Qi Xu hadn’t answered yet, but his expression was familiar to Xie Huai—the way he looked through him to see others. After they had met, this had happened countless times.
At the internet café, he was drawn to Qi Xu’s appearance but ignored the familiarity in the other’s eyes. Then at Fang Qian’s coming-of-age ceremony, Qi Xu stood in the corner and looked at them with a glance filled with countless emotions.
In the middle of the night, Qi Xu’s various expressions overlapped in his dreams, each scene different: the unpleasant ending of the coming-of-age ceremony, the opening ceremony where they were in different classes, and passing each other in the dormitory building like strangers.
Now, even though this gaze was clearly directed at someone else, Xie Huai’s heart ached inexplicably. What was Qi Xu reminiscing about?
Was the Qi Xu in the dream real? Then why was he ignoring him? No matter how close he got, he seemed to drift further away.
Xie Huai didn’t wait for Qi Xu to speak; he grabbed his hand and strode into the office.
Ignoring the varied expressions of those behind him, he closed the door, keeping others out.
Su Jianpeng was about to call out to Xie Huai to treat our partners more peacefully, but was stopped by Li Kaixing, who smiled with narrowed eyes: “It’s like a flood washing away the Dragon King’s temple—family doesn’t recognize family.”
Su Jianpeng was confused and let Li Kaixing lead him into the meeting room to continue the discussion.
Qixu was even more taken aback, following him into the office with disoriented steps, only to be pushed against the door.
When Xie Huai pressed down, Qi Xu skillfully gripped his neck: “What are you doing? This isn’t at home; it’s your company. Don’t you care about your image?”
Qi Xu was still concerned about Xie Huai’s image; who knew how much criticism they had drawn outside just now.
Xie Huai looked at Qi Xu’s calm eyes, and his heart, which had been racing, slowly calmed down. However, he was still entangled by a thread that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Qi Xu would never let this matter disrupt the current balanced and stable relationship between the two of them. This feeling was the most comfortable for both of them.
They each focused on their own careers without hiding anything, and they handled family matters together.
Xie Huai stared at Qi Xu for a long time without speaking, his pupils swirling with sorrow.
Qi Xu saw a lot of suppressed emotions in his lover’s eyes. Suddenly, he realized that he had only seen this look in Xie Huai’s eyes on the night of the kidnapping when he was rushed to the hospital.
At that time, he was 18 years old, while Xie Huai was 28. When he closed his eyes, he felt that same sadness.
“What do you want to know?”
Xie Huai’s voice, which had been silent for a long time, was hoarse. He closed his eyes and asked, “Our first meeting wasn’t at the internet cafe, but at Fang Qian’s coming-of-age ceremony.”
Qi Xu answered him from the perspective of his 28-year-old self: “Yes.”
Upon hearing Xie Huai break this balance, Qi Xu realized he hadn’t thought about that imperfect life in a long time.
This life also had things he hadn’t encountered in his previous life, such as Luo Zi, and such as Xie Huai.
Xie Huai asked again, “In university, we weren’t in the same major, we weren’t in the same dormitory, we were like strangers.”
The last four words stuck in his throat, and he had to muster all his strength to say them.
Xie Huai dared not ask any further. Four years of unfamiliarity in university, six years of separation, and after their reunion, they hadn’t had time to do anything before being separated by death.
He whispered, yet trembled with fear as he tried to confirm this one thing: “It’s a dream, right?”
Xie Huai so desperately hoped Qi Xu would answer “yes” again, but Qi Xu looked at him and said, “No.”
The pain in Xie Huai’s heart intensified, stabbing him like a red-hot iron branding his heart, tearing open his flesh and making a sizzling sound.
Why wasn’t it a dream? He had never experienced it, and that person wasn’t him. If it had been him, he wouldn’t have let those four years of university go to waste.
Missing out was the greatest regret of his life.
Xie Huai hugged Qi Xu tightly and denied it: “It’s a dream. I’m not as foolish as him to have wasted ten years.”
Qi Xu, who had already let go of everything, smiled upon hearing this and comforted him in return: “Yes, we didn’t miss out. We’re together now.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Qi Xu was picked up. The two of them, dressed in suits, had been discussing business just a moment ago, but now they were fooling around in the office.
The two teams were still waiting outside for the boss to take charge.
Xie Huai didn’t respond, gently placing him on the desk, then gripping the back of his neck and kissing him forcefully.
His breath was taken away, as if trying to make up for the past ten years.
Qi Xun felt as though the person in front of him was a silent wolf, eager to devour him whole.
Suddenly, the youthful face and the mature face slowly overlapped and merged into one.
Though Xie Huai denied it was the same person, it was undeniable that it had always been the same person from the beginning.
Those who loved him always loved him, unchanged across two lifetimes.
The defenses had completely collapsed. As the coat was removed and his hand rested on his waist, Qi Xu, dizzy from the kiss, used his last shred of reason to hold him back, saying awkwardly, “Your clothes—take them off when we get home.”
