October 28, 2022kaychandra
Chapter 74: Unspeakable
Gongxi Qiao didn’t expect to meet the cast of ‘Dream Come True’ so coincidentally. Although the crew had robbed their venue, there wasn’t much conflict between the actors, so he stopped and nodded and smiled at the group of people not far away.
Seeing this, Xie Yingying, the hidden Qiao fan, scuffed her toes on the ground. Finally, she couldn’t resist taking advantage of this opportunity and went forward. Her agent’s face turned green.
At a time like this, as a popular actress who was robbed of the Best Newcomer trophy, shouldn’t she be resentful of her opponent? Damn it, with this appearance of gladly and eagerly seizing the opportunity to go up to him, in what way did she look like a goddess?
Xie Yingying simply ignored her agent’s tangled feelings and stepped forward to have a friendly meeting with Gongxi Qiao. At the end, she took a photo with Gongxi Qiao with a satisfied expression. If not for her own identity as an entertainer, Xie Yingying might have even asked Gongxi Qiao for an autograph.
Standing next to him, Xi Qing watched Gongxi Qiao taking a photo with the female artist politely while also keeping her at a distance. He said, “Xiao Qiao, our time is almost up.”
At that, Gongxi Qiao smiled apologetically at Xie Yingying. “Sorry, we’ll go first.”
“Okay, okay.” Looking at his smile, Xie Yingying nodded in a daze. “Take care, President Xi and Qiao Shao.”
“Bye.” Gongxi Qiao smiled more gently, nodded slightly in the direction where Lin Kang was standing, and then got into the car. After he got in, Xi Qing followed him in.
“Everyone has left, what are you still looking at?” The agent poked Xie Yingying. “Let’s go.”
The producer of the ‘Dream Come True’ crew was almost about to collapse. After seeing Gongxi Qiao, he knew which crew was next door. Thinking about how he had offended several big shots as well as the Xi Group all at once today, he had the urge to resign.
“Xiao Lin ah.” The producer walked up to Lin Kang. “Today’s matter…… You and Qiao Shao are brothers of the same company. Find a chance to apologize for us. We shouldn’t make such an unsightly disturbance, right?”
Lin Kang wanted to say that he didn’t actually have much friendship with Gongxi Qiao, but seeing the producer’s dilemma, he nodded and said, “I’ll try my best.”
The producer sighed. He had no choice but to do so. If Gongxi Qiao accepted the apology, and if he was able to run interference, Director Jiao might not be so angry.
“I’ve never seen Master Xi in person before, but just now I realized as I got closer that Lin Kang’s lips and eyebrows are quite similar to Master Xi’s.” Xie Yingying tilted her head to look at Lin Kang. “But your temperament is so different that I didn’t even notice it in the past.”
Lin Kang forced a smile. “Only slightly similar. I don’t dare to compare with Master Xi.”
Xie Yingying didn’t say anything more, but in her opinion, although Lin Kang’s looks were outstanding, compared to Master Xi, they were really a lot worse. Comparison between people was really deadly, ah. The gene pool of the prestigious families was just better. None of the heirs looked bad.
Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing arrived late, but when the Xue family received Xi Qing, they were very warm. According to seniority, Father and Mother Xue were Xi Qing’s elders, but in front of Xi Qing, the two didn’t pose as elders.
“This is the Qiao Shao that our family’s Xiao Chong often mentions?” Mother Xue seemed to be a very gentle woman, smiling with a watery gentleness and elegance. “Such a handsome young man. Welcome.” After saying that, she summoned Xue Chong and told him to accompany Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing properly.
When Xue Chong came over, Mother Xue made an excuse to leave, leaving the young people alone. Gongxi Qiao looked at her back and thought that she was a very smart woman.
“Brother Xi, Xiao Qiao, you’re finally here.” Xue Chong led the two of them inside, but after a short distance of a dozen meters, people kept coming forward to greet Xi Qing. Although they didn’t seem too flattering, the tone of ingratiation in their words and actions couldn’t be concealed.
Compared to their enthusiasm, Xi Qing seemed a bit cold. Unfortunately, these people just accepted it. Whenever Xi Qing said a few words to them, they felt satisfied.
“There are a lot of people today. If there’s anything you want, just call me.” Xue Chong introduced a few guests to Gongxi Qiao from time to time. These guests showed the friendly and polite side of the prestigious families when they faced Gongxi Qiao.
Nowadays, who didn’t know that the master of the Xi family had a good relationship with Gongxi Qiao? When Xue Chong introduced Gongxi Qiao, didn’t Master Xi stay by his side?
