Chapter 52: You're The Only One Missing
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
"It doesn't matter whether it's right or not, it's not that important anymore."
"Is goodbye just another separation for you?"
….
A popular TV series was playing on TV. Bo Yiqing sat on the sofa holding a pillow and watching, but her eyes remained blank.
Her manager, Lisa, was on the phone explaining work matters. Gu Xizhi was in the kitchen, preparing dinner for her. After a while, Gu Xizhi walked out of the kitchen and called them to eat. Bo Yiqing's expression immediately softened, even smiling when facing Gu Xizhi.
A week has passed and during this week, Gu Xizhi visits Bo Yiqing's house almost every day. Although Qu Xizhi had returned to China, the two only met once at the airport, not even the second time in so long.
It was 10 p.m., and Qu Xizhi sent a message to Gu Xizhi. By midnight, there was still no reply, so Qu Xizhi had to give up waiting.
She had seemed busy for many days, not very responsive to messages, and meeting her in person seemed even more challenging. This situation was far from ideal, so Qu Xizhi decided to give her a call.
The call was connected, but the other party hung up the phone after saying a few words, saying she was busy. After hanging up the phone, Qu Xizhi looked at the hour hand pointing to twelve, looking puzzled by her busyness at this time.
This phenomenon lasted until the end of January.
It’s the Lunar New Year’s Eve on February 5th. Even if one is busy, it's a time to go home and be with parents and enjoy reunions. It had been half a month since then, and Bo Yiqing seemed to be in a much better state. In the beginning, when Gu Xizhi accompanied her, she could feel how forced her smiles were. But as time passed, she appeared much more optimistic. Occasionally, when Gu Xizhi visited her, she would even pull her to watch the news and gossip about celebrities in the entertainment industry.
Seeing her like this, Gu Xizhi returned to her hometown to celebrate the New Year with confidence.
After a busy year, returning home, all she heard were the voices of elderly relatives urging her to get married. Some even asked about her relationship with Le Cheng. Exhausted from dealing with this, Gu Xizhi spent three days with her parents and then returned to her city of residence on the third day of the Lunar New Year.
The number of people in densely populated cities dropped sharply at the end of the year. After getting off the plane, Gu Xizhi was about to hail a car to go home. Not long after she got on the bus, she received a call. She took out her phone, saw the incoming call was from Lin Mingling, whom she hadn't seen in days, and quickly hung up.
Since the last incident, she has been keeping a distance from this woman, no matter what she wants to say, she doesn't want anything to do with her.
After returning home, Gu Xizhi had a phone call with Qu Xizhi. Qu Xizhi had spent the entire Lunar New Year period with her parents. Gu Xizhi suddenly realized that she had been so busy with Bo Yiqing's situation for the past two weeks that she had only seen Qu Xizhi once and spent just a few hours with her.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, Gu Xizhi finished dressing and went out. As soon as the car left the community, she was stopped by several men in suits. Gu Xizhi stopped the car and was about to call the police when a woman walked out of the red sports car.
The woman had long, curly hair, was dressed in luxurious fur, and her high-heeled shoes gave her an imposing height. She looks very elegant, and the way she walks makes people feel that she is different from ordinary people.
The streets in winter were sparsely populated. She stopped in front of Gu Xizhi's car and knocked on the car window. Gu Xizhi lowered the car window. When she saw a familiar face, she raised her phone to indicate, "I've already called the police. Please take responsibility for your actions."
Lin Mingling smiled, removed her sunglasses, and said, "I won't harm you, I just want to discuss something." While speaking, she extended her hand to the man in a suit standing beside her. He quickly handed her an envelope, which Lin Mingling handed over to Gu Xizhi without even glancing at it. Gu Xizhi opened the envelope in bewilderment and was taken aback by the photos inside.
Qu Xizhi received Gu Xizhi's text message at 7 p.m. Gu Xizhi had previously mentioned that she would return only on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Therefore, even though she had answered her call during the day, Qu Xizhi hadn't expected her to return so early.
The text message had asked Qu Xizhi to come to Gu Xizhi's house, and upon realizing that the woman had returned early, Qu Xizhi immediately canceled her plans with her friends and drove to her house.
Without the key to her home, Qu Xizhi rang the doorbell for a long time and finally saw Gu Xizhi looking in a good mood after opening the door.
"Why did you come back suddenly?"
Gu Xizhi didn't speak, but slowly opened the door and let her in.
Qu Xizhi was puzzled. Inside the house, Gu Xizhi still looked calm and didn't say anything. Unable to contain her curiosity, Qu Xizhi asked, "What's going on?"
The lights in the room were very bright. Gu Xizhi entered the room and poured her a cup of tea. She brought it to her and said, "It's very cold outside. Drink a cup of tea to warm up first. I'll tell you something later."
With her expression and tone, Qu Xizhi couldn't drink the tea. She immediately put the tea cup down, turned around, and said, "Just tell me what's going on now."
Gu Xizhi looked at her, her eyes lingering on her cheek for a long time, but she said nothing.
Qu Xizhi said patiently, "What's wrong."
Gu Xizhi averted her gaze, turning to the side to avoid Qu Xizhi's eyes. "Qu Xizhi, we... should break up."
