Chapter 30: They're All Going To Be Cooked Through
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
Qin Shiyue saw Lin Qingyi smiling so brightly again and felt a wave of helpless shame and annoyance rise inside. This was already the third time. Every time she acted opposite her, she ended up completely suppressed by her presence. No, she couldn’t be this weak. She couldn’t keep ending up at a disadvantage again and again. She had to fight back.
Looking at the abalone soup, Qin Shiyue thought, isn’t this just about who’s got the thicker skin and who can take a joke? Anyway, the face she was going to lose was already gone. A little more didn’t matter.
“That’s right, I’m bent. Whether it’s real or just looks like it, I like to eat it. Since you’re not eating yours, I’ll eat your abalone instead.” Qin Shiyue, throwing caution to the wind, forced down the shame in her chest and said it. A double meaning—who couldn’t do that? She even deliberately stressed the words “your abalone” and reached out to pull over Lin Qingyi’s untouched abalone soup. She lifted the lid of the stew pot, picked up the abalone inside, and sucked the broth clinging to its surface first.
After doing all that, Qin Shiyue felt like the shame she had hidden deep inside her body was about to be cooked through—like a skewered barbecue, sizzling with heat. It was too lewd, too shameful. How could this woman say such things without a shred of shame? As expected, people really were different.
Of course, Qin Shiyue’s counterattack wasn’t without effect. Lin Qingyi watched her sucking motion, and for a moment, it really felt like that thing she was sucking was... her own. A wave of shame did rise up in her chest. She hadn’t expected this woman to actually grow some nerve and fight back—and fight back this perfectly, too.
But Lin Qingyi didn’t like losing. She didn’t believe she would lose.
“Little Boss Qin, does my abalone taste good?” Lin Qingyi pressed down the shame in her chest and stared directly at Qin Shiyue’s lips. Her gaze was sticky and teasing, her voice dripping with ambiguity as she asked.
This time, she was really using her acting skills.
Qin Shiyue knew full well this woman was acting, but that look she put on—like she was being licked—was just too seductive and flirty. Qin Shiyue could not help blushing again. This woman really did not back down one bit. It felt like if she kept going, the woman would only push things further and return every move with something even worse.
Qin Shiyue realized she could not win against this woman. She no longer dared to keep sucking and put the abalone back into the stew pot with her chopsticks.
“Lin Qingyi, what kind of heat are you trying to stir up? Do your fans know you act like you’re begging to be played with? Watch your image—your public persona is falling apart.” Knowing she could not win, Qin Shiyue lashed out in shame and anger, going straight for a personal attack.
Lin Qingyi saw Qin Shiyue admit defeat and could not help but laugh. Even her laughter was seductive.
“I was just asking if it tasted good. Where did your mind go, hmm? Little Boss Qin, you’re the one with dirty thoughts. Seems like you might have some feelings for me. Now I’m suddenly worried—could it be that you’re pretending to ask me for acting advice just to try and get something going with me?” Lin Qingyi turned the tables with a worried look, pretending to be concerned.
Qin Shiyue had never seen someone this narcissistic before. The sprouts on her head were growing taller by the second—did she have delusions of being loved?
“Rest assured, even if there was only one woman left in the world, I still wouldn’t have feelings for you. If I do, I’ll write my name backwards.” Qin Shiyue, shamed and furious, raised a flag in anger.
“Little Boss Qin, you better not speak so absolutely. Nothing in this world is certain—anything can happen. What if one day you cannot help but fall in love with me? When your face gets slapped by your own words, I might even feel a little bad for you. Oh, and I’m straight, so it’ll be really awkward.” Lin Qingyi spoke in a tone like she was already troubled by Qin Shiyue’s love, even frowning a bit. In her heart, she thought: just for that line, I’m really looking forward to the day this vase eats her own words—it’ll be crisp and satisfying. Qin Shiyue read backwards is Yue Shiqing… not a bad name.*
*more of a homophonic wordplay, it didn't use the same characters in Qin Shiyue’s name - 秦时钺 - (could mean Qin Dynasty era battle-axe) to Yue Shiqing 月时晴 (could mean time when the moon is clear)
Lin Qingyi was straight. Qin Shiyue suddenly felt a slight disappointment, though she told herself it was just because she found her annoying. But she also thought only a straight woman would dare joke with a bent one so boldly.
