Lady By The Pillow - Chapter 57

57 Dinner (1)

“Actually, they’re the same.”

“You hate me.”

When she said this, Wei Jiuyi’s red eyes were wide, her teeth biting the inside of her lower lip, and her nostrils were tight, as if she had a deep-seated grudge against someone.

But the words she said had no power behind them. They were probably the most aggrieved words she had ever said in her two decades of life.

It wasn’t “Can you not hate me?” but the unequivocal “You hate me.”

It was less of a complaint and more of a helpless accusation from someone weak.

Shi Qing’s heart softened instantly. The hand holding the food container dropped to her side, and she said,

“I don’t hate you.”

How could Wei Jiuyi believe her? “You compared me to Fei Ying.”

Shi Qing explained, “I don’t hate her either.”

“You told her to leave, and you don’t hate her?”

“I just don’t like her. It’s ‘don’t like,’ not ‘dislike.'”

Wei Jiuyi felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She wanted to tell Shi Qing that Fei Ying was so terrible that she should hate her, but she was afraid that Shi Qing would then say, “Then shouldn’t I hate you too?”

So she didn’t dare to say anything more.

There was a day when she and Fei Ying became a community of fate.

It was ridiculous.

“You’re not telling me to leave, so does that mean I can come in?”

Wei Jiuyi was still standing against the wall, but her back was no longer touching it. Her center of gravity had subtly shifted to her toes. She was ready to rush inside as soon as she received the command.

Shi Qing silently watched the change in her feet. She didn’t call her out. She just said,

“Xiao Ya and the others aren’t back yet. I can’t handle all this food by myself.”

“Can’t handle all this food by myself” sounded like “Please, come help me” to Wei Jiuyi. The corners of her mouth immediately lifted. She lunged forward to take the heavy food container, completely forgetting how sad she had been moments ago.

There were shoe covers ready at the entrance, and Wei Jiuyi put them on as soon as she came in.

This was a suite the crew had rented for Shi Qing. It was a spacious three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment. The balcony had a small ten-square-meter garden. It faced south, getting plenty of sunlight. The windows in the living room and master bedroom faced the river, providing a great view while ensuring privacy.

“It’s quite spacious,” Wei Jiuyi said, looking around, quite pleased.

“Mhm. The crew went all out,” Shi Qing said, turning on the kitchen lights.

“They should. It’s quieter here than a hotel, with fewer people coming and going. You’ll be able to rest better.”

“I slept quite comfortably in the hotel too.”

“That’s different. A hotel has a lot of people from different film crews—actors, cinematographers, assistants, all kinds of people. It’s not convenient if you want to go out and do something. There are not many people here, so you don’t have to worry about being found out if you want to go for a run or a walk at night.”

“I’m not like you. People recognize you as soon as you step outside.”

Shi Qing opened the upper cabinet in the kitchen, took out the bowls and chopsticks that Dong Ya had bought a few days ago, and put them in the sink to wash.

Wei Jiuyi pulled on her arm.

“I’ll do it. You can’t bend over.”

Shi Qing smiled. “I’m not that delicate. I’m wearing my back brace.”

Wei Jiuyi took the bowls and chopsticks from her. “I know. Just let me show off, okay?”

Shi Qing could only stand to the side. “Then, thank you for your hard work.”

“It’s no hard work at all.”

Wei Jiuyi threw the chopsticks into the sink and turned on the faucet to wash the small bowls. The water reflected the outlines of her fingers and the porcelain bowls, splashing a few drops onto her elbows, wetting her rolled-up sleeves.

“It’s just washing dishes. I used to wash dishes at your place all the time, didn’t I?”

There were no outsiders at the moment, so their conversation was uninhibited. Shi Qing didn’t stop her. She just leaned against the counter, watching the black hair swaying by her face. It was just like when they were together before. At that time, she wasn’t famous, but she still earned more than an average office worker. Wei Jiuyi’s food and daily expenses were all her responsibility. Every time Wei Jiuyi came to see her, she would buy a box of fruit with her money and wash them when she got home. After washing, she would ask,

“A-Qing, why can’t we drink raw water, but we can eat fruit washed with raw water?”

Shi Qing didn’t know how to answer. Wei Jiuyi would then suddenly kiss her and say,

“You’re too slow to answer. That’s a punishment!”

Shi Qing would then play along and say,

“Okay, then my punishment is to sleep alone tonight, okay?”

Then Wei Jiuyi would pout and flirt, saying she was just joking. While flirting, she would discuss how many times they would do it that night. When she talked a lot, she would laugh foolishly. When she talked less, she would continue to flirt.

How could they have been so happy then?

There were no worries, no fights, no arguments, no misunderstandings. They would kiss every time they met, and kiss when they got home. They would even kiss when they were half-asleep and holding each other in the middle of the night, as if they could never get enough of each other.

The sound of water splashing continued for over a minute. The moment the water stopped, the memory was paused as well.

Wei Jiuyi held a few bowls and drained the water, shaking them vigorously twice. A single drop of water still clung to the mole above her wrist.

Shi Qing was suddenly reminded of an intimate scene and quickly looked away.

“Put them on the table. We’ll wait for them to come back.”

Wei Jiuyi didn’t notice her expression. After setting out the bowls and chopsticks for four people, she opened the insulated delivery bag and took out the food one by one.

After everything was set up, there was still no news from Dong Ya and Zhang Yulan. The quiet air pulled the two of them into a separate dimension.

