Forbidden to Flirt and Run 32p1

Chapter 32 p1

“What do you mean, ‘let’s not contact each other for now’?”

A car happened to speed past, and the dust it kicked up got into Xu Qingtang’s eyes. Her eyes felt sore and dry, and she had an urge to cry. She made her voice sound emotionless. “Literally.”

Gu Yizhi was quiet for a moment, then her gentle voice sounded again, like a warm sun rising in the solemn late autumn. “Tangtang, tell me, where are you?”

Xu Qingtang stood under the streetlight. A gust of wind made her shiver. She shook her head and said, “I’m fine.”

Gu Yizhi asked again, “Are you at home? I’ll come and find you.”

Xu Qingtang really wanted to say no. To be honest, she didn’t really want to see Gu Yizhi right now, but in the end, she acquiesced.

After hanging up, Xu Qingtang saw that her phone was low on battery. She put it in her pocket and didn’t take it out again, so she didn’t know how long it took for Gu Yizhi to arrive. It wasn’t until another cold wind blew that a black car stopped in front of her. Through the black car window, she could vaguely see Gu Yizhi’s silhouette.

And at that moment, she actually felt a sense of joy, like a person in a drought seeing sweet rain. She realized that people can also deceive themselves. She didn’t not want to see Gu Yizhi that much.

Gu Yizhi got out of the car, walked up to Xu Qingtang, and saw the small bumps on her arms under her short sleeves. She took off her jacket and gave it to her, her tone gentle. “Why didn’t you wear more?”

Xu Qingtang also replied naturally, “It wasn’t this cold then.”

Gu Yizhi hummed in agreement, also looked up at the streetlight, and asked, “Shall I walk you up?”

Xu Qingtang had thought she would ask her what she meant. She hadn’t expected her to say nothing. She couldn’t bring herself to mention it, so she just went along with her words. “No, I don’t really want to go back right now.”

Gu Yizhi asked, “Is the theater on holiday tomorrow?”

Xu Qingtang nodded. “Yes.”

“Then let’s go for a walk.”

Xu Qingtang was stunned for a moment. “Where to?”

Gu Yizhi said, “Didn’t you want to see the three o’clock sun?”

Xu Qingtang didn’t react. “Huh?”

Gu Yizhi took Xu Qingtang’s hand and smiled gently. “Actually, I’d rather say elope, but that sounds too silly.”

Xu Qingtang was inexplicably amused by her. “A little.”

Xu Qingtang thought for a moment and asked, “Um… aren’t we driving?”

Gu Yizhi said, “I just got off the plane. I haven’t had a chance to go back yet.”

Xu Qingtang: “Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Gu Yizhi touched her face and said, “I’m the one who wanted to come and find you. Why do you always think so much?”

Xu Qingtang was a person who was very afraid of silence and had a very regular schedule. She rarely wandered around outside late at night.

It was the first time she had discovered that a city could be so empty and desolate when it was quiet. Even the sound of cars speeding past on the road became so clear. It was also the first time she knew that just holding hands with someone could feel as warm as being close to a stove.

They walked through the streets and alleys, and finally, they stopped by the river.

The river held a bright and clear moon. Gu Yizhi couldn’t help but laugh. Xu Qingtang asked, “What are you laughing at?”

“In fact, you can’t see the sun at three in the morning,” Gu Yizhi turned her head, her inexplicably curly long hair blowing in the wind. “But the three o’clock Gu Yizhi can see Xu Qingtang.”

Xu Qingtang was amused by her words again and replied, “Not just at three in the morning.”

Gu Yizhi asked, “Is that so?”

Being asked this, Xu Qingtang couldn’t laugh anymore. She didn’t know when she had come to understand Gu Yizhi so well. She guessed that Gu Yizhi was about to start asking questions.

Sure enough, Gu Yizhi asked with a smile, “Then why did you say that?”

“I…”

Xu Qingtang didn’t know how to tell Gu Yizhi about her recent messy life. This was also one of the reasons she was avoiding it.

After a long while, Xu Qingtang could only say against her will, “I didn’t mean anything else. I’m just busy with work recently, and I want to focus on it.”

This was so righteous that Xu Qingtang herself found it funny.

But she had been so pressured by Teacher Qi recently that she couldn’t breathe, like a person being pulled into a swamp, squeezed without any space, her internal organs all in pain.

