Chapter 416 416 Minds
416:
Three days later, Ye Qingxi met Li Wen as promised.
On the day they met, Ye Qingxi didn't want Qin Cheng to pick him up. He said, "I'll have Chen Xiang drive me there. You two are together anyway, so you can go together after work."
"No need," Qin Cheng said. "I just finished meeting with President Gao, and we're just outside. It's on my way to pick you up."
Seeing that he had said that, Ye Qingxi had no choice but to agree, "Alright then."
When Qin Cheng arrived, Ye Qingxi had almost finished his work. He said a few words to Chen Xiang, got into Qin Cheng's car, and went with him to the agreed restaurant.
Li Wen arrived a little earlier than the other two.
He was wearing a green floral shirt, and his hair was brownish, slightly long, and a little curly.
The moment Ye Qingxi stepped into the private room, she saw him lazily yawning, wearing a classic G brand watch on his wrist.
As if he had heard a noise, he turned his head and looked over, and then his eyes lit up instantly.
"Wow, Qin Cheng, you didn't say before that your brother is even better looking than in the movies!"
Li Wen stood up and walked up to Ye Qingxi. "Hello, hello, my name is Li Wen, I'm your brother's friend. What's your WeChat ID? I can add you, or you can scan my QR code."
After saying that, he took out his phone.
Qin Cheng: ...
Qin Cheng stood silently in front of Ye Qingxi, his eyes filled with speechlessness.
"Stay away from my brother."
Ye Qingxi picked up her phone and held it over Qin Cheng's shoulder, saying, "Scan me."
Qin Cheng: ...
Qin Cheng turned to look at his younger brother.
Ye Qingxi smiled and said, "It's normal for me to add your friends on WeChat."
This is the truth. Ye Qingxi has WeChat contacts for all of Qin Cheng's friends, although strictly speaking, there are only three people—Zhang Chun and Qin Cheng's two college roommates.
Seeing that he said that, Qin Cheng did not stop him.
Li Wen quickly scanned his WeChat QR code.
Ye Qingxi looked at him, savoring the scent of his perfume.
It's very rich.
It's like springtime when all the flowers are in full bloom.
With his light green floral shirt, Ye Qingxi felt that he could go on a leisurely vacation any second now.
With such a strong perfume scent, it's no wonder that his brother also had a lingering fragrance.
I reckon that when he gets back after this meal, the air will be filled with the scent of flowers.
"Thank you," Li Wen said, looking up at him after scanning the code.
Ye Qingxi shook her head, "No need to be polite."
He quickly added Li Wen as a friend.
That is, when he added a friend, he switched the phone from his left hand to his right hand and clicked to accept with his right hand fingers.
It was only then that Li Wen noticed that he was wearing two bracelets on his left wrist.
One of them is made of jade.
One...
Li Wen stared at it for two seconds, then laughed. It was surprisingly similar to the one in Qin Cheng's hand.
interesting.
Qin Cheng has never taken off the bracelet on his wrist since he met Qin Cheng.
Li Wen once suspected that this was related to the person he liked.
Unexpectedly, he saw a very similar mark on Qin Cheng's younger brother's wrist.
What's going on?
"Come over here," he greeted Ye Qingxi warmly.
Ye Qingxi nodded and walked over with Qin Cheng.
Li Wen remained seated in the same spot he had just been sitting in.
Ye Qingxi sat down opposite him, and Qin Cheng naturally sat down next to him.
He rang the bell to let the waiter in and began taking his order.
Having not eaten all afternoon, Ye Qingxi was quite hungry, so she didn't stand on ceremony and ordered many of her favorite dishes.
He handed the menu to Qin Cheng.
Qin Cheng casually added two more dishes and handed them to Li Wen.
After the three of them had ordered their food and the waiter had served tea, Ye Qingxi took the initiative to chat with Li Wen.
"How did you and my brother meet?" Ye Qingxi asked knowingly.
Li Wen didn't hide anything from him, saying, "It's simply fate. I was in a good mood that day and went diving, but I got a leg cramp and almost got into trouble. At the critical moment, your brother appeared out of nowhere and pulled me out of the deep sea."
