TNSFC – Chapter 46

The scarf seemed to tie Gu Shanxue’s body heat along with it onto Que Yining’s neck.

Que Yining’s body tensed unconsciously, her fingers clutching the hem of her clothes.

The scent from Gu Shanxue’s body was carried by the wind to her, a cool fragrance enveloping her.

“Mm.”

Que Yining responded softly, indicating she understood.

A faint blush unconsciously appeared on her cheeks. Que Yining mentally chided herself for reacting like an innocent young girl. She tilted her head up slightly, smiling as she met Gu Shanxue’s gaze.

Que Yining was fair, and the light flush on her face made it look exceptionally warm and soft, tempting Gu Shanxue to reach out and rub it.

But Gu Shanxue immediately recalled the fragment of memory she wasn’t sure was an illusion. Her eyes darkened slightly, and she took a step back.

“Let’s go in.”

“Okay,” Que Yining took Gu Shanxue’s arm. After taking two steps forward and noticing Gu Shanxue wasn’t moving, she turned back to look at her. “Aren’t you coming?”

Gu Shanxue snapped back to reality and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Regarding classical music, Que Yining couldn’t say she loved it. Her initial reason for liking music was simply because it allowed her to relax; she never intended to deeply understand it. It wasn’t until later, when she became a businesswoman, that she delved into the ocean of classical music to absorb more knowledge to cater to others’ tastes.

When she first started learning, it was with a utilitarian purpose. However, art possesses its own unique charm, capable of unconsciously calming one’s heart. Que Yining found herself learning with greater pleasure.

She was very glad she had encountered it, which was why she could now converse so well with Gu Shanxue.

Que Yining felt that to develop romantic feelings for someone, there needed to be a spiritual resonance, shared interests and hobbies, and common topics of conversation.

People might be attracted to those with vastly different personalities, but ultimately, they would end up with someone they resonated with. Que Yining firmly believed this.

While enjoying the music, they didn’t talk much, only occasionally exchanging glances, understanding each other’s thoughts.

Everything was so harmonious and unhurried, the atmosphere unbelievably good. Having dinner together was a natural progression.

After dinner, it was already seven o’clock in the evening.

Que Yining sat in Gu Shanxue’s car and asked if she had to go attend to business next.

Gu Shanxue subconsciously shook her head, then paused slightly.

In the previous two days, she had rushed through her work and rearranged her schedule specifically for today. But after what happened today, she found herself hesitating again, wondering whether to end this meeting early.

She had clearly made up her mind to leave after the concert and dinner, but when Que Yining asked, she still subconsciously shook her head.

Since the action had already been made, Gu Shanxue wouldn’t change her words.

“Really? Then should we go for another stroll? Where would you like to go?”

Que Yining was a little pleasantly surprised; after all, this was unexpected.

She guessed inwardly that Gu Shanxue must not remember last night’s events, otherwise, how could she be so natural now?

Gu Shanxue: “I’m not very familiar with Lu Su City yet, so anywhere is fine.”

“Hmm…” Que Yining hesitated for a moment, then said happily, “I don’t go out often either. Wait a moment, let me ask my friend and see if there are any fun places!”

Que Yining wasn’t very familiar with Lu Su City either, so she immediately called Qiao Yuchu.

But her ever-helpful bestie was doing who-knows-what at the moment and didn’t answer the phone. Que Yining knew she had to call her number two fair-weather friend, Bian Ji’an.

Bian Ji’an, however, answered the phone quickly, his voice lazy as he greeted her.

“What’s up, Eldest Miss Que? Calling me all of a sudden, are you activating the ‘find Gu Shanxue’ tool-person again?”

Bian Ji’an’s voice was loud, and since Gu Shanxue was sitting close by, she looked at Que Yining upon hearing her own name.

Que Yining’s heart leaped into her throat; she had almost forgotten she’d asked Bian Ji’an to inquire about Gu Shanxue yesterday. She quickly said, “It’s not about that. I wanted to ask you, are there any fun places in Lu Su City? I want to go out for a stroll with a friend tonight.”

Bian Ji’an: “There are tons of fun places. What kind of club are you looking for?”

Que Yining: “Not that kind of place. Something more respectable, like strolling around, seeing the sights, that sort of thing.”

Bian Ji’an: “Aiyo, if you’re on a date, you should’ve said so earlier! What’s there to see at night? Go to the Lianxin District. That area is lively at night. There’s a plaza with a beautifully decorated bridge. Take a walk together, it’s super romantic.”

Que Yining: “Okay, thanks. I’ll treat you to a meal later.”

Bian Ji’an: “Oh, right, right, there’s also a very famous bar street over there. If you get drunk, you can do whatever you want…”

Que Yining hung up the phone with a smile. Although Miss Gu was indeed adorable when drunk, she didn’t want to take Gu Shanxue to a bar. Even if she were to get Gu Shanxue drunk, it would have to be when it was just the two of them.

Que Yining gave the address, Gu Shanxue set the route on her navigation, and they headed towards their destination.

Times Square in Lianxin District had always been a popular spot for couples.

Besides the surrounding facilities for eating, drinking, and entertainment, Times Square was most famous for its arched bridge. Its name was Lianxin Bridge, but everyone called it Lover’s Bridge.

Gu Shanxue parked the car, and she and Que Yining got out to walk.

