Crush's Cold Senior Sister is Actually Childhood Sweetheart - Chapter 30

Chapter 29: “I Really Like You so Much.”

“Ah, you didn’t know?”

Fu Xin’s eyes widened in surprise. Seeing An Jin’s confused expression, she realized that this person had been lying in bed for several days and hadn’t even taken a single step out of the room.

Fu Xin smiled a little awkwardly and lowered her voice to explain:

“Senior Sister Ling had a huge argument with Master over the list for the martial arts competition. Now everyone in Chong Guang Palace walks a wide path around the two of them, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.”

At this point, Fu Xin suddenly leaned in closer and lowered her voice even more: “Do you know what they argued about?”

An Jin shook her head in confusion.

She had indeed heard Senior Sister Ling, Senior Ying, and the Vermilion Bird Dao Master mention the martial arts competition, but she had always been uninterested in such competitions and had never paid any attention to it on her own.

“Because your name was on the list,” Fu Xin explained. “Senior Sister Ling insisted on taking your name off, but Master disagreed. But I can understand… The martial arts competition is starting in a few days, and you’re sick right now. If you really go on stage, you probably won’t be able to last a few moves.”

“Me??”

An Jin pointed at herself in disbelief, wondering if there was something wrong with her ears. Seeing Fu Xin nod in confirmation, she found the matter even more absurd. “I’ve only been here for a few months, how could it be my turn?!”

“I heard that Senior Sister Cen recommended you,” Fu Xin recalled. “She said she had been observing you for a long time and thought you had a lot of potential. Since Senior Sister Cen spoke, Master naturally had to add you in.”

“Senior Sister Ling was especially angry when she found out and went directly to Master to have a huge argument.” She sighed, with a hint of envy in her tone. “I’ve been in Chong Guang Palace for so many years and I’ve never been in a martial arts competition…”

Fu Xin suddenly leaned in toward An Jin: “I never thought Senior Sister Ling would have such an impulsive side.” Then she changed the subject. “Speaking of which, she seems to have been especially caring toward you from the beginning. Have you two met before?”

Her tone was casual, as if she were just gossiping about it, but her eyes never left An Jin’s face, afraid of missing any of her expressions.

But to her disappointment, An Jin still shook her head in confusion.

Fu Xin still wouldn’t give up: “You really don’t know each other?” She stared at An Jin’s eyes, trying to catch any subtle changes in her expression.

“I never thought Junior Sister Fu would be so interested in my business.”

Just then, a familiar voice came from the doorway. Ling Qi was standing there at some point, her expressionless gaze sweeping across the room and finally settling on Fu Xin.

“Instead of beating around the bush and asking everyone,” Ling Qi said coldly, “why don’t you just ask me directly, Junior Sister?”

The temperature in the room instantly dropped.

Fu Xin’s body trembled. She stood up from the stool by the bed in a panic, her face pale: “I’m, I’m sorry, Senior Sister…” She clearly hadn’t expected Ling Qi to be in An Jin’s room at this time.

She opened her mouth, still wanting to explain: “It’s just, it’s just that everyone in Chong Guang Palace is spreading rumors… I was just a little curious…” But her voice grew weaker and weaker under Ling Qi’s cold gaze, and eventually, it completely disappeared.

“Oh, is that so?” Ling Qi’s face still showed no emotion, and she didn’t even move her eyebrows. “Who is spreading the rumors? Why don’t you tell me?”

“No, no one…” Fu Xin lowered her head in a panic, her voice so soft that even An Jin, who was next to her, couldn’t hear her clearly.

Ling Qi leaned silently against the door, watching Fu Xin with a cold look.

Her expressionless gaze always had a strong sense of oppression when she looked at others, making it difficult to breathe. Fu Xin’s body stiffened under her stare. She hurriedly lowered her eyes, not daring to look up and meet her gaze again.

Fu Xin tried to excuse herself several times, but the words got stuck in her throat. Finally, whether it was because she was uncomfortable from being stared at or she was truly guilty, she couldn’t help but say in a low voice: “Then Senior Sister, I’ll be going now…”

Ling Qi didn’t nod or say no. She just continued to stare at her silently, her gaze like a bottomless cold pond, as if she wanted to see right through Fu Xin.

Fu Xin unconsciously shrank her neck. She didn’t know what she was thinking of, but a layer of cold sweat seeped from her back.

In the end, it was An Jin, whose head was still muddled, who couldn’t stand the suffocating atmosphere and took over the conversation: “Thank you for coming to see me these past few days, Senior Sister Fu. In the future…”

Before she could finish, she suddenly started coughing violently. She coughed so hard that her face turned a little red.

Ling Qi’s gaze finally left Fu Xin. She walked quickly to the bed and sat on the edge, gently patting her back: “Talk less.”

Her voice was still cold, but her movements were gentle, and there was a very obvious look of worry in her eyes.

Fu Xin took the opportunity to hurriedly give a bow and almost fled the room, not forgetting to close the door on her way out.

“How are you feeling?”

