Xu Shi followed the stranger’s gaze and saw that Yu Lingshan had returned.
The stranger sitting across from her suddenly stood up and said to Yu Lingshan with a smile, “Long time no see.”
Yu Lingshan smiled back. “Long time no see.”
As Yu Lingshan spoke, one hand rested on Xu Shi’s shoulder. She then reached around and stroked Xu Shi’s chin.
The woman took this all in and smiled at Yu Lingshan. “I saw her sitting here alone, so I came over to chat.”
Yu Lingshan nodded. “That’s fine.”
“I’ll head back over then.”
“Okay.”
Once Yu Lingshan sat down beside her, Xu Shi took out her phone and told her she had a call just now.
“It only rang once. I don’t know if it was important.”
While Xu Shi was speaking, Yu Lingshan just propped her head on her hand and watched her. So, after she finished, Xu Shi asked, “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Yu Lingshan shook her head.
Just then, the lights in the venue suddenly dimmed, and Xu Shi swallowed the words she was about to say.
Today’s gathering also included a small fashion show featuring the work of several clothing designers. The lights dimmed, and it began.
An announcer introduced the show over the background music as models walked out one by one from backstage.
“I almost became a fashion designer, too.”
Yu Lingshan said this as the second model appeared.
Xu Shi’s gaze returned from the stage, and she asked Yu Lingshan, “Then why did you go into jewelry later?”
Yu Lingshan said, “When I was in school, I thought I liked designing clothes, but later I discovered I liked what I’m doing now more.”
Xu Shi nodded. “It’s good you figured that out while you were still in school.”
Yu Lingshan said, “You probably know that we went to the same university, right?”
Xu Shi replied, “I know.”
But Yu Lingshan didn’t continue on that topic. Instead, she smiled. “You know more about me than I thought.”
Xu Shi had only learned about the university after secretly looking up Yu Lingshan’s information. When was that? It seemed to be the day she accompanied Yu Lingshan to the award ceremony.
So Weiwei had been right again. She had liked Yu Lingshan for a long time; she just hadn’t realized it herself.
After all, who scrolls through someone’s photos in the middle of the night until they fall asleep? Who perks up their ears just at the mention of a name? Who investigates every little rumor about someone down to the last detail?
She was indeed on edge about Yu Lingshan’s every word and every emotion. Though she told herself to stay away from this person, in reality, everything she did brought her closer, making her want to know everything about her.
“We went to the same university, and then what?” Xu Shi steered the conversation back.
Yu Lingshan seemed to see right through Xu Shi’s thoughts, but she didn’t point it out. She just smiled and then said to Xu Shi, “I’ve gained another identity.”
Xu Shi smiled. “Senior?”
Yu Lingshan replied, “Am I not?”
Xu Shi said, “You had already graduated by the time I started university.”
Yu Lingshan raised an eyebrow. Her hand, at some point, had moved down to give Xu Shi’s thigh a firm squeeze. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you calling me old?”
Xu Shi’s eyes curved into crescents. “No.”
After pinching her, Yu Lingshan knew to soothe Xu Shi’s thigh, patting it gently twice before stroking it. “I’m still your senior.”
Xu Shi nodded. “Hello, Senior.”
Yu Lingshan said, “Good girl.”
In the short time they had been talking, several models had already walked the stage. Yu Lingshan seemed a little tired. She shifted, moving to sit slightly behind Xu Shi, and rested her chin on Xu Shi’s shoulder.
“Sleepy.”
After saying that, Yu Lingshan extended her hand, and Xu Shi naturally took it, lacing their fingers together and resting their joined hands on her own lap.
“Want to go back and sleep?” Xu Shi asked.
Yu Lingshan shook her head. “I have a dinner party tonight. It’d be a hassle to go back and forth.”
Xu Shi murmured an “oh.”
Yu Lingshan tapped her fingers on the back of Xu Shi’s hand. “So we won’t have dinner together tonight. Is that okay with you?”
Xu Shi smiled. “I’m not a child.”
Yu Lingshan hummed in agreement, then added, “It should be over by eight tonight. Are you free?”
Xu Shi thought for a moment. “Yes.”
Yu Lingshan said, “Wait for me at my place. I’ll talk to you about Heard.”
Xu Shi paused for a moment.
Yu Lingshan felt the hesitation. She gently squeezed Xu Shi’s hand. “I’ll explain everything properly. After you hear me out, you can decide whether or not to forgive me.”
Xu Shi didn’t say anything.
Yu Lingshan lowered her chin a little, resting her cheek against Xu Shi’s back, and wrapped an arm around her waist from behind. “Don’t be angry right now, okay?”
At that moment, they were surrounded by clusters of hushed whispers, noisy background music, and sparse applause.