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Qu Xizhi was stunned, and after a moment she said, "What happened?"
Gu Xizhi lowered her gaze and said in a tired voice, "There's no reason, I just think we're not suitable.
"Not suitable?" Qu Xizhi seemed to have heard some strange words, "Where are we not suitable? Why aren't we suitable?"
Gu Xizhi sighed. "Actually, I've been thinking for a long time about how long we can keep going like this." She paused. "Lin Mingling came to see me today."
Qu Xizhi frowned, took her hand, and asked her to look at her, "What did she tell you?"
Gu Xizhi was forced to face her, but her eyes didn't meet her gaze, "She didn't say anything, she just gave me some photos."
"Photos?"
Gu Xizhi's gaze fell on the envelope on the table. "They're photos of us together from last time when I was filming and you came over."
Qu Xizhi followed her gaze and quickly opened the envelope.
Inside were dozens of photos, each one capturing intimate moments between them. Qu Xizhi glanced at half of them before tossing the photos aside. "Is it because of this?"
"If I don't do what she says, these photos will be tomorrow's headlines. I don't want our careers to be ruined by this."
"Is there any other solution to this matter? Do we really have to break up?"
"Yes." Gu Xizhi's voice was firm, but there was an obvious change in her eyes.
Qu Xizhi noticed her struggle to hold back a smile, and her demeanor immediately shifted.
"Gu Xizhi."
"What?"
"Do you know this is too much?"
Gu Xizhi, struggling to contain her amusement, noticed that Qu Xizhi's expression seemed off. She held Qu Xizhi's hand and said, "I was just joking. What's wrong?"
"Is it okay to joke about this kind of thing?" She broke away from her hand and said, "Do you know that others can take it seriously?"
"I... I didn't expect you to believe it so easily," Gu Xizhi grabbed her hand again. "And I didn't put in much effort into acting just now it didn't seem convincing at all."
"Is that so?" Qu Xizhi's demeanor wasn't great. "Apologize, apologize right now."
"I..." Gu Xizhi glanced at her expression and suddenly felt weak. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have played such a big prank on you, but..."
"But?" she raised her eyebrows.
Gu Xizhi, "...There are no buts, it’s just that I was wrong and I will never do it again in the future."
Qu Xizhi's expression softened a little, but she just looked at her without speaking.
Gu Xizhi couldn't stand the look in her eyes and let go of her hand to run away.
Qu Xizhi immediately took her hand and brought her back, forcing her to look directly at her.
Gu Xizhi said, "...Why are you looking at me like that?"
"How did you even get such an idea?"
"I... it's just... Lin Mingling wanted me to break up with you."
"You're willing to listen to her and break up with me just because she said so?"
"Of course not." Gu Xizhi became serious, "She found me right after I came back in the afternoon, threatened me with these photos, and said that if I dared to tell you about this matter, she would expose these photos immediately."
Qu Xizhi finally looked better, "Aren't you afraid that she will really do that?"
"Anyway, she doesn't know if I tell you." Gu Xizhi thought for a while, "I don't want to break up with you because of her, but I have no choice with these photos in her hands. That's why I wanted to discuss it with you." She leaned closer, looking at Qu Xizhi earnestly. "You've had no scandals or bad news for so many years; it can't be a coincidence, right?"
Qu Xizhi thought about it seriously, "If the media gets these photos, they won't dare to expose them casually, but if it's Lin Mingling, that's not necessarily the case."
"Then...can we actually get rid of these photos?"
Qu Xizhi looked at her worried look and asked, "Do you care about this?"
"Of course, the acceptance of homosexuality is not so widespread, and there are very few stars in the industry who would openly address this kind of matter."
"I understand." Qu Xizhi said, "I will think carefully about how to deal with this matter."
Gu Xizhi breathed a sigh of relief, "That would be the best."
Qu Xizhi looked at her sighing with relief, "What if this matter can't be handled?"
"What?"
"I mean." Looking at her expression carefully, "If I can't handle this matter, will you really listen to her?"
Gu Xizhi seemed taken aback by the question and paused for a while before saying, "Actually, this kind of thing doesn't bother me much, but it's different for you. You're one of the youngest among the movie queens in the industry, and your future is boundless. You shouldn't be held back by something like this."
"Nonsense." Qu Xizhi said immediately, "Don't say that my development can be restricted by a small sexual orientation issue. Even if it were affected, I'd willingly accept it. You can't give up because of this, do you understand?"
Gu Xizhi looked at her seriously and asked, "...Qu Xizhi, am I really that important to you?"
Qu Xizhi, seemingly irritated by her question, let go of her hand and said, "You're not that important." She checked the time on her watch and continued, "Go prepare a bath for me. I'm not leaving tonight."
"Ah?" This time it was Gu Xizhi's turn to be surprised, "Today is the third day of the Lunar New Year, aren't you supposed to be at home with your family?"
"I've spent time with my other family members," Qu Xizhi crossed her arms and looked at Gu Xizhi, "You're the only one missing."
Author's Note:
I didn't say it's the end, there are at least 100,000 words left. I'm just asking if you want to continue with this stage or move towards the ending, as in the later part, Xiao Gu won't be pushing Xiao Qu anymore. But it seems like everyone prefers the tsundere side.