C5 Part3

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Chapter 5: The Truthful Lies (Part 3)

Ji Xiangkong let her lead him, his other hand slowly covering his right ear, where her breath had just swept across it. His skin began to heat. Ten minutes later, he was sprawled on the fabric couch in Qiu Ying’s house, arms behind his head, eyes fixed on the figure diagonally ahead. Qiu Ying used a hairband to tie up her long hair, revealing a fair neck. She messed around on the keyboard on her desk for a while, then brought her computer over to him.

Ji Xiangkong had drunk quite a lot of wine today; in addition, he had gotten up early and been tossed around outside for a day. His head was a little dizzy, but as he saw her near, he tried to sit up straighter. Yet she had already squatted down by the sofa, turning the screen toward him.

The entire folder was filled with data regarding him, various commentaries on his game videos, highlights, lengthy text analyses, statistics, gossip and news…

Ji Xiangkong put away his lazy expression and sat up straight to take the computer. When he opened a subfolder, he looked back at her in astonishment. Qiu Ying stood up and sat on his left: “These are all posts written by the fans that support you, as well as their comments. I searched through the forums, Tieba, and online news portals, and screenshotted everything valuable.”

Her arm, pale as white jade, crossed in front of him to operate on the trackpad, from time to time touching him. The warm breath every time she spoke brushed against his ears. The movement of Ji Xiangkong’s chest became evident; he took a deep breath and concentrated with great focus to look at the words on the screen regarding himself.

“Work hard, Ji god! Don’t let the black shadows affect your mood! You’re still the handsome man appointed by our Cris god!”

“You’ve had to endure so much even since you began, your heart must be so bitter and so restless. The darkness before dawn is cold, but we are the torches in front of you, lighting the way toward the end. We will be waiting for the return of the king!”

…

Word by word, staunch and sincere, inspiring and encouraging. Dense warmth spread across Ji Xiangkong’s nose until it gradually felt sour.

“None of these people only came when you were at your peak, nor did they leave when you fell to the valley. They just hope that one day when you climb to the top of the world, they will be able to cheer for you to their hearts’ content.”

Qiu Ying tilted her head to look at him. “I am also one of them.”

Under the lights, her face was gentle and soft, her eyes clear, rosy lips underneath her small nose. For the first time, Ji Xiangkong could not keep eye contact with her. He looked away and stared straight at the screen, not wanting to let her see his own red eyes.

Qiu Ying didn’t notice his abnormality and said sincerely, “From childhood until now, I’ve always told myself that I can surely do the things that I want to do! I can cross a thousand mountains, I can cross ten thousand seas. I’m not afraid of any failures or setbacks, but if I deny myself, that’s when it’s truly over.”

Her voice was extremely lovely, sweet and soft, and lingered in the ears along with the sound of her breathing. Ji Xiangkong felt like the pain in his head was worsening; even his breathing was a little erratic. He looked at her as she was focused in her speaking and his eyes darkened.

“So, don’t feel regretful or doubtful. If your heart still has a trace of resistance left, then push on forward. As long as you think you can do it, nothing is impossible!”

“Thank you.” Ji Xiangkong’s voice was dry. As he looked at Qiu Ying still gazing at him, his back couldn’t help but stiffen.

He adjusted his breathing and bent his fingers to tap her head. Pretending to laugh easily, he said, “With a great beauty like you backing me, the enemy has already lost at the moment they shake hands with me.”

Stunned, Qiu Ying blinked dumbly. It felt like she had completed an eloquent performance of a weeping tragedy, but then the audience below the stage burst into laughter.

Ji Xiangkong spread out his hands and leaned back on the sofa like a lord. “Are you my fan now? I’m a person who’s very bad, I can’t restrain myself with beautiful female fans. Not to mention, I have to distribute the love evenly among my fans.” He raised his eyebrows and grinned. “Won’t you feel wronged?”

Qiu Ying was still dazed. After a while, she glared at him fiercely. “I said so much, and you gave me this response?”

Ji Xiangkong smiled to placate her. “I’m pretty thirsty, can I have some water? I’ll answer you seriously after I finish drinking.”

It was only until Qiu Ying stood up and went to the kitchen that Ji Xiangkong finally felt like the fresh air had fought through thousands of barriers to return to his lungs again, his head no longer so dizzy. He reached up to rub his temples. Shortly after, Qiu Ying returned.

