Gege, Will You Be My Bride?

four

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Shi Qingxuan was feeling extremely miserable.

Chugging four glasses full of wine had not been one of her wisest decisions. She stumbled towards the parking lot, trying her best to clear the drunken haze out of her mind. Her stomach churned painfully and she felt slightly nauseous, but that was more out embarrassment than simply being drunk. What the heck had she even been doing so far?! He Xuan had been constantly rejecting her advances the entire day... no, he had been rejecting her since day one! It was a hard pill to digest. She had never considered the possibility that the man she was into would end up disliking her.

She was good looking, outgoing, and her friends said that she was pretty likable. Then why?! As much as it hurt her feelings, she supposed she could make peace with the fact that He Xuan did not, and would not ever, romantically like her.

That was fine. What hurt her more was realising that her very existence was something bothersome to him. Her eyes stung as she recalled a hundred different instances where He Xuan had been visibly uncomfortable by her forward behaviour. For the first time, her usually confident steps faltered.

God damn it, I need more wine!

Sensing that something was wrong He Xuan, who had been walking briskly in front of her, stopped. He turned around to check on her but Shi Qingxuan was too lost in her thoughts too notice him.

She felt her head hit against something firm and hard. Cool hands wrapped around her, steadying her by her shoulders.

She had bumped into He Xuan.

Shi Qingxuan tried to clear the drunken fog from her mind and opened her mouth to apologise. The distinct smell of He Xuan's cologne, one that always reminded her of the sea, fried the last of her coherent thoughts.

The two of them were standing too close, closer than she had ever dared to be. As he spoke, Shi Qingxuan felt his breath against the top of her head. All she had to do was lean up a bit, and He Xuan's lips would press against her forehead.

"Shi Qingxuan?" he breathed, his voice sounding slightly muffled. He rarely ever called her out by her name. Hearing it always made her heart flutter in ways that she was now too old for.

"You had-"

He faltered mid sentence. Shi Qingxuan belatedly realised that she had subconsciously snuggled her head against his chest. Her eyes flew wide open and she promptly put some distance between them. At least the shock had been enough to sober her up a little.

"You had too much wine," He Xuan continued while avoiding her eyes. "Wait in the car. I'll go look for Hua Cheng and Xie Lian."

Ah I see, Shi Qingxuan's lips wobbled. Her heart was still beating erratically from their earlier close proximity. That's an indirect way of you trying to get rid of me.

It was fine, really. She was not going to make this harder than she already had for the both of them.

She nodded once and flashed her most reassuring smile, and all but ran inside the car. If He Xuan found her reaction abnormal, he did not mention it.

She sat inside and quickly texted Xie Lian to make haste. He was not online. Growing more concerned, she called him but to no avail. It seemed that his phone was switched off. Knowing Xie Lian's luck and his knack to attract misfortune, Shi Qingxuan couldn't help but worry.

With a sigh, she stared out of the window in silence. She startled as the driver's side of the door opened. He Xuan bent over and peeked in, the little fish pendant that he wore glinted in the moonlight. Perhaps it was due to the softer lighting, but his features looked gentler than they usually did.