Chapter 141: If I Could Turn Back Time, I ll Come to You Out of My Own Free Will

"May I ask for your courtesy not to say that in front of my fiancée? Even if I were to stay here alone, it's very inappropriate for you to come looking for me, Miss Yu." Qi Chengzhi continued coldly, "I only spend my birthdays with my loved ones. Go home, Miss Yu."

"Fiancée?" Yu Keyao's smile vanished instantly. Her gaze shifted to Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu's entwined fingers—the presence of a ring on Song Yu's ring finger was a glaring sight.

From the ring, Yue Keyao's eyes then traveled upward to Song Yu's face. She was almost unable to recognize Song Yu because the latter's expression was so cold. Eventually, her gaze landed on Qi Chengzhi's face.

"It's okay. All I want is to wish you a happy birthday." Another, much sweeter smile appeared on Yu Keyao's face with an impudence that seemed to be saying, 'You might not love me, but you can't stop me from loving you.'

Qi Chengzhi pulled a long face immediately. His earlier frigidness was considered much more polite compared to the current expression of disgust that he felt toward her.

He glanced at the luggage bag in her hands. "You've just reached, Miss Yu?"

"Yeah. I rushed to the hotel as soon as I arrived. The front desk wouldn't tell me which room you're in, but they did call the room for me. No one picked up, so I just waited here," she remarked genially.

Song Yu wanted nothing more than to kick Yu Keyao to the sidewalk. 'She wants to know Qi Chengzhi's room number?!'

'What the hell was she going to do with him if I didn't come with him?'

'Shameless!'

Qi Chengzhi looked at Yu Keyao with ridicule, but she was blushing.

Although he looked at her with contempt, there was no shortage of elegance in his facial expression. His withdrawn attitude mesmerized her completely.

Qi Chengzhi then asked her another question, "You haven't booked a room?"

She shook her head. Word of his birthday had just only reached her, and when she went to Viewpark Residence the day before, she was informed that Qi Chengzhi was out on a business trip. There was no time for her to book a hotel. The remaining tickets for a flight to Paris were first-class seats, yet she still bought one and flew over.

If she did not manage to get a room, would it not be much better because she could just stay with Qi Chengzhi?

She was convinced that he would not just sit around and do nothing if she went up to him when he was alone.

Besides, she was in an unfamiliar place. If she came running to him without a place to stay, would he really be able to turn her away?

Qi Chengzhi smiled and pulled Song Yu to the reception, where he asked how many rooms were still available.

A relatively large number of tourists were present despite it being the off-peak season for holidays and travels. The receptionist checked and confirmed that there were two suites and a standard twin room still empty.

Qi Chengzhi handed his card. "I'll take all three."

Yu Keyao blushed severely when the receptionist processed his request. "Big Brother Chengzhi, you don't need to be so courteous."

"I'm not being courteous with you," Qi Chengzhi sneered. "As you can see, all the rooms are booked, so you'll need to find a room somewhere else."

"Big Brother Chengzhi, you..." Yu Keyao was in utter disbelief. She thought that he was booking a room on her behalf, but the truth was, he booked all those rooms to prevent her from staying there!

His patience had reached the breaking point. He brought Song Yu to the elevator without waiting for Yu Keyao to finish talking.

The door opened and they went in, but before they were able to press any buttons, Yu Keyao dragged along her luggage bag and tried cramming into the elevator.

Qi Chengzhi's gaze swept past her while she looked up at him and pleaded miserably, "Big Brother Chengzhi, I'm all alone here in this foreign place and you've booked all the rooms. Can't you let me stay here, just for one night? I made a last-minute decision to fly here just so I could wish you a happy birthday. Are you telling me that I'm getting in your way just because of that?

"I didn't even manage to get a hotel room. Can't you let me stay in one of the rooms you've booked, since you've already booked so many? Big Brother Chengzhi, I'm begging you..." Yu Keyao grabbed his arm and begged him with a tear-stained, pitiable face.

For the first time, Qi Chengzhi looked directly at her, smiling frigidly at the corner of his lips.

He turned to Song Yu and said, "Go to the room and wait for me."

Yu Keyao burst into a joyous smile. "Big Brother Chengzhi, I knew you wouldn't let me be without a place to stay."

