His family was open-minded, and everyone was busy. Qi Sui thought maybe they could just go register for a marriage certificate and continue dating as boyfriend and girlfriend.
But Xiang Yu stopped that thought.
He gently rubbed Qi Sui's eyelids—he seemed to be obsessed with her slender, beautiful willow-leaf eyes—and said softly, "I've waited a long time. I can wait a little longer. But Sui Sui—"
"I want you to be willing."
Willing, then. Fine, he could wait until Qi Sui slapped her thigh one day, felt life was good, and dragged him to get married. Then she probably wouldn't feel regret.
Seeing the expression on Qi Sui's face, Chen Jialin knew her reserved little cousin hadn't managed to win her over completely. She laughed until her stomach hurt, "I thought he had it in the bag. After pining for so long, he only has the title of boyfriend? How embarrassing for me."
Chen Jialin used to be unbeatable.
But,
"Pining?" Qi Sui asked curiously, "For me?"
Chen Jialin gave her a sidelong glance, still grinning, "Let Xiao Yu tell you himself. He'll get mad if I do."
That day after work, Qi Sui spun her car keys on her finger. After changing jobs, she had bought a commuter car. She lived in the penthouse provided by Xiang Yu, and as rent, she had to chauffeur the esteemed Vice Chairman Xiang to and from work.
Watching the man obediently sit in the passenger seat with his legs bent, habitually turning on the humidifier for her, and neatly tidying the odds and ends in the door pocket, she finally started the car.
Tomorrow was the weekend. It was one of those rare weekends when neither of them had pressing matters. Xiang Yu had planned it two days ago: they would watch movies at home. He had even done his homework, going through all the recently well-reviewed movies.
"Why is Sister S's engagement party on a Tuesday?" she asked.
Xiang Yu obediently answered, "The elders at home believe in such things; they calculated an auspicious day. Don't worry, I'll arrange your work schedule then. If it's too much, I can even do it for you."
Qi Sui suddenly felt like teasing him. She asked lazily, "Can I not go?"
The man in the passenger seat fell silent.
After a long while, he asked, "You don't want to attend my family banquet?"
"Or are you tired of me?"
Realizing he had misspoken, he said nothing more for the rest of the time.
His heart hung, his expression calm on the surface but lacking confidence deep down.
"No, I was joking. I'll go," Qi Sui quickly reassured him.
"Sister S told me that you once—"
She paused, then changed her approach, "How does Sister S know about my past?"
Xiang Yu propped his head up, face turned away, making it hard for Qi Sui to read his expression. His tone was cool, "We met before. But later you graduated and got married. I found someone to get your contact info, but you thought I was a spammer and blocked me."
Two years of pining.
Dismissed with a light "we met."
Qi Sui didn't know, but how could Xiang Yu be at peace?
He pretended to be calm, but as soon as they got home, he grabbed her waist, pitifully asking for kisses, asking if she still liked him, begging her not to get tired of him.
Qi Sui's hand was pulled by him, landing on his reddened eyes. His voice carried the fragility of a poor soul, "Look, I'm crying because of you. Don't bully me like this—"
Qi Sui's eyelids were also red. Hazily, she could only comfort him like a large animal, her fingers threading through his smooth black hair, incoherent murmurs swallowed by him.
Who was torturing whom?
Frowning, she could only squeeze his ear gently and soothe him, "Xiao Yu, be good."
Xiang Yu also wanted to ask:
Was it just because he handed her a jacket at sunrise back then that she had to torment him for so long?
But fortunately, late or early, it had all arrived eventually.
[Mission failed. Returning.]
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Author's Note: Aww, sweet!
One male guest, carried away. Next, please!