Chapter 89

Chapter 89

A clattering sound came from outside. After devouring all the snacks on the table, Jin Baobao still wasn't satisfied and went to rummage through Ye Zhiqiu's snack box in the kitchen, bringing back another pile.

"Xiao Qiu," he paused at the doorway, his face illuminated by the shiny gold foil wrapping of chocolates, "who introduced you to these snacks? How can they all be so delicious?"

Ye Zhiqiu chuckled but still thought for a moment before responding, "They're what my colleagues usually eat at the office."

"Do your colleagues share snacks too?" Jin Baobao asked enviously. "Is working really that good?"

Having already tidied up, Ye Zhiqiu got up. "Are you thinking about getting a job?"

The pile in Jin Baobao's arms was almost too much to hold. Ye Zhiqiu took some items from him and watched as he placed them on the dining table, then pulled out his phone to take photos and use a shopping app to identify them.

"Alright," Ye Zhiqiu laughed. "If you like them, I'll buy some of each and send them to your place later."

"Really?" Jin Baobao was overjoyed and kissed Ye Zhiqiu on the cheek. "My treasure is the best, my treasure is the greatest."

"It's just some snacks," Ye Zhiqiu chuckled, then turned to Li Shaojun. "Shaojun, do you want any?"

Li Shaojun, always cool, scoffed. "Only kids like that stuff."

He paused, "You might as well treat him like a son."

Hearing this, Jin Baobao immediately rushed over to confront Li Shaojun, not noticing how Ye Zhiqiu stiffened slightly, standing there stunned.

Looking at the half-table covered with colorful wrapped snacks, Ye Zhiqiu subconsciously pursed his lips.

These were bought by Qin Jianhe for him.

"Autumn Master," Li Shaojun, unable to fend off Jin Baobao, started calling for help.

Ye Zhiqiu snapped back to reality but only smiled at them.

Instead of going over, he turned and entered his workspace.

Inside, Tang Yue was looking at Ye Zhiqiu's tools.

Despite the various tools neatly organized on the rack, Tang Yue could easily tell that one set was identical to the one Ye Zhiqiu had given Lin Xuehua.

It turned out that when Ye Zhiqiu returned from abroad, he brought back two sets of these tools.

Two sets...

Tang Yue silently pondered, feeling his heart slowly sink.

Ye Zhiqiu brought back two sets of these tools.

One set was given to Lin Xuehua, and the other was kept for himself.

He didn't even think to bring a set for him, who also studied fashion...

Hadn't Ye Zhiqiu always treated him the best?

Why did he overlook him this time?

Tang Yue felt an emptiness inside.

Being ignored by Ye Zhiqiu made him feel betrayed.

Indeed, everything was fake, Tang Yue sneered. It seemed Ye Zhiqiu's hypocrisy finally showed.

Sounds came from outside, and Ye Zhiqiu appeared at the door.

Tang Yue quickly hid his gloomy expression, replacing it with a smile.

"I'm so envious of you, Xiao Qiu," he said. "Your workspace is beautifully arranged, spacious, and fully equipped. Working here must be a joy, right?"

"It's okay," Ye Zhiqiu smiled, pulling Tang Yue out. "Come on, Baobao cleared out my snack box. If you don't go now, you won't get anything later."

"Alright." Tang Yue nodded and followed Ye Zhiqiu out.

After sitting together for a while, it was getting late. Ye Zhiqiu fetched spare toiletries, and the four of them took turns taking quick showers before settling down for a sleepover.

Just as the lights were turned off, Ye Zhiqiu's phone rang.

It was a video call request from Qin Jianhe.

"Who is it?" Li Shaojun asked, hearing the noise. "Could it be Qi Xin trying to video chat you at this hour?"

Hearing this, Jin Baobao and Tang Yue also looked over in the dark, following the light from the phone.

"You know everything," Ye Zhiqiu chuckled, directly rejecting the call and sending a message to Qin Jianhe.

"Zhiqiu: Baobao, Shaojun, and Tang Yue are here. It's not convenient to video chat tonight."

"Qin: Alright, let's talk tomorrow then."

Another message followed.

"Qin: Get some rest early, don't stay up too late."

