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Chapter 12 — I Knew Something Was Up With Him Today…

Wei Xun completely ignored the shouting from behind him. Leisurely, he walked down the steps toward the heavy motorcycle parked in front of the hotel.

Several familiar faces also came out of the hotel in succession. They were Wei Xun’s usual gang of rich friends, including Cao Ying, Hou Ximing, and Lian Feng, who had previously appeared at Huajing, as well as Huo Haicheng, who came out last. There were also a few young men unfamiliar to Que Wanshu.

Each of these rich young men had brought along stylish, beautiful girls, making it very clear tonight was a group date for showing off and joyriding.

When Cao Ying saw Que Wanshu and Xu Zhiyan standing at the entrance, he immediately grinned and approached them, putting on a harmless, friendly smile. He waved energetically at them. “Hey~ Sister Yan, Classmate Que, what a coincidence running into you here.”

“Heh.” Xu Zhiyan gave him a fake smile. Seeing his overly eager expression, she finally figured out who the mastermind behind all this was. She made a mental note to block him as soon as they got back.

Seeing Cao Ying suddenly run off to greet two girls with such enthusiasm, the rest of the young men laughed and followed. “Yingxue, are these two beautiful ladies your friends?”

Cao Ying’s face turned dark at once. He turned back and barked, “Scram!” which made the others laugh even harder.

Cao Ying was the youngest of four boys in his family. His mother had thought he was a girl during pregnancy and had named him “Cao Yingxue” (“Reflected Snow”), only to realize after birth he was a boy. The elders thought the name was too delicate for a boy and changed it to “Cao Ying.”

This story wasn’t a secret in their circle. Cao Ying often joked about it himself, and his friends loved teasing him by still calling him “Yingxue.”

Before Cao Ying could even make introductions, a younger man among them recognized Xu Zhiyan and blurted out in surprise, “Sister Zhiyan, what are you doing here?”

Xu Zhiyan glanced at him. It was Zhang Pingkang, Zhang Luyang’s younger brother, whom she had met once at a family banquet.

She hadn’t expected her future brother-in-law to be mixed up with Wei Xun’s crowd too. With a sarcastic tone, she said, “This hotel belongs to my family. Why do you think I’m here?”

Zhang Pingkang: “…”

Why did it feel like he just got roasted?

With that sentence, the group of rich kids immediately realized she was the eldest daughter of the Xu family. But seeing how fierce and unapproachable she looked, they turned to the gentler-looking Que Wanshu and asked, “So who’s this pretty girl?”

Xu Zhiyan rolled her eyes. “Who are you calling your girl?”

The young men: “…”

Did Xu Zhiyan eat gunpowder for dinner?!

She couldn’t be bothered to entertain them. Just then, the valet drove her car up. She pulled Que Wanshu along to get in, just about to push her into the car when a deep voice suddenly cut through the cool air and reached everyone’s ears clearly.

“——Que Wanshu.”

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Wei Xun sitting astride his motorcycle with his helmet on. The visor was up, revealing only a pair of cold, sharp eyes.

His gaze was fixed firmly on the person beside Xu Zhiyan. He said, “Come here.”

Que Wanshu froze, not moving. But Xu Zhiyan exploded instantly. She glared at Wei Xun and was about to shove Que Wanshu into the car when her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

She turned toward the hand holding her and saw the face she despised most.

Unlike Xu Zhiyan’s aggressive fury, Huo Haicheng smiled brightly, like he was greeting an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. “Why are you rolling your eyes the moment you see me? Did my face offend you?”

Xu Zhiyan sneered. “Yes, it makes me want to puke.”

She tried to shake off his hand but failed, which made her even angrier. “Huo Haicheng, let go of me.”

Huo Haicheng didn’t move. He glanced at Que Wanshu, then chuckled. “I advise you not to get involved. After all, this is between the two of them—it has nothing to do with anyone else, right? Don’t end up playing both sides and getting burned.”

