kingnovel Chapter 1274 Yun Rui's sincerity: seamless connection
Chapter 1274 Yun Rui's sincerity: seamless connection
The cedar scent from the car's incense mixed with the smell of leather seats, condensing into a sticky web in the small cabin.
Qi Ruixiang's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. The faint blue light from the dashboard reflected on his tense jawline. The wipers swung back and forth mechanically, repeatedly cutting and piecing together Gu Yunxi's receding figure outside the car window.
Yang Xiaotang sat in the passenger seat holding the cat cage. The occasional purring of Snowball was particularly clear in the silence.
She stared at the bulge on the back of Qi Ruixiang's neck as he swallowed, and the Buddhist beads on his wrist unconsciously collided with each other.
The turbulent encounter ten minutes ago now turned into an invisible thread suspended between the two of them. Every breath seemed to be pulling and could break at any time.
"My home is at the second intersection on the right." She broke the silence, her voice so soft as if she was afraid of disturbing some fragile balance.
Qi Ruixiang pretended to be calm and nodded, then stepped on the emergency brake without any lightness or strength. An ambiguous response came out of his throat, and the regular ticking sound of the turn signal overlapped with his uneven breathing.
When passing by a convenience store, he suddenly slammed on the brakes. The warm yellow light of the convenience store shone through the car window, casting light and dark spots on Yang Xiaotang's face.
"Wait for me." He said those two words and rushed into the rain. Yang Xiaotang looked at his back, which was wet from the rain, and watched him mechanically picking between the shelves, and finally came back with only two cans of beer.
The sound of the can pull ring opening exploded in the closed compartment, and the foam dripped through his fingers onto his suit pants, but he was completely unaware of it. He tilted his head back and drank most of the can, his Adam's apple rolling violently.
The brain always issues inexplicable instructions when people feel guilty and uneasy...
"She is very special." Yang Xiaotang suddenly spoke, stroking the metal buckle of the cat cage with his fingertips.
Qi Ruixiang's hand holding the can suddenly tightened, and the aluminum sheet creaked under the weight.
The sound of raindrops hitting the roof became more and more frequent, as if it was going to drown the small space.
"I mean Miss Gu." She added, her tone as calm as if she was talking about the weather, "I knew it from the look in your eyes when you followed her back."
The bracelet drew a half arc around her wrist, and Snowball stretched out his paw and gently patted the back of her hand.
Qi Ruixiang stared at the rearview mirror but didn't dare to meet her gaze. He could only see his own distorted reflection swaying in the rain.
"Mr. and Mrs., this designated driver has arrived at the destination!"
When the car stopped downstairs of Yang Xiaotang's house, the rain was a little lighter. Because they both had been drinking, they could only wait for the designated driver to drive.
But no one expected him to say this...
She unbuckled her seat belt but did not get out of the car immediately: "Actually, some things may feel better if you say them out loud." Qi Ruixiang looked at the winding water marks on the windshield. His silence was like the rising tide, completely drowning the two of them.
Yang Xiaotang sighed, picked up the cat cage and opened the car door. The humid night breeze brought the fragrance of osmanthus into the car.
"Good night." She said, and gently closed the car door. Qi Ruixiang watched her back disappear at the entrance of the corridor, but did not start the car.
The street lamp stretched his shadow very long, casting it on the wet ground like a stranded fish. He opened another can of beer, the cold liquid slid down his throat, but it couldn't quench the burning pain in his heart.
The clock on the dashboard jumped to 2:17 in the morning, and the phone vibrated and slipped out of his trouser pocket.
Gu Yunqian's name jumped on the screen, like some kind of warning.
Qi Ruixiang stared at the caller ID and let the ringing last for the seventh time before answering. The sound of electricity was mixed with the laughter in the banquet hall: "I hope I didn't disturb you by taking so long to answer. Don't forget to come to my mother's birthday party next Friday."
"I'll definitely get there." Qi Ruixiang turned the can, and the edge of the aluminum left a red mark on his palm.
Gu Yunqian chuckled, and the background sound suddenly became clear, and the sound of porcelain colliding could be vaguely heard: "I heard that there is a new beauty around Mr. Qi recently? Why not bring some fun together?"
