After dumping the poor tycoon, 16
Qi An'an had no intention of obediently returning to the hotel; after all, revisiting familiar places could easily tug at her heartstrings.
After leaving the pharmacy, she glanced at Gu Shi's relatively calm expression. "Want some milk tea?"
This time, Gu Shi didn't refuse and nodded in agreement, "Mm."
Qi An'an grinned and walked towards a milk tea shop.
Five years ago, the popular milk tea shop had long queues, but now it's deserted, with only staff and a deliveryman in a yellow vest.
"Is this brand really going to go out of business?" Qi An'an felt a touch of sadness, as if things had changed.
Gu Shi: "It won't fall over."
Don't they have loyal customers like her?
Qi An'an didn't even look at the menu and directly ordered two cups of bubble tea.
She used to only order one drink because she couldn't finish it herself, so she would give the rest to him.
Right now, she wouldn't dare let him drink what she had left over.
Gu Shi frowned slightly upon hearing this, "I won't drink it."
She turned to look at him, a hint of mockery in her eyes, "I'm not ordering for you, I want to have two drinks."
Gu Shi: "..."
He realized that she was deliberately teasing him.
Perhaps it was the same thing at the pharmacy just now.
At this moment, she seemed to have transformed back into that unruly young lady, resorting to petty tricks in order to dissect his heart and see his true emotions.
Whether in the past or present, he seems too old-fashioned.
In Jiang Ming's words, he was too much of a straight man and lacked emotional intelligence.
He once wondered, if he didn't have this face, would Qi An'an, who was from a completely different world, have seen him and taken the initiative to pursue him?
Of course, he was grateful that he still had this face.
Gu Shi glanced past Qi An'an and looked at the shop assistant, "Just one cup, hot, no sugar."
Qi An'an immediately grabbed Gu Shi's arm, "Milk tea tastes better when it's iced, didn't we always drink it iced?"
She looked at the clerk eagerly and corrected him, "I want it iced, with 50% sugar."
Gu Shi felt his arm, which she was holding, stiffen slightly. He glanced down at her and conceded a step. "Room temperature, three-tenths sugar."
Although Qi An'an felt regretful, she still nodded, "Okay, that works too."
The shop assistant was in his early twenties, looked like a college student working there, was quite handsome, and seemed to be someone who exercised regularly, with a tall and muscular build on his arms.
His hand hovered over the screen as he asked in a low voice, "Excuse me... are you sure?"
When he asked this question, his eyes were fixed on Qi An'an, and his handsome face was slightly flushed.
Qi An'an smiled at him, "Okay, just listen to my boyfriend."
As she said this, there was a hint of guilt in her eyes, and she quickly looked up to her side.
They were relentlessly testing Gu Shi's limits.
Gu Shi seemed to be looking at the electronic screen in front of him and did not comment on what she said.
Does this mean they've resumed their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?
Qi An'an raised an eyebrow, her smile becoming even brighter.
Upon hearing her words, the milk tea guy couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
The next second, he met the man's almost warning gaze, and a chill ran down his spine.
Oh my god, that's scary.
It's just... taking one more look, right?
Young people are often a bit arrogant. The shop assistant was quite popular at school. He stared directly at Gu Shi, but after only three seconds, he lowered his head dejectedly.
The other person looked quite young, but his aura was so powerful that he was like a tyrant, which made him feel uneasy and afraid.
It's such a pity that such a beautiful and lovely young lady is with such a wicked man.
The shop assistant quickly placed the order for the two of them.
Qi An'an remembered that she didn't have much money, so she said to Gu Shi, "Will you pay me?"
Gu Shi took out his phone and looked at the QR code scanner, but forgot how to open the payment code, since he hadn't used it in years.
He handed her the phone, saying, "Here you go."
Qi An'an was a little excited when she took the phone. She quickly opened his WeChat and found the payment code.
During this time, she accidentally glanced at his homepage, which only had a few friends' conversations, one of which was pinned to the top, and it turned out to be Jiang Ming!
After scanning the QR code, she handed the phone back, saying, "Here you go..."
Gu Shi locked his phone without glancing at it again.
Qi An'an grabbed his arm again, "Jiang Ming, who you pinned to the top of your chat list, has sent you a lot of messages. Aren't you going to take a look?"
