My Ex-Boyfriend is Obsessed with Getting Back Together - Chapter 2

Pei Ran had been abroad for seven years. Most of his old friends from back home had lost touch, with only a few hearing of his return through Gu Chen. They had been clamoring for a reunion ever since.

After declining several times and running out of excuses, Pei Ran finally accepted the invitation.

The bar was named “Blue.” Its interior was a deep, oceanic sapphire, giving one the sensation of being underwater. A resident singer with a soulful voice sat with a guitar, lost in a self-accompanied melody.

When Pei Ran pushed open the door to the private room, the group of people chatting inside all turned to look at him.

At a glance, the faces from his memory had lost their youthful innocence. They felt both familiar and strange. Seeing Pei Ran, they swarmed forward with glasses in hand, rowdily demanding he drink as a penalty for being away so long.

Pei Ran didn’t refuse. Before the night had even truly begun, he had already downed several glasses of hard liquor. He stood tall and steady, showing no signs of intoxication. The others gave him a thumbs up, teasing, “President Pei sure can hold his liquor!”

Pei Ran sat in the corner, remaining quiet for most of the time. He listened to them reminisce about the past, only offering a light laugh or a comment when the conversation turned to something involving him.

During the party, one man stepped out to take a call. When he returned, he explained with a mix of sweetness and helplessness, “The spouse is checking up on me, sorry about that.”

Someone laughed and cursed jokingly, “No showing off your love life allowed!”

Once he sat back down, the topic naturally shifted toward relationships.

Zhou Xuyan looked around the circle, asking warily, “The rest of us are still single dogs, right?” He seemed terrified that someone might have betrayed their “revolutionary friendship.”

Yang Jin replied with mock agony, “Brother Zhou, your words cut too deep!”

His theatrical display amused Pei Ran, who couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.

Yang Jin stopped laughing instantly and turned to look at him. He hesitated, rubbing his hands together before finally asking, “Ran Ge, you’re single, right?”

Of everyone there, the one least likely to be single was Pei Ran. After all, he possessed a face as beautiful as a peach blossom. Back in their school days, there was no telling how many love letters he had received.

Pei Ran suppressed a smile, “Yeah, single.”

Hearing the answer, Yang Jin couldn’t help but think: Are the people around Pei Ran blind? Then again, he figured Pei Ran was likely just focused on his career and had no time for romance. Perhaps it was a case of the “falling flowers having intent, but the flowing water having none.”

While the two were whispering, the others joined back in, discussing the most popular “school beauties” from their student days.

Zhou Xuyan, having picked up some gossip from somewhere, said mysteriously, “Do you guys remember our class beauty, Xu Qingyan? I ran into her by chance recently. She was picking out jewelry at a mall, and there was someone with her. You’ll never guess who it was!”

The group hated it when someone played coy at the climax of a story, so they crowded around him to egg him on.

“Spit it out, who was it?”

“Hurry up!”

Having built up enough suspense, Zhou Xuyan nodded with satisfaction, faking a few coughs before saying, “The ultimate school hunk, Gu Linchuan! Unexpected, right?”

The room went deathly silent. Everyone’s eyes instinctively shifted to Pei Ran, and a collective, unspoken hush fell over the crowd.

That name was like a deep-sea depth charge exploding in Pei Ran’s ears. For a moment, his eardrums felt ruptured, and he couldn’t hear any outside noise. He looked up to find everyone staring at him.

Pei Ran gave a nonchalant smile and asked, “Why is everyone looking at me?”

Yang Jin glared fiercely at Zhou Xuyan and was the first to smooth things over. He raised his glass, circled it in the air, and downed it in one go. “Oh, come on, let’s drink! Stop staring. Besides, Ran Ge and Gu Linchuan broke up ages ago. Ran Ge isn’t the type to go back to an old flame, so why are you guys being so cautious?”

Someone else in the crowd tried to bridge the gap, “Exactly, it was just a teenage romance. Who takes that seriously anymore?”

“I’ve even forgotten the name of the girl I dated in high school. She’s probably forgotten me too.”

