Chapter 16: An Obvious Secret Crush part 1

The atmosphere turned awkward in an instant.

Xu Jianwei quickly tried to smooth things over. “Oh come on, it was just a hug. Didn’t I say it’s how foreigners greet people?”

Qin Lang chimed in too. “Let’s stop chatting here and get going. Traffic’s going to hit rush hour soon.”

When they reached the parking lot, Xu Jianwei took the initiative to invite him. “Qin Lang, why don’t you ride with me?”

Qin Lang chuckled. “Sure, it’s an honor to ride with a beautiful woman.” Without hesitation, he opened the passenger door and got in.

Naturally, Ye Hui also intended to ride in Xu Jianwei’s car, and he had already taken a seat in the back. Lin Yuran was about to open the other rear door when Chi Ye tugged lightly at the back of her collar. She instantly got the message.

Right, if all three of them crammed into Xu Jianwei’s car, it’d be like deliberately leaving Chi Ye out. That didn’t sit right.

Lin Yuran turned to Xu Jianwei and said, “Weiwei, I won’t squeeze in with you. I’ll go with Chi Ye.”

Xu Jianwei gave her an ‘OK’ hand gesture in response.

Once in the car, Chi Ye was silent and sullen. Lin Yuran couldn’t figure out what his deal was. He got angry at the drop of a hat, and half the time it was impossible to tell what set him off.

Well, if he wants to sulk, let him. She wasn’t about to indulge that temper of his. Lin Yuran ignored him and immersed herself in the music.

They had been on the road for a while when Chi Ye suddenly spoke. “All these years, you’ve stayed in touch with Ye Hui?”

“Mm-hmm.” Lin Yuran turned to glance at him and saw his gloomy expression, so she subconsciously added, “He’s close with Xu Jianwei, and since I’m often with her, whenever he drops by to see her, we chat a little too.”

Chi Ye said nothing more.

When they arrived at Jiu Lounge, Gu Jiaze and Dong Qian happened to arrive at the same time.

Dong Qian lit up when she saw Lin Yuran, a mix of excitement and delight. She gave her a big hug. “Yuran! It’s been so long, and you’re even more beautiful than before!”

After a light embrace, she reached out to run her fingers through Lin Yuran’s silky silver hair. “So gorgeous, you really look like an elf. Last time, Gu Jiaze came back saying he ran into you, said you looked amazing now, like a fairy. I thought it was just his guy filter.”

Qin Lang joked from the side, “Lin Yuran, you’re popular, huh? Both guys and girls want to hug you the moment they see you.”

Lin Yuran laughed. “Well, of course. My charm’s timeless.”

After a few laughs, Qin Lang called everyone inside to chat.

Gu Jiaze and Dong Qian walked in front, holding hands. Lin Yuran glanced at them in surprise and asked, “Wait, what did I miss? When did you two get together?”

Gu Jiaze turned back with a grin. “Heh, we started getting close in sophomore year. Right after the college entrance exams, I confessed. Been together ever since.”

Looking quite pleased, Gu Jiaze lifted their intertwined fingers to show off. Matching platinum bands gleamed on their ring fingers. “I proposed not long ago. Get ready for our wedding!”

“You’re such a good actor! I didn’t suspect a thing back in school,” Lin Yuran said. “So that time someone mentioned their ‘backyard was on fire,’ they were talking about Dong Qian?”

Dong Qian blinked, confused. “What backyard? What are you talking about?”

Gu Jiaze shot a quick glance at Chi Ye and squeezed Dong Qian’s hand.

She blinked again, then said, “Oh, right. I remember now.”

Watching the couple, Lin Yuran commented with admiration, “You two are like a fairytale. From school sweethearts to getting married, it’s almost too perfect. Makes people jealous.”

Gu Jiaze laughed proudly. “Goddess Lin, if you’d just nodded back in school,” he looked from Chi Ye to Ye Hui, “you could’ve had a fairytale ending with any of us.”

“Not necessarily.” Lin Yuran grinned. “I’m not exactly the gentle, wife-material type like Dong Qian. My temper’s not great. Two days in, the guy might get fed up and break up with me.”

“Come on, Goddess Lin, who’d ever want to break up with you?” Gu Jiaze said.

Qin Lang nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Lin Yuran, with your looks, no guy’s gonna care about your temper. Any guy lucky enough to get you must’ve saved the whole universe in his past life.” He elbowed Chi Ye. “Right, Chi Ye?”

Chi Ye shot him a look, brows slightly furrowed, clearly annoyed, and replied lazily, “Yeah.”

