Things had reached this point.
They had been holding each other in their arms for so long.
Both of them were mature women in their prime, and Qiao Qiao fell into a struggle over whether or not to give her consent.
Ni Zijing reached out to the side and finally managed to turn off that annoying phone ringer.
She lifted the blanket and tucked Qiao Qiao inside first.
“Are you ready?”
Qiao Qiao was ready for your ass. She had simply wanted to come over and check on what Ni Zijing was doing; she had never intended to deliver herself right into someone else’s bed! What was she about to say just now? She had wanted to say that if Ni Zijing felt she had needs, she could ask her, and she herself would be more than willing to tell her how to handle it on her own.
Instead of letting herself handle it for her.
Ah.
Qiao Qiao felt that Ni Zijing’s breathing was consistently very close to her, shifting from one side to the other, making her feel completely like a captured prey whose hunter was searching for the best spot to sink her teeth in. Her reason was fighting desperately, yet her body was eagerly complying.
Her arm had already lifted up, hooking around Ni Zijing’s neck.
Outside, the dark night was thick; inside, the atmosphere was tender and entangled, two bodies wrapped together. Ni Zijing hesitated no longer, pressing warm kisses onto Qiao Qiao’s forehead, the tip of her nose, her lips, and her chin. Then she moved to her earlobes and neck, tormenting her back and forth.
This time, Ni Zijing’s kiss directly captured Qiao Qiao’s lips, carrying an unusual dominance.
Qiao Qiao let out a muffled sound, “Hurry.”
Ni Zijing buried her head down: “Mm, hurry up and do it?”
Qiao Qiao snapped out of it as if waking from a dream: “I meant for you to hurry up and let go of me.”
Ni Zijing rubbed her cheek against Qiao Qiao’s arm: “You’re the one who didn’t let go of me first.”
Qiao Qiao felt she was in great danger right now; her whole body was pinned down by Ni Zijing, who completely occupied the dominant position. One hand was propping up Qiao Qiao’s head, while the other hand was moving downward, that technique putting what she learned into practice.
A true honor student.
No way! She was supposed to be the one on top!
Regaining her wits, Qiao Qiao quickly rolled over, pinned Ni Zijing underneath, and smiled smugly: “Not anymore now.”
Unexpectedly, Ni Zijing tucked her hand behind Qiao Qiao’s knees and pulled, causing Qiao Qiao to instantly lose her balance and tumble down. Her head buried into Ni Zijing’s neck and shoulder, leaving her draped in a tilted position right across Ni Zijing’s body.
Ni Zijing smiled: “Don’t rush, let’s take it slow. I’m fine with you being on top or on the bottom.”
Embarrassed and annoyed, Qiao Qiao raised her head: “Enough! Ni Zijing! You are looking down on me.”
On top of that, this person was acting lawless just because she was strong. Today, she simply had to come over and check her arrogance.
With such a fuss, Qiao Qiao had completely forgotten what she had said earlier; sleeping was completely out of the question now.
It turned into:
Qiao Qiao had no power to resist whatever Ni Zijing did to her; she couldn’t beat her in strength, nor could she compete in technique.
Out of energy, Qiao Qiao could only let out soft whimpers while saying, “This is your normal need, I’m just here to relieve your worries.”
“Mm, then I really must thank you.” Ni Zijing paused to raise her head, appreciating Qiao Qiao’s expression. The little hedgehog had turned into a little siren under her, her eyes glistening with moisture, hazy and alluring. Unable to resist, she leaned over to suck on her lips once more, though this time she didn’t let her escape easily, torturing her until both of them were out of breath before finally letting go.
Catching her breath under Ni Zijing’s service, Qiao Qiao was practically making sounds akin to an adult film.
Halfway through, Qiao Qiao decided to temporarily surrender to Ni Zijing and just properly enjoy this night.
Right at that moment, however, a somewhat shrill phone ringtone rang from the next room, instantly dragging the two of them back to reality from their hazy state.
Damn it.
Qiao Qiao and Ni Zijing exchanged glances, simultaneously choosing to ignore it.
Yet the phone call had no intention of letting its presence fade away; instead, it persisted in dialing relentlessly.
There was only one person who would call her phone like this in the middle of the night: Sister Zou.
Ni Zijing got up from her: “Should you answer?”
Qiao Qiao answered somewhat with difficulty, her breathing uneven: “Answer.”
Ni Zijing gave a murmur of acknowledgment, picked up Qiao Qiao’s nightgown and robe from the floor, stuffed them back under the covers, tucked her in tightly, and then went to the next room to fetch the phone.
By the time she brought the phone back, Qiao Qiao had already nimbly slipped into her slip dress. Only, she hadn’t put it on very neatly; the strap at the back of her waist wasn’t tied properly.
