Qiao Mei led Shang Duojin to the outer balcony, which offered a panoramic view of the villa's flowerbeds. The night breeze was cool and a bit chilly.
Shu Qingqing watched this scene from the shadows. She remembered when she and Shang Duojin were out enjoying the night breeze, he noticed that something was wrong with her and took off his coat to give her the coat. She naturally assumed that he would do the same for Qiao Mei next.
But no.
After Shang Duojin and Qiao Mei sat down at the round table, he noticed that Qiao Mei seemed a little cold. He simply reminded her that she could ask Ao Cang to bring her a coat.
"No need, I brought my own." Qiao Mei said, taking out the coat she had prepared beforehand from her smart bracelet and putting it on. She then formally asked Shang Duojin if he had anyone he liked.
"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Shang Duojin looked a little flustered, as if something was on his mind.
Qiao Mei noticed his unusual behavior and told him that Shu Qingqing had told her that she had someone she liked.
"Who?! When did this happen? I've never heard her mention it before?"
When the topic turned to Shu Qingqing, Shang Duojin was clearly more interested. His expression became anxious, and he almost wanted to stand up from his chair.
As Qiao Mei had expected, she calmly told him that it was something that had happened recently.
"I asked you this to confirm if you have someone you like. If you do, I don't need to tell you how to maintain a sense of distance and boundaries with Qingqing. If you don't, consider this a reminder."
Shang Duojin understands Qiao Mei and knows that she is not the type to lie or deceive. If she says that Shu Qingqing has someone she likes, then she definitely has someone.
But why did he feel so upset?
Could it be that he has really fallen for her, just like Ao Cang said?
"Sister Qiao, I'd like to ask, do you know anything about the person she likes? What kind of person is he exactly?"
Qiao Mei knew that Shang Duojin would ask more questions, so after glancing at the location where Shu Qingqing was hiding, she told him that she was a person from a good family and had a good personality.
"Good family background? What family background? Is it as good as mine?" The competitive spirit unique to men was ignited at this moment. Shang Duojin did not realize that he had become like a belligerent rooster, with intense fighting spirit and hostility in his eyes.
Qiao Mei suppressed a laugh and told him that it was basically the same.
Shang Duojin wilted a little: "Just how good is her personality? To get positive feedback from that wicked woman Shu Qingqing, it can't be too bad, right?"
"This is good, but that's just my opinion; Qingqing didn't say that."
"Oh." Shang Duojin was still rather dejected, but couldn't help asking again, "How old is he? Is he also studying at the Federal Academy?"
"Also, since that wicked woman Shu Qingqing already has someone she likes, why does she still pretend to be engaged to me? She should have told me sooner."
The more he talked, the more aggrieved Shang Duojin sounded.
He even lowered his head in melancholy, fiddling with his fingers and muttering, "What am I going to do then? She has someone she likes and wants to keep her distance from me. I'll be all alone now, with no one to banter and joke around with..."
Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Qiao Mei cleared her throat and said what she had prepared beforehand.
"What if that person were you?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Duojin abruptly raised his eyes, his face filled with disbelief: "What do you mean?"
"I said, if she liked you, what would you think?"
By now, she was basically certain of Shang Duojin's feelings for Shu Qingqing.
If he doesn't like her, why ask such detailed questions?
Even the emotion I felt wasn't the happiness I should have felt as a friend upon hearing that Shu Qingqing had someone she liked, but rather a sense of loss and melancholy.
The answer is self-evident.
Shang Duojin was still in low spirits: "There are no 'what ifs'. How could she possibly like me? I'm nothing like her ideal type. Even if she liked a dog, she would never like me."
"Let's assume you don't even dare to do that. Let's assume she really likes you, would you like her back?"
Shang Duojin remained silent for a long time, so long that he scratched his fingers until they turned red, before finally saying in a muffled voice, "Sister Qiao, can you promise me that you won't tell bad women what I'm about to tell you?"
Qiao Mei raised an eyebrow, her red eyes glancing at the place where Shu Qingqing was hiding for the umpteenth time today, and nodded without any hesitation: "Of course."
She didn't even need to tell Shu Qingqing; Shu Qingqing herself was listening nearby.
"I...I think I've fallen for her, so if she really likes me, of course I'll like her...no, I should say I'll like her even more."
As he finished speaking, Shang Duojin looked up, his eyes filled with a seriousness that Qiao Mei had never seen before.
Qiao Mei nodded, and under Shang Duojin's bewildered gaze, looked at the place where Shu Qingqing was hiding: "Qingqing, did you hear that? Come out, the rest of the show is in your hands."
Qiao Mei stood up, and Shu Qingqing stepped out of the shadows into the light, her eyes filled with complex and disbelief.
Shang Duojin's mind was buzzing when he saw this, and he wished he could just find a hole to crawl into.
He didn't dare to meet Shu Qingqing's eyes and wanted to get up and escape from this very awkward place.
But Shu Qingqing didn't give him a chance.
She stopped in front of him, pressed down on his body as he tried to stand up, and forced him to sit back down.
Then he looked at Qiao Mei and said, "Okay, Qiao Qiao, you go first. Let me talk to him about the rest."
Qiao Mei nodded, ignoring the pleading look Shang Duojin was giving her, and quickly disappeared from sight.
Without Qiao Mei present, the atmosphere became awkward for a moment.
Shu Qingqing withdrew her hand from Shang Duojin's shoulder and looked at him with his head hanging low and his face almost completely red. She found it a little funny for some reason.
She cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to lift his head, and asked him, "What, is admitting you like me such a shameful thing? Since you like me, you shouldn't be reacting like this now that I'm in front of you!"
Although Shu Qingqing said this, her ears, which were already bright red, betrayed her nervousness.
She forced herself to appear calm and composed, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what she should say to Shang Duojin next.
Shang Duojin noticed her ears were also burning red, and he became indignant. He wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulled her into his arms, and forced her to sit on his lap. Looking at her pale face, he said with satisfaction, "I never expected that you could actually persuade Sister Qiao to help you in order to get me. Shu Qingqing, tell me honestly, when did you start secretly having a crush on me?!"
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