Xie Qian was a man of action.
While Li Meng Jiao was playfully shaking Wen Ying’s arm, Xie Qian ignored the obvious third wheel and said directly to Wen Ying, “Let’s walk home together after school today. I have something to tell you.”
“What do you want to say—”
You could just say it now!
Wen Ying’s instinctive response was very straightforward, but Li Meng Jiao quickly pinched her arm to interrupt the second half. Wen Ying reluctantly changed her tune, “…Alright, let’s walk together after school.”
Xie Qian was barely satisfied.
Li Meng Jiao pulled Wen Ying aside and whispered, “Have you and Xie Shen been fighting recently?”
Wen Ying found it baffling, “We haven’t fought. Why would you ask that?”
No fight?
Li Meng Jiao touched her nose, wondering if she’d misread the situation.
“I just feel like you and Xie Shen have grown distant lately. I can’t pinpoint exactly what’s off, but something’s not right.”
Besides a fight, Li Meng Jiao could only guess at a “breakup.”
The latter seemed unlikely—how could a breakup be so calm?
In Li Meng Jiao’s understanding, a “breakup” usually involved earth-shattering drama. No matter how sweet the relationship was, exes rarely stayed friends.
Cutting off all contact and becoming strangers was standard, or worse, turning into enemies!
Wen Ying and Xie Qian weren’t like that.
It seemed like Wen Ying was unilaterally cooling off towards Xie Qian, while Xie Qian’s attitude towards her remained the same.
But if they hadn’t fought or broken up, why had the pink bubbles between them suddenly vanished?!
As the head of the “Wen & Xie” CP fanbase, Li Meng Jiao was almost worried sick. After several calls with Wang Shuang, they reached the same conclusion: Xie Qian had upset Wen Ying.
Sigh, who knew when Xie Shen would realise that when a girl says she’s “not angry,” she might not mean it. Xie Shen took Wen Ying’s “not angry” at face value, and now he was in deep trouble~
Even outsiders noticed something was wrong, and with Xie Qian’s intelligence, he clearly sensed it too. That’s why he asked Wen Ying to walk home together, wanting to talk to her “alone.”
Li Meng Jiao giggled, “No fight, that’s good. You didn’t go to tutoring on Saturday or Sunday. I must’ve overthought it!”
“I didn’t go to tutoring because I was busy with publisher matters…”
Wen Ying tried to explain, but Li Meng Jiao nodded carelessly, “Whatever you say.”
Then she slipped away, so quick that Wen Ying couldn’t catch her.
Wen Ying chuckled.
Even silly Li Meng Jiao thought she and Xie Qian had fought?
There was no fight.
Wen Ying had simply shifted more of her focus to herself, no longer revolving around Xie Qian 24/7.
No longer obsessing over him or trying to decide everything for him—this relaxed dynamic was better for maintaining their friendship long-term!
At first, Wen Ying wasn’t used to it, but after so many days, she found herself adapting quite well~
And when she stopped getting flustered or blushing around Xie Qian, she realised her “rationality,” which had been AWOL for over two years, had returned. Wen Ying was very satisfied with her current state.
What was the point of blushing? It couldn’t improve her school ranking, add points to her college entrance exam, or deal with Bao Li Xin!
Soon, school ended, and Wen Ying left with Xie Qian.
The school entrance was lined with tall plane trees, lush green in summer, their fallen leaves carpeting the path in deep autumn, giving the road a romantic vibe.
“What did you want to talk about?”
A plane tree fruit tactlessly fell at Wen Ying’s feet, only to be kicked away by the evolved “straight-girl” Wen Ying.
The corner of Xie Qian’s eye twitched slightly, “I’ve kept a lot of things from you before. Although I explained last time, I still owe you an apology.”
Wen Ying waved it off, “No, no, I’m not angry—”
“Why aren’t you angry? If our roles were reversed, I’d be furious.”
Xie Qian’s words left Wen Ying speechless.
Uh.
She was angry at first, not just angry but deeply confused, feeling that the current Xie Qian had become a stranger.
She’d finally adjusted her mindset, no longer angry or confused, so why was Xie Qian bringing it up again?
Wen Ying’s relaxed brow furrowed slightly, “I’m not angry because I understand you. Your circumstances and upbringing are pushing you to mature quickly, so you don’t have to tell your friends everything. You’re more independent than us, which is normal!”
The more Wen Ying stressed how understanding she was, the more uncomfortable Xie Qian felt.
He didn’t want such an understanding friend.
Wen Ying cared so much about him, worried he’d suffer under Xie Jing Hu. They’d promised not to hide things from each other, yet he broke that promise!
Looking into Wen Ying’s clear eyes, Xie Qian suddenly felt ashamed.
He was embarrassed by his self-righteousness.
People aren’t machines, unable to follow pre-set programs forever, nor gods, looking down from the heavens to plan every step of a relationship.
Feelings are feelings—they’re not a problem to solve; they’re turbulent and alive!
An indescribable emotion surged in Xie Qian’s chest. He took a deep breath, the turmoil burning like fire, “I apologise for all my dishonesty. Whether it was about Zhao Dong’s movements or secretly becoming the boss of Jia Xin Film Company, everyone knew about the latter except you. It wasn’t about excluding you.”
Xie Qian’s apology was so sudden and formal that Wen Ying was caught off guard.
“Alright, I was pretty upset at first, but it didn’t last long. Besides, it’s all in the past, it’s not important!”
“No, it’s very important. Hear me out.”
Xie Qian stopped walking, “You asked me why I was in such a hurry to take the film company from Xie Jing Hu. How did I answer? Oh, I said it was an unimportant asset of his, a strategy of encircling the city from the countryside, nibbling at the edges before tackling the core.”
“Isn’t that true?”
Wen Ying had believed Xie Qian’s reasoning, only to be tricked again?
“That reason accounts for no more than 1% of my motive for taking Jia Xin. The other 99% is something else… Let’s put it this way, to get Jia Xin from Xie Jing Hu, I signed a bet-on agreement with him. This is my second bet with him.”
Wen Ying knew about the first bet—achieving a 20% annual investment return on the Hongqiao Airport land. If Xie Qian lost, he’d be obediently exiled abroad by Xie Jing Hu.
Now, with the demolition confirmed, let alone 20%, the return would exceed 100%!
Wen Ying didn’t know about the second bet.
She looked up at Xie Qian, the molten emotions surging in the boy’s eyes making her instinctively lower her head.
With the conversation reaching this point, how could Xie Qian let her dodge? “The second bet is that I must achieve the profit target Xie Jing Hu set for Jia Xin within the agreed time. If I fail, even when I turn 18, I can’t exercise my shareholder rights in ‘Jin Hu.’”
Delay exercising shareholder rights?
That meant holding the title of shareholder without any real power!
Wen Ying jumped up, “That’s outrageous! You shouldn’t have agreed to your dad. He’s setting you up! Jia Xin is just a film company. Even if you run it successfully, it won’t shake ‘Jin Hu’s’ core assets. Why did you agree, Xie Qian…”
Xie Qian pressed closer, cutting to the core, “It’s obviously not the wisest choice. Why do you think I agreed?”
Last time at the skewer shop, Wen Ying nearly guessed the answer but was sidetracked by Xie Qian.
Now that Xie Qian brought it up again, Wen Ying’s heart couldn’t help but race.
So, Xie Qian made such an irrational choice, rushing to take the film company… because of her?!