Yu Lingshan’s voice was soft and gentle, making Xu Shi’s heart pound violently.
Yu Lingshan was always like this, saying unimportant things at important occasions and important things at unimportant ones.
Xu Shi had thought Yu Lingshan didn’t care about the matter, but now, in this instant, she suddenly felt a sting in her nose.
She took a quiet breath and said softly, “I’m not angry.”
Yu Lingshan said, “You are.”
Xu Shi didn’t deny it further.
She was, in fact, a little angry. But because Yu Lingshan hadn’t addressed it, her anger had nowhere to go and had already been digested on its own.
Seeing that Xu Shi was silent, Yu Lingshan tugged her hand. “Hm?”
Xu Shi smiled. “What?”
Yu Lingshan rested her chin on her shoulder again. “Nothing.”
After that, Yu Lingshan closed her eyes, maintaining that position. The show on stage continued, and Xu Shi went back to admiring other people’s designs.
But in a sudden moment, Xu Shi caught someone’s gaze from not far away. She looked over and saw a short-haired woman quickly avert her eyes.
Xu Shi knew this person—the one who was rumored to be pursuing Yu Lingshan.
Xu Shi didn’t look at her for long, but as she shifted her gaze away, she pulled the hand Yu Lingshan had on her waist a little tighter and leaned closer to her.
Yu Lingshan woke up when the show ended, and the venue returned to the lively atmosphere it had before the lights dimmed.
Yu Lingshan took Xu Shi to greet a few people, and then the two of them left together.
The timing was just right. After getting in the car, Yu Lingshan asked Xu Shi, “Home, or…?”
Xu Shi thought for a moment. “Let’s go to Weiwei’s.”
Yu Lingshan said, “Alright.”
Upon hearing her answer, Yu Lingshan immediately drove off.
Xu Shi was curious. “Do you know where Weiwei lives?”
Yu Lingshan replied, “I do. You two mentioned it the second time we met.”
Xu Shi murmured an “oh,” vaguely recalling something like that.
Yu Lingshan said, “I remember everything you say, Xiao Zhi.”
Xu Shi smiled. “I remember everything you say, too.”
Yu Lingshan’s interest was piqued. “Ah~ In that case, I’ll have to test you.”
Xu Shi said, “Ask away.”
Yu Lingshan asked, “What was the third thing I said after we met this morning?”
Xu Shi tilted her head back and thought seriously for a moment, then started to laugh. “Oh no.”
Yu Lingshan said, “Heh.”
Xu Shi countered, “Then what was the third thing I said today?”
Yu Lingshan raised an eyebrow. “Impressive, Xiao Zhi. You’re playing my own game against me now.”
Xu Shi smiled. “Come on, say it.”
Yu Lingshan answered immediately, “You said to me, ‘I’m heading out.’”
Xu Shi stuck out her tongue, her bravado instantly deflating. “Really?”
Yu Lingshan laughed. “No, of course I forgot too.”
Xu Shi’s bravado returned. “See, you forgot too.”
Yu Lingshan said, “Come here, let me pinch your cheek.”
Xu Shi obediently leaned over to let Yu Lingshan pinch her cheek.
Before long, Yu Lingshan pulled up downstairs from Weiwei’s apartment. Xu Shi got out of the car, and Yu Lingshan said, “See you tonight,” before driving away.
Xu Shi stood on the spot, watching Yu Lingshan’s car disappear.
Her feelings were complicated.
Although she could still talk and laugh with Yu Lingshan, her mood remained in a low, unhappy state.
So, not long after arriving at Weiwei’s, Xu Shi began to pour out her troubles, first about Heard, then about Yu Lingshan and Heard being the same person.
“What should I do? What do you think she wants to talk to me about tonight?”
After her long rant, Xu Shi noticed that Weiwei had been holding a potato chip to her lips the entire time without eating it.
Then she heard Weiwei let out a sigh. “Wow.”
Xu Shi asked, “What’s wrong?”
Weiwei said, “This feels like the first time I’ve ever heard you talk so much.”
Xu Shi gave Weiwei a flat look.
Weiwei laughed. “For Yu Lingshan to do this… she’s really playing a grand game of chess.”
Xu Shi was distressed. “Why do you think she did it?”
Weiwei stroked her chin. “I’m a bit puzzled too. If it was just to pursue you, why go to such great lengths?” She added, “But to be fair, she’s really good to you.”
This made Xu Shi even more frustrated. “I know.”
It was precisely because Yu Lingshan was so good to her that Xu Shi understood even less.
Why?
“Could Yu Lingshan have fallen for you at first sight, too?” Weiwei ventured.
Xu Shi looked at Weiwei, as if considering the possibility.
Weiwei continued, “If it really was love at first sight, then everything would make sense.”
Xu Shi had actually considered it, but she had dismissed it herself. “Don’t you know what our first meeting was like?”
