I'm Rich - 37
Chapter 37
The Imperial Court was a smash hit, and everyone involved stood to benefit.
The celebration party that night was a lively affair. With no press and no outsiders, even the actors let loose.
Xiao Ran came over with a drink in hand. He bent down and murmured something to Guan Zhiyi, and she followed him off with a grin. Her expression shifted so completely, it was as if the person who'd just told him, stone-cold serious, that he "had no right to interfere" had never existed.
Qi Chengyan watched the two of them walk away, his expression unreadable.
"President Qi, everyone wants to toast you again." A few crew members approached.
Qi Chengyan's mouth tugged into the faintest semblance of a smile. He politely accepted the drink, but their enthusiasm didn't reach him at all. One glass down, and his eyes were still cold, completely without warmth.
No right to interfere... He had no right to interfere...
This was the first time in all her years that she'd ever spoken to him like that.
Unbelievable. Had the world turned upside down?
Guan Zhiyi, Xiao Ran, and Zhao Mingming were all thoroughly drunk. The three of them sat on the stone steps of the estate, trading funny stories from filming and roasting each other's terrible drinking habits.
"Oh, hey, do you guys remember that time President Qi came to visit the set?" Zhao Mingming kept dredging up old memories from the shoot. "My first thought was, damn, our boss is way too handsome!"
Xiao Ran burst out laughing. "How handsome? Handsome enough that you fell for him at first sight?"
"As if!" Zhao Mingming shot back. "I was just saying it! And besides, besides, our President Qi already has little Zhiyi. Don't go running your mouth!"
Guan Zhiyi had been giggling along with them, but through the laughter she caught Qi Chengyan's name. In that instant, her alcohol-numbed heart gave a violent, painful squeeze.
She tilted her head and made a pitiful face. "Mingming-jie, don't say stuff like that. I'm not, I'm not his little… Zhiyi."
"Hahahaha, not his little Zhiyi, then what... his girlfriend?"
Guan Zhiyi shook her head wildly. "N-nothing. Nothing at all."
"How is that possible!"
"It's true." Guan Zhiyi clinked her glass against Zhao Mingming's. "I could end up with anyone! Anyone but him! There's no chance!"
Zhao Mingming grinned. "Yeah? Then what about you and Xiao Ran, is there a chance?"
Guan Zhiyi downed her drink in one go and glanced at Xiao Ran. "Mmm... Teacher Xiao is pretty handsome too."
Xiao Ran propped his head on his hand, grinning. "I also think I'm pretty handsome. Zhiyi, I already asked around. That guy's not interested in you. So I'm thinking, why don't you just be with me?"
Guan Zhiyi thought about it, then shook her head.
Xiao Ran looked genuinely wounded by the instant rejection. "What! How am I worse than Qi Chengyan!"
Guan Zhiyi said earnestly, "Teacher Xiao, you can't date. Didn't your manager tell you? A top celebrity like you, dating means, means..."
"Means unemployment," Zhao Mingming supplied.
"Yes yes yes, means unemployment!"
"So what you're saying is I'm gonna die a bachelor?"
"Sure, why not? You're every girl's dream. You should stay a bachelor forever."
"Hahahahaha—"
...
The three of them laughed and fooled around, drinking plenty more outside.
As the sky darkened, people gradually dispersed. Some who'd had too much were carried off to their rooms to rest. Others clustered in small groups, continuing to chat through the haze of alcohol.
Xiao Ran was eventually called away by Li Xuan. The bottles around Zhao Mingming and Guan Zhiyi were empty, the two of them stumbled to their feet.
"Hold me, hold me. Zhiyi, are you steady on your feet?"
Guan Zhiyi shook her head. "No! I'm perfectly steady!"
The two of them wobbled into the inner rooms.
Zhao Mingming's assistant spotted them first and hurried over. "Mingming-jie, let me help you to your room to rest."
Zhao Mingming nodded. "Bring Zhiyi too."
"Okay."
But the assistant was just one girl. How could she handle two people? She was about to call for Mao Mao when someone suddenly steadied Guan Zhiyi.
The assistant blinked. "President Qi."
"I've got her. You take Miss Zhao to rest."
The assistant glanced at Guan Zhiyi. "Uh... o-okay."
Guan Zhiyi had been clinging to Zhao Mingming's arm. Being forcibly pried away, she was not happy. "Hey, Mingming-jie, Mingming-jie where are you going..."
Zhao Mingming waved at her with a dopey grin, already being led away by her assistant.
Guan Zhiyi watched, wanting to follow, but after one step she was pulled back. She looked up at whoever had grabbed her, annoyed. "What are you doing... I wanna go find her..."
"If I don't keep an eye on you, this is what you do to yourself?" Qi Chengyan gripped her arm, his face dark.
Guan Zhiyi squinted at him for a moment, as if she couldn't see clearly, then rubbed her eyes hard. "But I'm not drunk, I can still drink..."
Qi Chengyan's eye twitched. "You're way out of your league."
"You—"
"Get on." Qi Chengyan didn't wait for her to finish. He turned around and hoisted her onto his back in one smooth motion.
Guan Zhiyi's head was already spinning, and the sudden jostling made her feel like her soul was leaving her body. She slumped against his shoulder, watching the ground recede, and mumbled, "Mmm... so high. Dizzy."
"Now you know dizzy?"
"Put me down, I'm scared of heights, I'm gonna pass out."
Qi Chengyan ignored her completely, carrying her through the long corridor and straight up to the lodging building.
By now, those who needed rest were resting, and those who weren't were still playing in the main hall. The path upstairs was empty except for Guan Zhiyi's chattering.
"Put me down, put me down... hey... put me down."
