Chapter 48 Part 2

The System was uncertain too: 【Looks pretty direct. Maybe she got carried away in the moment and sent it on impulse?】

Maybe the System was right, but she hadn’t felt any flirting from start to finish. Sure, under the plot’s influence, Lin Shixia treated her a bit specially, but she hadn’t seen any signs that Lin Shixia liked her.

Still, she took the System’s words to heart, latching onto the keyword “carried away.” If Lin Shixia was carried away, she had to seize the chance and not let her come down from it. She started typing too.

Her cheeks flushed red. As she typed with her head down, her eyes sparkled, and the corners of her lips curved up while holding the phone.

-Little Light: I really want to, but this is couple’s wear. Can we wear it?

-Lin Shixia: Seems like it.

She tossed the topic back lightly. Gu Liuguang’s heart sank a little, thinking Lin Shixia’s rationality had taken over and she wanted to take back what she’d said.

She racked her brains but hadn’t figured out a reply when Lin Shixia’s next message popped up.

-Lin Shixia: People would think we’re a couple if we wore this.

-Lin Shixia: We got photographed buying groceries before and trended on Hot Search. My agent got pretty nervous, wondering if I was dating…

Gu Liuguang tensed up, her attention shifting from the couple’s outfits to the agent. If the agent didn’t allow Lin Shixia to date, Lin Shixia might have to keep her distance.

-Lin Shixia: I told her I have someone I like.

Gu Liuguang’s face went blank for an instant. She wanted to ask the System if this plot was normal. Wasn’t Lin Shixia supposed to fall for her?

-Lin Shixia: I said if I started dating, I’d tell her.

-Lin Shixia: So I wouldn’t market a single persona to hurt the person I like.

The System was frantic too. It had already traced along the network cables—nothing about Lin Shixia recently crushing on anyone, not even overly ambiguous vibes with any guys or girls in fan groups.

Gu Liuguang’s heart sank. Wasn’t what the System found online the same as what she’d searched herself?

Her heart turned to ashes as she stared at the screen, dying to see who’d beaten her to it. Then Lin Shixia switched gears—

[Doesn’t Little Light worry that the person she likes will get hurt if we wear matching outfits?]

Gu Liuguang read that sentence several times over and couldn’t help but wonder whether there was something wrong with her brain or with Lin Shixia.

Who exactly between them should be worrying about whether the person they liked would get hurt?

Anyway, Gu Liuguang herself was pretty heartbroken. She sent the message back bluntly.

-Little Light: I’m even sadder.

Lin Shixia looked over at Gu Liuguang, as if she could see a chubby, plump little kitty hanging its head dejectedly and slumping in the chair. The smile at the corner of her lips grew even more obvious.

Someone finally seemed to explode, starting to tap-tap furiously on the keyboard.

Gu Liuguang said to the System in her head: 【No way! I can’t just accept my fate like this! I think my mission can still be salvaged!】

Her hands didn’t stop moving as she hammered away at the keyboard like mad. If the room they were in weren’t so small, she definitely would have switched to voice-to-text to bombard the other side.

-How come I’ve never heard Shixia-jie mention the person she likes before?

-Wearing matching outfits isn’t a big deal, right? Lots of close girlfriends do that. Doesn’t the person Shixia-jie likes allow it? Isn’t that a bit too petty?

-Is it because of today’s hot search? If not, Shixia-jie, just share her WeChat with me. I’ll explain for you. Even if she yells at me, it’s no big deal.

-But if she finds out we’re sleeping together tonight, will she get mad…

…

Messages flew out one after another. Lin Shixia’s status flickered to “typing” now and then. She fired off around ten in one go. Gu Liuguang felt like her fingers were starting to tire from all the waving around, so she took a huge gulp of milk tea.

She didn’t notice when it had run dry, and it let out a glug-glug-glug sound. She immediately clamped her mouth shut and quickly glanced at Lin Shixia.

Lin Shixia stood by the bedhead. The light from her phone screen illuminated the lower half of her face and her collarbone. Hearing the sound, she looked over, saying nothing, but the smile on her face was very obvious.

Lin Shixia turned around, grabbed a towel with one hand and rubbed her hair a couple times, then smiled at Gu Liuguang. “Hold on a sec. I ordered two cups of milk tea. They’ll be here any minute.”

Gu Liuguang was breaking out in a cold sweat all over, prickling uncomfortably like thorns. She tossed the empty cup into the trash can and, for a moment, didn’t know what to say. She blurted out, “I don’t even like milk tea that much…”

Lin Shixia hummed in acknowledgment with a smile, looking in a great mood. Her smile was highly infectious. She rubbed her hair a couple more times and said to Gu Liuguang, “I’m going to blow-dry my hair. Get the milk tea at the door when it arrives.”

Gu Liuguang hummed back. With her peripheral vision, she watched Lin Shixia head into the bathroom, then immediately picked up her phone again to analyze with the System: 【Does this seem right to you?】

【She doesn’t look worried about the person she likes getting hurt at all.】

The System hesitated before speaking: 【I feel like she’s…】teasing you.

Gu Liuguang: 【What does that mean?】

The System swallowed its guess and played along: 【What does it mean?】

Gu Liuguang: 【She’s still in the secret crush stage. The person she likes has no idea Lin Shixia is crushing on them. That’s totally normal too. If Lin Shixia had a crush on me, would I even dare to think she liked me?】

System: 【…】

System: 【Are you sure?】

Gu Liuguang didn’t seem to need any useful response from the System at all. She affirmed it to herself: 【As long as I stop Lin Shixia from getting together with someone else, that still completes my mission.】

She had only taken three days off anyway. She never thought three days would be enough to reach the plot point with Lin Shixia—she just wanted to meet up first and clear the initial plot point.

