Princess Syndrome - Chapter 77
Chapter 77: Sent by mistake
Su Lingyue didn't touch her phone again. She ignored the occasional vibrations. Ji Zhiyi was just meeting an old friend, but in her head, Su Lingyue had already concocted ten thousand different scenarios. She couldn’t keep this up forever. Could it be that being in a relationship meant having your partner attached at the hip?
That didn't make sense.
She should give Ji Zhiyi space.
The thought was nice, but when her phone rang, she still felt inexplicably nervous. Seeing Ji Zhiyi's name flashing on the screen, she bolted upright from the sofa, sitting ramrod straight.
Then she remembered no one was watching.
She slumped back down.
Leaning against the sofa, she picked up the phone and answered.
Ji Zhiyi's voice was anxious: "Lingyue?"
Just that one word, and Su Lingyue's nose started to tingle.
Emotions were truly unreasonable things.
She was afraid Ji Zhiyi would hear something amiss, so she pretended to be casual: "Hmm?"
Ji Zhiyi asked: "What are you doing? I messaged you, but you didn't reply."
Su Lingyue said: "I just fell asleep."
Ji Zhiyi immediately thought about how she hadn't rested well on the plane, and had come straight to her place afterward. She could have slept, but she went back. It was good to go back and rest. Ji Zhiyi said: "Then you should rest some more?"
Rest some more?
Not going to tell her about Mao Jing'an?
Although there wasn't much to tell.
Su Lingyue said: "Okay."
Just as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door on the other end of the phone. Su Lingyue gripped her phone case, her fingertips pressing until they hurt. She blinked, leaned back against the sofa, and said: "I'll hang up now."
Ji Zhiyi said: "Mm, okay."
Still "Mm"!
Still "Okay"!
Su Lingyue angrily threw her phone onto the sofa. Couldn't Ji Zhiyi tell she was angry?
Well, even if she couldn't hear it over the phone, couldn't she see it before she left?
She just wasn't paying attention!
Su Lingyue complained, but her hand honestly picked up the phone and saw the messages from Ji Zhiyi.
[Did you get to your room?]
[Lingyue?]
[What are you doing?]
Su Lingyue pouted.
She saw a message from Zhang Xian.
[Actually, just don't let Ms. Mao bother President Ji too much.]
Too late.
She even gave them space.
But she still replied to Zhang Xian: [OK, thanks.]
Zhang Xian breathed a sigh of relief after receiving the message.
It was Ji Zhiyi's private matter, so it wasn't convenient for her to say too much.
Su Lingyue put down her phone, feeling too stuffy to sleep. She got up and walked to the window. Her window was very different from Ji Zhiyi's open-air balcony. It was a large window facing the road, filled with the hustle and bustle of traffic and the cacophony of horns. It was completely different from Ji Zhiyi's balcony, which was closed off from the outside world.
She wondered.
What was Ji Zhiyi doing?
Who was at the door?
Could it be Mao Jing'an?
This strange sense of distance, created just by being apart, made Su Lingyue very uncomfortable. It was as if, when they met again, Ji Zhiyi wouldn't be the Ji Zhiyi she knew. Ultimately, it was because they knew too little about each other.
They knew too little about each other's past.
Although they had previously, as if conducting an investigation, written down detailed questions they wanted to know about each other, it was far from enough. A stranger, an unfamiliar expression, all made Su Lingyue feel alienated.
This alienation stemmed from knowing too little about each other. Before they started dating, Su Lingyue thought that they didn't need to know too much. It wasn't deep love that brought them together, but a whim, or perhaps, two people who were too satisfied with each other's appearance decided to give it a try. As for the past, there seemed to be no need to delve too deep.
But now, she was completely thrown off balance by unfamiliar people.
Su Lingyue pressed her forehead. When she felt really bad, she didn't want to do anything, didn't even want to move. She just stared blankly at the ceiling.
Counting the seconds ticking by.
Too negative.
Su Lingyue abruptly got up from the sofa, patted her cheeks, went to the bathroom to wash up, and finally changed her clothes, deciding to go downstairs for a walk to clear her head.
The hotel Arno arranged wasn't in the city center, but near a resort. The area was picturesque, seemingly a tourist destination. Since it was a tourist spot, there were naturally many tourists, but this hotel seemed to be booked entirely by Arno. After all, the attendees of this autumn exhibition were all prominent figures in the industry. With such complex interpersonal relationships, it would be troublesome if something went wrong, so compared to the hustle and bustle of other nearby hotels, this one was quite quiet.
The first-floor lobby was being prepared for the evening banquet. Su Lingyue brushed past the entrance and walked outside. There was a large shopping mall nearby, but she wasn't very interested. Seeing an open-air cafe, she walked over. The young waiter greeted her with a smile: "Miss, what would you like to drink?"
Su Lingyue heard a voice behind her: "Miss Su?"
She turned around.
And saw Mao Jing'an.
She stood up: "Miss Mao."
Mao Jing'an said: "Alone? Mind if I join you?"
Su Lingyue said: "Not at all."
Mao Jing'an sat across from her. They both ordered coffee. Seeing her here, Su Lingyue realized that the person knocking on Ji Zhiyi's door definitely wasn't her. For no reason, she felt a little happy.
They weren't familiar with each other and had little to talk about. Mao Jing'an spoke first: "Are you out shopping, Miss Su?"
Su Lingyue looked up and said: "No, just taking a stroll."
Mao Jing'an asked: "Is it hard being Zhiyi's assistant?"
Su Lingyue didn't hesitate: "It's alright. Your Chinese is very good, Miss Mao."
Mao Jing'an said: "Yes, I lived in China for a while before."
