"She's got a tongue, she just keeps talking. And that limited edition seashell bag, it's so ugly I want to die on the spot. Knowing a few celebrities makes her jump around for three days and three nights, and she's making up all sorts of 'brothers and sisters,' who knows if they're her godfathers or godfathers."
Zhao Xiyin said, "Keep your voice down, it's nothing."
Li Ran has two older brothers who are involved in this industry and are used to seeing celebrities, so her reaction wouldn't be so extreme. Her anger is entirely due to other reasons. Li Ran glanced at Zhao Xiyin a few times, but swallowed her words, ultimately unable to bear bringing it up again, and could only shift her focus to vent her anger.
"Where did this internet celebrity come from? She's clearly a plastic surgery monster. What kind of taste do men who fall for her have? If they can't see clearly, they should go to a top-tier hospital and make an appointment with an ophthalmologist."
As they walked and talked, Gu Heping, who was standing by the door, overheard their conversation.
Gu Heping frowned, but Li Ran was not intimidated. She met his gaze and rolled her eyes at him with a look of disdain.
Gu Heping's gaze fell on Zhao Xiyin, and he smiled warmly and openly, "Xiao west, you went back to Beijing without saying a word. Don't you consider me a friend anymore?"
Zhao Xiyin smiled even more brightly and naturally than him, "No, no, the high-speed train was delayed, I arrived very late yesterday."
"Okay, I'll treat you to dinner another day." Gu Heping didn't dwell on past ties, and stepped aside to make way for him.
Afterwards, the banquet became quieter with the absence of the noisy internet celebrities. However, it wasn't awkward; the wedding banquet still featured plenty of singing and dancing, and everyone's attention remained focused on the newlyweds. Gu Heping chatted with Zhou Qishen, while Li Ran spoke with Zhao Xiyin. The two maintained a proper distance, a parallel line drawn by a mixture of unfamiliarity, a touch of melancholy, and a hint of sympathy from onlookers.
After eating for about twenty minutes, Zhou Qishen went outside to answer a phone call. When he returned, Zhao Xiyin had already left.
Gu Heping poured a bowl of soup in front of him and said meaningfully, "I couldn't keep him here. Drink it; it's good for your heart."
On the way back, Zhao Xiyin took over driving. Li Ran leisurely chewed on xylitol. After the car drove from the side road onto the main road, she asked, "How are you feeling now?"
With sunglasses covering her eyes, only a small part of Zhao Xiyin's face was visible. Compared to the dark lenses, her skin looked clear and translucent.
She smiled and shook her head, a slight curve to her lips.
Li Ran said, "You're just pretending."
Zhao Xiyin still smiled, "If you're divorced, you're divorced. Why are you in such a bad mood? Don't overthink it, or I'll get scared."
Li Ran scrutinized her face for ten seconds, finding no clue. She smiled to herself. Indeed, people come together when they're compatible and separate when they're not; everyone has to keep living their lives even after leaving each other. Li Ran was studying abroad at the time and knew very little about the causes and effects of Zhao Xiyin's short-lived marriage. It was only much later that she learned about seven or eight parts of it.
Protecting one's own people—in Li Ran's eyes, Zhou Qishen must be utterly wicked.
"That Zhou guy is too reckless. If he hadn't intercepted you halfway, you and Meng Weixi would already have a child who's old enough to run errands. It's a good thing I was abroad, otherwise I would have definitely stopped you from marrying him. He's despicable and unforgivable. It's amazing that you could run into him so soon after returning to Beijing."
Despite the criticism and complaints, Li Ran knew that her words were somewhat subjective and carried a degree of personal emotion.
Zhao Xiyin kept smiling, as if she were listening to someone else's story.
Li Ran glanced at her a few times, and seeing that she was calm enough, she felt relieved. "Let's go back to the studio. We have a lot of work to do tonight."
After the wedding banquet ended, Gu Heping helped his sister greet the guests. The private rooms had been booked in advance, with the younger guests grouped together and the older guests grouped together. Classmates and friends were divided into familiar and unfamiliar groups, and everything was arranged perfectly. The bride was extremely grateful to her cousin, but Gu Heping waved his hand and said, "It's nothing."
