Chapter 106: Not Going Home Tonight

"Since when did you find out?"

"I could sense it long ago, but I just played dumb and pretended not to know about it. Long Tianze used to come to my house more frequently than my Brother even did. He would make his way down quickly every time I was home; meanwhile, on the several occasions that I wasn't, he would rarely drop by. He would even ask my Mother for my whereabouts, yet he always denied it when asked if he was there to look for me," said Jin Qingyue, holding onto his arm as they walked out together.

"He's such a great catch — dashing good looks, heir to a wealthy family, runs his own company, and has a broad network of connections. In fact, he's better than me in every aspect, and he must treat you really well since you two grew up together. Haven't you ever had feelings for him?" asked Shi Shaochuan solemnly.

Jin Qingyue remained silent throughout the journey from the exit of the nightclub to the carpark.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I was thinking about how I should answer you. Well, he does treat me well, and he often took care of me when we were younger. But, so what if he's handsome and of a wealthier background than you are? I don't love him, and I'm not attracted to him anyway," said Jin Qingyue.

"Yueyue, what do you like about me?"

"I don't know, I just like you a lot and I feel really happy when I see you. That's why I want to marry you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be good enough to deserve me," Jin Qingyue said spontaneously.

"I know what you like about me," he said confidently.

"You do?"

"Mhmm, of course. As a man, I ought to have a certain level of confidence in this aspect."

"What is it then?" asked Jin Qingyue, curious to know if he was right.

"My superb skills in bed, of course," he said, chuckling.

"Argh, you're so naughty!" exclaimed Jin Qingyue, punching him playfully.

"Am I wrong?" said Shi Shaochuan as he pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss.

"Fine, I'll admit, that's one of the reasons..."

"..."

The pair got into the car and drove off swiftly.

A deafening silence filled the air as the three men remained quiet while seated in Ling Ciye's car, which was parked beside them.

"Rewriting her fate doesn't work, indeed. Well... I'll be making a move," Jin Qingyan broke the silence and alighted from the car.

Ling Ciye began to regret what he had said to Jin Qingyue. Having kept it in all day, he finally managed to blurt out a few words, "I'm sorry, Bro. I shouldn't have said that."

"It's fine, doesn't matter anyway," said Long Tianze, tilting his head backwards.

"This little lass really has a poor taste in men. It's her loss that she doesn't reciprocate your feelings for her. Fret not, Tianze, there are plenty of fishes in the sea."

"What do you think of this one?" said Long Tianze as he showed Ling Ciye a photo of Mei Yangyang from the photo album on his mobile phone.

"This one... I've seen her before. If I remember correctly, her name is Mei Yangyang? She looks just like a Lolita. Honestly, you should be finding a decent girl when it comes to choosing a girlfriend. But if you've already fallen for her, then it's time you stop, lest you continue doing her harm," Ling Ciye answered.

"Have I ever caused harm to any girl?" Long Tianze retorted, putting his phone away.

"You haven't, actually..." Ling Ciye gave his nose a light rub and continued, "Don't people always say you ought to forget your old love by finding a new one? Only then will you be able to get over that someone by channeling all your attention towards your newfound love."

"Great idea. I'm going to go woo some girls now," said Long Tianze as he hurriedly got down from the car.

"Rascal, do you have to be so quick about it?" Ling Ciye asked in shock.

"Duh, it's wintertime, I need a girl to hug to sleep."

Slamming the car door shut, Long Tianze put on the hood of his feathered coat and a face mask and began walking away.

After a 40-minute walk, he finally arrived at Mei Yangyang's doorstep.

He informed Mei Yangyang of his arrival, and within minutes, the door opened gently.

"It's so late, why are you here?" she asked, buttoning up her quilt jacket.

"I came out for a walk because I couldn't sleep."

"You drank?"

"Just a little," he said, looking down as he towered over her.

He could not quite see the expression on her face clearly, but she seemed to have just crawled out of bed because her long locks were cascading down her back.

"I'm not going home tonight," he said.

Taken aback by his words, she asked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

"It means I'm not going home tonight. Be with me," he reiterated.

Upon hearing his words, Mei Yangyang began to blush as she clenched her fists nervously. Unsure of what he had meant, she asked, "Long Tianze, you..."

"Mei Yangyang, will you be mine? I'm more than willing to be your boyfriend," said Long Tianze, reaching out to grasp her tiny, warm hand.

What!

His sudden confession had greatly shocked Mei Yangyang out of her senses, robbing her of speech. She had understood what he meant.

Just at this juncture, the door opened behind her and out came Mei Shuangshuang, who stood at the doorstep and yelled, "Sis, who's that?"

Only managing to see a tall, lanky figure, Mei Shuangshuang could not make out who he was.

"A friend of mine. You may head back in to sleep," said Mei Yangyang.

"Sis, introduce him to me."

Ignoring Mei Shuangshuang completely, Mei Yangyang took Long Tianze's hand and pulled him away.

"Pardon me for my bluntness, but you two don't look like sisters at all," said Long Tianze.

"She really is my biological sister, though. My Mother is bedridden while my Father is extremely lenient with disciplining her, which explains her unruliness. I've stopped trying to take her in hand, she can do whatever she wants for all I care. I won't look for her even if she decides not to come home," said Mei Yangyang. As soon as she finished her sentence, she realized that she was still holding on to his hand. She quickly retracted her hand in astonishment, only to be stopped by him. He tightened his grip on her hand, making Mei Yangyang's heart skip a beat.

"Are you planning to toy with my feelings?" she asked, cocking her head sideways to look at him.

"What do you mean? So far, I've never had a girlfriend before."

"I'm young, don't fool me please," she said apprehensively.

"I'm being serious and totally honest."

Mei Yangyang whipped out her phone and showed him a news article, attached with a photo of him holding a female model in his arms. "You're always photographed with a different woman, on the tabloids. How dare you say you've never had a girlfriend?"

"Those are just female plus-ones, not my girlfriends," he said smilingly, amused at the fact that she had actually searched for news about him online.

"I come from a poor family where I'm the sole breadwinner. I'm going to become your burden," said Mei Yangyang.

"You won't. Your family background has nothing to do with me finding a girlfriend. Besides, it doesn't matter to me, I don't find it a burden at all."

Stopping in her tracks, Mei Yangyang turned on the flashlight of her mobile phone and shone it at him. "Are you really serious about it? We've only known each other for a short period of time."

"Look at Xiaoning and Qingyan, they got married within days of meeting each other. We're nothing compared to them."

"But, I still don't know you very well yet. Besides, I've never been in a relationship before, so I'll have to consider seriously before getting into one. I think you're being too casual by showing up here out of the blue to confess to me. It's too big of a risk, which I can't afford to take. However, I'm willing to try dating you, just to see if we're really compatible. Well, because, I don't want to miss the opportunity of being with you, without even trying."

A joyous smile formed on Long Tianze's face, for he had finally managed to convince this petite yet strong-headed little lass before him to give dating him a shot.