IMGH Chapter 58

Chen Yuhe’s Conversation

“Yuhe, your little companion is back!” Jiang Yi slid open the window, and the paper crane fluttered its wings and flew into the room, heading straight for its owner.

Chen Yuhe raised her hand to receive it, the paper crane softly gliding into her palm before instantly becoming an ordinary piece of folded paper.

Her slender, fair fingers unfolded the paper crane, and after reading it, Chen Yuhe said to Jiang Yi, “My senior brother wrote back!”

Jiang Yi leaned in eagerly and asked, “What did he say? Can the formation be broken?”

Qiu Rui drifted out from the bedroom and looked at Chen Yuhe, waiting for her reply.

“My senior brother said he should be able to break this formation, but he’ll need to use a ritual instrument. The specifics can only be determined after he sees the layout of the formation in person!” Chen Yuhe relayed the contents of the letter.

Jiang Yi pressed further, “Did he say when he’d be coming?”

Chen Yuhe shook her head. “Senior brother didn’t give a specific time — he only said he’d be returning to Z City soon, and that he’d contact me once he’s back!”

“How soon is ‘soon’? That’s practically saying nothing at all!” Jiang Yi lowered his head in disappointment. “Your senior brother is so unreliable — things are already at a critical point here, and he’s still wandering around out there without a care in the world!”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. My senior brother has long been a free spirit with no sense of time!” Chen Yuhe shrugged helplessly. “Let’s just wait patiently — since he said he’d come back, he definitely won’t let us down!”

Jiang Yi glanced over at Qiu Rui, and seeing no objection from him, said nothing more.

…

The night grew ever deeper, and Chen Yuhe showed no sign of leaving.

Surely this girl isn’t thinking of staying here!

Jiang Yi paced anxiously around the room, grinding his teeth resentfully as he stared at the young woman lounging on the sofa watching the cartoon Boonie Bears.

“Jiang Yi, I want some fruit!” Chen Yuhe sat sideways with her legs crossed, half-leaning against the back of the sofa, bossing Jiang Yi around without the slightest hesitation.

Jiang Yi’s grimacing face instantly melted into something soft and gentle as a little lamb. He bowed and said, “Miss Chen desires fruit — this humble one shall present it at once!” With that, he turned and scurried off to cut the fruit.

The moment the man’s figure disappeared into the kitchen, Chen Yuhe looked over at Qiu Rui, who was not far from her side, and said softly, “Chairman Qiu…”

Qiu Rui turned his head and asked, “Does Miss Chen need something?”

Chen Yuhe shifted closer to Qiu Rui, her cheeks flushing faintly pink. She twisted her fingers together, seeming to want to speak but holding back.

Qiu Rui did not rush her, and simply waited as Chen Yuhe composed herself.

After a moment, her quiet voice came slowly, “Chairman Qiu… I like Jiang Yi.”

Qiu Rui’s heart sank. He couldn’t understand why Chen Yuhe was telling him this.

He looked with faint puzzlement at the flustered, shy girl before him.

Chen Yuhe laughed self-deprecatingly. “But he doesn’t like me.”

Qiu Rui was at a loss for words, unsure of how to respond. He already had a vague sense of where this conversation was heading, and felt a strong reluctance inside.

“Chairman Qiu, do you like Jiang Yi?”

Chen Yuhe asked directly, and Qiu Rui was momentarily caught off guard.

Without waiting for an answer, Chen Yuhe continued on her own, “Chairman Qiu, you probably don’t like Jiang Yi, right? So you won’t be competing with me — is that correct?”

Facing the girl’s hopeful gaze, Qiu Rui felt as though something were stuck in his throat — he genuinely didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t even sure what he could say.

The atmosphere grew stifling and heavy. Qiu Rui felt as though a great stone had settled at the bottom of his heart, making it hard to breathe.

“Jiang Yi is such a wonderful man — I truly don’t want to see him walk down the difficult and thorny road of homosexuality,” Chen Yuhe said, her gentle voice carrying boundless worry. “Chairman Qiu, you are a man of standing and status — how could you possibly set your sights on Jiang Yi? And on top of that, he’s a man.”

“You know how Jiang Yi is — like a cockroach that just won’t die. Even if there’s only a one-in-a-million chance, he’ll pour everything he has into it. Even if it means a bloodied head, even if it means being battered all over. The word ‘give up’ has never existed in his vocabulary. So… Chairman Qiu, I hope you can make things clear to him — tell him not to be so fixated on a feeling that holds no hope and no response.”