Chapter 47
Qin Cong’an knew that Chang Ning was filming a video. Her hands were very proper, just resting on Xu Ling’s waist. But Xu Ling’s breath on her neck tickled her.
She glanced at Wen Qianning. Seeing her slink past them and sit back down in her seat, she pushed Xu Ling’s waist and told her to get up.
Xu Ling was a little dead, especially when she could notice everyone at the table staring at her even with her head down.
Liang He was laughing his head off over there. “You two really have a good relationship. When Little Xu wanted to hide, the first thing she did wasn’t to push her chair back, but to burrow into Little Qin. I really didn’t see that coming. I knew you were close, but I didn’t know you were this close.”
Yi Huai was probably the most surprised. She was still thinking that Xu Ling had drunk too much and would have to apologize to Qin Cong’an later, but Qin Cong’an didn’t seem angry.
Only then did Chang Ning finally stop filming. She took a big gulp of wine. Good thing she had filmed it. This scene was worth replaying!
Gu Qi, at the side, asked with a serious expression again, “Is there really nothing between you two?”
“How could there be!” This time, Xu Ling interrupted her forcefully.
But this time, Gu Qi didn’t laugh. Instead, she said, “Oh-yo-yo. Something’s not right.”
Even from a distance, Qin Cong’an felt burned by Xu Ling’s hot face. She held up her wine glass and said, “Don’t joke around.”
Xu Ling was finally let off the hook. She dejectedly went to the kitchen to get the dessert Wen Qianning had bought. When you’re feeling down, you should eat something sweet.
Soon, Qin Cong’an also came over and helped her divide it onto plates.
Yi Huai and Lin Xinnuo also walked over, but Qin Cong’an said, “The two of us are enough. The kitchen isn’t that big.”
Xu Ling didn’t say anything, didn’t even look up, her expression so focused that it seemed she could only see the dessert. In reality, she was thinking, Qin Cong’an is strange today. I have a feeling she’s going to stay tonight.
After preparing seven servings of dessert, Xu Ling was about to prepare another when she was stopped by Qin Cong’an.
“I’m not eating,” Qin Cong’an said. “Didn’t you know?”
“Just have a little. Qianqian bought it especially as a return gift for you. It wouldn’t be right if you didn’t have any.”
Qin Cong’an turned to the side and suddenly looked at her with a serious expression.
Xu Ling’s face also tensed up. “What’s wrong?”
“I say, are you very close with them? Qi, Qianqian, what are these names?”
“Huh? They’re just very normal names.”
“Then what about you calling me An An?”
Xu Ling lowered her head again and placed a small piece of tiramisu on the eighth beautiful plate. “If you don’t like it, I won’t call you that.”
Qin Cong’an frowned. “Did I say I didn’t like it?”
“I mean, I won’t call them that anymore,” Xu Ling said, then quickly glanced at her face. Unexpectedly, she was a little emotional. “Have you had a little too much to drink?”
After a moment of contemplation, Qin Cong’an said, “It’s fine. Call them whatever you want.”
She was so obedient. She so obediently said she wouldn’t call them that anymore. So obedient. Maybe she really had drunk too much and thought Xu Ling was incredibly cute.
In reality, this person wasn’t cute at all, especially annoying, especially good at teasing her, making her run in circles.
Qin Cong’an carried the plates out first and gave them to the others, letting Xu Ling take their two servings.
Before eating, they took a bunch of photos again.
Wen Qianning asked Qin Cong’an from a distance, “Sister An, you’re only eating that little?”
“Mhm, I don’t really like it.”
“Ah, really? You gave me so much that day. I thought you really liked these things,” Wen Qianning asked curiously. “How much did you buy?”
Qin Cong’an took a small bite of tiramisu. “I forgot.”
Xu Ling’s gaze flickered to the side again and again. She also really wanted to know why she had bought it, but it was a pity that she had no intention of continuing this topic.
Wen Qianning was the type of person who had to have wine with her cake. Everyone suspected that her taste buds were already numb. She was the first to leave, picked up by the manager Yi Huai had called. She had even whined at the door for a long time.
Her manager had expected this when she had let her come alone, but seeing her so drunk was still a little annoying.
The car Chang Ning and Liang He had called also arrived, and they left first.
