Chapter 16: She Was the One Who Clung to Him, Yet Now She’s the One Who Suddenly Grows Distant

Luo Xing glanced at Shen Que, then shoved the only phone she had into his hand. "Of course I don't want to," she said. With both hands free, she longed to embrace a gust of liberating wind.

The warm breeze brushed against her, and much of the frustration in her heart dissipated.

“Haven’t you always wanted to go to a bar for fun? Why don’t we invite everyone tomorrow and go together?”

Luo Xing spun around, her eyes opening wide. “Weren’t you the one who wouldn’t let me go? Why the sudden change…”

Shen Que let out a breath of relief. “Well, I’ll be there to keep an eye on you. You’re not allowed to go alone.”

A smile curled at Luo Xing’s lips. “Really? Can we really go? I even want to sing.”

“Uh, maybe save that steel voice of yours for scaring off bad guys in the future.”

“…”

Luo Xing was never one to dwell on things; after the tears and the hurt, she felt much better. She picked up her phone and began to reply to the messages of concern from Ming An and the others.

As she opened the app, she noticed a friend request from someone unfamiliar.

She wasn’t surprised by the friend request itself, but what caught her off guard was that it was from Su Mo.

Should she add her?

Luo Xing showed her phone to Shen Que. “This girl only met me once, and now she wants to add me. Should I accept?”

“A girl?” Shen Que glanced at the screen Luo Xing was holding. “Maybe she needs something. Add her and see.”

Luo Xing tapped accept. “Which bar should we go to?”

Shen Que replied, “Since I’ve agreed, let’s go to the most popular one, so you won’t keep thinking about it later.”

Luo Xing began searching for the most popular bar in Xingcheng District on her phone.

…

Gu Shiyan entered his room, which had once been spacious but was now piled high with gift boxes.

He had many friends, and every year countless gifts were delivered to his home. The previous years’ gifts had all been cleared out and stored in a warehouse, but the ones from this year remained unopened, left up in the attic.

Now, brought down all at once, they nearly flooded his room.

He glanced around idly, considering calling a servant to unpack them and move them to storage.

But his gaze paused on a bright yellow heart-shaped box.

On top was a pink card, with the name Xingxing written in bold.

He scoured his memory, only then recalling the origin of the gift.

Luo Xing had sent him his present a month early. Back then, he hadn’t yet started seeing her. The gift had been received by Li Zhao, who put it in his car.

That had been before he got reported for fighting, before his car was repossessed by Gu Liang, before his cards were frozen, back when he spent his days meeting up with friends.

Gu Shiyan took the box, sank into the sofa, his long fingers gripping the lid, neatly trimmed nails pressing against the ribbon.

Images of Luo Xing and Shen Que flashed through his mind.

‘Is that her boyfriend? So you’ve got a one-sided crush?’

‘They look pretty good together as a couple…’

‘You’re not thinking of swooping in and stealing her, are you?’

Gu Shiyan’s fingertips dug into the edge of the box, and through clenched teeth he spat out those four words: swooping in to steal her.

He had been about to untie the ribbon, but now, in a swift motion, he tossed the entire box aside.

He lit a cigarette and took a hard drag.

Heh, swooping in to steal her.

She was the one who had once chased him relentlessly; she was also the one who suddenly grew distant.

Playing games with him, was she?

Luo Xing…

Gu Shiyan pressed his tongue to his teeth, and the smoke he exhaled shrouded his face in a wispy haze.

No one had ever played him like this before.

Gu Liang liked to say he was a troublemaker, but Gu Shiyan rarely sought out trouble himself.

Even those who didn’t like him, upon hearing his name, dared not cross him.

There was never a shortage of girls who doted on him, who were obedient and attentive.

Luo Xing had been one of them.

He hadn’t thought much of it—Luo Xing had pursued him relentlessly for a whole year, so much so that he couldn’t even remember the names of the girls he’d dated before her.

Gradually, he was always hearing about what Luo Xing had done for him. Whether it was from Li Zhao or Yi Chuan, both had learned the name Luo Xing, and eventually they even tried to set them up.

Luo Xing was beautiful, with a good figure—exactly Gu Shiyan’s type.

But her persistent actions became tiresome, wearing away his initial interest.

In his heart, Gu Shiyan knew there was no way he would ever be with Luo Xing.

Had she really been as fickle as Li Zhao once said, perhaps he would have given it a shot in the beginning.

But any thought of trying vanished when Luo Xing had added all his friends, gotten his home address, and learned all his favorite haunts.

He didn’t like clingy girls.

The turning point had come during that fight, when Li Zhao’s grandmother’s wonton shop had been trashed.

It was clearly a move against Gu Shiyan.

First, over a hundred people had been called to block Li Zhao…

“Shi… Shiyan! Zhao Rong’s been blocking me for two days now. Brother Chuan got people together and fought Zhao Rong for my sake…”

Back then, Li Zhao didn’t even call Gu Shiyan “brother”—they just bonded over cars.

Li Zhao’s family had money, but his elders kept him on a tight leash, so he couldn’t handle it himself.

The other side never actually laid a hand on Li Zhao; they just blocked him and stirred up trouble. The police could do nothing.

Yi Chuan, who’d been a delinquent in high school, called up dozens of people to handle it.

Li Zhao, afraid things would get out of hand, called Gu Shiyan for help.

Gu Shiyan jumped on his bike and sped to the address Li Zhao gave him.

“Gu Shiyan!”

A girl’s voice called out from behind.

With his full-face helmet on, Gu Shiyan looked through the visor and caught sight of a girl in a pale yellow pinafore fading into the distance in his rearview mirror.

Luo Xing had hovered around him for a year—he recognized her instantly.

He didn’t slow down.

Faintly, he heard her shouting something else, but it was unclear.

When Gu Shiyan arrived, chaos reigned in the shadowy alleyway.

It was impossible to tell friend from foe.

He stood at the entrance, the glaring sunlight making it hard to keep his eyes open, a sharp white gleam flashing across his gaze.

Under his tousled hair, Gu Shiyan’s dark eyes glinted.

One hand gripped his helmet tightly, the metallic shell glinting coldly in the sun. Moving with lightning speed, he hurled it at the nearest guy who had just drawn a knife. The helmet arced up and down, muscles taut on his arm with the force.

A dull thud—a heavy impact. The sheer momentum was intimidating, commanding, and powerful; it was as if the air itself froze, and those nearby were left stunned, unable to react.

Blood flowed from the head of the man with the knife, yet Gu Shiyan’s helmet hadn’t even cracked.

Li Zhao, having finished off his own opponents, ran over hurriedly, clutching the now bloodied helmet. “That was expensive…”

The man Gu Shiyan knocked out was Zhao Rong, the troublemaker. With their leader down, the rest of the gang lost their nerve.

Just as Gu Shiyan caught his breath, someone suddenly hugged him from behind, making him sway.

Glancing down at the small hands wrapped around his waist, Gu Shiyan turned to see a girl’s hair tied in a bun.

Only one name flashed through his mind: Luo Xing.

Li Zhao and Yi Chuan quickly subdued the guy who’d just lunged at Gu Shiyan with a knife.

“Gu Shiyan, are you all right?” the girl’s voice trembled, but her arms held him tightly, refusing to let go.