Before heading out, Chen Liuyue sent a text message to Wei Miao.
"Qin Xuanye is drunk."
Wei Miao replied quickly, "Do you need me to come with you?"
Chen Liuyue: "No need."
Wei Miao was silent for a moment before replying.
"Alright. If you need anything, call me anytime."
Even though he was reluctant in his heart, he knew he couldn't keep Liuyue by himself.
She was like a free, untamed wind, following her own heart, unconstrained.
If he ever tried to control her or possess her, it would mean he would gradually lose her.
Compared to losing her, these small, bitter feelings right now...
Wei Miao gritted his teeth and swallowed them down.
Chen Liuyue replied with a single word, 'Good boy.'
The previously gloomy Wei Miao saw this word, and a hint of a smile touched the corners of his eyes and brows.
As long as Yueyue is happy.
...
When Chen Liuyue arrived at the private club, Qin Xuanye was holding onto a buddy, pouring his heart out.
"Liuyue, it's my fault. Hit me, please."
"I'm such a poser. Actually, I was so happy when you kissed me before."
"But I'm just stubborn. I deliberately hardened my heart, trying to act like I didn't care at all, because I was afraid of being dumped again..."
His buddy's face was full of evasion and reluctance.
"Are you a broken record?"
"You've repeated this to me almost eight hundred times."
Catching sight of Chen Liuyue entering out of the corner of his eye, and seeing Old Qin still babbling nonsense, he quickly cupped Qin Xuanye's face with both hands and turned it toward the entrance.
"Old Qin, look. This is your Liuyue."
Somehow, Qin Xuanye, who had been chattering non-stop to his buddy just moments before, suddenly fell quiet upon seeing Chen Liuyue actually appear before him.
He even seemed a bit nervous.
He blinked his eyes, sitting there obediently like a schoolboy waiting for his mother to pick him up after school.
Seeing this, his buddies quickly scattered, not intending to be third wheels.
Chen Liuyue strode forward and stopped in front of him.
"Drunk?"
Qin Xuanye nodded obediently.
Chen Liuyue: "Let's go. I'll take you home."
A scene suddenly surfaced in Qin Xuanye's mind.
It was from their high school days: the teenage Liuyue and the young Xuanye. The young boy, trying to look cool, was riding a bicycle. He patted the back seat and said,
"Come on, I'll take you home."
The teenage Liuyue turned her head away, proudly lifting her chin.
"No way! I won't ride a bicycle unless it's a car."
Actually, she was afraid that Teacher Jin might see her on the bicycle.
If caught, he would likely seize the opportunity to accuse her of puppy love and supervise her even more strictly.
Hearing this, the boys in the same class all thought Tao Liuyue was such a snob and a gold-digger.
They said to Qin Xuanye, "Young Master Qin, she's only after your money."
Everyone knew the transfer student was a rich second-generation heir with more money than sense.
Qin Xuanye ignored those people. He simply instructed his driver to pick him up the next day.
After school, he called out to Tao Liuyue.
Pointing at the black Mercedes-Benz, he said,
"Come on, I'll take you home."
The girl proudly held her head high as she got into the car and said, "Fine. Then you can take me home every day from now on."
And so, he did, for three years.
Without fail, rain or shine.
But Tao Liuyue never let Qin Xuanye take her all the way to her doorstep. She always got off at the previous intersection.
Qin Xuanye never asked, why?
Perhaps that was her privacy.
In the heart of the young Xuanye, when he liked someone, he liked that person.
What did it matter what her family background was like, or whether she lived in a luxurious neighborhood or an ordinary old residential area?
But his affection was too blind.
He hadn't even seen through her facade.
For those three years, it had mostly been his own self-indulgent feelings; he had never truly entered her heart.
Hearing the words 'Let's go. I'll take you home' come from her mouth this time...
All the resentment, the indignation, the grievances in Qin Xuanye's heart seemed to dissolve in an instant.
So what if he was a simp?!
Because Liuyue was worth it!!!
None of them knew how good Liuyue had been to him, how important she was to him.
Back in high school, the reason Qin Xuanye was transferred to the neighboring school was because he was rebellious, always getting into fights, hoping to get his parents' attention.
After all, born into a wealthy family, you enjoy material comforts but often miss out on parental companionship.
Qin's father was flying all over the world more than three hundred days a year.
As for Qin's mother, she wasn't the idle type of wealthy housewife either. She ran her own financial fund company and was sometimes even busier than Qin's father.
Qin Xuanye wanted to be a rebellious kid, thinking his parents' attention would fall on him.
It didn't happen. Instead, he was sent to his grandparents' house and consequently transferred to Liuyue's high school.
Perhaps it was a case of like attracting like.
The moment he saw Liuyue, he knew she had a rebellious streak too.
The second look, and he fell for her.
Because Liuyue was too beautiful, too proud, as if she never really looked at anyone else.
During his rebellious teenage phase, Qin Xuanye always felt that Tao Liuyue was the kind of person he wanted to be: unconstrained, self-assured, and free.
So he chased after her, as if chasing moonlight, or chasing the version of himself in his heart.
He trusted Liuyue completely, even with a touch of admiration.
Slowly, it took him a long time to discover everything that lay behind the proud Tao Liuyue.
"I'm sorry." Qin Xuanye swayed as he pushed himself up from the table, raising his eyes to look at Chen Liuyue before him.
The room was quiet.
Chen Liuyue didn't say a word.
Qin Xuanye took a step forward.
"I'm sorry," he said again, his voice louder than before.
Chen Liuyue watched him quietly.
Her gaze was understanding, tinged with a hint of comprehension.
Qin Xuanye lowered his head and said softly,
"I'm sorry, Liuyue."
"It seems I'm not worthy of liking you. I kept saying I liked you, chased you for three years, yet I never really looked into why you sometimes skipped lunch."
"I foolishly believed your excuse, 'I've gained weight recently, need to diet.'"
"My behavior was truly terrible! Even so, you were still willing to let me stay by your side, and you even accepted my confession when we graduated from high school."
"It seems I've always lived in my own world. Happy by myself, joyful by myself, sad by myself. I never asked you..."
"Liuyue, does it make you happy that I like you?"
"Liuyue, are you unhappy today?"
"Liuyue, did you leave me because I didn't give you enough sense of security..."
"I really was a terrible boyfriend."
Chen Liuyue met his clear eyes and added quietly,
"And also, a terrible ex-boyfriend."
"When we met again for the first time, why didn't you acknowledge our relationship?"
"Is your ex-girlfriend really that embarrassing to admit to?"
