For their ten o'clock date that morning, both Qi Bailu and Zheng Kunyu were late. Lin Yuewei said to Ruan Qiuji, "Let's start eating first. Bailu sent me a message saying they'd be a bit late." Ruan Qiuji agreed, lowering his eyes as he took a pair of crab crackers to peel a crab. After Lin Yuewei finished a glass of wine, he placed the peeled crab meat on the plate in front of her. Lin Yuewei smiled and thanked him.
Had she not known Ruan Qiuji somewhat well, she might have easily misunderstood his intentions. Ruan Qiuji had always been a gentleman, practiced in the art of looking after others.
With nothing else to do, the two of them chatted idly at the table, eventually shifting the conversation from sea turtles to Qi Bailu. Lin Yuewei mentioned that when they were filming *Dewy Night Escape*, Qi Bailu was most afraid of insects; he would run the moment he saw one. A scene set in a flower garden had taken three full days to finish. A staff member had once jokingly caught a butterfly to show him, only for Qi Bailu to shatter the glass jar in a panic. He was practically terrified of butterflies, let alone moths, spiders, or various beetles.
"Entomophobia?" Ruan Qiuji asked.
Lin Yuewei asked curiously, "Is there a professional term for it?"
"If the fear is deep-seated, it's likely due to a psychological barrier."
Speaking of this, Ruan Qiuji suddenly remembered that when Qi Bailu was filming in Xiamen, he had suggested trying the local snack, sipunculid worm jelly, but Qi Bailu had never replied to his message.
"Psychological barrier?" Lin Yuewei repeated the words, her expression suggesting she had fallen into some memory.
Ruan Qiuji gave her an inquiring look, but Lin Yuewei quickly masked her expression and said, "It’s nothing. They’re coming over."
Lin Yuewei looked behind Ruan Qiuji and waved, signaling for Qi Bailu to come over. Ruan Qiuji wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. As Qi Bailu approached, Ruan Qiuji looked up at him, but Qi Bailu didn't meet his eyes, simply pulling out the chair next to Ruan Qiuji and sitting down. The last remaining seat was naturally Zheng Kunyu’s, directly opposite Ruan Qiuji.
A waiter came over to take their orders, and for a while, the only sounds at the table were the clinking of cutlery and glasses. Although it was only morning, the weather was already very hot. Qi Bailu ordered lemon juice and told the waiter to add extra ice.
While waiting for the food to arrive, Qi Bailu apologized again for being late. Seeing that he looked a bit drained, Lin Yuewei asked, "Didn't sleep well last night?"
Qi Bailu lost his voice for a moment, offering a smile as his only answer. Lin Yuewei, having finished her meal, lit a cigarette and let her gaze circle the table. The atmosphere today felt inexplicably eerie. Why did it seem to her that the other two hadn't slept well either? Everyone seemed preoccupied.
After lunch, they sat at the table and chatted. The umbrellas on the veranda had been opened, casting circular shadows. Lin Yuewei noticed that while she could converse with each of them, Zheng Kunyu and Ruan Qiuji hadn't exchanged a single word from start to finish.
Perhaps she was overthinking it, but the two of them didn't even share eye contact. Yet, despite the lack of interaction, they were like two kings on opposite sides of a chessboard; the mere presence of a king signified the final confrontation between victory and defeat.
Lin Yuewei said to Qi Bailu, "I plan to stay for a few more days. When are you heading back?"
"We might have to go back early, leaving tomorrow."
Ruan Qiuji noticed he used the word "we."
"So soon? What are you going back to Beijing for?" Lin Yuewei asked, surprised.
"Work matters," Qi Bailu said, nodding toward Zheng Kunyu.
Lin Yuewei nodded. "Then I won't see you off at the airport tomorrow. Don't forget to consider that script outline I showed you."
Qi Bailu wasn't lying; Zheng Kunyu truly was busy, so they had decided to return to Beijing to handle things before going to Paris. That Zheng Kunyu wanted to go to Paris was within Qi Bailu's expectations; their last memory of Paris was tinged with regret, and this time, they could fill those voids.
Ruan Qiuji sat nearby listening to them, his eyes fixed on the water of the hotel pool. A humid summer breeze brushed against his face, and a colorful swim ring drifted slowly across the nearly still surface. Two children wearing only shorts walked past the other side of the pool, each holding a large coconut, heads bowed as they sipped juice through straws.
"Does anyone want coconut water?" Ruan Qiuji asked suddenly.
Lin Yuewei raised a hand. "Are they selling them over there?"
"Yes."
"Do you want me to go with you?"
Qi Bailu, who had been looking down and idly spinning his glass, suddenly looked up. "I'll go with you."
Zheng Kunyu glanced at him. Qi Bailu's words were unexpected, but he said nothing, merely watching as Qi Bailu stood up and walked to Ruan Qiuji's side.
