After Escaping Marriage - Extra 13
Chapter 156: Extra 3 - Parallel World
That evening, Yu Qingtang sat propped up in bed, the blanket pulled up to her waist. She held a book in her hands, but her expression was absentminded; the book remained open to the same page.
A ringing sound brought her back to her senses. Yu Qingtang picked up the Nokia phone beside her, a smile unknowingly gracing her lips as she pressed the answer key.
“Are you asleep yet?” Cheng Zhanxi's voice, coming through the phone, sounded a little distant, yet it was so full of life that it felt as if she were right there.
Even though their lives were no longer as carefree as when they were children, Cheng Zhanxi’s energy was still so boundless it seemed she didn’t know the meaning of fatigue. Even calling in the middle of the night, she sounded this spirited.
“Not yet.” Yu Qingtang’s voice was faint, showing no obvious emotional fluctuation.
Cheng Zhanxi was in the same position as her, wearing light pink pajamas and twirling the slightly damp ends of her hair after a shower. “Let me tell you, when I got home today, my parents asked me if the thing about us dating was real.”
Yu Qingtang was quiet for a moment before asking, “What did you say?”
Cheng Zhanxi: “Hahahaha, of course it’s fake. I told them we were just acting.”
Yu Qingtang: “…”
That wasn’t surprising in the slightest.
Cheng Zhanxi took the phone from her ear, looked down at the active call screen, then pressed it to her ear again. “Are you still there?”
“…I’m here.” Yu Qingtang sighed silently. “My parents asked, too.”
“So what did you say?”
“The same as you.”
Cheng Zhanxi again: “Hahahahaha.”
Yu Qingtang was completely unfazed now, even shaking her head with a resigned smile.
Cheng Zhanxi chattered on about trivial things, like how she’d gotten halfway through her shower that night before realizing she’d forgotten to grab a towel. Yu Qingtang listened with patient focus, responding from time to time.
When Cheng Zhanxi started yawning, Yu Qingtang finally suggested in a gentle voice, “Time for bed?”
Cheng Zhanxi hummed in agreement and slid under her covers.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
After hearing the dial tone, Yu Qingtang pressed the end call button. She lay in bed and stared quietly at the ceiling for a while before closing her eyes as well.
“Cheng Zhanxi.”
Not long after stepping through the school gates, Cheng Zhanxi heard someone call her from behind.
She turned to see a familiar-looking girl running toward her. It was a student from the class next door.
The girl glanced around her, then teased with a smile, “Hey, where’s your girlfriend? Why didn’t she come to school with you?”
Cheng Zhanxi paused, thinking, What girlfriend? Was she asking about her female friends? She had a whole bunch of those. Only then did she realize the girl was talking about Yu Qingtang. The newly-partnered Cheng Zhanxi replied with a composed expression, “She had something to do this morning. We’re going home together after school.”
The girl from the next class sighed. “I’m so jealous.”
Growing more and more comfortable in her role, Cheng Zhanxi smiled. “If you’re jealous, go find one yourself.”
The girl said, “No, no, I’m not worthy.”
Cheng Zhanxi was puzzled. “How are you not worthy?” Was there such a thing as being worthy or not in a relationship?
The girl replied, “I’m not you. Where am I supposed to find a partner who’s as good-looking and as much of a top student as Yu Qingtang?”
Cheng Zhanxi pondered this for a moment. “You have a point.”
The girl gave her an exasperated look. “Stop showing off your love.”
Cheng Zhanxi laughed heartily.
The partner was fake, but why did it feel so good to make the single people jealous?
In Yu Qingtang’s class.
She had a cool temperament. By the afternoon of the third day after the news had spread, the student sitting in front of her finally worked up the courage to turn around during a break and ask in a low voice, “Are you really dating Cheng Zhanxi?”
Yu Qingtang stopped writing and looked up, saying faintly, “Is there a problem?”
Her deskmate swallowed fearfully and said dryly, “No, nothing. I just think you two are a great match.”
Then, something jaw-dropping happened.
After hearing this, Yu Qingtang’s usually cool eyes curved into a gentle smile. “Thank you,” she said softly.
Her deskmate turned back around, dumbfounded.
This… was the magic of love really that powerful?
Their tacitly agreed-upon status as a couple brought some small changes to their lives. Cheng Zhanxi had thought that she and Yu Qingtang were already as close as could be, but she never expected they could get even closer. Her classmates often teased her, and Cheng Zhanxi enjoyed this fake relationship, cooperating fully in “making the single people jealous.” She was thoroughly reveling in it.
In her occasional moments of clarity, she would feel indignant on behalf of her friendship. Why should a girlfriend be closer than a best friend? She wouldn’t accept it! If Yu Qingtang were to get a boyfriend in the future… never mind, she refused to consider that possibility for now.
For Yu Qingtang, the experience was complex—a mix of pain and happiness.
The happiness came from being able to legitimately use the title of “girlfriend” to ward off all the flowers and weeds trying to get close to Cheng Zhanxi, and from being able to openly express jealousy in a joking manner. The agony was that with this title, Cheng Zhanxi grew increasingly lazy-minded, all flirt and no follow-through.
What was worse, it was as if that thought had never even occurred to her.