“And what right do you have to say that to me?” Xu Zhiyan found his words laughable. “Weren’t you the first one to get involved?”

Wasn’t it Huo Haicheng who brought Que Wanshu to Wei Xun’s birthday party at Huajing? So he can help his buddy, but she can’t stand up for her best friend?

Ha! Such a double standard.

“…” Huo Haicheng didn’t respond immediately to her mocking tone. The two of them stared at each other in silence, the atmosphere turning odd.

Que Wanshu sensed something was off between them and quickly spoke. “Huo Haicheng, let go of her.”

At her words, Huo Haicheng looked at her again, then slowly released Xu Zhiyan’s wrist.

Que Wanshu turned to her friend and said in a reassuring voice, “Zhiyan, I’ll just go see what he wants. Don’t worry, Wei Xun wouldn’t dare do anything to me.”

Xu Zhiyan still frowned. “Yaoyao, you’re going over to that guy?”

“Mm.” Que Wanshu nodded softly. She knew Wei Xun’s personality well—and she also knew his appearance here today wasn’t a coincidence.

The world was big. For two people with no overlap in their lives to run into each other by sheer chance was far too unlikely.

There just aren’t that many coincidences in this world.

Seeing the clear, calm look in Que Wanshu’s eyes, Xu Zhiyan’s anger slowly cooled. She pursed her lips and finally gave in. “Fine. This is my turf anyway. If he dares to touch you, I’ll call people over to beat him up.”

Que Wanshu couldn’t help but laugh at that, her eyes crinkling as she nodded. “Okay.”

Xu Zhiyan smiled too, reaching out to pat her head.

Que Wanshu turned around, took a deep breath, and then walked slowly toward Wei Xun, who was still straddling his motorcycle.

She stopped in front of him and asked cautiously, “What do you want?”

Wei Xun didn’t answer. He looked over at Huo Haicheng, who understood immediately and tossed him a helmet.

Wei Xun caught it and was about to put it on Que Wanshu, but suddenly paused. Frowning, he hung Huo Haicheng’s helmet on the side mirror and instead took off his own.

“Your hair,” he said, looking at the strands framing her cheeks.

Que Wanshu was briefly startled but instinctively understood. She tucked her hair behind her ears.

Then Wei Xun gently placed his helmet on her head and even carefully buckled it for her—stunning his gang of rowdy friends nearby.

Hou Ximing’s eyes widened as he clapped his hands and exclaimed to another biker friend, “I knew something was up with him today! Why else would he take that old Latte Scrambler out of the garage—and dress like some retro cruiser guy? Turns out he was picking up a girl!!”

The motorcycle Wei Xun was riding today wasn’t his usual racing-style bike. Instead, it was a vintage-style scrambler—lower seat, no lifted tail, and a wider back cushion.

He also wasn’t in his usual motorcycle gear. He wore a dark brown aviator leather jacket over a cream-colored knit sweater, with a printed silk scarf in brown tones. Below, he had on vintage-washed jeans and black ankle boots.

The Wei family was known for their outstanding looks, and Wei Xun was the best among them. At this moment, dressed in a retro yet stylishly roguish outfit and straddling his motorcycle, he looked both dazzling and flamboyantly handsome.

Standing next to Hou Ximing was another biker named Fu Yuanxi. His family owned a bank. He and Wei Xun were college classmates and both motorcycle enthusiasts. After returning to the country, they often met up with Hou Ximing and others to go riding together.

Upon hearing Hou Ximing’s words, Fu Yuanxi narrowed his eyes and chuckled. “Wow, talk about making a splash. He really knows how to steal the show.”

Wei Xun loved motorcycles, though he occasionally dabbled in sports cars too. But everyone knew that whether it was his motorcycle’s passenger seat or the passenger side of his car, he never took anyone with him. He always followed the philosophy of: “Helmet on, throttle down, love no one.”

No one expected him to break his rule today.

It wasn’t just Hou Ximing and Fu Yuanxi who were surprised—several other rich young men and their female companions were equally stunned.

