TL: Hua
“He is Ji Qingyu.” Qin Jingrong was waiting for him to ask this question, “He’s the poor student that Ye Rongxu’s mom sponsored, and he used to live in Ye’s house for a while.”
“But he’s not that simple. After embracing the big tree, that is, the Ye family, he started working at the Ye family as soon as he graduated as a secretary for Ye Boxuan. In the past few years, he was sent overseas for training. It is said that Ye Boxuan trained him as an heir.”
“Even Qin Jingxu. If it weren’t for the life-saving grace and the relationship between his mother and Ye Rongxu’s mother, he might not be able to compete with Ji Qingyu.”
He remembered how much his brother hated Ji Qingyu before. If Qin Chaoyan was the person Qin Jingxu hated the most, then Ji Qingyu was definitely the second.
Being able to enter the upper echelons of Ye Group and being personally led by Ye Boxuan to study and make connections were all things Qin Jingxu wanted but didn’t get before, but Ji Qingyu got them.
Of course, Qin Chaoyan is actually being promoted and guided by Ye Boxuan now, except that he didn’t enter Ye Group.
However, Qin Jingrong didn’t know and continued to gloat: “Ji Qingyu is Ye Rongxu’s real childhood sweetheart, and the Ye family treats him like a half son. To be honest, my brother couldn’t compare to him at that time. Most importantly, Ye Rongxu has a good relationship with him. As for you—”
He looked Qin Chaoyan up and down and said in a mean tone, “Seeing that you couldn’t even go to the island with Ye Rongxu this time, I already know what’s going on.”
After that, he left triumphantly.
Qin Chaoyan stood there, his eyes slightly lowered.
He didn’t really believe Qin Jingrong’s words completely, but Ji Qingyu… He had indeed heard of this person before, but he only knew that he was a student sponsored by the Ye family and later became a very capable employee of the Ye Group, but he had never actually met him.
So, he had such a good relationship with the Ye family… or more precisely, with Ye Rongxu?
In fact, one of the main reasons why Qin Chaoyan would notice Ji Qingyu in the photo was that the other party was carrying a somewhat familiar amulet.
Judging from the style, the amulet was very similar to the one Ye Rongxu gave him a few days ago, and it was obviously from Dongshan Temple.
He suddenly remembered that Ye Rongxu had asked for nine amulets at Dongshan Temple and gave one to his grandparents, one to his father, Lin Jiaojiao, one to Chen Jiang, and one for himself, leaving three.
After returning from Dongshan Temple, they went to the hospital to visit Lin Jiaojiao’s mother. Ye Rongxu gave one amulet to his aunt, who had become a vegetable.
A few days ago, the other party gave him one of the last two amulets. So, Ye Rongxu should have the last amulet left.
Qin Chaoyan unconsciously thought of the amulet that Ji Qingyu wore in the photo, and his eyes dimmed.
The last one was given to him?
In fact, Qin Chaoyan had guessed who Ye Rongxu would give the last amulet to. At that time, he thought it would be nothing more than the butler, the caretaker, or the bodyguards at home. In short, he never thought that it would be given to someone he didn’t know.
After careful consideration, the people who were given amulets by Ye Rongxu are all more important in his heart.
Ye Boxuan and others need not be mentioned. Chen Jiang saved Ye Rongxu’s life in the kidnapping case. What about Ji Qingyu? Is he also very important in Ye Rongxu’s heart?
Qin Chaoyan stood at the intersection of tree shadows and streetlights, with an expression that was difficult to distinguish between light and dark.
After a long time, he suddenly took out his mobile phone and opened Moments, but he didn’t see the one posted by Cao Yuxuan.
Holding the mobile phone in silence for two seconds, he suddenly turned around, walked into the living room of the villa, picked up Qin Jingrong, who was lying on the sofa playing games, and said, “Lend me your mobile phone.”
Qin Jingrong was stunned for a moment, thinking: Strange, this guy actually took the initiative to talk to me?
The next second he said arrogantly, “No, why should I?”
Qin Chaoyan didn’t talk to him and directly handcuffed his hands behind his back, picked up the dropped mobile phone, and then his gaze paused slightly.
Qin Jingrong cried out in pain. He didn’t expect that Qin Chaoyan would do this to him when the whole family was having dinner in the dining room. He was shocked for two seconds before he reacted, shouting, “It hurts, Grandma, Qin Chaoyan hit me.”
