Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Pei Qingji took Cheng Yu'an out to dinner today.

The restaurant was located in the city center, with a Ferris wheel visible nearby. The people who came here to dine were all wealthy.

"Sir, what would you like to order?" The waiter immediately stepped forward, clearly seeing that Pei Qingji had an extraordinary bearing and assuming he would be the one ordering.

"Just give the menu to him," Pei Qingji said instead.

"Ah..."

The waiter quickly snapped out of it and handed the ordering menu to Cheng Yu'an.

Cheng Yu'an glanced at the prices—thousands of yuan per dish—and prepared to hand the menu back.

"You order."

"It's fine, order whatever you want."

Pei Qingji said softly, noticing his troubled expression.

Cheng Yu'an hesitated for a moment, then ordered a few dishes.

Soon, all the dishes were served.

Just then, a familiar voice suddenly rang out.

"Hey, Old Pei, what are you doing here?"

A few men walked over from not far away.

They were Pei Qingji's friends, though they hadn't been in contact much during this period.

Pei Qingji nodded and greeted them.

As they chatted, they suddenly caught a glimpse of the person sitting across from him, and surprise flickered in their eyes.

They realized it was Cheng Yu'an.

Everyone exchanged glances, all at a loss as to what was going on.

Wait—was Old Pei still with him? And his belly looked quite big—could he be pregnant?

How come they'd never heard Old Pei mention it?

Everyone furrowed their brows one after another.

"We're just eating over here—come over for a bit, I have something to tell you."

Pei Qingji frowned slightly and declined.

"No need, I still have things to do. You guys go ahead and have fun."

"Don't be like that, it'll just take a few minutes."

"Yeah, we haven't seen each other in ages. It'd be too boring if you didn't come."

Pei Qingji's brows furrowed even tighter.

He called over the waiter, instructed him to take good care of Cheng Yu'an, and then had Assistant Lin come in to accompany him.

"Wait here for me for a few minutes, I'll be back soon."

As if afraid he wouldn't believe him, he reassured him over and over.

His voice was extremely gentle, carrying a hint of cautiousness.

"Okay?"

Everyone was completely shocked, their minds going blank. They had never seen such a gentle attitude from their brother before.

Cheng Yu'an looked at those people—he had some vague recollection of them. They were the unfamiliar people from that day at Dige, other than Lu Mingzhe.

He pressed his lips together and said indifferently.

"Go ahead."

Pei Qingji was still a bit worried, so he sent a message to Assistant Lin on his phone.

Telling him to keep a close eye on things, and not to let what happened last time happen again.

Assistant Lin had already learned his lesson from last time, so how would he dare repeat the same mistake?

After they left, only Assistant Lin and Cheng Yu'an were left.

The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

Assistant Lin spoke up first: "How about I tell you a story?"

Cheng Yu'an: "?"

On the other side, the others brought Pei Qingji to their private room.

Once the door was closed, they immediately pressed him for answers.

"Seriously, what's going on between you two now?"

"Let's talk while we drink."

"Waiter, bring us a few bottles of liquor."

Pei Qingji put his phone back into his pocket and shook his head.

"No need, I'll be leaving soon—he's still waiting for me."

"What do you all want to talk to me about?"

"How did you get back together with him? Didn't you two get divorced?"

"Yeah, what's actually going on?" Everyone was buzzing with curiosity, all talking at once.

One of them spoke with a trace of disdain.

"Not that I'm trying to be harsh, but someone like him really isn't worthy of you."

"Even though that incident was a frame-up, the gap between your social standings is just too big."

"Bro, you deserve better. You can definitely find someone richer, better-looking, and with a higher education."

“Yeah, forget it, why not just find someone else?”

Pei Qingji’s expression instantly went cold, and he said in a low, heavy voice.

“If you’re just here to say this to me, then I don’t think we have anything to talk about.”

“I just can’t figure it out—what kind of seductive fox is that Mr. Cheng to have you wrapped around his finger like that? Making you so head-over-heels for him?”

None of them really understood, because for these spoiled rich kids.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t like him?”

They all asked, puzzled.

On the other side, Assistant Lin had nearly talked himself hoarse, but the boss still hadn’t arrived.

The food came out first, but Cheng Yuan didn’t want to start eating without him.

He insisted on waiting for Pei Qingji to come back.

Assistant Lin tried to talk him out of it, but no luck, so he sneakily texted Pei Qingji, but there was no reply.

He was getting anxious and steeled himself.

“How about I take you to go find him?”

Then Assistant Lin called over a waiter, asked where their private room was, and within a few minutes, they arrived at the door of the room.

The door was open, and they could hear what was being said inside.

Cheng Yuan paused slightly upon hearing this, his lips pressed into a thin line, a cold look gradually settling in his eyes.

But the next second, Pei Qingji seemed to sense him approaching. He looked up, then got up and walked straight over, grabbing his wrist and pulling Cheng Yuan inside.

There was a smile in his eyes, and he said in a very solemn tone.

“Let me properly introduce to you all—Cheng Yuan is my beloved.”

Everyone was completely blown away.

