I'm Rich - 26
Chapter 26
‘You're not others.’
Truthfully, he could count on one hand the number of people who had ever said something like that to him.
In the Qi family alone, aside from his grandfather, his uncles and cousins had always treated him with wariness. They were family, but they were more like strangers.
And yet this person in front of him, who by blood was technically a stranger, never treated him like one.
Her trust and dependence on him sometimes exceeded his expectations. It surprised him, but beneath the surprise was warmth.
He thought he understood why he'd always been different with her. Because her very existence was different. It always has been.
"You seem to be slowing down," Guan Zhiyi observed after a while, realizing she could keep up with him without much effort.
Qi Chengyan smiled. "I'm accommodating your long legs."
"...Are you mocking me? I can run fast. I don't need you to humor me." Guan Zhiyi remembered how she'd run every morning on that weight-loss variety show. Back then she could absolutely keep up with Xiao Ran and the others.
So she picked up speed. "I'll wait for you up ahead!"
Qi Chengyan: "Wait—"
Guan Zhiyi didn't hear him and took off, huffing and puffing through a long stretch, trying to prove she was fine. But reality proved that kind of sprint couldn't last. A few minutes later, she couldn't take it anymore and stopped in place.
Looking back and seeing no sign of Qi Chengyan, she happily settled onto a bench nearby to rest.
But after resting for a while... something was off. Sure, she'd sprinted for a few minutes, rounded two bends, and put some distance between them, but with Qi Chengyan's pace he should have caught up by now. Why was there still no sign of him?
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. She stood and started walking back. If something had happened to him on the way, that would be bad.
Guan Zhiyi jogged back. After rounding those two bends again with some effort, two figures appeared up ahead.
One was dressed head to toe in black workout gear, tall and long-legged. Who else could it be but Qi Chengyan? But the other one, a woman in minimalist athletic wear... who was that?!
Guan Zhiyi stopped and ducked behind a tree to size her up. A skirt-style running bottom, a sports crop top. Two long legs and a generous stretch of slim waist and abdomen... When it came to wardrobe department, she'd already lost.
Guan Zhiyi took a deep breath and stared at the woman unhappily.
What were they talking about? And why was that woman smiling so brightly?
Wait. She’d gotten up early for this, specifically choosing workout clothes that showed off her best assets. There was no way she was going to stand here and watch some other woman chat him up…
At that thought, Guan Zhiyi immediately pulled out her phone and called Qi Chengyan.
Soon enough, she saw him pick up in the distance.
"Xiao Wu?"
Guan Zhiyi walked forward quickly until she reached a suitable spot, then sat down. "Where are you?"
"I ran into a friend. Where did you run off to?"
A friend? Well, sure, someone living in Yuhe Mansion knowing Qi Chengyan was normal. But the way that smoking-hot woman was looking at him just didn't sit right.
"Oh... so when are you coming? I ran too fast and I think… I think I twisted my ankle."
Qi Chengyan froze. "What? Where are you?"
Guan Zhiyi: "I'm just up ahead on this path. If you come this way you'll definitely see me."
"Got it. Don't move."
"Mm."
Before long, Guan Zhiyi heard footsteps. She glanced over and saw Qi Chengyan coming, but the unfamiliar woman was coming too.
Guan Zhiyi quickly pulled her cap down lower. The odds of this woman recognizing her were low, but if she did, it'd be a hassle.
"Xiao Wu!"
Qi Chengyan ran up quickly. He crouched in front of her anxiously to check her ankle. "Which leg?"
Guan Zhiyi kept her head down, saying quietly, "The one that was in a cast before..."
"How could you be so careless? Don't you know you can't just run like that?"
"Oh... I know. I was wrong."
Qi Chengyan's expression was dark. "Does it hurt? Can you stand?"
"President Qi, this girl looks pretty badly hurt. How about I call the medical team over?" the woman beside him offered enthusiastically. The medical team she meant was the small private hospital Yuhe Mansion kept on site, serving only the high-end VIP residents.
But Guan Zhiyi was completely fine, so there was no way she was letting her make that call. "No need! I don't think it's that serious. Gege, just carry me home."
The woman blinked. "Um... shouldn't we still have a doctor look at it?"
Qi Chengyan agreed. "Don't be silly. Let the doctor come."
"Really, no need." Guan Zhiyi tugged at his clothes, her voice soft. "I don't think it's serious. I just twisted it and it's hard to walk. I want to go home. Carry me home first."
"You're sure it's nothing?"
"Mm. It's nothing."
Qi Chengyan looked at her uncertainly, but in the end, seeing her absolute insistence, he went along with it. If it turned out to be something, they could always call the doctor once they were back.
He turned around. "Get on."
"Okay!" Guan Zhiyi immediately climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms tight around him.
Once he straightened, Qi Chengyan gave the woman a polite nod. "Miss Lin, we'll be going."
Seeing him about to leave, the woman hurried to say, "How about I come with you? If anything comes up I can help—"
"I don't need any help from you. Thank you." Before she could finish, the soft, harmless-looking girl said coldly.
Her voice cut off mid-sentence. She stared, stunned, at the person on Qi Chengyan's back.
She couldn't see her face, but she could feel the chill radiating off the girl in that instant.
It was a kind of chill... only another woman could sense.
**
After shaking off the unfamiliar sexy woman, Guan Zhiyi could finally relax on Qi Chengyan's back.
Her reaction had been so strong because she was genuinely wary of women like her. It was the same feeling she got when facing Yang Mengjia. She felt that mature men like Qi Chengyan would go for that type... It frustrated her that her baby face lacked exactly that mature, sexy quality.
Before running into that woman, she'd thought she looked pretty sexy today. But next to her, she suddenly seemed childish...