The women who hung out with these wealthy heirs were mostly small-time celebrities or online influencers. Some were there for fame or fortune, others for power or lust. Some exchanged their youth and beauty for career resources, while others simply enjoyed the hedonistic lifestyle surrounding the rich young masters.

Most of these women came and went, but a few who stayed longer eventually set their sights on the always-alone eldest son of the Wei family.

After all, not only was Young Master Wei extremely good-looking, he was also rich. And while it was rumored that he harbored feelings for an unforgettable first love, that wasn’t really a problem.

After all, what could be more thrilling than conquering a man who already loved someone else?

Even “gold diggers” had their own circle. A few of the more superficial “girlfriends” once secretly bet on who would be the first to ride on the back of Wei Xun’s motorcycle—but no one succeeded.

One influencer even failed so badly in her pursuit that, in anger, she spread rumors claiming that Wei Xun didn’t like women and was obviously gay.

Unfortunately for her, Wei Xun caught wind of it. Not long after, that influencer vanished from their social scene entirely. And to make sure no one else got ideas, he went so far as to modify every single one of his motorcycles—so that they didn’t even have a passenger seat.

Want to ride on the back of Wei Xun’s motorcycle? Ha! The joke’s on you—there is no back seat!

But as it turns out, Wei Xun’s motorcycle didn’t lack a back seat entirely.

He just chose to ride bikes without one whenever he didn’t want to bring anyone along. But if someone he actually wanted to bring appeared, he could switch to a suitable bike instantly—and even have protective gear ready for them.

After helping Que Wanshu put on her helmet, Wei Xun glanced at her slender arms and legs—then suddenly got off the bike, pulled a set of protective gear from his side bag, and personally began helping her put it on.

This time, not only were his friends stunned—even Que Wanshu herself was speechless.

She stared blankly at Wei Xun as he bent down to strap on her knee pads and said in disbelief, “You…”

Wei Xun quickly finished putting the gear on her, then stood up and replied indifferently, “I don’t want you getting hurt. My cousin Wei Qian doesn’t have a backup therapist if you can’t teach him.”

Que Wanshu: “…”

So she was supposed to thank him now?

Wei Xun had already gotten back on the motorcycle and put on his helmet. He started the engine and turned his head slightly toward the still-stunned Que Wanshu.

“Get on.”

Que Wanshu hesitated, staring at the back seat without moving, as if she were deciding whether or not to get on.

Seeing this, Wei Xun let out a mocking laugh. “What? Afraid I’m going to kidnap and sell you? Don’t overthink it. I just need a favor from Teacher Que.”

He suddenly addressed her formally, implying that the “favor” had something to do with Wei Qian.

Que Wanshu didn’t ask further. She kept staring at the motorcycle, unmoving. Wei Xun was beginning to lose patience and spoke again, “Teacher Que, are you planning to stand there all—”

Before he could finish, his shoulder suddenly sank under a light touch. Que Wanshu had placed one hand on his shoulder and stepped up onto the footrest, swinging her leg over to mount the bike.

Her hand left his shoulder after barely three seconds, but Wei Xun instinctively held his breath.

Once seated, Que Wanshu adjusted herself into a comfortable position and gripped the back handle tightly. “Okay,” she said.

“…”

Wei Xun didn’t reply. He paused for a few seconds, then turned to glance at where her hands were holding on—before quickly turning back to the front.

“If you don’t want to fall off, hold on tight.”

Que Wanshu responded with a soft “mm,” tightening her grip even more.

Wei Xun: “…”

After a moment of silence, he suddenly revved the throttle. The motorcycle surged forward, and due to inertia, Que Wanshu was thrown forward, crashing into his back. Her hands quickly shifted from the rear grip to wrap tightly around his waist.

“Hold on.”

Behind the helmet, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Wei Xun’s lips. He slowly twisted the throttle again, riding the motorcycle away from the hotel—leaving behind a group of utterly stunned friends.