Chapter 87#

Zhao Rong’s gaze passed over Qiao Nanqi and took a look inside the room.

Liang Youjun wasn’t usually an orderly person. The room was a mess, with things scattered everywhere. At first glance, it should have been impossible to pick anything out of the chaos, but with just one sweep of his eyes, Zhao Rong spotted empty wine bottles all over the floor.

He now knew where those clinking sounds he had heard at the door had come from.

Liang Youjun was still clutching an empty bottle, his face flushed bright red. He sat on the floor with a dazed expression, slumped over the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Seeing him arrive, Liang Youjun squinted at the door. It took a moment for him to process who it was before he suddenly scrambled up, shouting drunkenly, “Boss!!! You’re here!!!”

Zhao Rong: “…”

His expression remained indifferent. Lowering his eyes with a cold face, he turned back and deliberately closed the door, shutting out the cold wind.

Qiao Nanqi had been watching him the whole time, standing tall and straight. His eyes were deep and bright, a world away from Liang Youjun’s current state.

This man hadn’t drunk a single drop.

Zhao Rong had found it strange earlier. Qiao Nanqi was the kind of person whom very few would dare to force into drinking. How could his alcohol tolerance be better than Liang Youjun’s, who used to frequent various banquets and entertainment venues?

“Mr. Qiao,” he said, looking at Qiao Nanqi. His voice was light, but his tone was heavy. “Coming to someone’s house to drink but not touching a drop yourself—you’re quite something.”

Qiao Nanqi was silent.

He just looked down at Zhao Rong slightly. For a moment, his eyes seemed to flicker, but he appeared calm on the surface.

If Zhao Rong hadn’t caught the way his fists clenched and loosened out of the corner of his eye, he might have truly believed that Qiao Nanqi was as unruffled as he looked.

He walked over to Liang Youjun, sighed, and knelt to help him up. “Go to sleep first. I’ll handle things here.”

“Boss!” Liang Youjun called out to him, lowering his voice. “…Is there a raise?”

Zhao Rong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He knew Liang Youjun was drunk and asking for a raise out of nowhere because he felt he had withstood Qiao Nanqi’s “interrogation.”

“Yes, yes, yes. Go back to your room first.”

With his help, Liang Youjun stumbled back to his room.

After settling him in, Zhao Rong returned to the living room and sat down amidst the mess. “If you have something to ask, can’t you just ask me?”

Qiao Nanqi turned his head to look at him. After a moment, he slowly walked over and sat down in front of Zhao Rong.

“He agreed to drink with me,” he said in a low voice.

“Would he dare to refuse?”

Zhao Rong felt a mix of anger, amusement, and complexity.

He was angry and amused that the Young Master Qiao would play such childish games. Was this still the same Qiao Nanqi who never let his emotions show?

The complexity came from…

He had loved someone—the person right in front of him.

He knew very well that when love comes from the bottom of one’s heart, all composure, logic, and maturity vanish the moment anything related to that person is involved.

Just like Qiao Nanqi now.

He was silent for a moment. He picked up a bottle of wine nearby, opened it, and pushed it toward Qiao Nanqi.

“Then I’ll treat you to a drink. Do you agree?”

“I agree,” Qiao Nanqi answered decisively.

He hadn’t expected Zhao Rong to come. He guessed Liang Youjun must have made the call when he went to the bathroom to throw up earlier.

Zhao Rong’s arrival should have made him panic in his surprise, but instead, a faint sense of joy began to surface.

Even though Liang Youjun had insisted they were in a normal relationship, if that were true, Zhao Rong’s reaction after entering the door…

It didn’t look like he was here to handle a relationship dispute; rather, he seemed to be handling a friend’s trouble.

“Zhao Rong,” he asked tentatively, “you and Liang Youjun…”

Zhao Rong pushed the opened bottle of wine again.

He knew Qiao Nanqi must have seen through the facade—after entering the room, he hadn’t intended to act at all.

The reason he had used Liang Youjun to make Qiao Nanqi back off before was that he thought Qiao Nanqi wouldn’t persist. He figured that with a little bit of difficulty, the man would leave.

But Qiao Nanqi hadn’t left.

He simply said, “Didn’t you want an answer from Youjun?”

He pointed to the half-finished wine on the floor. “Then why not use these to exchange for my answer?”

The meaning was clear.

There was far too much wine left.

But Qiao Nanqi’s eyes brightened slightly, and he actually gave a small smile.

Zhao Rong watched as Qiao Nanqi picked up the bottle and began to chug. Silence spread between them, broken only by the sound of the man drinking.

The bottle was soon empty. Zhao Rong reached out and deliberately opened a new one for him.

