novelraw Chapter 61
Chapter 61
Chapter 61 It wasn’t until a few seconds after the man left that Qin Qing managed to tear her gaze away.
Her attention then shifted to the words he had spoken before leaving.
The girl furrowed her brows. “Wen Yufeng, you—”
Before she could finish her sentence, her phone rang from her pocket, interrupting her.
Qin Qing took out her phone, and upon seeing the caller ID, her expression changed, and she let out a frustrated sigh.
Wen Yufeng’s gaze lowered.
Qin Qing, however, didn’t have time to explain. She quickly answered the call:
“Mom… Uh, I ran into a classmate at the supermarket and chatted a bit longer than I intended. I lost track of time.”
“… I’ll get the fruit and come back soon.”
After explaining for a while, Qin Qing hung up the phone with a resigned look.
Wen Yufeng asked, “What’s wrong? Something at home?”
Qin Qing wrinkled her nose. “I just made up an excuse to buy some New Year’s goods and sneak out. I ended up forgetting about it.”
With that, Qin Qing walked toward the entrance. “I can’t talk to you any longer. I need to hurry to the supermarket— it’s getting too late.”
Just as Qin Qing reached the entrance and had her hand almost on the doorknob, she felt a shadow loom over her from behind.
Qin Qing was taken aback and looked back, only to see the boy leaning over.
The familiar scent wafted into her nose, causing her spine to stiffen.
Wen Yufeng had his hand on the doorknob, and just as he was about to push it open, he noticed the girl’s reaction.
A hint of a smile appeared in his dark eyes.
“What are you afraid of?”
Before Qin Qing could respond, he seemed to understand something and, with a voice tinged with mockery, said,“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I’m just here to see you off.”
“…”
Qin Qing took a breath and looked up at him.
The boy’s dark eyes reflected: the girl’s cheeks were flushed, her pupils wide like a deer’s, her lips slightly pouting with irritation, making one want to…
Wen Yufeng’s gaze deepened.
It was at this moment that Qin Qing spoke, “Wen Yufeng, is this how you send people off?”
Her voice was still soft but gaining confidence. Her pretty almond eyes remained locked with his.
Unfortunately, she wasn’t dealing with someone easy to get along with.
——
Wen Yufeng had already been quite affected by the girl’s appearance. Now, with her soft breath so close, the fierce beast within him felt even more restless.
His throat bobbed slightly.
When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse, his eyes seemed to contain a galaxy of depth.
“Have you ever been sent off like this?”
“…… Now I have.”
“It will happen often in the future.”
“……”
Qin Qing’s eyes widened a bit.
After a couple of seconds, her rationality returned. She quickly turned around in the narrow space between the door and the boy’s chest, ignoring his hand still on the doorknob.
She pressed down on the cool, white hand, using it for support to press the door open, and then, as if burned, pulled her hand back and ducked out from under his arm.
Qin Qing hurried down the T-shaped corridor, like a hunted rabbit fleeing from an eagle.
She turned into the elevator within a couple of seconds.
The boy, watching from behind the door, had dark, slightly flickering eyes.
After a moment, he chuckled softly, left the door open, turned, and walked back into the room, heading for the cloakroom.
As he walked, Wen Yufeng thought with regret and a touch of greed:
… Perhaps, he shouldn’t have let her train so well.
After entering the cloakroom, Wen Yufeng casually grabbed a coat from the coat rack and was about to head out.
But just before he stepped out, he paused.
The next moment, his gaze slowly and meaningfully shifted to a box in the transparent closet nearby.
The box was meticulously wrapped, with the outer ribbon corners adorned with two beautifully cut pink diamonds.
Wen Yufeng walked over, opened the glass door, and took the box out.
After a moment of hesitation, he unwrapped the exquisite packaging without hesitation.
He then opened the jewelry box and took out the bracelet, placing it into his coat pocket.
After taking out the bracelet, a folded, delicate light blue card lay alone inside.
There was a faint scent of perfume lingering on the card.
Wen Yufeng looked at the ornate calligraphy on the card, but his mind was on Wen Jing’s words before he left.
… “People who have settled down are suitable to keep cats.”
Indeed, he was too selfish and too impatient.
Wen Yufeng tossed the blue card and the torn packaging aside and turned to leave quickly…
In the elevator.
Qin Qing, staring at the red changing numbers, was irritated.
It felt like she was staring at someone.
She really couldn’t understand—
In just over half a year, why did it seem like this person had changed so dramatically??
At least six months ago, when they were still unfamiliar with each other, Qin Qing couldn’t have imagined that the aloof Wen Yufeng would say something like what he did when he cornered her at the door today.
Was it a side effect of studying for the college entrance exams?
Qin Qing, puzzled and unable to ignore her concerns, entered the elevator.
The elevator was empty. She turned her back, waiting for the doors to close.
When there was still half a gap, a white hand with distinct joints pressed against the elevator door.
The door reopened. Wen Yufeng walked in.
“……”
The embarrassment that had mostly dissipated returned. Qin Qing took half a step back warily. “What are you doing here?”
“Going to buy some New Year’s goods.”
