Chapter 17
“Huaijia!”
Su Mengyu stood up from her seat, chasing after Lin Huaijia who had already reached the restaurant entrance. She grabbed her wrist and said, “Didn’t you say you had something to tell me? Why are you suddenly leaving?”
Lin Huaijia frowned, remembering the call she had just received from Tang Gui. Her intuition told her that Xu Qingtang was probably with Tang Gui. She could vaguely hear the sound of a resident singer in the background and recognized where it was.
Although she didn’t believe what Xu Qingtang had said that afternoon, she couldn’t help but wonder, could it be that Xu Qingtang really had another woman?
She felt she should do something.
Otherwise, Xu Qingtang would probably push her further and further away.
And she couldn’t break up with Xu Qingtang right now.
“Qingtang is drunk,” Lin Huaijia said. “Tang Gui’s call just now was probably her idea. I think she wants me to pick her up and take her home. Xiao Yu, let’s talk about it another day.”
Su Mengyu secretly gritted her teeth, but her face was sweet. “Huaijia, don’t you know Qingtang’s temper? Why don’t you wait until tomorrow?”
Lin Huaijia hesitated. “Tomorrow?”
“Yes,” Su Mengyu smiled sweetly. “By the way, Huaijia, what did you want to see me for tonight?”
Lin Huaijia sat back down, looking at Su Mengyu’s sweet face. After a few seconds of hesitation, she said, “Xiao Yu, have you told Qingtang about that matter?”
Su Mengyu denied it. “No. Why do you ask?”
Lin Huaijia had a headache. “She knows.”
Su Mengyu was secretly delighted, but she feigned surprise. “How could that be? Huaijia, believe me, I never told Qingtang. You know I don’t want this kind of thing to happen, so it’s impossible for me to tell anyone…”
As she spoke, Su Mengyu recalled that night.
After their gathering, Lin Huaijia was drunk. She helped her to a hotel room, originally just wanting to steal a kiss, but unexpectedly, Lin Huaijia had responded with passion. The next day, she had lied and said she was also drunk. After that, they had hooked up a few more times under the pretext of being drunk.
She had thought she had a chance.
But Lin Huaijia never mentioned breaking up, and even seemed to care more and more about Xu Qingtang. So, she had to resort to inadvertently revealing a little information on her Moments, specifically for Xu Qingtang to see.
Sure enough, they finally broke up.
“Xiao Yu, listen to me,” Lin Huaijia’s expression was serious. “I know this is very unfair to you, but can you go and tell Qingtang that it was you… you who initiated it, and I was unaware.”
“What?” Su Mengyu’s expression froze for a moment.
“Don’t worry, I’ll compensate you. I can’t lose Qingtang right now.”
Su Mengyu could hardly believe her ears. Her heart ached with pain, sourness, and hatred. In the end, her emotions just coalesced into a smile on her face. “Alright, I don’t want you two to break up either.”
Lin Huaijia breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
At the same time, the colorful lights of the Ephemeral Bar flickered, flashing across Xu Qingtang’s dazed face. She placed her palm on Gu Yizhi’s shoulder and, without any effort, pinned her against the wall. She tilted her head slightly, puzzled. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”
The red lips of the person in front of her seemed to move, as if saying something, but Xu Qingtang didn’t hear a single word. All she could hear was the deafening music.
So noisy.
Xu Qingtang tilted her head up and slowly leaned towards Gu Yizhi’s lips, kissing her tentatively. It was very soft. Kissing and nibbling, it tasted very good.
Xu Qingtang’s kisses were without any technique. When she finally let go of Gu Yizhi, she was slightly out of breath. She smacked her lips, savoring the taste. “It seems it’s just so-so…”
There was no other feeling, just that it was very soft, and she really, really wanted to continue kissing.
Gu Yizhi supported her to keep her from falling, both amused and exasperated. She said, as if compromising, “Are you done kissing? I’ll take you home first.”
“What do you mean, ‘done kissing’? Who are you looking down on? Am I that fast!” Xu Qingtang could hear her this time and was immediately annoyed. “Again!”
On the other side, Tang Gui propped herself up. As she swayed, she saw this scene and was so shocked she almost fell off the bar stool. She struggled to get up and rush over, cursing, “How could she do that!”
Jiang Wan held Tang Gui’s arms, gently persuading her, “It’s okay, it’s okay, she doesn’t mind.”
