Edge of A Burning Kiss - Chapter 8

“Ding-dong.”

The doorbell rang, it was Qin Yu’s, from apartment 602.

Xia Jin chewed her rice, wondering who could be visiting Qin Yu so soon after he moved in.

“Ding-dong.” Five minutes passed, and the ringing showed no sign of stopping.

She sighed. Who on earth was so persistent about seeing Qin Yu?

Xia Jin opened the door to find a strikingly beautiful young woman standing at the neighbor’s doorstep, pressing the doorbell with one hand while holding a designer bag worth tens of thousands in the other. “Hey, miss, no need to keep ringing. Qin Yu isn’t home right now. Maybe try calling him to see when he’ll be back?”

Guan Yunshi tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, her voice cool and detached. “Sorry to bother you. I tried calling Qin Yu, but he didn’t answer. I didn’t realize he wasn’t home.”

No answer?

Xia Jin frowned. Hadn’t Qin Yu just been texting her?

Taking in Guan Yunshi’s wealthy, aristocratic air, she guessed this was probably one of Qin Yu’s “good sisters.”

Xia Jin had always had a soft spot for pretty women and couldn’t bear to leave Guan Yunshi standing outside for long. After a brief hesitation, she asked, “That bag must be heavy. Would you like to wait inside my place until Qin Yu gets back?”

Guan Yunshi had her own agenda. She had come to Beijing specifically for Qin Yu, even going so far as to ask his grandfather for his address. If she could get on good terms with Qin Yu’s neighbor, it might help her relationship with him in the future.

Clasping her hands politely in front of her, Guan Yunshi gave Xia Jin a graceful, slight bow. “Then I’ll trouble you.”

As soon as she stepped inside, Guan Yunshi spotted Fanbao waiting by the door for Xia Jin. She despised pets: cats, dogs, any kind of animal.

Just as she frowned and prepared to sidestep the dog, she remembered she needed to maintain a gentle, kind persona in front of the neighbor.

Forcing a smile, she pretended to adore Fanbao.

“Your golden retriever is so cute…”

She reached out to pet him, but Fanbao merely gave her a lazy glance, not even wagging his tail.

The moment her hand neared, he turned and trotted off to Xia Jin’s bedroom balcony, eagerly awaiting Qin Yu’s treats.

Guan Yunshi was left standing there, arm outstretched, frozen in awkward silence.

Seeing Fanbao’s blatant disregard for their guest, Xia Jin laughed nervously. “Uh… Fanbao can be a bit shy around strangers. Make yourself comfortable!”

Following habit, Xia Jin handed her a bottle of Oriental Leaf tea. “Are you related to Qin Yu? You look pretty young, still in school?”

Guan Yunshi sat ramrod straight on the sofa. “No, I just graduated from A University this year and came to Beijing for work.”

“An A University prodigy!” Xia Jin’s eyes lit up with interest. “Let me test you, then.”

Guan Yunshi smiled faintly. She had been praised for her intelligence since childhood, excelling in academics and business acumen alike.

“What’s the floral meaning of sweet peas?”

Guan Yunshi froze. Why was Xia Jin asking such an unconventional question? Who even knew the meaning of sweet pea flowers?

Seeing her reaction, Xia Jin grinned mischievously. “Don’t know? Then I’ll tell you, the floral meaning of sweet peas is…”

“9:3:3:1.”

Guan Yunshi felt something inside her crack, as if her entire being had crumbled into dust. She, a celebrated genius, had been bested by a simple Mendelian ratio.

Qin Yu sped all the way back from the old family residence, not even having time to check who had called him on the road.

All he wanted was to rush back to Sheng’an Community as fast as possible and shoo Guan Yunshi away before she could say anything inappropriate in front of Xia Jin.

When he stepped out of the elevator and saw no one at his doorstep, he finally let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Sheng’an was still reliable at least they didn’t let outsiders wander into the complex unchecked.

Just as he opened his phone to text Guan Yunshi and tell her not to come, Qin Yu finally noticed Xia Jin’s latest message:

“Your dear little sister is here with me~ Hurry back! Come pick her up!”

For a moment, Qin Yu felt his heart stop. His body stiffened as he mechanically walked to the door of Unit 601 and rang the bell.

The moment the door opened, Xia Jin greeted him with a sarcastic tone, “Oh, so you finally decided to come back? Making your little sister wait so long, where the hell have you been?”

Qin Yu, though guilty, still managed to retort with shameless confidence, “What little sister? Don’t talk nonsense. I’m the only child of the Qin family, you can’t just call any random girl my sister. If you ruin my reputation and I can’t get married, you’ll have to take responsibility for it!”

“Brother Yu, it’s me! Yunshi! We grew up together! I came to the capital to find you as soon as I graduated!”

Hearing Qin Yu’s voice at the door, Guan Yunshi immediately stood up and called out to him.

Xia Jin raised an eyebrow and shot him a look. “Childhood sweethearts, huh?”

Qin Yu shook his head, feigning innocence. “I don’t know her. She must have the wrong person. My name is Qin Yu, not Brother Yu.”

Hmph. This bastard’s acting skills are on point.

Unable to contain her excitement, Guan Yunshi grabbed her bag from the table and hurried toward the door.

“Woof!”

Fanbao, who had been in the bedroom, also heard Qin Yu’s voice and bolted out of the room like a madman.

With a loud thud, as if fate itself was playing a cruel joke, Fanbao and Guan Yunshi collided head-on.

But the outcome was different, Fanbao, with his 96-pound weight, had a slight advantage over Guan Yunshi. Like a runaway semi-truck, he plowed straight into her, knocking her flat onto the ground.

Meanwhile, the culprit himself, thanks to his sturdy four-legged stance, remained completely unaffected. He effortlessly leaped over Guan Yunshi’s head and trotted over to Xia Jin and Qin Yu.

“Ahhh!” Guan Yunshi lay sprawled on the floor in utter disarray, her carefully styled curls now tangled like seaweed strewn across the ground.

The contents of her bag spilled out, an exquisitely packed lunchbox, likely a lovingly prepared meal for Qin Yu.

“Holy shit!” Xia Jin blurted out, startled by the sudden chaos.

“Wow!” Qin Yu, however, remained unfazed. Instead, he subtly patted Fanbao’s head in silent approval.

Not that Qin Yu lacked sympathy.

Ever since his university days abroad, he had known that Guan Yunshi, relying on their shared childhood history, had proclaimed herself the future young madam of the Qin family. She had gone out of her way to harass every girl he had ever interacted with.

Out of respect for the long-standing friendship between the Qin and Guan families, Qin Yu had only privately warned Guan Yunshi’s brother, Guan Jiayou, to keep her in check. He hadn’t wanted to make things ugly.

But he never expected her to have the audacity to show up at his doorstep now.

Xia Jin truly hadn’t anticipated Fanbao causing such a disaster.

Damn Qin Yu, she cursed inwardly. If he hadn’t fed Fanbao into such a chonky mess, Fanbao wouldn’t have knocked her over so easily.

Xia Jin cursed inwardly, but still hurried forward to help Guan Yunshi up, only to be shoved away abruptly.

“No need!” Guan Yunshi suddenly raised her voice, standing up on her own and straightening her dress and hair. “No need, thank you.”