Pei Jinghe had always had a knack

By the time the song ended, all four of them were lost in it.

Wu Jiangyuan played the final note and spoke to Yu Jiangmu first.

"A few notes in your chorus felt a little too high, so I adjusted them. See if this gives you any inspiration."

Yu Jiangmu murmured, "That was amazing."

His expression grew excited. "Brother Yuan, that demonstration gave me so much inspiration."

"Did it really help?" Wu Jiangyuan tilted his head.

"It helped a ton," Fang Quan chimed in. "Didn't you see how mesmerized he looks now?"

"Brother Yuan, I didn't know you could play guitar, too."

Wu Jiangyuan raised an eyebrow. "You've got to have a few skills to get by out there."

"Seriously, you should switch to being a music idol," Fang Quan suggested sincerely.

Wu Jiangyuan waved him off. "Forget it. That's too hard on the throat, and I'm hopelessly uncoordinated."

He rarely showed off his talents in public, and he had only learned guitar because it interested him in college.

Seeing a guitar just now, he hadn't quite been able to resist.

There had been a time when he loved music, or he wouldn't have occasionally dropped by the music room whenever the mood struck.

His phone chimed at an inopportune moment.

Wu Jiangyuan glanced at it.

The punchable guy with the perpetual sour face: [What time?]

It was exactly the same exchange as half an hour ago, and Wu Jiangyuan couldn't be bothered to reply.

He checked the time. Wasn't it just getting a suit tailored? It would take half an hour. The sooner he went, the sooner he would be done, sparing him another round of his mother's nagging.

So he replied to Pei Jinghe with a single word after all.

-[Now.]

The punchable guy with the perpetual sour face: [Address.]

Wu Jiangyuan sent him the address, and Pei Jinghe quickly replied: [Wait there.]

Wu Jiangyuan put his phone away and turned to the four young men.

"I've got something to do, so I'll head out. You guys carry on."

"Take care, Brother Yuan."

Yu Jiangmu watched him leave, his eyes full of admiration.

Beside him, Fang Quan nudged his shoulder, sounding surprised. "Hey, doesn't everyone online say Brother Yuan is just a pretty face?"

"Who knew he played guitar so well? He's not completely useless after all."

Fang Quan was all smiles, without any of the respect he had shown upon seeing Wu Jiangyuan earlier. Instead, he was full of teasing.

Yu Jiangmu gave him a cold glance. "Anyone who believes those online rumors is a fucking idiot."

With that, he ignored Fang Quan and lowered his head to get on with his own work.

Fang Quan gave a derisive chuckle, then turned to chat with the other two.

Yu Jiangmu couldn't fully concentrate. Fang Quan's words kept running through his mind.

Wu Jiangyuan was clearly someone with so many shining qualities. Why had malicious rumors twisted him into this?

From his very first day at the company, or even earlier, he had known all that dirt online was fake.

Public opinion was like dark clouds in the night, hiding the bright stars that had hung high in the sky.

Wu Jiangyuan walked out of the company's front entrance.

He had even made a point of putting on a baseball cap and sunglasses.

With a lazy yawn, he walked into a nearby café.

After ordering a coffee, he sat down by the window to wait.

His striking appearance drew plenty of eyes, and some people recognized him from the lower half of his face alone.

Whispers immediately sprang up around him.

Wu Jiangyuan looked at his phone with an unchanging expression, but inwardly, he was annoyed beyond belief.

Damn it, why wasn't that guy Pei Jinghe replying?

He had asked him twenty minutes ago when he would arrive, and there was still no response.

As time went on, Wu Jiangyuan had no patience left whatsoever.

15:03-

3Q: [Are you dead? Why aren't you answering?]

3Q: [Give me the address. I'll go there myself. You don't need to send anyone to pick me up.]

15:20-

3Q: [Hello?]

3Q: [Is the big boss so busy he can't even glance at his messages?]

15:25-

3Q: [Pei Jinghe, don't make me harass you with phone calls.]

15:50-

3Q: [You're dead.]

Less than a minute after he sent those words, Pei Jinghe called.

Wu Jiangyuan answered with a cold laugh and opened with, "Why aren't you replying? Is someone beside you pinning your hand down?"

"..."

There were a few seconds of silence on the other end before Pei Jinghe's calm voice came through.

"Look outside the entrance."

Wu Jiangyuan looked up and saw a Bentley parked outside the café. It looked rather familiar.

Wasn't that Pei Jinghe's car? He had driven it to the old family home last time, too.

Wu Jiangyuan promptly got up. As he turned, he met the curious, admiring gazes of two women.

A polite smile spread across his lips, and he stepped aside to let them pass first.

The two women were rather flattered, privately murmuring several words of admiration as they watched his tall figure.

Wu Jiangyuan opened the car door and was a little puzzled to see Pei Jinghe in the driver's seat.

"You came yourself?"

Pei Jinghe gave him an impassive glance. "Do you see anyone else in the car?"

"No..." Wu Jiangyuan didn't stand on ceremony. He bent down and got in before continuing, "I mean, why didn't you have the driver pick me up?"

Pei Jinghe said, "I got off work. It was on the way, so I came."

Off work? Doubt showed in Wu Jiangyuan's eyes. He got off work this early?

Then he remembered all the messages he had sent earlier, none of which this guy had answered.

He demanded outright, "Why didn't you reply to my messages? I told you to just send me the address, but you had to make me wait here this long."

Pei Jinghe explained without a ripple in his expression, "I only just saw your messages, too."

"Liar." Wu Jiangyuan didn't believe him. "You were driving for almost an hour. Couldn't you hear the notifications?"

Pei Jinghe said, "I heard them."

Wu Jiangyuan took a deep breath. "Then why didn't you reply?"

Pei Jinghe said, "You can't look at your phone while driving."

Wu Jiangyuan laughed in sheer anger. "Couldn't you have replied while waiting at a traffic light?"

Pei Jinghe said, "Sorry, I don't make a habit of looking at my phone when I drive."

Pei Jinghe had always had a knack, ever since he was little.

He could make Wu Jiangyuan jump with rage without batting an eyelid.

But it wasn't convenient to lose his temper in the car, so Wu Jiangyuan chose to swallow it.

"From now on, just send me the address. I don't need you to pick me up."

Pei Jinghe didn't respond. His expression was cold as he turned the steering wheel.

The car slowly pulled away.

Neither of them spoke again along the way, and the car was quiet.

Wu Jiangyuan gazed out the window and rubbed his stomach with one hand.

He hadn't eaten all morning. After those two coffees just now, his empty stomach was full of nothing but liquid.

Something filling would feel good.

After about twenty minutes of driving, the car stopped.

Wu Jiangyuan's drowsiness vanished at once.

He glanced out the window, then turned to Pei Jinghe in puzzlement.

"Why did you bring me to a restaurant?"