Chapter 67: World Two [37] Part 1

This distance left Jing Ke with no chance to escape, because she was standing right by the doorway. If she stepped back, she’d be leaning against the doorframe.

Jing Ke had no more room to retreat. She had to answer directly.

“I…” Jing Ke started, then paused. “I can do it. But before that, I need to confess something to you.”

“What is it?” Shao Qing felt her eyelid twitch, realizing that something she’d once avoided was about to be exposed in front of her.

Shao Qing hadn’t given Jing Ke a chance to dodge the question, and it seemed she similarly hadn’t given herself a second chance to escape.

“In the last world, I once had a lover, and she seemed to be from the same source as you,” Jing Ke said, as candid as always.

But when her words reached Shao Qing’s ears, certain keywords were automatically muted. She couldn’t hear the second half of the sentence; she could only hear Jing Ke say she’d once had a lover.

“You can’t forget that person?” Shao Qing didn’t notice the oddity the first time.

“Yes, because you and she are from the same source, I don’t know if I’m confusing the two of you,” Jing Ke said.

“What?” Even more of it was lost on Shao Qing. She could only hear Jing Ke admitting she hadn’t forgotten her lover from the last world.

Jing Ke finally noticed something was wrong and repeated her previous words.

“Is there something wrong with my ears? Or are you deliberately teasing me?” Shao Qing furrowed her brows slightly and took a step back.

“No, I’m not teasing you, I just…” Jing Ke clearly hadn’t expected this to happen either. There was only one possibility for why Shao Qing couldn’t hear what she’d said.

The System (Rules) didn’t want Shao Qing to hear those words. What Jing Ke had said about them being from the same source was an absolute taboo for Shao Qing.

“Just what? You’re not about to tell me you still like a lover from another world and therefore want to reject me, are you?” Shao Qing frowned. “You just said you could do it. You can’t flip-flop that quickly, can you?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” A rare look of helplessness appeared on Jing Ke’s face. “I mean… you and her are a little similar in certain respects. I might, at some point, confuse the two of you in my mind.”

When she changed her phrasing, Jing Ke’s words finally reached Shao Qing’s ears smoothly.

But Shao Qing would rather not have heard these words. She took another step back, displeasure written all over her face.

Shao Qing could accept that Jing Ke had an ex. After all, she was indeed a hot commodity; who knew how many people in the industry wanted to be by her side.

But Shao Qing couldn’t accept Jing Ke comparing her to an ex-girlfriend and saying they were alike in some ways.

“So what do you mean by that? You want to use me as a substitute?” Shao Qing was angry, so angry she wanted to bite Jing Ke to vent her frustration.

“No, no, I don’t. Please don’t misunderstand,” Jing Ke tried desperately to explain. But because the key information was automatically silenced, the more she tried to explain, the angrier Shao Qing became.

“Alright, just shut up,” Shao Qing said, so furious she grabbed Jing Ke by the collar, yanked her down, and bit her hard on the lip.

“Don’t mention your ex-girlfriend to me. I don’t want to hear a single word related to her. Just tell me, do you like me or not?” Shao Qing demanded.

If this so-called ex-girlfriend weren’t in another world, Shao Qing felt she’d definitely go track the woman down for a showdown to see who Jing Ke truly liked.

“I… probably do?” Jing Ke ventured cautiously.

“Probably? Do?” Shao Qing raised her eyebrows, her striking features looking even more aggressive. “Jing Ke, I’ll give you one more chance to rephrase that.”

“Like. I like you. I like Shao Qing.” Sensing the danger, Jing Ke gave the correct answer.

“Good. Remember your answer. Keep that answer from now on,” Shao Qing snorted lightly and let go of Jing Ke’s collar. “I’m a little tired now. Let’s go to sleep.”

“Alright, I’ll close the door,” Jing Ke said, subconsciously touching her lip where she’d been bitten. Hiss, it’s a bit sore. Probably swollen up.

–

Before starting to watch the Gala, Jing Ke and Shao Qing had already showered. After closing and deadbolting the main door, Shao Qing took Jing Ke’s hand, interlocked their fingers, and walked up the stairs together.

Realizing Shao Qing was pulling her towards her own bedroom, Jing Ke’s lips moved slightly as if she wanted to say something. But in the end, she said nothing, silently accepting Shao Qing’s arrangement and entering her room.

“Let’s sleep. It’s almost one o’clock,” Shao Qing said, drawing the curtains in the room and starting to take off her outer coat.

“Okay. Alright,” Jing Ke replied, licking her still-swollen lip. She followed suit, taking off her coat and obediently lying down on the bed.

“Jing Ke, I’ll give you one last chance,” Shao Qing said once they were both in bed, her tone sounding a bit calmer than before. “If you don’t like me, you can reject me. I won’t deny our contract just because you reject me.”

