Chapter 630 Confession

That evening, Zhou Qiao finished getting ready and headed to Qin Leilei's place.

Now that she had gotten her ID card back, she no longer needed to listen to Qin Leilei. It was better to clarify some things with him face to face.

On the other side, Qin Feng, holding a bouquet of preserved flowers, walked towards Zhou Qiao's courtyard.

He specially picked out the flowers at the florist that afternoon. The florist knew he wanted to express his feelings to the girl he liked, so she specially chose this bouquet for him.

The proprietress said that roses are too common, and that preserved flowers symbolize a lifelong commitment to one person, representing an unwavering protection, making them a more suitable way to express love than roses.

The meaning of these flowers is touching, and most importantly, they match his mood, so he chose this bouquet without much thought.

Before coming, he thought of many ways to confess his feelings and what words to say, but in the end he felt that sincerity and simplicity were enough.

His intentions were simple, just like this bouquet of flowers.

He wanted to protect her forever.

If she accepts, that would be best; if she doesn't, that's okay too. He can accompany her and protect her for the rest of his life as a friend or family member.

For today's confession, he specially changed into a British-style three-piece suit, which looked formal yet not monotonous.

However, with everything ready, when he entered Zhou Qiao's courtyard, he found that the east wind hadn't come—Zhou Qiao wasn't there.

The room light was on, but no one answered when he knocked on the door several times.

Just then, Steward Xu passed by in the corridor next to him. He frowned, put the flowers behind his back with one hand, and pulled him aside to ask, "Have you seen Zhou Qiao?"

"Oh, I just saw her head towards Young Master Qin's courtyard..."

"Qin Leilei?" Qin Feng frowned. "What could she possibly want with him?"

Steward Xu shook his head: "I don't know. Does Master Qin need to see Miss Qiaoqiao? Should I go and call her?"

"No need," Qin Feng stopped him, "I'll go by myself."

Qin Leilei's courtyard was in the northwest corner. On New Year's Eve, lanterns were hung inside and outside the shadow gate, and the place was brightly lit. Qin Leilei's courtyard was the same.

Standing outside the courtyard gate, he took a deep breath and was about to knock on the door.

Unexpectedly, the gate wasn't closed properly, and when he reached out and touched it, it opened a crack.

At the same time, a clear conversation came from the courtyard, in which he was mentioned.

For some inexplicable reason, Qin Feng didn't move.

In the courtyard, Zhou Qiao clasped her hands together and whispered, "Anyway, Qin Feng gave me his ID card, so I can leave anytime. Thank you for your help these past few days, but you don't need to do it again."

Qin Leilei looked at Zhou Qiao's drooping head, his eyes darkening slightly. After a long while, he chuckled softly, "Fine, you're crossing the river and burning the bridge? In that case, congratulations in advance. When do you plan to leave?"

Zhou Qiao pursed her lips and said, "I haven't decided yet."

"Have you not made up your mind yet, or do you simply not want to leave?" Qin Leilei raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Qiao subconsciously retorted, "I didn't! It's just... it's just that it's still the New Year, so even if I wanted to leave, I'd have to wait until after the New Year."

Qin Leilei looked at her and said with dissatisfaction, "That's good, otherwise I would have thought you had fallen for Qin Feng? An ID card is not enough to buy you off, is it?"

“Of course not,” Zhou Qiao said stubbornly. “Although I misunderstood him about the ID card, one thing is one thing. I will definitely leave. We are not on the same path after all. I have my own life and can’t stay here forever.”

Qin Leilei nodded and handed her a glass of red wine: "Congratulations, you've achieved your wish and escaped the devil's control."

Zhou Qiao took the wine glass but didn't drink it. Qin Leilei didn't mind either, and tilted his head back to drink the small half glass of red wine in his hand.

It's Lunar New Year's Eve this year, and he still hasn't been able to bring Qin Feng back to the Qin family. His plan has failed.

This glass of wine was less a congratulation to Zhou Qiao and more a reflection of my own bitterness.

Seeing this, Zhou Qiao had no choice but to bring the cup closer and take a small sip.

Behind the sturdy locust tree, Qin Feng watched the two clink glasses, his eyes bloodshot.

He heard every word Zhou Qiao said, and unconsciously squeezed the bouquet of flowers in his hand until it became deformed.

Qin Leilei asked her, "You haven't fallen for Qin Feng, have you?" She firmly replied, "Of course not."

Qin Leilei clinked glasses with her.

Qin Leilei congratulated her on escaping the demon's control.

It turns out that all his efforts over the past few days had been in vain; she had always regarded him as a demon.

He knew she was afraid of him, but he didn't expect it to be this serious.

She loathed herself and couldn't wait to leave herself.

He understood that she wore makeup, that dress, and kept pets all just to annoy him.

But as long as he didn't explicitly say no, he always felt he still had a chance.

Today, he heard the answer through another person.

She wanted to leave; she didn't like him, and she was afraid of him.

She never considered Shadow Gate as her home.

I never thought of staying for him.

It felt like there was a hole in my heart, and even breathing was accompanied by unbearable pain.

He wanted to rush in, grab her, and ask if she really had absolutely no feelings for him, but he was afraid that such a rude act would scare her even more, and they wouldn't even be able to be friends anymore.

There's really nothing to ask, isn't there?

What she said...wasn't that clear enough?

He took a deep breath, clutched the bouquet tightly, turned and staggered away.

The two people in the courtyard were completely unaware of the commotion outside.

After a glass of wine, there was a moment of silence.

Zhou Qiao pursed her lips and said, "There's something I still want to advise you on."

Qin Leilei raised an eyebrow, surprised: "What?"

"Actually, I know that you're helping me just to make things difficult for Qin Feng. I don't know what kind of entanglement there is between you brothers or between him and the Qin family, but if you want him to go back to the Qin family with you, there's no need to do it this way."

"After a few incidents, I realized that Qin Feng isn't some kind of monster. He's actually quite gentle and considerate at times, and his temper isn't that bad. You know, he didn't get angry with me about the clothes or the pets..."

"Anyway, I won't call him a big devil anymore. You're the younger brother, so it's best not to call him a big devil or a lecher either. If you really want him to come back to the Qin family with you, you should sit down and have a good talk with him. Don't use the wrong methods."

"Of course, if the conversation doesn't work out in the end, I hope you won't let it ruin your relationship. He's an adult and has the right to refuse. No one can force him."

Zhou Qiao said a lot in one breath, and when she finished speaking, a hint of embarrassment flashed across her face: "That's all I wanted to say. Whether you listen or not is up to you. Goodbye."

After saying that, she turned and quickly left.

Qin Leilei was taken aback by her words. After a moment of surprise, he chuckled.

I thought his brother's judgment was just so-so, but now it seems... maybe he was wrong.

He curled his lips into a smile, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.