Princess Syndrome - Chapter 143 [END]

Extra: Love Letter

Su Lingyue had recently had a small conflict with Ji Zhiyi. It started when she represented Ji Zhiyi at a banquet in a neighboring province. The round trip took two or three days. When she returned, she had ordered lunch for Ji Zhiyi, but when she got to the company, she found that Ji Zhiyi had forgotten about it due to being busy. She hadn’t even eaten lunch. The assistant said carefully, "I reminded President Ji."

She smiled sweetly, gently comforting the assistant, but as soon as the assistant left, she immediately questioned Ji Zhiyi about what she meant by this.

Ji Zhiyi knew she was in the wrong. She wanted to explain, but didn’t have a good reason, so she simply let Su Lingyue vent. The more Su Lingyue spoke, the more upset she became. A small problem turned into an issue about working overtime at night, only focusing on work on the weekends, and not caring about her own health. Ji Zhiyi had just begun to speak, "Lingyue..."

Su Lingyue said, with reddened eyes, "Don't try to argue!"

Ji Zhiyi pursed her lips.

Su Lingyue snorted and grabbed her bag, walking away.

There were many places she could go on the weekend: Chu Yi's house, Zhang Xian's house. Zhang Xian was a woman who judged by appearances. Even though she had known Ji Zhiyi for so many years, she actually defected to Su Lingyue's side because of her face. She often played "the fence-sitter," claiming it was to gather information for Ji Zhiyi, but Su Lingyue knew that she would tell Ji Zhiyi everything in great detail, so every time they fought, she looked for Zhang Xian; it was her way of indirectly communicating with Ji Zhiyi.

Zhang Xian was stunned when she received Su Lingyue's call, but then she reacted. "Did you come home?"

Su Lingyue subconsciously asked, hearing her surprised tone, "What's wrong?"

Zhang Xian quickly said, "Nothing, I just..." She kicked Chu Yi on the sofa. Chu Yi glared at her, then sat up. There were still red wine and beer cans, all empty, a complete mess on the coffee table. Last night, the two of them had met at the supermarket. After learning that Chu Yi was also cooking alone at home, Zhang Xian had simply invited her to her house to cook.

Chu Yi had rolled her eyes at her twice before following her home.

Because of Ji Zhiyi and Su Lingyue's relationship, and also because they were in the same company, they often met, so she and Zhang Xian had become much closer. She had enough of a friendship with her to cook a meal for her. Chu Yi went to Zhang Xian's house with the groceries she had bought and found that she was living a truly fairy-like life, not touching anything to do with housework. She couldn't even cook a simple dish. She couldn't help but ask Zhang Xian, "Didn't you used to eat at all?"

Zhang Xian replied righteously, "Takeout."

Takeout was simply the greatest invention of mankind!

Chu Yi was impressed.

She turned and went into the kitchen. Zhang Xian often ate the food Chu Yi cooked because most of their gatherings took place at Chu Yi's rented place. They had originally planned to do them at Ji Zhiyi's house, but Ji Zhiyi was always busy and didn’t have time to cook. Su Lingyue was still exploring cooking, and while it was occasionally good, it was mostly bad, so Chu Yi had taken on the responsibility and simply moved the gatherings to her house.

Naturally, Zhang Xian didn't mind joining in.

But even after eating so many times, this was the first time she had invited Chu Yi to come to her house to cook. After she finished, she also felt like she may have been too rude, so she invited her to try her red wine, which she had been keeping for several years. Chu Yi wasn’t good at drinking, so after just a few sips, she started to talk about her past love affairs, a long stream of complaints that made Zhang Xian nod repeatedly. She had a similar feeling, and they agreed with each other, and then the two of them got drunk and crashed on the sofa for the night. If it hadn’t been for Su Lingyue’s call, Zhang Xian wouldn’t have woken up.

She pressed her head, and then mouthed to Chu Yi, "Lingyue."

