As She Wished (GL) - Chapter 4
The next day.
Fu Jing woke up early and went to the School of Humanities to find Qin Ziqin after class. She sat in the back row with Qin Ziqin, listening to the professor lecture on the underlying systems of ancient Chinese literary theory.
Finally, class was over.
Qin Ziqin tidied her notes, casually tucking them into her book. “What’s up? You look like you’re about to burst.”
Fu Jing nodded glumly, then recounted everything that happened at the bar last night in one breath.
Afterward, she complained, “If you had been there, I never would’ve said something so idiotic!”
“So, you didn’t get her contact info, and you immediately stood up and called her blind?!” Qin Ziqin roared with laughter, hitting the table and wiping away tears. “Seriously, I’m genuinely impressed by you!”
“I didn’t come here to hear you make fun of me,” Fu Jing ground her teeth, grabbing Qin Ziqin’s shoulders and shaking her. “Qin Ziqin, hurry up and give me some advice! Now!”
“What advice? You said she just laughed a little, didn’t say anything, and left. She clearly didn’t take it to heart.”
Fu Jing emphasized, “She left in a hurry after taking a call.”
“The next time you see her, just be sweeter,” Qin Ziqin said indifferently. “In situations like this, it’s actually a good thing. At least she has an impression of you now. Having an impression is the first step towards love!”
A few seconds of silence passed.
Fu Jing nodded seriously. “Makes sense.”
“Mm.”
“She definitely likes me a little,” Fu Jing cupped her face, her round, almond-shaped eyes full of smiles, blushing to herself. “Otherwise, why would she suddenly get so close to me when she was just talking?”
Qin Ziqin was speechless. “I don’t want to burst your bubble, but have you considered that the music in the bar is too loud, making it hard to hear, which is why everyone likes to lean in when they talk?”
Fu Jing: “…”
Fu Jing quickly lowered her head, burying her entire face in her book, ignoring her.
Qin Ziqin watched her silently for a few seconds. “You’re not, by any chance, mentally chanting, ‘I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you, the turtle is reciting scriptures,’ are you?”
“…”
Fu Jing suddenly lifted her face, complaining aggrievedly, “Why can you inherently read minds… and I can’t learn it for the life of me…”
Qin Ziqin couldn’t help but click her tongue. “You’re overestimating me. It’s too easy to guess what you’re thinking; you can’t call that mind-reading. You need to learn some expression management, young lady.”
Fu Jing thought for a moment, then still smiled. “I think she definitely likes me, because when I went to talk to her, her eyes were always on me.”
“Again, I don’t want to burst your bubble,” Qin Ziqin rolled her eyes. “But you walked right up to her. If she didn’t look at you, was she supposed to look up at the sky, down at the ground, or turn away and look at the air?”
Fu Jing: “…”
Qin Ziqin apologized, “I’m sorry, stop glaring at me!”
“Anyway, I can do this,” Fu Jing pulled out a small card holder from her bag, lowered her eyes, and took out a card. “I saw online that if you can spend seven figures pursuing someone, you’re guaranteed to succeed.”
Qin Ziqin commented genuinely, “You’re like a landlord’s foolish son.”
“I am not,” Fu Jing said proudly. “At most, a third of this is from my parents. The rest is all from my own efforts—investments, financial management, scholarships, and things like that.”
Physics was her career ideal, and mathematics was her hobby. Fu Jing was also a person with very low material desires, so her enjoyment of investment and financial management purely came from the satisfaction of seeing the numbers increase.
Because of this, for many years, Fu Jing had been like a little Pixiu, guarding her allowance, New Year’s money, and living expenses, only earning and not spending, constantly using large sums to generate smaller sums and then more money… accumulating an astonishingly wealthy treasury.
Fu Jing slightly tilted her chin. “I’ve worked hard and saved for years—”
Qin Ziqin quickly interjected, “Only to have a woman empty your family fortune in one go.”
Fu Jing scoffed, “That doesn’t matter!”
“It’s not just about money,” Qin Ziqin suddenly sighed. “I’m worried that your first relationship will be with a complicated socialite, and you’ll easily have your feelings manipulated.”
Fu Jing didn’t understand. “Why would my feelings be manipulated? I already like her; she doesn’t need to manipulate them.”
Qin Ziqin was taken aback by her internal logic.
She thought about it for a while and felt that the world was too complicated, and explaining the intricate truths to this little innocent was too difficult.
She simply gave up, “Then go for it, but you must remember that you’re the customer, just spending money. Just don’t let yourself be played.”
Fu Jing tilted her head. She didn’t quite understand the deeper meaning of her words, but she still nodded in agreement, “I know!”
“Let’s go,” Qin Ziqin started packing her things. “Time for food.”
Fu Jing reminded her, “There’s still another class.”
“He’s already called roll, let’s sneak out!”
So, the two carefully hunched over from the back of the classroom, avoiding the gaze of the old professor who was smoking and resting by the open window, then quickly slipped into the stairwell.
The campus was quiet and peaceful, the spring light bright, and there were few people on the way to the cafeteria.
The two walked leisurely, when someone approached them.
“Sweetheart,” Qin Ziqin’s eyes suddenly lit up. She turned her head, wanting to whisper something in Fu Jing’s ear.
But she found nothing.
Fu Jing instinctively recoiled and dodged, then asked strangely, “What do you want to say? Why are you suddenly so close to me?”
Qin Ziqin was exasperated by her quick reaction. “May I ask why you dodged me?”
A few seconds of silence.