In that instant, Zhao Rong suddenly felt a sense of release.

It was as if all the emotions he had been holding onto and bracing against were being dissolved by the man’s willing glass after glass.

Qiao Nanqi was so smart; had he already seen through his conflicted thoughts?

Zhao Rong didn’t speak.

Qiao Nanqi didn’t say anything either.

They stayed like that—one opening the wine, the other taking it and drinking.

The night deepened.

The sound of the wind brushing past came from outside from time to time. Wine bottles rolled on the floor, making crisp clinking sounds. Though they were sitting in the living room, everything around them was very quiet.

Liang Youjun’s living room was cluttered with all sorts of things, a dizzying sight.

It was even more like a disordered heart.

Zhao Rong watched Qiao Nanqi drink the wine he handed over without changing his expression. For a moment, he remembered being back in Yangcheng, in a bar, where Qiao Nanqi had done the same thing.

Except then, they had just broken up. All the coldness and sharpness were magnified, and he never felt that Qiao Nanqi truly loved him.

But now…

Zhao Rong looked up and accidentally met Qiao Nanqi’s gaze.

Qiao Nanqi was starting to get drunk.

Yet he still sat straight. His gaze was steady but affectionate. His eyes were no longer as bright as before, slightly clouded by alcohol.

It made him seem incredibly gentle.

It had been like this lately. Whenever he was alone with Qiao Nanqi, Zhao Rong always had the feeling that this man was born with a gentle and bright soul. It was only when others were around and he saw Qiao Nanqi speaking to them that he realized Qiao Nanqi was still the same Qiao Nanqi from Yangcheng.

The sixteen-year-old Qiao Nanqi was gentle, clean, and kept his sharp edges hidden.

The Qiao Nanqi studying in the library during university was calm and mature, but with a hint of unpolished youth, like a sword being unsheathed.

The Qiao Nanqi he was with over a year ago was indifferent and so steady that not a single emotion could be stirred, like the hidden light behind dark clouds.

The Qiao Nanqi before his eyes now seemed to be a blend of all the experiences of the past years.

He was still the same person who made his heart skip a beat, but with an added layer of settled brilliance.

He was still very bright, but no longer piercingly so.

As he thought, Qiao Nanqi had drunk an unknown amount and was completely drunk.

He couldn’t even sit steadily. One hand gripped the edge of the table while the other supported his forehead, still trying to force himself to stay awake.

Zhao Rong looked through the soft light of the room and saw the man’s profile. That faint mole was exposed, carrying a hint of gloom.

Zhao Rong reached out and gently touched the corner of Qiao Nanqi’s eye.

The man seemed stunned by his sudden action. In his slightly unfocused eyes, surprise flashed for a moment.

Before Zhao Rong could withdraw his hand, the man suddenly reached up and grabbed him tightly.

“Zhao Rong…”

Zhao Rong blinked slowly, shook his head helplessly, and stood up to pull his hand away.

But Qiao Nanqi, perhaps using his drunkenness as an excuse, gripped even harder, making it impossible to pull away. The warmth of the man’s palm wrapped around his wrist. It was warm and soft, and though it was only against his skin, it somehow felt like it was scorching his heart.

“Zhao Rong,” the man called his name again.

He was completely drunk.

Zhao Rong calmed himself down, stood up anyway, and said to him, “Let go.”

This time it was more effective than ever. Qiao Nanqi gave him one last lingering look and actually let go.

Zhao Rong didn’t know where Qiao Nanqi was currently living, so he took out his phone and called Xiao Wu, asking him to come pick him up.

Then, he transferred some money to Liang Youjun as a raise and opened the blacklist on his social media account. He pulled Qiao Nanqi’s account out—it showed they were still friends, meaning the other party had kept him on his list all this time.

He placed the page showing they were friends again in front of Qiao Nanqi and said, “Don’t make Xiao Wu run around all the time in the future. It’s not easy for him either.”

After doing this, he lowered his head to put away his phone and said to Qiao Nanqi, “I really like the books you sent to my bookstore. They suit my taste.”

Qiao Nanqi looked up at him. He was truly very drunk. Although he wasn’t as noisy as Liang Youjun, his expression was clearly intoxicated, and his eyes weren’t clear.

“You even tucked a brand new copy of The Gods Themselves inside. I saw it.”

“When I saw those things, I thought… I always believed you had changed, but it seems you haven’t. Or rather, have you changed back?”

“Zhao Rong…” The man could only call his name now. His gaze was distant, and he paused for a long while.

Zhao Rong wondered what he would say. Another explanation? Or an apology?

After a while.

Qiao Nanqi actually only added one sentence.

“I love you.”