But Qin Chaoyan had already thrown the phone back and let go of him, saying in a low voice, “I was just playing with my cousin.”
The people who were having dinner in the dining room immediately thought it was just a little quarrel between children.
Qin Qijiang, in particular, was already dissatisfied with his nephew Qin Jingrong’s behavior today. He didn’t return to the family dinner until others were halfway through the meal, and upon returning, he lay on the sofa playing games, completely ignoring his words as the head of the family.
He simply took advantage of the topic and scolded Qin Jingrong.
Qin Jingrong felt a wave of frustration in his heart. He used to throw the blame at Qin Chaoyan like this, but he didn’t expect to be tricked by Qin Chaoyan again today.
Aunt Qin was also dissatisfied when she saw her son being scolded, but in front of the old lady, she didn’t say anything; she just rolled her eyes secretly.
Old Lady Qin sighed. After such a bad meal, she was in no mood to stay any longer. She gave her two sons some words and got up to leave.
Qin Chaoyan was already outside the villa. He stood on the roadside, his shadow lengthened by the streetlights, and the wind rustled his clothes.
The villa was brightly lit, but he appeared particularly lonely.
Looking up at the night sky, he couldn’t help but think of Ye Rongxu, and his heart seemed to warm up a little.
But when he thought of Ye Rongxu, he remembered the photos he had seen on Qin Jingrong’s phone just now. That’s right. Qin Jingrong could see the Moments posted by Cao Yuxuan.
It was obvious that the other party had blocked him on purpose and didn’t want him to see it.
So, what was in those Moments that he couldn’t see, or what he needed to be hidden from him? Ji Qingyu? Amulet?
He had planned to ask Cao Yuxuan on WeChat but eventually gave up the idea.
But at this moment, he suddenly wanted to see Ye Rongxu. He didn’t need to do anything or say anything. He just wanted to lean on the other quietly.
Just like when they were together in the hospital after the kidnapping.
Qin Chaoyan never thought that he was an insecure person.
While thinking, the caretaker had helped Old Lady Qin to the car.
Qin Chaoyan came back to his senses, looked at the old lady, and changed his words without hesitation: “Grandma, I won’t go with you tonight.”
He just looked at the high-speed rail ticket. There are many trains from Jiangcheng to South City, but it takes six or seven hours to go there, and then he has to transfer and take a boat, which takes at least ten hours.
He’s back at the office now, staying up late to work overtime, leaving at noon tomorrow, and with the night off, the earliest he can get to the island is the morning after tomorrow.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but feel more anxious.
But Grandma Qin smiled and said, “So urgent! are you going to see Xuxu?”
Qin Chaoyan was slightly stunned.
Grandma Qin said again, “I saw the photos sent by Old Ye and his friends. Didn’t they go to the island for vacation with Xuxu? But if you want to go, it will take a long time to fly, take a car, and take a boat. And it’s a private island. There is no ferry. You can only ask a private boat to take you there, which is very troublesome.”
Seeing Qin Chaoyan frowning slightly, the old lady changed the subject and said happily, “But don’t worry, just take my private plane tomorrow. It just so happens that Old Ye and his friends invited me to the island to recuperate together. We’re going the same way.”
Qin Chaoyan: “…”
He suddenly realized that this was probably the reason why the old lady asked him to go with her after dinner.
*
Ye Rongxu went around the island on the first day he arrived and then lay down flat on the second day.
Anyway, since he will be staying on the island for a long time, there was no need to go out every day in the first few days. After going to the beach, he likes to lie on a lounge chair on the beach, enjoy the sea breeze, and admire the sea view in front of him. Occasionally, he eats some fruit and drinks coconut juice, feeling relaxed and content.
It’s a pity that he can’t walk; otherwise, he can still walk barefoot on the fine white sand, pick up shells, and dig crabs on the beach. If he’s in better health, he can even go snorkeling to see the colorful coral reefs and beautiful fish on the seabed.
But he can’t go. Cao Yuxuan has already happily gone snorkeling and shooting underwater videos accompanied by professionals.
Ji Qingyu also went diving for a while, but he may be worried that Ye Rongxu will be bored, so he came back after a short while.
