Translator: Henyee Translations   Editor: Henyee Translations
The Qin familyâs villa was very big. At this moment, many guests were gathered in the huge living room to attend Qin Chuâs 18th birthday party. There were also classmates who had prepared gifts and were looking forward to Qin Chuâs appearance.
Li You followed Qin Chu out of the room and walked through the corridor to stand in front of the fence above the living room on the second floor. From above, Li You could see everything. To her surprise, she saw Pei Jingzhou among the guests.
âHeâ¦â Li You pointed at Pei Jingzhou in the crowd.
Qin Chu also looked in that direction. âHeâs here.â
Li You was stunned. She glanced sideways at Qin Chu and followed his gaze down again. Wasnât that Pei Jingzhou? Li You was filled with disbelief, but she still gathered her courage and asked, âIs he the person youâre looking forward to seeing?â
Qin Chu nodded and turned to Li You. âI like him very much. I plan to confess to him tonight.â Hearing Qin Chuâs words, Li You remained silent for a long time. Qin Chu sensed that Li You was in a bad mood and asked, âDo you think I wonât succeed?â
Li You came back to her senses and shook her head. âNo.â After a pause, she said, âYouâre sure to make it.â
Qin Chu smiled gently. âThank you for your approval. I also hope that tonightâs confession will succeed. If it succeeds, this will be the best gift for my coming-of-age ceremony.â
Eighteen, coming-of-age ceremony.
If Cousinâs confession succeeded, this was indeed the best adult gift.
Li You forced a smile. Although she felt a little against her conscience, she still said, âHeâs very good. Cousin, youâre also very outstanding. When youâre together, youâre a strong team. Youâre very compatible.â
âIâm so happy now.â Qin Chu turned to Li You and said, âYou know, I was very nervous at first. I was afraid that the confession would fail and he wouldnât like me. Now that I have your encouragement, I suddenly feel much more confident.â
Li You:
She regretted saying these untrue words.
However, she couldnât tell Qin Chu that she liked Pei Jingzhou too, right? So what if she told her? She wasnât an adult yet, and she wasnât in a relationship with Pei Jingzhou. Pei Jingzhou was single, so anyone could woo him.
He was at the age where he could have a first love. How could he wait two years for her to come of age? Besides, Qin Chu was about the same age as him. In terms of family background, she was suitable.
If Qin Chu really succeeded in confessing to Pei Jingzhou, she would definitely wish him well. Thinking about this, the smile on her lips became even more forcedâ¦
âLetâs go down together.â At this moment, Qin Chu reached out to Li You, planning to hold her hand.
Li You shook her head. âIâm afraid of society. If I walk beside you, a lot of people will look at me later. Iâm sorry. You can go dovvn first. Everyone is waiting for you.â
Qin Chu laughed at her. âYouâre sociophobic? Youâre one of us. Yanyan admires you.â At the mention of MO Yan, Qin Chu realized that she hadnât seen her tonight. She looked downstairs and glanced around. Seeing MO Yan beside her grandmother, she said to Li You, âYanyan is at Grandmaâs side. Iâll go down first. When you come down later, you can go to Grandmaâs side first.â
Li You nodded. âOkay, I understand.â
After Qin Chu went downstairs, Li You stood by the fence and looked down. Amidst the guestsâ laughter and blessings, Qin Chu walked to her aunt and uncle. The students gave their blessings, and the elders praised Qin Chu in all sorts of ways. In the crowd, Qin Chu sparkled like a night pearl. No one could ignore her.
She looked for a long time and suddenly felt as if a gaze was looking at her, following her sixth sense to find the direction of the gaze.
The next second, she met Pei Jingzhouâs eyes.
In the crowd, the young man, Pei Jingzhou, was wearing a white shirt and black pants. He exuded the usual coldness and distance from head to toe.
Qin Zhuoning was standing beside him, and there was a boy on the other side. From this angle, she couldnât see that personâs appearance clearly, but she was sure that he was a very handsome man.
After looking at each other for a moment, Li You gradually realized that when everyoneâs gaze was focused on tonightâs birthday girl, Qin Chu, only Pei Jingzhou looked up at her. She suddenly turned and walked away.
Pei Jingzhou looked away after Li You left the fence.
