Chapter 54
Xu Ling couldn’t speak.
She was completely confused by the situation. What was happening? Qin Cong’an had suddenly come over, pinned her against the back of the door, and was questioning her about the publicity stunt… This was even more ridiculous than her own dream.
What was Qin Cong’an’s identity in asking this? What was their relationship? At the very least, she had “entered the next relationship” after theirs had ended. How could Qin Cong’an, who was two-timing, be so righteous?
Forget it, don’t think about it. She smelled so good. Her fierce look was a little scary, but she smelled so good, so beautiful, and her mouth was so nice.
“Xu Ling…” Qin Cong’an’s tone softened again, with a hint of pleading, her hand on her face. “Say something. Say you don’t like him…”
“I don’t like him.” After being given the command, Xu Ling finally started to function. “How could I like him? This was arranged by the company!”
Qin Cong’an suddenly calmed down a bit. Right, how had she not thought of that possibility? Since her debut, she had never experienced this kind of bundled publicity stunt, so she hadn’t thought of it for a moment. And, seeing them so close, eating ice cream, it just made her angry.
“You, you…” Xu Ling suddenly started to stutter.
Qin Cong’an looked up at her. “What?”
“What about… you?”
“What about me?” Qin Cong’an’s hand gently kneaded Xu Ling’s waist, an unconscious, natural movement, as if searching for what was different about this body she hadn’t touched in a long time. “Be clear.”
Xu Ling mumbled for a long time before she finally blurted out, “You, you haven’t broken up yet, have you?”
Qin Cong’an was stunned and let her go.
Xu Ling instantly felt as if she had been abandoned on the spot. A sense of powerlessness surged up, and tears streamed down her face. She knew it. As soon as she asked this question, she was done for.
Qin Cong’an turned around and opened the shoe cabinet. She heard Xu Ling’s sobs and quickly leaned over, wiping her tears. “What’s wrong?”
At this, Xu Ling cried even louder, pushing her while crying. Go away!
“Okay, okay.” Qin Cong’an hugged her tightly. Seeing her like this, her own heart was about to break. “Don’t push me like that. Listen to me. I know what you’ve misunderstood. Xie Jing, right? He’s my brother. I wanted to go in and sit down to talk. Don’t cry. I’m sorry.”
Huh?
Xu Ling’s crying stopped, and at the same time, her breathing also stopped. She was in a daze for a while before she realized she had forgotten to breathe. She took a deep breath but was choked by it and started to cough against Qin Cong’an’s shoulder.
Qin Cong’an gently patted her back. After she had calmed down, she patted the back of her head again. “Are you okay now? Let’s go in and talk.”
“…Mhm,” a heavily nasal sound.
Qin Cong’an let her go but still held one of her hands. She took out her own pair of watery blue slippers from the shoe cabinet and turned her head to ask, “Why is it only mine? What about the ones the others wore? Were you waiting for me to come to your house to find you?”
“…” Only then did Xu Ling’s face start to burn, especially when she heard her laughing voice. Anyway, she could see them every time she put on her shoes.
Qin Cong’an put on her slippers and led her inside, sitting on the sofa. They had held hands with their fingers intertwined here, watched TV, and talked while she sat on her lap, but at this moment, it felt very strange.
After wiping her tears and snot, the house was quiet. She didn’t look at Qin Cong’an, but she could feel that she was staring at her. A sense of awkwardness belatedly crept in. Wait, what had she said? Xie Jing was her brother?
“So you’ve heard about me and Xie Jing.” Qin Cong’an realized this and suddenly felt that everything could be explained, except for one thing she couldn’t figure out. “When did you hear about it?”
“Just, just recently.”
“No, right? It should be earlier. At least before the movie wrapped. Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for you to leave without a word.”
Xu Ling scratched her reddened nose. “Mhm… before that.”
“How long before that? Why don’t you be clear?”
“Just before. It’s been a while. I don’t remember.” Xu Ling, having been cornered, just gave up.
“Oh.” Qin Cong’an’s hand pressed on her shoulder, making her look at her. “Then why didn’t you ask me, ‘why do you have a boyfriend and still sleep with me’?”
