Chapter 22 Are You Bored of Me?

Chapter 22: Are You Bored?

"Don't worry about it." Ling Jue frowned, his voice cold.

"Come with me." He took Qin Shuyi's hand.

The two of them left, brusquely ignoring Tao Wangxi.

Zhao Jinyu, who'd been stewing over the earlier exchange, brightened.

"Stop smiling, it's ugly." She looked at Tao Wangxi, who was left behind, forcing a smile.

Tao Wangxi pursed her lips, shooting an expressionless look at Zhao Jinyu.

Zhao Jinyu shrugged innocently, "What good does glaring at me do? Did you think Ling Jue was just another fool you could push around?"

"Just a man's fleeting fancy," Tao Wangxi quickly regained her composure.

"Is that so?" Zhao Jinyu chuckled. "Do you know, your act of playing the rightful wife is pretty pathetic."

Tao Wangxi finally lost her cool a bit, retorting sharply, "And what about you? What kind of good man is Xie Muchen? He's always liked those innocent, delicate little white flowers. The last one was called... Xu Yan? Or Zhao Yan? What a coincidence, each one is the complete opposite of you."

Zhao Jinyu, sharp-tongued and combative, was indeed not Xie Muchen's type.

"Funny you should say that, he's not my type either," Zhao Jinyu dusted off her hands.

What's so great about a refined scoundrel? Isn't a sweet, loyal guy much better?

"We have a clear, mutually beneficial arrangement. He likes that I'm beneficial to the Xie Group, and I use him to help me secure the Zhao family. I'm not like some people who want everything. You won't openly go after power and money, but you still want a reputation for being noble and above it all. Do you even know how to play that game?"

Clearly jealous to the point of madness, yet pretending to be magnanimous, while still unable to resist making petty, underhanded moves.

She thought this hypocritical act of playing the dignified wife was truly nauseating.

If Tao Wangxi married Ling Jue, given Xie Muchen and Ling Jue's relationship, she and Tao Wangxi would be forced to socialize. That would really gross her out completely.

As the two sworn enemies who couldn't stand each other traded barbs, the young couple in the back garden wasn't faring much better either.

At first, neither of them spoke.

Finally, Ling Jue couldn't hold back and spoke first, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming here?"

"You didn't ask," Qin Shuyi replied.

"..."

Ling Jue looked at her calm expression under the night sky, thought of his own restless tossing and turning these past few days, and laughed at himself in exasperation.

"Qin Shuyi," he pinched her cheek, "Don't piss me off."

Qin Shuyi raised her hand.

Before her slap could land, Ling Jue reflexively dodged.

"See, I told you hitting me has become a habit for you," he grumbled.

Qin Shuyi's raised hand casually touched the spot he had pinched. "You deserve it."

Ling Jue: ... Such a familiar conversation.

He fell silent for a moment. The awkwardness of the past two days seemed to dissipate amidst this playful bickering. He reached out and pulled the woman into his arms, sighing, "Can't we just go back to how things were before? Be good."

He had been overthinking it. What did it matter, this talk of love or not?

But this time, Qin Shuyi pushed him away.

"But Ling Jue, I don't want to play anymore."

When the troubles of a relationship outweighed the sweetness, she no longer wanted to continue.

"Are you bored?" she asked seriously.

Ling Jue looked at her.

Qin Shuyi's tone was sincere, "You said it yourself, we were just trying out what it's like to really date."

It didn't include any promises about the future.

"And I said, the ending would be up to me to decide," his sharply defined face grew cold and gloomy under the dim garden lights.

Qin Shuyi, "So I'm waiting for your answer."

Ling Jue said nothing.

...

When the two returned to the venue, anyone could tell something was off.

Qin Shuyi seemed fine, but Ling Jue was radiating cold fury.

Qian Youyou sidled over, full of gossip. "Sis, what did you talk about?"

Qin Shuyi, "Had a heart-to-heart."

Qian Youyou: "Huh?"

She wanted to say, don't try to fool me just because I'm young. Anyone with eyes could see that guy was practically fuming with anger.

Was that a heart-to-heart or a heart-stabbing?

