Against the Light - Chapter 130
Chapter 130: Applause
"What's wrong?" Bai Yilan asked, looking utterly bewildered as Gu Xinran carried her back into the hospital room for no apparent reason.
"Danger, danger! Didn't you see how furious Xue Yuexian looked?"
"Hmm? Did she? Why?"
Gu Xinran looked at her silly wife, feeling both exasperated and amused. "Why did you pinch me just now?"
"What was that look you gave Sister Qi?"
"Just say it directly. You don't have to be so subtle."
"I was jealous."
Gu Xinran burst out laughing. "The way Ming Zhen was getting all worked up, how could Xue Yuexian not be jealous? 'Wants to marry them all,' she says. Not greedy at all, is she?"
"Is it really that serious? Ming Zhen is always like that whenever she sees a pretty girl. Doesn't Xue Yuexian know her by now?"
As soon as Bai Yilan said it, she froze. "Actually… I don't think she does know."
After all, Ming Zhen had always been careful to restrain herself around Xue Yuexian. She'd probably never revealed her true nature.
Gu Xinran shrugged and spread her hands.
"That girl…" Bai Yilan said, exasperated. She glanced toward the door.
Gu Xinran got the hint. She went to the door and peeked through the crack into the outer room. "They're gone."
"Yuexian won't do anything to Ming Zhen, will she? She looked really angry earlier."
"That's not really our business, is it?"
"Go take a look."
"Is that a good idea?"
"I'm worried. Do you think Yuexian will bully her?"
Gu Xinran raised an eyebrow, her mind flashing back to Xue Yuexian's frivolous behavior in her past life. "Oh, she definitely will," she said, an unconscious, mischievous smile spreading across her face.
"Will she hit her? Yell at her? Or make someone give her a shot?"
"…"
Gu Xinran's mind filled with question marks. Is that how this is going to play out? Why am I picturing all sorts of strange scenes?
My mind is no longer pure.
"Just go and see."
"Fine."
Gu Xinran headed straight for Ming Zhen's room. She knocked, but there was no answer. Pressing her ear to the door, she couldn't hear anything. After a moment's hesitation, she gently pushed the door open and poked her head inside. The outer room was empty, but a soft cry came from the inner room.
Gu Xinran stood at the entrance for a moment and heard a few more strange sounds.
This…
Feeling a little guilty, she glanced down the hallway before slipping inside on tiptoe.
The moment she stepped into the living area, she heard Ming Zhen whimpering.
Gu Xinran's heart skipped a beat. She felt she shouldn't go any further, but her curiosity was completely uncontrollable.
She furtively shuffled over to the door.
"Xue Yuexian, you're awful! Don't touch me!"
"Don't move."
"I was wrong, okay? I was wrong, I was wrong, really…"
"Sob… Don't come any closer! I'm still a patient!"
"All the more reason not to move."
"I was wrong, okay? I'll never look at pretty girls again."
"Oh."
"Don't look at me like that."
"If you're not looking at pretty girls, who will you look at?"
"…"
"Hmm?"
"I'll look at you! I'll look at you, okay?"
"If it's too much trouble…"
"No, no, no, no! It's no trouble at all! I just want to look at you. I want to look at you every day…"
"…" Gu Xinran listened from outside, completely speechless. This woman isn't just obsessed with pretty faces, she has no backbone either. Caving that quickly… seriously?
"Kiss me." Hiss. That sounded like Xue Yuexian. She's being so forward!
"I don't think so…"
"Hey! You're so shameless!"
"Ah, don't, Xue— I was wrong!"
"What did you call me?"
"Xue— Mmph!"
"Hmm?"
"Sister Xue… Sister Yue… Sister Xian…"
"I thought I was an 'old woman'?"
"You really know how to hold a grudge!"
"Hey, stop! I'll kiss you, I'll kiss you, alright?"
What followed was the sound of Ming Zhen's laughter, full of ambiguous meaning.
Gu Xinran found herself unconsciously leaning against the door, listening intently. Suddenly, she frowned. What am I doing?
Gu Xinran froze for a moment, dumbfounded. She was actually eavesdropping.
Then, with a bewildered expression, she looked at the door and left.
Back in the hospital room, Gu Xinran was still in a bit of a daze.
"You're back," Bai Yilan said. "How did it go? She didn't do anything to Ming Zhen, did she?"
"…" Gu Xinran looked at her, a troubled expression on her face. How am I supposed to explain this to her?
"Hmm?"
"Er, ah, it's… it's nothing. They're fine. She wasn't bullying her. The two of them were having a very happy chat. It sounded like they were so happy they even started applauding."
"What?" Bai Yilan froze. So happy they started applauding?
An image instantly formed in her mind: the two of them sitting across from each other, staring at one another while clapping their hands—pa, pa, pa. Hiss. That seemed a little… bizarre.
Gu Xinran's head throbbed. There was no way she could explain this sort of thing to her in detail.
"Don't worry about them. You should get some rest."
With a suspicious look, Bai Yilan obediently turned on her side and lay down.
Gu Xinran breathed a sigh of relief, her cheeks burning. What had she just done? She'd actually eavesdropped on those two getting up to no good.
So wicked!
