Pillowside Passion - Chapter 40

40:

Evelyn rode the motorcycle at breakneck speed, making Du Qingting’s head buzz even through her helmet. She tried to remind Evelyn that they were in China—speed limits, speed limits, no racing!

But what puzzled her more was that Evelyn could actually ride a motorcycle.

With the helmet on, the bike tore through the streets. Evelyn, having walked international runways, maintained an impeccable figure, and her riding was dynamic. But no matter how dynamic, the speed couldn’t keep up with the Cayenne.

They finally stopped by the river. Evelyn yanked off her helmet, staring at the indistinguishable flow of traffic, and sighed, “Well, she’s gone.” She turned to Du Qingting, who was slightly bowing her head, her breath quickening. “Don’t look so down. Maybe you’ll run into her again.”

Du Qingting said, “Why would she be here?”

Evelyn replied, “A coincidence, maybe. It means your fate isn’t over.”

Du Qingting glanced at her. Evelyn, not quite grasping her thoughts, added, “If she wasn’t just passing through… maybe she came for you.” She thought seriously. “Maybe she misses you too.”

Du Qingting stayed silent.

Evelyn, thinking she was upset about missing You Jin, patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, you’ll meet her. It means she’s looking for you too.”

Du Qingting looked at Evelyn and said, “Let me ride.”

She didn’t dare let Evelyn ride anymore—it was too reckless. She asked, “When did you learn to ride a motorcycle? Didn’t you say riding one makes you look poor?”

“Compared to a luxury car, it is poor,” Evelyn said, sitting behind her. “I learned to ride just to chase you. I followed you for a week, but you still didn’t recognize me. I had to stand up for you to notice me as ‘that one-eighty girl.’ Sitting down, you had no idea who I was. So I switched to riding behind you. But even that didn’t work—I felt like you still didn’t like me. Abroad, you were as cold as iron in winter. If you weren’t single since birth, I’d think you went abroad to heal from a breakup.” Evelyn sighed softly. “Otherwise, with my eyes this obvious, how could you not recognize me? Did you just not want to, or is everyone the same to you?”

Du Qingting rode slowly, able to hear her clearly. She opened her mouth, “Back then, I just thought you weren’t good-looking and didn’t want to bother with you, so I didn’t try to remember you.”

Evelyn, in all her life, had never been called unattractive. “Are you sick? Are you blind? Am I ugly? Is there even a beautiful woman in your world? You’re way too face-blind.”

“Stop with the rap. There’s one person in my world who looks different, pretty good-looking. Even if I forgot her, I’d still find her beautiful when I saw her again.”

“Who? Who?”

Du Qingting’s lips parted, forming the start of “Wang,” then said, “You Jin.”

She sped up, and Evelyn, not catching it, kept asking “Who?” from the back.

Du Qingting ignored her, speeding up to drop Evelyn off at the hotel. As Evelyn’s feet hit the ground, Du Qingting told her to get off.

After checking her in and ordering food, as she was about to leave, Evelyn called out, “Don’t be sad. I’ll definitely help you find her. After all, you’re the first Eastern girl I ever fell for.”

“It’s fine, I have my ways,” Du Qingting said, leaving the hotel. “Be safe, lock the door, don’t open it for anyone unless it’s room service, and check with them first. Let your manager and assistant know you’re safe.”

Evelyn nodded, saying, “Okay.” She couldn’t wait any longer, having rushed over right after a show. She waved, “Bye.”

Du Qingting stood at the hotel entrance for a moment, reviewing their chat history, wondering if she’d done anything to make You Jin misunderstand. If You Jin had gone to the airport, she might’ve been there when she sent that message. The chat stopped at the dog tag.

Seeing the line “Take her for dinner,” she wondered if You Jin misinterpreted it as “taking her to a hotel.” She went back and knocked on Evelyn’s door. Evelyn, obediently, didn’t open it.

“It’s me,” Du Qingting called.

Evelyn opened the door. “What’s up, darling? I don’t have feelings for you anymore. We can’t share a room.”

