Princess Syndrome - Chapter 67

Chapter 67: Familiar

Su Lingyue restrained herself and didn't kiss her. She had just told Ji Zhiyi this morning that things were moving too fast, and then she would grab her and kiss her at night? What kind of behavior was that?

What would Ji Zhiyi think of her?

Double standard?

Going back on her word?

Su Lingyue shook her head, brushing away the thought. Seeing that Ji Zhiyi was still looking at her, she said, "What should we have for dinner tonight?"

Ji Zhiyi asked, "What do you want to eat?"

Su Lingyue said, "Let's just eat near the cinema, whatever they have is fine."

Ji Zhiyi nodded.

Su Lingyue was very happy and followed Ji Zhiyi inside. Xiao Mafan jumped out and sat in front of them, meowing. Su Lingyue was delighted by everything she saw, especially Xiao Mafan, whom she already liked. She hugged it and kissed its head, then touched its belly with the tip of her nose. Ji Zhiyi turned her head to watch her being affectionate with Xiao Mafan.

Her teeth ached.

A sour ache.

She put down her bag and said, "I'm going to take a shower."

Su Lingyue said, "Okay."

Then, holding Xiao Mafan, she said, "Wear something casual."

Ji Zhiyi turned her head.

Su Lingyue said, "Never mind, I'll pick something out for you!"

Ji Zhiyi saw that she was as excited as if it was her first time going to the cinema and nodded, "Okay, you pick something for me."

Su Lingyue carried the cat and went into the walk-in closet. Rows and rows of clothes, all in spring and summer styles. She asked, "What about your fall and winter clothes?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "Someone will come to change them out at the end of the month."

Su Lingyue clicked her tongue.

She had been extravagant before, but not to this extent.

As if knowing what she was thinking, Ji Zhiyi said, "Out-of-season clothes are donated."

Su Lingyue nodded, "Good habit."

Having been praised by her for no reason, Ji Zhiyi wanted to laugh. Su Lingyue picked out a white undershirt for her, paired with light-colored casual pants. Ji Zhiyi was tall and slender, and these styles would show off her figure well. Most of the clothes in her closet were formal wear, and many of her casual clothes were pajamas, so it took her a while to find this outfit. Ji Zhiyi took the clothes and said, "See you later."

Su Lingyue raised an eyebrow and smiled, "See you later."

They lived in the same house, yet they were saying this, giving Su Lingyue the strange illusion that they were trekking through mountains and rivers to meet each other. She watched Ji Zhiyi enter her room and also carried Xiao Mafan into the bathroom.

She was simple. After showering, she changed into a red, knee-length dress.

Saying it was simple wasn't entirely accurate. She added a silk scarf, a bracelet, and lightly dabbed perfume on her wrists and neck, a little trick she planned to use when holding hands with Ji Zhiyi later, letting her smell it.

Just thinking about it made her happy.

Su Lingyue looked in the mirror, the person inside had joy in their eyes and a smile on their face. She didn't know if it was because she was in a good mood that her complexion was good, or if her skin looked better than before because she had just showered and been moisturized by the water.

She patted her cheeks and got up, carrying her small bag.

When she came out, she saw Ji Zhiyi sitting on the sofa, seemingly on a phone call. She subconsciously tiptoed. Ji Zhiyi heard the movement and turned her head.

Su Lingyue was wearing a red dress, the color as vibrant as fire, burning in Ji Zhiyi's heart. The person on the other end of the phone called out, "President Ji?"

They called out twice before she came back to her senses.

The person on the other end asked, "Then I'll send it to you later."

Ji Zhiyi said, "Okay."

Then she hung up the phone.

Su Lingyue approached, "Work-related?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "From the Southern District branch."

Su Lingyue nodded. Yilin had several branch offices, not to mention even more stores and divisions. She sometimes admired Ji Zhiyi's ability to know which branch office was calling just by looking at the number. Perhaps it was because she hadn't been there long enough, but she still hadn't memorized them all.

