A Woman Who Hates Women (GL) - Chapter 9

And so, Li Jia became even more at ease.

Hanging the sweater on the clothes rack in the room, Li Jia, wearing only a camisole, went to open the other bowl of noodles on the table.

Because she was worried that Lu Qing wouldn’t drink porridge, she had ordered an extra serving of non-spicy soup noodles, unexpectedly ending up eating it herself.

Li Jia happily slurped the noodles, completely unaware that Lu Qing had long since put down her spoon.

Her usual clothes were thick, so she didn’t know her figure was so good, with just the right amount of curves…

Lu Qing sat beside her, silently watching, unable to take her eyes away.

After finishing the noodles, Li Jia turned her head and saw Lu Qing staring blankly at her.

Lu Qing’s face was even redder than before, her earlobes almost dripping bl00d.

“Why is your face so red?” Li Jia asked, feeling strange and a little worried.

Was Lu Qing starting to have a fever again? If it got worse, she would have to take her to the hospital…

Thinking of this, Li Jia put down her chopsticks, stood up, took two steps, and stood in front of Lu Qing.

“Could it be a fever again?” Li Jia reached out to touch Lu Qing’s forehead.

In this position, the two were almost touching.

All Lu Qing could see was a expanse of white, the white thin camisole and what was underneath… Lu Qing pursed her lips tightly, nervously closing her eyes as a strange fragrance began to linger at the tip of her nose.

Strange, why did she seem even redder?

“You don’t have a fever… Is the air conditioning too high?” Feeling a hand full of sweat, Li Jia asked, “Manager Lu, are you hot?”

Hot?

It did feel a little hot, but more than that, she was thirsty. Lu Qing, with her eyes closed, nodded subconsciously upon hearing this. Even more so, an untimely desire rose within her. By the time Lu Qing realized she had unconsciously raised her hands, she was almost about to wrap them around Li Jia’s waist.

Li Jia was completely unaware of this and walked away.

The cool, comfortable touch instantly disappeared, and Lu Qing abruptly opened her eyes, her hands falling weakly to her sides, her eyes filled with unconcealable disappointment.

Li Jia walked to the bedside table, picked up the air conditioner remote, and turned the temperature down a bit.

At this moment, Li Jia turned back and asked, “Manager Lu, are you alright?”

“…I’m fine,” Lu Qing answered with difficulty, her voice still hoarse.

“That’s good.”

“Still want the porridge?”

Lu Qing shook her head.

Li Jia packed up the remaining food containers on the table, then put on the sweater she had taken off. Carrying the trash, she walked towards the door, saying as she went, “Then, Manager Lu, I won’t stay here to disturb your rest.”

Li Jia’s eyes, still bright from the spiciness, smiled with her red lips, her tone becoming as polite and distant as usual.

The door lock clicked softly, leaving a room full of silence.

Lu Qing sat at the table, watching Li Jia leave. As soon as Li Jia was gone, it seemed as if the warmth in the room had been drawn away with her.

“Cough cough cough…” Lu Qing lowered her eyes and couldn’t stop coughing.

If only she could have stayed…

Two more weeks passed.

Today was a beautiful day, the sky was azure blue, and a cool breeze was blowing.

The matters at the city’s south project department were basically all settled, and the remaining parts no longer needed anyone to watch over them here.

The final site inspection process was over.

Li Jia got off work and walked towards the company’s provided car. Getting into the driver’s seat, she looked out the window.

The unfinished prototype of the super mall was right in front of her. This cold, steel and concrete structure also contained a part of her hard work.

A sense of accomplishment arose spontaneously.

Although she had been exhausted by work, the thought of leaving brought a subtle feeling to Li Jia’s heart.

The next time she came here would probably be for the opening ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Actually, according to the schedule, she should have returned tomorrow, but due to the large traffic volume in the past two days, she hadn’t been able to buy a ticket. The earliest available train was still two days later.

“Why can’t I get a ticket!” Li Jia slapped the steering wheel and wailed.

Her work was clearly finished, but she was forced to stay here.

What was there to do for two days? She was unfamiliar with the place and there was nothing fun to do. She might as well just sleep in the hotel under the covers for two days.

Why hadn’t Lu Qing come yet? What was taking her so long to get something?

“Let’s go.” The back door suddenly opened, and Lu Qing got in with her bag.

“Okay.” Seeing her get in, Li Jia didn’t say much and drove towards the hotel.

They stopped at a very long red light.

Lu Qing, who had been sitting silently in the back, suddenly asked, “We still have two days here. Does Team Leader Li have any plans for these two days?”

“Hmm?” Li Jia raised her head and saw Lu Qing in the rearview mirror.

Sitting in the back, Lu Qing lowered her eyes, turning her head to look out the window. Li Jia couldn’t see her expression, only heard her say, “The previous material supplier sent two tickets for the Yulong Theater.”

Material supplier?

“General Huang?”

Li Jia’s hand naturally rested on the steering wheel, recalling General Huang, the supplier she had gotten drunk last time.

“Yes, it’s General Huang.” Lu Qing suddenly looked up, their eyes meeting in the rearview mirror. Lu Qing asked, “It seems this Yulong Theater is quite famous, do you want to go?”

“Yulong Theater?”

