Chapter 6- Who Won?
After he got on the car, Qiu Chen recovered his wits. He was overwhelmed to see that he was having ice cream from someone's hand. It embarrassed him. Qu Yi saw the boy's face turn a lovely pink out of embarrassment. But he chose not to talk about it.
"So, now can I have your contact information?" He askrd.
"Haven't you already investigated me? I guess you already have my information in your hand." Qiu Chen returned to his original self; not Qin Shui's character setting, but his own.
"I just got to know about the situation of your university. I didn't deliberately investigate." Qu Yi was surprised by Qiu Chen's straightforwardness. This boy was not the one he saw last night or even heard from his brother, but this form of the boy looked more real. Qiu Chen stared at him trying to find out if he was speaking the truth. Qu Yi seemed honest and Qiu Chen exchanged number with him and also added him to his wechat.
As the lunch hour was approaching Qu Yi let the driver drive to a famous traditional restaurant. He himself didn't like traditional cuisine that much but something inside him told that the boy must like it. Qiu Chen, on the other hand, thought that it was Qu Yi who liked traditional cuisine as the original was more inclined to western cuisine, so it must not be from the investigation. It made him have a better impression of the older man.
After finishing lunch Qu Yi dropped Qiu Chen off home as he thought the boy must be tired after all. Qiu Chen got off the Benz, somehow didn't want to say goodbye. But he had to say good bye. So he bid goodbye and walked into into the main gate without looking back.
Qu Yi was bewildered, was the boy so reluctant to be with him? But he didn't act like this whole day. May be he is really afraid of love, after all he had to go through all those unfavorable situation due to love. This made him hate Bai Ling to the extreme.
Qiu Chen saw Qin Shing sitting alone in the living room with an even colder face than usual, but he wasn't afraid.
"Where are mom and dad?" Qiu Chen went back to his timid and weak form the moment he entered home.
"Socializing. Came back with Qu Yi?" Qin Shing sounded scary. Now Qiu Chen understood, the big brother was afraid his ittle brother was being deceived again.
"Brother, will he hurt me too? But he doesn't seem bad. He even bought me ice cream today" the last sentence was accompanied with a dazzling smile.
"Will you go out with anyone who buys you ice cream?" Qin Shing felt that the amount of his feeling helpless dealing with this child was exceeding normal count. But he didn't forget to assure his little brother, "If he dares, I'll deal with him. For now, let him pursue you. We'll see his determination first. If he is not firm enough, there are plenty of fish in the sea."
Qiu Chen felt this brother was smiling evilly. Anyway, what he said was right, let Qu Yi just pursue him for now. He hugged his brother and went to his room. His phone vibrated as soon as he put it on the bedside table.
"Back to room?" It was Qu Yi.
"Stupid question" Qiu Chen found it funny.
"I miss you already" reading Qu Yi's message Qiu Chen had the urge to face palm. Such a sticky message was never expected from a serious person like President Qu.
"My brother warned me about you. I also think that he is right. I should not contact you." Qiu Chen mercilessly used his big brother to flirt with his man. Big brother Qin, who was looking at documents in the living room, suddenly sneezed hard.
"I will convince big brother."
"He is not your brother. And aren't you the President of a company like Qu Corp? Don't you have any job to do? My brother is so hard working. It's clear why he doesn't like you."
This made Qu Yi feel astonished and bitter at the same time. Why are these two brothers' words are almost same? Looks like he has to work even harder.
Qiu Chen was in a good mood mood next morning after teasing Qu Yi over messages last night.
"Talking to Qu Yi makes you this happy?" Qiu Chen didn't notice Qin Shing sitting at the table having breakfast when he came down.
"Brother!" Qiu Chen patted his chest "You scared the hell out of me."
"So, you were talking to Qu Yi?" Qin Shing was firm in his question.
"......Yes" Qiu Chen peaked at his gloomy brother.
"Don't hurt yourself." Qin Shing left one sentence and left for company.
So, for the next one month Bai Ling saw the man from that day waiting for Qiu Chen outside his faculty and Qiu Chen leaving with him every single time. The air around them was really profound. Though all his classmate disdained him as they guessed he was with him for the man's money, to Bai Ling it didn't seem like that. The more he watched Qiu Chen looking at the men with that soft look the more sour he felt. He felt like those gazes belonged only to him. The man robbed him off something that was only his.