Qin Cong’an had finished her small piece of cake a long time ago but had sat firmly without leaving. After Chang Ning and Liang He left, she finally stood up, but she didn’t walk to the door. Instead, she walked to the sofa and sat down, even turning on the TV, as if this were her own home.
Lin Xinnuo was sweating profusely. She walked over and whispered, “Sister, should I leave first?”
“You want to get off work? You can.”
Lin Xinnuo didn’t want to get off work. She just didn’t want to be in the way! But this was a hint from Sister An, right? “Mhm, mhm, then I’ll leave first. Am I picking you up here tomorrow morning?”
“What do you mean?” Qin Cong’an asked. “Of course, downstairs at my place.”
Lin Xinnuo was even more confused, completely lost. So Sister An wasn’t staying here overnight?
“Then, then I’ll just wait for us to leave together.”
“Fine,” Qin Cong’an agreed.
At this point, Yi Huai had also said she would take Gu Qi home.
“Ling!” Gu Qi called out reluctantly. “Let’s meet again another day!”
Xu Ling was about to blurt out “Qi” but stopped herself after glancing at the person on the sofa who was looking at her. Although she had said she could do as she pleased, she still chose not to. “Let’s meet again another day. Bye-bye.”
Yi Huai took the trash out the door. After the door closed, the room instantly became quiet, with only the faint sound of the TV.
Xu Ling’s steps faltered for a long while before she walked in. Good, good, Little Lin hadn’t left yet. But why hadn’t Little Lin left yet?
Just as she was thinking this, she saw Lin Xinnuo stand up and say with a slightly exaggerated tone, “Aah, sorry, my stomach suddenly hurts,” and walk to the restroom. The sound of the door closing was very obvious, as if it were a signal.
Xu Ling sat on the side of the sofa, a few people’s distance away from Qin Cong’an. That person was focused on the TV and ignored her.
Xu Ling also looked at the TV. It happened to be playing an outdoor variety show she had been on before. She had forgotten it was airing tonight. So awkward. When Xu Ling was on this kind of show, she was quite different from when she was in front of Qin Cong’an. She was very outgoing on the show, but in front of Qin Cong’an, she couldn’t be outgoing at all.
On the TV, Xu Ling was making the other guests laugh. She was also laughing. The atmosphere was peaceful, filled with happy air.
But on the sofa outside the TV, the two of them said nothing, lifeless.
“By the way,” Xu Ling found a topic to start with. “The pudding was delicious. I finished it.”
“Oh.” She finished it. Qin Cong’an was a little surprised. She had seen her take one bite and put it aside. She hadn’t thought she would finish it after she left. So obedient.
“Is pudding easy to make?”
“It’s quite simple. You’ve never tried?”
“No.” The first time Xu Ling had helped Li Yan, she had been told, “Why don’t you just go and wait?” After that, she had been convinced that she was too clumsy to even get close.
Only then did Qin Cong’an glance at her. “So your roommate made everything for you? Your roommate is so nice.”
Xu Ling rubbed her nose, a standard template of guilt. “She is very nice. Um, why did you make pudding?”
Qin Cong’an twirled the ring on her left middle finger. “I was bored.”
“Oh.” Just as she had thought. Xu Ling was about to ask if she had also learned to dance because she was bored when she was interrupted by a soft laugh.
“You really believed that?” Qin Cong’an slanted a look at her. “If I’m bored, don’t I know to read a couple more books?”
“…” Xu Ling’s knees were pressed tightly together, her hands on each knee, sitting like a kindergarten child, just rubbing her hands from time to time. “Then why? Because of… me?”
“Because of you? Because of what about you?”
“Uh,” Xu Ling was choked by her question and was suddenly too embarrassed to say it. “Just, for example, because I like sweets, and so on… Actually, it’s not that I think that. I saw some netizens guess that.”
Hearing her suddenly speed up, Qin Cong’an laughed again. “Do you think you’re the only one I know who likes sweets?”
“Okay, okay.” Xu Ling was getting anxious. The more she laughed, the more uncomfortable she felt. “If it’s not, then it’s not. Let’s not talk about this.”
Qin Cong’an switched the leg that was crossed on top, looked at the TV, and said in a honey-sweet voice, “What do you mean, it’s not? It is because of you.”
