Beautiful Woman, You Have Another Express Delivery! (GL) - Chapter 25

Cheng Qiuyi greatly respected her master. Most of her knowledge and principles, from childhood to adulthood, came from him. Yet now, this man stood before her, just because the person she loved was a woman, uttering the cruel words about expelling her from the lineage.

Qin Jiang realized his emotions were running high and softened his tone. “I would be happy for you if you found someone to spend your life with, but that person shouldn’t be a woman.”

Cheng Qiuyi forced a smile. “Master, even if it wasn’t Liu Shuhan, it wouldn’t be a man. I can only love women in this lifetime. It’s innate.” She finished speaking, knelt down straight, and kowtowed three times to Qin Jiang. “If Master insists on expelling me from the lineage, I have nothing to say. I just won’t be able to fulfill my filial duty to you in the future. Please take care.”

She stood up after the kowtows, opened the door, and walked out.

Qin Jiang sat motionless in the chair behind his desk. He was gripping the armrest so hard that it snapped into two pieces. Splintered wood pierced Qin Jiang’s palm, drawing fresh bl00d, but Qin Jiang didn’t feel the pain. He took out the album from the drawer, an album he had flipped through countless times.

These were old photos from ten or twenty years ago. Some were too old, and the faces in the pictures were blurry. These photos were strange. Most were not whole. There were obvious signs of cropping, clipped from the edges, all featuring the same woman. The woman had shoulder-length hair, with stray strands from her temples pulled back behind her head, revealing a clean forehead, a very competent look. The woman in the photo was Cheng Qiuyi’s mother.

Cheng Qiuyi and her mother were indeed unlike each other. Cheng’s mother had delicate and refined features, while Cheng Qiuyi largely inherited traits from Cheng Tianhong. Leaving other things aside, her pair of long, narrow, almond-shaped eyes were the spitting image of her father’s. No wonder outsiders said that the Cheng family was notorious for being cold-hearted and unfaithful.

Qin Jiang extended a finger and gently touched the cheek of the young Cheng mother in the photo. His voice choked. “Hui’er, Qiuyi has finally grown up, but I’ve guided her into becoming who she is now. How can I ever face you when I pass away?”

…

To get from the study to Cheng Qiuyi’s room, one had to pass through a long corridor. Turning the corner of the corridor, Cheng Qiuyi was blocked by a bare arm. The arm had smooth muscle lines, and even when stretched straight, one could feel the power contained beneath the thin layer of skin.

“I was wondering why I hadn’t seen you in C City these past few days. It turns out our Eldest Miss Cheng is stealing a moment of leisure, hiding in Z City with her little lover to have fun.” Ye Jing withdrew her arm and stood leaning against the wall. She wore a black tank top on top and loose cargo pants on the bottom. Her dark short hair fell smoothly, looking clean and refreshing.

“Aren’t you busy in C City tripping up those old fogeys? Why do you have the leisure to come here to Master?” Even someone who disliked Ye Jing as much as Cheng Qiuyi had to admit Ye Jing’s charm. She seemed to have a natural aura, surrounded by spotlights wherever she went, with a steady stream of followers, both male and female.

“I’m just worried that my little Junior Sister is a coward and might run away with her little lover at the slightest disagreement?” Ye Jing moved closer to Cheng Qiuyi. “After all, running away from a fight is something you’re an expert at.”

Cheng Qiuyi took a step back to widen the distance. “Master is still in the study. I don’t want to fight you. Move.”

Ye Jing listened to Cheng Qiuyi and indeed cleared the way in the corridor, even making a gesture of invitation. Cheng Qiuyi didn’t know what she was plotting. She walked past cautiously, sticking close to the wall. As she passed Ye Jing, Ye Jing predictably made a mischievous move, suddenly reaching out to strike at Cheng Qiuyi’s waist. Cheng Qiuyi was prepared. She sidestepped Ye Jing’s attack and threw a punch straight at Ye Jing’s face. Ye Jing raised her arm to block the blow, faked a kick, and then, catching Cheng Qiuyi off guard, seized her right hand, twisted it behind her back, and pinned her against the wall.

Ye Jing violently tore open Cheng Qiuyi’s shirt, pointing to her shoulder. “What is this?” Her eyes were bloodshot.

Cheng Qiuyi followed her gaze, seeing two rows of already-scabbed teeth marks on her shoulder—Liu Shuhan’s masterpiece.

“Did that woman leave this?” Ye Jing ground her white teeth, growling the words, her eyes practically spitting fire. Cheng Qiuyi was forced so close to her that she could clearly see the veins on her forehead bulging, as if they might burst at any moment.

“Good, very good.” Ye Jing laughed in extreme anger. She rested her chin on Cheng Qiuyi’s shoulder and said darkly, “Since she can leave a mark on you, how can I show weakness?”

Ye Jing buried her head in Cheng Qiuyi’s neck and inhaled, then opened her mouth, intending to bite her neck.

“Ye Jing!” Just a second before Ye Jing bit her neck, Cheng Qiuyi suddenly spoke. “Don’t force me to hate you even more.”

Cheng Qiuyi’s body was trembling slightly in Ye Jing’s grip. She thought she had mentally overcome the fear Ye Jing instilled in her, but her body wouldn’t lie. The shadow Ye Jing left was too deep. Cheng Qiuyi realized for the first time that perhaps she could never truly escape it.

Ye Jing lifted her head and examined Cheng Qiuyi closely for a moment. What first appeared in Cheng Qiuyi’s eyes was stubbornness, but looking deeper, it was sheer panic. Ye Jing sighed and released her hold on Cheng Qiuyi. The first thing Cheng Qiuyi did after regaining her freedom was to punch Ye Jing’s fair face.

