"I like you."
As though trying to convince himself, Gu Chupei repeated it, his tone resolute:
"Yes, I like you."
"Tch."
Xi Qingyan picked up a piece of leafy green and tore into it with his teeth.
Was Gu Chupei a freaking idiot?
Fuck, it was so obvious, and he was still going on about liking him.
"All right, then."
Xi Qingyan swallowed the food in his mouth, then spoke as though something had occurred to him:
"I like someone else. I want to date someone else. What do you think?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Gu Chupei answered. He didn't care if Xi Qingyan dated someone; he didn't need Xi Qingyan to like him.
"Then give me that little kitten's contact info."
Xi Qingyan reached out to take Gu Chupei's phone.
"No!"
Gu Chupei snatched the phone away before he could get it. He stared at Xi Qingyan, a flicker of irritation in his eyes:
"You can't add him."
"Why not?"
Xi Qingyan reached out again, trying to take the phone from Gu Chupei's hand:
"Didn't you say I could date someone? Can't I date that little kitten from earlier?"
Had he really fallen for Lan Xiangxian?
Gu Chupei had never questioned anything Xi Qingyan said in all the years since childhood. He immediately panicked:
"No, you can't!"
Xi Qingyan settled back into his seat and scoffed, a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth.
Gu Chupei was always like this, like a child who couldn't hide what was in his heart.
He propped his chin on his hand:
"Then tell me why I can't."
But Gu Chupei didn't listen to him. Instead, he sat in his seat processing things for a while, then spoke as though something had occurred to him:
"Right, I'll find Lan Xiangxian and have