17:38. When everyone followed the location sent by Tang Xueting and arrived at the destination by taxi,
the evening breeze brushed past, the afterglow of dusk poured down, and mottled light and shadow interwove, creating an exceptionally tranquil and serene atmosphere.
This was a restaurant in European style, its interior decoration minimalist, with only a few oil paintings hanging on the walls. A table draped with a spotless white cloth stood inside, atop which sat a bouquet of dewy, vibrant roses. A waiter dressed in white stood respectfully at the door.
“Why is this place so empty?” Looking through the window at the restaurant with only a single table, Ji Yuenián couldn’t help but mutter under his breath, then followed everyone else out of the car.
“I’m sorry, gentlemen, but today Miss Tang and her fiancé, Mr. Yao, have reserved the entire venue.” The waiter in white spoke with polished manners.
At these words, everyone’s gaze unconsciously fell on a certain boy at the front of the group. Now, they finally understood why Yao Shiming had been so nervous, and so certain the other party would propose.
Couples’ restaurant, diamond ring, and an extravagant full-venue reservation.
No matter how you looked at it, these were classic moves for a confession of love, or a romantic proposal!
“Um…” Yao Shiming, ears flushed red, stepped forward and was just about to speak when suddenly, a voice came from behind the door: “Let them in.”
At the sound of that crisp, cool voice, everyone turned to look in its direction. They saw an elegant woman in a pure white long dress standing by the door, looking toward the group at the entrance. Surprise flickered in her eyes for a brief moment, but was quickly replaced by calm.
She glanced at the white-clad waiter and instructed, “Change to a round table and bring a few more sets of dishes and chopsticks.”
“Bring the menu, and let the head chef know to add a few main courses.”
With that, she turned to walk into the restaurant, gesturing for Yao Shiming and the others to follow.
*****
Do I have feelings for Ji Yuenián?
Inside the Jiang family’s bedroom.
Jiang Chi first swallowed the special medication prescribed by Zhang Junfang for treating “paranoia.” The taste was somewhat like chocolate jelly beans. Then, he picked up his pen and wrote down that very question in his notebook.
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Chi crossed out the sentence. He did harbor some strange feelings for Ji Yuenián, but it wasn’t exactly “like,” nor was it “love.” Rather, it was… a sort of possessiveness one has over a toy.
Possessiveness?
Jiang Chi murmured softly, repeating the word in his mind, all the while gently pressing his hand against his chest. When Ji Yuenián called earlier to say they wouldn’t play any little games tonight, he’d felt a slight heaviness and a trace of disappointment there.
These days, after learning he had “paranoia,” he’d been dissecting his own heart, constantly analyzing how he positioned Ji Yuenián in his life.
If “Ji Qingchan” was without question a lover and partner, then Ji Yuenián’s role was far more complicated.
She was “Ji Qingchan” before a complete transformation, but during their time together, Jiang Chi had clearly noticed subtle changes in his feelings for Ji Yuenián.
No longer the cold experiment he’d manipulated and transformed, but a lively, mischievous, clever person.
There was even a faint wish in his heart that Ji Yuenián would never change, would always remain as she was now, for his amusement.
“Sigh~”
He let out a sigh, popped a few more of the special pills into his mouth, the sweet taste stimulating his palate and dispersing a bit of the gloom in his mood.
Jiang Chi was feeling truly conflicted now.
He’d been conflicted before he understood his own heart, and even more so after his initial psychological evaluation with Zhang Junfang.
He yearned for “Ji Qingchan” to bring comfort to his soul, yet he couldn’t let go of the joy Ji Yuenián brought him in bed.
He wanted both, but he couldn’t have both at once.
He had to choose one.
Amid intense annoyance, tangled and torn, a very dark thought even crept into his heart: if only Ji Yuenián and “Ji Qingchan” were two separate people, then he could have them both.
Time passed in silence. The man sighed once more, put down his pen, and slumped into the chair. The threads were tangled, impossible to unravel—he could only take things one step at a time.
In the end, should he choose “Ji Qingchan,” or Ji Yuenián?
Is love more important, or is desire?
*****
“Brother Yao, have you been tired at school these past few years?” Tang Xueting asked softly, her crisp, affectionate voice echoing through every corner of the restaurant.
“Not at all, not at all.” Yao Shiming replied with a dry laugh.
“Um… Xueting, could you maybe call me Shiming instead? That’s what my roommates call me.”
“No way, I’ve called you that since I was little. I can’t just change it all of a sudden now.”
Tang Xueting scooted a bit closer to Yao Shiming with a coquettish air, her ample curves pressing brazenly against his arm.
Yao Shiming immediately felt a rush of heat all over and didn’t know how to respond, so he simply buried himself in eating.
Here, a word about the seating around the round table: with Yao Shiming at the center, to his left were Tang Xueting and Ji Yuenián, to his right were Hu Li, Luo Yikang, and Liu Yao.
The group’s goal tonight was to play the third wheel—to interrupt, interfere, and block any of Tang Xueting’s flirtatious advances at the dinner table. They’d even prepared several plans, like how to insert themselves into ambiguous topics, how to ruin the mood, how to play dumb and brush off Tang Xueting’s impatient hints.
But in the end, they were all wrong.
They’d anticipated all of Tang Xueting’s maneuvers, but who could have guessed she wouldn’t bother with maneuvers at all? Ignoring everyone’s stares, she simply went in for the attack, leaving Yao Shiming caught between his two minds, completely out of sorts.
This awkward situation—where everyone wanted to break the tension but didn’t know how—left Tang Xueting quite pleased. She gazed at Yao Shiming with ever more tenderness, her eyes brimming with affection.
“Brother Yao, do you like boys or girls?” Once again, she dropped a killer question.
Just as Yao Shiming was about to be scared to tears, Hu Li, sitting beside him, jumped in to help: “Old Yao, this tomato beef is really good, you should try some.” As he spoke, he placed a piece of beef into Yao Shiming’s bowl.
“Mhm, delicious, delicious.” Yao Shiming nodded vigorously, shoveling rice into his mouth as if that were the only way to keep himself from answering Tang Xueting’s deadly question.
Seeing how happily Yao Shiming was eating, Tang Xueting frowned slightly, but soon relaxed. She picked up the piece of beef from his bowl, ignored everyone’s stunned gazes, and put it into her mouth, chewing slowly.
“Mmm, Brother Yao, the beef tastes really good—and it even has your flavor on it.”
Tang Xueting’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was just right for everyone at the table to hear.
After she spoke, everyone’s expressions turned odd—especially Yao Shiming. His hand shook violently, and the piece of beef he’d just picked up fell right to the floor.
He shot desperate looks at everyone around him, silently begging his roommates to rescue him.
As the dorm leader, Ji Yuenián couldn’t just watch a brother in distress. Steady as a mountain, he forcibly changed the subject: “Ahem… Sister Xueting, what does your family do for business?”
“Jewelry business.”
Tang Xueting replied coolly, not even bothering to glance at Ji Yuenián. Her gaze was entirely fixed on the trembling boy at her side, so gentle it seemed she might melt.