The tall boy, with his hands in his pockets, looked at the closing elevator doors with a half-smile. He pressed the button for the negative first floor.
Then, taking advantage of his height, he tilted his body to push the girl into the corner of the elevator, his lazy voice saying, “For the sweetie.”
Qin Qing glared at him with a tight-lipped expression but didn’t say anything.
There was really no way to refute.
So, the two of them made it down to the first floor without any further issues.
Qin Qing, not thinking much, stepped out first. However, just after she took a few steps and before she could leave the elevator, Wen Yufeng grabbed her right wrist.
With a pull, her body was forced to lean backward.
Qin Qing gasped and fell into an embrace that seemed to wrap around her completely.
But the person behind her, with a slight lift of his lips, deliberately didn’t stabilize his body, letting the girl’s backward fall push him against the elevator wall.
There was a “thud” as the elevator wall hit, and someone inside groaned.
Qin Qing, initially angry, noticed the boy might have been hurt and forgot to be upset. She quickly turned around and asked, “Wen Yufeng, are you okay?”
“……”
A victorious smile flickered across his dark eyes.
His handsome face, however, showed no sign of it.
After a few seconds of silence in the elevator, Wen Yufeng finally lifted his eyes.
“… I’m fine.”
Before Qin Qing could ask more, she felt the elevator start moving down.
Behind her, the elevator doors opened, revealing the parking lot.
Wen Yufeng led her out.
“Let’s go together, since it’s on the way?”
Qin Qing realized, “… You did it on purpose!”
Wen Yufeng’s gaze lowered, his dark eyes fixed on the girl.
“It really hurts.”
Qin Qing: “……”
A few minutes later, sitting in the passenger seat, Qin Qing frowned and thought— not only had Wen Yufeng changed.
When looked at like that, she couldn’t say a word in rebuttal… she felt like she must be a bit abnormal too.
…………
With the phone call from Li Jinghe urging them, the two didn’t dare delay. Following the principle of swift action, they quickly “scrambled” for New Year’s goods in the chilly supermarket on New Year’s Eve.
Qin Qing hadn’t forgotten to grab two bags of snacks to cover her real intentions.
About an hour later, they returned to the apartment parking lot.
Taking the elevator straight to the 12th floor, Qin Qing thought about the questions she hadn’t had a chance to ask before her mom’s call interrupted her.
She glanced at Wen Yufeng.
“… Why does your uncle always come from… outside?” Qin Qing chose a diplomatic way to ask.
Wen Yufeng’s eyes flickered.
After a two-second silence, he looked up at a corner above the elevator.
Qin Qing followed his gaze and saw her face alternate between confusion and astonishment.
“Your uncle—!?”
From Qin Qing’s reaction, Wen Yufeng guessed that she was off track.
He curled his lips, but there was no smile in his eyes: “It’s not about hiding from others. It’s just that I don’t want the Wen family to know he’s back.”
“……” Qin Qing’s breath hitched.
This was the first time she heard him mention family.
But the tone… was as if he was talking about a stranger.
Or something less than a stranger.
Reflecting on the various pieces of information she had gathered about him, Qin Qing’s vague guesses tangled in her heart.
But whichever it was, it seemed unrelated to words like “happiness” and “joy,” which were still somewhat within reach for most children.
Qin Qing couldn’t help but feel a bit of sadness.
She reached out and grabbed the boy’s sleeve.
Wen Yufeng’s gaze tilted downward.
“From now on, every New Year’s, I’ll wish you a Happy New Year.”
“…” Wen Yufeng’s eyes flickered slightly, “Okay.” He smiled.
Qin Qing was taken aback. Then the elevator door dinged open, and she snapped back to reality, her cheeks flushed as she walked out first.
Wen Yufeng looked at his sleeve, which had been grabbed and still seemed warm, before he stepped out with long strides.
The elevator doors closed behind them, and as they walked one after the other, Qin Qing quickly reached the midpoint of the T-shaped corridor.
Unconsciously, their pace slowed.
Until they stopped.
“Wen Yufeng—”
“Sweetie.”
Both voices echoed in the corridor.
Then their eyes met. Qin Qing couldn’t help but smile with her eyes crinkled.
Wen Yufeng’s hand, previously in his coat pocket, fell to his side as he walked up to stand in front of the girl.
“You go first.”
The night outside blurred the outline of the boy standing backlit. Qin Qing, lifting her face to look at him, felt that the usually uncontainable fierceness about him was softened by the New Year’s Eve night.
Yet, even so, the words from the man before he left, which seemed like warnings or reminders, still echoed in her ears.
Like the drumming of a dark nightmare, making her dry-mouthed and unable to escape.
These suppressed worries were hard for her to ignore. She had tried all night but couldn’t. She had to ask.
Even if she didn’t get an answer, it was better than staying silent.
So, Qin Qing looked at Wen Yufeng seriously and slowly spoke—
“Can you tell me… about the path you mentioned, the one you want to take?”
Qin Qing paused slightly, her eyes showing a moment of struggle.
But she still asked.
“It’s not about the college entrance exams… is it?”