Love You Till the End-Chapter 862 - 860: Gu Liancheng’s Probing

"No." Qin Jin’s voice came through, "There’s a social event tonight, I just finished the dinner and got your call just as I drove into the yard."

"I see." Gu Liancheng couldn’t help but laugh, "It seems my call came just right. If I had called you ten minutes earlier, it might have disturbed your mood, right? The thing men hate most during social events is being checked up on by women, don’t you think?"

"Of course not." Qin Jin stopped the car in the driveway, unbuckled his seatbelt, and got out of the car. He gestured for the driver to park the car in the garage, then spoke into the phone, "Other women checking up on me might bother me, but if it were you, it’d be different. Not only would I not be bothered, I’d actually be very happy."

"You’re just the same as three years ago, you haven’t changed a bit."

"Oh? What hasn’t changed about me?"

"That mouth of yours, still so good at wooing women." Gu Liancheng’s smile curved her lips, "Handsome, rich, and so good at sweet-talking, no wonder there are always so many women around you."

"No matter how many women there are around me, only one is truly suitable." Qin Jin’s words carried deep meaning.

"Is that so?" Gu Liancheng said with a smile, "How come I heard something else in what you just said."

"Something else?" Qin Jin teased, "Tell me, what did you hear?"

"I felt like you were confessing." Gu Liancheng, who usually spoke gently, was very direct this time, without feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

"Kind of." Qin Jin replied straightforwardly, "I think we’re indeed quite compatible, with common topics and interests."

"Though that’s true, I feel there’s still something missing between us." Gu Liancheng gripped her phone tighter, "That barrier is still there, unreachable."

What she referred to as a barrier was the rejection that happened three years ago, and Qin Jin understood perfectly well.

He didn’t speak, wanting to hear what Gu Liancheng would say next before deciding how to respond.

"Jin."

Gu Liancheng suddenly spoke, then fell silent again.

"What is it?"

Qin Jin’s voice was calm, making it hard to discern his current mood.

"It’s nothing really." Gu Liancheng’s voice had a hint of helplessness.

"If there’s something, you should say it, don’t hold back." Hearing this, Gu Liancheng pondered for a few seconds, then spoke, "All my life, I’ve always felt insecure, so I’ve always deliberately closed off my heart, not allowing myself to develop feelings for men. When I confessed to you three years ago, I mustered a lot of courage, but you rejected me. I thought it was impossible between us and never harbored any fantasies."

At this point, she paused briefly and continued after a moment of silence, "Now our relationship is more than friends but less than lovers. You just broke up not long ago, and might not have moved on from your last relationship. Even if we have mutual feelings, we can’t just recklessly get together. So, even if you were truly confessing to me just now, I can’t accept it. I think we should continue being friends..."

"I respect you."

Gu Liancheng expected Qin Jin to say something like "we could try starting first," "give each other a chance," or "we can go back to being friends if it doesn’t work out," but she didn’t expect him to say this.