DTBS – Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Romantic Night

Tao Qiuyun's money power secured the rental rights to the Fairy Tale Castle. Of course, she didn't agree to bring Tao Zhuohua.

Letting her daughter ride a dog out was already showing great consideration for their sibling relationship by not breaking his legs. Of course, Tao Zhuohua himself was well aware that this lenient outcome was only because Tao Aiqin was unharmed. If something had actually happened, he might have needed to buy a bed in the ICU...

During dinner, Qin Qingshang didn't eat much, so she shared some of her light meal with Tao Aiqin.

The little kitty happily ate it, showing no sign of reluctance.

Seeing this, Qin Qingshang affectionately stroked her head. The little kitty softly told her, "It's okay~ Qinqin has eaten worse things."

Qin Qingshang thought she was suffering in another dimension with her parallel self, after all, she had the script of a domineering CEO's pampered wife running away with the ball. That's right, she had already changed the script for the Tao Qiuyun in the other dimension in her mind. Maybe CEO Tao wasn't overcome by beastly urges that night? What if they just slept together by accident and had a child, and she was the one who ran away first...

After all, CEO Tao in this dimension was so gentle and considerate, almost granting her every wish. What if, what if the Tao Qiuyun in the other dimension wasn't bad either?

Otherwise, why would she name her daughter Tao Ai "Qin"?

But the System understood perfectly that when Tao Aiqin said she had eaten worse things, she was referring to the cooked food Tao Qiuyun made. It still remembered her complaining that Tao Qiuyun must be the head chef of the dark cuisine world.

"So," the System quietly chatted with Tao Aiqin, "why are you pretending to be asleep? Didn't you want your two moms to take you to the amusement park? We're almost there, and you're starting to fake sleep."

"What do you know? Didn't you hear my Villain Mom talking just now?" Tao Aiqin closed her eyes. "She rented the whole castle for me to be a princess."

"Don't you want to be one?"

Be a princess my foot. I'd rather see the Empress and her Empress stick together.

"Huh?"

"It's 10:35 PM. I'm a child, I should be asleep at this time. The long night is for the two mothers. With no child around, maybe they can develop some feelings."

"...You're quite thoughtful."

"Of course. Two young, beautiful, single women in a castle full of fairy tale charm, under a sky full of stars, the atmosphere is perfect. Even if they didn't have feelings, they'd stare at each other until they did, okay! Hehe, I wonder if we can unlock a new CG this time~"

"..." I knew you were still thinking about CGs!

"Qinqin is asleep," Qin Qingshang sat in the passenger seat, turning to look at Tao Aiqin sleeping soundly in the child seat in the back. "Should we wake her up?"

"It's getting late anyway, let her sleep for now," Tao Qiuyun drove the car into the internal passage. "I'll hold her later. If she wakes up midway, she can still see the scenery."

"Sys! Sys! Did you hear that? She's actually going to hold me. She loves me so much."

The System was speechless. "They can't just leave a child alone in the car, can they? And she probably wouldn't trust anyone else to look after you."

"Give me a bottle of fake death... no, a fake sleep potion. The kind where they think I'm asleep, but my mind is clear."

"You're so demanding." The System opened the shop for her.

Just as the person and the System were discussing which potion was more cost-effective, they had already arrived at their destination. Tao Qiuyun picked up the sleeping little kitty from the back seat and stood side-by-side with Qin Qingshang.

To avoid exposing her fake sleep, the little kitty quickly swiped her hand, then had the System give her a dose of the potion. Her head immediately tilted and rested on Tao Qiuyun's shoulder.

System: Oh no! I swiped the real sleeping potion.

Refusing the costume change perk and the accompanying camera crew, Tao Qiuyun and Qin Qingshang only asked to be taken to the terrace.

"The commentary might wake Qinqin," Tao Qiuyun looked at the sleeping little kitty in her arms, then turned to Qin Qingshang. "So I didn't ask for it. If you want to look around properly, we can come another time, during the day."

"Those people must think you're a big spender, CEO Tao," Qin Qingshang walked towards the stone wall railing, looking up at the sky. The stars twinkled brightly at night. "You rented the castle but aren't experiencing it, just standing up here in the cold wind."

"Qinqin was the one who wanted to come to the amusement park. I was planning to take her on various rides," Tao Qiuyun walked forward. "But she's asleep now. We're adults, what's there to play?"

"Can't adults have a childlike heart?" The woman tilted her head to look at her. "This is a fairy tale castle. Such a big, magnificent castle, CEO Tao, didn't you fantasize about living here?"

"No," Tao Qiuyun shook her head honestly. "I'm not interested in these things."

"CEO Tao," Qin Qingshang stared at her. "Have you ever had a good time at an amusement park?"

"I have, but I didn't find it that fun."

