Chapter 49: Zhou Yili, Am I Beautiful?
The two of them arrived one after the other at the night-view restaurant.
The fireworks had faded, leaving only scattered falling sparks. Sheng Que, leaning over the railing after snapping a photo, turned and said, “Where have you two been? Why are you so late? Do you want me to rewind time for you?”
Shen Jixing paused at those words.
“You have that ability?”
Sheng Que waved his hand. “The miraculous power of money, of course~”
“Idiot,” Zhou Yili spat, pulling out a chair with a glance at Shen Jixing.
Shen Jixing sat down naturally, showing not the least sign of finding anything unusual.
Truly, some people are just used to being waited on.
Zhou Yili gave a soft, amused snort, drew up a stool beside him, and sprawled in his seat with his long legs arrogantly stretched, bumping directly into Shen Jixing’s.
Shen Jixing glanced down. “?”
Zhou Yili replied as if it were only right, “Sorry, my legs are too long.”
“Aren’t you going to say where you two disappeared to?” Sheng Que asked curiously.
Fu Chen poured a cup of tea with a cool indifference, his gaze cold as he glanced at Sheng Que.
That look seemed to say: this tea came too late to stop your mouth.
Shen Jixing was about to come up with a casual excuse.
But Zhou Yili’s lazy, leisurely voice rang out, “I got angry, so he had to comfort me.”
Sheng Que: “…”
Fu Chen: “…”
Shen Jixing: “…”
Fu Chen handed the cup of tea to Zhou Yili as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Green tea. Drink it while it’s hot.”
Zhou Yili glanced at the steaming tea, idly licking his damp lips. “Can’t drink it hot. My mouth hurts.”
A second round.
Sheng Que: “…”
Fu Chen: “…”
Shen Jixing kept his face expressionless throughout.
He might still be there in body, but in spirit, he’d already left long ago.
Sheng Que’s gaze flitted back and forth between their mouths, and as if discovering a new continent, he turned and patted his uncle’s shoulder. “Uncle, uncle, they, they… they actually…”
Fu Chen didn’t need the reminder; he’d known the moment they walked in.
He knew Shen Jixing was always thin-skinned, while that Zhou boy was shameless beyond compare.
He brushed away Sheng Que’s hand with a calm sweep. “Manners.”
Sheng Que took the hint and obediently withdrew his paw.
He stared at one person who was calm and another who was pretending at it, unable to suppress his curiosity. “So… are you two back together?”
Having known Zhou Yili since they were toddlers, Sheng Que naturally knew just how much he cared about that ice-cold, ethereal top idol.
Even after getting his head bashed in, he’d still have him on his mind.
He was head over heels.
Shen Jixing took a measured sip of red wine and glanced at Zhou Yili.
Zhou Yili grabbed the bottle and poured himself another glass, silent this time.
“No,” said Shen Jixing.
He cut a piece of steak, put it in his mouth, and then heard Zhou Yili’s lazy, arrogant voice ring out, as nonchalant as ever.
“Who would want to get back together with him?”
“Unless he comes after me.”
Zhou Yili tipped his head back, drinking the wine; the crimson liquid flowed into his mouth, Adam’s apple moving in a sensual rhythm.
Shen Jixing’s moist, clear eyes calmly watched him in the night.
Flowing with a moonlight that no one could see through.
It was Sheng Que who finally broke the silence. Picking up the public chopsticks, he gave Zhou Yili a serving from a dish. “Eat more, kid. This dish suits you—it’s called Daydream.”
Dinner ended with Sheng Que nearly sacrificing himself for the sake of a dish.
…
The wine wasn’t strong, but it had a delayed kick.
After returning to his apartment and taking a shower, Shen Jixing gazed at his reflection in the misty mirror.
In the midst of the pearly water, only the skin beneath his eyes and the tips of his ears were flushed red.
“I seem to…”
Shen Jixing blinked his long, wet lashes. “Look rather good tonight.”
He slowly lowered his eyes, giving a soft laugh to himself, a droplet sliding from his lashes down his pale chin.
“Looking good is useless. No one likes me.”
His temperament was poor—cold, aloof, and hurtful. Not the sort of person anyone would like.
He left the bathroom to find a string of missed calls and messages.
“Pei Ming, what’s up?”
