Chapter 23

Consideration

On the resting bench on the third floor of the shopping mall, Lin Qianyou was sitting with a cup of cookie ice cream, waiting for Ke Siyu, who was still in the bathroom dealing with a stomach upset.

Lin Qianyou had grown impatient. She sent her a WeChat message: “It’s been almost half an hour, are you done yet? My ice cream is almost finished.”

Ke Siyu replied immediately: “People have their needs, I’m almost done, just go ahead and browse for a bit, I’ll message you when I’m ready.”

Lin Qianyou replied “Okay,” put her mask back on, and prepared to go explore on her own.

As she walked to the elevator, she suddenly heard a commotion, as if people were arguing.

Lin Qianyou loved to join the excitement, so she squeezed her way into the crowd of onlookers.

It turned out to be two couples having a heated argument. They were both shouting at each other, and one of the women even tried to hit the other, but her boyfriend stopped her.

However, the situation quickly spiraled out of control. It was unclear who started it, but the two sides soon began physically fighting.

Lin Qianyou stood to the side, staring wide-eyed, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle—this was some serious fighting power.

But she never expected that, in the next moment, she would become the victim.

The girl who was fighting was shoved away by the other girl’s boyfriend, and as she stumbled backward, Lin Qianyou happened to be standing right behind her.

Seeing the girl coming straight at her, Lin Qianyou gasped in shock, unable to react in time. Just as she was about to be knocked over, someone grabbed her arm and yanked her aside, narrowly avoiding the collision. The girl ended up falling hard onto the ground.

The person still had a hold on her arm. As Lin Qianyou was about to turn around to thank them, she was surprised to see that it was Qi Shanglan.

“Th… Thank you…” she stammered.

“Go wait over there,” Qi Shanglan said flatly. After speaking, he walked forward with He Chuanan and the others to break up the fight between the two couples. Lin Qianyou obediently moved to the side and waited for him.

A few minutes later, the crowd of onlookers was dispersed. Lin Qianyou saw Qi Shanglan speak a few words to He Chuanan, then walk over to her.

The memory of his drunken confession from the night before suddenly flooded back, making Lin Qianyou feel uneasy again.

As she watched him walk toward her, her heart began to race faster.

“Are you okay?” he asked, stopping in front of her.

“Huh? I… I’m fine,” she replied, a little slow to react.

“Don’t get involved in other people’s business next time,” he said with a furrowed brow.

“Oh, okay, I will, Officer Qi,” she awkwardly forced a smile. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now?”

Lin Qianyou nervously took her first step, afraid that Qi Shanglan would bring up what happened last night. She wanted to quickly slip away, but Qi Shanglan didn’t give her that chance.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Qi Shanglan grabbed her arm and easily pulled her back.

Lin Qianyou’s back was pressed against the wall again, and she looked up at him, bewildered. “Avoid? No, I wasn’t avoiding you. I was just going shopping, hehe.”

She was even able to smile.

“Have you thought about it?”

“Huh? Thought about what?” She pretended to be clueless.

“The question I asked you last night.”

“Question? You didn’t ask me anything last night. You were drunk, and when we got back, you just fell asleep. I don’t remember you asking anything.”

She was doing a pretty good job at pretending to be clueless.

“I know you were pretending to sleep last night,” Qi Shanglan said, directly calling her out.

When he held her last night, his body was stiff as a board, like a taut string. Anyone could see that she was pretending to sleep.

Lin Qianyou didn’t expect him to be so direct. She had planned to use his drunken state as an excuse to brush it off, but now she couldn’t get away with it.

Lin Qianyou couldn’t continue the act. She didn’t know what to say, and the surrounding silence made an eerie awkwardness spread around her.

Qi Shanglan stared at her intently, while she avoided his gaze, not knowing where to look.

It was at that moment that she saw He Chuanan and the others with the two couples, heading for the elevator to go downstairs. She quickly pointed them out to Qi Shanglan, “They’re leaving! They forgot about you! Go catch up with them!”

She was even worrying about him.

“I like you, Lin Qianyou,” he finally lost patience and said in a low voice, “Be with me.”

His voice was deep, and every word felt like a stone thrown into a still lake, causing ripples to spread.

Lin Qianyou’s heart raced, as if it were going to leap out of her chest. Her face flushed, and the pink hue spread from her cheeks to her ears like the clouds at dawn.

