Chapter 8: No Problem.

Zhang Weigang had the distinct feeling that Wei Qingxuan had been staring at him all day.

After seeing a table of guests out, he walked over to Wei Qingxuan, somewhat uneasy.

“Brother Xuan, what’s wrong? Do you need something from me?”

Being intimidated by someone two years younger was humiliating enough, and Zhang Weigang silently despised himself for it.

But Wei Qingxuan’s gaze was simply too oppressive, sharp enough to feel like it might skin him alive.

Zhang Weigang was baffled.

He hadn’t slacked off today, had he?

“Are you free this weekend?” Wei Qingxuan asked only after studying him for a long moment.

“Ah, yeah, pretty free. Though I might have a tentative date.”

His tone carried expectation, but his voice gradually weakened.

He could clearly sense that after he said that, Wei Qingxuan’s gaze turned even colder.

“I need a favor this weekend. Depends on your schedule.”

So that was it.

Zhang Weigang let out a breath of relief.

From that posture earlier, he’d thought it was something major.

His first instinct was to refuse.

But after a few seconds of silence, he saw Wei Qingxuan smile at him.

He was smiling.

Yet his eyes rippled like a frigid abyss.

Zhang Weigang coughed lightly, suddenly suspecting that if he really did refuse, the consequences would not be pleasant.

Since Wen Qi hadn’t confirmed their plan anyway, he pulled out his phone.

—Qiqi, guess we’ll have to hang out another time.

The moment Wen Qi received the message, she tightened her grip on her phone and looked toward Wei Qingxuan.

He had to be behind this.

Across the crowd, his gaze found her as well, colliding precisely with her glare.

He didn’t look away.

Instead, the corner of his lips curved slightly before his expression did, calm, assured, as if everything had gone exactly as he’d predicted.

To Wen Qi, that expression looked like concealed smugness.

Her chest burned with suppressed anger, but she couldn’t leave her post, so she swallowed it for now.

At noon, the hall was quiet, and everyone had a short break.

Wei Qingxuan thought Wen Qi would come find him.

But after waiting for quite some time, she didn’t appear.

He stepped out to ask Chen Yuyi, only to learn that Lan Yan had come by earlier.

He’d seen Wen Qi looking displeased and offered to take her somewhere “fun.”

Wei Qingxuan’s brows knit together as he headed straight for the motorcycle zone.

The second-floor viewing platform sat close to the track.

The deafening roar of engines tore through the air, wind whipping past and scattering most of Wen Qi’s lingering irritation.

On the track, riders leaned so low their knees nearly scraped the ground.

The bikes tilted sharply, back wheels kicking up dust that arced in the sunlight.

“Pretty cool,” Wen Qi praised sincerely.

Lan Yan watched her expression relax and asked,

“When I saw you earlier, you looked like you were about to settle a score. Who ticked you off?”

Thinking of Wei Qingxuan’s earlier look, so certain, so in control, as if even her anger had been anticipated, Wen Qi bit her teeth, annoyance flaring again.

“No one.”

“Want to go down and try a lap?”

Before she could answer, the door behind them banged open.

They both turned at once.

A guy in racing pants stepped out, holding a black tank top crumpled in his hand.

His abdomen was sharply defined, arms firm and toned.

A damp towel hung around his neck, droplets sliding from his collarbone downward.

Lan Yan was about to call him away, but when his eyes flicked to a shadowed figure by the doorway, the words died in his throat.

Wen Qi leaned casually against the railing, arms loosely folded over her chest.

There was no awkwardness, no fluster.

She simply watched with open appreciation, radiating an effortless, unbothered cool.

The half-dressed guy hadn’t realized anyone was there.

Since he was already out, he figured he might as well greet them.

“Lan Yan, and this is?”

He didn’t recall seeing such a pretty girl around the club before.

Wen Qi smiled brightly.

“Hi, I’m Wen Qi.”

From the shadows, someone finally spoke, his voice two degrees lower than usual.

“Came here to unwind?”

Wen Qi shifted her gaze, meeting Wei Qingxuan’s dark eyes.

His sleeves were rolled to his elbows.

