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Chapter 40: On the Way

After eating a bit, Ji Xueli finally spoke: “Who’s racing tomorrow?”

“The usual crowd from the circle. You know them all,” Duan Qingyu said while sipping his wine, inexplicably having lost his appetite.

“Is it that racing competition again? You’re still doing that?” Song Ruo frowned. He had clearly promised her he wouldn’t continue.

“Yeah. Just something to do when bored,” Duan Qingyu replied nonchalantly.

Ji Xueli kept asking, “Is it the same group we saw drinking last time?”

“There are a few more people besides them. Even Ji Yanzhou participated during the time you were overseas,” Chengdu said, nodding.

“He races too?” Ji Xueli was a bit surprised. Ji Yanzhou seemed like the serious, uptight type—not someone who’d get into that sort of thing.

“Yeah, but he ended up losing to the Crown Prince,” Chengdu said proudly.

That made sense. Duan Qingyu looked like he owned those kinds of games—how could anyone beat him?

“Is there a prize for first place?” Ji Xueli looked toward Duan Qingyu, suddenly excited.

Duan Qingyu leaned lazily against his chair. “Yeah. 100,000 in cash.”

A hundred thousand? That’s no small sum. Ji Xueli slapped the table and declared, “Alright, then you’re treating us to a feast after you win.”

“Great idea. I’m picking Mudan Pavilion. Gonna make him pay,” Chengdu said, now interested.

So they’d clearly already made plans to go see Duan Qingyu’s race tomorrow. A lot had happened while she’d been gone…

Before, Ji Xueli had assumed she was the heroine, holding the script and everything, certain she could survive just fine. But now… Duan Qingyu, who had never been easy to control, seemed even more unpredictable.

“What if I don’t win?” Duan Qingyu chuckled softly.

“There’s nothing you can’t win—only things you don’t want to win,” Ji Xueli replied, glancing at his calm and confident expression.

Duan Qingyu’s eyelids fluttered slightly, and he quietly looked away. That line… he hadn’t heard it in years.

Chengdu was reminded of a bet they’d made back in high school. Duan Qingyu had lost, and Ji Xueli had said something almost exactly like that.

“Can I come tomorrow too, Qingyu?” Song Ruo interrupted.

Ji Xueli asked with mock concern, “Miss Song, already over your jet lag after just coming back to the country?”

“Jet lag doesn’t conflict with watching Qingyu race,” Song Ruo replied smoothly.

“But we think it does conflict,” Chengdu said bluntly. “With your status, showing up there will just lead to more headlines about you clinging to rich families.”

Her status? Wasn’t Ji Xueli the same? Song Ruo thought.

Chengdu saw right through her and added, “Lili is from a rich family.”

Right in the weak spot. Ji Xueli once again admired how sharp Chengdu’s tongue was.

Song Ruo bit her lip and looked pitifully at Duan Qingyu.

He silently played with his lighter under the table, trying to suppress the odd feeling rising in his chest.

“Chengdu’s just joking. Don’t take it to heart,” Ji Xueli tried to smooth things over. She still had to maintain a decent image in front of Duan Qingyu—after all, Song Ruo was supposedly the female lead.

“I know,” Song Ruo smiled faintly, as if she really didn’t mind.

But in her heart, she had already noted every humiliation from today, courtesy of Ji Xueli and Chengdu.

After dinner, Ji Xueli deliberately squeezed herself between Song Ruo and Duan Qingyu, linking arms with him. “Crown Prince and I are headed in the same direction. I’ll go back with him.”

She’d already given enough face at the table. If she let them have alone time now, how was she supposed to win him over?

“Same direction?” Duan Qingyu raised an eyebrow but didn’t expose her lie.

“Then I’ll take Miss Song home,” Chengdu said helpfully.

Song Ruo looked at them, feeling both anxious and uneasy, but she knew now wasn’t the right time to act. After all, as the heroine, she believed no obstacle could stop her—especially not a mere supporting female character.

Duan Qingyu watched them leave and said, “They’re gone. So when are you letting go of my arm?”

“I wasn’t doing it for her benefit,” Ji Xueli replied, still clinging to him.

“When did you meet her?”

It must’ve been after she started dating Ji Yanzhou. Duan Qingyu lowered his gaze and tossed his car keys to the driver. “I forgot.”

“You forgot that?” Ji Xueli looked at him in disbelief.

“What, you get to forget everything, but I’m not allowed to forget one thing?” Duan Qingyu’s voice grew cold, his eyes sharp.

She hadn’t just forgotten a lot—she’d forgotten everything…

“Whatever. Forgetting’s not a bad thing,” Ji Xueli nodded confidently.

“I’m attending a gala in a few days. You’re the CEO of START Entertainment—you’ll probably be there too, right?”

Duan Qingyu opened the car door for her. At the mention of the gala, he sneered. “That event? It’s just a fancy matchmaking auction.”

“How’s that any different from your little yacht parties?” Ji Xueli shot back with a smile. She was the global ambassador for that luxury brand’s gala. She hadn’t planned to go, but his words brought back memories of their first encounter—at a yacht ball.

Yacht ball…

Duan Qingyu’s expression darkened. He let out a small laugh. “What, Lili wants to go to a yacht ball now?”

“I want you… to not go,” Ji Xueli said seriously, looking straight at him.

You couldn’t play games with someone like Duan Qingyu. Sometimes, you had to be direct.

Her gaze was calm and clear, almost glowing.

It had been so long since he’d seen a look like that. Duan Qingyu slowly raised his hand, his cool fingertips brushing between her brows.

What was that for? Did she have something on her face? Ji Xueli didn’t move.

He quickly withdrew his hand, face expressionless, as if nothing had happened. “The yacht ball happens once a month. This one was delayed, so it’s on the 30th.”

He had to go. It was a choice he made for himself, to break free from the rules. He was Duan Qingyu—he had a soul, his own mind…

“Alright then. I’m going too.” Since she couldn’t stop him, she’d join him. Let’s see who dares to seduce him with her around.

Duan Qingyu thought of her first appearance at the yacht ball. “How did you get in last time?”

Last time? Ji Xueli thought hard. She had forgotten. Who was it who told her she’d meet someone important at that event?

“Someone told me about it,” Ji Xueli said honestly. She wasn’t lying this time.

Duan Qingyu stared at her—her eyes were steady, no sign of deceit. He pressed, “Who?”

The car window was a third open, and the bright streetlights lit his features like scattered clouds—flawless and soft.

Ji Xueli pursed her lips. She really didn’t remember who it was, no matter how hard she tried.

“I think… some rich guy…” she started to make something up—

Suddenly, a blinding light flashed ahead, forcing her to raise her hand to block it.

A cargo truck, like a runaway wild beast, came hurtling toward them at high speed—showing no signs of slowing down.

“Young Master, look out!” the driver shouted, jerking the steering wheel violently—

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