After Filming a WLW Movie With My Straight Girl Crush 59

Chapter 59

Xu Ling hadn’t expected Qin Cong’an to actually come into the shop with her. It really wasn’t necessary. Not to mention whether people would speculate about their relationship, there was no point in her coming in. She wasn’t choosing anything to eat, so it was a wasted trip.

What was going on? Did she like her that much?

Xu Ling’s heart was pounding. At this point, this couldn’t be one of the three great illusions of life, right?

Qin Cong’an didn’t even wear a hat or a mask, as if she deliberately wanted people to recognize her, to take her picture. She stayed by Xu Ling’s side the whole time, following her wherever she went.

Xu Ling tried a whole bunch of samples. Qin Cong’an stopped her. “If you eat any more, you’ll be full. Are you still going to have dinner later?”

“Okay then…” Xu Ling stopped eating, bought a few of the ones she liked to go, and then bought a lot more to treat the fans in the shop.

For a moment, the dessert shop seemed to have turned into an offline fan meeting.

The two of them waved goodbye, and the fans who were left behind excitedly posted online. Even those who hadn’t been interested in them before or didn’t even know them had developed some goodwill, especially towards Xu Ling. She was so friendly.

There were many posts online, and the buzz went up in an instant.

On top of that, the video platform that had bought the rights to She and Her and the Knife used some magic to boost the popularity. #AnLingRemarries# went straight to the top of the trending list.

When the two of them arrived at the restaurant, Xu Ling almost fainted when she saw this hashtag.

Who had bought this trending topic! What the hell was this hashtag!

“Look!” Xu Ling quickly held her phone up to her. “What is ‘remarries’? It’s so scary.”

Qin Cong’an was very calm. “It’s quite fitting. The platform probably bought it. For promotion, there have been even more explosive ones.”

Xu Ling looked at the comments. Most of them were saying they were getting up to eat.

[I don’t care if you’re promoting or if it’s real, I’m just going to ship it!]

[I’ve developed a strong heart. Even if they have a bad ending next time, I’m still going to ship it. Who knows, they might get back together one day. Sisters, let’s eat first!]

[I saw a big shot dig it up. Lingzi is wearing An’s clothes. So fragrant, so fragrant. I’ve already imagined the little couple fighting for eight hundred rounds, leading to the younger sister having no clothes to wear and having to wear the older sister’s /drooling]

Xu Ling thought to herself, your imagination is quite right.

She looked at the accompanying picture. The shirt she was wearing was the same as the one Qin Cong’an had been spotted in at the airport three years ago. It was actually just a very ordinary black short-sleeved shirt, but the fans’ sharp eyes could still recognize it.

There was also a small portion of people who said they couldn’t ship it. This hashtag was obviously bought by the platform, which meant they were just cooperating with the promotion. And Qin Cong’an, who had always been very low-key with her mask and hat, hadn’t worn them this time. It was deliberately for people to take pictures.

Many people also hadn’t forgotten about Xu Ling and Ming Yao, thinking that she was a typical straight girl pretending to be gay, and in the end, she couldn’t help but secretly date a guy.

It was good that there were such voices. If their relationship were to be confirmed, it might cause trouble.

Xu Ling put down her phone with a sense of relief and saw that Qin Cong’an was looking at her with an unreadable expression.

Qin Cong’an pointed to the dishes on the table, her finger making a circle. “Not taking pictures?”

“I took them last time I was here.”

“Oh.” Qin Cong’an pointed to herself. “Then a photo together.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mhm, post it right after we take it.”

Xu Ling was a little dazed. “Did you really get a promotional task? Why didn’t I receive a notification?”

“No. A large number of CP fans left a while ago, all heartbroken. I’m giving them some candy.”

“…You’re quite a nice person.” Xu Ling didn’t know that Qin Cong’an was so considerate of CP fans, but she was very happy to be able to take a photo with her. Of course, they took one together.

Qin Cong’an even guided her, taking the picture with the dishes.

Then the photos Xu Ling had taken at this restaurant last time couldn’t be posted, otherwise the material would be repetitive.

While taking the photo, Xu Ling suddenly realized that this should be considered her and Qin Cong’an’s first date. They had been together every day on set before and had done everything they should have, but they had never had a meal alone in an outside restaurant like this.

The Xu Ling in the camera unconsciously showed a hint of shyness. Her gaze fell on the Qin Cong’an on the screen. She was so beautiful.

