Chapter 68: Qi Chengzhi Hugged Her Before She Could Finish Her Sentence
Ruan Danchen, who was right beside Song Yu, asked curiously, “Song Yu, why’s your face so red?”
“The wind outside caused it,” Song Yu answered with a blank expression.
Qi Chengzhi was satisfied with what he said and before he said it out loud, he scrutinized his words repeatedly and anticipated Song Yu’s reaction.
He was quite pleased even though she did not respond any further.
…
…
Soon enough they reached Dynasty. To keep herself warm, Song Yu wore a ankle-length black dress paired with a fur shawl.
Although the banquet hall had air-conditioning, it was difficult to avoid feeling cold due to the weather outside.
“Look at Shu Li. She has the heart of a warrior. Qi Chengzhi made it so obvious but she’s still shamelessly trying to get close to him. You just can’t help praising these female celebrities for their incredible persistence,” Ruan Danchen whispered in Song Yu’s ear.
Upon hearing that, Song Yu looked over and saw Shu Li standing in front of Qi Chengzhi yet again. She laughed while talking to him.
Shu Li was giggling away engagingly, but Qi Chengzhi’s expression was the complete opposite. He listened to her unemotively and only said a few words here and there. Despite not knowing what he was saying, it was clear from his expression that he found her rather hard to deal with.
All of a sudden, Qi Chengzhi looked over and met Song Yu’s gaze.
He raised an eyebrow and curled the corner of his lips ever so slightly as if pleased that he caught her staring at him.
Song Yu’s face reddened; she froze and did not know what to do.
Turning her head away right then would make it seem like she was lacking in confidence.
Maintaining the gaze, however, felt somewhat too brazen.
Neither of them turned away and Qi Chengzhi continued looking at her as before, but his smile became progressively more obvious.
With champagne in hand, Jian Yi seemed to be the only one there who noticed the exchanging of glances and the small gestures between the two. His face turned sullen as he pressed his fingers so hard against the glass that his fingernails turned pale, almost white, because of the blood restriction.
Just as Song Yu was stuck in the gaze, she heard Guan Xiaolin’s voice. “Song Song.”
Song Yu’s gathered herself and saw Guan Xiaolin – whose appearance seemed faintly desolate – coming toward her.
Beside Song Yu, Ruan Danchen wondered how Song Yu managed to get acquainted with the Guan family’s elder daughter. Even more surprising was how evidently close they were based on how Guan Xiaolin addressed her.
Ruan Danchen left silently without asking her anything.
“Song Song, I know you’re mad at me. At that time, I wasn’t thinking straight . I fell for him, but hiding it from you wasn’t done on purpose,” Guan Xiaolin spoke pitifully and seemed to be on the verge of tears.
Song Yu shook her head. “Miss Guan, we’re in public. Please don’t insist on grabbing me. It’s unbecoming.”
“Song Song, you’re not willing to forgive me, are you?” Guan Xiaolin not only refused to release Song Song, she gripped even harder.
“This has nothing to do with forgiveness.” Her face remained impassive as she forcefully pulled her hand away. “Us no longer being able to remain friends has nothing to do with Jian Yi. But it has everything to do with your conduct, which has left me bitterly disappointed. I don’t know what else you’d be willing to do to me, and I’m afraid to trust you again. In the future, let’s just nod if we meet. Don’t ever greet me so intimately in the future.”
“Song Song, I was angry when I said all those words that day, I…”
Song Yu has had enough of it. If she did not hear those words the other day, she would never have found out what Gaun Xiaolin really thought of her; she would never have known that Guan Xiaolin treated her as competition and had such a tremendous opinion against her.
“I’m sorry, I have to go to the toilet. Excuse me,” Song Yu replied frostily. She could care less about Guan Xiaolin’s face as she turned her back and left.
She did actually go to the restroom, but not to do any business; she simply wanted to hide away from people and collect her thoughts.
It would have never occurred to her that attending a banquet could bring up so much heart-breaking things.
Song Yu sighed and massaged her temples, being careful not to ruin her makeup. She then left the restroom.
As soon as she opened the door, she ran into the embrace of a man.
“So…” Before she could finish uttering the word ‘sorry’, she lifted her head and her voice came to an abrupt halt.
“Song Song.” Jian Yi hugged her, pressed his lips against her hair, and mumbled.
A faint alcoholic scent was on him and Song Yu’s stiff body could not move. “You’re drunk. Let go of me.”
“I won’t let go. Song Song, don’t leave me, I beg you,” Jian Yi said in a low voice, “I hate it when I’m only able to see you from afar. I hate it when we drift apart. Song Song, I worked hard and climbed up just so I can be together with you. I never wanted to lie to you.”
“Jian Yi, aren’t you afraid that someone might come in the toilet, see you hugging me, and pass the word on to Qi Chengyue?” Song Yu said coldly.