Ye Rongxu had been lying down all morning and was indeed a bit bored; looking at the distant sea level, he suddenly wanted to paint.
Thinking of painting, he remembered that he wanted to give Qin Chaoyan a painting on his birthday, but he hadn’t decided what to paint.
Or should he paint Qin Chaoyan himself?
Thinking of this, his urge to paint became stronger, and he hurriedly asked the bodyguard who followed him to go back to get the painting tools.
But after getting the painting tools, he was in trouble again. Qin Chaoyan was not in front of him. What if he didn’t paint like him or looked good if he only imagined it?
But as for the photo…
He took out his phone and searched and found that he didn’t have any photo of Qin Chaoyan. When he asked the other party to send it, he sent a photo of his ID with proper appearance.
Ye Rongxu was speechless for a while, but he felt that Qin Chaoyan was so dull and rigid that if he asked him to take a photo for him, he would probably stand straight with no expression on his face, so he might as well paint flagpoles.
Besides, he hadn’t painted figures for a long time, so he also wanted to find the feeling. Why not… find someone to practice with first?
Ye Rongxu turned his head and looked at the bodyguards standing in a row behind him, wearing the same black sunglasses. He shook his head secretly and then looked at Ji Qingyu, who was also sitting on a lounge chair not far away and enjoying the sea breeze. His eyes suddenly lit up—Isn’t this a ready-made model?
“Brother Qingyu!” Ye Rongxu shouted happily immediately.
“Hmm?” Ji Qingyu turned his head and lowered his sunglasses to look at him.
With a voice so well-behaved, nine times out of ten, it couldn’t be a good thing.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Ji Qingyu was directed to change more than a dozen poses, and finally he could keep still.
Ye Rongxu nodded with satisfaction and promised, “I will try to paint faster.”
However, when looking at Ji Qingyu, all he thought about was Qin Chaoyan. After all, when he thought about the pose, he was always thinking about how Qin Chaoyan would stand.
When he refined the facial features, Qin Chaoyan’s three-dimensional and handsome face appeared in his mind again, and the brush unconsciously followed the picture in his mind. As he painted, the corners of his lips unconsciously rose.
When he came to his senses, he was suddenly stunned. Why did he look more and more like Qin Chaoyan?
He was immediately annoyed and apologized to Ji Qingyu: “I’m sorry, Brother Qingyu, I don’t draw you well.”
Ji Qingyu’s body did not move; only his mouth moved, and his voice was particularly gentle: “It’s okay; I didn’t pay you to draw; just treat me as a plaster model.”
Ye Rongxu was amused and laughed. Just as he was about to tell him that he didn’t need to maintain the posture, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him—
“Xuxu.”
Ye Rongxu was stunned for a moment and turned his head hastily.
Under the broken gold of the sun, Qin Chaoyan stood not far away, looking at him with a smile.
Ye Rongxu blinked, obviously not expecting him to appear suddenly, and murmured, “Didn’t you say you would come on the weekend?”
Qin Chaoyan: “There wasn’t much going on in the company, and after I finished dealing with it, Grandma happened to come here as well, so I came with her.”
As for working overtime all night yesterday, he still has dark circles under his eyes, but he will definitely not say it.
He walked towards Ye Rongxu and saw Ji Qingyu in the distance; his eyes dimmed, and he asked calmly, “Are you painting?”
Ye Rongxu came back to his senses and hurriedly tried to cover the painting with his hands, but he only covered the face of the portrait.
Qin Chaoyan recognized the character’s pose in the painting, then saw Ji Qingyu striking the same pose nearby and immediately understood.
Ye Rongxu also remembered that Ji Qingyu was still modeling for him, so he apologized and hurriedly said, “Brother Qingyu, I’m done; no need to keep posing.”
At the same time, he took a piece of paper and quickly covered the painting.
He planned to give Qin Chaoyan a surprise and didn’t want to let the other party know that he was painting him now.
Qin Chaoyan kept silent until Ji Qingyu approached and then asked Ye Rongxu, “Xu Xu, who is this?”
Ye Rongxu hurriedly introduced, “This is Brother Qingyu, Ji Qingyu, my big brother.”
Then he introduced Qin Chaoyan to Ji Qingyu: “Brother Qingyu, this is Qin Chaoyan, my… cough, my boyfriend.”
His face was slightly red.
