Princess Syndrome - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Stray Cat
Zhang Xian, upon hearing Su Lingyue's words of praise, silently downed her drink. Ji Zhiyi covered her mouth with a napkin, sat up straight, cleared her throat, and Su Lingyue poured her another glass. Zhang Xian, afraid that she would say something shocking again, quickly raised her glass. "Cheers!"
She brought her glass closer. Su Lingyue clinked it with hers. Ji Zhiyi glared at Zhang Xian and took a sip.
Zhang Xian wanted to cry.
Was this how you praised people?
If Su Lingyue's gaze wasn't so clear and if she didn't lack praising experience, she would have suspected that Su Lingyue was being sarcastic!
But it was really the first time she had heard someone praise like that.
She wanted to laugh again.
Su Lingyue quietly drank her wine and ate the food. She didn't know if she was hungry or if the food Ji Zhiyi made was just too delicious. After one pitcher of beer, most of the dishes were gone. Zhang Xian put down her glass, about to serve some rice. But she couldn't eat anymore. Ji Zhiyi also said, "I'm full."
Zhang Xian didn't know if she should scoop the rice or not.
In the end, she said, "Never mind, I'm not going to eat it. I'm on a diet."
Ji Zhiyi: ...
Su Lingyue: ...
The two of them looked at her. Her place had the most bones on the table!
After the meal, Su Lingyue consciously got up to clear the table. Zhang Xian helped out. They chatted from the kitchen to the dining room. Ji Zhiyi turned her head and saw them washing the dishes in the kitchen.
So annoying.
She casually turned on the TV. A dating reality show was on. Zhang Xian, hearing the noise in the kitchen, asked Su Lingyue, "Are you going back tonight?"
Su Lingyue said, "I'll rest in the guest room."
Zhang Xian said, "Your life is really difficult."
She comforted Su Lingyue, "It's probably just for a short time. Once she vents her anger, she'll let you go."
Su Lingyue lowered her head and dried her hands. "Mm."
Her voice was soft.
Zhang Xian couldn't help but add, "Oh, and be careful living here. She doesn't like people going into her room."
Su Lingyue understood that.
She nodded.
Zhang Xian said, "And there's a studio next to the cloakroom. Don't go in there."
"Studio?" Then she remembered the locked door next to the cloakroom. Zhang Xian whispered, "Last time, a cleaner forgot and went in to help her clean. She was fired as soon as she came out."
And she threw a huge tantrum.
She had been there at the time, and it was the first time she had seen Ji Zhiyi so angry, and she was still a bit afraid. "Anyway, just be careful."
Su Lingyue said, "I understand. Thank you."
Zhang Xian was pleased and went back to the living room. Seeing that Ji Zhiyi was watching a dating show, she asked, "What did your mother say the last time she asked you to go on a blind date?"
Ji Zhiyi turned her head when she heard the sound. Su Lingyue was drying her hands, her actions meticulous. There was a hint of blush on her face from drinking, which showed that she could hold her liquor. She snapped back to reality. "I didn't go."
"Your mother wasn't angry?" Zhang Xian had met her mother twice. She thought that because she felt guilty towards Ji Zhiyi, she didn't restrain her much. Ji Zhiyi shook her head.
Zhang Xian said, "That's great. I'd be satisfied if my mom had that kind of understanding."
Ji Zhiyi tilted her head, but she wasn't looking at her.
Su Lingyue dried her hands and then headed toward the study.
Zhang Xian was still saying, "Oh, and I plan to change the design department into two groups, shuffling the current ones. Also, I've recently scouted a designer who has a lot of inspiration. I want to poach her."
Ji Zhiyi said, "You decide on that."
"Okay," Zhang Xian said. "Does the company need to change its rules and regulations?"
Ji Zhiyi said, "Follow Yilin's standards."
Zhang Xian said, "I don't know if they can get used to that."
Ji Zhiyi didn't care much. Her gaze drifted towards the study door. From this angle, she could only see the study's solid wood door. She stood up and sat on the chaise lounge, where she could see inside.
Su Lingyue was warming up.
She even needed to warm up to move some books.
Ji Zhiyi's eyes twinkled with delight.
She remembered the school sports meet during their freshman year. No one wanted to participate. The counselor had no choice and assigned people through drawing lots. Except for those who absolutely couldn't participate, everyone else had to. Su Lingyue had originally wanted to take leave, but it wasn't approved. She pouted and sat in the back, wanting to wait until everyone else had drawn, so there'd be nothing left for her.
But things didn't go her way.
She drew the relay race.
The four hundred meter relay.
Since she drew it, she began training hard. A figure that was not usually seen on the sports field was there. For those few days, she ran until the lights were turned off at night. She followed Su Lingyue, watching her friends accompany her, sometimes speeding up, passing by Su Lingyue.
She couldn't help but turn her head to take a look.
But Su Lingyue.
Never looked up, never glanced at her.
Not like she never saw her.
The night before the school sports meet, Su Lingyue was running with her friends. When they were about to finish, her friends left first. She hadn't even left the field before three students asked for her contact information or asked her out. She had just finished exercising, holding her coat and preparing to go back when she saw her from a distance, with two boys beside her. When she got closer, she heard one of the male students ask, "Su, are you free tomorrow?"
Su Lingyue was straightforward. "I'm not free."
The boy was embarrassed. "Then, then how about the day after tomorrow..."
"I'm not free the day after tomorrow either, and the day after that either. As long as you ask, I'm not free." Su Lingyue was sharp-tongued, her beautiful face showing indifference. The boy's face flushed, and he lowered his head and left.
Before he had even gone a few steps, someone else came over.
