Part 2
He Qing: “Do you really think I’d wait for you?”
Zhou Shu gritted his teeth secretly. “Listen to me, wait just these two days…”
Beep beep beep…
The call was hung up with a snap, crisp and decisive.
He Qing put away his phone, his expression poor. They probably had a fight. Jiang Yunian asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, leaving first.” He Qing turned to leave.
“Hey…” Jiang Yunian grabbed him. He Qing: “?”
“You haven’t finished. Jiang Yan and Zhou…”
“You heard wrong.” He Qing interrupted him calmly. After two seconds of silence, he muttered to himself in a low voice, “If I were you, I’d dump him.”
“What?” The voice was too quiet; he didn’t catch the second half.
“Nothing.” He Qing glanced at him, a warning in his eyes. “He’d better really be your brother.”
After saying that, he turned and left, leaving Jiang Yunian standing there alone, his heart a tangled mess.
“Of course…”
What else could he be…?
Night fell, and the city lights came on. Fanying Street was weaving with people. A black McLaren parked steadily at the mall entrance. Zhou Shu stepped out of the driver’s seat, looking like a dashing human being but a beast inside, and went around to open the rear door.
A woman dressed in exquisite clothing got out, holding his arm in dissatisfaction.
“Why didn’t you let me sit in the passenger seat? You drove too fast.”
Zhou Shu wore a charming smile on his face, but his eyes held no warmth. He turned his head and lowered his voice: “Overacting.”
The woman twitched her lips indifferently, already calculating how to fleece him severely. She hugged Zhou Shu’s arm tighter and said with a smile, “You said I could pick whatever I want, is that true? Ah Shu.”
The final “Ah Shu” was called out with extra sweetness, causing passersby to take a second look. Their intimate posture looked exactly like a wealthy young master taking his heiress girlfriend out to tear up the streets.
Zhou Shu scanned the surroundings with total indifference, his target locking onto a hooded guy hiding behind a streetlamp sign pretending to look at his phone. A trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.
“Is your dad that ruthless? Did he really freeze your cards?” He looked down and asked the woman, his tone mocking.
“What else? Why do you think I’m here?” The woman continued smiling, whispering private secrets to him.
Fanying Street was as lively as ever, overflowing with the scent of luxury and dissipation. Zhou Shu twirled his car keys and led her up the steps. A valet respectfully took the keys and retreated. The whole process flowed smoothly like moving clouds and flowing water; evidently, he was used to this.
Not far away, the hooded guy peeked out from behind the light sign. Finding the people gone, he turned around only to crash into a wall of human flesh. Zhou Shu had appeared behind him at some point, startling him into taking a half-step back.
Zhou Shu yanked off his hood. Upon seeing the face clearly, his hostility largely dissipated.
“It’s actually you.”
Jiang Yunian dodged a bit further away, tidying his hood with flustered movements. Just as he fixed it, his collar was pulled awry. Zhou Shu was strong; one tug pulled him right in front of him, instantly closing the distance between them.
Jiang Yunian, with his thin arms and legs, was powerless to resist. He could only brace against the other’s chest to stop himself from falling completely into his arms.
This person was so rough; he didn’t know how He Qing stood him.
Jiang Yunian felt unlucky. He was just on his way to his tutoring job when he stumbled upon this scene. He hadn’t forgotten the cold, hard tone Zhou Shu used on the phone with He Qing today. So there had been problems between them for a long time. Seeing the scene just now, his chest felt tight, feeling injustice for He Qing.
“Couldn’t fit into a skirt, so you switched careers to become a paparazzo?” Zhou Shu lifted his chin, using a bit of force. “A pity about this face. Why don’t you stay by this young master’s side and keep him company?”
Him?
Jiang Yunian almost immediately thought of the girl who got out of the car.
He wasn’t even acting anymore. Hugging a girl one moment, then harassing him the next, while still pestering He Qing behind his back. Auntie Wang was right; men turn bad when they have money. Jiang Yunian was dissatisfied inside but didn’t dare show it too obviously.
