I'm Rich - 65
Once back in the car, Qi Chengyan fastened her seatbelt and drove toward Yuhe Mansion.
"Are we going to Xinghe Bay?" Guan Zhiyi leaned against the car window and asked him.
"No. Taking you home."
Hearing this, Guan Zhiyi's face fell slightly. "Why not Xinghe Bay?"
Qi Chengyan glanced sideways at her, a hint of a smile touching the corner of his mouth. "So eager to come home with me?"
"Mhm... Can I?"
Qi Chengyan paused for a moment. "No."
"Why?"
It wasn't that he didn't want to. It was just that given her current state, he had no idea if he could exercise any self-control. Naturally, he wouldn't say that part out loud. "If I don't take you home today, Yuanbai will probably show up looking for you."
Guan Zhiyi tugged at the hem of his jacket and said in a small voice, "Then I won't go with him either. I'm going... hiccup... home with you."
Qi Chengyan smiled. "You sound so adamant now, but when you see him, you'll be scared to death."
"I'm not scared of him at all..."
"Right. Best hope so."
Guan Zhiyi puffed out her cheeks. "I think you're the one who's scared of him."
Qi Chengyan kept his eyes on the road ahead, his brow lifting slightly at the remark. "Judging by how things stand right now, I suppose I am."
Guan Zhiyi froze. "Really?"
"Of course. After all, he's your brother. I'm afraid if I upset him, he won't let you be with me anymore."
Under normal circumstances, this would undoubtedly sound like a joke. But to Guan Zhiyi, who was seven or eight sheets to the wind, it felt like absolute reality.
She said earnestly, "If he and Dad object to us, can you not just forcefully take me away?"
Qi Chengyan turned to look at her, amused. "And would you be willing to come with me?"
"I would!"
"So you're saying, no dad, no brother, and from now on you'll only be with me. Is that it?"
Guan Zhiyi opened her mouth, her eyes flickering with clear struggle. After turning it over in her mind for a long time, she finally said, "Actually, my Dad and my brother care about me a lot. In the end, they'd definitely choose to forgive us..."
Seeing how easy she was to tease when drunk, Qi Chengyan put on a deliberately pained expression. "It seems that in your eyes, I still can't compare to your family. I suppose your willingness to run away with me was a lie after all."
"No, no, that's not something you can even compare..."
Guan Zhiyi was entirely befuddled, having such a question thrown at her like this. It was like asking a small child whether their mother or father was more important.
Qi Chengyan glanced at her, taking in her tormented expression, and laughed softly. "All right. I was just joking with you."
"You're very important too..."
"I know."
"You're extremely important."
"Mhm, okay."
All the way back, Guan Zhiyi remained trapped inside the previous topic.
Once they arrived home, Qi Chengyan helped her out of the car. As they stepped through the front door, she still asked with absolute sincerity, "Were you mad just now...?"
Qi Chengyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Xiao Wu, I was just teasing you. Be a good girl, we're home. Go back to your room and get some proper rest."
"Oh..."
After helping her inside, they found that Guan Yuanbai had already returned.
He was sitting in the living room and walked over as the two of them entered. "Is she drunk?"
Qi Chengyan nodded. "Song Li and the others poured heavily, and your sister took every single drink."
Guan Yuanbai glanced at Guan Zhiyi. "Of course she took every single drink. Those people were blessing her and you being together. It'd probably have her floating on air."
The corners of Qi Chengyan's mouth lifted slightly. "Let her go get some rest first."
"Yeah." Guan Yuanbai reached out to support her, but the moment his hand touched the air, Guan Zhiyi took a step back and shrank behind Qi Chengyan.
Guan Yuanbai's hand hung suspended in empty space. "What's wrong?"
Guan Zhiyi looked at him with a silly expression. "Ge, you'll forgive me, right...?"
Guan Yuanbai: "What?"
Guan Zhiyi pointed at Qi Chengyan. "I eloped with him. You'll forgive me, right?"
Qi Chengyan paused, turning to look at her in surprise.
The alcohol was running too deep, and she was far too invested in the role...
Without knowing the backstory, Guan Yuanbai immediately raised his voice. "What's wrong with you? What elope?"
Qi Chengyan pulled him back slightly, offering a reminder. "She's drunk."
Guan Yuanbai said angrily, "In wine there is truth. Getting drunk and babbling about eloping just means this is what she's been turning over in her head all this time."
