Chapter 62
[Report—! Our little couple is on a private date again! Ling Yu has a schedule, but An An doesn’t (probably, I didn’t see Little Lin), isn’t this accompanying her wife to work? And the shirt on Ling Yu should also be An An’s, aahhh!]
The AnLing CP Super Topic was buzzing early in the morning because of the airport photos.
Qin Cong’an wasn’t wearing a hat today, but sunglasses. But the CP fans insisted on seeing that her gaze was always on Xu Ling from under the sunglasses.
Someone said: [Straighten your backs! There’s no need to pick at such hard candy. They’re already accompanying their wife on a business trip. We can just eat our fill!]
Many of those who had unfollowed because of the bad ending had silently returned. No, this was really real! Forget it, I don’t care if you’re real or just for show. I’m just going to ship it!
There was still a group of people who were still waiting and watching: [Can time please fast forward 1000 times to the end of the promotional period?]
In the photos and videos taken at the airport, they weren’t seen getting very close. The closest they got was when they handed something to each other. But the CP fans just felt that they were very, very close.
Many people, when they thought back to this day a long time later, thought that they had appeared holding hands or with their arms linked.
Back in North City, Qin Cong’an went to the gym to train, and Xu Ling went to work with Yi Huai.
Backstage, Yi Huai stared at Xu Ling as she got her makeup done, saying nothing, just using an oppressive gaze to make Xu Ling’s psychological defenses collapse first.
After the makeup and styling were done and everyone else had left, Yi Huai finally spoke. “Still not confessing?”
“It seems… there’s no need to confess anymore.”
As a manager, Yi Huai naturally knew that they had no promotional tasks, only an exclusive interview with a video platform. But Qin Cong’an had no events, yet she had personally followed her to Jiang City. Even a very heavily promoted CP wouldn’t do this. Wasn’t it a waste of one party’s time?
“So you know what I’m thinking, and you admit that it’s like that, right?”
“…Yes.”
Yi Huai looked up at the sky and let out a breath. “I see. You did well, not saying anything. In the future, when you face the reporters, be like this. No matter what, don’t directly say your relationship out loud.”
Seeing that Yi Huai’s reaction wasn’t that big, and that last night, she had arranged for Qin Cong’an to be in her room without saying anything, Xu Ling’s heart relaxed a little. She asked weakly, “Sister Huai, you’re not angry, right?”
“Do I look like I’m not angry?!!” Yi Huai roared, startling Xu Ling into a shiver, her expression also freezing.
Yi Huai paced with her arms crossed, completely numb. “Do you know how many brands are considering you right now? If they knew about this, they would most likely just screen you out!”
Xu Ling was silent.
“…Forget it. It’s useless to get angry at you. The important thing now is, I have no opinion on who you’re dating, but you have to hide it well. This is not a situation where you can bring it out into the open.”
Xu Ling nodded obediently. She knew. Let alone in the country, even abroad, the careers of many artists who had come out had gone downhill.
She herself didn’t care. Anyway, she didn’t plan to do this for a long time. But Qin Cong’an really loved the path of an actress. She had to keep going. She had to leave her name in the history of film.
“Good thing it’s not impossible to fool people with the good-sisters act. And you happen to have a heterosexual CP as a cover. In short, remember, you can’t admit it, especially to the media,” Yi Huai said, looking at her seriously.
Xu Ling continued to nod obediently.
After the recording, Yi Huai didn’t even look at Xu Ling. She just waved her hand, signaling for her to leave.
Xu Ling got the message and quickly ran off, familiarly arriving at Qin Cong’an’s house and opening the door with the password.
Qin Cong’an was in the kitchen, studying a new recipe. Seeing her come back, she looked up, then raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. Because the first thing she saw wasn’t Xu Ling’s face, but a large bouquet of flowers, a fiery pink, like the blush on a lover’s face.
“Is it beautiful!” Xu Ling put the flowers down and saw the softness in Qin Cong’an’s eyes. “It seems it is.”
Xu Ling got busy. Qin Cong’an’s house didn’t have any vases. She had specially bought several. She put the cut flowers in the vases and arranged them, placing some in every suitable spot.
Before, it had only been black, white, and gray, always seeming a little lifeless. With a little bright embellishment, the atmosphere of the house was instantly different.
Xu Ling was very satisfied. She felt like she had truly broken into Qin Cong’an’s private space.
