Chapter 1: When Will We Get Married? Part 1
The late spring chill in Di City was harsher this year than in previous years. At 10:30 PM, Ning Qingqing got out of her car, shivering from the cold wind.
She pulled her windbreaker tighter and walked towards the Lan Yue Club.
Twenty minutes earlier, she received a call from her boyfriend, Shen Zhiqian, saying he had a stomach ache from drinking and asked her to bring him some medicine and then take him home.
Lan Yue Club was owned by a friend of Shen Zhiqian’s. Shen Zhiqian had frequented it for the past few years, and Ning Qingqing had also been there several times, so she went directly to the “Ting Yu Pavilion” upstairs.
As she reached the door of the private room, she saw a waiter coming out with drinks. The waiter recognized her and nodded, so he didn’t close the door.
From the open private room, melodious singing drifted out, accompanied by the chatter of men and the laughter of women.
A male voice said, “Hey, this song sounds familiar.”
Another laughed, “Isn’t this Si Luoqing’s debut song?”
After a pause, the man’s voice took on a teasing tone, “Speaking of which, one of us has a connection to Si Luoqing!”
The first man became interested, “Who?”
Several others said in unison, “Qian Ge. Si Luoqing is his ex-girlfriend!”
The men, it seemed, couldn’t resist gossip, and they started discussing:
“Qian Ge grew up with Si Luoqing, they were childhood sweethearts. But Si Luoqing went abroad for high school after junior high, and that’s when they broke up.”
“After that, Qian Ge quickly got together with Ning Qingqing in high school, his current girlfriend, Old Chen, you’ll meet her in a bit.”
At this point, one of them asked Shen Zhiqian, who hadn’t said a word, “Qian Ge, did you know Si Luoqing came back today?”
Outside the door, Ning Qingqing’s grip on the medicine bag tightened slightly.
Si Luoqing—she had heard the name before, but Shen Zhiqian always downplayed it, saying she was just a childhood sweetheart from junior high.
But she didn’t know they were childhood sweethearts…
At this moment, Shen Zhiqian’s nonchalant voice came from inside, “Oh really?”
His friend clearly wanted to probe his attitude further, “The airport was packed with her fans today. She’s super popular now. Qian Ge, are you still in touch with her?”
Shen Zhiqian said indifferently, “Not anymore.”
Seeing his apparent indifference towards Si Luoqing, another friend steered the conversation, “Qian Ge definitely loves his current girlfriend more. Our sister-in-law is incredibly nice, as beautiful as Si Luoqing, and completely devoted to Qian Ge!”
“Yeah, this girl is great,” another said. “Speaking of which, Qian Ge, when are you guys planning to get married?”
As soon as the words were out, everyone waited for Shen Zhiqian’s answer, and his silence made the lively atmosphere suddenly stagnate.
The music on the TV happened to finish, and there was a brief silence during the transition to the next song.
This silence made the quiet in the room feel awkward.
Outside the door, Ning Qingqing’s breath hitched, her heartbeat suppressed by the sudden silence.
Finally, a calm and indifferent voice came from inside, “Think about it.”
At that moment, Ning Qingqing felt her lost senses return. After twenty seconds of suppression, her heart exploded, thumping against her chest, her blood rushing to her head.
But she only felt one thing—
Cold.
It was as if all the blood in her body had frozen into ice, and icicles formed in every inch of her being.
Her limbs stiffened, and she stood motionless at the door.
The conversation inside continued, “Qian Ge, what’s the rush to get married? You’re only 26 this year? Men who get married before 30 are digging their own graves!”
“Hahaha, that’s true. Anyway, Sister-in-law and Qian Ge have been together for so long, she’s not going to run away?”
“Sister-in-law wouldn’t run away, no matter what, they’ve been together for years!”
“Almost nine years? I remember Qian Ge got together with Sister-in-law not long after starting high school, right?”
“Wow, that’s right… but wasn’t Qian Ge just breaking up with Si Luoqing back then?”
“We still remember. Qian Ge heard that Si Luoqing went abroad and went to find her before the start of school.”
“Really? Qian Ge, you—”
Shen Zhiqian interrupted them, “I don’t remember.”
Then, he seemed to check the time, wondering why Ning Qingqing hadn’t arrived yet. He took out his phone to text her.