She asked Ji Zhiyi, "Was it important?"

Ji Zhiyi shook her head, "It can wait until tomorrow."

With that, she stood up, "Let's go."

Su Lingyue walked beside her. Xiao Mafan jumped forward, blocking their path. Su Lingyue crouched down and tapped its nose, "Although I really want to take you, I can't."

Xiao Mafan whined unhappily.

Su Lingyue picked it up and gave it a comforting kiss.

Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips and said, "We'll give it a can of food when we get back."

Su Lingyue said, "Did you hear that? Ji Zhiyi said we'll give you a can of food when we get back."

Xiao Mafan was satisfied and jumped out of Su Lingyue's arms. Su Lingyue watched it wag its tail and smiled, "Let's go."

As she said that, she lifted her foot, but her hand was taken.

Su Lingyue turned her head.

Ji Zhiyi's expression didn't change, as if this was a very normal thing to do. She bit her lip and moved a little closer to Ji Zhiyi.

After they went outside, Su Lingyue looked around.

Ji Zhiyi asked, "What are you doing?"

"Checking if anyone's around." As she said that, she held up their intertwined hands, "We can't let anyone see us."

Ji Zhiyi was displeased, "Am I someone you can't be seen with?"

"Of course not." Su Lingyue was well aware of her own situation, "I'm the one who can't be seen with you!"

She said, "Think about it, if others find out, how will the plan continue?"

Ji Zhiyi opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But this time, Su Lingyue was right.

It wasn't just the plan, but also her godmother's side of things.

She was silent for two seconds, "It's not that you can't be seen with me."

Su Lingyue looked at her. Actually, she didn't really care about these kinds of remarks. Perhaps she had become numb from hearing gossip, so she didn't feel anything. But seeing Ji Zhiyi being so insistent on this way of phrasing it, she found it very endearing.

She nodded in agreement, "Okay, okay, okay."

Her voice carried a smile.

Ji Zhiyi squeezed her fingers.

Su Lingyue cleared her throat and unlocked the car. Ji Zhiyi said, "I'll drive."

As she said that, she opened the passenger door for her. Su Lingyue got into the car, and Ji Zhiyi followed, asking her, "Which cinema are we going to?"

Su Lingyue searched on her phone for a while, "This one, but the location is a bit out of the way."

Ji Zhiyi asked, "Why not go to the one in the city center?"

Su Lingyue's attitude was very casual, "Zhonghe? I have a small feud with the owner."

Ji Zhiyi: …

Not surprising.

Not surprising at all.

She nodded, "Enter the location into the navigation."

Su Lingyue entered the address into the car's navigation system, then put down her phone and whispered, "Let's go!"

Ji Zhiyi looked at her happy expression and asked, "Haven't you been to the cinema in a long time?"

Su Lingyue thought for a moment, "It's been about two years since I've gone much. Coincidentally, Chuyi doesn't really like going to the cinema."

Ji Zhiyi nodded.

She asked her, "How long have you and Chuyi been living together?"

Actually, she had already found out, but she still wanted to hear Su Lingyue say it.

Su Lingyue said, "About two or three years."

Ji Zhiyi said, "Why did you move in?"

Su Lingyue thought for a moment, the air unusually quiet. Then she said, "To avoid being pressured to marry."

She turned her head and asked Ji Zhiyi, "Has your family ever pressured you?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "Yes, they have."

Su Lingyue inexplicably felt nervous, "What did you say?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "I'm not very interested in marriage." She looked ahead, her voice unhurried, "My mother always feels like she owes me, so she hasn't forced me to go on blind dates or get married."

Su Lingyue said, "Your mother must be very understanding."

Ji Zhiyi smiled, "Perhaps."

As long as it wasn't related to her godmother, her mother was very understanding. But when it came to Jiang Ya, her mother would become a little irrational because, in her eyes, Jiang Ya had saved her father's life, which meant saving the whole family, saving everyone's lives, including her own when she went abroad later. Her mother was even more grateful to Jiang Ya.

