Volume 1 - CH extra 2

In which Qin Zhiyuan regrets opening a certain door. Remember, kids, always knock beforehand when you open doors!!

Volume 1, Extra 2

Qin Zhiyuan absolutely regretted pushing open that door.

Because he had drunk a bit too much, and the celebratory banquet hall was a bit too noisy, he had thought of going outside to get some air. Who knew that the first thing he’d see upon pushing open the door of the roof was the scene of Zhao Xin proposing on his knees.

Today, Zhao Xin’s clothes were very casual; he wasn’t wearing a suit or a tie, so the image of him on one knee looked quite foolish. Qin Zhiyuan also recognized the woman whom Zhao Xin was proposing to; it was the girlfriend whom Zhao Xin had been seeing for more than a year. She had a graceful appearance and a gentle temperament, definitely the paragon of a loving wife and mother.

Right now, she was the luckiest woman in the world.

Qin Zhiyuan stood there, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, as he watched from afar. That woman cried and laughed, her expression changing from shock to happiness. Finally, she reached out a hand and allowed Zhao Xin to put that ring on her ring finger.

Of course, she had no reason to refuse.

Even an outsider like him knew that Zhao Xin was a very responsible man — the commitment he made was definitely for a lifetime.

Perhaps he was far too happy because, when Zhao Xin made to stand, he actually stumbled in a moment of carelessly, almost falling down on the ground. Luckily, his girlfriend was there to support him, and the two people laughed as they tangled together. Their figures under the moonlight really made them look like two halves of a beautiful whole.

After that was the time for sweet nothings.

No matter how sappy the words, it’d feel right when coming from the mouth of one’s beloved.

Qin Zhiyuan let out a small smile and didn’t continue listening in, simply turning around and closing the door behind him. Just like when he arrived, he noiselessly left the roof.

No one knew he had once come to this place.

No one knew that he had witnessed this scene.

And more than that, no one knew that the person he loved… was about to swear ‘until death do us part’ to another person.

The party downstairs was still ongoing. This was a celebratory banquet specially prepared for Zhao Xin because his movie won an award, and as one of the organizers, Qin Zhiyuan naturally couldn’t leave early. Not only that, he still had to maintain his perfect attitude, smiling as he mingled with all kinds of guests.

Qin Zhiyuan had originally been somewhat drunk, and now his thoughts felt even more messy. Everything he saw seemed to come through a haze, as if he was covered in a layer of cotton. In the end, he finally couldn’t keep it up and had to lean against a wall to steady himself, loosening his necktie slightly while also somewhat wearily rubbing at his brows.

At this time, Zhao Xin had also returned from outside, his face somewhat red, his eyes revealing a joyful light that couldn’t be concealed. Of course, his film had just won an award overseas, and his proposal to his girlfriend had also succeeded, so he was clearly pleased in both love and business. Everyone else could also see his excitement and started making a fuss about his going on stage to make a celebratory speech about the award.

Zhao Xin had a difficult time refusing such kindness and could only go up and say some words. He had never been a very articulate person and so was stuck after only a few lines, awkwardly grabbing at his hair and hurriedly calling for Qin Zhiyuan to save him.

Qin Zhiyuan couldn’t help but laugh.

He himself also thought it strange. He was this tired, this weary, yet when that person called his name, how could he still manage to smile? He sucked in a deep breath, tidied up his suit, and bolstered his spirits to go up on stage.

The speech had already long been prepared. Qin Zhiyuan had plenty of experience with these kinds of situations, and he could usually deal with them quite easily. But today he actually kept making mistakes repeatedly. If he wasn’t being absentminded, then he was forgetting words, making a complete mess out of a plain and simple speech, damaging his usual perfect image.

When he stepped off the stage, Qin Zhiyuan discovered that his palms were clenched with sweat and his temples were dully aching. He made a round through the hall and found that everyone was in the heights of their fun. Since he had already greeted all those he should’ve greeted, there wasn’t much else that he needed to do, so he then quietly slipped out of the hotel.

It was already autumn, and when blown by the cold night air, Qin Zhiyuan felt his headache grow in intensity. He wholeheartedly wanted to return home early to rest, but who knew that, when he got into his own car, he’d discover that his chauffeur had already been switched out.

Luckily, it wasn’t a kidnapping attempt.

The person in the driver’s seat turned around, the corners of his eyes curved as he stared back, that handsome face bearing a hard-to-describe, alluring charm — recently, that face had been appearing often on TV and, even more often, in Qin Zhiyuan’s bed.

He was called Gu Yan.

He was a popular celebrity who Qin Zhiyuan personally elevated.

Gu Yan’s face was very beautiful. Although he had no acting skills, he was very good at conducting himself. Of all the people who had come and gone from Qin Zhiyuan’s side, only he had stayed the longest.