Song Yu looked on impassively and knew that Qi Chengzhi had no such intention in mind. His only goal was to get Yu Keyao to leave.

It was likely that he did not want her to see his means of achieving that goal, just like how he did not want to let her see how he dismissed Qi Chengyue some time ago.

Thus, there was no objection from Song Yu, only a nod of conviction. The door opened and Qi Chengzhi made his way out, but she still managed to caress his arm.

He looked back and met her trustful gaze.

Relieved, he smiled at her and led Yu Keyao out.

He did not leave immediately but instead waited until the door was truly closed.

Before the door closed, Qi Chengzhi faced Song Yu with a face full of quiet yet breathtaking emotion. His gaze was gentle, which in turn, tempered his stern-looking facial features.

All those warm expressions faded away as soon as the door closed. It was a face filled with contempt at Yu Keyao.

He took the luggage bag from her and snickered, "Come with me."

Yu Keyao was unable to decipher the mood behind his smile, but then again, her cogency of thought was eroded whenever she saw him smile. Fully immersed in his handsome face, she followed Qi Chengzhi obediently.

It took the cold night breeze to jolt her back to her senses, where she realized that she was standing outside the hotel.

Qi Chengzhi threw her luggage bag down the flight of steps. It was a sorry sight to see it lying on the ground.

Yu Keyao felt incredibly miserable, just like the sorry sight that was her luggage bag.

She seemed to be recollecting her thoughts when she said, "Big Brother Chengzhi, you..."

"Don't call me Big Brother Chengzhi ever again. We're not close. Is there a need for you to call me that just because my mother told you that you could? We've only met those few times. Where the hell did that ego of yours come from? I don't like being too harsh in front of Song Yu," Qi Chengzhi remarked.

"You must be thinking to yourself that you're really beautiful, am I right? Miss Yu, even if Song Yu wasn't here with me today and you had stripped in front of me, I'd still take your naked body and throw you onto the street."

Yu Keyao did not expect Qi Chengzhi to actually say those kinds of things. Her impression of him had always been that of a reserved man. Though he never said much to her, she felt that it was a consequence of his temperament.

His reserved demeanor coupled with his aloof personality was extremely magnetic, causing her to look at him repeatedly so she could immerse herself in him.

She always thought that he was naturally quiet instead of ignoring her on purpose.

"If you keep looking for me and make both Song Yu and I feel disgusted, I'll be happy to teach the Yu family a lesson." Qi Chengzhi stepped forward and looked down at her, allowing her to soak in the image of his heartless face.

Song Yu's words had prompted him to do away with spectacles—he had not worn them for quite some time. The lack of a barrier from their absence made his dark pupils look even more frightening, especially in the dim Parisian light.

The threat behind his words sent a chill up Yu Keyao's spine.

"I've never been this direct toward you out of courtesy to the Yu family. At the end of the day, Song Yu's mother is also from the Yu family. She may not be on good terms with the family, but their lineage still runs in her blood. If you keep interfering with her daughter's happiness, I don't think Mrs. Song will hesitate to visit your parents."

"Chengzhi..." Her sentence came to a halt because of Qi Chengzhi's biting cold admonishment.

"I came all the way here to look for you. Don't you feel the least bit touched?" Tears welled up in her eyes due to her extreme grief.

"Do I look like I'm touched?" Qi Chengzhi scoffed. "All I feel is hate. I just don't understand how or where you managed to get such a self-inflated ego. You think I like you? What reason do you have for thinking that way?"

"I don't think that there's anything wrong with liking you. How can you be wrong in liking someone?" Yu Keyao offered up her heart, and like the main character from a Chiung Yao play, two streams of tears flowed down from her eyes.

"You can choose not to love me, but you can't stop me from loving you. How can someone control my heart if I can't even control it myself?"

"Go ahead and try me. If you ever show your face in front of me again, I'll personally pay the Yu family a visit. I won't look for your father; I'll look for your uncle." Qi Chengzhi's expression and voice were equally cold.

He headed back into the hotel once he was done.

Behind him, Yu Keyao's face turned pale. She was not afraid of her father, but she knew that everything would be put to a stop if Qi Chengzhi were to look for her elder uncle.

She did not forget that Yu Zixiu wanted to mend relationships with Yu Qianying once he had found out that Qi Chengzhi and Song Yu were together. Offending Song Yu was the last thing on Yu Zixiu's mind.