An Jin’s head was dizzy. Her gaze was still fixed on the closed door. Seeing that she hadn’t responded for a long time, Ling Qi frowned and reached out, placing the back of her hand on her forehead. The cool touch made An Jin’s body shiver violently, and only then did she come back to her senses and say: “I’m fine. I feel like I’ll be back to my usual self in no time.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that something was wrong. She tightly closed her mouth, refusing to say another word.

But Ling Qi didn’t let her off the hook: “Then jump for me now?”

An Jin subconsciously shrank back into the blanket and shook her head desperately.

Ling Qi was almost amused by her behavior.

Her voice was already hoarse, her face was pale, and the loose hair on her forehead was wet with cold sweat, sticking to her forehead. She looked completely out of it, yet her tone was still “I’m doing great.”

Seeing An Jin burrow deeper into the blanket, from having her head exposed to only having her eyes showing, Ling Qi had no choice but to change the subject: “The martial arts competition is in a couple of days. Your name isn’t on the list. If you want to participate, just let me know two days in advance.”

She didn’t mention a single word about how she had argued with Yang Chongguang for several days in a row and went to great lengths to get An Jin’s name off the list.

The pair of eyes peeking out of the blanket blinked, staring directly at Ling Qi, but she didn’t say anything.

“Get some rest. I’ll come back tomorrow.” Ling Qi said as she stood up, glancing at the person curled up in a ball on the bed. “Is there anything else you want to ask?”

A muffled voice came from under the blanket: “Yes.”

Ling Qi raised an eyebrow and looked over, only to see An Jin finally poke her head out from the blanket, sitting up against the headboard, her eyes exceptionally serious.

“I want to know… why are you so good to me, Senior Sister?”

Her voice was still very hoarse, but her words were slow and clear.

Ling Qi was taken aback, and the room suddenly fell silent. She subconsciously turned her head, wanting to avoid An Jin’s gaze: “…Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Starting from the mortal realm, the first time we met, you let me help Liao Huan cheat.” An Jin counted on her fingers, listing them one by one. “Later in the demon realm, Wu Xu, and Jiu Yang Palace… You clearly could have ignored me. I was just a hindrance to you, but you never let go of my hand.”

An Jin looked up, staring directly into Ling Qi’s eyes: “Why?”

“You weren’t a hindrance.” Ling Qi answered this time very quickly, almost without thinking. Only after she said it did she realize her slip-up.

“Although I’m very happy, Senior Sister still hasn’t answered my question.” An Jin’s voice was very soft and a little nasally, making her sound very weak. But her attitude was still firm and aggressive.

Ling Qi pursed her lips and didn’t say anything. The room was silent again.

In truth, Ling Qi had known for a long time that a conversation like this would happen between them one day. Although it was a bit sudden, and she hadn’t expected it to happen at this time and in this setting, the question itself was within her expectations.

Xiao Jin had always been a very perceptive person. In the past, whenever someone’s attitude toward her changed even slightly, she would notice the subtle difference very quickly. Most of the time, she didn’t say anything because she didn’t care, not because she didn’t know.

Although she had lost all her memories now, and her current face bore no resemblance to her past self, the fact that most High Gods and immortals wouldn’t be suspicious didn’t mean that her old acquaintances wouldn’t recognize her.

Whether it was Ying Baizang, Ying Huai Xu, or Yuan Se and Emperor Fo Ling… or herself, it was very difficult to treat the amnesiac Xiao Jin like a stranger.

And she had never asked. Was it because she truly didn’t care, or was she waiting for the right time?

She felt as if she had also been infected by the person in front of her and was also starting to lose her mind. Ling Qi was silent for a long time before she spoke again: “Is this a multiple-choice question?”

The person leaning against the headboard thought for a moment and said: “I think it should be a multiple-choice question.”

“How many options are there?”

“One.”

“Just one?”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t it a multiple-choice question? How can there be only one option?”

“I can’t help it.” An Jin spread her hands. “I can’t think of a second one.”

Meaningless questions, a meaningless conversation, and yet the two of them continued to talk back and forth. An Jin knew that her senior sister was using questions to evade her question, but she still went along with her.

Although she was lying sickly in bed, An Jin’s eyes were surprisingly bright. The burning gaze made Ling Qi have to turn her head away. Even though she had deliberately turned her gaze toward the door, she still couldn’t completely ignore the warmth in that gaze.

“Is the answer… important?”

“Of course it’s important.” An Jin said each word slowly and seriously. “It determines whether we get together now or if I start pursuing you today.”

Ling Qi suddenly choked on her own saliva. After a fit of violent coughing, she said: “…Isn’t that still a single-choice question?”

This time, An Jin didn’t continue the meaningless conversation with her. Her gaze was fiery, and her expression was a seriousness that Ling Qi had never seen before: “Senior Sister, I’ve thought about this for a long, long time.”

“At first, I thought it was… love at first sight, so I always wanted to look at you more and spend more time with you. Then I thought it was gratitude because you held my hand from the very beginning.”

An Jin paused, looked up directly at Ling Qi, and said firmly: “Only later did I realize that it wasn’t like that, or rather, it wasn’t just that.”

“Senior Sister, I really, really like you.”