Chapter 128: Chapter 21 Are You Out of Your Mind? To Offend President Sun?_2
"If you hadn’t stopped me today, Brother Nie, I would have been in huge trouble tonight. I’ll remember this favor. If you ever run into any problems in town that you can’t go to your uncle about, just come and find me."
Chen Shicheng felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was like he’d taken a stroll past the gates of hell, narrowly escaping a point of no return. His goddess, his White Moonlight, was wonderful, but one had to be alive to enjoy her. He gazed at her through the thick glass of the door, and a sudden sorrow washed over him as he pictured what she would be like with that other man in the future.
It’s not that my army didn’t try hard enough... It’s just that the enemy has a Gundam.
With that thought, he turned and walked away.
The party was over, and the crowd dispersed. The others were perceptive enough to take their leave. Sun Dacheng went home to pick up his uncle and aunt, leaving only Sun Dasheng and Si Ruoqi. After paying the bill, they walked home shoulder to shoulder.
It was late on the first day of the Lunar New Year. With no vehicles in service, they had no choice but to walk.
"Can you tell me your story?" Si Ruoqi asked suddenly.
"It’s the dismal story of an ordinary man struggling in a big city," Sun Dasheng said. "You can look around and see people like me everywhere. There are countless stories like that online. Are you still interested in hearing it?"
"That’s true!" Si Ruoqi readily agreed.
She had heard countless stories like that while working in Shanghai City, but her interest was piqued simply because it was Sun Dasheng. Since he didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t push. Instead, she changed the subject and began chatting about interesting things that happened in high school.
Sun Dasheng watched her, surprised. Seeing her so animated and smiling as she talked about high school was startling. Is this really the same icy beauty who always had such a cold expression? Could it all have been a facade? But then he remembered that even her good friend, Pang Yan, had quietly told him that her cold façade was the same toward everyone and that he shouldn’t take it personally. She had also said that Si Ruoqi was slow to warm up and urged him to be patient.
What Sun Dasheng didn’t know was that some seemingly aloof goddesses become astonishingly proactive when they meet someone they like. Slow to warm up? Impossible. Once she likes you, she’ll let you know just how fast she can turn up the heat.
At the entrance to her apartment building, Si Ruoqi stopped and gazed at him intently.
"How do I compare to her?"
"Who do you want to compare yourself to?" Sun Dasheng feigned ignorance.
"Oh, come on, you know who." She tried to act coquettishly, but it was clearly an unpracticed skill, making the gesture feel incredibly awkward.
"You’re great, and my girlfriend is great too," Sun Dasheng said. "What’s there to compare?"
His words made Si Ruoqi’s eyes light up. "So," she asked immediately, "do you think I still have a chance?"
Uh... He hesitated. Would it be too cruel to tell her she has no chance? After all, she’s gorgeous. Hurting a beautiful woman’s feelings is practically a sin.
"In matters of love, the order of things is quite important."
It was a tactful rejection. Si Ruoqi understood. Her eyes dimmed.
"If you had met me first, would you have fallen for me?"
"Probably," Sun Dasheng said. "You’re so beautiful. What man could say no?"
"Whether you’re just saying that to comfort me or not, thank you. Good night!"
With that, Si Ruoqi turned and went upstairs.
「A few minutes earlier.」
On the balcony upstairs, an elderly couple stood.
"Old Si, look. Isn’t that our Qi Qi?"
"Let me see... huh, it really is. Who’s that man with her? Could Qi Qi be dating someone?" The old father almost jumped for joy. Of course, had this been ten years ago, he would have rushed down to break the young man’s legs.
But now? His daughter is thirty and has never even had a boyfriend. He couldn’t help but worry. Is there something wrong with our daughter? We heard things are very liberal in the big cities, with all sorts of people... Could Qi Qi have been led astray there?
The old neighborhood was dimly lit, so they couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, only that he was quite tall.
"It really could be true. When have you ever seen Qi Qi act like this before?"
"I wonder whose son he is. Qi Qi has kept it under wraps so well; we haven’t noticed a thing." They had just seen their daughter acting coquettishly, a side of her they, as her parents, had never witnessed before.
"Stop guessing and hurry up and invite the young man inside," Old Si said, about to rush off, but his wife grabbed him.
"What’s wrong?" he asked.
His wife looked grim. She pointed at the man, who had just turned so his face was illuminated by the streetlight, and said, "Look for yourself."
"Ah! Isn’t that the Xie family’s boy?"
"Who else could it be?" Li Qiu’s expression was a mixture of uncertainty and disappointment. It seemed their excitement had been for nothing.
Si Ruoqi was in a good mood, but the moment she walked through the door, she was met with a tense and serious atmosphere. Her parents were sitting on the sofa, waiting for her grimly. Their eyes locked onto her as soon as she entered.
"Dad? Mom? You must be tired after today. Why aren’t you in bed yet?" she asked.
"Sit!" her mother commanded, her expression severe.
Si Ruoqi cautiously sat down, her heart pounding as she wondered what she might have done to upset her mother. Her father beside her also looked displeased. What did I do? Did I commit some terrible crime?
"Dad, Mom, what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?"
"Wrong?" her mother snapped. "What you did wasn’t just wrong, it was stupid! Criminal, even! Do you understand?"