It was early in the morning. Bai Ling came to the university early just to watch Qiu Chen when he comes. He didn't know when it became his habit to observe Qiu Chen whenever possible. He found himself fascinated by everything Qiu Chen did. Bai Ling saw Qiu Chen entering the gate like every day. The morning sun shone on him giving his hair a golden glow within the black and making his face almost transparent. It felt almost the same as their school days. Only it was always the boy watching him with the same fascinated eyes that now belong to him, and now the boy ignoring him like he always used to do. Bai Ling didn't know what happened, only knew he seemed to be suddenly in love with the boy he had always despised. He could exchange the world for the boy only to look at him once. But the boy didn't.
Qiu Chen, obviously, knew what was going on inside Bai Ling's brain, or his heart. He needed to make him fall in love with himself. Otherwise, from where the regret he needed would come? He ignored him knowing that it would ignite the fire in his chest. He was waiting for the perfect moment to show a bit weakness. Qiu Chen came to the class. People there still mocked him. But he, now at the very least, had two friends, Xiao Tan and Wen Liu. Xiao Tan managed to take the seat right beside his, but Wen Liu had to sit in his previous seat. He came to them at lunch time everyday and whined and complained about Tang Feng's duplicity as how the two of them were so far from that "white lotus" but he had to stand him all day long.
"Why can't I sit with you guys!" Wen Liu made an almost crying face. Qiu Chen and Xiao Tan couldn't hold back their seeing him like that.
Qiu Chen's eyes curved up into slits while his chubby cheeks turned all red due to his laughter. A drop of tear came out of his right eye. Bai Ling never knew the boy he never looked at before could be this beautiful when he is happy. He doubted why he never found him beautiful before. He was always beautiful, when he played with the not-so-little-now puppy, or ate with his friends, studied seriously in the library. His smile was so adorable and blinding when the Benz came to pick him up every single day. The man would come down to greet him. The boy would smile at him. The man would let him go in the car first, and then follow him inside. If it were before, Bai Ling would have looked down upon Qiu Chen. But now he felt jealous, jealous that the man would always receive that smile, jealous that the boy seems to ignore him with all his might but is so defenceless in front of that man.
Qu Yi came to pick Qiu Chen up at the end of class hours like other days. Although everything seemed normal, Qiu Chen could tell that something was off with Qu Yi.
"Something happened?" he asked.
"If he loves you, are you going to choose him?" Qu Yi asked, his face dark with gloom.
"Why are you asking?"
"Answer me!" Qu Yi couldn't help but raising his voice filled with anger and anxiety.
"Why are you angry with me? Am I your lover?" Qiu Chen also raised his voice.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean it." Qu Yi tried to explain but couldn't voice the words that Bai Ling might like Qiu Chen.
"Stop the car." Qiu Chen ordered with a cold voice that Qu Yi never heard. The driver looked at Qu Yi through the rare view mirror in return of which got a slight signal from his boss to listen to the order.
"Get out", Qiu Chen ordered the driver with the same cold voice. After the driver got out he looked at the man beside him, his pleasant soft eyes nowhere to be seen. Instead it was the cold eyes of a businessman who is about to make a deal.
"What if I choose him? What will you do?" Qiu Chen asked "I am not gonna take any dishonest answer."
"I will let you go", Qu Yi choked when he said this, but he was honest. He would be hurt if the boy chooses someone else. But he could never hurt the boy because of his selfish reasons.
Qiu Chen got the answer he was looking for. He didn't want to hide anything from this man. So, he decided to clear things out.
"Won't it hurt you to let me go?" Qiu Chen asked very seriously like he was double checking something. But Qu Yi refused to answer. He didn't even look back at Qiu Chen.
Qiu Chen sighed and started talking. "Right now, Bai Ling is in love with me. He has to love me deep enough to hurt himself." Qiu Chen chuckled, "Sounds evil? Then perhaps, I am evil. I am not going to love him. But he has to pay me back everything that he caused me to suffer. And he can't unless he also drowns in a hopeless love."
Qu Yi looked at the boy beside him. He had always liked this boy but the now Qiu Chen made him fall for himself head over heels. Forget Bai Ling, he himself is hopelessly in love with this little devil.
