Cen Lingqiu took Yu Mingjiao to the hospital and stayed with her while she received several IV drips. Yu Mingjiao slowly woke up, and the color returned to her face.
The moment she woke up, Cen Lingqiu couldn’t help but scold her. “What’s wrong with you? Are you still a child? You know what you’re allergic to, so why would you deliberately expose yourself to it? Do you care so little about your own body?”
Yu Mingjiao lowered her eyelids and said nothing.
Cen Lingqiu continued, truly angry this time. Her tone lacked its usual gentleness and ease. “Didn’t I tell you not to get too close to He Hanzhou? What was that all about? Did you completely disregard what I said?”
She was furious, her face devoid of emotion, her narrow eyes cold and flat.
Ever since getting closer to Cen Lingqiu, Yu Mingjiao had rarely seen her angry. Most of the time, she was easygoing and stable, as if no person or event could truly affect her emotions. Even during their argument half a year ago, Cen Lingqiu hadn’t shown such strong feelings.
Like the surface of a lake, always calm.
Such turbulent emotions, expressed with a cold and hard expression, were even rarer.
And this loss of composure was because she was worried about her.
Didn’t this mean she was very important to Cen Lingqiu?
Just the thought of this brought Yu Mingjiao immense satisfaction. A faint electric current seemed to run through her body, making her heart pound with a frenzied excitement.
She didn’t regret her actions in the slightest.
She even felt fortunate.
Cen Lingqiu stood before her bed, the atmosphere heavy.
Yu Mingjiao carefully hooked Cen Lingqiu’s little finger.
Cen Lingqiu lowered her eyes, quietly watching her actions.
Seeing that Cen Lingqiu didn’t push her away, Yu Mingjiao pressed her advantage, hooking her middle finger, then her index finger. With each hook, she would glance at her, as if to confirm she wasn’t getting angry, until she was finally holding her hand.
Cen Lingqiu thought she was like a fluffy puppy and asked lightly, “What are you doing?”
Yu Mingjiao pursed her lips, her moist, frail eyes fixed on her. Her expression was calm and innocent. “Your hand is cold. My hand is warm.”
She spoke with such innocence. With an IV drip still in her hand and a sickly pallor on her face, her eyes were strikingly clear. When she stared without blinking, it was as if she could pull a person into her pupils.
Cen Lingqiu’s anger was mostly washed away by this puppy-like display of cuteness. She couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
“Alright, you,” Cen Lingqiu said. “Don’t change the subject. I’m talking to you seriously.”
“I know.” Yu Mingjiao pressed Cen Lingqiu’s hand to her own cheek and said softly, “As long as you don’t ignore me, I’ll listen to you.”
“You’ll listen to anything?”
“Mhm, I’ll only listen to you.”
Cen Lingqiu chuckled, not taking it seriously, and pinched her cheek. “Don’t lie to me, you little liar.”
Yu Mingjiao frowned. “It hurts.”
“Serves you right if it hurts to death.”
Yu Mingjiao’s health was poor, and this allergic reaction had triggered other issues. The rash on her body hadn’t completely faded, so the doctor recommended she stay in the hospital for a day or two for observation.
Yu Mingjiao couldn’t get used to the hospital food, so Cen Lingqiu went out to buy her something else.
The door to the hospital room was pushed open. Yu Mingjiao thought it was Cen Lingqiu and looked over, but it wasn’t her. It was He Hanzhou.
He Hanzhou sat nonchalantly on the edge of her bed. “You don’t look too bad.”
Yu Mingjiao replied perfunctorily, “Oh.”
“…”
He Hanzhou clicked his tongue a few times. “I didn’t expect you to be so crazy. You’re an absolute lunatic.”
Yu Mingjiao showed no reaction to him, simply saying indifferently, “So what? In any case, you’d better give up any ideas about Lin Qiu, or else—”
Her eyes were pitch-black, her gaze calm. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m capable of doing. What do you think?”
If it were anyone else, He Hanzhou would have thought she was making empty threats, just bluffing. But when these words came from Yu Mingjiao’s mouth, he had no choice but to be cautious.
After all, this woman before him, so beautiful she almost looked like a doll, was an out-and-out psychopath. Who else would torture themselves so recklessly?
He Hanzhou was still a bit confused. He spoke slowly, “I don’t quite get it. You’d go so far as to harm yourself just to make Lin Qiu hate me. But at the end of the day, this incident can’t be entirely blamed on me. I’m not fully responsible. How can you be so sure that Lin Qiu would be unreasonable enough to think it’s my fault? This was clearly caused by your own personal factors.”
