BSG - Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Yun Youqing was having lunch with her crush.
It was their first time eating together. She had done the inviting, and the other party had graciously accepted.
Under the guise of scanning the menu, Yun Youqing stole glances at the woman sitting across from her. October had wrapped A City in a cool autumn, and the woman had shed her black coat, revealing a plain, long-sleeved blouse underneath. The collar was slightly open, exposing a pair of collarbones.
She leaned back in her chair, her peach-blossom eyes lowered as she quietly studied the unfolded menu in her hands. Her short black hair fell softly and elegantly against her cheeks. The hand holding the menu was fair and slender, with a silver wave ring adorning her right index finger.
Her surname was Shen. Shen Wenxin. The current head of Minghai Jewelry.
Yun Youqing's gaze involuntarily lingered on Shen Wenxin's hand for a moment longer than necessary. What a truly beautiful hand... and the person is beautiful, too. Shen Wenxin, perfect!
So, here was the question: Did Shen Wenxin like women?
Yun Youqing didn't know the answer. They had only known each other for less than three days. They'd met the day before yesterday, at Yun Youqing's art exhibition. After sealing her heart away for the better part of a year, Yun Youqing had experienced love at first sight.
Because of her face. Yun Youqing admitted she was a bit superficial. She couldn't help but appreciate a good face. But who didn't like a beauty? Who wouldn't adore a gorgeous, stunningly beautiful woman? Just standing there, doing nothing at all, Shen Wenxin was more picturesque than a painting!
Shen Wenxin had come to the exhibition that day and bought one of her paintings. Yun Youqing, seizing the opportunity, had gotten her contact details under the guise of providing "complimentary after-sales service"—personally handled by herself. Shen Wenxin had even complimented the "thorough service" at the time.
Taking the initiative was the only way to start a story. And so, Yun Youqing had taken the initiative to invite her out for a meal today.
So... did Shen Wenxin like women?
But before figuring out Shen Wenxin's sexual orientation, Yun Youqing absolutely couldn't out herself. She could only pretend to be straight for now. Straight girl—the safest disguise at the moment. And straight girls were direct, uninhibited, making it incredibly convenient for her to probe.
"Miss Yun."
Shen Wenxin's mature voice suddenly fell upon Yun Youqing's ears.
Yun Youqing's gaze, fixed on Shen Wenxin's hand, reflexively lifted. Their eyes met unexpectedly.
She saw Shen Wenxin close the menu, lift her hand to look at it, and then raise an eyebrow at her. "What are you looking at?"
—Caught in the act.
Yun Youqing blinked, not flustered, an unhurried smile curving her eyes and poking two sweet dimples into her cheeks. "I was looking at your hand, President Shen. Your hands are truly beautiful."
Utterly honest. And she was great at leveraging her profession to create opportunities. "If you ever have the chance, President Shen, could you be my hand model?"
Shen Wenxin asked, "Does it pay?"
Yun Youqing nodded emphatically. "It does!"
Shen Wenxin chuckled softly. "I'm very expensive."
Yun Youqing patted her chest. "Don't worry, I'm really good at collecting trash!"
Shen Wenxin suddenly laughed upon hearing this.
Yun Youqing saw it and thought: Wow, she's even prettier when she laughs. It was as if all the light and flowers in the world had settled upon Shen Wenxin, captivatingly unreasonable.
"No need to collect trash," Shen Wenxin said, putting down the menu. "Your hands are also very beautiful. You could be your own hand model."
Yun Youqing's hands were elegant, slender, with smooth, lustrous fingertips. She could even apply to model jewelry at their company.
Yun Youqing's lips curved upward, a touch of pride appearing on her face. The great beauty complimented her. The great beauty has excellent taste. It would be even better if the great beauty could just fall for her along the way!
After ordering, Yun Youqing searched for a topic and proactively asked about the painting. "Oh, by the way, did your friend like that painting?"
Shen Wenxin nodded. "Mm, she liked it very much. Miss Yun paints wonderfully."
Yun Youqing smiled genuinely. "I'm glad she liked it. If there's anything else, feel free to find me anytime."
Shen Wenxin smiled, then asked with a hint of oddity, "Who spends money treating someone to a meal as part of after-sales service?"
Yun Youqing's smile was radiant. "That depends on who I'm inviting to the meal."
Shen Wenxin: "Oh?"
Yun Youqing: "If it's President Shen, then it's worth it."
Shen Wenxin: "Is Miss Yun flattering me?"
Yun Youqing: "I'm complimenting you with all sincerity."
Shen Wenxin didn't immediately respond. She looked Yun Youqing over once, twice, then propped her chin on her hand and said with a half-smile, "Usually, when people 'compliment' me like that, it's because they have ulterior motives and hope I can do something for them. So... what about Miss Yun?"