Chu Yi nodded. Just as she was about to speak, Zhang Xian made a shushing gesture. Chu Yi was confused, but didn’t speak. Only after Zhang Xian finished her call did she say, "Lingyue is back?"

Zhang Xian said, "Yeah, she just got back, and she’s coming here. What do you do?"

Chu Yi asked, confused, "What do you mean, 'what do I do?'"

Zhang Xian said, "Won't Lingyue misunderstand?"

Chu Yi was even more confused. "What would she misunderstand in your house?"

Zhang Xian, seeing how confused she was, was also confused. "Wouldn't Lingyue misunderstand?"

Chu Yi laughed. "There’s nothing to misunderstand."

Then she thought about how Zhang Xian had stopped her from speaking just now. Was it because she was afraid that Su Lingyue would misunderstand?

She raised her hand. "Lingyue won’t misunderstand."

Zhang Xian turned her head. "Why not?"

Chu Yi said, "Because I don't like you either."

Zhang Xian: …

Chu Yi added, "Lingyue knows that you're not my type."

Zhang Xian: …

She wasn’t convinced. "What type do you like?"

Chu Yi didn't hesitate. "Definitely not someone like you."

Zhang Xian: …

She wanted to strangle Chu Yi!

Chu Yi didn't think there was anything wrong with her words. However, she hadn't seen Su Lingyue for a while, so after washing up, she waited for Su Lingyue at Zhang Xian's house. When she heard the doorbell ring, she immediately ran to the door, almost getting her face covered in cat fur.

She sneezed, then asked Su Lingyue, "Why did you bring a cat?"

Su Lingyue explained, "It just got its shots. Zhang Xian said she wanted to see it last time."

She was also surprised to see Chu Yi. She asked, "What are you doing here?"

Chu Yi said, "I was in a bad mood last night, so I came to Zhang Xian for a few drinks."

Zhang Xian stood behind them, watching Su Lingyue carrying the cat bag, and Chu Yi standing in front of Su Lingyue. They were chatting as if no one else was there. Judging by their expressions, there was indeed no sign of misunderstanding.

She was silent for two seconds, feeling a little hurt.

Su Lingyue noticed her expression and asked Chu Yi, "What's wrong with her?"

Chu Yi turned her head and, with Su Lingyue, looked at Zhang Xian. Zhang Xian tried to force a smile, then said, "I'll hold the cat."

After speaking, she walked past Chu Yi and took Xiao Mafan out of the bag. Xiao Mafan wasn't unfamiliar with her house. Sometimes, when Ji Zhiyi and Su Lingyue went on business trips, the cat would stay with her, so when Xiao Mafan was held by her, it purred cutely and then started to snore.

Zhang Xian lowered her head and petted the cat's head.

Chu Yi asked, "When did you come back?"

Su Lingyue: "I just got back."

Chu Yi asked, strangely, "Didn't you go see President Ji?"

Su Lingyue said, "I did."

Zhang Xian understood. "Did you guys fight?"

Su Lingyue was stubborn. "No, she's busy."

Wow!

So you're saying you didn't.

Zhang Xian saw that Chu Yi didn't dare to sit down, so she put the cat in the room, closed the door, then walked over and sat on the sofa. She heard Su Lingyue say, "Was I too sensitive?"

But at the time, her words had been rushed, she had been anxious, she had said everything. She wasn’t usually impatient, but when it came to matters involving Ji Zhiyi, she always couldn’t help but be anxious, so that was why she was so cold and angry, and why she had said so many angry things.

Chu Yi said, "That's normal, anyone would be angry. You're fine."

Zhang Xian realized that Chu Yi always agreed with Su Lingyue on everything, no matter how big or small. She had even argued with her for her before.

Was this what friends agreeing with each other was like?

If she was her girlfriend, would she agree with her like this too?

Or maybe, if one day her girlfriend and Su Lingyue fought, who would she side with?

Su Lingyue saw that Zhang Xian hadn't said anything for a long time, and was just staring at Chu Yi. She couldn't help but speak, "Zhang Xian?"

Zhang Xian came back to her senses, then looked at them both and blinked. "Ah..."

