Chapter 51: I Have Someone I Like

Chapter 51: There's Someone I Like

Su Zhiyu hadn't expected Qin Yan to volunteer an explanation. His closet, the room—everything here was Qin Yan's.

Even if Qin Yan really did go through his things, he had every right to.

The two of them headed out together, and when they reached the hot pot restaurant's private room, Yang Yichen, Liu Mian, and Jiang Yizhou were already seated inside.

Su Zhiyu and Jiang Yizhou exchanged a glance.

Yang Yichen stood up and pulled out chairs: "You guys finally made it—come on, sit down. Let's figure out what kind of pot to order."

Qin Yan took the phone Yang Yichen handed over, which showed the ordering page. He gave it a casual scan and said, "Let's get the lamb bone broth half-and-half pot, mildly spicy."

"OK. Everyone order together—add whatever you want."

Qin Yan held the phone out to Su Zhiyu: "Take a look, what do you want to eat?"

Su Zhiyu didn't reach for the phone; instead, he leaned in closer to look, and Qin Yan leaned in with him.

Their heads were close together, almost touching, and neither of them seemed to think anything of it.

Jiang Yizhou watched how close they were, his grip on his phone tightening.

Liu Mian, sitting beside them, glanced around the table and handed his phone to Yang Yichen: "I already ordered. You should take a look too."

Yang Yichen was caught off guard for a second, then smiled and took it: "Alright."

Qin Yan had taken his phone.

Once they'd ordered, the group made small talk. Qin Yan suddenly changed the subject: "I'm thinking of starting a company in the up-and-coming AI field. You guys interested?"

At that, everyone looked at him, stunned, with Yang Yichen's eyes going the widest.

He dumped a whole plate of beef into the pot in disbelief and exclaimed, "Brother Yan, why the sudden urge to start a company? Doesn't your family already own plenty of businesses? Are you short on cash?"

Qin Yan said with a casual smile: "Those are all my brother's, not mine."

"You still keep things that separate from your brother?"

"Of course. I want something of my own. Yang Yichen, I remember your family's company has some stake in this field, right? Can you set up an introduction?"

"You want to talk to my dad?"

Yang Yichen thought his buddy had completely lost it. Why the hell would he start a company out of the blue? Ninety-eight percent of rich kids who start companies end up losing their shirts.

And there was no way his dad would cut Qin Yan any slack just because of him.

Bottom line: no way.

Qin Yan nodded, that lazy smile still playing at the corners of his eyes: "You set it up, I'll handle the rest myself. If you're interested, you can invest and come on board."

A brief silence fell over the table.

Starting a company was no small thing—money, connections, skill, vision... you needed all of it.

If it was just for kicks, tossing in a little cash wouldn't hurt.

Su Zhiyu asked quietly: "Why do you suddenly want to start a company?"

Others might not know, but he knew exactly how much Qin Mo doted on this younger brother. If Qin Yan just asked, Qin Mo would hand him a company, no problem—there was no need for him to work his tail off building one from scratch.

Qin Yan grinned at him: "It's interesting. I just felt like doing it."

"I'm in."

Yang Yichen spoke up.

Liu Mian glanced at him and chimed in right after: "After this show, I'm still going back to stage acting. It's tough to make a living at these days, and I want to take a shot with you too. But I don't have much money—I probably can't invest a lot."

With Yang Yichen and Liu Mian both in, Jiang Yizhou obviously couldn't sit this one out.

The whole time, Su Zhiyu was the only one who hadn't said a word.

He gripped his pants, his throat dry. Everyone at the table could be part of Qin Yan's venture—except him...

Huh?

"Awesome!"

Qin Yan raised an eyebrow, his grin spreading: "I'm really grateful you all trust me. Come on, let's have a drink."

Su Zhiyu's eyelashes trembled. The hand clutching his pants was covered by another hand, hidden under the table. Qin Yan slowly pried his clenched fingers open and, meeting his panicked gaze, tilted his head and smiled at him.

Qin Yan picked up a glass and handed it to him: "Su Zhiyu, you're the most famous out of all of us. You should put all your energy into the entertainment industry, become a top-tier star, and don't get distracted by business stuff."

Su Zhiyu froze.

Yang Yichen immediately started squawking: "Brother Yan, are you playing favorites? We're in the entertainment industry too, you know! I'm an actor too—why don't you tell me to focus on the entertainment industry?"

Qin Yan shot back without missing a beat: "With that over-the-top acting of yours, try again in your next life."

"Hey, that's... that's a personal attack."

Liu Mian laughed and chimed in: "Yichen, you could do romantic dramas. That domineering CEO role you did last time was pretty good—it shows you've got a knack for playing the boss."

"Really?" Yang Yichen's mouth curled into a smile. "Don't mess with me. Honestly, I thought so too."

Liu Mian held up three fingers: "I'm not lying, it's true."

Jiang Yizhou cut in, sounding a bit hurt: "Hey, is nobody going to worry about me? Brother Qin? I'm kind of in the entertainment industry too."

Qin Yan rested his chin on one hand while toying with Su Zhiyu's fingertips with the other: "Then you guys can just put in money and be shareholders, like Su Zhiyu."

"Huh?" Jiang Yizhou glanced at Su Zhiyu. "So how much is Zhi Yu planning to invest?"

Su Zhiyu went stiff.

He didn't have a dime.

Qin Yan didn't let go of his hand, put a finger to his lips to shush everyone, and said with a grin: "This is between me and Zhi Yu—we're keeping it a secret for now."

Yang Yichen teased with a sly smile: "Zhi Yu, you're full of surprises, huh? So you're the first one to invest, huh? Then we won't fight you for the title of top shareholder."

Liu Mian chimed in agreement: "Yeah, I can pitch in with effort. The theater's not usually that busy."

And so, over a hot pot meal, Qin Yan's seemingly spur-of-the-moment decision kicked things off.

In the epilogue, everyone was sitting around chatting.

Qin Yan stood up. "I'm going to the restroom."

The moment Qin Yan left the private room, Jiang Yizhou followed, using the restroom as an excuse.

To avoid any trouble, Yang Yichen had booked the entire third floor of the hotpot restaurant, so the whole floor was empty—pretty safe.

"Brother Qin, wait up."

Qin Yan stopped, and Jiang Yizhou hurried over, his forehead still damp with sweat from the hotpot.

He seemed to steel himself, then stood in front of Qin Yan. "Can we talk over there? I have something to tell you."

Qin Yan raised an eyebrow. "Hold on, let me hit the restroom first."

"..."

Jiang Yizhou could only wait outside.

When Qin Yan came out shaking water off his hands, Jiang Yizhou pulled a small box from somewhere and handed it to him, looking a bit nervous. "Qin—Brother Qin, this is for you."

Qin Yan narrowed his eyes. He didn't take the box, instead letting his playful smile fade. "You have something to say?"

Jiang Yizhou kept his hand out, as if gathering his courage, then blurted out, "Yes, Brother Qin, I like you. Do we—do we have a chance to be together?"

"No."

Jiang Yizhou's face went stiff. He pressed on urgently. "Why? We—we get along so well. It's fine if you don't like me now, but I can..."

"I already like someone else."