Purely Accidental - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
In the height of summer, approaching six in the evening, white clouds drifted across the sky, the daylight clear and bright.
Inside the house, apart from the motion-activated light in the entryway, not a single lamp was turned on.
Xu Jingshu stood beneath the light, looking at the photo Pei Youshan had sent her, momentarily torn between laughter and exasperation.
What a Pei Youshan indeed.
To actually use her to deceive herself.
And she had nearly fallen for it!
She had truly underestimated her identity as a writer.
Xu Jingshu found this not only amusing but also perplexing.
If she didn't have a girlfriend, why lie about it?
What little scheme was this kitten plotting now?
Putting away her phone, Xu Jingshu followed, intending to get to the bottom of it later.
Pei Youshan walked with light steps to the dining table and sat down, opening her phone to admire her handiwork once more.
Fingers tightly interlaced—everything was conveyed without words.
—Surely, after this, Xu Jingshu would believe her!
But Xu Jingshu hadn't replied, just like earlier today.
Perhaps she was busy with something.
Thinking this, Pei Youshan couldn't be bothered to care about the speed of her response.
Instead, she looked at the table laden with sumptuous dishes, inspiration striking as she found an angle to take a photo.
After completing everything, she leisurely set down her phone and glanced at her little lover, who was slowly taking her seat. The smile on her face grew even more sincere after having "borrowed" her earlier.
"Xu Ge, you've worked hard today too. Eat more to replenish your energy."
Xu Jingshu tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear. Hearing this, her plump, rosy lips curved slightly, giving her an enigmatic expression.
"Thanks to Miss Yue's blessings, it wasn't hard at all."
With someone as entertaining as her around, she truly hadn't found it difficult.
Pei Youshan frowned slightly at her words, sensing something underlying them.
After a moment's contemplation, alarm bells rang in her mind.
—She works at Penglai... Could she know I'm Mirror Inquires Autumn?! Fuxi and Nüwa above, has my secret identity been exposed just like that?!
She looked at Xu Jingshu in surprise, only to find her expression calm, as if she knew nothing.
Though puzzled, she couldn't afford to panic. Steeling herself, she cautiously asked, "Thanks to me for what?"
Xu Jingshu replied composedly, "Miss Yue is adorable. Just thinking of you makes work feel effortless."
Her gaze was intense, her words so heartfelt they could make one's heart flutter.
Pei Youshan: "..."
Misunderstood.
The evening glow hadn't yet set the horizon ablaze, but her cheeks were already burning.
"Nonsense..."
Embarrassed, she averted her face.
"Hurry up and eat!"
Xu Jingshu wasn't in a rush to eat. Instead, she watched Pei Youshan with interest and asked, "Miss Yue, what do you plan to do with that photo you took earlier? Care to tell me?"
Pei Youshan was surprisingly honest about this. Only after the blush faded from her cheeks did she speak: "To deceive someone."
Xu Jingshu smiled faintly. "Who?"
Oblivious, Pei Youshan answered candidly, "That marriage partner of mine."
The victim herself gazed at her with a smile. "Why does Miss Yue want to deceive her?"
Pei Youshan replied matter-of-factly, "Think about it—if I have a girlfriend, she won't be interested in me anymore, and this arranged marriage will naturally fall through."
"Besides, it's not like she'd be so shameless as to try to steal me away knowing I'm taken, right?"
Xu Jingshu chuckled, her tone meaningful. "Mm, Miss Yue is right."
"I, too, believe she wouldn't stoop to such depths."
At most, she'd just enjoy teasing the kitten a little more.
Pei Youshan ladled a bowl of soup and set it before her. "So, I'll have to trouble you to pretend to be my girlfriend for a while."
"Don't worry—I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely won't let her see your face!"
Her resolute tone made Xu Jingshu raise an eyebrow, fixing her with a look.
Her lazy fox-like eyes seemed to ask, "Why?"
Pei Youshan immediately grew concerned. "She's so fond of keeping lovers, and you're so beautiful. What if she takes a liking to you?"
"..."
Xu Jingshu lowered her eyes slowly, lifting the bowl of soup to her lips.
Five seconds later.
A soft, uncontrollable laugh finally escaped her throat.
In her twenty-six years of life, this was the first time someone had worried she might fancy herself.
If adorableness could conquer kingdoms, Pei Youshan would undoubtedly rule the galaxy.
She wanted even more to keep her identity hidden and stay by Pei Youshan's side.
The little kitten kept coming up with endlessly amusing antics—she wanted to see what new tricks she'd pull next.
With this thought, she lifted her head to look at the perplexed Pei Youshan, her eyes brimming with amusement, her voice gentle. "Don't worry, Miss Yue. With you here, I won't go with her."
The answer was somewhat pleasing.
The doubt in Pei Youshan's eyes dissipated as she reached out to pat her cheek contentedly. "Good girl."
Her little songbird was indeed far more likable.
A thousand times more endearing than that interrogation genius Xu Jingshu!
......