Before Su Lingyue could even speak, Chu Yi said, "Why ‘ah’?"

Zhang Xian said, "I misspoke."

Chu Yi: …

Su Lingyue leaned against the sofa. She saw Zhang Xian’s phone vibrating, and all three of them looked towards the coffee table. Ji Zhiyi's name was flashing on the phone. Zhang Xian whispered, "Did you block her?"

Su Lingyue: …

When had she ever blocked Ji Zhiyi!

Seeing that her hands were clenched, Zhang Xian laughed awkwardly. "I’ll go answer the call."

Su Lingyue watched her back and whispered to Chu Yi, "Is Ji Zhiyi angry?"

Chu Yi tilted her head to look at her. She was clearly the one who had fought with Ji Zhiyi, the first one to get angry was her, and now she was the one who was self-reflecting. This love...and they even fought.

No wonder Zhang Xian said that she was going to develop a love brain.

She wanted to be in a relationship too.

Chu Yi held herself back, saying, "She's definitely not angry."

Su Lingyue looked at her. Chu Yi said, "Isn't it just that she's afraid you're angry, so she's having Zhang Xian test the waters?"

It was something Ji Zhiyi would do. Actually, after leaving the company, Su Lingyue had regretted it a little. It wasn't that big of a deal, but she had made it sound like the sky was falling. On the way to pick up Xiao Mafan, she had kept thinking about whether to call Ji Zhiyi, but then she had remembered that Ji Zhiyi hadn't eaten, and she had felt both heartache and anger. So, she hadn't given Ji Zhiyi any news at all when she had arrived at Zhang Xian's house.

Now that she heard Chu Yi say that, she lowered her head. When she touched her phone, she realized that Ji Zhiyi had sent her a message ten minutes ago. She had been driving at the time, so she probably hadn’t paid attention to it. After getting out of the car, her mind was filled with the fight, so she hadn’t checked her phone, and had ignored it.

Ji Zhiyi hadn’t sent anything much. She had simply sent a cute bunny emoji.

A way of admitting her fault.

It strangely hit Su Lingyue's funny bone. She couldn't hold it back, the corners of her lips turning up. Then she realized that Chu Yi was still looking at her, so she stiffened her face again.

Chu Yi: "Was it President Ji who sent it?"

Su Lingyue still wanted to deny it, but she couldn't.

Chu Yi shook her head.

She couldn’t look at it. She really couldn’t look at it.

After a while, Zhang Xian came over. She saw that Su Lingyue and Chu Yi were looking at her. She shook her phone, saying, "She asked me if you had arrived yet."

She knew that they would come here after they fought.

Su Lingyue lowered her head, the anger in her eyes gone, clearly calmed down.

Zhang Xian approached her, then whispered, "Also, she said that today wasn't intentional. She just wanted to finish work as soon as possible."

Su Lingyue asked, "Why is she so rushed?"

Zhang Xian said, "To spend time with you tonight."

Afraid that this would cause a misunderstanding, she explained, "Aren't you going back to the old house tonight?"

Su Lingyue paused.

Then she understood what Ji Zhiyi meant.

Today was her mother’s death anniversary. After moving out of the old house, she would go to the cemetery on the anniversary. Later, when she moved back to the old house, she would commemorate her mother at home. Today was indeed her mother’s death anniversary, and it was because of that, that she rushed back today. But she thought that Ji Zhiyi didn't know about it. After all, Ji Zhiyi hadn't mentioned her mother during this period.

Su Lingyue then stood up.

Zhang Xian asked, "Are you leaving?"

Su Lingyue said, "Yeah."

Before leaving, she didn't forget to say, "Thank you."

Zhang Xian said, "It's nothing." Then, thinking of something, she followed her to the door. "Wait, I actually have something to ask you."

Su Lingyue asked, "What is it?"

Zhang Xian said, "Do you know what type of person Chu Yi likes?"

Su Lingyue: "Huh?"

Zhang Xian explained, "I'm just curious."