"So you know that he likes you? No! the question should be everything is developing as you planned?"
"Well, I didn't plan to explain it to you." Qiu Chen said with a not so innocent smile. "So tell me why are you asking me all these?"
"Seeing him looking at you with eyes like that...... What if you go to him? He was the one....." Qu Yi seemed out of words.
"He was the one I loved for so long? It's all in the past. I was blind then. Never gonna love him again. I think I made myself clear enough. Call the driver in, I am hungry."
After Qu YI dropped him at his house he left. Qiu Chen really thought that the man would confess to him today, but he didn't. The entire conversation with the man pissed him off. Someone has to suffer so he can vent off. Qiu Chen called Xiao Tan and Wen Liu and asked them to come to his house. He was going to go out to have fun, and he needed some company for that.
Xiao Tan picked Wen Liu up on her way. When Qiu Chen camed down upon being notified by the nanny about his friends' arrival he found Wen Liu sitting with a pair of blank eyes. He was so absent minded that he didn't even notice Qiu Chen came. Qiu Chen looked at Xiao Tan ion askance.
"He is shocked to see who you really are." Xiao Tan whispered in reply.
"Liuliu" Qiu Chen shouted approaching his friend's ears.
"Holy f*@k, Qiu Chen!" Wen Liu came back down to earth, "How dare you pretend to be a poor student struggling for life while being a real little prince!"
"Long story, Tantan will tell you later. I asked you guys to come here because I was feeling a little down. Let's go karaoke? Please?" His friends will never say "no" to him, and as for why wanted to go to karaoke? Because he checked the system panel and found out about Tang Feng's little one-sided date with Bai Ling at the karaoke.
When they were about to enter, Qiu Chen turned to his friends and said, "No one should know about my family situation, ok?"
"As you wish, my little highness", Wen Liu found it funny as how awkward this little prince gets concerning his family. Though he was shocked at first, he came around real quick and made fun of Qiu Chen all the way calling him "Little Highness".
It was still early, the two protagonists of Qiu Chen's plan were yet to come. So he really booked a room for the three of them. After about an hour he got a notification of Bai Ling and Tang Feng entering the building from the system panel.
"I gotta go use the restroom" Qiu Chen excused himself. Even if he's late to comeback, these two drunkards would not possibly notice.
So, after exiting the room, Qiu Chen took the roundabout route to the men's restroom so he can 'coincidentally' encounter his two targets.
"Qin Shui" Bai Ling didn't expect the boy here. He couldn't help himself calling his name. Tang Feng looked at Qiu Chen with vicious eyes. He hated this fatty, he hated how Bai Ling pined for him.
Qiu Chen turned around. He looked surprised to see them. Bai Ling saw the boy avoiding looking at him, like he's escaping. This made Bai Ling regret calling him. He was avoiding him for so long. It would definitely make him at loss to be called like this. Tang Feng patted the back of Bai Ling's hand pretending to be generous.
"A-Shui, what are you doing here?" Tang Feng asked with seemingly concern on his face. "Have you come to eat out? But this place is really expensive. Do you have enough money on you?" Tang Feng knew that Qin Shui will snap at this sentence and Qiu Chen acted according his wish.
Bai Ling and Tang Feng heard Qiu Chen whispering something looking at the ground. "What?" Tang Feng asked.
"Whether I have enough money on me or not doesn't concern you." Qiu Chen looked up at Tang Feng, his eyes filled with tears of humiliation and voiced filled with suppressed rage.
"I just asked because I didn't want you to be embarrassed in front of people." Tang Feng acted like he was being bullied by Qiu Chen.
"Haven't you always wanted to see me embarrassed in front of others? Everytime you come like this and act like you're helping me, but in actuality you're just making it worse. And you do it intentionally." Qiu Chen was looking at the floors again. He sounded chocked by tears.
"I really did not. A-Ling was worried about you." Tang Feng couldn't afford being called on in front of Bai Ling, so he tried to shut Qiu Chen up using Bai Ling's name.
"Him? Worried about me? Do I look like a fool?" Qiu Chen suddenly laughed. But his laughter sounded so sad that it was hard for Bai Ling to take it.
