WSIDIILMBOCIR Chapter 13
by VolareQin Yuanging hugged a thick stack of project proposals in Li Chongge’s office, finally finding time to take a sip of water close to quitting time.
This kind of quiet atmosphere felt familiar yet strange. Qin Yuanging used to rely on being by Li Chongge’s side like this, each busy with their own things, but whenever they looked up, they could always see each other at first glance.
Jiang Muyuan sent several messages during this time, and Qin Yuanging replied “Still busy” to all of them.
In the end, Jiang Muyuan became too lazy to send any more, still attaching a “rolling eyes” emoji, followed by the sentence, “Prioritizing the opposite sex over friends.”
Qin Yuanging: “…”
Li Chongge finally finished up his work after making a phone call, and he looked up to see Qin Yuanging still hugging the project proposals, looking completely dizzy.
“What do you want to eat tonight? I’ll have Secretary Liu make a reservation.”
A notification popped up on Qin Yuanging’s phone, a restaurant location sent by Jiang Muyuan.
“Tonight, I’m meeting up with Qiao Gongyu and the others to have dinner with Miss Su.” After saying that, Qin Yuanging hypocritically added, “Do you want to come?”
“I can.”
Qin Yuanging: “?”
Li Chongge got up and grabbed his coat, raising his eyebrows at Qin Yuanging, who was sitting blankly on the sofa.
“What?”
Qin Yuanging took a sip of water to cover his embarrassment.
“You should have other plans, right? No need to force yourself…”
Li Chongge had already pushed open the office door.
“Not forcing myself. I happen to be free tonight. Let’s go, the traffic will get bad soon.”
The restaurant wasn’t far from Kewei, and Li Chongge arrived in half an hour.
“Mr. Li!”
The others had just arrived as well. Su Yaoyue had sharp eyes, immediately spotting Li Chongge and Qin Yuanging entering the restaurant side by side. Both of them had exceptional appearances, one sharp and the other cool, pleasing to the eye no matter how you looked at them.
Li Chongge nodded at Su Yaoyue, but his gaze landed on Jiang Muyuan, who was winking at Qin Yuanging like crazy.
Jiang Muyuan, busy trying to settle scores with Qin Yuanging, didn’t notice the not-so-obvious gaze, and she and Qiao Gongyu moved towards them in unison, pulling Qin Yuanging aside.
“You’re really something, managing to invite Li Chongge. But you really know how to pick a time, doing it when Su Yaoyue is here. Qin, the great matchmaker, are you planning to help them along?”
Qin Yuanging was also innocent. “I just asked casually, who knew he would actually come?”
“Tsk, could it be that he’s really interested in Su Yaoyue?”
While the two people were whispering to each other, Qiao Gongyu circled Li Chongge with his arms crossed, his expression meaningful.
After the group was seated, the atmosphere was still lively thanks to Qiao Gongyu’s thoughtful warm-up.
In any situation with Li Chongge present, everyone would unconsciously leave the main seat for him, and today was no exception.
Li Chongge wasn’t one to think too highly of himself. Although he didn’t talk much, he would participate in their conversations every now and then.
“Only Little Qin has the face to get you to come. You never have time to hang out with us usually.”
Qiao Gongyu had also been friends with Li Chongge for many years, even longer than Qin Yuanging.
He was a contemporary from Li Chongge’s maternal grandfather’s side, and the two were considered to be somewhat related. They had played together since childhood, but Qiao Gongyu went abroad after graduating from middle school and only returned to the country three years ago.
So in reality, Qin Yuanging’s friendship with him was only a year old, but fortunately, the two got along well and were able to hang out together.
Li Chongge didn’t often participate in Qiao Gongyu’s gatherings in private. Although Qiao Gongyu occasionally disagreed, he didn’t have much to say since Li Chongge treated everyone the same.
It was just that compared to Qin Yuanging, his treatment was a bit tragic.