A flash of lightning suddenly lit up the night sky outside. The brightness even shone through the tightly closed curtains. Two seconds later, a clap of thunder came down.
The stunned Xu Ling came back to her senses with an awkward laugh. “Why, even the heavens don’t believe it?”
“It’s just that it’s easy to have thunderstorms this season. You still believe in these things. If I say I love you, see if there’s any more thunder.”
The words slipped out of Qin Cong’an’s mouth. After saying them, she was also a little shocked. But her gaze didn’t leave the Xu Ling on the TV, and her expression didn’t change. She just quietly waited for the next clap of thunder.
After a long while, the thunder finally came.
“Qin Cong’an.”
Qin Cong’an looked at the person who had called her and pointed to the man on the TV. “That guy surnamed Zhou. Don’t get too involved with him.”
“…What?”
“I filmed with him before. This person loves to approach you with the attitude of a teacher or a senior, giving you some pointers, but it’s actually a pretext for his lewd intentions,” Qin Cong’an said, her tone full of disgust. “Did he add you on WeChat?”
Xu Ling took a deep breath, stood up, took her phone from the dining table, walked back to the sofa, sat down next to Qin Cong’an, and directly opened the chat history with this person for her to see. “He did add me, and he also sent me some messages, teaching me how to get good results on the show. I didn’t really pay him much attention.”
Qin Cong’an scrolled up her phone a couple of times. “Mhm, just give him the cold shoulder like this. He’ll see you’re not easy to flirt with and will gradually give up.”
“Oh, okay. Thank you.” As Xu Ling spoke, she exited the chat page, opened Qin Cong’an’s account in the group chat, and held it in front of her again.
Qin Cong’an glanced at her and also took out her own phone.
“Ah.” She had forgotten that she was using an old-fashioned phone now and didn’t even have WeChat. Xu Ling awkwardly picked at the camera on the back of her phone and asked, “Aren’t you going to switch back?”
“This is fine. It saves me from being harassed,” Qin Cong’an said, putting her phone back in her bag. “Okay, I’m leaving.”
Leaving? Just like that? Xu Ling saw that she had already stood up. Without much hesitation, she reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her with a bit of force, making her lose her balance and have to fall onto her.
Xu Ling’s palm wrapped around her, pressing against her lower abdomen to prevent her from getting up again. Her palm was gradually getting hot, her fingertips just barely touching the edge. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, and she was so soft she felt like she would melt in her hand.
“Qin Cong’an, I still have a lot of questions to ask,” Xu Ling said behind her ear, and couldn’t help but press against her and nuzzle her, but without much force, afraid she would be pushed away.
Qin Cong’an sat on Xu Ling’s lap, a tingling itch on her neck. She closed her eyes, turned to the side, and propped her hand on her shoulder, her tone tinged with anger. “Why do you get to ask whenever you want?”
“Why are you still so thin?” Xu Ling looked into her eyes and had already started asking. “You didn’t eat much just now. Have you had a bad appetite recently?”
Qin Cong’an was stunned for a moment. “Is that what you’re most concerned about?”
“Mhm. Why? Are you in a bad mood?”
Qin Cong’an turned her face away, her hand covering the back of Xu Ling’s hand on her lower abdomen, intertwining her fingers, squeezing from the base to the tip. She opened her lips slightly, then said nothing. After Xu Ling’s grip loosened a little, she pushed her away and stood up.
“Lin Xinnuo,” Qin Cong’an called out and walked towards the door.
The sound of flushing immediately came from the restroom, and Lin Xinnuo came running out.
Xu Ling rubbed her face, stood up, and followed her to the door. She knew Qin Cong’an was leaving because Lin Xinnuo hadn’t left.
But that didn’t stop her from receiving a strong signal. Looking for condoms, looking for toys, and being concerned about her sex life. She dared to say she didn’t even dare to listen. And she had even asked her to give her a ring, and said she had made the pudding just for her, and said…
“Goodbye,” Xu Ling said, standing at the door.
As if she hadn’t heard anything, Qin Cong’an left without looking back.
“Goodbye, Sister Ling!” Lin Xinnuo waved and chased after Sister An. The elevator had already been called and was climbing up, floor by floor.