Qiao Qiao took the phone, and Ni Zijing stood right behind her to straighten out her clothes.
“Hello?”
“I’ve got two pieces of good news for you.” Sister Zou’s tone carried excitement. “You’re not asleep yet, are you? Why does your voice sound so weird?”
Qiao Qiao regulated her breathing and squeezed out a smile: “Sister Zou, do you perhaps not have a sex life?”
Sister Zou caught a whiff of something extraordinary: “What’s going on? Have you set your sights on someone again? Let me tell you, you just switched companies, so don’t cause any trouble for me. Let’s talk business. You know Qin Zhijian, right? That up-and-coming director, she has a new script and is missing a second female lead.”
“Huh?”
The voice on the other end of the line said: “I read the script and thought it was really a great fit for you. But not many people in the circle have a personal connection with Qin Zhijian. To secure this role, you’ll still have to put in some effort. You’re meeting with Qin Zhijian tomorrow, why don’t you ask about the situation?”
Qiao Qiao felt a headache coming on: “I don’t think this counts as good news.”
Behind her, Ni Zijing was carefully helping Qiao Qiao adjust the thin straps, her fingers occasionally brushing against her lower back and withdrawing without a trace.
“Well, isn’t there a second piece of news? Siege is about to be released, it’s a New Year film.”
Siege was the movie Qiao Qiao had acted in, for which she later had to do reshoots in the snow.
At Sister Zou’s words, Qiao Qiao let out an exclamation internally. A New Year film, had the New Year arrived so soon?
Sister Zou was still lecturing on the other end, completely oblivious to what kind of situation Qiao Qiao was in: “The production team notified me that the promotional period is coming up in a bit, and you have to go too. It’ll probably be right after you finish recording the first episode of Perfect Romance, so telling you in advance is so you can be prepared. By the way, how are things between you and President Ni right now? Stop always having an attitude toward her, okay? Look at how good President Ni has been to you; even if you don’t like her, don’t make it so obvious on the show.”
Qiao Qiao raised her eyes to look at Ni Zijing’s expression. Yep, no expression at all.
“Got it, Sister Zou. Anything else?”
Sister Zou’s phone call completely extinguished the blazing inferno between the two of them, thoroughly and utterly quenching it.
“Yes, there is. Qiao Qiao, I have a few things to spell out for you.” Sister Zou lowered her voice as if acting mysterious on the other end. She certainly didn’t know that on Qiao Qiao’s end, where the speakerphone was on, lowering her voice made it no less crystal clear.
“Tomorrow during your interviews, no matter what, don’t say anything about disliking President Ni. Everyone is rooting for you and President Ni to record the show together. You’re a professional actress after all, so even if you don’t like her, you have to fake liking her, understand? Also, you must secure that role from Director Qin Zhijian! It might just be the opportunity that sends you back to your peak. That’s it, I’m hanging up if there’s nothing else.”
Qiao Qiao now somewhat regretted why she had turned on the speakerphone. Huh? I wonder what Ni Zijing thought of that line: “Even if you don’t like her, you have to fake liking her, you’re a professional actress.”
The call disconnected.
At that moment, Qiao Qiao finally remembered why she had come into Ni Zijing’s room in the first place; it seemed she had wanted to ask if she wanted to come sleep in her room, but instead of asking that, she had ended up in bed.
Lowering her eyelids without looking at her, Ni Zijing spat out a sentence: “Sleep?”
Fine.
Since the mood was gone, she had no reason to stay here.
Qiao Qiao stood up: “Um, don’t take to heart what Sister Zou said.”
“It’s fine.” Ni Zijing nodded. “You have work tomorrow, and honestly I shouldn’t have been tangling with you tonight anyway. Alright, go to sleep. I’ll drive you over tomorrow.”
Qiao Qiao uttered an oh, shuffling her feet as she inched toward the door, moving an inch at a time, just waiting for Ni Zijing to speak up.
This person, although she was the one who wanted to ask Ni Zijing to move over and sleep with her, once she was in front of the person, she put on her proud and aloof air again, wanting to wait for Ni Zijing to give her a way out.
Still, after that phone call from Sister Zou just now, nobody’s heart would feel entirely comfortable.
Ni Zijing picked up her phone from the floor, looked at the dawdling person, and finally smiled as she spoke: “Wait.”
Qiao Qiao didn’t look back, her tone indifferent: “What?”
A mental hmph sounded in her heart; that’s more like it. Hurry up and tell me to stay, and I won’t leave immediately.
“We’re already married, and we’re not going to sleep together?” Ni Zijing walked up behind Qiao Qiao, her voice as soft as if she were coaxing her. “I’ll sleep with you, want me to warm up the blanket for you?”
Qiao Qiao was cold, refusing to look back: “No.”
