CH 66

qi yanbai’s expression went from confusion to surprise, and finally, it suddenly darkened, becoming completely cold.

however, elvis acted as if he hadn’t noticed qi yanbai’s cold demeanor. he seemed relaxed, excited even, with bright, shiny eyes. he exuded an inexplicable enthusiasm, not only failing to shrink back under qi yanbai’s cold gaze but also playfully leaning against the door frame and winking at the receptionist. then, without hesitation, he stepped inside, closing the door behind him despite the concerned look from the receptionist.

“what’s wrong?” elvis leaned against the door, arms crossed in front of him, and pouted. “not welcoming me?”

“why are you here?” qi yanbai asked coldly.

“so fierce?” elvis, seemingly surprised by qi yanbai’s demeanor, widened his eyes at first and then quickly caught on. he suddenly chuckled, in quite a good mood, and asked, “it seems like you’ve been having a rough time recently—what’s this, are you jealous?”

elvis thought he had pinpointed the reason for qi yanbai’s bad mood and continued to provoke him. “actually, you don’t have to worry too much. i just gave him a small invitation. i’ll be returning to my country in a few days. even if your little boyfriend wants to do something with me, we—”

before he could finish his sentence, qi yanbai suddenly stood up, taking a swift step forward. he grabbed elvis by the collar, choking him and forcefully pressing him against the door.

qi yanbai didn’t hold back at all, and the fragile door let out a creaking sound as elvis let out a painful cry. instinctively, he reached out to grasp qi yanbai’s wrist.

“are you insane?” elvis’ initially smug expression instantly shattered, his eyes widened, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, “it was just a joke! seriously, do you have to go this far?”

elvis was close in age to qi yanbai and had known his temper since childhood. although qi yanbai had always been stingy and had a sharp tongue, treating his possessions as sacred, he had never gone beyond retaliating when provoked and had never lost control of his emotions like this.

elvis had dared to provoke qi yanbai in the past, relying on the belief that qi yanbai wouldn’t go too far. however, it seemed that over the years of separation, qi yanbai’s paranoia had grown stronger, or perhaps lu ye was truly that important to him. a seemingly harmless remark from elvis had provoked such a reaction.

“you…” qi yanbai’s grip was unrelenting, and elvis felt it difficult to breathe. he tried to pry qi yanbai’s hand open but couldn’t use much force with his injured wrist. bloodstains seeped through the bandage, sticking to qi yanbai’s hand.

“i’m sorry, okay!” elvis, trying to sound submissive, exclaimed, “i was just kidding. he never called me—just let go, damn it!”

qi yanbai didn’t respond to elvis’s submission and stared coldly into his eyes. his voice sounded like it was squeezed out through clenched teeth.

“did you tell him?”

qi yanbai had been puzzled for some time. lu ye had discovered the “truth” too conveniently and quickly. he had never acted suspicious, so it didn’t make sense for lu ye to suddenly detonate all the hidden bombs in his life within a day.

moreover, after confirming their relationship, lu ye had managed to soothe qi yanbai’s almost obsessive possessiveness to some extent. except for that one time at the carnival, he hadn’t used tracking to “accidentally” encounter lu ye in a long time, nor had he done anything out of line with the surveillance. even if he had accidentally revealed something, it shouldn’t have been enough to prompt lu ye to expose all his secrets so quickly.

during lu ye’s recent avoidance, qi yanbai had thought long and hard about what might be wrong. but now, it seemed that the answer was right in front of him.

elvis had always liked to snatch things from him since they were kids, from his father’s attention to the paints used for drawing. they had destroyed each other’s paintings countless times. elvis was capable of doing harmful things, and he had always flaunted them openly, even going as far as to brag about them to qi yanbai.

“did you tell him?” qi yanbai asked again with a raised eyebrow.

“am i crazy?” elvis finally realized what qi yanbai was getting at. he widened his eyes, shouted in frustration, i’m leaving for my country the day after tomorrow. what would i gain from driving a wedge between you two? i just gave him a phone number to mess with you a bit just that.”

qi yanbai couldn’t help but furrow his brow, and his recent guess started to waver.

elvis was indeed intentionally trying to make qi yanbai feel uncomfortable, but only to a certain extent. after all, the qi family was highly competitive, and it would be crazy to voluntarily introduce another competitor.

qi yanbai seemed to realize this as well. elvis was eccentric, but he wasn’t stupid. qi yanbai stared at him for a while, and when he saw that elvis had been stubbornly glaring back at him, he slowly released his grip, letting him go.

“so why are you here?” qi yanbai sneered and asked, “to watch me make a fool of myself?”

“i’m here to have some fun,” elvis replied, moving his injured wrist a bit. he resumed his carefree demeanor, acting like a hyperactive child. he glanced around in all directions and casually played with a wind chime hanging by the door, saying nonchalantly, “and father asked me to find you and bring you back. although i don’t plan to listen to him, i wanted to see what kind of person could tame you.”

“have you seen enough now?” qi yanbai asked unenthusiastically.

“i have.” elvis shrugged, seemingly unconcerned. “he’s decent, i guess, but not to the point of driving anyone crazy.”

“your taste is questionable,” qi yanbai defended lu ye, feeling a strange urge to protect him. “no wonder you haven’t improved your aesthetics over all these years.”

elvis: “…”

“do you have a problem?” elvis couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “isn’t it enough to say he’s decent? do you want me to fall head over heels for him or something?”

qi yanbai: “…”

well, that wasn’t it.

nothing qi yanbai said seemed right, so he gave up on further communication and returned to his desk, busying himself with organizing his teaching materials.

he didn’t want to engage with elvis, but elvis was unpredictable. he was currently in a manic phase, with heightened emotions. seeing this, he bent over, picked up a figurine on mrs. zhou’s desk, and began playing with it absentmindedly.

“you shouldn’t lose heart,” elvis said, genuinely concerned that qi yanbai might choose to return home after being dumped by lu ye. he couldn’t help but try to persuade him, “if you break up with this one, you can always find another—maybe another policeman, doctor, firefighter, scientist… whatever you prefer.”

“i can’t.” qi yanbai lowered his gaze, absentmindedly touching a dried flower specimen on the table. he said briefly, “i only want him.”

“why?” elvis wondered. “because he’s handsome?”

“no,” qi yanbai replied, “because he was the first one.”

perhaps that’s how life works—timing is crucial.

lu ye was the first person to walk into his life, giving him everything he had never had before and introducing him to a whole new world. he had been the perfect “boyfriend,” leaving no room for anyone else. so, even if dozens or hundreds of people came afterward, none of them could ever compare to the impact that lu ye had on qi yanbai.

lu ye’s name was etched into qi yanbai’s soul, and for the rest of his life, he could only find complete fulfillment in him. no one else could ever take his place.