Chapter 34 So Anxious

  "You go send An An back first." Xi Xi said with a smile, leaning over halfway towards Dong Qi.

  This smile made Chen Yan even more displeased. She had never smiled at herself like this, yet she was smiling so naturally at another person, which made him feel unbearable.

  Dong Qi didn't respond to Xi Xi, but instead raised an eyebrow and looked at Chen Yan, nodding slightly in his direction with a not very friendly attitude.

  "Are you going to introduce us?" Chen Yan said calmly, exchanging a glance with Lu Dongqi before turning back to Xi Xi.

  "What's the introduction? You're not unfamiliar." Xi Xi naturally knew what Chen Yan meant by "introduction", but at this moment, she would rather suddenly come down with rabies and foam at the mouth than introduce Chen Yan in front of Dong Qi: "Hey, this is my boyfriend."

  In her heart, Lu Dongqi had rehearsed the situation countless times and had expected to know his reaction. However, when it was time to face him, she became afraid. Reality was already cruel enough; she didn't want to ignite hope only to have him extinguish it with cold water again and again.

  "You don't introduce, I'll introduce myself." Chen Yank didn't plan to cater to her wishes, the corner of his mouth hooked up, putting on a fake smile. Lu Dongqi was someone from Xia Xixi's past, and also a thorn in Chen Yan's heart, someone he cared about, no one else could touch him.

  "Oh, this is Little Friend Gu Anan." At a critical moment, XiXi pushed AnAn to the front line and seriously introduced her to Chen Yan.

  "Hello, Gu An'an. " Chen Yan squatted down and pinched An'an's little face. "I'm this sister's boyfriend."

  Xi Xi clenched her fists in anger, but was still spoken out by him. She really didn't know where this person got such a strong sense of possessiveness.

  Dong Qi heard this and the hand holding An An's backpack trembled slightly, but quickly returned to normal. His tone remained unchanged: "Alright, you didn't tell me, so you must treat me to dinner later."

  She stood there awkwardly, her expression wooden, nodding like a puppet on strings. This tentative probe was her last trump card; if he showed even a hint of displeasure, she could cling to this faint hope and continue to love him in vain. But he didn't even crack a joke, his tone as usual.

  This green plum bamboo play, originally from beginning to end was her own self-pity. The actor entered the play, but the audience went away in a hurry, without even applauding.

  An'an shrank her neck, she didn't like this brother. When greeting others, there was no smile on her face, as if she were a big grey wolf about to eat people. However, as the bravest child in kindergarten, she wasn't afraid. An'an took a few steps forward, raised her head and puffed out her chest like a little adult, and replied to Chen Yan: "Dong Qi brother is also my boyfriend."

  The child's words dispelled some of the awkwardness, and among the four people, only Chen Yan smiled after hearing An An's words.

  "It's getting late, I'll send Anan back first." Dong Qi took Anan's hand, and the little girl, who was unhappy because she had been ignored by Dong Qi, pouted her mouth, but as soon as he said this, she stuck to him.

  "Be careful on the road." Xi Xi watched as the two figures, one big and one small, walked away into the distance. The sadness in her heart grew larger and larger, and she could no longer grasp that slender figure in the sunset.

  Chen Yan looked at Xi Xi's distracted appearance, the anger in his heart burning to a boiling point. Without caring that they were standing on a busy street during rush hour, he suddenly pulled Xi Xi into his arms and roughly kissed her.

  Her teeth were clenched, giving him no chance to take advantage of her, her lips pressed against his, the atmosphere was not passionate, but angry.

  Chen Yan's lips parted, his hands rested on her shoulders, his eyes burning with intensity, like a raging male lion.

  "Are you satisfied?" Xi Xi sneered, her mocking tone particularly piercing.

  "You care so much about Lu Dongqi?" Chen Yan felt that he had never been so defeated before. This person was standing right next to him, but her heart was filled with someone else. He could feel her emotions and hear the frequency of her heartbeat, yet he couldn't enter her heart.

  "Yes, I'm just thinking of him." Xi Xi said, turned around and hailed a taxi.

  "No." Chen Yan grabbed her arm, the word "no" having two meanings - not allowing her to pay attention to Lu Dongqi, and also not allowing her to leave. But these two meanings, she insisted on violating both.

  "Mind your own business." Xi Xi shook off his hand and slammed the door shut. When she got stubborn, no one could stop her, let alone Chen Yan.

  The taxi sped away from Chen Yan's face, leaving him standing alone in the sunset.

  Even the radiant glow of the sky is tinged with desolation as it approaches its fall, just like Chen Yan's profound and melancholic gaze.

  Lu Dongqi sent Anan back home and waited until after 8 pm before Gu Xiao returned.

  He pushed the door open, and before he had taken a few steps inside, the smell of wine preceded him. Gu Xiao stumbled into the living room, supporting himself against the wall, and saw Dong Qi frowning, asking in surprise: "Haven't left yet?"

  "I'm leaving, leaving An alone at home?" Dong Qi's displeased retort also made Gu Xiao lose his composure. He clearly knew that there were only two people at home these days, yet he still went out and got drunk to this extent. Fortunately, An had been coaxed to sleep by him and didn't see her brother stumbling around like a drunkard, unable to even walk steadily. Otherwise, who knows what shocking thing that precocious little girl would do.

  "My heart aches." Gu Xiao's face showed a bewildered expression, his hair scattered on his forehead, and his eyes gleamed with an eerie crimson. "Lu Dongqi, not everyone is as lucky as you."

  "How did you know I didn't have any troubles?" Dong Qi, who usually had a good temper, suddenly shouted out in anger, startling Gu Xiao and sobering him up by thirty percent.

  "What's always buried in your heart and never said, who can understand you?" Gu Xiao sighed to Dong Qi.

  "Be quiet, go to sleep." Dong Qi realized his mistake and lowered his voice, pulling Gu Xiao down onto the sofa. Two people with their own thoughts sat facing each other.

  "Have one." Gu Xiao pulled out two cans of beer from under the coffee table, opened the tab and handed one to Dong Qi.

  Dong Qi took the wine and snatched the jar from Gu Xiao's hand, "You've had enough to drink." Before he even finished speaking, he gulped down several big mouthfuls.

  "Go on, what is it?" asked Gu Xiao.

  "It's nothing." Only after a can of beer was emptied did Dong Qi utter these two words.

  "You've always been thoughtful and considerate, taking on all the things that are yours to worry about, as well as those that aren't. But have you ever thought that maybe others don't need your care? Gu Xiao looked at his expression and knew he wouldn't get anything out of him, so she just patted his shoulder. "Dong Qi, if there's something on your mind, don't bottle it up, it's too painful."

  "Thanks, but how did it become you consoling me?" He tossed the beer can into a nearby trash can and turned back into the warm and gentle Lu Dongqi, "Tell me about your stuff?"

  "It's all the same, it's always about the band. Now that it's over, everyone can develop freely." Gu Xiao smiled indifferently, with a carefree expression, as if he had never spent every day worrying about the band's development.

  "If there's anything we can help with, just let us know, don't forget, you still have us."

  Sincere words fell into Gu Xiao's heart, adding a few more warmth.

  You, if it weren't for you, I would have compromised with fate long ago. It's just that you, so warm and all, actually took a different path from me long ago.

  A difficult knot between sworn enemies and school belle

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