After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 22

Chapter 22

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing her frowning at her phone with a complicated expression, Shi Qin couldn’t help but ask curiously.

Zhou Jinsi snapped back to her senses, silently putting her phone back in her pocket, and looked at Shi Qin. “It’s nothing. Let’s go in.”

After two years, stepping back into this school, it was still the same familiar academic building, the same familiar roads.

Holding an umbrella, they walked side by side in the rain and mist, each lost in their own thoughts.

Shi Qin’s peripheral vision was entirely on Zhou Jinsi, while the latter would also occasionally glance over. They both noticed each other’s actions but maintained a tacit, unspoken understanding.

Shi Qin lowered her gaze to her feet and asked as if casually, “Was that Lin Qi who greeted you just now?”

Zhou Jinsi glanced at her, not understanding why she had suddenly brought up Lin Qi.

“Yes.”

Shi Qin: “I remember you two were quite close in college. Why didn’t you come with her?”

“She… she had already made plans with someone else.”

At this, the words Lin Qi had sent her, “ditching a friend for a girl,” popped into Zhou Jinsi’s mind, and she felt a strange sense of guilt.

Shi Qin raised an eyebrow and nodded, saying lightly, “Then I was being sentimental.”

She quickened her pace by two steps, stood in front of Zhou Jinsi, and lifted her umbrella slightly, revealing her smiling eyes.

“I thought Teacher Zhou… wanted to have a date with me.”

That direct gaze again. Zhou Jinsi froze, a flicker of panic in her usually calm eyes, which she quickly concealed.

She said nonchalantly, “Didn’t you say you left a lipstick in my car? It’s more convenient to come together…”

Shi Qin: “Actually, I was lying to you about that.”

Zhou Jinsi: “…”

Without the decoration of makeup, Shi Qin’s unadorned features were very pretty. She smiled and asked, “Zhou Jinsi, why are you so obedient to me?”

A hint of teasing escaped from her eyes. Shi Qin seemed to have a great interest in teasing her.

Whether she was blushing and shy, or jealous and sulking, or even like now, with her lips pressed together in a pout.

In her eyes, it was all very cute.

Zhou Jinsi was silent for a moment. She knew she couldn’t out-talk Shi Qin, and at the same time, she was a little annoyed by her teasing.

Her secret had been exposed, and she suddenly bristled.

Zhou Jinsi didn’t speak, just lightly walked past Shi Qin’s side and continued forward, her pace quickening a little.

“Hey.” Shi Qin reached out and grabbed her shirt, pulling her back.

Zhou Jinsi turned her face away, deliberately not looking at her, but then she felt a cool, soft touch on her cheek.

Shi Qin’s delicate fingertips were poking her face.

“I was joking. I just wanted to see you. You’re not allowed to be angry.”

Her voice was deliberately softened, with a hint of a sweet, pleasing tone. The direct words made Zhou Jinsi’s heart flutter, and that little bit of annoyance vanished.

Zhou Jinsi lowered her eyelashes, her lips moving, looking quite embarrassed.

“I’m not angry…”

As if remembering something, a complicated look flashed in her eyes. She looked up at Shi Qin and said seriously, “But don’t lie to me again… If there’s something, you can just say it directly.”

Shi Qin was taken aback by her gaze, asking in confusion, “Why are you suddenly so serious? That was a joke. When have I ever lied to you about anything else?”

She said it with such sincerity. Zhou Jinsi really wanted to ask her, when she had agreed to be with her back then, was it because she really liked her? She wanted to ask if her heart had belonged to someone else while they were together. She wanted to ask if she could be sure now that her advances were because she truly had her in her heart, or was it just out of a momentary unwillingness to accept defeat?

These questions were hidden in Zhou Jinsi’s heart, turning over and over, but she could never find an answer.

Of course, in the end, she didn’t ask them out loud. She didn’t have the courage, and she was afraid that the answer she heard would be one she didn’t want to face…

Zhou Jinsi was silent for two seconds, then lowered her eyes and looked elsewhere. “It’s nothing…”

Shi Qin frowned slightly at her, not understanding what Zhou Jinsi was avoiding just now.

Every time it seemed she was about to touch that corner, to find out the truth, Zhou Jinsi would instantly go on the defensive. The wall around her heart would be built up again, and Shi Qin couldn’t see past it at all…

They were like two people walking on opposite banks of a river. Although they were side by side, they could never truly touch the real other person.

The distance was close, but that place deep in their hearts was so far, so far away…

…

Given Shi Qin’s status, the two of them only walked in areas with fewer people.

Aimlessly, after seeing some familiar places, they turned a corner and went for a stroll on the athletic field.

Jinnan’s athletic field was still very spacious, encompassing a full soccer field and a basketball court. By now, the rain and mist had dissipated, and the scent of earth and grass wafted through the air, smelling very fresh.

Walking on an athletic field after the rain always brings back memories of youth.

Shi Qin tilted her head up slightly, looking at the academic building not far away, a hint of nostalgia in her voice.

“You used to love walking around the athletic field too, and always by yourself. Didn’t you find it boring?”