At Qin Cong’an’s urging, Xu Ling frantically edited the photos. Without even notifying Sister Huai, she posted their photo together.

Qin Cong’an also picked up her phone and reposted her Weibo post, with just a simple heart symbol.

Why was she a little nervous? In Xu Ling’s eyes, this was no different from an official announcement.

Xu Ling didn’t even dare to look at the feedback and took a few large bites of food.

Then they continued their unfinished topic, about Qin Cong’an’s family.

Xu Ling was very curious. “So why do you have your maternal grandmother’s surname? And why isn’t your relationship with your brother public?”

“I used to have my dad’s surname, Jiang. His name is Jiang Tiancheng. You might have heard of this name.”

Xu Ling was stunned for a moment. This name was indeed a little familiar, but she couldn’t remember where she had heard it.

While eating, Qin Cong’an slowly began to speak.

When Jiang Tiancheng was young, he had happened to be at the right place at the right time and had founded a company. His business had flourished, and his fame had quickly spread, not just the company’s fame, but also his own. He was handsome and good at business, and was often in the newspapers and on the news.

His wedding was also a grand affair. His marriage to a young lady from a prestigious family was a sensation. Soon, they had children, a son and a daughter, which made people very envious.

But only the four of them knew how much filth was hidden in their family. The couple argued every day, over the company’s operations, over Jiang Tiancheng’s affairs with other women, over an unreasonable request from a shareholder, over a face-saving remark from a relative.

When he was a child, Xie Jing would cry and stand between them when they argued, but it was useless.

“I would just go back to my room and read or watch movies. I didn’t care about their business.” Immersing herself in fictional stories was probably her way of detaching herself.

The couple had tormented each other for a long time before finally filing for divorce in their daughter’s second year of junior high.

Xie Bei wanted to take both children with her, but Jiang Tiancheng insisted that the daughter stay with him. They had agreed that the first child would take the mother’s surname and the second the father’s, so it should be the same after the divorce.

“Seeing them still arguing at the end, I took the initiative to go with my dad. I didn’t want them to argue anymore.”

Qin Cong’an took a sip of tea and said, “In the end, I didn’t love either of them. It was the same no matter who I went with. My choice was just because my dad’s place was closer to my school. If I lived with my mom, I would have to change schools, and I didn’t want to leave my friends.”

She never spoke at home because no one would listen to her. Only her friends at school were an outlet for her, but she wouldn’t talk about her family’s affairs.

“After the complete separation, my dad didn’t let my mom contact me. It was from this point on that Xie Jing started to call me three times a week, for five minutes each time, to chat about recent events. This habit has continued to this day.”

Xu Ling’s brows were tightly knitted and had never relaxed, especially when she heard Qin Cong’an say it so lightly.

Xu Ling remembered that she had once thought, why does Qin Cong’an never talk about herself? and had even accused her of giving her the silent treatment every time she got angry. It turned out that her family situation was like this. She had never experienced proper communication, either big arguments or just going back to her room alone.

Suddenly, she felt like she was a terrible person. She didn’t understand her at all. Not everyone was born to communicate with others, and not everyone was born to avoid it.

Hearing Qin Cong’an say these things, Xu Ling also remembered why the name Jiang Tiancheng was so familiar. He was a well-known entrepreneur. She had often seen news about him when she was a child. The last time she had seen it, it was his obituary.

“Later, your dad…?”

Qin Cong’an saw from her expression that she had heard about it and nodded. “Yes. After the divorce, he became even more unrestrained in finding women and bringing them home for the night. One day, he just died in bed. That day, I was studying in my room as usual. When I heard a scream and came out of my room, the woman was already gone. I was the one who called the police to handle it.”

Xu Ling was really shocked. Yes, she remembered that news, that Jiang Tiancheng had died in bed with his mistress. At that time, it had had a great impact on her young mind.

At this moment, Qin Cong’an was saying that her dad was Jiang Tiancheng, and that she was the one who had handled it. Xu Ling couldn’t even control her expression, her features almost twisting together.

“Later, I realized that I shouldn’t have handled it that way. It attracted the media and made it known to everyone. But it was already like that. My mom had me change my name and take my maternal grandmother’s surname, and also had me transfer to an all-girls school.”

“The reason we don’t make our relationship with Xie Jing public is that we’re worried that people will dig up my dad’s affairs and talk about it.”

Now, both Qin Cong’an and Xie Jing kept their private lives very private. No one knew their background. Only Gao Quan knew.