Yu Keyao disregarded her luggage and hurried over to Qi Chengzhi. "Cheng..."

She still wanted to call him 'Big Brother Chengzhi', but his threats had rattled her, and she was unhappy that she needed to address him another way. "Young Master Cheng, are you really just going to throw me all alone here? Paris is really unsafe, and I have nowhere to go. You booked the last three hotel rooms.

"Even if you hate me, how could you have the heart to let me fend for myself out here? Do you hate me to the point where you want something bad to happen to me?"

Qi Chengzhi simply continued making his way to the hotel, ignoring her completely.

Yu Keyao followed him without thinking. All she knew was that she was not going to stay by herself outside, and it was then that she spotted him pausing at the reception.

Joy filled her heart, for she thought that Qi Chengzhi finally realized the cruelty of his actions; as cutting as his words may be, his heart was bound to melt.

Qi Chengzhi seemed to be aware that she was following behind him. He pointed to his back—without turning to look—and told the receptionist, "This person is bothering me. She's trying to drive a wedge between my fiancée and I. I'm really annoyed and I hope you won't let her bother us."

Be it a country in the east or west, the despise toward relationship-wreckers was a hate that had transcended geographic boundaries. The receptionist agreed to it unconditionally and made no attempt to hide her disdain.

Qi Chengzhi then went straight for the elevator.

"Big Brother Chengzhi!" Yu Keyao could no longer hold it in anymore. She wanted to follow him, but two hotel security guards stopped her from going any further.

"Big Brother Chengzhi. I really don't have anywhere to go. Can't you just let me stay here for even a night?" Qi Chengzhi was already in the elevator by the time she finished; the door closed and he made his ascent.

The two guards remained within her sight. They did not forbid her from staying in the lobby, but they prohibited her from using the elevator.

Angry and depressed, Yu Keyao began crying with all her might. The hissy fit she threw was identical to that of a little girl who was not allowed to get her toys. She stomped her feet repeatedly and tried grabbing her luggage bag, but the only thing she grabbed was thin air. Immediately, she realized that in her haste to catch up to Qi Chengzhi, she had forgotten that he had thrown her luggage out onto the street.

She walked hurriedly in the direction of the entrance since her high heels prevented her from actually running.

As soon as she went out, she need not even go down the flight of steps to see that there was no luggage bag—it was simply an empty spot where her luggage was supposed to be. Pedestrians were shuttling back and forth on the street.

She rushed down and looked left and right, chancing upon a brown-haired man donning a jacket, cap, jeans, and sports shoes. He was running with her luggage bag in hand.

Her luggage bag was branded, and even if its contents were not worth much, the luggage bag alone would fetch a good price. It would definitely be better if there were branded clothes inside.

"Stay right where you are! Thief!" Yu Keyao blurted out in Mandarin and chased after him, forgetting that she was actually overseas.

A guilty conscience was perhaps the reason for the man's acute awareness of his surroundings. Yu Keyao's scream, though unintelligible to him, prompted him to look back. Noticing that Yu Keyao was staring at him, he held the luggage bag and made a run for it.

Yu Keyao did not think twice about running after him. She completely forgot that she was wearing high heels and the road was not very even. A slight misstep and her heel entered the crack between two bricks, causing her ankle to sprain.

A shriek followed her fall, and she instinctively placed her hands in front of her to soften the impact. However, an abrasion formed on her palms as a result of the sudden contact with the ground.

She burst into tears immediately. Her hands and knees were in pain, and her ankle more so.

As she trembled and cried, she tried to stand up, but the pain on her knees and right ankle was too much. She had no energy and could only use one leg to try supporting her entire weight. The heel of her shoe was exceptionally high and so was the front platform—she was just about to try getting up when she fell down again.

In the end, the passersby helped her up and brought her into the hotel, where she could sit on the lobby sofa for the time being.

The hotel staff did not stop her from sitting there after seeing her sorry figure.

She cried and looked at her palms. A large chunk of flesh was scraped off, exposing the reddish and tender flesh underneath.

As she cried in resentment, she wondered why Qi Chengzhi was so unwilling to help her!

She came looking for him out of love and was considerate enough in wanting to celebrate his birthday with him. How could he do that kind of thing to her!

