【Gossip alert, I heard there was a dinner party last night, and after it ended, Qi Ke and Song Yushi went back to the apartment!】
【Shocking! They’re dating, they have to be dating, right?】
【Weren’t they just filming the variety show during the day? Then they’re together again at night, and even go back to the apartment together. Can they really not bear to be apart!】
【Asking because I don’t know, did they know each other before?】
【Damn! Has Sweet Day become a relic of the past? As a group fan, my heart aches. This is our beautiful, all-rounder captain and our little puppy maknae, sob sob sob. I must have been blind back then to believe the brainwashing that they weren’t close! Even if I’m fake, Qi Yu has to be real!】
【Not bad, may all the irrelevant writers know that shipping a CP is the only way out.】
【To be fair, Song Yushi doesn’t lack this kind of traffic, right? She’s a Hundred Flowers Best Actress, after all. And needless to say, Qi Ke’s family is rich, she has plenty of resources. So this just proves one thing: the CP isn’t for show, they’re for real!】
【Wait, Qi Ke went to Song Yushi’s apartment and didn’t come out all night? Ah, if their genders were different, the relationship would be confirmed, right?】
【A lot of people hope this pair will get married.】
And at this moment, the pair that many people hoped would get married was in the middle of a majorly awkward situation.
Originally, Song Yushi had dragged Qi Ke into it to avoid her manager. After a two or three-second shock, Qi Ke had dazedly agreed, “Ah, right, I was planning to take her home.” Then, with a numb expression, she said to Song Yushi, “Shall we go?”
So, Song Yushi left with her right in front of her manager and assistant.
Qi Ke lived nearby, so getting her car only took a minute. Just as the car drove out of the villa complex, Song Yushi called for her to stop. “Just drop me off by the side of the road. I won’t trouble you any further.”
Qi Ke had already snapped out of it. She was exasperated. “Do I just do whatever you tell me to? If I drop you by the road now, how will you get back? Walk? Or take a taxi? Can someone of your status even take a taxi? Or are you planning to have someone pick you up? Who? Did you get a boyfriend?”
Song Yushi: “…” If someone said one sentence, Qi Ke could retort with a hundred.
She was mentally exhausted. Leaning back, she closed her eyes. “Shut up. You know the address.”
Qi Ke: “…” So why on earth did she have to run her mouth and become someone’s free driver!
Song Yushi’s apartment was bought when they were still together. It was a three-bedroom, one-living-room unit of over a hundred square meters, with a simple and cold interior design style. Song Yushi didn’t come back to stay often, so the whole place seemed empty, devoid of any signs of life.
So—Song Yushi leaned against the bar counter, in the early morning light, not having slept enough and still grumpy from waking up, and rubbed her eyes again.
That’s right, Qi Ke was sitting at the dining table in front of the bar, gobbling down her food, adding a touch of worldly warmth to the minimalist Nordic interior design.
Song Yushi: “…”
Qi Ke: “…”
Awkward. It was just awkward.
Finally, someone spoke, breaking the silence—
Song Yushi: “Why haven’t you left yet?”
Qi Ke: “Why are you up so early?”
They spoke in unison.
Song Yushi put down her water glass, her brows knitting slightly as she stated, “You brought me back yesterday and said you wanted to come up and have a look. I let you come up, and then you didn’t leave?”
Qi Ke also stated, “To be precise, we didn’t get home until two in the morning. Captain, would you have the heart to make me drive back with bloodshot eyes?” She lowered her gaze, looking pitiful. “I’m just a weak little girl.”
“…” If the weak little girl had wiped her mouth clean, she might have felt a bit more pity.
Song Yushi said coldly, “Is that your reason for secretly eating my dumplings?”
Qi Ke felt a little awkward. Just like her, Song Yushi was also a disaster in the kitchen, but Song Yushi had a specialty: she was exceptionally good at making dumplings. The thin-skinned, generously filled dumplings had once been Qi Ke’s favorite. Of course, she hadn’t eaten them since they broke up.
Well, she’d been thinking about them for years and just couldn’t resist.