Fortunately, although Jiang Tiancheng loved to be in the spotlight himself, apart from knowing that he had a son and a daughter, no other information about them had been exposed. If they maintained the status quo, they wouldn’t be dug up. But if people knew they were siblings, it was not certain.

When Qin Cong’an talked about these things, she was very calm, not even as much of an outsider as when she was talking about a story in a novel. But for her, it was like something from a past life.

At that time, she hadn’t felt much. As time passed, she didn’t even treat it as a big deal anymore.

She had probably read a lot of stories since she was a child, many of which were related to death. She had a high tolerance for death. What’s more, she didn’t really feel that Jiang Tiancheng was her father. If he was gone, he was gone.

After hearing all this, Xu Ling’s feelings were complicated. She had been mentally prepared for her family situation to be not simple, but she hadn’t expected it to be this not simple.

“Eat,” Qin Cong’an said. “Did I spoil your appetite?”

Xu Ling shook her head. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just listen to me. Just don’t associate me with my dad,” Qin Cong’an said in a calm tone. “This is the first time I’ve told someone so much. Although Sister Quan knows, I only told her the gist of it.”

Xu Ling didn’t say anything more, just took her hand. It was quickly held back by Qin Cong’an, and a piece of meat was stuffed into her mouth.

Qin Cong’an continued, “Actually, there was no need to tell you these things. But if I didn’t, you would definitely be curious, especially since you’ve misunderstood for so long.”

“I’m sorry…” Xu Ling swallowed the food with difficulty and said with a slight choke, “I’ve told you several times not to be silent. I never thought about why you would be like that. It turns out your family is like this.”

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Qin Cong’an found it amusing and pinched her cheek. “What you said makes a lot of sense. I really shouldn’t ignore you.”

Xu Ling was still annoyed.

“But, you, you say to just say it if there’s a problem, but you just ran away without a word.” Qin Cong’an could now look back at the agonizing sadness of that time with a calm heart. But if they had communicated earlier, none of this would have happened.

“…” Xu Ling lowered her head and apologized solemnly. “I was wrong.”

“I don’t mean to blame you,” Qin Cong’an said, rubbing her head and putting another chopstick of food to her lips. “Okay, eat.”

Xu Ling was a little embarrassed and wanted to do it herself. After a few bites, she asked tentatively, “Do you want to come to my house?”

“Your house? Haven’t I been there?”

“Not the house the company rented for me. My house, my parents’ place.”

Qin Cong’an was stunned for a moment. Meeting the parents so soon? She had seen Xu Ling’s Weibo and had heard her mention her family from time to time. She knew she had a good relationship with her family, but was it this good?

Seeing that Qin Cong’an didn’t answer, Xu Ling quickly said, “Forget it, forget it. Pretend I didn’t say it.” She also felt it was a bit abrupt. She wanted to take Qin Cong’an to experience her family’s atmosphere, but if she wasn’t willing, then it was better not to.

“It’s not that I don’t want to go, but… let’s wait a bit.”

“Mhm, okay!”

It was the first time Xu Ling had heard about Qin Cong’an’s past, and then, they had made a promise about the future.

After dinner, the two of them got into the car.

Xu Ling fastened her seatbelt and picked at it with her fingernails. “Can I go to your place? I know you have to sleep early tonight. I want to hold you to sleep.”

“Don’t worry. I wasn’t planning on letting you go back.”

Xu Ling was stunned for a moment, then looked out the car window and smiled foolishly. She had been afraid that Qin Cong’an would think she was too clingy. It was a good thing she also wanted to be with her.

Back home, they took a bath together and went to bed early.

Qin Cong’an was too tired and quickly fell asleep while holding Xu Ling. Xu Ling couldn’t sleep. She looked at Qin Cong’an’s face for a long time. She really wanted to raise her all over again, to let her laugh when she wanted to laugh, cry when she wanted to cry, not to avoid her emotions, and to have every emotion get the most appropriate response.

Xu Ling kissed her forehead and also fell asleep.

Xu Ling stayed at Qin Cong’an’s house for several nights in a row. Finally, one day, because she had to go to Jiang City to record a show, she had to go back to pack.

As soon as she got home, Xu Ling found that the lisianthus that symbolized friendship, which she had placed on the coffee table, had turned a dull color and was completely wilted, no longer having its tender yellow and vibrant appearance.

What a pity. She took the withered flowers from the vase and threw them away, thinking that the next time she went to Qin Cong’an’s house, she would also bring a bouquet of flowers and take good care of them.