IMGH Chapter 37

Is It Wrong That I Like You?

“Big bro, the water is about to overflow!” Jiang Mingxuan cried out, startling the dazed figure before her. Jiang Yi snapped back to his senses — the water had already spilled over the cup and flooded the tabletop.

Scrambling to clean up the mess, Jiang Yi asked, “Xuan Xuan, who told you about this? Could it be someone spreading malicious rumors?”

“It’s all over the company — they’re saying a new chairman is coming to take over!” Jiang Mingxuan lamented with a soft sigh. “Our chairman is still so young. Truly, heaven is jealous of the gifted!”

“Xuan Xuan, what does that have to do with you losing your job? Would changing the chairman really mean changing all the employees too?”

“Big bro, you don’t know — the new chairman has a terrible reputation. Rumor has it he’s debauched and morally corrupt. They say once he takes over, there will be a major internal shake-up and many departments will be cut.” Jiang Mingxuan pulled a miserable face, took a sip of tea, and continued, “Our department is unfortunately one of them. A lot of people saw which way the wind was blowing and have already jumped ship. If it weren’t for the generous severance package, I wouldn’t be staying there either!”

After waiting a long while without hearing a reply from Jiang Yi, Jiang Mingxuan looked up and found him staring blankly into space. Noticing his poor complexion, she didn’t want to disturb him, and stood up to leave. “Big bro, I’m heading back!”

She called out several times before Jiang Yi finally came to his senses. “Xuan Xuan, be careful on your way home!”

Seeing that Jiang Yi was clearly distracted, Jiang Mingxuan pursed her lips and reminded him, “Just take care of yourself first! And don’t forget to help me get my money back!”

After Jiang Mingxuan left, Jiang Yi sat in a daze. After a long while, he walked over to Qiu Rui’s side. “Qiu Rui, don’t worry — I’ll find Taoist Cao for you as soon as I can!” Knowing that Taoist Cao had likely long since disappeared without a trace, Jiang Yi didn’t want Qiu Rui to worry too much, and so offered those words of comfort.

Qiu Rui turned his head, his expression unchanged. “You’ve probably already figured out that Taoist Cao most likely can’t be found anymore.”

“Qiu Rui, if we can’t find Taoist Cao, we can look for someone else. I’ll head to Wutai Mountain tomorrow and bring back a high monk!” Jiang Yi gazed at Qiu Rui anxiously.

“There’s no need. Han Yuancheng will handle it.”

Faced with Qiu Rui’s refusal, Jiang Yi felt deeply unsettled. The confrontation several days ago had frozen their relationship to an absolute standstill. Unless Jiang Yi spoke first, Qiu Rui rarely took the initiative to talk to him.

Though the two lived under the same roof, there was virtually no communication between them, and over the past couple of days, Qiu Rui had grown even quieter.

Jiang Yi was troubled. He could feel that Qiu Rui was deliberately keeping his distance.

That day, Jiang Yi had been somewhat unreasonable, leaving Qiu Rui at a loss for words, unsure how to explain himself. In truth, Qiu Rui had never doubted Jiang Yi — though there had been some wariness toward him in the beginning, by now he trusted him completely.

In Jiang Yi’s eyes, however, Qiu Rui’s silence looked like tacit acknowledgment. Jiang Yi lowered his head dejectedly. “I know that no matter what I say, you won’t believe me. Doesn’t the fact that you’ve been refusing me so firmly mean you don’t believe me either? But I really haven’t done anything to wrong you! I only like you — is that somehow a mistake? You’ve been ignoring me lately, unwilling to even acknowledge me. You’re by my side every day, and I can see from your expression that you’re sick of me!”

Qiu Rui found it hard to cope with Jiang Yi’s frantic, unraveling state that day. Looking at the man’s pale, slightly haggard face, he found that any cold, firm rejection he might have offered simply wouldn’t come out. Qiu Rui sighed helplessly. “Jiang Yi, please stop overthinking. I never doubted you.”

“You’re lying to me! If you never doubted me, then why have you been refusing to speak to me these past few days!” Jiang Yi’s face crumpled, and he looked at Qiu Rui with a pitiful expression. “I know I’m not good enough — not good enough in any way, I know I’m not worthy of you — but I just like you! Is it wrong to like you? Is it wrong?”

“Is it wrong…”

Toward the end, his voice grew smaller and smaller — from a faint murmur to complete silence.