After Escaping Marriage - Extra 20
Chapter 163: Extra 3 - Parallel World
“Cheng Zhanxi.”
“Cheng Zhanxi?”
“Cheng Zhanxi!” Yu Jianxing slapped the young woman on the shoulder. Cheng Zhanxi turned her head, a beat too slow, and saw Yu Jianxing's face close to hers. She instinctively leaned back, and Yu Jianxing quickly grabbed her, preventing her from falling.
Cheng Zhanxi said a word of thanks and held onto the railing in front of her.
The boundless sunset made the sparkling sea look like red agate.
The dampness of the sea air washed over her face, and Cheng Zhanxi closed her eyes.
Yu Jianxing wrapped an arm around her shoulder and said, “What are you doing? You’ve been so down ever since you got back.”
Like she'd just had her heart broken. Yu Jianxing kept this thought to herself. Gossiping was one thing, but if Cheng Zhanxi really had been dumped, she'd just be rubbing salt in the wound. Besides, knowing Cheng Zhanxi's personality, she would say something if she wanted to.
With her eyes closed, Cheng Zhanxi smiled faintly. “Maybe I’m just homesick.”
…and homesick for that person back home.
Cheng Zhanxi didn't have a break for the Spring Festival, so Dad Cheng, Mom Cheng, and her older brother all came abroad to be with her. Even in a foreign land, they didn't miss out on their family reunion. But this year, the Spring Festival felt like it was missing something for Cheng Zhanxi. The Cheng family was close with the Wei family, and the younger generation was especially tight-knit. Whenever Cheng Zhanxi returned from her grandparents' house, the first thing she would do was visit the Wei residence to freeload on food, drinks, and a place to sleep, happily collapsing on the large bed in Yu Qingtang's room, completely content.
This year, after New Year's Eve dinner, the family went out for a walk and joined in the festivities with fellow countrymen. Seeing the red lanterns and Chinese knots abroad, Cheng Zhanxi wanted to call Yu Qingtang to share the moment, but then she remembered it was the middle of the night back home. She just took a few photos to send to Yu Qingtang the next day when she woke up.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the Cheng family returned to their country.
A few days later, on the weekend—which was now—Cheng Zhanxi was invited to a classmate's seaside villa.
Everyone else had gone to the beach, but Cheng Zhanxi wasn't in the mood. She used the excuse of not feeling well to stay behind. Yu Jianxing, on the other hand, was avoiding someone due to a romantic entanglement and didn't want to go either.
“There's a party tonight. Are you going?” Yu Jianxing tilted her head, looking at Cheng Zhanxi's long hair, which was being tousled by the sea breeze.
“No,” Cheng Zhanxi refused without a second thought, letting go of the railing and leaning her back against it.
“Are you just going to grow mushrooms in the villa?”
“What's wrong with growing mushrooms?” Cheng Zhanxi lazily ran a hand through the slightly curled ends of her long hair. “I love eating mushrooms.”
Cheng Zhanxi was by no means a lazy person. On the contrary, she was extremely self-disciplined and an avid athlete. But when she was relaxing, she exuded a languidness that seemed to come from within, as if even her bones were soft, making it impossible for people to look away.
Yu Jianxing suddenly asked, “Is there someone you like?”
Cheng Zhanxi chuckled. “Why?” She shot her a sidelong glance. “Are you trying to pursue me?”
Half-joking, half-serious, Yu Jianxing said, “Would you be willing?”
Who wouldn't be moved by such a beautiful woman? She admitted that, for a moment, the thought had crossed her mind.
Cheng Zhanxi said, “It's not a question of whether I'm willing or not.”
“Then what is it?”
“Whether you succeed in pursuing me or not, we'll never go back to being friends like we are now.” Cheng Zhanxi looked at her seriously. “Are you sure you want to pursue me?”
Yu Jianxing was the type to treat life as a game. Although Cheng Zhanxi had never been in a relationship, she and Yu Jianxing were fundamentally different kinds of people.
It was a multiple-choice question.
Choose a fleeting attraction or a friend?
Yu Jianxing was a smart person. She immediately smiled and said, “Then I won't.”
Cheng Zhanxi hummed in acknowledgment and turned to face the sea.
She suddenly found her mind wandering.
Going from friends to lovers was actually a very common transition. For most people, once they took that step beyond friendship, whether they succeeded or failed, there was no going back. It was a path from which there was no turning back.
Cheng Zhanxi reached out as if to grasp the setting sun. The last rays of the sunset slipped through her fingers. She tilted her face up, and patches of light dappled her cheeks.