Once, they went to Country R for a hot spring trip. Their room had a private bath, and it was just the two of them; the adults were in another room. To get the full experience, they went into the water with nothing on. Logically, something should have happened, but Cheng Zhanxi was completely focused on playing in the water, splashing Yu Qingtang until her head and face were soaked, laughing heartily all the while.
Yu Qingtang: “…”
When Yu Qingtang got out of the hot spring, Cheng Zhanxi was quite the gentleman, averting her eyes until Yu Qingtang had wrapped herself in a loose white robe and tied the belt before turning back.
Yu Qingtang tilted her head slightly, her eyes deep with thought, though it was unclear what she was thinking.
After they were ready, they went to the larger room to find their parents. The moment Yu Qingtang entered, she was met with Yu Ci’s teasing gaze. If she had actually succeeded in doing something, she could have met Yu Ci’s silent jest with a defiant, raised-brow smile. But since nothing had happened, she could only pretend not to see it and look away.
One look at her reaction and Yu Ci knew that today had been just like all the other times.
Yu Qingtang was like her, maturing early and having a clear understanding of love and affection from a young age. But her personality was just like her father’s—extremely reserved. Cheng Zhanxi, on the other hand, was the pearl in her family’s palm, doted on since she was little, her life smooth sailing. She was still playful like a child. If they were to make it, there was still a long road ahead.
They were still young, anyway. She would let the young ones figure it out slowly.
Yu Ci picked up her teacup and took a sip, leaning lazily into her husband’s embrace.
Yu Qingtang glanced at Yu Ci, then silently pulled Cheng Zhanxi’s arm over, letting Cheng Zhanxi rest her head in her lap.
Cheng Zhanxi: “?”
Though confused, she didn’t resist. She even adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. A girl’s body was soft and carried a unique, cool fragrance.
Yu Qingtang peeled an orange for her and fed it to her mouth.
Wei Tingyu, watching from the side: “…”
Why had this sudden competition started?
Yu Ci coughed lightly, bringing the dazed Wei Tingyu back to his senses.
Wei Tingyu used a small fork to bring a piece of cut pear to his wife’s lips.
After the strange family gathering, it wasn’t until they were back in their room that Cheng Zhanxi voiced her question to Yu Qingtang. “Do we have to act in front of your parents, too?”
Yu Qingtang, her back to Cheng Zhanxi as she spread out the bedding and fluffed the quilt, said, “I forgot for a moment.”
Cheng Zhanxi didn’t suspect a thing. “Oh, oh, okay.” Actually, she had been a little nervous just now; her heart was still beating faster than usual.
Yu Qingtang’s movements paused for a second. Hearing Cheng Zhanxi walk over to pour some water, she let out an almost inaudible sigh.
The room had tatami mats. They had originally wanted to book a two-room suite, but Cheng Zhanxi said she wanted to sleep with Yu Qingtang, so they booked a couple’s suite instead. Besides not actually being a couple, they had done pretty much everything a couple would do.
Yu Qingtang had never held out any hope for sharing a bed, so she wasn’t disappointed when Cheng Zhanxi fell asleep quickly.
After the vacation, they returned home, and their days continued at a leisurely, unhurried pace.
Growth is like a river. It is not stagnant. Even if the terrain is gentle at the start, once the current picks up, it comes rolling in.
In the second semester of their second year of high school, most students, whether by their own choice or their family’s arrangement, had decided on their future paths. They were just waiting for graduation, for the fledglings’ wings to grow strong enough to fly in their own directions.
Cheng Zhanxi had decided long ago to apply to the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. She was learning French, going out for landscape sketching, and preparing her application materials and portfolio. She was so busy she was constantly on her feet. Yu Qingtang was almost as busy, but her burden was much lighter.
In the first semester of their third year, Cheng Zhanxi passed her French exam with excellent scores. She could finally breathe a sigh of relief, and it was only then that she belatedly realized Yu Qingtang seemed particularly quiet lately.
When she asked why, Yu Qingtang said she was afraid of disturbing her.
Cheng Zhanxi was good at many things, but reading Yu Qingtang’s emotions was one of her best. “You’re not happy? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Yu Qingtang looked at her and said with sincerity, “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Cheng Zhanxi asked, “Then are you unhappy about something else?”
Yu Qingtang looked into her clear eyes, and the resentment that had been building up for days dissipated into thin air. In the end, she just bit her lip and told her the real reason. “My teacher wants me to do my undergraduate degree in China first.”
Traditional Chinese painting was different from oil painting; its roots were in China. Teacher Tian had high hopes for her, and he himself was a university professor. By following him, Yu Qingtang would also be able to meet more outstanding masters of traditional Chinese painting. She would be like a fish in water, destined for great achievements. She was still young, and building a solid foundation was the most important thing.
Cheng Zhanxi's reaction was like an old, jammed machine. After a long moment, she finally let out a soft "Mm."
Yu Qingtang stared at her without blinking. “We can’t be together anymore.”
Cheng Zhanxi said “Mm” again, her lips pressed into a thin line.
“I’m going home now,” she said.
Yu Qingtang nodded.
With her back to Yu Qingtang, Cheng Zhanxi walked out, her spine ramrod straight with every step.
Cheng Zhanxi got into the chauffeur's car. As soon as the door closed, tears streamed down her face.
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