Chapter 28

Chapter 28

On such a deep winter night, the neighborhood was devoid of people, with only the howling wind outside the window.

Inside the car, the faint scent of wood had long since dissipated, leaving behind a cold and solemn atmosphere.

Ye Zhiqiu calmly met Qin Jianhe's gaze, tearing off all pretenses.

In those beautiful light brown eyes, a grayish hue rose, particularly cold and indifferent.

Flattering words, in both his past and present lives, Ye Zhiqiu had heard far too many.

It wasn't that he didn't believe Qin Jianhe.

Rather, compared to believing others, he preferred to trust himself.

To trust the path he had personally torn open, rather than the promises made by others.

Even if it was Qin Jianhe sitting across from him.

After all, this was Qin Jianhe, who with his ruthless methods, had brought Q.L back from near-oblivion several years ago, returning it to the top three global luxury brands.

This was Qin Jianhe, who casually invested in several box office champions when his friend Meng Qingyan entered the entertainment industry, making a fortune.

This was also the Qin Jianhe rumored to be ruthless and cold-hearted towards others...

To such a Qin Jianhe, what could Ye Zhiqiu possibly be?

Just a stranger who happened to be caught taking photos, leading to this unexpected encounter.

Without the previous drama, even if they had met, they would have been as distant and polite as they were at the fabric factory, merely nodding in acknowledgment upon seeing each other again.

Perhaps Qin Jianhe wouldn't even spare a second glance.

In his eyes, what difference did Ye Zhiqiu have from Jiang Nan or anyone else?

Even if Ye Zhiqiu had a natural talent for design, how could someone in Qin Jianhe's position not have encountered someone more outstanding and comprehensive?

He was just unique enough to pique his interest.

"You ask me why?" Qin Jianhe was unmoved by his coldness. "Because I am the one in control of Q.L, because I can turn the fashion world upside down. Is that not enough?"

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu laughed softly and looked away.

"Mr. Qin sure knows how to use power to pressure others," he said.

"I'm not pressuring you," Qin Jianhe replied indifferently. "I'm telling you how significant my promise is."

Ye Zhiqiu pursed his lips and lowered his eyes.

His cold demeanor made it impossible for Qin Jianhe to gauge whether he believed a single word of what he had just said.

This must be Ye Zhiqiu's true self, he thought.

Cold, sharp, encased in a thick, impenetrable shell.

The phone rang again, its urgent tone piercing the silence. Ye Zhiqiu answered it, his voice low.

"Sister Sun," he called out.

They had already anticipated the current situation, so Sun Wei's tone remained calm.

"Xiao Ye," she said, "you've seen the news, right?"

"Mm," Ye Zhiqiu acknowledged.

"I didn't expect Jin Qi to hype this up to such an absurd level, buying trending topics on every platform," Sun Wei said, her voice tinged with concern. "I fear Meilan might be scared off and change their minds."

Hearing this, Ye Zhiqiu smiled slightly and recounted the content of Luo Wangzhou's earlier call.

"Don't worry," he said. "Let them fly higher; the higher they go, the harder they'll fall."

"That's good," Sun Wei finally relaxed. "We'll meet for negotiations the day after tomorrow anyway."

"Mm, thank you for your hard work, Sister Sun," Ye Zhiqiu said with a smile.

"What hard work?" Sun Wei replied. "No brand has a smooth journey; everyone goes through ups and downs."

Her words softened the chill around Ye Zhiqiu, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.

"Mm," he responded with a smile.

Seeing him end the call, Qin Jianhe started the car without hesitation. "I'll take you home."

"I..." Ye Zhiqiu tried to speak but was cut off by Qin Jianhe's unyielding interruption.

"You..." he laughed. "I kindly brought you to meet Teacher Zhang, and now you're acting high and mighty with me."

"Maybe you should drop me off at the next intersection," Ye Zhiqiu suggested.

"On such a cold night, is it worth freezing yourself just to spite me?" Qin Jianhe asked.

Ye Zhiqiu: "..."

"I'm not trying to spite you," he said after a moment. "I just think I shouldn't keep troubling you."

Ye Zhiqiu paused. "I've troubled you too much."

The more one troubles another, the more they owe them; the more they owe, the harder it is to settle things between them.

