Princess Syndrome - Chapter 108
Chapter 108: Singing
Zhang Xian had been waiting at home for a long time. She had just been about to go downstairs to see what was happening, when she heard the door open. Su Lingyue walked in, while clutching her phone. When she saw her, she smiled. "Sorry for disturbing you."
Zhang Xian lived alone in a one-bedroom apartment. Usually, the other room would be used to store things, and there was also a study. There was a tatami mat in the study, and she had just put new bed sheets on it. When she heard Su Lingyue’s words, she said, "It's no bother at all. I actually think my apartment is too big for just me."
Then she asked Su Lingyue, "Did you sort things out with her?"
Su Lingyue’s expression was open and relaxed.
Thinking of how Ji Zhiyi had had no choice but to use her acting spoiled skill, she felt better. Everything looked more pleasing. She nodded. "Yeah, we sorted it out."
Zhang Xian laughed.
It seemed that everything had a natural order to it.
That Ji Zhiyi had finally had a day where she had been put in her place.
She asked, "How did you talk about it?"
Su Lingyue looked at her, blinking. "She danced for me to make me happy."
Zhang Xian’s jaw dropped!
Had she missed something good?!
Then, Su Lingyue added, "She even sang for me."
Zhang Xian’s eyes widened. "Really? Really?"
Su Lingyue replied, "I’m just kidding."
Zhang Xian: …
She wanted to strangle Su Lingyue.
Looking at Su Lingyue’s tender neck, her hands were itching. She gave up, asking Su Lingyue, "What should we have for dinner?"
Su Lingyue asked, "What are you having tonight?"
Zhang Xian: "Takeout."
She gave a helpless expression. "I can’t cook."
Before, she could still go to Ji Zhiyi's house to freeload, but ever since Ji Zhiyi had returned to the country and hadn't allowed her to go there, Zhang Xian had no place to get free food. She had a sudden urge to slap herself. "I always thought that you two were at odds with each other. That's why I didn't dare to freeload."
Thinking about it now, she wanted to slap herself!
Su Lingyue changed the topic. "Then let’s order takeout, I'll do it, it’s my treat."
Seeing her so nice, Zhang Xian didn’t have the heart to blame her. Su Lingyue’s eyes were slightly red from crying, and she had removed her makeup when she had been outside. Her face was fair and smooth. Her skin was so fair that it was practically glowing. She looked so fragile. Zhang Xian was curious, "What did Shen Yuan want to talk to you about yesterday?"
She had wanted to ask her that this morning, but Ji Zhiyi had told her not to ask, so she had forced herself to hold back.
She had also heard of the rumors for the past two days. Ji Zhiyi had naturally heard it. When she had received a call from Ji Zhiyi this morning, she had really thought that there was some kind of problem with them. For a moment, she had wondered if Shen Yuan was trying to steal her girlfriend, since Ji Zhiyi’s attitude had been so unusual.
But after seeing Su Lingyue that morning, she had dismissed that suspicion.
Su Lingyue was too natural, too open and composed. If she really had anything going on with Shen Yuan, she wouldn't have acted so naturally in front of her, who was Ji Zhiyi's good friend. Moreover, she didn't think that Su Lingyue was that kind of person.
Su Lingyue replied, "We were discussing the PV patent."
"The PV patent?" She remembered, Qi An had said that they wanted to change the Xinyuan material, but she hadn't said what kind to change it to. So it was PV. She replied, "That's a loss."
Su Lingyue turned to look at her.
Zhang Xian said, "President Ji had spent so much effort to obtain Xinyuan’s material. What Yilin is lacking the most right now is reputation."
That was why Ji Zhiyi had spent so much effort to obtain the patent for the Xinyuan material. With Yilin's current foundation, what they needed was quality. Stable and reliable quality. Although the Xinyuan material was more expensive than PV, its advantages were obvious.
The most common materials were all in that category, PV was also one of them.
If they used the same material, Yilin would lose their advantage in quality. Although Yilin’s designs had greatly improved in recent years, it still wasn't comparable to an older brand like Dingsheng, with their shorter development history.