Ye Zhiqiu smiled, involuntarily recalling Li Shaojun's words earlier: You might as well treat him like a son.

"Zhiqiu: Okay."

"Zhiqiu: Dad."

After typing these words, Ye Zhiqiu shifted away, afraid the others might see his smile.

Even without seeing him, Ye Zhiqiu could guess Qin Jianhe's reaction to those two words.

Sure enough, Qin Jianhe quickly replied.

"QIN: Call it for me when you get home."

Ye Zhiqiu pursed his lips, imagining the slightly hoarse, deep voice of Qin Jianhe as he said this, and he subconsciously curled his toes.

With three pairs of eyes watching him at home, he didn't dare to lose composure, so he hurriedly changed the subject.

"YIZHQ: Where did you buy those snacks? I promised to send some of each to Baobao."

"QIN: Give me his address; I'll have Wei Jie deliver them tomorrow."

Ye Zhiqiu: "…"

"YIZHQ: Actually, it's not that urgent. Let's just send them by courier."

"QIN: Alright, courier it is."

Ye Zhiqiu smiled as he sent Jin Baobao's address.

"QIN: Good night, sleep well."

He turned off his phone, and the bedroom darkened once more.

In the darkness, Ye Zhiqiu's smile grew wider.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Li Shaojun said.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Jin Baobao also said.

"I didn't expect Xiao Qiu and Qi Xin to be so close," Tang Yue commented.

"Sleep," Ye Zhiqiu said, flipping over.

"Weren't we going to have a pillow talk?" Jin Baobao asked, surprised.

He had eaten a lot of snacks and was now feeling energetic. Despite talking all evening, he still felt like he had much more to say.

So he immediately protested.

"I..." Ye Zhiqiu suddenly wasn't sure how to refer to Qin Jianhe, but after thinking about it, he said, "My boyfriend wants me to rest early."

"Damn, Qi Xin dares to tell you what to do?" Li Shaojun said.

"Yeah, Baobao," Jin Baobao added, "Who used to dare tell you what to do? Shouldn't your usual reaction be to tear their mouth apart? Why is it different with Qi Xin? What's so great about him?"

"Being in love is wonderful," Tang Yue sighed.

Ignoring their teasing, Ye Zhiqiu buried his face in the pillow and closed his eyes with a smile.

The next morning, they all had breakfast together before parting ways—some to school, others to work.

Tang Yue, having no classes that morning, returned to his place.

He reopened his design drafts, ready to review them again, when his phone suddenly vibrated.

The message came from the alumni group Lin Xuehua had recently created for the competition.

Several members of the group were participating in the same competition.

Though they were competitors, they occasionally shared useful information.

Since the dinner Ye Zhiqiu hosted, where Lin Xuehua declared past grievances forgotten, she had included him in the group without hesitation.

There wasn't much useful information in the group, mostly discussions on the progress of their entries and interpretations of the competition rules.

Among them, Tang Yue's progress was relatively fast.

However, except for Lin Xuehua, who had only just started due to her thesis, everyone else was already halfway through.

Perhaps out of guilt, Tang Yue had been following the group's updates closely but had never posted anything.

This time, the one speaking was Lin Xuehua.

"Lin Xuehua: Guys, reliable news: Professor Wei Yun is one of the judges this time."

This statement immediately stirred up the group.

"Zhou Kai: Professor Wei Yun has significant influence. Damn, she always prefers minimalist designs, and my design seems too complex."

"Zhang Fei: It's not necessarily a bad thing. The final product will determine everything. No need to be so pessimistic yet."

"Li Chunlei: But if the style aligns with her taste, it's an advantage."

"Lin Xuehua: There's still time. If anyone needs to adjust, there's still time. I've only outlined the basic structure, and I haven't said anything."

Lin Xuehua didn't blame anyone, but Tang Yue felt extremely guilty and nervous upon reading this.

He feared the conversation might turn against him again.

Fortunately, perhaps due to everyone being busy or recognizing Lin Xuehua's lack of resentment, no one said anything further.

"Gao Lianlian: Senior, keep it up! It's quick to start, but making it perfect takes effort. But with your abilities, it's definitely possible."

"Lin Xuehua: Fist bump.jpg"

The information ended there, and Tang Yue held his phone, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.

