Chapter 20: World One【20】

Shang Siyu followed Jing Ke’s gaze, locking eyes directly with He Minmin.

He Minmin waved at Shang Siyu, then proactively walked towards her.

“Shang Siyu, can we talk alone? I want to ask you a few questions,” He Minmin said.

“I’ll go bring the car around.” Before Shang Siyu could even speak, Jing Ke, who had been studying social graces, quickly found an excuse to leave.

Shang Siyu watched Jing Ke walk away, then turned her head towards He Minmin. “What questions do you want to ask me?”

“If… I’m just saying if… if I were also successful in my career now, would you be willing to accept me?” He Minmin asked the question that had kept her tossing and turning for nearly three nights.

Shang Siyu didn’t give a perfunctory answer. She thought seriously for a full minute before shaking her head gently.

“Probably not. You’re a very good person—you were before, and you still are now—but I only see you as a friend,” Shang Siyu said truthfully. “If you were successful, I’d be happy for you as a friend.”

She didn’t say the more hurtful things that followed, but she believed He Minmin could read between the lines.

“So it really is like that…” He Minmin smiled self-deprecatingly. After a long sigh, a hint of relief appeared on her face.

It had just been an obsession. After hearing the answer directly from Shang Siyu, she slowly began to let it go.

He Minmin asked, “Shang Siyu, we’re still friends, right?”

“Of course. We’ve always been friends.” Shang Siyu smiled.

“Then… can I hug you?” He Minmin added immediately after, “Just as a friend, nothing more.”

“Of course.” Shang Siyu didn’t refuse. A hug between friends was perfectly normal; there was no reason to decline.

He Minmin was extremely restrained. She let go of Shang Siyu almost the instant the hug began.

“As a friend, I actually have one more question.” It was as if He Minmin had resolved a major issue that had been weighing on her heart; her expression gradually relaxed.

“Hm?” Shang Siyu revealed a look of curiosity.

“Is that business partner of yours actually your girlfriend?” He Minmin asked. “I can tell you two are very close.”

“Ah?” Shang Siyu was momentarily stunned. She subconsciously glanced around, searching for a specific figure.

Realizing Jing Ke hadn’t returned with the car yet, Shang Siyu breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“You must be mistaken. We’re just good friends and partners,” Shang Siyu said, repeating, “You’ve misunderstood our relationship.”

“Misunderstood?” He Minmin was also taken aback. Could she really not recognize the look of someone in love? Or had she just seen it wrong?

Before He Minmin could ask further, Jing Ke had pulled the car up to the curb, rolling down the passenger window and looking their way.

“Shang Siyu, do you need to give your friend a ride?” Jing Ke asked, her expression perfectly normal. Any subtle shift in her eyes was well hidden by the night.

“He Minmin, want a lift?” Shang Siyu seized the chance to change the subject. “We were planning to drive around the county, check out the night view. We can drop you off on the way.”

“No thanks. There’s a direct bus nearby; I can just catch the last one. I won’t impose on you two.” He Minmin shook her head, declining politely.

She still felt she hadn’t been wrong. The look of love and the look of simple fondness were distinctly different. There was no reason she’d misjudge twice in a row.

“Alright, be safe on the road, and remember to message the girls’ group chat when you get home.” Shang Siyu’s heart was thrown into disarray by He Minmin’s previous question. A vague desire to escape bubbled up within her.

It was as if only by leaving this place, by getting away from the vicinity of the Golden Jade Grand Hotel, could she forget what she’d just heard and the thoughts that had suddenly surfaced.

“Okay, goodbye.” He Minmin stood where she was, bidding farewell as she watched Shang Siyu open the passenger door and get in.

He Minmin didn’t miss the belated blush that crept onto Shang Siyu’s face. Even though she only caught it for the briefest instant, He Minmin could guarantee—this time, she absolutely had not been mistaken.

So they were still in the ambiguous stage. No wonder she emphasized they were just good friends. Wasn’t that just a clumsy attempt at a cover-up?

–

Jing Ke was a skilled driver, keeping the car steady as she strictly followed traffic regulations.

After smoothly passing through two green lights, Jing Ke pressed the brake, bringing the car to a stop and quietly waiting out the forty-plus-second red light.

“I saw it. You two hugged.” With twenty seconds left on the red light, Jing Ke suddenly spoke up.

“Hm?” Shang Siyu’s mind went blank for a moment. She subconsciously tensed and began to explain, “Right, we hugged as friends.”

“As friends?” Jing Ke frowned slightly, stating a fact in a calm voice. “Shang Siyu, your heartbeat and breathing have quickened. You’re nervous. Why is that?”

Why? What else could it be? Of course, it was because of the question He Minmin had asked her!

Shang Siyu couldn’t help but scream internally. That feeling of being seen through made her desperately want to flee. Her usually cool and aloof face twisted into an expression of inner turmoil.

Seeing the light turn green, Jing Ke released the brake and pressed the accelerator, steering the car smoothly forward.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Jing Ke said, her eyes on the road. “Was my question too presumptuous?”

“No… I just haven’t figured out how to tell you.” Shang Siyu let out a soft sigh. “He Minmin, she… she said some things that surprised me.”

A subtle change flickered in Jing Ke’s eyes. “What kind of things?”

“It’s really nothing. She misunderstood our relationship. I cleared it up with her, that’s all.” After hesitating a moment, Shang Siyu chose honesty.

“She asked me earlier if there was a chance for us to be together. I told her we could only be friends.” Shang Siyu added, “Back in high school, she confessed to me once, but I rejected her.”

Jing Ke’s throat tightened slightly, but she managed to ask in a normal tone, “I see. What did she misunderstand our relationship to be?”

Shang Siyu scratched her cheek and looked at the night scenery outside the car window. After a moment, she said quietly, “She misunderstood… she thought we were a couple.”

Seeing the red light ahead, Jing Ke hit the brakes harder than usual.

However, Shang Siyu was too distracted by her own chaotic thoughts to notice this detail. She kept staring resolutely out the window, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks with the posture.

“I see.” Jing Ke, usually so eloquent, found herself at a loss for coherent words. After a somewhat dry acknowledgment, she could only focus intently on driving.

–

By the time they got home, it wasn’t yet eight o’clock. Mother Shang wasn’t around; she was probably out for a post-dinner walk to aid digestion.

“I’ve been drinking. I smell like it. I’m going to shower first.” Realizing it was just her and Jing Ke at home, Shang Siyu grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom with practiced ease.

It was unclear if she truly disliked the smell of alcohol on herself, or if she was just looking for an excuse to avoid being alone with Jing Ke.

Jing Ke sat on the sofa in the bedroom. After watching Shang Siyu enter the bathroom, she soon heard the sound of running water from within.

After a moment of zoning out, Jing Ke couldn’t help but pinch the bridge of her nose, then cover her face.

Something’s wrong. My state tonight feels very wrong.

Jing Ke meticulously recalled her own behavior this evening, engaging in serious self-reflection.

When did this strangeness begin? When Shang Siyu admitted He Minmin was somewhat special? When she saw them hug tonight? Or when she heard Shang Siyu so unequivocally deny her relationship with Jing Ke?

Jing Ke was adept at logical analysis, but she was terrible at handling emotions she had never experienced before.

Especially emotions happening to herself. Without past data to reference, Jing Ke simply couldn’t analyze an answer.

If she were to analyze from Shang Siyu’s behavior, Jing Ke could only conclude that she was an important existence to Shang Siyu.

But Shang Siyu and she were inherently bound together. She was her investor and friend, someone who would absolutely never betray her. It would be strange if Shang Siyu didn’t value her.