Chapter 19: The Huo Qingyan He Knew Wouldn’t Be So Nice
“It’s not like not provoking you would benefit me,” Jiang Su said, habitually extinguishing the cigarette in his hand.
When he realized this, he wanted to punch himself twice.
Just because Huo Qingyan frowned, he couldn’t help but put out his cigarette.
Jiang Lichuan was right; he was useless.
Huo Qingyan’s gaze swept over the extinguished cigarette butt, and without saying anything more, he turned and left.
As soon as Huo Qingyan left, Jiang Su couldn’t help but kick the railing twice.
…
The trending topic of Jiang Su and Huo Qingyan’s group of four remained on the trending list for half a day before being removed.
Jiang Zhaoyu wanted to suppress Huo Qingyan’s arrogance, but Jiang Su’s reputation was also important.
Cheng Xishi’s studio also issued a statement, saying only that Jiang Su and Cheng Xishi were good friends who were having a gathering.
As for Huo Qingyan and Lin Siyue, neither of them came forward to clarify the rumors.
This wasn’t the first time Huo Qingyan and Lin Siyue had been on the trending list. In the eyes of most people, not clarifying meant admitting it; their CP fans raised the banner of “Academician Couple,” happily shipping them.
Jiang Su, because of the incident of publicly splashing Huo Qingyan with wine, had displeased Huo Qingyan and Lin Siyue’s CP fans. This time, with the new trending topic, more CP fans came to send private messages cursing Jiang Su.
[“Want a comeback? Are you crazy? You can’t get the heat from us, the “Academician Couple,” so you’re going after Cheng Xishi? Shameless.”]
[“Love-brained? After the divorce, you’re going crazy, constantly seeking attention?”]
[“As long as we’re around, forget about a comeback. You dare to make a comeback, we dare to boycott!”]
[“Homewreckers are all trash.”]
Jiang Su, having nothing better to do, scrolled through the private messages one by one.
Under the first Weibo post on his main page, people constantly commented and cursed at him.
Someone even created a super topic specifically for cursing Jiang Su.
Although it wasn’t the first time he’d seen these comments, Jiang Su still felt increasingly upset.
No one wants to be a hated person.
A new WeChat message popped up in the top notification bar.
Cheng Xishi: “My new movie premieres on Friday. I’d like to invite you to watch it. Are you free?”
Jiang Su opened the message and replied, “Okay.”
Jiang Su suddenly realized that he’d had almost no social life in the past two years, resulting in very few friends he could talk to.
Cheng Xishi inviting him to the premiere truly showed him as a friend, and he had no reason to refuse.
Jiang Su checked his phone’s main page and discovered it was Wednesday; Friday was the day after tomorrow.
New Year’s Eve was coming soon.
Cheng Xishi’s movie would likely be released during the Lunar New Year, and the box office would surely be good.
Jiang Su hadn’t actually thought about making a comeback, but recently, being constantly accused of wanting a comeback to gain attention, he gradually felt a secret stirring within him.
He also wanted to make a comeback.
…
Seven o’clock in the evening.
Jiang Su cooked himself a bowl of noodles, placed it on the coffee table in the living room, then sat cross-legged on the rug, watching TV while eating.
Engrossed in the show, he didn’t even notice Huo Qingyan’s return.
Until a pair of slender hands picked up the remote control in front of him, pausing the TV screen, did he realize Huo Qingyan was back.
Jiang Su was stunned for a moment: “What are you doing back?”
At noon, he and Huo Qingyan had parted unhappily; he thought Huo Qingyan wouldn’t be home anytime soon.
Huo Qingyan often didn’t come home for ten days or half a month. Even if Jiang Su sent a message in advance, telling Huo Qingyan he would wait for him to have dinner together, he rarely came home in time for dinner.
Therefore, seeing Huo Qingyan appear at home at this time, his first reaction was that Huo Qingyan had something to do.
Jiang Su didn’t know what he had said to offend Huo Qingyan, but he saw Huo Qingyan’s face darken: “Is this all you’re eating tonight?”
“Yeah.” Under his gaze, Jiang Su slurped another mouthful of noodles.
Jiang Su made tomato beef noodles; the color and aroma were appealing.
Huo Qingyan knew Jiang Su was a good cook, and having not eaten much all day, he was also hungry.
Usually, Jiang Su would have proactively asked him if he’d had dinner.
But now, Jiang Su was just engrossed in his own meal, as if he had completely forgotten there was another person present.
Huo Qingyan’s heart began to feel agitated again, but his face remained impassive: “Is this enough?”
“I made a single serving; it’s just right.” As soon as Jiang Su finished speaking, he felt something was wrong.
Was Huo Qingyan being unusually talkative today?
He looked up at Huo Qingyan and tentatively asked, “Did you have dinner?”
Huo Qingyan had been waiting for this question from Jiang Su, and immediately replied: “No.”
Jiang Su “Oh”-ed in acknowledgement: “Then why didn’t you eat before coming back?”
Huo Qingyan: “…”
Huo Qingyan angrily turned and went upstairs to his study, slamming the door so hard that it echoed downstairs, and Jiang Su heard it.
Huo Qingyan stood by the window in his study, his face gloomy as he stared at the night view outside.
Jiang Su had actually started ignoring him.
Jiang Su hadn’t been like this before; he always put him first, constantly caring for him.
This was all because of Cheng Xishi’s appearance.
“Knock knock!”
A knock came from outside the door, and Huo Qingyan realized he’d been standing by the window for a long time.
“I’m coming in.” As Jiang Su’s voice sounded, the door was pushed open.
Jiang Su came in carrying a bowl of noodles. Seeing Huo Qingyan standing by the wide-open window, he slightly frowned and walked over.
He reached out to close the window, muttering as he did so: “Leaving the window open like this, you’ll catch a cold.”
After closing the window, he turned around and found Huo Qingyan still staring at him, so he said impatiently: “What are you looking at me for? Go eat your noodles. They’ll get soggy if you don’t hurry.”
“Jiang Su.” Huo Qingyan suddenly grabbed Jiang Su’s wrist.
His serious tone made Jiang Su’s heart tighten: “What is it?”
Huo Qingyan said earnestly: “I’ll try to come home for dinner every night.”
“What… do you mean?” For a moment, Jiang Su thought he’d misheard.
Huo Qingyan continued: “I’ll finish my work as soon as possible and make time to go to the hot spring resort with you before the New Year.”
“What are you talking about?” Jiang Su was even more confused; he even felt that the Huo Qingyan in front of him had been possessed.
The Huo Qingyan he knew wouldn’t be so nice.
Huo Qingyan didn’t explain further, but went straight to the desk to eat noodles.
Jiang Su stood by the window for a long time before digesting what Huo Qingyan had just said.
He walked to the desk and cautiously asked: “Are you serious about all that?”
Huo Qingyan had finished his noodles.
After eating his fill, his mood had improved considerably, a subtle smile playing on his lips: “You should know that I don’t joke around.”
Jiang Su’s eyes lit up immediately: “Then what do you want to eat tomorrow night?”
He had loved Huo Qingyan for too many years. No matter what Huo Qingyan did, as long as Huo Qingyan beckoned, he would involuntarily go to him.