For a moment, Qin Cong’an even felt that her home was a little unfamiliar. But seeing Xu Ling so excited she was about to jump, she thought this was particularly good. She pulled her to the kitchen and introduced her to the ingredients she was preparing to make soufflé.
“Wow, it must be delicious.” Xu Ling was so tempted. She hadn’t even started making it, but it was as if she could already smell the fragrance. She started to look forward to it. Qin Cong’an was really good at everything she did.
“But…” Qin Cong’an caressed her lips and asked softly, “Do you want to eat soufflé, or do you want to eat me?”
“?!” Xu Ling hadn’t expected her to say such a thing. Her brain was instantly overloaded and couldn’t process it. She looked at the ingredients on the counter, then at Qin Cong’an, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to choose.
“You hesitated.”
“Eat you,” Xu Ling immediately made a choice, and even picked up Qin Cong’an and sat her on the counter. She looked up at her and smiled, then buried her face and undid her pajama buttons with her mouth.
Qin Cong’an let her undo them but pushed her face away, not letting her eat. She raised her arms and wrapped them around her. “Carry me back to the room. Give me a massage. I worked out my legs today. I’m so tired.”
“Okay, I’ll help you relax.” Xu Ling made a move to pick her up, but before she did, she took advantage of Qin Cong’an’s inattention and leaned over to kiss her. “So soft.”
Qin Cong’an unconsciously puffed out her chest and leaned forward. “Hurry up.”
Xu Ling carried her back to the bedroom. She had also placed a large bouquet of flowers in the bedroom just now. Today was a full meal with the fragrance of flowers.
After they were done, both of them were covered in sweat that seemed to be filled with the fragrance of flowers. Qin Cong’an’s legs were even weaker. She clung to Xu Ling and went to the bathroom to shower, rubbing shower gel on each other, feeling the warmth of the water on their backs.
Collapsed on the bed, Qin Cong’an stroked the head in her arms. “I told Jiang Ruzhi today.”
“Mmm…” Xu Ling’s mouth was busy, and she only had time to reply with a hum.
“Xu Ling.” Qin Cong’an lifted her chin. “Do you actually not want to go to the concert with me?”
Xu Ling sucked her saliva back, hugged her waist, and leaned on her shoulder. “Why do you ask that?”
“Just a feeling.”
“I did think that it wouldn’t be as hyped with you, but I’m very happy to be on a date with you.” Xu Ling twirled a strand of her hair. “I want to go with you.”
“I’ll ruin the atmosphere.”
“You won’t,” Xu Ling said immediately. “The atmosphere is very good with you.”
“I really do have a hard time getting as hyped up as you. It probably has to do with me always being alone.” Qin Cong’an wasn’t used to talking about the past, nor did she think it was necessary. But after telling Xu Ling everything, communicating seemed to have become much more natural. “Actually, we’re quite different.”
Xu Ling had grown up in a happy family, while Qin Cong’an hadn’t. Xu Ling had many friends and made friends easily, while Qin Cong’an didn’t.
Qin Cong’an thought, perhaps this is why I was curious about her in the beginning. We’re so different.
“It’s good that we’re different. That’s why I want to get to know you. Otherwise, what’s the point of looking in a mirror?” Xu Ling looked at her face, her finger tracing over her heart. “We have things in common too. We’re the same here.”
“Mhm.”
“I want to go to the concert with you, just the two of us. It’s okay if we don’t get hyped. We can just quietly listen to Jiang Jiang sing.”
Qin Cong’an’s heart was warm under Xu Ling’s hand. She nodded. “Okay. Continue.”
“It’s all swollen. Does it hurt?” Xu Ling asked.
“A little, but it’s okay.” Actually, it was a tingling numbness, very comfortable, not really painful. It was just that the thought of her being like this with her ex-girlfriend bothered her a little.
But Qin Cong’an knew she shouldn’t mind who she had dated in the past, who she had been intimate with.
She was different from her. It was only natural for her to have an ex-girlfriend. And she was so cute, her ex-girlfriends must have all doted on her.
“You’re being so gentle again,” Xu Ling said, looking at her.
Qin Cong’an chuckled. “You don’t like it?”
“I do. I like you no matter what you’re like.” Xu Ling’s hand roamed over her body. “I like your body, and I like your heart. I like it when you’re good to me, and I like it when you’re happy… Does it feel good?”
“Mhm.”
It was time to sweat again.
