Wen Kai’s grievance was plain to see. Gan Tao panicked. “I never said I wanted to break up!”
A great weight lifted from Wen Kai’s heart.
As long as breaking up was not on the table, everything else could be talked through slowly.
“Come on, let’s find somewhere to sit and talk properly.”
Wen Kai took Gan Tao’s hand and found a milk tea shop.
Gan Tao had been avoiding him for days. The sudden touch of his hand sent her pulse racing.
Gan Tao loved milk tea, loved ice cream, was hopelessly addicted to sweets. Even her shower gel and shampoo carried that cloying fruity sweetness.
She really was like a little peach.
Wen Kai pressed the milk tea into her hands, his voice bright. “Drink this while you listen to me, all right?”
Gan Tao nodded, biting the straw.
“Go on, then.”
No matter what he said, Little Fish was Wen Kai’s cousin. That fact could not be changed.
Gan Tao knew her own attitude was the problem. If Wen Kai could talk her round and ease her worries, that would be perfect.
Wen Kai used no clever lines or tricks, though he was not the sharpest, he knew how to coax Gan Tao when he needed to.
He chose sincerity instead. He laid out his own feelings, including why he had first hidden the fact that his cousin was “Reverse Flow Fish”.
At the start, he had not wanted to cause Wen Ying any trouble.
Back then, he and Leng Jun had not been close, let alone him and Gan Tao.
“Taotao, be honest with yourself. If you had known then that ‘Reverse Flow Fish’ was my sister, would you have…”
Wen Kai left the sentence hanging. Gan Tao pictured it and blushed. “I would have pestered you nonstop, trying to get news about Little Fish, begging for her autograph.”
And that would have been the restrained version.
Gan Tao knew she would have found every excuse to get closer to Wen Kai, just to reach Little Fish indirectly.
That was how wild fangirls could be.
So what would Wen Kai have done?
An autograph? He probably would not have refused.
Anything else? Wen Kai would not have bothered Little Fish, even though she was his cousin.
That was how well Gan Tao understood her boyfriend.
“So you didn’t tell us. You kept it from us, from everyone.”
Following the same logic, Gan Tao continued. “But once we were dating, why still keep quiet? Little Fish is your sister. I was bound to find out sooner or later… Hey, if you were going to hide it, you should have hidden it forever. If I never knew, I wouldn’t be tangled up like this!”
“Because I fell for you.”
Wen Kai looked straight into her eyes, giving her no chance to look away. “I fell for you. I could feel you liked me too. It was a feeling I’d never had before, and I was just as insecure. You were so brave, choosing a poor boy like me. I threw everything into matching your courage, terrified that your feelings might only be fleeting. Taotao, I never wanted to tie you down with anything else. You and your heart are free. And yet, by pure coincidence, my cousin turned out to be the writer you love, the idol you chase so passionately.”
Wen Kai laid his heart bare.
Thanks to his off-campus internships, he usually seemed far more mature than Gan Tao. When he visited her family, he had tried hard to show that side.
But in truth, he was only a few years older than her.
This was Gan Tao’s first relationship, and Wen Kai’s too.
Gan Tao lived in the moment. Wen Kai thought steps ahead for her, even about their future.
These were things he had never told anyone.
He ignored others’ teasing and gossip, but that did not mean he was deaf to it.
“Taotao, I want you to be happy. I did consider keeping it secret forever, but it isn’t possible. I’ve met your parents and relatives. You’ve met mine. I can’t stop you seeing my cousin for the rest of our lives.”
His voice dropped low.
Gan Tao set down her milk tea and stared at him. “I am happy.”
She had been the one to chase him single-mindedly.
And then Wen Kai really had become her boyfriend.
Gan Tao was proud of her own boldness. She was well aware of the doubts people had about Wen Kai.
Cousin Leng Jun’s dodgy friends.
Her own parents.
Everyone thought Wen Kai had ulterior motives.
Suddenly, Gan Tao’s heart ached for him.
The feeling clogged her chest. For a moment, she did not know what to say.
Wen Kai thought for a second. “When you didn’t know ‘Reverse Flow Fish’ was my cousin, you liked me. Now that you do know, have your feelings changed?”
“Of course I still like you.”
Gan Tao’s voice rose. “When I fell for you, I had no idea you were Little Fish’s cousin. Yes, you both have the surname Wen. Yes, you’re both from Chengdu. But Chengdu is huge, and you’re so low-key. How was I supposed to guess you were related?”
Come to think of it, Wen Kai really could keep a secret.
If Gan Tao imagined herself in his position, if Leng Jun had even a tenth of Little Fish’s success, she would have plastered Leng Jun’s photo on her forehead and paraded it everywhere.
Wen Kai’s eyes brightened. “You like me, and you like Little Fish. Those are two separate feelings. They can coexist without clashing, right?”
“…I suppose so.”
Gan Tao’s thoughts knotted themselves tighter.
Wen Kai summed up. “You still like me. I like you. You don’t want to break up. So are you still going to avoid me?”
The knots grew even tighter. “Why would I avoid you? I’m not avoiding you!”
“You said it yourself.”
Wen Kai pointed at the menu on the wall. “Another cup? My treat.”
Gan Tao sensed something off, but after racking her brains she still could not work out what.
If she kept fretting, she would just seem overdramatic.
So was that it? The whole thing smoothed over, even the part about possibly becoming Little Fish’s future sister-in-law?
What else could she do?
Breaking up was out of the question.
Severing Wen Kai’s family tie with Little Fish was impossible.
Gan Tao felt as if she were floating, her mind adrift. “What kind of person is Little Fish, really?”
“She is exactly what you all imagine. An outstanding person, not much different from the interviews. I don’t have her talent, but I really am honoured to be her brother.”
Wen Kai said earnestly, “She has known about you for ages, whether as her reader or as her future sister-in-law. She likes you a lot.”
Aaaaaaaaah!
Gan Tao’s heart pounded uncontrollably.
Little Fish knew about her. Little Fish liked her.
Gan Tao was so happy she nearly fainted.
She desperately wanted to hear more about Little Fish but was afraid Wen Kai might mind.
Wen Kai read her perfectly and volunteered small stories about Wen Ying, like treating him as a walking library. Gan Tao listened, spellbound.
…
The most pitiful person was Leng Jun.
Leng Jun had still not forgiven Wen Kai, yet Gan Tao and Wen Kai were already reconciled.
Leng Jun: …!
“Taotao, you’re hopeless. No backbone at all! If he can lie to you about this today, he can lie about anything tomorrow!”
Leng Jun roared down the phone, unaware his own mother was standing right behind him.
Mother Leng raised an eyebrow. “What exactly did that Wen Kai lie to Taotao about?”