"If it weren't for him, I don't know what I would be like now."
Ye Qingxi nodded, "I see."
He added, "You just said I look better in person than in the movies. Have you seen my movies?"
“Of course.” Li Wen said matter-of-factly, “You’re so famous, who hasn’t seen your movies?”
"Your brother is really something. For so long, all I knew was that he had a very close younger brother, but I never expected it to be you!"
Li Wen glanced at Qin Cheng with disdain, "You're really not being fair. Such a big thing, and you didn't even tell me sooner!"
Qin Cheng: ...
Qin Cheng was confused; what did this have to do with him?
Did I really need to tell him sooner?!
That's outrageous!
"By the way, you also have the surname Li. So, are you related to Li Hong? You mean the Li Hong who's in the movie?"
“That’s my cousin,” Li Wen said.
Ye Qingxi: !! !! It really is related!
On his way here, he suddenly remembered Li Wen and Li Hong, both surnamed Li. This surname is not very common, so could the two be related?
For this reason, Ye Qingxi made a special investigation and found that Li Hong was also from F City.
Li Wen is also from F City.
That's why he asked out of curiosity.
I never expected they were brothers.
"I've seen your brother's movies; he's a good actor."
"He's just so-so," Li Wen said sincerely. "He can't compare to you. He's just doing it for fun, purely because he's bored."
Ye Qingxi: ? ? ?
Ye Qingxi: ...
Is it really appropriate for you to talk about your brother like that?
As the two were talking, the dishes were served one after another.
Qin Cheng first picked up a shrimp ball and placed it in Ye Qingxi's bowl, then helped Ye Qingxi peel a crab.
Ye Qingxi has never been good at peeling crabs, mainly because he finds it troublesome.
At home, Aunt Zhang would prepare it for him. When he was out with Qin Cheng, Qin Cheng would help him. When he was with Zhong Yan and the others, they would peel it for him since they knew he didn't dislike it but just found it troublesome. He only needed to eat it.
Over time, Ye Qingxi had gotten used to it, and now she didn't say anything when she saw Qin Cheng peeling crabs on the side.
After Qin Cheng finished peeling the crab, he handed him the plate with the crab meat. Ye Qingxi looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you."
"Eat," Qin Cheng said.
Ye Qingxi then started eating without any hesitation.
Seeing this, Qin Cheng also helped him peel shrimp.
Ye Qingxi quickly said, "You eat, don't worry about me."
"It's nothing," Qin Cheng said casually. "I'll be washing my hands anyway."
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi had no choice but to let him continue peeling shrimp.
Li Wen: ? ? ?
As Li Wen ate the bok choy in his mouth, he thought to himself, "I never knew Qin Cheng could be so virtuous."
He shamelessly said, "Well, how about you peel a few for me too?"
Qin Cheng looked up at him and asked, "Are your hands just for show?"
Li Wen: "Isn't that what you're going to do later?"
Qin Cheng: "Can't you wash your hands?"
Li Wen: ? ? ?
Li Wen: ...
Li Wen picked up the shrimp, feeling annoyed, and started peeling it himself.
As he peeled away the bracelet, he noticed the bracelet dangling from Qin Cheng's wrist.
This bracelet must have a story behind it.
Otherwise, Qin Cheng wouldn't wear it even when he goes into the water or takes a bath.
But why does this bracelet look so much like the one on Ye Qingxi's wrist?
And his attitude towards Ye Qingxi is really too indulgent, isn't it?
These are all his older brothers, his cousins. Li Hong is so much older than him, and he never peels crabs or shrimp for him. He only steals the crabs and shrimp that Li Hong has already peeled!
That's really asking for a beating!
Li Wen sighed silently in his heart. This was also a cousin, but the difference between them was too great.
After Qin Cheng finished peeling the skin, he stood up and went to the restroom in the private room to wash his hands.
Ye Qingxi then ate all the crabs and shrimp that he had put in her bowl.
He returned the favor and put a piece of spare rib on Qin Cheng's plate.
Qin Cheng smiled and put another mushroom on his plate.
