124: Fondness for Joanna

"How about it? Does it carry that heavy, damp scent that reminds you of a stormy night?"

As the words fell, her mind flashed back to that night on the island, the one she had spent with Yichen during the storm. Her expression dimmed.

She placed the perfume back in its original spot. "Yiyang, I'm feeling very sleepy now. I want to go back and get some sleep."

Yiyang looked at her for a few seconds. "Sleepy so early? Tell me, what did you do last night?"

Last night, she had been with his brother...

Xiao Qi replied in a dull tone, "I went to find your brother to get my things back, but I suppose I won't be getting them back now."

"What exactly did he take from you?" Yiyang asked, feigning a mischievous look. "Don't tell me he stole your maiden heart?"

At this, Xiao Qi vehemently denied it. "Is my maiden heart really that easy to take?"

"Xiyang," Yiyang hesitated, his words catching in his throat. "If my brother found another girlfriend, would you be sad?"

Xiao Qi looked at the various perfumes, saying dismissively, "Why would I be sad? Someone as cold-hearted and icy as him—I’d be thrilled if he fell for someone else!"

Yiyang lowered his eyes to watch her expression. "Don't you know that the look on your face betrays the lies you're telling yourself?"

"I'm telling the truth," Xiao Qi said, picking up a bottle to smell it, trying to keep her tone natural. "Even if he confessed to me right now, I wouldn't be moved. If he stood before me stripped of his clothes, my heart would remain as still as stagnant water. Although in the past, I might have said I didn't like your brother, my body was always honest. But now, I’ve developed antibodies to him. I have plenty of resistance."

*In the past, Xiyang was completely obsessed with my brother from head to toe. But now that she’s lost her memories, I don’t know if she...*

Yiyang pondered for a few seconds and asked, "Then what about me?"

"You?" Xiao Qi put down the perfume bottle and looked at Yiyang with a playful, predatory grin. "I've been holding back with you for a long time!" With that, she lunged at him.

Yiyang dodged immediately, and the two began chasing each other as they ran outside.

Yichen’s car pulled up nearby. As he stepped out, he seemed to hear a familiar voice. He looked over and saw the two of them frolicking on the sidewalk. His brow furrowed instantly.

Seeing him in his peripheral vision, Yiyang instinctively shouted, "Brother!"

Hearing the word "brother," Xiao Qi was suddenly struck with panic. *Is he going to be angry again?* Her mind immediately conjured an image of his handsome face filled with raging fury.

She glanced over and saw the tall man walking toward another spot. Yichen wove through the pedestrians with a calm and elegant posture, his demeanor as aloof as ever, as if no one else existed. Suddenly, his figure paused, and his gaze shot toward her with a burning intensity.

But he only slowed his pace for a moment before continuing as usual, vanishing into the large shopping mall by the roadside in the blink of an eye.

For some reason, Xiao Qi felt a sudden sense of relief. She pulled Yiyang toward the car. "Yiyang, it’s late. Let’s go back."

Yiyang glanced at the man who had already entered the mall before getting into the driver's seat and starting the engine.

Inside the mall, Yichen stopped in his tracks, his gaze shifting toward the white car as it disappeared into the night.

He touched his chest. *Why does it feel so stifling here, as if I’m incredibly angry, just from seeing her with Yiyang?*

Xiao Qi rolled down the car window, lifting her face to meet the cool night breeze. Beneath the quiet night sky and the scattered starlight, she looked up at the moon, motionless. Her stillness told the driver she had been lost in thought for a long time.

"Attention, passengers: there is a traffic light ahead. Please put away your wandering thoughts and prepare for the red light..."

Xiao Qi: "..."

Under Yiyang’s ridiculous remark, Xiao Qi finally regained her focus. She turned her head and gave an awkward smile. "Um, I was just asleep."

Yiyang: "..."

Xiao Qi turned to look out the window again, but this time, instead of the moon, she was entranced by the passing scenery. The car slowed until it came to a complete stop. Only then did she snap out of it, looking over in confusion. "Yiyang, why did you stop?"

*Finally, she’s returned to Earth.*

Yiyang sighed silently. "I haven't had dinner yet, and I'm hungry. The steak at this restaurant is excellent. Let's get off and eat before I take you home."

"Oh!" Xiao Qi got out of the car, looking somewhat uninterested.

"Right," Yiyang suddenly stopped and looked at her. "After we eat, we’ll head back to the company. I have a lot of data on perfume analysis there. Take it home and study it. Don't go out for a while, and stay away from the internet, newspapers, and television... don't look at any of that. Studying is what matters now."

Xiao Qi was stunned. "So, I don't need to go to work?"

"Studying at home counts as working," Yiyang said reasonably. "Besides, our perfume product is the priority right now. Whether or not this product can firmly and accurately seize the throat of the market depends on your intuition."

Xiao Qi felt a bit troubled. "Yiyang, aren't you overestimating me? I'm just a rookie."

"Even if our Xiyang is a rookie, she’s no ordinary one."