When she had called just now, Xu Qingtang couldn’t tell if she was serious or just looking for comfort.

Gu Yizhi didn’t say whether she believed her or not, just hummed softly. Xu Qingtang stared at her features and asked, “Are you tired?”

Gu Yizhi said, “A little.”

She had probably not rested all day, was tired from the journey, and had rushed to see her, and had even foolishly accompanied her on a night stroll. Xu Qingtang’s heart felt a little sore. “Shall we go back?”

“Alright,” Gu Yizhi’s fingers hooked Xu Qingtang’s little finger, using a tone that made Xu Qingtang have no choice but to surrender. “But I can’t walk.”

Xu Qingtang said, “I’ll carry you back.”

Gu Yizhi still said, “Alright.”

Xu Qingtang knew that she was not as fond of fake pleasantries as she was, but she hadn’t expected her to so unceremoniously jump onto her back and even say, “Don’t drop me.”

“I know.”

In terms of physical strength, Xu Qingtang was naturally much stronger than Gu Yizhi. She carried Gu Yizhi very steadily and could even feel Gu Yizhi’s breath by her ear, murmuring, “Tangtang, I didn’t let go of you before. You can’t let go of me either.”

This reminded Xu Qingtang of the previous two times Gu Yizhi had carried her.

But she felt that Gu Yizhi was not talking about that.

She could only hum softly, not daring to say more.

The moon’s shadow swayed. In the end, Xu Qingtang still brought Gu Yizhi home.

*

The Mid-Autumn Festival was even a little deserted in the hospital. When Xu Qingtang went again the next day, the corridor of the inpatient department was empty. She brought the local specialty that Gu Yizhi had brought back from her trip to the ward. Teacher Qi was playing chess with Auntie Zhou.

Teacher Qi didn’t even look up. “You’re here.”

Xu Qingtang stood at the door. The light came in from the opposite window. She suddenly had an urge to come out about her sexual orientation, but the words died on her lips.

“Yes, this is what Gu Yizhi brought back from her business trip a while ago, for you,” Xu Qingtang placed it on the table, pulled out a chair from under the bed and sat down, glanced at the chessboard, and then said to herself, “Want to try some?”

Teacher Qi said, “I have no appetite.”

Xu Qingtang was silent for a moment, then said no more and concentrated on watching them play chess. In the end, it was Auntie Zhou who stood up first and said, “I’ll go back and get the soup.”

After Auntie Zhou left, Teacher Qi finally looked up at Xu Qingtang, her eyes heavy. “Why didn’t you add any of them?”

Xu Qingtang poured a glass of warm water and handed it over, saying softly, “Mom, I really don’t like arranged marriages.”

Teacher Qi took a sip of water, her voice faint. “I didn’t say you can’t have a free relationship. As long as you bring someone back by the end of the year and settle things down, I won’t pressure you to go on blind dates anymore.”

Although it sounded like a negotiation, it gave Xu Qingtang no choice.

“Can’t you be a little more considerate of me? Let’s not think about this for now. When I’m free from work, when you’re better, we can discuss it then, okay?”

“Then why can’t you be a little more considerate of me!” Teacher Qi’s tone suddenly became a little agitated, and her gaze on Xu Qingtang became much sharper. “Xu Qingtang, which mother would be at ease accepting her daughter like this? You know I don’t have long to live. Do you have to anger me to death!”

Hearing the last sentence, Xu Qingtang felt really bad. She was silent for a long time, then asked with a strained voice, “Mom, these past few days, you’ve been picking and choosing, and you think they’re all good. Then, what do you think of Gu Yizhi?”

These words seemed to have some magic, and the atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Teacher Qi got off the hospital bed, stood by the window, and suddenly turned back against the light, as if she hadn’t heard clearly or was questioning, “What did you just say?”

Teacher Qi’s tone was very calm, but her breathing gradually became heavier. Then she propped herself up on the windowsill and finally slowly fell down.

“Mom!”

Xu Qingtang cried out in alarm. She didn’t dare to help Teacher Qi up. She first pressed the call bell, then rushed to the nurses’ station and the duty room to call for help.

Fortunately, it was a false alarm in the end. Xu Qingtang stayed by the hospital bed all afternoon. In the end, she got sleepy and couldn’t help but doze off for a while.

Xu Qingtang was woken up by a sore pain in her neck. When she woke up, she found that her neck was resting on the railing. Just as she turned her neck, her gaze met Teacher Qi’s.