If they couldn’t please Xi Qing, it would be a good choice to please Gongxi Qiao. Unfortunately, they soon found that the famous Qiao Shao, although not from a prestigious family, spoke and acted with the essence of someone from a prestigious family. People were unable to pick out a single flaw, but it was impossible for them to really get close.
Bai Qi looked at Gongxi Qiao surrounded by several people. He carried champagne and walked towards Xi Qing, who wasn’t far from Gongxi Qiao. He was wearing a well-tailored suit and had a clean look, with rimless glasses, giving people a sense of elegance and civility. Even people who weren’t too fond of the Bai’s business were able to dispel their disgust when they faced Bai Qi.
“Mr. Xi, would you like a drink?” Bai Qi took a glass of champagne from the champagne tower and handed it to Xi Qing. “My brother has caused offense many times in the past. I apologize to you on his behalf.”
Xi Qing took the champagne from his hand but didn’t drink it. “There’s nothing to be offended by in a business competition.”
Bai Qi saw his cold attitude and didn’t mind. He turned to say, “Although it’s a business competition, there should be rules. My brother was too reckless.”
Xi Qing swirled his wine glass without speaking. In his opinion, Bai Zhong was certainly annoying, but Bai Qi’s behavior of stepping on his own family to show that he knew how to be polite in front of others wasn’t very attractive.
If someone from the Xi family did something brainless, he would clean them up ruthlessly in private. However, he would never publicize the wrongdoings of his own family to outsiders.
Suddenly, a fair skinned hand reached out and took away the champagne in his hand. Xi Qing turned his head and saw that it was Gongxi Qiao. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a smile.
“The champagne tastes good.” Gongxi Qiao took a sip, then turned around and offered a new glass to Xi Qing, “You try it too.”
Xi Qing complied and took a sip. Under Gongxi Qiao’s smiling face, he didn’t taste it at all. “Mm-hmm, it’s really good.”
Bai Qi watched the actions of the two men. He tilted his head and drank the champagne in his glass, smiling. “Is Qiao Shao very knowledgeable about wine?”
“Huh?” Gongxi Qiao was talking to Xi Qing. When he heard Bai Qi’s question, he smiled back at the other party. “I’m not picky, I just think it’s tasty.”
“Qiao Shao is unexpectedly straightforward.” Bai Qi continued to smile.
“For men, it’s better to be straightforward.” Gongxi Qiao smiled more gently than Bai Qi. “What’s the point of hiding and pretending? Right, Da Xi?”
Xi Qing nodded and took the wine glass from Gongxi Qiao’s hand. “You have to film tomorrow. Don’t drink, or you’ll have a headache when you wake up in the morning.”
His action of taking the wine glass was too natural. Bai Qi’s eyelids trembled slightly as his eyes fell on Gongxi Qiao. Unexpectedly, Gongxi Qiao seemed to notice his gaze. He looked back at him with a smile, but the smile didn’t really reach his eyes.
Finally Bai Qi moved his gaze away first. “I heard that Qiao Shao is excellent in calligraphy and painting, so I guess he’s a very smart person.”
Gongxi Qiao smiled but didn’t say anything. He reached out and took the plate filled with fruits handed over by Xi Qing. He stabbed a piece of sliced kiwi with the silver fork and ate it slowly.
Xi Qing said, “What does the Bai family master mean by that?”
“I’m just a little curious about Qiao Shao’s calligraphy and painting.” Bai Qi smiled, “Xi family head, please rest assured that with you around, nobody would dare to offend this Qiao Shao.”
“That’s true.” Gongxi Qiao said with a smile, “no one else can compare to my friendship with Da Xi.”
Xi Qing said in a cold voice, “We have business to attend to. Please feel free to do as you wish, Bai family head.” After saying that, he took Gongxi Qiao in another direction.
Bai Qi looked at the backs of the two and looked at the empty wine glass in his hand. The smile on his face disappeared without a trace.
Gongxi Qiao, carrying a plate of fruit, sat down with Xi Qing at the other side of the rest area. He forked a piece of fruit and handed it to Xi Qing’s mouth. “What did you drag me here for?”
“Bai Qi is sinister, stay away from him.” Xi Qing bowed his head and ate the piece of fruit.
Gongxi Qiao looked at Bai Qi in the distance, then at Xi Qing, smiling, “How do you know he’s sinister?”
Xi Qing gave him a profound look, “There are some people who only need to say a few words, and it’s enough for people to understand their true nature.”