Ji Qingyu had recognized him long ago. After all, he had seen the photos of the engagement sent by Grandma Ye.
He slowly extended his hand and said politely, “Hello, nice to meet you.”
Qin Chaoyan’s eyes fell on the amulet tied on his wrist. After a second, he slowly extended his hand and said politely, “Nice to meet you.”
There was also an amulet tied on his wrist with a braided rope.
Both of them looked at the amulet, and then looked at each other; one was silent, and the other raised an eyebrow.
Ye Rongxu looked left and right, always feeling that the atmosphere was a bit strange, and asked, “What’s wrong with you guys?”
After Ji Qingyu raised his eyebrows, he retracted his hand and turned to look at him, smiling, “Nothing.”
He noticed his brother’s fiancée appeared jealous, which made him realize he deeply cared for his brother. This realization brought him both relief and interest.
Qin Chaoyan was silent but also shook his head.
Just as Cao Yuxuan came back at this time, Ye Rongxu hurriedly broke the atmosphere and said, “Since everything’s fine, let’s go back first.”
*
Because Grandma Qin and Qin Chaoyan came, Grandma Ye asked people to prepare a sumptuous welcome banquet. The food was secondary, but the main purpose was to make it warm and lively.
Ye Rongxu felt a little strange. Qin Chaoyan seemed to be more dull this time than before, a bit like before they became a couple, and a bit like he was worried about something.
After dinner and a simple stroll, Ye Rongxu returned to his room. Qin Chaoyan followed him in, and as soon as he entered, he closed the door tightly.
Ye Rongxu listened to the sound of the door closing, and for some reason, his heart skipped a beat.
He turned his wheelchair around, looked up at Qin Chaoyan, and asked, “Do you have something to say to me?”
Qin Chaoyan lowered his eyes; his gaze fell on him, and after a long time, he said, “During the day, you and Ji Qing… I mean Brother Ji…”
“I wanted to paint, so I asked him to be my model.” Ye Rongxu spoke quickly, his heart pounding in surprise. Could Qin Chaoyan have misunderstood something?
Qin Chaoyan nodded, hesitantly: “I know. What I mean…”
He looked at Ye Rongxu again; his eyes flickered but he said: “I mean, do you need me to be a model for you?”
“…Ah?” Ye Rongxu was stunned.
If Qin Chaoyan himself came to be the model, of course it would be the best.
Five minutes later, Qin Chaoyan stood casually by the window with his slender figure, his facial features three-dimensional, and his eyes, looking at Ye Rongxu sitting behind the drawing board, deep and dark.
Ye Rongxu paused with the brush and coughed: “You can smile.”
Qin Chaoyan’s lips curled slightly, and a faint smile came out. He was cold and restrained just now, but now he was suddenly gentle.
Ye Rongxu blushed slightly, lowered his head hurriedly, and said, “Okay, it’s okay.”
He quickly started to paint, trying to drive away the sudden throbbing with painting, but the effect was not satisfactory.
Qin Chaoyan spoke up again; his voice was hoarse: “Do you want to draw the curtains?”
Ye Rongxu didn’t hear what he said at all and nodded randomly.
Qin Chaoyan’s eyes seemed to be getting deeper and deeper, like a bottomless pool of water, but with gentle ripples, always looking at Ye Rongxu.
Ye Rongxu looked up at him from time to time, and their gaze inevitably collided before he quickly lowered his eyes and painted on the paper with the brush.
His ears became redder and redder, and after looking at Qin Chaoyan again, he lowered his head and painted for a long time before looking up again, and then froze.
Qin Chaoyan stood by the window, still in the same posture as before, but two buttons of his white shirt were unbuttoned at some point, revealing the skin around his collar. He looked clean and refreshing, with the uniqueness of a teenager, yet inexplicably forbidden.
Ye Rongxu was stunned, and with a bang, his face exploded with heat.
Qin Chaoyan’s dark eyes looked at him deeply, his voice slightly hoarse: “I heard that when modeling, it’s better to show some skin appropriately.”
Ye Rongxu: “…” Who told you that? Absurd, absurd!
Hua: If you’re wondering why sometimes i used Grandma/Grandpa and sometimes Old Master/Old Lady, it depends on the raw. Author switched between these four terms 老太太/老爷子(more formal) / 爷爷/奶奶 depends on what POV they were addressed.
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