Forbidden to Flirt and Run 11

Chapter 11

In the end, Xu Qingtang didn’t manage to arrange a drinking session. She double-locked her door and slept fitfully on the sofa for a few hours.

The next morning, she dragged her aching body to the hospital.

When Xu Qingtang arrived, the doctor had just finished his rounds. Teacher Qi was sitting up in bed, chatting with the person in the next bed.

The person in the next bed was an old lady in her fifties. Her husband had passed away early, and she had no relatives in Lin City, only a son to depend on.

And it was her son they were talking about now.

The old lady said proudly, “He just got a promotion a while ago. I think he did some kind of project. Ai, I don’t understand these things, but the bonus was quite a lot. But what’s the use? He’s already 27 and can’t even find a girlfriend…”

Hearing this, Xu Qingtang subconsciously glanced at Teacher Qi’s expression. Teacher Qi was stunned for a moment, then silent for two seconds, before smiling gently. “27… young and promising.”

“What young and promising? Little Qi, don’t try to cheer me up. Finding a girlfriend and settling down is the proper thing to do,” the old lady said, but the pride on her face was hard to hide. Her gaze fell on Xu Qingtang, who was setting out breakfast. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled broadly. “Is this your daughter? She’s so beautiful. Does she have a boyfriend?”

Perhaps because she was genuinely worried about her son, the old lady’s eyes lit up when she saw Xu Qingtang. Every other sentence was about her son, all but explicitly saying they should try dating.

Xu Qingtang played dumb and gave a few perfunctory replies.

Not long after, the old lady’s son came over to take her for a check-up, and the ward finally quieted down.

Teacher Qi was drinking her porridge and asked with a smile, “How about it?”

Xu Qingtang was puzzled. “How about what?”

“Auntie Xu’s son,” Teacher Qi put down her bowl. “Didn’t you just see him? He’s quite good-looking. Are you interested?”

Xu Qingtang was a little surprised. This was the first time Teacher Qi had brought up such matters with her. She said, “She was just being polite.”

Seeing that Teacher Qi didn’t seem to be making a casual remark, Xu Qingtang quickly changed the subject. “By the way, Mom, what’s the deal with Gu Yizhi? How come I’ve never heard you mention having such a student?”

Xu Qingtang had been wanting to ask this question for a long time.

When Gu Yizhi was mentioned, Teacher Qi’s eyes crinkled when she smiled. “That was 12 years ago. After she got into Yilin University, I lost contact with her. She started visiting me often last year, and she’s been coming over frequently since she returned from abroad this year.”

“A top student, huh…” Xu Qingtang smiled, peeling a green-skinned orange. She turned her head and asked, “Did she secretly date anyone when she was in school?”

Xu Qingtang wasn’t just asking this out of gossip.

Although she didn’t know much about Gu Yizhi before, she had never heard that she liked women. Could it be that she was just curious? Or was she actually bisexual, open to both men and women?

“No, she was very quiet back then and didn’t like to socialize,” Teacher Qi stopped there and looked at Xu Qingtang. “Why are you asking about this?”

Xu Qingtang’s mind flashed back to the picture Gu Yizhi had sent her last night. Her face grew slightly warm. After a moment’s daze, she blurted out an excuse without thinking, “No reason, just wanted to introduce her to someone.”

Teacher Qi snorted. “You haven’t even found someone for yourself, and you have the heart to worry about others?”

Xu Qingtang: …

After leaving the hospital, Xu Qingtang called Tang Gui to ask about renting a house. Tang Gui was a little surprised. “Why the sudden move?”

Xu Qingtang briefly recounted the events of last night. Tang Gui’s voice was fiery with anger. “How can Lin Huaijia be such a bitch!”

Even though she had gotten the key back, Xu Qingtang still felt unsafe. It was too passive to rely on someone else’s thoughts for her own security.

Xu Qingtang said, “So I’m planning to move.”

But a house was like a partner, not a cabbage in the market that you could just pick up whenever you wanted. You needed to pick, choose, and, more importantly, wait.

Tang Gui was still furious. She cursed for a while on the phone, then said, “Alright, I’ll ask my colleagues.”

After hanging up, Xu Qingtang went to the theater.

There were no performances or rehearsals today, but Xu Qingtang, who usually liked to stay at home, didn’t want to go back at all. The thought of last night’s events made her feel disgusted.

Her colleagues were rehearsing in the rehearsal hall. Xu Qingtang sat down in the last row and chatted with them in their group chat. Her senior apprentice-sister tagged her in the group: [Qingtang, look up and ahead.]

Xu Qingtang looked up and was slightly stunned.

The most eye-catching thing in the first two rows was their troupe leader’s balding head. Next to him… next to him was actually Gu Yizhi?

Xu Qingtang thought she was seeing things.

She took a closer look, and it was indeed Gu Yizhi.

The few of them were chatting harmoniously. Xu Qingtang subconsciously glanced at Gu Yizhi, then looked away after a few seconds and lowered her head to look at her phone again. Her colleagues in the group chat were already in an uproar.

[Qingtang, you are a brave warrior.]

[We didn’t dare to step in today.]

[Sing a song for the brave warrior.]

Xu Qingtang: …

If she had known in advance, she wouldn’t have come in either.

During their chat, her senior apprentice-sister sent her a private message, asking her to help take a picture of Gu Yizhi: [I didn’t get a clear look just now. I need to get a good look at the beauty.]

Her senior apprentice-sister was known in the theater for being a face-connoisseur.