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Jiang Yunian calmed down. “Let go of me.”
He was going to be late.
Zhou Shu looked at the shifting expressions on his face and knew he had misunderstood. The phone in his pocket rang incessantly; he didn’t need to look to know the heiress was getting impatient. He couldn’t be bothered to tease anymore. He let go, kindly smoothing out the wrinkles in Jiang Yunian’s collar, but his words carried a threat.
“Keep what you saw in your gut. Don’t let me find out you ran your mouth in front of him.”
“Don’t worry, even without me saying anything, he knows what kind of person you are.” Jiang Yunian couldn’t help but retort, though suppressed as he was, he lacked confidence.
“…” That sounded strange no matter how he heard it. Zhou Shu narrowed his eyes. Was he cursing him?
Jiang Yunian seized the chance to move further away, then added a sentence that was both cowardly and brave: “But he will find out about you dating.”
With that, he sprinted across the intersection during the last few seconds of the green light.
Zhou Shu watched him run like a rabbit and cursed under his breath. He took out his phone and declined the call, receiving a busy tone as expected. He angrily dialed another number and growled, “Can you control your wife or not?”
“What?” The voice on the other end was nonchalant, striking a blow with lazy ease. “You got caught cheating?”
“…”
Zhou Shu turned off his phone, stifling his rage as he gave the middle finger.
Truly, people of a feather flock together.
Damn it.
Jiang Yunian deliberated for a long time. Since Zhou Shu was so afraid of him speaking out, clearly He Qing was being kept in the dark. After thinking it over, he still found a time to tactfully reveal the events of that night to He Qing.
He Qing wasn’t surprised. His reaction was as flat as if he were listening to someone else’s story. “Oh, that’s his new fiancée.”
New fiancée?
Was there an old one?
Jiang Yunian wondered and accidentally asked aloud.
A different emotion flashed in He Qing’s eyes but vanished quickly. “Not anymore.”
Ordinary people naturally couldn’t involve themselves in such wealthy family secrets. He just felt a little pity that He Qing had met the wrong person. Fortunately, He Qing was more clear-headed than he thought. Perhaps to him, a playboy like Zhou Shu was just a momentary whim, come and gone quickly, not taken too seriously.
He Qing could pick things up and put them down; Jiang Yunian admired him greatly.
“Alright, this has nothing to do with me.” He Qing didn’t want to mention it further. As they walked, he asked, “Are you confident about the Hehai Award this time?”
The topic shifted too fast; Jiang Yunian paused. “Why ask about this suddenly?”
Aside from those in his major, no one should know about this. He Qing’s words surprised him, but it felt far from accidental. It was like looking at flowers in the fog—he vaguely caught something, but couldn’t see it clearly.
“I saw your application.”
Applications could usually only be viewed by department leaders or foundation heads. Jiang Yunian couldn’t help but be confused. Although the other party never mentioned his past, he always gave him a sense of déjà vu.
Jiang Yunian stood beside him, shoulder to shoulder. “He Qing, you always make me feel very familiar.”
He turned around, his brows clear. “You too, right?”
“You’ll know when the time comes.” He Qing looked ahead, keeping up the suspense. “Provided you get selected.”
The sun set, the afterglow stretching their shadows long. They coincidentally stopped in front of a teaching building.
There were ten minutes left until class ended. Jiang Yunian said, “I have to wait for someone.”
He Qing looked up at a certain classroom on the second floor, then lowered his eyes. “Mmm.”
Before leaving, Jiang Yunian stuffed a pack of tissues into his hand, saying, “Don’t be sad.”
He Qing stared at the heart on the packaging wrapper without speaking. He just gripped the tissues tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white.
Before the bell even rang, two people vaguely walked out of the teaching building, their figures a bit blurry in the twilight.
Looking closely, it was actually Jiang Yan and Zhou Shu. The two walked side by side, the distance between them neither far nor close, but unusual.
“Why is Ah Yan with him…”
Jiang Yunian muttered and stepped forward. After a few steps, he thought of something and looked back. He Qing had already turned around, leaving behind a lonely back.
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