Zhang Xian had originally thought that with Xinyuan, and Ji Zhiyi’s “Double” series design, they would become very popular. It would definitely make Yilin famous again. But if they were to continue using the PV material, how would they negotiate with Aron?
That's why she had said that it was a loss.
Su Lingyue had also thought of this problem, but it was Qi An who had made the decision. Moreover, Qi An had only asked to change the material after talking to the Aron representative. So the representative probably knew about it as well.
Zhang Xian asked Su Lingyue, "But isn't the PV patent from Su Qi?"
Su Lingyue replied, "Su Qi sold a part of it to Dingsheng a while ago."
Zhang Xian asked, "Including PV?"
Su Lingyue said, "It wasn’t included, but it's in the additional list now."
Zhang Xian understood.
She looked at Su Lingyue. "President Shen added it?"
Su Lingyue replied, "Yeah."
Zhang Xian asked curiously, "So, you went over there last night to discuss this?"
Su Lingyue replied, "No, I went over there because her mom suddenly arrived."
Zhang Xian didn't understand. "Why did her mom ask you to go over? Does her mom like you?"
That “like” sounded like the affection that one had for a younger person.
Su Lingyue replied, "No, her mom hates me."
Zhang Xian: …
She had overthought it. If Shen Yuan's mom had liked Su Lingyue, then she wouldn't have stayed silent when she had seen how Su's family had been bullying her. She chuckled awkwardly, and then looked at Su Lingyue.
Su Lingyue met her eyes.
Zhang Xian replied, "I think I understand why President Ji likes you so much now."
Su Lingyue’s interest was piqued. She looked at Zhang Xian and asked, "Why?"
Zhang Xian replied, "At first, I thought that it was because of your face."
After all, that face was too beautiful, too deceiving. It was normal for Ji Zhiyi, who was with her every day, to be attracted to her.
She thought that, perhaps, she didn't even need to be tempted.
Su Lingyue only needed to sit there, and there would be countless people chasing after her.
But now she felt that that wasn't it.
Su Lingyue asked, "What is it now then?"
Zhang Xian replied, "Now I think it's because of how clear you are of your own self-awareness."
That self-awareness created a unique temperament. Calm and composed, neither servile nor overbearing. Zhang Xian felt that she would not be able to do what Su Lingyue did. To say that someone hated her, while remaining so calm and collected.
So, she thought that Ji Zhiyi might have liked that about Su Lingyue.
Su Lingyue, who had been trying to avoid having her laid-back attitude exposed, received such praise. "You thought wrong this time."
Zhang Xian looked at her.
Su Lingyue said, "She just likes my face."
Zhang Xian: …
Had she overthought things?
Su Lingyue, seeing that Zhang Xian had become skeptical of herself, patted her on the shoulder. Her phone vibrated. She looked down. It was a message from Ji Zhiyi.
The weather was clear on her end, and the sun was warm. Su Lingyue had felt it during their video call. Looking at the picture that Ji Zhiyi had sent, she commented, "You took it pretty well."
Ji Zhiyi chuckled quietly at the comment.
They had just had an argument.
If that could be considered an argument.
It was different from the scenes that she had imagined. The feeling of powerlessness due to their distance had been crushed by Su Lingyue. All of her fear and anxiety was like a boomerang, hitting her right back.
It was as if she wasn't the only one who was afraid.
The dugout canoe had found a support. Su Lingyue was floating on the other side of the log. She only needed to reach out a hand to touch her.
She didn't have to worry about any turbulence, because they would sink together.
She could feel Su Lingyue by her side.
It felt more real than any of their previous hugs.
The distance was never the reason for broken relationships. Not loving was.
Ji Zhiyi relaxed her body, and leaned on the sofa. She held her phone in her hand. She waited for a message while closing her eyes. She had been turning her life upside down the past few days. Her sleep schedule was a mess, but she didn't feel tired. It was only when she saw Su Lingyue’s pictures that she felt the strong urge to sleep. The side effects were quite serious.
Su Lingyue didn’t immediately reply. She wasn't as worried as she had been in the morning. She thought that Ji Zhiyi had gone to shower or was busy.
Soon, takeout was delivered to the door. Su Lingyue carried it in. Zhang Xian had already set the table. After putting the takeout down, she said, "Are you going to be able to finish all of this?"