Gongxi Qiao nodded. “I know.”
“So you shouldn’t go near him in the future,” Xi Qing stressed again.
Gongxi Qiao smiled and shoved another piece of fruit into his mouth, “Okay.”
The polite way to describe a cocktail party in the prestigious family circle was that people who hadn’t seen each other for a long time got to chat together. In reality, it was a place for families to show off their status and strength as well as to liaise with other families. Over the years, the Xue family relied on the Xi family to prosper. This was a time of the transition between the old and the new. The heir, Xue Chong, appeared more and more on important occasions. This cocktail party was to let Xue Chong receive the heads of the families, which was a signal from the Xue family to the major prestigious families that they were about to change the head of the family.
So at this cocktail party today, everyone gave the Xue family plenty of face, and everyone who was able to come came.
Gongxi Qiao didn’t understand the meaning of this cocktail party at first, but when he saw Father Xue brought Xue Chong with him to receive all the important people, and hinting at his impending retirement, he understood what was going on.
When Xu Chao found Gongxi Qiao, Gongxi Qiao was sitting with Xi Qing in the corner chatting. His originally rushed footsteps stopped in his tracks and he looked back at his cousin behind him. He coughed dryly and slipped back to Xu Shaoxuan. “Xiao Qiao is really close to Master Xi.”
Xu Shaoxuan raised an eyebrow, looking in the direction of the two sitting, just in time to see the scene of Gongxi Qiao stuffing fruit into Xi Qing’s mouth. He couldn’t help but sigh. Those two finally got together.
“Don’t worry about Xiao Qiao and Brother Xi’s affairs, and don’t go out and say anything.” Xu Shaoxuan reached out and patted Xu Chao’s shoulder. “Just film your scenes properly.” Although he didn’t have many dealings with this cousin, he still knew that this one’s brain was relatively straightforward.
Xu Chao grinned, “Don’t worry. Anyway, I’m a strong idol.”
Xu Shaoxuan felt like sighing even more.
At this time a few of the prestigious family grandsons who were close to the Xu family came over and spoke with the two. One of them suddenly said, “I heard that the Xǔ[1] family heir came back from abroad a few days ago, have you seen him?”
“You mean Xǔ Su?” Xu Chao craned his head towards the surroundings, “I just saw him, but now I don’t know where he went.”
Xǔ family was also an old prestigious family, but unfortunately in recent decades, it had slowly declined. Although on the surface it maintained the glory of a prestigious family, it was hollow on the inside.
However, there were many prestigious families in the Imperial Capital like that. The Xǔ family was still good. At least they could still barely maintain a respectable living. Many prestigious families had already put down their ancestral honor and were living a life no different from ordinary people.
The relationship between their generation and Xǔ Su wasn’t particularly good, because they, the heirs of prestigious families, grew up attending the noble school for the children of the prestigious families. However, Xǔ Su didn’t follow the same path as they did, so there was nothing to discuss.
Because Xu Chao was from a side branch, he didn’t go to the noble school for the prestigious families when he was young, and he didn’t have much sense of the superiority of the prestigious families. However, he didn’t interact with Xǔ Su since he was young, and they didn’t have much in common.
“Did he appear at the Xue family reception this time to tell everyone that the Xǔ family was coming back to the circle?” A certain prestigious family grandson said with some emotion, “I heard that he was doing quite well abroad. Now, he came back to prepare to open some kind of company. It could be considered independent entrepreneurship.”
Several other people let out a burst of laughter. Although there was some ridicule, there was no malice.
Soon it would be time for the ballroom dance, but both Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing didn’t have partners. Xi Qing never danced with women on these occasions, and Gongxi Qiao didn’t invite any women to the dance floor in order to be considerate of Xi Qing’s mood, so the two simply took another plate of fruit and squatted in the corner to continue to eat.
The two of them were eating and chatting happily until someone called out Gongxi Qiao’s name, breaking up their unconventional “two-person world”.
“Xiao Qiao?”
Gongxi Qiao turned around in surprise. When he saw the person behind him he froze for a moment before speaking, “Xǔ Su?”
Xǔ Su looked at the person he hadn’t seen in six years. His expression was a bit dazed, his heart was constantly overwhelmed with emotions, and his voice was a bit dry. “How are you…… here?”
Seeing the person he had a crush on as a teenager, Xǔ Su’s mood was somewhat nostalgic, but more than that, he was panicked. He was worried that Gongxi Qiao would tell others that he, the future head of the Xǔ family, had a crush on a man. How big a joke would this be for a prestigious family?
