Chapter 35

Zhou Bai returned to the corner where Jian Ci was standing. He first greeted Zhao Qianqian and exchanged a few words, before handing Da Xin’s phone to Jian Ci. “Your friend dropped his phone while rushing to the washroom.”

“Okay, I’ll give it to him later,” Jian Ci received the phone, his gaze landing on Zhou Bai for a little while longer.

His keenness sensed that Zhou Bai was in a bad mood.

Despite feeling downcast, Zhou Bai kept his elegance in front of Zhao Qianqian, cheerfully talking and cracking jokes, and her impression of him was on the rise.

When Da Xin returned, Jian Ci gave the phone back to him.

Da Xin heaved a sigh of relief. Upon realizing his phone was missing, his heart had turned cold. He had the tendency to lose things these days, and when he learnt that it was Zhou Bai who picked it up, he was extremely grateful.

The atmosphere was light and cheery while they chatted; Da Xin and Zhao Qianqian shared stories of the times when Jian Ci was in the limelight during school days, not forgetting the embarrassing moments too, and Zhou Bai was all ears. They were worried that Jian Ci used Zhou Bai to climb the social ladder, and a person of status like Zhou Bai would look down on them, who had no background nor money. Yet at this moment, this person here seemed decent.

At last, Da Xin and Zhao Qianqian gave the couple their blessings, and Zhou Bai thanked them.

After all the guests were entertained, the newlyweds finally got to rest. Wanting to have a chat with Jian Ci at a quiet place, Zhou Bai brought him to a little garden outside.

As they approached the entrance of the garden, a harsh conversation was heard.

“It’s already the third marriage, who knows how long this one will last.”

“I’m telling you, you have to believe in misfortunes for things like this. I have a cousin who also has a tough life, marrying twice. The first wife died of an illness and the current wife is now paralyzed from a fall, tsk tsk.”

“He actually married a male this time, probably to change the feng shui tides.”

“If you ask me, that guy’s eyeing Zhou Bai’s money. Who knows where he came from, no family background, and lacking looks. I reckon he’s probably a male prostitute out to sell himself.”

Zhou Bai’s anger was at its limits.

Jian Ci swiftly tugged his sleeve and pulled him a few steps back, whispering, “Don’t get mad, some people just tend to gossip, don’t take it to heart. All these talks about a tough life are just superstitions. I don’t believe them, and you shouldn’t too.”

“They were longing for your death and saying that you were out to sell your body, how do you endure those? Are you a sandwich short of a picnic?” Zhou Bai refuted.

Jian Ci was shocked, he did not expect Zhou Bai to get angry for his sake.

“This, I indeed…”

“Even if you indeed married me for my money, it is not as extreme as what they said, who are they to accuse others,” Zhou Bai did not not allow space for hesitations, he blatantly grabbed Jian Ci’s hand and pulled him to the garden. “Follow me!”

In just a few steps, sweat droplets formed on Jian Ci’s palm.

He would be lying if he said he was okay, but he did not want Zhou Bai to part on bad terms with the guests.

Fortunately, Zhou Bai did not drag him to confront them. As they passed those people, Zhou Bai pretended to not see them and led Jian Ci straight to the middle of the garden, stopping by the side of a fountain.

This was a prominent spot, and they were both eye-catching people. In a second, gazes from all corners of the small garden landed on them.

The soft light rays illuminated from under the fountain contrasted Zhou Bai’s pupils, making them shine brightly.

Jian Ci set his eyes on him, subconsciously swallowing a gulp of saliva.

Zhou Bai paused. “I’m going to kiss you, for more than ten seconds,” Zhou Bai said with a straightface.

“…” Jian Ci thought, excuse me??

1Fengshui: 风水 (fēng shuǐ), a traditional Chinese practice where the arrangement of an individual’s surrounding (space, furniture, objects, etc) is used to achieve harmony and balance between human and their environment. You can read more about it here.