She held up a finger, her green eyes narrowing. Her mixed-race face, cold and rejecting, somehow became a midnight temptation.

“Got the food?” Du Qingting asked.

“On the table, baby,” Evelyn said.

Du Qingting snapped a photo with her phone, then took one of Evelyn. Evelyn strutted to the table, striking a seductive pose, brushing her short hair aside, crossing her long legs, and tilting her head slightly toward the camera.

“I’m taking it for Miss Wang.”

“Oh, oh, oh, hold on.” Evelyn relaxed, grabbing a pen and paper from her bag, scribbling in wobbly Chinese: Miss Wang, I fancy you.

“Take it, baby,” Evelyn called.

Du Qingting snapped the photo, annoyed.

Evelyn said, “If you just give a dry explanation or apology, it won’t work.”

“Have you sent her flowers?”

“Have you taken her to dinner?”

“Given her little gifts?”

Du Qingting: “…Nope.”

“But I gave her—”

She paused, falling silent.

Hmm… how do I put it? I played with her dog. Does that count?

“You give nothing, just crave her body. Do you think she’ll believe you’re serious?”

Hearing it like that, it sounded better than Gu Rui telling her to be a simp.

Du Qingting scratched her hair. “So, love guru, what do I do?”

Evelyn said, “First, explain our relationship. Make it clear there’s nothing between us.”

“Got it.”

“Then send her flowers and small gifts.”

“I hate people who think one gesture fixes everything. Buy a diamond. I can lend you some money,” Evelyn offered.

Du Qingting said, “I can afford a diamond, no need to borrow.” She had 200,000 yuan—buying a diamond and borrowing would be too humiliating.

“Get a two-million-yuan one,” Evelyn said. “No girl doesn’t love that.”

“…Okay.” Du Qingting stuffed her hands in her pockets. Did Evelyn think she was loaded? She was broke. She stepped outside, messaging You Jin and sending Evelyn’s photo.

Du Qingting: [Took her to dinner, I’m heading home.]

She rode her motorcycle a bit, stopped by the roadside, and checked her messages.

You Jin hadn’t replied.

Du Qingting: [Where are you? Home yet? Want me to pick you up?]

[Evelyn said she saw you at the airport.]

You Jin: [Nice slim waist she’s got.]

Du Qingting’s eyes widened. Was it because Evelyn grabbed her waist?

Du Qingting: [Next time, I’ll take a cab.]

You Jin: [Talking about your friend Wang Fugui, the supermodel’s waist is really slim.]

Without thinking, Du Qingting hopped on her bike and sped home. Twenty minutes later, she rushed into her room, stripped off her riding gear, revealing a black tank top. She tugged at her pants, snapping a photo: [Whose waist is slimmer?]

You Jin: [The supermodel’s.]

Du Qingting: [You didn’t look closely.]

You Jin: [Did I? Maybe your photo’s not clear. I really think her waist is slim.]

She sent a picture of Evelyn in a silver-black leather outfit, wearing stilettos, proportions perfect, followed by another of Evelyn in a tailored suit, cigarette in mouth, looking cool and commanding.

Du Qingting scrolled through her album. She rarely took photos, finding only the two Evelyn just took, one with the “I fancy you” note.

She stripped off her riding pants again, snapping a new photo: [How’s this?]

You Jin: [Honestly, your butt’s perkier.]

Du Qingting grinned, jumping onto her bed. “I knew it. Evelyn’s got nothing on me, her butt’s not as perky.”

She stood, took a few more mirror shots, and sent them all to You Jin: [Perky enough?]

You Jin sent a photo.

Her fingers held a lit cigarette, the ember glowing: [Gonna burn you.]

[Stick it out.]

Du Qingting’s face heated up. She studied the photo repeatedly—You Jin’s pale hand emerging from her suit, holding a provocative cigarette. Her mouth watered. She noticed a reflection in the glass window; a drink sat by You Jin’s sleeve.

Drinking?

She got up, threw on her clothes, and sped off on her motorcycle. On her way out, she passed You Qingchuan’s car. He heard the bike’s rumble, glancing in his rearview mirror, assuming she’d head home. But her bike kept circling their villa, the engine’s roar relentless.

