Su Zhan was at a loss for words. Worried that the idiot might say something to Qin Ya that he would regret for the rest of his life, Shen Peichuan dragged him to the side and ordered, “Just go away and leave this to me.”
Feeling wronged because he got berated for looking out for Lin Xinyan, he retorted, “Peichuan, women are so sharp-tongued nowadays!”
“Can you stop your nonsense, please?” Shen Peichuan had to take a few deep breaths to restrain himself from punching Su Zhan across the face.
“Let’s see how you can handle her!” Su Zhan scoffed and walked away sulkily.
Shen Peichuan only turned to Qin Ya after making sure that Su Zhan was far enough from them. “You’re Qin Ya, right?” he asked. Not waiting for her to deny, he continued, “Su Zhan was too blind to realize it was you.”
Given Shen Peichuan’s intelligence, Qin Ya knew that she couldn’t hide her true identity anymore since he had figured it out himself. Smiling bitterly, she replied, “I noticed that.”
“Why is your voice different? Did you change it deliberately?” Shen Peichuan asked out of concern.
Qin Ya shook her head. “My vocal cords were injured.”
Shen Peichuan heaved a sigh. “You look fine now.” Stretching out a hand for her phone, he continued, “I assume that you know where Xinyan is?”
Qin Ya handed him her phone. Seeing no reason to hide anything from him, she replied, “Yes, I’ve been with her ever since I was discharged from the hospital.”
After saving Zong Jinghao’s number in her phone, Shen Peichuan thought that he should explain Su Zhan’s behavior. “He can be rude sometimes, but he’s behaving that way because he’s worried that you are a woman trying to seduce Jinghao when Xinyan isn’t around. He…” Su Zhan’s voice faltered as he failed to fumble for further explanations, but he believed that Qin Ya understood him.
Qin Ya took the chance to make things clear with him. “I hope you can keep my identity a secret from him. It’s not that I don’t want to let go of the past; it’s simply because I want to live in peace without him pestering me.”
Shen Peichuan searched her eyes for a while before giving his word. “I promise not to tell him. He deserves just a little hardship, or else he will keep repeating his mistakes.”
“No,” Qin Ya explained hastily, “I’m not doing this to punish him. I really don’t want anything to do with him anymore. It’s too tiring to be in love, and all I want right now is to focus on my career. After the exhibition success today, I will be even busier in the future.”
“I respect your decision,” Shen Peichuan sighed. Just as he began to walk away, he turned around to face Qin Ya again. “He hasn’t been in the best state, you know. He has spent his days in limbo until recently when things start to crop up.”
Qin Ya didn’t respond.
It was what Shen Peichuan expected. He didn’t think that Su Zhan deserved to be forgiven because of his sufferings, but he wanted Qin Ya to know about it.
“Take care.”
A tiny smile appeared on Qin Ya’s face as Shen Peichuan turned around to leave. “Take care too, and get a girlfriend soon! You’re not young anymore.”
Strangely, Shen Peichuan thought of the unprecedented kiss between him and Sang Yu.
Feeling a sense of guilt overwhelming him, he picked up his pace as if he could get away from it by running away. Suspecting that someone was probably on Shen Peichuan’s mind, Qin Ya smirked.
Zong Jinghao was speaking to Guan Jing over the phone at the roadside. “When is the earliest flight to C City?”
Guan Jing replied, “The earliest flight available is scheduled tomorrow at half-past seven in the morning.”
“Book a flight ticket for me.” When he hung up, Su Zhan asked, “Why are you rushing to C City?”
Zong Jinghao replied indifferently, “Business matters. You can go home now.”
He hopped into a cab and left Su Zhan speechlessly while standing by a lamppost.
Su Zhan found it harder to read Zong Jinghao’s mind these days.
Knowing the real reason for Zong Jinghao’s departure, Shen Peichuan patted Su Zhan on his back and told him to go back to the hotel. “If you can’t sleep, we can have a drink together.”
Su Zhan rolled his eyes at him. “Stop pretending. You don’t have to find such an excuse if you want to drink.”
“Fine, fine, I admit it! Can you accompany me?”
“Of course.” Su Zhan hooked his arm on Shen Peichuan’s shoulder and walked along the pedestrian sidewalk.
Out of the blue, Shen Peichuan began, “Can I ask you a question, Su Zhan?”
