Chapter 24

A sleepless night passed, and the first light of dawn spread across the earth. Xie Xuchen put on his suit, tied his tie, and still felt the chill in the air. In the past, whenever the weather got cold, he would instinctively fear seeing Xie Xinqi stretch out her hand. This was because after she entered middle school, her “princess complex” had turned into a “female knight complex,” which manifested in her doing childish pranks.

He remembered one winter evening when he was sixteen. After taking a shower, he walked past her room bare-chested and saw her hand sticking out from under the blanket. He quickly walked over and grabbed her hand, tucking it back into the warmth of the blanket. “Pull it back in, you’re freezing like this.”

She looked at her hand and then raised her face solemnly. “No, I’m practicing my martial arts.”

He had a bad feeling and widened his eyes slightly. “Stop practicing, pull your hand back.”

She gave a cold laugh. “Does brother know what kind of martial arts I’m practicing?”

“I know.”

There was no time to avoid her. When she suddenly jumped out of bed in her cartoon pajamas, he gasped. She chased him around the room, and eventually caught him in the corner, shouting, “Cold, Ice, Palm!” The word “palm” was shouted with a rise and fall in tone. At the same time, her icy fingers pressed against his back!

He let out a cry but didn’t push her away. He suffered through the painful slap, falling against the wardrobe and slowly sliding to the floor, feeling like a drowned, tragic young man. “…Tell my sister that I will love her forever, and not to be sad, because… no one will buy her late-night snacks in the future…”

“Ah! No! You can’t die, brother! Brother!” She knelt down and hugged him, crying out in agony. “—My late-night snacks!!”

After listening to her wail for a while, he expressionlessly pinched her face. “Oscar-winning actress, are you done crying?”

“No,” she pinched his face back.

At that moment, Xie Mao’s angry voice came from downstairs. “Xie Xuchen! Xie Xinqi! Are you two done making trouble? You’ve disturbed my peace! It’s so late and you’re still not sleeping—go to bed now!”

They finally united in their cause and both made a “shh” gesture, hunching their shoulders and giggling secretly. He whispered, “Xinqi, it’s probably late and you must be hungry. How about I make you some late-night snacks? How about some fruit?”

“Sounds good.”

“What do you want to eat?”

“Instant noodles.”

“……”

Thinking of this, Xie Xuchen couldn’t help but smile. But after a moment, his smile slowly faded. If people could remain young and carefree forever, always staying in those happy teenage years, how wonderful would that be? Back then, he already clearly knew that she was the girl he would cherish for the rest of his life. But he didn’t have to worry about marriage or children, didn’t have to worry about separation. He would never lose her, never have to watch her fall into the arms of another man...

He was a little worried about Xie Xinqi’s situation. He knocked on her bedroom door but didn’t get a response. So, he directly pushed the door open. He thought she might have run away again like last time, but she was still in bed, curled up in the blanket, just like yesterday, as if she had cried herself to sleep. He straightened the blanket for her, gently brushed aside the wild strands of hair from her forehead, and covered her up again. Even in her deep sleep, her eyes were clearly red and swollen. Her pale, feminine hands, which had long ago stopped slapping his back with the “Cold Ice Palm,” hadn’t touched him for a long time. When did everything change so subtly? He didn’t know. What he did know was that she was drifting further and further away from him. He used the back of his hand to test her forehead and confirmed she wasn’t sick. He thought about kissing her forehead, but in the end, he didn’t.

“Xinqi, I promise, this will never happen again. I will never let you be hurt again.”

He said this to himself in his heart, turned, and took one last glance at her through the gap in the door before gently and quietly closing it.

Everyone, to some extent, goes through this experience: overthinking about someone, interpreting every action and expression of theirs in their own way, convincing themselves that all the indifference they show is simply awkwardness. Then, they get emotionally hurt, embarrassed, and regretful, feeling like even saying “thank you” could be self-deprecating. When seeing someone else in this situation, it might not seem like a big deal. But when it happens to oneself, even facing people who don’t matter, there’s a loss of confidence. Luo Wei felt fortunate because she still had Su Jinian by her side.

