Hearing Meng Ruozhao say that she couldn't be friends with Yan Sisi, Qin Mu's expression seemed to freeze for a moment.
But he quickly adjusted and even gave a faint smile, uttering three ambiguous words, "Is that so?"
Just then, a man in his early thirties pushed open the door of the shop and called out, "Mr. Qin, it's time to go."
He should be Qin Mu's assistant or something.
Qin Mu nodded at him and then looked back at Meng Ruozhao.
"Ms. Meng, see you next time."
For some reason, his eyes looked somewhat inexplicably sad.
Meng Ruozhao maintained a polite smile. "Okay, Mr. Qin."
No matter why he came to [Floating Cloud Studio], she wouldn't turn down business.
Qin Mu left soon.
As soon as he was gone, Yi Mo immediately leaned over, full of gossip.
"Do you really not know him? I feel like the way Qin Mu looks at you is improper."
Meng Ruozhao was already used to her behavior of suspecting everyone of having an affair with her.
"I don't know him. If we knew each other, even if I don't remember, how could he forget?"
"Maybe those eyes look at everyone like that."
She didn't care. She hung the two ready - made clothes back.
Then she made a note for Qin Mu's WeChat ID.
"Sit down for a while. I'll go to the warehouse to look for something."
As she told Yi Mo to sit anywhere she liked, she walked towards the warehouse.
Yi Mo didn't think much of it and mumbled, "But Qin Mu is really strange. No, I have to find someone to gossip about whether he's in a relationship recently."
She slumped back onto the sofa, took out her phone, and contacted someone, nobody knew who.
In the warehouse, Pei Jiangmu was leaning against the shelf piled with fabrics. His knuckles dug hard into his palm, trying to suppress the restlessness in his heart with pain.
The warmth of Meng Ruozhao's hand on his wrist just now still lingered on his skin.
But thinking of the gentle way she talked to Qin Mu, the thorn in his chest stabbed deeper.
He knew he shouldn't be like this.
He told himself again and again that this time, he couldn't be as paranoid as before.
Meng Ruozhao wasn't his possession. She had her own social circle and the right to associate normally with anyone.
But reason ultimately couldn't resist the surging emotions.
Just thinking that Qin Mu would appear in Meng Ruozhao's life again, he couldn't control the surging of his hostility.
He even had the impulse to take her away again and hide her where no one could find her.
With a "creak", the warehouse door was gently pushed open, and Meng Ruozhao poked her head in.
Seeing him leaning against the shelf, her heart tightened, and she quickly walked over. "Pei Jiangmu, how are you? Are you feeling better?"
Hearing her voice, Pei Jiangmu suddenly looked up. The dark tide in his eyes receded instantly, leaving only grievance.
"Sister, I'm okay."
He reached out his hand, wanting to touch the corner of her clothes, but was afraid of losing control. His fingertips hovered in mid - air and finally retracted.
Meng Ruozhao saw his restraint, and her heart softened and ached.
Recently, she had looked up a lot of information about skin hunger syndrome.
She knew that he needed physical contact to soothe him every time he got emotionally excited.
But there were too many people outside just now, so she had to send him to the warehouse first.
She took the initiative to walk over and gently hugged his arm, her voice extremely gentle. "Did something happen at school?"
Pei Jiangmu leaned on her shoulder. The faint scent of laundry detergent on her body lingered around his nose, and the restlessness in his heart finally subsided a little.
He shook his head, his voice muffled. "No."
He said it wasn't something that happened at school, but he didn't want to say more.
Meng Ruozhao sighed and gently patted his back, as if soothing a child.
"You don't have to say if you don't want to. Do you need me to hug you now?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she was tightly hugged into his arms.
Only one lamp was on in the warehouse, and the light wasn't very bright.
Meng Ruozhao could feel him hugging her tighter and tighter, as if he wanted to meld her into his bones and blood.
"Was that man just now someone you know, sister?"
Pei Jiangmu buried his face in her shoulder, his tone a bit stubborn.
"He seems to know you."
Meng Ruozhao's heart skipped a beat.
Why did everyone say so?
Could it be that they really knew each other?
"Maybe. I'm not sure, but he does seem familiar."
"After all, he's a big star. Maybe I've watched his works."
This was the only explanation she could come up with.
But these words sounded like thunder in Pei Jiangmu's ears.
She actually had an impression of Qin Mu.
After she lost her memory, she didn't remember anyone.
Even he, the one who was with her last before she lost her memory, was completely forgotten.
But she had an impression of Qin Mu.
Did she really like him that much?
The arm with which Pei Jiangmu hugged Meng Ruozhao suddenly tightened. The force was so great that she felt a faint pain.
But she didn't dare to move. She just gently stroked his back, like soothing a ruffled little beast.
In the warehouse, there was only the faint sound of fabric rubbing, and Pei Jiangmu's barely audible, muffled breathing as he buried his face in her shoulder.
He didn't ask any more questions, but Meng Ruozhao could clearly feel that the arm around her waist was always tense, and his body was stiff and taut.
She knew that Pei Jiangmu was hiding something in his heart, but since he didn't want to say, she didn't force him.
She just quietly accompanied him, and her fingertips occasionally brushed the soft hair at the back of his neck.
She remembered that the information said that gentle touches could relieve the anxiety of people with skin hunger syndrome. She didn't know if it would work for Pei Jiangmu.
After a while, Pei Jiangmu's breathing gradually became steady, and the force with which he hugged her relaxed a bit, but his chin still rested on her shoulder.
His voice was hoarse, as if covered with sand. "Sister, don't get too close to him in the future."
Meng Ruozhao was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to say this suddenly.
She looked down at the man leaning on her. His hair tickled her neck.
She thought for a moment and said, "What's wrong? He's just a customer who came to buy clothes. I can't turn away business that comes to my door."
"The way he looks at you is not right."
Pei Jiangmu suddenly looked up. There was still a hint of red in his eyes, but there was a stubborn earnestness in them.
"I don't like that kind of look."
Meng Ruozhao was startled for a moment by his sudden words.
Did he know what he was saying?
"Pei Jiangmu, you..."
Pei Jiangmu lowered his eyes. His fingertips gently hooked the corner of Meng Ruozhao's clothes, and his voice softened a bit.
"I like you. I... I'm jealous of them appearing beside you."
Like her?
Meng Ruozhao was a bit at a loss and subconsciously retorted, "How could you like me?"
She had always been worried that he would confuse gratitude with love, and now it really happened.
But this was wrong. She helped him not for this purpose.
Pei Jiangmu's voice was very soft, but it was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in Meng Ruozhao's heart.
She stood there stiffly, and even the action of raising her hand to soothe him stopped.
She only felt that the place on her neck where his hair had rubbed suddenly became hot.