She seemed to be casually reminding him, but her tone was full of sarcasm.
Gu Shi could tell from his tone that he was talking. His eyes flickered slightly as he replied, "If it's something important, he'll call me."
"Oh, I thought all the messages he sent were important, since you pinned them to the top of your chat list."
She mentioned "pinned" again, and even emphasized those two words.
Gu Shi glanced at her, as if trying to read her true thoughts from her face, but undeniably, her sour expression gave him a strange sense of satisfaction.
Just like last night, when he learned from Jiang Si what she had done.
She cares about him and is possessive of him.
He didn't explain, but nodded in agreement, "He is indeed quite important."
Actually, the reason he pinned Jiang Ming's message to the top was because he rarely looked at Jiang Ming's messages.
Jiang Ming couldn't stand it, so he grabbed his phone and pinned it to the top of his chat list.
However, even if Jiang Ming did this, Gu Shi wouldn't check his messages all the time.
So Jiang Ming would only message him when he was bored and wanted to chat with someone; otherwise, he would call him when he had important business to attend to.
When Qi An'an heard his response, she simply said "Oh".
She let go of his arm, pressed her body against the counter, and looked at the shop assistant preparing milk tea.
The light accentuated the young man's profile, making him appear even more sculpted, and his focused expression only enhanced his charm.
It's quite pleasing to the eye.
Seemingly sensing the girl's unusually intense gaze, the waiter's hand trembled slightly as he scooped the milk tea toppings, and his face seemed to turn even redder.
Gu Shi's face darkened, and the slight smugness he had felt earlier was quickly forgotten.
A wave of bitterness washed over him, and his gaze fell on the shop assistant.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
Is she angry?
Shouldn't he have explained it to her just now?
At this moment, he seemed to still be that naive young man who had just fallen in love, and would spend a long time speculating and feeling uneasy about her little unusual behavior.
He turned to face Qi An'an, wanting to say something to her, but when she looked at him, what he blurted out was—
"Take care of your eyes."
Qi An'an: "..."
She blinked, seemingly confused as to why he would suddenly say that to her, a hint of grievance on her face. "I was just looking at my milk tea..."
Gu Shi's thoughts were in disarray, yet he stubbornly refused to surrender to her again.
He looked away and said, "I'll wait for you outside."
After saying that, he walked out.
Qi An'an looked at his back, which was full of entanglement and struggle, and smiled. There was no trace of the little bitter gourd he had just been.
To grasp.
She was misled by the data provided by Xiao Hei; he clearly still loves her!
Xiao Hei: "..."
But it really sensed Gu Shi's malice towards An An! It was as if he wanted to devour her at any moment!
Humans are so strange, their love is so cruel!
——
It was lunchtime, and suddenly the streets were crowded with people. Students from Rongcheng University started coming out to find food, in twos and threes, arm in arm, full of youthful energy.
Gu Shi stood on the side of the street, and the young faces passing by would secretly glance at him.
He felt as if he were immersed in some kind of terrifying illusion, surrounded by people coming and going, but she was nowhere to be seen.
He had had this dream many nights in the past, and each time he woke up, he felt lost and dejected, as if he had lost half of his heart.
He could only numb himself with work, telling himself again and again that she wasn't worth it.
“Ah Shi”.
A sound pierced through the fog and struck his eardrums, abruptly pulling him out of the bizarre and fantastical world.
The girl, holding a milk tea, walked towards him through the crowd.
She was just wearing a drab gray tracksuit, but she was radiant.
The evening breeze was gentle and dry, much like the afternoon when they first started dating.
The orange-red sunset painted the sky, and the bustling crowd pushed her toward him. He took her hand in his.
That was the first time he realized that intertwining fingers could be so irresistible to him; he wished he could personally deliver his hidden heart to her.
Whether she likes it or not, it doesn't matter.
But when she actually discarded the heart he had given her, he wasn't as calm and decisive as he thought, and he couldn't ruthlessly walk away.
"Are you really not going to drink a drop?"
Qi An'an's voice pulled Gu Shi back to reality.
She had already come up to him and handed him the milk tea.