Now, she was just grinding more favorability from Lin Shixia in the remaining time.

Someone knocked on the door. Gu Liuguang thought it was the delivery milk tea and cracked the door open just a sliver, sticking her hand out.

Lin Hang, standing at the door, froze for a second. He first saw the hand reaching toward him and, puzzled, followed the fair arm upward to see a pretty girl staring at him expressionlessly from inside the door.

Lin Hang reflexively said, “Sorry, I must have knocked on the wrong door.”

Gu Liuguang reacted and went to close the door.

Lin Hang froze again, put his hand on the door, and probed, “Um… you don’t recognize me?” As he spoke, he pulled out his phone from his pocket, unlocked it, and opened WeChat. “Can I add your WeChat?”

He held the door. Gu Liuguang started to panic a bit. Hearing him ask to add WeChat, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes and snap irritably, “No.”

She went to shut the door, but Lin Hang wedged his foot in the doorway. He glanced at the room number, confirmed he wasn’t wrong, and raised his voice a bit. “Isn’t this Shixia’s room? I’m here for her. Who are you?”

Gu Liuguang raised her voice too. “Who are you? Who stays in Lin Shixia’s room is none of your business!”

Lin Hang was stunned by her words. Right then, Lin Shixia walked out from inside. The narrow door gap widened a bit, and she stood right behind Gu Liuguang.

With the height difference and the visual angle, from Lin Hang’s perspective, it looked like Lin Shixia had Gu Liuguang wrapped in her arms.

Lin Shixia glanced at Gu Liuguang in some surprise, then at Lin Hang. “What’s up, Brother Lin? Something you need?”

Lin Hang’s gaze landed on Gu Liuguang. She was still fuming but stood there without leaving, turning her head to stare off into space, looking stubbornly nestled in Lin Shixia’s arms.

Lin Hang figured Gu Liuguang had recognized who he was. He smiled amiably at Lin Shixia. “I was gonna talk to you about the script, but I see you have company… Is this your friend?”

He pointed at Gu Liuguang.

Lin Shixia always had a smile on her face, but hearing Lin Hang’s question made it even more pronounced, as if she had no idea what he meant. She nodded firmly. “Yeah.”

Lin Hang didn’t budge, waiting for her to continue and introduce them.

Lin Shixia said, “It’s too late now—not convenient. Let’s chat tomorrow.” She smiled sweetly, reached out to pull Gu Liuguang back inside. “Good night, Brother Lin.”

Lin Hang’s foot stayed wedged in the door. His brow furrowed as he was about to speak, but the next second, his foot felt a powerful shove.

The force was astonishing, shoving his foot away irresistibly. The sudden burst nearly made him reflexively lift it, or else he’d have been injured—twisting his ankle would have been the least of it.

The door slammed shut in his face with a bang. His face turned ashen. He nearly kicked it but suddenly thought of Gu Liuguang and held back. Instead, he pulled out his phone.

Gu Liuguang heard Lin Shixia call him Brother Lin and asked her, “He’s that Lin Hang?”

Lin Shixia hummed yes. She didn’t let go of the hand she was holding and pulled her all the way to the bed to sit down. She carefully checked over Gu Liuguang. “He didn’t do anything to you?”

Gu Liuguang recounted what had just happened and added, “Wang Li was right. He really is the ugly spawn of a capitalist.”

She said he’d acted in so many supporting roles that he was on the verge of auto-upgrading to a bigger star.

“It’s past five already, and he’s still knocking…” Gu Liuguang grumbled. “And he wanted to add my WeChat. That kind of guy…”

Lin Shixia thought she looked adorable like this and said, “Don’t do that when you’re alone.”

Gu Liuguang laughed. Her pretty fox-like eyes turned to Lin Shixia, shimmering brightly. She wasn’t sure if it was the dim lighting or the perfect atmosphere, but she smiled and said, “But I knew you were here…”

Lin Shixia watched as her heart pounded. She kept her face calm and steady, casually agreeing with Gu Liuguang. “Then you’re pretty smart.”

She considered her words, but Gu Liuguang suddenly leaned closer. Her fuzzy head nearly pressed into Lin Shixia’s chest. Realizing her angle was too low, she lifted her body a bit, as if to lean in for a kiss. Lin Shixia’s breathing hitched in an instant.

But Gu Liuguang just drew close, so close their breaths tangled together. Lin Shixia felt like she’d had a drink—warm and restless.

Gu Liuguang spoke like she was whispering a secret, her voice soft. They were so near that her words came out sticky-sweet, her fox-like eyes staring straight at Lin Shixia. “It’s so late and we’re still up. Don’t you think others might misunderstand us?”

Lin Shixia said nothing, just gazed back at Gu Liuguang with a smile. They were so close that she suspected it was on purpose.

Under her gaze, Gu Liuguang tremulously reached out and hooked her arms around Lin Shixia’s neck, asking softly, “Shixia-jie, why aren’t you saying anything?”

Her hand was smooth and soft. The spot it hooked burned like it had been scorched by roaring flames. Their tangled breaths grew scorching. Lin Shixia smiled faintly and grasped Gu Liuguang’s arm with her fingers. “What do you want to hear?”

Gu Liuguang tilted her head, pretending to think. “I want to hear you say you like me. Can you?” As she spoke, she got up and slid onto Lin Shixia’s lap along her arm.

Gu Liuguang’s heart thundered. She was extremely nervous, afraid Lin Shixia would push her away.

She kept watching Lin Shixia from the corner of her eye until Lin Shixia lifted a hand to rest on her waist. Only then did she slowly exhale.