Chapter 59: Crying Scene Part 1

Ye Qingying was someone who paid great attention to design. The villa’s century-old history did not affect her obsessive-compulsive tendencies when it came to renovations.

Even rooms that might not be used often were required to have a unified style, with designs perfected to the utmost.

Direct lighting was rare; most lights were hidden in blind spots of the view, only revealed when turned on, making even the light and shadows part of the villa.

Lin Zhenshuang stood in the middle of the small living room. The safe sat on a classically designed wooden round table, and she stood to one side. Her beige suit formed a stark contrast with the rich colors of the surrounding design.

Her slender fingers pressed on the safe, her long hair tilted and scattered over her shoulder. The flickering lights illuminated her side, as if she were a meticulously staged frame from a movie.

The distance was a bit far. Lin Zhenshuang half-narrowed her eyes to meet the gaze of Lin Shixia in the phone video. There was not much expression on Lin Zhenshuang’s face, the same as always—restrained, distant, and calm. Even when she heard Lin Shixia’s half-smiling words, she did not show much emotion.

Gu Liuguang was a bit nervous. She had always been worried that Lin Shixia would discover she had known Gu Shuang for a long time already. Hearing Lin Shixia’s unkind tone, she quickly put away the phone.

She turned the phone to face Lin Shixia in the video, unconsciously letting a coquettish tone slip out, fierce yet petulant: “Lin Shixia, what do you mean by ‘kidnapping’? Didn’t I tell you? I just came to pick up the diamonds.”

She did not care much about these things. She just wanted to ask if Lin Shixia had chatted about anything with Zhang Xibai after meeting her, but with Gu Shuang there, it was not convenient to ask anything too private.

Her eyes kept staring behind Lin Shixia. Lin Shixia had all her attention on her and soon realized something when she saw her eyes darting around. She stretched out her arm, pointed the phone at her surroundings, and unusually obediently reported her whereabouts.

“You ran so far away. After seeing your message, how could I have the mind to go find her? I told her I really couldn’t make time today and we’d meet tomorrow.”

Lin Shixia was like a kitten that had been stroked into submission, extremely agreeable at the moment.

Gu Liuguang let out an “oh” and glanced toward Lin Zhenshuang. Thinking of the villa’s enormous swimming pool made her a little tempted again. She dawdled as she chatted with Lin Shixia and walked toward the window: “I’ll be back soon, but it’s really late now…”

She pointed the phone at the pool outside the window. There were still a lot of people there. She thought that if it were just her and Lin Shixia, she would not mind at all, so she changed her idea.

“Next time, let’s go to a less crowded swimming hall.”

Gu Liuguang smiled at Lin Shixia. The soft moonlight reflected on the girl’s tender face, her skin shining like sparkling diamonds, dreamlike and illusory. The heavy, oil-painting-like curtains behind her made the moment seem even less real.

She raised her hand to tuck the wind-blown hair behind her ear. Her lowered eyes shimmered with allure, waterlight flickering in them. Her thick lashes made her gaze seem even deeper, and her lips were like flower buds glistening with dew.

Her lips parted and closed as she spoke. Lin Shixia’s ears went from ringing to gradually hearing Gu Liuguang’s words clearly. Her dazed expression receded as she focused on listening.

She nodded: “We can go whenever you want.”

Gu Liuguang smiled again. Lin Shixia did not know what she was smiling about.

Gu Liuguang: “You’re filming. Who knows when you’ll actually have time.”

Lin Shixia opened her mouth to say that she meant it—they could go whenever she had time. She could take leave; she did not think anything was more important than Gu Liuguang.

But Gu Liuguang had already skipped the topic. She was like the innocently playful girl often described in novels, leaning against the window. Her soft sleeves slipped down, revealing her fair arms. The mountain breeze grew stronger, and she kept reaching up to fiddle with her hair, combing it back again and again with her hands. Her small, pearly-white ears peeked out from between the dark strands.

As she spoke, a wisp of hair drifted to her lips. She accidentally took it in her mouth while saying two words. Gu Liuguang laughed and smoothed it away, her lips and teeth glistening with moisture: “…If we stay here, we’ll have to get up really early tomorrow to head back, and you still have to meet Zhang Xibai.”

When she said “Zhang Xibai,” she lowered her voice like a thief.

Lin Shixia snapped back to attention, feeling a bit conflicted. Before yesterday, she would have been perfectly at ease with her girlfriend spending time with her little aunt and Sister Qingying.

After thinking it over, she still said: “I’ll still come pick you up. Anyway, you don’t want to see Zhang Xibai. I can have her stay in C City to play around for a few more days, so you won’t have to see her at the company every day.”

In the original plot, the relationship between Lin Shixia and Zhang Xibai was quite subtle. Gu Liuguang subconsciously wanted to refuse the idea of letting the two of them stay together for several days.

It was just a fleeting thought. Gu Liuguang soon realized that this could also advance the plot. She looked at Lin Shixia with somewhat complex eyes and finally nodded: “Alright then.”

The System sighed: 【The female lead’s stamina is impressive. Any ordinary person would be worried about keeling over dead.】

After hanging up the video call, Gu Liuguang realized she had left Gu Shuang hanging. When she turned back, she did not see her. After looking around, she found her in the small study inside.

