Seeing Xiao Ming’s expression, Si Qi felt the need to make it even clearer that there was no way in hell that Si Shi Wu would ever date him. He definitely couldn’t leave the slightest chance of Xiao Ming latching onto that idea or they would have a genuine problem.

He hesitated for a moment, clearly showing on his face that there was something he wanted to say but did not know how to.

Xiao Ming gave a wry smile, fearing that he wouldn’t like what he was about to hear next. “What’s the matter?”

Si Qi sighed and then leaned back, crossing his legs and giving Xiao Ming a torn look. “Maybe I’m being too direct here but I don’t think that you should get your hopes up in that regard anyway. Even if he didn’t get together with her and even if he might be bi, I don’t think that it would work out between the two of you.”

Xiao Ming faintly raised his brows, not quite sure where that was coming from. In any case, he hadn’t even said that he was interested. Then again, maybe it was obvious to a person like Shi Ru Qiu.

Si Qi took another moment, gently rubbing the spot between his brows. “You know, you’re a good person. You’re fairly good-looking, have a nice personality, you know how to cook, and you are also really easy to talk to. I think that there are many men who would show interest in you. But considering the circumstances in this case, there’s no chance that Ai Gui Jin would ever go for you no matter what he privately thinks of you.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but be confused at that. “The circumstances?”

Si Qi smiled faintly. “Si Jin. Look, I know that he is in love with you and Ai Gui Jin also knows. They’re friends and have been for years. And he definitely isn’t the kind of guy who could get together with the person his friend likes. I wouldn’t either. That would be … well, cruel.” And neither he nor Si Shi Wu was the type of person to do something like that even if the person in question hadn’t been the master.

Si Yi on the other hand … He was afraid that his adored one would definitely date just to spite him. But that was a different matter and had nothing to do with Xiao Ming. “So, no matter what, even if you asked him, he wouldn’t do it. He just cases too much about Si Jin to do that to him.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but look a little helpless at that. “So any friend of his is just off-limits?”

Si Qi wasn’t quite sure how to react to that. “I don’t think it’s so much off-limits as … I don’t know. I mean, think of your friends. If one of them was dating a woman or interested in her, do you think the other would make a move on her? It’s the same here. For a good friend, you’re willing to forgo something that you don’t even know how it would turn out.”

Xiao Ming wasn’t sure why he was arguing there but he couldn’t help furrowing his brows. “Then what about the other way around? Let’s say one of them actually … was interested. What about Si Jin then? Would he also just … forgo things?” Because he didn’t think that he would. From everything that he knew about Si Jin and everything that Shi Ru Qiu had just told him, he really didn’t think that that would be the case. And he felt that to be unfair.

Also, he couldn’t help but feel that there was a bit more to this. Maybe it was idiotic to think like this but he had this feeling of something being decided for him and he didn’t like the feeling.

Si Qi looked at him, realizing that he was screwing things up more and more. If Xiao Ming had been worried about things before, there seemed to be a faint dislike at the idea of the Si family right now. He had to be very careful now or things wouldn’t go well.

He hesitated and then shook his head. “I’m not sure if you can compare that. I mean Si Jin has been holding onto this for several years.

“Look, this isn’t to say that you can’t date. Honestly, Si Jin has no influence on that. If you find somebody tomorrow and things happen, he’d have to live with that. And honestly, I think that he would because, in the end, he wants you to be happy. Preferably with him, yes, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want to see you happy nonetheless.

“But it would definitely hurt him a lot if that person was one of his best friends. He doesn’t have that many in the first place so that would be a kind of betrayal to him. No matter what happens with you, I’m afraid it would destroy the friendship. Si Jin knows that just as well as we do. And I don’t think that either of us wants that.

“If you’re honest with yourself, you are the same, aren’t you? Your friends are probably more important to you than anything else.” He was only guessing here but he was pretty sure.

He knew thanks to Si Er just how much Qian Huang and Li Shui had been there for Xiao Ming when things got rough. Those three had grown up together, experiencing everything together from their first crush to their first break up to the death of Xiao Ming’s parents. In his life, no matter what else happened, he was pretty sure that these two would always come first.

