After We Broke Up, She Started Pursuing Me [Entertainment Industry] 23

Chapter 23

Zhou Jinsi’s figure was the tall and slender type, her back even a bit thinner than the average woman’s, but she was remarkably steady when carrying someone.

Shi Qin buried her head in the crook of her neck, inhaling a fresh, clean scent, as crisp and natural as a mountain spring. It was a very pleasant smell.

Halfway there, Zhou Jinsi could no longer ignore the ticklish sensation on her neck. She couldn’t help but tilt her head, dodging the warm breath of the person on her back.

“What are you hiding from?” Shi Qin murmured in dissatisfaction.

“It tickles…”

Zhou Jinsi heard her let out a light laugh, as clear as a bell. The hands around her neck tightened.

Shi Qin deliberately pressed close to her ear and said softly, “Zhou Xiao Si, you smell so good.”

As she spoke, her soft lips intentionally or unintentionally brushed against the tip of Zhou Jinsi’s ear. Like an electric shock, Zhou Jinsi’s jaw instantly tensed. The ticklish sensation spread from that spot straight to her heart.

Seeing the pinkish-red hue creeping up her ear, Shi Qin couldn’t help but curve her lips into a triumphant smile.

This sense of delight seemed to make the pain in her ankle fade quite a bit.

Of course, Zhou Jinsi didn’t know what she was thinking. Her only focus was on getting her to the car as quickly as possible, lest the person on her back say any more strange things.

It stirred her up, making her feel tingly and numb, a sensation that was hard to describe.

…

Once in the car, Zhou Jinsi didn’t dare to delay for a moment, immediately navigating to the nearest hospital.

The hospital was bustling with people coming and going. Even though Shi Qin put on a baseball cap, she was too embarrassed to have Zhou Jinsi carry her again in front of such a large crowd.

After registering, the two of them supported each other to the emergency surgery waiting area.

People milled about in front of them, and the air was filled with the distinct smell of hospital disinfectant. This smell was familiar to Shi Qin, but it was a familiarity that she found somewhat repulsive.

Sitting beside her, Zhou Jinsi saw her furrowed brow and thought she was in severe pain. She couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Are you okay? It should be our turn soon.”

The trace of disgust in Shi Qin’s eyes vanished, replaced by a faint smile.

“Our?”

Strictly speaking, they were still exes.

Even if they were an ex-couple with some lingering intimacy, they were still exes.

The word “our” was very subtle. When Zhou Jinsi said it, she hadn’t noticed anything improper, but paired with Shi Qin’s teasing, gentle tone…

…it carried a different kind of intimacy, like the murmurs between lovers.

Zhou Jinsi froze for a moment before she realized, habitually falling silent.

Suddenly, a weight settled on her shoulder. Shi Qin had leaned her head on her without permission.

The delicate skin of her neck was tickled by her hair. Zhou Jinsi’s heart secretly sped up, and she wanted to pull away.

“What are you doing…”

But Shi Qin only grew bolder, wrapping her arm around hers and nestling against her like a small, dependent bird.

Zhou Jinsi’s entire body stiffened. She felt the fluffy little head on her neck move, as Shi Qin rested her chin on her shoulder.

Her lips, through her mask, whispered close to her ear, “The pain has made me tired. Let me lean on you for a bit.”

Zhou Jinsi pressed her lips together without speaking, as if in silent agreement, but her intertwined, constantly fiddling fingers betrayed her true state of mind.

Shi Qin closed her eyes and murmured again, “I don’t really like the smell here.”

Zhou Jinsi asked casually, “Why? Don’t all hospitals smell like this?”

“I smelled it too much as a child, so I don’t like it.”

Hearing this, Zhou Jinsi paused.

Come to think of it, she had never heard Shi Qin talk about her childhood.

But the implication was that she might have frequented hospitals in the past.

Why would that be? Was she often sick as a child?

Zhou Jinsi fell into deep thought. She always felt that there was a lot about Shi Qin, a past she had never known…

“Sigh…” Shi Qin let out a faint sigh, pulling Zhou Jinsi’s consciousness back to reality.

She settled her head firmly into the crook of Zhou Jinsi’s shoulder and neck. The distance between them was seamless, as if her shoulder had been custom-made for Shi Qin.

“The scent on you is much nicer.”

A soft, low whisper, sounding as if it were said casually, yet it sent ripples through Zhou Jinsi’s heart.

Round and round.

Though there was a constant stream of people before her eyes, at this moment, she had the illusion that it was just the two of them, leaning on each other.

Exceptionally intimate.