Shen Wenxin was, in fact, a bit curious. She and Yun Youqing had only known each other for a few days, and yet Yun Youqing had personally handled her after-sales, proactively invited her to lunch, and showered her with compliments. What was she trying to do? Was this necessary between a painter and a buyer? With Yun Youqing's reputation, she didn't need to manage client relationships like this, did she?
Yun Youqing didn't know whether to call Shen Wenxin perceptive. On second thought, coming from someone of Shen Wenxin's status, experience, and insight, it was natural for her to think that way. The higher one stands, the more people with ulterior motives surround them.
But her motives were different from theirs.
Yun Youqing mirrored Shen Wenxin, resting her elbows on the table and propping her cheeks on both hands. "Miss Yun... Miss Yun wants to be your friend." A sweet smile bloomed. "Really wants to."
Shen Wenxin looked into her eyes. A pair of dark, bright, almond-shaped eyes, clear and candid. When they gazed over quietly, there was even a hint of obedience, a kind of gentleness that made one reluctant to doubt her. She seemed... to really be telling the truth.
Shen Wenxin smiled and asked, "Really wants to?"
Her tone was like asking, Why?
Yun Youqing was frank. "Because you're good-looking." She smiled, still holding her cheeks. "I like good-looking people. They're very helpful for cultivating my aesthetic sense~"
Shen Wenxin put on an expression of sudden understanding. "Ah, so that's how it is."
"Yep, exactly like that." Yun Youqing struck an adorable pose. "Can President Shen give me a chance to be friends?"
Becoming friends first would give her more chances to probe her sexual orientation.
Shen Wenxin watched her with a smile, not answering right away. After a moment, she finally spoke. "Okay." Very graciously, she added, "I also like being friends with good-looking people."
Yun Youqing's eyes twinkled, her smile brimming. Wonderful, Shen Wenxin is someone who's easy to get along with!
The lunch was harmonious and elegant. Yun Youqing, conscious of her image in front of Shen Wenxin, didn't eat to her full capacity. After finishing, she followed up by inviting Shen Wenxin for a stroll nearby.
A tree-lined path, brilliant sunlight, a gentle breeze arriving.
In the wind, Yun Youqing's nose caught Shen Wenxin's fragrance—a faint, intense yet not pungent scent. Her gaze uncontrollably, secretly, shifted toward Shen Wenxin.
As if sensing her look, Shen Wenxin moved her head slightly and glanced back. Their gazes collided in the breeze.
Yun Youqing, unshy, smiled first and spoke. "I was pondering a question."
"What question?"
"How can I become Shen Wenxin's very best friend?"
Shen Wenxin raised an eyebrow. —Quite direct. "Is this a testament to my appearance? Because I'm exceptionally beautiful, you exceptionally want to be my friend?"
Yun Youqing paused for a second, then smiled so widely her eyes curved. Following her lead, she said, "Right. You're so beautiful, I super want to be your best friend in the whole wide world."
Shen Wenxin suddenly asked, "What if you meet other beautiful people?"
Yun Youqing answered slyly, "Then I'll be their best friend in the whole wide world, too."
Shen Wenxin laughed. "Sounds a bit fickle, Miss Yun."
Yun Youqing immediately countered, "Don't worry, you're number one in Miss Yun's heart!"
Shen Wenxin looked at this new friend. The new friend had long, straight black hair, a white headband resting on her head, and was wearing a pink, puffy-sleeved floral dress. As the wind blew past, lifting her skirt and swirling her long hair, her smile somehow became even sweeter. When a sweet girl said these things, it was always hard to dislike her for it.
Shen Wenxin smiled, turned, and continued walking. Seeing that Shen Wenxin hadn't taken her observation to heart, Yun Youqing let out an inward sigh of relief and followed. Shen Wenxin hadn't told her how to become a closer friend, but she wasn't discouraged. She would keep taking the initiative. The brave get to enjoy the world first!
"Let's talk about something else," Yun Youqing said.
"What about?" Shen Wenxin asked.
"Hmm, let's talk... adult topics."
Hearing this, Shen Wenxin stopped, turning her head to look at Yun Youqing with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
Yun Youqing began, "Do you have to go to work today?"
Shen Wenxin paused, then burst into laughter despite herself. "No."
Yun Youqing laughed along. "How about that? Very adult, right?"
Shen Wenxin laughed a soft "Mm" in agreement. Yun Youqing: "I have other adult topics."
Shen Wenxin stood still, arms crossed, watching her with keen interest. She saw Yun Youqing open and close her mouth. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Shen Wenxin raised an eyebrow.