Su Lingyue looked around and suddenly walked towards her. She froze in place, her heart suddenly pounding. The dim yellow lights of the field stretched out Su Lingyue's figure until she stood in front of her, lowered her head, and dove into her coat, "Classmate, help me out and walk back to the dorm with me."
Her whole face was covered, buried in her coat, her skin pressed against her arm. She had just finished exercising, but the skin on her face was cool, smooth and delicate, rubbing against her arm. She felt a burning, stinging pain inside her arm.
Su Lingyue was surprised that she hadn't moved. "Classmate?"
She then snapped back to her senses. Suddenly, she didn't know which step to take. It was Su Lingyue who tugged at her clothes, urging her forward, and then she followed her to the dorm.
At the door, Su Lingyue took off the coat, smiling. "Thanks!"
She turned her head.
And left.
Ji Zhiyi held the coat in her hand, watching her back as she entered the dorm.
She didn't know that her dorm was next to hers.
She also didn't know that they were classmates.
What she called her was, classmate.
An ordinary, dispensable, classmate.
Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips and lowered her head. She stood up and walked to the liquor cabinet, taking a bottle of red wine from inside. Behind her, Zhang Xian asked, "Is that the one you brought back from France last time?"
She didn't look up. "Mm."
Zhang Xian said, "Pour me a glass too."
Ji Zhiyi took a glass for her. Zhang Xian took another one, poured a little in it, and walked to the study, telling Su Lingyue, "Good wine, come and try it together."
Su Lingyue glanced at Ji Zhiyi and took the glass, taking a sip.
Zhang Xian asked, "How is it?"
Su Lingyue said, "The flavor is very authentic."
Zhang Xian said, "Of course. President Ji's exclusive collection. We're lucky to have a taste."
Su Lingyue took another sip.
Seeing that she liked it, Ji Zhiyi placed the entire bottle on the coffee table, sat on the sofa, watched the lighthearted dating show on TV, and drank a glass. Zhang Xian quickly refilled the glasses, "It's so good to be back."
Su Lingyue quietly took a sip.
This wine felt really good.
Her eyes narrowed.
It was very pleasant.
Ji Zhiyi tilted her head to look at her.
When an episode ended, Zhang Xian looked at the time. "It's so late! I have to go back."
She lived just two blocks away from here, not too far. When Zhang Xian got up, Su Lingyue said, "I'll go with you to throw out the kitchen trash."
Zhang Xian said, "Sure."
Ji Zhiyi also stood up.
Zhang Xian and Su Lingyue looked at her. Ji Zhiyi said, "I'm full, so I'll go for a walk."
Su Lingyue really wanted to say, then you take out the trash.
But she held back.
The three of them went out together. Su Lingyue was carrying the trash bag. Zhang Xian had originally wanted to help her take it out, but more showing off would be better. Maybe Ji Zhiyi would soften her heart and let Su Lingyue go.
So she didn't say anything.
The trash station was on the east side, and the main gate was on the west side, not in the same direction. Zhang Xian stood under a streetlamp and waved to them. Su Lingyue really hoped that Ji Zhiyi would go out with Zhang Xian, but obviously.
Ji Zhiyi didn't hear her thoughts and followed her to the west.
The neighborhood wasn't too big or too small. After walking for two steps, they ran into people. Two men, who had just finished work, with their computer bags, brushed past Su Lingyue and turned their heads to look at her several times. Su Lingyue continued forward with a calm face, with Ji Zhiyi beside her, their steps unhurried.
The men who had passed turned their heads again after a few steps.
They stood in front of Su Lingyue. "Hello, do you live in this neighborhood too?"
What a lame pick-up line.
Su Lingyue said, "No."
The men looked at the trash bag in her hand. Although she said she didn't live here, they realized what was going on, gave an apologetic smile, and left with their companion. Ji Zhiyi couldn't help but say, "Assistant Su sure attracts a lot of attention."
Su Lingyue said, "That's because they don't know me."
Ji Zhiyi said, "So you're saying if they knew you, they wouldn't like you?"
"Yeah." Su Lingyue chuckled lightly, her tone indifferent. "There's nothing to like about me."
Ji Zhiyi tilted her head to look at her. Su Lingyue's face was calm, not feeling that there was anything wrong with that sentence. She seemed to think from the bottom of her heart that she wasn't worthy of being liked. Ji Zhiyi's jealous emotions were suddenly covered by a feeling of heartache. She lowered her voice, "Then how about you? Have you ever liked someone else?"
Su Lingyue said, "No."
Her tone was relaxed and certain. "I won't like anyone else, so I don't want anyone else to like me either."
Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips, then took the trash bag from Su Lingyue's hand.
Su Lingyue's hand was empty. Ji Zhiyi was standing next to the trash station, sorting the trash.
No matter how you looked at it, she didn't seem like the kind of person who would do this.
She took a step forward.
She heard a rustling sound coming from the bushes.
Su Lingyue paused, seeing the black bushes move in the corner of her eyes.
She subconsciously thought of the frogs Ji Zhiyi had mentioned that night.
She met eyes with Ji Zhiyi, who had just finished throwing away the trash. Ji Zhiyi also heard the sound, turning her head to look. The bushes moved again. She looked at Su Lingyue.
Su Lingyue blinked.
Why was she looking at her? Ji Zhiyi wouldn't be thinking of throwing her in to feed the frogs, would she?!
Thinking of this, she turned to leave. A black shadow darted out of the bushes and brushed against her ankle. Startled, she jumped back, Ji Zhiyi walked over to her, grabbing her hand. Su Lingyue buried herself in her arms.
Ji Zhiyi tilted her head.
She was looking at the stray cat squatting on the ground.
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