"Forget it, you're a boring person," Qin Qingshang turned her head, looking at the giant Ferris wheel in the distance. "It's no use talking to you."

"Miss Qin hopes I can be more interesting?" Tao Qiuyun lowered her gaze in deep thought, asking seriously, "Then what counts as being interesting?"

"Nothing, everyone has their own ideas," Qin Qingshang shook her head. "I just said it casually, CEO Tao, you don't have to take it seriously."

She paused, then continued, "I hit Qinqin today. I think I should tell you about it. Her behavior was really too much, I couldn't stand it, so I spanked her a few times. I hit a bit hard, and she cried quite a bit afterward."

"Hit hard?" Tao Qiuyun turned her head to look at her, her eyes showing concern. "Then does your hand hurt?"

Perhaps she didn't expect her focus to be so strange, Qin Qingshang was momentarily stunned, then chuckled, "You're not concerned about your daughter hurting, why are you concerned about my hand?"

"If her butt hurts, your hand must hurt too," Tao Qiuyun said earnestly and seriously, her tone steady. "Don't hit her in the future. If she makes you angry, tell me, and I'll hit her."

"You hit her? Won't your hand hurt if you hit her?"

"I'll use a belt, not my hand."

Qin Qingshang was shocked, her eyes glancing towards Tao Qiuyun's waist.

To pick her and Qinqin up from the set, Tao Qiuyun had specifically changed into her previous "paparazzi outfit."

The somewhat loose black hoodie covered the woman's slender waist, but the evening breeze outlined some curves.

Seeing her staring intently at her waist, Tao Qiuyun's face flushed with heat. Coupled with the cool evening breeze, the feeling was even more pronounced. She quickly said, "The belt on these pants is covered. My belt last time was on the outside. Zhuohua spread rumors, so I had Wu Hu whip him with the belt, and then he remembered it and never dared to do it again."

Qin Qingshang frowned slightly, disapproving of her actions. "Don't use a belt. It's one thing for your brother, who has thick skin, but what kind of behavior is it to hit your daughter with a belt? She's still so young, how can she bear it? You're not allowed to hit her, let me do it instead."

Tao Qiuyun opened her mouth, seemed to remember something, and immediately nodded, "You're right."

Hearing this sentence, Qin Qingshang remembered their conversation in the car and understood that this was CEO Tao's way of expressing agreement. She stared at Tao Qiuyun's profile, suddenly remembering something very important.

The woman's face was radiant, filled with anticipation. "Instead of saying these things, CEO Tao, have you finished feeding the dog? What about the photos you promised to send me?"

"I..." Tao Qiuyun's ear, hidden by her long hair, felt hot.

"You're not going back on your word, are you? CEO Tao," Qin Qingshang was very serious. "You're a businesswoman, you need to be honest."

"Of course I keep my word," Tao Qiuyun took out her phone from her pocket with one hand, sent the photos, and desperately suppressed the blush that was about to flood her face. "I just hope Miss Qin, you won't laugh at me."

"Pfft—" Qin Qingshang held her phone, just letting out a laugh, then immediately covered her mouth. "Okay, okay, I won't laugh..."

Seeing her desperately trying to hold back her laughter, a helpless expression appeared on the woman's face. She put away her phone and turned to look into the distance. "Is it strange? Me being associated with these cute things."

"No, I think it looks great, you look so well-behaved~" Qin Qingshang paused after speaking, then quickly added, "Of course, I didn't mean to say that your dignity is completely gone, CEO Tao."

"What dignity do I have? In front of you," Tao Qiuyun's gentle eyes gazed ahead. "You're the one in charge."

Qin Qingshang chuckled to herself, "Don't say it so ambiguously, CEO Tao, how dare I be in charge of you?"

Catching a glimpse of her charming appearance from the corner of her eye, with her bright teeth and starry eyes, Tao Qiuyun felt like she was back in the past, when the young girl's light kiss was imprinted...

But this time, her heart felt like a more intense and profound drumbeat was repeatedly leaping.

"Miss Qin..." She turned her head.

"Whoosh—" Fireworks shot up into the sky, then exploded.

The dark sky was instantly filled with surging fireworks, covering the twinkling stars. Flames and sparks illuminated the two people facing each other on the terrace. With the brilliant fireworks as a backdrop, illuminated by the fiery blossoms, the two figures in the night appeared even more dazzling.

The moment their eyes met, the sound of fireworks exploding in their ears, the sound of the evening breeze blowing on the high platform, suddenly all disappeared in an instant. The figures in Tao Qiuyun's eyes and mind completely overlapped. She suddenly understood what her constantly surging heart was revealing.

She regretted not kissing her back then. At this moment, she desperately wanted to kiss the woman in front of her, embrace her, and kiss her passionately...

She thought, she liked Qin Qingshang.

It wasn't just a simple desire to get close to her and be friends. She had impure thoughts about her, and she was still craving for more.

