Chapter 21 Yu Yue, don't you have a heart?

Yu Yue had no idea what was happening outside. On her way out of the car, she kept thinking back to Gu Yunze's words.

Even he has things he desires but cannot obtain...

What is it? Could it be that girl's love? Xin Xiaoqi is definitely love-struck... Who is it? How come she doesn't know?

For some reason, Yu Yue was in a bad mood, and didn't even realize she was at her doorstep. Fortunately, she didn't go too far and finally stopped just before she passed the door.

However, as soon as she pushed open the door and went inside, Meili and Kaixin excitedly rushed over and almost pushed her back out of the house.

"Sister, I can't go on..." In the entryway, the two siblings lay there, like soulless clay figures, their faces filled with despair.

"You can take your own walk tonight," Yu Le said weakly.

Yu Yue, who had finally managed to calm the two dogs down, burst out laughing when she saw them like this.

“Boys, how can you say you can’t do it?” She suppressed a smile and lectured with a serious expression, “I told you to exercise more, but you’re not as good as someone my age.”

Actually, Yu Yue herself was not as good as them at first, but after being forced into grueling training for the past few months, her physical strength has become incomparable.

"Sister, please have mercy and take me away, I really can't go on..."

Yu An: "I'm not a man, so I can't do it, right?"

"You don't even want the video anymore?"

"No, no more."

Yu Yue: "..."

"Alright then." Anyway, she hadn't changed her clothes yet, and glancing at the time, it was getting late; it was about time to walk the dogs. So, with beautiful and happy anticipation, Yu Yue took her two dogs out the door.

As dusk approached, Yu Yue decided against exploring new routes and opted to take the two dogs for a stroll along the most familiar streets near her home, letting them get some fresh air.

But not long after she went out, Xin Kaixin, for some unknown reason, smelled something and suddenly grabbed her and ran towards a corner as if she were crazy.

Yu Yue couldn't stop her, and could only shout "Slow down, Kaixin!" while huffing and puffing as she ran after her.

The black and white Border Collie wagged its tail, and, perhaps having discovered something that excited it, rushed into a small grove of trees near her house.

"Don't go over there..." Yu Yue shouted anxiously.

The sun seemed to be setting off on its own, and just a few minutes later, the sky had darkened completely, with visibility reduced to a gloomy gray that was somewhat frightening.

If she could, Yu Yue would never want to go there.

Unfortunately, the only person who could help her, Comrade Yu Meili, wasn't on her side.

Just as it was about to rush in around a sharp bend, Kaixin suddenly stopped. Before Yu Yue could even go over to check on it, it started running again, even faster than before.

Fortunately, she had dressed up for the party today and wore contact lenses, which made it easier for her to run and allowed her to vaguely see the road ahead, avoiding small stones and dead branches under her feet. Otherwise, she would have fallen after only a few steps.

"Come back, Kaixin!" Yu Yue was too exhausted to run anymore, but just as she was about to pull Kaixin back with all her might, she suddenly saw a dark shadow flash past her eyes.

Yu Yue was startled, and then realized that Kaixin meant chasing after the other person.

But for some reason, when the other person saw Kaixin running over, they also took off running.

Is he afraid of dogs?

That doesn't make sense either. The way she's happy and excited clearly means she knows the other person.

Yu Yue couldn't believe that anyone could make Kaixin so excited, and that they could build such a deep friendship in just a few days.

But... if the other person keeps running like this, she won't be able to hold on.

Fortunately, the figure ahead clearly realized that things couldn't continue like this. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't compete with a Border Collie and a Beagle. Besides, no matter how well he hid, he couldn't escape the dogs' keen sense of smell.

So before Yu Yue ran herself ragged, the man finally stopped, resignedly letting Kaixin pounce on him, crashing into him with such force that he stumbled back several steps before finally coming to a stop. Then, when Yu Meili also pounced on him, he completely collapsed, utterly exhausted.

Yu Yue stopped, panting, and leaned on her knees, gasping for breath. When she saw the figure, she was stunned for a moment.

"Why are you back? Weren't you supposed to be filming?"

Then, realizing something, she couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you crazy? Why are you running away?!"

That guy was none other than Xin Qi, that bastard.