Xiao Qi tilted her head, her eyes curving into crescents. "Since my boss thinks so highly of me, I'll give it a try."

Yiyang looked at her fair face and bright, watery eyes. She was blinking at him, looking so innocent and pure. Even in the dim light, at such close range, he could see the tiny, soft fuzz on her cheeks—so fair that he couldn't help but want to touch them, to...

His heart couldn't help but tremble slightly. He immediately suppressed his thoughts, but he couldn't resist reaching out to pinch her fair cheek. "Our Xiyang has always been great."

Xiao Qi swatted his hand away. "Don't flatter me. I said I'd try, it doesn't mean I'll succeed!"

Yiyang smiled gently, but then he saw his own brother—and this time, his brother was walking straight toward them with unerring precision.

The tall man approached. His face was extraordinarily handsome, with well-defined, sharp features that exuded a wicked, cold stillness. His expression was indifferent, his thin, cold lips pressed together, and his dark eyes were like the blackest night, the heavy inkiness masking everything, hiding emotions that were impossible to read.

As he drew near, the sharp, piercing aura radiating from him made Yiyang feel as if he had become a different person. He seemed like the man from five years ago when Xiyang left, perhaps even colder.

His sharp presence made Xiao Qi’s heart skip a beat, an inexplicable spark of emotion blooming within her. The sensation was so intense that it stimulated her to take a step back involuntarily.

She hadn't expected to run into him again, and that look in his eyes...

Her fawn-like, spirited eyes collided with his deep, pitch-black gaze. She instinctively leaned toward Yiyang. "Don't stare at me like that; it gives me the creeps."

"I’m the one who should be creeped out," Yichen said with an indifferent expression, yet his tone was incredibly cold. "You were the one who drugged me first and seduced my brother later. What exactly are you trying to do? Tell me clearly now; stop causing me trouble."

"Brother, have you got it wrong? You’re the one causing trouble for Xiyang. Don’t you have any idea what you’ve done yourself?"

Yiyang really couldn't understand it. His brother clearly loved Xiyang, so why was he being so cold to her now? He even seemed to hate her.

Anna said she had known his brother for a long time—could it be that he was rekindling an old flame with her? But it was obvious that Xiyang was the one who knew him and was with him first.

And didn't his brother have amnesia? He had forgotten everyone except Xiyang. So, a rekindled romance with Anna was impossible. Besides, in the past, it must have been Anna’s one-sided affection, right? Anna only said his brother liked her pursuit, but surely his brother only said those things because he was missing Xiyang at the time!

So, a rekindled romance was impossible. It must mean he had fallen for Anna.

But the idea of his brother liking Anna felt even more impossible. How much he loved Xiyang was clear five years ago. Yet, the way he acted now truly made it seem like he hated her.

"What trouble have I caused her?" Yichen curled his lips into a faint smile, though his eyes remained unreadable. "Or could it be that you’ve had your soul snatched away by her to the point where you're speaking to your brother like this, hmm?"

"What I said was the trut—"

"Hey," Xiao Qi tugged at Yiyang and said bluntly, "He’s mentally ill. Don't pay any attention to him."

Yichen smiled again, but though he was clearly smiling, it was so faint it was almost invisible. "What, are the two of you singing from the same hymn sheet now?"

Xiao Qi felt she wouldn't be able to eat this meal. "Yiyang, let’s go to the company to get the materials!"

Yiyang looked at her, silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "You go to the car first, I’ll be..."

"Wait for what?" Yichen’s voice was low and languid, but his gaze was bottomless. "We haven't finished the conversation. What car is she getting into?"

"..."

Xiao Qi was reaching her limit. She started to speak, "Brother, do you have to personally twist the knife in Xiyang? Isn't hurting her enough for you?"

"He hasn't really hurt me," Xiao Qi tugged at Yiyang again, feeling she should get into the car quickly. "Yiyang, stop arguing. Let's go to the company for the materials!"

"You go to the car first," Yiyang said, patting her hair. "I'll be there in a moment."

"Then don't get into a fight with him," Xiao Qi whispered. "Aren't you afraid of his black belt? Don't get beaten flat by him."

"..."

Xiao Qi looked back three times before getting into the car.

Seeing her inside, Yiyang spoke. "Brother, you know, the reason I brought Xiyang out is to keep her from seeing the scandals between you and Anna. If you like Anna now, then stop provoking Xiyang."

"I'm provoking her?" Yichen sneered. "She's the one who keeps coming to find me, the one who drugged me last night, and furthermore," his voice turned sharply cold, "which eye of yours sees me liking Joanna Qiao?"

*No wonder Xiyang said she didn't get her things back last night.*

Yiyang didn't press the matter of the drugging, only bringing up the current topic. "If you don't like Anna, you would have stopped those rumors flooding the news long ago. Brother, I don't care if you've really rekindled something with Anna, but if you choose to be with her, please stop playing games with others. The so-called 'not initiating, not refusing, and not taking responsibility' makes you the scummiest man in the world."