Jian Yi froze for a moment and hesitated before slowly letting her go.
Song Yu sneered. “A mere mention of Qi Chengyue’s name and you’re already scared. And you want to be together with me when you’re like that? Your version of being together is wanting me to go around with you in secret? If I was really that important to you, how could you do that to me? If it’s like this, you’ll never be on par with me.”
“Don’t get involved with me anymore!” Song Yu said determinedly. “Don’t come to my house and look for my parents. Where did you get the audacity to meet them? You slander me in front of them like a coward, but to what end?”
“That day…you went back?” Jian Yi asked softly. His fist which hung beside his body tightened before relaxing.
“Yes. The second I heard your voice, I left. This is my attitude. Don’t make me hate you even more than I do now.” Song Yu stared at him scornfully and took two steps back. Once there was some distance between them, she walked right past him.
When she did so, she immediately walked along the other side of the corridor wall. It was the one further from him, since she felt disgusted if she was near him.
Jian Yi followed her with his gaze. He looked as she walked along the opposite wall, as if wanting to stay as far away from his as possible. Jian Yi’s eyes began tearing and balled his hands into fists.
If he wanted he could take one stride forward, extend his hand, and hold her.
However, he did not. With a hurt expression and an aching throat he looked at Song Yu with his eyes wide open. Every step she took, she became more and more distant.
…
…
Song Yu walked out of the restroom corridor and was about to enter the banquet hall, but she was obstructed at the entrance leading up to the hall.
Qi Chengyue, dressed in a Western-style gown that was far more expensive than the long dress that Song Yu wore, was standing proudly there.
Song Yu had no intention of crossing her path too often. Perhaps because of her status as the Qi family’s young lady, she was used to being pampered as a child, and in turn, it caused her to develop a crafty and unreasonable attitude.
Coupled with the incident at Shengyue, Song Yu’s unfavorable impression toward Qi Chengyue had peaked.
She surmised that Qi Chengyue was obstructing her way on purpose.
Song Yu nodded indifferently and greeted, “Miss Qi.” Then she decided to walk past her and back to the banquet hall.
Qi Chengyue shifted her position and once again blocked Song Yu from leaving.
Such unnecessary altercations made Song Yu truly angry. She did not look pleased with Qi Chengyue.
She pursed her lips tightly and shot Qi Chengyue a cold stare.
Qi Chengyue’s expression turned even colder after being provoked by Song Yu’s attitude. Song Yu was a bankrupt who could only afford to wear a cheap long dress to a formal event, and yet, she was pretending to be all high and mighty! Not to mention her annoyed and indignant attitude toward Qi Chengyue at that moment!
With her hands crossed in front of her bosom, Qi Chengyue remarked coldly, “Song Yu, you don’t seem to care at all about what I told you the other night. You’re blatantly seducing Jian Yi in public! Are you really that unashamed?”
“Miss Qi. Please watch your words. I never contacted Jian Yi since meeting you the other night. I despise being a mistress, especially that of men like Jian Yi. I didn’t fall so deep in love with him that I’d be willing to sacrifice all the integrity I held until now. Furthermore, he’s not that special for me to be willing to care less about everything else in the world.”
“And you, standing here, blocking me, and questioning me like some vixen. How about you consider whether this is befitting of someone whose status is the Qi family’s young lady.” Song Yu pursed her lips unsympathetically and mustered a forced smile.
“Don’t think you can talk about all this and change the subject, Song Yu!” There was a malevolence in Qi Chengyue’s expression when she was angry. In a moment of agitation, she grabbed Song Yu’s wrist and held it tightly.
Song Yu felt pain and frowned. “Let me go!”
“I just saw you coming out before Jian Yi did. Are you that unwilling to let him go? That in love with him? To the point where you’d want to wrap yourself around him even in public? What did you tell him that made him insist on coming to see you?”
“Song Yu, there’s plenty of men out there. Why must you like another woman’s man? Are other woman’s men really that much better?” Qi Chengyue gripped Song Yu’s hand with added force, but her voice was still kept low, since she feared the humiliation that might befall her if someone heard them.
Song Yu sighed helplessly. No matter what she did, Qi Chengyue seemed incapable of reason and comprehension.
Qi Chengyue was the sole female child in her family. Since young, her parents spoiled her to unheard-of-heights and raised a child that had the temperament of an heiress. She was also incredibly stubborn, and regards everything she says as correct, while others were always wrong.
If she had a strong belief about something, she would not listen to whatever explanation someone else had for her.
“I know you’re bankrupt. You’ve worked so hard to win Qilin’s business. You lack money, don’t you? How much do you want? Tell me. Is a hundred thousand enough? Stay away from Jian Yi, stop being involved with him, and stop bothering us. I’ll give it to you.” Qi Chengyue words revealed her impatience.