“What do you mean, ‘doesn’t mind’?” Tang Gui roared, stumbling. “This is a crime!” She started shouting about calling the police.
Jiang Wan felt a headache coming on. She held her hand and said, “It’s not that serious, it’s not that serious. We don’t do things like turning in our own family. Come on, sit down first…”
“Kiss my ass, who’s kissing her?” Tang Gui let out a drunken hiccup. Her attempts to call the police were blocked, so she had to resort to recording a video with her phone. Then, with fumbling fingers, she managed a series of operations before passing out on Jiang Wan’s shoulder, still shouting about calling the police and how this pervert must be arrested.
*
The early summer morning sun was faint, illuminating the dim room. The chirping of insects outside the window grew louder, irritatingly so.
Xu Qingtang was so annoyed she pulled the blanket over her head.
In the dim light, she saw a peaceful sleeping face. The sharp angles were hidden by strands of hair, and the slender neck was bare. She herself was only wearing a white bra, clinging to Gu Yizhi like a koala. All of this clearly indicated what had happened between them last night.
“Gu Yizhi!!!”
Xu Qingtang cried out, her throat hoarse and sore.
Gu Yizhi frowned slightly and opened her eyes, her features clearly showing fatigue. She looked at Xu Qingtang. “You’re awake so early? Headache?”
“You, you, you…” Xu Qingtang was almost speechless. After a few seconds of silence, she threw off the blanket, still unable to calm down. “What’s going on? Why am I at your place?”
Gu Yizhi propped herself up against the headboard, her ink-black curly hair cascading down her shoulders, giving her a slightly lazy look. She pressed her fingers to her temples and said, “This is your place.”
Xu Qingtang looked around.
Although it was unfamiliar, it was indeed her new home.
“If it’s my place, then it’s even more wrong!”
“I changed the lock. How did you get in?” Xu Qingtang’s mind was in a mess, especially when she saw Gu Yizhi’s unabashed nakedness. She threw the blanket at her and continued to question, “And how could you take advantage of me? I was drunk, and you still had to drag me to bed!”
Gu Yizhi flicked her hair and gave Xu Qingtang a charming smile. “I didn’t do anything to you.”
Xu Qingtang put on her clothes and sneered. “Then how do you explain this now?”
Gu Yizhi slowly got dressed, the thin white shirt covering her slender, fair back. Her voice floated over softly, “You don’t remember?”
Xu Qingtang moved slightly and felt sore all over. She gritted her teeth. “So what? Don’t tell me I forced you into bed!”
Gu Yizhi, now fully dressed, nodded very seriously. “That’s exactly what happened.”
Xu Qingtang: …?
She laughed in anger. “You think I’ll believe you?”
Xu Qingtang really didn’t remember much about last night. She only remembered that she and Tang Gui had drunk a lot and cursed a lot, and her heart wasn’t so heavy anymore. Later, she had also met Jiang Wan.
But no matter what, Gu Yizhi shouldn’t be here, especially not in her bed.
Xu Qingtang picked up the phone by the bed, checked the time, and happened to see the message her friend had sent her last night.
Tang Gui: [Qingtang, call the police, call the police &%#…]
Tang Gui: [Someone is &# forcibly kissing you, I… I’m being held by her accomplice, remember to call the police #&*…]
It was followed by a video.
Xu Qingtang didn’t quite understand the meaning of those symbols, but this was clearly evidence of Gu Yizhi’s crime last night. She held out the phone and sneered, “This is what you call ‘didn’t do anything to me’? Gu Yizhi, I never thought you’d look so proper on the outside, but be so… so dirty underneath!”
The more Xu Qingtang spoke, the more agitated she became. “Even if you really wanted to try it with a woman, you should at least ask if the other person is willing, right?”
Gu Yizhi’s gaze fell on her screen. “What is this?”
“What is it?” Xu Qingtang scoffed, played the video for her to see, and gritted her teeth. “You’ll know when you see it for yourself…”
Then Xu Qingtang was speechless.
The video slowly began to play, but the scene was not what she had imagined. In the video, she was pinning Gu Yizhi down, then leaning in to kiss and nibble her. She could vaguely hear her own voice—”Let me kiss you again.”
Xu Qingtang was so shocked she almost dropped her phone.
*
Author’s Note:
Tang Gui: I’d go through hell and high water for my sister.
Xu Qingtang: Thank you, my backstabbing hero (crying).