Zhou Jinsi frowned and looked at her. “I used to spend more time in the dorms or the library. I rarely came here.”

Shi Qin raised an eyebrow and retorted, “When did I say it was during college?”

“In high school, you loved to walk in circles on the athletic field before the evening self-study session. Have you forgotten?”

High school…

That memory was already somewhat dusty. Now, mentioning high school again, the most prominent images that surfaced in Zhou Jinsi’s mind were all related to Shi Qin.

For those three years, Shi Qin had even been the driving force behind her constant improvement. She just never thought that the person she had once revered as if she were moonlight—pure and untouchable—was now right beside her.

Her heart was filled with a complex mix of emotions, unable to distinguish between joy and a sour ache.

But there was one thing Zhou Jinsi was quite curious about.

“How did you know? Did you see me?”

Shi Qin replied without hesitation, “Of course. I saw you often. Every time I went to the athletic field, I saw you. But we weren’t close back then, so I just didn’t say hello.”

“I was wondering why you loved walking around the athletic field so much, for half an hour at a time.”

Zhou Jinsi fell silent, not replying.

She didn’t tell Shi Qin that it wasn’t that she loved walking around the athletic field, but because Shi Qin loved to rest on the lawn next to it. In order to get a few more glances, she would constantly circle the field. In truth, whenever Shi Qin appeared in her line of sight, her gaze would always land on her.

And so, from then on, walking around the athletic field became something she found endlessly enjoyable.

Zhou Jinsi was lost in her own memories, her head down, and didn’t notice the two girls walking toward her, who had been sizing her up for a while.

“Um… hello…”

Zhou Jinsi paused. Seeing the figures standing before her, she looked up. They were two young girls with youthful and pretty faces. One of them seemed to be avoiding her gaze.

“Hello,” Zhou Jinsi replied simply.

The girl with slightly shorter hair looked at her, took a deep breath, and seemed a little nervous, which made Zhou Jinsi freeze again.

“Ah… it’s like this. I was watching you on the athletic field for a long time just now. I… I think you’re very good-looking. I was wondering if we could be friends…”

Good-looking?

Zhou Jinsi was completely baffled. She only knew that her appearance had changed quite a bit compared to before, but she had no concept of the word “good-looking,” nor did she ever think that this word would one day be associated with her.

The first second she reacted, she subconsciously glanced at Shi Qin. Shi Qin raised an eyebrow and shifted her gaze slightly, as if to say, You handle it.

By now, the two girls had also noticed the person beside her. Although Shi Qin was bare-faced, anyone familiar with her could recognize her by her eyes.

Sure enough, the girl with slightly longer hair went from confused to surprised, and finally to excited. She asked, somewhat in disbelief, “Excuse me, I have to ask, um… are you… are you Shi Qin?”

“I feel like you look so much like her!”

By this time, more people had started to arrive at the athletic field. A few girls walking past them heard this and also turned their heads curiously to look.

Seeing that she had been recognized, Shi Qin thought to herself, This is not good. If there were only a few people, it would be fine, but from the looks of it, if a crowd gathered, and since this was a private outing…

Thinking quickly, she responded with a somewhat forced smile, “Ah… a lot of people say that, but I’m not her. I’m sorry.”

“Oh… I see…” The girl still looked at her with a hint of doubt.

With no time to spare, Shi Qin grabbed the still-baffled Zhou Jinsi and turned to walk back quickly.

“Hey…”

Shi Qin caught a glimpse of the girl wanting to follow them out of the corner of her eye and quickened her pace.

Just as they reached the steps at the entrance of the athletic field, the wet stone surface was slippery. Shi Qin wasn’t paying attention and twisted her ankle.

“Ah—”
“Be careful!”

With quick reflexes, Zhou Jinsi pulled her into her arms. Shi Qin held onto Zhou Jinsi’s arm, still shaken.

Zhou Jinsi glanced back. “No one’s following us.”

“Why were you walking so fast?”

The sharp pain in her ankle left Shi Qin unable to reply. Her brows were tightly furrowed, and the pain filled her eyes with physiological tears.

Zhou Jinsi sensed that something was wrong and asked softly, “What’s the matter?”

“It hurts…”

Hearing this, Zhou Jinsi’s heart softened, and her tone unconsciously became more gentle.

“Did you twist your ankle?”
Shi Qin nodded.

Zhou Jinsi looked up. They were now standing at a corner of the stairs by the wall. There was no place to rest, and they couldn’t stay for long.

“Is it serious? Do you need to go to the hospital?”

The tearing pain hadn’t subsided yet, leaving Shi Qin’s mind blank. Unable to think, she agreed.

Her entire weight was leaning on Zhou Jinsi. Seeing her pained expression, Zhou Jinsi also grew a little anxious. “Can you stand for a moment? I’ll carry you back to the car, then we’ll go to the hospital.”

A fine cold sweat had broken out on Shi Qin’s forehead. She nodded weakly, supporting herself on one foot, and wrapped her arms around Zhou Jinsi’s neck.

In the next second, she was steadily lifted onto her back.