The Gloomy Paper-Man Came to My Door to Pursue His Love - Chapter 27

Because Qin Fei was smiling, Xi Li was uncertain whether what he said was true or false. Or perhaps the real reason was that he was simply unwilling to hear the answer.

“Really?” Xi Li’s voice was somewhat raspy.

“Let me down first,” Qin Fei said with a smile.

For the sake of that answer, Xi Li had no choice but to let go of Qin Fei. The moment he released him, Xi Li had a dazed sensation that it might be very difficult to embrace him like this ever again. He stared at Qin Fei, and Qin Fei looked back at him.

Qin Fei was not surprised that a 2D character would ask this question; after all, it was a romance game. His character would naturally care about such things.

Qin Fei promised, “Really.”

However, the other person’s eyes dimmed, as if out of indignation, and he pressed further. “Not even a tiny bit of care? Then on Star-Blog, those messages,” he began, but he cut himself off abruptly.

Qin Fei heard Xi Li’s words clearly, except for the part that was cut off. He was not surprised that the character knew about Star-Blog; it was likely because he had shared content about his character there, allowing information from Star-Blog to flow into the game. But Qin Fei distinguished between the primary and the secondary. He had not expected the character to care to such an extent that he would ask three times in a row.

Even if only to thank the character for helping him relax, Qin Fei wanted to explain clearly.

“I truly do not care,” Qin Fei said. Thinking of an oath, he added, “I swear, if I am lying to you, I will.”

“I understand,” Xi Li interrupted, his eyes darkening several shades further. “There is no need to swear.”

Qin Fei observed Xi Li’s expression. This was not what he wanted to see. He guessed that his explanation was not strong enough. He continued, “Regarding the content on Star-Blog, you can actually understand it as a forced business performance.”

Xi Li did not quite understand what “business performance” meant, but he heard the word “forced” loud and clear. It struck his heart like a great tree swaying, looking as if it might snap in half at any moment.

Qin Fei looked at Xi Li’s face again and noticed the character looked even worse. He sighed. He had not intended to say too much, but he did not want his 2D character to be sad because of this.

“I had an engagement in reality,” Qin Fei began.

Xi Li pursed his lips, his heart a whirlpool of emotions.

Qin Fei said, “I mistook you for him because of that invitation letter.” He told the story slowly. “There was one character in your handwriting that was exactly the same as his.”

Xi Li spoke with difficulty. “You only recognized that one character.”

“Yes.” Qin Fei had never spoken to anyone about his engagement before. He had never tried confiding in someone, but trying it now felt surprisingly good, so he decided to tell his character everything. “I will not mention his name because I do not want to bring it up. He is famous in the Empire, and many people revere him. I once thought he would be different from the others. I knew he was unwilling to have this engagement, and I happened to have a plan to cancel it. I tried to contact him, but I never received a reply. At first, I thought he was busy given his status. But soon, I learned from the news that he was on the Capital Star accompanied by some Omegas.”

Xi Li opened his mouth. He seemed to have found the point where Qin Fei misunderstood. But before he could defend his innocence, he heard Qin Fei’s voice again.

“There might have been a misunderstanding. Regardless of whether he was playing around with Omegas, he chose to give me the cold shoulder. Given his status and temper, many media outlets did not dare to dig for news on him, so they found me. Wave after wave of media appeared out of nowhere, camping outside my house.”

Qin Fei smiled slightly. “Can you believe it, Sha Bei? At that time, I was not even formally engaged to him yet, but I had to start cleaning up his mess because I had to give face to the Royal Family. If it were not for that incident, I could have used other plans to stop this unwanted marriage. But my time was spent proving his innocence. I wanted to run away, but the outside was full of media waiting for news about him. Meanwhile, my message to him never received a reply, and then marriage was placed around my neck like a shackle.”

Xi Li’s expression instantly turned terrible to the extreme. He slowly clenched his fists.

“The reason I remember his handwriting is not because I care. It is because that message left too deep an impression on me, so seeing your handwriting suddenly made me emotional,” Qin Fei explained softly. “Sha Bei, I hope you do not overthink it. I have no feelings for him. The reason I post on Star-Blog is also to save face for the Royal Family. My marriage to him is driven by Imperial Law. If I do not let the public see our affection, he would be fine, but my life would be very difficult.”

His knuckles cracked as he clenched them. Xi Li asked in a raspy voice, “People bullied you, did they not?”

He looked up and heard Qin Fei say, “It is all in the past.”

Yes. Because of the affection Qin Fei displayed, those who did not dare to provoke Xi Li would naturally take their anger out on Qin Fei. They knew very well that Prince Xi Li did not care about his fiancé at all.

Xi Li had never felt this miserable in his life. It was more painful than when his mecha exploded, when shards pierced his organs and flames engulfed his body.

“Which people?” His voice was hoarse beyond recognition.

“It does not matter anymore.” Qin Fei truly did not want anything more to do with that marriage. All he cared about now was his 2D character. “The person who brought about that embarrassment and hardship is no longer around.”

Xi Li was in such pain that agony overflowed from between his brows. He smiled bitterly. What right did he have to ask if Qin Fei cared about him? He had even wanted to clear the misunderstanding and be with Qin Fei.

Suddenly, a touch of coolness landed on his brow. Qin Fei pressed his finger against Xi Li’s furrowed brow and asked curiously, “Are you feeling sorry for me?”

Xi Li wanted to say yes, but he could find no standing to speak.

Since he had already poured out everything in his heart, Qin Fei said whatever came to mind. “You are the first person to feel sorry for me and the first to protect me. I like this feeling very much. No wonder Exclusive ABO is so popular. I am glad I came across this game and could establish a relationship with you. If possible, I want to be with you forever.”

Xi Li looked into Qin Fei’s eyes. They were very bright. He could almost see his own reflection in Qin Fei’s pupils.

Oh, no. That was not his reflection, but Sha Bei’s.

Xi Li froze on the spot. At this moment, Xi Li realized clearly that Qin Fei’s smiles and kind words were all for Sha Bei. If he ever lost this identity, Qin Fei would immediately tell him to get lost.

“So, let us not mention him again from now on, alright, Sha Bei?” Qin Fei asked in a tone used for coaxing a child.

Xi Li answered hoarsely, “Alright.”

Out of selfishness, he secretly grabbed hold of the identity of Sha Bei and could not bring himself to let go.