Chapter 49 - My brother dreamt of being with the girl he liked...?
Lin Xi was taken aback, but didn't say anything. She puffed out her cheeks, turned around and left, intending to catch up with Fu Qingli and go to the stalls in front of her to see Zhou Qi.
Fu Qingli took the clothes packed by the shopkeeper, strode over to catch up with Lin Xi in a few steps, forcefully took her hand, intertwined their fingers, and asked gently, "What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
"No." Lin Xi tried to shake off his hand, but Fu Qingli used force. She struggled a few times, but found she couldn't break free, so she gave up and let him hold her hand. With her head down, she asked in a muffled voice, "Why do you suddenly want me to call you brother?"
Fu Qingli kneaded her knuckles, his eyes filled with nostalgia: "I just suddenly realized that it's been a long time since I heard you call me brother."
Of course, this does not include unintentional murmurs during sleep.
Just now, he thought of Lin Fengyuan and the years he spent in Nanqing. He couldn't help but think of Lin Xi's sweet "brother" since childhood, and he felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.
He suddenly realized that he hadn't heard Lin Xi call him "brother" in a long time.
Upon closer reflection, it turns out this started some time before the breakup.
At the time, it didn't seem like a big deal, but now that I think about it, that timing seems particularly strange.
Lin Xi was silent for a while, then pouted and murmured, "I don't want to call you that."
Why don't you want to?
Lin Xi noticed that Fu Qingli was more interested in getting to the bottom of things than before. He would patiently ask her again and again about things she dared not tell him honestly, as if it was very important to him.
But indeed, she is not as fearless as before, relying on her father and his love to speak frankly about many things.
Nowadays, many things I want to say are met with hesitation and second-guessing.
The same applies when facing Fu Qingli; she hesitates to speak for fear that he will find her pretentious, so she chooses to remain silent.
With his patient guidance, she rediscovered that she was valued, which gave her the confidence to express her truest thoughts.
"I'm not your biological sister! Why should I call you brother? It makes me feel like you only see me as your sister!"
After hearing Su Yi'an say that Fu Qingli treated her like a younger sister, Lin Xi felt extremely awkward calling him "brother" again.
Just like this nickname, it makes it difficult for her to get close to him and become true lovers.
"But you're my sweetheart!"
Lin Xi was startled and turned to look at Fu Qingli in disbelief, unable to believe that such a refined and elegant person would one day say cheesy pickup lines.
But Fu Qingli's expression was serious, showing no sign of joking.
Sensing her surprise, Fu Qingli stopped and explained earnestly, "Just like you said, you're not my biological sister. We're not related by blood, so how could I only see you as a sister?"
He frankly admitted, "Actually, I've had designs on you for a long time!"
This answer completely surprised Lin Xi, who asked dumbfoundedly, "When was 'very early'?"
Fu Qingli smiled, but did not answer her question directly: "If you don't believe me, you can ask Ji Jiali."
Ji Jiali, who happened to walk up beside him, looked bewildered: "What?"
"Xiaoxi doesn't believe that I started liking her a long time ago. I think you can testify to that."
"..." Ji Jiali's expression suddenly became somewhat indescribable. Could he really talk about that matter?
This made Lin Xi even more curious: "When exactly is 'very early'?"
Ji Jiali thought for a moment, but was still too embarrassed to say it: "Sister-in-law, I can confirm that it was indeed very early, but I think it's better if you don't ask about the exact time!"
He wasn't lying; that time was indeed difficult to talk about.
In fact, at first, Ji Jiali and Zou Song both felt that Fu Qingli's affection for Nan Qing's "childhood sweetheart" stemmed more from the Lin family's kindness to Shen Yu, and was simply a way of repaying that kindness.
When Fu Qingli turned eighteen, Shen Yu's condition worsened, and her life was in danger at any moment.
Fu Qingli submitted a leave of absence application and stayed at the sanatorium every day to accompany Shen Yu. She did not even take the college entrance examination, let alone go to Nanqing to see Lin Xi.
After the college entrance examination, Ji Jiali and Zou Song had nothing to do, so they decided to stay in the courtyard of the sanatorium with Fu Qingli.
That night, late at night, the mountain breeze was cool.
Ji Jiali was troubled by his own affairs and couldn't fall asleep no matter how much he tossed and turned. So he got up and sat on the stone bench in the courtyard to smoke.
He was facing Fu Qingli's room directly.
Not long after, the door suddenly opened, and Fu Qingli walked out in a black nightgown against the light. She was damp, but that did not diminish the flush on her face, and her tightly furrowed brows could not hide the desire emanating from her.
Ji Jiali was the same age as him, and it was obvious at a glance that he had just woken up from a dream of youthful vigor and had taken a cold shower.
Perhaps still feeling restless, I wanted to go out for some fresh air to calm down, but I didn't expect there were still people in the yard.
Fu Qingli was visibly taken aback when she saw him.
Ji Jiali raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but tease, "Tsk, I never thought you'd have a day like this!"
Fu Qingli walked to the stone bench opposite him without saying a word and sat down. Ji Jiali waved the cigarette pack in his hand in a smug way: "Want one? A cigarette after the fact, and you'll feel like a god."
He knew that Fu Qingli didn't smoke, and had never even tried.
He expected to be rejected as usual, but to his surprise, Fu Qingli stretched out her hand and said, "Have one."
Ji Jiali immediately realized from the unusual behavior that things were not just the common delusion of teenagers that he thought.