"Who was it that said I might have some special needs in the future?" Qin Jianhe sneered. "Didn't we agree? Your next time is reserved for me."

Before Ye Zhiqiu could respond, he countered, "This is your fair compensation. What's the trouble?"

Ye Zhiqiu: "…"

Forget his so-called “special needs.”

Why does that sound so strange?

"Fine." He relaxed his body and leaned back into the chair.

Now that the car was moving, he couldn't really jump out, could he?

"About today, when I brought you to meet Teacher Zhang, you said you'd treat me to dinner," Qin Jianhe pressed on. "This time, I want to eat at that Hunan restaurant near Q.L."

Ye Zhiqiu: "…"

He knew Ye Zhiqiu thought it was expensive; was he doing this on purpose?

His relaxed body tensed up again as he sat straight, glaring coldly at Qin Jianhe.

At a red light, Qin Jianhe had just stopped the car. Seeing this, the coldness in his dark eyes dissipated, replaced by a barely perceptible smile.

The rest of the ride was silent until they arrived at Ye Zhiqiu's neighborhood.

The guard recognized Ye Zhiqiu, and as soon as the car stopped, the gate slowly opened.

"I can go in myself." Ye Zhiqiu unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his backpack strap.

The backpack was heavy with books, causing it to sag slightly when he lifted it.

"Let me take you to your doorstep." Qin Jianhe helped him lift the backpack higher.

"No need." Ye Zhiqiu said.

Last time, when Qin Jianhe came to pick him up, a driver was driving, and the car had privacy film, so no one in Ye's family saw him.

But now, even though it was night, he was sitting in the driver's seat, making it easy for someone to see him.

Better to avoid trouble if possible. If anyone saw him, who knew what kind of storm it would cause.

The current situation suited Ye Zhiqiu just fine; he didn't want it disrupted or to involve Qin Jianhe in his mess.

"My family isn't exactly nice." He said, "I don't want them to see you."

This straightforward statement made Qin Jianhe pause momentarily before he smiled slightly.

Ye Zhiqiu pushed open the door and got out, but quickly turned back, holding onto the door.

"Thank you." He said, using his name, "Qin Jianhe."

"Hmm." Qin Jianhe responded, one corner of his mouth lifting ambiguously.

In the dim light, his smile was particularly charming, casual yet undeniably sexy.

Ye Zhiqiu held his gaze for a moment, and his cold eyes finally softened uncontrollably.

Then, he waved and walked away, not looking back.

Once Ye Zhiqiu's figure disappeared from view, Qin Jianhe unlocked his phone.

Throughout the ride, Ye Zhiqiu's calls hadn't stopped, and neither had the messages on his phone.

The group chat was buzzing with Yu Renzhi and others discussing how VIA, which Ye Zhiqiu belonged to, had been betrayed by Jin Qi.

The mentions kept coming one after another.

"Yu Renzhi: Xiao Yu, did you see? Sister-in-law's company just started to recover and now faces such a crisis. This is a perfect chance for you to be the hero. You should thank Jiang Nan. @Qin Jianhe"

"Wang Qitang: What’s wrong with Jiang Nan? He’s being so unprofessional."

"Yu Renzhi: If it weren’t for his special feelings for Xiao Yu, I’d call him out."

"Wang Qitang: No, no, no. The more you confront him, the more he’ll resent Xiao Ye. I’ve seen people like him before."

"Yu Renzhi: What should we do? If VIA collapses, it will affect Sister-in-law’s reputation."

"Wang Qitang: Isn’t there Xiao Yu? @Qin Jianhe"

"…"

"Meng Qingyan: Such underhanded tactics, typical of him."

"Yu Renzhi: What, Yan Yan, you have a grudge against Jiang Nan?"

"Meng Qingyan: Yes, I can’t stand his pretentiousness."

"Meng Qingyan: Is he stupid? This only helps him. He should read more plays to clear his head."

"…"

Qin Jianhe: "…"

With an expressionless face, he typed a reply to Yu Renzhi on the screen.

"Qin Jianhe: If it's an opportunity given to me by heaven, of course I thank heaven. Why should I thank those irrelevant people? @Yu Renzhi"

The others reacted swiftly.

"Yu Renzhi: He's angry. My brother is about to unleash his fury."

"Wang Qitang: He's angry. You must be serious about him."