She appeared to have been mentally and physically exhausted from Song Yu’s involvement, and was no longer able to stand her.
Song Yu seemed to be utterly exasperated at Qi Chengyue’s one-sided dialogue, and was unable to speak any words of her own. She raised up the hand that Qi Chengyue held and used all of her force to shake off the grip. Song Yu was able to break free of it partly because Qi Chengyue loosened her grip moments ago.
Song Yu sneered and straightened her posture. “Miss Qi, don’t go wild with your imagination. All this while, I didn’t get involved with him. I was avoiding him! He was the one who secretly followed me and kept me from leaving. I hope that you can take better care of your boyfriend, and don’t always let him get involved with me. I feel trapped!”
“Also, rather than always coming for me, why don’t you keep your boyfriend in check and stop him from finding other women. If he can look for me today, he can look for someone else tomorrow. With so many women out there, can you control him? There will definitely be someone who wouldn’t mind being a mistress, so rather than going out and searching for his women, you’d be better off nipping it in the bud.”
“Miss Qi, you have quite the guts to trust such a man and be with him, but I don’t.” Song Yu finished her sentence and walked off into the banquet hall, abandoning Qi Chengyue, whose face was distorted from anger by then.
Qi Chengyue was still standing outside, but Song Yu could care less about what the former was feeling.
Song Yu felt somewhat irritated, perhaps because the temperature inside the banquet hall was much warmer than that outside. At that moment she felt especially thirsty for something cold, or maybe even immersing herself in some cold water.
A surge of warmth began filling her eyes. She closed them and felt the tears within.
She held it in for fear that she might disappoint herself and cry at that moment.
After a long while, she controlled her emotions to the best of her ability and once again opened her eyes.
Scanning the surroundings for Ruan Danchen, Song Yu finally noticed her hiding in a corner where she was holding a plate and eating. The plate was filled with fresh seafood from the buffet table.
Seeing that Ruan Danchen was rather comfortable being alone, Song Yu did not go over. She went past everyone and headed for the balcony instead.
The banquet hall’s balcony protruded out, with the railings extending through opposite ends of the banquet hall, forming an indented shape 1 . Consequently, the space was somewhat cramped, but at least it was able to offer a chance to view the scenery.
She did not go to the more concealed area of the wall, but she avoided positioning herself directly in front of the balcony’s entrance. She rested her forearms on the railings and surveyed the nightscape outside Dynasty. However, she was not truly absorbing and enjoying the vibrant colors exhibited in the night.
She was simply staring blankly at the distance. The cold wind reached her eyes and made them sore. Tears began flowing, but she did not know whether they were the tears that she held back earlier, or whether the tears were caused by the wind.
With her shawl around her shoulders, her fingers gently wiped the tears away to prevent ruining her eyeliner.
While the cold might be bone-chilling, she felt that it was doing her good by giving her restless mind some clarity.
“Jian Yi, come with me!”
“Chengyue, it wouldn’t be nice for people to see us going to the balcony. They’ll gossip.”
“I’m not afraid of gossip! What are you so scared for?!”
“No, Chengyue, the balcony is where banquet guests have their secret rendezvous, we…”
“Jian Yi, if you don’t want to be alone with me, just tell me already!”
“No, I don’t mean that. Forget about it, let’s go.”
Song Yu heard their low voices coming nearer and nearer. She looked back hurriedly and discovered that they were heading in her direction.
Song Yu was not in the mood to see either one of them, let alone the both of them together.
In a frenzy, she took a step back and hid in the concealed place behind the wall.
Right when she squeezed in she bumped into a solid chest.
Song Yu looked up in astonishment and saw Qi Chengzhi, whose face was obscured in the dark.
“You…”‘Why was he there!’
Qi Chengzhi hugged her before she could finish her sentence. Both his arms locked around her waist, and she could even feel his hands through the thin fabric of her dress. The heat from his hands transmitted onto her skin, warming her, and leaving her feeling flustered.
The next second, he carried her and turned her around so her back was facing the icy wall. She was trapped between the wall and his chest.
He pressed himself onto her and exerted some amount of force to keep her pressed against the wall. They were so close to each other that there was not the slightest space between them.
Pressed in such a manner, Song Yu was unable to retreat. Jian Yi and Qi Chengyue were right outside, and if she went out, she would meet them. In addition, Qi Chengzhi was being difficult and if she actually did step out, the ensuing scene would be ridiculously unimaginable.
Song Yu felt confused. As her head leaned back against the wall, Qi Chengzhi still continued pressing forward, up until his chest was against her face.
Such contact would cause a lipstick stain to remain on his white shirt, and those who saw it would definitely think that something was up.
Song Yu did not dare to move. Her heart was beating violently, it felt as though it would jump out from her throat at any time.
Her face was pressed firmly against his chest, and a stain was left on his white shirt.
Comments