“…” Xu Ling only answered her question by averting her gaze.
“I see.” Qin Cong’an chuckled. “Even earlier, right? Before the night you came to find me, you had already heard about it.”
Xu Ling shot up, one foot already out.
But Qin Cong’an was quick-witted and grabbed her, pulling her back down to sit, pressing her tightly against her. “What are you running for?”
She wasn’t trying to run; she wanted to die. Although Qin Cong’an’s boyfriend was fake, her intention of being the other woman was real.
When she had entered, Qin Cong’an had brought with her the summer heat and annoyance from outside, while Xu Ling was cool. At this moment, it had completely switched. The cold air had taken away the heat from Qin Cong’an’s skin, while Xu Ling was about to burn up.
“You knew I had a ‘boyfriend’ and still came to find me. No wonder you had to use some excuse about art to cover it up. It turns out you were afraid I wouldn’t agree.” Qin Cong’an understood now. She understood everything.
Xu Ling was held in her embrace, unable to move, and had no strength left. Even her explanation seemed pale and weak. “That day, I, I had too much to drink. And, I thought you were cheating, so it was even. I was immoral, and so were you. So… it just happened.”
“Then why did you pretend not to know? Why did you package it as for the movie, and then run away? Since it was a draw, you could have just told me.”
Xu Ling was dejected. “I didn’t want you to know what I knew.” She actually didn’t care about Qin Cong’an’s morality, but she didn’t want her to know that she was willing to be the other woman. It might be strange, but she just wanted to protect her own image.
“Do you know what I was thinking before you said that you and that man were arranged by the company?” Qin Cong’an asked her.
“What?”
“I was thinking just now, I’m going to snatch you over,” Qin Cong’an said without any burden. “No matter what method I have to use.”
Xu Ling finally looked up at her, and after a moment of silence, asked, “Even if you saw that my relationship with him was particularly good, particularly stable?”
Qin Cong’an’s expression darkened. The thought of that situation made her head spin with anger. “Then I would make it so you couldn’t see each other.”
“Then I’m different. When I saw you talking to Xie Jing on the phone so often, and saw you watching the videos of Mo Yun he sent you, I just thought, forget it. I’m just a short-term relationship for you on set…” As Xu Ling spoke, she remembered those moments and couldn’t help but cry again.
Qin Cong’an rested her chin on her shoulder, pressing against her hot face, which was constantly streaming with even hotter tears. She also seriously considered what she would do if the situation were really as Xu Ling had described. Maybe if she saw her in a stable relationship with someone else, she would also leave.
It was just that… Qin Cong’an didn’t dare to imagine how sad she would be. And Xu Ling had really experienced it, had struggled with it. The day she left, her heart must have been no lighter than hers.
Qin Cong’an’s chest ached. Nuzzling her tears, she stroked the back of Xu Ling’s head. “How could it be a short-term relationship? Didn’t I also agree to shower with you? Didn’t I ask you to contact me after you came back from Tokyo?”
“So I understand even less why you would do that,” Xu Ling said in annoyance. “It’s all my fault for believing that rumor. And you two really do seem to have a good relationship. I never doubted it at all.”
“It’s my fault,” Qin Cong’an murmured. “It’s my fault for not realizing you had misunderstood all along. Because I really never thought that you had heard about this before you came to find me.”
“…”
“Have you also heard the rumor that Xie Jing and I have both admitted to our relationship?”
Xu Ling nodded sullenly.
“It’s said that we admitted it, but in reality, we just didn’t deny it. Because after that rumor started, the number of people harassing me decreased a lot. It can be said that there were almost none. It’s as if, with a so-called boyfriend, I’m no longer a stray dog without an owner, and not just anyone can pick me up.”
Xu Ling looked at her, her chest heavy. In these eleven years, Qin Cong’an’s career had seemed very smooth to outsiders. But in this industry, especially for someone as beautiful as her, even if it was smooth, it was impossible for every day to be only good things.
“So although it’s ridiculous, we just let the rumor continue,” Qin Cong’an sighed. “I really didn’t know you had heard about it. Weren’t you abroad before?”
