Chapter 131 I Love You

Chapter 131: I Love You

The gathering ended, and everyone left in small groups.

Ling Jue was slumped over the table, eyes closed.

One of the staff members who was still sober asked, "Director Tian, does Master Jue need someone to take him home?"

Director Tian, his face flushed red from drinking, waved his hand and stammered, "N-no... it's all good. Someone's coming to pick him up."

After saying that, he was helped out.

Hearing that, everyone went their separate ways.

Finally, only a drunken Ling Jue and Qin Shuyi, sitting quietly to the side, were left.

Ling Jue's ride hadn't arrived yet.

He was dead drunk, his handsome face flushed, brows tightly furrowed as if burdened with worries.

Qin Shuyi hadn't intended to take him home, but she didn't leave either.

In the quiet space, she watched him from across half the table, lost in thought for a moment.

She found it hard to connect the man before her, drowning his sorrows in alcohol and suffocating under depression, with the Ling Jue of the past who was full of ambition and looked down on everything.

How could love be such a tormenting thing?

Had she been too harsh on him?

A fleeting look of confusion and sorrow crossed her face.

Ling Jue was right; she was holding double standards for others and for him.

She could calmly and tolerantly accept many people's flaws, brushing off minor offenses that didn't truly hurt, yet she was always strict with him, holding grudges against him.

Ling Jue wasn't himself anymore, but hadn't she changed too?

Someone who never argued with others lost her composure for the first time, arguing and lashing out at him in front of cameras and a crowd.

Someone who always cleanly cut ties allowed him to repeatedly cross boundaries, to get close, to hug her, always feeling more tenderness toward him.

She was bothered by his past, his recklessness and frivolity, his saying one thing and meaning another.

If he hadn't kept chasing after her, she would have quickly dealt with these feelings, buried them deep in her heart, and forgotten them.

But he insisted on playing with her emotions time and again, wanting her to sink into madness with him.

Ling Jue, what should I do with you?

...

Twenty minutes later, Special Assistant Li showed up.

Seeing Qin Shuyi keeping Ling Jue company, his eyes showed a flicker of surprise.

Qin Shuyi stood up, gave him a nod, and said, "You take him back. I'll be going now."

Special Assistant Li opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know what. In the end, he just watched her as she walked away and sighed.

If she truly didn't care, why did she stay, unwilling to leave Master Jue alone?

She made it seem like she had just stayed a bit longer for some reason, but when Special Assistant Li entered, he'd clearly seen her focused, complex expression as she looked at Master Jue.

Some people's feelings are flamboyant, clear at a glance; but others are restrained and reserved, requiring careful observation to understand.

Ah, love.

Special Assistant Li helped Ling Jue up, shook his head, and heaved another heavy sigh.

The place he took Ling Jue back to was still the apartment across from Qin Shuyi's.

Their cars arrived one after the other.

Qin Shuyi closed her door and stood inside, able to hear Special Assistant Li struggling to support the dead-drunk man, occasionally urging him to be careful, along with cries of surprise from all the bumping around, and the sounds of things being knocked over.

Caesar was home today too, letting out a few barks.

Qin Shuyi didn't turn on the lights. She sat on the sofa, emptied her mind, and allowed herself to sink quietly into the darkness.

Night and invisibility were another form of protection.

...

Ten minutes later, Special Assistant Li left.

Her phone lit up.

It was a carefully worded request he had sent.

He said Ling Jue was really drunk and in bad shape. There were no servants at this place, and he himself had matters to attend to and had to leave. So, he asked Qin Shuyi to help keep an eye on the situation across the hall.

Should anything happen, she didn't need to do anything, just give him a call, and he would return.

But Qin Shuyi didn't look at her phone and missed the message.

An unknown amount of time passed when suddenly, Caesar started barking at the door, sounding somewhat urgent.

Qin Shuyi opened her eyes and answered the door.

The door opposite was ajar, followed by a loud "thud" and the sound of something clattering to the floor.

The intoxicated man seemed to have encountered some danger.

Caesar seemed to want her to go in.

But she looked at that crack in the door and the pitch-dark room, and she hesitated.

...

Moonlight filtered through the half-open window, illuminating faint shadows in the lightless room.

Against the wall was a knocked-over cat tree, on the coffee table a spilled water glass, beside the table a chair knocked on its side, randomly scattered on the floor were cushions, dog toys... the entire space looked as if it had been hit by a tornado.

One could imagine the drunk man struggling to get up, with bleary eyes, stumbling around the room.

After the commotion, the space fell into silence, leaving only the sound of the man lying on the furry carpet, the rise and fall of his breath, unconscious.

Footsteps drew near, as someone crouched down to look at him.

Then she made to get up and go turn on the light.

A silent drama unfolded in the darkness.

However, just as the person who had entered the room was about to stand up, the man lying on the floor—who seemed completely passed out—suddenly reached out and yanked her down hard.

She fell into a firm embrace.

“You know what? Just now, for that one minute, I was thinking—if it had been Li Rui who came in, or a property manager, or some random neighbor, I would have let go completely. Let go of you, and let go of myself.”

He had given it one last chance.

The man’s magnetic voice was hoarse, choked with pain, yet also laced with a sense of rebirth. “Qin Shuyi, you always miss every chance to escape from me.”

Feeling the stiff yet soft body in his arms, he was overwhelmed by an indescribable mix of sorrow and relief.

She wasn't without feeling for him.

Just as she understood Ling Jue, Ling Jue understood her.

With anyone else she disliked, her kindness wouldn't let her ignore it, but she'd send help, not come herself, leaving no room for ambiguity.

But with him, she was always soft-hearted.

“You like me too, don’t you? Then why do you keep pushing me away?”

His voice trembled as their body warmth mingled in the cold night.

She stubbornly remained silent, and he only held her tighter, nuzzling the top of her head with his chin, his eyes reddening.

“You hate me, don’t you? Hate me for saying it was just a fling, hate me for never being serious, for never wanting marriage, yet greedily trapping you and demanding your love.”

“Then come to me and hate me, torment me.” His voice carried a plea.

He rolled over, pinning her beneath him, and kissed her through tears.

Her slender neck, soft and delicate cheeks, long and dark eyebrows, always so light and bright eyes, fine straight nose—he kissed her like a desperate puppy marking its territory while also seeking its owner’s approval.

“Qin Shuyi, I love you. I love you. I’ve loved you for a very, very long time.”

He finally said it, now that they were both sober.

Tears streamed down his face, wetting their kiss and making his words indistinct.

Just as his lips were about to meet her rosy ones, the woman tangled with him in this spell turned her head away, avoiding his kiss.

“So dirty.”

He heard her pained, disgusted whisper.

As if struck by lightning, he froze, unable to move.

----------------------------------------