I Heard You Have a Crush On Me? What a Coincidence! - Chapter 4

Since Qin Wangye was showing some grace, Shao Fuguang naturally played along; after all, he held no personal grudge against Song Que.

“Gu Yusuo said he will be arriving later,” Shao Fuguang said as he tucked away his phone.

“Understood,” Qin Wangye replied.

It was not just the two of them; Shao Fuguang was trailed by a group of friends. As they pushed open the private room door and found their seats, the servers entered in a single file.

“Oh, wow.” Shao Fuguang’s attention was immediately drawn to a chilled bottle of wine on the table. “Petrus. The vintage looks impressive. I tried to order a bottle earlier, but the manager said they were out of stock.”

“They are indeed out of stock,” Song Que explained softly. “Consider this a piece from my private collection.”

Shao Fuguang did not touch it. He glanced over at Qin Wangye. If Song Que was bringing out his personal collection, he clearly wanted something.

Qin Wangye’s gaze flickered over the table, appearing as though he had not noticed the significance.

“Is this for the Beihai Road development?” Qin Wangye finally spoke.

Song Que’s heart skipped a beat. He replied, “It is also an apology.”

“Regarding what happened earlier? That is in the past; I will not take it to heart,” Qin Wangye said. He then looked up, his gaze sharpening. “As for the Beihai Road area, Qin Donghao did not see through your tactics, but I do not need to tell you how much of an advantage you took, do I? Otherwise, you would not be in such a hurry.”

Song Que pressed his lips together tightly. He had not expected Qin Wangye to figure it out so quickly.

Song Que had indeed used some maneuvers. At the time, the Qin family’s representative for the project was Qin Donghao. The man had a brain, but not much of one. He was no match for Song Que. Once the vision was sold to him, he became overconfident, entirely unaware of how much fluff was mixed into the deal.

It followed the standard process where everyone used their own means, but now the opponent had become Qin Wangye. That meant things had to be done by the book.

Song Que realized he had repeatedly fallen into Qin Wangye’s hands. He needed to provide an explanation for everything; after all, he still wanted to make a living in Zhaocheng.

He made a gesture, signaling the server to bring more alcohol.

Unlike the bottle from his collection intended to show sincerity, this time they brought out chilled beers. With an alcohol content of around nine percent, they were lined up neatly across the entire table, creating quite a sight.

If Song Que had a choice, he would not have wanted things to escalate to this point with Qin Wangye. However, whether in the past or the present, no matter how good or idealistic Song Que’s intentions were, things always seemed to spiral out of control.

He was used to it. He did not truly want Qin Wangye to hate him. Being ignored or receiving an occasional nod when they met was more than enough for Song Que.

Qin Wangye’s expression turned sour the moment the beer arrived on the table. His initial coldness had been like a mist, perhaps a bit of posturing, but now his dark eyes were icy and sharp.

Song Que’s move made it seem as though they were irreconcilable enemies. Qin Wangye began to re-evaluate where he might have gone wrong.

“President Qin,” Song Que said as he stood up. He lapsed into a brief silence. His true emotions were always hidden deep within his eyes, but a faint, sincere smile followed. He said, “Welcome back to the country.”

There had been too many people that night, and Song Que had not found an opportunity to say it. Those words had been on the tip of his tongue for too long, and he finally managed to voice them now. More than making amends, he had simply wanted to be the first to welcome Qin Wangye back.

Qin Wangye felt a sudden, inexplicable flutter in his chest.

Shao Fuguang grabbed a handful of melon seeds, and the first “crack” sounded crisp in the quiet. Qin Wangye turned to look at him.

Shao Fuguang certainly did not understand the undercurrents, but that did not stop him from sensing something was off between the two. “You two keep talking.”

“Go away,” Qin Wangye said coldly.

Seeing that he was genuinely displeased, Shao Fuguang grumbled and got up to leave. Once he was gone, the area became quiet.