Su Lingyue glanced at her. Zhang Xian was almost raising her hand to swear, but luckily Su Lingyue didn't dwell on it. She just said, "Probably the domestic type."

She wasn’t sure either. She had just heard Chu Yi mention a bit of her preferences. When Zhang Xian heard this, she frowned. The domestic type? Someone who could cook? No wonder she said that she didn’t fit her preferences. She could never fit that type. She hated cooking the most.

But, why did she have to fit that?

Zhang Xian shook her head.

Su Lingyue told her, "Leave Xiao Mafan with you for now. I'll come pick it up tomorrow."

Zhang Xian made an ok gesture. Xiao Mafan was now like her and had been sleeping in the same bed. It was not a problem at all to stay over for one night. Seeing her reply, Su Lingyue felt at ease and drove back home. She originally wanted to take Xiao Mafan back to the apartment first, because she was worried it would be lonely alone at night, and she also didn’t want to take it back to the old house. The two cats she kept at the old house were still a trauma for her, and she also didn’t want Xiao Mafan to come back, so the safest option was to leave it with Zhang Xian.

On the way back, she kept thinking about calling Ji Zhiyi. When she really got to the door of the house, she still didn't call. She felt that with today's incident, she couldn’t make it up just by apologizing on the phone. Of course, Ji Zhiyi wouldn’t mind, but she would.

She minded for Ji Zhiyi, and she felt bad for her.

So, when she got to the door of the old house, she drove to the supermarket and bought some ingredients. When she got back to the old house, she simply made three dishes and a soup. Recently, she had been learning to cook with Ji Zhiyi, and she considered her skills to be improving rapidly, although Zhang Xian and Chu Yi didn’t agree.

Su Lingyue took a bite to test the saltiness. She felt it was just right, so she put down the spoon and sent a message to Ji Zhiyi: [Where are you?]

Ji Zhiyi received Su Lingyue's message and scrolled up. Su Lingyue's first message after their fight was this. Actually, Su Lingyue really liked to act stubborn. Sometimes when she didn't pay attention to her, she would have to stubbornly say something, and then after a while, she would nonchalantly skip over the controversial topic and talk to her about something else. It was only before bed that she would hold onto her and ask, "You’re not still angry, right?"

So, Ji Zhiyi was—very used to her jumping over things.

And she was very cooperative. [Still one hour away. Are you getting impatient?]

Su Lingyue looked at her reply. Still one hour away. It seemed that she really was busy today. She felt more and more that she was not only not considerate, but also... really not a good person!

She replied to Ji Zhiyi: [It’s fine, take your time. I’ll wait for you at home.]

After Ji Zhiyi replied to her, Su Lingyue put her phone on the coffee table. She turned on the TV, but after watching it for a while, she got bored. She wandered into her mother’s room. Before, she had done a big clean, packing up all the things related to that man and Zhou Shiyu and throwing them out. It had rained on the day that she had thrown them out, and she had stood in the rain, laughing happily. Ji Zhiyi had stayed with her in the rain for half a day. When they had returned, they had both caught a cold. But Su Lingyue had felt more carefree than ever before. After that, she came to the old house more frequently. She had even turned her room into their wedding room. It was decorated very festively. When Ji Zhiyi had come in the second time, she had thought she had entered the wrong room.

Su Lingyue looked through some of her mother's photos. After closing them, she was about to go to the living room to wait for Ji Zhiyi when she suddenly remembered the old gift room. It was here that she had discovered that Ji Zhiyi was the person who had sent her the love letters. This person really didn’t say anything. She always said that she was stubborn, but she was actually more stubborn than anyone else.

She went into the room. Everything was still the same. Aunt Liu had preserved everything very well. The old gifts were all carefully preserved. Through those gifts, she felt like she had gone back many years, with memories of school, memories of starting work. The gifts that she had left aside before now felt heavy in her hands. Su Lingyue suddenly realized that perhaps, at the time, she should have politely said thank you.

Especially to Ji Zhiyi.

