Princess Syndrome - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Scan Me

"You're dreaming!" Yang Zhizhi said, "Who would write you a love letter!"

She said while looking at the cap. "I just saw you standing there looking pathetic like a beggar, so I gave you something to block the rain. You think you're something special now!"

Su Lingyue, hearing her insults, didn't show any particular emotion. She simply said, "Oh."

Oh??

Was she crazy!

She had just said that, and she only said "Oh"?

Yang Zhizhi felt angry. Her good temper, which she usually had, completely fell apart when facing Su Lingyue.

An umbrella was held over their heads.

Yang Zhizhi turned her head, adjusted her mood, and her voice became a bit gentler. "President Ji."

Why was Ji Zhiyi here?

Ji Zhiyi nodded at her slightly. "Miss Yang."

The assistant quickly walked a few steps to stand next to them and gave Yang Zhizhi the umbrella. This was not a suitable scene to discuss a collaboration. Yang Zhizhi said, "President Ji, do you want to come inside and sit down?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "No need, I'll come visit Miss Yang again another time."

Her words implied that she was leaving. Yang Zhizhi naturally didn't have any further words. Su Lingyue said, "President Ji, Miss Yang is free tomorrow night."

Ji Zhiyi raised her lips. "Then I'll wait for good news tomorrow."

Yang Zhizhi said, "See you tomorrow."

Ji Zhiyi turned around, and Su Lingyue followed her out. After a few steps, she looked at the cap on her head, then turned back, standing in front of Yang Zhizhi. She said, "Thank you, Miss Yang."

As she was saying that, she returned the cap to Yang Zhizhi.

Yang Zhizhi took the cap, feeling very displeased, and put the cap on the assistant's head.

The assistant was confused. "Zhizhi, what's wrong?"

Yang Zhizhi said, "Nothing."

The assistant saw her walking back and was even more confused. "Weren't you going to the bathroom?"

Yang Zhizhi said, "I don't need to go anymore!"

The assistant: ...

Ever since encountering Su Lingyue.

Yang Zhizhi's personality had become so unpredictable.

Hatred, it's so damaging!

The assistant sighed. Su Lingyue followed Ji Zhiyi outside. The car was parked on the side of the road. The fine rain was drumming on the umbrella. Before getting into the car, Ji Zhiyi asked, "Why did you ask Miss Yang if she had ever written you a love letter?"

Su Lingyue said, "She just reminded me of someone."

Ji Zhiyi tightened her grip on the umbrella handle. "Who?"

Su Lingyue said, "Someone who wrote me a love letter."

Ji Zhiyi paused. "You don't remember that person?"

"No, I don't." Su Lingyue asked, "Does President Ji remember every person who has ever written you a love letter?"

Ji Zhiyi was speechless.

Lowering her head, she said quietly, "Although I don't remember the people who wrote me love letters, I would never remember the wrong person."

Her words seemed to be implying something.

As if remembering the wrong person was a serious mistake.

Indeed.

It was a bit impolite to not remember the person who had put so much effort into writing a love letter.

Su Lingyue apologized, "President Ji is right."

Ji Zhiyi: ...

Her heart felt tight, and even her face became colder. After getting into the car, Su Lingyue couldn't see the cat. Ji Zhiyi said, "It's at the pet shop."

Su Lingyue nodded. "Should we go over there now?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "The bath takes some time, let's have dinner first."

Su Lingyue said, "Okay, what does President Ji want to eat?"

Nearby was a small snack street outside Second High, which was different from the neat streets outside First High. The side of Second High was a long street with a lot of food stalls. Su Lingyue used to come here with her classmates when she was in school. She remembered a shop that made particularly delicious three-delicacy noodles. If she didn't go home for dinner, she would always come here to eat noodles.

Ji Zhiyi said, "Didn't you go to school around here? Is there any good food?"

Su Lingyue tentatively asked, "Three-delicacy noodles?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "Okay."

Looking at her serious temperament, her business attire, her delicate makeup, her high heels, holding an umbrella as she stood in the rain, walking in the snack street, she looked like she was coming to inspect the neighborhood rather than having dinner.

Many of the shop owners curiously looked at them.

Su Lingyue wondered how she had become so shameless that she didn't feel uncomfortable with those stares. She turned her head, and Ji Zhiyi was as indifferent as always, not batting an eye.