When he was a teenager, he thought love was beautiful and bitter, but when he slowly grew up and experienced the joys and sorrows abroad, he realized that only power can make a person prosperous, and love was nothing but a youthful and ignorant dream.
Therefore, over the years he always tried to make himself forget the ridiculous things he did when he was young, and even made himself deliberately avoid news about Gongxi Qiao. Now when he suddenly saw the person who had once made him impulsive, he was both terrified and couldn’t help but to look at him a few more times.
Compared to six years ago, the current Gongxi Qiao seemed to be more dazzling and more attractive.
“I was invited by Brother Chong.” Gongxi Qiao saw the panic and desire to escape in Xǔ Su’s eyes and said with a flat smile, “I haven’t seen you for several years, how are you?”
“I’m fine, how about you?” Only then did Xǔ Su notice Xi Qing sitting next to Gongxi Qiao and politely said hello to him.
Gongxi Qiao put the fruit plate on the table and moved towards Xi Qing. “I’m fine too. Let’s sit down and talk.”
Xǔ Su felt that he should refuse, but he couldn’t help but sit down beside Gongxi Qiao. After sitting down, he noticed that Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing had a particularly good relationship, just like best friends.
He had some doubts in his mind. Although Gongxi Qiao was elegantly mannered, he was from a nouveau riche family. How could someone with such an identity appear at this meaningful cocktail party of the Xue family?
Although his heart was puzzled, he couldn’t ask questions. He took a sip of the red wine in his hand, hesitantly opened his mouth and said, “When I left without saying goodbye that year……”
“It’s okay. Later on, the teacher told us about you going abroad in class, and several of us close friends were happy for you,” Gongxi Qiao interrupted him. “It’s such a surprise that we would meet here.”
Thinking back to that year, Xǔ Su was a bit moved. Seeing Gongxi Qiao like this, he guessed that he might not even know that he had a crush on him back then. He was relieved but at the same time had a kind of inexplicable loss. “Well, I didn’t expect it either.”
Xi Qing sized up the future head of the Xǔ family. A well-fitted white suit, hair with styling gel, and clean skin. He looked a few years older than Xiao Qiao. One wouldn’t expect them to have been classmates at all. The Xi family didn’t have many dealings with the Xǔ family, but he had heard something about the Xǔ family’s past deeds. When he saw Xǔ Su stammering to Gongxi Qiao, he didn’t know why, but he remembered the blue envelope that Gongxi Qiao had shredded and thrown into the trash.
The atmosphere became awkward when the two friends, who once were on good terms, found that they seemed to have nothing to say to each other after six years apart.
When Xǔ Su saw that Gongxi Qiao’s expression had been indifferent, he finally gathered enough courage to say, “The letter I wrote to you back then, did you…… see it?”
“What letter?” Gongxi Qiao poked a piece of fruit on the fruit plate that Xi Qing was holding and threw it into his mouth. He looked at Xǔ Su with some confusion. “You had the spare time to write a letter to me?”
“It’s nothing,” Xǔ Su said with a forced smile, “I didn’t write anything important anyway.”
At that time, how could he have the courage to confess his love to the other person and ask him to wait for him?
Fortunately, he didn’t see that letter, and the guilt in his heart could finally be put aside.
“Let’s get together with some old friends sometime.” Xǔ Su looked at Xi Qing and smiled. “I haven’t seen you guys for some years. I miss you.”
“Yeah,” Gongxi Qiao nodded graciously.
Xǔ Su got up and said, “I’ll leave you guys alone, then. See you later.”
Gongxi Qiao watched him leave with a smile. His attitude wasn’t really warm, but it wasn’t cold either. However, Xi Qing, who was sitting next to him, never opened his mouth from beginning to the end, as if this Xǔ Su person didn’t exist at all.
“This classmate of yours……” Xi Qing pursed his lips slightly, “has a good relationship with you?”
“Just so-so,” Gongxi Qiao said indifferently. “We haven’t been in contact all these years. How good could it be?”
Xi Qing thought deeply. “You’re right. That kind of person isn’t a true friend.”
Gongxi Qiao laughed and stuffed a piece of cantaloupe into his mouth.
T/N:
1. Xǔ family: the surname is “许”(Xǔ) which is different than Xu Chao and Xu Shaoxuan’s surname “徐” (Xú). In order to differentiate the two, I’m adding the diacritical mark.
