Chapter 28: Hurt His Heart

Qin Shi and Zhang Canyang, the protagonists and antagonists of this world, two men with completely different personalities, had Lee Huanhuan trapped on the spot.

Both men were looking at her, waiting for her to give an answer.

“Li Huanhuan?!”

“Sis?”

…

Li Huanhuan’s mind was a bit confused.

She was just sitting next to Dongfang Jiao and the pretty sister, casually eating melon seeds like any other happy onlooker, never expecting that the battle between these two “immature guys” would involve her.

But at this moment, both of them were staring at her, demanding an answer.

It wasn’t just Qin Shi and Zhang Canyang; even Dongfang Jiao and the pretty sister, who had been “watching the show,” were looking at her.

“I…” Li Huanhuan opened her mouth.

She enjoyed being ignored at social gatherings, quietly doing her own thing, and then quickly sneaking away after. She wasn’t used to the feeling of “everyone’s attention” focused on her.

Unless it was close friends.

But clearly, she wasn’t familiar with the people present. Therefore, faced with this situation where no matter what she chose, one of them would be offended, her answer was—

Li Huanhuan quietly took out her phone from her pocket with the hand that wasn’t being held and glanced at the time.

8:30 PM.

Good, it was time for her to go back.

Li Huanhuan breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at the hand that Qin Shi was holding. His hand was beautiful, fair, with defined knuckles. When they first met, Li Huanhuan had thought, “This is a hand that’s perfect for playing the piano.”

Her gaze followed his wrist up to meet his eyes.

When Qin Shi saw her looking, the tension and anger in his eyes faded a little, and a smile started to form on his lips. But the next moment, Li Huanhuan said a bit stiffly, “Sorry, please let go of my hand.”

Qin Shi froze.

A flicker of disbelief passed through his deep, dark eyes.

“Li Huanhuan,” he murmured her name quietly, and then released her wrist.

Zhang Canyang, who had been standing to the side, broke into a brilliant smile when he saw this.

Li Huanhuan took a deep breath, stood up with her phone, nodded at the surprised Dongfang Jiao, and turned to walk downstairs.

“Goodbye, Qin Shi.”

Zhang Canyang raised an eyebrow and waved provocatively at him before stepping toward the stairs.

The pretty sister who had come with him also left.

“Bro?” Dongfang Jiao looked at Qin Shi, trembling.

At this moment, Qin Shi’s face was cold, his expression as frosty as water.

When Li Huanhuan reached the bottom of the milk tea shop, she paused to bid farewell to Zhang Canyang.

With a playful wink, he asked, “Sis, aren’t you going to play with me anymore?”

Li Huanhuan shook her head. “Sorry, it’s too late. I have to go.”

Zhang Canyang was momentarily stunned, then smiled again. “Then why didn’t you make things clear in front of Qin Shi earlier? You made him think that you chose me. You’re so sly, sis~”

Li Huanhuan awkwardly smiled, not offering any explanation.

But Zhang Canyang spread his hands, then slipped them into his suit pockets, still smiling warmly. “Sis, you were just using me to turn down Star, right? Thinking about it, I guess between him and me, you still chose me. I’m happy.”

At this moment, his smile was pure and warm, like that of an angel.

“Sorry, I’ll be going now.” Li Huanhuan didn’t want to say more, afraid Qin Shi would come downstairs.

“Bye, sis~ We’ll talk again when you have time~” Zhang Canyang waved at her with a grin.

Li Huanhuan waved back at him and nodded to the pretty sister beside him, then turned to head toward the bus stop.

“Fox, you’re so disgusting when you smile.”

After Li Huanhuan left, the pretty sister who had been with Zhang Canyang suddenly spoke.

After she said that, Zhang Canyang’s smile gradually faded. His eyes narrowed, and he suddenly looked like a poisonous dagger.

The pretty sister was someone he knew from before.

He had dressed up like this for a photo shoot because he owed her a favor. The two of them didn’t have much of a relationship, and contrary to what Qin Shi had said, they weren’t in a “relationship.”

In fact, he didn’t really like her.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Zhang Canyang gave her a cold look before turning to leave.

Li Huanhuan returned home feeling down.

As expected, her mother, Su Mei, asked about Qin Shi. Li Huanhuan only said they had had a meal together, and then separated because of other matters. Su Mei wanted to ask more, but Lee Huanhuan made an excuse about being “too tired” and “going to shower and sleep” before quickly retreating to the bathroom.

Xiao Jing: “So, you didn’t choose anyone, and ended up offending both?”

Li Huanhuan, dressed in pajamas, lay on her bed and told her best friend Xiao Jing about what happened earlier. Of course, she omitted the names of Qin Shi and Zhang Canyang.

0.0: “What else could I do?”

The little cat, Lord Cat, lay on her small pillow next to her, purring.

Xiao Jing: “Li Huanhuan, your dad is so disappointed in you! In that situation, you actually just walked away? You just left?! Are you crazy?”