Qi Bailu wore a straw hat tied with a ribbon. As he stepped from the shade of the umbrella into the sun, he squinted against the intense glare. Ruan Qiuji walked ahead, waiting for him to catch up, but Qi Bailu showed no intention of walking side-by-side. Once they were out of sight of Lin Yuewei and Zheng Kunyu and reached the fruit stall, Ruan Qiuji watched the vendor skillfully shave a coconut shell and suddenly asked, "Why?"
Ruan Qiuji didn't specify what the "why" meant, but Qi Bailu knew he was asking: *Why did you choose him?*
"We've decided to get married."
Even someone as composed as Ruan Qiuji couldn't hide his reaction upon hearing this. His brows furrowed instantly, and he turned to stare at Qi Bailu’s face as if he had just heard something more absurd than "frogs can fly."
"Are you joking?"
Qi Bailu gazed at him quietly. Ruan Qiuji realized then that it wasn't a joke; it was an error—a goddamned error created by fate.
"You just can't leave him, can you?" Ruan Qiuji’s tone was slightly mocking, his sharp gaze sweeping over Qi Bailu's face.
"He can't leave me either."
Qi Bailu wasn't trying to boast; he was merely stating a fact. But to Ruan Qiuji's ears, these words were like a cruel dagger slicing into him.
Indeed, how could Qi Bailu be a soft fruit for anyone to squeeze? Even if he were a soft fruit, he was one coated in deadly poison.
Ruan Qiuji said, "Have you thought this through?"
"Yes."
Just then, the stall owner finished shaving the first coconut, inserted an orange straw, and happily held it out to Ruan Qiuji. However, Ruan Qiuji was only looking down at the young man beside him, and the owner's hand froze in mid-air.
He looked at Ruan Qiuji, then at Qi Bailu, muttering something in English, unsure which of them to give it to.
"Bailu, this is the last time I'm warning you."
Ruan Qiuji's voice was very low, sounding soft and thin, but his face held a look of indifference, even a sort of calm arrogance... This suddenly lent him an air of oppression he had almost never possessed before.
Qi Bailu avoided his gaze, turning his head to take the coconut. "I know."
"You don't know."
Ruan Qiuji leaned down as if he were about to whisper sweet nothings that had to be said up close. He stared straight at Qi Bailu, who was clutching the coconut, and said in a chillingly certain, heavy tone, "Want to bet? You will regret this."
After Ruan Qiuji said those words, Qi Bailu said nothing, only turning to look at the stall owner, his wide hat brim casting a shadow over half his face. Ruan Qiuji didn't press further. He stopped looking at Qi Bailu, his amber-tinted sunglasses shielding his eyes. His gaze seemed filtered through the lenses, any remaining emotion sinking beneath them like an invisible undercurrent.
In the end, they each carried two coconuts back. Qi Bailu handed his coconut water to Zheng Kunyu. Since it was their last day together, Lin Yuewei suggested going to the bonfire party that night to watch the locals dance. Qi Bailu agreed. Lin Yuewei asked Ruan Qiuji if he was coming, and he said yes.
The reason she didn't ask Zheng Kunyu was that asking Qi Bailu was equivalent to asking Zheng Kunyu as well.
Qi Bailu would later forget many of the small details from that night. He only remembered the party being at its peak of excitement. Lin Yuewei was pulled up to dance by a girl, while he and Zheng Kunyu just sat by the side and watched. Eventually, Ruan Qiuji was also pulled in to dance, an enthusiastic Polynesian girl linked to his arm. Only then did Qi Bailu realize he was quite a good dancer.
The firelight made his cheeks flush red and hot. Zheng Kunyu had an arm around his shoulder, and they shared the same bottle of beer. Amidst the rapid, cheerful music, Qi Bailu felt a vague sense of sadness, like a strand of spider silk drifting down in a deep forest at dawn. He didn't know if this sadness was because of the impending departure or something else.
Ruan Qiuji now held a girl with a white jasmine flower tucked behind her ear. Toward the end, the music shifted to lyrical country tunes, and the dancers began to embrace their partners. Ruan Qiuji’s hand rested on the girl's back. Smelling the scent of jasmine in her hair, he looked up at the bonfire—at the people sitting beside it.
At that exact moment, Qi Bailu was also looking at him. Across the constantly moving shoulders and heads, across the soaring flames, they found each other's eyes.
*This is the last time,* Qi Bailu thought. The night they first met had been much like this; they were each in the arms of another. After all this time, after all the circling, they had returned to the starting point.
Zheng Kunyu tilted his head back for a sip of beer, then handed the glass bottle to Qi Bailu. Qi Bailu tilted his head to take the bottle and spoke to Zheng Kunyu, never turning his face back again. Ruan Qiuji looked away, turning with his dance partner, his back cutting off the final signal between them.
