I'm Rich - 29
Chapter 29
Guan Zhiyi had only just arrived. She'd come because she'd read those comments online, and guilt had been eating at her.
"Why didn't you call me?" Qi Chengyan looked down at her.
Guan Zhiyi hesitated, a little embarrassed. "Have you... seen the news online?"
Qi Chengyan frowned. "I saw it. You didn't—"
"I'm sorry." Before he could finish, Guan Zhiyi said softly.
Qi Chengyan blinked. "What?"
Guan Zhiyi: "Yun-jie said someone probably picked their moment to smear me. I don't know how you got dragged into it, but the things people are saying are pretty vicious. Don't take them to heart."
Qi Chengyan's throat tightened. He looked at her silently for a long moment before asking, "Does it hurt?"
"Huh?"
He took her wrist and turned her hand over. The scrape on her palm had already formed a thin scab.
Qi Chengyan said with displeasure, "Why didn't Liu Yun take you to get this treated?"
Guan Zhiyi caught on and tried to pull her hand back. "It's fine. I was in a hurry to get here, so she just drove me straight over."
Qi Chengyan said nothing. He took her by the hand and led her inside. It was late. Grandpa Qi was already upstairs resting, and there was no one else in the house. Qi Chengyan sat her down in the small sitting room and brought over the first aid kit to treat her palm.
He sat in front of her with his head lowered, expression cold. Guan Zhiyi stole a glance at him. "Um, about the stuff online..."
"You don't need to worry about it. I'll have someone handle it."
"But people have dug up all your information. Your photos are everywhere online now."
Qi Chengyan frowned. "I never made any particular effort to hide my information. Guan Zhiyi, your situation is what's worth worrying about right now. Why are you fussing over me?"
He'd used her full name and his tone was sharp.
Guan Zhiyi could sense he was angry. She pulled her hand back a little and said in a small voice, "But I'm used to it. You're not."
Qi Chengyan stopped. He looked up at her, a nameless fire burning in his chest. "You can get used to it, but I can't handle it? What, you think I'm weaker than you?"
"No, it's just that I don't like it. People can insult me all they want, but they can't insult you!" Guan Zhiyi's eyes darkened with stubbornness. "They don't know anything. How dare they make things up about you."
Qi Chengyan opened his mouth, suddenly didn't know what to say. His heart felt unbearably soft, somehow, his anger dissolved entirely.
She was being torn apart online, and she was worried about him being slandered?
"Honestly, I really don't feel that bad about my end of things." Guan Zhiyi said. "At first I was a little sad. I finally got people to like me, and suddenly this happen... But it's normal. In this line of work, you have to accept that. Besides, I still have people who support me. They will always stay by my side.”
The girl's eyes were sincere, clearly not just an act. Qi Chengyan sighed softly, feeling helpless.
She could accept it? But he couldn't accept it at all.
"Hiss... that hurts." Guan Zhiyi reached out and grabbed Qi Chengyan's wrist.
Qi Chengyan snapped back to himself, realising he'd pressed too hard. The cotton swab had jabbed into her wound.
He quickly eased up. "Sorry."
Guan Zhiyi tilted her head at him. "Relax, I'm a celebrity. Getting criticized is normal. But if your family sees this news, will they be upset?"
Qi Chengyan flicked her forehead casually. "If Grandpa sees news about you and me, he'll know exactly what's going on. You, on the other hand, should worry about how you're going to explain this to your dad and your brother."
"I don't have anything to explain to them." Guan Zhiyi leaned in slightly to stare at him. "Do you think it's believable? That I seduced you, that you're keeping me?"
Her eyes were still crystal clear, her expression teasing. But for some reason, at that moment, Qi Chengyan couldn't meet her gaze. The strange thoughts he'd been suppressing made him look away without thinking.
He lowered his eyes to her palm and said flatly, "Either way, it's bad for your reputation."
“Whether true or false, there's so much of such gossip in the industry." Guan Zhiyi leaned back. "As long as I stay true to myself, that's enough."
Qi Chengyan: "I'll have the trending topics taken down, and the company will put out a proper clarification. Don't worry."
"I know. But speaking of which, how do you clarify something like this so people actually believe it?"
Qi Chengyan thought about it. This had to have leaked from inside the company, and people online had already bought into it. If Guan Zhiyi was going to walk away clean, to shed this label completely, a single statement wouldn't cut it.
"Leave the explaining to me. Tonight, don't think about it. Go home and get some sleep."
Guan Zhiyi nodded but didn't get up.
Qi Chengyan put the antiseptic back in the kit and turned to look at her. "What is it?"
"I feel like I haven't seen you in so long." Guan Zhiyi looked at him, her expression suddenly turning a little aggrieved.
Qi Chengyan paused. "Aren't you filming? You're so busy, who do you even have time to see?"
