Chapter 83: What-If Storyline
The morning fog was thick, the streetscape hazy.
Qin Cong’an sat in a coffee shop at the corner of the street, listening to the chimes of Big Ben, watching the pedestrians pass by.
To see the brand’s runway show at London Fashion Week, Qin Cong’an had made a rare decision to arrive in London a week early.
She had just wrapped up a production and had decided not to go home to rest this time but to take a week off abroad.
The fog gradually dissipated, and the sun came out. The sunlight was a little glaring. Qin Cong’an put on her sunglasses and stood up, planning to go back to the hotel.
At this moment, two tall Asian girls walked over, their destination seeming to be the coffee shop she was in.
As if possessed, Qin Cong’an stopped and, after seeing that they were indeed coming over, ordered another cup of coffee.
The two sat diagonally opposite her, one facing her, one with her back to her.
Qin Cong’an’s gaze, from behind her sunglasses, fell on the girl with her back to her. She had gathered all her hair to the front and was wearing a halter top. The fabric rested on her beautiful neck, a small piece of silk hanging down, swaying with her movements.
The sunlight fell on her, and she absorbed it, as if the sun should be shining on someone like her.
They were probably models, maybe participating in next week’s fashion show. Qin Cong’an was just listening to their conversation with this curiosity. Coincidentally, they were speaking Chinese.
“So sweet!” the girl facing Qin Cong’an said with disgust.
“None of your business. I just love to drink this,” the girl with her back to Qin Cong’an retorted, her voice a little out of sync with her outfit, clear and cute.
“Such a child.”
“I think you’re the one pretending to be an adult.”
Qin Cong’an drank her coffee, with no sugar or milk, and thought, am I pretending to be an adult? Maybe.
“When will Fashion Week invite us?” the girl opposite her changed the subject and continued to chat.
“Of course, they’ll invite us when it’s time. It’s just that the time hasn’t come yet,” the girl with her back to her said, turning her head to look at the waiter who was bringing their coffee.
Qin Cong’an saw her face. They were so beautiful, and their figures were so good. They hadn’t been invited? If she were a brand, she would definitely use them.
But this girl’s mentality was very good. It didn’t seem like she was saying it to comfort herself, but that she really thought so.
Qin Cong’an met her gaze. Even through the sunglasses, she raised the corners of her mouth slightly and gave a polite smile.
The response she got was unexpected. The girl quickly turned her head back, as if she had seen a ghost.
“You’re just talking nonsense. The question is, when will that time come!” After Meng Bai finished speaking, she was startled by Xu Ling’s reaction and quickly asked, “What’s wrong? What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”
“Shh!” Xu Ling made a shushing gesture to Meng Bai and almost mouthed to her, “There’s a beautiful woman over there! Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look!”
“Where? The one with the sunglasses?” How could she not look when she was told not to? But Meng Bai was very well-behaved and lowered her voice, even covering her mouth with her hand so that the person opposite wouldn’t see her mouthing the words.
Xu Ling blinked frantically.
“She’s something. You can tell she’s really beautiful even with sunglasses covering half her face. Her face is so small. I can’t even pull off that look with these,” Meng Bai said after stealing another glance.
“Mengzi, I don’t know when the time will come for us to be invited to walk in Fashion Week, but it seems the time for my love has come,” Xu Ling announced very suddenly.
“Love!?” Meng Bai shot up, her eyes widening to twice their size as she looked at Xu Ling.
Xu Ling’s face turned pale. She looked back at the beautiful woman with the sunglasses, but only after she had looked did she realize she shouldn’t have. Didn’t this make it obvious that the word “love” was related to her?
Please, god, I hope she’s not Chinese and doesn’t understand Chinese.
Xu Ling glared at Meng Bai. Meng Bai quickly sat down as if nothing had happened and took a sip of her coffee.
Qin Cong’an didn’t know what the two girls were talking about. They had suddenly lowered their voices to communicate, and then had shouted out the word “love” like a bolt from the blue. It was hard to understand.
Her curiosity stopped there. Qin Cong’an finished her second cup of coffee and stood up to go back to the hotel.
Apart from two meals, Qin Cong’an spent the rest of her time reading. She only left her room in the evening to go to the hotel’s rooftop bar for a drink.
The bar was playing melodious classical music, and the cocktails were not bad. It was very quiet, and the atmosphere was very good, but something seemed to be missing.
It was only after finishing one drink that Qin Cong’an realized what was missing. It was a sense of flow. The people who came to this bar were mostly hotel guests, and these people didn’t seem very interesting.
After leaving the hotel, Qin Cong’an randomly found an underground bar. As soon as she entered, she felt a difference. It was more lively here. The molecules in the air seemed to be dancing with joy.
She didn’t understand music, but the music here made you want to drink more.
Qin Cong’an still chose to sit at the bar. While she was hesitating about what to order, a new customer came in.
More than the person, it was her voice that Qin Cong’an recognized first, even though her voice was slightly different when she spoke English and when she spoke Chinese.
She ordered a gin and tonic.
So Qin Cong’an, who had been hesitating between two red wines, also ordered a gin and tonic.
She looked over, her pupils showing surprise. She didn’t know what she was surprised about.
“Hello,” Qin Cong’an took the initiative to say hello, and chose to use Chinese.
“…” So bad. She was Chinese. But this also seemed so good. Xu Ling cleared her throat and said, “Hello.”
