Chapter 141 - If I Could Turn Back Time, I’ll Come to You Out of My Own Free Will (1/2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“May I ask for your courtesy not to say that in front of my fiancée? Even if I were to stay here alone, it’s very inappropriate for you to come looking for me, Miss Yu.” Qi Chengzhi continued coldly, “I only spend my birthdays with my loved ones. Go home, Miss Yu.”
“Fiancée?” Yu Keyao’s smile vanished instantly. Her gaze shifted to Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu’s entwined fingers—the presence of a ring on Song Yu’s ring finger was a glaring sight.
From the ring, Yue Keyao’s eyes then traveled upward to Song Yu’s face. She was almost unable to recognize Song Yu because the latter’s expression was so cold. Eventually, her gaze landed on Qi Chengzhi’s face.
“It’s okay. All I want is to wish you a happy birthday.” Another, much sweeter smile appeared on Yu Keyao’s face with an impudence that seemed to be saying, ‘You might not love me, but you can’t stop me from loving you.’
Qi Chengzhi pulled a long face immediately. His earlier frigidness was considered much more polite compared to the current expression of disgust that he felt toward her.
He glanced at the luggage bag in her hands. “You’ve just reached, Miss Yu?”
“Yeah. I rushed to the hotel as soon as I arrived. The front desk wouldn’t tell me which room you’re in, but they did call the room for me. No one picked up, so I just waited here,” she remarked genially.
Song Yu wanted nothing more than to kick Yu Keyao to the sidewalk. ‘She wants to know Qi Chengzhi’s room number?!’
‘What the hell was she going to do with him if I didn’t come with him?’
‘Shameless!’
Qi Chengzhi looked at Yu Keyao with ridicule, but she was blushing.
Although he looked at her with contempt, there was no shortage of elegance in his facial expression. His withdrawn attitude mesmerized her completely.
Qi Chengzhi then asked her another question, “You haven’t booked a room?”
She shook her head. Word of his birthday had just only reached her, and when she went to Viewpark Residence the day before, she was informed that Qi Chengzhi was out on a business trip. There was no time for her to book a hotel. The remaining tickets for a flight to Paris were first-class seats, yet she still bought one and flew over.
If she did not manage to get a room, would it not be much better because she could just stay with Qi Chengzhi?
She was convinced that he would not just sit around and do nothing if she went up to him when he was alone.
Besides, she was in an unfamiliar place. If she came running to him without a place to stay, would he really be able to turn her away?
Qi Chengzhi smiled and pulled Song Yu to the reception, where he asked how many rooms were still available.
A relatively large number of tourists were present despite it being the off-peak season for holidays and travels. The receptionist checked and confirmed that there were two suites and a standard twin room still empty.
Qi Chengzhi handed his card. “I’ll take all three.”
Yu Keyao blushed severely when the receptionist processed his request. “Big Brother Chengzhi, you don’t need to be so courteous.”
“I’m not being courteous with you,” Qi Chengzhi sneered. “As you can see, all the rooms are booked, so you’ll need to find a room somewhere else.”
“Big Brother Chengzhi, you…” Yu Keyao was in utter disbelief. She thought that he was booking a room on her behalf, but the truth was, he booked all those rooms to prevent her from staying there!
His patience had reached the breaking point. He brought Song Yu to the elevator without waiting for Yu Keyao to finish talking.
The door opened and they went in, but before they were able to press any buttons, Yu Keyao dragged along her luggage bag and tried cramming into the elevator.
Qi Chengzhi’s gaze swept past her while she looked up at him and pleaded miserably, “Big Brother Chengzhi, I’m all alone here in this foreign place and you’ve booked all the rooms. Can’t you let me stay here, just for one night? I made a last-minute decision to fly here just so I could wish you a happy birthday. Are you telling me that I’m getting in your way just because of that?
“I didn’t even manage to get a hotel room. Can’t you let me stay in one of the rooms you’ve booked, since you’ve already booked so many? Big Brother Chengzhi, I’m begging you…” Yu Keyao grabbed his arm and begged him with a tear-stained, pitiable face.
For the first time, Qi Chengzhi looked directly at her, smiling frigidly at the corner of his lips.