"But I'm filming in the same city. I still have time sometimes." Guan Zhiyi reached out and tugged at his sleeve. "So next time I go back to set, if I want to have a meal with you, can I call you?"
Qi Chengyan was about to say yes on instinct, but when he saw her clean trusting eyes, something surfaced in his mind and he stopped.
"Can I or not? I feel like once I start filming I won't see you for ages." Guan Zhiyi puffed out her cheeks, persistently tugging at his hand. "I miss you when I don't see you for that long. Gege, don't you miss me?"
She said it with such reproach, as if she were more upset about this than about being torn apart online. Qi Chengyan looked at her, his heart softening with every tug.
He said helplessly, "Alright, alright. You make it sound like I refuse to eat with you."
Guan Zhiyi immediately said, "But every time I called you before, your assistant answered and always said you were busy. So I figured you probably wouldn't come out to eat?"
Qi Chengyan didn't answer right away.
During that period, he'd been deliberately distancing himself. That was why he hadn't called back.
"I was really busy then," he said.
"I figured." Guan Zhiyi didn't doubt him. She just continued, "Then you have to call back from now on, okay? If I can, I'll sneak over to see you."
"Sneak?"
"Well, I can't exactly make a big show of it. The things people say online aren't pretty."
Qi Chengyan thought of those "kept woman" comments and cleared his throat.
"Alright, it's settled. I'm heading home." Guan Zhiyi got up and started toward the door. But after a few steps, she suddenly turned back.
Qi Chengyan looked at her. "What—"
Before he could finish, the girl had already thrown herself at him, with the same reckless abandon as always, wrapping her arms around him in a full embrace.
Qi Chengyan was knocked back a step and barely caught her by the shoulders.
"About the scandal, thank you for not blaming me." Guan Zhiyi hugged him tightly. A few seconds later, she lifted her eyes, a glint of cunning flashing through them. Then, before he could react, she rose on her toes and whispered in his ear, "Gege, I knew you'd always be the best to me."
She was so close. Her warm breath brushed against the back of his ear.
Qi Chengyan froze. He felt the breath graze past him, sending a ripple from behind his ear all the way down his neck. And something in his chest felt like it had been viciously yanked, a sudden, catching palpitation.
"You..."
"I'll remember this! I'll treat you to lots and lots of good food in the future." Guan Zhiyi let go of him, smiling brightly. "Okay, I'm really leaving now. Bye."
She waved at him and turned to go.
Her figure disappeared through the doorway.
Qi Chengyan stood where he was, staring blankly at the direction she'd vanished. Her warmth and scent seemed to linger on him, faint and light, gnawing at his bones.
A long moment passed. Qi Chengyan's brow twitched hard, a chilling sensation spread through his limbs.
What... was that reaction just now?
**
After leaving the Qi residence, Guan Zhiyi's bright smile vanished instantly. She turned a corner, made sure Qi Chengyan couldn't see her, then slumped against the wall as if all the strength had drained from her.
She'd originally come to see him tonight just because of the online mess, and seeing him had put her at ease. But then, because she hadn't seen him in so long, she'd acted on impulse... and flirted with him.
Just hugging him, she figured, wouldn't get any particular reaction. She'd done it too many times for it to mean anything. So when she'd thrown herself at him, she'd leaned in close to his ear with almost wicked intent, speaking ambiguously right at his most sensitive spot.
But could he feel anything?
Guan Zhiyi took a shaky breath, a little frightened by her own boldness. She wanted him to feel something different, but she wasn't sure if she'd done it right.
These tricks were things she'd picked up from those fluffy dramas she used to act in. She couldn't exactly vouch for their quality...
"Phew... that should be okay, right?"
"What should be okay?" A voice suddenly came from ahead.
Guan Zhiyi jumped. She looked up and saw Guan Yuanbai standing in front of her. She immediately straightened. "Ge? When did you get here?"
"I got a call from Chengyan a little while ago and came back. Why are you standing out here?"
Guan Zhiyi's heart went guilty at the sight of Guan Yuanbai. "I, uh, I just came from Chengyan-gege's place."
Guan Yuanbai walked over and took her hand, turning it over. Her palm had been treated, but the red antiseptic made it look even more alarming. Guan Yuanbai frowned, a storm brewing in his eyes.
Guan Zhiyi pulled her hand back and hid it behind her. "So you saw the news too."
"I saw it."
"Oh."
"Does it hurt?"
"My hand? It doesn't hurt anymore..."
Guan Yuanbai: "What about your brain?"
"Huh?"
"Does your brain hurt?"
Guan Zhiyi's mouth twitched. "My brain... why would it hurt?"
"Exactly." Guan Yuanbai said flatly. "You don't have a brain. How could it hurt?"
"..."
Guan Yuanbai let go of her hand. "Go home."
"And you?"
"I'm going to see Chengyan." Guan Yuanbai glanced at her. "To figure out how to clean up this mess you've gotten yourself into, dummy.”
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