Xu Ling sniffled. “Two years ago, in Hengdian. We weren’t in the same crew. I went to find you, but I didn’t see you. Instead, I heard people talking about this.”
Qin Cong’an pondered. “Two years ago?”
It was the first year Xu Ling had switched careers and was cast as a supporting role in Hengdian. She was already very happy at that time, feeling like she could run into Qin Cong’an at any moment, but she had only heard about her from others.
“Mhm.” Xu Ling lowered her head and looked at Qin Cong’an’s fair toes, her voice very small at first. “I’ve liked you for a long time… so that’s why I was so impulsive that day… but I never thought you would agree. Even if you didn’t have a boyfriend, you agreed too smoothly!”
Qin Cong’an brought her face close to hers. “Because I was curious about you too.”
Xu Ling’s breath hitched again, and she felt her face was about to explode.
“At that time, I couldn’t say it was like, but I was very curious about you,” Qin Cong’an told her honestly.
Xu Ling was about to faint. So what Qin Cong’an meant was that before she had shown any interest in her, before they had had that kind of contact, she had already been curious about her, which actually meant that she had already had a little bit of a good impression of her… could she faint?
Another “ding dong” from the doorbell.
Xu Ling shot up and opened the door. The moment she saw Lin Xinnuo, both of them were quite embarrassed.
“Is, is she in a hurry?” Xu Ling asked.
“Mhm, mhm, she has to catch a flight.” Lin Xinnuo looked at the slowly walking out Sister An and called out with difficulty, “Sister…”
Qin Cong’an made a circle in the air with her hand, signaling for her to turn her back. After seeing Lin Xinnuo turn around, Qin Cong’an took Xu Ling’s hand, gently pressed her against the wall, and buried her face in her neck, taking a deep breath.
At first, Xu Ling was frozen, not daring to move. It wasn’t until the familiar scent of Qin Cong’an filled her nostrils that she also raised her hands, trembling slightly, and wrapped them around her waist.
Qin Cong’an pressed against her tightly, basically on top of her. She lifted her chin and said in her ear, “Wait for me to come back.”
“…Okay,” Xu Ling’s voice was trembling badly.
“A kiss?”
Xu Ling nodded. The sound of her swallowing was very loud. She was so embarrassed, but Qin Cong’an chuckled softly and touched her lips with hers.
Ah, just a touch.
Xu Ling was not satisfied. It was too fast, not even as long as when they had accidentally touched that day. She held Qin Cong’an’s shoulder, not letting her go, and lowered her head to hold her lips forcefully. They were still so soft, as if they would melt with a single press.
Qin Cong’an responded to her kiss, her breathing also becoming messy. Xu Ling was so attractive to her. They should have been close all along, but they had been separated for so long. Once they were close again, it was impossible to separate.
Lin Xinnuo had already run to the elevator to wait, constantly looking at the time on her phone. What the hell! The door was already open, why wasn’t she coming over? And she hadn’t heard the door close. Sister An had told her to turn around, so she must have wanted to kiss. But it was taking too long!
“Sister… Sister An…” Lin Xinnuo didn’t dare to poke her head out to look, only daring to call from a distance.
A ghost-like voice came over, interrupting their kiss. Their lips were still close, their noses gently touching.
Suddenly, both of them found it a little funny and laughed out loud.
Qin Cong’an’s nose nuzzled her reluctantly, then pecked her on the lips again before letting her go, changing her shoes, and walking out.
“Qin Cong’an.” Xu Ling’s hand gripped the doorknob tightly, her palm sweaty.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Ling looked at her pitifully. “I miss you so much.”
Seeing her like this, Qin Cong’an was also reluctant to leave. She looked at her helplessly.
“You should go. Bye-bye.” Xu Ling knew she had to go, that she couldn’t keep her any longer. She was about to pull the door shut.
Qin Cong’an held the door with her hand, leaned over, and hugged her one last time before really leaving.
After the door closed, Xu Ling leaned against the back of it, covering her still-hot face, and took a long time to recover before letting out a scream.
Xu Ling jumped back into the room, leaped onto the sofa, hugged a cushion, and kicked her legs in the air, so excited she couldn’t stand it.