Realizing he had misspoken, Zhou Xuyan mumbled to himself for a moment before walking over to Pei Ran to apologize. “I’m sorry, Ran Ge.”

Pei Ran seemed not to hear him. He kept his head down, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Yang Jin gave him a concerned nudge that he snapped out of it, realizing he had lost his composure. “Sorry, what did you just say?”

Zhou Xuyan plucked up his courage and repeated himself. Yang Jin added from the side, “Ran Ge, he didn’t do it on purpose. He’s just a bit thick headed and didn’t think it through.”

Zhou Xuyan nodded like a woodpecker, looking like he was about to cry and ready to kneel in apology.

Pei Ran patted his shoulder, signaling that it was fine. “There isn’t as much ‘hateful drama’ between us as you guys imagine. Stop watching so many idol dramas.”

After saying that, he told Yang Jin the room was too stuffy and that he was going out for some air.

Before leaving, he heard Zhou Xuyan nervously ask Yang Jin, “Ran Ge isn’t really mad at me, is he? I couldn’t help it!”

Yang Jin remained silent, watching Pei Ran’s back disappear through the door, frowning as he replied that he didn’t know either.

Pei Ran felt a suffocating tightness in his chest. He cupped some cold water and splashed it roughly onto his face. A few droplets clung to his eyelashes, refusing to fall. He let out a heavy breath, finally feeling a bit of that inexplicable irritability dissipate.

He thought about the question Zhou Xuyan had asked. Was he angry?

He didn’t think his emotion was anger, but at the same time, he didn’t understand where this gloom was coming from.

Was it guilt, a guilty conscience, sadness, or simply a lingering sense of possessiveness?

Admittedly, as he had said, he was the one who had walked away back then, unilaterally cutting off all contact.

There had been no tearful farewell, no lingering pleas to stay. There were only calls that wouldn’t go through and messages that were never replied to.

Pei Ran stood before the sink, staring coldly at his reflection. His face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot from the water, and his brow was lowered in a grim, dark expression. He looked thoroughly unapproachable.

He pulled out his phone to message Yang Jin about leaving early, but his shoulder was suddenly struck hard by someone. The phone slipped from his hand, hitting the floor with a sharp crack.

Pei Ran’s already foul mood soured further. He clicked his tongue impatiently, his brow furrowed tight as he looked up.

“Don’t you look where you’re walking…”

His voice cut off abruptly. The moment he saw the person, Pei Ran froze in place, his pupils shrinking as he even forgot to breathe.

The man looked exactly as he did in his memory. He had slanted brows and star-like eyes, with deep sockets that made his gaze seem even darker and more intense. His nose was tall and straight, and his jawline was sharp and clean.

“Sorry.” The man opened his thin lips, his tone casual and arrogant, devoid of any real apology. He pulled a card from his wallet and placed it on the side of the sink. “For the damages.”

Pei Ran quickly knelt to pick up his phone. His hands were shaking so much it took him a while to grab it. The screen was shattered, though it still powered on.

Pei Ran handed the card back, licking his lips, his previous sharpness gone. “No need. It was my own fault.”

Gu Linchuan was washing his hands. He took some soap and rubbed his fingers one by one, cleaning them meticulously as if he hadn’t heard a word.

After finishing, Gu Linchuan took out a handkerchief to dry his hands. He straightened his back slightly and narrowed his eyes, sizing Pei Ran up.

Seeing the man standing right in front of him, Pei Ran’s breathing grew erratic, and his heart skipped a beat. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something. “You…” How have you been?

To his surprise, Gu Linchuan frowned and took a step back. His gaze was strange and cold, and he interrupted without mercy. “Excuse me.”

With that, he walked right around Pei Ran and left, leaving Pei Ran standing there as if he had been struck by lightning.

Even though he had prepared himself for everything, standing before him and seeing that undisguised loathing still made Pei Ran feel cold to the bone.

People came and went in the restroom, all staring strangely at the man standing frozen like a statue. After a long while, Pei Ran recovered. Just as he went to chase after him, he was tripped by something on the floor.