Shao Qing continued, “Even if you don’t like me, even if you reject me, you can still be my friend. After I die, you can still take away your share of the fortune.”

“Like. I like you,” Jing Ke gave her answer with great certainty. “I like you. I chose you voluntarily.”

“Really?” Shao Qing was skeptical. Just moments ago at the front door, Jing Ke had been so preoccupied with her ex-girlfriend.

“Mm. Really.” Jing Ke nodded.

After having been bitten, Jing Ke’s mind had cleared up a bit too.

At the very least, she could confirm that her concern for Shao Qing wasn’t some so-called emotional transference. She was now very clear that Shao Qing was a separate individual with different experiences and memories. Shao Qing was Shao Qing.

Jing Ke’s firm answer restored a measure of confidence in Shao Qing. But she couldn’t resist bringing back her previous question. “So tell me, in what way is your ex-girlfriend the same as me? Am I better, or is she better?”

“That…” Jing Ke touched her nose, wanting to dodge the question.

“You can’t say? Am I not as good as her?” Shao Qing frowned, the rationality she’d recovered threatening to leave her once more.

It wasn’t that Shao Qing wanted to be aggressive. It was just that Jing Ke’s hesitant behavior was infuriating.

“You two seem quite different. The only similarity, perhaps, is that you both really like donating money to charity?” Jing Ke’s hand moved from her nose to her cheek.

Shang Siyu had cool, refined features and a relatively reserved personality. She’d been a researcher first, then an entrepreneur.

Shao Qing, on the other hand, had bright, flamboyant features. Although her personality was somewhat cautious, it definitely wasn’t reserved. In her comfort zone, her personality was just like her features: a passionate red rose.

“Just that one point?” The dissatisfaction in Shao Qing’s heart lessened slightly at Jing Ke’s words.

No matter the world, donating to charity was an incredibly good quality. If that was the only commonality, she could accept it.

“Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other similarities between you two,” Jing Ke said honestly, her eyes full of sincerity.

“Fine, let’s sleep then,” Shao Qing said, reaching out and switching off the light with a click. The room instantly plunged into darkness.

By that hour, all the firecrackers that needed to be set off had been, so it was very quiet outside. The two of them could easily hear each other’s breathing and heartbeats.

“Goodnight, Jing Ke,” Shao Qing said first.

“Goodnight, Shao Qing,” Jing Ke replied.

Originally wanting to ask for a goodnight kiss, Jing Ke’s tongue touched her swollen lip, and she silently retracted the thought. Better not to bring it up. Otherwise, if Shao Qing asks why I want a goodnight kiss, I can’t very well answer by saying I’m used to it, right?

After three minutes of silence in the room, Shao Qing couldn’t help but start shifting her sleeping position. She’d stretch an arm or move a leg every so often, seeming quite restless.

“What’s wrong? Can’t sleep? Do you need me to read a French poem?” Jing Ke asked proactively.

Shao Qing took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

“Jing Ke, I’m a bit cold,” Shao Qing offered a hint.

“Should I turn up the heat then?” Jing Ke offered a tentative answer.

“The heater’s already plenty warm, but my hands and feet don’t get warm easily,” Shao Qing provided a more obvious hint. “You should understand what I mean by now, right?”

Jing Ke could occasionally be a bit slow on the uptake, but she was definitely not a block of wood.

Not waiting for Shao Qing to repeat herself, Jing Ke reached out and covered Shao Qing’s hands with her own. As for her feet, Jing Ke clamped them gently between her own calves.

“My hands and feet warm up quite easily. I’ll help you get warm,” Now prompted several times, Jing Ke finally delivered the correct answer.

After feeling the warmth for two minutes, Shao Qing couldn’t help but gently tap Jing Ke’s shin with her foot. “There seems to be a draft between us. The blanket isn’t tucked in tightly.”

Having gained some experience, Jing Ke no longer said foolish things like turning up the heat. She pulled the blanket up a bit more, then reached out and hugged Shao Qing, letting her lean against her embrace.

“Is this position okay? If it’s uncomfortable, feel free to adjust,” Jing Ke said.

Shao Qing didn’t answer but chose to rest her head closer, her warm breath spraying onto Jing Ke’s neck and causing her to hold the person in her arms tighter.

–

New year, new beginnings. Lying in the same bed, Jing Ke and Shao Qing also smoothly unlocked new identities in the new year.

After sleeping soundly until they woke naturally, Shao Qing, the first to open her eyes, took three seconds to register why she was in Jing Ke’s arms.

Realizing being held in someone’s sleep wasn’t so bad, Shao Qing reached out and touched Jing Ke’s fair neck, then did something she’d thought about several times before—she leaned in and bit Jing Ke’s neck.

“Mm? What’s wrong?” Jing Ke, already on the verge of waking, opened her eyes directly. A hint of sleepy drowsiness lingered in her amber irises.