As predicted by her father, Su Jinian was a flawless man, except for his occasional over-scrupulousness—he would subtly reveal a sense of obsessive cleanliness, washing his hands after touching his phone, or complaining about a girl’s lack of self-discipline if she was too curvy. When he expressed these thoughts, Luo Wei would silently shift her gaze away, as if trying to avoid them. His good qualities were not without limits. One evening, they had arranged to go out for dinner, but because Edward had called her away, and her phone was out of battery, Su Jinian ended up waiting for an hour in the restaurant. Afterward, he didn’t scold her or lecture her but instead bought a power bank for her and personally delivered it to her home. She already felt guilty, and seeing the power bank made her want to dig a hole and hide. As a man, Su Jinian had a kind of delicacy that seemed almost feminine and artistic. He was also an extremely patient person. He had already made a self-deprecating joke about time management, but his pursuit of her only became more obvious. At least two or three days a week, he would invite her to dinner, movies, the library, or concerts, without pushing for anything further. She knew he wanted her to make the decision.

If it weren’t for having to meet He Yingze, Luo Wei probably would have already smoothly become Su Jinian’s girlfriend. But meeting He Yingze was inevitable. He Yingze had completely regarded her as his secretary, occasionally making her accompany him to social events, teaching her work experience, and seemingly helping her intentionally. In this process, she saw more of his strengths: his exceptional horse-riding skills, his ability to catch the biggest fish while deep-sea fishing, and his success in every outdoor hunting venture. When it came to racing, he wasn’t just watching the races; he actually invited professional racers for competitions. Anything related to competition and adventure was something he particularly enjoyed. Luo Wei knew he was a man who couldn’t be tied down, but she couldn’t stop her fascination with him, which made her feel very troubled. But she didn’t like sharing her feelings with others because she knew that venting didn’t solve the core issues; it would only provide others with gossip. So, she had developed the habit of writing her feelings in a notebook.

This Saturday, He Yingze once again took her along for a deep-sea fishing trip. She hid in the shade, struggling with UV rays, and bought another bottle of sunscreen online to avoid hearing Xiao Lajiao say, “Compared to Weiwei, I’m really as white as snow.” Chang Feng, on the other hand, was enjoying the sunlight like a German tourist. “Miss Luo, how can you play on your phone in front of King? Are you chatting with a man who likes you?”

Luo Wei glanced quickly at He Yingze. “I’m replying to a friend’s message.”

“Boyfriend?” Seeing her frantic hand gestures, Chang Feng’s eyes curved into a smile. “Is it a very important friend?”

“Yes. She originally invited me to dinner today, but I turned her down.”

She was actually indirectly hinting to He Yingze that she should be given the weekend off. However, He Yingze didn’t react at all. Instead, Chang Feng seemed more interested. “You even turned down such an important gathering, our Sixth Brother truly has unlimited charm.”

Lu Xiren, resting his chin on his hand, also looked at Luo Wei. “The beauty of Sixth Young Master He is like morning dew hanging between flowers, like the azure-colored bellflower in the mist of spring, like moonlight tempered in the sky. If he were born in the ancient, raw times recorded on kraft paper, he would be a tear from the sea god.”

Hearing this in such an environment, and with Lu Xiren exuding the poetic aura of a medieval bard, Luo Wei felt very confused. But when she looked at He Yingze, he seemed completely unfazed. Chang Feng, understanding, said, “You don’t have to pay attention to Lu Xiren. He’s been reading a lot of classic English and French literature since he was young, and later went to Paris to major in French literature. He doesn’t know how to speak normally. But Miss Luo, do you also find Sixth Brother charming?”

