TNSFC – Chapter 59

Que Yining joyfully told Gu Shanxue about the excellent reception her newly launched game was receiving, her happiness unconcealable.

Actually, the event itself hadn’t made Que Yining overly excited, but when this feeling was shared, it became double the joy.

Gu Shanxue: “Congratulations. I believe the response will be even better after the official launch.”

Que Yining: “Mhm! I’m applying for the publication number now. If things go smoothly, the official server will go live. This is just the beginning!”

What’s currently released are the initial concepts. Que Yining didn’t meticulously recreate her previous success from memory; instead, she provided a general direction, allowing the studio members to collaborate and spark different ideas, creating unique characters.

A faint smile also tinged Gu Shanxue’s voice as she suggested some ideas to the person on the other end of the line, such as merchandise, collaborations, themed game bars, competitions, and so on.

Que Yining responded and chatted with her, sharing her own thoughts. Unconsciously, they became more engrossed in the conversation, and by the time the call, which concerned development issues, was drawing to a close, nearly an hour had passed.

“Are you in Lu Su? If you’re free tonight, let’s go out for dinner.”

Que Yining casually threw out this topic at the end, waiting for Gu Shanxue’s reply.

She hadn’t seen her for a long time.

“Tonight might not work.”

Gu Shanxue looked at her schedule and said with some difficulty.

“Oh… alright then.”

Que Yining thought this was another rejection, and the smile on her face faded a little.

Gu Shanxue had wanted to suggest meeting after dinner, but she forced herself to hold back.

She shouldn’t say it. Knowing their relationship was somewhat delicate, meeting Que Yining at night would be like giving Que Yining hope.

She didn’t want Que Yining to be disappointed, so she preferred not to give Que Yining any hope.

Que Yining hung up the phone. Her recently excited nerves instantly grew weary, making her feel a bit drained.

She looked at the darkening sky and shut down her computer.

Her phone vibrated a few times; someone had sent Que Yining a message.

Que Yining looked at the message content, thought for a moment, and then replied.

Not long ago, she had a small dinner gathering with Qiao Yuchu. At the table, Qiao Yuchu had laughingly asked if she had managed to win the person over. Upon hearing Que Yining say that Gu Shanxue had politely declined, this “sister” slammed the table and said she would introduce Que Yining to other people.

—”I really don’t want to see you heartbroken again. If this one doesn’t work out, we’ll find another. There are plenty of beautiful women out there. Leave this to me!”

Que Yining refused on the spot, saying it wasn’t necessary. The one she was interested in was Gu Shanxue, and she wouldn’t give up so quickly.

However, a few days later, Qiao Yuchu still brought someone over under the pretext of having drinks, constantly winking and nudging Que Yining.

Que Yining still added that person as a friend. Of course, it wasn’t because she intended to develop anything with them, but because the other person had very politely asked for her number, suggesting potential future business cooperation.

Although Que Yining was used to being tactful, she didn’t have any desperate goals in this life, so she couldn’t be bothered to hide her sharpness. She noticed the woman was somewhat interested in her, but she didn’t want to cause any misunderstandings. She had declined the woman’s several invitations, citing busyness.

The other person had noticed her aloofness, so the message sent today was more direct.

【You don’t have to be so tense. Even if you’re not interested romantically, it’s okay to have a meal together as ordinary friends, right?】

Since the other person had put it that way, further refusal from Que Yining would seem to strain the relationship. The person wasn’t unlikeable, and there might indeed be cooperation in the future, so Que Yining agreed.

When Que Yining arrived, Jiang Xiaowan was already waiting there.

It was early spring. She wore a thin, army-green jacket, her long hair flowing down, with bright eyes, white teeth, and a graceful demeanor.

When she saw Que Yining, she smiled and raised her hand to wave at her.

Looking at her face alone, Que Yining wouldn’t have guessed she was already thirty. She still had a girlish air about her, like a lily glistening with morning dew.

“You’re really hard to invite out. It took so many invitations for you to finally come out.”

Jiang Xiaowan complained with a smile, watching Que Yining sit down in front of her.

“Sorry, I’ve been very busy lately, so I couldn’t find the time.”

Que Yining said apologetically, raising her hand to call the waiter to order.

“I can tell you were clearly afraid I had designs on you. Don’t worry, I didn’t fall in love with you at first sight, but I feel like we could be good friends.”

Jiang Xiaowan spoke bluntly, hiding her sharp words within a beaming smile. Words that might sound confrontational from others came out of her mouth like playful teasing between friends.

She indeed hadn’t fallen for Que Yining at first sight, but she was very interested in her.

She had met her before, but Que Yining probably had no impression of her.

Jiang Xiaowan’s attitude was natural and poised. Que Yining raised an eyebrow and chuckled in agreement.

During the meal, they chatted about makeup and fashion. By the end of dinner, their relationship was quite harmonious.

“Are you busy tonight? Want me to take you to a bar? My band has a performance tonight. Want to come show some support?”

“Your band?”

Que Yining was a bit surprised. This was beyond her imagination. She had thought Jiang Xiaowan was the type of woman who wore luxury couture to fashion shows, not someone who would be in a band.

“Yes, and I’m the lead singer.”

Jiang Xiaowan raised an eyebrow at Que Yining, exuding an indescribable cool and dashing charm that instantly diluted Que Yining’s initial impression of her.

“Alright.”

Que Yining readily agreed. She hadn’t relaxed in a long time, and going to a bar for drinks and music seemed like a good choice.

“Let’s go.”

Jiang Xiaowan snapped her fingers, sent Que Yining the location, and told her to follow her car.