“Sorry, guests don’t usually come to my house.” Her face was a little red. “I only have one cup.”

Ji Xiangkong took the cup that Qiu Ying handed over. He brought it to his mouth but stopped again, lowering his voice ambiguously. “You don’t mind?”

Qiu Ying’s mouth opened slightly. Just as she was thinking of saying she didn’t mind, everything that had previously occurred suddenly came to her mind. She closed her mouth and said flatly, “It doesn’t matter, I’ll get another one later.”

As the room became completely quiet, Qiu Ying felt like it was a little awkward.

Before, the blood had rushed to her brain after seeing Ji Xiangkong’s depressed expression. In her entire heart, there was only the thought of showing him the fans’ encouragement on the computer to cheer him up as soon as possible, so she hadn’t thought very much and thus brought him back home.

Now she had to do something to ease the atmosphere.

“You like Miya, right? I’ll put on her song for you to listen to.”

Because her back was turned, she didn’t see that when the melodious prelude began to play, Ji Xiangkong’s always-smiling eyes dimmed.

Qiu Ying put on the Korean girl group Firework’s Miya’s Chinese single, Beyond the Sky.

Rumor said that this song was written by the seventeen-year-old Miya for the boy that she liked. The tune was simple and lighthearted, the lyrics full of youth and innocence, so that the people listening to it would feel their hearts skip a beat. Firework had many popular hits, but despite that, Qiu Ying’s favorite song was simply this single of Miya’s.

She had watched the single’s MV many times. When Miya sang the song, she was slightly faraway, as if she was immersed in some feeling that only she could perceive, blurry and deep. Qiu Ying had covered this song on her livestream, imitating the details of Miya’s performance to perfection, but there was one spot that she could never get right, no matter what.

The expression. The expression of looking at the person in your heart.

“But later on, Miya denied the rumor. During her media interview, she admitted that she had no first love and had never met a person she liked. But that she looked forward to encountering that destined person who could reach her side.” Qiu Ying sighed with some sympathy. “I don’t believe it, but I can also understand it. After all, she’s an idol. If she really admitted it, then wouldn’t die-hard fans like you cry themselves to death?”

After hearing these words, Ji Xiangkong laughed hard, his shoulders shaking.

“I won’t.” He lowered his gaze, voice low and gentle, like feathers gently touching the glimmering sea. “No matter where she is in the future or who she is with, as long as it is what her heart wants, and the place she wants to go, I will bless her.”

Qiu Ying didn’t know if she saw wrong, but his smile had some loneliness. She looked at him, and it was like her chest had suddenly been stabbed with needles. “If… if all fans are as open-minded as you, then stars would do much better.”

“Yes.” Ji Xiangkong nodded. “Well, I’m a model fan.”

Qiu Ying’s living room was her livestreaming room. Ji Xiangkong looked around at her setup with great interest; besides the desktop and gaming computers, there were also separate curved monitors to watch the chat and play games; and also cameras, microphones, and a gaming chair, as well as an adjustable computer table. Among them, the most important thing for a game streamer was the desktop, as a good configuration would be allow them to stream the video even more clearly.

Ji Xiangkong quickly checked her computer configuration. “This is expensive. If you want to change computers later on, tell me first and I’ll help you pick out the hardware.”

Qiu Ying didn’t hear him, as she had been focused on watching him mess with the keyboard. Ji Xiangkong’s fingers were white and slender with distinctive joints. She thought, these were the hands of a skilled professional esports player. They leapt onto the battlefield and in an instant became thunderous, storm and squall.

Ji Xiangkong did not plan to stay for long. He helped Qiu Ying optimize her system before putting on his coat and preparing to leave. Seeing that it was late, Qiu Ying thought of the words that he and the beautiful older sister had previously exchanged; her heart was suddenly uneasy.

—Xiangkong, my mind has never changed. As long as you are willing, my house’s entrance is always open for you.

She silently watched Ji Xiangkong change his shoes by the entrance, with his broad shoulders and narrow waist, and slender legs. The drumming of her heart suddenly enveloped everything. Ji Xiangkong was about to open the door when Qiu Ying suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “Are you going to her house?”

“Who?”