This was a feeling Zhou Jinsi had never experienced before, not even when they were together in the past.

Time passed in this silent, intimate atmosphere, and finally, it was Shi Qin’s turn.

Zhou Jinsi helped her inside. They had registered for emergency surgery. The doctor was a middle-aged woman who briefly asked about the situation and then examined the injury.

The basic diagnosis was a mild sprain, with no damage to the bones or tendons. It wasn’t a major issue.

The doctor applied a pressure bandage with an elastic wrap and advised Shi Qin to ice the injury when she got back. The swelling would go down, and it would slowly heal.

Zhou Jinsi glanced at Shi Qin’s ankle. What should have been slender and jade-like was now red and swollen. The pain of that moment was imaginable.

While she was being bandaged, Zhou Jinsi went downstairs to a nearby convenience store, planning to buy some ice so she could apply it directly in the car.

Carrying a bag of ice on her way back, Zhou Jinsi’s head felt light and floaty as she replayed certain moments from just now.

She remembered Shi Qin’s peaceful face as she napped in her car, the look they shared under the umbrella, the tightness of her embrace when she was on her back, the intimate whisper in her ear as she leaned on her shoulder…

She felt that today had been somewhat unreal.

No, it should be said that ever since she had returned and met Shi Qin again, everything that had happened between them felt a bit like a dream.

Perhaps… they really should find a chance to talk?

Talk about the past, talk about the future, talk about each other.

With this thought, a small green sprout emerged from a once barren and desolate corner of Zhou Jinsi’s heart, and it seemed to be growing at a rapid pace.

Unaware of what she was thinking, Zhou Jinsi lowered her head slightly, a barely perceptible smile gracing her lips.

As she reached the corner of the staircase, Zhou Jinsi had just lifted her eyes, the smile not yet faded from her lips, when she saw Shi Qin with her back to her, her hand on a female doctor’s shoulder, while the female doctor’s hand was placed intimately on Shi Qin’s waist.

From Zhou Jinsi’s perspective, it looked no different from an intimate embrace.

But before she could even step forward, the female doctor looked up and met her gaze.

In an instant, Zhou Jinsi felt as if she had been struck by lightning, her mind a complete blank.

But the female doctor just calmly retracted her gaze, raised her hand to steady Shi Qin’s body, and looked at her.

Zhou Jinsi didn’t want to see the rest. She fled, hiding behind the corner of the wall.

Her fingers clenched into a fist, her teeth gritted, her jaw tight, all to stop the tears from falling from the corners of her eyes.

She took a deep breath, her entire body trembling slightly.

Her heart felt as if it were being burned, as if it were being trampled, sour and full. With just one breath, the sourness surged up, forcing hot tears to well up in her eyes.

She didn’t even have the courage to turn her head and look again.

Zhou Jinsi walked mechanically to the first floor and found a random bench in a corner to sit down.

Remembering the scene from just now, the tip of her heart felt as if it had been viciously ground by a knife.

Familiar people, familiar scenes.

Ha, how could she see history repeat itself again?

Zhou Jinsi’s lips curved into a self-deprecating smile, but her eyes were a sheet of indifference.

After two years, she was still the same as before, her looks and personality just as flamboyant.

Right. It’s no wonder she was Shi Qin’s first love. Someone as outstanding as Jiang Mo would naturally be an attractive presence.

Back then, Shi Qin had been indisputably voted the campus belle of Jinnan, and Jiang Mo, who had ranked second in votes, was known as Jinnan’s iceberg goddess.

Their looks complemented each other, they were in the same class, and Jiang Mo’s academic performance was also top-notch in their major. When Zhou Jinsi learned that they were officially together, a sense of inferiority had welled up inside her.

And in their brief eye contact just now, Jiang Mo had looked at her as if she were a complete stranger.

A faint glance, a faint retraction.

Her eyes held no regard for Zhou Jinsi’s existence at all.

Heh…

Zhou Jinsi, oh Zhou Jinsi, how could you be so foolish?

It’s been two years, how have you not grown at all?

It’s like this again…

Why, after two years have passed, can I still see the same scene again?

Zhou Jinsi asked herself in her heart.

Shi Qin, which you is the real one?

Which words can I believe?

She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there. Zhou Jinsi’s eyes were dry from staring for so long.

An old wound in her heart had been torn open again. From the searing pain, it had now become somewhat numb.

She blinked and inadvertently glanced at the trash can beside her.

Her gaze fixed on it for a moment. With a lift of her hand, she tossed the half-melted bag of ice into it without a shred of hesitation.