“I…” She tried to speak but found her throat blocked, her voice so faint it was nearly drowned out by the chatter of people in the mall.

“We’ve only known each other for less than two weeks…” she said cautiously, her gaze flickering, sometimes looking at Qi Shanglan and other times quickly looking away. “Isn’t it too soon?”

“We’ve known each other for a thousand years, what’s too fast?” He frowned, not understanding why she was so hung up on time.

Liking someone is about liking them, regardless of how much time has passed.

Lin Qianyou was at a loss for words, “Do you believe in Ah Fu’s words too? That was just a kid making things up…”

“Lin Qianyou, stop making excuses, alright? It’s lived for thousands of years.”

Lin Qianyou: “…”

“Then… it’s still a bit too fast. I’m not ready,” Lin Qianyou said awkwardly, laughing. “I just see you as a good buddy.”

“Good buddy?” Qi Shanglan chuckled lightly. “Is this how you ‘harass’ your good buddies?” He leaned in close to Lin Qianyou, and through the mask, his lips were almost touching hers.

“No! No! I was really drunk that night. I didn’t mean to kiss you!” She placed both hands on Qi Shanglan’s chest, trying to stop him from coming any closer.

Qi Shanglan glanced at her, then slowly stood up straight. Lin Qianyou quickly removed her hands from him, but to her surprise, he suddenly raised his hand to take off her mask.

“No!” Lin Qianyou quickly pressed her hand against his wrist, but she was too weak, and neither of her hands could stop him.

“No, what?” His lips curled into a smile. Ignoring her resistance, he took off the ear strap from her right ear, and his low, sensual voice clearly reached Lin Qianyou’s brain through her right ear, “Hair.”

Oh, it turned out her hair was tangled in the ear strap.

So… awkward.

“Th-thank you,” she said with an awkward laugh, lowering her head to avoid his gaze.

“You’re welcome,” he replied casually, putting her mask back on. “Now, what about it? Have you thought about it? We’re both adults, no need for excuses.”

His simple words hit Lin Qianyou’s brain directly. It was too straightforward, too decisive, leaving her no room to back out.

“Are you… serious?” she finally spoke up.

“You tell me,” he asked in return.

Lin Qianyou bit her lip, unable to understand how he could like her. Just because of one kiss? Isn’t that too hasty? They had only known each other for a few days and didn’t even know how many relationships the other person had been in before. Was it really supposed to be this rushed?

In the days they had spent together, she only knew he was aloof. She hadn’t expected him to be so direct when it came to feelings. She still couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.

But no matter whether he was serious or not, Lin Qianyou didn’t have the courage to agree to him.

She was just an unknown, barely rising small actress. She had finally gained some popularity recently, but she couldn’t ruin her future by getting into a relationship. If she did, Ke Siyu and Lin Bozhi would probably kill her.

Just as she thought about it, Lin Qianyou’s phone vibrated twice— it was a message from Ke Siyu.

She immediately lifted her phone and showed it to Qi Shanglan, laughing awkwardly, “My friend’s looking for me. Can we… talk later?”

She really hadn’t made up her mind yet.

Qi Shanglan stared at her with a calm expression, his gaze intense and unapproachable. Even though he was wearing a police uniform, he gave off an air of someone with a bad temper, ready to pull out a gun at any moment.

Looking at his cold, expressionless face, Lin Qianyou suddenly regretted what she had just said. Would he think she was just brushing him off?

While she was thinking, Lin Qianyou heard him say, “Alright, how long do you need to give me an answer?”

“Uh…” He really believed her. “One week! Give me one week to think about it. You can’t rush into a relationship, right?” she chuckled awkwardly.

“Alright, one week. I’ll get an answer in a week,” he said, still expressionless, but his words carried an inexplicable sense of pressure, as if he could immediately pull out a gun and shoot her if she didn’t agree.

Lin Qianyou finally relaxed, thinking that she could just get through it for now. After all, she couldn’t let things get too awkward to the point where they couldn’t even be friends. Maybe in a week, he wouldn’t like her anymore.

“Well, I’m going to find my friends now.” Lin Qianyou slowly started to move her feet, only daring to escape quickly after she saw Qi Shanglan nod.

Behind her, Qi Shanglan watched her retreating figure for a long time, his expression still indifferent.

One week? That was a pure stretch.

