What's Wrong with Changing to a New Wife? [Rebirth] - Chapter 4

Gu Ji placed his card back on the table and tilted his head, catching sight of the unmistakable Five of Hearts in Yan Congyu’s hand.

Just as Gu Ji was about to reach for the wine bottle beside him, someone brought over the ice bucket from the neighboring table. “Here it is, pick one.”

By this point in the game, almost everyone present had had a few drinks, and the air was thick with the scent of alcohol, lending the atmosphere a tipsy haze.

“Hurry up, hurry up,” the group of boys urged loudly.

Ever since the cards were revealed, Lin Qingran’s expression had soured. He interrupted, “This is going too far. Let’s change the challenge.”

The curly-haired boy brushed it off. “What’s the big deal? It’s not like they’ll actually be mouth-to-mouth. The ice cubes are huge. They won’t even touch.”

“Yeah, yeah, they’re both guys. Last round, they shared a biscuit—what’s wrong with an ice cube?”

The ice cubes in the bucket were deliberately large to slow melting. Although the idea of passing an ice cube mouth-to-mouth sounded suggestive, in practice, with a little care, there would be no skin contact.

Lin Qingran frowned at this but still couldn’t accept Gu Ji playing such a game with someone else, especially Yan Congyu. Suppressing his displeasure, he looked up at Gu Ji.

Gu Ji’s reaction once again struck Lin Qingran as odd. Compared to his previous attitude, Gu Ji’s current behavior was downright abnormal.

A knot tightened in Lin Qingran’s chest—could Gu Ji have found out about him and Tan Yang?

Across the room, Gu Ji remained oblivious to Lin Qingran’s gaze. He glanced at the ice bucket pushed toward him and negotiated with the boy beside him, “How about we just drink instead?”

Because Yan Congyu had helped him in his past life, Gu Ji felt a natural familiarity and goodwill toward him in this one.

If Yan Congyu hadn’t tried to peek at his cards earlier, Gu Ji might have trusted him more.

Yan Congyu paused. “…I drove here.”

The private room was noisy, and Gu Ji didn’t catch his words, leaning slightly closer. “What?”

The sudden proximity caught Yan Congyu off guard. After a moment, he repeated softly.

This time, Gu Ji heard him and didn’t see it as a problem. “I’ll drink for you.”

Someone with sharp ears overheard. “Hey, hey, hey! No proxy drinking—that’s not fair, right?”

Rules were always negotiable. Just as Gu Ji was about to argue, he felt a tug on his sleeve.

Yan Congyu looked at him, his eyes a light amber hue, and said, “It’s fine. We won’t touch.”

Gu Ji was momentarily taken aback and didn’t respond.

“It’s just a game, isn’t it?” Yan Congyu’s knuckles tightened imperceptibly, though his expression remained neutral, as if this were the most ordinary thing.

Gu Ji wasn’t one to shy away from a challenge. Since the other party didn’t mind, he had no objections either. After a brief hesitation, he agreed, “Alright.”

Hearing this, Lin Qingran’s face darkened completely. But constrained by the need to maintain his image, he couldn’t lose his temper.

Besides, he couldn’t publicly declare his relationship with Gu Ji. After all, if it came down to it, he had held hands with Tan Yang first—bringing it up might not put him in the right and could make him seem overly dramatic.

Yan Congyu picked up the nearby tongs and sifted through the ice bucket, as if thoughtfully suggesting, “I’ll find a bigger one—it’ll be easier.”

Without much thought, Gu Ji instinctively reminded, “Don’t pick one that’s too big—you won’t be able to hold it with your teeth.”

Yan Congyu nearly lost his composure when he accidentally loosened his grip on the tongs. He let out a breath before barely regaining his calm. “…Okay.”

In the end, Yan Congyu selected a moderately sized square ice cube with the tongs and brought it to Gu Ji’s lips.

Gu Ji paused, slightly puzzled. He had assumed Yan Congyu would pass it to him, but he leaned forward anyway and took the ice cube into his mouth.

He was careful to only touch about a third of the ice cube, leaving plenty of space for the other.

The ice cube emitted a chilly mist, melting against his lips with a cool sensation.

Since Gu Ji was sitting slightly taller than Yan Congyu, the latter had to tilt his head up a little to get closer.

Noticing this, Gu Ji bent down slightly.

To Yan Congyu, this gesture felt almost like Gu Ji was offering his lips directly. It nearly made him lose control, his heart skipping a beat.

Yan Congyu steadied himself inwardly, placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, and tilted his head to quickly bite the ice cube. The distance between them abruptly closed, and their breaths suddenly mingled.

Yan Congyu was caught off guard as he met a pair of deep, dark pupils. Gu Ji’s eyelids were thin, and up close, one could almost see the faint blue veins beneath. The shape of his eyes was strikingly beautiful.

No matter whose boyfriend Gu Ji was, at this moment, his eyes held only Yan Congyu.

Gu Ji released his lips, and once Yan Congyu had taken the ice cube, the distance between them widened again, as if the earlier intimacy had never happened.

The ice-passing game might have looked intimate, but in reality, they hadn’t actually touched. It was over quickly, without any mishaps—lasting only a second or two.

