Their Love Stories

Feng Liluo sighed, but he realized that it would indeed be rather awkward if he were to barge into a house when there were three ladies already living in it.

“Fine then, I’ll just wait for you downstairs.”

“Mm...” Luo Qiqi nodded as she answered.

“Hold on, I’ll be right there. I’ll get A’zi to come along tomorrow so we can have a nice catch-up.”

Luo Qiqi changed quickly into a pair of loose denim dungarees and a dark green checkered shirt, looking very much like a teenage girl in her get-up.

She spotted Feng Liluo from afar and ran to him enthusiastically. “Let’s go, Liluo!”

Feng Liluo smiled at Luo Qiqi’s cheerful disposition and took his suitcase with him as they left together. It had been almost two years since they last met, with only an occasional call here and there.

He had tried very hard to persuade her not to leave when Luo Qiqi wanted to quit Interpol. He knew that she and Xia Zi were as close as sisters, and there was no way she would just sit and watch if something happened to Xia Zi. It felt surreal when he finally met her again.

Now that Xia Zi was found, he had two aims for coming to A City. The first was to persuade Luo Qiqi to rejoin Interpol. It was highly unlikely that her application would be rejected given her and Xia Zi’s reputation. His second aim was to confess his feelings to Luo Qiqi. He had never made his feelings known to her and simply protected her from afar, believing that she would see his feelings for her eventually.

He never expected that it would take five years for her to find Xia Zi.

Furthermore, hearing that there had been someone trying to pursue Luo Qiqi recently made him all the more nervous. He knew he could not do without her. They grew up together and he had harbored feelings for her for twenty-odd years. This was not something he could give up on easily.

Luo Qiqi realized that she was the one who had been chatting all the way only when they arrived at the Tianyu Hotel. It felt as if Feng Liluo did not say a single word. She wondered if he had something to say, since being so quiet was rather out of the ordinary for him. She felt slightly awkward after they were done checking into the room.

Scratching her head, she said, “Let’s… let’s go downstairs for food.”

Feng Liluo contemplated in silence. I’ll tell her after a few days. It isn’t super urgent anyway.

“Okay!”

Luo Qiqi forced herself to smile under the awkward atmosphere and quickly turned to leave after giving an uncomfortable laugh.

She frowned to herself as she walked, wondering why she felt that way. I’ve known Feng Liluo since we were young and we’re closer than blood relatives at times. Why do I feel so awkward and strange now? Is it because we haven’t met in too long?

She nodded to herself. That must be it, or else I wouldn’t feel so awkward with him.

That awkward feeling began to dissipate when they arrived at the crowded main lobby.

Feng Liluo seemed to be able to sense the stiffness in Luo Qiqi, so he went up to her to get the conversation going.

“Qiqi, any plans after finding A’zi?”

The intelligent Luo Qiqi knew what he was getting at, so she blinked playfully at him as she answered. “What plans?”

Feng Liluo frowned. He knew that she was doing it on purpose, but he still chose to elaborate on his question. “Are the two of you never returning to Interpol? You guys plan to stay in A City from now on?”

Luo Qiqi’s eyes dimmed. “I don’t know. We’ll see about that.”

Feng Liluo fell silent as he followed behind her.

Luo Qiqi always had a taste for food with heavy flavor, and having been influenced by her in the past, Feng Liluo had similar preferences to her when it came to food. The two of them thus drove to Pin Xiang Xuan.

Luo Qiqi spotted Su Jincheng and Ming Ruoyuan a short distance away the very moment she stepped into the restaurant. Seeing them there was like a bolt from the blue for her. Ming Ruoyuan? Why is she with Su Jincheng?

Luo Qiqi, Ming Ruoyuan, Xia Zi and Feng Liluo had grown up together in the same orphanage, and Ming Ruoyuan had been adopted at a very young age. Luo Qiqi was suddenly at a loss for what to do.

Her expression was dreadful. So it’s Ming Ruoyuan who had been taking up all of Su Jincheng’s time recently. She smirked as she mocked herself inwardly for actually worrying about Su Jincheng.

Anger filled Luo Qiqi, and she could feel herself trembling in her fury. She had never been on good terms with Ming Ruoyuan, and she would never have expected to meet her again in A City, much less for Su Jincheng to be with her.

Feng Liluo seemed to be able to sense her anger when Luo Qiqi turned to leave. He looked inside the restaurant and spotted Ming Ruoyuan immediately.