She randomly opened a drawer. It was full of love letters. Some of the paper had changed color. Some had the musty smell of years. That day, it was here that she had found out all the bits and pieces about Ji Zhiyi.

Su Lingyue opened the first letter. She saw the words, “To Su Lingyue,” written in a proper and orderly way. The past rushed towards her.

If she could do it over, perhaps she would write a letter to Ji Zhiyi too.

Su Lingyue’s lips curled up into a smile. She glanced at these letters, then suddenly stood up and jogged out of the room. In less than ten minutes, she was back, holding a few envelopes in her hand. Then she took out a pen and some newly bought stationery from her bag.

She hadn't written letters when she was in school, but now, after graduating for so many years, she was writing a letter. Su Lingyue felt it was novel. She quickly wrote down the words that she wanted to write. Looking at the blank stationery, she became worried.

How did Ji Zhiyi manage to write her love letters so full?

She threw away the page that she had written, lowered her head, and started writing again.

Ji Zhiyi sent Su Lingyue a message before she finished work, but didn't get a reply. After she got in the car, she called Su Lingyue. Su Lingyue was biting her pen, racking her brains, when she heard Ji Zhiyi call out "Lingyue" at the other end.

Inspiration suddenly struck, overwhelming her. Su Lingyue hurriedly hung up the phone and started writing frantically.

The sound of Ji Zhiyi arriving at the old house didn’t even alarm her until Ji Zhiyi couldn’t find her in the living room or bedroom and called out, "Lingyue?"

Only then did she come back to her senses. She quickly stuffed the finished letter into an envelope, and then peeked out from the door, looking at Ji Zhiyi with a smile. "You're back?"

Ji Zhiyi felt that her eyes sparkled when she smiled. She walked over, still feeling a bit tired, but when she saw Su Lingyue, half of her fatigue went away. She nodded. Just as she was about to hug Su Lingyue, Su Lingyue had already brushed past her and walked out. Ji Zhiyi turned her head. Su Lingyue said, "Do you want to eat first?"

Ji Zhiyi asked, "Did you cook?"

Su Lingyue was just about to nod, but then she suddenly remembered, "It must have gotten cold."

Ji Zhiyi said, "I'll go heat it up."

Before Su Lingyue could say anything, Ji Zhiyi had already gone into the kitchen. She had no choice but to follow Ji Zhiyi into the kitchen. The envelope had been stuffed into the pocket of her coat. While they were eating, she pinched it. She still couldn’t think of a good reason to give it to Ji Zhiyi.

A love letter?

A late response from many years ago?

The more Su Lingyue thought about it, the more awkward she felt. Her expression became distorted. Ji Zhiyi had taken a bite of the dish she had just eaten. It wasn't that bad, was it?

She asked, confused, "Lingyue? What's wrong?"

Su Lingyue was startled. She looked at her. After a few seconds, she said, "Nothing, I was just thinking about my mom."

Ji Zhiyi held her hand. Su Lingyue said, "After we finish eating, will you come with me to visit my mom?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "Sure."

After the meal, Su Lingyue didn’t want Ji Zhiyi to be too tired, so she volunteered to drive them to the cemetery. She took the flowers out of the trunk and walked side-by-side with Ji Zhiyi. The air was quiet.

The gentle breeze lifted the hair of both of them, tangling it together in the air. Ji Zhiyi had been here twice before. Once was when she came with Su Lingyue during the new year, when there were lots of people. It was not like it was now, when it was so quiet and desolate.

After walking a few steps, Su Lingyue and Ji Zhiyi were holding hands, and she was holding the flowers in her other hand. She said to Ji Zhiyi, "You hold these."

She handed over the flowers. Ji Zhiyi lowered her head, looking at the flowers that had been placed before her eyes. She took them in one hand, and her other hand was still tightly holding Su Lingyue’s. The two of them walked to the tombstone. The person in the photo was very young. Su Lingyue's facial features were very similar to her mother's. Even through the photo, you could feel that she was a very warm person. The night grew darker and darker. Su Lingyue crouched down and wiped the photo. She didn't say anything, just looked up at Ji Zhiyi, who was standing. Ji Zhiyi smiled at her.