As the round ended and the others reshuffled and dealt the cards, Gu Ji picked up a cup and saucer from the table, intending to hand it to Yan Congyu to spit out the ice cube.

“…”

Gu Ji was taken aback. “You ate the ice cube?”

Yan Congyu’s right cheek was slightly bulging—the ice cube he had taken from the corner of Gu Ji’s lips was now in his mouth.

“I didn’t notice, sorry.” Yan Congyu acted as though he had just realized it. He took the cup and saucer and spat out the ice cube, though it had already melted by half. “I forgot earlier.”

At first, Gu Ji felt something was a bit off, but after hearing Yan Congyu’s explanation, he didn’t dwell on it and turned over the cards in his hand.

It was only then that Gu Ji noticed Lin Qingran was no longer there. The person sitting across from him had changed.

A moment later, Gu Ji’s phone buzzed in his jacket pocket. He took it out and saw a message from Lin Qingran, asking him to step outside.

Gu Ji wasn’t the least bit surprised.

He stood up and announced, “I have something to attend to. I’ll step out for a moment.”

“Go ahead, go ahead.”

Gu Ji left with his phone, unaware that after he exited the private room, Yan Congyu also set down his cards and said he was done playing.

At the balcony at the end of the corridor, Lin Qingran stood with his back to the door.

The night breeze was cool, and Lin Qingran wore only a shirt. In his previous life, Gu Ji would have immediately taken off his jacket to drape over him, accompanied by concerned inquiries.

But now, Gu Ji pretended not to notice and walked straight over.

At twenty, Lin Qingran—unlike his future self—still maintained a false front in front of Gu Ji. Even though he was seething with anger inside, his outward demeanor remained aloof and detached.

“Gu Ji, do you have any idea what you were doing just now?” Lin Qingran’s tone was accusatory.

Gu Ji leaned against the railing and nearly laughed upon hearing those words. So, Lin Qingran actually knew the difference between right and wrong. Yet what he had done today paled in comparison to Lin Qingran’s actions—so why had Lin Qingran never reflected on his own behavior?

Was this what they called being lenient with oneself and strict with others?

Gu Ji chuckled. “Just playing a game—what’s wrong with that?”

In his past life, whenever Gu Ji caught Lin Qingran crossing boundaries with others, Lin Qingran would brush it off as normal interaction between friends, telling Gu Ji not to be so narrow-minded.

These were the exact words Lin Qingran had once said to him, and now Gu Ji was throwing them right back.

Lin Qingran lowered his voice. “But how could you act so intimately with someone else? What do you take me for?”

Gu Ji shot back, “Where’s the intimacy? We didn’t even touch. You were the one holding hands with that guy.”

Gu Ji knew Lin Qingran had a weak moral compass. If he wanted to avoid being controlled by him, he had to act even more unscrupulous.

For some reason, Lin Qingran softened his tone. “Are you doing this because you’re jealous?”

Gu Ji: “…” Jealous? As if.

Lin Qingran continued, “Tan Yang and I are just friends. Holding hands was only because the game required it.”

Gu Ji replied lazily, “Same here.”

Lin Qingran was momentarily speechless. “Holding hands is one thing, but you and Yan Congyu… you were too close.”

Hearing Yan Congyu’s name from Lin Qingran’s lips gave Gu Ji pause. He hadn’t expected Lin Qingran to know him.

In his previous life, everyone Lin Qingran took an interest in had eventually fallen for his so-called “charm.” And Yan Congyu’s looks were exactly the type Lin Qingran would go for.

Gu Ji shook his head. Lin Qingran merely knew of Yan Congyu—surely such an unfortunate coincidence wouldn’t happen again.

“What’s so intimate about it?” Gu Ji said casually. “No one else thought so—why are you the only one bothered?”

Lin Qingran sensed something off about Gu Ji today but ultimately chalked it up to jealousy.

He said clearly, “Tan Yang and I are friends. A brief touch of hands is nothing. But we’re still in a relationship—did you ever consider how I would feel?”

In short: I can do it, but you can’t.

Having heard enough nonsense, Gu Ji was growing impatient. “We were just playing a game. Did you take it seriously?”

Lin Qingran froze, rendered speechless.

With that remark, it seemed Gu Ji’s actions were merely part of the game, while his own hand-holding with Tan Yang carried real intent. Suddenly, he was at a disadvantage.

Feeling guilty, Lin Qingran changed the subject. “…Forget it. I’m going back inside.”

Watching Lin Qingran walk away, Gu Ji let out a faint, mocking laugh.

Compared to his thirty-year-old self, this younger Lin Qingran at least had some sense of guilt—and was much easier to handle.

After lingering outside a while longer, Gu Ji returned to the private room. His eyes immediately fell on Lin Qingran, who had changed seats and was now surrounded by a group of boys. A few of them were laughing as they poured him drinks, their fingers brushing against his in fleeting touches—enough to stir something in the hearts of those young men.

Lin Qingran was never short of suitors, for he knew exactly how to handle men—his carefully crafted facade was captivating enough. Having failed to win favor with Gu Ji, Lin Qingran naturally sought smoother waters elsewhere.

Gu Ji merely glanced over and was about to head inside when someone abruptly pulled him into a corner.