Xie Huai stopped without expression, lowering his gaze to look at Qi Xu. Whether it was the clothes or the person, they were all his.
Qi Xu said again, “Didn’t you say you prepared lunch? I’m hungry. I woke up in a hurry this morning and only had a cup of milk.”
Xie Huai frowned as he helped Qi Xu put on his coat and then picked him up from the table.
Before leaving the office, Qi Xu helped adjust Xie Huai’s tie from behind the door: “Once you step out that door, you’re Mr. Xie. There are people outside; don’t make a scene.”
Xie Huai’s mood was terrible. He had to eat, to make up for the missed lunch.
Qi Xu pushed him away: “Right, so next time Li Kaixing goes to negotiate, just sign the contract immediately. He’s the one you hit it off with, isn’t he?”
Qi Xu opened the door, and Su Jianpeng and Li Kaixing’s group had been waiting outside for a long time. Xie Huai followed behind Qi Xu with a calm expression.
Li Kaixing was about to speak to Xie Huai when he was met with a cold glance, causing him to stiffen instantly.
“…”
Oh, this guy, your gaze feels so familiar.
Yun Rui and Luo Zi signed the contract and directly entered the celebratory banquet.
Hosted by Luo Zi, Li Kaixing experienced the grandeur of a wealthy conglomerate for the first time. Even a lunch was held in a resort area, with vast central lakes and greenery in sight.
Li Kaixing glanced at the entrance and suddenly widened his eyes, muttering, “The Yu Hai Mansion, where the annual membership fee is over a million, Qi Shao, am I worth that price now?”
Qi Xu didn’t ride in the same car as Xie Huai. Under the pressure of the other party’s gaze, he returned to the Yunrui camp and got into Li Kaixing’s car with his assistant.
At the time, the membership fee alone was over ten million, a sum that barred most middle-tier aristocratic families from joining.
Qi Xu wasn’t a member of the Yuhai Mansion, but Shen Fengkai was. He had once used his status to enter the mansion and poach business.
Qi Xu admitted, “I’m not worth that price either.”
All his liquid assets had been invested in Yunrui’s development, leaving him with only the red envelope money he had received during the New Year.
Upon entering the private room, Su Jianpeng, who had arrived earlier, was talking excitedly to Xie Huai. Upon seeing Qi Xu enter, the excitement in his eyes reached its peak.
Qi Xu’s icy gaze fell on Xie Huai, who innocently raised his hands in surrender.
He smiled at Su Jianpeng and said, “Mr. Su, you’re too kind. Please sit down.”
Su Jianpeng already knew about Xie Huai and Yunrui’s heartbreaking love story. Having experienced so much at such a young age, no wonder Xie Huai insisted on setting up a branch office in the capital.
Xie Huai gave Su Jianpeng a casual glance, which felt more terrifying to him than when he had mentioned withdrawing investments. He hadn’t said anything wrong, had he?
Li Kaixing was terrified by the four-digit prices on the menu and the minimum charge of 188 for the pickled cucumber, and his hands trembled helplessly.
If you can’t drink alcohol, you can at least taste it.
Qi Xu said, “You decide.”
Li Kaixing carefully added an 1,888-yuan lychee wood-grilled squab. Today, he had to taste the difference between the 38-yuan grilled squab and the 1,888-yuan grilled squab.
Su Jianpeng was from Hong Kong Island. He spoke humorously and wittily, often using tone words that others couldn’t understand but could be understood through context.
He picked up some shrimp for Qi Xu: “Hey, hey, hey, I told you, don’t be polite to me. If you’re polite to me today, when you become the chairman’s wife of Luozi in the future, will you fire me?”
Su Jianpeng and Xie Huai have known each other for over two years. When Xie Huai first approached him, he thought he was an international student coming to study abroad, but after getting to know him, he realized he was a minor still in his second year of high school.
At that time, Luozi was going through the withdrawal of one of its founders and was barely hanging on. It was Xie Huai who saved the struggling Luozi.
Su Jianpeng’s understanding of Xie Huai extended beyond work to include his family background, and of course, his personality was also a key factor. The two were 12 years apart in age, almost like an unlikely friendship.
Qi Xu said, “Mr. Su is joking. It’s not about being polite to you, but…”
Before Qi Xu could finish, a hand reached out from the side and tossed a shrimp from his bowl into Su Jianpeng’s bowl. The next second, a peeled shrimp was placed back into his bowl.
Su Jianpeng: “…”
Ha, not eating food from strangers—what good manners.
Li Kaixing finally found a kindred spirit, raised his teacup, and toasted Su Jianpeng with tea instead of wine: “Mr. Su, I’ll drink to you.”
After Su Jianpeng and Li Kaixing finished their tea, they sat quietly in their seats and peeled shrimp for themselves. At that moment, he really wanted to bring his wife and children over from Hong Kong Island and peel shrimp for them.
