Chapter 43 A fragile kiss slowly descended.
Qin Man woke up after a short sleep, got up, changed her clothes and put on makeup. When she opened the door, she found Qin Chen already sitting in the dining room.
Did he not sleep all night?
Qin Man walked over, took out some milk from the refrigerator, and sat down opposite him.
Qin Chen made himself a cup of coffee, scrolling through his phone with one hand while rubbing his temples with the other.
His face clearly showed the dejection of a hangover.
The room was filled with the smell of coffee, which barely masked the strong smell of alcohol.
Qin Man held back for a long time but couldn't help but ask, "How exactly did you have a falling out with Gu Lingqing?"
Qin Chen paused, tapped his temples lightly with his fingers, and said lazily with a frown, "It was clearly her who was making trouble for me."
"Come on." Qin Man turned her head and stared at him. "I'm very curious about why Gu Lingqing dumped you."
Do I look like someone who's half-dead from being in a relationship?
"picture."
"hehe."
Qin Man paused for a moment, then said, "But when you talked about it, it didn't seem like it at all. If she didn't feel secure, then she would have left."
Qin Chen rubbed his hair, his bangs obscuring his eyes, making it impossible to discern his emotions. However, his tone became impatient: "Do you think Gu Lingqing is a little girl like you? Talk about a sense of security."
"..."
Qin Man was taken aback, then gritted her teeth in anger: "She's only a few years older than me."
"Only little kids need security in their relationships; adults just need to get what they need."
"..."
Speechless after being rebuked, Qin Man stood up angrily, grabbed her bag, and left.
Qin Chen watched her retreating figure and said calmly, "Besides, whether I get into trouble or not is none of your business. It's you who should be concerned."
Qin Man turned to look at him, and Qin Chen's lips curled into a smile. "You're always hanging out with Jiang Xuchi, do you think I don't know? You two either talk it out or break up. Who can stand this?"
He knows something...
He seems to know her very well.
Qin Man arrived at school in a very bad mood and began her long-awaited classes.
She had to catch up on the lessons she had missed due to dance troupe training. With things getting busy, she put all those other miscellaneous things out of her mind.
As evening fell, the crowd gradually dispersed at the university gate. Qin Man walked to the side of the street to hail a taxi when suddenly someone blocked her way.
It's Jiang Chenyao.
He was dressed in designer clothes, his shirt collar wide open, with a nonchalant smile on his face, but his eyes were unusually gloomy.
He didn't speak, he just looked at her.
Qin Man felt uneasy under his gaze. "What do you want?"
"Want to have dinner together tonight?" Jiang Chenyao's tone was somewhat flippant, but his expression wasn't exactly friendly.
Qin Man frowned and tried to walk around him, but was blocked by a hand.
Jiang Chenyao forced her to stand still, and sneered in a low voice: "Jiang Xuchi was arrogant and ignorant in the company, and insisted on going against me. In the end, he messed up himself. But he just left without a care in the world."
Qin Man raised her chin, her eyes cold: "So what does this have to do with me?"
"I'm in a bad mood, will you have a meal with me?"
What a scoundrel.
Putting aside the fact that they weren't friends, but rather acquaintances with a bad relationship, isn't this just plain disgusting to her?
"Why don't you go find Jiang Xuchi? You only dare to take your anger out on me, have some shame."
Jiang Chenyao's face instantly darkened. "You have a really sharp tongue. I'd like to know if you're just as stubborn as Jiang Xuchi, with a soft heart?"
As he spoke, his fingers slid down to her shoulder.
Qin Man slapped him away abruptly, her voice cold and sharp: "Don't touch me."
Jiang Chenyao was somewhat addicted to her enthusiasm. He lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "You really like Jiang Xuchi? Do you think you'll have a good life if you get together with him? What is he at home? He's an unwelcome person. His mother and he are both disliked by the old man. That woman and my dad will divorce sooner or later."
Qin Man had no patience to listen to his nonsense. "You think you're so great by saying all this? Jiang Chenyao, you're the one who looks more like a joke now!"
These words completely enraged Jiang Chenyao.
He was already angry, and upon hearing Qin Man's words, he immediately raised his hand.
The next second, my hand was grabbed.
Jiang Xuchi had already walked over at some point, his eyes filled with a cold and menacing aura.
He grabbed Jiang Chenyao by the collar and slammed him against the wall.
The fist landed heavily, and Jiang Chenyao groaned, his face instantly turning red and swollen.
Exclamations arose from the surroundings, and Qin Man stood frozen in place.
Jiang Xuchi's movements were swift and ruthless, showing no mercy.
Jiang Chenyao's nose was bleeding profusely from the beating, but he still laughed, seemingly unconcerned: "You hit me? Fine, you think you can beat me? One day, you'll be kneeling down begging me."
"You just wait, Jiang Xuchi, you won't have a good time."
Jiang Xuchi was about to throw his fist when Qin Man rushed over and stopped him.
She gripped his arm tightly, her voice trembling, "Enough!"
The air was thick with the stench of blood. Jiang Chenyao covered his face, looking disheveled but still stubborn. After cursing a few times, he was forcibly dragged away by his friends who had rushed over.
Fortunately, his friends all cared about their image and weren't as crazy as Jiang Chenyao.
Jiang Xuchi's chest heaved, his brows and eyes were cold and stern, and his hands were covered in blood.
Qin Man took out a piece of paper and carefully wrapped it around the back of his hand.
People around kept glancing in their direction.
Qin Man pulled him into the car, and changed their destination to the private clinic that Jiang Xuchi often went to.
The car windows were fogged up, the street scene outside receded, and the car was unusually quiet, with only the music coming from the car stereo.