This was something that quite a few people in the Si clan probably wouldn’t want to accept but it was plain in sight for him. And it wasn’t like he couldn’t understand. Sometimes, some people were special. And if a new person wanted to come in there, that was difficult.

Thankfully, in this situation, it might actually help them. “I don’t want to say that any of us are as close to Si Jin as Qian Huang and Li Shui are to you. Frankly, I don’t think there are many people out there who can brag about being this close to anyone. But we do have a bond and I think that for all of us, that bond is more important than a possible partner would ever be.

“So yes, you’re not wrong. If one of the others fell in love, I’m pretty sure they would step back because they don’t want to hurt Si Jin. As for him, while he definitely values his friendships, there’s something special about you. So I’m not sure if he could. Really, that’s something that I would need to see play out. Right now, I can’t say anything about it.”

Xiao Ming’s brows still furrowed for a moment before he finally relaxed. Well, he wasn’t sure yet how he thought about this but he appreciated it a lot that Shi Ru Qiu was this honest with him. “Thank you. Thank you for telling me honestly about this.”

Si Qi smiled faintly as well, even though he really wasn’t sure if he should’ve done this. “Honestly, I’m not sure if I’m making things better for him or actually painting him in a worse light than you saw him in before.

“Si Jin is a good guy. Of course, I’m going to say this since he is somewhat of a friend of mine but I really mean it. He would treat you well if you were together.

“Not that you were thinking about that.” He raised his hands and waved and then just sighed. “I’m sorry. I know I should let go of the topic already but it’s just that it’s something that’s been going through my mind so often lately that I guess I can’t let it go even if it’s not about me. I guess I would just love to matchmake a happy couple. That would make me feel like less of a failure.”

Xiao Ming couldn’t help but feel some compassion when Shi Ru Qiu said this, feeling that he could somewhat understand it. “I can see where you’re coming from even though I don’t think this would work out. But I do appreciate his feelings. Who wouldn’t? It’s nice to know that there’s somebody out there that likes you this much.” Although, Si Jin only knew him from how he was in the live streams. How well did he actually know him? Although …

Xiao Ming furrowed his brows again and tilted his head a little before he leaned closer to Si Qi. “Say, there is this other person … I don’t know his name but he was also at the casting. He made the same recipe as you and, well, pretty much all of those who were in front or behind you. I met him the other day and he sent me some kind of video.”

Si Qi’s lips twitched when he heard that description. “Ah, I can imagine who you’re talking about. That’s Sima Qiu. He is … somewhat of a wild child.”

Xiao Ming raised his brows and leaned back, not quite sure what to make of that. “In what way?”

Si Qi glanced around furtively before he cleared his throat. “In the way that if it’s online, he doesn’t care about the laws too much. He also doesn’t really respect personal boundaries but that’s another matter.” He looked away, still remembering the argument they had had this morning.

He knew that Si Er had just wanted to anger him so that he would run off but still, he wasn’t happy with that. In any case, they wouldn’t have needed to hang out together. He wasn’t going to babysit an adult after all. And Si Er would do whatever he wanted to do anyway. So … there had been no need to pour salt into his wounds.

Xiao Ming’s brows climbed up but he didn’t quite know how to react to that. He … had seen that that guy didn’t take laws too seriously but to actually have Shi Ru Qiu admit that this easily … he didn’t know what to make of that.

Si Qi saw his expression and gave a wry smile. “I swear, the people around Si Jin aren’t all like that. In fact, most of them are pretty normal.” He frowned at that and then couldn’t help but shake his head. “Well, maybe normal isn’t quite it.

“I guess if I look at myself and Ai Gui Jin alone, it’s clear that there’s a bit of a trend there. Si Jin is extraordinary and he tends to get acquainted with people who are the same. Not in the same way he is but in some way at least. So I guess if you had a list of people that he frequently sees, you would feel that I’m lying when I say they are normal.”

Xiao Ming blinked his eyes, not quite sure what to make of this. To be honest, it wasn’t that far-fetched. Si Jin was rich and important apparently, enough so to warrant a tragedy like this assassination attempt on his family. To think that he had normal friends … Yes, he had trouble believing that. “So that Sima Qiu …?”

