Forbidden to Flirt and Run 23

Chapter 23

Xu Qingtang stared at the thing in the box for a full minute.

Where on the market could you find such a ridiculous thing?

It was clearly something Gu Yizhi had deliberately made herself.

Remembering the events of the morning, she was both ashamed and angry. Her reason collapsed. She picked up the thing and threw it directly at Gu Yizhi’s face, fuming, “Keep it and wear it yourself!”

The thong slid down Gu Yizhi’s face and stopped at her neck, a stark contrast to the color of her knit sweater.

The moment the thong flew out, it also brought with it a thin layer of paper. Xu Qingtang looked down and saw that there was actually a light-colored, wide-hemmed qipao inside. The silk texture was light and fine, and it looked… quite expensive.

“What do you mean by this?” Xu Qingtang’s gaze was searching.

Gu Yizhi pulled the thong from her neck and said sincerely, “To apologize to you. I hope Miss Xu can forgive me, seeing my sincere repentance.”

This person’s voice was gentle and soft. When she wasn’t being sarcastic, it was very comfortable to listen to. Xu Qingtang suddenly wasn’t so angry anymore.

Her lips moved. Just as she was about to return the things, Gu Yizhi had already put the thong back and smiled. “I thought Miss Xu would prefer this one, so I put it on top.”

That considerate tone made Xu Qingtang almost want to throw the things at her again.

She had actually thought this person was gentle just now?

“Thank you, I like it very much,” Xu Qingtang said with a forced smile. “But you should keep this one for yourself. I feel you’re more suited to wear it than I am.”

Gu Yizhi was very regretful. “You really don’t want it?”

Xu Qingtang had to steady her expression to keep from breaking. “No.”

Her eyes darted around, and a wicked thought suddenly came to her. “Of course, it’s not that I can’t accept it. Whether it’s good or not isn’t something you can know just by saying it. If you wear it and show it to me, I’ll accept it. How about it?”

She deliberately mimicked Gu Yizhi’s usual tone.

Of course, she knew that Gu Yizhi couldn’t possibly really wear it, but she always lost to her in verbal sparring, and Xu Qingtang found it very frustrating.

Gu Yizhi laughed. “So I have to find a model to give you a gift?”

Xu Qingtang leaned back in her chair, her voice a little airy. “If you’re not sincere, then forget it. You can keep it for yourself.”

Gu Yizhi smiled again and didn’t mention the matter anymore. She glanced at the bar entrance and reminded her, “Your friend is out.”

Hearing this, Xu Qingtang also looked over and indeed saw Tang Gui’s figure. She sat up, opened the car door, and stopped the verbal sparring with Gu Yizhi. “Then I’ll be going now.”

Just as her foot touched the ground, she turned back and said, “And, don’t drink and drive. I don’t want to get a call from the traffic police in the middle of the night.”

With that, she closed the car door and walked towards Tang Gui.

The moment they met, Xu Qingtang noticed the flush on Tang Gui’s face. She asked strangely, “What’s wrong? Cold?”

“Ah…”

Tang Gui remembered what had happened in the bar just now and turned her head away a little uncomfortably. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Hmm? Qingtang, what’s this?”

The two of them walked towards the car. Xu Qingtang pursed her lips and said, “It’s nothing, just a piece of clothing.”

After getting in the car, Tang Gui ordered a designated driver, then put away her phone and leaned close to Xu Qingtang’s ear, saying mysteriously, “Qingtang, I just found out. They’re actually friends, not that kind of relationship.”

“And…”

Tang Gui’s voice paused for a moment, then she added, “I heard from Jiang Wan that Gu Yizhi has never been in a relationship. She shouldn’t be the type to look for excitement, right?”

“Never been in a relationship?”

“Yeah.”

Xu Qingtang sneered. “You’re kidding me. She’s more skilled at kissing than I am… no, I mean, she looks very experienced.”

Tang Gui had an “I know, I understand” expression. “Looks~”

Xu Qingtang: “…”

After returning home, Xu Qingtang casually put the qipao in her closet, took a shower, and just as she lay down on the bed, she received a message from Gu Yizhi.

She had sent a few pictures.

Xu Qingtang opened them and saw that they were various types of thongs… She felt her nose get a little hot and replied to Gu Yizhi with a question mark. Gu Yizhi: [Which one do you like me to wear?]

Xu Qingtang typed with a sneer: [I like you not wearing anything.]

Gu Yizhi: [Want to chat with me naked?]

Xu Qingtang: [?]

Gu Yizhi: [In your dreams.]

She threw her phone aside, planning to sleep, but she was as if possessed. Her mind was full of the pictures Gu Yizhi had sent, and her question. Her heart was beating a little fast, and she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

It started to rain in Lin City at night, and she could vaguely hear thunder, which made it even harder for Xu Qingtang to fall asleep. She suddenly sat up, picked up her phone, glanced at the culprit’s profile picture, and without hesitation, called her.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered. Xu Qingtang put on a voice. “Darling, my wife is hitting me and is also involved with other women outside. For the sake of the family, I can only endure this twisted and broken relationship. If you feel sorry for me, then get up and watch the three o’clock sun with me. I’m so looking forward to it. Oh, darling, why aren’t you saying anything? Huh, CEO Gu? How did I call your phone? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up, did I?”