He suddenly came back, and even hid in the woods near her house to secretly watch her walk her dog.

It's one thing to see her walking her dog, after all, he's a happy owner and it's normal for him to miss his dog. But why did he run away when his own dog recognized him?

He must be so shameful; if he wants to look, he should just look openly. What can she do to stop him?

Xin Qi didn't say anything, simply because she was exhausted.

He hugged and comforted the two girls, who were acting coquettishly, for a while before slowly raising his head and saying in a low voice, "What's wrong? Did my return make you unhappy?"

Yu Yue was completely bewildered. Why was this person so aggressive as soon as he came back? All the goodwill she had built up recently vanished in an instant.

"What's wrong with you? Did you eat gunpowder or did you suffer during filming and you're taking it out on me?"

As if she were talking to a brick wall, Xin Qi's face darkened, and she managed to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth, "I've never seen such a slow-witted woman as you."

"Oh, so you've seen a lot of women." Yu Yue couldn't help but feel uncomfortable when she thought about the shocking revelation Gu Yunze had made at the previous class reunion, but she didn't think too much about it. Perhaps she felt like a clown because she knew nothing about him, and that she was nothing to him when she was just a self-proclaimed mortal enemy.

"What's wrong with you? You came back to see Kaixin without saying a word." Finally, she softened her tone and said calmly, "You hiding here like this could scare someone to death, you know?!"

What's wrong with him? Yes, he must be crazy to fly all this way back just to see her.

What he saw was her with Gu Yunze, and she even got out of his car.

He's really sick, he's ridiculous.

Yu Yue had no idea what he was thinking, assuming he was just being stubborn and refusing to speak, so she let it go.

She glanced at the desolate thicket nearby, shivered, and really didn't want to stay there any longer.

So he tugged at the rope and said to Kaixin and Meili, "Let's go, let's ignore him."

It's unclear what those words touched on him, but Xin Qi narrowed his eyes, raised his hand, grabbed the dog leash in the opposite direction, and pulled it forcefully towards himself, causing her to fall to the ground.

To be precise, she fell into his arms.

"You're insane!" Yu Yue lay there, her hair disheveled and covering her face. As she struggled, she bit the strand of hair that had accidentally fallen into her mouth and cursed with difficulty, "What's wrong with you today? What did I do to you?"

She tried to get up by holding onto his legs, but instead, her wrist was grabbed instead.

With a sharp pain in her fingertips, her knuckles turned white, and Yu Yue almost cursed out loud.

"Ouch! Ouch! Let go!"

The person on the other side then realized that they had used too much force, and tried to ease off, but did not let go.

Yu Yue sat in his lap, forced to face him. Kaixin and Meili only knew how to watch the two argue and gossip from the outside, completely unaware of the need to save their master from this predicament.

"you……"

"You're still in contact with Gu Yunze?"

The two spoke at the same time. Yu Yue's train of thought was interrupted by his words. She frowned and asked, "Why are you asking this? It's our junior high school reunion. I don't think a big star like you would be interested."

"A class reunion, so he just brought you back alone?" someone sneered.

For some reason, Yu Yue suddenly had the feeling that she had been caught cheating, but then she thought about it again and realized that didn't make sense.

She's still single, and that guy isn't her boyfriend. Why is she being so nosy? What's she feeling guilty about?

So he said confidently, "Is that not allowed? We're all classmates."

"Oh, classmate~" someone deliberately dragged out the last syllable, mimicking her tone in a sarcastic manner, "Then why did he specifically give it to you and not to anyone else?"

Yu Yue was stunned for a moment and didn't know how to retort, so she could only stubbornly say, "Then why do you care? Someone gave me a ride, so can't I just hitch a ride? Even my dad doesn't have as much trouble as you."

She said she wanted to try to shake off his hand, but he didn't let her, until...

A flashlight beam shone in their direction from a distance. "Who's there?"

The two were startled. Xin Qi quickly let go of the other person and stood up, while also pulling her along.

“It’s me, walking the dog,” Yu Yue replied from afar.

It must have been the neighbors who saw someone in the grove in their backyard and came to investigate. They couldn't wait for that bastard Xin Xiaoqi to speak.