Indeed, Yu Mingjiao’s scheme was full of holes. She wasn’t a child and had the right to refuse others. If someone knows they’re allergic to mangoes, they wouldn’t choose to touch the allergen, no matter who tried to persuade them. This was even more true for someone as vigilant as Yu Mingjiao; she would never do something so foolish.
Cen Lingqiu was a rational adult. If He Hanzhou explained it to her and she analyzed it afterward, she would realize that the responsibility wasn’t entirely his.
“You made yourself have an allergic reaction on purpose.” He Hanzhou was intrigued. “You deliberately lured Cen Lingqiu here too. Is that really your only reason?”
Yu Mingjiao’s expression was very calm, without a hint of panic at being exposed.
She curled her lip and said slowly, “Of course… not.”
She had lured He Hanzhou to the café for two reasons. First, it was close to where Cen Lingqiu worked, so she could arrive quickly. Second, she knew they served mango desserts, which she could use for her plan. Then, at the critical moment, she made sure Cen Lingqiu appeared to see her having the reaction.
If Cen Lingqiu developed a rift with He Hanzhou because of this, that would be for the best. But her greater purpose was simply to regain Cen Lingqiu’s concern. She wanted Cen Lingqiu’s attention.
Cen Lingqiu’s avoidance of her recently had made her very uneasy. She kept wondering if Cen Lingqiu no longer cared about her.
Was she no longer important to her?
Why don’t you care about me?
Why are you avoiding me?
Why don’t you pay more attention to me?
She wanted all of this woman’s concern.
So she devised this plan. Just like the day Lin Dong drunkenly took her for a drive, Yu Mingjiao used the same method to confirm her place in her heart once again.
She wanted to win the gamble again.
Wanting Cen Lingqiu to hate He Hanzhou was real, and so was wanting all of her concern.
This was all within the scope of her plan.
Yu Mingjiao told him bluntly, “As for the reason, it’s because I want her to completely, utterly, care only about me.”
She frantically sought all of this woman’s gentle concern.
He Hanzhou clicked his tongue. “Lunatic.”
“You’re seriously crazy.” He Hanzhou shook his head, muttering to himself, “Just as bad as that other woman.”
Yu Mingjiao declared her claim: “So, she is mine.”
“You—” He Hanzhou thought for a moment, unable to quite grasp her feelings for Lin Qiu. It didn’t feel like friendship at all.
“Your feelings for her seem a bit strange,” He Hanzhou said, curious. “Ordinary friends aren’t like you two.”
Yu Mingjiao’s eyelid twitched inexplicably, and her heart tightened. She said coldly, “What’s it to you?”
He Hanzhou laughed a few times. “Forget it, forget it. I don’t want to get involved with a lunatic anymore. Sigh, my budding feelings were nipped in the bud by you.”
Yu Mingjiao: “If you’re done talking, then get out.”
Having gotten his answer, He Hanzhou didn’t want to stay any longer. Before leaving, he seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he just curled his lip into a smile and left.
A minute or two after He Hanzhou left, Cen Lingqiu returned. She had bought some light Cantonese dishes. Her expression was normal. “I’m back. It’s so cold outside.”
Hearing her say it was cold, Yu Mingjiao wanted to take her hand. But Cen Lingqiu, whether intentionally or not, kept her hands busy arranging the food, not letting her touch them.
Yu Mingjiao’s face fell. Cen Lingqiu then asked gently, “What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and eat.”
She seemed normal on the outside, still very concerned for her. Yu Mingjiao thought she might just be too sensitive and reined in her suspicious thoughts.
Meanwhile, He Hanzhou got into his car. A woman was sitting in the passenger seat. Her red lips moved slightly. “Did you see her?”
“No, she wasn’t at the hospital.”
The woman sneered. “You sound quite disappointed. I really don’t understand how you could fall for that kind of woman. You must be blind.”
He Hanzhou was unconcerned. “Aren’t your words a bit too harsh? How can you talk to me like that?”
The woman crossed her arms. Some pink hair fell across her chest. She scoffed, “A man with no taste.”
Yu Mingjiao was discharged after two days in the hospital. Cen Lingqiu, perhaps exhausted from taking care of her for two days, seemed very tired. As soon as they got home, she took a shower and went to sleep.
Yu Mingjiao hadn’t even had a chance to say a few words to her before Cen Lingqiu was already asleep in bed.
She was a little frustrated.
She had thought Cen Lingqiu would spend more time with her because of her illness, but she had fallen asleep without saying a word.
She must be really tired.