The person in this dream must be something special.
He tentatively asked, "Dreaming about being with the girl you like...?"
Fu Qingli paused in her hand as she lit a cigarette, then calmly lit it for herself, taking the first puff with restraint, but still coughing several times from the fumes.
Just when Ji Jiali thought he wouldn't hear a reply, Fu Qingli's deep, smoky voice responded, "Mm."
He actually admitted it?!
Ji Jiali was so startled he almost dropped his cigarette. He didn't even care about the ash falling on the back of his hand, and kept asking, "Who is it? Do I know them? Did you confess? Are you two together?"
Fu Qingli seemed surprised that he would ask such a question, and gave him a disgruntled sidelong glance: "What do you think?"
Of all the girls around him, only Nan Qing's "little green plum" was truly special.
However, she is two years younger than Fu Qingli, which is not the appropriate age to confess one's feelings.
In just two minutes, Fu Qingli had already gotten used to smoking, her posture was practiced, and her brows were full of worry: "Let's wait a little longer, until she grows up."
It sounded like an answer to his previous question, but also like he was talking to himself.
It's rare to see unease and insecurity in Fu Qingli, who seems so adept at everything.
Ji Jiali finally realized how ridiculous their previous ideas were. How could someone as calm as Fu Qingli do something without any sense of boundaries?
This thought has probably been brewing for a long time.
"Is she on vacation?"
Speaking of Lin Xi, Fu Qingli's brows relaxed: "Yes, she just got released yesterday and was so excited that she kept talking and didn't go to sleep until very late."
He finally fell asleep on the other end of the phone while still on the phone.
That's probably why he dreamed of picking those beautiful flowers.
"But I'm afraid you won't be able to go to Nanqing this year."
Fu Qingli curled her lips slightly, remaining silent, but her undisguised expression revealed regret and longing.
"If you miss her so much, why don't you invite her to Beicheng? If you don't have time, I can have Zhou Qi take her around."
“No need.” Fu Qingli shook her head, then, as if convincing herself, said, “Her mother passed away before she could remember, so she didn’t have much psychological trauma. I don’t want her to come and be saddened by seeing these things.”
To put it bluntly, during that summer vacation, Fu Qingli, thousands of miles away, still devoted himself to accompanying his "childhood sweetheart" as she grew up.
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"Zhou Qiqi, you really can turn anywhere into a shopping mall, I admire you!"
Zou Song was truly amazed by Zhou Qi's shopping skills. He thought he could buy a dress in half an hour, but it took her a full hour and a half.
"Mind your own business!" Zhou Qi said, scrolling through videos with her head down. "Why don't we just finish beachcombing and then go out to sea?"
As she spoke, she handed her phone to Lin Xi, showing her a video of beachcombing. "Xiao Xi, look at this, it's super interesting, and the timing is perfect."
“What’s suitable?” Zou Song complained bitterly, “This isn’t in my schedule.”
Zhou Qi ignored his wailing: "It's nothing, we can just add it on the spot. It's a vacation, let's be spontaneous!"
"What do you think, Xiaoxi?"
She understood their food chain perfectly: Zou Song and Ji Jiali listened to Fu Qingli, and Fu Qingli listened to Lin Xi.
In short, all she needs to do is win over Lin Xi.
Lin Xi was clearly also very interested in the video of beachcombing, and looked at Fu Qingli with bright eyes, seeking support.
Fu Qingli reached out and ruffled her hair, which was ruffled by the sea breeze: "If you want to go, then we'll go."
Zou Song dared not complain anymore and dutifully had the arrangements made for the beachcombing.
Before setting off, the group went to the yacht to change their clothes.
When we disembarked, the once quiet pier suddenly became lively. Various luxury cars drove up to the large cruise ship and stopped. The men and women who disembarked were all dressed in bespoke suits and evening gowns, clearly indicating that there was some important party going on.
Zhou Qi asked the dockworkers out of curiosity, "Is there some kind of event happening here? It's so lively."
"I heard that the Fu and Su families from Beicheng chartered the largest cruise ship here to host a banquet for industry leaders and entrepreneurs from Haicheng, which will last for three days."
After the workers left, Zou Song chuckled, "Looks like they know our progress and they're starting to get anxious."
Ji Jiali responded and turned to ask Fu Qingli, "Won't we be in more danger if they do this?"
In business, profit is the ultimate priority. If Fu Wenxun and Su Qichao offer substantial benefits, it's hard to guarantee that their previously agreed-upon cooperation won't be overturned.
“No,” Fu Qingli shook her head, looking confident. “The profit we offer is top-tier in the industry. Fu Wenxun and his group have too many intermediaries, so they can’t offer such high profits. Moreover, the companies we are cooperating with want more than just profits. They want to use this victory to expand beyond Haicheng. Joining them now would be detrimental.”
"Alright, ignore them, let's go..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Fu Wenxun and Su Qichao, dressed in suits, disembark from the cruise ship and walk straight toward them.
This time, Fu Wenxun didn't speak, but just looked at Fu Qingli and Lin Xi's clasped hands with a complicated expression.
A moment of silence fell over the room.
It was Su Qichao who broke the silence first: "Qingli, this must be Miss Lin?"
Fu Qingli stepped forward, shielding Lin Xi behind her, and looked at Su Qichao warily: "Is there something you need?"
"No need to be so nervous. I've only heard about Miss Lin for a long time, and this is the first time I've met her. I'd like to have a few words with her alone."
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