He thought that Luo Qiqi was annoyed by the sight of her, since they were never on good terms in the past, having constantly fought when they were at the orphanage. However, it surprised him that Luo Qiqi actually wanted to leave. He thought she was over-reacting and reached out to grab her, causing Luo Qiqi to be absolutely incensed.

The slight disturbance attracted Ming Ruoyuan’s attention as she looked up to see the two familiar faces.

She stole a quick glance at Su Jincheng, realizing that he had not yet spotted Luo Qiqi. An idea popped into Ming Ruoyuan’s head as she called out loudly, “Qiqi, Liluo!”

Su Jincheng looked towards the entrance in surprise, only to see Luo Qiqi staring at Feng Liluo in anger, as if she was blaming him for missing the window of opportunity to leave.

Feng Liluo was confused as to why she was so adamant on leaving. Although Luo Qiqi disliked Ming Ruoyuan, she had never avoided her like that.  He felt that she was acting very out of sorts. He could not recall anything that happened when they were younger which might make her hate Ming Ruoyuan so much, and he thought it would be fine if it was just having a meal together. However, he could feel Luo Qiqi’s angry glare directed towards Ming Ruoyuan growing more intense by the second.

Luo Qiqi inwardly cursed at Ming Ruoyuan. Though she looked frail, she was the most vicious breed of venomous snake Luo Qiqi had seen. She knew that Ming Ruoyuan was the type who could trap someone without even them knowing it. Others saw that fragile outer shell of hers, but she knew Ming Ruoyuan all too well to fall for that trick. Now that Ming Ruoyuan is with Su Jincheng, it was highly likely that she already knew about their relationship dynamics.

She wants to brag about it? Fine! I’ll let her do it if she wants to brag. It’s just another man anyway! I, Luo Qiqi, am much better than that.

Ming Ruoyuan broke out in a sweet smile and went up to them when she saw the two of them still rooted to the spot. She did not catch Su Jincheng’s awful expression. He was staring at Feng Liluo, who had his hand on Luo Qiqi’s arm. If looks could kill, that hand would have been chopped off.

Ming Ruoyuan pretended to be surprised to see them. “Qiqi, you and Liluo are in A City too? Are you guys here on tour?”

Luo Qiqi remained silent, a placid expression on her face as Feng Liluo answered without emotion, “I’m here to look for Qiqi. She’s been in A City for a while now.”

Luo Qiqi scoffed inwardly to herself. She would never believe that Ming Ruoyuan was not aware of her presence in A City. She knew the woman well enough to almost be able to read her mind.

“Let’s eat together. Jincheng and I just ordered and the dishes haven’t been served. Join us!”

Feng Liluo was surprised at what he just heard. That man over there with the fiery gaze is Su Jincheng? But I heard that Su Jincheng was the one pursuing Qiqi now. What’s going on here?

Feng Liluo was not someone who gave up easily, and he would be relentless if there was a puzzle to be solved. He thus agreed instantly when Ming Ruoyuan invited them for the meal.

“Sure, we haven’t met in a while, so it’s nice to catch up over a meal!”

Luo Qiqi was no easy target, so he wanted to meet this man to gauge his competition.

Luo Qiqi did not want to join initially, but upon seeing Ming Ruoyuan’s provoking gaze, she decided to take up the challenge. She gave an insincere smile as she said, “Sure, I’d love to join if someone else is buying!”

She then made her way directly to Su Jincheng without waiting for either of them to answer.

Su Jincheng’s eyebrows twitched at this. He thought Luo Qiqi would refuse to join them, and he never expected her to be the first one to come over.

She already took a seat before Feng Liluo and Ming Ruoyuan returned. Luo Qiqi asked loudly, “What do we have coming up?”

Ming Ruoyuan answered gently, “We have steamed carp...”

Luo Qiqi suddenly cut her off at that. “Gosh, you’re so slow. Why can’t you talk like a normal person. You sound so annoying like a mosquito that keeps buzzing in my ear!”

Ming Ruoyuan looked to Su Jincheng, pretending to be wronged. That look seemed to say, I didn’t do it on purpose, I just wanted to tell Luo Qiqi about the upcoming dishes. Why did she reproach me like this?

Luo Qiqi smirked at Ming Ruoyuan. That fox’s tail can never be hidden, can it? Dishing out a move right after we sit down.