October 28, 2022kaychandra
Chapter 74: Unspeakable
Gongxi Qiao didn’t expect to meet the cast of ‘Dream Come True’ so coincidentally. Although the crew had robbed their venue, there wasn’t much conflict between the actors, so he stopped and nodded and smiled at the group of people not far away.
Seeing this, Xie Yingying, the hidden Qiao fan, scuffed her toes on the ground. Finally, she couldn’t resist taking advantage of this opportunity and went forward. Her agent’s face turned green.
At a time like this, as a popular actress who was robbed of the Best Newcomer trophy, shouldn’t she be resentful of her opponent? Damn it, with this appearance of gladly and eagerly seizing the opportunity to go up to him, in what way did she look like a goddess?
Xie Yingying simply ignored her agent’s tangled feelings and stepped forward to have a friendly meeting with Gongxi Qiao. At the end, she took a photo with Gongxi Qiao with a satisfied expression. If not for her own identity as an entertainer, Xie Yingying might have even asked Gongxi Qiao for an autograph.
Standing next to him, Xi Qing watched Gongxi Qiao taking a photo with the female artist politely while also keeping her at a distance. He said, “Xiao Qiao, our time is almost up.”
At that, Gongxi Qiao smiled apologetically at Xie Yingying. “Sorry, we’ll go first.”
“Okay, okay.” Looking at his smile, Xie Yingying nodded in a daze. “Take care, President Xi and Qiao Shao.”
“Bye.” Gongxi Qiao smiled more gently, nodded slightly in the direction where Lin Kang was standing, and then got into the car. After he got in, Xi Qing followed him in.
“Everyone has left, what are you still looking at?” The agent poked Xie Yingying. “Let’s go.”
The producer of the ‘Dream Come True’ crew was almost about to collapse. After seeing Gongxi Qiao, he knew which crew was next door. Thinking about how he had offended several big shots as well as the Xi Group all at once today, he had the urge to resign.
“Xiao Lin ah.” The producer walked up to Lin Kang. “Today’s matter…… You and Qiao Shao are brothers of the same company. Find a chance to apologize for us. We shouldn’t make such an unsightly disturbance, right?”
Lin Kang wanted to say that he didn’t actually have much friendship with Gongxi Qiao, but seeing the producer’s dilemma, he nodded and said, “I’ll try my best.”
The producer sighed. He had no choice but to do so. If Gongxi Qiao accepted the apology, and if he was able to run interference, Director Jiao might not be so angry.
“I’ve never seen Master Xi in person before, but just now I realized as I got closer that Lin Kang’s lips and eyebrows are quite similar to Master Xi’s.” Xie Yingying tilted her head to look at Lin Kang. “But your temperament is so different that I didn’t even notice it in the past.”
Lin Kang forced a smile. “Only slightly similar. I don’t dare to compare with Master Xi.”
Xie Yingying didn’t say anything more, but in her opinion, although Lin Kang’s looks were outstanding, compared to Master Xi, they were really a lot worse. Comparison between people was really deadly, ah. The gene pool of the prestigious families was just better. None of the heirs looked bad.
Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing arrived late, but when the Xue family received Xi Qing, they were very warm. According to seniority, Father and Mother Xue were Xi Qing’s elders, but in front of Xi Qing, the two didn’t pose as elders.
“This is the Qiao Shao that our family’s Xiao Chong often mentions?” Mother Xue seemed to be a very gentle woman, smiling with a watery gentleness and elegance. “Such a handsome young man. Welcome.” After saying that, she summoned Xue Chong and told him to accompany Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing properly.
When Xue Chong came over, Mother Xue made an excuse to leave, leaving the young people alone. Gongxi Qiao looked at her back and thought that she was a very smart woman.
“Brother Xi, Xiao Qiao, you’re finally here.” Xue Chong led the two of them inside, but after a short distance of a dozen meters, people kept coming forward to greet Xi Qing. Although they didn’t seem too flattering, the tone of ingratiation in their words and actions couldn’t be concealed.
Compared to their enthusiasm, Xi Qing seemed a bit cold. Unfortunately, these people just accepted it. Whenever Xi Qing said a few words to them, they felt satisfied.
“There are a lot of people today. If there’s anything you want, just call me.” Xue Chong introduced a few guests to Gongxi Qiao from time to time. These guests showed the friendly and polite side of the prestigious families when they faced Gongxi Qiao.
Nowadays, who didn’t know that the master of the Xi family had a good relationship with Gongxi Qiao? When Xue Chong introduced Gongxi Qiao, didn’t Master Xi stay by his side?