But seeing that Qin Shuyi didn't want to elaborate, she obediently shut her mouth.

Whatever. At least it wasn't someone from her own family who got hurt.

...

Xie Muchen and Ji Xiuhang were in a completely different state of mind.

"What's wrong with you?" Ji Xiuhang looked at Ling Jue's dark expression in surprise.

"Did your good girl get jealous over Tao Wangxi and have a fight with you?"

He chattered on, "To be honest, she has a right to be angry. I mean, since you were both coming to the banquet anyway, why not come together? The way you and Tao Wangxi entered earlier, hey, people who didn't know might have thought you were announcing your relationship, oof—"

Xie Muchen elbowed him sharply in the stomach.

Can't you see the more you talk, the worse his face gets?

Ji Xiuhang glanced at that grim, forbidding expression and fell silent.

Ling Jue gave him an icy look.

Xie Muchen handed Ling Jue a glass of wine, adjusting his glasses. "I've always said love is a dangerous game—one misstep and you'll get burned."

"Besides, when you're really into someone, you can't stand the thought of other people being close to them. Even if there's nothing between you and Tao Wangxi right now, she's still *there*, isn't she? How awkward is that for Qin Shuyi?"

Ling Jue scoffed, "Do you think Qin Shuyi likes me?"

Xie Muchen had analyzed the situation thoroughly, but he never expected Ling Jue's focus to land here.

He was momentarily stunned. "Yeah, isn't she crazy about you?"

Ji Xiuhang chimed in, "She's not after marriage, doesn't want kids, and she's put up with all your ridiculous demands without ever asking you for money. If that's not love, what is?"

Ling Jue wanted to say it was all about having fun at his expense.

But that just made the whole thing seem even more ridiculous to him—Qin Shuyi, the picture of a good girl, had truly fooled everyone.

He downed his drink in one gulp, glaring daggers at the person laughing and chatting with Zhao Jinyu and Qian Youyou in the distance.

She wasn't possessive of him at all, never initiated contact, never kept tabs on him, never cared if he got back with an old flame.

Even with Tao Wangxi, it wasn't jealousy—just annoyance.

She didn't love him.

In the middle of the noisy, lively party, the truth hit him again, clear and painful.

...

Initially, when Master Jue arrived and immediately took his girlfriend away, everyone figured he wasn't done with this "true love" yet.

The previously neglected Jiang family suddenly became popular at the banquet.

But after stepping out for a while and returning, the two were now standing at opposite ends of the venue without speaking, throwing everyone for a loop again.

Some fence-sitters glanced around and shifted their allegiance back to Tao Wangxi.

"Wangxi, that ring of yours is so beautiful," a girl remarked, noticing the diamond ring on her finger.

Tao Wangxi raised her hand, smiling gently with a hint of sweetness. "It was a gift from someone."

"Who? This ring looks custom-made, doesn't it?" The crowd buzzed with curiosity.

Someone else exclaimed excitedly, "I know—this is the ring Master Jue picked up earlier."

She had liked it too but was told it had been pre-ordered by someone else. Later, rumors spread about Master Jue getting married because of it.

"A *ring*, huh?" someone said with a knowing chuckle.

Seeing Ling Jue drinking gloomily in the distance and ignoring his girlfriend, they assumed Qin Shuyi had angered Master Jue and was in for it.

Someone put Qin Shuyi on the spot, "Miss Qin, has Master Jue ever given you a ring? Why did he give a custom ring to Wangxi instead?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I touch on a sore spot?"

Qin Shuyi had originally planned to come quietly and leave quietly, never expecting someone to deliberately start something.

She tilted her head, frowning slightly, as if puzzled by something.

The person smiled even more brightly.

"Never mind, never mind. Who can guess what Master Jue is thinking? If you can't figure it out, don't overthink it. It's important to know your place."

"No," Qin Shuyi gave her a weird look. "I wasn't thinking about that."

Her expression showed genuine confusion. "Regardless of whether this ring has any special meaning or not—if it doesn't, fine. But if it does, how is that something to show off when you receive a ring from a man who already has a girlfriend?"

"..."

The moment she finished speaking, the whole group went quiet.

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