Qin Si Ye's voice was cold and sharp as he replied, "I've already warned her and given her a chance. She just didn't know how to cherish it. If I owed her family anything, it was all repaid that night she returned from abroad and got into a car accident. I went alone to save her."
With that, Qin Si Ye turned to leave.
"Si Ye, wait." Qin Xiu Zhi suddenly stood up from his chair, "Your Uncle Meng once saved my life. This time, consider it my plea. Please give the endorsement back to Qi Qi, will you?"
His heart skipped a beat, and Qin Si Ye stopped. After a long pause, he replied, "Only this once."
Meng Qi, filled with excitement, had just hung up Qin Xiu Zhi's call when her phone rang again. She looked down; it was Qin Si Ye. A mix of emotions surged through her, and tears instantly blurred her vision. She quickly swiped to answer, her voice soft as she called out, "Hello? Brother Si Ye."
"Come out for a moment," the man on the other end of the line sounded stiff, laced with a hint of anger and impatience.
Half an hour later, Meng Qi drove to the location Qin Si Ye had specified. A secluded lake, devoid of any people.
"Brother Si Ye." The moment Meng Qi saw his tall, straight figure, she happily ran towards him. He must have changed his mind after Uncle Qin's persuasion and was looking for her to discuss cooperation.
Qin Si Ye turned to look at her, hitting her with a blow right off the bat. "Meng Qi, after a few years, you've become quite capable. You've even learned to complain."
"No, I didn't complain. I was just truly helpless and asked Uncle Qin for help." Meng Qi's heart skipped a beat, and she stopped about two meters away from him.
"Don't think I don't know your little tricks. From the moment you signed the contract with Zhuo Sheng under the stage name 'Yun Wei,' your intentions were impure." Qin Si Ye gazed at her with icy eyes.
"Seven years ago, I rejected you. I also made myself very clear back then. Stop trying so hard."
Upon hearing this, Meng Qi's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Her voice choked as she shook her head continuously. "Brother Si Ye, I've always liked you since I was little. Seven years ago, my parents died in an accident, and the Meng family declined. I knew I wasn't good enough for you then. But over the years, I've been working hard. Now I've become a celebrity renowned both domestically and internationally. Do you still think I'm not good enough for you?"
"Feelings have nothing to do with family background. It's not a matter of being good enough or not. It's that I don't have feelings for you. Meng Qi, after seven years, don't you understand yet?"
Frowning in annoyance, Qin Si Ye suddenly turned away. Meng Qi quickly walked in front of him, tears streaming down her face. She gazed at him tearfully, "Brother Si Ye, I don't believe you have no feelings for me at all. Otherwise, why would you have rushed to my side so quickly that day when I had the car accident, and even personally brought me..."
"That was an emergency. If I had another choice, I would never have done that," Qin Si Ye interrupted her sharply, "In my heart, you've always been like a sister."
Hearing him say that, Meng Qi felt as if her heart had been brutally gouged. Without warning, she suddenly hugged his waist. "No, Brother Si Ye, I don't want to be your sister. I want to be with you. All my efforts these past years have been for you."
Qin Si Ye's body stiffened, and he immediately forcefully knocked away her arms, quickly stepping back two paces. "Meng Qi, don't go too far. I asked you to come here today to make it clear that you and I will never have a chance. If you behave yourself and be proper, we might still be able to interact as siblings. Otherwise, we'll be strangers. As for this endorsement, it will continue on my father's account. But I hope you'll return to Country M immediately after filming the advertisement."
After saying this, Qin Si Ye turned and left without looking back. Her heart sank. Meng Qi shouted hysterically at his retreating back, "Brother Si Ye, do you like Yin Xi that much? Do you know that before, besides Su Cheng Yu, she had another man in Country B, and now she's added an old classmate? A woman like her, with such poor character, flitting around and flirting with everyone, what's so captivating about her that you're so infatuated?"
Hearing this, Qin Si Ye suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned, and quickly approached her.