If they couldn’t please Xi Qing, it would be a good choice to please Gongxi Qiao. Unfortunately, they soon found that the famous Qiao Shao, although not from a prestigious family, spoke and acted with the essence of someone from a prestigious family. People were unable to pick out a single flaw, but it was impossible for them to really get close.
Bai Qi looked at Gongxi Qiao surrounded by several people. He carried champagne and walked towards Xi Qing, who wasn’t far from Gongxi Qiao. He was wearing a well-tailored suit and had a clean look, with rimless glasses, giving people a sense of elegance and civility. Even people who weren’t too fond of the Bai’s business were able to dispel their disgust when they faced Bai Qi.
“Mr. Xi, would you like a drink?” Bai Qi took a glass of champagne from the champagne tower and handed it to Xi Qing. “My brother has caused offense many times in the past. I apologize to you on his behalf.”
Xi Qing took the champagne from his hand but didn’t drink it. “There’s nothing to be offended by in a business competition.”
Bai Qi saw his cold attitude and didn’t mind. He turned to say, “Although it’s a business competition, there should be rules. My brother was too reckless.”
Xi Qing swirled his wine glass without speaking. In his opinion, Bai Zhong was certainly annoying, but Bai Qi’s behavior of stepping on his own family to show that he knew how to be polite in front of others wasn’t very attractive.
If someone from the Xi family did something brainless, he would clean them up ruthlessly in private. However, he would never publicize the wrongdoings of his own family to outsiders.
Suddenly, a fair skinned hand reached out and took away the champagne in his hand. Xi Qing turned his head and saw that it was Gongxi Qiao. The corners of his mouth rose slightly, revealing a smile.
“The champagne tastes good.” Gongxi Qiao took a sip, then turned around and offered a new glass to Xi Qing, “You try it too.”
Xi Qing complied and took a sip. Under Gongxi Qiao’s smiling face, he didn’t taste it at all. “Mm-hmm, it’s really good.”
Bai Qi watched the actions of the two men. He tilted his head and drank the champagne in his glass, smiling. “Is Qiao Shao very knowledgeable about wine?”
“Huh?” Gongxi Qiao was talking to Xi Qing. When he heard Bai Qi’s question, he smiled back at the other party. “I’m not picky, I just think it’s tasty.”
“Qiao Shao is unexpectedly straightforward.” Bai Qi continued to smile.
“For men, it’s better to be straightforward.” Gongxi Qiao smiled more gently than Bai Qi. “What’s the point of hiding and pretending? Right, Da Xi?”
Xi Qing nodded and took the wine glass from Gongxi Qiao’s hand. “You have to film tomorrow. Don’t drink, or you’ll have a headache when you wake up in the morning.”
His action of taking the wine glass was too natural. Bai Qi’s eyelids trembled slightly as his eyes fell on Gongxi Qiao. Unexpectedly, Gongxi Qiao seemed to notice his gaze. He looked back at him with a smile, but the smile didn’t really reach his eyes.
Finally Bai Qi moved his gaze away first. “I heard that Qiao Shao is excellent in calligraphy and painting, so I guess he’s a very smart person.”
Gongxi Qiao smiled but didn’t say anything. He reached out and took the plate filled with fruits handed over by Xi Qing. He stabbed a piece of sliced kiwi with the silver fork and ate it slowly.
Xi Qing said, “What does the Bai family master mean by that?”
“I’m just a little curious about Qiao Shao’s calligraphy and painting.” Bai Qi smiled, “Xi family head, please rest assured that with you around, nobody would dare to offend this Qiao Shao.”
“That’s true.” Gongxi Qiao said with a smile, “no one else can compare to my friendship with Da Xi.”
Xi Qing said in a cold voice, “We have business to attend to. Please feel free to do as you wish, Bai family head.” After saying that, he took Gongxi Qiao in another direction.
Bai Qi looked at the backs of the two and looked at the empty wine glass in his hand. The smile on his face disappeared without a trace.
Gongxi Qiao, carrying a plate of fruit, sat down with Xi Qing at the other side of the rest area. He forked a piece of fruit and handed it to Xi Qing’s mouth. “What did you drag me here for?”
“Bai Qi is sinister, stay away from him.” Xi Qing bowed his head and ate the piece of fruit.
Gongxi Qiao looked at Bai Qi in the distance, then at Xi Qing, smiling, “How do you know he’s sinister?”
Xi Qing gave him a profound look, “There are some people who only need to say a few words, and it’s enough for people to understand their true nature.”