“We meet again.”
“Yeah.”
Two gin and tonics were served to the two of them one after another. Qin Cong’an picked up her own, stood up, and moved two seats over to sit next to her.
Only after sitting down did she ask, “Do you mind?”
Xu Ling smelled the pleasant scent on her, with a hint of citrus. But the scent that really attracted her, it was hard to describe what it felt like, but it was so pleasant. Xu Ling’s body and voice were a little stiff for a moment. “I don’t mind.”
The conversation stopped there and didn’t continue for a while.
But both of them had a lot going on in their minds. Qin Cong’an was thinking, she should be a very lively person. Why is she so reserved?
Xu Ling was thinking, she really is a great beauty. A pair of eyes like that under her sunglasses. And she even took the initiative to sit next to her???
Qin Cong’an was not the type to fight for things. In her life so far, she had only had the desire to compete for the roles she wanted, but it wasn’t strong. Because as soon as she showed that she wanted it, the other party would choose her. As for other things, it didn’t seem to matter.
At this moment, drinking her wine, listening to the slightly noisy chatter and laughter behind her, Qin Cong’an thought, is this her pretending to be an adult?
Actually, she also had many things she wanted, like a kitten, a puppy, a close family relationship. But because her wishes were always unfulfilled, she would say in her heart, okay, these things are not important.
“You can call me An,” Qin Cong’an said. She felt that Ling didn’t know her, which was even better.
“Huh?”
Was it too sudden and too intimate? Seeing her dazed reaction, Qin Cong’an wanted to laugh. But what could she do? If she wasn’t pretending to be an adult who didn’t care about anything, she just wanted to be like this. She continued to ask, “What should I call you?”
“Then… call me Ling. The Ling from ‘feather’.”
No wonder she was as light as a feather, as if she could float with the wind, unrestrained… mmm, but at this moment, she looked quite restrained.
In comparison, Qin Cong’an felt that her own name was very ordinary. So strange. Just by knowing her name, she felt an even greater longing for her.
The wine was all finished. Qin Cong’an asked, “Ling, can I buy you a drink?”
“…Okay, thank you.”
Aahhh, aahhh, aahhh—
The great beauty called her Ling, the great beauty bought her a drink, aahhh, aahhh, aahhh—
Wait, wait, wait. No, this wasn’t right. How could there be such a good thing in the world? Fashion Week hadn’t taken a liking to her, but a great beauty had? No, no, no. It was a trap!
“What do you want to drink?” Qin Cong’an asked.
“You decide.”
“Do you like red wine?”
“Sure,” Xu Ling thought to herself, red wine is so atmospheric. She was both nervous and on high alert.
Xu Ling got the red wine she had ordered for her. It was a wine with a rich fruit aroma and soft tannins. Was it because she had ordered a gin and tonic just now? So thoughtful, so much love. But so suspicious!!
“Ling.”
“Huh?”
“Do you live in London?”
“I…” She was starting to investigate her background. Don’t let her trick you. Hurry up and make something up, you stupid brain. “I’m in school.”
“Then do you have classes tomorrow?”
Xu Ling was still frustrated about having told the truth just now. She wanted to slap herself on the head. This time, she didn’t answer the question but answered with a question. “What’s wrong?”
“I was thinking, if you don’t have classes, could you show me around for a day? I just came to London yesterday. It’s my first time here for tourism. I don’t know where is fun.”
Aahhh, aahhh, aahhh, she was going to trick her into doing this and that! So suspicious!!
“Sure,” Xu Ling said and immediately wanted to slap herself. She took a sip of red wine. Was there something in the wine? Was it the alcohol? She hadn’t been drugged, had she!?
“That’s great.”
Xu Ling saw An say that and even move a little closer, forcing her to lean back a little. Her pupils dilated. Even more fragrant, even more beautiful, even more suspicious.
“Then…” Xu Ling’s voice was a little floaty. “Should I arrange the itinerary for tomorrow?”
“Of course. It’s up to you.”
Xu Ling didn’t know if An was flirting with her. If she was, then she had succeeded. If not… it couldn’t be not! She was!
Qin Cong’an took out her phone and looked up at her. “Then let’s exchange contact information?”
“…Mhm.” Xu Ling also took out hers. “Let’s add each other on WeChat.”
Perfect. She could check her Moments to see if this person was shady.
An’s profile picture was a pure black cat.
So cute!! How could someone who likes cats be a bad person!!
Xu Ling secretly clicked on her Moments. No, she was a bad person. There was nothing in her Moments, completely empty. Had she blocked her, or had she not posted anything? Both situations were too suspicious.
“Thank you,” Qin Cong’an said. “Then can I contact you tomorrow morning? What time do you get up?”
She even wanted to know her wake-up time!
“Usually around eight or nine. To be safe, you can contact me at 9:30.”
Qin Cong’an sent a message to Ling on the spot: [I’ll contact you at 9:30 tomorrow morning. Thank you for showing me around London. I’m very grateful.] She also sent a cute emoji of a black cat sticking out its tongue.
Xu Ling was about to lose it.
Just then, someone stood behind Xu Ling. “Shouldn’t we be going back?”
“Ah, okay.” Xu Ling immediately stood up, not even finishing her red wine. She waved at An and then left with the person.
Qin Cong’an turned her head and looked at the two of them.
Ling looked back at her. Qin Cong’an waved at her.