It was Gu Linchuan’s wallet.

Pei Ran picked it up carefully, wiped away the moisture, and cradled it in his palm. After staring at it for a long time, he hung his head and returned to the private room.

The group was playing a boisterous game of King’s Game.

Seeing him return looking like his soul had left his body, walking as if he might faint at any moment, Yang Jin rushed over to grab him. “Oh, brother, where did you go? You were gone so long I thought you’d snuck away.”

“Just went to the bathroom.”

“What kind of bathroom trip takes that long? Were you hiding from…”

Yang Jin stopped talking. He watched with wide eyes as Pei Ran opened several bottles of high-proof vodka and started chugging one directly from the bottle.

He couldn’t stop him. Before he could react, Pei Ran had already downed half a bottle.

Yang Jin grabbed his hand. If he kept drinking like this, he’d end up in the hospital tonight!

Pei Ran’s stubbornness was flaring up. He insisted on drinking, reaching for the next bottle even though he still seemed lucid. “I know what I’m doing, don’t worry about me.”

You don’t know a damn thing! Yang Jin cursed internally. Unable to stop him, he secretly hid the remaining bottles and took out a glass to pour some from Pei Ran’s bottle. “Fine, I know you’re feeling down. I’ll drink with you.”

As he spoke, he poured the contents of his glass onto the floor when Pei Ran wasn’t looking. Pretending he had finished it, he made a move to grab Pei Ran’s bottle. “Fill it up for me!”

Seeing Yang Jin looking equally “distraught” and drinking like water, Pei Ran was puzzled. “Why are you drinking so much?”

Yang Jin was momentarily speechless, simply snatching the bottle away. “I just want to drink, is that a problem?”

Eventually, it turned into Yang Jin heroically pouring booze onto the floor while a drunken Pei Ran sympathetically patted his back, urging him to stop drinking for his own sake.

Zhou Xuyan watched the scene from the side, completely dumbfounded.

Yang Jin quickly shot him a look. Zhou Xuyan snapped out of it, stepped forward to pull Pei Ran away, and took out his phone. “Ran Ge, you’re drunk. Let me call a designated driver for you. Where do you live?”

Pei Ran stood straight, but his eyes were no longer clear, finally showing his intoxication.

After Pei Ran gave the address, the two men each took a shoulder and supported him to the door.

As they neared the exit, the sharp-eyed Yang Jin spotted a car parked at the bar’s entrance and led Pei Ran toward it.

Once outside, Yang Jin’s shoulder suddenly felt heavy. He turned in confusion to see that Zhou Xuyan had let go, rubbing his nose in a very unnatural manner.

Yang Jin didn’t understand. He hoisted Pei Ran up to keep him from falling. “What are you doing?”

“My arm is sore, you hold him for a second,” Zhou Xuyan explained.

Yang Jin thought he was being bizarre, stupid, and clumsy tonight, but didn’t bother arguing. He opened the car door and shoved Pei Ran inside.

After getting Pei Ran settled, he tapped on the car window, intending to tell the driver to go slowly and be careful.

To his shock, the window rolled down to reveal Gu Linchuan’s expressionless, handsome face. “Something wrong?”

Yang Jin shivered in fright. “Gu, Gu, Gu…”

He turned in terror to look at Pei Ran slumped in the back seat and scrambled to grab the door, trying to take him back. “Sorry, I got the wrong car.”

The door didn’t budge. Gu Linchuan’s face remained cold, though a ghost of a smile that wasn’t a smile appeared.

Behind him, Zhou Xuyan stepped forward and pulled Yang Jin back, saying hurriedly, “No mistake, no mistake. Safe travels, President Gu.”

Gu Linchuan raised his chin slightly, rolled up the window, and drove away.

Yang Jin was left standing there, stunned in the wind.

“What does this mean? Give me an explanation!” Yang Jin’s eyes were wide, unable to believe what he had just seen.

Zhou Xuyan didn’t want to say much, dragging him back inside. “Heaven’s secrets must not be revealed.”

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