“It’s just…” Fu Jing’s tone was innocent. “An involuntary, instinctual reaction.”
“I just wanted to say,” Qin Ziqin took a few deep breaths, then couldn’t help but roar, “The guy walking over wearing that ugly blue jacket is my type! I wanted to show you how I pick people up!!!”
Fu Jing: “…”
The guy in the blue jacket paused, then looked back hesitantly: “…?”
••••
Night.
Fu Jing happily walked to the bar, her mind filled with Qin Ziqin’s instructions: as long as you’re thick-skinned and get close enough, you can win over a beauty!
This also perfectly aligned with Jiang Jianhua’s advice.
This afternoon, one moment Qin Ziqin was loudly criticizing someone’s ugly clothes, and the next, she was running over with a blushing face to get his contact information.
If Fu Jing had previously been uncertain about this principle, seeing it firsthand left her with no doubt: being thick-skinned was indeed the correct way to pursue someone!
“…”
“That kid is here again today,” Tao Xian saw Fu Jing and immediately went upstairs to find Gu Qingci, reporting with a grin, “Gu Qingci, your charm is just too great.”
Gu Qingci was looking at some materials. She didn’t look up, nor did she respond to Tao Xian.
“Every time, I think she’ll never come back next time,” Tao Xian said with a hint of emotion. “But she keeps coming, never complains, just sits there drinking tea and waiting for you. Are you really not moved at all?”
Gu Qingci finished reading the documents and put them back in her bag.
She finished tidying up and stood, then finally looked at Tao Xian. “From now on, unless it’s something important, you don’t need to call me over.”
Tao Xian shrugged. She wasn’t surprised, actually, and made an OK gesture. “Understood, boss. I’ll let you know when I can’t hold on and the bar is about to go bankrupt.”
For so many years, she had never seen Gu Qingci give anyone a second glance. The woman was like her name—cold, beautiful, and able to present a thousand facets in different lights.
Fine wine couldn’t intoxicate her, and cigarettes couldn’t addict her.
Despite possessing capital like mountains and seas, she was so ascetic that she had no particular preferences or hobbies.
Even when she smiled and laughed, her dark eyes remained exceptionally calm.
In the first few years of knowing her, Tao Xian couldn’t help but fantasize that she was a professional assassin in the darkness, with many terrifying corpses hidden in the basement of her luxurious country villa.
She really should go and persuade Fu Jing to drop the idea.
She pondered that she could introduce Fu Jing to other beauties who looked similar to Gu Qingci. While there weren’t many, they did exist.
Gu Qingci paused, then suddenly said, “Go and waive the bill for her table.”
“…Huh?” Tao Xian didn’t react immediately.
Gu Qingci then said, “And refund the previous payments too.”
Tao Xian now understood, but she couldn’t completely comprehend why. “Why?”
“Why what?” Gu Qingci’s expression seemed a little impatient. She glanced at Tao Xian, but her tone was very calm, “You can’t cheat a kid out of their money.”
“…”
Tao Xian was speechless.
You can’t?
Not only had she cheated her, but she had been continuously cheating her for half a month.
Tao Xian followed her downstairs, puzzled, when a bar server suddenly ran over and reported, “Sister Anjiu, Gigi said he had something urgent and couldn’t make it.”
“What did you say?”
Tao Xian immediately exploded. Her usual sweet and gentle voice could barely be maintained as she loudly cursed, “That bastard! So late, and now he tells me he can’t come?! Where am I supposed to find someone to cover his shift?!”
“Sister Anjiu… please think of something.”
“I don’t have any damn ideas!”
After finishing her rant, Tao Xian pulled out her phone, ready to contact someone to solve the problem.
Suddenly, a soft voice interjected, “I know how to mix drinks! Let me help!”
“…”
Fu Jing was at the bar getting a straw, and happened to overhear the conversation. She immediately raised her hand and approached Tao Xian, volunteering.
“You know how to mix drinks?” Tao Xian asked skeptically.
Fu Jing nodded obediently, “Mm.”
She had previously asked Gigi, the bartender, if she could borrow the book he had nearby. Gigi casually agreed. Fu Jing took it back to her booth and opened it, only to find that it also contained a staff training manual for the bar, as well as materials related to bartending.
She was genuinely bored sitting there.
Fu Jing read it carefully from beginning to end twice, practically memorizing it. The information was clear, and combined with occasionally watching Gigi’s actual operations, she felt it wouldn’t be difficult.
Tao Xian was about to say something else, but then remembered Gu Qingci’s instructions.
Perfect! She was just wondering whether she should refund the money, how much, or how to return it to Fu Jing.
Now, if she brought her into the fold… her consumption wouldn’t be charged, she wouldn’t be paid a salary, and wouldn’t the accounts just balance out immediately?!
A win-win situation!
Tao Xian’s eyes lit up. She decided that as long as Fu Jing could do even a little work, she would let her cover the shift. Finally, she confirmed, “You really know how to mix drinks? First, mix me a drink and let me see.”
“Okay,” Fu Jing walked straight behind the bar. “What do you want to drink?”
“Long Island Iced Tea.”
Fu Jing’s gaze slowly swept over the various spirits and decorations behind the bar, remembering the position of each item. Next, she followed the steps in the manual.
Although she wasn’t perfectly skilled at first, the series of steps flowed smoothly, with ease and steady precision. Watching her mix drinks had a pleasing aesthetic quality.
Soon, a Long Island Iced Tea was ready.
“Try it.”
“…”
The surrounding staff were somewhat shocked by her unexpected contrast. For a moment, no one spoke.