"How can you call that being a lickspittle?" Bai Jinze frowned, his irritation with Xu Qingyan almost reaching its peak.
"Does Teacher Bai have any profound insights?" Xu Qingyan was being utterly confrontational.
"Shouldn't a man courageously pursue the girl he likes?" Bai Jinze spoke confidently, "You like her, she doesn't necessarily like you, shouldn't you make an effort?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Qingyan paused for three seconds, took a deep breath, and spoke.
"In the adult world, if the other party doesn't explicitly agree, it's a rejection. Even throwing a stone down a well yields an echo, but you're teaching someone to lick boots for half a year?"
"I can't get through to you, you're just being unreasonable," Bai Jinze's expression changed slightly.
"Huh? What are you talking about!" Xu Qingyan was undaunted, having held back for a long time, "Would a normal person accept gifts from someone without having explicitly accepted the other party's advances?"
"And for half a year, without a hint of response. You can deceive others but don't deceive yourself. What are you talking about, testing, when even if you end up together in the end, can you be content and justified carrying on?"
"If you fought, you'd think, 'I was once a lickspittle.' She would think, 'This is not how he was before, if not for taking pity on him, why would I be with this kind of person!'"
"But, girls are meant to be passive, aren't they?" Seeing Bai Jinze's complexion darken, Song Enya hurriedly came over to smooth things over with a smile, saying.
"It's nice for a guy to be a little more proactive, isn't it? It can be quite romantic when you think about it after getting together."
"Not proactive? Then pursue a different girl who is proactive. There's always some gentle and pretty girl who takes the initiative." Xu Qingyan countered both, "Even if you have a little respect for the other person, you wouldn't string them along, right?"
The barrage of comments flew across the screen in neat rows of white text, "Holy shit, Xu the Mad Dog has gone crazy!", "Thoroughly savage, he's gone mad, ah! I'm gonna turn you all into paste!"
Song Enya's face turned to an embarrassed color from the counter, and she simply lowered her head and kept silent. Bai Jinze's expression was even uglier as he stared at him, unable to utter a word for a long time.
In the end, Bai Jinze tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle and forced a tear of grievance from the corner of his eye.
This utterly distressed the Bai Jinze fangirls in the live stream room; they started to barrage Xu Qingyan with wild, high-powered spam, cursing his ancestors for eighteen generations.
Luckily, the technical team was always monitoring the live stream and silenced the room within half a minute.
This whirlwind of activity came so quickly that for a moment, it almost seemed like it was all just a stunt, until the rooftop candlelight dinner ended in a sloppy and dispirited fashion.
Only then did the online audience realize, this didn't seem to be part of the script.
The moment he entered, he suddenly said, "The chains will be unlocked tomorrow. As long as you stay away from me, those negative comments won't affect you."
Tap tap, there were only his footsteps in the room.
Then, the silver chain stretched taut.
He stopped walking, turning to look back. Pei Muchan stood at the doorway, not coming in, her gaze fixed on him, her face clearly unhappy.
"What's wrong?" he asked, though he knew the answer.
"What did you mean by what you said just now?" Pei Muchan seemed genuinely angry, her voice somewhat cold, "What's this about negative comments affecting me?"
"You don't seem to take negative comments well, I did a quick search on my phone using your name, insomnia... deteriorating condition."
"What does that have to do with you—?" She spoke deliberately, devoid of emotion, a shadow condensed in the depths of her eyes, her gaze somewhat vacant.
"Is everything just what you think? Deciding for me without asking my opinion?"
Pei Muchan was standing in the doorway, her temples throbbing slightly, that restless sense of unease swirling back into her mind, making her afraid to even breathe too hard.
She was all too familiar with this feeling; for half a year, she had been tortured by comments online to the point of being almost inhuman. Always hidden from the light, like withered wood in winter.
Because of long-term insomnia, she had some irregular heartbeat and mild anxiety. But she had gotten used to enduring, like throwing a fiery coal into her heart and slowly smothering it.
She didn't move; Xu Qingyan released the suitcase and walked towards her.
No lights were on in the room; only the light from the corridor illuminated a doorway, enveloping Pei Muchan in fine threads of light.
After she finished speaking, she didn't look at him, as if she didn't plan to exchange another word with Xu Qingyan.
"Pei Muchan," Xu Qingyan called her full name, realizing he shouldn't push too far and decided to coax her.
The moment she was addressed by her name, her body gave a slight shudder. Yet she still didn't want to deal with him, remaining still at the doorstep, perhaps tired of being stared at, she finally said.
"What?"
As she spoke, even she was startled by the slightly hoarse tone at the end of her words. Perhaps due to her displeasure, it now sounded like it had a hint of a sob in it.