Then, he frowned slightly and reconsidered his decision to submit his work early.

He pulled up all the programs Wei Yun had participated in and interviews he had given, reviewed them, and decided to revise his design draft based on Wei Yun's preferences.

This competition was extremely important to him, and he couldn't afford to be careless about any detail.

At the same time, Ye Zhiqiu had just arrived at the company.

After sealing his hand-drawn design draft and handing it over to Gao Yang, Ye Zhiqiu asked him to deliver it to the editorial department of Fashion China.

"Just give it to Teacher Jiang," he said with a smile.

Teacher Jiang was the magazine editor from Fashion China who had been in constant contact with them.

"Is it this early?" Gao Yang asked, somewhat surprised, holding the file.

Normally, design drafts would be submitted simultaneously with or after an interview.

After asking, Gao Yang scrutinized the envelope for a moment, wishing he could see through it.

"Yes," Ye Zhiqiu nodded with a smile. "Wang Ru has also contacted them."

"Alright," Gao Yang said, immediately getting up to leave.

As the door opened and closed, Ye Zhiqiu's phone vibrated.

"Lin Xuehua: The message is out."

Ye Zhiqiu smiled faintly and replied with a simple "Good."

The timeline was almost identical to the previous life.

In the previous life, Tang Yue only learned that Wei Yun was one of the judges after completing his entry for the competition.

Therefore, he spent a considerable amount of time refining his design according to Wei Yun's preferences.

Afterward, Ye Zhiqiu provided him with many suggestions and revisions, so his submission was made right before the deadline.

Because Tang Yue didn't even make it to the finals of the International Fashion Competition, while Ye Zhiqiu won the championship, he had put a lot of effort into revising Tang Yue's draft.

So much so that Ye Zhiqiu still remembered Tang Yue's entry clearly.

Naturally, with this design, Tang Yue achieved a good ranking in the competition.

However, this time, Tang Yue probably wouldn't imagine that Ye Zhiqiu had already completed the draft he hadn't yet revised.

The draft Ye Zhiqiu just handed to Gao Yang was nearly identical to the version Tang Yue had revised in the previous life.

The remaining minor differences were the touches that transformed the ordinary into the extraordinary.

That's why Ye Zhiqiu waited until Tang Yue visited his home and entered his workspace before sending the draft to the magazine.

There was actually nothing in the workspace, but since no cameras were installed, no one could verify this.

What everyone would see was that Tang Yue changed the submission date after leaving.

And later, two highly similar design drafts would appear in public view...

This would naturally cause a huge uproar.

Regardless of the fact that Ye Zhiqiu hadn't visited Tang Yue recently, Tang Yue had visited Ye Zhiqiu, as attested by Li Shaojun and Jin Baobao.

Just looking at the two design drafts, anyone could tell that Tang Yue's version was clearly a lower-quality copy of Ye Zhiqiu's.

Moreover, considering their talent, fame, and status in the fashion industry...

Anyone would naturally assume that Tang Yue had plagiarized Ye Zhiqiu.

For any creator, plagiarism is a serious matter that can ruin one's reputation and career.

Unfortunately, when the time comes, Tang Yue will have no way to defend himself.

But then again, Tang Yue isn't losing out either.

After all, this is the result of his actions.

In the previous life, Ye Zhiqiu and Tang Yue were close friends throughout their four years of university.

Later, when Ye Zhiqiu's mental state deteriorated, Tang Yue was introduced to the entertainment industry by Gao Wenye and Ye Zhixia, rising to become a renowned stylist.

During the five or six years between Ye Zhiqiu's accidental car accident and his death, Tang Yue incorporated countless ideas and designs from their university years into his work.

Some were used verbatim on characters.

Accusing him of plagiarism wasn't unjustified.

Moreover, his competition entry contained many original fashion elements created by Ye Zhiqiu.

Even if Tang Yue hadn't plagiarized or integrated anything in the previous life, Ye Zhiqiu would still use the same method to ruin his reputation.

Having endured ten years of inhuman torment and faced hopeless death, and now encountering the same malice from them in this life, thinking of what Jin Baobao lost—her leg for dancing—and the lifelong psychological trauma and pain she might endure...

