Chapter 27:
A blue Rolls-Royce Cullinan sat quietly in Mu Sixue’s garage. Yan Qinghe got into the driver’s seat and drove to the front of Mu Sixue’s building, but didn’t leave. She realized that if Mu Sixue were to look out the window, she would still see the familiar car.
That would make her seem presumptuous. She didn’t want to be misunderstood. She moved the car to a corner and let out a long sigh. With a thud, she leaned her head back against the seat.
The breakfast porridge hadn’t filled her stomach; it was empty. She had no appetite for anything else. Yan Qinghe rubbed her brow. Her whole head, belatedly, began to ferment with a strange, dizzying ache.
Drowsy, humming and murmuring, as if ascending to the clouds.
Thunderous, thumping, the drumbeat never stopped.
Why did Mu Sixue kiss her last night? And why could she be on the phone with her girlfriend the next morning as if nothing had happened?
How did she see her? As a junior, a backup, a fish in her pond, a conquest in her hunting ground, or—did she really have some feelings for her?
Her heart, uncontrollably, commanded her brain to seize this question again, to repeatedly whip the little person inside her.
At Mu Sixue’s house, her thoughts could still be forcibly suppressed. She touched her lips; the gentle touch was still there. Her chin, the tip of her nose, her forehead… every part had been invaded by the warmth of red lips.
She leaned forward, lifted her clothes, and sniffed. She had only been at Mu Sixue’s house for less than two days, had lain on her bed for less than an hour, yet her whole body seemed to be soaked in her scent.
It was a strange fragrance, one she had never smelled before, clear and cool… like a white lotus on a snowy peak, to be admired from afar but never reached.
She didn’t dislike this scent. On the contrary, she quite liked it.
How annoying. Her nose twitched, her sense of smell repeatedly clamoring—she honestly liked it.
She slammed on the accelerator. The stalled Cullinan’s front end suddenly drifted, almost scratching the road surface. Sparks flew, the wheels screeched against the ground, and the intense aftershock shot into the lake of her heart.
A sudden gust of wind stirred up a wave.
She was suddenly angry at this liking, not knowing if she was angry at herself or at Mu Sixue. But this anger was stuck in her throat, a stifled fire, because she had no right to be angry.
Logically, she was the one who had taken advantage. Not only had she seen Mu Sixue naked, but she had also been held and hugged, had her kiss her softly. Her arms had been held tight by Mu Sixue, unable to move.
This was all Mu Sixue’s initiative.
Since the other person had a girlfriend, these initiatives seemed a bit awkward… Her hand on the steering wheel couldn’t help but rise again, rubbing her temple. Didn’t she look like a third party fleeing the scene in disgrace?
However, every cell in her body was screaming with excitement, contrary to the conflict in her heart. Her blood, the thousands of horses running through her brain, were all jumping and saying—she kissed me!
It was like a dream, without joy or sorrow, only excitement and confusion. Looking at a flower in the fog, she suddenly wanted to understand Mu Sixue even more. If this was Mu Sixue’s goal, then she had won.
She just wanted to understand her, to figure all this out. She didn’t want to run into a second Ji Qianqian. She kept telling herself this. Taking a deep breath, she turned on the car’s music player, hoping the scenery, paired with music, would help her vent some of her thoughts.
Lovestoned’s “Bye Bye Bye” came on…
“When I see you, looking back at me, we keep making eye contact. Through your fingers, your eyes, there are countless lies, but I still can’t understand what you mean. We met each other, but we haven’t sparked yet…”
The foreign lyrics were automatically translated in her mind.
Yan Qinghe pursed her lips and, with a click, turned it off, not finishing the song.
Back at the Yan residence, she hesitated for a long time. She sniffed her clothes, wanting to take a shower, but for some reason, she didn’t want to move.
She opened her phone and sent a text to a familiar number.
[DK Bar, the usual spot. Have a few drinks with me.]
When Zhang Siyu saw Yan Qinghe, she was in casual clothes, a simple white t-shirt tucked into high-waisted jeans.
Slender legs, a long waist, paired with a young and beautiful face. After high school, Qinghe had become even more beautiful. Time had tempered her aura, making it more mature and refined, except for the imperceptible melancholy hidden in her eyes.
She could clearly tell something was on her mind. After Qinghe returned to the country, they had spoken a few times, rekindling their old friendship.
As a beta from an ordinary family, she had been Yan Qinghe’s good friend for three years in high school. When Qinghe was buying things for Qianqian and was too busy, she would help run errands and was well-compensated. Over time, the two had become close.
She felt that the third year of high school was the year Qinghe had changed the most. Later, they had spoken once, and she had learned that it was Yan Qing who had possessed Qinghe’s body. She had been amazed for a long time, and many things that had puzzled her were cleared up.
The thought that she had once thought Yan Qing was Qinghe, and had sent all those AO resource packs.avi files, privately rubbing her hands together, transforming into a CP fan, waiting for Yan Qing and Ji Qianqian to put them into practice.
In the end, it was said that Ji Qianqian had fallen for Yan Qing, and Yan Qing had fallen for Qinghe’s Little Aunt—Xi Zhaowan.
What a love triangle.
As for those resource packs, Yan Qing had later asked her if she had any more, in the most serious and nonchalant tone.
Later, when she understood that Yan Qing was not Qinghe, she touched her forehead and sighed to the heavens, feeling inexplicably guilty towards Qinghe.
Especially after Yan Qinghe and Ji Qianqian broke up.
Qinghe had left for her studies abroad without a word to any of them. Although she felt it was a pity, she understood Qinghe’s actions.
Anyone, upon learning that their white moonlight had only gotten close to them because they were in love with the soul possessing their body, would feel disgusted.