“Isn’t it because Miss Su is here? I don’t have that much face.”
Li Chongge glanced at Qin Yuanging, who was eager to deny it, elegantly took a sip of wine, and asked him in a light voice, “When have I ever rejected your invitation?”
The implication was that Qin Yuanging always had that privilege in front of Li Chongge.
Qin Yuanging’s uncomfortable gaze flickered, but it collided with Su Yaoyue’s interested gaze, making him even more embarrassed. He had said last night that he and Li Chongge were just acquaintances, but today he was slapped in the face by Li Chongge.
Their purely innocent relationship was forcibly interpreted as having some ambiguous meaning.
This was really not good.
But undeniably, Li Chongge’s attitude made Qin Yuanging’s heart flash with secret joy.
Qiao Gongyu glanced at Li Chongge, whose expression was as normal as usual, and chuckled as he helped Qin Yuanging smooth over the situation.
“Miss Su, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”
“Mr. Qin, are you free tomorrow?” Su Yaoyue looked at Qin Yuanging with a smile, reminding him, “You promised to keep me company before.”
Li Chongge was sitting not far away, but Su Yaoyue’s attention was clearly on Qin Yuanging today. Qiao Gongyu couldn’t help but feel a little strange, but Li Chongge’s expression was still the same as usual.
Jiang Muyuan leaned intimately towards Qin Yuanging. “Great, Yuanging, let’s go together tomorrow. With you helping me carry things, it will be easier for me and Miss Su if we go on a big shopping spree tomorrow.”
The ambiguous attitude and intimate address instantly shifted everyone’s attention to the two of them.
Qin Yuanging subconsciously wanted to avoid Jiang Muyuan’s closeness, but Jiang Muyuan seemed to have expected his reaction, and took his arm first, leaving him with no way to avoid it.
In Jiang Muyuan’s view, Su Yaoyue’s intentions were obviously impure. Qin Yuanging was a friend she had recognized, and there was no reason for just anyone to be able to play with him.
Just because she couldn’t get close to Li Chongge, she came to try her luck with Qin Yuanging? What did she take Qin Yuanging for?
What’s more, she was the only one who knew about Qin Yuanging’s sexuality. Whether as a friend or a confidant, Jiang Muyuan didn’t want to make things difficult for Qin Yuanging.
Jiang Muyuan didn’t restrain her emotions, and the hostility beneath her smile was easily detected.
Su Yaoyue was a smart person and immediately felt this hostility.
However, she was also a little wronged, her intention wasn’t about romance.
She had been interested in Li Chongge before, that was true, but she was even more interested in Kewei.
As long as she could get on that line, the starting point could be Li Chongge, or it could be Qin Yuanging.
“Since Little Qin is going, would you mind if I joined too?”
Su Yaoyue nodded, with no objection.
“Great, the more the merrier. Since both gentlemen are here, let’s go out and hang out tomorrow according to Miss Jiang’s suggestion.”
No one asked what Li Chongge thought, because everyone tacitly assumed that Li Chongge didn’t have time to hang out with them.
Li Chongge’s gaze lingered for a long time on the place where Jiang Muyuan and Qin Yuanging’s limbs intersected, until the two finally separated.
After the dinner, the group didn’t waste too much energy on hypocritical small talk. Qiao Gongyu personally drove Su Yaoyue back to the hotel. Jiang Muyuan had been with Su Yaoyue all day and was already exhausted. Her driver picked her up and took her back.
Qin Yuanging followed Li Chongge out the door and realized that they had both been drinking that night.
“Should I have your driver come pick you up?”
“I already contacted him in advance, he’s already waiting in the garage, let’s go.”
Qin Yuanging took out his phone and glanced at it, waving his hand.
“Forget it, I’ll just take a taxi back, I’ll come drive the car when I’m free.”
Qin Yuanging had a lot of cars, he wasn’t lacking that one.
“I’ll take you.”
