CH 77

Lian Qing followed the two individuals all the way until he saw them stop outside the restroom.

Subconsciously, he touched his face, covered tightly by a mask, and pushed down the brim of his hat. He acted like a passerby, finally turning into the middle aisle, sticking close to the wall.

Hmm, listening at the corner was something he had never done before, but they do it on TV all the time, so there shouldn’t be any problem!

Just as he settled into position, he heard a beautiful and soft voice with a hint of sadness, “Mr. Yu, can you really not accept me?”

As expected! Lian Qing’s excitement surged within a second. He even ignored the slight pain in his back pressed against the wall. The rumored “third person” had finally appeared, and she turned out to be a woman with a particularly attractive figure and an extremely pleasant voice!

Unable to contain his curiosity, he cautiously leaned against the wall and stole a glance. However, that quick glance failed to capture the woman’s face and instead met the smiling eyes of his brother, Yu Wenning.

Lian Qing’s heart immediately pounded like a drum. He jerked his head back, covering his heart that was pounding like crazy, unsure if he had been discovered.

Probably not, he hadn’t fully exposed his head. Besides, in TV dramas, the people involved usually don’t notice. Moreover, he was completely covered, so he definitely wouldn’t be discovered!

What was Yu Wenning laughing about? Was he smiling at that woman?

The thought of this possibility made Lian Qing’s heart bubble with jealousy, as if he had drunk several catties of vinegar. He tried to hold back, but couldn’t help sneakily poking out half of his head to take another peek.

This time, however, their gazes didn’t meet. He only saw Yu Wenning, dressed in a sharp suit, looking cold and indifferent as he faced the woman whose face was unclear. He said in a cold tone, “I’m sorry, Miss Xie, I already have someone.”

“Are you talking about that little celebrity?” The woman’s voice carried a mix of sorrow and disdain.

Yu Wenning’s gaze became sharper as he replied coldly, “To me, he is just my partner, the person I plan to spend the rest of my life with.”

“But he’s a man!” The woman’s voice became sharper. “At the ball two years ago, you were clearly watching me the whole time and even helped me out. Wasn’t that because you were interested in me?”

Yu Wenning seemed a bit confused. After a moment, he asked, “Is that what happened?”

Silently applauding his act of eavesdropping, Lian Qing gave him a thumbs up. Regardless of whether it was true or not, he had to admire his brother’s strong survival instinct!

The woman seemed deeply affected and with a teary voice, she said, “Then, what’s the deal with that little celebrity resembling me to some extent? Were you not attracted to him because he looks like me?”

Her words triggered Yu Wenning’s memory. He chuckled wryly and said, “Miss Xie, you’ve probably misunderstood. I glanced at you more because I thought you resembled someone dear to me. Let me be honest, I met my partner before and have been secretly in love with him for over two years.”

Lian Qing was surprised. His older brother had known him and secretly loved him for over two years?

But how could he have no recollection of it whatsoever!

Or was it possible that he had encountered a clichéd plot twist from a melodramatic TV series—a partial amnesia?

Lian Qing touched his increasingly pointed chin, and it didn’t seem entirely impossible. After all, he had been in a car accident!

Before he could imagine a heart-wrenching, dog-blood drama centered around himself and Yu Wenning, the situation in front of him underwent a dramatic change.

Suddenly, a crisp slap echoed, and Lian Qing’s heart tightened as he looked up. He only managed to catch a glimpse of the slender woman turning around, crying, and preparing to leave.

Without much thought, Lian Qing sneakily extended his foot as the woman passed by his side. However, instead of tripping her, he ended up accidentally kicking himself in the back of the foot.

The woman, preoccupied with her tears, quickly walked away. Lian Qing could only sit in place, holding his foot, taking off his shoe, and breathing heavily against the visible swelling on the back of his foot. He let out a silent cry of pain twice, followed by a couple more audible cries, feeling particularly pitiful and helpless.

He didn’t dare to make a sound, fearing that Yu Wenning would discover he wasn’t at the hospital. However, just because he stayed quiet didn’t mean others would.

Then, a steady sound of footsteps emerged, step by step, getting closer and closer. The sound seemed to match the rhythm of Lian Qing’s anxious heartbeat, making him increasingly nervous.

After a moment, the footsteps stopped. Lian Qing looked at the familiar pair of shoes in front of him, pausing his foot-holding action. Silently, he reached out and picked up the mask he had taken off earlier, intending to put it back on. However, it was clear that he didn’t have enough time.

Yu Wenning’s helpless voice came from above him, “Does it hurt?”

Lian Qing froze for a moment, then looked up at him pitifully and said, “Yes, it hurts.”

Yu Wenning squatted down and carefully examined his foot, feeling a bit sorry for him. He said, “When we get back to the hospital, I’ll have the doctor check it. Hopefully, it’s not a bone or ligament injury.”

Lian Qing nodded sadly and, as he nodded, he remembered something. He let go of his foot and reached out to touch Yu Wenning’s face, saying with concern, “Does it hurt?”

Yu Wenning didn’t mind his hands that had just been holding his injured foot. He asked in confusion, “Hurt? Hurt what?”

“She hit you!” Lian Qing became slightly excited. “You just rejected her, and she hit someone! My ears were ringing from the sound. Does it hurt?”

“No, she didn’t hit me. I dodged,” Yu Wenning quickly explained.

“Ah? Then what was that sound about?”

Yu Wenning blinked innocently. “I dodged, so her hand ended up hitting the wall.”

Lian Qing said, “So, my foot didn’t have to be stepped on!” He felt wronged.

Yu Wenning laughed. “So you intentionally extended your foot to trip her, thinking I was hit, right? Were you trying to avenge me?”