It wasn’t very late yet, and there were still quite a few people on the streets, strolling in twos and threes in the plaza. The various shops were lit up, making the area look particularly prosperous.

Que Yining and Gu Shanxue walked side by side, gradually drawing closer to each other, and then Que Yining took her arm.

As she reached out, her hand unconsciously brushed against the back of Gu Shanxue’s hand. The fleeting softness and warmth made Gu Shanxue’s eyelashes flutter.

They walked quietly along the plaza, surrounded by flickering lights. Que Yining looked up and saw the bridge.

Below was a fountain pool. Lights hidden at the source of the fountain made the water jets change colors, arching around the stone bridge. Looking up, there was a rainbow formed by the lights and water jets. Wind chimes hanging above tinkled with the movement of the wind, exuding a romantic atmosphere.

Que Yining didn’t deliberately pull Gu Shanxue over there, but instead walked slowly around the vicinity.

“Do you find this boring? You might have thought it was some interesting place, but it’s actually just accompanying me for a walk?”

Que Yining tilted her head, looking at Gu Shanxue, Gu Shanxue’s scarf still tied around her neck.

The white puffs of her breath dispersed into the night air, like giving the night a fresh layer of makeup.

She clearly could have chosen more upscale, quiet places to better suit Gu Shanxue’s tastes, but in the end, she still brought Gu Shanxue to the plaza for a walk.

Gu Shanxue shook her head, the curve of her lips barely noticeable.

“Not boring. It’s been a long time since I’ve walked around like this.”

Gu Shanxue’s voice was very soft, some thoughts hidden in her eyes, unexpressed.

“Me too. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a leisurely walk.”

Que Yining truly hadn’t taken such a carefree walk in a very long time. Unexpectedly, in this book, she was living much more freely than Que Yining herself had imagined. And to meet someone who made her heart flutter was an even more delightful surprise.

“Luckily, the wind isn’t strong tonight. But it’s almost the end of the year, so I guess there will be far fewer people here in a few days.”

Que Yining thought about the upcoming New Year. She would definitely have to return to the Que family. Then she could properly meet the original owner’s older brother and second sister and see what secrets lay hidden there.

Gu Shanxue showed no reaction to this, merely responding softly.

Que Yining wanted to say something but held back, not wanting to reveal it now.

The more unexpected it was for the other person, the more pleasantly surprised they would be.

It only took a few minutes for Que Yining to go from holding Gu Shanxue’s arm to holding her hand.

Her hand had been out in the cold and grown chilly. When Que Yining took Gu Shanxue’s hand, Gu Shanxue simply enveloped her hand and put it into her overcoat pocket.

The movement was so smooth that Que Yining was somewhat surprised. She looked at Gu Shanxue’s profile with a hint of excitement, wondering if she had done it intentionally.

But Gu Shanxue didn’t seem to realize how her action might have stirred the heart of the person beside her, simply continuing the topic they had just been discussing.

From classical music to literature, from literature to finance, from finance to market analysis—Que Yining didn’t want to turn this into a business forum, so she quickly steered the conversation to other interests.

Food, travel, flowers, pets—unconsciously, they had strolled in the plaza for two hours and talked for two hours.

It wasn’t the feeling of “a thousand cups are too few when drinking with a confidant,” but rather because the other person was someone she liked, she was willing to listen to whatever she said.

After wandering around the plaza for nearly two hours, Que Yining’s steps naturally led her towards Lover’s Bridge.

She looked up at Gu Shanxue and extended an invitation: “Shall we go up and take a look together?”

Gu Shanxue looked at the couples on the bridge, her eyes, which held hidden worries, growing deeper. She nodded.

This bridge—those who walked it hand in hand had different thoughts, yet they all shared a common destination.

The view of the fountain from the bridge was much better than from below, especially when with someone she liked. This put Que Yining in a very good mood.

But a sudden phone call shattered Que Yining’s good mood.

“Someone tampered with it? Who?”

Hearing what was said on the other end, Que Yining’s voice instantly turned cold, waiting for Li Suyin, who was calling, to give her an answer.

Li Suyin’s voice was relatively calm: “That person hadn’t breached the third layer yet; Xie Yanhuai stopped them. He just called me. I’m heading to the company now to see who it is.”

Que Yining: “I understand. I’ll go right away.”

Que Yining hung up the phone, her expression somewhat grave.

After the Geng Liyun incident, Que Yining and her team had paid even more attention to the protection of their cloud drive data. Xie Yanhuai had even added a third layer of security. But Li Suyin had just said that the intruder had already reached the third layer, indicating their technical skills were definitely not low, not comparable to Geng Liyun’s minor mischief.

What was this? Were they using Geng Liyun as a smokescreen to confuse them?

Que Yining thought they probably weren’t the same group. After all, the Geng Liyun incident had already alerted the enemy. Who would do something so stupid? But Que Yining couldn’t be sure; after all, there were some idiots in the world with peculiar ways of thinking.

Seeing her expression change, Gu Shanxue immediately asked, “What happened?”

Que Yining: “Something came up on my end. I might need you to take me to the company.”

Gu Shanxue knew the situation was urgent and led Que Yining back. “It’s okay, let’s go.”

Que Yining looked at the Lover’s Bridge, which they had only half-crossed, clutching her phone, her mood gloomy.

Don’t let her find out who it was, or she would definitely make that person run back and forth across this bridge five hundred times to pray for her love life!

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