Shen Qi nodded before asking him, “Is there a problem?” Shen Qi was staring at Ye Moxuan unblinkingly when she asked that, as if trying to sense if something was wrong on his end.
For the first time, Ye Moxuan did not meet her eyes; on the contrary, he looked away while answering in a cold tone, “No.” “Oh, in that case, I am taking a day off today as well. I’m heading out now.”
With that, Shen Qi grabbed her bag and headed toward the door. “Stay right there.” Ye Moxuan stopped her suddenly.
Shen Qi came to a halt, and Ye Moxuan did notice that Shen Qi, who had her back facing him, was not smiling at all. She looked like a completely different person from the woman who was smiling at him just a second ago.
“Are you sure that you are just meeting her, not anyone else?” Shen Qi turned around to smile at Ye Moxuan when she heard that.
“Do you think that I would date other men behind your back?” Ye Moxuan scowled in displeasure, and his eyes were as cold as steel when he glared at her.
“Don’t you worry. I have no such interest. Besides, even if I were dating other men, I wouldn’t do it so blatantly in front of you.” Shen Qi left the room straight away after saying her piece.
Ye Moxuan felt as if he had just lost something important while staring at her back view. He felt rather helpless with that feeling. When she got downstairs, Shen Qi bumped into Ye Linhan, who was about to leave the house .
When their eyes met, a pleasant surprise gleamed in Ye Linhan’s gaze, but it soon turned into confusion. She usually dresses modestly; why is she dressed up in this way all of a sudden?
Before he could snap back to his senses, he was already walking toward her.
“Qi, are you heading out?” he asked.
Shen Qi nodded before greeting him. “Mm-hmm. Good morning, Linhan.”
Ye Linhan’s gaze dulled slightly at her greeting, but he seemed to have understood something as he flashed her a bright smile. “Morning! You are dressed very beautifully; are you meeting someone important?”
“No, I’m just going shopping with my friend.”
“Do you need me to drive you there?” Ye Linhan jingled his car keys in the air. “I’m heading out too.”
At first, Shen Qi wanted to reject him, but when she looked up, she caught sight of a familiar figure from the corner of her eyes. Shen Qi then hesitated before bobbing her head. “Sure!”
Ye Linhan noted her reaction, but he smiled anyway. “Let’s go, then.”
“Mm-hmm.” Shen Qi made her way forward, whereas Ye Linhan looked up suddenly and stared at the person who was still upstairs. Ye Linhan’s sharp gaze was met with a steely stare.
Ye Linhan, who was usually gentle, now had a triumphant smile on his face. He then turned around to catch up to Shen Qi before asking her in concern, “Have you had your breakfast? Why don’t we have our breakfast together on the way?”
Shen Qi blinked several times and answered him swiftly with a nod, “Sure.”
Ye Linhan was not sure what had happened between Ye Moxuan and Shen Qi for her to have such a drastic change. However, it didn’t change things much for him, for as long as Shen Qi gave him a chance to get closer to her, he would have the time and opportunity to show her his true feelings.
This was more than enough for him.
After getting into the car, Shen Qi whipped her phone out to send a message to Han Xueyou to invite her today for a meet up in the milk tea shop near the school.
Han Xueyou replied with a question mark when she saw the words ‘milk tea shop’.
Han Xueyou then sent over another message promptly. “Why do you want to meet at the milk tea shop all of a sudden?”
Shen Qi appeared indifferent when she replied, “I feel like having the milk tea there. Would you accompany me?”
After a long silence, Han Xueyou replied, agreeing to meet with her. Shen Qi informed her the time before putting her phone aside.
“Are you meeting up with your friends?” Ye Linhan asked casually when he saw her putting her phone down.
Shen Qi leaned against the back of her seat and nodded while staring at the scene outside the window that was flashing by.
Although the sun was out now, and the city was densely populated, Shen Qi still felt chilly in her thick outfit. In fact… she felt extremely lonely.
Ye Moxuan glanced toward her while driving, and he realized that she was exuding a different vibe today, which did not feel good at all.
He frowned and asked her in concern, “What happened?”
Shen Qi pondered for a bit when she heard that, but she later shook her head. “Nothing happened.”
“There’s something wrong with you today.”
“Is that so?” Shen Qi smiled faintly. “Maybe it’s because I’ve dressed up today.”
She commented so casually, as if she was not bothered at all.
Ye Linhan had no choice but to abandon his attempts since he couldn’t seem to get a straight answer out of her. “What would you like for breakfast?”
“You can decide, Linhan. I’m fine with anything,” Shen Qi answered melancholically before closing her eyes to rest.
Ye Linhan thought that she looked exhausted, and so he didn’t bother her anymore with any small talk. Instead, he stepped on the gas.
No one could tell how much time had passed, but the car came to a stop eventually. Shen Qi was still asleep, and Ye Linhan had to call out for her several times before she finally woke up from her sleep. She opened her bleary eyes slowly while staring at Ye Linhan, who regarded her with love and tenderness. “We are here. Let’s get out of the car once you’re ready.”
Shen Qi looked at him in a daze for a while before regaining her composure.
“Alright.”
She unfastened her seatbelt and was just about to rub her eyes when Ye Linhan grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him in surprise before asking in confusion, “Linhan?”
Ye Linhan let out a deep chuckle and flicked her forehead with his finger. “What are you doing? You have makeup on; you’ll end up smearing your makeup if you rub your eyes now.”
His voice was so tender that it felt warm and fuzzy in Shen Qi’s heart.
Shen Qi realized with a start that she did apply makeup earlier, and she would have ruined it by rubbing her eyes.
She nodded in agreement when she recalled that. “Alright.”
Then, she pulled her hand out of his grip and blinked several times before getting out of the car with Ye Linhan.
Shen Qi was distracted during breakfast. There were countless fragrant dishes served on the table, but she seemed unfazed and indifferent.
Ye Linhan picked a dumpling up with his chopsticks and placed it into her bowl while remarking, “You don’t seem to be interested in food.”
Shen Qi snapped back to her senses when she realized he was talking to her.
“Oh, I’m alright. I can eat.” She smiled embarrassedly and ate the dumpling in her bowl.
She looked as though she was chewing a piece of tasteless carpet. Ye Linhan scowled deeply when he saw that and finally placed his chopsticks down.
“Qi, tell me. What happened?”
Shen Qi stared at him in a daze.
“What happened… between you and Moxuan last night? Don’t try to lie to me, because you are acting like a completely different person today.”
After pondering for quite some time, Shen Qi flashed a faint smile at him. “Linhan, you are overthinking. I was just wondering where I should go shopping with my friend later, and that’s why I was distracted. Nothing happened between Ye Moxuan and me.”
She paused for a while before looking up at Ye Linhan. “Linhan, did you forget what you said last night? You will never force me to do anything that I don’t want to. I assume that it includes not forcing me to say anything.”
Ye Linhan was at a loss for words, and he asked helplessly after a moment, “Are you accusing me of being nosy?”
