Savage Kiss - Chapter 55

Xu Qingyi froze. Less than a week, and he’d already let things go cold?

“Ah, no, that’s not-” Liang Fanglin stepped into the driver’s seat, realizing too late that he couldn’t smooth things over.

He tossed the question back to Uncle Pang instead: “What was the boss up to again?”

Uncle Pang chuckled. “Don’t listen to his nonsense. It’s not a blind date, just a girl his family introduced. Probably just meeting up.”

Same difference.

Xu Qingyi pulled out her phone but hesitated. She couldn’t be too direct, after all, she was the one who’d set all the rules in the first place.

She opened WeChat and checked Shen Yanzhou’s Moments. No updates.

Her fingers hovered over the chat window for a long moment, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. In the end, she closed the app.

…

Shen Yanzhou sat at the hotel dining table, watching the “typing” status under her contact name. But no message came through.

“Something wrong?” The woman across from him noticed his frown and assumed he was dissatisfied with something.

Shen Yanzhou looked up. “You decide. No need to be too polite. Just make sure you get through this, someone from my side will handle the details.”

With that, he stood. “I have something to attend to. I’ll skip the meal, this one’s on me.”

The woman quickly rose to her feet. “That’s too kind, old classmate! Next time, it’s definitely my treat!”

Shen Yanzhou left the private room and told the staff at the door, “Put it on my tab.”

As he waited for the elevator, someone called out from behind, “Hey!”

Shen Yanzhou didn’t react until a hand clapped his shoulder.

Shi Qing, slinging a bag over his shoulder, smirked at him. “Tsk, how do I keep running into you? What exactly do you do?”

Last time, it was at that five-star hotel. Now here again.

Shen Yanzhou ignored him, already catching the heavy scent of alcohol on him.

“Which floor?” he asked.

Shi Qing leaned against the elevator wall with a grin. “Same as you.”

After enduring his stare for a while, Shen Yanzhou glanced at him through the elevator’s reflective surface.

Shi Qing laughed. “Listen, man, Xu Qingyi’s never gonna like you. Don’t waste your effort.”

Hands in his pockets, Shen Yanzhou couldn’t be bothered to respond.

But Shi Qing grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. “Her work connections reach my dad’s level. You really think she’d go for a poor guy like you?”

“Sure, you’re handsome, got a great body. Girls might pick you for fun, for dating, but not for marriage.”

The corner of Shen Yanzhou’s mouth twitched. “So? She’d like you instead?”

Shi Qing smirked. “Obviously. I’ve seen her most complete self. You? Haven’t even held her hand, barely exchanged a few words, right?”

Every time, he claimed it was just work-related. Acting all stoic, completely clueless about romance, what girl would go for someone like that?

Shen Yanzhou lifted his eyelids slightly.

What did he mean by her “most complete self”?

His voice low and unhurried, he asked, “You’ve seen her most what?”

Shi Qing leaned in close to his ear. “Her most beautiful side! Jealous?”

Shen Yanzhou’s gaze dropped to the bag in Shi Qing’s hand, the way he gripped it unconsciously as he spoke.

“Want to know?” Shi Qing taunted. “Promise to stay out of her way from now on, and I’ll tell you.”

Shen Yanzhou scoffed. “You said I’ve got no chance anyway. Even if I stick around, it won’t matter. So why are you so worked up?”

The elevator dinged.

Shi Qing watched him stride out without a backward glance. Spurred by impulse, he chased after him. “You really don’t wanna know?”

While speaking, he deliberately unzipped his jacket a little.

Just then, a man who had also been drinking walked in and bumped into Shi Qing.

A few items from his backpack scattered onto the floor.

Shen Yanzhou’s gaze swept over the rolled-up drawing that had rolled to his feet, and he casually bent down to pick it up.

In the brief two seconds it took to unroll it, his mind had already conjured up an image of how she might have drawn him.

But when the drawing fully unfurled, he abruptly rolled it back up.

Shi Qing’s mind went blank. Ignoring his dizziness, the shock sobered him up, and the urge to show off from earlier vanished.

Like a madman, he lunged forward. “Don’t you fucking dare look at that! Give it back!”

After submitting the drawing in class that day, according to the rules, it was supposed to be collected and kept by the teacher, not returned to the student.

Shi Qing had gone out of his way to ask someone to retrieve it, and he had only just gotten it back today, he hadn’t even had a proper look at it himself.

Shen Yanzhou gave him a cold glance and took a step back. “Where did this come from?”

Shi Qing’s eyes were nearly red. “I drew it! It’s mine! If you don’t give it back, I’ll call the police!”

The corner of Shen Yanzhou’s mouth lifted in a cold smirk.

He drew it?

Just like how she had drawn him?

The moment that thought crossed his mind, Shen Yanzhou clenched the drawing in his hand, crumpling it deeply.

Then he sneered. “Photoshopped.”

With that, Shen Yanzhou called over a security guard. “He’s drunk and harassing me. Please deal with him.”

By the time Shen Yanzhou left the hotel, Shi Qing was still shouting hoarsely in the lobby.

The car drove from the city center toward the coast, quickly disappearing into the forest of high-rises.

When he returned to the auto repair shop, the lights in front were brightly lit.

Shen Yanzhou’s gaze swept over the area and immediately landed on Xu Qingyi, sitting there.

Of course, Xu Qingyi saw him too, but since he didn’t get out of the car, she had to walk over.

“My car might have a minor issue. Liang Fanglin checked it but couldn’t find the problem…”

Xu Qingyi’s words trailed off as Shen Yanzhou lit a cigarette and took a deep drag.

Then he rested his arm on the car window, tilting his head to exhale a long stream of smoke.

The message she read was clear: Shen Yanzhou didn’t want to talk to her.

Had he hit it off with his blind date? But he didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

Xu Qingyi was left standing there awkwardly, unsure what to say.

Just as Shen Yanzhou was about to take another drag, he abruptly crushed the cigarette against the ashtray and turned to look at her.

Xu Qingyi waited for him to speak.

His brow was slightly furrowed as he studied her for a long moment, hesitating several times before finally asking out of nowhere, “Just how many do you have?”

“Did you draw him too?”

How many others like him were there?

Was Shi Qing one of them?

But Shen Yanzhou had already asked her this before, and she had clearly said no, even telling him not to ask again.

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her, he just couldn’t help himself. He even wanted to despise himself for it.

“Forget it.” Shen Yanzhou took a deep breath.

Xu Qingyi had no idea what he was talking about.

Then she heard him say, “No time today. Come back tomorrow.”

Xu Qingyi could sense his coldness. She couldn’t just shamelessly cling to him, so she nodded and drove off first.

Shen Yanzhou watched her leave, then slammed his palm against the steering wheel twice.

…

The next day.

Xu Qingyi arrived at the auto repair shop around the same time, pretending it was just a casual stop.

But once again, Liang Fanglin told her Shen Yanzhou wasn’t there.

Even she could tell it was deliberate now.

He was the one who said to come today. Annoyed, she turned around and left without another word.

Two minutes later, Liang Fanglin turned to look at Shen Yanzhou as he walked out, wanting to ask but not daring to.

Had they fallen out before even getting started? Why were they deliberately avoiding each other?