Weiwei stuck out her tongue. “Oh, right.”
Xu Shi asked again, “What do you think she wants to talk to me about tonight?”
Weiwei smiled. “Talk about why she pretended to be Heard?”
Xu Shi said, “Yeah, she’ll probably explain that.”
Weiwei said, “But what is this with you two? You guys should be in a cold war right now, right? I’ve never seen a couple have a cold war like this—talking, laughing, and making plans?”
Xu Shi asked, “So we should be fighting?”
Weiwei asked, “Would you fight with her?”
Xu Shi imagined it. “I don’t know. Probably not.”
Weiwei said, “Wow, hearing this, Yu Lingshan sounds really amazing. What kind of strategy is that great beauty using? Can she teach me? Never mind turning you gay, but to have you wrapped around her finger like this… you’re Xu Shi!”
Xu Shi asked, “What’s wrong with me being Xu Shi?”
Weiwei said, “Back then, when that senior of yours was pursuing you, even I was moved, but you were completely indifferent. Cold and heartless.”
Xu Shi said, “…Why are we talking about my senior now?”
Weiwei said, “Speculating here with me isn’t going to help. She wants to talk to you, so just talk. See what she has to say tonight.”
Xu Shi licked her lips. “Do you think… she might bring up other things too?”
Weiwei asked, “What things?”
“Our relationship?” Xu Shi said. “Today, someone asked if I was her girlfriend. I said no, and she heard me.”
“Well…” Weiwei said, “What was her reaction?”
Xu Shi replied, “She had no reaction at all.”
Weiwei raised an eyebrow. “Well…”
So it really wasn’t Xu Shi’s fault for overthinking. Sometimes she felt that Yu Lingshan cared about her so much she couldn’t live without her, but other times she felt that maybe Yu Lingshan was like this with everyone, and she wasn’t special at all.
Weiwei smiled. “Why are you being like this? Just talk to her. Talk it all out.”
That was difficult for Xu Shi. “Actually, I’m a little scared,” she said, looking at Weiwei. “What if she doesn’t actually mean it that way? Aren’t these things better left unsaid? If we talk it out, will she just ignore me afterward?”
Weiwei smiled. “You really like her a lot, don’t you? If you ask me, just talk. All this overthinking isn’t going to help.”
Weiwei hadn’t interacted with Yu Lingshan and didn’t know her, so after hearing all this, she couldn’t offer any concrete advice. Coincidentally, she had taken out a few bottles of alcohol, and just like that, Xu Shi started chugging it down.
After half a bottle, Weiwei advised her to stop drinking, but she insisted, not only wanting more but gulping it down.
Then, thinking she had mustered enough courage, she completely ignored Weiwei’s attempts to stop her and insisted on going to Yu Lingshan’s, muttering that Yu Lingshan was waiting for her at home.
She did, at least, remember to tell the driver the name of Yu Lingshan’s residential complex. Weiwei got her to Yu Lingshan’s front door, but Xu Shi wouldn’t let her follow her inside.
Yu Lingshan knew Xu Shi had arrived because of a notification from her doorbell.
Her smart lock had a recognition feature; as soon as someone approached, it would send a video feed to her phone.
So Yu Lingshan saw everything clearly—how Xu Shi opened the door, how she got inside, and how she swayed over to sit on the sofa.
The time on her phone read seven o’clock. Yu Lingshan didn’t understand why this kid was drinking again, especially when she wasn’t around.
Not long after, Weiwei contacted her too, saying that Xu Shi was inside.
Yu Lingshan replied with an “okay.”
Figuring there was nothing pressing left, Yu Lingshan decided to head back early.
Then, using the living room camera linked to her phone, she watched Xu Shi’s movements inside her apartment.
Just as Yu Lingshan was about to arrive home, Xu Shi went to the wine cabinet herself, grabbed a bottle of red wine, and, looking quite bold, tilted her head back and drank from it.
After drinking, she even knew to put the cork back in before sitting down on the rug again, lost in a daze.
When Yu Lingshan entered, she was immediately hit with the smell of red wine in the apartment.
The light from outside was just enough to see by, so Yu Lingshan didn’t bother turning on the lights. She walked into the living room and crouched down in front of Xu Shi.
Xu Shi’s gaze was vacant. She seemed completely unaware that Yu Lingshan had returned, her head tilted as if lost in thought.
“Xiao Zhi.”
Yu Lingshan called her name.
Xu Shi turned her head, looking completely stunned.
Yu Lingshan looked at Xu Shi, and Xu Shi looked back at Yu Lingshan.
They stared at each other in silence for what must have been a full minute before Yu Lingshan moved first.
She caught the tear that was about to drip from Xu Shi’s chin and asked, “Why are you crying?”
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