Chapter 31: Chapter 17

P.S. Yay!! We’ve reached the goal (and over) on ko-fi for WGC! Thank you Alxenia123, Mello and Tonbo for the support ❤ I promised 2 chapters, and here’s the first. I will release another extra chapter tomorrow. Stay tuned!

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Qi Le was in poor health and had never stayed up all night before he died. This time, he had almost fallen asleep writing a letter and painting all night, not to mention his previous efforts. However, he felt that it was fine to spend so much effort if everything could be satisfactorily resolved. But it so happened that he had screwed up big time. This was undoubtedly the biggest blow to him.

Ye Shuichuan witnessed the whole process, from staring in a daze to madness and finally to complete silence, and finally walked over to him. “What’s wrong with you?”

Qi Le sat in his bed, his eyes bloodshot. “Gē, once you tell a lie, you gotta keep lying so no one finds out. You got that?"

Ye Shuichuan wait for a while, then nodded. “Oh.”

“So don’t lie in the future,” Qi Le’s expression was one of anguish. “There will be retribution...”

“...Oh, what’s wrong with you?”

“I’m alright,” Qi Le climbed into bed. “I’ve resigned myself to fate. All that’s left for me is to wait for him to come get me.”

“Who ah?”

Qi Le waved him off. “No one. You can go. I’m going to sleep.”

Ye Shuichuan observed him for awhile, and when he saw that Qi Le really intended to sleep, he said, “We’re having a meal in the evening to celebrate your discharge from the hospital.”

Qi Le responded with an "Mmm," but didn’t take it seriously at all because he felt that Erquan would’ve discovered the date by evening and would come over to carry him off. He snuggled inside his quilt and slept soundly.

In his dream, Gu Bai drew a straight line across and asked, “What’s going on?”

Qi Le had an innocent expression on his face. “I don’t know, the painting was done by Qi Le. He may have written the date on a whim...” He looked at the screw-up he made in the painting and scratched his head. “Isn’t this today’s date? Haha, what a coincidence.”

Gu Bai’s gaze was sharp as a blade. “Do you think I believe that?”

He looked up to heaven and cried, “I lost my memory and can vaguely remember this much about the whole incident... Why not I get back to you when I’ve recovered my memory?”

Gu Bai smashed the painting and tore up the letter, shouting furiously, “Don’t you dare give me such a lame excuse!”

Qi Le silently grabbed the two items as a sinister glint flashed in his eyes. He suddenly turned around, huffed and puffed as he chewed and swallowed the painting and the letter. Then, he twisted his head around and calmly looked at him. Gu Bai looked puzzled and frowned. “Where’s the stuff Xiao Le left behind?!”

“I lost my memory. I’ve forgotten where I put it. Can I give it to you when I find it? I swear I really have those things and I’m definitely telling the truth. Can you give me two more days?”

Gu Bai stared at him, finally nodded and turned to leave.

He waved his handkerchief in the wind and sent Gu Bai off happily. He actually believed me so easily! I’m such a genius ah!

“Hahaha~~” Qi Le woke up with a smile on his face, hands on his belly as he opened his eyes. Then, he immediately looked up into Ye Shuichuan’s eyes and choked. “Cough, cough... why haven’t you left yet?”

“I’m here to pick you up for dinner,” Ye Shuichuan stared at him curiously. “What did you dream about? You were laughing so joyfully.”

Qi Le remembered that he ate both the painting and the letter bravely and still claimed to be a genius. He pursed his lips at his own stupidity. “It’s nothing...”

He sat up in bed, looking around. His bedroom was a little dark and the window reflected a golden glow. It was obviously evening. He looked through his cellphone and found a bunch of text messages from strangers but there was nothing else. He couldn’t help asking, “No one came to look for me?”

“No.”

Qi Le was surprised. Nothing was more important to Gu Bai right now and considering that person’s feelings for him, he would definitely rush over to look for him if he found a problem with the date, but he didn’t come... Maybe he hadn’t noticed it yet.....

Ye Shuichuan didn’t know what he was thinking about. He pulled him up and said, “Let’s go. They’re all waiting. Let’s have dinner.”