“The woman who was with you before… when you say that you’re going now, are you going to find her?” Qiu Ying’s eyes flickered, like she was carefully considering her words. “Although right now there are a lot of young people like this, very casual, but once you do something like this, in the future, if you meet someone who truly likes you, she’ll be very heartbroken.”

Ji Xiangkong frowned slightly, then his expression cleared up. He said half-angrily and half-laughingly, “Didn’t you get it wrong? She’s VPG’s CEO. Her house means VPG’s club.”

“What?”

“So you thought we had that kind of relationship!” Ji Xiangkong raised his eyebrows and teased, “What if it was true? What were you planning to do? Replace her in comforting me?

When he spoke “comfort,” he added a special emphasis, but unfortunately Qiu Ying didn’t understand his innuendo. Undisturbed, she said, “I’ve already comforted you.” She also added, troubled, “It didn’t work?”

As he watched her long eyelashes blinking, Ji Xiangkong thought of teasing her again; his peach-blossom eyes curved into crescent moons as he said, “Very unfortunately, I’m a person who can only be cheered up by a pretty woman’s hug.”

He had just finished speaking when the faint fragrance of lavender enveloped him. Qiu Ying softly hugged him, both hands gently patting him on the back.

Ji Xiangkong’s arm stiffened in the air in embarrassment. “Hey, hey, you’re too obedient, if anyone says to hug, will you hug them?

Qiu Ying muttered, “You’re not just anyone.”

“Did you forget the lesson from last time? I’m not a good person, either.”

“Mhm.”

“I can do all sorts of bad things.”

“Mhm.” Qiu Ying winked slyly at him. “You’re good-looking, so I won’t lose out if bad things happen.”

“Not bad, there’s progress.” Ji Xiangkong folded his arms carefully around her to return her hug. After a long time, he lowered his head to say softly into her ear, “Qiu Ying, thank you.”

His tender voice melted into her ears; Qiu Ying’s leftover reason collapsed. A torrent of raging water broke through the last line of defense in her heart that could not be repaired.

“That day in the alley, you said that you wanted to give me a lesson to not easily approach male strangers. Back then, we’d only met each other a few times. You didn’t like that I approached you with ulterior motives, but it would have been fine to just simply ignore me…” Qiu Ying raised her head to gaze at Ji Xiangkong’s face, dew on her eyelashes. “Do you have a lot of girls who want to hug you? You want to teach a lesson to each of them, then do your lessons work?”

Ji Xiangkong lowered his gaze to look at her. The expression in his eyes was as quiet as spring water flowing in between stones; his breath was as light as fragrant grass swaying in the wind. He murmured, “Yes, why?”

Qiu Ying’s eyes lingered on Ji Xiangkong’s face. He looked so handsome, his forehead cut by the noble brows beneath his hair, his facial features deep and refined, his peach-blossom eyes carrying stars within them, affectionate even if there was no smile.

—Also, I’m not someone who doesn’t refuse anyone who comes to me. If there’s someone who seriously likes me, I’ll firmly reject them.

Like she had been bewitched, Qiu Ying grabbed onto Ji Xiangkong’s hand just as he was about to withdraw it. Her burning palm covered the back of his hand; she faintly asked, “Should we be together, like that?”1

Ji Xiangkong was completely shocked. Looking at her with confusion, his eyes were full of shadows; the fog within them cleared up and his brain immediately sobered. “Did you drink? Do you know what you’re saying?”

“I didn’t.” Qiu Ying shook her head firmly. “You don’t need to think too much. I’m not a serious person either, I mean, it doesn’t matter if it’s not serious.”

Ji Xiangkong forced a smile, gazing at her, his breathing gradually deepening.

“You shouldn’t say these kinds of things casually.” After what seemed to be an eternity, he slowly drew his face away from hers. He reached out his hand and patted her head. “You just said, in the future, if you meet someone who truly likes you, his heart will break.”

After he finished speaking, he opened the door and left in a rush.

Qiu Ying stood motionless.

—In the future, if you meet someone who truly likes you, his heart will break.

But, he clearly hadn’t looked a little bit heartbroken.

She slowly, slowly crouched down, burying her face in her hands.

“What should I do? I truly like you.”

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Footnotes:

1 can also be read as “Should we play together ‘that’ way?”

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