“Well, I think officially, he is probably something like … a cybersecurity specialist or something? Honestly, that’s just another way of saying he’s a hacker in his free time. But it’s not like any of us are going to get that out of him. He’s always done whatever he wanted. He wouldn’t even listen to Si Jin and that’s really something.” Si Qi froze after saying this, feeling that he was really giving away too much.

Thankfully, Xiao Ming hadn’t noticed his slip of the tongue, being preoccupied with having him admit that this person was indeed a hacker. Well, not that he had expected anything else. That meeting with him the other day had been a bit too on the nose to not make this clear.

Si Qi watched his expression and then figured that most likely, it wouldn’t be good to keep on talking. “Anyway, thank you for talking to me. I know it was probably strange having this kind of conversation with a stranger from beginning to end. But it really helped me.

“Today wasn’t the best of days. To be honest, this was actually thanks to Sima Qiu. He can say some really hurtful things when he is unhappy with somebody. And that isn’t helped by him knowing so much because he is spying on people all the time. He probably knows better what is going on inside some of us than we ourselves do.

“It’s crazy how much we actually give away with the things we do on a regular basis.” He sighed and then shook his head, pushing the empty teacup away from him. “In any case, we’ve been sitting here for quite a while. It’s probably about time that you went to meet up with your friends again.

“I’ll … Well, I’ll go back home I guess. Wallow a bit more in self-pity and then pick myself up and try some more recipes. I know I’ll probably not make it far but I at least want to make it through the next episode. Then I won’t seem like a total failure in front of Si Yi.”

Xiao Ming looked at him, the talk about the hacker almost forgotten when he saw his expression. “I’m sure you’ll be able to find somebody who values you for who you are. You’re … you’re a good catch.”

Si Qi’s lips quirked up at that. “Thank you. I also wouldn’t date you because of Si Jin but it still means a lot to me to be told that at least once. And yes, maybe there’ll be somebody out there who will see me in a different light.

“I should start looking.” Because yes, he was pretty clear on the fact that nothing would happen with Si Yi. With how he was behaving recently, this wouldn’t be over even after their master and Xiao Ming had gotten together. He should be prepared for that. “Now, I invited you so I’ll cover the bill. You just go off and have fun with your friends. It’ll be hard work in the upcoming weeks for you. I wish you strength to get through it.

“Right …” He dug out a business card and handed it to Xiao Ming. “Previously, I get involved because of Si Jin and I talked about some things that weren’t mine to tell. I’m sorry about that. I really just wanted to help but I know it must have hurt to have your past pushed out there like that. So I’m sorry about that. If you do need help in the future — whether that’s mine or anyone else’s that I can get into contact with — just give me a call or send me a text. I owe you at least that much.”

Xiao Ming took the business card but wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. The same that he had said about Si Jin went for Si Qi: They were both contestants on ‘Golden Spoon’. In fact, even just sitting down to talk with him probably hadn’t been a smart idea. He hadn’t thought of that at the moment when it happened because he had been so swept up in Shi Ru Qiu’s story. Also, it probably would’ve been rather impolite to just send him away after meeting him coincidentally as well. Anyway … maybe he shouldn’t accept this card.

Si Qi smiled and just waved. “I know what you want to say. But honestly, I’m not going to be on the show for long and even if I am, there’s always an after-the-show.

“You don’t need to call me but if it’s really dire, I might be able to help out. I know some people after all. Don’t think too much about it. If you don’t want to be burdened with that, then give the business card to Qian Huang. He can take care of this kind of thing in the future. You just focus on what you always do.” He smiled and then got up, waving at Xiao Ming again so he wouldn’t stand there any longer. “I’ll see around.”

Xiao Ming nodded, still somewhat in a daze before he finally just put the business card away. He definitely wasn’t sure how to deal with this but he understood that it was a kind gesture. He wouldn’t throw that away.

When he looked up, Si Qi was already gone so he just turned around and took out his phone, giving Qian Huang a call to see where he was. He really needed somebody to talk to right now.