Unable to refuse, Qin Yuanging finally sat in the back seat with Li Chongge.
The partition rose, and the space in the back seat belonged only to the two of them.
Li Chongge knew the way to Qin Yuanging’s house very well.
Qin Yuanging had been a troublemaker since he was a child. It was common for him to secretly play until he was tired, hiding from the driver and nanny who came to pick him up from school before he was willing to go home.
Li Chongge had an extraordinary sense of responsibility. After failing to persuade him, he could only choose to watch him personally until Qin Yuanging had his fill, then let the driver take him home.
At that time, Qin Yuanging had terrifyingly vigorous energy, and even more terrifying was that his mouth and body seemed to be two different systems. Even if he was already too tired to move, that mouth never stopped, chattering and never-ending all the way.
Fortunately, Li Chongge had good patience and could tolerate his chatter.
It was just that those trivial days were long gone.
Qin Yuanging was still sitting next to him now, but his current sullenness was completely different from his previous garrulousness.
“Qin Yuanging, come with me to the site selection tomorrow.”
Li Chongge’s tone wasn’t discussing it with him.
“But I already promised Miss Su and them that we would be together tomorrow…”
“It doesn’t conflict. Ladies usually don’t go out too early. You can go to the site first and then meet up with them.”
Qin Yuanging pulled out his phone and looked at the new group Jiang Muyuan had created. The meeting time posted inside was indeed around noon.
But it would take Qin Yuanging two hours to get from his house to the site selection location, and another hour from the site to the Financial Building, plus the time spent in between, it would take about four hours.
If he calculated it like that, unless he left at seven in the morning, it would be a bit rushed.
“Okay, then let’s just meet up there tomorrow.”
Li Chongge quietly watched the bustling street scene constantly flashing past the window.
He thought that if it were before, Qin Yuanging would have insisted that he come pick him up.
And he certainly wouldn’t have been willing to get up early.
Qin Yuanging had grown up, knew how to be a person who valued promises, was no longer willful and reckless, no longer lazy and lax, and no longer dependent on him.
The passage of time was indeed terrifying, and even Li Chongge couldn’t keep what he wanted to keep.
Qin Yuanging was moving forward, had new friends, new goals, and also… a lover.
“I can come pick you up.”
If Qin Yuanging didn’t mention it, Li Chongge didn’t mind taking the initiative to bring it up.
Qin Yuanging’s eyes curved, but the corners of his mouth then pressed down, and he still refused him.
Li Chongge wasn’t surprised, Qin Yuanging had been refusing him ever since he came back.
After a long time, the car finally stopped smoothly outside Qin’s family’s villa. Qin Yuanging had already stepped one foot on the ground when he suddenly opened his mouth, “Wait for me for a bit, just ten minutes.”
Li Chongge nodded, lowered the car window, and watched Qin Yuanging enter the gate with slightly hurried steps.
Yu Keci and her husband were taking a walk in the garden after dinner when they saw Qin Yuanging running inside in a hurry and quickly stopped him.
“Little Qin, what are you rushing around for?”
“Dad, Mom, I’m going to get something for Li Chongge, he’s still waiting outside!”
Yu Keci was pleasantly surprised to hear this and quickly caught up with him.
“Oh dear, speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Little Li. Aunt He just brought some home-grown fruits today, I’ll pack some, you can take them over to him together!”
Li Chongge had been the “other people’s child” since he was a child. In Yu Keci’s view, Qin Yuanging was able to grow into such a well-behaved character today (thanks to her mother’s filter), and it had a lot to do with Li Chongge being such a good role model.
So she had always had a good impression of Li Chongge, not because of anything else, but simply because she felt that this child was good in every way, and it was really hard not to like him.
But the Qin family had always been very measured. Qin Haoting and Yu Keci didn’t want to mix interests into their children’s friendship, so they never thought about using Qin Yuanging and Li Chongge’s relationship to gain any convenience in the business world.