Chapter 7

When those words slipped out of her mouth, the first response Cheng Li received—besides the incessant chirping of cicadas in the summer trees—was the sound of passing cars on the street.

She watched as the man in front of her slowly transitioned from surprise to subtle shock.

Wait a minute…

It was as if the scene froze in time.

Cheng Li’s lost rationality suddenly returned in that instant.

But the words were already out.

She couldn’t see her own expression, but she could feel the heat creeping up her ears, burning fiercely.

Standing still, her mind raced frantically.

What now?

Should she pretend she’d had too much to drink and was just talking nonsense earlier?

The excuse might work, but her mind betrayed her by replaying the humiliating scene from earlier: in the restaurant lobby, Wang Shuyan’s triumphant gaze, Xu Jiheng brushing her hair, and—worst of all—the pitying looks from everyone around them.

By tomorrow, the entire office of Fanhai Intelligent Systems would likely know.

She, Cheng Li, had been cheated on.

Her ex-boyfriend blatantly traded up to someone rich and dumped her.

Everyone would look at her with the same sympathetic and disdainful eyes reserved for a discarded woman.

This was unbearable for Cheng Li, who had always been admired and sought after for over two decades.

Her pride wouldn’t allow it.

In that moment, she clenched her fists tightly, summoning a reckless courage as she looked at Rong Qi. In a calm yet determined tone, she said, “Think carefully about my suggestion.”

Before he could react, she turned around, ready to flee as quickly as possible.

But just a few steps in, a voice from behind stopped her.

“Why are you running?”

Cheng Li froze mid-step.

Why was she running?

Of course, to avoid being outright rejected.

Isn’t there a saying: if you run fast enough, rejection can’t catch up?

But now that Rong Qi had spoken, she had no choice but to stop.

Slowly, she turned to face him. Rong Qi had put his phone away and was now walking toward her unhurriedly. His dark eyes fixed on her as he spoke in a slow, deliberate tone: “Should I take that as you hitting on me just now?”

Under his gaze, Cheng Li felt her scalp prickling. Fine. Think whatever you like.

Since she’d already said it, taking it back now would only make her look worse.

Rong Qi tilted his head slightly, a faint warm glow reflected in his jet-black pupils. As if suddenly understanding something, the corners of his usually impassive lips curled up slightly. “Oh, so that’s how it is.”

What did he mean by that’s how it is?

His cryptic comment left Cheng Li confused.

She explained, “I just thought since we were high school classmates and know each other well, a blind date with someone familiar would be less awkward than with a complete stranger.”

“No need to explain,” Rong Qi glanced at her again. “Having that kind of thought isn’t wrong.”

His seemingly understanding remark left Cheng Li speechless.

If she kept talking, it would only confirm the saying: explanations are just excuses.

But as she looked at Rong Qi’s expression, Cheng Li suddenly realized something.

Could he think she’d been deliberately trying to cling to him all along?

Cheng Li tried to piece together everything that had happened since they’d reconnected.

At the bar, she’d accidentally kicked her shoe into his arms.

Later, her slipper had broken in front of him.

Then she’d used the excuse of returning the slippers to visit his home.

And now, there was what she’d just said tonight.

No matter how she tried to explain it, it was impossible to make it sound innocent.

Even though she genuinely hadn’t had ulterior motives toward Rong Qi before, after tonight, she now came across as a hopeless admirer pining after him.

No.

Admiring him was fine.

But being hopelessly pining? Absolutely not!

Thinking of Xu Jiheng’s actions earlier, anger surged in Cheng Li’s chest once more.

The way he trampled her dignity tonight—she would return it with interest.

She didn’t expect Xu Jiheng to cry and beg for forgiveness, nor would she forgive him.

She just wanted him to know that leaving him meant she’d find someone better.

No—the best.

And right now, Rong Qi was the epitome of “the best.”

At least in terms of looks, physique, and career, Rong Qi utterly outclassed Xu Jiheng.

Clearing her thoughts amidst the chaos, Cheng Li said earnestly, “Alright then, please give serious thought to what I said.”

This time, she didn’t look away, meeting Rong Qi’s gaze head-on, ready for any reaction he might have.

But Rong Qi remained calm, his expression unchanging.

It made sense—he was probably used to girls saying things like this.

At the bar alone, she had seen him turn down three women who tried to hit on him.

Thinking of this, Cheng Li unconsciously straightened her back.

Since the words were already out, even if she was rejected, she had to appear nonchalant.

At least that way, it wouldn’t be too humiliating.

Life, after all, was just a series of failures and lessons learned.

But Rong Qi didn’t respond the way she expected.

Instead of rejecting her outright, he simply stood there quietly, saying nothing.

Was there hope?

Cheng Li felt a sliver of relief. Taking advantage of his silence, she decided to retreat before he could fully process her words. “It’s late, so I won’t bother you any longer.”

“Goodnight.”

After saying this, she turned again, ready to leave.

But Rong Qi suddenly spoke: “Leaving just like that?”