Gongxi Qiao nodded. “I know.”
“So you shouldn’t go near him in the future,” Xi Qing stressed again.
Gongxi Qiao smiled and shoved another piece of fruit into his mouth, “Okay.”
The polite way to describe a cocktail party in the prestigious family circle was that people who hadn’t seen each other for a long time got to chat together. In reality, it was a place for families to show off their status and strength as well as to liaise with other families. Over the years, the Xue family relied on the Xi family to prosper. This was a time of the transition between the old and the new. The heir, Xue Chong, appeared more and more on important occasions. This cocktail party was to let Xue Chong receive the heads of the families, which was a signal from the Xue family to the major prestigious families that they were about to change the head of the family.
So at this cocktail party today, everyone gave the Xue family plenty of face, and everyone who was able to come came.
Gongxi Qiao didn’t understand the meaning of this cocktail party at first, but when he saw Father Xue brought Xue Chong with him to receive all the important people, and hinting at his impending retirement, he understood what was going on.
When Xu Chao found Gongxi Qiao, Gongxi Qiao was sitting with Xi Qing in the corner chatting. His originally rushed footsteps stopped in his tracks and he looked back at his cousin behind him. He coughed dryly and slipped back to Xu Shaoxuan. “Xiao Qiao is really close to Master Xi.”
Xu Shaoxuan raised an eyebrow, looking in the direction of the two sitting, just in time to see the scene of Gongxi Qiao stuffing fruit into Xi Qing’s mouth. He couldn’t help but sigh. Those two finally got together.
“Don’t worry about Xiao Qiao and Brother Xi’s affairs, and don’t go out and say anything.” Xu Shaoxuan reached out and patted Xu Chao’s shoulder. “Just film your scenes properly.” Although he didn’t have many dealings with this cousin, he still knew that this one’s brain was relatively straightforward.
Xu Chao grinned, “Don’t worry. Anyway, I’m a strong idol.”
Xu Shaoxuan felt like sighing even more.
At this time a few of the prestigious family grandsons who were close to the Xu family came over and spoke with the two. One of them suddenly said, “I heard that the Xǔ[1] family heir came back from abroad a few days ago, have you seen him?”
“You mean Xǔ Su?” Xu Chao craned his head towards the surroundings, “I just saw him, but now I don’t know where he went.”
Xǔ family was also an old prestigious family, but unfortunately in recent decades, it had slowly declined. Although on the surface it maintained the glory of a prestigious family, it was hollow on the inside.
However, there were many prestigious families in the Imperial Capital like that. The Xǔ family was still good. At least they could still barely maintain a respectable living. Many prestigious families had already put down their ancestral honor and were living a life no different from ordinary people.
The relationship between their generation and Xǔ Su wasn’t particularly good, because they, the heirs of prestigious families, grew up attending the noble school for the children of the prestigious families. However, Xǔ Su didn’t follow the same path as they did, so there was nothing to discuss.
Because Xu Chao was from a side branch, he didn’t go to the noble school for the prestigious families when he was young, and he didn’t have much sense of the superiority of the prestigious families. However, he didn’t interact with Xǔ Su since he was young, and they didn’t have much in common.
“Did he appear at the Xue family reception this time to tell everyone that the Xǔ family was coming back to the circle?” A certain prestigious family grandson said with some emotion, “I heard that he was doing quite well abroad. Now, he came back to prepare to open some kind of company. It could be considered independent entrepreneurship.”
Several other people let out a burst of laughter. Although there was some ridicule, there was no malice.
Soon it would be time for the ballroom dance, but both Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing didn’t have partners. Xi Qing never danced with women on these occasions, and Gongxi Qiao didn’t invite any women to the dance floor in order to be considerate of Xi Qing’s mood, so the two simply took another plate of fruit and squatted in the corner to continue to eat.
The two of them were eating and chatting happily until someone called out Gongxi Qiao’s name, breaking up their unconventional “two-person world”.
“Xiao Qiao?”
Gongxi Qiao turned around in surprise. When he saw the person behind him he froze for a moment before speaking, “Xǔ Su?”
Xǔ Su looked at the person he hadn’t seen in six years. His expression was a bit dazed, his heart was constantly overwhelmed with emotions, and his voice was a bit dry. “How are you…… here?”
Seeing the person he had a crush on as a teenager, Xǔ Su’s mood was somewhat nostalgic, but more than that, he was panicked. He was worried that Gongxi Qiao would tell others that he, the future head of the Xǔ family, had a crush on a man. How big a joke would this be for a prestigious family?