You Qingchuan got out, frowning. “What’s she doing?”

The driver joked, “Like she’s surrounding us.”

You Qingchuan shot him a look, and the driver shut up.

Du Qingting’s bike passed the gate twice. She peered in, not seeing You Jin’s car, then remembered her saying she’d parked in the garage today—they’d play there.

She circled three or four times, stopping under a tree, looking toward You Jin’s room. Seeing no sign of her, hands in pockets, she considered climbing the wall when she spotted You Qingchuan on the second floor.

She ducked behind the tree, waiting a while before pushing her bike out of his sight, stopping at a corner.

Looking up, she saw someone by the window—You Jin, holding a drink, dressed in a black suit, her cigarette burning in an ashtray.

Du Qingting messaged her. The figure by the window picked up her phone but didn’t reply. She sent another: [I see you drinking. Why are you drinking? Didn’t your stomach bother you last time?]

Before a reply came, she called. You Jin set down her glass, answering after a pause.

“You went to the airport today?” Du Qingting asked.

You Jin said, “Did you see me?”

Du Qingting: “My friend did.”

You Jin: “Must’ve been a mistake.”

Du Qingting kicked a pebble. “You really didn’t go?”

“Mm.”

“Don’t just ‘mm.’ Tell me, did you go or not?”

As You Jin started to speak, Du Qingting quickly added, “How can a sister lie?”

You Jin fell silent. Du Qingting said, “You’re not talking, so you probably went.”

You Jin: “You talk too much.”

“Did you go or not?”

“Don’t be unreasonable,” You Jin said.

Du Qingting: “I’m not. I just want to know if you’re mad.”

“This morning, you said you weren’t mad at me.”

You Jin: “I’m really not mad at you.”

Du Qingting kept at her, sentence by sentence. She wasn’t great at sweet-talking, but she could wear someone down.

“Then why aren’t you talking?”

You Jin: “You’ve said everything.”

After a few seconds of silence, she added, “I’m just thinking, maybe I care too much about you. Is that okay? Will it annoy you?”

Du Qingting stared at the window, kicking another pebble. No response came. Her ears warmed as she said, “No need to worry. I’m not annoyed. Are you afraid I’ll go abroad again, or that something’s up with me and Evelyn?”

You Jin countered, “You saw me, your friend saw me—how should I introduce myself? Hmm? Girlfriend?”

Du Qingting froze, memories flooding back.

The next second, she heard someone shouting, “Xiao Jin, your dad wants you to come over.”

You Jin: “Hanging up, let’s talk later.”

“Not mad.”

“You’re not mad, then come down.”

“You come in.”

It was quiet—maybe early autumn had silenced the nearby bugs and birds. Du Qingting looked at her shadow.

“Okay.”

She parked her bike and hurried back. Passing the tree, she paused, looking up at You Jin’s lit room.

Her fingers traced the rough bark, unsure which marks she’d left before or after. She kept touching it, but the person on the phone stayed silent. “What’re the odds I can climb the wall?” she said.

“The house alarm will go off, and the whole neighborhood will hear. Haven’t you experienced that?” You Jin replied.

Years ago, Du Qingting went to You Jin’s house for dinner with her parents, who brought gifts, hoping You Jin could mentor her.

But seeing You Jin, Du Qingting chickened out. You Jin sat in the living room, holding a book. Setting it down, she glanced at her and said, “Brought your report card?”

Du Qingting stood frozen, too scared to look at her. Her mom quickly handed over the report card, saying, “Got it, brought it specially.”

The report card ended up in Du Qingting’s hands, but she didn’t move. Her mom, Chen Huiru, gave her a look and handed it over herself. “We got her tutors, but she can’t even tell them apart. She mistook Chinese for English, recited the alphabet instead, and the Chinese teacher gave up. She’s scared of you, though. Guide her—she’s already repeated a year.”

You Jin flipped through her test, saying, “She’s got a lot of room to improve.”

Chen Huiru nodded eagerly. “Yes, she’s not dumb, just lacks focus.”