After her shower, Pei Youshan burrowed straight into Xu Jingshu's arms, refusing to move.
Xu Jingshu had no choice but to pause her game, setting the tablet aside on the coffee table before stroking her head. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to hug you."
Pei Youshan buried her face in the crook of Xu Jingshu's neck, sighing contentedly.
"Xu Ge, you're so much better."
Her little lover was fragrant, soft, and beautiful—most importantly, she didn't bombard her with verbal attacks like Xu Jingshu did, leaving her cringing through the screen.
Xu Jingshu asked softly, "Did someone upset Miss Yue?"
"That marriage partner of mine," Pei Youshan said.
Ah, so it's me again...
Xu Jingshu asked with interest, "What did she do?"
The question unleashed Pei Youshan's pent-up grievances.
"Let me tell you, she's a genius at interrogation."
"Even though we don't know each other, every question she asks manages to hit my embarrassment dead-on. I'm starting to suspect she's planted a spy around me!"
"That's why I think you're better—a thousand times better than her."
The spy herself felt no shame, only amusement.
Stroking Pei Youshan's head, she asked with a smile, "Anything else?"
Pei Youshan thought for a moment. "I also can't quite figure her out."
"Sometimes her replies are icy—just a single 'oh,' like I'm some insignificant nobody."
"But other times, her responses feel almost like..."
She trailed off.
Xu Jingshu looked down at her, prompting, "Like what?"
She was curious to hear how this ragdoll cat would describe her.
Recalling Xu Jingshu's insistent demand for proof earlier, Pei Youshan narrowed her eyes. "Like a lovelorn soul pining for me in vain."
Xu Jingshu: "...?"
What kind of absurd association was this?!
Had she said anything today to warrant such a misunderstanding?!
"Why would Miss Yue think that?"
Pei Youshan mumbled lazily into her embrace, "Because she was so persistent."
"Usually, when people hear I have a girlfriend, they just offer congratulations."
"But she's different—not only did she suspect I was making it up, she demanded evidence, as if she wouldn't rest until she saw my girlfriend."
"That relentless determination—doesn't it seem like someone who's been secretly in love with me for ages, refusing to believe my heart belongs to another, desperately making one last stand?"
She was all too familiar with this trope.
It was everywhere—on TV, in novels, even in her own writing.
Xu Jingshu: "..."
She'd slipped up by asking too much.
But she never expected these questions to be interpreted this way.
Was this how a writer's mind worked? She'd truly learned something new today.
Gently patting Pei Youshan's back, she said calmly, "Perhaps Miss Yue is overthinking it."
"I hope so."
Pei Youshan sat up, suddenly struck by the urge to indulge in some vanity. With a flick of her long hair, her eyes sparkled with playful confidence.
"Even if I'm not, it doesn't matter—because either way, I'm someone she can never have!"
Xu Jingshu arched a brow, as if watching a fluffy ragdoll cat prancing before her, its bright eyes brimming with smugness, irresistibly tempting her to pet it.
She pulled Pei Youshan into her arms, gazing at her intently.
—"Xu Jingshu" might not have her, but "Xu Ge" did.
"Miss Yue, please tie up your hair."
......
To prevent Pei Youshan from further misinterpreting her as some tragic lovelorn figure, Xu Jingshu deliberately replied late.
It wasn't until past three the next afternoon that she responded to those three messages.
Pei Youshan was reading at home when the notification sounded. Picking up her phone, she saw—
[Xu Jingshu]: Mm, I believe you.
Both perfunctory and cold.
Pei Youshan compared the time of the reply to when she'd sent the messages, her brow furrowing.
She screenshotted the two timestamps and sent them to her little lover.
[Pei Youshan]: Xu Ge, why do you think she took so long to reply?
[Pei Youshan]: Could it be... she lives in the mountains?
Xu Jingshu was baffled.
[Xu Jingshu]: Why the mountains?
[Pei Youshan]: Bad signal in the mountains!
Xu Jingshu couldn't help but laugh.
Only she could come up with something like this.
After a moment of silent contemplation, Pei Youshan had a new theory.
She typed hurriedly.
[Pei Youshan]: I get it now.
[Pei Youshan]: She might have been secretly crying over me having a girlfriend!
Xu Jingshu: "..."
...How does she even think of these things?
She remained silent for a moment before deciding to tease this cat with a galaxy-sized imagination.
[Xu Jingshu]: If Miss Yue's assumption is correct, then why would someone secretly in love with you keep so many lovers?
[Xu Jingshu]: Doesn't that make her affection seem rather cheap?
Pei Youshan stared at the messages, stroking her chin in silence.
Two minutes later.
[Pei Youshan]: Maybe...
[Pei Youshan]: This is how she copes with her unrequited love for me.
[Pei Youshan]: Because she can't have me, she keeps lovers who resemble me, only to discard them when she realizes they'll never truly be me...
[Pei Youshan]: So that's how it is.
[Pei Youshan]: [Master, I have seen the light.JPG]
Xu Jingshu: "..."
She must have aced reading comprehension in high school.
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