Damn it! The girl he likes insists on dragging him to a blind date.

In the following days, Xia You and Sheng Zongche had little contact. She left early and returned late, as if she was intentionally avoiding him, which made Sheng Zongche very unhappy.

That afternoon, in an empty study room in the Finance Department.

He Yunqi pinned Jiang Yunqian against the wall, his burning fingertips brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Jiang Yunqian's face instantly turned bright red, and she even became careful when breathing.

She could clearly see He Yunqi's long eyelashes drooping down, casting a small shadow under his eyelids, and when he leaned in slightly, the tip of his nose almost touched her forehead.

The surroundings were so quiet that you could hear the noise outside the window, and the sound of their heartbeats getting closer and closer, so intimate that it seemed like they were about to burst into tears.

Jiang Yunqian nervously gripped the hem of her clothes and stammered, "Senior... what did you say?"

He Yunqi chuckled softly, his thumb gently rubbing the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist, his tone carrying an inexplicable hint of indulgence, "Why did you run away as soon as you saw me?"

Not long ago, Jiang Yunqian came out from the direction of the dormitory and saw He Yunqi surrounded by three girls chatting and laughing at the college gate from afar.

A bitter feeling welled up inside her, and the moment she met He Yunqi's gaze, she turned and left, clutching her books.

"You have so many girls around you, you don't need me," Jiang Yunqian said, licking her lips. "I see you're quite busy, so I'll be going now."

"Oh, I see," He Yunqi said slowly and deliberately, "So what if there are a lot of girls? I'm just interested in you."

Jiang Yunqian's expression hardened.

He Yunqi said he was "interested," not "liked," so the two are different.

But what can she do? She just really likes He Yunqi.

Seeing that the girl didn't make a sound, He Yunqi leaned down slightly, his warm breath brushing against her lips, so close that she could count the number of his eyelashes.

The sunlight streaming in through the window cast their shadows together, projecting them onto the mottled wall.

"Qianqian, have you thought about what we talked about before?"

Jiang Yunqian bit her lower lip, "I...I didn't..."

"Okay, let me know when you've made up your mind. I'll be waiting for you."

He Yunqi's voice was very low, with a hint of laughter, and the last syllable gently brushed against her ear.

Just as the two were exchanging ambiguous glances, the classroom door was pushed open with a "bang." Sheng Zongche, with his hands in his pockets and his bangs partially obscuring his brow bone, casually raised his hand to brush them aside, his peach blossom eyes slightly narrowed.

He Yunqi straightened up. "Brother Che, what are you doing here?"

"Crackdown on prostitution."

Jiang Yunqian: "..."

He Yunqi laughed angrily, "We're both dressed perfectly fine, we didn't do anything, why are you sweeping up pornography?"

Sheng Zongche seemed too lazy to waste time arguing with him and went straight to the point: "Did you get that thing?"

He Yunqi walked over, dragged out a chair, and sat down. "I got it. It was really difficult to get. But Che-ge, what do you need that kind of thing for?"

"Mind your own business," Sheng Zongche said, hands in his pockets, then turning his gaze to Jiang Yunqian. "What's Xia You up to lately? Did I bewitch her or is she possessed?"

Jiang Yunqian was puzzled by the question. "Huh? No, what happened to Youyou? She seems fine to me. She didn't tell me anything. Senior Sheng, she lives with you every day, you can ask her."

Sheng Zongche pressed the tip of his tongue against the corner of his lips, suppressing the urge to explode on the spot, and raised his chin at He Yunqi, "Go to Muse Bar, Gu Chi is about to drink himself to death."

He Yunqi: ?

……

When Sheng Zongche and He Yunqi arrived at the Muse Bar, Gu Chi was already sitting in a private room, downing an entire bottle of red wine by himself.

The man held the wine glass between his fingertips, tilted his head back and took another large gulp. The icy liquid slid down his throat, carrying a slightly bitter taste, but it couldn't suppress the suffocating feeling in his chest.

He Yunqi walked over curiously, put his arm around Gu Chi's shoulder, and asked, "What's wrong, Brother Chi? We've known each other for over ten years, and this is the first time I've seen you like this. Is it... that the woman you like ran off with someone else?"

Gu Chi took off his gold-rimmed glasses, revealing his bloodshot eyes, and said with a mocking smile, "Yeah, he ran off with a dog."

He Yunqi's eyes widened, as if he had heard something unbelievable. "Holy crap, really?! You actually have a woman you like?! Who is she? Tell me!"

Gu Chi: "It's my mom."

He Yunqi: "..."

Sheng Zongche leaned back on the sofa with his hands in his pockets. "If she finds out you said she's your mother, you can expect to be thrown into jail and never get out of there."

Upon hearing this, He Yunqi immediately became unhappy. "Damn it, Che-ge, you know that girl too? So I'm the only one who doesn't know? Don't you guys consider me a friend anymore?"

Sheng Zongche: "I can't tell you, your teeth are bad, and you have a lisp."

"Hey, why are my teeth so bad?!"

For once, Gu Chi didn't argue with He Yunqi. Instead, he patted He Yunqi's leg and said, "Do me a favor and have someone bring over a bottle of Macallan 40-Year-Old Radiant Red."

He Yunqi exclaimed, "Wow, wine worth tens or hundreds of thousands, are you treating, Brother Chi?"

"Yes, it's on me."

"Okay, I'll go find someone in a bit."

No sooner had He Yunqi stepped out of the private room than Sheng Zongche, scrolling through his phone, said, "Did you ask Sheng Wanyu? It feels like that Lin guy deliberately hired paparazzi to write this scandal."

This morning, Weibo's trending topics were dominated by Sheng Wanyu and Hong Kong actor Lin Yuqi, who was photographed entering and leaving Sheng Wanyu's private apartment in downtown Haicheng late at night.

It's common knowledge in the industry that Sheng Wanyu lives there, so it's not convenient for her to meet Gu Chi in her apartment.

Gu Chi scoffed lightly, "I asked, and she said she's so annoyed right now and will contact me later."

"That's fine then, Sheng Wanyu isn't that kind of person."

Gu Chi's eyes darkened. "But she's unwilling to make me public."

Sheng Zongche slightly parted his legs, closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. "At least you have him now. Be content."

The man's words seemed to have a hidden meaning. Gu Chi put on his glasses, which he had tossed aside, and turned around. "You're having a bad time?"

Sheng Zongche raised his eyelids. "What's wrong with me?"

Gu Chi was too lazy to play along. "You've already tricked them into staying at your house, how could things not go smoothly?"

"Things were going quite smoothly at first, but these past few days I feel like she's a little afraid of me."

"They probably thought you were too impatient and scared them."

Sheng Zongche gave him a sharp look. "How am I in such a hurry?"

"Why don't you say you like someone else?"

"What would I say if I got rejected?"

Gu Chi took a sip of red wine. "Then you'd better not say anything. You're definitely going to get rejected."

Sheng Zongche's Adam's apple bobbed violently, followed by a very soft chuckle that escaped his nose without warning. "How did you know I'd be rejected?"

Gu Chi said, "If you are not rejected, I will take the initiative to make my relationship with Sheng Wanyu public."

"Oh, then you're doomed," Sheng Zongche's tense jawline relaxed a little. "If you go public with it, Sheng Wanyu will definitely grab you by the back of your collar, stuff you into the toilet, and flush you down the drain to the Pacific Ocean to feed the fish."

Gu Chi: "..."