Yu Jianxing tilted her head to look at her, and for some reason, she sensed a faint melancholy on her face.
In the end, Cheng Zhanxi couldn't get out of the party that night. A group of people dragged her along without taking no for an answer.
That night, Cheng Zhanxi was once again the center of attention. She finally managed to escape her friends, sat down on a sofa with a glass of juice, and drank half of it in one go.
After a while, Yu Jianxing also came over to take a break.
The two of them hid in a corner, chatting idly.
There were many new friends at the gathering tonight. The circle of international students wasn't huge, but it wasn't small either. Everyone at this age loved to have fun, and the club was buzzing with noise.
For the third time, Cheng Zhanxi's gaze drifted in a certain direction. Yu Jianxing followed her line of sight and saw a figure hidden in the shadows of the lights, a glass of alcohol in front of them. If not for the light reflecting off the liquid, Yu Jianxing wouldn't have even noticed the person.
Yu Jianxing: “Whoa, that person's dressed in all black. What are they doing?”
Cheng Zhanxi tilted her head. “I think she came with them.”
Yu Jianxing fiddled with the glass in her hand and laughed. “It's not Halloween yet. Why is this person out here trying to be all mysterious and spooky?”
Cheng Zhanxi tutted, signaling her to watch her mouth.
She said, “I'm going to go have a look.”
Yu Jianxing quickly said, “Wait for me,” and followed after her, glass in hand.
Cheng Zhanxi sat down opposite the woman in black and said gently, “Hello.”
The woman looked up.
Yu Jianxing, who had followed, was stunned.
Dark, shapely brows, clear autumn-water eyes, skin so fair it was almost translucent, a refined and delicate air—she was a beauty.
Yu Jianxing pushed past Cheng Zhanxi and cozied up to the woman. “Hello, I'm Yu Jianxing.”
The woman gave her a cool glance and said nothing.
Yu Jianxing: “…”
Well, this was awkward.
Cheng Zhanxi shook her head, holding back a laugh, and introduced herself. “Cheng Zhanxi.”
The woman's gaze seemed to shift slightly. She nodded. “Qi Sui.”
Cheng Zhanxi tilted her head and asked with a smile, “How do you write that?”
Qi Sui said, “The Qi from Qi Jiguang, and the Sui from sword tassel.”
Cheng Zhanxi raised an eyebrow.
The Sui from sword tassel. Very few people introduced themselves that way.
Cheng Zhanxi then asked, “Do you know me?”
Qi Sui nodded silently.
A person like her was hard to forget after seeing her just once.
“If I were as popular with women as you are, I wouldn't have to worry about being single,” Yu Jianxing lamented to Cheng Zhanxi after they returned to their seats.
Cheng Zhanxi nudged Yu Jianxing's arm with her elbow and laughed. “Give me a break. You just broke up with your last girlfriend less than a month ago.”
“Has it really been a whole month?!” Yu Jianxing was surprised, then had a realization. “No wonder I haven't had any inspiration lately.”
Artistic creation requires inspiration, and Yu Jianxing claimed that the collision of love and hormones brought her inspiration. She said it casually, and Cheng Zhanxi listened just as casually. It would be a miracle if she actually believed her.
Sure enough, Yu Jianxing's topic immediately strayed. “Hey, don't you think Qi Sui looks a bit like someone?”
“Like who?”
“That good best friend of yours, Yu Qingtang.” Yu Jianxing had seen photos of Yu Qingtang.
“…”
Yu Jianxing watched as Cheng Zhanxi's previously relaxed expression visibly hardened. She even frowned. “How are they alike?”
Yu Jianxing said, “I just mean they have a similar vibe. They're both kind of cold.”
She frowned too, wondering why Cheng Zhanxi was reacting so strangely. Qi Sui wasn't bad-looking at all. Even if she didn't compare to Yu Qingtang, Cheng Zhanxi's reaction shouldn't be this averse, right? Was her best-friend-filter really that strong?
It would make more sense if she were her lover.
Hiss—
Yu Jianxing's eyes darted, and she immediately changed her tune. “They're not alike. Not at all.”
Cheng Zhanxi's brows were still furrowed. “Of course they're not.”
Yu Qingtang was Yu Qingtang. No one was like her.
Seeing that Cheng Zhanxi still looked displeased, Yu Jianxing changed the subject. “Last time, when you rushed off in such a hurry, was it because Yu Qingtang came to see you?”
“Yeah.”
“Why didn't you bring her to meet us? We've been admiring her for a long time.”