Gu Shi lowered her head slightly, and before she even touched the straw, she noticed that two girls who were playing around behind her were bumping into her.
He reached out and put his arm around her waist, pulling her away from the crowd.
"I'm so sorry..." The girl realized what was happening and quickly apologized to the two of them.
Qi An'an then realized what was happening, turned around to look at her, and said with a smile, "It's nothing."
She felt the arm tighten around her waist and thought to herself, "This little sister's assist was brilliant!"
Seeing Gu Shi embracing Qi An'an, the girl immediately felt like she'd been fed dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection). As she pulled her companion away, her eyes lit up, and she couldn't help but turn back and say, "You two are a perfect match!"
Qi An'an loved listening to this, so she secretly made a heart shape with her hands.
Upon seeing this, the two girls screamed and ran away.
She's so sweet! No wonder she has such a handsome boyfriend!
Before Qi An'an could retract her hand from making a heart shape, Gu Shi saw it and said with an embarrassed smile, "They are so cute."
Gu Shi withdrew his hand from her waist. "Let's go."
Qi An'an handed him the milk tea again, saying, "You haven't tasted it yet."
"don't want."
Gu Shi walked straight ahead, taking small steps, so she could easily keep up.
She chewed on the soft, chewy toppings of her milk tea, looking down at the palm of his hand beside him.
In the past, she would definitely have taken the initiative to hold hands.
But now she asked with a reserved air, "Ah Shi, shall we hold hands?"
They could have easily held hands naturally, but she insisted on asking a question, thus making the unreal ambiguity between them tangible.
No matter how he answers or what he says, his mind will inevitably be in turmoil.
Gu Shi simply pretended not to hear.
Qi An'an felt it was a bit of a pity.
She caught up with them, looked at the bustling food street, and asked, "Shall we eat outside before going back?"
Gu Shi remained silent, but walked towards the food street, seemingly faster than before, as if he was sulking.
He's becoming increasingly repressed yet passionate.
I pray for peace of mind.
As more and more people gathered, she would bump into his arm every now and then.
She switched hands to hold the milk tea, and hooked her right arm around his wrist.
Her soft little hand went down and slowly grasped his palm.
However, his hands were very large, and she found them uncomfortable to hold.
So her fingers continued downwards from his palm, slipping between his fingers and intertwining with his.
Throughout the entire process, Gu Shi didn't glance at her twice, but his pace slowed down.
When she took his hand, he didn't show much enthusiasm, nor did he resist.
Only he knew that his heartbeat felt like it was pounding on his eardrums, each beat crystal clear. The surrounding noise faded away, and it seemed as if only he and she remained in the world.
After taking his hand, Qi An'an pressed herself against his arm and began to focus on drinking her milk tea.
As long as she follows in his footsteps, she is neither afraid of getting lost nor of being bumped into by people coming from the opposite direction.
As more and more pedestrians arrived, Gu Shi, who had been loosely letting her hold his hand, slowly tightened his grip.
They were afraid she would be pushed away by the crowd.
Qi An'an felt her fingers being held tightly. She looked up at him several times, her smile never fading.
Indeed, dating is not just a matter between two people.
Thank you, Jiang Si, for your contributions.
It added a lubricant to her and Gu Shi's bumpy relationship.
——
Qi An'an's body had not fully recovered, and she had also done strength training today, so she got tired after walking for a short while.
Looking at the long line of starch sausage stalls, she said, "I want to eat that. It's so popular, it must be delicious."
Before she fell into a coma, the starch sausage hadn't turned red yet; she had never eaten it before.
She was in a hurry to get in line and had already let go of Gu Shi's hand.
His hands were empty, and the chill of the night made him clench his fists uncomfortably.
Gu Shi glanced at the price tag on the stall: five yuan a stick.
He said coldly, "It's just cheap."
Rongcheng University is also a popular tourist attraction, and this food street is frequented not only by students from the university but also by many tourists.
Tourists' money is easy to make, so the prices at the stalls are relatively high, with starch sausage being the cheapest option.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he said that, the people in front of him in line muttered, "It's not cheap either; it's only three yuan a stick at the back gate of the school."
"What? There are five pieces here?"
"I'm not queuing anymore. I thought it would be three pieces! I can't eat this starchy sausage either!"