Ye Zhiqiu couldn't take Tang Yue's leg, but at least he could make him suffer psychologically.

With his talent, creating a completely different design that far surpassed Tang Yue's would be effortless. Any random design from his computer would suffice.

Guiding Tang Yue into plagiarism would also be easy.

But Ye Zhiqiu didn't want to do that.

Because if he did, Tang Yue would only pay for his mistake, which was expected.

Instead, he wanted Tang Yue to live with the inexplicable torment of being wronged and unable to find relief.

Compared to Jin Baobao losing her leg and her dance career, living in perpetual pain, Tang Yue's suffering seemed too light in Ye Zhiqiu's eyes.

He had died once, emerging from the blood-soaked hell of bones and corpses.

No matter how innocent he used to be, he now carried a heavy aura of resentment.

He might even be willing to sacrifice his own life to end theirs if he lacked the means.

Therefore, for kind people, he would naturally repay kindness and adhere to his principles.

But for those who exploit others' kindness and always respond with malice, especially those who stepped over his corpse to live happily and successfully...

Sorry, he only wanted an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

They didn't deserve his kindness.

And his kindness should never be wasted on them.

So when he had Lin Xuehua spread the news about Tang Yue ruining his graduation design, it wasn't just to make Tang Yue miserable.

Mostly, he wanted to plant the image of Tang Yue as "vicious and shameless" in everyone's mind.

Once someone's reputation is tarnished, any future incidents will automatically be blamed on them.

Public condemnation and no defense—this was Tang Yue's due retribution.

From the moment he opened his eyes and saw Tang Yue in the club after his rebirth, Ye Zhiqiu had made up his mind.

Keeping Tang Yue around before was merely to turn his own methods against him.

Since Tao Ruoqing used him to spy on him, he used him to pass false information back to mislead them.

But now, the time had come, and Tang Yue needed to face his fate.

Thinking about Tang Yue's expression when the Fashion China magazine came out, Ye Zhiqiu involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

A flood of emotions surged within him, with nowhere to vent.

So after work that afternoon, Ye Zhiqiu went to the boxing gym to practice.

Recently, he had booked private lessons with Coach Zhou Hong and was focusing on offensive techniques.

In the boxing room, his sweat soaked his dark hair, blurring his vision.

After each failed attack and being thrown to the ground, he grew more determined, showing no signs of fatigue.

This training session was exhilarating. When it ended, Ye Zhiqiu lay on the floor, gazing at the pure white ceiling of the boxing room, feeling relieved.

After a while, he got up, packed his things, and went upstairs to shower.

The showers at the gym were highly private, and Ye Zhiqiu found an empty stall and entered.

He put down his backpack and locked the door, revealing a glimpse of his slender waist as he lifted his shirt. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

His fingers, holding the corner of his training clothes, paused, and Ye Zhiqiu subtly frowned.

While some people at the gym did stare at young men like him, generally, everyone maintained basic respect.

Knocking on the shower stall door was something Ye Zhiqiu had never encountered before.

Though he ignored it, he stopped undressing, his slender white fingers tightening momentarily before relaxing.

The person outside was unusually patient, knocking again as if they wouldn't give up until he opened the door.

Ye Zhiqiu pursed his lips, bent down to open his backpack, and pulled out a pen.

With the pen tip extended, he held it cautiously and approached the door.

As the knocking resumed, Ye Zhiqiu, with a cold expression, suddenly yanked the door open.

The hand holding the pen was poised behind him, ready to strike, but it relaxed as the pen fell to the ground.

Outside, Qin Jianhe stood smiling, his deep, dark eyes twinkling like stars, exceptionally bright.

Ye Zhiqiu was completely stunned.

Qin Jianhe's schedule indicated he wouldn't return for two more days.

He hadn't expected him to come back so suddenly, let alone appear before him like this.

Before he could recover, Qin Jianhe stepped forward.

One hand on his shoulder, with a slight push, he guided the slightly dazed young man back inside.

The door clicked shut, locking behind them.

Ye Zhiqiu awakened as if from a dream, and a surge of intense joy instantly welled up in his heart.

However, before he could make a sound, Qin Jianhe had already pinned him against the cool tile wall.

Then, he leaned in slightly, pressing him down and kissing him intensely.