What else could she do?

“Is there something else?” Cheng Li asked, taking a deep breath, exasperated by his leisurely demeanor.

“Can you finish your sentence in one go?”

His slow, deliberate speech was making her heart race uncontrollably.

Rong Qi cast her a sidelong glance, his indifferent yet slightly arrogant tone breaking the silence, “I’ll consider it, but how should I inform you of my decision?”

Inform her?

What is this, an HR hiring process? “Ms. Cheng Li, congratulations on successfully passing the interview to become Mr. Rong Qi’s dating candidate.”

Though she grumbled inwardly, Cheng Li suddenly remembered an important detail.

She took out her phone and offered, “How about we add each other on WeChat first? You can take your time to think it over.”

“Also, didn’t I say I’d treat you to a meal? Once you decide, I can arrange the time and place.”

With this, Cheng Li firmly linked them together.

No matter what, as long as they exchanged contacts and had that meal, she’d have an opportunity.

Rong Qi’s reply was calm and detached: “You’ve thought this through quite thoroughly.”

Of course.

She’d never done anything like this before—people always pursued her.

But looking up at the man before her, with his strikingly handsome and deep-set features bathed in soft light, she couldn’t deny that Rong Qi perfectly fit her aesthetic preferences.

Too bad that back in high school, under Ms. Ling’s strict supervision and her own disinterest in young romance, she had treated Rong Qi as just another classmate.

While other girls fawned over his looks and stellar grades, she had remained indifferent.

Rong Qi’s gaze shifted to her phone, his expression unreadable but tinged with a faint, ironic smile.

Feeling uneasy, Cheng Li muttered, “We can’t exactly use carrier pigeons, can we?”

Then, realizing something, she quickly added, “Don’t worry, I won’t share your WeChat with anyone.”

Given Rong Qi’s current status, plenty of people would love to get their hands on his contact information.

“Open WeChat.”

Following his instructions, Cheng Li opened the app, but just as she was about to bring up her QR code, he stopped her again.

“Not there.”

Huh?

Was he going to open his own QR code for her to scan? That worked too. Cheng Li was about to switch to the scan function when his tone, tinged with exasperation, interrupted her once more: “Contacts.”

Contacts?

Startled, Cheng Li looked up, baffled but compliant.

“Scroll down,” he said.

As she scrolled through her list, a growing sense of unease gnawed at her.

Something felt off.

When she reached the letter “Q,” Rong Qi said, “Stop.”

Cheng Li froze. Rong Qi’s slender, well-defined finger appeared on her screen, lightly tapping a contact named “Qian Li.”

His voice, calm and detached, drifted down again: “That’s my WeChat.”

Cheng Li: “…”

This was so absurd it nearly made her cry for help.

When had she ever added Rong Qi on WeChat?

No matter how much she racked her brain, she couldn’t recall that “Qian Li” was him.

What made it even more embarrassing was that she only realized this after he personally pointed it out. Her earlier remark about being “high school classmates who know each other well” now felt like a slap in her own face.

Worse still, the contact had no special note, meaning that after adding him, she’d never initiated a conversation. She didn’t have the habit of routinely clearing her friend list, so his contact had simply lain dormant in her list.

Cheng Li couldn’t help but think of Meng Yuange. Wasn’t she just lamenting not having Rong Qi’s contact information? If she found out about this, she’d probably want to murder Cheng Li.

“Still can’t remember?” Rong Qi’s slow, measured voice interrupted her thoughts.

Feeling guilty, Cheng Li glanced up and tried to bluff her way out: “Well… turns out we’ve added each other already. We’ve just never chatted, so I didn’t make a note.”

Okay, if she could flip the narrative, she might come out unscathed.

But then, noticing his contact name, she blurted, “Is this your alias?”

Back when internet companies popularized using aliases at work to promote equality and free communication, people would call each other by codenames instead of real names.

“Qian Li”—it was a nice name, rich with meaning: an aspiration to go far.

“It’s not,” Rong Qi replied, his gaze flickering momentarily.

Satisfied with successfully changing the subject, Cheng Li decided not to probe further.

A moment later, she said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head home.”

“Mm.”

Rong Qi gave a faint response.

Cheng Li waved goodbye and turned to leave.

Rong Qi stood still, watching her retreating figure until it faded into the distance.

Just when it seemed she was completely gone, Cheng Li stopped abruptly and turned back.

She appeared surprised to see him still standing there.

Smiling faintly, she waved at him before finally disappearing.

Only then did Rong Qi take out his phone and make a call.

When the other side answered, Rong Qi asked, “Grandma, what exactly is this matchmaking business you mentioned earlier?”

“Did Li Li already tell you?” Grandma, afraid he might refuse, quickly added, “I asked Li Li to help introduce you to someone. You can’t back out now.”

Rong Qi replied with a faint hum.

So it wasn’t about setting him up with her but about her helping him find someone.

Author’s Note:
Rong Qi: My actions never match the stubborn words I say.