Qi Le regained his senses, thinking to himself that Gu Bai knew his number anyway. He also knew his address, so there was no way he couldn’t find him if he wanted to. Qi Le jumped out of bed, and went downstairs with Ye Shuichuan. There was an off-road vehicle parked downstairs. It was the same car that he took back home, and it cost at least 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. He opened the door and asked curiously, “Gē, is this yours?”

Ye Shuichuan started the engine and backed up. “No, it’s yours.”

Qi Le silently digested this information for a second, then pointed to himself, “Mine?”

“Mmm, you bought it in college.”

Qi Le remembered at once that although the parents of the original owner had passed away, they had left him with a sizeable inheritance. He immediately cheered up. Despite having transmigrated, he was still a rich man. He looked at the car with satisfaction, then thought of a serious problem and turned his head stiffly. “Gē... do you know where my passbook is hidden?”

Ye Shuichuan froze. “Do you still have that sort of thing?”

“...” Qi Le said, “If I don’t have a passbook, where did I put all my money?”

“Oh, I forgot that you haven’t fully remembered,” Ye Shuichuan drove as he explained. “The money is in your bank account. Here, you only have one card in your wallet. Look at it yourself.”

Qi Le turned out his wallet. The things he bought for Gu Bai used up almost all his cash. At the moment, there was only some change inside. He found it and thought of something else, “Is this all I have? How much money is there?”

“I don’t know, you got a message from the bank on your cellphone. Look at the balance.”

“That makes sense.” Qi Le reached for his cellphone and quickly found the message he was looking for. He excitedly opened the message to see how rich he was. Then, he blinked and blinked in disbelief. “Fourteen thousand?”

“Mmm, that sounds about right.”

Qi Le asked, “How much is my tuition?”

“Five thousand.”

Qi Le started counting – 5,000 for his third year, 5,000 for his fourth year, and the remaining 4,000 for two years of living expenses... He went crazy at once. “Where’s the rest of my money?!"

“You’ve spent it all. Look at this car, and the pile of membership cards like the fitness card and the gas card. Your clothes, bags, holiday and birthday gifts for friends all cost money, especially when you’ve acknowledged a bunch of younger brothers.” Ye Shuichuan rolled his eyes, “I told you that you spent too much money, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

“...” Qi Le asked, “Gē, am I an idiot?”

Ye Shuichuan rolled his eyes again. “You are quite silly. You said you wanted to live the same life as Ning Xiao, so that you could share a common language. Ning Xiao’s family has a lot of money. But what about you?”

Fucking hell, the original owner was really too "special." Qi Le rubbed his face and said firmly, “It’s okay, I’ll get a job!”

“You have a job. You’ve just started working for two months. You earn about 1,000 to 2,000 a month singing part-time in the bar.”

Laozi’s singing is really shitty... Qi Le wanted to cry, thinking that worse comes to worst, he would sell his car.

The two stopped at the bar and joined the group. Qi Le guessed that this was the legendary gay bar. He silently followed him in, but suddenly felt that there were countless eyes staring at him from all directions and all of them were hostile. He could not help but ask, “Am I so detestable?”

“No, it’s just that all the attention is on you now.” Ye Shuichuan’s eyes glistened. “Gu Bai took care of you in person and Ning Xiao broke up with the little bitch for you. The two hottest commodities among the students are revolving around you. What do you think?”

“...” Qi Le didn’t hope for a favorable reply as he asked, “Who passed it on?”

“Me!”

Qi Le, “......”

“They already know that you haven’t recovered your memory, and they are betting once more. They’re betting on who you’ll end up with. Most of them bet on Ning Xiao. What do you think?”

“...Are there any other options?”

“No.”

Qi Le assumed that he would soon be carried away by Gu Bai and expected that they would live together again. He gave a decisive answer, “Bet on Gu Bai.”

Ye Shuichuan immediately rushed over and kissed him. “Xiaoyuan, you’ve finally seen the light!”

Qi Le wiped his face. “Be good. Let’s have dinner.”

Tranny and Baby Face weren’t there. Except for Ye Shuichuan, he didn’t know anyone else so Qi Le felt bored. After dinner, he asked Ye Shuichuan to send him back with the excuse that he needed rest.

“I remember you said you wanted to move out and my roommate is leaving in a few days. Why don’t you move back?” Ye Shuichuan suggested during the journey back. “You’re lucky. He had a month left before the contract expired but he moved ahead of schedule.”