Back in the card room, there were two lively Texas Hold'em tables, but Zhou Qishen was nowhere to be seen. Gu Heping walked halfway around the private room looking for him when Zhou Qishen called out to him, "Here."
Zhou Qishen took off his suit jacket, revealing a black silk shirt underneath. The lighting was dim, and he almost blended into the leather sofa. Only one sleeve was rolled up, and two buttons on the collar were undone, the two lines running down his skin to his chest, giving him a casual yet wild look.
Gu Heping sat down on the armrest of the sofa, noticed the empty bottle on the table, and asked, "Have you been drinking? Did you bring a driver?"
Zhou Qishen did not answer.
Gu Heping stared at him for a few seconds, then stepped over and sat down next to him, saying, "Let's talk."
Zhou Qishen frowned slightly, but did not refuse.
"Don't tell me you're fine. I saw it all. When I saw Xiyin this afternoon, your single eyelids almost looked like double eyelids."
Zhou Qishen glared at him and said, "Don't be disgusting."
Gu Heping calmed down a bit and sighed, "Xiyin is ruthless enough. She's been gone for over a year. I've been sending her WeChat messages and calling her, and she always has an excuse not to answer or reply. She says the signal is bad, or she's charging her phone—all excuses. That little girl has no conscience."
Zhou Qishen's eyes drooped, and his tone was displeased: "Don't say that about her, she's a good person."
Gu Heping shut his mouth, sighing inwardly.
Zhou Qishen is thirty-two years old this year, not old, but his resume is more legendary than most people's. He had the grades to enter Tsinghua University, but he chose to join the army in the far north. After being admitted to military academy, he gave up his promising future to go into business.
Gu Heping and Zhou Qishen shared a decade-long comradeship. During training that year, they marched across mountains, parachuted, and traversed from the Lesser Khingan Mountains to the Changbai Mountains. Gu Heping lost his footing and tumbled down a slope. Zhou Qishen grabbed him, hooking his left hand around a red pine tree and pulling him with his right, half of their bodies dangling in the air. Below lay a sheer snow-covered cliff, and Zhou Qishen held on tightly, beads of sweat freezing on his forehead. Gu Heping survived, but the minus twenty-degree Celsius temperature frostbitten Zhou Qishen's left arm. To this day, the joint still aches terribly on rainy days.
The two were a true friend who would risk their lives for each other, but to be fair, Gu Heping felt that Zhou Qishen was, at times, not a gentleman.
At least emotionally.
The first time I met Zhao Xiyin was on the fifth floor of the Beijing Club. Meng Weixi led her to the private room to greet her. The two held hands, a truly pleasing sight to behold. Zhao Xiyin was so well-behaved then, pure in her white dress, with gentle eyes and a carefree demeanor, greeting him without any reservations: "Hello, Brother Zhou."
Zhou Qishen's face was indistinct in the smoke, but his gaze was intense, as if something was emanating from him.
Gu Heping understood him; after a few tests, he realized what was going on. At the time, he earnestly reminded him, "Buddy, I'll be frank. If you don't have it, just consider it me being cheeky. If you do, take my words to heart. Meng Weixi is the only son in the Meng family, and he'll have to take over the family business sooner or later. We'll be seeing each other all the time, so mutual benefit is always better than being attacked from both sides. The two kids have been dating for two or three years. No matter what competition Xiao Zhao participates in, Meng Weixi is always by his side. Don't tell me you didn't see how good their relationship is."
"I didn't see it."
Zhou Qishen crossed his legs, examined the newly arrived cigar, and brought it close to his nose to smell it.
Gu Heping's expression immediately turned serious.
But soon, Zhou Qishen added four words: "Don't break up the marriage."
They thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, six months later, Zhao Xiyin and Meng Weixi broke up for some reason. Even more unexpectedly, Zhou Qishen no longer hid his feelings and openly pursued her.
Gu Heping was stunned, but after thinking about it, he finally realized what was going on.
In the six months since he met Zhao Xiyin that night, Zhou Qishen has indeed not been seen with any other women.
Zhou Qishen's pursuit of her was so dramatic that everyone in the industry knew about it. He had a roguish air about him, shamelessly disregarding his status, and his enthusiasm and dedication were almost outrageous. Gu Heping was shocked and said, "Brother Zhou, I used to think you were quite refined and cultured, but now you seem so rough around the edges."