Chapter 15: Love or Not Love — Xie Youci Slowly Falls

After Chi Yang and Xie Youci started sleeping in separate rooms again, life went on as usual.

Chi Yang seemed happier than ever.

Her social media was constantly updated with little snapshots of her days—painting, watering flowers, teasing birds, and preparing for her first day at the National Museum the following Monday.

Xie Youci rarely saw her.

Well, not exactly.

He saw her all the time in his dreams.

Unfortunately, every dream followed the same script: Chi Yang lured him in, reeled him onto the hook, and then heartlessly turned her back on him after stealing both his heart and his body.

Fortunately—or unfortunately—Xue Rang loved organizing gatherings.

Almost every weekend, he’d drag everyone out for some kind of entertainment. Sometimes it was a beach barbecue, sometimes drinks at a bar, sometimes billiards or board games.

The last gathering had supposedly been to welcome Chi Yang home.

This time, it was to celebrate her new job.

Coincidentally, Ji Fengtin’s new bar had just opened.

Everyone was still curious about it.

So Xue Rang once again summoned the entire group to Tonight She’ll Be There, setting the meeting time for eight o’clock on Friday night.

Having only recently returned to China, Chi Yang still wasn’t fully accustomed to his style.

Still, she’d heard plenty about these gatherings during video calls with them while she was in Italy.

Besides, this event was supposedly being held in her honor. Even if she didn’t particularly want to see Xie Youci, she had no reason not to attend.

But attending was one thing.

The moment she arrived, she grabbed Jiang Li and headed straight for the dance floor.

“I want to watch the male dancers perform a strip show.”

The hand holding Xie Youci’s wine glass paused ever so slightly.

Slowly, he turned to glance at Ji Fengtin.

His expression was unreadable.

“You’ve got that kind of thing in your bar?”

“Of course.” Ji Fengtin failed to notice anything unusual. “Want to go watch?”

Xie Youci: “…”

A scoff escaped him.

He looked away.

“What’s so great about watching male dancers strip? Are they better-looking than me?”

Last time she got drunk, she’d been feeling up his abs.

She’d touched them while sleeping that night, too.

Now they’d finally met again after all this time.

And apparently she’d already gotten tired of his abs and moved on to watching shirtless male dancers instead?

Tilting his head back, Xie Youci drained an entire glass of liquor in one swallow.

Ji Fengtin, always eager to stir up trouble, laughed.

“Brother Ci, if you’re willing to get up there and dance, I’ll send you a hundred rocket gifts right now.”

“Get lost.”

Yet the moment the words left his mouth, he abruptly stood.

Xue Rang looked up from cracking sunflower seeds.

“Where are you going, Brother Ci? Bathroom? Take me with you.”

He spat out a seed shell and got to his feet.

Xie Youci shot him a sharp, icy glance.

“Not the bathroom.”

His voice was cold.

“I’m going to watch the male dancers strip.”

Each word was delivered through gritted teeth.

Xue Rang and Ji Fengtin stared at him in shock.

Neither had expected Xie Youci to have that kind of taste.

In truth, Chi Yang wasn’t interested in male dancers at all.

To be more precise, she wasn’t interested in men.

Any men.

If her mother hadn’t arranged her marriage, she probably would have spent her entire life avoiding relationships and running from marriage altogether.

She simply didn’t want to stay in the private room.

Watching the performance was just an excuse.

As for the dancers themselves, she found them utterly uninteresting.

Sipping fruit juice through a straw, she sat beside Jiang Li, who was practically losing her mind.

“AHHHHH!”

“Help me!”

“The lead dancer just flung sweat right onto my face!”

She clutched Chi Yang’s arm and shook it violently.

“Yangyang, look! Look!”

“His core strength is insane! Holy crap!”

“Can people touch the dancers here or not?”

At that exact moment, the lead dancer glanced toward Jiang Li.

A charming smile curved his lips.

Then he strode over, dropped to one knee in front of her, and deliberately presented his sculpted abs.

Jiang Li immediately reached out and gave them a shameless rub.

The next second, she nearly fainted into Chi Yang’s arms from excitement.

Chi Yang deadpanned.

“He’s so greasy.”

“He’s so handsome.”

“The evil-smirk-and-kneeling combo just now was so oily he could’ve fried a whole dish with it.”

“Waaah, I don’t care! I’m obsessed!”

Too lazy to argue with her lovestruck friend, Chi Yang simply wished the dancers would stay far away from her.

She had no desire to smell men’s sweat.

That so-called masculine scent wasn’t even comparable to—

Her thoughts abruptly halted.

Almost instinctively, she turned her head.

Sure enough.

Xie Youci was sitting alone on a barstool.

His long legs stretched casually before him.

The sharp line of his jaw disappeared into shifting shadows and light.

Holding a wine glass, he happened to look over at the same moment.

Their eyes met.

Instantly, Chi Yang remembered that night they’d shared a bed.

Even after waking up, she had still been able to smell his body wash lingering on her pajamas.

Ugh.

Why was she thinking about him now of all times?

Annoyed with herself, she quickly looked away.

Xie Youci merely raised an eyebrow.

As though completely unconcerned.

Yet he continued staring at her while lifting his glass and taking another drink.

Nearby, Ji Fengtin and Xue Rang were whispering among themselves.

“Why do I feel like Brother Ci looks kind of… melancholy tonight?”

“Come on. Since when has that word ever had anything to do with him?”

“No, seriously. I’ve never seen him keep drinking like this before.”

A pause.

“You think he had a fight with his girlfriend?”

“So who exactly is his girlfriend?”

“How the hell would I know?”

The two of them put their heads together and somehow still failed to produce a single useful answer.

Finally, Xue Rang gathered his courage and asked directly.

“Brother Ci, what are you thinking about?”

“Tell us. Maybe we can help.”

Xie Youci lowered his eyelids and glanced at him.

A faint, ambiguous laugh escaped his lips.

Then he poured himself another drink.

Slowly.

Leisurely.

His gaze drifted back toward Chi Yang standing near the dance floor.

“I was thinking…”

He narrowed his eyes.

“When it comes to women, their hearts are deeper than the ocean.”

His voice was lazy, almost thoughtful.

“Just how deep does the difference between love and not love really go?”

Xue Rang: ?

Ji Fengtin: ??

What the hell?

Was this man losing his mind?