Yun Youqing: "Adults fall in love, too!" —She wasn't wrong.
Shen Wenxin answered with composure, "No."
Yun Youqing's heart leaped. Her hands, clasped behind her back, clenched tightly as she restrained herself from letting her delight show. But what did just not having a boyfriend prove? Not having a boyfriend now didn't mean she didn't like men. No, she had to say something more, ask something more.
"What about... a girlfriend?"
The moment Yun Youqing finished asking, she met Shen Wenxin's eyes. A pair of bright, inscrutable eyes, carrying a hint of assessment. Dangerous. Yun Youqing immediately made amends. "Love is free, sexual orientation is free. Asking only one would be making assumptions. It would make me seem... narrow-minded."
A few seconds of silence stretched between them.
"Very rigorous." Shen Wenxin finally spoke.
Yun Youqing sighed inwardly with relief, nodding. "Yes, super rigorous."
Shen Wenxin asked, "Should I also answer rigorously?"
Yun Youqing nodded fervently. "Yes, yes, please."
Graciously, Shen Wenxin truly answered rigorously. "Neither. Currently single." She turned and resumed walking along the tree-lined path.
Standing behind her, watching her figure, Yun Youqing's heart was setting off fireworks. —She said she's single!
Night. Stars filled the sky.
Yun Youqing was curled up in the rocking chair by the window, draped in an off-white thin blanket, on the phone with her friend Tao Fangran.
"So, does she like women or not?"
Tao Fangran's voice came through the earpiece, jolting Yun Youqing awake. "Oh, right! I still don't know if she likes women!" She slapped her thigh, deeply regretful. "Ugh! Miscalculated!"
Tao Fangran could imagine her best friend's expression from the other end of the line. She laughed helplessly, offering exaggerated comfort. "It's fine. Just the fact that you're willing to put in the effort for her makes me very happy."
Yun Youqing: "?"
Tao Fangran: "Go, Xiao Qing, embrace your new flame, forget that damn old love!"
Yun Youqing: "..." She muttered quietly, "I wasn't even thinking about her anyway..."
Tao Fangran: "Miss Yun, please speak up."
Yun Youqing: "Agh, you don't need to help me desensitize!"
Tao Fangran declared with righteous fervor, "Yes, I do. The more it's brought up, the more numb you'll get. Then you won't feel sad just thinking about her. Why should she? Just because she broke up with you out of the blue, does she get to leave a wound behind for you to heal on your own? Desensitize! You must desensitize! You must embrace your new flame, embrace your future!"
Tao Fangran burned with indignation for her friend over the phone, the fire blazing fiercely. Yun Youqing felt like the flames were about to reach her side.
"Alright, alright, I know..."
Her love life had never been smooth. Either she fell for straight girls, or she was suddenly dumped. The latter described her last relationship. Before meeting Shen Wenxin, she had sealed her heart away for the better part of a year. Because of her ex.
They had been dating perfectly fine, and then the other party had suddenly brought up breaking up and leaving A City. Utterly inexplicable. When she asked why, her ex-girlfriend just said: "I don't like you anymore."
Did she not like me anymore? They had been so happy together just the day before the breakup... But her ex-girlfriend was someone who, once she made up her mind, wouldn't change it. If she wanted to leave, no one could stop her. Including Yun Youqing. And so, she had really left. They had really broken up.
Yun Youqing had been depressed about it for a long time. She had truly liked her, and she truly didn't understand why she deserved to be treated so carelessly...
Now, she had to look forward. There were plenty of fish in the sea! But whether she could embrace the new flame right in front of her was another matter. There wasn't even a hint of progress yet. If only she could become a new flame. I want to have a sweet, sweet romance with a gorgeous beauty, sob sob—first, let's check the gorgeous beauty's Moments.
Yun Youqing tapped into Shen Wenxin's Moments. Coincidentally, Shen Wenxin had just posted something.
Yun Youqing completely froze after just one look. The picture sat brazenly before her eyes. Shen Wenxin was facing away from the camera, and so was the woman beside her. The woman had long, curly hair, dressed casually and comfortably. Even from the back, she radiated an air of elegance. She was linking arms with Shen Wenxin. They stood very close, and a little corgi was leaning against Shen Wenxin's shoulder.
A little corgi. Shen Wenxin's WeChat profile picture was also a little corgi—one that was sprawled limply on the ground, guarding a doorway, its butt facing the camera.
The starry sky was frozen in the photo, and along with it, their hair tousled by the night breeze. The caption read: [Taking a walk, walking the dog.]
A beautiful scene. For Yun Youqing, it was also an extremely alarming scene.
Hang on, is this a friend... or a girlfriend?
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