Seeing Qinghe’s listless expression today, her heart skipped a beat. She patted her shoulder with a trembling hand. “Qinghe, you’re not back together with the great Miss Ji and being tormented by her again, are you?”
Yan Qinghe moved aside, pushing her hand away. These were Mu Sixue’s clothes; she had to wash them and return them.
“Do you think I’m the type to go back to an ex?” she asked Zhang Siyu, raising an eyebrow.
Zhang Siyu nodded. “For others, it’s hard to say, but the great Miss Ji…” The great Miss Ji’s methods were probably something only Yan Qing could resist.
And why could Yan Qing resist? It was simply because the goddess Xi was throwing herself at her, so it was normal for her not to see anyone else.
But Qinghe was not Yan Qing. Yan Qing’s light was too bright, like a star descending into their mundane lives, making ordinary people feel an unfathomable, otherworldly aura, the aura of a god, before she drifted away again.
She could jump seven feet high and still not reach Yan Qing. But Qinghe was different. Although Qinghe was also outstanding, sitting here, she felt solid and reliable, as if they were in the same world, an existence that, even if it suddenly disappeared, would eventually return.
She had to admit, she preferred a friend like Qinghe. People always feel closer to those who are not too far above them in stature.
Those who stand higher only make people want to look up to them, making them feel dim and insignificant, and want to stay away.
Yan Qinghe frowned. “Qianqian… I don’t want to talk about her right now.”
There was someone who was confusing her, someone she wanted to get close to but also felt resistant to. After a moment’s hesitation, she told Zhang Siyu about her and Mu Sixue.
She knew that Zhang Siyu had been the master of the school’s gossip forum and a talented writer of fanfiction. She should have a good analysis of people’s psychology.
As she listened to her, Zhang Siyu’s eyes shone, her gossip-loving soul boiling, on the verge of screaming.
When she heard Qinghe say that Mu Sixue had kissed her last night and then called her girlfriend in the morning, she couldn’t sit still. She slapped her thigh and gave a thumbs up. “Your senior’s methods, in one word—brilliant!”
Yan Qinghe crossed her arms and leaned back in the booth, raising an eyebrow. “I don’t think so.”
Zhang Siyu scoffed. “If her methods weren’t brilliant, how could she have you so hooked and distracted?”
Yan Qinghe took a light sip of her drink. “I’m very calm.”
Zhang Siyu rolled her eyes. If she were calm, she wouldn’t have asked her to chat. She was suddenly curious about what Mu Sixue looked like. Could she be even more beautiful than the great Miss Ji?
Yan Qinghe didn’t have a photo. She tilted her chin and told her to search for the name online.
Zhang Siyu picked up her phone. In less than a few seconds, she cursed. All sorts of academic awards, records in foreign journals, praise from various bigwigs on business channels, the “Star of H City’s Finance,” another business prodigy after Xi Zhaowan, the newly risen goddess.
She let out a sigh of admiration and looked at Yan Qinghe with a complicated expression. “Qinghe, have you always been so popular with beautiful women?”
As she spoke, she traced the outline of her chin with her fingertip and narrowed her eyes. “This face of yours is really a magnet.”
Another great beauty. No wonder Qinghe had dragged her out for a late-night heart-to-heart.
“Tell me, how many beauties have you been in close contact with?” Besides being a gossip, Zhang Siyu was also crude and often said things that left Yan Qinghe speechless.
Yan Qinghe blinked, for a moment not understanding what she meant. “What do you mean by close contact?”
Zhang Siyu coughed lightly. “The kind where you’ve at least kissed. Mu Sixue isn’t the second person you’ve been in close contact with after Ji Qianqian, is she?”
She couldn’t help but gossip in more detail.
Since she had broken up with Ji Qianqian, she must have had a history of being pursued during her years abroad.
Or had she remained a chaste and devoted woman?
Yan Qinghe tucked her elbows in and rubbed her fingers. She held up her index and middle fingers to make a “two.” Zhang Siyu rolled her eyes, a look of “as expected, you’re hopeless” on her face.
Hah, what was with that expression?
Yan Qinghe licked her lips. Hesitantly, her ring finger slowly straightened, joining her middle and index fingers.
“Three?!” Zhang Siyu leaned forward. “Who else?”
In a moment, Yan Qinghe had put all three fingers down and clenched her hand into a fist. She looked out the window, her tone nonchalant. “That one doesn’t count.”
Her head ached from Zhang Siyu’s interrogation.
It didn’t count as a kiss, it didn’t count as anything. Today, she didn’t want to talk much about anyone other than Mu Sixue.
Probably because it was unimportant, she told herself. Besides, that person wouldn’t be appearing in the country.
If Zhang Siyu hadn’t brought it up, she would have forgotten long ago. Her mind was on the matter of Mu Sixue. “What did you mean by ‘hooked’ just now?”
Zhang Siyu chuckled. “The most brilliant hunter often appears as prey. She kissed you. Do you feel like you took advantage of her?”
Yan Qinghe nodded. Zhang Siyu continued, “Distant and close, there and not there, making you think she likes you, then making you think she doesn’t. In short, you’re not sure.”
Yan Qinghe tilted her head up. “Did you study psychology in university?”
Zhang Siyu looked at her as if she were a naive fool and sighed. “Whether she likes you or not, I really can’t say.”
“But, I know for sure that you’ve definitely fallen for her a little.”
“Impossible.” Yan Qinghe raised an eyebrow, put down her glass, and denied it lightly.
“How is it impossible?” Zhang Siyu spread her hands and laid it all out. “Qinghe, you have a type.”
You always have.
“From Ji Qianqian to Mu Sixue, if the woman isn’t bad, you’re not interested.”
From one mountain to another, from one river to another, every time, you’re completely eaten up.