You Jin: “After all, not many score 60 in Chinese anymore. A decent essay would’ve gotten her more.”

Chen Huiru’s face froze in embarrassment.

There was no helping it. She’d always indulged Du Qingting, who had family support to do whatever she wanted—no need to grind in this hyper-competitive world. Why else did she and her husband earn money?

But then they realized the world was brutally competitive, with new things and business changing rapidly. Without some skills, survival was tough. When the college entrance exam loomed, the family panicked.

That day marked their formal meeting, but they didn’t exchange a word. Chen Huiru prepared a lavish gift—an emerald bracelet. Liu Sumei politely invited them to stay for dinner, and Chen Huiru, shamelessly, accepted, bringing Du Qingting to the table.

Liu Sumei and You Qingchuan were there, occasionally asking about Du Qingting’s grades. Hearing her total score hovered around 250, their eyes held a hint of disdain, disbelief. Chen Huiru could only say awkwardly, “Yeah, her dad’s in mechanics, so we thought she’d study sciences. If she’d gone for humanities, she’d probably do better. We didn’t know, we should’ve learned from Xiao Jin.”

Liu Sumei said, “Xiao Jin didn’t specialize in sciences or humanities.”

“Oh, is that so?” Chen Huiru, confused, felt like she and her daughter were there to be scolded like failing students.

Young and reckless, Du Qingting found it oppressive and suffocating, terrified of the family. Using the excuse of the bathroom, she snuck to the backyard, climbed a cherry tree without thinking, and leaped onto the wall with wild abandon. She landed steadily, but the anti-theft alarm blared, scaring her into cursing.

The house emptied out, everyone shocked to see her. Too stunned, they forgot to turn off the alarm, drawing property security and neighbors to witness Du Qingting’s humiliating moment, stuck on the wall.

Young and mortified, she’d wanted to call her mom for help but locked eyes with You Jin instead. Leaning against the door, arms crossed, the usually serious You Jin’s lips curved into a smile.

She actually smiled.

Undeniably, her smile was beautiful—lips slightly upturned, eyes sparkling. Maybe it was sitting on the wall under hazy moonlight, but Du Qingting was mesmerized. Her empty mind flashed with a line:

“From atop the wall, we gaze afar; one glance, and my heart breaks for you.”

No surprise, when she snapped back to reality, seeing security with a chair to rescue her, she fell off the wall in fright, breaking her arm. On the first day of recovery, You Jin gave her her first lesson in a disinfectant-scented hospital room. As Du Qingting, in pain, wore a cast, You Jin’s physics lesson was worse, asking, “What force did your butt feel when you fell? Acceleration or deceleration? Draw the motion trajectory.”

Du Qingting’s lips curved. Strange—back then, she’d avoided You Jin like a venomous snake, as if recalling her could devour her. Now, thinking back, it tasted faintly sweet, teasing her tongue.

“Forget it.” She jumped off the steps to ring the doorbell.

Soon, Zhang Guixiang ran out. The living room lights were on; Liu Sumei and You Qingchuan were having tea. Zhang Guixiang moved quietly, intending to open the door, but Liu Sumei called her.

“Xiao Jin’s busy tomorrow with work. If there’s something, wait till she’s free. Go home for now,” Liu Sumei said politely, her rejection as cold as when Du Qingting, as a kid, wanted to share secrets with You Jin. Back then, stubborn and tactless, she’d say, “I’ll just look at her for a minute, it won’t take long, three minutes tops.”

Du Qingting looked up at the window, where a figure stood. You Jin was upstairs, phone in hand, still on the call.

Zhang Guixiang didn’t dare open the door, and Du Qingting was stuck. Zhang Guixiang signaled, whispering, “Later, when your aunt and uncle are resting, I’ll sneak you in.”

“Okay.” Du Qingting turned to leave.

She walked away, glancing back at the figure upstairs. They gazed at each other through the window. As You Jin started to turn, Du Qingting softly called into the phone, “Wait.”

“Hmm?” You Jin paused, looking out the window.