Gu Shuang wore rimless glasses on her face. The surrounding lights were bright, and the blue light from the laptop reflected on her face. Her already cold and restrained features gained an extra layer of aloofness, as if this were her true nature.

“Done with the call?”

Lin Zhenshuang set down the document in her hand. Her gaze shifted from the document and laptop to Gu Liuguang at the door.

Gu Liuguang did not know when she had been spotted. Facing Lin Zhenshuang sometimes made her inexplicably shy. She composed herself and smiled obediently at Lin Zhenshuang, astutely avoiding any mention of Lin Shixia: “Yeah, Little Aunt, come on out.”

Lin Zhenshuang stood up and walked toward the door. She was only a bit taller, but watching her approach still gave Gu Liuguang a sudden sense of pressure.

It was like a fierce beast sauntering toward her leisurely, able to devour her at any moment, leaving her rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Lin Zhenshuang reached her side and naturally took her hand, leading her to the outer room.

Gu Liuguang froze when her hand was taken. She jerked her head to look at Lin Zhenshuang, only seeing her calm, perfect profile—no extra emotions, as if asking would just make her seem overly dramatic.

Instead, Lin Zhenshuang noticed her gaze and turned to ask: “What’s wrong?”

She racked her brains for a long time, but the distance was too short for her to figure out how to ask. Lin Zhenshuang had already let go of her hand and opened the safe door, taking out the jewelry box inside.

Gu Liuguang reached out to take it. After thinking, she felt she still had to say something. Although she had to play the role of a scumbag in Lin Shixia’s life, she did not want to scum her way into rolling in the sheets with Lin Shixia’s little aunt.

“Little Aunt, you don’t need to hold my hand next time. I can walk on my own.”

Gu Liuguang felt a bit embarrassed saying this, thinking it sounded too self-indulgent—maybe the little aunt had no such intention.

Lin Zhenshuang let out an “mm” and lifted her eyelids, gesturing for her to take out the diamonds and have a look.

The diamonds were stunning. Under the light, they shimmered brilliantly. Held in the palm, they were breathtaking. Who could believe the price of these diamonds in her hand?

She stared at them, mesmerized and a bit greedy. If only they were a little bigger.

But she knew that was unlikely. The diamonds’ material was special; obtaining such perfectly clear crystals without impurities was already rare. Anything larger would require artificial enhancement.

Gu Liuguang prepared to take the diamonds away, but Lin Zhenshuang stood by and calmly told her that she would handle processing them into finished pieces, then have them delivered to Gu Liuguang later.

After all, Gu Liuguang was renting a place. If the landlord had a key, or maintenance came by, or even a roommate found them, the diamonds could be lost. It was safer with Lin Zhenshuang.

Gu Liuguang was convinced. Such valuable diamonds had been given freely; there was no reason to trick her.

Thinking of having to contact designers later, revise drafts endlessly, communicate, and pay for labor and materials made her head hurt. If Gu Shuang was willing to handle it all, that was perfect.

She just needed to wear the necklaces beautifully. She agreed readily, and Lin Zhenshuang suggested they stroll around the villa.

“Shixia isn’t here yet, right? We can take a look around first. Night Moon Villa has nice scenery,” Lin Zhenshuang said.

Gu Liuguang and Lin Zhenshuang followed the butler to the back garden. Only then did Gu Liuguang realize that if she could not take the diamonds herself, what was the point of this trip?

She walked absentmindedly with Lin Zhenshuang through corridor after corridor until they reached the garden behind the villa, overgrown with vines. From upstairs earlier, she had only seen the pool below and the dense greenery around it. She had not noticed the huge clusters of roses, nearly the size of a person’s face.

She stared curiously at the patch of roses in full, extravagant bloom. If she had not touched them, she would have suspected they were fake.

Unlike the waterfall-like purple flowers outside the villa, these were even more vibrant. Getting a few steps closer filled the air with their intoxicating fragrance.

The guide said that Ye Qingying had paid to transplant them from some remote area in the country. Due to the different climate and soil, they required constant care here to bloom so well.

“They bloom all year round. Come see them in winter for an even prettier sight,” the person, probably the gardener, said with a smile, squinting her eyes. “All the other flowers and plants wither, weighed down by snow like they’re dead, but these keep blooming. So beautiful.”

She looked at Gu Liuguang, having never seen such a pretty person, and was very enthusiastic: “Miss, you’re a guest of the villa owner. You must come in winter—you won’t regret it.”

Gu Liuguang nodded casually: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

The gardener thought for a moment and added: “You could take a few plants home to grow.”

Gu Liuguang was tempted but sighed: “Not convenient.”

The gardener had an idea: “Express delivery is convenient now. You’re friends with Miss Ye Qingying—just tell her.”

Lin Zhenshuang: “Do you like them?”

Gu Liuguang: “I do, but…” It was a bit too much trouble.

Lin Zhenshuang: “I’ll tell her.”

Gu Liuguang hesitated and wanted to wave it off: “Never mind, I don’t know how to grow flowers.” Taking them back would just kill them.