Her cell phone, cash, and cards were all inside her handbag, but with her current condition, it was impossible for her to go out and look for a hotel.

Yu Keyao cried and called home.

"Keyao!" Liang Lihua's voice spurred Yu Keyao to howl even louder.

Liang Lihua turned frantic immediately. It was three in the morning back in the country. Even though she was initially hazy because her sleep was interrupted, Yu Keyao's cries jolted her awake in an instant.

'She went to look for Qi Chengzhi, right? Why is she crying like this?'

"Keyao! What happened, Keyao? Tell mommy, don't just cry!" Liang Lihua urged on anxiously. Her daughter was overseas after all, and she feared that something really bad happened.

"Mommy, Qi Chengzhi... Qi Chengzhi doesn't care about me. He asked Song Yu to marry him..." Yu Keyao began explaining, but she choked from being unable to control her wailing.

Liang Lihua shouted, "Where are you now? Even if he proposed to her, you wouldn't be crying like this right?"

"There were only three rooms left in the hotel when I came. He found out that I didn't manage to book a hotel room and booked all three, but he didn't even let me stay in any one of them. He even threw my luggage bag outside the hotel, and someone stole it. I sprained my foot and I can't go anywhere...huhuhu..."

Anger began coursing through the veins of her neck. "Where are you now?"

"Mom, what am I going to do! Where am I going to stay? My knees and hands are injured, and I sprained my ankle. I can't even walk...Mommy, I'm scared...huhuhu..." Yu Keyao mumbled in between sobs.

"Tell me where you are. I think I have a friend in Paris, I'll ask her to fetch you so you can stay there first," Liang Lihua said.

Yu Keyao gave the hotel name immediately after hearing what her mother said.

Liang Lihua hung up the phone and called her friend. After everything was sorted out, she called Yu Keyao again. "Don't worry okay. My friend and her husband will come and pick you up. When is your flight home?"

"The day after tomorrow," Yu Keyao said.

"Stay with my friend for these two nights and come back here after that. I'll definitely get back at them for you!" Liang Lihua proclaimed determinedly.

"Mom, don't make Qi Chengzhi even angrier. I really like him, I don't want..."

"You still like him even though he treated you like this? Listen to Mommy. Many of Mommy's friends have really good sons, and some of those aunties really like you too. They have their hearts set on you as a daughter-in-law. I only need to say the word and they'll introduce all those good men to you. Even if you don't like them, we have connections and we can always find better, okay? We can even introduce those from the Eight Great Families. All of them are on par with, if not better than Qi Chengzhi."

"Stop talking!" An unhappy Yu Keyao interrupted Liang Lihua's words. "Who else is better than Qi Chengzhi? Even if you introduce those from the Eight Great Families, they have to be on the same level as Qi Chengzhi, someone who's the future head of the family. Can you introduce someone like that to me? You can't, and meeting Qi Chengzhi is a rare opportunity that only happened because the Qi family wanted to get in touch with us. The Yu family's status could never have helped us connect with such an upper-class family. Of course, you can introduce the insignificant ones from the Eight Great Families to me, but none of them will ever compare to Qi Chengzhi!

"I only like Qi Chengzhi, and with such a perfect person in front of me, I can never like anyone else ever again!" Yu Keyao formed her hand into a fist, but in doing so she aggravated her injury. The pain made her grimace and her tears began dripping to the ground once again.

"Why are you so stubborn! Qi Chengzhi treated you so badly. He knew you were hurting yet he left you alone without anyone to rely on. You still like him even when he doesn't want to help you?" Liang Lihua burst out in anger.

She wondered what it was that clouded Qi Chengzhi's judgment. Not only did he reject a good woman like Yu Keyao, he even treated her heartlessly!

From the looks of it, she regarded Qi Chengzhi as the complete opposite of what people regarded him to be. He was not at all a good person, nor an intelligent one, for he would not have such bad taste in women if he had any of those qualities. Yu Keyao was his for the taking, but he still chose to be with Song Yu.

Neither of his eyes seemed to be functioning properly!

"I like him and that's that. Song Yu's the reason he's doing all these things to me! We don't even know how much Song Yu badmouths us to him, making him form this bias toward me. As long as I can make him break up with Song Yu and see her true nature, he'll know that I'm the only one who's perfect for him!" Yu Keyao remarked in ire.

