Desire! This Romance Is Overflowing with Ambiguous Atmosphere! So Sweet! - Chapter 29

Xia Zhuozhuo couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.

Her shoulders trembled as she laughed: “Pfft, hahahaha! Fifty-two?! You chased after fifty-two girls and still managed to fail every single time? That’s not something just anyone can pull off!”

“Exactly!” Ji Yanchuan fumed with rage. “They’re always worried about whether I’m a scumbag. I don’t even know if I am one, but they’re already trying to find me a girlfriend to prove it!”

Xia Zhuozhuo gave him a thumbs-up.

She wholeheartedly agreed: “Well, I’m not as unlucky as you. At least I felt great the moment I smashed that bottle over his head! That idiot deserved it! He tried to touch my thigh, who else should I have smashed if not him?”

“It’s just those online keyboard warriors who keep harping on that point, criticizing me every day and even stalking me. Forget whether the rumors are true or not, I just want to ask, what business is it of yours anyway?”

Ji Yanchuan rarely found someone he could chat with so easily.

He was straightforward by nature and particularly liked Xia Zhuozhuo’s fiery temper, no beating around the bush with her.

So, Ji Yanchuan leaned in with a grin: “So, were the paparazzi’s rumors about you true?”

Xia Zhuozhuo froze for a moment.

Ji Yanchuan didn’t notice her reaction: “If it’s just slander like in my case, we should talk after the variety show wraps up. If all else fails, we could just pair up.”

Xia Zhuozhuo’s smile stiffened even further on her face.

She instinctively glanced at Fu Yuji beside her.

He sat upright, meticulously cutting his steak with a knife and fork, his sharp, clean jawline looking somewhat cold.

As if sensing her gaze, he slowly turned his head, the corners of his lips curling into a faint, mocking smile.

Xia Zhuozhuo instantly felt a chill run down her spine.

She hurriedly averted her eyes and refused Ji Yanchuan: “No way. I don’t want to be your fifty-third candidate.”

Ji Yanchuan had only been joking anyway.

He didn’t notice anything unusual between Xia Zhuozhuo and Fu Yuji.

He shrugged: “See? I told you, I can’t find a partner at all. Here comes the fifty-third rejection.”

Xia Zhuozhuo: “…”

She didn’t dare continue the conversation with Ji Yanchuan. Just as she was about to pick up her knife and fork to eat and distract herself, she caught Fu Yuji pushing the steak he had just cut over to her out of the corner of her eye.

His movements were practiced and entirely natural.

Xia Zhuozhuo shot him a complicated look, let out a soft humph, and then naturally began eating it without another thought.

The atmosphere on their side of the table was lively and noisy.

But the other end of the dining table was unusually quiet, as if completely separated from the boisterous vibe of the four.

A gentle sea breeze brushed against their cheeks.

Wen Shiwu ate her separate gluten-free dinner, faintly catching the rich aroma of alcohol mixed with the scent of oud and bergamot from Yu Zheng, invading her senses.

She turned her gaze toward him.

She saw that Yu Zheng wasn’t eating. His white tailcoat jacket had been taken off and placed beside him.

He casually held a glass of wine, the collar of his black shirt slightly undone. The sea breeze gently rustled his clothes, and combined with the disheveled strands of hair blowing across his forehead, he exuded a captivating laziness.

Yu Zheng seemed slightly tipsy.

He sat facing the sea, the cool evening breeze brushing against his face, dispelling some of the heat from the strong liquor burning his throat. It also helped him suppress the flustered restlessness brought on by their earlier exchanged glances.

Wen Shiwu felt that he was very different tonight.

Unlike when she usually saw him on stage.

Yu Zheng was the kind of heaven’s favorite who basked in the adoration of flowers and applause, radiating charisma under the brightest spotlights, blessed with immense wealth and enviable popularity.

He was sensual, intoxicatingly alluring.

Yet also arrogant and unrestrained.