Ye Jing took the hit from Cheng Qiuyi but didn’t fight back. She slid down the wall to sit on the floor, muffling a laugh with her swollen cheek.

“Qiuyi, I met you first. Why is it Liu Shuhan who gets you?”

Ye Jing knew the answer to this question perfectly well.

“Qiuyi, you’re finally back! How was it? Master Qin didn’t make things difficult for you, did he?” Liu Shuhan had been waiting for over an hour without seeing Cheng Qiuyi, pacing anxiously like an ant on a hot pan. She wanted to go out and look for Cheng Qiuyi several times, but the thought that this place was Qin Jiang’s house made her nervous. Qin Jiang was Cheng Qiuyi’s master. It would be bad if she angered him.

She saw Cheng Qiuyi and gasped again. “What happened to your clothes?”

Cheng Qiuyi’s collar had been torn open by Ye Jing during their struggle. Fortunately, she was wearing a tank top underneath, so it was not too revealing.

Cheng Qiuyi didn’t answer. She grabbed Liu Shuhan’s wrist and led her out without explanation. “Come with me.”

Cheng Qiuyi’s emotions were clearly abnormal. Liu Shuhan could distinctly feel her anxiety and restlessness. Liu Shuhan wanted to ask Cheng Qiuyi where they were going, but seeing Cheng Qiuyi’s state, she didn’t say anything, following Cheng Qiuyi out of Qin Jiang’s old residence in silence.

“Miss Qiuyi, the master asked me to take you back.” Qin Jiang’s car was parked at the gate of the old residence. The driver stood by the car. Seeing Cheng Qiuyi emerge, he bowed respectfully to her.

“Get lost.” Cheng Qiuyi raised her foot and kicked the driver in the stomach.

She was wearing short boots today. The driver clutched his stomach, his face pale with pain, and could only watch as Cheng Qiuyi led Liu Shuhan away.

Liu Shuhan had rushed out quickly, still wearing her slippers. Cheng Qiuyi was only focused on pulling Liu Shuhan forward, her head down. Her strides were large, and Liu Shuhan had to jog to keep up, developing blisters on both feet.

They walked one after the other for an unknown distance until Liu Shuhan’s legs finally gave out and she fell to the ground. Only then did Cheng Qiuyi seem to have a switch pressed, bringing her back to her senses.

“Shuhan, what’s wrong?” Cheng Qiuyi quickly helped Liu Shuhan up and sat her on a roadside stone.

The hard, rough concrete road had scraped Liu Shuhan’s legs when she fell, especially her knees, which were bloody and bruised. The old residence was in a remote area, and streetlights were scarce on this secluded road. Cheng Qiuyi could barely make out Liu Shuhan’s injuries in the moonlight and broke out in a cold sweat in panic. Cheng Qiuyi had been single-mindedly rushing out, leaving her phone and wallet at Qin’s house. Liu Shuhan was badly hurt, and this road was in the middle of nowhere, with no clean water to wash the wounds. What could they do?

Liu Shuhan had a large area of abrasion on her knees, and every movement caused a stinging pain. Afraid that Cheng Qiuyi would blame herself, she forced a smile through the pain. “It’s fine now. It’s exactly like when I fell during the sports meet back then.”

Cheng Qiuyi couldn’t look at Liu Shuhan’s smile. She lowered her head and murmured, “Shuhan, I’m sorry.

“I… was a little out of control today.”

Liu Shuhan felt that this day was unprecedentedly long. They were reminiscing about their youth hand-in-hand in the afternoon, and now they were like refugees, stranded in this desolate place, crying out to no avail.

That Qin Jiang, Liu Shuhan had only thought of him as a teacher who wasn’t very close to his students. It turned out he was a hidden master. And Ye Jing, this woman’s aura was too strong, clearly not someone to mess with, and she subtly suggested a past between her and Cheng Qiuyi… None of the people she encountered today were normal.

“Qiuyi.” Liu Shuhan held Cheng Qiuyi’s hand. “You worry me a lot when you’re like this.”

“I know I’m useless. I’m just a little delivery worker. I don’t understand all your big deals. But when you don’t tell me anything, I worry so much. I worry about what you’re doing, I worry about your feud with those people, I worry about whether what you’re doing is dangerous…”

“Qiuyi, I beg you, don’t exclude me from your plans. I may not be able to help with your affairs, but at least let me know what’s going on.” By the end, Liu Shuhan was practically pleading with Cheng Qiuyi.

After a long pause, Cheng Qiuyi squeezed Liu Shuhan’s hand back and whispered, “Shuhan, let me carry you back, just like before.”

Liu Shuhan felt utterly exhausted, releasing Cheng Qiuyi’s hand as if losing all strength.

What was this? Cheng Qiuyi kept saying she wanted to grow old with her, yet she wasn’t even entitled to know what Cheng Qiuyi did.

But Cheng Qiuyi said again, “I’ll tell you all these things on the way.”

Cheng Qiuyi’s palms were sweating cold, her voice trembling, but her eyes were firm. “Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you everything tonight.”

Seeing Cheng Qiuyi like this, Liu Shuhan regretted her request. She realized that these things might be a bloody scar for Cheng Qiuyi, unhealed for years, and now she was forcing it open again.

“No… no need… Qiuyi, I don’t want to hear it anymore…” Liu Shuhan was just a small delivery worker. She was very timid. She was afraid she couldn’t handle it.

“But Shuhan, I want to tell you. I want to tell you how pathetic the Cheng Qiuyi you see beneath that glamorous exterior truly is.”