Su Lingyue nodded.
Mao Jing'an took a sip of coffee and looked at Su Lingyue. She was much prettier than in the photos. The photos were candid shots, taken from a bad angle, yet even so, one could still see that she was beautiful. She had seen many beautiful people, both inside and outside her circle, but today, when Su Lingyue opened the door, the moment she saw her, she was still stunned.
It was a very straightforward, indescribable beauty.
Passersby glanced at Su Lingyue more than once. Mao Jing'an said: "Miss Su, are you free later?"
Su Lingyue said: "Is there something you need, Miss Mao?"
Mao Jing'an said: "I'm here for the first time and I'm not very familiar with the area. I was hoping you could accompany me to the mall up ahead to buy some things."
Su Lingyue held her coffee and nodded: "Sure."
She wasn't very familiar with the area either, but having been here a few times, she was certainly more familiar than Mao Jing'an.
But she didn't understand. Wouldn't it be more comfortable to shop alone than with someone you didn't know?
If it were her, she wouldn't invite someone she wasn't familiar with to go shopping with her, especially considering her current status as someone targeted by Ji Zhiyi. Su Lingyue didn't understand Mao Jing'an, but she didn't say anything more, remaining silent.
Mao Jing'an said: "You don't seem to like talking much, Miss Su?"
Who likes to chat with strangers?
Especially representatives from other companies.
The more you say, the more mistakes you make.
Su Lingyue smiled politely: "I don't really like to."
Mao Jing'an said, "You're a bit like Zhiyi when I first met her."
Su Lingyue's expression stiffened. She lowered her eyes, looking at the tips of her shoes, and said: "President Ji?"
Mao Jing'an nodded: "When I met her, she was like this too, quiet. Once, we were having dinner together, and a friend got drunk. Something happened on the way, and it was Zhiyi who carried her to a nearby hospital. It was only after we got there that we saw Zhiyi's leg was also injured, but she didn't say anything."
She looked at Su Lingyue: "So when I heard someone was bullying her, I was surprised. She's such a good person, how could anyone bully her?"
So it was to stand up for Ji Zhiyi.
That's why she asked her to go shopping with her.
Beating around the bush so much, how tiring. Su Lingyue wanted to laugh, but didn't. Probably because these were things she didn't know, about Ji Zhiyi's past. And she had just heard that Ji Zhiyi's leg had been injured.
Her heart suddenly clenched.
Even though she knew it had happened a long time ago.
Mao Jing'an glanced at Su Lingyue's expression from the corner of her eye. Seeing her frown slightly, but unable to discern any other change in her expression, she asked: "Can we talk about your summer camp experience?"
Talk about it?
She didn't want to just talk about it.
She wanted to tell Su Lingyue that she had the right to.
This... a right at least closer than a friend's.
Su Lingyue raised her eyes and looked at Mao Jing'an, her face calm as she said: "Miss Mao, our acquaintance has been rather hasty, so I haven't had a chance to properly introduce myself. I have a major flaw."
Mao Jing'an asked: "What flaw?"
Su Lingyue said: "I have a bad memory."
Mao Jing'an: "..."
Su Lingyue said: "I don't remember a lot of things from the past. If you want to know about President Ji and my time at summer camp, I can ask her for you."
As she spoke, she prepared to make a call.
Mao Jing'an was stunned by her words. She quickly put her hand over Su Lingyue's phone and said: "She's meeting with a guest right now. It's best not to disturb her."
She even knew about the meeting.
Su Lingyue gritted her teeth, her face remaining calm as she smiled: "Alright."
She turned and sent a series of knife emojis to Ji Zhiyi.
Ji Zhiyi was discussing patent issues with Mr. Qi when her phone vibrated. She glanced at it and saw the message from Su Lingyue.
It was a row of knives.
Ji Zhiyi: "..."
Ji Zhiyi was discussing patent issues with President Qi when she received a message from Su Lingyue that left her a bit confused. What did she send? The other end quickly replied, "Sent by mistake."
She: ......
Ji Zhiyi asked: [Are you awake?]
Su Lingyue looked at the message.
Awake.
More awake than ever!
She was holding back a belly full of anger and simply replied: [Mm.]
"President Ji, come have a cup of tea." President Qi handed her a cup while holding another. Ji Zhiyi put down her phone, took it, and heard President Qi say, "This tea was brought in this morning, it's fresh."
Ji Zhiyi took a sip, and the fragrance of the tea filled her senses.
She set down the cup and sent a message to Su Lingyue: [Are you coming upstairs?]
The other end did not reply.
Ji Zhiyi didn’t mind, guessing that Su Lingyue had gone to wash up.
Su Lingyue accompanied Mao Jing'an into a shopping mall, which had a large supermarket. Mao Jing'an entered the supermarket, and Su Lingyue followed her. She watched as Mao Jing'an bought some personal items and then seriously picked out milk. In the end, she asked the supermarket staff, "Do you have Hope brand milk?"
The staff shook their head.
Mao Jing'an looked a bit disappointed.
She said to Su Lingyue, "I was planning to bring two boxes back for Zhiyi. She loves this brand of milk the most."
Su Lingyue had not seen Ji Zhiyi drink milk much, but recently, she had been pressured to drink some by her and thought she didn’t like it. It turned out she used to enjoy drinking milk.
So why was she so resistant to the milk Su Lingyue gave her?
Su Lingyue felt a buildup of anger inside, but her face was still smiling as her fingers touched her phone.
Ji Zhiyi was drinking tea when her phone vibrated. She glanced at it and saw a message from Su Lingyue.
It was a row of knives.
Ji Zhiyi: ......
😂😂😂😂
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