Savage Kiss - Chapter 23

She didn’t know what to do either, so she decided to give it some time and cool off for a couple of days. She replied casually: [I’ll send it over in a couple of days.]

Shen Yanzhou’s status showed “typing” several times, but it took over ten minutes before he finally sent three words: [I’m sorry.]

She didn’t reply again.

That day, Mi Lian’s account kept spamming her with game invites.

It was the end of the month, and the rush to climb ranks was intense.

During this sensitive period, players’ tolerance for female gamers plummeted. Sure enough, the moment Xu Qingyi picked a jungler at the start of the match, and Mi Lian typed “babe” in chat, their teammate lost it.

Teammate: [A girl?]

Xu Qingyi sensed the incoming toxicity and immediately muted the voice chat.

…

“You’re a girl playing jungle? Do you even know what you’re doing?”

Liang Fanglin was so furious he wanted to murder someone. “This is a 2500-point match! If you lovebirds want to flirt, can’t you do it under the covers?!”

Damn.

Uncle Pang shook his head while listening. “Getting this worked up over a game…”

How could Liang Fanglin not be mad? “There’s prize money on the line for the leaderboard!”

Uncle Pang casually remarked, “How do you know it’s a girl?”

Liang Fanglin: “Qiqi! Isn’t that obviously a girl? And just now, her boyfriend called her ‘babe’ in chat. Ugh!”

Shen Yanzhou, who had been doing accounts, paused his pen.

“Qiqi?”

He knew that was Xu Qingyi’s in-game ID.

Shen Yanzhou set down his pen and walked over to look at Liang Fanglin’s phone screen.

He watched as the hero next to Xu Qingyi’s character blew her a kiss.

A voice from the game taunted Liang Fanglin: “I’ve got a babe and you don’t! Look how mad you are~”

Liang Fanglin was about to curse when his brows slowly furrowed. Why did that voice sound vaguely familiar?

It sounded like Shi Qing.

Shen Yanzhou heard it too.

Liang Fanglin suddenly got interested. If it really was Shi Qing, and he was flirting here while also stringing Xu Qingyi along, then he was a scumbag.

He needed to confirm.

So, Liang Fanglin spoke again: “Hey, dog, say something else for me.”

Shi Qing turned on his mic again: “Babe, come get the blue buff. I saved it for you.”

Knowing Xu Qingyi couldn’t hear him, he even typed it out.

Xu Qingyi was puzzled why Mi Lian hadn’t called her “Qiqi” all night.

The match ended with their team destroying the enemy nexus. Shi Qing typed flirtatiously: [You’re amazing, babe!]

Xu Qingyi also typed back: [You’re amazing too, babe~]

Liang Fanglin’s phone was suddenly snatched away and slammed onto the table. “If I catch you gaming at work again, you’re fired!”

Liang Fanglin was dumbfounded. Weren’t you just watching with interest earlier? And didn’t you encourage us to climb the leaderboard for the prize money?

How could you flip out like this out of nowhere?

Liang Fanglin cautiously exited the game but couldn’t resist sneaking a peek at “Shi Qing’s” profile.

The next second, he muttered under his breath: “This bastard has a level 30 intimacy badge with Qiqi!”

Shen Yanzhou had just sat back down and picked up his pen, but he immediately set it aside again and ordered Liang Fanglin, “Come here. Finish this.”

…

Xu Qingyi played a few more duo matches with Mi Lian afterward, winning almost all of them.

After they finished, someone in the lobby chat said to her: “Hope you sleep well tonight, babe!”

Shi Qing also turned on his mic and teased her: “You got it, babe~”

Xu Qingyi froze. “Are you and Mi Lian living together?”

Otherwise, why was he using Mi Lian’s phone? She had assumed it was Mi Lian all night.

Shi Qing: “Ugh, don’t jinx me.”

He had simply logged into Mi Lian’s account because she was desperate to rank up, while Shi Qing wanted to play with Xu Qingyi. Acting as an invisible matchmaker, Mi Lian let him use her account.

Alright, Xu Qingyi also quipped, “Consider the ‘baby’ I called out as wasted on a dog, not directed at you, by the way,” before logging off.

Only after exiting did she notice Shen Yanzhou had sent several WeChat messages.

[Didn’t you say you’d contact me about returning the jacket? It’s been a day.]
[Were you busy today?]

Then, after a full hour:
[Still busy?]

She had only given a perfunctory reply that day, assuming he wasn’t actually in urgent need of the jacket and not intending to return it that day. She’d completely forgotten about it.

…

Two days had passed, and after some thought, she decided she might as well take it over now.

Just as she was about to ask if he was at the shop, Shen Yanzhou seemed to have installed surveillance on her: [Finished being busy?]

Xu Qingyi replied indifferently: [Sorry, I really was too busy today.]

Shen Yanzhou fell silent for a moment before sending three words: [Busy all day? With what?]

She sidestepped the question and simply asked if he was at the shop, saying she could bring it over now.

But after waiting several minutes, even getting dressed in the meantime, Shen Yanzhou coldly tossed back a reply: [No need.]

Xu Qingyi wasn’t sure what he meant, whether he didn’t need it today or didn’t need it at all anymore.

She asked: [Should I bring it tomorrow?]

He replied: [I don’t work weekends.]

She asked: [Then when?]

He said: [Would it even matter if I set a time? You still wouldn’t bring it.]

By the time Xu Qingyi read this message, she could already sense the tension between them.

She decided not to respond.

The next day, when she woke up around 11 a.m., she saw Shen Yanzhou had sent her three messages late at night:

[Twenty minutes to return my jacket, but over ten hours to spend with someone else. Miss Xu has a rather unique definition of ‘busy.’]
[Didn’t you promise that when you’re with me, there wouldn’t be other men?]
[Don’t treat me like a backup, alright?]

Xu Qingyi sat up abruptly.

The tone of these messages was serious, almost accusatory, as if he were slapping labels on her.

Just because she played games with Shi Qing, she was suddenly sleeping with other men and treating him like a backup?

Did Shen Yanzhou know she had been gaming with Shi Qing yesterday and that’s why she hadn’t replied?

This time, she really was in the wrong.

But wasn’t he taking it a bit too far?

Xu Qingyi immediately called him on WeChat.

He answered after a slight delay. “Yeah.”

No follow-up.

Xu Qingyi took a quiet breath and got straight to the point. “I slept in yesterday morning, had some things to do in the afternoon, and then I got caught up gaming and forgot. Sorry. I can bring it over now.”

“No need. I’m not here.”

She thought he was just saying that out of spite and started changing clothes.

“I’m really not here. Don’t waste your time coming over,” Shen Yanzhou said, his tone flat.

Both ends of the call fell silent for a while.

He spoke first: “Even though this is just a casual arrangement, I’ve respected you and followed the rules. No matter how urgently I needed the jacket, I didn’t show up at your place, I let you decide when to bring it. Even setting aside our relationship, just in terms of keeping your word, I’d appreciate it if you respected me too.”

After a pause, he added, “I waited all afternoon.”

Xu Qingyi pressed her lips together. “That’s why I said I’ll bring it now.”

“Is that the point?” He almost sounded like he was scoffing.

Xu Qingyi finally understood.

Her initial patience was wearing thin. “I’ve already said my piece on this. Think whatever you want.”

Unable to hold back, I added, “After all, you have no right or standing to question me.”

The air fell completely silent.

Xu Qingyi heard someone on the other end call out, “A-Zhou, hurry up!”

It was a woman’s voice.

Frowning slightly, Xu Qingyi hung up the phone.