He turned to Song Yu and said, “Go to the room and wait for me.”
Yu Keyao burst into a joyous smile. “Big Brother Chengzhi, I knew you wouldn’t let me be without a place to stay.”
Song Yu looked on impassively and knew that Qi Chengzhi had no such intention in mind. His only goal was to get Yu Keyao to leave.
It was likely that he did not want her to see his means of achieving that goal, just like how he did not want to let her see how he dismissed Qi Chengyue some time ago.
Thus, there was no objection from Song Yu, only a nod of conviction. The door opened and Qi Chengzhi made his way out, but she still managed to caress his arm.
He looked back and met her trustful gaze.
Relieved, he smiled at her and led Yu Keyao out.
He did not leave immediately but instead waited until the door was truly closed.
Before the door closed, Qi Chengzhi faced Song Yu with a face full of quiet yet breathtaking emotion. His gaze was gentle, which in turn, tempered his stern-looking facial features.
All those warm expressions faded away as soon as the door closed. It was a face filled with contempt at Yu Keyao.
He took the luggage bag from her and snickered, “Come with me.”
Yu Keyao was unable to decipher the mood behind his smile, but then again, her cogency of thought was eroded whenever she saw him smile. Fully immersed in his handsome face, she followed Qi Chengzhi obediently.
It took the cold night breeze to jolt her back to her senses, where she realized that she was standing outside the hotel.
Qi Chengzhi threw her luggage bag down the flight of steps. It was a sorry sight to see it lying on the ground.
Yu Keyao felt incredibly miserable, just like the sorry sight that was her luggage bag.
She seemed to be recollecting her thoughts when she said, “Big Brother Chengzhi, you…”
“Don’t call me Big Brother Chengzhi ever again. We’re not close. Is there a need for you to call me that just because my mother told you that you could? We’ve only met those few times. Where the hell did that ego of yours come from? I don’t like being too harsh in front of Song Yu,” Qi Chengzhi remarked.
“You must be thinking to yourself that you’re really beautiful, am I right? Miss Yu, even if Song Yu wasn’t here with me today and you had stripped in front of me, I’d still take your naked body and throw you onto the street.”
Yu Keyao did not expect Qi Chengzhi to actually say those kinds of things. Her impression of him had always been that of a reserved man. Though he never said much to her, she felt that it was a consequence of his temperament.
His reserved demeanor coupled with his aloof personality was extremely magnetic, causing her to look at him repeatedly so she could immerse herself in him.
She always thought that he was naturally quiet instead of ignoring her on purpose.
“If you keep looking for me and make both Song Yu and I feel disgusted, I’ll be happy to teach the Yu family a lesson.” Qi Chengzhi stepped forward and looked down at her, allowing her to soak in the image of his heartless face.
Song Yu’s words had prompted him to do away with spectacles—he had not worn them for quite some time. The lack of a barrier from their absence made his dark pupils look even more frightening, especially in the dim Parisian light.
The threat behind his words sent a chill up Yu Keyao’s spine.
“I’ve never been this direct toward you out of courtesy to the Yu family. At the end of the day, Song Yu’s mother is also from the Yu family. She may not be on good terms with the family, but their lineage still runs in her blood. If you keep interfering with her daughter’s happiness, I don’t think Mrs. Song will hesitate to visit your parents.”
“Chengzhi…” Her sentence came to a halt because of Qi Chengzhi’s biting cold admonishment.
“I came all the way here to look for you. Don’t you feel the least bit touched?” Tears welled up in her eyes due to her extreme grief.
“Do I look like I’m touched?” Qi Chengzhi scoffed. “All I feel is hate. I just don’t understand how or where you managed to get such a self-inflated ego. You think I like you? What reason do you have for thinking that way?”
“I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with liking you. How can you be wrong in liking someone?” Yu Keyao offered up her heart, and like the main character from a Chiung Yao play, two streams of tears flowed down from her eyes.
“You can choose not to love me, but you can’t stop me from loving you. How can someone control my heart if I can’t even control it myself?”
“Go ahead and try me. If you ever show your face in front of me again, I’ll personally pay the Yu family a visit. I won’t look for your father; I’ll look for your uncle.” Qi Chengzhi’s expression and voice were equally cold.
