The phone had barely stopped ringing when the person on the other end called back within a second. This back-and-forth repeated several times, completely shattering the ambiguous atmosphere and the man's romantic thoughts in the study.
The phone rang again in the quiet study, as if to say, "If you don't answer, I'll keep calling until you do."
Qi Shen released the little girl from his arms, his anger surging. He roughly loosened his tie, took out his phone, looked at the incoming call message, and cursed under his breath.
Qi Shen answered the phone expressionlessly, "What do you want?" His tone and attitude were noticeably worse than before.
The man on the other end of the phone frowned slightly, a rare occurrence for him. "Are you out of your mind?" His voice was cold and clear, like ice in winter, with no inflection and an aura of icy indifference. "Shi Yan is on her way. Shao Si asked me to ask you when you'll arrive."
While Qi Shen was on the phone, Fang Zhi was about to get up and slip away, but before she could even move her body and get off the chair, the man's eyes swept over her.
Qi Shen's eyes narrowed, a half-smile playing on his lips as he stared at her. He silently uttered four words:
"Sit still and don't move."
Fang Zhi subconsciously pursed her lips, but under the man's unwavering gaze, she ultimately did not leave her seat.
Seeing that the girl had calmed down, Qi Shen casually said into the phone, "I understand."
"What do you know? Getting old and developing complications? Alzheimer's is an illness, and hearing loss is an illness too. Go get it treated when you have time." Bai Chuan's cold and sharp face remained expressionless as he spoke, his tone deliberate and measured. The sarcasm coming from his mouth carried a solemnity reminiscent of someone training a soldier. He asked again, "When will you arrive?"
The man's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, so clear that Fangzhi held his breath after hearing it. His words, as blunt as could be, clearly pointed out that his older brother was...
God knows, she might as well just sneak out.
Qi Shen was also taken aback by the mockery, then laughed angrily, squeezing out each word from between his teeth:
"Half an hour."
Having received a reply, Bai Chuan was too lazy to say anything more to him.
He didn't give Qi Shen any room for sarcasm, simply saying "okay" and hanging up the phone decisively.
Qi Shen: "......"
Anyone would feel bad if their good time was interrupted and they were then mocked by the other side.
The same applies to Qi Shen.
The man's gentlemanly image is almost crumbling.
He rubbed the veins throbbing on his forehead, then looked up at the stunned girl.
Their eyes met, and she realized that an invisible barrage of comments had suddenly appeared before her: Why is it always others who get to vent their anger, and then she is forced to get caught in the crossfire and suffer the consequences?
She only mentioned her brother's age once, but was forced to sit in on the proceedings twice. Why is it always her who gets hurt?
Seeing the little girl's nervous expression, as if she were afraid of being blamed, Qi Shen's gaze softened.
He wouldn't get angry at her over something like this; besides, he rarely does, you could say he's never gotten angry at her at all.
The few times she couldn't suppress her emotions were because she wanted to escape from him.
Qi Chen's voice was calm, "Zhizhi, do you have something to say?"
In a moment of quick thinking, he managed to squeeze out, "Brother, you're not old, you...you..."
The girl hesitated for a long time, seemingly unwilling to continue.
"Hmm." Qi Shen was unwilling to let this opportunity slip away easily. He completely relaxed and looked at her with a leisurely air. "Continue."
Under the man's unfathomable gaze, Fang Zhi could only grit her teeth and continue making things up, "My brother is at the perfect age, successful in his career, with textbook-level good looks, a face kissed by an angel... he's practically an eye wash for humans."
She mixed up a chaotic mess and threw it at men like it was free.
His earlier frustration vanished instantly, and Qi Shen chuckled at the little girl's description, "Human eyewash?"
Fearing he might misunderstand, Fang Zhi hurriedly explained, "It's just a compliment on someone's good looks."
"Where did Zhizhi learn that?" A mischievous smile flashed in Qi Shen's eyes. "Did you learn it as a love quote?"
"Hmm..." A faint blush rose to Fang Zhi's fair face, and she stammered, "Online...online..."
She read a lot of it, but found it too embarrassing to talk about. She wasn't planning on saying anything and just kept denying it.
Then, his brother was scolded even more harshly this time.
"Online, huh?" Qi Shen drawled, a teasing tone in his voice. "You've learned quite well."
He slowly stood up, bent down and approached the beautiful girl, looking directly into her eyes. His hot breath hit her skin, and the girl stirred slightly.
"There are still eighteen sweet nothings left." The man gently stroked her nose, his tone tender and indulgent. "I have something to do tonight and I'm going out later. Considering how sweet Zhizhi's words were today, I won't charge you any more interest on the five hundred yuan."
Fang Zhi nodded, thinking that she would return the money to Qi Chen when he came back, because Qi Chen needed the money more than she did right now.
Her little scheme naturally didn't escape the man's notice. Qi Shen took her hand and raised his eyelids, "Take what Zhizhi gave you and use it yourself. Don't secretly return it to Xiao Chen."
After hearing what he said, she gave up her idea and obediently nodded, "Okay."
He folded the banknotes and placed them in her palm, then held them. "Let's go downstairs together."
After dropping Fang Zhi off at the restaurant, the man kissed her forehead, took the car keys from the maid, and left.
-
After dinner, I returned to my bedroom and found the money in a drawer. There was a greeting card on the desk, clearly well-preserved; next to it was a black and gold gift box.
These were graduation gifts from her brother, blessings from her favorite classical dance mentor, and a dance dress that she had never worn because she never had a stage.
Only then did I realize I needed to open the box.
The dance dresses inside were still stunning and eye-catching.
She gently stroked it, took out her phone to take a picture, and then switched back to the chat page.
The above is a message from the dance teacher fifteen minutes ago:
[Fang Zhi, have you chosen your dance costume for the arts performance? If not, I have a few here for you to refer to.]
Fang Zhi opened the photo album, found the picture, sent the dress he had just taken, and typed a message:
【Teacher, I've made my choice. What do you think of this one?】
While waiting for her teacher's reply, Fang Zhi lowered her eyes to look at her dance dress. She couldn't go on like this; she needed to fight back, she couldn't live in the cage her brother had created.
But she still lacked courage. This performance was a great opportunity, and once she got on stage, she even wore the dress her brother had given her...
For her, it was a performance carrying his intentions, and even more so, a rebellion against his suffocating control.
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