Shi Qing reflected. The words she had said to Wei Jiuyi earlier, “What you both want from me is the same,” seemed to have hurt her.

She was not like Fei Ying.

At the very least, she could simply and decisively reject Fei Ying, but with Wei Jiuyi, she had always struggled to handle their relationship because of the physical intimacy they had shared for a year.

What’s more, Wei Jiuyi had cried again because of her. And once again, she had said, “You hate me.”

“They’re not back yet. Good. We can talk.”

Shi Qing started the conversation.

The two sat across from each other at the dining table. They were facing each other, but one was looking at the painting behind the other, and the other was looking at the other’s hair.

Neither dared to look directly.

“Good. I have something to tell you too.”

Wei Jiuyi also had a lot to say.

Shi Qing deferred. “You go first.”

If it was related to their previous conflict, they could address it together.

But she guessed wrong about Wei Jiuyi this time. The little kitten who used to be so self-centered had grown up.

“You were unhappy at the hospital that day, weren’t you? I asked you why then, but you wouldn’t say. I thought it was because you didn’t want to be a ‘business couple.'”

After Wei Jiuyi spoke, it took Shi Qing two seconds to realize she was talking about when the two companies first started promoting their coupledom. At that time, Wei Jiuyi had told her not to keep things bottled up, but she still didn’t tell her the reason.

“Sometimes, when you’re unhappy, you just need to process it on your own. I don’t want to be a source of negative energy.”

Shi Qing once again explained her reasoning.

Wei Jiuyi nodded. She understood Shi Qing’s actions, but she didn’t think it was the right thing to do.

“It wasn’t until today that I realized you weren’t against being a couple. You were against them amplifying your fall from the horse, amplifying your pain. That way, any new fans of our couple would see that video, and you would have to relive the feeling of falling from a great height in front of everyone. This makes you remember what happened back then, right?”

Shi Qing didn’t say anything. Her gaze, which had been on the painting, fell to the table, staring at the steam rising from the black chicken soup.

Wei Jiuyi confirmed her own judgment.

“You’re not saying anything, which proves I’m right.”

She then took out her phone, opened the 97Time super topic, and pushed it toward Shi Qing.

“I talked to the company. The pinned video has been deleted. I also posted on Weibo earlier, saying that you were seriously injured in the accident and asking them not to spread the video that amplifies your pain.”

Shi Qing picked up the phone. The video with a million reposts on the super topic was indeed gone. She clicked on “latest comments,” and there was a post from the super topic moderator.

@97TimeClassRep: Leopard has spoken. From now on, you can no longer share videos of Cat falling from the horse. Put yourself in her shoes. Cat was in so much pain when she fell; she wouldn’t want people to keep watching it over and over again. There’s so much more to ‘ship’ with; this one isn’t necessary.

It seemed the fans were quite rational.

Shi Qing clicked on the comments section.

@97TimeEldestDaughter: I support this! Up! Everyone, listen up. You can also delete any close-up edits of the fall.

@04AuntieAnyoneWantMe: I will always be touched by this sincere puppy. Seriously, Qi Qi loves her wife so much. She won’t let her feel even a little bit of injustice, will she?

@HowManyTimesTonightSister: Ahhhhhhhhhhh I can’t handle this! Sister herself didn’t say anything, probably because she didn’t want to affect everyone’s fun. But Leopard caught her emotions and thoughtfully told everyone! What a perfect girlfriend. Leopard and Cat must do it 10 times tonight to celebrate!

@AHermitHasHisOwnPlan: [Yellow heart][Yellow heart][Yellow heart] The one above, be bolder. This Weibo post was made while the puppy was holding sister, kissing her while typing.

The first two comments were okay, but the further down she scrolled, the bolder the comments became. In the end, they were unreadable.

She quickly hit the lock screen button and returned the phone.

“Thank you.”

Shi Qing’s words were light, but her feelings were heavy. After a moment of hesitation, she said,

“Actually, you don’t have to be so considerate of me.”

Wei Jiuyi looked at her, her gaze like water.

“Why not? This solves your problem and successfully promotes us. As you just saw, they love this kind of thing.”

Shi Qing nodded. When it came to “business couples,” Wei Jiuyi was indeed much better at it.

Wei Jiuyi asked, “You said you had something to tell me earlier. What is it?”

After the night’s events, the atmosphere between them was no longer so awkward, so there was nothing they couldn’t talk about.

Shi Qing looked at Wei Jiuyi calmly, her beautiful eyes meeting hers.

“Earlier, when I said that what you and Sister Fei want from me is the same, I apologize. I’m sorry.”

Wei Jiuyi subconsciously wanted to smile. She held back with a powerful mental effort, raising her hand to her face and using the edge of her palm to cover her upturned lips.

“So, you finally think I’m different from her?”

Even without considering their efforts or sincerity, she could beat Fei Ying by a mile in terms of height, appearance, and charisma.

Shi Qing hummed in agreement and said,

“What Sister Fei wants from me is my affection, but you don’t. You just want us to cooperate and promote our coupledom well. You’ve probably been trained on how to handle this better than Sheng Qiao. You know what to do better than I do. It was arrogant of me to say you were the same as Sister Fei.”

In other words, she had thought Wei Jiuyi loved her and wanted her love in return. This “thinking” was arrogance.

The corners of Wei Jiuyi’s mouth drooped. The light deep in her eyes dimmed. Her hand, which had been clenched, trembled slightly. Her thumbnail dug into the pad of her index finger. In a dark corner no one could see, an unspoken love spread like a plague.

Actually, it’s the same.