He headed back into the hotel once he was done.
Behind him, Yu Keyao’s face turned pale. She was not afraid of her father, but she knew that everything would be put to a stop if Qi Chengzhi were to look for her elder uncle.
She did not forget that Yu Zixiu wanted to mend relationships with Yu Qianying once he had found out that Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu were together. Offending Song Yu was the last thing on Yu Zixiu’s mind.
Yu Keyao disregarded her luggage and hurried over to Qi Chengzhi. “Cheng…”
She still wanted to call him ‘Big Brother Chengzhi’, but his threats had rattled her, and she was unhappy that she needed to address him another way. “Young Master Cheng, are you really just going to throw me all alone here? Paris is really unsafe, and I have nowhere to go. You booked the last three hotel rooms.
“Even if you hate me, how could you have the heart to let me fend for myself out here? Do you hate me to the point where you want something bad to happen to me?”
Qi Chengzhi simply continued making his way to the hotel, ignoring her completely.
Yu Keyao followed him without thinking. All she knew was that she was not going to stay by herself outside, and it was then that she spotted him pausing at the reception.
Joy filled her heart, for she thought that Qi Chengzhi finally realized the cruelty of his actions; as cutting as his words may be, his heart was bound to melt.
Qi Chengzhi seemed to be aware that she was following behind him. He pointed to his back—without turning to look—and told the receptionist, “This person is bothering me. She’s trying to drive a wedge between my fiancée and I. I’m really annoyed and I hope you won’t let her bother us.”
Be it a country in the east or west, the despise toward relationship-wreckers was a hate that had transcended geographic boundaries. The receptionist agreed to it unconditionally and made no attempt to hide her disdain.
Qi Chengzhi then went straight for the elevator.
“Big Brother Chengzhi!” Yu Keyao could no longer hold it in anymore. She wanted to follow him, but two hotel security guards stopped her from going any further.
“Big Brother Chengzhi. I really don’t have anywhere to go. Can’t you just let me stay here for even a night?” Qi Chengzhi was already in the elevator by the time she finished; the door closed and he made his ascent.
The two guards remained within her sight. They did not forbid her from staying in the lobby, but they prohibited her from using the elevator.
Angry and depressed, Yu Keyao began crying with all her might. The hissy fit she threw was identical to that of a little girl who was not allowed to get her toys. She stomped her feet repeatedly and tried grabbing her luggage bag, but the only thing she grabbed was thin air. Immediately, she realized that in her haste to catch up to Qi Chengzhi, she had forgotten that he had thrown her luggage out onto the street.
She walked hurriedly in the direction of the entrance since her high heels prevented her from actually running.
As soon as she went out, she need not even go down the flight of steps to see that there was no luggage bag—it was simply an empty spot where her luggage was supposed to be. Pedestrians were shuttling back and forth on the street.
She rushed down and looked left and right, chancing upon a brown-haired man donning a jacket, cap, jeans, and sports shoes. He was running with her luggage bag in hand.
Her luggage bag was branded, and even if its contents were not worth much, the luggage bag alone would fetch a good price. It would definitely be better if there were branded clothes inside.
“Stay right where you are! Thief!” Yu Keyao blurted out in Mandarin and chased after him, forgetting that she was actually overseas.
A guilty conscience was perhaps the reason for the man’s acute awareness of his surroundings. Yu Keyao’s scream, though unintelligible to him, prompted him to look back. Noticing that Yu Keyao was staring at him, he held the luggage bag and made a run for it.
Yu Keyao did not think twice about running after him. She completely forgot that she was wearing high heels and the road was not very even. A slight misstep and her heel entered the crack between two bricks, causing her ankle to sprain.
A shriek followed her fall, and she instinctively placed her hands in front of her to soften the impact. However, an abrasion formed on her palms as a result of the sudden contact with the ground.
She burst into tears immediately. Her hands and knees were in pain, and her ankle more so.
As she trembled and cried, she tried to stand up, but the pain on her knees and right ankle was too much. She had no energy and could only use one leg to try supporting her entire weight. The heel of her shoe was exceptionally high and so was the front platform—she was just about to try getting up when she fell down again.