Qin Siyuan was in a daze; Old He’s words had struck him like a thunderbolt from a clear sky—Someone had constantly been saying ’Qin Siyuan, Qin Siyuan’ to Old He. Was it you, Gu Anxi? Was it you?
Seeing Gu Anxi standing beside Bo Xichen, Qin Siyuan gave a bitter smile and walked away, somewhat lost and dejected. After dropping off Professor Gao, he prepared to take Shen Wanqing home.
Just as she was about to get out of the car, Shen Wanqing suddenly grabbed his arm. "Siyuan, do you also think I lack talent?"
Qin Siyuan took his hands off the steering wheel and leaned back in his seat. He opened the car window, lit a cigarette, and asked, "Why would you think that?"
Shen Wanqing bit her lip. "You’ve been very cold towards me! Siyuan, I feel like you’ve changed since Gu Anxi came back... Do you... still like her?"
Qin Siyuan, with a cigarette between his fingers, suddenly turned to stare at her, his eyes holding a darkness she had never seen before.
Shen Wanqing faltered. "Siyuan, what’s wrong with you?"
Qin Siyuan resumed his indifferent expression. Only after finishing his cigarette did he say, "It’s nothing. I have things to do today, so I can’t accompany you."
Shen Wanqing didn’t dare to say anything more and silently got out of the car.
Qin Siyuan suddenly followed her out. "Wanqing."
Qin Siyuan walked over and embraced her without uttering a word, just holding her.
Shen Wanqing was overjoyed, almost tearful with joy. "Siyuan, I knew you believed in me! I just knew I’m the one you love most."
He acknowledged it vaguely.
Closing his eyes, he embraced this woman who was now completely his. As long as he wished, everything was readily within his grasp.
And Gu Anxi, to him, was the past—a fleeting gust of wind. Yes, a pain that would ache if he allowed himself to think of it.
Qin Siyuan stayed at Shen Wanqing’s place. On the eve of her twentieth birthday, he made her his woman and decided that on her birthday, he would have her move into the Qin family home, into Gu Anxi’s old room.
Qin Siyuan himself hadn’t realized that everything he did was out of fear of remembering Gu Anxi, to force himself to forget. He was desperately trying to convince himself that what he possessed now was the best, that choosing Shen Wanqing was the right decision.
He didn’t want to regret it, and he wouldn’t allow himself to.
「The next morning,」 Shen Wanqing rose early to make Qin Siyuan a breakfast filled with love. Now that they were truly together, things were naturally different, even sweeter than before.
She was immersed in the man’s sweet nothings and beautiful visions of their future, completely unaware that Qin Siyuan had risen in the dead of night to smoke for two hours.
Possessing Shen Wanqing brought Qin Siyuan no sense of joy whatsoever; it felt as mundane as eating or sleeping. He gazed at the night sky, recalling how, in his youth, the prospect of meeting a certain young girl would make him as giddy as a fool all night long.
Youthful passion, fine clothes, and spirited horses.
That would never be again.
After breakfast, Qin Siyuan drove them both to school. In the parking lot, they unfortunately ran into Bo Xichen and Gu Anxi again. As soon as Gu Anxi got out of the car, Bo Xichen drove away.
Qin Siyuan sat in the driver’s seat, watching with an impassive expression.
Shen Wanqing smoothed her hair and asked, as if casually, "Siyuan, Bo Xichen drives Gu Anxi to school every day. Do you think they’re living together?"
Qin Siyuan glanced sideways at her. The thought that Gu Anxi might also be... intimate... with Bo Xichen like that made his fingers clench slightly. "Impossible!"
Shen Wanqing looked a little displeased, fiddling with her fingernails. "Siyuan, are you looking down on me because we... before marriage...?"
Qin Siyuan gave a faint smile. "Why would you think that? I was the one who wanted to stay last night."