Chapter 68: Confession Part 1

Ever since the misunderstanding about her being Ji Yan’s girlfriend was cleared, Qin Jiashu could feel a palpable shift.

Xu Yinian let out a long, lingering sigh of relief. That awkward, avoidant aura she’d been carrying around seemed to evaporate instantly, and she reverted to her usual sweetly docile self—perfectly content to let Qin Jiashu lead her wherever she pleased.

Qin Jiashu had intended to confess all along, but now she didn’t even bother to maintain a facade.

Xu Yinian had no defense against such a blazing, passionate fire. She could only stand by and let herself be scorched by its intensity.

Not only had the older girl forced her to record a rejection message to Bai Ran, dictating it word for word, but she had eventually snatched her phone away and turned it off entirely. It was as if she were terrified that Xu Yinian might be swayed by Bai Ran’s “tea-infused” manipulations and be snatched away mid-date.

Xu Yinian recalled how anxious Bai Ran would get whenever they weren’t together, calling her repeatedly. For some reason, the thought made her heart flutter with a touch of fear. She wanted her phone back, but she couldn’t win against her Senior Sister. Ultimately, she chose to push the matter of Bai Ran to the back of her mind.

Lost in a daze, she didn’t even realize she had been driven over ten kilometers away to the edge of the Bund.

Xu Yinian had originally thought that when Qin Jiashu mentioned a “date,” she was just flirting or making a joke. That was until she saw the sight before her: the Bund, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold. There, nestled among the brightly lit skyscrapers, stood a duplex glass garden house.

The garden and the first floor were shrouded in a hazy, romantic darkness. Following the trail of light upward, the entire second floor was framed by floor-to-ceiling glass windows, reflecting layers of flickering, shimmering candlelight. It looked like a cloud of fireflies or a fragment of the Milky Way brought down to earth.

It stood in solitary elegance amidst the urban clamor.

The sheer beauty of the scene took Xu Yinian’s breath away. “Senior Sister… did you just book a restaurant?” she asked foolishly.

She had no idea that this was “La vie en rose,” the most luxurious, niche French restaurant in City A, offering an unparalleled view of the entire Bund. Not only were the prices astronomical, but the owner was a capricious “rich second-gen.” They only accepted two tables of guests per day and served only acquaintances. Many influencers came here to take photos, but most were turned away at the door, left to take pictures of the exterior and leave in disappointment.

Qin Jiashu’s social network was undoubtedly vast, but even she had to put in significant effort to book the entire glass garden for tonight. It was all for the sake of a candlelight dinner to facilitate her confession.

All this, just to see the beautiful girl smile.

No matter how much she had “fished” for others in the past, she had never been this devoted. Even the friend who helped her make the arrangements had asked in shock if she had been put under a spell. After all, it was usually others who spent a fortune on Qin Jiashu.

Qin Jiashu’s red lips curled into a smile. Her charming, radiant expression looked even more ethereal and dreamlike amidst the play of light and shadow. She didn’t answer. Instead, she reached out, using her long, warm fingers to cover Xu Yinian’s eyes, and whispered into her ear:

“Count to five in your heart.”

As the last number fell, the elegant, classical melody of a piano poured out like a clear spring. The mysterious, dark first floor of the glass house finally lit up.

Before her was a vast field of daisies. Pure white and warm yellow blossoms interlaced, reflecting a golden radiance that looked like the first rays of the morning sun under the rippling lights. These wild blossoms, which usually grew stubbornly in overlooked corners of the wilderness, were now being held in the palm of a hand—placed deep within the heart, surrounded and protected.

In the midst of the decadent, money-drenched Bund, they were undoubtedly the most pure and sacred sight.

Qin Jiashu knew Xu Yinian liked daisies. Even though they were out of season, she had managed to have chamomile flowers flown in to fill the entire garden. From the moment she started preparing all this, the daisy field was destined to remain until the day Xu Yinian saw it.

No matter how dense Xu Yinian was, she wasn’t so slow that she didn’t realize who the daisies were for.

…It obviously wasn’t a whim that had been thrown together in a few short hours.

But why would her Senior Sister do this?

As the realization dawned on her, Xu Yinian’s body stiffened, and her breathing reflexively slowed. She didn’t even dare to meet Qin Jiashu’s gaze, let alone ask a question. Just looking at the field of daisies made her cheeks begin to burn.

“Do you like it?”

Qin Jiashu wouldn’t let her escape. The few words whispered from her red lips were enough to make one’s bones go soft.

Xu Yinian felt dizzy under those three simple words. She bit her translucent lip until it turned a deep crimson. She couldn’t speak; she could only nod, completely captivated.

“Everything today is of my own volition. I just wanted you to know. You have the right to say you don’t like it at any time. It’s okay.”

Although the girl before her continued to nod obediently, Qin Jiashu could see the lack of familiarity and the hint of fear behind that rigid, shrinking posture. As she had expected, Xu Yinian had likely never experienced such a direct confession of love before.

At that moment, the relaxed, teasing quality in Qin Jiashu’s voice faded slightly. She became uncharacteristically serious, giving Xu Yinian enough of a sense of security and a way to retreat. Even though she suspected she might be rejected, her voice didn’t lose an ounce of its confident brilliance.

As she said, liking someone was her own business.

In the face of that mature, soothing voice, Xu Yinian’s tightly bitten lip finally relaxed. For the first time, she bravely lifted her almond eyes, which were already flushed with shyness and tension, to look at Qin Jiashu.