Li Wen: ...What a loving and respectful brother!
He is completely different from Li Hong.
Li Wen continued peeling shrimp for himself, self-sufficient.
After he had peeled enough, he washed his hands.
I'd barely eaten two when the phone rang.
Li Wen glanced at it and answered.
Ye Qingxi noticed that his expression had changed; he was no longer as nonchalant as before, but had become serious.
Li Wen finished his conversation quickly and hung up the phone.
"Ruicheng is not very satisfied with our contract."
"Why?" Qin Cheng didn't want to avoid Ye Qingxi and asked directly.
When he asked that question, Li Wen received his message and knew that there was no need to hide this from Ye Qingxi.
So he generously told Ruicheng about all the requests and questions they had raised.
Qin Cheng replied while serving food to Ye Qingxi.
Li Wen then shared his opinion.
Ye Qingxi ate silently without interrupting.
The main problem is that he doesn't even know what Ruicheng's contract is, so naturally he can't get involved.
Fortunately, Qin Cheng did not discuss this matter with Li Wen for too long.
"Wait a moment, I'll talk to Ruicheng again," Qin Cheng said.
Li Wen nodded, "I'll talk to Assistant Liu again too."
"Um."
Seeing that they had important business to attend to, Ye Qingxi stopped talking to Li Wen after finishing his meal. Anyway, now that he had Li Wen's WeChat, he would have plenty of opportunities to chat in the future.
The three parted ways at the restaurant entrance.
Li Wen smiled and said to him, "See you later, Xiao Xi."
Qin Cheng: ...
If Ye Qingxi hadn't been there, Qin Cheng would have really wanted to remind him, "What's with the name Xiaoxi? Are you two that close?"
Just call her Ye Qingxi.
On the contrary, Ye Qingxi seemed to have long been used to being called by his nickname and didn't care much about it.
He nodded, hummed in agreement, and walked towards Qin Cheng's car.
Qin Cheng opened the car door and let him get in.
Looking at it, Li Wen thought to himself, "How thoughtful of them."
He turned around and walked towards his car.
Qin Cheng walked around the front of the car and sat in the driver's seat.
"How is it?" he asked Ye Qingxi.
Ye Qingxi felt there was no problem.
Although Li Wen seems a bit lazy, he is very serious when it comes to work, and he has a great personality; he is obviously very outgoing.
With his personality, only extroverted people like him can become his friends.
“That’s good,” he said. “But I never expected that he would be Li Hong’s younger brother.”
"You know his cousin?"
Ye Qingxi shook her head, "I know, but I haven't had much contact with them."
He said, "As you know, I've only made a few movies, and I don't participate in other red carpet events, so I've only heard of his name but never worked with him."
"However," Ye Qingxi said, recalling something, "that paparazzi who made things difficult for Huo Zinan before also went to photograph Li Hong, and ended up getting beaten up by Li Hong."
"He even tried to play the victim and ask Li Hong to apologize, but Li Hong completely ignored him. Li Hong's fans were so angry that he didn't dare to open the comments section."
Qin Cheng: ...Is that so?
"Is Li Hong alright?"
“Of course he’s fine,” Ye Qingxi said. “Li Hong is much more famous than Huo Zinan was back then, and he has fans to help him. Besides, the paparazzi were mainly taking pictures of the little girl he was holding.”
“Li Hong didn’t want him to take pictures, so he glared at him as a warning. But he kept following him and trying to take pictures of his face, so Li Hong got angry.”
"This matter involves the privacy of ordinary people, especially since the other party is a child and a minor, so many netizens support him."
Ye Qingxi sighed, "To put it bluntly, it's Huo Zinan's parents who are incompetent. If they had hired a public relations team for him back then, given Huo Zinan's age at the time, the public opinion wouldn't have turned out that way."
"But he was very lucky to meet you, so now, his suffering has finally come to an end," Qin Cheng said.
Ye Qingxi smiled, somewhat embarrassed.
He should thank his father and grandfather; if he hadn't met them, he wouldn't have been able to help Huo Zinan.
So, he was very lucky!
The two returned home without any problems.