After a completely insincere apology, Xu Qingtang hung up the phone, feeling refreshed, and soon fell asleep.

…

Once June was over, Xu Qingtang’s performance schedule became more packed. In addition to rehearsing a new play with her senior apprentice-sister for the Plum Blossom Award, she was busy from morning to night, like a spinning top, with no time to spare.

During this period, Lin Huaijia proposed to cut a magazine column that was originally handled by Youling at Fenghé. But because Youling had a veto on this matter, it was eventually dropped, but the conflict between the two of them intensified again.

“Youling’s been in a bad state recently and won’t listen to my opinions. Ai, speaking of which, I still miss the time when we just graduated…”

Lin Huaijia had asked Xu Qingtang to meet at a coffee shop near the theater today.

Recently, she had been thinking that since Xu Qingtang was willing to accept her kindness and her attitude had softened, she should appear in front of her more often to completely mend the crack caused by the Su Mengyu incident.

Lin Huaijia could still clearly feel that Xu Qingtang was not as intimate with her as before.

At the mention of the past, Lin Huaijia was a little sentimental. Her topic changed, and she suddenly said, “Qingtang, after this busy period is over, let’s go on a trip. Don’t you really want to see snow? Let’s…”

Snow…

Xu Qingtang stared at the glass window, a little dazed. For some reason, her mind drifted to Gu Yizhi, thinking that even if she were lying in the snow, it would be hard to notice her…

Xu Qingtang stopped her wild thoughts, randomly stirred her coffee, and said faintly, “Let’s talk about it then. I don’t know if I’ll have time.”

“Alright,” a smile appeared on Lin Huaijia’s thin face, and she looked at Xu Qingtang gently. “Qingtang, we’ve known each other for so long. Shouldn’t our relationship take a step further?”

Xu Qingtang knew what she meant and said calmly, “I have to take care of Teacher Qi recently. You know her condition is always unstable. Let’s talk about it later.”

Lin Huaijia asked with concern, “How is Teacher Qi recently?”

Xu Qingtang said, “She’s alright.”

Lin Huaijia sighed and said with heartache, “If only I had met you earlier, Teacher Qi wouldn’t have been delayed like this…”

The two of them had met when Xu Qingtang was a sophomore and participating in an event. Lin Huaijia had said it was love at first sight and had been around Xu Qingtang ever since, caring for her and always praising her beautiful eyes and expressive gaze. Later, Teacher Qi suddenly fell seriously ill and needed immediate surgery, but she was still thirty thousand short after scraping together all her money. It was Lin Huaijia who had helped her make up the difference.

Afterwards, Xu Qingtang had paid back all the money.

At that time, Xu Qingtang had thought that Lin Huaijia was a good person. After entering the theater and getting a stable job, they had naturally gotten together.

Who knew it would turn out like this today. Xu Qingtang sneered inwardly.

Lin Huaijia continued, “When Teacher Qi is a little better, I’ll go and see her again.”

Xu Qingtang smiled faintly and said nothing.

*

In mid-July, the temperature in Lin City remained high.

Just as Xu Qingtang arrived at the theater, her colleagues were complaining about the high temperature in the group chat. The coffee ordered by the troupe leader happened to arrive. Her senior apprentice-sister took a cup and came to her side. Seeing that she was about to change her clothes, she stopped her. “No need to change. You’re coming out with me later.”

Xu Qingtang took the coffee, took a sip, thanked the troupe leader in the group chat, and then asked, “Where are we going?”

“Zhishang.”

“Zhishang??” Xu Qingtang put down her coffee, her mind immediately picturing a charming and bewitching face. “What are we going there for?”

“Didn’t they sponsor our theater?” her senior apprentice-sister changed her shoes, applied lipstick, and said, “They said they want us to chat with their designers about ideas.”

Ever since they had parted ways at the bar that night, Xu Qingtang had been so busy she hadn’t had a moment’s rest. Apart from a bouquet of flowers that appeared at the theater every day, Gu Yizhi had not appeared in her life again. At first, Xu Qingtang had thought she would come to settle scores with her, but soon Tang Gui said that their company had been very busy recently, and Gu Yizhi was on a business trip.

Since Senior Sister is also going, this shouldn’t be a trap set by that fox spirit, right?

On the way to Zhishang, Xu Qingtang sent a message to Tang Gui, saying that she was going to visit her. Tang Gui seemed particularly excited and giggled, “Come, come, I have something good for you.”

When Xu Qingtang and her senior apprentice-sister arrived at the Zhishang design department, a woman in professional attire came to receive them, led them to a reception room, and said, “Please wait a moment. Designer Zhang is still in a meeting.”