"Meng Qingyan: Go for it, bro."

"..."

Seeing the excited messages in the group chat, Qin Jianhe subconsciously curled the corners of his lips.

He wondered what their expressions would be if they knew that Ye Zhiqiu, at such a young age, could already manipulate VIA, Jin Qi, and Meilan with ease.

Turning off his phone, Qin Jianhe glanced once more into the Ye family’s residential area before driving away.

Almost simultaneously, a darkened window on the third floor of the Ye residence suddenly lit up.

Ye Zhiqiu had just come upstairs after drinking a bowl of hot soup downstairs.

He took out several books Zhang Wenyuan had given him from his backpack and placed them on the corner of the table. Then, he habitually laid a blank sheet of paper in front of him and began to review the events of the day.

Qin Jianhe...

He wrote this name stroke by stroke on the pristine white paper, then stared at it, lost in thought.

There was no denying that so far, among all the people around him, Qin Jianhe was the only one who could effortlessly pull him from the mire to the clouds.

But strangely, he was also the one person Ye Zhiqiu never considered putting on his list of people to use.

Even initially, knowing what had happened between Jiang Nan and Qin Jianhe in their previous lives, he had indeed thought about possibly taking some photos of the leaders at Q.L to provoke Jiang Nan when he entered the company.

But deeper exploitation had never crossed his mind.

Because deep down, he knew that his issues with Jiang Nan had nothing to do with Qin Jianhe.

And Qin Jianhe had never harmed him.

The freshly written name was then crossed out stroke by stroke, turning into three connected ink blobs.

The wind outside howled, signaling another cold day tomorrow.

For some reason, hearing that sound, Ye Zhiqiu involuntarily recalled the day at the e-commerce incubation center when Qin Jianhe came to pick him up, his coat flapping in the wind.

Perhaps because the blotch was too distracting, Ye Zhiqiu felt inexplicably annoyed.

He tore the paper and replaced it with a new one, holding the pen for a long time before finally putting it down again.

*

As night deepened, Tang Yue had been waiting in the hotel lobby for what seemed like an eternity.

He had considered going directly to the filming site to confront Gao Wenye, but the set was strictly managed, and as a stranger, he couldn’t get in.

But the hotel was different; after shooting, Gao Wenye would have to return to rest.

Yet, despite waiting, Gao Wenye didn’t show up.

Tang Yue had been sitting in the lobby for so long that even the staff found it odd and approached him several times.

Initially reluctant to spend the money, Tang Yue checked the time on his phone and decided it was necessary to stay overnight.

He went to the front desk to complete the check-in procedures, then returned to the lobby, checking the group chat for messages.

He learned about the VIA incident later than everyone else.

His attention had been focused on watching the people coming and going in the lobby and repeatedly strategizing how to catch Gao Wenye’s eye.

The VIA incident brought Tang Yue a sense of schadenfreude.

Ye Zhiqiu was too outstanding.

Outstanding to the point where it drove him mad with jealousy.

Whenever Ye Zhiqiu was around, whether it was classmates, teachers, or friends...

Everyone’s eyes were always drawn to Ye Zhiqiu.

In Ye Zhiqiu’s presence, he felt invisible.

This situation reached its peak after participating in the international fashion competition.

Encouraged by Ye Zhiqiu, they both entered the contest together.

But while he failed to make it to the finals, Ye Zhiqiu emerged victorious.

No one knew that every congratulatory message to Ye Zhiqiu felt like another stab in his heart.

It forced him to relive his failure, reminding him of the gap between him and Ye Zhiqiu.

Ye Zhiqiu invited him to compete?

Ha... Tang Yue sneered.

He wasn’t inviting him to compete; he was choosing a perfect foil for himself.

Ye Zhiqiu was arrogant and selfish. What good did he see in him?

Yet oddly enough, even someone like Yu Renzhi, born into privilege, was willing to follow him around.

And Gao Wenye...

Tang Yue smiled, watching Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun anxiously typing messages in the group, while Ye Zhiqiu remained silent. He felt a sense of satisfaction.

Ye Zhiqiu should experience the same crushing blow he had.

Despite this thought, Tang Yue still "kindly" sent a few messages in the group before turning off his screen and directing his gaze towards the hotel entrance.

A group of people was approaching from outside the door.