God knows how bewildered he was when he saw this person cautiously extending their foot from the aisle. Even if a girl confessed to him, it wouldn’t make Lian Qing jealous enough to trip her. Did he really think the girl hit him?!

“Yeah! I thought you were inexplicably hit, so I wanted to avenge you. Who knew…” Lian Qing complained sorrowfully. Why did girls always like to wear such high and pointed heels? That one step almost pierced through his foot!

“Serves you right for eavesdropping!” Yu Wenning glared at him, rubbing the swollen area on his foot while asking in a low voice, “Weren’t you in the hospital? You were fine, so why did you run out?”

Lian Qing felt a bit guilty and said, “I went out with Sister Cheng to treat the fans to a meal. We were about to return to the hospital…”

As he spoke, he changed the topic, gaining more confidence, and asked, “But what about you? Sneaking out here for a secret meeting with a beauty…”

“I’m innocent! Weren’t you here the whole time? Didn’t you hear me rejecting her just now?” Yu Wenning looked innocent.

Lian Qing was puzzled. “How did you know I was here the whole time? I was wrapped up tightly… Isn’t this the part where TV shows usually don’t notice?”

“I recognized your walking posture at a glance.” Yu Wenning said indulgently. The first thing he noticed about him was his walking posture and the tightly wrapped attire.

At that time, he wasn’t entirely sure, but when this person couldn’t resist and peeked out, their eyes met like two thieves, and Yu Wenning couldn’t help but smile, confirming that it was his lover.

“TV dramas are deceiving…” Lian Qing sighed from the bottom of his heart, allowing Yu Wenning to help him put on his shoes. He asked, “How come you said you’ve known me for over two years?”

Yu Wenning paused in his action of tying the shoelaces and said after a moment, “I did, in fact, know you a long time ago. However, back then, you didn’t know me.”

“You scared me. I thought I had amnesia!” Lian Qing exclaimed. “So, you fell in love with me at first sight?”

“You could say that.” It was actually much more than that.

The events from back then were somewhat lengthy, and Yu Wenning didn’t want to tell Lian Qing. After all, the person he had saved from the brink of death was him. It was a matter that no longer had any significant impact now, so why bother mentioning it and making Lian Qing feel distressed.

“Hey, that’s quite a situation.” Lian Qing stood up with the help of Yu Wenning, shook his legs, feeling that he could walk. So, while holding onto Yu Wenning, he walked back and asked, “Does that girl really look a lot like me? I didn’t get a good look just now.”

Yu Wenning shook his head. “Not that much alike. When I attended the banquet, I noticed that her eyes resembled yours, so I couldn’t help but take a few more glances. She happened to be bothered by someone, so I helped her out a bit. I didn’t expect her to misunderstand…”

“Well, has she been bothering you for these past two years?”

“Quite the opposite,” Yu Wenning casually replied with a smile. “Two years ago, I was still not as influential. Even if she was interested in me, I don’t think her family would have allowed it.”

In fact, it was much more than that. His business partner mentioned it to him today, saying that Miss Xie had expressed her desire to be with him to her family back then, but not only did they oppose it, they even sent her abroad.

It was only recently that Yu Wenning started to rectify the internal affairs of the Yu Group. He acted swiftly and decisively. It seems that the Xie family realized that the Yu Group was completely in his grasp, so they brought Miss Xie back to the country. The girl who came with his business partner today was brought to see him, reluctantly obeying the orders of her elders.

Perhaps the Xie family’s plan was to have Miss Xie connect with him. After all, in Miss Xie’s and even the Xie family’s eyes, he used to be interested in her. Now, the online pairing of Lian Qing and him by netizens, who bears some resemblance to Miss Xie, gave them an inexplicable confidence.

They probably thought that since Yu Wenning had failed to win Miss Xie’s heart in the past, they specially found someone who looked somewhat similar to him as a substitute. Now that the original protagonist had returned, the substitute naturally had to step aside.

Unfortunately, Yu Wenning had never had any special intentions towards this girl from the beginning.

Sometimes, people really shouldn’t overthink things. Imagination can be a serious illness.

But this Miss Xie indeed bears some resemblance to Lian Qing… Yu Wenning thought to himself, is it just a coincidence?

Lian Qing seemed to have some understanding but was about to ask again when he saw the figures of Cheng Lan and others in the distance. He had to put aside his doubts and greeted them with a smile on his face.

Cheng Lan looked at Lian Qing, then at Yu Wenning, who appeared out of nowhere, with suspicion. She greeted them with a smiling face but wondered in her heart, “Did the little monk really catch someone in the act just now?!”

Little Monk Lian Sang, on the other hand, was very happy to see Yu Wenning. He called him “Brother Yu” in a soft voice and then turned his gaze to his senior brother.

Seeing that his senior brother had empty hands, the little guy frowned, pouted, and unhappily said, “Senior brother, where’s the chicken?”

Lian Qing looked confused. “What chicken?”

Lian Qing, who had probably understood what was going on, said, “…Ah, I didn’t catch a chicken. I only caught you, Brother Yu.”

“But Brother Yu can’t be eaten…” The little guy’s eyes were full of disappointment.

Yu Wenning: “…” So he’s not even worth a chicken?

Cheng Lan and Chen Qi looked around nervously, avoiding eye contact with the couple.

Yu Wenning still had unfinished business to attend to, so he had to remind Lian Qing to stay safe and parted ways with him.

When evening came, the first thing Yu Wenning did after returning was to settle the score: “Tell me, why did you go out when your injury hasn’t healed yet?”

Lian Qing thought guiltily, If you knew I would be going to work in a couple of days, would you just explode on the spot?