She often said that it was okay not to be filial to her, but she had to be filial to Jiang Ya.

It was okay not to listen to her, but she had to listen to Jiang Ya.

She even suspected that if Jiang Ya asked her to transfer her assets to the Jiang family, her mother would agree.

She wasn't an ungrateful person.

But once repaying a debt of gratitude was mixed with threats.

It became something else entirely.

Su Lingyue looked out the car window, at the darkness outside, and said, "My mother passed away when I was very young."

Ji Zhiyi knew this, she had known it since they were in school.

Su Lingyue said, "Everyone said that her health wasn't good, and that passing away earlier meant less suffering, that it wasn't a bad thing for her."

"I didn't want her to pass away early at all."

Su Lingyue said, "I know it's because of..."

The words "my dad" were so difficult for her to say.

She hated that man.

Hated him so much that she didn't even want to mention his name.

Ji Zhiyi took her hand.

Su Lingyue turned her head.

Under the streetlight, Ji Zhiyi's eyes were covered in shadow, she couldn't see them clearly, but the warmth from her hand was real. She held Ji Zhiyi's hand back.

Tightly.

They didn't let go even after they arrived at the parking lot.

Ji Zhiyi said, "If we don't get out of the car to eat, we'll be late for the movie."

Su Lingyue: "Oh."

Ji Zhiyi turned her head to look at her.

Su Lingyue also felt like she was being very childish. She let go of Ji Zhiyi's hand, smiling as she got out of the car.

After going inside, they casually found a restaurant to have dinner. They sat by the window, watching the passersby outside as they ate. Suddenly, Su Lingyue's movement of picking up food froze, her gaze fixed straight ahead.

Ji Zhiyi followed her line of sight.

Familiar faces.

Su Lingyue remembered that Secretary Li had also said she was going to see a movie tonight.

What a coincidence?

Was it this cinema?

She saw Secretary Li looking for a restaurant and quickly lowered her head. Just as Ji Zhiyi was about to say something, Su Lingyue reached out and pressed her head down gently.

Ji Zhiyi laughed.

Su Lingyue asked, "Are they gone?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "They went to the restaurant across the street."

Su Lingyue said, "Should we change to another cinema?"

Ji Zhiyi looked at her acting like a thief, feeling both annoyed and amused. After a moment of silence, she said, "No need to change. After we finish eating, I'll take you somewhere."

Su Lingyue was puzzled, "Where?"

Ji Zhiyi pushed the soup towards her. Su Lingyue obediently drank the soup, and after eating for a while, she got up and followed Ji Zhiyi out. At the door, she glanced at the restaurant across the street. Secretary Li wasn't sitting by the window. She breathed a sigh of relief and asked Ji Zhiyi, "Where are we going?"

Ji Zhiyi didn't say much and walked forward. Su Lingyue had no choice but to follow. They passed through the food area, went down a floor, and arrived at the clothing section. Su Lingyue thought Ji Zhiyi wanted to buy clothes, but she didn't expect her to pull her directly into a hat shop.

Various kinds of hats and masks.

Su Lingyue understood Ji Zhiyi's idea. She nodded and started choosing seriously, trying on hats in front of the mirror for a while. In the end, Ji Zhiyi took a black baseball cap from the shelf and handed it to Su Lingyue.

Compared to the many different styles of hats just now, this one was very plain, but the brim was large, covering half of her face in shadow. With a mask on as well.

She felt like even if she stood in front of Secretary Li, she might not recognize her.

Su Lingyue took the hat, just as she was about to try it on, Ji Zhiyi took it from her hand, placed it directly on her head, and habitually pushed it down.

This action, this sense of familiarity.

Su Lingyue raised her eyes to look at the brim of the hat.

Then looked at Ji Zhiyi.

She wondered if she asked Ji Zhiyi now if she had ever written her love letters.

Would Ji Zhiyi think she was crazy?

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