I Am Rich

8

Half an hour later, Qi Chengyan took her to a Chinese restaurant.

The restaurant had a prime location, facing the lake. There were valuable antique decorations scattered throughout.

Guan Zhiyi was actually quite familiar with this place, her brother Guan Yuanbai often came here for the last decade since this restaurant opened. 

As she approached the door of the room she often went to, a waiter helped her to open the door.

Upon entering, she was greeted by a breathtaking view of the lake through a large floor-to-ceiling glass window.

Inside, there was a table made of red sandalwood, and on the table was a steaming hot tea set, the fragrance lingering. At this time, a man sat at the table, he had a handsome face and well-built physique, quietly drinking tea.

It was none other than Guan Yuanbai.

"You came early." Qi Chengyan walked over and took a seat across from him.

Guan Yuanbai hummed, raised his gaze and looked at Guan Zhiyi. His eyes weren't intimidating, but when she saw him, she pursed her lips and chose to sit next to Qi Chengyan without hesitation.

Guan Yuanbai snorted coldly, "I thought you would come up with countless excuses not to come."

Guan Zhiyi's face lit up with a smile. "No way, brother. It's been a while since you invited me to dinner. Of course I had to come."

"Isn't it because you're too busy that I couldn't make the appointment."

The corners of Guan Zhiyi's mouth twitched slightly, and under the table, she tugged at the hem of Qi Chengyan's shirt. He understood the meaning and skillfully changed the subject, "Have you ordered?"

Guan Yuanbai withdrew his gaze. "Not yet."

Hearing this, the waiter at the door quickly took the menu and handed it to the lady first.

In an attempt to please her brother. Guan Zhiyi immediately turned the menu and pushed it in front of Guan Yuanbai, "Brother, you order."

Guan Yuanbai: "Just order whatever you like."

"No, there's no need, brother. I'll like whatever you order."  

Guan Yuanbai glanced at her and complained with a smile, "Look at your behaviour, talk normally!"

Guan Zhiyi saw him smile and started to feel relaxed, "This is how I normally talk."

"Smooth talker."

Guan Yuanbai lowered his eyes to order food. Although he was strict with Guan Zhiyi, he still treated her very well. After looking at the menu, he selected a few things that Guan Zhiyi liked to eat. 

Once he finished, he handed the order to Qi Chengyan, "If it wasn't for you today, she probably wouldn't be here."

Guan Zhiyi: "How can that be.....can have a little more faith in yourself."

"You still dare to deny it?" Guan Yuanbai said, "How many times have I told you to go home or asked you to come out for dinner? You always come up with all sorts of excuses, saying you're busy with something."

Guan Zhiyi blinked innocently and feigned forgetfulness, "Have I?"

Guan Yuanbai paid her no mind and added, "Chengyan, do you remember? This person has been following you since she was a child. She listens to everything you say and ignores everything I say."

Qi Chengyan glanced at the menu, a slight smile forming on his lips.

Guan Yuanbai went on, "When she was eight years old, I jokingly told her to take your last name since she seemed to have forgotten that I'm her brother. She actually took it seriously and was so thrilled that she couldn't sleep the whole night."

Are you really going to bring up all those embarrassing moments?!

Looking at Qi Chengyan's smiling eyes, Guan Zhiyi ears turned red.

"Brother, can you say something good!"

"Good?" Guan Yuanbai leaned back and slowly said, "Oh, let's talk about your boyfriend then."

 

"............"

Qi Chengyan paused for a moment, "Boyfriend?"

Guan Yuanbai's expression turned cold, "You don't know? Your cousin didn't tell you?"

Qi Chengyan hadn't been in contact with Hua Hongxi for a while, he really had no idea what was going on.

Guan Yuanbai glanced at his expression and explained, "Your cousin is dating Xiaowu."

Qi Chengyan furrowed his brows and looked at Guan Zhiyi, "Is that true?"

Guan Zhiyi wasn't really capable of lying in front of Qi Chengyan. He was usually very kind and gentle towards her, but when he was really upset, his intimidating presence was stronger than Guan Yuanbai's.

So when she saw Qi Chengyan's questioning gaze, her voice faltered, "Oh, um, we're together... right."