"Isn't the price of a starch sausage three yuan the same nationwide? Why is he charging five yuan!"
So, seven or eight people left one after another, and suddenly there weren't many people in the queue.
Having been out of touch for five years, Qi An'an was unaware of prices and asked Gu Shi for advice, "Is it expensive? Should we eat it?"
Gu Shi looked indifferent. "If you want to eat, just line up."
So Qi An'an followed the group in front.
Ahead of them was a young couple, holding hands sweetly, with the girl resting her head on the boy's shoulder.
Qi An'an couldn't help but lean closer to Gu Shi and whisper, "They're so sweet."
Gu Shi glanced at it but did not respond.
Compared to the couple before them, these two weren't holding hands anymore, and they even kept a step apart...
Qi An'an kept staring at others, and when she walked forward, she left Gu Shi behind. The two stood in the line one after the other, but they didn't look like a couple at all.
Until Qi An'an leaned back, pressing her back against him like a spoiled cat, nestling softly in his arms, she said, "Ah Shi, my legs are sore, let me lean on them."
Gu Shi looked down at the top of her head and gave a soft "hmm".
The displeasure in my heart was completely wiped away by her action.
She was still holding half a cup of milk tea in her hand. She took a sip and held it up to him. "Really not going to drink it? It still tastes the same, it's delicious."
She was chewing on some condiments, her speech a little unclear, but her tone made it sound as if he would miss out on millions if he didn't drink it.
He finally lowered his head and took a breath.
He had drunk the milk tea five years ago, and he had forgotten what it tasted like, but... it was indeed delicious.
Gu Shi's height is already eye-catching, and the two of them have looks that even idol drama leads might not be able to surpass, which has already attracted a lot of attention.
The couple's slightly high-profile intimate gestures at this moment made many onlookers swallow this sweet dog food with tears in their eyes.
Qi An'an didn't care, but Gu Shi felt uncomfortable.
Gu Shi grabbed her hand and walked towards a restaurant, coldly saying, "It's unhygienic, we're not eating here."
She let him lead her and continued, "Shall we eat Cantonese food?"
Gu Shi hummed in agreement.
The food street was bustling, but few people actually sat down to eat. Perhaps it was because the prices were relatively high, as the Cantonese restaurant the two of them chose still had many empty seats.
The two rarely ate at restaurants before, because Gu Shi was struggling financially and he was used to cooking at the school cafeteria or simply cooking for himself, and Qi An'an naturally went along with him.
Gu Shi: "What do you want to eat?"
Qi An'an took a sip of warm water. "Whatever."
Gu Shixian ordered a chicken soup with cordyceps flowers, but the person across from him said, "I don't drink this."
Gu Shi: "Bitter melon, soybean, and pork rib soup."
Qi An'an: "I drank it at noon, I don't want to drink it again."
He simply pushed the menu towards her, saying, "Order for yourself."
She shook her head and pushed it back, saying, "Anything is fine with me, you can order whatever you like."
Gu Shi's eyelids twitched slightly: "..."
In the end, the two of them spent half an hour just ordering.
By the time the food was served, Qi An'an was already starving.
More and more people entered the restaurant, and a queue began to form at the entrance. The two did not linger after finishing their meal.
Qi An'an wanted to cultivate her relationship with Gu Shi more, but her eyelids were heavy and her legs were weak, clearly indicating that she had exhausted her strength.
Gu Shi dissuaded her from going to school and took her back to the car.
She stubbornly insisted, "The weather's so nice, shouldn't we take a walk?"
Gu Shi: "I have something else to do."
"All right."
However, not long after she finished speaking, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
"..."
Gu Shi parked the car on the side of the road and leaned over to the passenger seat.
She was so tired that her breathing became heavier, her warm breath brushing against his ear like a feather.
Her porcelain-white skin was crystal clear, her long eyelashes cascading down, and her pale pink lips were slightly pursed, like an exquisite doll in a shop window, worthy of being cherished and preserved.
By the time Gu Shi came to her senses, he had already planted a kiss on the corner of her lips.
He was all too familiar with that cool, soft touch.
His eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly moved them away, as if it had been an unintentional touch.
