Chapter 246: Xue Pei: Greenhouse Effect
“A light brush of electricity, and after tonight, we’re more than just friends.”
As the STAR bar played a Cantonese song and reached this line, Pei Qingji, who had just returned to the country, unexpectedly caught sight of a familiar figure.
A ‘boom’ suddenly echoed in his ears, and a thick wall that stood tall in his heart crumbled, exploding into dust that obscured his reason.
Xue Shufan sat at the circular bar counter, holding a cocktail, laughing and chatting with the girl in the black dress and green top beside her.
Pei Qingji stood at the staircase entrance, quietly looking up, observing Xue Shufan as he had habitually done before, without a sound.
Jeans and a sweater, a very gentle outfit, but on her, it exuded a different charm, clean and sharp, with an imposing aura.
Over the years, though they hadn’t met, their social circles meant he would inadvertently learn of her updates from time to time.
He had thought that after Grandma Xue passed away, no one in the world would care for her anymore.
She would have to face hardships alone from then on, but clearly, she had made new friends. The girl opposite her seemed to be close to her.
Having lost her dearest family member and broken up with the boyfriend she had been dating for ten years, Xue Shufan was not a girl who could easily let go of love.
But fortunately.
Without family affection, without romantic love, she still had friendship.
Pei Qingji stared intently at the bar counter. Xue Shufan said a few words to Lian Li, then picked up her mobile phone and went to another area to take a call.
“President Pei, Young Master Zhong is in the private room upstairs,” the bar’s behind-the-scenes boss said, bowing, reminding Pei Qingji to go upstairs.
“Wait a moment,” Pei Qingji said, taking a step forward and walking towards Xue Shufan, who was on the phone in a quiet area.
“Xue Shufan,” he said, extending his hand to her gentlemanly, greeting her warmly, “Long time no see.”
Thus, after many years, they, as former friends, rekindled their old feelings.
What was rekindled was friendship.
She only had friendship for him.
Whether in the past or in the present.
–
Xue Shufan had an adventurous spirit from a young age, passionate about conquering thrilling things.
One day, she climbed alone to the very top of the camphor tree and, through the dense leaves, looked down at the garden below.
When she was done playing, she climbed down as usual.
Unexpectedly, an accident happened. The branch couldn’t bear her weight and broke, and the young Xue Shufan suddenly fell from the sky.
“Ah!”
Before the Xue Family’s decline, they had close ties with the Pei Family. On this day, Pei Qingji, accompanied by his Mother, was visiting elders at the Xue Family’s home. As he entered the garden, he suddenly heard a girl’s scream.
Pei Qingji looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a little girl in denim overalls falling towards him.
Like a crisp, fresh apple.
Although Pei Qingji was two and a half years older than Xue Shufan, they were both children at the time. He didn’t have the strength to catch her and was knocked down directly.
Xue Shufan climbed up from Pei Qingji, her knee scraped, but instead of crying, she was very excited.
“Yay!”
Pei Qingji’s back of the head hit the ground, causing a mild concussion, and the pain blurred his vision. However, he still stood firm, brushed the dust off Xue Shufan’s shoulder, and showed care for this very adventurous girl.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Xue Shufan said proudly, tilting her chin up. “I can climb even higher.”
Pei Qingji glanced at the camphor tree, then at the coolly dressed girl, and instantly recognized her.
Xue Shufan, the Crown Princess of the Xue Family, loved thrills and adventure, with very developed limbs.
Even knowing who she was, Pei Qingji still smiled and asked, “What’s your name?”
“Xue Shufan,” she replied. “You know me, right? Everyone in this home should know me.”
“I do,” Pei Qingji introduced himself. “My name is Pei Qingji.”
“Not everyone can be my friend,” Xue Shufan parroted her Father. “Are you worthy?”
Exchanging names is usually how friends are made.
Pei Qingji chuckled, “No one is more suitable than me.”
“Shufan, today is the first day we met,” he said, glancing at his watch. “We will meet again in the future.”
At that time, Xue Shufan didn’t pay much attention. It wasn’t until Pei Qingji fell into the water that she, with her small frame, jumped in and used all her strength to drag him ashore.
Only then did they gradually become familiar and truly become friends. As their contact became more frequent, their relationship grew closer, and they became each other’s best friends.
Therefore, the first person Xue Shufan told when she started dating was Pei Qingji.
She never imagined he would object.
They had a huge argument, and their friendship was on the verge of collapse. A few days later, the Xue Family made a mistake, falling several social strata, and Pei Qingji went abroad, gradually losing contact with Xue Shufan.
Due to human activity and global climate change, the tropical rainforests of South America are disappearing at a rate of 4.8 miles per minute.
At first, Pei Qingji thought their years of feelings were like the tropical rainforest, disappearing at a rate of 4.8 miles per minute, and there would come a day when it would all vanish.
Over the years, he had tried to connect with other girls. Whether they showed interest first or were introduced by elders, he had normal interactions.
But after a few meetings, Pei Qingji found that it was better to attend shareholder meetings than to waste time on meaningless pursuits.
Zhong Yang and the others often teased him, calling him a workaholic, and they weren’t wrong.
Before returning to the capital, Pei Qingji thought the tropical rainforest had completely disappeared.
But the moment he saw Xue Shufan with his own eyes, he realized he had overestimated himself and underestimated her.
As the successor to Zhongtai Bank, Pei Qingji had developed a mature and steady demeanor through various trials, including the group’s turmoil.
He no longer interfered in Xue Shufan’s private life as he had in the past.
Either be friends, or be strangers.
He chose the former.
Upon learning that Xue Shufan was going on blind dates and preparing to find someone to marry, Pei Qingji’s calm state of mind, like a clear mirror, was suddenly shattered by a sharp pebble, breaking into glass shards of various sizes.
Those painful, oppressive past events, winding and twisting like blood vessels, refusing to let him go, suddenly leaped back into his mind.
Pei Qingji dejectedly extinguished his cigarette butt, his lips pressed together, and in the dim light, his eyes were dark and unreadable.
Only the mirror clearly reflected his reddened eyes.
As expected, he still couldn’t be friends with her.
He wanted to marry her.
Regardless of whether she liked him or not.
–
The gentle afternoon sun slanted into a corner of the coffee shop. Xue Shufan lowered her eyes, her hand, adorned with a Vancleef & Arpels Diamond Watch, flipping through a gift agreement laid out before her.
It wasn’t a prenuptial agreement, but a very pure asset gift.
“Do you have any concerns?” Pei Qingji asked, sitting opposite her.
Xue Shufan looked up at him. He was handsome and refined, a gentle scholar for ten years, with a restrained kindness towards everyone.
“Don’t you think it’s strange for us to get married?” Xue Shufan pondered for a long time, still finding it odd. “Good friends can’t get married.”
“I don’t think so.”
Pei Qingji’s expression was gentle as he softly countered, “What law states that friends cannot get married?”
Timeline for this chapter:
Bar encounter upon returning to the country （ Main Story Chapter 6 ） — Flashback — Present.
The content that follows is not a flashback; it is all present.
