Chapter 29: A Bitter Smile
Not long after the match ended, fans were just leaving, and every exit was crowded. Xie Jingchu, however, walked unimpeded all the way to the back door; Shen Guanchao had given him a temporary staff pass, making it convenient to go anywhere.
Just as he was reaching the parking lot, a young man wearing the NAVA team uniform suddenly walked towards him. He had medium-length brown hair, deep brows and eyes, and a dignified, refined temperament. Xie Jingchu recognized him at a glance as NAVA’s Sniper, Lu Wuxu, but didn’t greet him.
The two brushed past each other. Lu Wuxu’s gaze swept over his face, the emotion in his eyes unchanging.
“Jingchu, I’m here.” Shen Guanchao was following not far behind Lu Wuxu. Seeing him, he naturally put down his phone and called out.
“Coming.” Hearing the voice, the corners of Xie Jingchu’s mouth lifted, even his brows seemed to be infused with a smile. He strode towards Shen Guanchao, holding a bouquet of pink tulips in his arms. The air seemed to slow down and settle at this moment. His black hair slipped down his forehead, casting shadows of varying depths that outlined his profile.
Seeing his hurried appearance, Shen Guanchao smiled. “Why did you buy flowers today? In such a good mood?”
And tulips, with their ambiguous meaning.
“Celebrating your semi-final victory.” Xie Jingchu solemnly handed the flowers to him. “I booked that restaurant from last time. Let’s go. If you’re tired, take a nap in the car; we’ll be there when you wake up.”
“Okay.” Shen Guanchao smiled and took the tulips. Shoulder to shoulder, the two walked towards the parking lot together.
As the car drove over the cross-river bridge, he suddenly remembered he hadn’t returned Chen Zhongwen’s call.
After arriving at the restaurant, he took advantage of the moment Xie Jingchu was ordering food to excuse himself to the restroom and dialed Chen Zhongwen’s number.
“What did you want me for just now?”
With the sound of rushing water in the restroom, Shen Guanchao stood in front of the sink and asked in a good mood.
Chen Zhongwen walked out of the bedroom and lowered his voice. “About that little lover of yours, want to hear it?”
Shen Guanchao corrected him. “He’s not a lover. I take relationships very seriously, okay? Hurry up and speak.”
Chen Zhongwen shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what he is. Check WeChat, I sent you a few photos.”
Shen Guanchao unlocked his screen and tapped into the chat. There were several photos of Xie Jingchu—some recent, some from his childhood.
In the recent photo, Xie Jingchu sat cross-legged on an e-sports chair, wearing gray rabbit pajamas that totally didn’t match his streaming style. Headphones hung around his neck, and his other hand supported the bottom of a takeout box as he ate and commentated on a match.
Chen Zhongwen asked vengefully, “Didn’t he tell you he does art? Have you seen him paint? Sing? Or dance?”
“He’s actually a semi-colleague of yours, a game streamer. Only you are easy enough to fool, believing whatever is said.”
Xie Jingchu had torn apart his disguise in front of Mu Xinyue; now it was time for him to return the favor.
The smile on Shen Guanchao’s face froze. His originally joyful mood was swept away. He tried to explain, “Don’t overthink it. Maybe he’s just doing a side job?”
He scrolled down the screen. In the older photos, a teenage Xie Jingchu wore a dark blue school uniform, standing in the center of a podium. The spotlight focused on this thin young boy. Suddenly, it coincided with a figure in his memory.
—He suddenly remembered that on the way to shoot an endorsement once, he had encountered a runaway child. That child was squatting by the roadside crying pitifully. The cold yet green appearance of the teenager in the photo overlapped with the blurred face of that child in Shen Guanchao’s memory.
It was him…
Chen Zhongwen exhaled a puff of smoke and continued, “This is a photo of him receiving an award for ranking first in the county during the joint exams. Look how promising and glorious he seemed. But did you know? He dropped out to work in the end. So how did he study art?”
Shen Guanchao gave a bitter smile, the seeds of doubt taking root in his heart. “You mean, he lied to me?”
“Just keep looking and you’ll know.”
“If you just considered him a friend, I wouldn’t care so much. But since you see him as someone to develop a relationship with, I can’t let you be kept in the dark.”
Chen Zhongwen sent him photos of Song Jingchen going to prison a few years ago, as well as Xie Fangrong who also dropped out of school, and his stepfather Ji Xinghong, who was entangled in gambling debts.
These people were indelible stains on Xie Jingchu’s network of relations, either by blood or by past association.
Shen Guanchao remembered asking Xie Jingchu not long ago why he spent the New Year alone.
Xie Jingchu had answered him like this—
“My family is all gone, no one to keep me company.”
But the truth was, his imprisoned father was still alive, his stepfather was hiding from debts, and his biological mother had only been gone for a few months.
“Do you know his past clearly? Do you know why he dropped out, why he lied to you? Can you guarantee that growing up in such a family, his character hasn’t been affected?”
“If he turns into someone like Song Jingchen or Ji Xinghong, what will you do? Do you know his purpose in approaching you?”
Can you guarantee he won’t become that kind of person?
Can you guarantee he didn’t approach you for something else?
Chen Zhongwen’s words added fuel to Shen Guanchao’s chaotic thoughts.
Rationally, he knew Chen Zhongwen wouldn’t lie to him. But his emotions couldn’t help but want to exonerate Xie Jingchu. “Could it just be a coincidence? Or maybe…”
“Whether these things are true, whether they are coincidences, you can find out with a check. You trust him too much, but I don’t believe him. He lied to you.”
“If Auntie knew that the person you want to spend your life with is the son of a murderer, what would she think?”
Chen Zhongwen hit Shen Guanchao’s fatal weak point. Unwilling to push too hard, he softened his tone:
“I’ll transfer all the documents to you later. Think about it carefully.”
Shen Guanchao’s heart grew colder bit by bit during this conversation. His chest felt stuffy, throbbing with pain, yet a desolate smile still hung on his face. He couldn’t stop it.
Xie Jingchu clearly said he wouldn’t lie to him.
So what?
He couldn’t stand to look at the things Chen Zhongwen sent him. Even though he hadn’t eaten, his stomach churned.
On the day Xie Jingchu prepared to confess, someone tore off the mask covering the lies for him.
And so, all sound faded into silence.
Realizing he had been out for a while, Shen Guanchao hurriedly walked back. Pushing open the door, he felt the atmosphere in the private room was clearly wrong. Everything had changed. The lights were much dimmer than before. A candelabra had appeared on the dining table, with scented candles burning on it, and a large bouquet of bright red roses was placed beside it.
The creator of the lies was standing gently by the chair at this moment, wearing a clean, crisp white shirt. On the ring finger of his left hand, he wore the ring that had been hidden in the snowman.
The affection he buried in time was torn open, and the lies he buried in feelings were also exposed.
Xie Jingchu’s eyes held a smile. Not noticing the strangeness in Shen Guanchao’s expression, he called out to him as usual: “Gege.”
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