Qin Zhuoning took two glasses of champagne from the long table beside him and handed one to Pei Jingzhou. âCome, letâs celebrate my sisterâs birthday.
Have a drink.â
Pei Jingzhou did not take it. âNo.â
Qin Zhuoning said, âItâs not like youâre underage.â
Pei Jingzhou replied confidently, âShe doesnât like me to drink.â
Qin Zhuonings lips twitched. âAlright.â Then, Qin Zhuoning handed the champagne to Shen Yihe, who was beside Pei Jingzhou. âCome, letâs drink.â
Shen Yihe took the champagne Qin Zhuoning handed him and the two of them clinked it.
Qin Zhuoning was very happy today and spoke without restraint. He teased Pei Jingzhou, âI really didnât expect you to have the potential to be a henpecked husband at such a young age. What will happen to you in the future? I canât even call you out to drink.â
Pei Jingzhou glanced at Qin Zhuoning. âHenpecked?â
Qin Zhuoning grinned. âDonât tell me you havenât even heard of this term.â
âIâve heard of it,â Pei Jingzhou replied calmly. âMy father is.â
Qin Zhuoning: âNo wonderâ¦â
This birthday banquet was very lively. The happiest person was the birthday girl, Qin Chu. Mr. Qin and Qin Zhuoning would drink all the toasts, so MO Yujin held her daughterâs hand at all times and brought her to meet the guests who came to her birthday banquet.
After the banquet began, Li You was nowhere to be seen.
Li You thought that no one would notice that she was not around, but her grandmother asked, âWhereâs my darling?â
This time, everyone was looking for Li You.
Li You, who was hiding on the villa terrace, did not know that everyone was looking for her. She was bent over, elbows on both hands on the patio fence, looking up for the Big Dipper in the sky. Someone was gradually approaching behind her. She didnât notice until the voice cameâ âIsnât your neck tired?â
This sudden voice shocked Li You. She reacted greatly and looked at the person standing beside her in shock. When she saw that it was Pei Jingzhou, the fear on her face was replaced by the atmosphere. She said angrily, âWhat are you, an important role tonight, doing here?â Pei Jingzhou was puzzled. âAn important role tonight?â
Li Youâs muffled voice said, âIsnât that so?â
Pei Jingzhou reached out and touched Li Youâs cheek naturally. As usual, the two of them did not feel uncomfortable at all. Li You did not dodge. Seeing Pei Jingzhou touch her face, she asked, âIs there something on my face?â
The next second, Pei Jingzhou suddenly leaned over.
Li You didnât move. âWhat do you smell?â
Pei Jingzhou raised his eyebrows and slowly stood up. âYouâre not drunk.â Li You:
Pei Jingzhou said, âThe birthday girl tonight is your cousin. What has it got to do with me?
Li You asked, âCanât you feel it?â
Pei Jingzhou asked her, âFeel what?â
âForget it.â Li You did not want to say anything else and turned to leave.
She took a few steps and heard Pei Jingzhou call her from behind, âLi You.â Li You did not stop. She did not intend to pay attention to him anymore. However, she could not leave. Pei Jingzhou stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. He questioned her coldly, âWhy have you been avoiding me these past few days?â
âAvoiding youâ¦â Okay, she was avoiding him, she admitted. âWhatâs wrong with me avoiding you? I donât want to see you, okay?â
Pei Jingzhou asked calmly, âWhy are you hiding?â
Li You was furious. âWhy donât you know? Itâs all because you didnât tell me that you were home that afternoon. I was waiting in the rain for you to finish your evening self-study, but you werenât there. Your classmate said that you went home early.â
Pei Jingzhou raised his eyebrows. âIn the rain?â
Li You became even angrier. âCanât you get to the point! Although⦠I have an umbrella, itâs still raining, okay?â
âDo you want to know why I didnât tell you in advance?â Pei Jingzhou asked her. Li You blinked. From his tone, it sounded reasonable. Pei Jingzhou snorted coldly, angry and depressed. âThat day, I saw thirteen love letters from different people in your bag. Do you know what it means to accept love letters?â
Li Youâs confidence suddenly choked at this moment. She avoided eye contact.. âUh, listen to my explanationâ¦â