Standing in the dim light, he glanced at the half-naked guy not far away, a faint crease forming between his brows.

His tone revealed nothing.

“Seen enough? Time to go.”

A smile curved across Wen Qi’s lips, eyes tilting upward with deliberate nonchalance.

“Of course… not.”

Wei Qingxuan’s calm expression darkened bit by bit.

Without a word, he grabbed her sleeve and led her out.

To his surprise, she didn’t resist.

She simply turned and called over her shoulder,

“See you next time.”

There was deliberate regret in her tone.

Lan Yan’s smile widened.

“Come again. I’ll take you for a few laps.”

Wei Qingxuan stopped briefly, forcing himself to ignore Lan Yan’s voice.

His gaze settled on Wen Qi’s face, layered with something difficult to decipher.

“You like watching that much? The bikes, or the people?”

Wen Qi raised a brow, chin lifting defiantly.

“Both.”

Her eyes swept over a motorcycle launching from the starting line, then drifted lightly to the half-naked guy’s retreating back.

“The bikes are fast, and the guys are easy on the eyes. What’s the problem?”

Wei Qingxuan didn’t answer immediately.

He simply stared at her.

Something churned beneath his eyes, dark currents stirring.

In those few silent seconds, the roar of engines seemed to amplify, battering against the eardrums.

Then he let out a low laugh, half exasperation, half something else.

He lifted a hand to loosen his collar, knuckles brushing his Adam’s apple.

His tone was even, but carried an oppressive weight.

“Fine. No problem.”

****

Wen Qi had a voice-acting account online under the username 77.

She occasionally edited and uploaded clips of her own dubbing.

She’d started in high school, and over time had gathered quite a following.

Tonight, she broke precedent and went live.

The last time she’d streamed had been after a bad final exam put her in a foul mood.

She hadn’t expected so many viewers to flood in the moment she started.

[!!! It’s Sister’s voice! I’m here I’m here!]

[Front row! What are we dubbing today? I’m guessing a sweet romance scene~]

[Please give us a little bonus! Maybe sing a couple lines? (starry eyes.jpg)]

[77 sounds in such a good mood today! Did something nice happen?

****

Yes.

For example, Wei Qingxuan’s look of absolute confidence had completely disappeared.

On the way back, he’d been unusually quiet, seemingly lost in thought.

She’d called him several times before he snapped out of it.

Only when they reached the underground garage did he finally speak.

“Wen Qi, don’t casually stare at other people’s-”

Wen Qi got out of the car, walked around the hood, and stopped in front of him.

“What do you mean casually? He walked out like that himself. And-”

Her voice slowed.

“What do you mean ‘other people’s’? If you’re not ‘other people,’ does that mean I can look at yours?”

The air froze for two seconds.

The calm mask Wei Qingxuan had been maintaining cracked.

Shock.

Disbelief.

A flicker of anger.

“Wen Qi.”

In that instant, the heaviness she’d felt all afternoon suddenly cleared.

“Don’t yell my name. I can hear you.”

She smiled.

“I’m serious. Hey- how’s your figure?”

Her gaze swept over him casually, then lowered slowly toward his waist.

Wei Qingxuan’s pupils contracted sharply.

The tips of his ears flushed at visible speed.

His Adam’s apple bobbed.

All he managed to leave behind were two words, “Utterly unreasonable.”

Then he turned and strode off quickly, his retreating figure almost resembling flight.

Wen Qi called after him, “If you won’t let me look, then you’re not allowed to stop me from looking at others either.”

Remembering it now, she laughed so hard she had to bend over.

“I really encountered something interesting today.”

[What? What?? (curious.jpg)]

[77, tell us!]

****

She hesitated, then chose not to share that story.

With a few quick lines, she shifted the topic.

Just as she was chatting and laughing, her phone chimed.

Without thinking, she picked it up and unlocked the screen.

A photo filled the display.

Wei Qingxuan leaned half-reclined against his headboard, eyes half-lidded.

A bath towel was loosely knotted around his waist.

Water droplets slid along the contours of firm muscle into shadowed lines below, where the image grew faint.

Her phone chimed again.

A message from Wei Qingxuan.

—Where else do you want to look?