Forbidden to Flirt and Run 4

Chapter 4

The first thing Xu Qingtang did after getting in the car was to close the window.

The street scene was veiled in a light shade of gray, and even the wine-red dress Lin Huaijia was wearing lost its color. Even so, Xu Qingtang took in every detail of the shock and nervousness on her face.

Afraid I’ll slash her tires in front of her white moonlight?

Xu Qingtang sneered inwardly.

“You look very beautiful in this outfit today.”

Gu Yizhi’s faint voice made Xu Qingtang turn her head. The car started to move slowly, and there were no more annoying people or things to be seen on the roadside. As if remembering something, Xu Qingtang smiled and asked, “Don’t you find it incongruous?”

Gu Yizhi asked in return, “Incongruous?”

Xu Qingtang said, “It doesn’t suit my personality.”

“Really?” Gu Yizhi tilted her head to look at her. Today, she was wearing a rather formal suit. Her lips were as red as the evening glow, and her slender eyebrows arched slightly. Her features hadn’t changed, but her aura had gained a certain sharpness. She spoke slowly, “I, on the other hand, feel that this outfit looks like it was made especially for you. It’s very fitting.”

Xu Qingtang was no stranger to compliments.

But she had never met anyone like Gu Yizhi, who would stare at her so directly and just say it, yet still manage to seem sincere.

There was traffic ahead, and Gu Yizhi slowed the car down. She rested her hand on the steering wheel, and when she smiled, the coldness in her expression softened. “You make people feel like they really want to design clothes for you.”

“…Thank you.”

Xu Qingtang’s gaze slowly moved from Gu Yizhi’s slender hands to her thin, sexy red lips. She couldn’t help but feel that what she really meant was, “You make people feel like they really want to take your clothes off.”

It was mainly because Gu Yizhi gave off a very sensual vibe.

Or perhaps it was because there was indeed something not quite innocent between them.

The sudden lewd thought made Xu Qingtang a little embarrassed. Just then, her phone, which was in her pocket, started vibrating non-stop. Tang Gui was spamming their three-person group chat with stickers in universal celebration: [Sob, sob, your sister has finally flown out of the cage.]

Then she howled a rendition of “I Am a Little, Little Bird” in the chat.

Isn’t that a bit inauspicious?

But Tang Gui didn’t care: [It’s just jumping from one hell to another. Where is a worker not a worker? Oh wait, the other hell hasn’t been found yet.]

Tang Gui was a fashion designer. Her former company was rife with plagiarism and exploitation of its employees. Tang Gui couldn’t stand it anymore and resigned. Today was her last day at that company.

Tang Gui: [Is anyone free?]

Both Xu Qingtang and Jinjin said no.

Tang Gui: [What a pity. Looks like I’m the only one who gets to eat at Zhaomu. I heard the food there is pretty good.]

Xu Qingtang replied with a few stickers. As if suddenly remembering something, she picked up the small bag she had placed aside and handed it to Gu Yizhi. “Here.”

Gu Yizhi took it with one hand and said with a smile, “Thank you.”

“Huh?” Xu Qingtang was baffled by the thanks. “There’s no need.”

Gu Yizhi: “It’s only right.”

Xu Qingtang: “You’re too kind.”

Xu Qingtang thought the pleasantries should end there, but when Gu Yizhi turned her face, her expression was quite solemn. “The meaning is different.”

Xu Qingtang didn’t understand. “What’s different?”

Gu Yizhi smiled. “Didn’t you say it yourself? I’m a person of great sentiment and loyalty. Of course, I was terrified I’d never see it again.”

Xu Qingtang: …

If she spun a few more lines, she might actually believe her.

“So?”

“So I’m treating you to dinner.”

It sounded reasonable, but in reality, it was complete nonsense. Xu Qingtang looked at that radiant face and wanted to say no, but as if she had guessed her thoughts, Gu Yizhi spoke first, “What would you like to eat? If you have no ideas, I can decide.”

Since she hadn’t eaten much all day, Xu Qingtang decided to just go with it. After a moment’s thought, she mentioned the restaurant Tang Gui had brought up on WeChat.

Gu Yizhi was slightly taken aback. “Zhaomu?”

Xu Qingtang hummed in agreement. “Is there a problem?” She was easygoing. “We can go somewhere else.”

Gu Yizhi looked at her and smiled. “No problem.”

Zhaomu was a newly opened holographic projection restaurant in Lin City, full of futuristic technology. The atmosphere, however… Xu Qingtang glanced around. There were many customers, and most of them looked like couples.

This isn’t a couples’ restaurant, is it?

The two sat down at a corner table. Xu Qingtang felt very awkward. When Gu Yizhi passed the menu to her, Xu Qingtang glanced at it casually and said, “Set menu A, then.”

Gu Yizhi smiled. “Alright.”

After the staff had served the dishes, they stood there and smiled at Xu Qingtang. “Ma’am, our restaurant is currently having a promotional event. Would you like to know more?”

Xu Qingtang asked casually, “What kind of event?”

The staff member smiled professionally. “It’s a small activity for couples. It’s very simple. Would you and your girlfriend be interested?”

Cough, cough…

Xu Qingtang almost choked on her red wine.

