As She Wished (GL) - Chapter 8

Fu Jing hesitated: “B-but I don’t dare…”

“It seems you still have some animal instinct,” Tao Xian advised her. “How about this, just tell her I asked you to relay a message. The bar’s electricity, water, and internet have been acting up lately, and we need to prepare for the end-of-month event. I can’t handle it, so tell her to come in at least one day a week to help.”

Fu Jing excitedly agreed: “Understood! I’ll make sure to deliver the message!”

Tao Xian hung up the phone, completely imagining the foolish grin on Fu Jing’s face on the other end. She felt a mix of amusement and a touch of melancholy.

What kind of person was Gu Qingci? She wasn’t just any ordinary iceberg; only a naive, half-grown kid like Fu Jing would dare to rush towards her with such enthusiasm. It was like pouring boiling water on frozen ground—the water would likely freeze in the basin before it even seeped in.

By now, she was fully awake. She decided to get up and grab something to eat to fill her stomach.

Tao Xian was slicing sandwiches when her phone rang a few times. It was probably Fu Jing calling to complain after hitting a wall with her call.

She unwrapped the plastic wrap to secure the sandwich, poured cocoa milk into a glass, and then took an orange, placing everything on a wooden tray to carry to the wooden table in the living room.

As she drank her milk, she casually glanced at the messages Fu Jing had sent.

She guessed that Gu Qingci wouldn’t be so harsh as to make her cry, but she definitely wouldn’t be too polite either. This would probably be enough to make Fu Jing clearly give up.

She truly couldn’t imagine what kind of person Gu Qingci would like—if such a person actually existed, she’d probably be so shocked that she’d eat an orange peel and all.

Fu Jing: [She said yes!]

Fu Jing: [She’ll come every Thursday from now on!]

Fu Jing: [But she’s only free in the evening, and she’ll only be there for about two hours…]

Tao Xian choked on a mouthful of milk, coughing violently. She immediately put down her cup and scrambled for tissues, coughing until her face turned red and tears streamed down.

Once she had mostly recovered, she immediately grabbed her phone to double-check the messages.

What was going on? She hadn’t misread anything…

Gu Qingci actually agreed???

She needed to quickly check the almanac to see what day it was today…

••••

Finally, Thursday arrived, with heavy rain pouring all day.

Fu Jing arrived at the bar early, worried that Gu Qingci might not come due to the bad weather.

It was a weekday, plus heavy rain, so there were hardly any customers.

Tao Xian went to the convenience store next door and bought two decks of playing cards. She led the charge in slacking off, playing “Go Fish” with the staff. They took turns laying out cards to form a “dragon.” If a player’s card matched one already laid down, they could pick up the entire “dragon” of cards—a simple card game.

Fu Jing commented, “This way of playing is a bit boring. The outcome is fixed from the start; we’re just watching the process unfold. How about we add some variation?”

“What variation? I’m not good at complicated card games.”

“It’s simple,” Fu Jing said casually. “You don’t need to play your cards in order when it’s your turn; you can pick any card. How’s that?”

Everyone was indifferent: “Sure.”

A game began. After a few rounds of playing and picking up, the number of cards left in each of the four players’ hands clearly differed. Fu Jing seemed incredibly lucky, always picking up entire sequences of cards whenever the “dragon” became long enough.

Then, it would be Tao Xian’s turn, and she could only play a face-down card.

A few more rounds of playing and picking up.

Most of the cards were in Fu Jing’s hand, and the others were successively out of the game.

This game quickly ended.

The few people chatted animatedly, idly cracking sunflower seeds and sipping red wine, continuing to play cards.

Fu Jing bit her straw and drank orange juice, playing cards distractedly, mainly focused on listening to their gossip.

Starting with bizarre anecdotes, the conversation gradually shifted to the women Gu Qingci had rejected… there were CEOs and young models, who came here for romantic encounters or to find partners. Everyone had different methods and different mindsets, but only the outcome was the same.

Gu Qingci’s rejections were always tailored to the person. This time she disliked a mature woman who didn’t like working, next time she disliked a young university student. Her words were direct yet subtle.

Tao Xian continued, “Then one time, a hot young model pretended to be drunk and sat on Gu Qingci’s lap. You should have seen it back then, her face immediately turned black, and the young model thought she was internally wavering, so she tried to kiss her—”

Fu Jing’s eyes widened. She listened so intently that she forgot to pick up cards: “…”

“But she didn’t get to kiss her,” Tao Xian chuckled. “And Gu Qingci directly picked up a glass of wine and poured it over her head, saying she should sober up.”

Fu Jing immediately relaxed, collecting her cards again. “That’s exactly what she should have done! Fortunately, there’s no hooliganism crime now, otherwise, she’d be locked up.”