Guan Zhiyi let out a soft huff. "Why are you being so fierce? Aren't you going to forgive me..."
"..."
Seeing that Guan Yuanbai remained silent, Guan Zhiyi's face instantly fell into despair. "Then you're making things really difficult for me. I don't know how to choose. Whichever one I pick, I'm going to be heartbroken."
The corner of Guan Yuanbai's mouth twitched. "Forgive you? If you ever actually dared to pull a stunt like that, I'd break your legs right now."
Guan Zhiyi immediately grabbed the front of Qi Chengyan's clothes in a tight grip.
Qi Chengyan shot him a warning look. "Guan Yuanbai."
Guan Yuanbai pinched the bridge of his nose. "Fine, leave her to me. I'll take her upstairs."
"I won't..." Unwilling to let go, Guan Zhiyi clutched onto Qi Chengyan and declared, "Don't leave..."
Qi Chengyan shook his head and said to Guan Yuanbai, "See? Why'd you go and frighten someone who's drunk?"
Speechless, Guan Yuanbai tapped Guan Zhiyi lightly on the forehead. "Come on. Are you coming upstairs with me or not?"
"No." Guan Zhiyi wrapped both arms around Qi Chengyan from behind, throwing all caution to the wind. "Take me home with you, please."
Guan Yuanbai: "?"
Qi Chengyan gave a soft cough, turning around to coax her. "I can't take you home."
"You don't like me..."
"That's truly not it," Qi Chengyan said. "I'll take you to your room and stay with you. I won't leave until you fall asleep. How about that?"
Guan Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, appearing to yield, though her gaze remained fixed straight on Guan Yuanbai.
The corners of Qi Chengyan's lips curved. "I won't let him follow us, I promise."
"Okay!"
Guan Yuanbai: "What on earth is wrong with you two???"
"I'm taking her to bed. You go rest." With that, Qi Chengyan took Guan Zhiyi by the hand and led her up the stairs.
Watching their retreating backs, Guan Yuanbai was torn between exasperation and amusement.
Come to think of it, he hadn't felt this way in many years. The last time Guan Zhiyi had latched onto Qi Chengyan and insisted on going home with him, she'd been just a little kid...
The next day, Guan Zhiyi made the trending searches once again.
When she found out and opened Weibo, the sight of the video featuring herself left her stunned by her own utter lack of sense.
She hadn't been that drunk yesterday, had she? How'd she manage to be so full of leisure and high spirits that she was stopping to chat with paparazzi?
The footage started rolling the moment she stepped out of the car, capturing her chatting, handing out candy, and finally Qi Chengyan coming to collect her... The lighting was poor, but it was still unmistakably her.
The video itself was harmless enough, showing at most that she'd consumed a bit of alcohol... Still, watching herself behave like that made her feel deeply foolish.
Liu Yun hadn't the slightest intention of trying to suppress the search trend upon seeing it. Instead, she messaged a long string of "hahahahah" over WeChat. Just like Liu Yun, the comment section below was a rolling wave of laughter.
[ I'm dying of laughter. Listening to that paparazzi reporter's dumbfounded voice, he must've been scared half to death by Guan Zhiyi. ]
[ Handing out candy so the guy could keep his energy up. Did you think he was working extra hard just to secretly film you or something? ]
[ That bow cracked my ribs. ]
[ Is anyone else only paying attention to her line, "We've been together since we were kids"? Are Guan Zhiyi and Qi Chengyan childhood sweethearts?? ]
[ The Guan and Qi families are extremely close, so growing up together is hardly surprising. ]
[ So envious~ They fit each other perfectly! ]
[ Guan Zhiyi refusing to let the reporter film her boyfriend is actually kind of adorable. ]
[ She looks a little tipsy. ]
[ Did Qi Chengyan just call her Xiao Wu? What's that about? (For some reason I find that thrilling) ]
[ Guan Zhiyi is the fifth child of her generation in the Guan family. ]
[ My former husband is still so handsome! ]
...
Ever since Guan Zhiyi made her relationship public, she and Qi Chengyan frequently dominated the trending searches. The main driver was a wave of internet fans unearthing old material. Although Qi Chengyan wasn't a celebrity and the footprint was smaller, fans possessed eagle eyes. For example, back at an early Starlight Awards gala, the two of them had been seated at the same table. And when Guan Zhiyi returned from filming an advertisement in France, Qi Chengyan had flown back to the capital on the exact same flight.
