After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 14

Chapter 14

The determination in Zhou Jinsi’s eyes made Shi Qin pause.

But soon, Zhou Jinsi uncomfortably broke their eye contact.

She parted her lips and explained softly, “Don’t overthink it. It’s… too unsafe at night. Safety is the most important thing.”

To be fair, she really couldn’t bring herself to completely ignore Shi Qin. So, when she framed it as being for Shi Qin’s safety and nothing else, Zhou Jinsi’s heart felt much more at ease.

But Shi Qin just had to keep her from making excuses.

A faint smile appeared in her eyes, the little silkworm-like muscles beneath them rising as she asked, “Me, overthinking? Or are you the one overthinking?”

Is it that hard to admit you still care about me?

Zhou Jinsi lowered her eyes, silent. Just then, Shi Qin’s phone rang, breaking the somewhat silent and awkward atmosphere between them.

“Hello?”

Shi Qin answered the phone impatiently. Seeing who was calling, her voice unconsciously took on a weary tone.

“Shi Qin, are you guys not done eating yet? By the way, you and Yin Chenxuan can come out together later…”

This woman is insane.

Before Chen Ming could finish, Shi Qin interrupted her.

“Sister Chen, we finished eating a long time ago.”

Chen Ming: “You’re done? Why didn’t you say so earlier? Where are you? I’ll send someone to pick you up.”

Hearing this, Shi Qin glanced at the person in front of her. Coincidentally, Zhou Jinsi was also looking at her.

The moment their eyes met, the latter immediately lowered her gaze again.

A corner of Shi Qin’s mouth curved up. Her face was flushed, and she replied in a lazy tone, “No need.”

“I have a ride.”

Zhou Jinsi froze, her elegant, thin lips pressing into a line.

So she has a ride… right. Given her status now, how could she not have a ride? Then what I just…

“Let’s go, Zhou Xiao Si. I’m tired.”

With that, Shi Qin walked over to Zhou Jinsi’s car on her own, pulled open the passenger door, and sat right down.

Hearing the name “Zhou Xiao Si,” Zhou Jinsi’s gaze froze, and she stood there, stunned.

Shi Qin had once said that was her exclusive nickname, but it had been a long time since she had last heard it.

Snapping back to her senses, Zhou Jinsi also got into the car. She glanced to the side and saw that Shi Qin was hunched over, fiddling with something.

She muttered groggily, “Ugh… this… why won’t it buckle…”

It was the seatbelt.

Zhou Jinsi sighed softly. Without a word, she leaned over and helped her buckle it.

Looking at the person so close to her, the crisp, pine-like scent drifted over again, mixing with the woody fragrance of the car, as clean and cool as the person herself.

Shi Qin watched silently, her heart suddenly beating a little faster.

Zhou Jinsi looked up and saw her staring, a dazed look on her face, a faint smell of alcohol emanating from her. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you drink so much?”

Shi Qin came back to her senses and gave Zhou Jinsi a tired smile, leaning her head against the car window.

She closed her eyes and said, “In this line of work… aren’t social engagements normal?”

“It’s fine. It’ll help train my tolerance. I can’t get this drunk next time…”

Zhou Jinsi watched her muttering to herself, curled up in her seat, her slender body trembling slightly with each breath. Her peaceful expression as she slept made Zhou Jinsi feel a strange pang of heartache.

This version of Shi Qin, without her usual flirtatiousness, without the glamour she had in the public eye, was just filled with exhaustion.

Zhou Jinsi had actually noticed long ago that Shi Qin probably had a lot hidden in her heart, that she wasn’t as bright and sunny as she appeared.

It was just a pity that she had never understood, and Shi Qin had never confided in her…

Zhou Jinsi saw her raise a hand to scratch her neck and her increasingly flushed face. Words of concern slipped out unconsciously.

“Are you hot?”

Shi Qin mumbled a few times, “A little…”

“By the way, my home is at Jinzhong Apartments. Just dropping me off nearby is fine.”

“I’m going to sleep. I’m so tired…”

Listening to Shi Qin’s rambling, Zhou Jinsi silently turned the air conditioning to twenty-five degrees, the perfect temperature for sleeping.

Unexpectedly, the rest of the drive was surprisingly quiet.

Zhou Jinsi focused on driving, occasionally turning her head to look at the sleeping person beside her.

Asleep, Shi Qin lacked her usual seductive aura. Instead, her bare face, paired with her simple outfit today—a white sweatshirt with a cartoon pattern and faded jeans—made her look less like a big star and more like… Zhou Jinsi felt as if she and Shi Qin were back in college.

What she didn’t know was that Shi Qin had deliberately dressed plainly tonight to avoid attracting the wrong kind of attention from people with ill intentions, who might stare at her and fantasize about certain things…

Like a certain person who had just said he “admired” her very much.

…

About half an hour later, the car stopped near the entrance of the apartment complex.

Zhou Jinsi looked at the person beside her, who seemed to be sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking.

Unsure of the best way to wake her, and perhaps with some subconscious, hazy thoughts at play, Zhou Jinsi ultimately didn’t speak or make a move.