Cheng Yuan froze for a moment, because he had never been publicly introduced as such in front of so many friends.

“Bro, you’re actually serious?”

Pei Qingji said in a low, serious voice.

“I hope you all respect him, or else we can’t be friends anymore.”

“We’re heading out now.”

With that, Pei Qingji grabbed his wrist and pulled him out.

The moment they touched, Cheng Yuan’s body tensed up, but he didn’t pull away.

The moment they stepped out, they saw Assistant Lin.

Pei Qingji’s brows knitted together.

“Why did you bring him here again?”

“Mr. Cheng... the missus said to wait for you to come eat together.”

Assistant Lin said, looking like he was about to cry.

Pei Qingji was taken aback for a moment.

“Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.”

“You hungry? Want anything else? I’ll order it for you.”

His voice sounded so happy, and even his lips curved up slightly.

His eyes were shining, like a big puppy looking at you.

Cheng Yuan was quiet for a moment, then gave a soft “mm” in acknowledgment.

The sparkle in Pei Qingji’s eyes grew even brighter.

After they finished eating, the two got ready to head back.

It was already night, and a cool breeze was blowing.

Pei Qingji put a mask and hat on him to shield him from the wind.

When the car came, they got in, and Assistant Lin drove them home.

Cheng Yuan thought back to what had happened, and his eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

Pei Qingji saw his expression and lowered his eyes, then suddenly produced something from behind his back.

He said with a smile.

“This is for you.”

Cheng Yuan was a bit surprised. “Where did you buy this?”

It was a little dessert he’d secretly had Assistant Lin ask the restaurant owner to prepare before they left.

Because he knew Cheng Yuan had a sweet tooth.

Cheng Yuan was completely frozen.

Pei Qingji curved his lips into a smile and said, “Isn’t this your favorite thing?”

“Try a bite—it’s their new dessert.”

“Or we can just have it when we get home?”

“Are you feeling okay right now? Want some water?” Pei Qingji always carried his water bottle and immediately started pulling it out of his bag.

Cheng Yuan hesitated for a moment. “You’re in a good mood today?”

Pei Qingji just said, “You know.”

Cheng Yuan didn’t respond, instead looking away.

Pei Qingji fell silent, and the sparkle in his eyes slowly faded.

Cheng Yuan stayed silent, but his brow furrowed slightly.

Pei Qingji's face immediately went pale with panic, thinking he was in pain, and asked, his voice urgent.

"What's wrong? Is your stomach hurting again? Or is your back sore? Want me to rub it for you?"

Cheng Yuan froze for a second before finally answering.

"He kicked me."

They both knew exactly what the other meant without having to spell it out.

Pei Qingji was a beat behind, then a flash of joy crossed his face, quickly replaced by nervousness and uncertainty.

His gaze unconsciously drifted down to his belly.

This was the first time he'd brought up the baby with him.

Did it really just move? The doctor said two weeks—and it'd been almost two weeks now.

This time the kick was way stronger than usual—Cheng Yuan could tell.

It wasn't that there hadn't been any before, just that they'd been subtle, and he'd never mentioned it.

Even Cheng Yuan was caught off guard—they'd thought the baby had stopped moving for good.

Then his belly got kicked again, a little bump pushing out.

Seeing that, Pei Qingji asked cautiously.

"Can I touch it?"

Cheng Yuan: "No."

Letting him look was already more than generous, and now he wanted to touch? If it weren't for everything that had happened...

He stared at him for a long moment, then asked out of nowhere.

"Why didn't you say anything when I was getting cyber-bullied back then?"

He'd given him a chance, but Pei Qingji just stayed quiet.

Cheng Yuan knew the truth now, but he still couldn't get over how Pei Qingji had distanced himself during that whole mess.

He knew Pei Qingji was an idol and couldn't just go public; he hadn't expected him to announce anything.

He just wanted him to say one thing.

But he never did. And now he wanted to know why.

The reason was actually pretty simple.

Back then, Pei Qingji didn't dare admit he'd caught feelings, let alone that he'd fallen in love.

So he ran—otherwise why would he have gone all the way out to some remote mountain forest for that shoot?

Even when everyone was gossiping about their relationship, he still couldn't bring himself to admit it.

He did manage to shut down the cyber-bullying before it blew up any further, though.

He went quiet for a moment.

This really was his fault.

Disappointment flickered in Cheng Yuan's eyes.

Just then, Assistant Lin spoke up.

"Boss, looks like there's a suspicious car tailing us."

"What's going on?"

Pei Qingji immediately checked the rearview mirror, frowning.

Sure enough, there was a car tailing them. It wasn't obvious, but as Pei Qing's assistant, he'd dealt with this plenty of times before—it was a sasaeng fan...

Assistant Lin's face turned serious as he hit the gas.

"Ma'am, Boss, hold on tight."

Pei Qingji reacted fast, grabbing Cheng Yuan's wrist and murmuring.

"Don't be scared, I've got you."

Cheng Yuan froze.

But just then, the car came barreling at them like it didn't care if it lived or died.

A loud "bang" rang out.

A massive impact slammed into them.

Then the car lurched and spun out of control.

Author's note:

None.