When he was a teenager, he thought love was beautiful and bitter, but when he slowly grew up and experienced the joys and sorrows abroad, he realized that only power can make a person prosperous, and love was nothing but a youthful and ignorant dream.
Therefore, over the years he always tried to make himself forget the ridiculous things he did when he was young, and even made himself deliberately avoid news about Gongxi Qiao. Now when he suddenly saw the person who had once made him impulsive, he was both terrified and couldn’t help but to look at him a few more times.
Compared to six years ago, the current Gongxi Qiao seemed to be more dazzling and more attractive.
“I was invited by Brother Chong.” Gongxi Qiao saw the panic and desire to escape in Xǔ Su’s eyes and said with a flat smile, “I haven’t seen you for several years, how are you?”
“I’m fine, how about you?” Only then did Xǔ Su notice Xi Qing sitting next to Gongxi Qiao and politely said hello to him.
Gongxi Qiao put the fruit plate on the table and moved towards Xi Qing. “I’m fine too. Let’s sit down and talk.”
Xǔ Su felt that he should refuse, but he couldn’t help but sit down beside Gongxi Qiao. After sitting down, he noticed that Gongxi Qiao and Xi Qing had a particularly good relationship, just like best friends.
He had some doubts in his mind. Although Gongxi Qiao was elegantly mannered, he was from a nouveau riche family. How could someone with such an identity appear at this meaningful cocktail party of the Xue family?
Although his heart was puzzled, he couldn’t ask questions. He took a sip of the red wine in his hand, hesitantly opened his mouth and said, “When I left without saying goodbye that year……”
“It’s okay. Later on, the teacher told us about you going abroad in class, and several of us close friends were happy for you,” Gongxi Qiao interrupted him. “It’s such a surprise that we would meet here.”
Thinking back to that year, Xǔ Su was a bit moved. Seeing Gongxi Qiao like this, he guessed that he might not even know that he had a crush on him back then. He was relieved but at the same time had a kind of inexplicable loss. “Well, I didn’t expect it either.”
Xi Qing sized up the future head of the Xǔ family. A well-fitted white suit, hair with styling gel, and clean skin. He looked a few years older than Xiao Qiao. One wouldn’t expect them to have been classmates at all. The Xi family didn’t have many dealings with the Xǔ family, but he had heard something about the Xǔ family’s past deeds. When he saw Xǔ Su stammering to Gongxi Qiao, he didn’t know why, but he remembered the blue envelope that Gongxi Qiao had shredded and thrown into the trash.
The atmosphere became awkward when the two friends, who once were on good terms, found that they seemed to have nothing to say to each other after six years apart.
When Xǔ Su saw that Gongxi Qiao’s expression had been indifferent, he finally gathered enough courage to say, “The letter I wrote to you back then, did you…… see it?”
“What letter?” Gongxi Qiao poked a piece of fruit on the fruit plate that Xi Qing was holding and threw it into his mouth. He looked at Xǔ Su with some confusion. “You had the spare time to write a letter to me?”
“It’s nothing,” Xǔ Su said with a forced smile, “I didn’t write anything important anyway.”
At that time, how could he have the courage to confess his love to the other person and ask him to wait for him?
Fortunately, he didn’t see that letter, and the guilt in his heart could finally be put aside.
“Let’s get together with some old friends sometime.” Xǔ Su looked at Xi Qing and smiled. “I haven’t seen you guys for some years. I miss you.”
“Yeah,” Gongxi Qiao nodded graciously.
Xǔ Su got up and said, “I’ll leave you guys alone, then. See you later.”
Gongxi Qiao watched him leave with a smile. His attitude wasn’t really warm, but it wasn’t cold either. However, Xi Qing, who was sitting next to him, never opened his mouth from beginning to the end, as if this Xǔ Su person didn’t exist at all.
“This classmate of yours……” Xi Qing pursed his lips slightly, “has a good relationship with you?”
“Just so-so,” Gongxi Qiao said indifferently. “We haven’t been in contact all these years. How good could it be?”
Xi Qing thought deeply. “You’re right. That kind of person isn’t a true friend.”
Gongxi Qiao laughed and stuffed a piece of cantaloupe into his mouth.
T/N:
1. Xǔ family: the surname is “许”(Xǔ) which is different than Xu Chao and Xu Shaoxuan’s surname “徐” (Xú). In order to differentiate the two, I’m adding the diacritical mark.