Qi Ke played her trump card, tilting her head with a smile. “Perfect, there are still a dozen or so in the fridge. Should I cook them for you?”
The corners of Song Yushi’s mouth twitched. After weighing the pros and cons, she nodded. “Thank you.”
Qi Ke waved her hand. “Why be so polite with me? Oh, right,” she wiped her mouth, took the last bag of dumplings from the fridge, and said while turning on the stove, “Your manager is really something. She’s already bought press releases about us going home together yesterday. Do you have a new drama coming out soon?”
Song Yushi was slightly taken aback and shook her head.
Sister Fei’s attitude towards her and Qi Ke being shipped as a CP was very ambiguous. She wanted to reap the benefits of the CP but didn’t want to get too entangled with Qi Ke. The reasons behind it were too complicated, and she couldn’t be bothered to ask.
After Song Yushi finished washing up, plump dumplings were already waiting for her on a plate. The dipping sauce was in a small porcelain bowl, with a few sprigs of cilantro floating on top. Qi Ke sat cross-legged on a chair and, as if suddenly remembering something, said, “Oh, I didn’t have a change of clothes, so I found one of yours. You don’t mind, do you?”
Song Yushi said lightly, “You’re already wearing it.”
The implication was that she couldn’t very well force Qi Ke to take it off.
Having gotten her way, Qi Ke feigned innocence. “This seems to be the one I gave you. You still kept it?”
Song Yushi glanced at it.
Qi Ke was wearing a Christmas limited edition from a top luxury brand. She wore no makeup, her ponytail was tied casually, and she looked as fresh and clean as a recent college graduate. When she smiled, her dimples were shallow, as if holding sweet wine, and her whole being radiated a sense of sweetness.
As if full of anticipation, she waited for Song Yushi’s reply.
Song Yushi did not disappoint her. She let out an “oh” and said, “I listed it on Xianyu. No one bought it.”
Qi Ke: “…”
Her taste wasn’t that bad!
Qi Ke muttered under her breath, “You must have priced it too high.”
With no cameras at home, Song Yushi didn’t respond, sitting quietly at the dining table and eating her dumplings in small bites. Unlike Qi Ke’s flamboyant beauty, Song Yushi’s good looks were restrained. At first glance, she was stunningly sweet. But upon closer inspection, one could discern other flavors.
For example, the blandness and aloofness within the sweetness, or the gentleness within the blandness. It wasn’t intense, but it was fatally alluring.
Qi Ke silently marveled; her taste was fucking good.
Once full, Qi Ke took out her phone and opened a social media site to “eat her own melon.” The online discussions were escalating, as if everyone had evidence of their love. The evidence was laid out, one piece after another, just waiting for them to turn themselves in and announce their marriage registration.
Sister Ming had already called Qi Ke eight hundred times. After being rejected, she bombarded her with messages, asking when she was coming back.
Qi Ke: Don’t worry, besides the CP fans, no one will take it seriously. Passersby will just say, they’re just good sisters!
Sister Ming: …
She had once naively thought the same. So when she saw passersby shedding tears for their “divine friendship” and the “dead group’s soul,” she really wanted to shake them awake and tell them to get a grip. Friendship? What friendship? This was fucking love!
Qi Ke: Oh, right. I auditioned for Song Yushi’s next drama and gave the director your contact information.
Sister Ming: …? 《Awakening of Insects》?
Qi Ke: Mmm.
Sister Ming: Didn’t you refuse to act before, no matter what? What’s with you actively going to an audition now? Is it for Yushi? You still haven’t forgotten her?
Qi Ke: …Calm down. This whole “business CP” thing wasn’t my idea.
Sister Ming: But you could have refused!
Qi Ke: It would be a waste not to ride the coattails of a Hundred Flowers Best Actress. Do you think I’m stupid?
Sister Ming: Then why did Yushi agree? She still likes you! It must be! Otherwise, there’s no reason!
Qi Ke stared at this line of text for a moment, then looked up. Across from her, Song Yushi had just put down her chopsticks and was slowly wiping her mouth. Seeing her look over, Song Yushi said, “You can go now.”
