CH 83

ashley was always right.

she was cunning, wise, free-spirited, and unrestrained. she never let emotions get the best of her and always observed things from a piercing perspective.

qi yanbai knew this time was no exception, but unfortunately, her warning had come too late.

“i know,” qi yanbai said as he lightly rubbed the imprint on the paper with his fingertip. he said softly, “unfortunately, it’s too late now.”

if he had received the warning earlier, or if he had realized it sooner, perhaps he still had a chance to stop. but now, he had stepped on every landmine, and there was no turning back.

“is that so?” ashley reclined in her chair, stretched her legs lazily, lit a cigarette, and smiled mysteriously.

“xiao yanbai.” ashley suddenly switched to french and said with profound meaning, “people always have a chance to make things right. it’s never too late to turn back.”

qi yanbai felt like she was hinting at something, so he glanced at her and his curiosity piqued.

but ashley’s attitude seemed nonchalant and casual. she took a puff of her cigarette and seemed to have given him some advice without taking it to heart.

“so, if you ever change your mind and are willing to sell your paintings, you can contact me anytime,” ashley said with a sly smile. “your father is offering two million dollars—i’ll be waiting.”

qi yanbai: “…”

qi yanbai was still caught up in the advice about not being too late to turn back, but he hadn’t realized that he and ashley were discussing entirely different matters. it suddenly felt like he had been played with, and for a moment, he was so irritated that he almost burst out laughing out of frustration.

“there’s no need for that,” qi yanbai gritted his teeth and said unenthusiastically, “i won’t regret this, and you can forget about the commission. enjoy your vacation with qi zhe.”

ashley had successfully teased him, and she couldn’t help but smile. but before she could say anything else, qi yanbai was already irritated. he ended the call without saying another word.

qi yanbai felt a surge of anger, and he couldn’t help but kick the easel’s leg in frustration.

“what’s wrong? angry?”

lu ye had walked out of the bedroom at some point, dragging the long chain behind him. he bent down slightly, adjusted the easel that had been kicked crooked, and placed the palette back in its original position.

“lu ye,” qi yanbai subconsciously put away his phone and turned to look at lu ye, shaking his head.

“no,” qi yanbai lied, “i accidentally bumped it.”

qi yanbai couldn’t tell lu ye what he was really angry about. perhaps it was because he had become accustomed to seeking effective help from ashley, but when he heard her say, “it’s not too late to turn back,” she had hit a nerve, and in that moment, qi yanbai felt like he had been played and mocked, which left him unusually furious.

“but she’s not necessarily wrong,” qi yanai admitted. “in this world, it’s easy to turn back only when it comes to other things, not time.”

qi yanbai forced himself to move past his anger. he blinked, quickly returning to his usual gentle self, and smiled as he hugged lu ye.

“by the way, why did you suddenly come out?” qi yanbai asked. “did you finish looking through the art catalog?”

lu ye observed him for a moment, carefully studying every nuance of qi yanbai’s expression. then he nonchalantly nodded and lifted the art catalog.

“there was a disc inside the catalog,” lu ye said. “so i came to ask what it’s about.”

the disc looked a bit rough, with no label on the transparent plastic cover, only a small, blurry blue marker written in a felt-tip pen.

qi yanbai took the disc, examined it briefly, and then smiled. “it’s a movie i burned myself, called ‘caravaggio.'”

lu ye had a good memory and immediately recalled something upon hearing the unusual title. he raised an eyebrow, seemingly amused, and asked, “isn’t this the movie you wanted to watch with me but didn’t get a chance to? you said it was shown in a retro cinema?”

at this point, qi yanbai felt that whether he had “arranged things to go in his favor” or not, it didn’t make much difference anymore. he stood up, wrapped his arms around lu ye’s waist, and leaned in to kiss him, admitting honestly, “yes, i duplicated the disc myself. i thought that if you agreed to my invitation, i could bribe the staff to show this movie.”

at that time, he and lu ye were in the ambiguous phase, being courteous to each other, and testing the waters. it seemed like they were just a step away from breaking through, but they were always a little short, leaving their relationship stagnant.

“that was when i already liked you a lot, and i thought it was time for us to take the next step,” qi yanbai said, resting his head on lu ye’s shoulder and not hesitating to confess now. “so i wanted to use this movie as a hint to let you know—i just couldn’t because you got sick.”

“what were you hinting at?” lu ye asked, already knowing what qi yanbai meant.

“i was hinting that i had feelings for you and testing how much you liked me,” qi yanbai said. at that time, he still believed in ashley’s teachings and was playing the role of an innocent lamb, guiding lu ye to take the initiative. even though he was burning with desire inside, he followed the rules of the “innocent teacher,” refusing to make the first move.

lu ye was a very intelligent person, and he almost immediately understood what qi yanbai meant.

“so the confession from that young parent at your office was also a test?” lu ye asked.

at that time, lu ye was unaware of the set-up, but now, looking back, he realized that everything had happened so “coincidentally,” as if it had been orchestrated in advance, waiting for him to step onto the stage.

“yes,” qi yanbai confessed openly, “she was the sister of one of my students, and she happened to help me out.”

lu ye already knew that qi yanbai had schemed quite a bit, but now, hearing this, he couldn’t help feeling a subtle sense of dissatisfaction. he raised an eyebrow, stared at qi yanbai with a mysterious look, “the day i was sick, and you came to take care of me, i drank half a glass of water you gave me and couldn’t help falling asleep—”

lu ye paused deliberately at this point, noticing qi yanbai’s growing nervousness. he then asked with a hint of suggestion, “now that i think about it, was that water perhaps a bit too sleep-inducing?”

the smile on qi yanbai’s face froze for a moment, and his gaze shifted away, appearing somewhat guilty.

qi yanbai cleared his throat and forced a smile, saying, “i just added a bit of fever-reducing medication with strong sedative effects to help you sleep better.”

—and, he added in his mind, secretly duplicated a spare key to your house.

he had only confessed to half of it, but lu ye understood him well enough to see through the unspoken part. however, compared to the stalking issue, this revelation seemed relatively trivial. lu ye had seen his fair share of the world and wasn’t particularly surprised.

however, old habits die hard, and lu ye couldn’t resist delivering a playful comeback when he noticed qi yanbai’s expression.

“what a shame,” lu ye raised an eyebrow and spoke nonchalantly, “if it weren’t for that glass of water, we might have established our relationship a bit earlier.”

he paused for a moment, sighing with a tone of regret, “i actually wanted to confess my feelings to you back then.”

qi yanbai: “…”

—what?