Aahhh!
Qin Cong’an was curious about her, Qin Cong’an liked her, and Qin Cong’an had kissed her again!
Xu Ling slapped the sofa, making a loud noise. The best thing she could have imagined was Qin Cong’an asking her to be her other woman. But today, Qin Cong’an had told her it was all her misunderstanding, that she had gotten it wrong. How could such a good thing have fallen into her lap!
Xu Ling pursed her lips, savoring the long-lost deep kiss. The more she savored it, the more she felt it wasn’t enough.
Aww, when was she coming back? Xu Ling just remembered she had forgotten to ask. Where was she going, what was she doing, and when was she coming back? She didn’t know any of these things!
And, and, there were still so many things she hadn’t asked. Wait, was Xie Jing her biological brother? Why did they have different surnames?
But Qin Cong’an was rushing to catch a flight and had even come to find her in the middle of it. Didn’t that mean that she was really concerned about the publicity stunt news that had just been released? And she had even said she would snatch her away… aahhh! Xu Ling hugged the cushion and screamed like crazy again.
Xu Ling thought of something else. Didn’t Qin Cong’an cut herself off from her phone? How had she seen this so quickly? During the promotional period, her likes and comments had also been very timely.
Either she was using both phones, or Lin Xinnuo had shown her. Then why would Little Lin show her? Could it be that Little Lin had known all along that Qin Cong’an also liked her?
Xu Ling wanted to scream again. The vibration of her phone interrupted her.
She picked it up and saw a WeChat friend request. The profile picture was the cutest Mo Yun baby in the world, the one that An An had found and given to her brother to raise!
Xu Ling immediately added her as a friend, changed her account name “Qin” to an orange emoji, and then immediately sent a message: [How do you have a phone!]
Qin Cong’an also found it quite funny. Lin Xinnuo had actually been carrying her phone with her the whole time, ready to give it to her at any moment. As she replied to the message, she said to Little Lin, “Go ask Sister Quan for a bonus when you get back.”
Lin Xinnuo made a small victory gesture. “Yay!”
Qin Cong’an changed Xu Ling’s note to a lemon emoji, the same as before.
Lemon: [I have a question!]
Lemon: [Why didn’t you use your main account to add me before??]
Lemon: [/pouting]
Qin Cong’an honestly told her about her initial concerns. She didn’t know if she had some ulterior motive for coming to find her so suddenly. She really couldn’t trust her right away.
Lemon: [Is that so?? I thought you had a new relationship on every set.]
Lemon: [Because you accepted it so quickly! /frustrated]
Qin Cong’an laughed helplessly. She had also thought that she had had such relationships before because of the ridiculous request she had made. They had indeed started too hastily. They hadn’t figured anything out, and yet night after night had passed.
Lemon: [I’m already starting to miss you /crying]
Lemon: [When are you coming back?]
Orange: [Landing on the 4th at night.]
“Ah—” Xu Ling pounded the sofa. Still four or five days!
Orange sent a video: [Here’s a fresh Mo Yun for you.]
Xu Ling opened the video. Hehe, Mo Yun was so cute, a black, round face, sticking out its little tongue to drink water, so pink and adorable.
She sent several messages praising it, then asked: [Is Xie Jing your biological brother?]
Orange: [Yes. He took Mom’s surname, and I took Grandma’s. It’s a bit complicated. I’ll tell you when I get back.]
Xu Ling said, “Ah.”
So the person who cared about her so much, who called her so often, and who told her not to get injured, could of course also be her family. But she had never heard Qin Cong’an call the person on the other end of the line “brother.” If she had, she would never have misunderstood for so long. But hearing her say that, it seemed her family situation was not simple.
Xu Ling was a child who had grown up in a very healthy family. She had never thought about what Qin Cong’an’s family was like, why she was so quiet, why she always gave the impression of being a loner, why she had a brother but didn’t have a “younger sister” feel.
When she came back, they would talk face to face. Xu Ling changed the subject back to Mo Yun: [It’s the cutest little kitten in the world!]
Orange: [Didn’t you say Cream was the cutest in the world?]