As if she had just woken up, Teacher Qi’s eyes were cloudy and heavy, making Xu Qingtang’s heart feel a little guilty. “Mom…”

Teacher Qi looked at the red mark on her daughter’s neck and really wanted to reach out and help her massage it, but in the end, she held back. “Qingtang, be good. Don’t be so stubborn.” Her voice was very weak, like a precarious vine in the wind, about to be broken at any moment.

Xu Qingtang couldn’t bear to look at Teacher Qi like this. All her courage had been used up on that “what do you think of Gu Yizhi.” Now she couldn’t say it. She didn’t dare to gamble on whether Teacher Qi would really have an accident after she revealed the truth.

She lowered her head, her voice tired. “Mom, I promise you, I’ll try to find someone, and I’ll look carefully. Just give me some time. Don’t pressure me for now, okay?”

The answer was, of course, not so optimistic.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the weather was clear and bright.

Xu Qingtang’s life changed from a two-point line to a three-point line. The only difference was that Gu Yizhi’s traces gradually faded from her surroundings.

It was Xu Qingtang who had started it.

Their last contact was a phone call three days ago.

Gu Yizhi didn’t look for her again. Xu Qingtang understood that this was as it should be. No one owed anyone anything.

On Thursday, Xu Qingtang went to the theater as usual. The first performance she had to sing today was The Drunken Concubine. During the curtain call, Xu Qingtang subconsciously glanced at the corner of the audience, then walked down the side steps.

Backstage, her senior apprentice-sister was cracking melon seeds while holding her phone. Seeing Xu Qingtang approach, she held up her phone and said, “This person is so irresponsible. He was caught kissing a girl, and he actually had the nerve to say it was for a scene. I used to think he was good-looking, but now… he’s both a coward and trash.”

Hearing this, Xu Qingtang laughed at herself.

“What’s wrong with you?” Her senior apprentice-sister finally noticed that Xu Qingtang was not in the right state and scrutinized her face. “You’ve been like a lost soul recently. Did something happen?”

After seeing her shake her head, her senior apprentice-sister said again, “I saw that CEO Gu from Zhishang is here. Is she looking for you?”

“Why would she be looking for me?” Xu Qingtang’s smile was forced. “Maybe she’s just here to listen to some opera. Don’t overthink it, Senior Sister.”

But her senior apprentice-sister didn’t think so. “I heard her talking to the troupe leader. She asked about you.”

Xu Qingtang could barely smile anymore. She was silent for a few seconds, then changed the subject to the celebrity her senior apprentice-sister had just mentioned, and then sighed secretly.

She had actually seen Gu Yizhi just now.

But she didn’t know how to face Gu Yizhi.

Just as the topic was about to die, someone came to call Xu Qingtang to the troupe leader’s office.

At first, Xu Qingtang was a little worried that she would see Gu Yizhi there. Fortunately, only the troupe leader was inside.

The troupe leader told her to prepare well. She had a business trip in December to perform at the Peking Opera theater in City C. The repertoire would be arranged by them.

This was a common occurrence, and Xu Qingtang had no objection.

After work, Xu Qingtang walked out of the theater. It was drizzling. Her senior apprentice-sister opened her umbrella and asked her, “Qingtang, did the troupe leader tell you about the trip to City C?”

Xu Qingtang nodded. “Are you going?”

Her senior apprentice-sister smiled. “Of course. How can the Twin Beauties of Lin City be without me?”

Xu Qingtang: “…Senior Sister, you’re getting more and more humorous.”

Her senior apprentice-sister was unconcerned and waved at her. “Come, come, Qingtang. A Japanese restaurant has opened next door. Come and try it with me. You can do anything alone, but you can’t eat without a dining companion.”

Xu Qingtang was not in the mood. Just as she was about to politely decline, she saw Gu Yizhi’s car parked by the roadside from a distance. The rain and fog blurred her vision, and she couldn’t tell if there was anyone inside.

In the end, she pursed her lips and said, “Alright.”

After that, Xu Qingtang never saw Gu Yizhi again.

Although the repertoire was arranged by the brother theater, the troupe leader still gave Xu Qingtang and her senior apprentice-sister a form in advance so they could prepare.

Xu Qingtang buried herself in rehearsals and Teacher Qi. Occasionally, when she returned home and saw the withered flower branches in the vase, she couldn’t help but feel a little lost.