Qin Zhiyuan still remembered the first time he saw Gu Yan, in a certain hotel’s hallway. At the time, Gu Yan’s shirt had been a mess, his body bearing all kinds of injuries, cutting an extremely sorry figure. Qin Zhiyuan had reached out a hand to help him and then completely forgotten about the whole thing. What really left an impression on Qin Zhiyuan was their second meeting. The obstinate youth had learned how to smile and had used some inexperienced tactics to seduce him.

Gu Yan’s goal was very clear — fame and fortune, a flourishing popularity in the entertainment circle.

And, fortunately, all of those were things that Qin Zhiyuan could provide.

With this simplest of transactional relationships, they hit it off from the first.

Among all of Qin Zhiyuan’s bed partners, Gu Yan wasn’t the one who was most alluring, but he was definitely the one who knew the most propriety, who understood exactly when to advance or retreat.

So why had he insisted on crossing the line tonight?

Qin Zhiyuan could’ve simply stormed off in a huff, but he was truly too tired and didn’t even have the strength to get angry, so he could only allow Gu Yan to do as the other pleased. Gu Yan first drove to the bar district and, when Qin Zhiyuan said he didn’t want to drink, then brought him to the seaside.

The moonlight was exceptionally beautiful.

Within this quiet night, other than the whispering sounds of the waves, nothing else could be heard.

Qin Zhiyuan knew that Gu Yan wasn’t simply an empty beauty of a flower vase like many others thought but was just as smart as anyone and so had probably already guessed his thoughts. But the other didn’t ask directly and, instead, joked to break up the seriousness, purposefully focusing on unrelated topics.

Qin Zhiyuan thus also superficially replied in kind as he walked along the seawall while holding Gu Yan’s hand.

When the tide surged forth, the rustling sounds of the wind against clothes could be heard, and the splashing of the waves seemed to hold a silver light within. For a moment, Qin Zhiyuan fell into a daze, all kinds of memories bubbling forth in his mind in an instant. He remembered the first time he fell in love with that person in his youth, he remembered the over decade-long love which he dared not speak, he remembered that photo he always kept in that album…

Time was forever stopped in that photo — the eighteen-year-old Qin Zhiyuan loved the eighteen-year-old Zhao Xin.

And even as that time passed, the thirty-year-old Qin Zhiyuan still remained in that same place.

He wasn’t even able to speak aloud about that kind of overwhelming pain.

At least…

At least there was still someone in front of him whom he could hold.

Qin Zhiyuan reached out a hand, tightly hugging Gu Yan from behind, his lips rubbing against the other’s ear.

Gu Yan turned around to kiss his chin, asking with a hoarse voice, “Do you want to do it?”

Qin Zhiyuan found it both annoying yet funny and couldn’t help but give the other a kick. “Why do you always have to ruin the mood?”

Gu Yan chuckled. “It’s fine to try it outside once in a while. It’ll definitely be thrilling.”

After a pause, he again lowered his voice to say, “It wasn’t like I wanted to force you to reveal your thoughts.”

Qin Zhiyuan stiffened and, immediately afterwards, heard Gu Yan say, “I simply wanted to be with you like this for the night.”

Within the gurgling sounds of the water, Gu Yan’s voice was very, very quiet, almost too quiet to be heard, but Qin Zhiyuan actually tightened his grip around the other’s waist. The two people’s bodies were stuck this close together, and both of their breathing could be easily heard, giving the illusion of tender feelings.

Qin Zhiyuan didn’t know if Gu Yan’s words had moved his heart.

Actually, how could he, Qin Zhiyuan, lack anyone by his side? He was the young master of the Qin conglomerate. Power, money, women… what couldn’t he obtain? The only thing he couldn’t obtain was that person he loved.

Just that one thing.

Qin Zhiyuan lowered his head, resting his chin on Gu Yan’s shoulders, his churning mind actually conjuring up that image of Zhao Xin kneeling to propose. That person’s smile was full of sweet happiness, and that kind of joy didn’t have a single thing to do with him from beginning to end.

He should let go.

He clearly knew that he wouldn’t succeed, so why should he continue to torment himself?

He was suddenly eager to find another person to love. Anyone would do — anyone surnamed Gu, or Zhang, or Wang was fine — and their appearance or disposition wasn’t important either. It didn’t even matter if they were bought and paid for.

He simply wanted that person, like the Gu Yan right at this moment, to stay calmly and quietly by his side.

Qin Zhiyuan is a fool, but I also think Zhao Xin is right to call him really pure and innocent LOL. I’ll probably talk about this more once we get to the last chapter.

Also, I think this is the first time we get confirmation that Qin Zhiyuan is exactly thirty years old? Previous lines had said “a little over thirty” which could mean anything from a few months past thirty to a few years. But now we know that he’s just two years older than Gu Yan! Wow, you’d think they’d have a bigger age difference with their relationship, but I actually like that they’re very close in age, haha. It explains a lot about Qin Zhiyuan, actually.