"Oh, it's Old Yu's daughter. It's so late, don't go for a walk, hurry home, it's not safe at night." Hearing that it was the neighbor's daughter, the other person put down the flashlight and stopped shining it over.

"Okay, I'll be home right away." Yu Yue replied, glaring at someone. Her almond-shaped eyes, which shone brightly even in the dim light, seemed to say, 'It's all your fault.'

Xin Qi turned his head away, refusing to look at her.

"Did you rush back from the film crew's holiday?" As the two walked outside, in the dim moonlight, she noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, his face was tanned, and he even had stubble on his chin, looking like he had traveled a long way.

Xin Qi felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and subconsciously lowered the brim of his hat.

"Don't fall for anyone's flattery in the future. You won't even know when you've been sold out," he said in a low voice, his tone somewhat harsh.

"I'm not that stupid. Besides, that's Gu Yunze, my junior high classmate, the top student in the grade, a model student in the eyes of the teachers, not you..." She stopped talking halfway through when she saw someone's face getting darker and darker.

"Hmph, what's wrong with me?"

Yu Yue didn't dare to answer, and changed the subject, saying, "Are you going home? Is it okay if someone sees you on the way?"

“It’s okay if I don’t go back.” Xin Qi said, taking a mask out of her pocket and putting it on, then pulling down the brim of her hat. “The crew only had a day and a half off, and I have to rush back.”

Because the filming location is quite remote, there is only one flight a day, and it takes several hours to fly back. It's already the limit for him to be able to come back and stay for a few hours.

Yu Yue was momentarily speechless, and could only say, "Then why don't you come to my place for a drink of water before you leave? If you don't mind..."

She thought it best to return the Polaroid camera that was still on her desk to clear up his misunderstanding.

Xin Qi pursed her lips and didn't answer, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Yu Yue felt that after she said those words, someone's mood seemed to improve slightly, although their face was still sour, but she couldn't see it because of the mask.

Soon, the two walked out of the grove under the moonlight. Just as they turned the corner, they ran into their neighbor who had been carrying a flashlight earlier.

Seeing the two of them come out, he instantly revealed a smile that was both surprised and knowing.

"So that's why he went to walk the dog in the woods..."

The art of language always lies in leaving room for interpretation. Sometimes, leaving things unsaid makes them more ambiguous, full of metaphors that only adults can understand.

Yu Yue was so embarrassed by the gossipy gaze of the older woman that her ears turned bright red, even in the dead of winter, because of that remark.

"This must be your boyfriend, Xiao Gu. He's quite the handsome young man." The older woman wasn't embarrassed at all; in fact, she patted his muscular arm familiarly, secretly marveling. This young man, even with a mask on, is handsome. Those arms, those muscles—the young woman is so lucky.

He seemed quite innocent; his body stiffened when she patted him. The older woman silently withdrew her hand, smiled, and turned to leave. "Alright, I won't disturb the young couple's romance any longer. I'm leaving now."

Watching the older woman walk away and return to her room, Yu Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief and said to the person beside her, "Let's go."

However, the person didn't move. Yu Yue urged him again, looked up, and was startled.

Xin Qi suddenly had another attack, and his bloodshot eyes stared intently at her, making her feel uneasy.

She could even sense what kind of expressionless face was hidden beneath that mask, concealing a barely suppressed anger.

What had she done to offend that person again? They changed their minds so suddenly. But a nagging feeling, a sixth sense, told her it might be because of what the older woman had said.

The sentence that Gu Yunze was her boyfriend.

Sure enough, the next second he heard the other party speak coldly.

"Your boyfriend, Xiao Gu?"

"No, it's just..."

"You even brought her home to meet your parents? When are you planning to get married?"

"No, I..." Yu Yue was about to explain when she was interrupted.

"Yu Yue." Under the dim streetlights, he called her name again, but this time it made her inexplicably panic.

Backlit, Yu Yue couldn't see his expression; it was as if he were completely hidden in darkness, separating him from the world, and from her own. This inexplicably stirred within her a panic—a fear of wanting to grasp him, yet knowing she could no longer hold on.

She heard him speaking in a low voice, trying his best to control himself:

"Yu Yue, don't you have a heart?"