Qin Cheng was busy dealing with Ruicheng's affairs, so Ye Qingxi returned to her bedroom.
He took a shower and changed into his pajamas.
As Ye Qingxi passed by the laundry basket, she caught a faint, almost imperceptible scent of flowers.
He stopped and picked up the clothes he had just thrown in. Sure enough, they were already stained with Li Wen's perfume.
What about Qin Cheng's clothes?
They must have gotten infected too, right?
Unconsciously, Ye Qingxi felt a strange, indescribable feeling in her heart.
He threw the clothes back down, walked to the bed, and lay down.
As he lay there, he sat up again, feeling that his mood was very chaotic.
Ye Qingxi picked up her phone and dialed Zhong Yan's number.
Zhong Yan had just finished eating.
He now lives with Pei Liang, and to prevent their friendship from being accidentally exposed, they haven't hired a housekeeper.
However, Zhong Yan had been pampered since childhood, so without a nanny, many things fell on Pei Liang's shoulders.
He stood in the kitchen with an ice cream in his hand, watching Pei Liang wash the dishes.
As she looked at it, she handed him the ice cream, saying, "Have a bite."
Upon seeing this, Pei Liang leaned closer, intending to bite the spot where he had just bitten.
Before she could even touch it, Zhong Yan's phone rang.
Zhong Yan turned around to get her phone, and casually moved the ice cream away.
Pei Liang: ? ? ?
His ice cream!
"It's Xiaoxi on the phone." Zhong Yan looked up at him naturally.
After saying that, he turned and walked out of the kitchen.
Pei Liang: ? ? ?
"No, what is it about Xiaoxi's phone that I can't listen to?"
“That’s not it,” Zhong Yan said. “It’s just that we usually talk for quite a while, so I’d like to sit down and talk.”
Pei Liang: ...
Zhong Yan took a bite of her ice cream. "Take your time washing up~"
Pei Liang: ...
Pei Liang turned around and quickly started washing the dishes!
Zhong Yan answered the phone, walked into the living room, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi felt that this matter was rather complicated.
"Today, I went to see a friend of my brother's."
"Huh?" Zhong Yan asked in confusion, "A friend of your brother? Zhang Chun?"
"No, he was a friend from his graduate school days."
Zhong Yan: "Huh?"
Zhong Yan was shocked, "He even made friends during his graduate studies?!"
"Right, you're shocked too, aren't you?!"
"Of course, how come I knew nothing about this?"
"Because I don't know either," Ye Qingxi said. "I only found out by accident three days ago."
"Unintentionally?"
Ye Qingxi then told him about what had happened a few days ago, "and then we met today."
"So, you met this friend and felt something was off about him?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Pei Liang came out and sat down next to him.
Zhong Yan: ? ? ?
Pei Liang lowered his head and took a bite of ice cream from the spot where Zhong Yan had just bitten.
Zhong Yan: ...
"Are you done washing?"
“It’s over,” Pei Liang said calmly.
Zhong Yan: ...Good heavens!
Wow, that's really fast!
As expected of the King of Scrolls!
Even when washing dishes, they're all rolled up like that!
"Are you... going to sleep?" Ye Qingxi asked, noticing that he wasn't talking to her.
Zhong Yan shook her head, "No, Pei Liang just finished washing the dishes."
"Oh." Ye Qingxi nodded. He knew it, going to bed so early.
“Go on,” Zhong Yan said. “Do you think there’s something wrong with his friend?”
"No," Ye Qingxi replied. "His friend is fine, there's no problem."
"So why did you call me...?"
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi pursed her lips, unsure of what to say.
Li Wen is fine.
Qin Cheng also had no problem.
But when the two of them discussed work together, Ye Qingxi could vaguely sense that she wasn't so happy.
It's not that I'm sad, it's just that I'm not very happy.
He knew, of course, that Qin Cheng did this because he didn't want to hide anything from him, and also to tell Li Wen that he didn't need to hide anything from him about the company.
This is actually a sign that Qin Cheng trusts him and cares about him.
He first conveyed this idea to Li Wen, and Li Wen naturally began to discuss it with him.
