Chapter 7 A Drunken Temptation Speaking of Gu Qingyan's figure and appearance...
"Fine, even if we're going to have to confront each other, we need to find a warm place." Lin Yuwei nodded slightly, and Li Rui took her to a hot pot restaurant near the school on his bicycle.
Li Rui was clearly hungry after exercising, and he flipped through the menu with great speed. He called over a waiter and quickly ordered his food.
Lin Yuwei held the hot tea that the waiter had just poured, feeling the warmth from the porcelain cup, and took a sip: "I heard you're still in contact with your ex-girlfriend Zhang Qian?" She went straight to the point, her voice colder than the north wind outside the window.
Sitting across from him, Li Rui's smile froze on his face, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the teacup: "My darling Weiwei, don't listen to their rumors, Zhang Qian and I broke up a long time ago."
"Really? Look at your phone." Lin Yuwei forwarded the evidence of Li Rui's infidelity that Gu Qingyan had collected to her. Li Rui glanced at her suspiciously, sat up straight, and opened the phone on the table. His originally calm expression became increasingly unpleasant as he swiped his fingers.
He moved closer to her, grabbed her hand urgently, and said sincerely, "Weiwei, listen to me, it's not like that. It's Zhang Qian who's been harassing me. I absolutely didn't mean to do anything to betray you, I swear."
"So those sweet words in the chat history were forced by her to send, and she forced you to book a hotel room too. Oh, she can force you to book a hotel room more than ten times a month?" Lin Yuwei shook off his hand, the back of her hand covered in the sweat from his palm, making her feel nauseous.
Despite the bustling atmosphere inside the hot pot restaurant, Lin Yuwei's clear voice still drew the attention of the surrounding diners, many of whom were students from the school.
Li Rui pleaded in a low voice, "Weiwei, don't make a scene here. It'll be disgraceful if word gets out. Here's what we'll do: I'll explain slowly after we finish eating. I promise."
Lin Yuwei laughed angrily: "Now you know it's shameful? When you were flirting with Zhang Qian and going to a hotel, weren't you ashamed? Your infidelity is a fact, what excuses do you have? You scumbag!"
Li Rui, enraged and embarrassed, suddenly turned grim: "How can you blame me? In the end, it's because you don't trust me. I asked you to go out for the night, and you pretended to be high and mighty and refused. What normal man doesn't have needs? Now you're investigating me? Tell me, where did these chat logs and photos come from? Did that bitch Zhang Qian send them to you?"
Lin Yuwei watched Li Rui's changing expression and knew that this was a common tactic used by scumbags. At first, he would lower his stance, be soft and try to please her, trying to get by. If the woman was persistent, he would get angry and turn around and blame the woman for the current situation. Without exception, all eight of her ex-boyfriends had gone through this process.
She was tired of wasting her breath on a jerk like Li Rui and stood up abruptly: "Don't try to pin this on me, I can't take it. The photos weren't sent to me by Zhang Qian. Where they came from is unimportant. If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place. Li Rui, this is over."
Li Rui abruptly stood up and kicked the chair away, the chair scraping loudly on the floor. He leaned down and glared at Lin Yuwei, veins bulging on his forehead: "Fine, let's break up. Girls line up to date me! Don't think you're so great just because you're a little pretty. Do you think you're some kind of princess?" His gaze suddenly turned mocking: "Always so suspicious. Do you expect everyone to fawn over you like your loyal dog, Ban Gu Qingyan? To obey your every command? You're crazy! No wonder men only want to play with you!"
These words were like a poisoned ice pick, piercing precisely into Lin Yuwei's most vulnerable spot. She felt a sharp pain spread from her chest to her fingertips, and she could barely stand.
As Lin Yuwei stood by the roadside trying to flag down a car, she realized that her fingers were trembling uncontrollably, and a knot of resentment was stuck in her chest. It wasn't because of the breakup; a scumbag like Li Rui wasn't worth her heartbreak.
What truly stung her was the fact she had been deliberately avoiding: none of her nine relationships lasted more than two months. Perhaps she was just unlucky in love. Every time she started a new relationship, she would ask Gu Qingyan to check if the guy had any dark past. Gu Qingyan would always find out quickly, compile the evidence into a detailed report, and send it to her. These guys were either playboys who treated love like a game, or womanizers who flirted with several girls at the same time, or hypocrites who treated dating Lin Yuwei as a trophy to show off to their friends... Proud as Lin Yuwei was, she could not accept a flawed relationship, so after learning the truth, she chose to break up decisively with each one, and then start the cycle of looking for the next romantic target.
However, the series of failures, coupled with Li Rui's vicious mockery, finally shook her belief. Perhaps no one in this world would truly love her? Was she being too demanding?
Finally, a taxi stopped, and Lin Yuwei opened the car door, her voice trembling so much it was almost incoherent: "To Blue Note."
Blue Note is the most expensive bar in town. A bottle of tequila costs as much as half a month's living expenses for an average student. Lin Yuwei sat in the most conspicuous spot at the bar. The bar was well-heated. She unbuttoned her cashmere coat and put it aside, revealing a silk shirt underneath. Then she ordered a whole bottle of Patrón.