Li Huanhuan tapped away at her phone without changing her expression.

0.0: “I think the crazy one is you.”

Xiao Jing: “Don’t interrupt me, listen to me!”

Xiao Jing: “Dad’s silly daughter, now I finally understand why you’ve always been single! According to your story, they were both top-tier handsome guys, right? No matter if it was a matter of pride or not, at least in that situation, any normal person, any woman with even a little bit of interest, would have chosen one of them, right?! But you… you gave up both!”

0.0: “What are you even talking about?”

Xiao Jing: “I’m not talking nonsense. Even if you feel there’s a generation gap with your brother, broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, abs, and a perfect face, enthusiastic, direct, and energetic… Even if we’re not sure about the future, why not give it a try? But look at what you did? No wonder Auntie is always so worried about your marriage and keeps setting up blind dates for you…”

Xiao Jing babbled on for a while.

Li Huanhuan stared at the glowing screen of her phone, lost in thought.

Ten minutes later, Xiao Jing finally stopped talking: “So, what are you going to do? Keep going on blind dates? Meet those strange men who are all weird in their own way? Or choose to stay single for life? Are you never going to get married?”

0.0: “…”

Li Huanhuan turned her head to look at Lord Cat, who was sleeping soundly.

She actually hadn’t made up her mind. Having been single for so long, she had gotten used to her current state. If she had to give an answer, it would be “let it be.” But where was that “fate”? Could she even wait for it? She had no idea.

Maybe when she turned 36, she would still be going on blind dates. By then, she’d probably have already gone on the 1090th one. Lee Huanhuan silently made a devilish joke to herself.

In the end, she could only reply, “Some things, you wouldn’t understand.”

Whether it was Qin Shi or Zhang Canyang, neither of them was meant to be with her. And she only saw Zhang Canyang as the neighbor boy from her childhood.

She still hadn’t found the chance to confirm it with him.

As for Qin Shi…

The protagonist is loved by everyone.

But someone like her, an extra, had no future with him.

Li Huanhuan hated wasting too much thought on things that clearly had no future.

As a best friend, Xiao Jing seemed to read her mind: “You think everything through too much, that’s why life feels boring, and you think dating is dull. But have you ever thought, what if your predictions are wrong? You can’t just know all the possible outcomes without trying, can you? Huanhuan, not everything is predictable.”

Not everything is predictable?

Li Huanhuan looked at the message Xiao Jing had sent her.

Maybe.

She thought.

She was someone who didn’t have many big aspirations. Even though she had “awakened as an NPC,” she hadn’t used the storyline to hitch a ride on the protagonist’s coattails, buy lottery tickets, or invest in stocks to get rich. The only thing she wanted to change was her mother’s fate.

The life she envisioned couldn’t have too many ups and downs. Everything had to be within her control, in her comfort zone. She lacked a spirit of adventure. “Meeting the protagonist Qin Shi” could lead to unexpected turns and complications in her life…

She really didn’t want that to happen.

This was one of the reasons why she had been avoiding too much interaction with Qin Shi and the protagonist team.

Afraid of the unknown?

“Turns out, you’re just a coward,” she stroked Lord Cat’s head, gently rubbing his round cheeks.

“Meow?” Lord Cat, who had been woken up, opened his eyes just a crack, revealing a hint of green.

The cat looked at the bored human, yawned, shut his eyes again, and found a more comfortable position to sleep in.

Maybe her refusal the day before had really embarrassed Qin Shi.

The next day, Lee Huanhuan went downstairs to pick up the cat litter she had ordered online. On her way back, she ran into Qin Shi and his cousin, Dongfang Jiao, who were returning from walking the dog.

“Hi, Huanhuan sis~” Dongfang Jiao greeted her.

“Woof!” The dog, Shaokao, wagged its tail excitedly at Lee Huanhuan.

Li Huanhuan nodded politely.

Only Qin Shi, with a cold expression, ignored her completely. Without even looking at Li Huanhuan, he grabbed the dog leash and walked toward the elevator.

Li Huanhuan’s smile froze on her face.

“Huanhuan sis, don’t blame my brother,” Dongfang Jiao scratched her head and explained for him. “He didn’t mean to ignore you. It’s just that you really hurt him at the milk tea shop yesterday.”

“Dongfang Jiao, come here! Stop standing there mumbling, talking to someone like that! Do you think she’ll care?” In the elevator, Qin Shi shouted coldly.

Dongfang Jiao quickly smiled apologetically at Li Huanhuan, grabbed her bag, and rushed into the elevator.

Lee Huanhuan stood at the entrance of the building, holding the cat litter.

Qin Shi was holding Shaokao, and Dongfang Jiao was inside. His eyes were cold as he stared straight ahead, and before Li Huanhuan’s eyes, the elevator doors closed with a thud.

“…”

Looking at the closed elevator doors, Li Huanhuan suddenly felt a slight ache in her teeth.

It seemed like Qin Shi was really upset with her from yesterday.