She was being stubborn now.
Ni Zijing let out a chuckle, placing both hands on Qiao Qiao’s shoulders: “Really don’t want it?”
Qiao Qiao answered very decisively: “Don’t want it.” In her heart, though, she wanted to slap her own mouth a couple of times. What was she even saying! Clearly, her heart wasn’t saying that, but her mouth just couldn’t control itself.
Well, now Ni Zijing would definitely think she was truly angry.
To her surprise, Ni Zijing wrapped her arms completely around Qiao Qiao, sticking close like a pair of conjoined twins, rubbing her shoulder with extra force while softening her tone: “Then I’m begging you. I can’t sleep without you, I’ll have nightmares, I’m really scared. Begging you to keep me company, okay?”
That tone sounded just like a little puppy begging its master for pets.
Only then did Qiao Qiao turn her face, suppressing the joy in her heart, merely curving the corners of her lips into a murmur: “Fine.”
Ni Zijing finally learned that when girlfriends say no, meaning yes, say those words, it is actually true.
The guest bedroom was small, so Qiao Qiao smoothly let Ni Zijing go sleep in her own room.
Knowing that Ni Zijing was giving way to her, Qiao Qiao felt no need to put on airs anymore.
She had her engagements, and Ni Zijing had to go to work the next day. Once they returned to their rooms, the two of them genuinely went to sleep honestly, enjoying a good night’s dream.
Qiao Qiao was a restless sleeper, vaguely feeling Ni Zijing coming over in the middle of the night to tuck the blanket back over her, but she was too drowsy to even open her eyes.
Anyway, wherever it was warm, she burrowed toward it.
Early the next morning, Ni Zijing as usual made sure Qiao Qiao finished breakfast before sending her out.
Ni Zijing’s interviews were already done, and today the remaining five people were doing their interviews uniformly. Downstairs, Ni Zijing helped Qiao Qiao unbuckle her seatbelt and discussed something with her: “I have another apartment in the villa area, should we move there?”
Qiao Qiao felt it was unnecessary; her small two-bedroom apartment was plenty for the two of them to live in right now: “Let’s wait a bit. I feel living there is fine right now. If you think my place is too small, then we can move to the villa area.”
“It’s not small.” Ni Zijing thought for a moment and ultimately didn’t say anything more. She only noticed that Qiao Qiao was still wearing her wedding ring, so she reminded her: “Remember to take off the ring during the interview later.”
Only then did Qiao Qiao remember she was someone in a secret marriage.
She took off the ring, pushed open the car door, and looked back to find Ni Zijing smiling right at her.
“I’ll come pick you up when it’s over.”
“No need.” Qiao Qiao saw Xiao Duo had already come out to meet her. “You’re busy with work, you don’t need to look after me like this. Hurry off to the company, I’m heading up first.”
She closed the door, and Xiao Duo happened to stick her head into the car to peer around: “Wow, Qiao-jie, President Ni dropped you off? President Ni treats you so well, no wonder you don’t need me to have a driver pick you up anymore.”
Qiao Qiao pinched Xiao Duo’s cheek: “Stop running your mouth.”
Xiao Duo chattered right by her ear: “Qiao-jie, how far along are you and President Ni? Now President Ni is even willing to be your personal driver. You don’t know how serious President Ni is at the company; those senior executives don’t even dare to speak when they see President Ni frown.”
Qiao Qiao wrapped an arm around Xiao Duo’s shoulder with a smile: “I’m already married to President Ni.”
Xiao Duo laughed too, not taking it seriously: “Qiao-jie is teasing me again, no matter what it wouldn’t happen that fast. Let’s go, let’s go. Fortunately Yu Huai hasn’t arrived yet, let’s hurry and go see Director Qin.”
Qiao Qiao looked back once more; Ni Zijing was already turning the car around to head toward the company.
She was the third to arrive. When she walked in, Qin Zhijian and Sang Yi heard the commotion and exchanged a glance with her.
Qiao Qiao nodded slightly: “Hello, I am Qiao Qiao.”
Qiao Qiao had heard a thing or two about Qin Zhijian and Sang Yi. Before transitioning to a director, Qin Zhijian was a universally recognized genius photographer, and the photography exhibition she once held made her famous overnight.
The reason Qin Zhijian had become famous in the industry nowadays was also because she never used traffic stars to cash in, instead filming her own movies solidly.
As for Sang Yi, she sounded like an even more legendary figure. Pretty as she was, she was full of a ruffian aura. Later on, people dug up that in her youth she had been a short-tempered, prickly rebel, yet she turned out to be obedient to Qin Zhijian alone.
The story of the honor student and the delinquent, breaking up and entangling for over a decade, ultimately settling into a steady, flowing stream of gentle time.