When she got home that night, Lin Qianyou placed the baby clothes she had bought on the coffee table, then took a photo and sent it to Lin Bozhi. After receiving the message, he immediately video-called her.

“Qianqian, did you buy all of this?” Lin Bozhi asked.

“Of course, who else would?”

“You actually look like a proper aunt.” Lin Bozhi laughed at her.

“Cut it out, where’s my sister-in-law?”

“She’s nearby. You two chat.” Lin Bozhi handed the phone to Qin Shu, who received it and smiled gently. “Qianqian, buying so many must have cost a lot, right?”

“Baby clothes don’t cost that much. Plus, this is my love for my niece as an aunt,” Lin Qianyou patted her chest. “And I recently got a variety show. A big sum of money is coming in soon. I’ll buy my little niece more beautiful clothes then.”

“Variety show? Is it the one your brother mentioned today? He also said you were trending on hot searches for rumors about your love life,” Qin Shu gave Lin Bozhi a look, then smiled at Lin Qianyou. “But don’t listen to your brother. If you want to date, then date. What’s the problem with being an artist? Let people live their lives. Go ahead and date, I support you.”

When the topic of dating came up, Lin Qianyou’s mind immediately flashed to Qi Shanglan’s cold and serious face. She shivered, awkwardly laughing, “Ha, forget it, I’ll just go with the flow.”

“Going with the flow is fine, as long as you get along. As long as he treats you well and you treat him well, that’s enough. But remember to bring him home to let your brother and me see. We’ll keep an eye on him.”

Lin Qianyou nodded, “Mhm, I know.”

After chatting with her brother and sister-in-law for a while, the three of them ended the video call. Lin Qianyou put the clothes away and then sat down to watch TV, her mind elsewhere.

She sat in front of the TV until eleven o’clock., yawned, and was about to turn it off and go to bed when her phone buzzed twice.

She picked it up and saw that it was a message from Qi Shanglan, just three words: “Where are you?”

Lin Qianyou instantly became alert. What did he mean by that? Was he coming to find her? Didn’t they agree on giving her a week to think it over? Or was there something else?

She stared at those three words for a while, feeling uneasy, and then nervously typed six words: “At home, what’s up?”

Just as Lin Qianyou was about to press the send button, Qi Shanglan sent her another message, still short, just two words: “Call me.”

Lin Qianyou: ?

She deleted the message she had typed earlier and sent a question mark instead.

Qi Shanglan replied: “Call me by my name.”

Ah, Lin Qianyou understood. He wanted her to call him, as if he was teleporting to her side.

But, it was late at night, and Lin Qianyou really couldn’t think of anything appropriate that a man and a woman alone in a room could do.

She was still hesitating when Qi Shanglan urged her: “Hurry up, call me.”

Lin Qianyou felt awkward, wanting to ask if he had something urgent, but before she could, she heard a knock at the door.

As a woman living alone, the last thing she wanted was to hear a stranger knocking at night. Lin Qianyou didn’t have time to reply to Qi Shanglan’s message, she tiptoed to the door to see who was outside through the peephole.

However, before she could even take a step, she heard Qi Shanglan’s voice from outside: “Lin Qianyou, it’s me, open the door.”

He couldn’t wait any longer to find her.

Lin Qianyou froze in place, unable to believe he had actually found her home. But then… why did he ask her to call him by name just now?

She quickly jogged to open the door. As soon as she opened it, the strong smell of alcohol hit her, and Qi Shanglan immediately leaned toward her. She quickly put her arm around him to support him.

Qi Shanglan’s body hung weakly against her, fully enveloping her in his embrace. His chin rested on her shoulder, and his voice, laced with drunkenness, murmured, “Why didn’t you call me? Are you afraid of me?”

Lin Qianyou dared not answer him. He was clearly very drunk, and it was obvious he had consumed a lot of alcohol. Who knew what he might do if something triggered him?

She placed both hands on Qi Shanglan’s chest, trying to maintain some distance. “You’re drunk, why didn’t you go home?” But as soon as she said that, she remembered that last time Qi Shanglan had told her that his family controlled him strictly and didn’t let him drink.

So, was that why he came to find her? Was he looking for a place to crash for the night?

After a moment, Lin Qianyou felt the weight on her shoulder lighten. Qi Shanglan pulled away from her and stared at her for a long time, his eyes blurry, before finally saying:

“Lin Qianyou, one week is too long. I can’t wait.”