Troublesome – Chapter 65

Good Night

Qiuqiu, good night.

After a whole night of great rises and great falls, Lu Zhenqiu held the signature and looked at Jin Shuilan in front of her. For a moment, she suddenly suspected she was dreaming, dreaming of her childhood idol, dreaming of being on the same stage as her idol, dreaming of so much praise, but she would not have dreamed that Jin Shuilan would confess to her.

In her heart, Jin Shuilan was the most outstanding person she had ever met. Whether in writing or in character, she was perfect and beyond picking fault. If it weren’t for renting a room, she thought that in this lifetime, she would never cross paths with someone so outstanding.

Lu Zhenqiu was silent for a few seconds: “Teacher Jin…”

Jin Shuilan still looked at her, without moving or showing any expression. Not far away, fireworks suddenly exploded with a bang, dazzlingly brilliant. The two were enveloped by the fireworks, their bodies haloed in light. Jin Shuilan said: “Let’s get in the car first.”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded and followed her into the car. She clutched that postcard in her hand. After getting in the car, she glanced at Jin Shuilan several times, but her thoughts were too chaotic, and she didn’t know what to say.

Jin Shuilan also knew that her emotions had not yet stabilized. After the two arrived home, she said: “Have a drink?”

Maomao squeezed over, leaning against Lu Zhenqiu’s side. She nodded: “Okay.”

The two sat on the balcony, the glass window blocking the cold wind. Everything slowly calmed down. When Lu Zhenqiu turned her head to look, Jin Shuilan was standing in front of the refrigerator, taking out two cans of beer. Maomao excitedly wagged its tail, its butt wiggling, comical and funny.

Since moving in, Maomao always seemed to be this happy.

Then, Jin Shuilan took something from on top of the refrigerator and handed it to Maomao. Maomao took it in its mouth, blocking her view so she couldn’t see, but Maomao did not follow them over.

“What did you give Maomao?” Lu Zhenqiu asked when Jin Shuilan walked closer. Jin Shuilan turned her head to look at Maomao and said: “A small snack.”

Afraid she would worry, she explained again: “It won’t affect its appetite.”

Lu Zhenqiu gave a very light “en.” She was about to take the beer from Jin Shuilan, but Jin Shuilan hooked a single hand on the pull-tab of the can and, with a light pull, the beer fizzed out. Lu Zhenqiu said: “Teacher Jin can even open a beer with one hand?”

Jin Shuilan smiled at her: “Cool, right?”

How can there be such a childish question? It’s not like Jin Shuilan at all.

Lu Zhenqiu nodded: “Cool!”

Jin Shuilan handed the beer to her, then sat down beside her. There wasn’t a single star in the sky; it was dark and gloomy. Lu Zhenqiu took a sip of beer and said: “My father is a gambling addict.”

“I used to hate nights the most, because at night he would always come home to ask my mother for money.”

Although they were already divorced, that man had no intention of letting her mother go. During the day, her mother set up stalls everywhere, and she was at school, so that man couldn’t find them. Only at night would he squat at their door. Sometimes she would be startled when she came home, which caused her to be extremely afraid of going home for a time, afraid of passing by her front door, afraid of someone suddenly jumping out.

Jin Shuilan didn’t speak, just sat beside her. Lu Zhenqiu continued: “He was a heavy gambler, in debt, and would come to us when he had no money. If he didn’t get money, he would argue with my mother.”

That was why she had been especially afraid of sharp sounds since she was little.

Before she knew it, she had drunk more than half the can of beer. Lu Zhenqiu’s voice was a bit low as she continued: “Later, my mother and I moved to a different place, still living every day with a raised heart and suspended gallbladder¹. We were only relieved after hearing he got married.”

Jin Shuilan also took a sip of beer, silent.

Lu Zhenqiu turned her head and said: “Teacher Jin, this is my past. We are people from different worlds…”

Jin Shuilan interrupted her: “What if I don’t mind?”

Lu Zhenqiu was silent for a moment: “But would your parents not mind either? If we were together, would you tell them about my parents?”

Jin Shuilan nodded: “I would.”

“Then what would you say?” Lu Zhenqiu’s voice was very soft, as if talking to herself: “Would you say, my mother abandoned me, or that my father is a gambling addict?”

“Can they accept that?”

Although she hadn’t spent much time with Jin Shuilan’s parents, she could tell that both were very cultured people, with very good family conditions and backgrounds.

Back when she was with Tang Yingxia, Tang Yingxia had said, what does it matter, my family situation isn’t necessarily better than yours.

Although she had not deeply looked into it, she knew about seven or eight parts of it².

But Jin Shuilan was different.

Lu Zhenqiu finished the can of beer, set it down, and took the postcard out of her pocket. A light sheet of paper, yet it was as heavy as Mount Tai³, carrying Jin Shuilan’s feelings. Both the postcard and Jin Shuilan’s feelings were things she dared not hope for.