Que Yining parked her car outside a street lined with bars. Night had just fallen, but the area was already bustling.

Que Yining followed Jiang Xiaowan’s steps into a relatively small bar at the far end.

A rainbow flag hung on the wall. Almost everyone in sight was a woman; occasionally, she saw someone who looked like a boy, but a closer look revealed it was a girl with an androgynous style.

Que Yining immediately understood it was a lesbian bar and looked around at the decor with interest.

“I’ll go backstage to change first. It’ll start soon. You can order a couple of drinks,” Jiang Xiaowan said, leaning close to Que Yining. Then she moved nearer, looking at her. “You don’t seem to have been to a place like this before. You’re not nervous, are you?”

“Do you have some misunderstanding about me?”

Que Yining rested her head on her hand, looking at her with unusual ease and comfort.

She was already beautiful, and this lively, expressive look in her eyes added even more charm to her face, like a wild rose in full bloom—gorgeous and proud.

“That’s good then.”

Jiang Xiaowan’s heart skipped a beat for a moment before she stood up and left.

Her gaze swept over some people who looked eager to make a move. She gestured towards herself, warning these young ladies not to get any ideas.

Although Jiang Xiaowan did that, there was no shortage of bold people in the bar.

A beautiful stranger—who wouldn’t want to go up and try to flirt, to see if there was a chance for a night of passion?

Que Yining directly refused them with her eyes. For those who were bold and undeterred, Que Yining bluntly said she already liked someone and wasn’t available.

The clearly rejected girl returned to her seat regretfully and informed everyone of the heartbreaking answer.

At eight in the evening, the band took the stage.

Que Yining watched Jiang Xiaowan standing center stage and swirled her wine glass.

Jiang Xiaowan’s long hair was tied into a ponytail. She had changed into an off-the-shoulder trendy top and hot pants that showed off her good figure perfectly. A guitar hung from her shoulder, and a string of letters was tattooed on her inner arm. She looked both beautiful and cool, a completely different person from the woman Que Yining had seen at dinner.

This kind of contrast easily aroused curiosity and a desire to explore. Que Yining instantly understood Jiang Xiaowan’s purpose in bringing her here.

To put it bluntly, she still wanted to woo her. What a cunning woman.

Unfortunately, Que Yining wasn’t interested in her type of girl. She liked Gu Shanxue’s type. As for Jiang Xiaowan, just as she herself had said, being friends was fine.

Jiang Xiaowan’s voice was very good, her tone lazy and romantic, adding more charm to the night.

The bar gradually filled up, and more people came up to talk to her. Que Yining had no choice but to drop her usual smile and put on a cold face, mimicking Gu Shanxue’s unapproachable demeanor.

Realizing she was thinking about Gu Shanxue again, Que Yining took a sip of her drink, calculating that it was time to arrange an “accidental” encounter with Gu Shanxue. Even if the other person was busy, she was determined to make Gu Shanxue see her.

Jiang Xiaowan sang two songs. When she came off stage, some acquaintances wanted to come over and talk, but Jiang Xiaowan shook her head at them and walked straight towards Que Yining.

“You sang very well.”

Que Yining pushed the untouched wine glass beside her towards Jiang Xiaowan, not stingy with her praise.

Seeing that Que Yining’s reaction wasn’t as enthusiastic as she had hoped, Jiang Xiaowan felt a little dejected but not overly disappointed. She picked up her glass and clinked it with Que Yining’s.

Just as she was about to continue chatting with Que Yining to get to know this friend better, she saw her answer a call with a smile.

When Que Yining saw the caller ID was Gu Shanxue, she was happy that Gu Shanxue was calling her. But after connecting, there was no sound from the other end.

Fortunately, there was no singing in the bar at that moment, so she could clearly hear panting from the other side.

For some reason, a bad feeling suddenly arose in her heart, and she called out the other person’s name.

“Shanxue? What’s wrong, Shanxue?”

“Ning…”

Que Yining had only managed to hear one syllable before the call was abruptly disconnected.

Something must have happened!

Que Yining shot up from her seat and headed out without a second thought.

She kept calling Gu Shanxue’s phone, but no one answered.

She immediately called Gu Shanxue’s assistant and asked what was going on.

“The boss is attending a dinner party. She sent me a message a few minutes ago, but I can’t find her now. The boss has a locator on her phone; it’s been moving and is just ahead, not far. We’re on our way there now!”

Gu Shanxue’s assistant was also very anxious and quickly explained the situation.

“Where are you? I’ll head over immediately!”

Que Yining thought it was good that Gu Shanxue was prepared. She hailed a taxi. She was in such a hurry that only after getting in did she realize Jiang Xiaowan had also gotten in with her.

However, she was in no mood to ask her to get out, her gaze darting between her phone and the road conditions.

The location stopped in front of a hotel. Que Yining hurriedly got out of the car. Gu Shanxue’s assistant was negotiating with the front desk staff.

“Sorry, we don’t have a key card for the top floor. That’s not within my scope of access, and this would be disclosing client privacy.”

The front desk staff looked troubled. Seeing the lobby manager approaching, they quickly explained the situation.

“We don’t have the keys, but we can accompany you to knock on the door. Please try to remain calm.”

The lobby manager pressed the elevator button and called security to come along.

Jiang Xiaowan took out her phone and made a call: “Have someone bring the card for 3201 directly to the top floor and open the door.”

Jiang Xiaowan patted Que Yining’s shoulder: “Don’t worry, my family owns this hotel.”

Que Yining thought, it’s a good thing I didn’t ask her to get out of the car, or it would have caused more delay.

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