"Mom, did you know Song Yu looked at me with that kind of hateful face, as if I owed her money or something like that? No matter what, I am her little cousin. The least she could do was greet me! But she didn't, she just looked at me without saying anything. She didn't just look at me hatefully, she's jealous of me. That's why she's telling all those lies!"

Liang Lihua's face sunk immediately and she was very unhappy. "Song Yu's getting more and more overboard. She doesn't know her place. You're right, she knows she can't compare to you and that's why she's jealous. All she does is badmouth you and we don't know how much she makes you look bad behind our backs!"

"Do you know how disgusting she was just now?" Yu Keyao asked angrily, then continued, "She was showing me her engagement ring on purpose as if she wanted to let me know that she's better than me. She's just so shameless. Qi Chengzhi came here on official business, not to go on a holiday, but she's still so thick-faced that she insisted on coming. She doesn't even realize that she's interfering with his work. What privilege does she have to marry into the Qi family and become the family's future matriarch?"

"She doesn't know her place at all!" Liang Lihua's lips twitched. "Then again, the Song family's in quite desperate times. She couldn't possibly know what's proper and what's not. She wants to have him in her clutches because she's afraid that such a good opportunity will slide away. She's throwing away all of her dignity just to get married to him, and because of that, she isn't fit to be the matriarch."

"That's why I won't give up, Mom. I like Qi Chengzhi and I want what's best for him. I can't let Song Yu continue lying to him. He might not see the good in me and like me now, but when I show him the real Song Yu, he'll be thankful and know that I'm only doing what's best for him," Yu Keyao explained.

"Keyao, there's nothing wrong in going after something you want, but you need to take care of yourself. Take today for instance, wasn't it a little dangerous for you?" Liang Lihua reminded.

"I didn't prepare well enough today. I understand it now. I won't face this kind of situation again in the future," assured Yu Keyao.

Liang Lihua sighed. "Keyao, I think it might be better if you change your methods a bit. If you keep bothering him so much, it won't be good. Men hate it when women bother them like that. If you keep appearing in front of him, he might feel annoyed. Sometimes, it's a good thing to keep your distance. Keeping the right distance will make him feel less annoyed."

Before she could continue, Yu Keyao interrupted.

"Mom, your friend came to pick me up. We'll stop here." In fact, Yu Keyao did not want to hear Liang Lihua say those kinds of things.

As Yu Keyao's mother, Liang Lihua knew that Yu Keyao's words were simply an excuse. She sighed and said, "We'll talk more about it when you're back."

"Understood," came the hasty reply before Yu Keyao hung up.

...

...

Song Yu sat in the living room and was not in the mood to do anything. Soon, the room door creaked open and she ran over to it immediately, catching sight of Qi Chengzhi entering.

"What happened to Yu Keyao? Did you give her a room to stay?" Yu Keyao's presence was not seen when Song Yu peeked out just before the door closed.

Qi Chengzhi looked at her and said, "Well, since the rooms are fully booked, she went to another hotel."

"Did she really just leave without causing a scene?" Song Yu saw for herself what Yu Keyao was capable of doing. When they were at the elevator, Yu Keyao was just itching to grab Qi Chengzhi's arm and beg him right in front of Song Yu.

Who knows what that Yu Keyao would do if Song Yu was not present?

Qi Chengzhi smiled, held her waist, and led her to the bedroom. "Yes. I just sent her on her way."

Song Yu was unknowingly led to the bed, after which Qi Chengzhi threw her onto it.

Her body bounced on the bed before he came onto her.

She extended her soft index finger and jabbed his chest in envy. "Did she take advantage of you when you were both alone downstairs?"

Qi Chengzhi looked at her, the scent of his exhaled breaths faintly noticeable.

His warm hands held the hand that poked him and caressed her extended finger. He brought it up to his lips and bit it lightly. "When I dragged her out of the hotel, I grabbed her wrist. Other than that, there was no more bodily contact."

Song Yu smiled after hearing those words.

She could tell from the way he spoke that he did not treat Yu Keyao too courteously. Neither did he do the kind of chivalrous things that men would do when faced with a member of the fairer sex.