Qi Chengyan narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean 'right'?"

"No, no, it's just together." Guan Zhiyi remembered her agreement with Hua Hongxi, gritted her teeth, and confirmed, "Just a few days ago."

Qi Chengyan put down the menu and asked with a serious expression, "You've only met a few times, and you're already together?"

Guan Yuanbai stared at her, obviously also waiting for an answer.

Guan Zhiyi forced herself to remain composed, "It only takes a second to fall in love at first sight."

Qi Chengyan: "..."

Guan Yuanbai: "..."

Guan Zhiyi took a sip of tea to calm herself down. "Brother, how did you find out? Did Dad tell you?"

Guan Yuanbai: "Of course. Tch, he couldn't stop mentioning how happy he is that you're dating that boy from the Hua family."

"Really?" Guan Zhiyi instantly felt relieved. It was worth it if it made her father happy. Once he was happy, he wouldn't interfere with her anymore!

"Xiaowu, relationship is not something to take lightly. Are you sure you really like Hongxi?"

Guan Zhiyi looked at Qi Chengyan, but the more she looked at him, the more guilty she felt. She simply stared at her fingers and said, "I... I quite like him."

"How much do you actually know about him?"

"Aren't you close with him?" Guan Zhiyi muttered softly, "Hua Hongxi is your brother, anyway, he should be decent."

"Why, you think being my brother automatically makes him morally right?"

"Ah…"

Qi Chengyan reached out and lightly tapped her head, "Come to your senses. Get to know him properly first."

Guan Zhiyi flinched and looked at him while covering her head.

Qi Chengyan's eyes dimmed. "Do you hear me?"

"……I heard."

The food slowly come up, during which, Guan Yuanbai and Qi Chengyan lectured her nonstop.

Guan Zhiyi felt devastated. She had hoped that with Qi Chengyan here, her brother wouldn't scold her so much, but it turned out to be even worse. The two of them were scolding her together...she has made a mistake. 

Only after a while did she finally could start eating. 

She ate quietly, trying to reduce her sense of presence. Meanwhile, the other two discussed about which stocks were rising or falling, which company projects were nearing completion...

She didn't understand a word of it.

Halfway through the meal, Guan Zhiyi's cell phone suddenly rang, it was a call from Liu Yun.

Guan Zhiyi answered, "Hello?"

"Zhiyi, the role Zhaoyang....."

"The results are already out?" Guan Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat, "How did it go?"

Liu Yun hesitated, then said in a deep voice, "We didn't get it."

"We didn’t....no way."

Liu Yun: "Based on the feedback you received during the audition, I also thought that it would definitely be yours, but… hey, this situation is not uncommon. Unexpected things happen sometimes."

Her eyes gradually lost their light. She took a deep breath and suppressed the sudden wave of sadness and disappointment, "I understand, I'll hang up now."

"Don't be too upset. There will be other opportunities in the future. You can focus on preparing for the variety show now." 

"En…"

Guan Zhiyi hung up the call.

"What's wrong?" Guan Yuanbai asked as he noticed her change in expression.

Guan Zhiyi replied sullenly, "I didn't get the role."

Qi Chengyan paused and turned to looked at her, "The role you were talking about earlier?"

"Yes."

Guan Yuanbai casually remarked, "If it's gone, it's gone. It doesn't matter, just eat."

How does it not matter?

She really liked that novel and really wanted to play that role, she had been reading the script every day since she found out she could audition for it, acting out the plot in front of the mirror every day, she had put so much thought and effort into it... how can he say it doesn't matter?

Guan Zhiyi's feelings of loss and frustration were suddenly ignited by Guan Yuanbai's casual remark. She angrily put down her chopsticks and exclaimed, "It does matter!"

Guan Yuanbai paused with the chopsticks in his hand, looking up at her. "What are you so angry about?"

Guan Zhiyi glared at him. "You don't understand anything. Who are you to say it doesn't matter!" 

Guan Yuanbai's expression darkened slightly. "Then what do you think matters? What's the difference between getting this role and not getting it? Xiaowu, you've been in that industry for almost five years. When will you give up?"

"I'm not giving up!" Guan Zhiyi stood up. "Why are you telling me to give up just because you think I'll end up like mom? Brother, mom is mom, and I am me. I love being an actress, I really do!"