"I-.." before Bai Ling could say what he wanted to say there came another voice.
"Xiao Shui? What are you doing here? Who are these people? Are they bullying you? Do you need help?" It was Qu Yu. He came here with some friends which didn't include Qin Shing. Although he knew that it was not real Qin Shui, he saw Qiu Chen as an acquaintance, so he came to help.
Qu Yu sounded so close and familiar to Qiu Chen that it gave Tang Feng an idea that it was Qiu Chen's one of "special" friends.
"Oh, you have company then? I shouldn't have bothered to ask you." Tang Feng sounded awkward as implying something indecent.
"Brother Qu" Qiu Chen greeted Qu Yu, "It's nothing. Something that happens always, you run into people."
"Run into people that makes you cry?" Qu Yu sounded horrifying as he looked at the two people sideways. This guy, nonetheless, is most probably his future cousin-in-law. No one should be able to bully him in front of him.
Before Qiu Chen could say anything, Bai Ling spoke up, "Who are you? What is your relationship with Qin Shui? "
Qu Yu found it funny, "What is my relationship with him? Are you in any position to ask me this?" Qu Yu said as he sent a message to a specific number. "Whatever my relationship him, at least I didn't stand by and watch others making him cry." He looked at Tang Feng while saying last part of the sentence.
Bai Ling was at loss for words. He really didn't do anything when the boy was in a bad shape. He just stood and watched. He couldn't confront the man in front of him.
"Brother Qu, let's leave. I want to leave." Qiu Chen said as his mood was better now after putting Tang Feng at a tough situation.
"Hold on a sec. I still have something to tell him." Qu Yu said, "Bai Ling, right? I have seen lots of people, good people, bad people, but never in my life have I seen someone so spineless as you."
While Bai Ling was astonished how this man knew him hurried footsteps were heard. Tang Feng and Bai Ling turned to see who came.
"Are you alright?" The man didn't even bother to look at the three people standing there and went staright up to Qiu Chen.
"Why are you here? You weren't supposed to be here!" Qiu Chen was really surprised to see Qu Yi.
"Now you're here, take care of your little treasure. I'm off." Qu Yu left shooting daggers at Bai Ling and Tang Feng.
"I am not his little treasure!" Qiu Chen shouted behind his back.
"Came with friends?" Qu Yi asked after making sure Qiu Chen was okay.
"Yes."
"Want to leave now?"
"Yes."
"Let's go the car then."
"But Tantan and Liuliu?"
"I'll arrange it. You go to the car first, I will follow within a minute, okay?" Qu Yi knew that his boy wasn't that fragile. Even this scene might be planned by him. He looked at the two 'culprits' after Qiu Chen left. His eyes were calm, but it shook Tang Feng's knees.
It was this man again, the man who robbed that lovely boy off him. Was this man so good that the boy who was so madly in love with him doesn't even look at him?
"So now you're in love with Xiao Shui? Huh?" Qu Yi asked sarcastically. "Do you think if you fall in love with him now he's gonna choose you? Really delusional!"
Bai Ling didn't know where the courage came from but it made him speak up, "So, is he going to choose you? Are you that good? How long have you known him for? He has been in love with me for years. Do you really think that you're gonna replace me in his heart within a few months?"
"I am not competing with you. It's just you're a fool, and he deserves better. I AM better." Qu Yi left with these words.
Bai Ling also left running out of anger forgetting all about Tang Feng. Tang Feng just stood there clenching his hand into a fist. What does that fatty have that so many men are protecting him like this? And in the eyes of all those men, he himself was just invisible. Now even Bai Ling was chasing after that fatty. He hated it.
When Bai Ling got out of the car he sawsomething he had seen thousands of times but at a different place. The suitedman was holding an ice cream in his hand was feeding the boy in front of him.The boy was looking down at the ice cream and eating with full concentration.The man suddenly poked the biy's nose with the ice cream in a mischievous way.The biy, now with a pink nose, got angry and turned away from the man. He alsosaw the man coaxing the boy into having the ice cream. The man said somethingand the boy laughed out loud really happily, like all those things didn'thappen just now. He saw Qiu Chen getting into the car with the man following him.But right before entering, the man looked back at him and smirked as if asking,"See? Who won?"