He always laughed with reckless abandon, as if nothing in this world could ever tame the wild pride in his eyes.

But at this moment, Yu Zheng seemed a little lonely.

He held a wine glass, drinking by himself as he faced the sea.

The sea breeze brushed past the corners of his eyes but failed to wipe away the flushed, vivid redness brought on by the strong liquor.

Perhaps sensing Wen Shiwu’s gaze,

Yu Zheng lazily turned his head to look at her.

The drunken haze in his peach-blossom eyes had not yet faded, yet within that blurriness, there was an inexplicable depth of emotion.

Yu Zheng idly swirled his glass, leisurely straightening up as he raised a corner of his lips and asked with a smile, “Peeking at me?”

Wen Shiwu shook her head.

She wasn’t peeking, she felt she was being quite open about it. The cameras had already been put away by then, and the production team had given them permission to freely enjoy the evening.

Even in front of the cameras, she never held back.

Now, with no live broadcast, Wen Shiwu had even less reason to deny her open desire to look at her idol.

“No,” Wen Shiwu set down her cutlery, “I just thought… Yu Zheng seemed a little unhappy tonight.”

Yu Zheng’s expression faltered for a moment.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he lifted his glass and took another sip of whiskey. The strong peatiness was sharp and pungent.

But it was precisely because it was sharp enough

that it could suppress the increasingly restless stirrings of his wildly beating heart.

Wen Shiwu had always been sensitive to others’ emotions.

Having grown up in the vanity fair of the entertainment industry since childhood, she could quickly pick up on people’s moods.

Similarly, she could sense Yu Zheng’s unusual demeanor now, so she tentatively asked, “Is it because of me?”

Yu Zheng’s lips had just touched the rim of his glass.

He had intended to take another drink, but upon hearing Wen Shiwu’s words, he suddenly set the glass down.

Yu Zheng smiled carelessly, “Why do you ask that?”

“Intuition,” she answered just as earnestly.

Yu Zheng pushed his glass aside, no longer touching it, and shifted into a more relaxed posture. “It has nothing to do with you.”

But Wen Shiwu didn’t think so.

She had clearly noticed that Yu Zheng seemed reluctant to look at her, especially after failing the staring challenge, his mood had worsened.

“Then is it because of Dimple Sister?” Wen Shiwu asked.

The casual smile in Yu Zheng’s peach-blossom eyes froze, and the curve of his lips became somewhat unnatural.

After a long while, he slowly reined in his smile, his Adam’s apple bobbing twice before he replied in a hoarse voice, “Yeah.”

Wen Shiwu also turned her face toward the sea breeze.

The evening wind tousled her long hair, a few strands brushing past her dimples. “Writing a love song just for her, debuting because of her… She must be very important to you.”

She faced the sea, unable to see Yu Zheng’s expression.

Naturally, she didn’t know that he had turned his gaze back to her, staring intently at her profile, his peach-blossom eyes beneath long lashes surging with deep emotion. “Yeah, very important.”

Wen Shiwu suddenly turned her face back.

Yu Zheng’s eyelashes trembled, and he immediately averted his gaze, casually grabbing a can of low-alcohol beer as if nothing had happened.

Wen Shiwu also reached for a can of beer.

She turned it to check the ingredients list for anything she might be allergic to, but before she could get a clear look, the can was taken from her hand by Yu Zheng.

He replaced it with a glass of freshly squeezed juice. “You drink this.”

“Oh.” Wen Shiwu sounded a bit disappointed.

She had originally wanted to find an alcohol she wasn’t allergic to so she could drink with Yu Zheng: “Is she no longer with us?”

“What?” Yu Zheng didn’t catch her meaning immediately.

“Sorry… I didn’t mean it that way.”

Wen Shiwu quickly rephrased: “I just thought someone like you probably couldn’t fail to win over any girl you pursued. If she’s someone you remember so fondly, she must no longer be with us.”