“We’re not…” Xu Qingtang felt that any explanation would be a bit weak. She said, “No, thank you.”

“Alright, please enjoy your meal.”

After the staff member left, Xu Qingtang pursed her lips, her gaze lingering on Gu Yizhi. She explained, “I didn’t know this was a couples’ restaurant. I heard from a friend that the food here is good, so…”

The dim lighting floated in the air, and the soft music added a touch of ambiguity to the atmosphere. Gu Yizhi rested her chin on her hand, watching Xu Qingtang without blinking. “A friend?”

Xu Qingtang: “Yeah.”

Gu Yizhi seemed to be smiling, but also not. She cut her steak slowly and deliberately. “A friend asked you to come here?”

“Besides couples, can’t friends come here?”

It wasn’t that Xu Qingtang was contradicting herself. It was just that doing anything with her band of troublemaking friends was never awkward, but with a potential fuck buddy, everything felt off.

Perhaps her level of experience was too shallow; she couldn’t remain indifferent.

Gu Yizhi smiled but said nothing.

Since Xu Qingtang wasn’t driving, she had no reservations about drinking. Just as she finished a glass, her phone, which was on the table, started to vibrate.

Tang Gui started off with a teaser: “Guess who I just ran into—”

Her voice was full of mystery. Xu Qingtang remembered what she had said in the group chat and subconsciously looked around.

“I saw Lin Huaijia and that little green tea,” Tang Gui cackled on the other end for a long time. “This is so satisfying.”

Xu Qingtang glanced at Gu Yizhi and, for some reason, suddenly felt a sense of relief. She played along, “What happened?”

The story began fifteen minutes ago.

Tang Gui had originally planned to enjoy a solo meal at Zhaomu, but her supervisor at her old company insisted that she hadn’t finished handing over her work and that it was needed for tomorrow, so she had to go back to the office that night. Thus, Tang Gui had to find a place to eat nearby, and as luck would have it, she ran into Lin Huaijia and Su Mengyu.

Su Mengyu was leaning on Lin Huaijia’s shoulder, sobbing, “I never thought Qingtang would get so angry. I always thought she was very magnanimous. Ai, Huaijia, your work is already so hard. If it were me, I would never be able to bear letting you…”

Ugh.

Tang Gui almost threw up.

She asked the waiter for a drink, got up, and as she passed by their table, she “accidentally” twisted her ankle. The drink spilled all over the two of them. She looked up, her expression pitiful. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m allergic to green tea and brainless idiots. The moment I smell those two things, my legs go weak. You two seem so magnanimous, you won’t get angry, right?”

She burst out laughing on the other end. “You should have seen the looks on their faces. It was hilarious.”

Before, under the filter of Lin Huaijia’s deep affection, they had occasionally thought she was a bit clueless, but they never harbored such malice. Now that they knew she had treated their friend as a substitute, looking at her was like looking at a piece of 360-degree, no-blind-spot trash.

Xu Qingtang couldn’t help but laugh. “Well done.”

After the meal, the staff brought the bill. Xu Qingtang thought for a moment and felt it wasn’t right. She spoke first, “Let me get this. It’s my fault, after all.”

Before Gu Yizhi could say anything, Xu Qingtang had already scanned the code and paid.

The staff member suddenly took out something and handed it to Xu Qingtang. “Ma’am, here is your room key.”

Room key???

—Zhaosheng Musi Hotel

Xu Qingtang stared at the logo on the key card, stunned for a moment. Then, she asked uncertainly, “This… this is a hotel?”

Before she could get an answer, Xu Qingtang felt something approaching her under the table. She pressed her legs together slightly and could tell it was a woman’s leg. It seemed to be tentatively hooking her ankle bone, then slowly, inch by inch, moving upwards. Her qipao was lifted slightly at the hem, and a shiver ran down Xu Qingtang’s spine.

Fortunately, the partitions around them were well-designed. Unless someone was crawling under their table, it was impossible to see what Gu Yizhi was doing.

Gu Yizhi rested her chin on her hand, tilting her head slightly, her smile full of charm, as if the person teasing her under the table wasn’t her. Her red lips, moist as if soaked in water, were like overripe tomatoes, bewitching beyond words. “Weren’t you curious just now? Want to go take a look?”

Xu Qingtang’s breath caught. “What would I do there?”

“We.” Gu Yizhi stood up slightly, leaned closer, and whispered a single word in her ear.

That word was “love.”

Xu Qingtang almost went numb.

***

Translator’s Notes

1. I Am a Little, Little Bird (我是一只小小鸟): A famous Chinese pop song by Chief Chao. The lyrics describe a small bird that wants to fly high but can’t, symbolizing a feeling of being trapped and powerless. The friend is singing it to celebrate her “freedom” from her terrible job, but the inauspicious part is that the bird in the song never actually escapes.

2. Zhaomu (朝暮): The name of the restaurant. It literally means “dawn and dusk.”

3. Zhaosheng Musi Hotel (朝生暮死酒店): The name of the hotel. It’s a pun on the restaurant’s name, “Zhaomu” (朝暮). “Zhaosheng Musi” (朝生暮死) is a Chinese idiom that means “born in the morning, die at dusk,” referring to something ephemeral or short-lived.