One person was surrounded by five or six staff members, wearing a hat and a mask, but as they got closer, Tang Yue recognized Gao Wenye.

He abruptly stood up and immediately went to greet them at the door.

The glass doors opened and closed as Gao Wenye's entourage entered.

"Gao Yindie, Gao Wenye," Tang Yue called out, but immediately, hotel security moved closer to him.

Gao Wenye kept walking, but his brows furrowed tightly.

The hotel staff were even more distressed.

Tang Yue had been sitting there, and they had repeatedly approached him, worried he might be an obsessive fan.

Now it seemed their fears were justified.

Security personnel restrained Tang Yue, trying to pull him away, but he protested loudly.

"I'm also a guest at this hotel; you can't treat me like this," he shouted, adding, "Mr. Gao, I'm a friend of Ye Zhiqiu."

"Do you know Ye Zhiqiu? Ye Zhixia's brother."

The crowd paused for a moment, but Gao Wenye didn't turn back, heading straight for the elevator. However, a slim girl behind him changed direction and walked over.

Tang Yue was certain he had made the right bet.

"Let him go," the girl signaled to the security personnel.

Tang Yue regained his freedom and quickly straightened his clothes.

"Do you know Ye Zhiqiu?" the girl asked.

"Yeah, he's my friend," Tang Yue replied, looking up.

"Did he send you here?" the girl asked with a mocking smile, her eyes filled with disdain.

Weren't you pretending to be so noble that day? Now you're sending someone to find our Gao Ge?

Tang Yue didn't answer. Instead, he looked at the girl and said, "I have something important to convey to Mr. Gao. Can I meet him?"

"It's the same if you tell me," the girl said indifferently, gesturing for Tang Yue to sit down. "If your information is valuable, Gao Ge won't mistreat you."

But Tang Yue didn't sit down. He stood there and asked, "What you need to hear, you can't decide on your own?"

"What?" the girl raised an eyebrow, looking at him incredulously, then laughed. "Are you taking yourself too seriously, or Ye Zhiqiu too seriously?"

"Forget it then." Tang Yue turned to leave.

The girl behind him didn't say anything until Tang Yue placed his hand on the door handle. Then she finally called out to him.

"Wait," she said, "I'll ask Gao Ge."

Tang Yue held onto the door handle without moving until the girl finished her call and looked at him.

"Follow me," she said.

Relieved, Tang Yue followed her silently all the way to Gao Wenye's suite on the top floor.

In the living room of the suite, a wine glass sat on the coffee table. Gao Wenye had already changed his clothes and gestured for Tang Yue to sit down when he saw him.

"Xiao Qiu sent you here?" he asked with a smile.

"No, it's my own decision," Tang Yue replied.

Hearing this, Gao Wenye frowned slightly.

"About Ye Zhiqiu, I think you'd be very interested to know more, right?" Tang Yue said directly.

"What's your condition?" Gao Wenye asked.

Indeed, he was very interested in Ye Zhiqiu and wanted to know more about him.

However, he had tried before, and neither Ye Zhixia nor their family driver would reveal any information about Ye Zhiqiu. He couldn't get any useful details from them.

"Tang Yue and I both study fashion," Tang Yue said. "I have only one condition: after graduation, you bring me into the entertainment industry."

"Want to be an actor?" Gao Wenye chuckled.

"No," Tang Yue said, "I want to be a stylist."

Gao Wenye looked at him for a moment before nodding. "Alright."

"And," Tang Yue continued, "I hope you can keep my visit here a secret from everyone."

This wasn't a big deal, and Gao Wenye agreed readily.

Tang Yue then took out his phone, showed the photo of Ye Zhiqiu's injured face, and handed it over.

Gao Wenye's wine glass wavered, and he instantly sat up straight, his expression becoming serious.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Tao Ruoqing hit her," Tang Yue said, and then smiled. "Probably because Xiao Qiu also has feelings for you."

Hearing this, Gao Wenye's face darkened.

Tang Yue stayed in Gao Wenye's room for half an hour before leaving. He took the elevator downstairs and entered his reserved hotel room.

This trip was worth it. After washing up, he lay down on the bed and reopened the group chat.

In the group, Ye Zhiqiu had already posted messages; he was comforting Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun.