Qin Shiyue looked at Lin Qingyi’s expression—as if she had already fallen for her and caused her trouble—and felt like every cell and gene in her body was rebelling. Damn it, she kind of wanted Lin Qingyi to really fall for her, just so she could dump her hard. That would be so satisfying she might laugh herself awake in her dreams. But Qin Shiyue still had some self-awareness. Forget it. She had not been able to make Kong Huizhi love her in over ten years. Making Lin Qingyi fall for her? Might as well just dream about it.
“Hehe, not funny at all.” Qin Shiyue said with a blank face, showing her scorn toward Lin Qingyi’s words, but her fighting spirit had already faded.
Lin Qingyi saw that Qin Shiyue looked like a defeated rooster, no longer fighting back, quietly and listlessly eating her food, and could not help but laugh again.
Laugh, laugh, laugh—sooner or later you will get wrinkles.
This woman is one year older than me. If I took good care of myself, one day I would outlast the moment when she turned into a withered flower, then I could compare looks with her, compare who lived longer. But it seemed like she always slept early and kept a more regular routine than me. Was I really destined to never win against her? Ugh, so frustrating!
Qin Shiyue looked at the abalone still sitting in front of her—the one she had taken from Lin Qingyi—and decided to treat it as Lin Qingyi and eat it to vent her anger. So she picked up the abalone again and bit down hard. Mm, the texture was springy, still tasted good. It just looked like that, anyway. She was bent, after all, no reason to dislike the shape. Unlike Lin Qingyi, that woman—always putting on airs and acting pretentious.
Lin Qingyi was a little surprised to see Qin Shiyue actually eat the abalone from her stew pot. She had thought that after being teased like that, this Vase would not want to eat something like that again so soon. But now it seemed like she really loved abalone, and was really bent. Watching her eat with such enjoyment, even Lin Qingyi felt a little tempted to try some herself.
As she watched Qin Shiyue eat, the smile on Lin Qingyi's face never faded.
Fang Xinhua came out of the private room, just in time to see Bai Wenxi approaching from the other end. But the restroom was not in that direction.
“Manager Bai, were you really going to the restroom?” Fang Xinhua asked with a smile.
“Hasn’t Sister Fang already guessed it?” Bai Wenxi also smiled and asked in return.
“My Baby Qin’er is the one treating us to this meal. If you all pay the bill, my Baby Qin’er will be angry, and it would make me look like a very unqualified manager!” Fang Xinhua sighed. This Lin Qingyi paid so much attention to small details, she would not even let someone else pay for a meal. If they wanted her help, how could they bear to let Movie Queen Lin help?
“Sister Fang, sorry, this was something my Teacher Lin specifically instructed. My Teacher Lin does not really like owing others. She prefers being owed by others, and the one she wants to owe her—only applies to Little Boss Qin.” Bai Wenxi distanced herself, as if saying Sister Fang was more capable than her. She was only carrying out instructions.
Letting Baby Qin’er owe her on purpose—was it to make Baby Qin’er treat her next time? To create more chances to meet?
“So, does Teacher Lin actually have feelings for my Baby Qin’er?” Fang Xinhua asked uncertainly.
“Based on my current observation, that seems to be the case.” But her Teacher Lin seemed to not admit it at the moment. Based on her understanding of the White Peacock, this woman’s narcissistic dictionary did not contain the idea of falling in love first. It had to be the other person falling for her first. Under this kind of narcissistic mindset, Bai Wenxi felt that her Teacher Lin would use all her charm to flirt with Blue and White Porcelain, make Blue and White Porcelain so confused and overwhelmed that she would confess first, and only then would she go with the flow and admit she liked Blue and White Porcelain. It really fits that saying: a high-level hunter always appears in the form of a prey.
