Chapter 121: I'm Here

Meili glanced at the Labubu in her belt bag, then at the message on her phone, and asked him, “You bought it?”

The reply came almost immediately:

Don’t you like it?

Well, it really was him.

He Huanhuan gave her a pat. “Meili, I’m talking to you!”

Meili instinctively zipped the bag shut, locking the Labubu inside.

But the bulging belt bag kept reminding her that it contained a Labubu worth several hundred yuan.

She had only admired it in the store that afternoon, completely unwilling to spend the money on it. And now it was lying in her bag.

How had he known she liked it?

Had he bought it for her simply because she liked it?

The importance he placed on her left her at a loss. Could it be that he really liked her?

She turned to Huanhuan. “Huanhuan...”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to call you.”

Her heart felt strangely heavy. Maybe she was simply bewildered and helpless because the kind of attention she had longed for since childhood had suddenly been given to her.

After thinking it over, she opened her phone and tapped into her chat with Liang Zheng.

On the other end, Liang Zheng had been waiting for her reply for a long time. He sent another message:

Do you like it?

A bright red exclamation mark immediately appeared on the screen.

Great. She’d been deleted.

Meili stared at the contact list after deleting him and let out a long breath of relief.

That had been close. She’d almost fallen for him!

Unlike Huanhuan, she had grandparents who doted on her.

After her parents divorced, they each quickly started new families and soon had children of their own.

From a very young age, Meili had lived between the two households. Both places were her home, yet neither truly felt like one.

That feeling became especially obvious during the holidays.

New Year’s was the worst. Her mother would take her husband and child back to their hometown and have no time to look after Meili, so she would send her to her father’s place.

Her father and his new wife had two children, and their small two-bedroom apartment could barely fit the family as it was, let alone her.

She had long grown used to living without anyone’s love. Liang Zheng’s affection was dangerous to her.

A rich man like him could like someone one day and, the moment he stopped liking them, vanish without a trace.

She absolutely couldn’t let herself be fooled by his sweet trap. Otherwise, when she ended up crying, she wouldn’t even have a place to do it.

After thinking for a moment, she said to Huanhuan, “Let’s not go back to the hotel today. How about we go to your house instead?”

She could have dinner with Gu Jingchen, bask in the charm of a gentle older man, and hug her beloved “forest.”

Huanhuan eyed her suspiciously. “You’re acting weird. What’s wrong?”

Meili blinked. “Don’t you think it’s been ages since we last saw your big brother? Don’t you miss him?”

He Huanhuan: ...

Her friend’s thirst had flared up again. That was perfectly normal.

The car drove back to the Gu residence, and Gu Jingchen had just arrived home as well.

Meili jumped out of the car and dashed straight toward him.

“Big Brother, can I borrow your pecs for a minute?”

Gu Jingchen took two steps back. “That doesn’t seem very appropriate.”

Meili blinked up at him. “Big Brother, did you know? I suddenly realized today that I’m a child nobody loves...”

Huanhuan nodded seriously from the side. “She’s not wrong. Let her lean on you.”

...

The moment she leaned against those solid pecs, Meili felt her energy return.

Yes. This was exactly the feeling she’d been looking for.

Falling in love or whatever—it had all been an illusion.

Once they returned to the third floor and were alone, Huanhuan stared at her with a stern expression. “What was that about today?”

Meili put on an innocent face. “Nothing! I only leaned on him for two seconds. That’s not excessive, is it?”

But Huanhuan had no intention of letting her off the hook.

“You’ve known Big Brother for years. Why did you suddenly want to lean on his chest now? Be honest. What happened in the car?”

She knew Qi Meili very well. Meili was all talk—a shameless flirt.

Her mouth could say all kinds of outrageous things, but she would never actually take advantage of someone.

And this was Gu Jingchen they were talking about, not the usually carefree Gu Jinghan. Gu Jingchen was gentle, serious, and proper.

That made the whole thing even more suspicious.

Huanhuan was certain Meili hadn’t been acting like this when they were eating malatang.

That meant something must have happened in the car to upset her.

Meili’s eyes darted left and right, but there was no escaping her interrogation.

That was what happened with a true best friend. You simply couldn’t get away with anything.

“All right, all right! I’ll tell you!”

She opened her belt bag and showed Huanhuan what was inside. “Look. It’s this. I noticed it as soon as I got in the car...”

Before she could explain the details, Huanhuan immediately guessed the answer.

“Liang Zheng gave it to you?”

Qi Meili’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

Huanhuan rolled her eyes. “Who else would it be? Han Mo secretly slipping it to you?”

She and Liang Zheng had only kissed last night, for heaven’s sake!

Meili said guiltily, “Don’t bring up the kissing. I regret it so much...”

She shouldn’t have kissed him. A man’s lips really weren’t something you could kiss casually. Once you did, trouble was bound to follow!

Huanhuan sat down beside her. “Why are you upset that he gave you something?”

Meili hesitated. “Do you think he likes me?”

“Obviously!”

Huanhuan was speechless. “If he didn’t like you, why would you two have kissed?”

Meili grew even more flustered. “He made the first move... I didn’t feel right refusing...”

As for the fact that she had practically bounced over to sit beside him and offered up her lips herself, she chose to forget that part.

She ventured, “Do you think he might like me today and stop liking me tomorrow? What am I supposed to do then?”

Huanhuan smacked her lightly, exasperated. “You’re all talk! Is that really all you’ve got? If that happens, just hug Gu Jingchen and cry. I’ll make sure he doesn’t go anywhere!”

She grabbed Qi Meili’s phone. A friend request was waiting on the screen:

I’m almost at the hotel. Can we talk?

She held the screen out to Meili. “He followed you to the hotel.”

Meili looked nervous. “What should I do?”

Huanhuan stuffed the phone back into her hands. “Accept the request first!”

Meili obediently added him back. A message from him appeared almost instantly.

Sorry.

Meili: Why are you apologizing to me?

I’m sorry for upsetting you.

She immediately had no idea how to respond.

She was good at teasing handsome men, and tossing out a few witty remarks was easy enough. But she had never dealt with a situation like this before.

She looked at Huanhuan for help. “What should I say?”

Huanhuan glanced at the screen, then at her. “Say whatever you actually feel about him.”

Meili shook her head. “I don’t know what I feel.”

“Do you dislike him?”

Meili shook her head. “No.”

With a face like his, how could she possibly dislike him?

Huanhuan asked again, “Why did you kiss him last night?”

Meili thought about it. “His lips were soft. He looked easy to kiss.”

Huanhuan pressed on. “Do you want to kiss Second Brother when you look at him? What about Big Brother?”

Meili shook her head. “That wouldn’t be appropriate, would it?”

Maybe they weren’t close enough for that kind of thing?

Huanhuan laughed disdainfully. “You’re such an idiot! Tell him to come over.”

Meili hesitated. “But what if he’s only temporarily infatuated...”

“So what?”

Huanhuan put an arm around her. “You still have me! I’ll always be here for you, okay?”