Su Lingyue replied, "It seems that I ordered too much."
She was in a good mood, so she had ordered too much.
Zhang Xian laughed, "Let's eat first. Oh right, did you meet uncle and auntie?"
Su Lingyue replied, "Yeah, do you know them?"
Zhang Xian replied, "I've met them before, but I'm not familiar with them."
She had helped Ji Zhiyi deliver a few items before, but she wasn't familiar with the elders. However, Ji Zhiyi's mother seemed to have a good temper. Unlike Jiang Ya, she was a very gentle person. It was hard to imagine how such a gentle person had raised Ji Zhiyi, who had such an aloof personality.
What Su Lingyue was thinking was.
Ji Zhiyi was not aloof at all.
Perhaps in the beginning, she had felt that Ji Zhiyi was too cold, but after becoming familiar with her, she had realized the gentleness that was hidden beneath that coldness. Thinking of this, she asked Zhang Xian, "Does Shen Yuan have any issues with her?"
Because she had thought of Shen Yuan’s words.
That she should notify Ji Zhiyi before collaborating.
She had also said that Ji Zhiyi liked her very much.
Her tone, it was as if Ji Zhiyi had made a sacrifice for her.
She didn't know that before, Ji Zhiyi had rejected Dingsheng’s collaborations several times. Zhang Xian, seeing Su Lingyue’s puzzled expression, was suddenly intrigued. She asked, "Do you know Ji Zhiyi's godmother?"
Su Lingyue nodded.
Not only did she know her, she had even met her.
Zhang Xian said, "Then do you know why Ji Zhiyi developed Yilin?"
Why else would she develop a company?
Su Lingyue was confused. "Why?"
Zhang Xian replied, "To compete with Dingsheng."
Su Lingyue’s face changed slightly.
She frowned. "Dingsheng?"
Zhang Xian asked, "Didn't she tell you?"
Su Lingyue fell silent.
Zhang Xian replied, "I always thought that you knew."
So, when she had heard that Su Lingyue was going to collaborate with Dingsheng, she had found it strange. So, she didn't know.
Su Lingyue asked, "Does she hate Dingsheng?"
Zhang Xian replied, "No, it's her godmother."
Su Lingyue asked, "Why?"
Zhang Xian shook her head. They hadn't been able to figure out that reason before. But now that Jiang Yunlu had woken up, and they had heard the rumors about Shen Yuan’s ex-girlfriend, it was like they could figure out a little from the details.
Jiang Yunlu had left home when she was around twenty years old. They had also heard that Shen Yuan’s ex-girlfriend had died when she was around that age.
But there were still some things that didn't match up.
Such as their names.
And information.
But Jiang Yunlu had probably used an alias to avoid Jiang Ya, which had caused some information discrepancies. Of course, this was just information that she and Ji Zhiyi had been able to piece together. It wasn't accurate. Perhaps there had been some other issues.
They didn’t know.
Zhang Xian replied, "Just because of this, she made a promise to her godmother. If Dingsheng didn't fall, she would have to hand over the authorization to Haoyue."
Haoyue?
Su Lingyue turned her head to look at Zhang Xian.
Was she talking about Ji Zhiyi's favorite, and most treasured Haoyue series?
Zhang Xian continued, "That's why she's spent the past few years developing Yilin. It was to compete with Dingsheng. She wanted to get back the authorization for Haoyue as quickly as possible."
But now, because of Su Qi, she had broken her plans twice.
And because of the PV patent issue.
She had to collaborate with Dingsheng.
The words that Ji Zhiyi had said that day when she had asked about Dingsheng’s collaboration echoed in Su Lingyue’s ears.
Ji Zhiyi had simply said softly, "I agree."
What had Ji Zhiyi been thinking when she said that?
Su Lingyue felt anger, frustration, and heartache. Her eyes were stinging. She sniffed. Her body suddenly became dejected. The scent of food floated in the air, yet the atmosphere was a little oppressive. Su Lingyue opened her mouth. "Zhang Xian."
Zhang Xian looked at her. "Hmm?"
Su Lingyue asked, "Have you ever heard Ji Zhiyi sing?"
Zhang Xian: …
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