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=5821232
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com
“She will not hurt my Baby Qin’er, right?” Fang Xinhua asked worriedly. Her baby Qin’er’s level was simply no match in front of Queen Lin—basically a king crushing a bronze.
“Who can say for sure when it comes to romance between women? But I can guarantee, there will be no intentional harm. My Teacher Lin’s character is still quite good.” Bai Wenxi was confident in her White Peacock’s character. If it were not real interest, she felt her Teacher Lin would even be annoyed looking at someone more than once. Playing with feelings? She did not have the time or energy for that.
As long as there was no intentional emotional manipulation, Bai Wenxi’s reply truly left no room for doubt.
“Sister Fang, who would dare to really play with Little Boss Qin’s feelings? Would President Qin agree?” Bai Wenxi smiled and asked back.
Fang Xinhua thought about it and agreed. Anyone who wants to play with Baby Qin’er’s feelings has to weigh their own power and consider if they can afford to make enemies of the Qin Group. Even if they can, the cost is clearly not worth it.
“By the way, Little Boss Qin’s ex-wife dumped her. Everyone on the internet knows. Can President Qin tolerate that?” Bai Wenxi could not hold back her gossip and asked casually.
Hmm? Fang Xinhua suddenly realized she had missed this important question. This was not the first time Kong Huizhi asked for a divorce from Baby Qin’er. The first two times failed because President Qin interfered. This time, President Qin did not interfere. She could understand that—forced things never work well. Forcing Kong Huizhi and Baby Qin’er to stay together would only make them more unhappy. By past patterns, President Qin never let anyone bully Baby Qin’er easily. But so far, she has not made a move against Kong Huizhi? Too calm, indeed a bit strange.
“I serve Baby Qin’er, I’m not in charge of President Qin to guess about,” Fang Xinhua said to pass the topic.
“Sister Fang, are you still going to the restroom?” Bai Wenxi asked.
“Is it still necessary?” Fang Xinhua asked back. Bai Wenxi clearly understood.
“Then should we go back to the private room together or wait a bit more?” Bai Wenxi asked. She thought Lin Qingyi might like being alone with Blue and White Porcelain, but still wanted to respect the other side’s manager’s opinion.
“Let’s go back. If we stay away too long, would it look strange? Besides, they are practicing acting tonight. Maybe they do not need us nearby,” Fang Xinhua said. She thought there would be more chances to be alone later.
“That makes sense,” Bai Wenxi nodded in agreement.
The two returned to the private room and saw that there was an extra bowl of abalone soup in front of Qin Shiyue. They both thought silently, did they get closer while they were gone? Qin Shiyue picked some meat, and Lin Qingyi even gave abalone soup as a thank you? Such loving interaction? But Lin Qingyi giving the abalone soup to Baby Qin'er easily made people imagine things, as if it was a hint of something more, like they had reached a stage of intimate exchange.
Seeing the two managers come back, Qin Shiyue felt they had saved the defeated battlefield. This matter could be dropped, and she could regain her spirit.
“Why did you take so long?” Qin Shiyue asked casually. She did not really know if it was long, but after admitting defeat, it felt long.
“Blame Manager Bai. As soon as I left, she paid the bill,” Fang Xinhua told Qin Shiyue.
Qin Shiyue heard this and was indeed a bit annoyed.
"You’re so annoying. I’m treating you to a meal, why do you let someone else pay?" Qin Shiyue looked at Lin Qingyi with some anger.
"I will pay for this meal first. Little Boss Qin owes me now. Next time, I will ask Little Boss Qin to treat me to an even more expensive and better meal," Lin Qingyi said with a smile.
So this woman thinks this meal is not fancy enough?
"Fine then," Qin Shiyue quickly calmed down.
Author's Note:
Lin Qingyi: Baby, the juice is all sucked dry.
Qin Shiyue: I can't match this woman
Random red envelopes dropping now.