Her tone was cold, the eviction order given without any courtesy.
Qi Ke looked at Sister Ming’s message again and typed with an aching heart: I don’t think so.
Sister Ming: ?
Sister Ming: Oh, I forgot to ask, how did you two break up? Who dumped who?
Qi Ke selectively ignored this message. She put her phone away but wasn’t in a hurry to leave. The whole world knew she was at Song Yushi’s place now, so there were definitely paparazzi waiting outside the complex. She didn’t want to be photographed right now. After hearing her thoughts, Song Yushi didn’t say anything. She glanced at the dishes, and Qi Ke immediately volunteered, “I’ll do the dishes. You go do your thing.”
Song Yushi didn’t stand on ceremony with her either and turned to enter the bedroom.
Humming a song, Qi Ke placed the dishes in the sink and turned on the faucet. Water droplets fell into the bowl, splashing onto the back of her hand. She remembered the last question Sister Ming had asked her—who dumped who?
It was Qi Ke who dumped Song Yushi.
Later, Qi Ke replayed the scene of their breakup countless times. Over and over, tirelessly. That scene was already etched into her heart.
It was the day before their group disbanded, at an internal gathering. She and Song Yushi had both had a little to drink. Her little captain’s alcohol tolerance hadn’t improved at all; after two glasses, she was a complete soft mess.
The two of them fooled around for half the night, sobering up a bit. Qi Ke sat on the edge of the bed smoking. The slender ladies’ cigarette gave off a faint rose scent, and the atmosphere was ambiguously enchanting.
Song Yushi’s eyes were lazily closed, her consciousness drifting between waking and sleeping. It was at this moment that Qi Ke spoke.
She called her as she always did, “Captain.”
“…Hmm?”
“Let’s break up.”
A long silence followed. Qi Ke couldn’t quite describe her emotions at that moment, whether it was more relief or more pain. Perhaps it was both. She thought with self-abandonment that she had been the one to drag Song Yushi down, and she ought to let Song Yushi return to a normal life at the right time. But if Song Yushi wasn’t willing, then she…
“Clang!”
A spoon fell into the bowl with a crisp clatter, pulling Qi Ke’s thoughts back to the present. She came to her senses, quickly finished washing the bowl, turned off the faucet, and looked back just in time to see Song Yushi coming out of the bedroom—her daily makeup was clean, and a white turtleneck sweater made her look somewhat more docile. She looked like she was about to go out.
Qi Ke asked casually, “Where are you going?”
“The hospital,” Song Yushi also replied casually.
“Why the hospital again?” Qi Ke walked around the bar counter, her unwiped hands still dripping water. Looking as virtuous as a house-elf, she asked with genuine worry, “What’s wrong with you?”
“None of your business.”
“…”
A thought flashed through Qi Ke’s mind. “Are you going to see Ruan Xiangmeng?”
Ruan Xiangmeng, the daughter of the family who adopted Song Yushi, was Song Yushi’s nominal younger sister. She grew up with Song Yushi, but her health was poor, and she was constantly in and out of the hospital. The reason Qi Ke remembered her was because the girl was extremely clingy with Song Yushi.
Mmm, she had been jealous.
Qi Ke said, “I’m going too.”
Song Yushi looked over, puzzled. “No.”
“Why not? I know Mengmeng too, I have to go see her!”
“She doesn’t like you.”
“As if I like her so much,” Qi Ke blurted out. Only after saying it did she realize it was inappropriate. She cleared her throat and corrected herself, “I mean, I’m quite worried about her.”
Song Yushi stared at her for a moment, then lowered her head to change her shoes. Her voice drifted over lightly, “Suit yourself.”
It was like a basin of cold water had been poured over Qi Ke from head to toe.
Suddenly, the image of Song Yushi from that night appeared before her eyes again.
During the long silence, Qi Ke couldn’t resist looking at Song Yushi. Song Yushi had already opened her eyes and was watching her calmly. Seeing her look over, Song Yushi smiled.
Her pear-shaped dimples were shallow.
Her tone was light and cheerful. “Alright, let’s break up.”