The next morning, Qi Bailu and Zheng Kunyu flew back to Beijing. They didn't let Lin or Ruan see them off. While Qi Bailu was dozing on the plane, he woke up briefly to find Zheng Kunyu touching his fingers. Qi Bailu asked him what was wrong, but Zheng Kunyu didn't answer, only giving his hand a firm squeeze. Qi Bailu drifted back to sleep without realizing it.
The flight to Paris was booked for three days later, but on the day they returned, Zheng Kunyu's lawyer called. Qi Bailu didn't know what they discussed, only catching fragments about taxes and foundations. Zheng Kunyu said he still had matters to handle, so the date was pushed back again.
In the midst of Zheng Kunyu's busy schedule, they found time to visit the Yonghe Temple. There were many fortune-telling shops near the temple. Qi Bailu asked him if he had ever had his fortune told. Zheng Kunyu said, "I don't believe in fate." Qi Bailu replied, "I don't either, yet here we are burning incense." Parking was difficult near the temple, so Zheng Kunyu parked the car at the Jin Ding Xuan further ahead, and they walked. Zheng Kunyu never answered. After Qi Bailu received the incense, he asked, "Praying for career? For safety?"
Zheng Kunyu looked at him. Qi Bailu asked again, "Praying for marriage?"
The incense sticks were raised to their brows. Foolish lovers, bowing before the Buddha. At that moment, the birds perched on the red walls and branches were startled by the loud tolling of a bell. The sound of the ancient bell rippled through the sunlight, one strike after another, echoing endlessly.
After the people in front of them left, Qi Bailu and Zheng Kunyu stepped forward and both planted their incense. Qi Bailu never asked what Zheng Kunyu had prayed for that day. Regardless of the prayer, he only knew that the Yonghe Temple wasn't particularly efficacious—at least, what he sought in his heart would ultimately prove to be nothing but an illusion.
On the day Lawyer Song came to the Lakeside Villa, it was raining lightly. Qi Bailu took an umbrella to open the door for him. As Lawyer Song entered and changed into slippers, he suddenly remembered something and asked if President Zheng was angry.
Even if Zheng Kunyu were angry, it wouldn't show on his face. Qi Bailu asked, "What happened?"
"Nothing major," Lawyer Song answered vaguely, heading straight for the study.
Qi Bailu brewed coffee, feeling restless the entire time. Perhaps it was because over the past two days, he had repeatedly recalled Ruan Qiuji's words: "You will regret it." Ruan Qiuji's tone had been so certain, as if he knew exactly what was going to happen.
The study door wasn't closed. They talked for less than half an hour before Lawyer Song packed his briefcase and walked out. Zheng Kunyu saw him out. When the two reached the living room, they stood there and chatted for a few more moments. Qi Bailu approached with a cup in his hands and vaguely heard them mentioning something about a "guarantor."
Upon seeing Qi Bailu, Lawyer Song stopped talking, gave Zheng Kunyu a slight nod, and said he was leaving. Zheng Kunyu looked relatively calm as he said, "I'll go to Shanghai."
"You're going to Shanghai?" Qi Bailu asked as soon as Lawyer Song left.
Zheng Kunyu said, "Only for three days."
Hearing this news, Qi Bailu felt a wave of confusion followed by apprehension. Zheng Kunyu noticed and said, "Say what's on your mind."
"I don't want you to go, but I know I have no reason to keep you. Perhaps I'm just overthinking..."
Zheng Kunyu took the cup from his hand. "I'm going for business."
Qi Bailu was silent for a moment, then looked up. "I'm very afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"I don't know."
His intuition was terrible, completely seized by an inexplicable premonition. Ever since that morning in Tahiti, he felt that everything happening now was unreal, illusory, as if he couldn't find solid ground. He felt as though he were still living in a dream.
Zheng Kunyu touched the top of his head. Qi Bailu's hair had grown a bit longer; before long, it would slowly return to its long state. He knew Qi Bailu lacked a sense of security and was prone to overthinking, so he said in a somewhat soothing tone, "When I get back, we'll go to Paris."
Though his tone was light, Qi Bailu knew he was a man of his word who didn't make promises lightly.
Qi Bailu stared at him blankly for a while, then suddenly said, "Be careful of Ruan Qiuji."
"He's not in Shanghai."
Qi Bailu reached out to smooth Zheng Kunyu's shirt collar, flattening a wrinkle as if trying to smooth his own restless heart, to flatten the anxiety and panic rising from nowhere. Seeing him like this, Zheng Kunyu grabbed his hand. Qi Bailu knew further words were useless. In the end, he could only swallow his bellyful of suspicions, look deep into Zheng Kunyu's eyes, and say, "I'll wait for you to come back..."
That look was like pushing a solitary boat into the vastness of the rivers and seas. Zheng Kunyu said nothing, silently closing Qi Bailu's hand and holding it within his palm.
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Countless Blossoms: The Actor's Gamble | Chapter 65 | A Vow and a Warning | Novela.app | Novela.app
