Chapter 14: His Fiancée Smiling at Someone Else

Chapter 14: His Fiancé Smiles at Someone Else

Chi Xingcun walked up to him.

Qin Liyi tried to hug him again, but Chi Xingcun dodged away.

"Can't I even get a hug? Aside from yesterday, it's been so long since we've seen each other."

"...What happened? You look upset." Chi Xingcun asked first.

Qin Liyi raised an eyebrow, flashing a sly, roguish grin, and leaned close to his ear, speaking in a low, wheedling voice: "Those people who said bad things about you—I've already had someone take care of them. Even if you go to the gathering, you won't have to worry about seeing them."

His eyes lit up.

The people nearby might have thought Chi Xingcun was his lover, given how affectionate Qin Liyi's look and smile were.

Just then, someone gasped—Fu Chenzhan had arrived.

Fu Chenzhan stood not far away, staring at the two people by the car chatting intimately.

He also saw Chi Xingcun give a soft smile.

His fiancé hadn't visited him in a month and a half, hadn't smiled at him the last time they saw each other, and now he was smiling at someone else right in front of him—was that what was happening?

He habitually twisted the watch on his wrist, his face utterly blank.

He watched Chi Xingcun drive off in Qin Liyi's car.

Chi Xingcun sat in the passenger seat of Qin Liyi's car. As the car began to move, he looked up and saw Fu Chenzhan.

Fu Chenzhan stood there, staring at him with his usual expressionless face.

He stiffened for a second, then looked away and rolled up the window.

His phone rang—it was Aunt Xue.

Her voice was calm and gentle, but there was a faint edge to it that didn't feel quite friendly.

"Xiao Zhan, come over for dinner the day after tomorrow. Your uncle returns tomorrow—let's all get together."

"Okay." He agreed without hesitation and hung up.

......

Qin Liyi was driving when a call came in on his phone—it was his mother.

Chi Xingcun saw it. When Qin Liyi didn't react, he thought he hadn't heard it, so he prompted him: "Your mom's calling."

Qin Liyi still kept his eyes on the road.

"My mom's trying to set me up on a blind date. I don't want to go."

"Who is it?"

"My mom's best friend's daughter. She just got back from studying abroad—great in every way, and really pretty too. I used to like her a lot, but lately I just don't feel it anymore. I really don't get why my mom's in such a rush. I'm only nineteen."

Lost interest, huh...

Chi Xingcun knew Qin Liyi well—he was a total flirt, and his relationships with girls never lasted long. Chi Xingcun had known about six girls since they were kids.

So Qin Liyi was a hundred percent straight.

And his style and mannerisms were both very straight. Chi Xingcun had never heard of any guy being into Qin Liyi.

Qin Liyi kept watching Chi Xingcun in the rearview mirror. Seeing him with his head down, deep in thought, he spoke up: "Are you this unhappy being with me too? Young master, you're breaking my heart."

Hearing this, Chi Xingcun couldn't help but smile: "I'm not unhappy... I'm just... lost in thought."

"What's got you so down? I already took care of those bastards for you—are you still not happy?"

"...My life isn't just about those guys." Chi Xingcun said.

Qin Liyi glanced at him: "Then what is it? Tell me, I'll help you think of something."

"..." Chi Xingcun went quiet again, tilting his head to the side.

Qin Liyi smiled helplessly, but his mind was still churning—what could it be?

The two arrived at a Cantonese restaurant, which was also Chi Xingcun's favorite.

"Why not Sichuan food?" Qin Liyi loved spicy food, and the spicier the better.

Back in middle school, Chi Xingcun once didn't want to admit he couldn't handle spicy food, so he took a huge bite of the fish head with chopped chili from Qin Liyi's bowl. It was so spicy his lips swelled up, tears poured down his face, and he even ended up in the hospital with gastroenteritis.

In the hospital, Chi Xingcun gave Qin Liyi a beating, and then Qin Liyi ran errands for him for a whole month.

Thinking about all this, Chi Xingcun suddenly realized—there were quite a few people who had been good to him in his past life. Why did he have to go and fall for Fu Chenzhan of all people?

He was the one who treated him the worst.

He thought he should find a chance to break off the engagement with Fu Chenzhan.

After ordering, Qin Liyi looked up and saw Chi Xingcun grinning goofily, and couldn't help but smile along with him.

"What's up?"

"You still haven't told me—why no Sichuan food?"

Chi Xingcun couldn't handle super spicy food, but he could do medium spice, and regular Sichuan dishes were no problem. It was more of a mental thing.

"I've been getting internal heat lately. The doctor told me to cut back on spicy food."

"Alright then. Let's go next time—I'm craving it."

"Okay."

After dinner, Qin Liyi took Chi Xingcun to an arcade for two hours, and then they went back to the apartment Qin Liyi had bought near campus.

The neighborhood was in the university district—Qin Liyi's school and Chi Xingcun's were no more than ten kilometers apart.

Qin Liyi was studying law. Back then, his parents had forced him to study finance with Fu Chenzhan so he could inherit the company, but he deliberately rebelled and got into the neighboring law and political science university instead, majoring in their top law program.

They had gone to high school together. Qin Liyi was always carefree and goofing off, constantly dragging him to skip class and go out—he didn't look like someone who studied well at all. Unlike Chi Xingcun, who had hired a tutor for one-on-one review throughout senior year, Qin Liyi still managed to make the honor roll.

"I'll drive you to school tomorrow. Stay at my place tonight." Qin Liyi said in a gentle tone.

"Mm." Chi Xingcun agreed.

He took Chi Xingcun upstairs, turned on the gaming TV, and handed him a game controller.

"You said you wanted to study last time—this time, study or play games?"

Chi Xingcun smiled and said, "Let's play games."

Chi Xingcun hadn't played this "Robot 2" in his past life, because back then, in his past life, he'd made Fu Chenzhan angry and was busy trying to smooth things over with him, so he never even went to Qin Liyi's house.

By the time Qin Liyi came out of the shower, Chi Xingcun had already died eleven times, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked at Qin Liyi.

Qin Liyi chuckled, sitting down beside Chi Xingcun.

"Because this is a two-player game, it's naturally harder to play alone," he said, picking up another controller and joining Chi Xingcun in playing.

A damp, fragrant scent drifted over to Chi Xingcun, and he couldn't help but sniff, then asked, "What kind of body wash do you use? It smells nice."

Qin Liyi turned to look at him. "Like it? I'll send you a whole box."

"I was just asking... Is it expensive?"

Qin Liyi chuckled. "Even the young master is asking about prices now? Our young master's not exactly strapped for cash."

If he didn't know Qin Liyi well, this could really sound like sarcasm.

Chi Xingcun was silent for a moment. "Forget it, I don't really like it."

The second the round ended, Qin Liyi tossed the controller aside and, before Chi Xingcun could react, tackled him onto the carpet. He pinched Chi Xingcun's cheek and smiled, "You call that not liking it? I heard you sniffing all along. Sleep with me tonight, and you can smell it all night long. I'm locking your room, by the way—hope you don't mind?"