CH 17

Xu Juan was always someone who lacked empathy. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand how others were feeling, he was just used to adopting a “bystander’s perspective” for everything, and found it hard to “put himself in their shoes”.

And so, when he liked someone, it didn’t matter to him if they liked him back. As long as their attitude was good, he would continue to be infatuated, because what he really liked was that self-satisfaction. 

Speaking of good looks, Pei Yu was of course especially good looking.

Pei Yu was very refined, he was naive, easily flustered, but strict, sincere and straightforward. Perhaps to the majority of people, these traits weren’t highly sought after in men of society. However, before he was a man, he was first and foremost a person.

With regards to appreciating men and women, Xu Juan had two different sets of standards. But if he were to disregard gender, then he liked people like Pei Yu.

To be honest, when they first got to know each other, he hadn’t given it that much thought. Now that he had, when Pei Yu said he liked him, he was thoroughly moved. So much so that an impulsive thought erupted in his head: “Why must I insist on being a fuckboy? Can’t I just stay with Pei Yu forever?” 

Unfortunately, being a scumbag wasn’t an option, it was intrinsic.

For a person like Xu Juan who only cared about himself, suddenly becoming sentimental was comparable to altering him at the genetic level; It just wasn’t realistic.

But this didn’t hinder Xu Juan’s self-gratification. Once he got into the headspace of his feelings, he had already decided he was going to date Pei Yu for a long time.

Upon first glance, “long-term” was a word full of deep affection. He had never expected he would one day be deep in affection, and couldn’t help but to feel slightly carried away. Indeed, love was a magical force.

In high spirits, he posted a Moment, attached was a picture of Pei Yu, he had managed to take it while they were messing about in bed earlier.

This was a boyfriend photo taken in close proximity; Pei Yu’s face was plastered to the lens, his hair all mussed up by him, a faint flush on his cheeks as he blocked his face with a hand, deliberately obstructing his photo-taking. But his eyes peeked out from between the gaps in his fingers, gazing at him with nearly overflowing mirth.

Xu Juan had fallen into a daze after taking that picture. He wasn’t sure if it was due to his amazing photo-taking skills or because of the heart-fluttering way in which Pei Yu was looking at him. Or perhaps, it was due to both.

After messing about in bed for a while, Pei Yu had gone off to make Xu Juan some noodles for breakfast. 

Xu Juan felt so comfortable lazing around Pei Yu’s home that he didn’t feel like leaving, only going off past noon after freeloading some lunch.

He hadn’t wanted to leave initially, but he hadn’t been properly going to work the past few days, so there were a bunch of things that needed settling back at the company. He had even arranged to meet his sister tonight —— Xu Qingguang left the country to perform last month and was returning today, she had specifically requested for him to pick her up at the airport.

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Only his older sister Xu Qingguang would occasionally chat with Xu Juan, but their sibling relationship was quite artificial. In the past, there was even a joke that came out of it –– Xu Juan had accidentally seduced his brother-in-law, and they had almost hooked up. Only after the deed was done did he find out that the pretty boy was actually his sister’s boyfriend.

Xu Qingguang went mad with rage and went home to tell on him, causing his old man to cancel his card. Thus, Xu Juan spent half a year living like a beggar. From then on, he had harboured hard feelings for Xu Qingguang, always on the lookout for an opportunity to take revenge. Likewise, he expected that Xu Qingguang definitely wanted to take revenge on him as well.

As artificial as their relationship may be, since Xu Qingguang had taken the initiative in wanting to meet up, he was willing to go. Even if it was merely because he wanted to see how Xu Qingguang’s newly-done nose looked “offline”, without the use of beauty filters.

But this wasn’t something Xu Juan dared to say directly. His older sister was widely reputed as a natural beauty of a pianist. Should he dare to expose her, Xu Qingguang would no doubt send him to the Arctic with a kick.

Xu Juan spent the entire afternoon in the office, chatting with Pei Yu on WeChat while he did his work. Once it was time to clock off, he drove to the airport to pick up the beauty of a pianist. 

This time, Xu Qingguang didn’t let him wait too long, he was able to pick up his passenger at seven. The two then left the airport and went to a nearby commercial district to eat.

Xu Juan especially despised eating with his older sister, because this beauty not only wished to eat good food, she also wouldn’t stop whining about losing weight and maintaining her figure, taking a good half a year to pick her order.

However, this was a very unusual day. He watched as Xu Qingguang randomly ticked two strokes onto the menu before handing it off to the server and turning to beam at him.

Xu Juan’s entire back iced over under her gaze: “What’s wrong, jie?”

Xu Qingguang said: “I’ve good news for you. Mom wouldn’t let me say anything, so don’t tell her it was me who told you, yeah?”

“Are you certain it’s good news?” 

“Of course. You’re telling me that finding a wife to marry isn’t good news?”

Xu Juan: “……”

Good, my ass.

Xu Qingguang was obviously finding delight amidst disaster: “It’s, you know, Guo Shao’s younger cousin Yue Xuelin. You’ve met her before, she was at your birthday party last year.” 

“Yeah, I remember.” Xu Juan had never once provoked bossy young ladies like her. Firstly, it was because dealing with princess syndrome was annoying. Secondly, the circle was quite small and their parents were often in contact with each other. If trouble arose, it wouldn’t be good for their reputations.

“What’s Mom playing at?” Xu Juan didn’t get it, “You and da-ge aren’t even married yet, why would she rush me to?” 

“Mom probably wants to hold a grandson.” Xu Qingguang said, “Da-ge is so busy and prioritizes work over everything, where would he find the time to get married and have kids? Although I have a boyfriend, I’ve already said I’m DINK, whoever wants kids can go have their own. Aren’t you the only one left, then?”

Xu Juan: “……” 

Xu Qingguang continued: “In any case, Mom’s just worried about you. She thinks it’s inappropriate for you to always be fooling around and that you should settle down. After all, once your birthday passes next month, you’ll be almost thirty––”

“Twenty six, thanks.”

“Right, what’s the difference? Isn’t twenty six basically almost thirty? You’re not young anymore, do you still think yourself a frivolous youth? You’re constantly indulging in alcohol and living a life of debauchery, aren’t you worried it’ll lead to kidney deficiency?”

“……” 

Xu Juan was irked beyond belief. He just knew Xu Qingguang had only hit him up with bad intentions. He hadn’t even taken a few bites of his food, but he had already been lectured to the point of getting a stomachache.

After much difficulty, he managed to send this great educator away, and got home close to ten.

He had only just parked his car in the garage, yet to get out before he was hit with a sudden impulse to change his mind. He turned around and drove in the direction of Hong Uni.

Arriving at his destination, Xu Juan called Pei Yu from downstairs: “Pei laoshi, have you gone to bed yet?” 

Pei Yu went to bed promptly at ten every night, and he had just fallen asleep not long ago before the call woke him up. But he wasn’t angry, asking: “What is it?”

Xu Juan said: “I’m in a bad mood, wanna see you.”

“What happened?” Pei Yu seemed to have already gotten up, and there were quiet rustling noises from his end.

Xu Juan said: “Nothing happened, I’m just in a bad mood. I’m downstairs, will you come out for a bit, Pei Yu?” 

“How about you come up instead.” Pei Yu’s tone was very gentle, somewhat husky from having just woken up, “Sleep-over tonight. If there’s anything upsetting you, tell me about it?”

“Nope, why don’t you come out? Let’s go somewhere.” Xu Juan said.

“Where?”

“I’ll take you stargazing.” The night was quiet and still in the university town. Xu Juan’s low voice was both romantic and seductive, “At my secret base. Do you want to take a look?”