Qin Man crossed her arms and stared at Jiang Xuchi's profile the whole way.
She finally couldn't help but ask, "Is what he said true?"
Jiang Xu didn't turn around. He leaned against the windowsill, tapping out a rhythm with his fingertips, as if he hadn't heard.
Qin Man frowned, her tone tightening inch by inch: "I'm asking you a question."
He tilted his head slightly, a smile playing at the corners of his lips: "Why should I say it and invite your ridicule?"
What he said wasn't wrong.
In other people's eyes, Qin Man has the arrogant and conceited personality that likes to kick someone when they're down and mock the weaknesses of others.
But Qin Man doesn't think that's how she sees it.
She felt somewhat wronged.
Qin Man: "I'm just concerned about you."
Jiang Xuchi turned his gaze away, leaned back in his chair, and said in a low, lazy tone, "It's nothing. You should mind your own business and not get involved with me right now."
If Jiang Xuchi is unwilling to talk about it, most people won't ask any further questions.
But Qin Man is not.
She refused to back down, staring into his eyes, "So what if I messed things up? Are you afraid I'll look down on you because you're not going to tell me?"
The carriage fell silent. The driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror, then quickly looked away.
Jiang Xuchi's smile faded, and he lowered his voice: "It's you who has never given me a second glance, isn't it?"
Qin Man was speechless; she really couldn't respond to that.
The car turned a corner, and the road ahead gradually became familiar; the clinic was almost there.
Jiang Xuchi: "There's no need to come for such a minor injury."
"Stop talking nonsense." Qin Man pulled him inside.
There was always a nurse on duty at the clinic, and she brought some iodine.
"No need, I can do it myself."
Jiang Xuchi sent the nurse away.
Seeing that he remained motionless, Qin Man sighed, stepped forward, unwrapped the cotton swab, and opened the bottle cap.
The nose was filled with the smell of iodine.
Jiang Xuchi sat on the edge of the treatment bed, his shirt half-open, his hands covered in small cuts from rubbing against the wall.
Qin Man's gaze fell on the wound on his hand.
“I rarely see you so impulsive,” she said.
Jiang Xuchi slightly raised his eyes and smiled faintly: "You've met them before."
He was referring to the time when he first met Qin Chen, but he quickly pulled Qin Chen outside so that Qin Man wouldn't see what happened next.
Qin Man didn't reply, but just pursed her lips and reached out to apply the medicine to him.
He instinctively flinched when the cotton swab touched his skin.
"Does it hurt?" She looked up at him.
"cold."
"Pretentious."
He chuckled nonchalantly, but the lines of his profile tightened.
Qin Man stared at him for a while, then softened her touch and said in a low voice, "I didn't hear a lot of what Jiang Chenyao said."
The air quieted down, leaving only his breathing so close to mine.
"Even if I heard it, it wouldn't be a big deal." Qin Man smiled, deliberately making her tone relaxed. "You don't think it's embarrassing, do you?"
Qin Man focused on applying the medicine to him, her fingertips occasionally brushing against his skin.
That slightest touch is more itchy than a wound.
He finally couldn't resist raising his hand and grabbing her wrist. The force wasn't strong, but it didn't give her a chance to pull away.
The two looked at each other, so close that they could see each other's reflections in their pupils.
Jiang Xuchi lowered his voice and said, "It's not because I'm ashamed."
Qin Man didn't dodge; her eyelashes trembled slightly.
In that instant, all the sharpness in his eyes softened, replaced by a rare vulnerability.
He grabbed her hand behind his back, as if afraid she would leave.
A kiss slowly landed.
The kiss was brief. After it ended, Jiang Xuchi repeated, "It's not because I'm ashamed."
Throughout his life, Jiang Xuchi was indifferent to many things, but in front of Qin Man, he always put on a brave face and never showed his vulnerability.
He knew her; Qin Man was indeed a soft-hearted person, but being soft-hearted wasn't the kind of relationship he wanted.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have fallen in love with Qin Man.
...
The bar was dimly lit, and the music was so loud it made your heart feel heavy.
Qin Man sat on a high stool, swirling a wine glass in her hand, the lamplight casting a thin shadow on her wrist.
Lin Xian's cheeks were flushed from drinking. She covered her glass and kept complaining, "You know what? Those rich people don't know how to date. All they think about is profit... It's so boring and not romantic at all."
Qin Man took a sip of her drink but didn't reply.
Lin Xian sniffed and gave a bitter smile: "All they care about is how much benefit they can gain."
Lin Xian was dumped, so she ended her long-standing cold war with Qin Chang and invited her over for drinks.
Despite being quite drunk, Qin Man never actually got drunk.
She looked at Lin Xian absentmindedly, her mind racing with images of Jiang Xuchi's face.
That day at the clinic, he silently took her hand, his eyes revealing an emotion that he couldn't erase.
She suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, and took a sip of wine to calm it down.
Lin Xian leaned closer and patted her shoulder forcefully: "Don't take what I said before to heart."
"Hmm, I didn't notice." Qin Man smiled. "You've had too much to drink, you can't even speak properly."
Lin Xian chuckled foolishly twice, drank a lot of wine, and continued to repeat the same few complaints about Liu Xingjie over and over again.
The ice cubes in the glass slowly melted.
Qin Man ran her fingertips along the rim of the cup when she suddenly heard someone singing a birthday song.
She suddenly realized that Jiang Xuchi's birthday was coming soon.
His birthday is easy to remember; it's the day before Christmas.
Qin Man recalled that Jiang Xuchi always loved to give her sparkly jewelry in high school, regardless of the price, simply because she liked it.
The inexplicable impulse in my heart became more and more obvious.
She thought she should pick out a gift for him too.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