"Guan Zhiyi!"

"I can't reason with you." Guan Zhiyi grabbed her bag, turned around, then walked out.

Guan Yuanbai watched Guan Zhiyi slam the door and leave, pain flashing in his eyes.

Qi Chengyan: "I'll go check on her." 

Guan Yuanbai pressed his eyebrows,"Trouble you."

Qi Chengyan said nothing, got up and walked out the door.

The restaurant was located near the lake, there was a walkway facing the lake outside. When Qi Chengyan came out of the restaurant, he noticed someone on the walkway in the distance. 

He furrowed his brows and followed her.

 

"Xiaowu." 

His voice called out to her from behind, Guan Zhiyi wiped her eyes and replied without turning around, "I can go back on my own."

Qi Chengyan grabbed her arm, "Wait."

Guan Zhiyi still refused to turn around, Qi Chengyan helplessly walked to stand in front of her.

The young girl in front of him had already put on a mask, her eyes were red, and there were tear stains on her eyelashes. She looked incredibly upset.

Seeing her crying, he didn't know what to do, "Don't cry." 

Guan Zhiyi looked away, her voice muffled by the mask, "I'm not crying."

"You look like this, and you still say you're not crying?"

“……”

Guan Zhiyi was feeling extremely upset at that moment. She had wanted the role of Zhaoyang so badly and believed that she had a very high chance of getting it. However, to her disappointment, she ended up losing the audition. To make matters worse, even after losing the audition, her brother still found fault with her. She had no one to express her grievances to.

"What exactly happened? Tell me everything. I'm here to listen," Qi Chengyan said as he gently held her face and wiped away her tears with his thumb. "You've grown up so much, yet you're still crying like a little child."

Guan Zhiyi looked up at Qi Chengyan, and for some reason, it made her want to cry even more. In the next moment, the tears started flowing uncontrollably, she couldn't hold them back.

Qi Chengyan was momentarily taken aback. "Hey, you..."

"Can you just pretend you didn't hear what I said earlier?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What I said in the car on our way here…"

Qi Chengyan thought for a moment and remembered that on the way here she had confidently said that the role should be hers and even mentioned wanting a reward when the casting list was announced. But now, the role was gone.

The little kid probably felt embarrassed. 

Qi Chengyan smiled and shook his head. "Why are you still bringing that up?"

"I just wanted to say, do you think I'm ridiculous? I didn't get it... why did I act so confident before..."

"No, I don't think you're ridiculous," Qi Chengyan reassured her as he wiped away her tears, "Be obedient, don't cry."

Guan Zhiyi had a mask on, so crying made it hard to breathe. She lowered her mask, revealing a flushed nose, "But I'm still upset. I'm already in this state, yet my brother still get angry at me -"

"He's the one who's wrong, I'll talk to him later."

Guan Zhiyi calmed her breathing and asked earnestly, "Can you reason with him?"

Qi Chengyan paused a bit, laughing, "I'll try my best?"

"Forget it... it doesn't matter." Guan Zhiyi looked down. "Maybe he was right. I've been struggling for five years and haven't achieved anything. It's my own problem, I'm too much of a failure." 

"No, you're not. The right opportunity just hasn't come your way." Qi Chengyan patted her on the head, "You are talented, have some confidence in yourself."

Guan Zhiyi's heart trembled, "Really?"

"Yes."

The pent up emotion seemed to disappear with his gentle words. Guan Zhiyi felt her heart coming back to life as she looked into his eyes.

Thump, thump, thump-

It was pounding so loudly. 

"Alright, I'll take you back. Stop wandering around aimlessly," Qi Chengyan said.

Guan Zhiyi allowed him to take hold of her arm and followed behind him foolishly.

"Brother Chengyan."

"Hmm?"

"I, it's nothing..."

Qi Chengyan gazed back at her and smiled faintly, as if he found her appearance amusing.

She cried a lot, but she didn't care about it.

Guan Zhiyi lowered her head and heard her heart still beating hard and weirdly.

Actually, there were still things she wanted to say.

She wanted to say that he was still as good as before.

No, he might even be better than before… 

_____