Qin Cheng's intentions were good, and there was nothing wrong with what they did.
However, at that time, he couldn't get a word in edgewise; it was as if he was transparently isolated by an invisible barrier.
This was something Ye Qingxi had never experienced before.
Because he wasn't a real child from a young age, he knew too much, even too much. So even when Qin Cheng was talking to others about topics beyond his age, he knew what they were talking about, so he wasn't unhappy at that time.
He didn't speak simply because he didn't want to.
But now that they've all grown up, grown to a age beyond what they once were, when Qin Cheng tries to talk to his friends about work, Ye Qingxi suddenly realizes that he doesn't speak, not because he doesn't want to, but because he genuinely can't.
Because he didn't know those things.
So as he listened to Qin Cheng and Li Wen's conversation and looked at them, he vaguely felt that they were the ones who were closer to him.
Not him and Qin Cheng.
Ye Qingxi tried his best to convey his meaning to Zhong Yan, carefully choosing his words, afraid that he might not express himself accurately.
Zhong Yan quickly understood.
He said, "I understand!"
"Like when I was in my senior year of high school, I went to find Pei Liang and the others, but Pei Liang was discussing a physics competition problem with the top student in his class. I was sitting next to them and couldn't understand a word of it. It almost made me furious!"
Pei Liang: ? ? ? Is that so?!
Pei Liang frantically recalled the events.
Ye Qingxi said, "It's not that I'm angry, I just feel a little unhappy, but not sad, just not that happy."
“Mmm,” Zhong Yan said, “You have a better temper than me, so you don’t get angry easily.”
"You don't need to worry about this too much. It's like that top student in Pei Liang's class. Although they talked back and forth like brothers when they were discussing things, what was the reality? Pei Liang probably doesn't even remember his name now! So it was just a special emotion that arose in that special situation, and it doesn't count."
"Qin Cheng trusts you, that's why he said it to your face. Believe it or not, if it were someone else, he definitely wouldn't have talked to his friend directly. They would have talked alone after dinner."
“Of course,” Ye Qingxi said, “but…”
but?
Zhong Yan was puzzled. How could there still be a "not passed"?
"But what?"
Ye Qingxi sighed, "I think I do mind that perfume a little."
He lay back down on the bed. "I said I didn't mind, but I still felt a little uncomfortable inside."
"Before, neither of our clothes had much of a smell, at most just the orange scent of laundry detergent. But now, he smells like that perfume every day. That perfume really lasts a long time. I just went out to eat with him today, and even though we've been done for a while, when I walked past after showering, I noticed the scent was still on my clothes!"
Ye Qingxi said wistfully, "I've never been a big fan of perfume, and now I'm smelling his perfume every day, especially since it's not even his, it's someone else's. Do you understand how that feels? It's like we used to be on the same side, but now they're on the same side!"
Zhong Yan nodded, feeling that she understood it quite well.
He would definitely be unhappy if Pei Liangtian smelled like someone else's perfume.
Of course, whether he understands it or not is not important. What is important is that Ye Qingxi minds, so this perfume should not appear on Qin Cheng's clothes.
“Why don’t you just tell your brother?” he said.
“That won’t do!” Ye Qingxi retorted. “He and the other person are friends, and they’re even in the same department. They see each other every day. How can they not get tainted? We can’t expect him to go and tell his friend, ‘Don’t use this perfume anymore. My brother doesn’t like it. Can you change it?’ He really has the nerve to say that.”
Ye Qingxi said, "You know how difficult it is for him to make a friend. I don't want to cause unnecessary conflict because of me."
Zhong Yan: ...
Zhong Yan felt that he was just too considerate.
If it were him, this matter would have been resolved on the very first day it happened.
But it's alright, this is simple. After all, given how much Qin Cheng dotes on Ye Qingxi, she doesn't even need to ask; he can just ask and Qin Cheng will resolve the matter immediately.
So Zhong Yan cooperated and said, "Then there's nothing we can do. But it's okay, you said it yourself, he wasn't using this before, he changed it these past few days, maybe he'll switch to a new perfume soon."
