Chapter 399: Moving? No! Life!
Watching Gao Quan gobble up delicious food with a happy face as he arrived in Kyoto, Ye Liang Chen couldn’t help but smile. In his past life, Gao Quan was his best bro, and now, reborn, Gao Quan still believed in him unconditionally. In this world, having such a good brother was more than enough!
“Take your time eating—later, I’ll take you to try more delicacies. Don’t get full now,” Ye Liang Chen said softly, noticing the crumbs clinging to Gao Quan’s lips. He lightly chuckled and reached out to wipe his face.
Gao Quan froze for a second at Ye Liang Chen’s gesture before hurriedly wiping his mouth himself. “Hehe, it’s alright. I think I ate enough,” he said nonchalantly.
He leaned in and nudged his just-touched lips, not minding the mess, just happy that Ye Liang Chen hadn’t seen him in a while and was so touchy. So, as they ate, Gao Quan started telling him about life after university.
“Oh, Chen-ge, weren’t you always so into posting penguin updates? Why haven’t you posted anything lately?”
Ye Liang Chen tossed his hair with a gentle smile. “I’m not posting updates. I’m posting… life!”
“Do you know what a knightly life is? It’s being determined, moving forward bravely, protecting what matters even if it means sacrificing your sword—wait, I mean, even if you have to break the sword!”
He let out a self-deprecating laugh. The knight who was supposed to protect the princess? Well, she’s been stolen by a scoundrel. He wants to protect her, but she’s misunderstood him. The knight’s glory has dimmed, so what’s there to post about penguins?
Seeing Ye Liang Chen suddenly fall silent, Gao Quan couldn’t help but ask, “Chen-ge, is your conflict with Class President this time really that serious?”
Ye Liang Chen took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered Gao Quan one. Gao shook his head. Ye Liang Chen lit up his own, beginning to feel a bit gloomy. “Just a misunderstanding caused some unpleasantness.”
He didn’t plan to hide his feelings from his bro. After two lifetimes, he knew Gao Quan’s personality and character better than anyone.
Gao Quan risking his life to help him… that’s brotherhood. And he wouldn’t keep anything from Gao Quan. “Do you remember what Qing Xue said back in high school?”
“You mean Class President wanting to start dating once she gets to university?” Gao Quan probed.
Ye Liang Chen nodded heavily. “Exactly. Qing Xue promised me she wouldn’t date during high school; she wanted to try in university. I was all in—waiting patiently because I loved her so much. But guess what?” His voice cracked just thinking about it.
“What happened?”
He chuckled bitterly. “She said she’d think about dating in university—that I should wait until then. But she betrayed her own promise. When I got to university, she never even mentioned dating me!”
Gao Quan could only say, “Maybe there’s a misunderstanding? I don’t think Class President is that kind of person. Maybe it’s all a big mix-up?”
Objectively, Gao knew what kind of person Li Qing Xue was. “You don’t understand—people can change,” he said seriously.
“Qing Xue changed. She changed so much, I hardly recognize her now. We had a ten-year friendship,” Ye Liang Chen said, his voice trembling with vulnerability. He’d desperately tried to rescue her, only for her not to appreciate it. Worse, she slapped him and severed years of friendship.
Gao Quan put down what he was holding, still feeling unsettled about it. “Chen-ge, if Qing Xue really doesn’t have…”
He wanted to suggest that if Qing Xue and the Class President weren’t romantically involved, just friends, then maybe they could stay friends without complications. But before he finished, Ye Liang Chen cut him off sharply.
“No, you don’t understand. Qing Xue’s heart is definitely mine. It’s just that…” he paused, confident in his assertion, “she hasn’t realized her true feelings yet!”
This confidence stemmed from his past life’s tragic pursuit—how could she be pursuing someone else if she truly didn’t have feelings? Clearly, Qing Xue’s heart belonged to him—she just hadn’t seen it clearly yet.
Gao Quan was momentarily speechless, feeling a mix of helplessness and doubt. Just then, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID, Gao Quan grinned and said, “It’s Class President.”
Ye Liang Chen shot him a look, silently mouthing “Dinner date!”
Gao Quan nodded and made an OK sign at him.
…
After leaving the subway station, Li Qing Xue noticed she had a missed call on her phone.
Maybe the signal was bad in the station, so she didn’t answer. When she saw the caller was Gao Quan, she slightly furrowed her brows.
It’s understandable—she’d been in the same class for three years; she knew Gao Quan and Ye Liang Chen were close.
Hu Yu Ying saw Li Qing Xue’s slight frown and reached out to smooth her brow. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just a message from an old classmate,” Li Qing Xue explained.
“That’s good—it means your classmates miss you, even after college. It’s a sign that you’re well liked,” Hu gently reassured.
Li Qing Xue shrugged. “That guy is Gao Quan. Maybe he’s reaching out because of Ye Liang Chen?”
“You don’t know—there’ve been several times when Gao Quan contacted me, a good friend, like that guy Wang Rui who helped design our shop. He even told Wang Rui I was crying and sick, but really, it was just Ye Liang Chen behind the scenes stirring things up.”
“So, if that’s the case, just call back and see what he has to say. If it’s about Ye Liang Chen, then we’ll just stop answering his calls in the future.”
“I think that’s what I’ll end up doing,” Li Qing Xue said, then dialed Gao Quan’s number.
“Hello? Is this Gao Quan?”
“It’s me. Class President, I’m visiting Kyoto. I know you’re here too, so I want to ask you out to eat and maybe ask you for some tips on fun places in Kyoto!”
“Is Ye Liang Chen with you?” Li Qing Xue asked confidently.
Given their close relationship, Gao Quan probably called her themselves, and surely he told Ye Liang Chen too.
But as soon as she asked, Gao Quan hesitated. “Uh, well…”
Li Qing Xue cut him off without waiting: “Gao Quan, turn on speaker.”
“Hang on…”
“Class President, you’re really annoying,” she said, then immediately hung up.
Still ongoing…