After their story was exposed online, it had captured the trending spotlight for quite some time.
This was her first time seeing Sang Yi in the flesh; the rebelliousness on her face had faded, replaced by maturity and stability. Holding a thermos cup, she was blowing on the hot water for Qin Zhijian and telling her to watch out for the heat.
Truly, everything has its natural conqueror.
Qin Zhijian nodded back at her as well, while Sang Yi tilted her head with a teasing tone: “Is this the Qiao Qiao who rejected Ni Zijing countless times?”
Qiao Qiao gave a nod and seamlessly picked up the cue: “Please forgive my ignorance.”
It was no wonder Xiao Duo didn’t believe she and Ni Zijing were married; judging by her previous attitude, no matter who you asked, nobody would believe it.
After greeting them, she sat down on the sofa on the other side. Xiao Duo whispered beside her: “The person we didn’t want to see has come again.”
Looking up, Yu Huai and Cheng Qian had arrived.
Both of them were elaborately dressed, with Yu Huai looking all decked out. Cheng Qian looked a bit better, energetic and handsome. Catching sight of Qiao Qiao’s spot, his eyes lit up and he strode over.
Cheng Qian sat right beside Qiao Qiao, radiant with spirit: “Xiao Qiao, missed me?”
Qiao Qiao sat coldly and indifferently on one side of the sofa, propping her head with her hand and wearing an utterly detached expression.
Cheng Qian loved this exact side of her.
He had shared combat scenes with Qiao Qiao in a drama before, but back then he was the male lead, surrounded by stars like the moon. Qiao Qiao was merely a barely-ranking supporting actress, yet it was precisely her refusal to treat him as a big deal that had attracted him.
No matter how he flirted, Qiao Qiao remained completely unmoved, which only made Cheng Qian more interested.
Later, he deliberately handed a script, which should have belonged to Yu Huai as the female lead, over to Qiao Qiao, but this girl actually rejected it.
When Yu Huai found out about this later, she pinned the blame on Qiao Qiao and intentionally spread plenty of black material on her. Word had it that back then, Qiao Qiao’s old company was ready to drop her, so Cheng Qian had rushed over to ask if she needed help.
Things had reached this point; surely she would soften up now, right?
Who could have expected that the girl had a mind clear as a mirror, understanding everything, and simply told him with a chilling voice to get lost as far as possible.
Later, after switching to a new company and reportedly hooking up with Ni Zijing, her popularity crawled back up a bit.
Cheng Qian used a very intimate tone. When Qiao Qiao ignored him, he acted as if he couldn’t feel it at all, sighing as he said, “What on earth is so good about President Ni? What can she even give you? Xiao Qiao, if your temper wasn’t like this, you could have blown up in popularity long ago.”
Seeing Cheng Qian constantly talking to her, Yu Huai had been burning with anger for ages and wanted to cut in but couldn’t find an opening.
Qiao Qiao finally moved slightly, the corners of her eyes lifting: “Say that again?”
Cheng Qian hurriedly leaned in closer, ignoring the fact that there were so many people present right now, lowering his voice right by Qiao Qiao’s ear: “I said, I actually really like you. Following President Ni means you still have to force a smile just to get a chance to be on a show like this, right? Come on, follow me instead. Just humble yourself a bit toward me and change this personality of yours; paired with that face of yours, how likable would you be?”
Qiao Qiao finally raised her eyes to look at Cheng Qian.
Cheng Qian grinned happily, accepting the beauty’s glance, but the next second his expression froze on his face.
This guy was way too close to Qiao Qiao, and Qiao Qiao truly couldn’t stomach those words anymore. Right there on the small tea table beside her was a small potted plant; she picked it right up and slammed it upside down onto Cheng Qian’s head.
Dirt and green foliage spilled out, and small pebbles rattled all over the floor. Cheng Qian’s handsome face instantly became a mess of wretchedness and exasperation, yet he couldn’t throw a tantrum because there were too many people around, and his clothes were completely dirtied.
Yu Huai rushed forward, immediately shrieking in a shrill voice: “Qiao Qiao, have you lost your mind? You’re just daring to pull this stunt because President Ni is currently doting on you. Once word of this gets out, just wait for Cheng Qian’s and my fans to tear you to shreds! Cheng Qian, how are you? Hurry up and go change your clothes, we’re recording soon.”
Qiao Qiao crossed her legs and spoke leisurely: “What, you have the guts to pull stunts, but no guts to bear the consequences? Go ahead and spread word about today’s events, let’s see if you can even get it out.” She sneered as she looked at Cheng Qian: “I told you to get lost long ago, yet you still came crawling up.”
She sighed, spreading her hands toward Yu Huai with complete helplessness and an especially exasperated expression: “You said it yourself, who else’s fault is it except that President Ni dotes on me?”