Pitying Yu Keyao was something Song Yu would never do, and it was only natural that she did not blame Qi Chengzhi for treating Yu Keyao the same.

It would be even better if he had treated her much worse.

Joy filled Song Yu's heart. She curled the finger that he was sucking on and brushed it gently against his lower lip, feeling its warmth and softness.

That man, whose lips were always so stern, felt unbelievably soft when touched.

His fire was stroked by her touches and rocked his waist. "You're the only one who takes advantage of me."

Song Yu was not about to put up with his same old pattern, but even so, she blushed because of his rock-hard rod pressing against her.

"I wonder who's the one that loves taking advantage! Back then, who was it that seized the chance to kiss me out on the balcony, then lied to everyone else outside?" It was both infuriating and funny when she thought of that moment.

The man was like a piece of sticky candy considering his ability to constantly get himself tangled with her.

Qi Chengzhi's smile vanished gradually and was replaced by an intense passion that was evident in his black eyes. Song Yu's scarlet cheek was within reach, and he observed how exquisite her ceramic-like satiny skin looked.

He took her fingers away from his lips and placed her hand on his cheek. Slowly, the distance between his face and hers began to shorten, and the heat of his breath began to warm her cheeks up.

Song Yu breathing was sent into a frenzy—one moment she forgot to breathe, and the next she breathed a little too fast.

His approaching face was so handsome that her mind went hazy.

She grumbled softly, "You said that you're not as handsome as Wei Ziqi, but why do you still have so many women crawling after you?"

Her words made Qi Chengzhi chuckle softly. His vocal cords vibrated and produced a guttural sound. His thin lips were plastered onto her silky skin; he imprinted a kiss and allowed his lips to open slightly. She could feel the curvature of his lips on her soft cheek.

His guttural chuckle was also transmitted onto her skin, sending waves of vibration onto it. Song Yu felt her heartbeat turn erratic after hearing that chuckle, and she felt a stirring within her heart.

"If I really attract so many women, why didn't I manage to attract you the first time around? I had to wait all those years to slowly pursue you." His delicate lips rubbed against her cheek as he whispered to her.

His lips and his voice induced a tingling feeling on her skin. The same feeling burrowed deep into her heart, and it struck the core of her one regret: that she had not fallen for him sooner, effectively wasting all those extra years she could have spent with him.

"Qi Chengzhi, I love you." Song Yu allowed his lips to remain on her cheek. Her lips opened and closed as she spoke, and that, in turn, inadvertently caused her lips to rub against his chin. "Why didn't you come for me sooner? If I could turn back time, I wouldn't have waited for you to pursue me. I'd come to you out of my own will and lay my head at your door. I'd confess to you with the door between us."

Qi Chengzhi shifted his body backward and looked at her. She was slightly frightened by his sudden intense desire.

His eyes were so deep and dark. He stared at her as though he was about to swallow her up at any moment.

He had an aggressive, luminous gaze.

Song Yu's face reddened in bashfulness and her heart was beating like mad. "I said 'I love you' too much, didn't I? Are you sick of it already?"

There was no answer from Qi Chengzhi, only a mad surge of energy that led him to kiss her lips with such violent passion. He made out with her profusely and allowed his tongue to roam wildly in the insides of her mouth, sipping away at her nectar-like sweetness.

His hands went behind her and wrapped her tight. He pressed her onto him and carried her away from the sheets. Even her arms were trapped with the confines of his embrace, leaving Song Yu as helpless as a doll. He embraced her lovingly and kissed her so fervently that her head was tilted backward.

His warm lips caressed hers and moved along her face until he reached her ears, which his tongue then explored. His deep, aroused voice then said, "I'm not tired of hearing it. I'll never ever get tired of it."

Song Yu felt limp, tingly, and trembled hard. He carried her up and placed her resolutely on the floor, but her legs had yet to regain any strength.

His sturdy arms were still firmly locking her in, and he soon carried her up. With her feet lifted off the ground, he brought her out of the bedroom and onto the balcony.

The Eiffel Tower was not far from the hotel. Song Yu stood at the balcony railing with Qi Chengzhi hugging her from behind.

Though he continued to kiss her cheek, he did not neglect her ears and neck. Soon after, he gradually shifted his lips to the back of her neck, then to her shoulder. His final destination was her exposed back, courtesy of the dress she was wearing..