TFS | Chapter 21

Xu Linruan didn’t refuse.

Qi Yue led her around the garden, but his girlfriend looked at the flowers with even more focus than she looked at him. It was a gorgeous sight, her gaze so gentle it seemed like it could squeeze water out.

Watching from the side, he even felt a little sour. Could those ugly, scraggly flower buds be prettier than him?

In just a few seconds, the flowers and plants in the garden had been ruined beyond recognition.

Xu Linruan had admired nothing but emptiness, and she shot him a cool sidelong glance.

Qi Yue coughed. He knew he had gone a little too far, so he quietly plucked a flower from the rose bushes that were blooming especially well, then handed it over to Xu Linruan like he was offering up a treasure.

The girl took the rose and lowered her nose to sniff it lightly. Dew still clung to the petals, carrying a fresh scent, and she unconsciously smiled.

Qi Yue’s throat bobbed. To him, his girlfriend looked even more moving when she smiled than the flowers did. His heart skipped wildly, and he couldn’t help wanting to get closer.

This was the perfect moment for a kiss.

Qi Yue couldn’t stop his thoughts from wandering. The atmosphere, the mood, even the roses were all there.

He stole a glance at Xu Linruan. Her lashes were slightly lowered, and her glossy eyes seemed covered by a thin layer of mist. Under the dim light, he couldn’t make out the expression on her face very well. He could only see the faint curve of her lips and the rose resting against them.

…Somehow, it was incredibly alluring.

Qi Yue’s throat moved again. He opened his mouth, but all he managed was a soft call of her name. “Ruanruan.”

Xu Linruan turned to look at him. Her gaze landed on the boy’s slightly awkward expression, and she asked with some curiosity, “Mm, what is it?”

“Nothing, n-nothing…”

Qi Yue took a deep breath and placed both hands on Xu Linruan’s shoulders, turning to face her directly.

The two of them stared at each other for a good while, and then the young master suddenly blushed again. He, he… this was the first time he’d ever done a confession so properly. What if he, what if he wasn’t experienced enough?

A little frustrated, the young master bit his lip. When he’d come, he had even brought a little note with him, but the moment he looked into his girlfriend’s beautiful eyes, he went stupid, like a fool. He forgot every word and his mind went completely blank.

After fumbling around for a long time, he finally remembered a little of it.

Qi Yue scratched his hair, and even the hairstyle he’d carefully styled to look cool got messed up. Black strands fell loosely across his forehead. He stared at her with blazing eyes, determination showing in his gaze.

“I…”

He had just been about to say, “I like you. I really like you. I mean it. Even if it means shamelessly clinging on forever, I’m not planning to let go.” But before the words could leave his mouth, he heard a long ring of a phone from Xu Linruan’s pocket.

The young master froze. The emotions he had finally worked up were interrupted just like that.

He pouted and gave her pocket a resentful look. Who had messaged her? They had to choose this exact moment for him to confess his feelings. That person had absolutely no sense of timing.

His expression was a little wronged.

Xu Linruan raised a brow slightly. When she unlocked her phone, she found that someone had anonymously sent her an audio clip. It wasn’t long, only more than ten seconds, and she tapped it open with some curiosity.

A familiar voice sounded in the air:

“Seriously? Qi Yue, it’s just a bet. You don’t actually like that Xu Linruan, do you?”

“What’s so funny? Didn’t you all say this was just a bet? I’m only taking it more seriously than usual. How could I actually fall for her?”

…

The voice was Qi Yue’s, but the tone was utterly unfamiliar, carrying a full dose of teasing, like it belonged to someone else.

Especially in the quiet surroundings, it sounded even more abrupt.

A few people nearby who knew what was going on also froze.

After hearing the recording, Qi Yue went completely rigid. His mind was blank, and he didn’t even know how to explain himself.

He was done for.

Xu Linruan looked up at him. She tucked the loose strands by her ear, then suddenly smiled. Her smile was exceptionally gentle. “Just a bet?”

“It’s not like that…”

Qi Yue instinctively reached for her wrist, only to grasp empty air. The moment he spoke, he realized his voice had already gone hoarse and rasped out of shape.

“Then what is it like?”

Qi Yue suddenly found it hard to breathe. He wanted to explain, but he didn’t know what to say. His throat felt dry, as if a boulder were blocking it.

“It’s not, it’s not just a bet. That wasn’t my real thought. At first I really did think that way, but later… I was serious.”

Xu Linruan toyed with the flower stem in her hand. Her expression was impossible to read. Serious, and then what? Whether that sincerity was accepted or not still depended on her.

He had started out wanting to play with her, and then after really falling for her, he said it was serious? That he truly liked her? Did she look that easy to fool?

She smiled at Qi Yue with parted lips and said lightly, “Then let’s break up.” She looked up at him, her tone carrying not a trace of concern. “Perfect timing… I’m tired of playing too.”

With that offhand sentence, she seemed ready to put the matter behind them completely.

Qi Yue froze. What did she mean?

What did she mean she was tired of playing too?

Slowly, the boy lifted his head. He was beginning to react now. From the beginning until now, Xu Linruan’s expression after hearing the recording had always been smiling. There had been no sign of anger, not even the slightest bit of sadness.