“Admiring?”
“…”
Yu Jianxing was taken aback.
This is jealousy, right? It has to be jealousy, right? It is!
The person Cheng Zhanxi had a crush on was exposed right before her eyes, just like that!
Yu Jianxing was secretly delighted but kept a straight face. “I misspoke. I meant we've heard so much about her.”
“How do you know about her?”
“Aren't you the one who talks about her all the time?”
“Oh, right.”
“How come you haven't mentioned her recently?”
“I…”
Cheng Zhanxi tilted her head back, took a sip of juice, and didn't answer.
The second time she ran into Qi Sui was a month later.
Qi Sui was beautiful, and Cheng Zhanxi gradually heard things about her within the international student circle. Both her parents had passed away, and she was living with relatives here who didn't seem to treat her very well. She was a loner with a very withdrawn personality.
Cheng Zhanxi stopped walking, turned back, and placed her book on the table opposite Qi Sui.
Qi Sui looked up.
Cheng Zhanxi smiled at her.
The corners of Qi Sui's mouth suddenly curved, and she also gave a faint smile.
After they finished reading and left the library.
Cheng Zhanxi invited her gently, “I'm going to get something to eat. Do you want to come with me?”
Qi Sui nodded and walked behind her.
Cheng Zhanxi stopped and waited for her to catch up before starting to walk again, side by side.
“What year were you born? I was born in December '91.”
“'92.” The faint sound of a fork scraping against a plate stopped. Qi Sui, sitting opposite her, answered in a soft voice.
“So you're younger than me,” Cheng Zhanxi said with a smile, resting her cheek on her hand.
Qi Sui blinked, her long eyelashes drooping.
“What month is your birthday?”
Qi Sui's eyes shifted slightly. With her gaze lowered, she said in an even softer voice, “March.”
“Isn't that this month? What day? It hasn't passed already, has it?”
Qi Sui wanted her to stop asking and didn't want to answer, but hearing her gentle tone, she found herself speaking as if possessed. “No, next week.”
“What day of the week?”
“I… I don't remember.” Qi Sui opened her phone to check, bit her lip, and said, “Friday.”
“Can I come to your place for dinner tonight?” After the last class on Friday, Yu Jianxing ran over to find Cheng Zhanxi.
Cheng Zhanxi said, “Not tonight. I have to celebrate someone's birthday.”
Yu Jianxing: “Whose?”
Cheng Zhanxi: “Qi Sui. Why don't you come along? The more the merrier. I've invited other people too.”
Who doesn't like hanging out with pretty girls?
Yu Jianxing immediately said, “Okay, okay.”
Qi Sui was led to a private room. The door opened.
“Surprise~”
She was met with many smiling, congratulatory faces. Qi Sui turned her head and saw Cheng Zhanxi's face—the most beautiful, the most dazzling.
No one could help but love her, and no one could resist her.
And no one could stand in her light without feeling a sense of inferiority.
Six months later, Qi Sui mustered the courage to confess.
Wearing a pale blue dress on a moonlit beach, she laid bare the heart she had kept so tightly hidden for Cheng Zhanxi to see.
“I like you.”
Cheng Zhanxi looked surprised, but then, with almost no hesitation, she said, “I'm sorry.”
Her expression was open and honest, hiding nothing.
Qi Sui gave a self-deprecating smile.
Just like the kindness Cheng Zhanxi had shown her, it was clearly the affection between friends, a platonic bond.
Cheng Zhanxi said, “I'll take you home.”
Qi Sui lowered her head and agreed, the hem of her dress fluttering in the sea breeze.
The tide churned on the silvery-white sand.
After rejecting Qi Sui's confession, Cheng Zhanxi tossed and turned in bed. In a state between dreaming and waking, the person on the beach became Yu Qingtang.
“I like you.”
The same line, spoken by a different person. Cheng Zhanxi was startled awake by the frantic beating of her own heart, all sleepiness gone.
She sat up abruptly. Her eyelid twitched. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and, before her brain could catch up, fired off a message in one go: 【Someone confessed to me today】
She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her heart, sitting quietly for a long time until her racing heart gradually calmed down.
She got up to pour a glass of water and spent the rest of the night in torment, sleeping fitfully until dawn.
Yu Qingtang replied, but her answer was off-topic: 【Isn't your birthday coming up soon?】
Cheng Zhanxi's disappointment was palpable.
【Yeah】 She deliberately waited until after two classes to reply.
A long time passed before Yu Qingtang replied again.
【How about I come celebrate your birthday with you?】
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