These words made Qi Ruixiang's temples throb. He looked at the dim light coming through the window of Yang Xiaotang's house, and recalled her hesitant look just now.
After hanging up the phone, Qi Ruixiang rested his forehead against the windshield.
"I'll give you an extra thousand and you take me for a ride!"
The designated driver's eyes lit up when he saw the stack of cash in Qi Ruixiang's hand. He didn't expect that working the night shift could earn so much money!
The car radio suddenly switched to an old song, with a hoarse female voice singing "Love to the point of not being able to love anymore, gathering to the point of eventually parting", and the rain started to fall again, with dense raindrops hitting the roof of the car, as if the whole world was urging him to make a choice...
Nine crystal chandeliers hang from the dome of the Gu family's old house, cutting out thousands of tiny rays of light.
The venue was decorated like a fairy-tale palace, with champagne-colored ribbons wrapped around the carved columns, the air was filled with the scent of lily of the valley and white peaches, and on the custom-made fondant cake, the peonies carved out of frosting were lifelike, with even the stamens inlaid with edible gold foil.
Servants were flitting around like butterflies carrying silver trays; the champagne in the ice bucket was glowing coldly under the lights, reflecting the luxury and grandeur of this grand banquet.
Gu Yunqian stood in the corridor on the second floor, his straight handmade suit making him look even more stern. He turned the emerald cufflinks on his cuffs, glanced at the guests downstairs, and a faint arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows of the banquet hall, dusk deepened and the sunset dyed the glass curtain wall crimson, like a flowing oil painting.
"Are you here?" He asked Lin Junze beside him in a low voice, his Adam's apple rolling slightly as he spoke.
Downstairs, Gu Yunxi leaned against the carved railing, her champagne-colored evening dress outlining her graceful figure, and the pearl pendants on her earlobes swayed gently with her movements.
Her nails scratched unconsciously at the railing, her eyes lingering at the entrance to the banquet hall.
Ever since she ran into Qi Ruixiang and Yang Xiaotang outside the pet hospital that night, her mind could no longer calm down.
At this moment, she was looking forward to Qi Ruixiang's appearance, but also afraid to see the gentle girl standing next to him.
Whenever she thought of the look in Yang Xiaotang's eyes when she looked at Qi Ruixiang, her heart felt like it was being gently scratched by a cat's claws, bitter and unwilling. "An'an, come and help your mother cut the cake." Ye Muxue's voice came from the center of the banquet hall. Gu Yunxi then retracted her gaze, took a deep breath, and stepped elegantly in her high heels.
The one who was completely different from the brother and sister was Gu Yunshu, who was wearing a light yellow dress and shuttled through the crowd like a cheerful little bird. "Brother, sister, if you don't treat your home as a workplace, okay!" She jumped to Gu Yunqian and poked his tense cheek with her hand, "Today is Mom's big day, smile!"
Seeing that her brother didn't respond, she ran to Gu Yunxi again, blinked her big eyes and said, "Sister, the newly mixed cocktail over there is super delicious, I'll take you to try it!" As she said that, she took her sister's hand and walked towards the bar.
Ye Muxue was surrounded by the crowd and walked to the cake. The candlelight illuminated her well-maintained face. The years had left only elegance on her face.
"Thank you all for coming to my birthday party. I hope we can all cherish the present and live a happy family." Ye Muxue's voice was gentle and powerful, and the audience burst into warm applause.
Gu Yunshu stood in the crowd, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes and made a wish, looking innocent and lovely; Gu Yunqian stood in the shadows, with a decent smile on his face, but his eyes were always vigilantly scanning the surroundings;
Gu Yunxi held the champagne glass, his fingertips turned white from the cold, and his eyes kept looking towards the door.
When Ye Muxue was about to cut the cake while enjoying everyone's blessings, a familiar figure appeared at the door. Qi Ruixiang was wearing a black suit, with an upright posture, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses were deep and mysterious.
Gu Yunxi's breathing stagnated, and the champagne glass in his hand shook gently, leaving traces of wine on the wall of the glass;
Gu Yunqian raised his eyebrows slightly, and a barely perceptible light flashed in his eyes...