She was truly Ji Zhiyi.

She was so composed.

She relaxed a bit, leading Ji Zhiyi inside. The snack street was unusually empty due to the rain. It was also because of summer vacation. There weren't many students.

Ji Zhiyi followed Su Lingyue inside.

A few store owners were sitting at the entrance, holding banana leaf fans. "Do you want to eat mala tang?"

Someone there called out, "Do you want to eat roasted sausage?"

And there were some who just looked at them with smiles, seeming to be ready to welcome them at any moment.

Su Lingyue hadn't been here after graduating. The shop she remembered was now only a blurry picture. As they got closer, she realized it hadn't changed.

The shop was still the same. The owner was still the same. Even the lucky cat that was placed by the cash register was still in the same waving pose. The moment she entered, she felt like she had returned to her school days.

Turning her head, she saw the shop full of students, her friends all around her. They liked to call her name, 'Lingyue, there are seats here', 'Lingyue, come to my side', 'Lingyue, hurry, I bought stinky tofu.'

With each and every call, she had lost herself.

She had really thought that she was indispensable.

So that when she heard those things about her from her friends.

She began to deeply question herself.

She was selfish, cold, arrogant, and unfeeling. She didn't care if some random classmate thought this, but when those who had always been by her side, sharing an umbrella on rainy days, and her best friends said those things, it felt different.

The memories, wrapped in sharp blades, tore apart the past, displaying it before her eyes.

The things that she had intentionally forgotten were becoming increasingly clear.

Su Lingyue, before eating, didn't have much of an appetite. She sat down and ordered a bowl of three-delicacy noodles.

Ji Zhiyi, sitting opposite her, also ordered a bowl.

Su Lingyue didn't want to be immersed in the past. She asked Ji Zhiyi, "Has President Ji ever eaten three-delicacy noodles before?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "I have."

More than once.

After the competitions, she would come here to eat a bowl of three-delicacy noodles because she had seen Su Lingyue eat here once. So later, she had come here countless times.

One time when it was raining, there were a lot of people inside. The table where she always sat was occupied by a couple, who were feeding each other. She had just sat down when she heard a choked voice, "Is anyone sitting here?"

It was familiar.

Her body froze. The owner said, "Young lady, just sit down."

As she said that, she pushed her to sit opposite her. She lowered her head and her peripheral vision caught sight of Su Lingyue, whose eyes were red, looking at her phone. It was a new phone with crystals on the case. Her fingers held it, making her skin appear even whiter, like jade. She looked down, at her old phone on the table. It was old, it was the one that her mom had used before. She put the phone back into her pocket, trying to hide her emotions.

They were stifling and depressing.

With her emotions churning, she sat opposite Su Lingyue, as if they were people from two different worlds.

At that moment, she really wanted to leave.

But she didn't move.

Finally, she had the chance to be close to Su Lingyue.

She couldn't bear to leave.

Soon, two bowls of noodles were served.

She stirred the noodles in the bowl. The steam was rising, and she couldn't see Su Lingyue's expression clearly. She could only hear her sniffle, and then she pulled a tissue from the side. She was focused on her phone, and wasn't even eating the noodles.

After eating a few bites, she kept her head lowered. She couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to eat?"

Su Lingyue didn't look up and just used the tissue to wipe her eyes. "I'm not hungry."

She even looked a bit aggrieved.

After she finished speaking, she started to eat, one small bite after another. Ji Zhiyi quietly looked at her. After taking a few bites, she got up and left. She had sat in that spot for a long time.

Ji Zhiyi sat there.

Su Lingyue was now sitting opposite her.

It was raining, and the shop was empty. The owner was leaning against the counter, about to doze off. The owner was busy and would occasionally chat with them. "Are you two filming a movie?"

It seemed like the film crew ate there often.

Su Lingyue said, "We aren't."

The owner said, "You two are very beautiful, I thought you were actresses."

Su Lingyue laughed.

There had been people who had approached her about filming, or modeling. Although she didn't know if it was because of Su Qi, but she really didn't like the acting profession.

Wearing a mask everyday was already so tiring.

To wear another one.

She would be dead from exhaustion.