Walking into the confined space, Lin Xinnuo felt the air thin. She tried to make conversation. “Sister, the ring is very beautiful.” She hadn’t been wearing it when she arrived, so it must have been a gift from Sister Ling. A compliment was never wrong.
Qin Cong’an raised her hand and shook it in the bright light, saying sarcastically, “It is beautiful. It’s a pity the one I wanted, she wouldn’t give me.”
“Ah,” Lin Xinnuo said comfortingly. “Then it probably has some important meaning.”
As soon as she said that, she felt a glare from Qin Cong’an. She was so scared her nostrils flared to one and a half times their size. “D-did I say something wrong?”
“No.” She had just said what she had been deliberately trying not to think about. But at least Qin Cong’an had confirmed that she wasn’t dating anyone now, nor was she in an ambiguous relationship with her ex.
Qin Cong’an remembered the way she had looked at her when she was holding her, so soft it was unbelievable, as if her eyes were only for her, only concerned about her, and nothing else mattered. She only cared if she had eaten well, if she was in a bad mood.
Liar.
Qin Cong’an didn’t want to be played with by her anymore. She was just using the opportunity of the promotion to get back at her… but she had almost fallen for it again, and had even done and said many things beyond revenge.
Many of the books she had read said that when you hate someone, you will always think of them. In a way, you become their slave. The same is true when you fall in love. But while she knew this clearly, she couldn’t separate herself from this emotion.
But, starting from tomorrow, she would eat properly.
***
Xu Ling sat back down on the sofa. The laughter from the party still lingered in her ears, making the current silence feel particularly lonely.
She turned up the volume of the TV, but watching herself laughing on the screen, she had no idea what she was laughing about.
Xu Ling stood up, took out the red wine Qin Cong’an had given her, opened it, and sniffed it. A familiar scent, the one with a hint of toasted bread.
Wasn’t this also a signal? Xu Ling wrinkled her nose, poured herself a glass, and stored the rest.
Returning to the sofa, Xu Ling opened the group chat for today’s gathering that Director Liang had created. Everyone had posted the photos they had taken.
She picked a few, and added the photo of her and Qin Cong’an sticking close together that they had taken before everyone arrived, and posted it on Weibo with the caption: [Sticking close with my good sisters from She and Her and the Knife /rose]
In the middle of the nine-square grid was also a sticker of sisters sticking close, determined to “whitewash” the comment she had liked by mistake into a sisterly touch.
After posting, Xu Ling put down her phone and seriously savored the red wine, reminiscing about the night she had last tasted this wine.
Drinking alone was such a waste. And, what about the promise of drinking half and playing with half? The person she was supposed to play with wasn’t here. She had just left.
Thinking that there should be a lot of comments by now, Xu Ling opened the comment section and saw a clap of thunder outside. She almost fainted… well, now her account would probably be taken away by Sister Huai, and her life would probably be taken away too.
When she was editing and posting, she had completely forgotten about Qin Cong’an’s prank in the live photo and had just posted it!
As a result, the top five comments in the comment section were all screenshots of the frame where the two of them were holding hands. Some just had a question mark, while others questioned: [Are you saying good sisters hold hands with their fingers intertwined?]
Aahhh!
Xu Ling was on the verge of a breakdown. She quickly wanted to erase all of this, but wouldn’t deleting or editing it now seem even stranger? And it had already been screenshotted and posted. She couldn’t delete those.
In a panic, Xu Ling saw the number of comments suddenly increase sharply. She opened it with a trembling hand and saw that Qin Cong’an had replied in her comment section.
Just two words: [Sticking close]
With a photo taken before they ate the cake, of the two of them about to lean against each other, holding the cake.
Gu Qi had also posted a similar photo in the comment section, also of her and Xu Ling leaning against each other, but the atmosphere was visibly different.
[Mommy mommy I was born]
[I really feel like I’m shipping something real. In the short video Director Liang posted, An An’s eyes are full of sparks. It feels like they could do it anytime, anywhere /yellow heart]
[Everyone calm down. Haven’t you been fooled by two straight women kissing and selling a WLW ship before? Let’s see what happens after the movie promotion is over.]
[The person above, are you trying to kill me? Don’t care, I’m just going to ship it!]