It was dark outside; You Jin couldn’t see Du Qingting clearly, only her shadow waving, stuffing an earbud in. You Jin stepped back from leaving, watching the figure hug the sycamore tree by the gate like a monkey. In middle school, You Jin started boarding, coming home twice a month. She’d heard Du Qingting was climbing roofs and walls, wild as ever. She asked Liu Sumei, “Doesn’t she wear frilly dresses anymore?”

Liu Sumei, confused, just hummed, later adding something about Du Qingting becoming a bit annoying to adults. Busy with studies, You Jin didn’t verify it.

In high school, Liu Sumei found commuting tiring, so she bought a place near school, bringing a chef and maid to care for her.

Occasionally, she’d think of Du Qingting, curious about the girl who always said, “You’re so pretty, what’s your name, can we be friends?” It became a sort of anticipation, what was she like without frilly dresses?

“You Jin,” Du Qingting called, slightly out of breath.

You Jin looked at her, straddling a tree branch like the cute witch on a broom in Kiki’s Delivery Service. “Be careful,” You Jin said.

“Okay.” Du Qingting nodded, looking at her.

They were aligned, her hands gripping the tree, the branch shaking slightly.

The next second, she inched forward, hugging the branch, reaching for the wall with her foot. Before You Jin could stop her, she leaped, landing on the wall.

Her butt slammed onto it, and she groaned, arms clinging to the wall. Damn, that hurt…

Before the pain subsided, the wall’s alarm blared again, signal lights flashing. You Jin slid open the glass door, stepping onto the balcony, and asked coldly, “What are you doing?”

Du Qingting grinned, feeling like her butt was torn apart, muttering, “After that hit, my perky butt’s done for.”

Hearing a heavy breath, she glanced at You Jin. “Did you laugh? Laugh again, I didn’t see it.”

She straightened, tilting her head, phone pressed to her cheek, the other hand adjusting her Bluetooth earbud. “I didn’t hear your laugh. Was the alarm too loud?”

You Jin looked at the girl on the wall. Zhang Guixiang rushed out from the living room, stunned, saying, “Oh my, how’d you get up there? I said I’d open the door! This is so dangerous, get down…”

The yard’s lights flicked on. Liu Sumei and You Qingchuan, heading upstairs, hurried down at the noise. Du Qingting’s phone buzzed; her mom’s message made her eyes throb.

Chen Huiru: [Baby, why’s their alarm going off? Are you climbing their wall again?!]

[Why do you keep doing such dumb things?]

Realizing what she was up to, You Jin couldn’t hold back, tilting her head slightly. She glanced at the moon, a crescent half-hidden by clouds, not quite clear.

Looking back at the girl on the wall, You Jin’s voice turned serious. “Du Qingting.”

“What’s with the full name?”

“Xiao Qingting.”

Du Qingting froze, her heart softening at You Jin’s smile, just as she’d hoped. She prepared to jump down. That “Xiao Qingting” melted her heart.

Something seemed to flow from her heart to her limbs as she looked at the distant figure.

Was it warm bl00d rushing through her?

You Jin said softly, “Are you stupid?”

Du Qingting asked, “Are you happy?”

She felt her mom was about to storm over from next door. If she didn’t leave, she’d embarrass herself again. Laughing, she said, “I jump, I’m jumping.”

You Jin: “My house’s alarm has gone off twice since it was installed.”

“Once because of you, and now again because of you.”

“Mm.”

Du Qingting jumped down with a thud, her knees aching on impact. Luckily, the ground was soft, sparing her a fracture like last time.

Breathing deeply, she brushed the dirt off her
palms. She understood why King You of Zhou lost his kingdom for Bao Si’s smile, it was that critical.

Really, she had no idea how foolish she was being. Standing straight, her knees throbbed, her head dizzy. Only when her feet hit the ground did she realize how stupid she’d been, utterly shameless. She awkwardly turned to look at the figure behind the window.

You Jin spoke first, her voice soft yet piercing, like the wind whistling past her ears as she jumped, branches swaying, carried through the Bluetooth earbud. “Like my heart.”