Yu Mingjiao thought.
She lay down next to Cen Lingqiu, placed Cen Lingqiu’s hand on her own waist, and curled up in her arms.
She looked at Cen Lingqiu’s cool, sleeping face, and He Hanzhou’s words couldn’t help but surface in her mind.
Cen Lingqiu would marry a man someday. They would hold hands, kiss, and then have deeper physical contact.
Just thinking about it made Yu Mingjiao want to kill Cen Lingqiu’s future husband.
But—
What did a kiss feel like?
She couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Cen Lingqiu’s thin lips. Cen Lingqiu’s lips were a faint pink, very thin, with a prominent cupid’s bow. Her body was cold year-round, and even her lips were cold. Would her icy lips be this cold when she kissed someone else?
Yu Mingjiao really wanted to know.
Her body grew inexplicably hot. The beast deep inside her began to frantically urge her to do something more impulsive.
She swallowed, her gaze slightly unfocused. Her fingers continuously caressed Cen Lingqiu’s lips, and the pale pink slowly deepened to a dark red.
The night easily drives people mad, turning them into creatures of desire.
Yu Mingjiao’s slender, fair fingers slowly probed between Cen Lingqiu’s lips and teeth, feeling her warm tongue.
Cen Lingqiu frowned and moved her head. Afraid she would wake up, Yu Mingjiao quickly withdrew her hand.
She observed Cen Lingqiu’s reaction. It seemed Cen Lingqiu hadn’t woken up.
She breathed a sigh of relief and boldly turned her gaze back to Cen Lingqiu’s lips. The once-dry lips were now slightly moist, like wilting petals covered in dew, damp and beautiful.
Her heart was pounding. Reason was drowned by some kind of desire, her mind a chaotic mess of emotions. Though it was early winter, Yu Mingjiao felt incredibly hot.
She wanted to touch something cool.
With this thought, Yu Mingjiao moved closer to Cen Lingqiu as if possessed.
The cherry blossom scent from her body wash grew stronger. Yu Mingjiao felt a dizzying bewilderment. She didn’t know if she was excited or nervous, but her body was trembling slightly.
She got closer and closer, until their lips were only a few centimeters apart.
Like a cat stealing a treat, Yu Mingjiao carefully touched her lips with her own.
Cool, soft.
Her reason was annihilated. She didn’t know what she was doing, acting purely on instinct. The sensation was too wonderful, inexplicably addictive.
Yu Mingjiao’s cheeks flushed slightly. She touched her lips again, this time with a bit more force. Their lips pressed together, a contact of coolness and heat that made one’s heart surge.
This wasn’t enough.
Yu Mingjiao wanted a more intense touch, wanted to devour her down to her bones.
She didn’t understand this feeling. Yu Mingjiao had received so little affection growing up that her definition of love was very vague.
Because she had never felt any love, she didn’t know what love was.
The series of palpitations, desires, selfishness, and possessiveness that arose from love—she understood none of it.
All her life, she had acted according to her heart, regardless of right or wrong, selfishness or kindness.
Because she wanted to touch Cen Lingqiu, she did it.
As for the reason her heart was pounding and her body was flushed with heat, Yu Mingjiao wouldn’t understand.
She would need a lot of time to recognize her own feelings.
But for now, she only wanted to follow her inner desires. She kissed Cen Lingqiu’s lips until they were red enough to bleed, even biting her lip slightly.
Perhaps sensing the pain, Cen Lingqiu grunted, groggily pushed her away, and turned over, her back facing her.
Being pushed away, Yu Mingjiao regained a sliver of reason. She felt a little ashamed, but more than that, she felt the displeasure of unfulfilled desire.
But for now, she didn’t dare do it again. She was afraid Cen Lingqiu would find out.
She hugged Cen Lingqiu’s waist, rested her head on her back, and slowly quieted down.
The room was silent.
Yu Mingjiao’s breathing gradually evened out, and she fell asleep.
So she would never know that after she fell asleep, Cen Lingqiu suddenly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were clear, completely devoid of sleepiness.
Cen Lingqiu raised her hand and touched her lips. She could still feel Yu Mingjiao’s warmth on them.
She sighed silently in the darkness. Her pupils were filled with a painful, struggling color, her expression suppressed. She looked utterly exhausted, her complexion terrible.
Cen Lingqiu’s gaze stared blankly into the void of the night, her thoughts unknown.
The person behind her was warm, but Cen Lingqiu couldn’t feel a single bit of that warmth.
She felt very cold.
It was the kind of cold that came from being trapped by reality, unable to breathe.
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