White Roses and Red Roses - Chapter 4

After Xu Aile drove away, I stood motionless on the spot.

Qin Rui came over and glanced down at my skirt still dripping water. “Let’s go back and change your clothes first.”

To facilitate managing his studio, we had rented an apartment outside since our Junior Year.

I heard him, yet I didn’t move.

Qin Rui’s gaze swept over and paused briefly on the rose I was holding in my arms.

“Let me hold that for you while you fix your skirt.”

He pulled out a pack of tissues and handed them to me. The rose, now a mess, was taken from my hands and casually held, petals falling all over the place.

The tissue pack was orange-pink, scented with a faint fragrance, not the usual one Qin Rui used but exactly like the perfume Xu Aile had on just before.

Suddenly, my hands started trembling. I took a deep breath and asked him:

“Have you been close to Aile recently? Why are you giving her flowers?”

“It’s thanks to her help with that deal with Le Hong. She was in charge on their side, so I thought I’d show some gratitude.”

As he spoke, Qin Rui suddenly smiled, his lips curling slightly. “Weren’t you always worried about me having issues with her? That won’t be a problem anymore.”

I stood there, dazed, watching him.

We had known each other for nearly ten years, having been each other’s company through the darkest times of our lives. His facial expressions were so familiar to me.

Yet at that moment, he felt utterly stranger to me.

I first met Qin Rui when I was fourteen, the year he transferred schools and moved into the apartment below mine.

During adolescence, hunger struck fast, and one night I sneaked downstairs to buy a snack and saw him sitting bloodied by the building entrance, a dark stain already forming on the ground in front of him.

Hearing me approach, he turned his head to look at me. His gaze was gloomy and fierce, yet carried a hint of vulnerability, like a wolf cub in the jungle.

Just like that, I fell for him.

The beef pie I had sneakily bought was torn in half and handed to him. Qin Rui looked down as if he hadn’t noticed it.

Undeterred, I held my hand out, frozen in the air for what seemed an eternity until he finally gave in and took the half pie from me.

Over time, I slowly learned more about Qin Rui’s family.

For instance, his father had been transferring properties for many years, drove his mother insane, and then filed for divorce. Consequently, when drunk, Qin Rui’s mother would hit him, sometimes even with a knife.

He spoke of these things lightly, even with a smile at the corner of his lips.

It broke my heart, yet I didn’t know what to say, only managing to carefully stroke his hair, petting him as though he were a cat, my hand softly gliding over him.

“I’m here for you now,” I said softly. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”

In high school, he became even more popular and, although indifferent to everyone else, Qin Rui always talked to me, which delighted me, as if it proved I was special to him.

But even then, when he faced me, he appeared cold and detached.

Not like now, with that sharp, shining smile on his face, seemingly heralding the onset of something.

I remained silent all the way, finally gathering the courage after he parked the car: “Qin Rui.”

“Hmm?”

“I want a bouquet.”

He turned his head to glance at me, “Oh, then you can hold this yourself.”

The messy roses I bought were handed to me, but I didn’t take them. I sniffed and looked at him earnestly.

“I don’t want these. I want you to buy a bouquet for me.”

“Why are you making a fuss?”

Qin Rui frowned, as if I was deliberately picking a fight. “You’ve already bought them, why should I give you another bouquet?”

The indescribable emotions in my heart gathered at that moment, like sharp arrows piercing into my heart.

“Because today is May 20th, it’s Valentine’s Day! You gave Xu Aile a bouquet of roses, why can’t you give me one? I’m your girlfriend!”

I shouted uncontrollably, and as soon as the first word left my mouth, tears followed.

“Wen Yu, can you stop being unreasonable?”

He looked at me coldly, “It was just to thank her for her help. You’re making a fuss over nothing.”

Making a fuss over nothing.

I stared at him in disbelief, “Giving flowers to another woman on Valentine’s Day is me making a fuss?”

“Valentine’s Day? It’s just a marketing ploy by merchants. When did it become a real holiday?”

He scoffed, “Xu Aile is your good friend. You were so worried when I didn’t get along with her, and now that we are on better terms, you’re unhappy. Wen Yu, aren’t you being hypocritical?”

My heart ached, trembling with pain. I opened my mouth, but my throat was filled with sobs, unable to say anything.

I knew Qin Rui had a sharp tongue.

Back in high school, when I was bullied, he found out and led me to confront them, scolding the fierce girls until they cried and even got physical.

In college, during the class committee election, a boy with similar votes mocked me sarcastically. Qin Rui grabbed him by the collar, pinned him to the desk, and calmly refuted him, saying, “Apologize to Wen Yu.”

That night, he walked me back to the dormitory. I was overjoyed, turning my head to look at him with bright eyes, “Qin Rui, you’re so good at arguing!”

His tone remained indifferent, “That’s for you.”

That’s for you.

I never thought that one day his sharp words would be aimed at me.

I sat in the car, crying uncontrollably, while Qin Rui seemed to lose patience. He opened the car door and got out, looking down at me, “Go home.”

I didn’t respond.

But I hoped he would comfort me, at least explain.

“If you don’t want to go home, then cry here as much as you want.”

The car door closed.

It seemed to separate the crying me inside the car from the indifferent him outside, into two worlds.

We’ve been together for so long, and I’ve never thrown a tantrum with Qin Rui, because I know about his family situation and his gloomy yet fragile personality. Even a joke could make him uneasy.

So even when I was in a bad mood, I would try to act happy in front of him.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t say he loved me.

It didn’t matter if he didn’t give me flowers.

My love for Qin Rui seemed to be easily satisfied.

The sky had completely darkened, and suddenly there was a rumble of thunder, followed by rain.

Amidst the increasingly dense sound of rain, the car door opened.

Qin Rui, holding an umbrella, crouched down and looked at me quietly.

“It’s my fault,” he said, “It’s raining, let’s go home.”

At moments like this, as long as he softened a little, most of my grievances would dissipate.

After getting out of the car, I instinctively glanced to the right. Perhaps due to the heavy rain, the flower shop at the entrance of the community had closed early.

I still didn’t get my bouquet of roses.