Unmatched Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Agony

Xie Qi’s birthday banquet began at six in the afternoon. Zhao Shuyi arrived punctually, just as he had promised the host.

Several hours had passed, and his mood had calmed down significantly. However, he was naturally averse to crowds, and he frowned instinctively the moment he stepped into the ballroom.

It wasn’t dark yet, but all the lights in the venue were already blazing.

The gigantic crystal chandelier hanging in the hall resembled a brilliant galaxy, its light reflecting off the countless beautiful and noble faces below. Guests were chatting and laughing, but Zhao Shuyi walked through the crowd expressionlessly.

His seat was at the main table, next to Xie Qi. But Xie Qi himself was nowhere to be seen; the seat was empty. Zhao Shuyi sat down and checked his phone—no new messages.

Just then, someone patted him on the shoulder: “Brother Shuyi!”

Zhao Shuyi looked up. It was Xie Yuran.

Xie Yuran pulled out a chair and sat down, smiling. “Why are you sitting here alone? Where’s my brother?”

Everyone who saw him asked about Xie Qi first. Zhao Shuyi was slightly annoyed but offered a polite smile. “He must be entertaining friends.”

“Oh, he’s grown up, he doesn’t even need you to accompany him?” Xie Yuran didn’t know they had just argued. “I thought he’d be dying to show you off to all his friends.”

Zhao Shuyi: “…”

Xie Qi had indeed planned to do that a few days ago, but Zhao Shuyi had politely declined. He didn’t want to socialize with Xie Qi’s celebrity friends. Frankly, he didn’t like that crowd.

Xie Qi had been a little disappointed at the time but hadn’t forced him.

Xie Yuran understood his expression, laughed, and smoothed things over. “He has too many friends, all sorts of people. It’s really noisy; I don’t want to join the fun either.”

Zhao Shuyi said, “As long as he’s happy.”

Xie Yuran nodded, then changed the subject. “Brother Shuyi, can I gossip a little? What gift did you prepare for him? I’m curious.”

Zhao Shuyi paused. “You’ll know soon enough.”

Xie Yuran looked excited. “Oh? Is it something you’re giving him publicly? Then I think I understand.” She smiled mysteriously. “I’m really happy for him! His birthday today is definitely going to be extra joyful!”

“…”

Zhao Shuyi remained silent.

Whether Xie Qi was happy or not, Zhao Shuyi’s mood was certainly not great right now.

—After calming down, he regretted arguing with Xie Qi.

Why argue? It made him look like he cared too much.

He should have been direct, laughing as he mocked Xie Qi: “I heard you used to have a crush on a woman and nearly killed yourself over her? You’re truly embarrassing.”

But it didn’t matter. Although his performance earlier wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t too late to salvage the situation.

The remedy was simple: proceed as normal.

Things he didn’t care about shouldn’t affect his mood, and certainly shouldn’t change his plans.

He would keep his promise, present the ring publicly, complete the proposal, let Xie Qi enjoy his birthday, and continue their life as if nothing had happened.

Zhao Shuyi deliberately made small talk, asking Xie Yuran, “Did you come alone? Where’s your boyfriend?”

“We broke up,” Xie Yuran shrugged.

“That fast?”

“This is already slow; it lasted over three months,” she said. “I thought we could date longer, but alas, I just got disappointed the more we talked.”

“Why? Was he bad to you?”

“Hmm, quite the opposite. He was too good to me.”

Zhao Shuyi was puzzled. Xie Yuran sighed and explained, “I have weird taste; I only like cool guys. I was initially attracted to him because he was tall, had a cold expression, and looked like he couldn’t be bothered with anyone—he was so aloof. But that feeling disappeared after we started dating. He’s nice, sure, but he lost that edge, he wasn’t cool anymore.”

Zhao Shuyi: “…”

He couldn’t understand her preference.

Regardless, changing one’s mind was human nature. Zhao Shuyi offered no comment, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xie Yuran suddenly look up and toward the front left. “Oh, the birthday boy has arrived.”

Zhao Shuyi followed her gaze.

On the small stage reserved for the band, a piano had been moved in at some point. Xie Qi, dressed in a white evening suit, sat down at the piano and adjusted the microphone. “Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming.”

Xie Yuran smiled. “It’s starting. The traditional performance.”

Zhao Shuyi asked, “Does he play the piano every year?”

“Not necessarily. Last year it was the cello,” Xie Yuran said. “He likes playing instruments. He’s not very good, but he loves to show off.”

“…”

That was very Xie Qi.

Zhao Shuyi watched from afar like any ordinary guest. Before starting to play, Xie Qi glanced in his direction. Their eyes briefly met, but before they could exchange anything, Xie Qi quickly lowered his head and began playing the piano.

It was an unknown piece, slow and deep, slightly melancholic—not quite suited to the lively and festive atmosphere of the evening. But the birthday boy was paramount, and the audience was supportive. When the final note faded, the ballroom erupted in applause.

Xie Qi stood up and bowed slightly, picked up the microphone in front of the piano, said a few obligatory words, then handed the stage back to the band and gracefully stepped down.

Xie Yuran wondered, “Where is he going? Why isn’t he coming over?”

Zhao Shuyi said coolly, “Busy, perhaps.”

