Just as Zhu Liuyue opened the car door, Xiao Qitang darted into the passenger seat.
He fastened his seat belt with remarkable speed.
Zhu Liuyue: “...I’m going home.”
Xiao Qitang blinked. “Sure, sure.”
Zhu Liuyue corrected him, “I mean, I’m going home after work. Do you really think it’s appropriate for you to come with me?”
Xiao Qitang spread his hands. “What’s inappropriate about it? I can pay your parents a visit while I’m there.”
Zhu Liuyue realized that this man truly had some nerve.
And yet, when they broke up, he had been so proud and unyielding.
Noticing Zhu Liuyue staring at him, Xiao Qitang asked innocently, “What is it?”
“When we broke up, why weren’t you this shameless and persistent?” she asked.
Xiao Qitang looked troubled, seeming extremely conflicted.
Zhu Liuyue deliberately teased him. “Give me the right answer, and I’ll take you home.”
Xiao Qitang’s eyes lit up. “Really?” Then he asked, “What if I give you the wrong answer?”
Zhu Liuyue waved her phone with a wicked grin.
“I’ll call Yunjin and Yunche and have those eighty or so paparazzi come and drag you away.”
Xiao Qitang pulled a long face and wailed, “Don’t, Liuyue! I went through heaven knows how much trouble to find you. You can’t abandon me. If you abandon me, then I’ll... I’ll...”
“Enough nonsense. Answer properly.” Zhu Liuyue rested both hands on the steering wheel and turned her head slightly to watch him put on his performance.
“Oh.” Xiao Qitang stopped fooling around. After clearing his throat, he said solemnly, “Right after we broke up, I honestly hadn’t realized what was going on. I thought you were just angry, so I waited for you to calm down.”
“But the longer I waited, the more I wondered why you hadn’t contacted me for an entire month. When I sent you a message, I found that you’d deleted me. I was honestly baffled.”
“I had no idea what had happened or why you’d suddenly broken up with me.”
Zhu Liuyue tilted her head and looked at him. “Didn’t you think about getting back together?”
Xiao Qitang shrugged. “I was young back then, and I cared about my pride. Getting dumped was embarrassing enough.”
“If I’d taken the initiative to contact you again, wouldn’t everyone else have laughed me to death?”
Zhu Liuyue nodded thoughtfully, then asked, “Then what about what you’re doing now? Three years after the breakup, did you suddenly decide that you can’t live without me?”
Xiao Qitang took a deep breath.
“Actually, I saw your race against Zhao Wen at Daqi Mountain that day too...”
It was that race at Daqi Mountain again.
Xiao Qitang spoke slowly. “Zhao Wen is my cousin. At the time, a friend called to tell me that he was acting recklessly and insisting on provoking Ye Yunche. I was out of town and couldn’t stop him, so I had a friend stream the race to my phone.”
“I never expected his race against Ye Yunche to turn into one against you.”
“We broke up a long time ago, and my friends didn’t know you were my ex-girlfriend... The moment I saw you, I felt like you’d changed somehow.”
“I couldn’t put my finger on what was different, but my eyes followed you wherever you went.”
At this point, he took another deep breath.
“There’s something I need to confess.”
Zhu Liuyue raised an eyebrow. “Go on!”
Xiao Qitang said, “I was the one who deliberately had someone casually leak the news that you and Ye Yunjin were getting engaged to Bai Shurou. At the time, I was trying to sabotage your engagement, but who could’ve known Bai Shurou would get into a car accident on her way to the ceremony...”
“I never expected Ye Yunjin to go to the hospital, either, or for Ye Yunche to take his brother’s place and complete the engagement ceremony with you.”
“That’s why I showed up at the murder-mystery game store afterward.”
“Because I felt that if I didn’t appear then, I’d never have another chance!”
Zhu Liuyue narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning cold.
“So you were the one behind all that!”
Xiao Qitang put on a miserable expression. “Your Honor, I swear I never expected things to turn out like that.” Then he changed tack. “I admit I was wrong, but Ye Yunjin was in the wrong too.”
If Liuyue hadn’t appeared, the world would have revolved around the original heroine, Bai Shurou.
In that case, Xiao Qitang’s actions wouldn’t have seemed strange at all. He would simply have been a tool for pushing Bai Shurou and Ye Yunjin back together.
But still.
Zhu Liuyue was furious.
She beckoned Xiao Qitang over with a smile. “Come here.”
“What?” Although he was confused, he obediently leaned his head toward her.
Zhu Liuyue pressed her thumb against her index finger, then flicked him hard.
The flick landed squarely on Xiao Qitang’s forehead.
The next second—
“Ow!” Xiao Qitang covered his forehead, sucking in painful breaths. He almost burst into tears as he muttered, “Liuyue, that hurts.”
Zhu Liuyue remained expressionless. “You deserve it.”
Xiao Qitang rubbed his forehead. His eyes were watery from the pain.
“Now that I’ve confessed everything, can you go easy on me?”
Zhu Liuyue composed herself and looked at him. “You deliberately sabotaged my engagement to Yunjin. Were you trying to steal me away?”
Xiao Qitang rubbed his fingers together awkwardly.
Meeting her gaze, he pleaded, “How is that stealing you away? I just wanted to get back together with you.”
“Really. I’m just an innocent little boy with no ulterior motives.”
Zhu Liuyue: “You can leave that last sentence out.”
...
Zhu Liuyue stepped on the gas, but in the end, she still didn’t return to the Zhu residence.
She also owned a large apartment near the hospital. Since she often had to work late, she stayed there after night shifts.
Xiao Qitang opened the refrigerator. It was completely empty.
Other than a housekeeper who came every afternoon to clean, the spacious apartment was devoid of life and showed few signs of anyone actually living there.
Zhu Liuyue sat on the sofa, scrolling through her phone.
“I’ll order takeout. What do you want to eat?”
Xiao Qitang turned around and hurried to the sofa. He sat down beside her with great familiarity.
Grinning, he said, “Takeout isn’t healthy. Let’s go to the supermarket and buy some ingredients. I’ll cook.”
“You can cook?” Zhu Liuyue asked, somewhat surprised.
Xiao Qitang nodded emphatically. “The Xiao family has a motto: Xiao family members don’t have to cook, but they can’t not know how.”
“Liuyue, I can do more than write songs. I can cook too. I’ll make you anything you want.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Qitang stared at Zhu Liuyue with sparkling eyes.
He had long dreamed of strolling through a supermarket hand in hand with Liuyue. Just imagining that warm, everyday scene made him feel happy.
Zhu Liuyue waved her phone.
“You’re a singer, after all. Aren’t you afraid of being followed by eighty or so paparazzi?”
Only then did Xiao Qitang remember that the Ye brothers still had people watching outside. And if he were photographed shopping at a supermarket with Liuyue, the impact would be terrible.
Zhu Liuyue opened a grocery-delivery app on her phone. “But it’s fine. You can order groceries online now. They’ll be delivered straight to the house.”
Xiao Qitang immediately leaned closer, thrilled.
He was so excited that his head accidentally bumped against Liuyue’s. Their posture was far too intimate.
Before Xiao Qitang could secretly savor the moment, Liuyue had already reacted. She planted a palm against his forehead and forcefully pushed him away.
“Back!” she ordered disdainfully.
