Su Ke gave him a look that said, “Oh, please”, and pulled out his communicator. “The photos have already made the rounds. You were on a blind date with Guo Weishui, so how did Qin Si end up joining the scene?”
Ji Shileng fell silent.
He should have known. Good news stayed at home; bad news traveled a thousand miles.
Everyone at Yongyi Court was either wealthy or influential. They regularly crossed paths and had generally heard of one another.
Guo Weishui and Ji Shileng, seated at a table overlooking the river, combined with the recent rumors in their circle—it had everyone assuming they were on a blind date.
Then military scientist Qin Si had appeared, leaving people thoroughly confused.
“Running into Qin Si was a coincidence” Ji Shileng lowered his voice, afraid Wen Qin would hear. “Forget the blind date. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten how we secretly beat Guo Weishui up?”
Wen Qin had been furious afterward.
Without Ji Shileng’s reminder, Su Ke really would have forgotten.
“Now I remember. That does make things awkward…” He lowered his voice too. “Then why did he agree to have dinner with you? Does he enjoy suffering?”
Wen Qin glanced at the rearview mirror and saw the two boys huddled together, whispering.
They had been like this as children, and growing up hadn’t changed a thing.
“Why ask me? Who am I supposed to ask? Maybe he’s lost his mind”
“Fair enough. Anyway, a lot of people have been messaging me lately. Every time I open a chat, it turns out they’re fishing for information about you” Su Ke clicked his tongue. “Honestly, they should take a good look at themselves before trying their luck with you”
After returning, Ji Shileng had changed all his contact details and added very few people.
His racing friends had known him long enough to become like brothers. They had no romantic designs on him and didn’t send him inappropriate messages.
So all the unwanted inquiries from their peers had landed in Su Ke’s inbox instead.
“But seriously”
“Hmm?” Ji Shileng’s voice rose at the end as he lowered his eyes to like his mother’s post.
“Shileng, it’s a good thing we’re best friends” Su Ke looked positively aggrieved. “If we weren’t, I’d be chasing you relentlessly just for that face. I’d throw myself at you”
Once they had become close friends, they knew each other inside out—even how many moles were hidden beneath their clothes. There was simply no room for ulterior thoughts.
Ji Shileng fell silent.
He spared Su Ke a glance. “Did the cold freeze your brain today?”
“I’m complimenting your looks. And my brain works perfectly well” Su Ke urged him, “Shileng, with a face like that, could you stop living as though you have no libido?”
“Ever heard of keeping yourself respectable?”
“No. Your romantic history is cleaner than my face. It’s ridiculous” Su Ke recalled their glorious younger days. “No proper relationships, no casual fun either. You’re practically a pure little celestial”
Back when they went clubbing, Ji Shileng only had to sit at the bar. Without him spending a cent, the hosts and hostesses would flock to him on their own.
Anyone else would have welcomed them all with someone tucked under each arm.
Instead, they had encountered the impeccably restrained Ji Shileng. No matter how eagerly they flirted or how sweetly they called him “handsome”, he remained unmoved, doing nothing but holding his glass and drinking.
In the end, they annoyed him so much that he stopped enjoying nightclubs.
“As if you’ve dated so many people yourself” Ji Shileng shut him down. Then, as something occurred to him, he crooked a finger at Su Ke.
Thinking he had finally changed his ways, Su Ke leaned over eagerly, only to hear Ji Shileng whisper in his ear, “Have you secretly been involved with my brother all along? I never saw you date anyone throughout university”
Su Ke reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. “Of course not!”
He was loud enough to make Wen Qin turn around in confusion.
Ji Shileng hooked an arm around Su Ke’s shoulders and smiled at her. “Nothing, Mom. We’re just discussing something”
“Exactly, exactly” Su Ke nodded hurriedly.
Seeing nothing truly unusual between them, Wen Qin turned back.
“That was a rather strong reaction”
“Stop spreading rumors”
“As if I don’t know you?” Ji Shileng abandoned the comment he had only half written under Wen Qin’s post. “How do you feel about my brother?”
Su Ke decided they could suffer together. “How do you feel about Qin Si?”
“What am I supposed to feel right now?” Ji Shileng considered it briefly. “We’re friends”
Su Ke rubbed his chin and spoke up for Qin Si. “He seems pretty decent. You should give him some consideration”
Then he added, “If you really end up dating someone from our circle, even if you aren’t embarrassed, I’ll feel awkward coming to hang out with you”
As children, Su Ke and Ji Shileng had committed every imaginable kind of mischief, offending more than half their circle.
“Wait. Ji Shifeng said exactly the same thing” Ji Shileng glanced at him. “Are you two that perfectly in tune?”
“Ask him. Why ask me?”
“Are you pretending not to understand what’s going on with Ji Shifeng when you know perfectly well?”
Su Ke’s gaze wavered. “No. I just don’t want a relationship right now. What’s so great about dating?”
Ji Shileng answered immediately, sounding utterly sincere. “If you date Ji Shifeng, you’ll be able to walk all over him”
Never mind Wen Qin. If Ji Shifeng and Su Ke started dating and had an argument, the entire family would back Su Ke regardless of what had happened.
Ji Shifeng would have no one on his side.
Su Ke choked on his words, then muttered, “Who wants to date him? I haven’t had enough fun yet”
After saying that, he suddenly grew excited. “There’s this video that’s really popular lately. Something like, ‘Your pain breaks my heart. I want to make it all go away’”
Ji Shileng vaguely remembered it. Some of his racing friends had shared it on their feeds. “You want to film one?”
“Absolutely” Su Ke made the decision. “In a couple of days, we’ll go to Shuise and find a male model to film it with. First, we’ll ply him with drinks until he’s all teary-eyed. Then we’ll wipe his tears and shower him with money while saying, ‘Your pain breaks my heart. I want to make it all go away’”
Ji Shileng thought that sounded like an excellent way to get punched. He laughed and scolded him, “You’d be the one making him miserable by getting him drunk, then claiming you feel bad for him? Why don’t you make yourself go away instead?”
“We’re hardly good people anyway. You’re filming one too” Su Ke took out his communicator and started rounding people up. “Let’s get a few more people. The more, the merrier. We’ll have our fun first”
“President Su, done pretending to be a dedicated professional?”
“I’ve been sleeping so much I’m dizzy. Whoever wants to keep up the act can have it. I’m done” Su Ke asked, “Are you free the day after tomorrow? They’re asking me to pick a date”
“The day after tomorrow, then”
While Su Ke gathered people, Ji Shileng returned to his unfinished comment. He praised his mother’s photography skills from every conceivable angle, then tapped Send.
Qin Si’s comment appeared at the same time as his.
[Qin Si]: Such professional photography, and a very striking model too. It makes me want to take lessons from you, Mrs. Ji.
To his surprise, his mother replied to Qin Si first.
[Mom] replied to [Qin Si]: Thank you for the compliment, Little Qin. Oh, my photography is nothing special. It’s all because Xiaoshi is so good-looking.
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