The amber-colored liquor poured down, tracing a perfect arc on the ice sphere. By the third glass, the alcohol had finally stopped her fingertips from trembling.
Lin Yuwei's phone vibrated, and the words "Gu Qingyan" flashed on the screen. She subconsciously wanted to hang up, but inexplicably answered the call.
"Where are you? It's late, do you want me to come pick you up?" His voice came through the receiver, deeper than usual.
She tilted her head back and took another gulp of wine, her throat burning: "No need, it's great here. There's wine, music, everything good, and no worries. I don't want to go back."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
Gu Qingyan asked, "Are you at Blue Note? I'm coming right now." She always went there to drown her sorrows after a breakup; he knew her habit all too well.
Lin Yuwei scoffed, "Gu Qingyan, you've really gotten bold now, even controlling my drinking?" She hung up the phone, poured herself another glass of wine, and the alcohol began to take effect, blurring the light in her eyes and making it warm.
Lin Yuwei was stunned when a long, slender hand snatched her wine glass away: "Li Rui...?" She turned around drunkenly, but her gaze met Gu Qingyan's face. He was dressed very lightly, wearing only a jacket over a white cotton T-shirt, and his hair was still covered with unmelted snow. He had obviously rushed over after hanging up the phone.
“Go home,” he said briefly, reaching out to put his hand on her shoulder.
"Get away from me!" Lin Yuwei shoved him away violently, the alcohol amplifying her emotions: "It's all your fault! It's always like this!" Her voice became shrill and high-pitched under the influence of alcohol: "Aren't you very smug? It's so interesting to see me get dumped again and again, isn't it?"
Gu Qingyan's face was inscrutable under the changing lights of the bar. He didn't say anything, but forcefully wrapped a cashmere coat around her and half-carried her out. Lin Yuwei struggled a few times, then suddenly felt dizzy, the aftereffects of the alcohol kicking in.
The cold wind outside the bar sobered her up a little. Gu Qingyan squatted down in front of her, and she subconsciously leaned on him. He carried her on his back, lifting her up with practiced ease, as if he had done it a thousand times.
"Why..." Yuwei lay on his back, finally unable to hold back her tears any longer, and burst into sobs: "Why can't I ever meet someone who truly cares for me? Am I... terrible?"
Gu Qingyan paused, then finally sighed softly, "We will meet again." His voice was very soft, and was swallowed up by the cold wind in the next second.
The snow started falling again. Lin Yuwei buried her face in his shoulder, his body heat seeping through the fabric. His steady pace made her drowsy. She half-closed her eyes and vaguely saw snowflakes falling on his eyelashes, like the snowman they used to build together when they were little.
"Really?" she asked vaguely, her threats sounding weak from the alcohol: "You're not allowed to lie to me... If you dare to lie to me, I won't let you get away with it."
When they got home, Gu Qingyan helped her take off her coat, put her on the sofa, and turned to go to the kitchen to make hangover soup. She stared at his busy back and suddenly found it funny. They had been living together for more than a year, and every time she came home drunk, Gu Qingyan was always like this—silent, obedient, like a robot with a pre-programmed routine, methodically making hangover soup for her, running hot water for her bath, and preparing clean pajamas.
The alcohol was taking effect, and Lin Yuwei felt very dizzy, but her mind was unusually clear. The scenes of arguing with her boyfriend Li Rui began to flash back in her mind.
"Who do you think you are? You're just a rich girl who relies on family connections!"
"So what if I rely on my family? At least I'm a decent person, much better than a cheating scumbag like you!"
"Ha, I'm a scumbag. I'm not putting up with you anymore. Go find your lackey. Isn't he always there for you?"
Lin Yuwei's gaze unconsciously drifted towards the kitchen. Through the half-open kitchen glass door, she saw Gu Qingyan's tall and straight back. Because the house was well heated, he had taken off his snow-soaked jacket and was only wearing a simple white cotton T-shirt. The lines of his shoulder blades rose and fell slightly with the movement of cutting ginger. A strand of unruly black hair fell down the back of his neck, shimmering in the warm yellow light.
She didn't know when it started, but the boy who always silently followed behind her had grown into such an aggressively muscular physique. Lin Yuwei's gaze slid down his back to his waistline, and then to his buttocks encased in jeans—more perky and full than any of her boyfriends. To be honest, Gu Qingyan's figure and appearance were really good, superior to any of the boys she had ever dated.
The moment the thought popped into her head, Lin Yuwei was stunned for a moment. She looked away, raised her hand and touched her forehead. She must be sick, otherwise, why would she have such thoughts about Gu Qingyan?
"Drink it." Gu Qingyan had already walked to the sofa at some point, holding a bowl of steaming hangover soup in his hand. His voice was still calm, but his eyes were dark and deep, as if he was suppressing some emotion.
Lin Yuwei didn't take it. Instead, she lowered her head, took a small sip of the hangover soup from his hand, and then deliberately frowned, saying, "It's too hot."
Gu Qingyan's eyelashes trembled slightly as he turned to add ice. Lin Yuwei had a sudden thought and reached out to grab his sleeve, patting the empty seat next to her: "Leave the soup on the table to cool. Stay here with me, and feed me when it's cooled down."
A note from the author:
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