Song Que breathed a sigh of relief and said sincerely, “President Qin, I know that night was a major offense. As you can likely see, the Beihai Road investment is very important to Zhuiyuan. If you are unhappy, I will accompany you tonight until you are.”

Without waiting for Qin Wangye to speak, Song Que practicedly grabbed a bottle of chilled beer, tilted his head back, and began to chug.

Qin Wangye’s eyelid twitched violently.

Shao Fuguang’s words echoed in his ears: “Song Que is the type who values money over his own life.”

Song Que drank quickly. His feverish symptoms had already been triggered by the cold drinks at the earlier party. Now, his stomach began to cramp uncomfortably. However, he felt he needed to let Qin Wangye vent his anger. Song Que had done things like this before. Having been abandoned at a young age and having fought his way up, the hardships he had faced were far worse than a table full of alcohol.

Furthermore, Song Que was doing this willingly. He considered it a belated celebration.

The shimmering liquid trickled from the corner of Song Que’s mouth and slid down his slender neck. After only three gulps, the bottle was snatched away.

The force of the movement revealed the other man’s anger. Song Que swallowed the foam and looked at Qin Wangye blankly.

“Did I tell you to drink?” Qin Wangye’s voice was deep. “What makes you think I am unhappy? Making amends? For what? That night was consensual.”

The last four words were barely audible, but Song Que definitely heard them.

Qin Wangye continued, “Qin Donghao is an idiot. Why would I be angry about a deal you secured through your own merit? It is just that the government plans to expand a site there, so the zoning might differ from the previous plan. I only asked you to wait!”

Song Que froze for a moment, then dully grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth. “Is that so?”

Qin Wangye followed up sternly, “Is this how you have always negotiated business in the past?”

Song Que replied, “Does negotiating business not require drinking?”

He was actually quite confused. He did not understand why Qin Wangye was angry this time. Not only did he not understand, but even Shao Fuguang, who had been brothers with Qin Wangye for years, could not figure it out. He called out “Brother Ye” and then stealthily stepped forward to take the bottle of Petrus.

Shao Fuguang ignored the tension and invited his friends to start their games. With dice and cards appearing, the atmosphere quickly became lively.

Qin Wangye and Song Que remained isolated, and the air around them felt somewhat stagnant.

Qin Wangye rubbed his temples. He needed to take this one step at a time. At the party, Song Que had avoided him first. He had pushed back a little; was that not just playing around? He thought Song Que was still embarrassed about that night, which was why he used someone else to mention the Beihai Road issue. His intention was simply to get the two of them to sit down and talk. How did it escalate to a life-threatening drinking match?

Song Que noticed his expression. “Are you uncomfortable?”

Qin Wangye did not have the best temper. If it had been Shao Fuguang, he would have snapped back, but Song Que was too cautious. If you made a joke, he would take it literally. This could not continue.

Qin Wangye stared intensely at Song Que and said, “I will not block the Beihai Road development. However, once the official feedback comes in, you must redraft the proposal.”

Song Que did not expect Qin Wangye to yield so easily. He nodded instinctively. “As I should.”

Qin Wangye added, “Then bring it to me so we can discuss it.”

To Song Que, this felt like winning a major prize. After a moment, he stood up. “Alright. I will head to the restroom first.”

Qin Wangye gave a brief acknowledgement.

Song Que turned and left quickly. As the door closed and the noise was left behind, he finally felt a sense of relief. The terrible situation he had anticipated did not happen. Qin Wangye promised not to interfere, and if they were to discuss things further, they would meet many more times.

Qin Wangye did not hold a grudge about those matters. He was a truly good person!

Meanwhile, the “good person” Qin Wangye was in the private room, gripping Shao Fuguang by the neck and making him spit out the mouthful of red wine he had just taken.

“Did I give that to you to drink?” Qin Wangye snarled.

Shao Fuguang felt like cursing him out.