"Does that person live here? I've never seen her before," Guan Zhiyi probed.
Qi Chengyan carried her steadily forward. "She just moved in recently. It's normal you haven't seen her."
"Oh... what a coincidence, she runs in the morning too. Are you two close?"
"Not really." Qi Chengyan didn't seem to want to dwell on it. "Why did you run so fast earlier? Who runs like that in the morning?"
"I was trying to show I could keep up with you..."
"What's there to show?"
"You said my legs were short."
Qi Chengyan was caught between laughter and tears. "Didn't I say afterward that your legs were long?"
"That was obviously sarcasm."
"See, nothing I say is right."
"...Fine, whatever. I'm definitely not as long-legged as that Miss Lin anyway. Boss, do you lose the ability to walk when you see a pretty girl? I waited up ahead for you forever and you never came."
Qi Chengyan was stunned. "Guan Xiao Wu, getting bold, aren't you? What kind of nonsense is that?"
Guan Zhiyi huffed. "Did I hit a nerve?"
Qi Chengyan glanced back at her. "She's a business partner from the company. We just happened to run into each other."
"Oh... I see."
"What else would it be?"
"Nothing. I just, I think checking out a girl's legs is only human." Guan Zhiyi, secretly pleased, spun it out casually. "Like my brother. I catch him checking out girls' legs on the street all the time. That's why I just assumed you were the same."
Qi Chengyan's brow arched slightly. "Your brother?"
Guan Zhiyi had no qualms about throwing Guan Yuanbai under the bus, "Mm, yes! So I get it. It's normal. All normal."
**
They'd barely run a few minutes today before calling it quits, so when Qi Chengyan carried Guan Zhiyi back to her house, it was still early. Only one or two household staff were in the kitchen preparing breakfast.
Qi Chengyan set Guan Zhiyi on the couch. "Sit still. I'll get the first-aid kit."
"Oh."
Qi Chengyan knew her house as well as his own. He found the kit easily, pulled over a small single-seat stool, and sat down to rummage through it.
"Rub it with the medicated liniment first. If it still hurts later, you're seeing a doctor. Understood?"
"Understood."
Qi Chengyan found the bruise medicine. Just as he was about to hand it to her, a long leg suddenly lifted right in front of him and settled, naturally, across his thigh.
Through two layers of fabric they felt faintly warm.
He froze for two seconds, then looked at Guan Zhiyi. She said, wide-eyed and innocent, "I want to see if it still hurts after you rub it. If it does, we'll call the doctor."
Qi Chengyan hadn't planned on rubbing it for her. So when she so matter-of-factly assumed he would, he genuinely froze.
"What's wrong, Gege? Don't you know how?" She tilted her head at him.
Qi Chengyan was momentarily at a loss for words. He only looked down instinctively at her leg on his thigh.
Her leg was very pale. Against his black workout pants, it was startlingly white.
For some reason, her earlier words flashed through his mind: I'm definitely not as long-legged as that Miss Lin.
No, not as long as Miss Lin's, because she was shorter. But it was obvious the leg in front of him was several shades paler than that woman's, and straighter too.
Her manager hadn't been wrong. Her legs were perfectly proportioned. If it came down to it, her legs were far better-looking than Miss Lin's.
"What are you two doing?" A puzzled voice came from behind them.
Qi Chengyan's heart lurched, his thoughts snapped back. The instant they did, it was like cold water poured down his back.
What had he just been thinking?
"What happened to your leg?" Guan Yuanbai came down the stairs, surprised. "Did you two go running?"
Qi Chengyan's eyes darkened. Without a word, he quietly lifted Guan Zhiyi's leg off him. "Morning run. Xiao Wu twisted her ankle."
"Morning run?" Guan Yuanbai stared at Guan Zhiyi in shock. "You can get up that early?"
Guan Zhiyi was about to retort when Qi Chengyan stood. "Good timing. You apply the medicine for her. Something came up at the office. I need to head in early."
Guan Yuanbai didn't question it. "Oh, go ahead then."
Qi Chengyan set down the medicine, grabbed his phone, and headed out. He walked fast. Guan Zhiyi hadn't even reacted before he was gone.
"I didn't know you could go for morning runs. Did you take the wrong pills?" Guan Yuanbai sat down where Qi Chengyan had been, opening the medicine as he spoke. "And you managed to twist your ankle running. Impressive... This one?"
Guan Zhiyi stared after Qi Chengyan, furious. He hadn't even rubbed her leg for her! Hadn't he said her legs were short? He should have measured them then.
So annoying... her brother just had to interrupt them. If he hadn't come down, Qi Chengyan would definitely be the one applying the medicine right now!
The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. And in a moment of muddled impulse, she did something she'd never normally dare. When Guan Yuanbai bent down and reached out to apply the medicine, she kicked his hand away!
And she kicked it pretty hard.
Guan Yuanbai's medicine-soaked hand froze in midair. "..."
"...I, if I said it was a knee-jerk reflex, would you believe me?" Guan Zhiyi said quietly as she came back to herself.
Guan Yuanbai: "?"
Guan Zhiyi gave a dry laugh. "Haha, weird... I suddenly feel like my ankle doesn't hurt anymore."
"???"
"I guess I won't trouble you after all, Ge. You're busy running the world. I'll do this myself later. So, I'll be going!"
With that, Guan Zhiyi jumped off the couch and, skirting the edge of Guan Yuanbai's imminent explosion, bolted upstairs.
Guan Yuanbai rose slowly, staring in disbelief at his wrist, which still throbbed from the kick. "Guan, Zhi, yi!"
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Author's Note:
An unnamed spectator would like to say: Bai, I'd let you apply the medicine for me! Come!
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