Luo Wei glanced at He Yingze. He had just dismissed the driver and was now driving the speedboat himself. His navy blue sunglasses reflected so much light they could be used as a mirror, covering half of his face. The sea breeze tousled his hair and shirt, and he was entirely focused on enjoying the thrill of speeding on the boat, as if he hadn’t heard their conversation. She remembered when she was young, every time she saw the mole on the tip of his nose, she thought it was cute. But now, looking at him, his facial features had matured so much, and the mole made his profile seem somewhat sexy...

“Miss Luo, you’re about to drool on your clothes, hurry up and catch it,” Chang Feng’s comment startled her. He bit his lower lip with his upper teeth and grinned mischievously. “Miss Luo, do you like Sixth Brother?”

Luo Wei quickly looked up. “No!”

“Wow, such a big reaction, now it makes me even more suspicious...” Chang Feng turned towards her and winked. “So, do you want to sleep with Sixth Brother?”

Lu Xiren smoothly added, “Miss Luo, you can let your imagination bloom in your heart, let your soul fly to paradise.”

It felt like a thunderstrike to the top of her head, and blood rushed to her cheeks. If it weren’t for the surroundings, Luo Wei would have screamed. So, even though she felt incredibly uncomfortable, she could only point at them and tremble as she said, “You... you two...”

“Chang Feng, Lu Xiren, stop teasing her,” He Yingze finally spoke, but he didn’t look at any of them.

“Yes, yes, listening to Sixth Brother.”

They indeed had no chance to continue teasing her. He Yingze drove the boat much more aggressively than the driver, almost like he was driving a race car. The boat splashed waves as it sped towards the middle of the sea, bouncing so much that some of the others, including Chang Feng and Lu Xiren, felt dizzy and nauseous. Eventually, the boat stopped at a place hotter than the equator. He Yingze’s subordinates all seemed like they would do anything to keep their eyes open, but he remained full of energy, continuously throwing live fish into a nearly full barrel. Luo Wei felt envious of him, as no matter what happened, he always seemed to handle things effortlessly. She, on the other hand, had so many worries—although she had signed up for Cici’s competition and drafted over thirty designs, she wasn’t satisfied with any of them. However, when she saw him pulling in the fishing rod, she thought the scene was very beautiful. A necklace design flashed in her mind: a delicate, oval-shaped chain with seven small pearls evenly spaced on it, resembling the taut fishing line before her. As for the pendant... just then, He Yingze caught a brightly colored blue fish. It swished its tail energetically, pulling the line lively.

She quickly pulled out a pen and napkin, sketching the outline of the necklace. Yes, this was the feeling she wanted! The necklaces she had designed before were overly complicated, but this simple, slender one had beautiful lines. The pendant, shaped like a fish made of gemstone, was lively and playful... She looked up at He Yingze’s fish, quickly finishing the remaining part of the sketch, then rushed to the front of the boat with the napkin in hand. “Thank you.”

He stopped torturing the fish and looked up at her. She first saw her own red face reflected in his sunglasses, then through the lenses, she saw his long, deep eyes. Her heart pounded as she smiled, “When I saw you fishing just now, I came up with a necklace design. This is the feeling I wanted.” He took the napkin from her hand and stared at it for a moment. Suddenly, she felt a bit silly. Although he was on vacation, she was still at work. Was it inappropriate to show him this now? She thought, maybe next, he would just crumple it up and feed it to the fish... But instead, he returned the napkin to her, then flicked her forehead with his index and thumb. “Not bad.”

The author’s note:

Xiao Lajiao: “I’ve heard that the fan base for Xin Qi and her brother is getting really strong, almost overshadowing Luo Wei and Xiao Ying.”

Luo Wei: “>_<“

He Yingze: “…”

Xie Xin Qi: “What fan base? That’s my brother!”

Xie Xiu Chen: “…”

Luo Wei: “At least he’s better than Lu Xiren, who doesn’t even have a hint of a fan base…”

Lu Xiren: “…”

Xiao Lajiao: “Why are all the boys so silent today? Why?”