Ji Zhiyi looked up at her, and Su Lingyue was cleaning her chopsticks with a tissue. She would often turn her head to look at the tables around her. She reached out, and the owner quickly came over. Ji Zhiyi asked, "Do you have vinegar?"

The owner nodded. "I do, I'll get it for you."

Su Lingyue said, "President Ji also likes to add vinegar?"

Ji Zhiyi lowered her head. "Just a little."

Su Lingyue nodded. The owner came with the small vinegar plate. Ji Zhiyi added two drops, and Su Lingyue added half a plate. Then she stirred it up. The smell of vinegar combined with the aroma of the soup, forming a new aroma.

Ji Zhiyi took a sip of the soup.

The warmth ran down her throat, spreading into her heart.

Su Lingyue lowered her head, taking small sips of her soup and eating noodles.

Time seemed to rewind, returning to that year. She was sitting across from Su Lingyue, watching her cry, and Ji Zhiyi stretched out her hand, handing her two tissues.

Su Lingyue was a bit surprised, looking at Ji Zhiyi.

Ji Zhiyi said, "You have some soup on your face."

Su Lingyue quickly took it and wiped her face. She even took out her phone to look, and then realized that she had just wiped it off. "Thank you."

Ji Zhiyi didn't speak.

Su Lingyue didn't mind either.

For just a few days, she had gotten used to Ji Zhiyi's quiet personality.

After eating, the two of them walked side by side, leaving the alley. After the rain, the air felt fresher. Outside the alleyway, she could see Second High's gates. The film crew were still moving around. She asked Ji Zhiyi, "Is the pet shop nearby?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "It's up ahead."

It was right next to Second High, across the street. It was a pet shop. Su Lingyue got to the pet shop and the stray cat had just finished its bath. The doctor said that he couldn't give it a vaccine yet, it still needed to be checked first. After the bath, she would have to take it home to observe for a week. If everything was fine, then she could come back for its vaccine. Su Lingyue entered, and the doctor, who was wearing a white coat, walked over. He said, "Are you here to pick up the cat?"

She nodded.

The doctor was quite young, with a crew cut. He had a warm and inviting smile. Seeing Su Lingyue nod, he said, "Which one?"

Su Lingyue pointed at the one in the cat carrier. The doctor was standing behind her, and Su Lingyue's profile looked very calm, her hair was spread down her back, the light on her made her appear even gentler. She was just standing there, looking like a scene from a painting.

The doctor stared at her for a few seconds.

Su Lingyue said, "That one."

Only then did the doctor snap back to reality and get the carrier. His ears were red.

He handed the carrier to Su Lingyue and asked, "Is this your first time raising a cat?"

Su Lingyue asked, "How did you know?"

The doctor laughed. "Your friend said that this cat is a stray."

When they had registered, Ji Zhiyi was the one who spoke.

Su Lingyue nodded.

The doctor said, "You are really kind."

Su Lingyue glanced at Ji Zhiyi.

She should have been praised for being kind.

But she couldn't say it.

She smiled politely. The doctor saw her holding the carrier and asked, "Don't you want to get some vitamins?"

Su Lingyue asked, "Vitamins?"

"Vitamins for cats, they help with their fur, and they are good for digestion." He explained a lot. Su Lingyue didn't understand any of it and just nodded as she listened. Then, she also looked at the cat food, and cat toys.

There were so many kinds.

After she finished looking, she glanced at Ji Zhiyi, as if she was asking whether or not she should buy them.

She lived in her apartment, and logically, she should have been asking, but her actions were making Ji Zhiyi feel better. Soon after, she said, "No need, thank you."

Her tone was ice-cold.

Su Lingyue could only follow behind her with the carrier. The doctor wanted to keep her there. "Don't you want to look at the other things?"

Ji Zhiyi turned her head to look at the doctor, as if she could see through his intentions. The doctor gave an awkward smile, "Then if you have any questions, you can come back to ask me."

Su Lingyue nodded.

Just as they were about to reach the door, the doctor said, "Oh right, remember to come back in a week for the vaccination. Also, do you have WeChat? I can add you, so I can tell you what to watch out for."

Su Lingyue said, "Okay."

Just as she was about to take out her phone, a QR code was placed in front of the doctor.

Ji Zhiyi said indifferently, "Scan me."

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