What did that mean?

It meant… she didn’t care about him at all.

Especially after hearing her say she was tired of playing.

Qi Yue’s face instantly turned even uglier.

That realization was even harder for him to accept than the idea of her breaking up with him. He grabbed Xu Linruan’s wrist tightly, staring at her with fixed intensity. “You’re not angry?”

Xu Linruan blinked in surprise, then smiled as if puzzled. “Mm? Why would I be angry?”

The boy’s eyes were pitch-black, as though a storm were gathering inside them. He barely kept the anger in his chest pinned down. “You’re not angry that I made a bet with someone? Not angry that I lied to you? Don’t tell me… being with me was just you playing me?”

He had thought that since they had been together for so long, and she had always been so good to him, there had to be at least a little bit of liking in her heart. He thought that because he had gone too far this time, she was angry, so she was deliberately saying things like this to make him mad.

Unfortunately, he had overestimated his own importance. Xu Linruan was even less merciful than he had imagined. She only curved her lips in a faint smile and said casually, “What else?”

“You think I’d really like you? Like a guy who used me as the object of a bet? You think far too highly of yourself. I was just bored, so I wanted to see what would happen after an arrogant, willful young master fell for someone.”

She glanced at the boy, her smile still lovely. “Now then, I’ve seen the result, and I’m tired of playing too.”

“So let’s end it here. Let’s break up.”

The look in her eyes was careless as she spoke so casually, as if being with him had only been a momentary whim, and breaking up now was simply because she’d had enough and didn’t want to continue.

So the boy’s face grew worse and worse. “Break up?”

Qi Yue clutched the girl’s wrist tightly, his eyes dark as ink. “From start to finish, everything you said about being with me was a lie? You kissed me, soothed me, said you liked me… all of that was fake? You were just messing with me?”

The girl lifted her eyelids slightly, lips curved in a smile, her tone so cold it was almost impossible to describe. “Mm… just playing around, that’s all. Surely the young master didn’t take it seriously?”

Just playing around…?

How dare she… say that?

No one had ever lied to him this brutally before.

The boy’s gaze suddenly turned cold and dark. He gripped that slender wrist so tightly that the dim light cast over his handsome face made a faint, eerie air seem to rise from it.

“Xu Linruan, do you believe I could kill you right now?”

“Mm… you want to kill me?” The girl smiled without fear, even stepping forward a little. Her tone remained slow and unhurried as she said lightly, “But weren’t you pretty happy when you were making that bet with someone else?”

“What, so when it’s someone else toying with your feelings, it’s not okay anymore?”

Her expression was cold. With a bit of force, she pried open his hand, and under the boy’s hateful stare, she calmly tucked the loose hair by her ear and, with the same motion, slid the rose into the pocket over his chest. “Sorry, young master.”

“Even though it’s a little harsh to say, I really did have a good time playing.”

Xu Linruan brushed her fingers together, and after speaking, she turned and left without looking back.

Qi Yue watched her retreating figure grow smaller and smaller, and he clenched his fists hard.

Don’t go…

Who did she think she was? She played him and still wanted to walk away clean?

He wouldn’t let her off.

Only one thought remained in Qi Yue’s mind, that he absolutely could not let her leave. Just as he was about to chase after her, someone beside him blocked his way.

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t know things would turn out like this…”

Jiang Mian stumbled a few steps up to Qi Yue and apologized awkwardly, her face flushed red. She had anonymously sent the message to Xu Linruan. She had originally just wanted to keep that girl from being deceived any longer.

But the reality had turned completely upside down. It was actually Xu Linruan who had been playing with Qi Yue’s feelings all along. This was just… And clearly the boy in front of her had also realized he had been wronged, so why… would he still say such hurtful things?

Jiang Mian felt a little uneasy. If she had known the truth would be like this, she definitely would not have done it.

However, the boy did not appreciate it at all. Those black eyes stared at her, and his handsome face held no expression. Cold and glacial, he looked dangerous and magnetic at once. “You sent her that recording?”

Qi Yue was no idiot. He instantly connected the key point. The girl in front of him was the one who had sent Xu Linruan the recording.

When Jiang Mian met his icy gaze, goosebumps rose all over her body. She couldn’t understand how the boy, who had been so reckless and dazzling before, had become like this after a breakup.

She took a nervous step back. “I, I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

She had thought she had at least helped him see Xu Linruan’s true colors and kept him from being fooled any longer. Even if he wasn’t grateful, he shouldn’t have made things difficult for her.

But what came next was the boy’s emotionless reply: “Get lost.”

Qi Yue lifted his head. A few messy strands of black hair fell across his forehead. His eyes were cold, and his tone sounded even more dangerous than usual. “Get as far away as you can before I kill you.”

Jiang Mian first froze, then bit her lip hard. People nearby were casting strange looks her way, and an indescribable humiliation swelled in her heart. Her cheeks also started to burn from embarrassment.

She felt that this person simply couldn’t tell right from wrong. Even if he had been dumped, he had brought it on himself.

She turned and left in a huff.

Leaving only Qi Yue standing there alone. He yanked hard with his fingers, pulled the rose from his chest, and then viciously tore it apart.