-in-law’s company just lifted its head and now faces this crisis. This is heaven-sent opportunity for you to play the hero and save the beauty. You should really thank Jiang Nan. @Qin Jianhe]

[Wang Qitang: What’s wrong with Jiang Nan? So classless.]

[Yu Renzhi: If it weren’t for his special feelings for Xiaoyu, I’d really want to call and knock some sense into him.]

He wondered what they’d say if they knew that someone as young as Ye Zhiqiu had already played VIA, Jinqi, and Meilan like fiddles.

But he was also the one Ye Zhiqiu had never truly considered putting on his list of people to use.

Perhaps the ink blot was too ugly. Ye Zhiqiu felt inexplicably annoyed.

He was like a headless fly, darting everywhere, hoping to find hope in others, to see the dawn of his future.

It was no different from reliving that failure, making him confront the gap between himself and Ye Zhiqiu all over again.

Gao Wenye instantly sat up straight, his expression grave.

He couldn’t imagine him being so ferocious in private.

After all these years building a good reputation for Ye Zhixia outside, Tao Ruoqing would never allow anyone to ruin it.

Everything was going well, he thought.