Xu Qingtang: …

Xu Qingtang took out her phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at the front row. The dim lighting made it hard to see anything clearly. She zoomed in, and Gu Yizhi’s side profile slowly appeared in the frame. The moment she pressed the shutter button, the image in the frame suddenly moved, resulting in a blurry, chaotic, mosaic-like picture.

She sent the picture to her senior apprentice-sister.

Senior Apprentice-sister: […I should never have had any hope for your photography skills.]

Xu Qingtang, on the other hand, felt it was alright. She typed: [I think it’s okay. Don’t you think it’s very avant-garde? This might be a new form of artistic expression. You can vaguely make out the face and features. Doesn’t it perfectly reflect the contemporary person’s disgust and resistance towards this cruel and heartless society…]

Senior Apprentice-sister: […]

As she was spouting nonsense, she suddenly heard faint footsteps. Xu Qingtang looked up. Gu Yizhi had, at some point, appeared beside her and was slowly sitting down. She quickly exited WeChat on her phone.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Gu Yizhi nonchalantly tucked her hair behind her shoulder. “You don’t mind showing me the final product, do you?”

There was nothing more embarrassing than being caught taking a candid photo by the subject herself. Xu Qingtang gave a dry laugh. “It’s not a good picture.”

Xu Qingtang thought Gu Yizhi would insist on seeing it, but instead, she heard her laugh softly, look at her very seriously, and ask enticingly, “Want to take something more avant-garde?”

Xu Qingtang was puzzled. “What?”

Gu Yizhi: “Nude.”

Xu Qingtang’s old face turned red.

Gu Yizhi seemed to be in a good mood and smiled. “You believe that too?”

Xu Qingtang: …

Despite this, Xu Qingtang couldn’t help but think of the picture she had sent her that night. It was truly well-drawn, not only erotic but also easily arousing.

“Why are you blushing?” Gu Yizhi rested her chin on her hand. “You don’t actually want to take it, do you?”

Xu Qingtang explained, “…No.”

Gu Yizhi crossed her long legs. A faint light from the stage reflected in her eyes as she said softly, “It’s not impossible.”

Xu Qingtang didn’t understand, but she was greatly shocked.

She was surprised. “Really?”

“In your dreams.”

Xu Qingtang: “…”

This woman’s words were a mix of truth and lies, lies and truth. Xu Qingtang couldn’t be bothered to figure out which of her sentences were true and which were just to tease her.

Xu Qingtang didn’t reply. She picked up her phone and had just glanced at it when Gu Yizhi’s faint voice drifted over again. “Looking for a house?”

Xu Qingtang replied curtly, “Looking for a cemetery.”

Gu Yizhi’s voice was clearly tinged with teasing. “A two-bedroom, one-living-room, south-facing cemetery?”

Xu Qingtang, however, didn’t like to be verbally suppressed. She smiled faintly. “Yes, to store my urn. When I get tired of this room, I’ll switch to another. Take turns. A woman should be exquisite and enjoy life even after death. A woman is a maiden until she dies, can you understand that?”

“I see,” Gu Yizhi’s expression didn’t change at all, the light on her face very soft. “Then I can recommend a friend who’s in the funeral business.”

Xu Qingtang: “Huh?”

Gu Yizhi said slowly, “They have a package there. After using it, your ashes can be turned pink. If you want, they can even be made into pink diamonds.”

Xu Qingtang: …

Gu Yizhi smiled again. “Don’t worry, that package of theirs has never had a bad review. The reputation is very good.”

Xu Qingtang: …

How could it not be good? Everyone who used it is dead.

Xu Qingtang felt she must be out of her mind, actually chatting with Gu Yizhi about what color to burn her ashes into. And this woman was clearly just messing with her.

As Xu Qingtang was silent, her phone in her pocket rang. She took it out and saw that it was Lin Huaijia calling. Just as she was about to hang up, she suddenly remembered something. She deliberately put the phone aside and started rubbing her wrist.

A few seconds later, pretending to have just seen it, she said, “My hand is so tired. Could you please answer the phone for me?”

Gu Yizhi had clearly seen the caller ID on the screen. “Me?”

Xu Qingtang nodded. “You answer it. Um… just say I’m in the shower and can’t come to the phone.”

“She…”

“Don’t worry about who it is, just say that.”

Gu Yizhi nodded slightly. Xu Qingtang watched her movements while rubbing her wrist. She heard her say in a gentle voice, “Tangtang is in the shower.”

Tangtang…

Xu Qingtang almost got goosebumps from the cloying nickname, but it was exactly what she wanted. She cleared her throat. “Thank you for answering the phone for me, baby~”

If Lin Huaijia thought they were together, and she had just taken a shower, it would clearly look like they were about to make love. Wouldn’t she be furious?

Xu Qingtang felt that this was a childish move, but it was also very satisfying.

When you step on someone, you have to step on their sore spot.

Gu Yizhi was clearly stunned. “Teacher…”

Xu Qingtang’s acting bug was triggered, and she wanted to add more fuel to the fire. “What teacher? We’re not playing teacher-student today, I’m tired of it. Let’s play mother-daughter. Do you call me ‘Mommy’ or do I call you ‘Mommy’?”

Gu Yizhi said nothing and silently handed the phone over.

Xu Qingtang looked at the word “Mom” on the screen and fell silent.

Teacher Qi’s voice came through the phone. “Do you want me to call you ‘Mom’ too?”