"Yizhiqiu: I'm working on it."

"Yizhiqiu: Don't worry. Even if VIA really goes under, so what? With my talent, I won't be out of options."

"Shaojun: It would be great if it were as easy as you say."

"Zhaocaijinbao: That's good. We worried all night. But then again, our Qiu Bao is the champion of the international fashion competition, so there's no need to worry about finding a place to eat."

"Yizhiqiu: That's right; have faith in me."

"..."

Tang Yue laughed coldly and began typing on the screen.

He transformed back into the gentle and considerate Tang Yue.

"Le Le: Is the problem serious? Can it be solved? If you need help, don't hesitate to ask."

Ye Zhiqiu glanced down at the message, about to reply, when a friend request popped up.

"Yizhiqiu: Thanks everyone, but it's not necessary yet."

After replying, he switched to the friend request.

The friend request showed only three characters: Gao Wenye.

Ye Zhiqiu: "..."

His facial injury would take at least ten days to heal completely. He had planned to visit the set in a couple of days and give Gao Wenye a piece of his mind.

But how did Gao Wenye find him first?

And where did he get his contact information from?

Seeing that Ye Zhiqiu hadn't responded for a while, Gao Wenye sent another request.

"Did I hear you got injured? Did Ye Zhixia hit you?"

Ye Zhiqiu: "..."

It was impossible that the conflict between Ye Zhixia and himself over Gao Wenye was leaked by the Ye family.

Over the years, Tao Ruoqing had worked hard to build a good reputation for Ye Zhixia, and she wouldn't allow anyone to ruin it.

If not them, then who?

Ye Zhiqiu tilted his head in thought.

Among those around him, only Jin Baobao, Li Shaojun, and Tang Yue knew about his injury and that it was caused by "a man" leading to Ye Zhixia hitting him.

Ye Zhiqiu narrowed his eyes and couldn't help but smile.

So on that day, Tang Yue canceled their meeting not to see Tao Ruoqing, but to meet Ye Zhixia.

Now, he's selling himself to Gao Wenye, probably hoping for a better future.

One's upbringing shapes one's thinking, and Tang Yue's shallow nature always managed to surprise Ye Zhiqiu.

It seemed he never considered working hard and building a future through his own efforts.

He acted like a headless fly, flitting around, seeking hope and a glimpse of the future from others, which was utterly ridiculous.

Ye Zhiqiu accepted the friend request.

Almost immediately, Gao Wenye sent a video call request.

Ye Zhiqiu hung up.

"Yizhiqiu: I don't like such directness."

"Gao Wenye: Sorry, I just wanted to see how your injury is."

"Yizhiqiu: I accepted your friend request just to say a few words."

After saying this, Ye Zhiqiu took another selfie.

"Yizhiqiu: Image.jpg"

"Gao Wenye: This was really done by Ye Zhixia? How could he be so vicious?"

He found it truly unbelievable.

Because in front of him, Ye Zhixia had always been gentle and sweet.

He couldn't imagine that privately, she could be so monstrous.

"Yizhiqiu: Yes, so please don't contact me anymore. Whether you like me or I like you, we can only be strangers in this life. Ye Zhixia is my brother, and I cannot have any inappropriate feelings towards someone my brother likes, nor will I dare to."

"Ye Zhiqiu: You've already reacted this way just from looking at me a few more times. I can't imagine what would happen if something really did occur."

"Ye Zhiqiu: Let's delete each other and stop contacting me."

Gao Wenye typed out a long message, but when he sent it, the screen displayed a large red exclamation mark.

Below was a text prompt: Message sent, but rejected by the recipient.

Gao Wenye: "…"

After blocking Gao Wenye, Ye Zhiqiu got up to take a shower in the bathroom.

For someone like Gao Wenye, just giving him a little taste is enough.

He wanted him to despise Ye Zhixia yet still have to marry her.

Only then, within the "tomb" of marriage, would they suffer sufficiently.

When he came out of the bathroom, there were already over a dozen missed calls from Gao Wenye on his screen.

Ye Zhiqiu lowered his eyes and added Gao Wenye's number to the blacklist.

Then he turned off the lights, climbed into bed, and closed his eyes.

In that instant when his eyes shut, he couldn't help but secretly exhale, his lips curving slightly upward.

"All is well," he thought.