The most distinctive thing about Shen Jixing was that, even when tipsy, he handled daily matters no differently than usual.
An ingrained sense of caution kept him always on guard unless he was absolutely safe.
“Something’s happened! Something huge!!!” Pei Ming’s voice on the other end was brimming with glee. “This massive scandal has already exploded online, go check it out!!!”
Shen Jixing frowned and sat quietly on the sofa, water dripping from his hair, making no move to get up.
“I can’t figure it out. Just tell me.”
His voice was innately cool and clear; even slowed by wine, it was unchanged, so much so that Pei Ming didn’t notice anything different.
“Fang Siqian’s ex-girlfriend just posted on Weibo—”
After the show’s recording ended.
Her last act of kindness was to let Fang Siqian finish the show undisturbed, not humiliating him halfway through.
Ruan Jia had found her old Weibo account, from which she had deleted all previous works; the only post left was:
“I’m planning to move behind the scenes now, so I won’t be sharing photography anymore. I hope everyone finds their own happiness [smile].”
The comments were filled with regret.
The top-liked comment read:
“Is it because of your boyfriend that you’re going behind the scenes? You were so talented, thought you’d become a famous photographer, but I wish you happiness anyway xoxo.”
At that time, Ruan Jia believed love trumped all.
She’d been blinded by sugar, rendered truly sightless.
After years of silence, that Weibo account finally posted a new work upon her return—a photograph:
#TheBestPhotoYouEverTookInYourLife#
As Ruan Jia pressed send, she even considered buying some followers, fearing no one would remember her.
But in a flash—
“What! The lady I follow most closely just posted!!!”
“Grandma, come look! Your favorite photographer is back!”
“Grandma always tells me not to believe rumors, but—damn? She really posted???”
“Is this Fang Siqian’s rainy night umbrella photo? Did you take this? Wait… something’s off.”
A damp, shattered night of rain, full of fateful redemption.
It was unmistakably similar to the umbrella photo that had gone viral online, but also subtly different.
The subject was different.
This was… Shen Jixing?
That cool, slender figure beneath the black umbrella, the pale, delicate chin, the unique aura of nobility—wasn’t that the man who once dominated the industry, unassailable atop his pedestal—
Shen Jixing?
“Is Shen Jixing imitating my idol???”
“Use your brain, will you? See the timestamp in the corner? It’s a whole month earlier than Fang Siqian’s! Damn!!!”
“????????”
Ruan Jia replied:
“Ruan Jia: Both photos were taken by me—I’m the photographer and the female lead of @Fang Siqian’s rainy night umbrella picture.”
“????????”
There was so much in that sentence, netizens were collectively stunned.
“Wait, sis… were you ever blind?”
“No, how did you even take the photo if you were blind?”
“Ruan Jia: I wasn’t blind, but I was certainly blind in love.”
…
“Netizens have now dug up from her avatar that she’s Fang Siqian’s ex-girlfriend,” Pei Ming gleefully reported. “Fang Siqian became famous by copying your photo, using his photographer girlfriend to play the blind, warm-hearted boyfriend for his persona—now he’s being torn apart on Weibo.”
“Who would have imagined…”
“I did,” Shen Jixing said, eyes narrowing as he finally located his own rainy night umbrella photo.
“I knew at a glance he was copying me.”
Pei Ming guessed there was a hidden hand in all this and silently gave him a thumbs up.
“His isn’t as beautiful as mine,” Shen Jixing added.
Pei Ming’s thumb froze mid-air. “What???”
Shen Jixing glanced out at the person on the balcony and hung up.
Zhou Yili had drunk quite a bit of wine himself, but he’d always held his liquor well. Now he was out in the garden to cool off.
He sat on the swing and heard footsteps behind him.
Young Master Zhou was just about to order him about, “Hey, play me a tune—”
But a slender, elegant hand held out a phone in front of him.
Droplets of water from black hair fell onto his collarbone; the man’s lips bore a faint fragrance as he calmly and quietly asked:
“Zhou Yili, do you think I’m good-looking?”
—
Good-looking, good-looking, good-looking, good-looking, good-looking!!!!
The variety show arc had left me doubting life, but this relationship line has revived me, I really do love writing sweet, bickering couples so, so, so much, ahhhhhh why is the rating only 7.1!!! Who didn’t give me five stars!!! I’m crying QAQ.