Still awake.
Almost fell asleep.
Qian Dailan had just barely started to relax her tensed-up nerves when, the moment she heard Ye Xijing’s voice, they snapped taut again.
Her ears buzzed, and she instinctively looked toward her “accomplice,” Ye Xiyan.
Ye Xiyan was looking at her too.
The moment their gazes met, an unspoken agreement was reached.
Don’t open the door.
Hide.
“Not yet,” Ye Xiyan responded through the door.
His head tilted slightly downward, a few strands of his previously disheveled curls falling over his eyes.
His voice was steady.
“What’s wrong?”
Ye Xijing picked up on something off.
“Brother, have you been drinking?”
“Mm.”
Qian Dailan didn’t dare breathe, standing frozen in place.
On the entire train ride to Beijing, she had been desperately missing Ye Xijing—and yet, at this moment, he was the last person she wanted to see.
“You told me to come back earlier, so I did,” Ye Xijing said.
“There’s no need for me to stay at the hospital anymore. Her mom is there now, so don’t worry.”
Ye Xiyan glanced at Qian Dailan before replying, “I’m really tired right now. Let’s talk tomorrow.”
Qian Dailan parted her lips slightly, puzzled, looking at Ye Xiyan.
A smart girl could tell there was something off in Ye Xijing’s words.
What kind of friend would need him to stay so late at the hospital?
Ye Xijing knocked on the door again.
He hesitated.
“I’m afraid tomorrow might be too late.”
“Too late for what?”
Ye Xiyan’s expression remained neutral.
“What, are you not planning to live until tomorrow?”
“…No, that’s not what I meant. Brother, wait—something’s weird about you. Did you drink too much?”
Ye Xijing sounded confused.
“Didn’t you tell me to come back early, so we could explain everything to Dailan tomorrow? I wanted to confirm our story with you first—so we don’t accidentally slip up.”
Slip up?!
Qian Dailan stepped forward, pressing her ear against the door.
She tilted her head up slightly, staring at Ye Xiyan’s righteous, handsome face in shock while her heart pounded at the words from her boyfriend outside.
She was too close.
That soft, rich jasmine fragrance swirled around, brushing against Ye Xiyan’s face.
He took a step back.
His fingers loosened from the doorknob and fell to his side, slowly curling into a fist.
The callus on his middle finger pressed against his palm, rubbing against the damp, lingering warmth there.
He wasn’t sure if the moisture was his own sweat—or something from Qian Dailan.
Outside, Ye Xijing was still talking about her.
He knocked on the door again—a few times.
Qian Dailan, with her ear still pressed against it, flinched backward, startled—like a squirrel startled by the sound of an axe chopping wood.
As she moved away, she heard Ye Xiyan let out a long, heavy breath.
Like he had been holding it in this whole time.
Qian Dailan felt uneasy.
She discreetly sniffed herself—do I smell bad right now?!
Probably not, right?
He was practically devouring my collarbone earlier—like a starving wolf.
Wait.
STOP.
STOP REMEMBERING.
This is so embarrassing, I want to kill him.
“Brother, just let me in,” Ye Xijing said.
“Talking like this outside… I’m afraid of waking up Dailan. You have no idea—her hearing is incredible. I almost feel like she’s listening to us right now.”
“That’s just your imagination,” Ye Xiyan replied, completely unfazed.
“Her hearing isn’t as sharp as you think.”
His voice was calm, but to Qian Dailan—who was extremely on edge—it sounded like a deliberate, blatant insult.
Was he mocking her?
Mocking her for not realizing that the voice inside the room was not her boyfriend’s?
“I’m going to sleep,” Ye Xiyan said indifferently.
“I’ll talk to you in the morning.”
“Dailan likes waking up early, I’m worried,” Ye Xijing said.
“Let’s just confirm our story now—tonight, it was Pan Xiaoxian who got sick, and I stayed at the hospital with them. Brother, do you remember?”
Qian Dailan’s eyes widened.
She didn’t know if Ye Xiyan remembered—
But she sure as hell did.
“Mm,” Ye Xiyan responded, not looking at her.
“Go back.”
“Brother, you should get some sleep too,” Ye Xijing said with concern.
“You haven’t even cursed at me—that means you must’ve had quite a lot to drink tonight.”
Ye Xiyan replied, “Get lost.”
Only then did Ye Xijing finally leave, reassured.
Ye Xiyan ignored him.
Qian Dailan remained in a half-squat position.
For five whole minutes, the two of them stayed silent, only speaking after making sure there was no movement outside.
“The one who was actually sick today was Wu Ke.”
Qian Dailan gritted her teeth.
She wanted to say something, but she hesitated—after all, Ye Xiyan was Ye Xijing’s biological brother.