Bai Yilan turned her head back. "Hey, why is your face so red?"
"It's not." At the question, Gu Xinran flusteredly touched her cheeks, the word "guilty" practically written across her forehead.
Bai Yilan narrowed her eyes and beckoned to her. "Come here."
Gu Xinran didn't move. The next second, she was subjected to Yilan's death glare. Resigning herself to her fate, she walked over and sat down beside her.
Bai Yilan studied her face carefully. Her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush. It was rather cute.
"What's wrong?" Bai Yilan gently poked her cheek.
Gu Xinran composed herself and looked into her eyes. "Do you want to know what they were doing?"
"Hmm?"
Gu Xinran glanced toward the door, then turned and pulled Yilan into her arms, burying her face in the crook of her neck. She took a deep breath and then exhaled softly against her skin.
"What are you doing?" The constant stream of warm air tickled Bai Yilan's skin, and she patted Gu Xinran's back.
"This… Oh, you idiot," Gu Xinran said, placing a soft kiss on her neck.
Bai Yilan started, her body tensing. She couldn't help but shrink away slightly. "What are you doing?" she murmured reproachfully.
Gu Xinran couldn't hold it in any longer and let out a soft, uncontrollable laugh. She felt like she must be going crazy. What on earth am I even doing?
Just as she was about to speak, the door was suddenly pushed open.
"Hey! What are you two doing?" Ye Nan cried out, striding over and yanking Gu Xinran to her feet. "Yilan hasn't even recovered yet! How can you be so impatient?"
"I…" Gu Xinran was clearly stunned. Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open, utterly speechless.
"You! Get out!"
"Auntie Ye, I wasn't! I didn't…"
"Out!" Ye Nan pointed to the door, glaring at her.
"…"
Gu Xinran looked to Yilan, hoping she would help explain, but to her dismay, Yilan was blushing too!
Now it's really impossible to explain.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Gu Xinran glanced at Ye Nan again. Realizing she couldn't win, she resignedly started to leave. Just as she pulled the door open, a sudden chill ran down her spine. She looked up and met the cool gaze of Shi Qing.
Gu Xinran jolted, her back straightening instinctively. She glanced back into the room, then at Shi Qing. This… This is just absurd!
"Yilan, it's not that I'm trying to nag you, but look at your injuries. You're hurt so badly, and you're still letting her fool around?" Ye Nan sighed, her expression a dramatic mix of exasperation and amusement.
"Auntie Ye, we weren't doing anything…" Bai Yilan began, trying to explain.
"Alright, I get it. I'll be more careful next time."
She remembered that Ye Nan was the god of nagging and decisively shut her mouth.
She facepalmed in resignation, cursing Gu Xinran up and down in her mind. That woman! Can't she just use her words? She had to get all handsy, get us caught, and then leave me here to take the fall. How outrageous!
As for Gu Xinran, with Shi Qing's eyes on her, she couldn't even bear to stay in the outer room. She quietly exited the suite and sat down in the hallway.
She sulked, feeling utterly wronged.
Just as she was stewing in her frustration, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen—it was Qu Qi. She quickly answered.
"Hello, Sister Qi?"
"Hey. Did you watch the show? The premiere just ended."
"I did. The stage effects were great, the performances were brilliant, and you were amazing, too. No stage fright at all. You've got real potential as a host." Gu Xinran immediately laid on the praise.
"Oh, stop it. I was so nervous I nearly died. By the way, you probably haven't heard, but the live viewership just broke twenty million! Boss, you've really struck gold this time!"
Gu Xinran was stunned. Her original reason for creating this show was simply to go head-to-head with Bai Yiyue. She never imagined it would actually become a hit.
"By the way, how's Yilan? Is she doing any better?"
"Yes, she's improved a lot these last few days."
"That's good to hear. When are you coming back? Everyone misses you."
"Maybe in a few more days."
"Don't get so wrapped up in your wife that you forget about the rest of us!"
Gu Xinran chuckled. "I won't. I'll be back as soon as Yilan can move around on her own."
"Uh-huh. Alright."
After hanging up, Gu Xinran fiddled with her phone, opened Weibo, and scrolled through the comments on her page.
It had been several days since her last post, but people were still leaving comments in real time. Most of them were wishing Yilan a speedy recovery, and reading them made her heart feel warm.
As Gu Xinran was reading, she heard a door open. She looked up to see Xue Yuexian emerging from the adjacent room, a smile gracing her usually stern face.
Gu Xinran glanced at her and couldn't help but smile herself.
Xue Yuexian finally noticed someone else in the hall, and her expression immediately turned serious. "Why are you sitting out here?"
"Ah, just getting some air." Gu Xinran didn't dare meet her gaze. The memory of Xue Yuexian demanding a kiss from Ming Zhen popped into her head, and she had to suppress a laugh.
Xue Yuexian frowned slightly but didn't press the issue. She just nodded and walked away.
Sigh. Watching her walk away, Gu Xinran sighed. She recalled hearing somewhere that once someone who's been abstinent for a long time finally gets a taste, they can never get enough—always wanting to kiss, hug, and be all over each other.
Tsk. Looks like Ming Zhen is in for a rough time.
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