The moment the words left his mouth, Qin Lang was stunned, then burst into laughter. No one expected Chi Ye to actually respond. Everyone instinctively turned to look at him.

Lin Yuran: “…”

They walked into the lounge. Two guys were coming down the stairs from the second floor. Spotting them, one of them called out, “Hey, Qin Lang, you’re here!”

They came over and bumped shoulders with him in greeting. Then they noticed Chi Ye and joked, “Yo, Chi Ye, you’re not busy today? You actually have time to come hang out?”

Without waiting for a response, their eyes fell on Lin Yuran. Their eyes practically sparkled. “Whoa, who’s the fairy? Never seen her before. Who’s she with?”

Qin Lang smirked. “Chi Ye’s.”

Lin Yuran shot him a glare.

Qin Lang quickly corrected himself. “Oops, slip of the tongue. Chi Ye’s high school classmate.” He gestured to Xu Jianwei and the others. “They’re all his high school classmates.”

Then he thumbed toward the two guys. “These two are Zhang Kun and Ye Shaowen. Grew up with me and Chi Ye. We went to international high school together.”

Introductions done, Zhang Kun and Ye Shaowen’s eyes went straight back to Lin Yuran.

Zhang Kun said, “Chi Ye, your classmate is way too…”

Before he could finish, Lin Yuran cut in. Tired of the flattery, especially with two other girls standing right there, she waved a finger side to side. “Alright, enough. I know I’m pretty. No need to go on. Let’s get to the drinks and have fun.”

Zhang Kun stared at her, then looked at Chi Ye. “She’s got attitude. I like it.”

Ye Shaowen waved everyone along. “Private room’s already set. Let’s go.”

Inside the room, everyone took their seats. Naturally, Gu Jiaze sat with Dong Qian. Qin Lang casually took a seat, and Xu Jianwei plopped down beside him. Lin Yuran, of course, sat next to Xu Jianwei. Just as Ye Hui was about to take the seat next to Lin Yuran, Chi Ye slid in and took it first. Zhang Kun and Ye Shaowen filled in beside him.

Ye Hui was left standing awkwardly.

Since he’d come with Lin Yuran and Xu Jianwei, and now he was left hanging, Lin Yuran quickly called out, “Ye Hui, why don’t you sit with Gu Jiaze? You guys can drink together.”

Ye Hui gave her a warm smile. “I’d rather sit with you.” He waved at Xu Jianwei. “Weiwei, could you scoot over a bit? I haven’t seen Yuran in a while. I want to catch up.”

Since Qin Lang had chosen his seat casually, there was some open space by Gu Jiaze. He slid over, and Xu Jianwei followed suit, making space for Ye Hui. Ye Hui smiled and sat down gracefully.

The server brought over the drink menu.

Ye Shaowen said generously, “Don’t hold back, everyone. Order whatever you like. We’re all Chi Ye’s classmates, so that makes us classmates too. This bar’s mine, everything’s on the house.”

Gu Jiaze flipped through the menu, saw the prices, and gave him a thumbs-up. “Bro, you’re loaded.”

Xu Jianwei whistled. “Chi Ye’s classmates are all something else, huh!”

Qin Lang puffed up proudly. “Of course. You think just anyone gets to hang around Chi Ye? No losers in his circle.”

Looking at the long list of cocktails, Lin Yuran felt lost. She barely had time to sleep these days, let alone go out drinking. She’d never even been to a bar before and had no idea what to order.

Chi Ye tilted his head to watch her flipping through the menu, then took it from her hands. “Want me to order for you?”

“Sure.” Lin Yuran let out a small sigh of relief. “Just… nothing too strong. I’m a total lightweight.”

Zhang Kun perked up at the word ‘lightweight,’ grinning. “A lightweight? That’s fun! You know the unspoken rule at the table – make the lightweight drink, especially the pretty ones.”

Chi Ye turned to look at him. “Try it and see what happens.”

Chi Ye had already seemed a bit off when he arrived, and his mood had only gotten darker since. Now, with his tone dead serious, Zhang Kun backed off fast. “Come on, man, I was just messing around. No one would actually do it. I was just telling her not to say that stuff.”

Ye Shaowen joined in teasingly. “Chi Ye, you’re protecting her like that. Is she really just a classmate, or something more?”

“Why do you care?” Chi Ye replied with no warmth. “Don’t get carried away tonight.”

Zhang Kun and Ye Shaowen exchanged a look and shrugged.

Then Zhang Kun turned toward Gu Jiaze. “Hey, you guys went to high school with Chi Ye, right? Do you know who he had a crush on back then?”