Of course, he would take his side.
Of course, he would protect him.
That was normal.
Ye Xiyan hadn’t actually done anything wrong.
But she still felt wronged.
She had traveled so far, filled with excitement to visit her boyfriend, only to almost end up in bed with his brother.
And before she could even recover from that shock, she accidentally found out that her boyfriend hadn’t picked her up because he was at the hospital with another woman.
“Wu Ke’s father was my high school math teacher,” Ye Xiyan unexpectedly explained in detail.
“She was my classmate and also used to be Xijing’s childhood neighbor. Now, she’s a teaching assistant at his university. She got sick today because she was out in the rain helping Xijing organize his paperwork for studying abroad.
That’s why he took care of her. Right now, there’s nothing romantic between them—it was just a favor between friends.”
Qian Dailan muttered gloomily, “So… are you trying to convince me not to be mad now?”
“It’s completely normal for you to be mad,” Ye Xiyan said.
“Morally speaking, Xijing didn’t do anything wrong. But emotionally—he failed to manage the balance between his girlfriend and his female friend. That’s where he messed up.”
Qian Dailan did not want to hear logic right now.
She was furious, so angry she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
Right now, all she wanted was to grab her suitcase and leave—leave this place that had made her feel both humiliated and heartbroken.
“Talk to Xijing properly tomorrow,” Ye Xiyan said.
His tone had returned to the controlled, measured voice of their first meeting—the voice of an older brother who knew his place.
“He told me he lied because he didn’t want to make you jealous. I don’t agree with his approach, but… he really likes you.”
As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the doorknob, pulled open the door, and glanced around cautiously before signaling for Qian Dailan to step out.
The whole thing felt like an affair.
Ye Xiyan opened her bedroom door for her but didn’t step inside.
He simply placed her small suitcase gently on the floor.
Both of them held their breath.
Their breathing was so restrained that even the motion-sensitive hallway lights didn’t turn on.
Not a single light illuminated these two people who had nearly crossed the line.
The only thing filling the space was the soft white moonlight, slipping through the floor-to-ceiling windows like a sheer veil, blinding the eyes and suffocating the mouth.
A brother and his younger brother’s girlfriend.
A girl and her boyfriend’s older brother.
Minutes ago, they had been tangled up in bed under the cover of darkness.
Now, in the hallway, they stood fully clothed, speaking with polite detachment.
In this suffocating, almost adulterous atmosphere, Qian Dailan noticed something.
Ye Xiyan’s brow ridge was too defined—so prominent that his eyes seemed perpetually hidden in shadow, deep and unreadable.
Only when he looked at someone did a faint glimmer appear in his cold gaze.
“We’ll talk tomorrow,” Ye Xiyan said shortly.
“Rest first. See you in the morning. Goodnight.”
He kept emphasizing ‘tomorrow.’
That put a lot of psychological pressure on Qian Dailan.
Dear heavens, she already had a packed schedule for tomorrow—
She planned to meet Mai-jie’s cousin, Mai Yi, for an interview in the morning.
Lunch with Yin Shenyan at noon.
Looking for rental listings in the afternoon.
And in the evening?
She had to confront Ye Xijing about his lies.
And now?
Now she had one more thing to deal with.
Listening to her boyfriend’s older brother—the serious-faced, stone-cold man in front of her—explain why they had almost slept together.
Or worse—apologize for it.
She did not have the time or emotional energy for this.
“No need,” Qian Dailan said quickly.
“Morally and emotionally, I already understand your reasoning. There’s nothing to compensate for.”
“If you even mention compensation, it’s just going to make things even more awkward.”
She inhaled sharply.
“Honestly, it’d feel like the kind of compensation someone gives after—”
She cut herself off.
But Ye Xiyan, despite his usual composure, looked visibly uncomfortable.
“Dailan.”
“That’s it,” Qian Dailan said.
“Since it was a misunderstanding, then nothing happened.”
She was so embarrassed she could barely hold it in.
“If you say one more word about it, I’ll start screaming.”
She took a deep breath, bowed deeply, and desperately tried to put an end to this ridiculous farce.
“Don’t say another word. If you do, I’ll call someone over—Mr. Ye, you wouldn’t want your little brother finding out about this, would you?”
She bowed while stepping backward, then slammed the door shut, locked it, and secured it all in one smooth motion.
…This is a nightmare.
Qian Dailan buried her face into the goose-feather pillow, wanting to scream but not daring to.
In the end, she settled for furiously punching the bed, cursing the heavens for being so damn unfair, while forcing herself to fall asleep quickly—she couldn’t afford to mess up tomorrow’s interview.
What a shitty accident!
The Next Morning – 5:50 AM.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.