Then, she poured them two glasses of water and went back.

Not long after, the designer in charge of liaising with them came to the reception room. The three of them chatted about opera. The other party was very good at conversation, so it wasn’t that awkward.

Half an hour later, the three of them came out of the reception room. The designer smiled friendly at them. “I still have to go back and sort things out, so I won’t see you off.”

After exchanging WeChat contacts, the three of them parted ways. Her senior apprentice-sister told Xu Qingtang that she wanted to go to the restroom. Not long after she left, Tang Gui walked out of her office towards her, holding a small light blue booklet in her arms, and asked, “Are you done talking?”

Xu Qingtang nodded. “We’re done.” After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Gu Yizhi isn’t here, right?”

“No, she’s supposed to be back today, but she hasn’t arrived at the company yet,” Tang Gui said, stuffing the small booklet into Xu Qingtang’s hands. “Here, take it. This is a real treasure.”

“What is this?” Xu Qingtang opened it and glanced at it. Just as she saw the first page, she immediately closed it, her face a little hot as she stared at Tang Gui. “This, why are you giving me this?”

On it were pictures of small props with magnified instructions on how to use them, a comprehensive, no-blind-spot introduction, and even stick-figure drawings to simulate the actual operation.

Tang Gui rubbed her bangs a little embarrassedly and said, “Aiya, I was just sharing my love for the ‘Master’ with you back then. I didn’t know I’d lead you into this circle…”

Seeing that there was no one around, she lowered her voice. “Don’t be fooled by how exciting this circle seems, how beautiful and enjoyable it looks. It’s actually full of danger…”

Then, she casually gave two examples.

“I made this for you so you wouldn’t be deceived.” Tang Gui said, then paused, her face full of pride. “I was more serious about this than my own PowerPoint presentations. Don’t let my good intentions go to waste. It’s a pity the shop’s quality was so bad. The glue isn’t strong, and a few pages are about to fall out. Forget it, forget it, I’ll make you a better and more complete one in a while.”

Listening to Tang Gui’s grand plans, Xu Qingtang wanted to facepalm and explained, “Actually, I was really just asking…”

Tang Gui patted her shoulder and winked. “I know, I know.”

Xu Qingtang: “…”

On second thought, Xu Qingtang felt that this wasn’t without its benefits. Maybe one day Gu Yizhi would buy some strange things to watch her make a fool of herself, and then she wouldn’t be so pathetic.

She had to work hard in secret to amaze the bitchy woman!

After her senior apprentice-sister came back from the restroom, the two of them entered the elevator together. Watching the floor numbers descend, her senior apprentice-sister said with no small regret, “I thought I’d be able to see a beauty.”

Xu Qingtang said, “Isn’t seeing me enough?”

Her senior apprentice-sister stared at Xu Qingtang’s face and said with pity, “Qingtang, even a good dish gets boring if you eat it over and over again.”

Xu Qingtang: “…”

The elevator stopped on the next floor. Xu Qingtang hugged the small booklet and leaned further in, hearing someone say, “Since the theme is retro, we should use more stable colors. They’re just messing around…”

Realizing there was someone in the elevator, the voice stopped.

When Xu Qingtang looked up, she could hardly believe her eyes.

Wasn’t the woman in the white suit, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, and looking very proper, Gu Yizhi?

Didn’t she say Gu Yizhi wasn’t back yet?

Three or four people came in one after another. Gu Yizhi’s gaze landed on Xu Qingtang, and she slowly walked to her side. Xu Qingtang turned her face away, pretending not to see.

Her senior apprentice-sister, on the other hand, smiled. “Hello, CEO Gu.”

Gu Yizhi also nodded gently. “Hello.” Then her gaze landed on Xu Qingtang, her smile deepening. “Miss Xu?”

Xu Qingtang forced a smile. “What a coincidence.”

“Shall we have dinner together later?”

“Alright…”

Seeing that her senior apprentice-sister was about to agree, Xu Qingtang quickly interrupted, “I still have to go back to rehearse. I’m not free during the day.”

“I see…”

Gu Yizhi leaned closer, looking at her with a very gentle smile. “That’s good. We can go and see the three o’clock sun together, right?” Finally, in a voice so soft that only Xu Qingtang could hear, “Dar-ling.”

Xu Qingtang: …

She had seen Gu Yizhi with this smiling-but-hiding-a-knife expression more than once. It was never a good sign. What kind of evil plan was this bitchy woman brewing now?

Xu Qingtang took a step back and accidentally bumped into her senior apprentice-sister. She quickly helped her up, but the small booklet she was holding tightly in her arms flew out with a “thud.”

Then, as expected, it disintegrated in front of everyone, scattering in all directions.

The elevator, which had been filled with occasional low conversations, fell silent. As they saw the lively and fragrant pages, they all looked back, their expressions indescribably complex…