Zhao Rong was stunned.

He had been about to turn and leave, but now he froze. His foot tripped over a wine bottle; the rounded body was kicked by him, hitting a pile of empty bottles with a crisp sound.

The air was still filled with the thick smell of alcohol, intoxicating the mind.

Yet it seemed to pale in comparison to the shock of those words.

He was truly starting to believe.

He didn’t want to fight it anymore.

He looked down at Qiao Nanqi.

If you can really keep this up, let’s stop wasting time.

I am indeed a common person.

I want a stable home, a life where I can do as I please, and someone to stay with me for a long, long time.

He said this to Qiao Nanqi in his heart.

The moon climbed higher and higher in the night sky, then gradually began to descend.

The night grew deeper.

Zhou Yueqing wasn’t sleeping—she was looking at the surveillance footage the security guard had sent her.

In the footage, an older-looking man wearing a mask was acting suspiciously in a corner, looking ahead. If the camera angle was shifted, one could see that the person he was watching was Zhao Rong and Qiao Nanqi, who were preparing to leave at the entrance.

After a while, Zhao Rong got into the car and left, while Qiao Nanqi stayed in place.

The person watching then lost interest and quietly left.

Clearly, this person’s target was Zhao Rong.

“Old Lin, when did you discover this?” she asked.

Old Lin said, “Just today. I brought it to you the moment I found it. Before coming, I checked the records from the past few days and found that this person started coming several days ago. Wearing a mask and sunglasses, he watches every time Mr. Zhao comes. Sometimes he even wanders around inside the hospital, like… like he’s casing the joint?”

“It’s a good thing we found him, Miss. This…”

Zhou Yueqing thought for a moment.

If this person’s target was just Zhao Rong, it would be much more convenient to stake out Zhao Rong’s front door than this busy hospital.

Furthermore, the person wasn’t just watching Zhao Rong; he was also casing the hospital.

Inside the hospital…

Zhao Ming?

All the deals and unpleasantness between Zhao Rong and the Zhou family now stemmed from Zhao Rong wanting to treat Zhao Ming.

If anything happened to Zhao Ming, Zhao Rong—no, not just Zhao Rong, even Qiao Nanqi—would likely have their hands full.

“Old Lin,” Zhou Yueqing came up with a reason that couldn’t go wrong, “we’ve had several business rivals lately who have been after our technical data. The relationship is too strained to talk. Maybe this person is here to steal something. Don’t worry about it for now; if he actually does something, we’ll have leverage.”

“Anyway, a place like a hospital doesn’t have much money or valuables. Nothing big can happen. If anything really happens, I’ll notify Mr. Zhao and the others.”

Old Lin probably didn’t even fully understand her reasoning, so he naturally agreed.

The next morning, Qiao Nanqi woke up naturally under the influence of his biological clock.

Although he had been completely drunk last night, he didn’t know if it was because he was worrying about breakfast, but he still woke up at his usual time.

When he woke up, he was lying in his own bed.

Last night…

Qiao Nanqi rubbed his forehead, recalling what happened after Zhao Rong arrived. After washing up and walking into the living room, he found Xiao Wu sitting there waiting for him.

Seeing him come out, Xiao Wu immediately stood up. “Sir, good morning!”

“You brought me back last night?” Qiao Nanqi saw it at a glance.

“I went back after dropping you off and only just came back.”

Qiao Nanqi wasn’t surprised; Xiao Wu had his house keys.

Every day before, he had Xiao Wu stop by the bookstore first to ask what Zhao Rong wanted for breakfast before coming over to pick up the breakfast he had made.

He paused his recollections and asked, “Did Zhao Rong say what he wanted to eat today?”

Xiao Wu actually gave a “cough,” cleared his throat, lowered his tone, and mimicked Zhao Rong’s slow and gentle way of speaking: “—‘If he wants to know what I want to eat, can’t he ask me himself?’ That’s what Mr. Zhao said.”

Qiao Nanqi was stunned.

Zhao Rong had blocked him and his phone number long ago. He only asked Xiao Wu to go every day because he couldn’t ask himself.

Why would Zhao Rong say that—

His expression froze.

The details he had been recalling earlier slowly surfaced in his mind.

—“Don’t make Xiao Wu run around all the time in the future. It’s not easy for him either.”

“Where’s my phone?”

“It’s charging on your nightstand…”

Qiao Nanqi immediately turned around and went back to his room to grab his phone.

He opened his account and scrolled to Zhao Rong’s profile. He clicked in. At the very end of the chat history were the notifications that he had been blocked, and the red exclamation mark next to the last message that hadn’t been sent.

But below those messages, a new notification appeared.

“The other party has added you as a friend.”