IMGH Chapter 50

A Wounded Heart

The pleasant ringtone rang persistently many times. Jiang Yi furrowed his brows deeply and finally simply switched his phone to silent, tucking it under the sofa cushion.

Jiang Yi racked his brain for a long while, yet still could not figure out how such an outstanding girl had taken a liking to him at a single glance.

Chen Yuhe was wonderful — beautiful and graceful!

But Jiang Yi’s heart was already filled completely with Qiu Rui, and even a fairy descended from heaven would have been unable to catch his eye.

“Rejecting her so coldly like that — you’ll break a girl’s heart!”

The teasing tone rang out beside him, and the moment it drifted into Jiang Yi’s ears, it successfully made his expression darken.

Jiang Yi tilted his head back and fixed Qiu Rui with a cold stare.

Being looked at that way by Jiang Yi stirred a measure of irritation in Qiu Rui’s heart, yet his face wore a gloating smile. “Jiang Yi, I think the two of you are perfectly suited for each other!”

Qiu Rui was doing it entirely on purpose. He was well aware of Jiang Yi’s feelings for him — he simply wanted to provoke him. Having been on the receiving end of Jiang Yi’s provocations all this time, Qiu Rui had built up a belly full of pent-up frustration with nowhere to release it. Now that he had finally found an outlet, how could he let Jiang Yi off so easily?

Jiang Yi said nothing, but Qiu Rui grew more and more animated with each word. “A girl this wonderful — if you let her slip away, you’ll probably regret it for the rest of your life…”

“Enough!”

Before Qiu Rui could finish, his words were rudely cut short by Jiang Yi’s furious outburst.

“Qiu Rui, I simply like you — that’s all. I haven’t done anything wicked or taken anything by force. You are free to choose not to accept it, but please stop saying such cruel things!” Jiang Yi looked at Qiu Rui, his burning gaze as though it could see right through him.

“Qiu Rui, I originally thought you had at least some small feelings for me. You never showed it openly, but I could faintly sense it. Yet now I know you don’t like me at all. If a person truly liked someone, how could they push him into someone else’s arms?” Jiang Yi’s eyes gradually turned cold — still as stagnant water, yet suffused with sorrow. He leaned back against the sofa, and all the strength in his body seemed to drain away in an instant.

…..

That night was unusually quiet. The two of them exchanged no further words.

Qiu Rui kept wondering whether he had truly done something wrong.

What Jiang Yi said was perhaps not wrong — he had been too cruel.

The proud Qiu Rui began, for the first time in his life, to examine himself. He had not even noticed that ever since he had met Jiang Yi, he had unknowingly come to care very much about that man’s feelings.

The following day, Jiang Yi’s internal clock failed him, and for the first time ever, he woke up late.

With dark circles under his eyes, he went to the bathroom to wash up, and upon coming out he came face to face with Qiu Rui drifting out from the bedroom.

As their four eyes met, each saw the awkwardness reflected in the other’s gaze.

Living under the same roof, it was difficult not to run into each other — and all the more so since Qiu Rui could not leave Jiang Yi’s side. The man and the ghost were, in a sense, bound together, and if there was a rift between them, if things became unpleasant, living together would only become stilted and uncomfortable.

As Jiang Yi prepared breakfast, he turned over in his mind how to ease the tension between them. If things continued like this, he was certain to lose the bet.

He scooped the fried egg out of the pan, arranged the warmed custard buns on a plate, and ladled out two bowls of oatmeal porridge.

Setting breakfast on the table, Jiang Yi rallied his spirits and called out, “Qiu Rui, time to eat!”

After quite a long while, Qiu Rui slowly drifted out.

He sat down at the table and ate in calm silence, though the bowl of steaming oatmeal porridge remained untouched.

Given the awkwardness between them now, there was no way Qiu Rui would allow Jiang Yi to feed him again.

Jiang Yi glanced at the soup bowl and silently cursed himself for being foolish again.

He was just about to explain when a knock came at the door.

“Coming…”

Jiang Yi answered and rose to open the door. Standing outside was none other than Chen Yuhe, the girl who had only just become his girlfriend the day before.