Zhong Yan said, "By then, the scent won't be as strong, and the fragrance won't last as long, so you naturally won't be able to smell it."
"I hope so," Ye Qingxi said.
He then concluded, "I think it was because I was bothered by the perfume that I felt increasingly uncomfortable when they talked about work later on, as if they were on the same side and I was an outsider."
“Of course,” Zhong Yan said. “That’s only because we’re in a normal world. If we were in an ABO world, your brother’s situation would be like he’s covered in other people’s pheromones. How could people not mind that?”
Pei Liang: ? ? ?
No, that's not the same logic, is it?
And you can't use that analogy, can you?!
Ye Qingxi is just Qin Cheng's younger brother.
As long as Qin Cheng isn't against marriage, it's perfectly normal for him to have a partner, whether he carries her pheromones or she carries his.
What could Ye Qingxi, as the younger brother, possibly have to mind?
If he were covered in Zhong Yan's pheromones right now, his cousin wouldn't mind, right?
All he can do is shout "sister-in-law!"
Ye Qingxi agreed with Zhong Yan, "Isn't that right?!"
"So the problem lies with his friend. Just wait a bit, it's been a week already, I reckon he should be changing soon."
"You can even estimate that?"
Zhong Yan made up a story, "You don't understand, do you? My mom loves using perfume. She said that a perfume can only be used for a week at most. Any longer and it loses its novelty and charm."
Ye Qingxi: ...
Ye Qingxi really didn't understand.
However, Zhong Yan's mother does use perfume, and as far as I can remember, she does change it quite often.
Therefore, Ye Qingxi didn't think much of it.
He had only called Zhong Yan to chat, but now that they were done, he felt much better and decided not to disturb Zhong Yan and Pei Liang's time together.
"Then I'm hanging up. Go and be all lovey-dovey with Pei Liang."
Zhong Yan glanced at the person next to her with disdain: "No way."
Pei Liang: ? Don't want what?
Ye Qingxi smiled, not believing him at all.
"I'm hanging up," he said, and then hung up the phone.
Pei Liang then asked in confusion, "Don't want what? Also, when did I ever discuss physics competition problems with the top student in my class during my senior year of high school?"
Isn't he the top student in their class?!
"When Xiaoxi went to film a movie in her second year of junior high school."
Pei Liang: !!!
"Didn't you say you were in your final year of high school?!"
Zhong Yan said matter-of-factly, "Can't I just get them mixed up?"
Pei Liang: ...
Pei Liang lowered his head and said, "Of course, absolutely."
Zhong Yan snorted, "Back then, you ignored me."
"I was wrong." Pei Liang immediately slid to his knees.
Zhong Yan continued to hum, "I called you and you told me to wait a minute."
"Baby, what do you want to eat tomorrow? I'll make it for you~"
Zhong Yan scoffed, "It's too late, I'll eat out tomorrow!"
Pei Liang: !!!
Pei Liang reached out and took his hand, coaxing, "Are you really angry?"
He said, "I remember I was just trying to coax you back then. I even went out of my way to bring you roasted chestnuts late at night."
Zhong Yan: ...That's true.
"Do you want to eat roasted chestnuts tonight?" Pei Liang asked him.
Zhong Yan thought for a moment and nodded, "That's fine too."
"So what do you want to eat tomorrow?"
“I’m going out to eat tomorrow,” Zhong Yan said.
Pei Liang: ? ? ?
Why are you going out to eat?
Seeing the question mark on his face, Zhong Yan explained, "I'm going to see Qin Cheng tomorrow."
“Xiao Xi, as you know, is always worrying about this and that. He didn’t want to talk to Qin Cheng, so I went to talk to Qin Cheng.”
“And then there’s Qin Cheng’s friend.” Zhong Yan smiled. “Let me see if he’s doing this intentionally or unintentionally, whether he truly considers Qin Cheng a friend, or if he’s like your junior from back then.”
Pei Liang: ...No, why is it always him who gets hurt tonight?
Qin Cheng!
You better not do it again!
Pei Liang looked at her boyfriend, "Baby, what game do you want to play later? I'll play with you~"
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