Was he forced to move out by you... Qi Le eyed him suspiciously. “What was the reason?”

“He said he wanted to travel.”

Qi Le looked at him again and didn’t continue to say anything else. Anyways, it was more likely that he and Gu Bai would live together with how things were going. Ye Shuichuan dropped him off downstairs and left. Qi Le stared at the apartment, sighed in resignation and went upstairs. The warm, yellow light in the living room was turned on. Ning Xiao had already returned. Qi Le pointed to his bedroom and asked in a low voice, “Is there anyone inside?”

“No.”

Qi Le was surprised. “Gu Bai didn’t look for me?”

“No,” Ning Xiao arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’s nothing...” Qi Le went back to his room, filled with doubt in his heart. Could it be that the man hadn’t discovered it yet? It didn’t make any sense. He sat in bed, waiting until 11 o’clock, and then decisively went to sleep. The next day, he continued to wait and looked out the window. Ning Xiao had also gotten up early and was somewhat surprised. “What are you looking at?”

“I’m looking out for Gu Bai.”

“I heard that he has someone he likes.”

“I know.”

“Then why are you waiting for him?”

“None of your business,” Qi Le retorted. “You’re from this city, aren’t you? Why don’t you go home? Or is it easier to fool around outside?”

Ning Xiao looked at him coldly. "None of your business.”

Qi Le, “......”

The two men sat in the apartment staring at each other. Ning Xiao wanted him to cook. But Qi Le merely laughed sinisterly before he grabbed his wallet and ran downstairs to buy breakfast. He came back with breakfast and ate leisurely. Ning Xiao stared at him. “Have you forgotten how to cook?”

“Hehe.”

Ning Xiao, “...”

Ning Xiao side-eyed him and turned away. Qi Le continued to wait after breakfast. He deeply felt that it was harder to wait for his sentence, but he didn’t dare to send himself to Gu Bai’s door voluntarily. He could only nest at home, but in the blink of an eye, three days had passed in such a manner.

“Fuck, I can’t take it anymore!” Qi Le jumped up in anger and paced around in his bedroom, “Did I remember wrongly? No way!” He went through everything that happened that night again and stroked his chin. He remembered that he had framed the painting and signed the date at the bottom, so it was probably blocked by the frame. He blinked and burst out of his room with his hands on his hips, “Muahahaha, Laozi lives again!”

Ning Xiao, “...”

“What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen someone laugh?”

Ning Xiao, “...”

Qi Le thought for a moment and couldn’t help but feel that the painting was a ticking time bomb. It was better if he stole and replaced it. He pulled out his cellphone and called Gu Bai, “Where are you?”

Gu Bai’s voice was somewhat low, “At home, why?”

“I want to go shopping, would you like to come along?”

“No.”

I knew you wouldn’t go. Qi Le hung up the call and squinted his eyes as he thought to himself. Gu Bai’s parents were very busy. There were a lot of times when there was no one at home. The apartment he shared with Gu Bai had a spare key for family members. Gu Bai was at his house now, so he could take the chance to get the key. He happily changed his clothes. Ning Xiao glanced at him, “Where are you going?”

“Make a guess.”

Ning Xiao, “...”

Qi Le opened the front door and marched out. Very quickly, he arrived at his old apartment. He uncovered the doormat, took out the spare key, opened the door and headed straight to Gu Bai’s room. All of a sudden, he froze. He looked at his new piece hanging on the wall and laughed with glee, “Hahaha, I didn’t expect it to be this easy! Seek and you shall find!”

He walked over happily, not forgetting to show off his victory in the most ostentatious manner as he swayed his hips. Then, he froze again because a familiar figure suddenly appeared at the door. He turned his head slowly and his expression instantly cracked. “=口=!!!"

Gu Bai stood at the door and looked at him in silence as he held a Scottish fold cat in his arms. Fuck! Aren’t you at your house? Why are you here?! Qi Le’s expression stiffened as he suddenly remembered how much this man liked him and had probably taken over the apartment they shared. And right now, this man was holding his cat, so did that mean he had been in his room all this time?!

Fuck!!! What should he do now?! Could someone give him some ideas?!

Gu Bai stared at him, spitting out the words, “How did you get in?”