“…” Xie Yuran finally sensed that the atmosphere was wrong. She glanced at him, wanting to pry, but felt she shouldn’t speak out of turn. After a few seconds of hesitation, she backed off.

The birthday banquet was lively, yet also boring. Soon, the dinner service began.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, a huge multi-tiered cake tower was wheeled in by the servers. Xie Qi stepped forward, surrounded by several friends.

When it came to cutting the cake, theoretically, the most intimate person should be there to accompany him, help him cut the cake, and stand by him as he made his birthday wish for the new year.

But throughout the entire banquet tonight, Xie Qi had not once come over to Zhao Shuyi.

His eyes kept drifting in this direction, but he seemed not to have recovered from the sadness of their argument earlier, lacking the courage to speak to Zhao Shuyi.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t want to speak.

Who knew.

The low pressure between them became increasingly obvious, causing even Xie Yuran to instinctively lower her head.

She thought, if Zhao Shuyi wasn’t among the people accompanying Xie Qi to cut the cake, rumors of their marital discord would immediately spread outside. They would lose face.

Yet, Xie Qi still didn’t come over, and Zhao Shuyi remained perfectly still, even having the presence of mind to make small talk, asking her, “What’s that person’s name?”

“Huh? Which one?” Xie Yuran looked up, following Zhao Shuyi’s direction, toward the group of friends surrounding Xie Qi.

“The one in the white suit,” Zhao Shuyi said. “He greeted me this afternoon, but I didn’t recognize him.”

He now belatedly recalled that last month, when he and Xie Qi went on a movie date, they watched a youth film, and the male lead was played by this person.

Xie Yuran recognized him and gave a name. “He’s quite popular recently. My brother invested in his management company, so they have a good relationship.”

Zhao Shuyi nodded.

To ease the tension, Xie Yuran volunteered some gossip. “The beautiful woman in the yellow dress next to him is his girlfriend, also an actress. Their relationship isn’t public; they’re hiding it from the fans.”

Zhao Shuyi wasn’t very interested but listened attentively nonetheless.

Xie Yuran continued, “The beautiful woman in the white dress is my brother’s schoolmate. I think her last name is Zhou, I don’t know her well.”

“Schoolmate?”

“Yes, university schoolmate.”

“…”

Zhao Shuyi paused and couldn’t help but look at the woman a few more times.

Long hair in a white dress, she was pretty, but not exceptionally so—the type he might see and not remember. She was no “celestial beauty,” and didn’t look like the woman Xie Qi had once loved.

Zhao Shuyi frowned—disgusted by his own subconscious association.

Unfortunately, before he could withdraw his gaze, it collided unexpectedly with Xie Qi’s drifting eyes.

Xie Qi finally couldn’t stand it anymore and walked toward him. In a few seconds, he was standing before him, bringing with him a whiff of cologne.

Zhao Shuyi keenly registered the unfamiliar scent first. The next second, Xie Qi placed his hand on the back of the chair and leaned down to him. “We’re about to cut the cake. Will you join me?”

His voice was low, containing a suppressed plea.

Zhao Shuyi looked up, but Xie Qi actually avoided his gaze, as if afraid to make prolonged eye contact, terrified of him. Or rather, afraid of the indifference in his eyes.

Zhao Shuyi felt a wave of discomfort, and his expression naturally wasn’t pleasant.

This was a vicious cycle of mutual provocation. Xie Qi immediately tensed up, assuming Zhao Shuyi was unwilling even to cut the cake, and his eyes grew almost dim.

After a long stalemate, glances from all directions began to fall upon them.

The invisible pressure made Xie Qi feel humiliated. The veins on the back of the hand resting on the chair bulged. “Zhao Shuyi,” he lowered his voice, “do you care about me even a little?”

Zhao Shuyi was silent for a moment. “What, do you want to argue here?”

Of course, they couldn’t argue here, but human rationality has limits. Xie Qi, overly suppressed, was losing control and spoke recklessly. “You’re forcing me to argue. You just want to make me look bad.”

“…”

Xie Yuran was listening nearby. Even though she didn’t know what had happened, hearing this, she knew things were serious and quickly grabbed him. “What are you doing? Let’s talk about this when we get home…”

Xie Qi ignored her, staring intently at Zhao Shuyi. “Today, the gift I wanted wasn’t actually a proposal, but you simply don’t understand. You don’t know what ‘surprise’ means. It’s so simple—if you just took the initiative to coax me a little, gave me a thoughtful gift—anything at all—I would feel surprised. But you only offer perfunctory gestures.”

“Stop talking,” Xie Yuran tugged at him again.

Xie Qi shook her off. “You are cold when you want to be cold, and warm when you want to be warm. I’m constantly revolving around you, walking on eggshells, feeling anxious all afternoon, and still having to put on a brave face in front of outsiders. Is this the effect you wanted? You did this on purpose.”

Zhao Shuyi hadn’t said anything yet, but Xie Qi had already broken down. Fortunately, the continuous band music muffled their conversation, preventing the entire room from hearing the spectacle.

It wasn’t funny, actually.

Zhao Shuyi was silent for two seconds. “Stop being hysterical.”

“‘Hysterical’?” Xie Qi scoffed self-deprecatingly. “You call this behavior hysterical? Then I’ve liked you for over ten years, agonizing and struggling almost every day like this. Shouldn’t I have died of illness long ago?”

Zhao Shuyi froze. “…What did you say?”