Oh, Li Jia remembered. She had heard that tickets were hard to come by. Not long ago, she had even heard Xiao Chen complaining that he couldn’t get tickets.

This was indeed very tempting, but…

There were only two tickets. If she went, then the other ticket would undoubtedly go to…

Li Jia was still hesitating when Lu Qing had already taken out the tickets.

Li Jia looked at the single ticket left in her hand and asked doudtedly：“Didn’t you say there were two?”

“Oh.” Lu Qing said very calmly, “The other ticket is with Xiao Zhuang.”

“Why…”

“A classmate came to see me for dinner unexpectedly, and I couldn’t get away, so I gave the ticket to Xiao Zhuang.”

“I see.”

Li Jia instantly understood Lu Qing’s meaning. Xiao Zhuang had helped out for so long, there should be some token of appreciation. This ticket was like using someone else’s flowers to present as a gift.

Lu Qing added, “It’s for the afternoon performance tomorrow, remember to be on time.”

“I will be on time.” Li Jia, without any further concerns, turned and happily took the ticket Lu Qing handed over.

It wasn’t Lu Qing, that was good…

It wasn’t because she disliked her. After spending this time together, Li Jia had actually found that Lu Qing wasn’t the person she had imagined.

Lu Qing wasn’t that annoying, she was just stricter about work and habitually had a sour face. As long as it wasn’t work-related, she was quite gentle, usually humble and polite to people, and there was nothing to fault in her dealings with others.

But for some reason, whenever she was in the same space as Lu Qing, Li Jia felt awkward.

Yes, awkward.

This awkwardness came inexplicably. As soon as Li Jia saw Lu Qing and met her eyes, she felt a chill down her spine, let alone being alone with her.

Therefore, apart from work, Li Jia didn’t want to have too much to do with Lu Qing.

Li Jia returned to her room and looked at the title on the pink ticket.

The two large characters “White Snake” were very conspicuous. Xu Xian and the White Snake Lady? It was a musical, so it was probably about the love story under the walls of Suzhou…

If she went with Xiao Zhuang, that would be nice. Xiao Zhuang was refined and wore glasses, but his personality was different from his gentle appearance. Xiao Zhuang was a humorous and cheerful guy who always liked to tell cold jokes in his spare time.

Hmm, going with him would probably be very interesting.

…Maybe it wouldn’t be that interesting after all.

The person who came wasn’t Xiao Zhuang, but Lu Qing.

“Manager Lu?!”

In front of the Yulong Grand Theater, Li Jia, wearing jeans and a white sweatshirt, holding two cups of cola in her left hand and a large bucket of popcorn in her right, stared at Lu Qing, her facial expression frozen.

Why was it Lu Qing who came? Shouldn’t it be Xiao Zhuang?

Lu Qing was wearing a camel-colored trench coat over a soft white inner layer, her hair was down, and she looked much gentler than her usual style.

“Your expression looks very disappointed.”

“Not at all, Xiao Zhuang he…?” Li Jia forced a smile.

“Xiao Zhuang had something come up last minute and couldn’t make it.” Lu Qing slowly walked to Li Jia’s side. “The client I was supposed to meet didn’t come, so I happened to be free to see the show.”

Lu Qing didn’t have much of an expression, she just looked meaningfully at Li Jia, who looked dejected. “Team Leader Li, why do you seem unhappy to see me?”

“…” Li Jia gave a forced laugh. “No, no, no, I’m very happy and honored to see the performance with you.”

Lu Qing very naturally took the large bucket of popcorn from Li Jia’s hands.

“Then let’s go, it’s getting late, the show is about to start.”

Li Jia stood there for two seconds, then followed Lu Qing’s steps.

Tsk, since she was already here.

The seats were even in a row.

As soon as Lu Qing sat down, she asked, “Is this cola for me?”

“…Yes.” Li Jia gave a fake smile and handed over the cola in her hand.

Why the hell didn’t you buy it yourself?!

The show was really about to start, and the surrounding lights suddenly dimmed. A spotlight fell from the very center of the stage. A woman in white floated down from the air, her long robes suspended in mid-air.

It was a stunning visual effect.

“Wow!!” Li Jia exclaimed.

Lu Qing’s lips curved into a smile, her attention completely off the stage. She slightly turned her body, secretly looking at the person sitting next to her out of the corner of her eye.

Li Jia, on the other hand, was completely engrossed, immersed in the vivid story unfolding on the stage.

She couldn’t hear any sound, her eyes could only hold that person’s profile.

How many times had she dreamed of this, how many years had she never forgotten?

What she wanted, what she couldn’t keep, what she couldn’t obtain, was right beside her at this moment.

Our distance is so close.

Li Jia’s profile was illuminated and dimmed by the stage lights. Lu Qing watched her intently, drowning in the surging emotions within her.

Countless pink and white petals fell, and Li Jia marveled at the white skirt fluttering as the performers rose and fell.

Li Jia applauded, generously praising the performance.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it!”

“Yes, it’s beautiful.”

Lu Qing looked at her smiling eyes and responded in this way.

Amidst the noise, Lu Qing’s voice was like a spring breeze brushing her face. Li Jia turned her head and met a pair of beautiful and gentle eyes.

Li Jia was immediately a little creeped out by this gaze. “Manager Lu…”

The person sitting next to her was Lu Qing…

But why was she looking at her like that?

What kind of look was that?