She just sat there, quietly watching her in the light of the streetlamp filtering through the car window.

Long, thick eyelashes, a high-bridged nose with a slight bump, adding a touch of exquisiteness.
Porcelain-white skin, though a few strands of hair were messily covering it, making Zhou Jinsi frown slightly.

On a whim, she slowly leaned closer, raising her hand to brush the strands of hair from Shi Qin’s face.

But the closer she got, the more chaotic her heartbeat became.

A little closer… she felt she could almost feel the breath from Shi Qin’s nose brushing against her hand… it tickled a little.

Zhou Jinsi heard the sound of her own heart pounding in her chest. Her fingertips suddenly stopped. Her gaze unconsciously slid down from those few strands of hair.

Lips untouched by any color, yet appearing all the more naturally pink.

A few images that made her blush with shame flashed through Zhou Jinsi’s mind, but she still didn’t look away, only feeling her throat go dry as she swallowed…

Little did she know, a certain person had already opened her eyes.

Zhou Jinsi was lost in thought about something. Then, she suddenly saw those beautiful lips part slightly. She froze for a moment.

“Are they nice to look at?”

It was just a soft question, but to Zhou Jinsi, it sounded inexplicably lazy and sexy…

Her heart suddenly sped up. She subconsciously looked up, and those almond-shaped eyes were staring straight at her, still hazy with sleep.

What beautiful eyes.

But the second after that thought, Zhou Jinsi snapped to attention as if she had seen a great enemy, immediately jolting back into her seat.

She remembered what she had just been doing. Shame washed over her, and heat crept up her face, tinting it with a light blush.

It seemed she was quite startled by Shi Qin’s sudden awakening. Seeing her uneven breathing, Shi Qin suddenly found it amusing.

The little one got caught peeking.

“Little one” was a secret nickname Shi Qin had given Zhou Jinsi. No one knew about it but her.

She just felt that although Zhou Jinsi was tall, and her usual expressionless face matched her inherently cool temperament, she couldn’t take a joke.

In the past, whenever Shi Qin got close, the tall girl would shrink back as if she were afraid she would be eaten. In Shi Qin’s eyes, at those moments, she was no different from a shy child.

Just like… now.

The corners of Shi Qin’s mouth curved up again.

After a long moment, Zhou Jinsi forced herself to calm down, her face still red as she glanced at Shi Qin, then back at the streetlamp ahead.

The dim yellow light shone brightly, as if it could illuminate some of the hidden desires deep within her heart.

It made Zhou Jinsi feel as if she had nowhere to hide.

She pretended nothing had happened and said slowly, “I… I saw your hair was… a bit messy. I wanted to help you fix it…”

“Oh?”

Shi Qin retorted, deliberately drawing out the sound.

As expected, Zhou Jinsi’s face turned further toward the side window. Seeing this, a sense of joy bubbled up in Shi Qin’s heart.

She’s cute when she lies, too.

The air fell silent for a moment. Shi Qin knew she was thin-skinned, and after the last few times, she also knew that some things couldn’t be rushed.
Although she still didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding had occurred between her and Zhou Jinsi that would make her suddenly break up with her.

So, Shi Qin didn’t tease her as she usually did. Instead, she changed the subject and said, “This weekend, my assistant is on sick leave.”

This sudden statement confused Zhou Jinsi. She forgot all about her previous embarrassment and looked at her, completely puzzled.

Her assistant is on leave, so?

Shi Qin met her confused gaze and smiled slightly.

“So, will you be my assistant?”
“Just for two days.”

In reality, Mo Li had only taken today off. She could return to work as usual tomorrow.
Though she would probably be working while sick, and even though Shi Qin could have asked Chen Ming for a temporary replacement, she didn’t want to.

After all, there was a perfect candidate right in front of her.

But, as expected, Zhou Jinsi didn’t speak, just quietly looked at her, her thin lips pressed together, seemingly deep in thought.

Shi Qin knew she needed a reason, so she added appropriately, “What if… there’s another impromptu dinner like this…”

Zhou Jinsi paused, but still said helplessly, “I’m not free on the weekend evenings.”

Shi Qin asked alertly, “You have a date?”

Zhou Jinsi paused for a moment before humming in agreement. She couldn’t very well say she was going to tutor her younger sister.

Shi Qin: “You just need to follow my daytime schedule.” After saying that, she glanced at Zhou Jinsi’s reaction and added, “Dinners like that don’t have a set time…”

“Without an assistant, a lot of things are inconvenient…”

Zhou Jinsi saw her voice getting quieter and quieter, and she did look quite troubled. Zhou Jinsi was not a cold-hearted person to begin with, and what’s more, she was facing Shi Qin.

After a few seconds of silence, she looked up at Shi Qin’s lowered head and silent figure, and sighed softly in her heart.

“Okay, I’ll do it.”

Hearing this, a beautiful curve formed on Shi Qin’s lips, hidden in the shadows where her head was bowed.

The little one’s taken the bait.