They didn’t linger for too long. Su Lingyue stayed with her mother for a while, talking to her, and then they left. On the way back, Su Lingyue said, "Last night, I dreamed about her."

Ji Zhiyi tilted her head.

Under the night sky, the streetlights shone on Su Lingyue, making her facial features look hazy. A soft glow diffused around her. She heard her own voice, "Mm."

Su Lingyue said, "I haven't dreamed about her for a long time. Do you think she's afraid I'll forget her?"

She smiled after she finished speaking.

Her voice was slightly raised, unusually gentle.

Ji Zhiyi said, "No."

Su Lingyue focused. "Hm?"

Ji Zhiyi said, "It's that she also misses you."

Also misses her.

Su Lingyue lowered her head and smiled, swinging Ji Zhiyi's hand, saying, "But last night, she told me a lot of things."

Ji Zhiyi followed her. "What things?"

Su Lingyue said, "She said that you're very good, and when I'm with you, I can't bully you. She's so biased. I'm her daughter." Ji Zhiyi laughed softly. Su Lingyue's ears tingled. Her eyes shifted around. "And also..."

Ji Zhiyi asked, "And what else?"

Su Lingyue said, "Also, she said, she prepared a meeting gift for you."

After finishing, she stood in front of Ji Zhiyi, signaling Ji Zhiyi to reach into her coat pocket. Ji Zhiyi thought that she was just joking again, so she reached out without changing her expression. When she touched the paper, her face froze. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and happiness. Su Lingyue met her gaze, and her heart was pricked, hurting. She didn't say anything. Ji Zhiyi took out the letter. Su Lingyue's pretty face turned red under the streetlights.

Ji Zhiyi didn't look at the letter.

Instead, she kept looking at Su Lingyue.

Su Lingyue was bashful. "Why are you looking at me? It really was her who said it. She also said..."

Before she could finish her words, Ji Zhiyi suddenly reached out and hugged her. Su Lingyue’s voice stopped abruptly, her tone broken. Only the gentle, cool breeze was left in the air. Ji Zhiyi said, "I know. Please thank Auntie for me."

Su Lingyue pursed her lips and smiled.

Someone bit her ear. She touched her earlobe, then looked up at Ji Zhiyi. She was just about to kiss her when some pedestrians came strolling on the side of the road. Su Lingyue held herself back, then walked forward silently. They quickly reached the parking lot. Su Lingyue was still driving, Ji Zhiyi was sitting next to her. Su Lingyue had sharp eyes and caught Ji Zhiyi looking at the letter, flipping it back and forth.

She had originally wanted to say something, but at that moment, she couldn't say a single word. Her face was flushed, as if it had been under the blazing sun. She felt so awkward.

After all, it was the first time she had written a love letter. When she thought about those cheesy words in the letter, she twisted her waist.

Ji Zhiyi saw her moving around after getting into the car and asked, "What's wrong?"

Su Lingyue: "My butt itches."

Ji Zhiyi: …

The good, ambiguous atmosphere was ruined by her, leaving nothing at all. Ji Zhiyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Su Lingyue said fiercely, "Don't laugh."

Ji Zhiyi nodded repeatedly, looking out the window while holding back her laughter. The black window reflected her smiling face, with her unconcealed joy and happiness. Su Lingyue drove, acting serious, trying her best to keep her face calm. Ji Zhiyi turned her head and looked at her a few times, then looked away, lowered her head, and flipped the letter over. She saw the words on the cover.

To Ji Zhiyi, Classmate, Please Open.

Ji Zhiyi, classmate.

Time broke through memories. Su Lingyue had forcefully drawn a line through it. The unease of their youth, crossing the long river of time, was answered at this moment.

Ji Zhiyi was already satisfied, even without opening the letter.

Just those five words were enough to make her happy for a lifetime!

The End

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