Their first meeting at the bar, the light kiss, her heart had already been moved. It was just that her past self was too foolish and clumsy, treating the signal of a moved heart as a beautiful scenery that appeared abruptly in her life but was destined to fade away, merely browsing, not pursuing or commemorating it.

But the truth was already very clear. If the impression hadn't been deep enough, how could she have been attracted and captivated by a small mole on a random actress's neck, unable to recover for a long time?

She had never forgotten, she just thought about it too much, suppressed it too much, which is why it was buried deep in her heart. But even with just a shallow hook, her buried emotions would be pulled and released.

Now that this scenery had appeared again, was she still going to let it fade away without holding on tightly?

Be friends? What she wanted wasn't a friend...

She wanted this contractual relationship to become real.

"CEO Tao," the woman's beautiful face showed a surprised smile. "Did you specially prepare these fireworks? To celebrate me getting the lead role?"

The reserved and slow-paced CEO Tao, it turns out, knows a bit about romance in private~

She felt a few secret little thrills in her heart.

Tao Qiuyun came back to her senses, looked at her deeply, then slowly shook her head. "No, I didn't prepare these. This should be a complimentary item from renting the castle."

"Ah?" Qin Qingshang was a little dissatisfied, subconsciously retorting, "At this moment, CEO Tao, you should just admit that you prepared it to make me happy."

Tao Qiuyun is too much of a buzzkill. What she said was like ordering a set meal and getting a complimentary side dish from the restaurant. Although it's a surprise, it wasn't something she deliberately prepared for herself, which means she didn't care about it at all... Wait, why do I care if she cares about me or not!

"I'm very honest, Miss Qin," Tao Qiuyun's expression was sincere and earnest. "What I haven't done is what I haven't done. I won't take credit, nor will I deliberately deceive you."

"Alright, alright, you're honest," Qin Qingshang suddenly remembered something. "CEO Tao, since you won't lie to me, can you tell me why you worked as a server at the bar back then?"

"Bar server?" Tao Qiuyun was startled, then understood, and asked back, "Why do you say I was a server?"

"My classmate said she saw an employee ID number on your shirt and suspected you were a server." Qin Qingshang looked at her. "What? Were you not?"

The woman's eyes were deep. "Miss Qin, how much of that night do you remember?"

"I just remember coming back after dancing, and my classmate said you brought me a fruit platter." Qin Qingshang frowned. "Besides, is my memory that important? If I can't remember, you can tell me."

"I'd rather Miss Qin remember it herself," Tao Qiuyun lowered her head and smoothed her daughter's hair, which had been messed up by the wind. "Our first meeting was quite interesting, but I'm not very good with words. The story I tell will lose a lot of its interestingness."

"Okay, I'll think about it myself," Qin Qingshang glared at her. "Then why you were a server, do I have to figure that out myself too? Did we even have a heart-to-heart talk that night? Talk about life and the future?"

"I worked at the bar because—" Tao Qiuyun drew out her words, and as expected, saw the curious look on the kitty beside her.

"To prepare for taking over Chunjin Group," the woman said seriously.

"Huh?" The kitty was confused.

Tao Qiuyun secretly smiled, then her expression turned serious. "There are all sorts of people in bars, it's very suitable for me to observe and study. Chatting and socializing with them can also improve my social communication skills and teach me how to deal with different people, which is beneficial for my future."

"Are you serious?" Qin Qingshang was shocked, question marks above her head.

"Half true, half false?" Tao Qiuyun tilted her head.

"I don't want to talk to you!" Qin Qingshang raised her hand and pressed down on the railing, as if pinching the person beside her, silently gritting her teeth. "I didn't expect CEO Tao to tell such a bad joke."

If you didn't want to say it, fine, but why explain it so seriously, making her almost believe it!

Her fair hands rested on the stone railing, making the woman's skin look even softer and her fingers slender.

Tao Qiuyun still held her daughter with her left arm. She raised her right hand, hovering it above Qin Qingshang's hand, and finally rested it on the stone railing near her left hand.

"Cold?" The woman's voice was clear.

"Cold!" The huffy kitty didn't notice her small movement, turning her head away, not wanting to talk to her. "It's freezing!"

"Is it?" Tao Qiuyun looked into the distance, saying calmly, "But I think..."

Her beloved was beside her, their hands very close, just a slight movement away from touching. She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she seemed to feel the warmth emanating from Qin Qingshang's hand, a warmth that slowly climbed up her body.

The woman's heart was beating wildly, as if cheering for her awakening. Her tone was gentle and elegant, with a hint of almost imperceptible anticipation:

"Tonight, it's quite warm."

"Tao Qiuyun, with such a strong wind, is there something wrong with you?"

CEO Tao's reserved and subtle confession was instantly blown away by the evening breeze.

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