She quickly cleaned out everyone else’s cards again.

And another game ended.

“…”

After three games, even the most foolish person realized something was wrong.

Ye Xinyi thought of Fu Jing’s initial suggestion and her eyes widened in disbelief: “You didn’t memorize all your cards, did you? So you pick whichever card you want, like playing with open cards?”

“…”

Caught red-handed, Fu Jing nodded honestly: “It’s not hard.”

“Damn it, not hard my ass! You were constantly listening intently to our gossip, and you could still multitask and memorize so many cards?!”

Fu Jing gave a silly chuckle.

Tao Xian couldn’t help but shake her head and sigh, “Little Fu Jing, you’re really amazing. Just when we all think you’re an idiot, you suddenly reveal an incredibly high IQ that mere mortals like us can’t possibly reach.”

Fu Jing’s lips twitched. She stared at them accusatorily, “You actually thought I was an idiot??!”

“She thought so,” Cheng Nannan quickly raised her hand and pointed at Tao Xian, saying with a giggle, “She has a bad heart.”

“Yeah, Sister Anjiu has a bad heart.”

Everyone collectively raised their hands and pointed at Tao Xian, their faces sporting mischievous smiles.

“It seems I’ve been too gentle lately,” Tao Xian’s eyelid twitched. She frowned and glared. “Believe it or not, I’ll break each of your fingers off?”

Ye Xinyi deliberately spoke in a cutesy voice, “If you break them, you can use your own fingers to satisfy me tonight~”

Fu Jing laughed loudly.

“…”

“Fu Jing is so proud,” Cheng Nannan sighed. “Even a top student plays cards so well.”

“No,” Fu Jing was momentarily dazed. “It’s just that I’m good at Go Fish, what’s there to be proud of?”

Ye Xinyi opened a packet of soda crackers and started eating, mumbling, “That means you have a powerful instantaneous memory, isn’t that something to be proud of?”

“It’s just having a good memory, what’s there to be proud of,” Fu Jing shook her head seriously. “No matter how good your memory is, it can’t prove a theory, nor can it build a time machine. Loved ones will still leave forever, and the people who love you most can never stay with you.”

“…”

A few seconds of silence.

Fu Jing pulled her lips into a smile to finish: “So what’s there to be proud of with a good memory?”

Everyone fell silent.

Fu Jing looked up, belatedly realizing the atmosphere was a bit off.

They all looked at each other, then at her, their faces filled with unsaid words.

“Of course, I’m still very happy that I can casually dominate you all in cards,” Fu Jing quickly smiled, her eyes curving. “Want to play another card game? Anyway, as long as it involves memory or math, I guarantee I’ll win until the end!”

“That arrogant?” Tao Xian rubbed her chin and winked at the others. “If we switch to something else, we might be able to cooperate a bit…”

Fu Jing was quite calm: “I doubt you could win against me even if you laid out your cards and strategized together.”

“Hmph!” Ye Xinyi was indignant and about to suggest another card game.

But then she saw Fu Jing suddenly get up and head towards the entrance.

••••

As Gu Qingci entered the bar, someone at the door presented her with a huge bouquet of roses. “For you.”

She wasn’t expecting it and actually took them.

Her fair, delicate face was framed by the vibrant red flowers, her cool eyes softened by the bright color. She was wearing a crisp black suit, holding the dewy, vivid roses in one hand, creating a striking contrast.

Oh my, a beauty holding flowers.

Fu Jing’s face wore an infatuated expression, her eyes bright.

“…”

Gu Qingci reacted, a little speechless, and tossed the bouquet back into Fu Jing’s arms.

She walked straight inside without a word.

“Why don’t you want them?” Fu Jing, holding the bouquet herself, chased after her, whispering, “Don’t you like roses? What kind of flowers do you usually like?”

Tao Xian coughed, feigning composure as she collected the cards. “Hurry up and get to work. Try to pull in some people to play. Get as many as you can.”

“Were you playing cards just now?” Gu Qingci asked casually.

“Not exactly playing cards,” Ye Xinyi quickly answered. “We were unilaterally being played by Fu Jing. Fu Jing is super amazing!”

“…”

Gu Qingci’s gaze shifted to Fu Jing, looking a little surprised. “This little kid can be good at cards?”

Fu Jing, thinking that Gu Qingci likely preferred naive and sweet types, edited her words, finally saying with an uncertain tone, “She’s alright, maybe just a little better than Sister Anjiu.”

She used her fingers to indicate a distance of a few millimeters.

She was as humble as could be, even showing a shy smile typical of a well-behaved elementary school student.

It was as if the person who had arrogantly dominated the entire room earlier didn’t exist.

Tao Xian, almost choking on her red wine, couldn’t help but roll her eyes and say, “Don’t mention me.”