Qi Chengyan, his neck being tugged, was forced to lean back. "Keep it up. Keep it up and I'll throw you down the stairs!"
"Huh?" Guan Zhiyi blearily peered past the railing. The spiral staircase opened directly onto the ground floor below. She yelped and shrank back. "No, it's so high..."
Qi Chengyan hadn't expected a scare tactic meant for a child to work on a drunk. He smiled helplessly. "Then stop squirming and behave."
"Oh..."
The person on his back relaxed her grip and went still.
Qi Chengyan let out a breath of relief. Just when he thought he could finally walk normally, the back of his neck went warm.
Something hot and soft pressed against him.
Qi Chengyan's steps halted abruptly. "Xiao Wu—"
"Hm?"
"Stop moving around!"
But the person behind him didn't stop. Her lips brushed lightly across his skin, then her nose nuzzled after them, burrowing insistently against him.
Broken sounds and warm breath slipped into his collar, sending ripples cascading through him.
Qi Chengyan's expression shifted instantly, his voice dropping low. "Move again and I really will throw you down."
"You smell nice..."
"..."
"A smell I know..." Guan Zhiyi tightened her arms around his neck, sniffing at him playfully.
Qi Chengyan gritted his teeth. When he couldn't stop her, he simply picked up the pace.
Finally reaching the room upstairs, he pushed the door open and set Guan Zhiyi down on the bed.
"Let go."
Guan Zhiyi sat on the edge of the bed, but her hands were still hooked around his neck. "Don't throw me downstairs, I'm being good..."
Qi Chengyan didn't dare use force on her. He turned to face her and reached up to pry her interlocked fingers loose. But facing her like this, he could see clearly the flush of drunkenness on her cheeks, spreading to her ears, her neck, and even... further down, disappearing into her collar.
Qi Chengyan felt his heart lurch violently. He immediately looked away. And somehow, she'd found a burst of strength. Her hands were locked tight, for a moment he actually couldn't get them free.
"It hurts, stop pulling..." Guan Zhiyi murmured, her eyes unfocused, her whole body soft and boneless as she leaned into him.
Qi Chengyan went rigid, caught between advancing and retreating.
"I'm so dizzy..."
Qi Chengyan took a soft breath and coaxed her in a low voice. "If you're dizzy, let go. Lie down and sleep it off, okay?"
"You won't throw me?"
"I won't."
"Promise?" She tilted her head up, asking seriously.
Qi Chengyan looked down at her and nodded. "I promise. I won't throw you."
"Good..." Guan Zhiyi smiled, happily releasing her grip. But just as Qi Chengyan breathed a sigh of relief and moved to pull away, her hands suddenly cradled his face.
"Do you know you're really annoying like this..." she said softly.
The words came out of nowhere. Qi Chengyan didn't understand and didn't mind. He just assumed she was drunk. "Yeah, I know. Come on, lie down."
"You don't know. You have no idea. Let me tell you, you are really, really annoying! But also the kind of... mwah!" Before she could finish, Guan Zhiyi suddenly leaned in and planted a firm kiss on his lips.
…but also the kind of annoying that I really, really like.
Qi Chengyan froze.
He was bent over, staring at the dazed girl before him, his heart slammed up into his throat with a vibration he couldn't name, numbing him from head to toe in an instant.
The numbness seeped into every limb, and suddenly his throat was dry, his body burning.
"You're nice to kiss. So soft... mmm, so this is what it's like." Guan Zhiyi giggled foolishly and pressed a finger to his lips. "Can I kiss you again?"
"..."
"Yes."
No one had answered her, she answered herself and leaned forward again. This time she didn't use force, just pressed close, shifting slowly against him.
Then her hands came up too, not gripping tight like before, just resting on his neck.
Resting, but the pads of her fingers brushed across his skin like a tease.
"You don't move... that's nice... mmm!" The moment the words left her mouth, she was suddenly pushed down.
Guan Zhiyi's head hit the soft quilt. She blinked for two seconds, staring dazedly at the ceiling. "Didn't you say you wouldn't throw me..."
Qi Chengyan braced his hands on either side of her, looking down at her from above.
Crazy.
Like a beast deep in a dark cave, like magma waiting to erupt, everything inside him that had been suppressed, forbidden, rational, never once imagined... all of it was drawn out with maddening ease.
"Do you know what you're doing?"
Guan Zhiyi's gaze drifted from the ceiling back to his face. She tilted her head and curved her lips. "I know."
Qi Chengyan's voice was hoarse. "Then do you know who I am?"
Guan Zhiyi's smile faded. Her temper flared fast. She grabbed his collar and yanked him down hard.
"A bastard..."
She bit him.
Qi Chengyan had been holding back with everything he had, but in that moment, the beast left its cave, the magma erupted. His chest felt like it had been blown open, and nothing could hold it back anymore.
Was the culprit the alcohol, or his heart?
He couldn't tell anymore.
He only knew he couldn't stop himself. He hooked into the sweetness that wound around him and let the dark current he'd buried so deep come surging forward.
The kiss grew fiercer. Guan Zhiyi went from dazed to struggling.
She couldn't breathe...
She pushed against his chest, her vision blurring. "Mmm... hurts..."
"..."
He stopped abruptly.
Her struggle snapped Qi Chengyan back to his senses. He caught her wrists as she clawed at his clothes, his breathing ragged, his eyes dark as a bottomless pool.
And beneath him, her hair was a mess, tears glistening in her eyes. She looked so pitiful, as if she'd been terribly wronged.
Qi Chengyan's breath caught. "Where does it hurt..."
Guan Zhiyi covered her mouth with her hand, on the verge of tears. "My tongue hurts..."
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Author's Note:
You beast! Stop right there! (violently)
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