These small resurfaced tidbits were entirely innocuous, and Guan Zhiyi occasionally even found herself reading through them with great amusement. With a bit of processing by the fans, some of those scenes took on a rather sweet sheen.
She spent quite a long stretch resting at home. During those days, the routine rarely varied: daytime dates with Qi Chengyan, followed by him driving her home every single night. Without exception.
It almost made her nostalgic for the days before they'd gone public with their families. Back then... she'd actually been sleeping over at his place.
Yet every now and then, she'd think: since their families knew they were together, and they were both adults, would it really matter if she didn't go home to sleep for a single night...? But Qi Chengyan didn't seem particularly eager to have her stay over. And if he didn't ask, she certainly wasn't going to push the issue, lest she look overly eager.
Though this period served as a professional downtime, television and variety show offers kept rolling in.
After careful screening, Liu Yun finally secured a variety show for her ahead of her scheduled return to work. The show had been surging in popularity over the past two years, adopting an experiential reality format where a new theme was established each episode, setting the guests loose on open-air outdoor challenge sports.
On a Saturday morning, Guan Zhiyi set off to record the program. The shoot would span two full days, requiring the cast to stay at a hotel arranged by the production team.
The show's ratings were exceptionally high, but running around all over the place during recording took a heavy toll on physical stamina. By the end of the first day's shoot, Guan Zhiyi's legs were aching mercilessly from a full day of walking. After returning to the hotel and taking a hot shower, she collapsed flat onto the bed.
[ Are you finished? ]
Her phone chimed with a message from Qi Chengyan.
Lying face down on the bed, Guan Zhiyi replied: [ Back. So tired, so tired, so tired. ]
[ Filmed all day? ]
[ Mhm. Walking until my calves are cramping, but the games were actually pretty fun. ]
Qi Chengyan: [ Are Liu Yun and the others around? ]
Guan Zhiyi: [ They followed me around all day too. I told them to go rest. ]
Qi Chengyan: [ Good. Wait for me a bit. ]
Guan Zhiyi blinked in surprise: [ You're not coming over, are you? ]
Qi Chengyan: [ Not far. I'll be there soon. ]
The shoot was taking place right within the city. While it might not be far, driving over still required a good half hour. Guan Zhiyi didn't want him running around in the middle of the night, so she told him not to bother. Yet half an hour later, he arrived at the hotel anyway.
To say she was unhappy would be a lie. For a young woman in love, seeing the person she adored appear before her right when she was at her most exhausted made the sweetness in her chest overflow.
The chill of the night air still clung to Qi Chengyan when he stepped inside. The moment Guan Zhiyi closed the door behind him, she launched herself straight into his arms.
Qi Chengyan stroked her head. "I'm freezing cold."
"It doesn't matter." Clinging to him and refusing to let go, Guan Zhiyi noticed the bag he was carrying and asked, "Did you buy me something?"
"Food. Don't worry, I know you worry about gaining weight if you eat late, it's just two boxes of fruit."
Guan Zhiyi murmured, "But fruit has a lot of sugar too..."
Qi Chengyan hadn't thought that deeply into it. He'd simply remembered that she liked cherries and strawberries, so he picked some up along the way. Seeing him pause slightly, Guan Zhiyi added, "Still, since you bought it, I'll eat it even if it makes me fat."
"Shall I wash these? Go lie down."
"Okay!"
Guan Zhiyi pattered back over to the bed. A short while later, Qi Chengyan finished washing the fruit and set the container on the bedside table.
He sat down on the edge of the mattress and glanced at her legs. She was wearing a hotel bathrobe, leaving her calves bare, fair, and delicate, though the skin around her toes was slightly red and swollen.
"When are you heading back?" Guan Zhiyi asked between bites of fruit.
"Just dropped by to see you. I'll leave in a bit."
"Oh..."
"You have to run around for another day tomorrow?" He frowned, reaching out to touch the patch of red swelling.
Ticklish by nature, Guan Zhiyi instinctively pulled her foot back. But halfway through the retreat, remembering something, she hastily extended her leg back toward his hand. "Mhm, another whole day of running. My calves are twitching and aching like crazy."
Qi Chengyan wrapped his fingers around her ankle. "I'll have a word with Liu Yun."
"You don't need to say anything. It's just a show; we mustn't pull rank or ask for special treatment." Guan Zhiyi blinked, giving him a pitiful look. "Just don't leave yet. If you give me a massage, I'll feel all better."
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