She and Her and the Knife was about to be released on the Xian Guo platform, and there was an exclusive interview to be recorded. The day of the recording happened to be the day after the show Xu Ling had recorded in Jiang City was released.
Qin Cong’an was getting her styling done backstage, with the show that had been released last night playing on a tablet. Xu Ling had said the questions were on a large scale. She was curious how Xu Ling had answered, and how she had helped Sun Anni.
Sun Anni was going for the pure campus goddess route. The company had arranged this show for her with the purpose of letting the audience see her flustered and at a loss for words.
On this show, Sun Anni’s gaze was different from when they had had dinner in private. You could tell she was maintaining a persona.
Sun Anni’s image was indeed suitable for this route, and this route was also suitable for getting roles. Qin Cong’an felt there was nothing wrong with it. But the two of them interacted a lot. Qin Cong’an saw someone in the comments shipping Sun Anni and Xu Ling, which made her uncomfortable.
One comment was particularly glaring: [Another pair of AnLing!]
Xu Ling had also mentioned her first love on the show, saying they would buy her things to eat, make her things to eat, and that it was very innocent. Who else could that be but Li Yan?
But Xu Ling had said before that they were just roommates, and that she wouldn’t be friends with an ex.
Qin Cong’an opened her phone and saw that Xu Ling had still posted the photos of her and Li Yan at the exhibition, just not the ones from the restaurant or with the desserts. They were beautifully taken. The flowers in the photos were blooming vibrantly, and there were people shipping them in the comments below.
There was also another discussion that said:
[I feel like besides that one guy, Ling Yu has CP chemistry with everyone. It’s so magical. A very versatile, tall, sweet girl.]
[So jealous 0 knows so many beautiful women, although 0 herself is also beautiful. I don’t believe 0 didn’t date when she was a model. And seeing these two, my gaydar is going off like crazy /doge]
[New material last night, I feel like Ling and Anni also have CP chemistry. I want to see them in a WLW film too, with Ling playing the super dominant top type.]
[But does anyone else feel like Anni is a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Whatever, I’ll ship whoever I catch!]
These CP fans are all wall-sitters.
Qin Cong’an remembered a few of the IDs. Just a while ago, she had seen them shipping her and Xu Ling, and now she saw them shipping Xu Ling with someone else.
Qin Cong’an went on a liking spree on Xu Ling’s recent posts, skipping only the one with Li Yan.
After she was done, she closed her eyes, surprised at her own childishness. When her eye makeup was finished, Qin Cong’an opened her eyes and, as expected, saw that the CP fans had come running back.
[Is sister jealous? Aahhh!]
[Your Sister Qin is clearly the possessive type. Seeing her little sister go out with a beautiful older sister, she must be so sour, hehe.]
[I support An An in taking this 00 apart!] *In Chinese WLW fan communities, “1” often represents the “top” or dominant partner, and “0” represents the “bottom”*
Taking apart? Qin Cong’an searched for the term. Oh, okay.
The two met in the corridor on the way to the studio. Qin Cong’an was wearing a blue-green mermaid skirt, while Xu Ling was in pants, with a wide-cut black suit jacket on top, looking very cool.
The styling had been discussed in advance with the platform and the promotion team, but when Xu Ling saw Qin Cong’an in this outfit, she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling up to the sky. She was so beautiful. The line of her waist was perfect for wrapping an arm around. Her hands were itching, but it was a pity she couldn’t touch.
This was the first time they had appeared in front of the camera together after clearing up their misunderstanding and confirming their feelings. It felt completely different.
The two on the sofa were still separated by about a person’s width, but the corner of Xu Ling’s suit jacket directly crossed the safe distance, almost touching Qin Cong’an, which was even more ambiguous than sitting next to each other.
After the camera started rolling, the host finished her opening remarks, and the first question was, “Did you two coordinate your outfits in advance?”
They looked very compatible and coordinated, and even had matching necklaces and bracelets. The host didn’t say it out loud, letting the audience see for themselves.
“No, it was a coincidence. We only found out when we met,” Xu Ling said with a smile, looking at Qin Cong’an’s neck and twirling her wrist.
Actually, it was a sponsorship.
Many of the chemistry-filled “candies” were rehearsed in advance, specifically for the CP fans.
The host let out a long, meaningful “Oh—” and said with a smile, “You look so good together.”
“Do you mean our outfits look good together?” Qin Cong’an leaned her upper body a little closer to Xu Ling, gestured between them with her hand, and asked the host, “Not that we look good together?”