He suppressed his surging emotions, lowered her seat back, and leaned back in the driver's seat.
——
Qi An'an slept the whole way, and was finally led back to the suite by Gu Shi with a cold face.
It was already past nine o'clock when Qi An'an took a bath, yawning. Soothing music filled the bathroom, accompanied by the occasional splashing of water.
In the living room, Gu Shi downed a bottle of ice water and answered Jiang Ming's call.
The first thing the other person said was a teasing tone, "What exactly did you and your girlfriend do to my sister? I've never seen her so depressed. She explodes whenever you two are mentioned."
Gu Shi tossed the empty bottle into the trash can, his gaze fixed on the bathroom, and casually replied, "She treated Jiang Si to dinner and milk tea, why did she explode?"
Gu Shi did not refute the word "girlfriend" that he mentioned.
Jiang Ming immediately understood, "Tsk, you two really made up, I knew it! That's good..." Gu Shi can finally go back to work!
Don't push everything onto him!
Isn't his life a life?
Gu Shi sat down on the sofa and remained silent for a long time.
Jiang Ming exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't they make up? That can't be right..."
"Nothing else?" Gu Shi interrupted him, preparing to hang up.
Jiang Ming quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes, I just wanted to say, can you please pay more attention to your image when you're out? Do you know that videos of your date have been pushed to me, and some netizens are even shipping you two as a couple!"
Gu Shi paused, then put the earphone back to his ear. "What video?"
"As expected, you didn't see my message!"
"..." Gu Shi felt he couldn't get any information out of her, so this time she simply said, "I'm hanging up."
Jiang Ming: "..."
Gu Shi opened WeChat and saw a message from Jiang Mingxin: "Watching videos secretly, aren't you?" [Eyes shift]
Gu Shi ignored it and calmly clicked on the link shared by the other party.
The video shows her feeding him milk tea while he was queuing at a sausage stand.
He was standing behind her at the time, so he couldn't see her expression.
However, the person filming the video was at a nearby stall, and captured the moment she smiled with her head down.
Gu Shi replayed the short video, ignoring the noisy background noise, focusing only on her sly yet sweet smile as she lowered her eyes.
But when he scrolled through the comments section, he couldn't help but frown.
—This is my wife, sob sob sob, my wife's smile is so gentle!
—Seriously, just looking at their height difference, I'm already imagining their positions tonight…
Gu Shi exited the video and sent a message to Jiang Ming, trying to suppress the video's popularity.
He didn't want everyone to know about his relationship with Qi An'an, nor did he want his people to be the subject of all sorts of speculation.
Jiang Ming didn't expect that simply making a phone call to greet his good partner would result in him taking on more work.
However, he is very good at public relations. He had already established good relationships with major media companies as soon as he returned to China, so it was not difficult to handle the situation.
In the bathroom, Qi An'an leaned against the bathtub, feeling drowsy.
She didn't realize she'd been soaking for too long until there was a knock on the door.
She was not only feeling dizzy, but her fingertips were also wrinkled from being soaked in water.
"I'll be right out."
She responded with a single sentence, and the knocking stopped.
She helped herself up from the bathtub, but due to insufficient blood supply to her brain, her vision went black, and she almost fell.
She paused for a moment, then pulled out her bathrobe and draped it over herself.
The bathroom was warm and steamy. She thought for a moment and then suddenly stopped.
—Wouldn't it be better for her to fall down right now?
But she can't really hurt herself by falling; she has to find the right angle.
Without further ado, she loosened the belt of her bathrobe, and just as she was about to throw it down, the door in front of her suddenly clicked open—
It was pushed away!!
Did she forget to lock the door?
As she stared blankly, Gu Shi opened the door and came in, frowning as he looked at her. "I thought you had fallen and passed out."
He heard her call out once, then there was silence.
Qi An'an clutched her belt, her lips twitching slightly as she tried to hide her guilt. She said weakly, "Well...you can't just come in without a word..."
Gu Shi heard her tone and looked down from her smooth, moist cheeks.
She was wearing a large bathrobe, but the belt was loose.
Delicate collarbones, subtly revealed shoulders, half-exposed yet not fully exposed.
Gu Shi, who had just finished drinking ice water, started to feel thirsty again.
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