Just then, another waiter passed by and, seeing Ning Qingqing standing at the door of the private room, spoke to her.
Ning Qingqing reacted suddenly, shook her head at the waiter, took a deep breath, and walked towards the private room.
The moment she stepped in, a light and cheerful smile was already on her face, as if the one who had lost all color was someone else.
The conversation in the private room quieted for a moment at her sudden entrance.
But quickly, Shen Zhiqian stood up.
He walked to Ning Qingqing and pulled her to sit down. Sensing that her fingers were cold, he frowned, “Why didn’t you wear more?”
Then, he grabbed the remote and turned on the room’s heating.
Ning Qingqing handed Shen Zhiqian the medicine, “Have you eaten? You shouldn’t take your stomach medicine on an empty stomach.”
Shen Zhiqian smiled, his beautiful eyes full of tenderness, “Yes, I had a little something.”
He was like that, sharp and arrogant when he wasn’t smiling, but once he smiled, it was like a gentle spring breeze. Ning Qingqing thought that she had initially been captivated by those eyes.
Back then, she had just transferred from another city, her accent was heavy, and Shen Zhiqian had given her initial warmth…
Ning Qingqing was a little dazed when she suddenly felt a warm rush. She felt annoyed—why did her period come a week early?
“I’ll go to the restroom,” she said, her face calm, and walked straight out.
Shen Zhiqian wanted to say there was a restroom in the private room, but Ning Qingqing had already left, thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
There were emergency supplies for guests at the front desk. Ning Qingqing asked for a sanitary napkin and walked towards the restroom at the end of the corridor.
As she passed a private room, the door opened, and Ning Qingqing, unable to stop herself, bumped into someone.
Her body swayed back, and she instinctively reached out, grabbing the person’s arm to steady herself.
“Plop.” The sanitary napkin slipped from her hand and fell to the ground.
Ning Qingqing quickly stepped back, about to bend down to pick up the fallen item, but the person in front of her bent down first and picked it up.
Then, she saw a white, slender, and well-defined hand. The man’s nails were neatly trimmed, and the thumb pressed on the packaging, which clearly read two characters—Night Use.
For hygiene reasons, the club provided individually packaged items for clients, so below “Night Use,” there was another line—Gentle Care for Your Heavier Nights.
“Sorry,” the man’s voice was clean and clear as he handed over the soft item.
His eyes instinctively looked at the item in his hand.
The large characters “Night Use” fell into his clear, snow-like eyes.
He froze, then seemed to realize what it was, quickly shifting his gaze.
This resulted in eye contact with Ning Qingqing.
The moment Ning Qingqing saw his face, her eyes showed a moment of astonishment. Wasn’t this Shen Zhiqian’s nemesis, Gu Youchen? He had been abroad, but he was back?
After a brief moment of confusion, Ning Qingqing’s mind was immediately filled with embarrassment. Her expression, however, remained calm, “It’s alright, I was just walking too fast and didn’t watch where I was going.”
Then, she calmly took the item, nodded politely to Gu Youchen, and quickly left.
He didn’t notice the man’s momentary astonishment at seeing her.
He turned and watched Ning Qingqing disappear around the corner before looking away.
His phone was silent. Gu Youchen had no desire to answer client calls and went straight back to the private room.
The private room was lively. It was a gathering organized by some friends to celebrate his return. Seeing him, a friend opened a new bottle of wine and raised his glass.
He leaned against the sofa, picked up his glass, and took a small sip, his mind still on the scene he just witnessed.
“Chen Ge? Chen Ge?” his friend called out.
“Whoa, Chen Ge looks so amorous. Are you thinking about a girl?”
“No way, I’ll believe anyone thinking about women, but I’d never believe our Chen Ge!”
“Wait…Chen Ge’s ears are red! Whoa, Chen Ge, tell us what you were doing just now, why are your ears red?!”
The friends were like they discovered a new continent, surrounding Gu Youchen.
Gu Youchen frowned and swept a cold glance at them. However, his reddened earlobes made his usually powerful glare less effective.
Seeing his appearance, they came to a unanimous conclusion—
When it rains, mothers get married; our Chen Ge has finally fallen in love.
Author’s Note:
Ah, the pit I wanted to open two or three years ago is finally open…
Wuwuwu, do you little angels who collected it still remember me? Rolling around begging for comments~~