After leaving Pei Yan’s house, Song Zhe had been staying in a hotel.
In the morning, he woke up late with messy hair. As he pushed open the bedroom door, he saw Pei Yan half-lying on the sofa by the window. He looked haggard and lifeless.
Song Zhe rubbed his eyes and stared: it wasn’t an illusion. It was his iron-blooded and unsympathetic brother.
“Ge, you can’t be like this.”
Song Zhe waded through the beer bottles scattered on the floor and looked at the ashtray filled with cigarette butts in disbelief: “I’m telling you, seeing you like this, I can laugh at you for a lifetime.”
Pei Yan was silent, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling light above, and the phone screen next to him showed that Qi Feng’s live broadcast room had ended.
Song Zhe kicked his foot: “Ge?”
Pei Yan: “Get lost.”
“…..At least you’re still alive.”
Song Zhe chuckled as he squatted on the carpet next to him and tidied up the beer bottles around him without saying a word: “It’s just Qi Feng. If he doesn’t like you then he doesn’t like you, there are plenty of good-looking celebrity models that you can find. And Su Qiao is back too.”
Last night, Pei Yan suddenly called him with a bad temper and said: Qi Feng doesn’t like me.
He was at a complete loss for words. He said to him: You were never in that kind of relationship to begin with. It’s very normal that you don’t like each other.
As a result, Pei Yan was like he had gone crazy, pinning him to the ground and beating him up. Not only did he beat him up, but he also dragged him to drink until midnight when he really couldn’t take it anymore and went to sleep first.
He didn’t expect to see his brother like this. A small celebrity could make Pei Yan like this?!
“I never liked Su Qiao. Stop gossiping about me.”
Pei Yan’s hoarse voice floated up weakly from the sofa.
???
Song Zhe was surprised: “You don’t like him? Then why were you always looking at him back then? Whenever Su Qiao was around, your eyes would follow him, and you call that not liking him?”
“No.”
There was finally some lost look in Pei Yan’s empty eyes, “…It’s not him.”
Song Zhe: “What do you mean it’s not him?”
“… It’s not Su Qiao.”
Pei Yan thought for a moment, and it made his head hurt badly. His memory was like a thick fog. The harder he tried to see clearly, the more lost in the confusion he became: “I had a dream, dreaming of him wearing a green robe on stage playing the guqin, and I was watching him from below… Can you check…”
With one hand pressed against his temple, his buzzing brain said: “Check if Qi Feng has ever acted in a costume drama?”
“No.”
Song Zhe spoke affirmatively: “I checked him out earlier. He debuted a year ago and has only been on some variety shows and shot some commercials. He has never acted in any drama or worn ancient costumes on a show.”
Song Zhe really couldn’t stand to see him like this and said, “Pei Yan, go take a shower. I’ll take you out to get some fresh air. Since the other person doesn’t like you, just break up, with your status, you can definitely find another boyfriend.”
“No, we can’t break up.”
Pei Yan’s buzzing brain prevented him from thinking normally. The anger, helplessness, and loss from last night had already seeped into his marrow, leaving him numb. Now, there was only one instinctive thought:
He couldn’t let go.
Song Zhe said helplessly as he scratched his head, “Ge, don’t tell me you really like Qi Feng?”
Forget it, it was useless to ask this question. The mess in front of him already showed that his brother was deeply infatuated.
“It doesn’t make sense. As a small celebrity, being with you, someone who can give him money, status, and resources, he should be overjoyed to cling onto your thighs. How could he directly say he doesn’t like you?”
Pei Yan also couldn’t figure it out.
He picked up a beer bottle from the table and poured some into his mouth, empty. He threw it to the side in irritation: “Then what exactly does he want?”
“How would I know what he wants? I’m not Qi Feng.”
Song Zhe pointed at the time: “All I know is if you don’t go to the company again, Uncle Pei will send someone to find and kill you.”
“Actually, I didn’t think you guys would work out from the beginning. First, it would be hard to get past Uncle Pei and second, your relationship started from a one-night stand.
“Normally when people date, they get to know each other first, then start contacting more, then go on dates, and then enter a relationship, deepening their feelings step by step. But your transactional relationship could never last long. It’s normal that he doesn’t like you, but it’s abnormal that you like him so much.”
“Besides, you said you like him, but do you really understand him? Do you know anything about his family? Do you know about his school?”
Pei Yan suddenly looked at Song Zhe.
He didn’t understand Qi Feng at all. He knew nothing about him.
Song Zhe kept scolding him to wake him up, pulling him up and saying, “Don’t forget you’re the president of the group company. Stop lying like a corpse here. Hurry up and get cleaned up. I’ll take you to show your face at the company before you come back to sleep.”
“When you’ve sobered up, think carefully about how to deal with your relationship with the little star. If you really like him, then put in some effort to pursue him as a boyfriend instead of keeping him as a paid lover, who you spend money to support.”
Pei Yan’s hazy eyes suddenly flashed a gleam of clarity, looking sharply at Song Zhe: “You said… pursue him?”
Song Zhe: ???
—
Pei Yan went to the company and briskly finished all the necessary work, delegating tasks to subordinates as appropriate.
He had not slept all night and had drunk quite a lot of alcohol. However, wearing a formal suit at work, he still maintained a cold and stern appearance. Over the next few hours, he attended meetings, reviewed documents, managed domestic and overseas client relations, and inspected each department’s operations, showing no signs of fatigue.
At five o’clock in the afternoon, Pei Yan completed all his work.
He glanced at the empty chat between him and Qi Feng on his phone and let out a deep sigh. He asked his secretary, “Did you buy everything I asked for?”
“Yes, it’s all been put in your car,” The secretary hesitated, “Are you making these groceries to cook for the young miss? Should I arrange a chef for you?”
The company secretaries knew that while Chairman Pei was away on a business trip this past week, the young miss was staying with President Pei at his home.
It was surprising that Mr. Pei suddenly asked him to buy vegetables, meat, ready meals, seafood, fruits, flowers, etc. – surely to cater to the young miss’s living needs. He didn’t expect such a cold man like President Pei to treat his sister so well. The secretary’s respect for his boss grew.
“No need,” Pei Yan massaged his temples, finally revealing his fatigue. “You drive and take me home.”
“Yes, sir.” The secretary added, “And young miss shouldn’t drink alcohol yet. The red wine you asked me to buy definitely shouldn’t be given to her.”
Pei Yan scoffed. “It’s not for her to drink.”
“Ah, that’s good then.” The secretary thought Mr. Pei must have bought it for himself.
The wide open plaza in front of the prestigious Donghai Investments building often hosted gatherings and events. As the secretary drove the car out of the underground garage, he saw a crowd of young people cheering and applauding in the plaza. A cluster of red heart-shaped balloons floated up from the center, each with a word written on it – together reading “Xin Bao, I love you, marry me.”
“Another proposal here, huh,” the secretary carefully maneuvered the car around the crowds. “This plaza has become known as Lovers’ Plaza. Every few days there’s some confession or proposal happening. And at night it gets really lively – just pairs after pairs of couples walking hand in hand. Us single office workers staying late always feel the pain when leaving work.”
Pei Yan gazed at the couple embraced in joy amidst the bustling crowd. Lost in each other’s eyes, seemingly oblivious to the chaotic world around them, smiling with such delight.
Qi Feng had never smiled at Pei Yan like that.
They were never meant to be loving sweethearts; their relationship was flawed from the start.
—
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