Song Yanchu’s eyes were bright, his smile obedient—the kind of look that made it hard for anyone to refuse him.
His gaze was fixed solely on Ji Yanli, as if Ji Yanli was the only person in his world.
Su Yu watched from the side, an inexplicable discomfort prickling in his chest, though he didn’t quite realize it himself.
"No."
Ji Yanli’s voice was cold, as if the refusal required no thought at all.
"Brother Yanli… just for a little while, can’t you?"
Song Yanchu’s smile faltered, his eyes dimming with disappointment. His fragile, pitiful expression was enough to soften anyone’s heart.
Su Yu heard Ji Yanli change his mind.
"Let’s go outside."
At those words, surprise flickered in Su Yu’s eyes. He turned to look at the man beside him, only to find Ji Yanli already staring at Song Yanchu’s face.
Ji Yanli had been sticking to Su Yu’s side like glue these past few days, making him forget that the two of them had once been rivals in love.
Even before losing his memories, Ji Yanli had rarely refused Song Yanchu’s small requests.
Su Yu opened his mouth but said nothing. The two of them didn’t seem to care about his opinion either, walking side by side toward the deck.
He stood there for a moment until someone clapped him on the shoulder.
"What are you standing around for? Where’d they go?"
Shen Le had already forgotten about being late. Smiling brightly, he slung an arm over Su Yu’s shoulders.
Thinking of what had just happened, Su Yu’s chest tightened, his tone sharp.
"None of my business."
Shen Le was taken aback by the hostility. "Who pissed you off, Su-ge? You’re not happy even on a trip? And this time, it’s with your adorable white moonlight, Song Yanchu! We’re here to fish!"
As if Su Yu needed reminding, he even emphasized those three words.
Mentioning it only made Su Yu’s mood worse. "They’re outside."
Lin Yanjun happened to walk over just then, catching the tail end of the conversation. He turned to look and saw the tall figure of a man in a trench coat standing on the deck, the wind fluttering the hem of his coat.
Beside him stood a slightly shorter man, covering his mouth as he laughed at something.
Shen Le, oblivious, nudged Su Yu. "If they’re outside, why don’t you go too?"
Lin Yanjun, sensing the tension, smacked Shen Le lightly on the back of the head and moved to Su Yu’s other side. "What are they talking about? Why aren’t you with them?"
Who knows? Maybe it’s something I’m not supposed to hear.
Su Yu plopped onto the couch, hugging a pillow as he pulled out his phone. The signal was weak—only one bar—making it impossible to play any games.
"Annoying. Can’t even play games."
Shen Le opened his mouth to say something, but Lin Yanjun placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head subtly. Shen Le hesitated but eventually stood up, leaving Su Yu alone.
As Lin Yanjun led Shen Le away, the latter whispered, "What’s up with him? Bad mood from waking up?"
Lin Yanjun ruffled his hair. "Maybe he got dumped."
"Why’d you hit me for that?"
The two of them bickered as they walked off, leaving Su Yu in silence. He aimlessly swiped through his phone, somehow ending up in his contacts.
His finger hovered over the two-character nickname he’d saved for Ji Yanli. A wave of irritation surged, and he swiftly changed it back to the full three characters: Ji Yanli.
But even that didn’t sit right. After fiddling with it for a while, he finally settled on: Old Dog Bastard.
[Ji Zong loses his beloved nickname…]
[Nooo, baby, are you jealous?! Why did Ji Yanli go out with Song Yanchu?!]
[Ji Zong doesn’t even like Song Yanchu! Su Yu, darling, don’t misunderstand! He only likes you!]
[Weird, in the original plot, our gloomy guy barely had any interactions with Song Yanchu either. Could it be because the storyline’s deviating…? Oh no.]
Jealous my ass! Why the hell would I be jealous of Ji Yanli?!
The barrage of frantic subtitles in his mind seemed desperate to defend Ji Yanli. Su Yu stabbed at his screen irritably.
He believed Ji Yanli didn’t like Song Yanchu.
After all, he’d always been the one treating Ji Yanli as a love rival. Back when he used to interact with Song Yanchu, Ji Yanli had never made a move—just watched from the sidelines.
But as the subtitles said, what if the plot had deviated? What were the chances Ji Yanli had… actually fallen for Song Yanchu?
Without realizing it, Su Yu stood up from the couch and walked toward the deck.
As he neared the door, he heard a startled cry from outside, followed by a heavy thud.
Su Yu quickened his pace, stepping out just in time to see Song Yanchu leaning heavily against Ji Yanli on the deck.
He must have lost his balance, but he quickly straightened up, lowering his head as if embarrassed.
Ji Yanli’s expression was unreadable, but Su Yu saw him retract the hand that had been steadying Song Yanchu’s arm.
"……"
I shouldn’t have come out to see this.
A stifling anger clogged Su Yu’s chest as he turned and went back inside.
He didn’t even know what he was mad about—was it because Song Yanchu liked Ji Yanli and not him? Or because Ji Yanli had just left him behind without a second thought?
He’d gotten too used to having someone glued to his side.
But that was only because of the amnesia. Ji Yanli was like this because he’d lost his memories. If he could cling to Su Yu, he could cling to anyone else too.
"Xiao Yu."
Lost in his thoughts, Su Yu hadn’t noticed Shen Xingyan approaching.
Meeting his gaze, Shen Xingyan offered a polite smile. "Sorry, we’re not employer and employee now, so it should be fine to call you that, right?"
If he hadn’t mentioned it, Su Yu might’ve forgotten he’d ever been Shen Xingyan’s assistant—even if only for half a day.
"Call me whatever."
Shen Xingyan seemed to consider something before suggesting, "Hmm… Xiao Yu, do you have time now? Can we talk?"
[Cousin, don’t.]
[Shen Xingyan is really fighting for every scrap… Don’t let his refined appearance fool you.]
[Don’t do this, don’t break up my CP! All his shady tricks are aimed at us.]
For some reason, the more the subtitles panicked, the more rebellious Su Yu felt.
"Sure, let’s talk."
The moment he agreed, the flood of subtitles in his mind blurred into background noise, easily ignored.
Shen Xingyan confirmed which room was his and, unsurprisingly, had chosen the one next to Su Yu’s.
At the door, Shen Xingyan opened his own room. "Shall we talk in here?"
It didn’t matter where they talked. Su Yu nodded and stepped inside.
He took a seat at the vanity table, facing the man who followed him in.
The first time he’d met Shen Xingyan, the subtitles had sparked his curiosity—why had Shen Xingyan helped him? In his memories, the two had never met.
"Bad mood?" Shen Xingyan sat casually on the bed, posture impeccable, every inch the well-bred young master.
Su Yu neither confirmed nor denied it. "Why do you say that?"
"Has no one ever told you? Your emotions are written all over your face."
Like the nervousness Shen Xingyan had seen when Su Yu first stepped into his office.
"What did you want to talk about? As far as I remember, we’ve never met before."
Comments
Post a Comment