She turned and handed it to Jin Shuilan.

Jin Shuilan didn’t take it, just raised her cup and sipped her beer. Lu Zhenqiu placed the postcard on the table and got up to leave.

The sound of a door closing came from behind her. Jin Shuilan turned around and saw that Lu Zhenqiu had gone into the bathroom. She sighed, picked up the postcard from the table, tilted her head back, and took another gulp of beer.

When Lu Zhenqiu came out after washing up, Jin Shuilan was still sitting on the balcony. Her back looked thin and slender, holding the beer with one hand, leaning against the edge of the chair. Her fingers were long and strong, with distinct knuckles.

The usual aloof, sharp aura was gone.

The current Jin Shuilan was somewhat dejected.

In all the time she had known her, this seemed to be the first time she had seen Jin Shuilan in this state.

A fine, dense pain suddenly surged in Lu Zhenqiu’s heart. She bit her lip, averted her gaze, and turned to enter her room. Her phone vibrated from time to time; several group chats were at-ing her. Lu Zhenqiu lay prone on the bed, not wanting to move at all. Maomao came over and licked her face. Lu Zhenqiu hugged Maomao and lay on the bed with it. The vibration suddenly changed to a ringtone. She didn’t react for a few seconds, only answering the phone after it had rung for a while.

It was an unknown number.

She subconsciously frowned, suspecting it might be Tang Yingxia.

“Hello, may I ask if this is Miss Lu? I am a manager from Whale Entertainment…” The person on the other end of the line introduced themselves. Lu Zhenqiu leaned back against the headboard. It turned out to be someone from an entertainment company asking if she wanted to debut.

Debut? Lu Zhenqiu had never even thought about it. She politely refused: “Thank you, I have no such plans.”

“Why?” The person on the other end was very confused: “Miss Lu’s conditions are so good, you’re good-looking, and you sing so well. As long as you cooperate with us, you can become famous very quickly!”

“Our company has cultivated many artists. If Miss Lu doesn’t believe it, you can come to the company to have a look.”

The other party’s enthusiasm was a bit much for Lu Zhenqiu to handle. She said: “Really, there’s no need. Thank you for your appreciation, but I have no plans to enter the entertainment industry. Thank you very much.”

“Alright then.” The other party said with regret: “Well, if Miss Lu changes her mind, you can contact me anytime.”

Lu Zhenqiu hung up the phone.

She looked down at her phone. Why could she be so direct and decisive when rejecting others, but couldn’t do it when facing Jin Shuilan? The phone was still vibrating. She glanced at the screen; Hua Luo had sent her several messages in a row.

【Where are you?】

【Aiyo, wearing matching couple hats with Teacher Jin?】

【Qiuqiu you’re famous! You and Teacher Jin have been exposed!】

What?

Lu Zhenqiu frowned and clicked on the link Hua Luo had sent. It was a book blogger’s Weibo. The first post was: 【Is this Teacher Jin?】

It was a shot from the concert venue. When Zhang Xin had called her name, the camera had focused on them. The picture of her and Jin Shuilan was exceptionally clear, especially their hats, which were very conspicuous.

【It really is Teacher Jin!】

【Teacher Jin and Qiuqiu?】

【Yizhenqiushui⁴ hehe, hehe, hehehehe.】

【I knew something was going on between them! Yizhenqiushui is locked!】

【I heard Teacher Ji and the others went too, did the whole crew go? But the two of them are wearing couple hats, I’ve gotten a hit from this!⁵】

Lu Zhenqiu exited Weibo and saw that several group chats were also at-ing her, including Ji Zibo’s group.

Ji Zibo: 【Lots of people are asking me, are Teacher Jin and Qiuqiu together hahahaha】

Wuwu: 【I didn’t even see Teacher Jin! Sad!】

Ji Zibo laughed. She wanted to at the two of them to ask about the situation, but was afraid of disturbing their private world. She wondered how Jin Shuilan was progressing, and whether she had won over Lu Zhenqiu yet.

Just as she was hesitating about whether to send Jin Shuilan a message, she saw a link sent by Jin Shuilan.

Ji Zibo: 【You saw it too? The whole circle is talking about you two now! So many people are asking me, I don’t know how to reply.】

Jin Shuilan: 【Just say it was a crew team-building event, we went to the concert together.】

Ji Zibo: 【？？？？？】

Ji Zibo: 【You’re not kidding, right? Aren’t you going to take this opportunity to confess?】

Jin Shuilan looked at her phone, her finger rubbing its edge. She didn’t send anything for a long while.

Ji Zibo: 【You confessed, and failed?】

Ji Zibo chuckled dryly: 【That makes sense, Qiuqiu just broke up, you have to give her some time.】

She gave Jin Shuilan an out. Jin Shuilan replied with a period and put her phone aside. She picked up the postcard. To her right were four or five empty beer cans.

Zhang Xin’s handwriting was like a dragon flying and a phoenix dancing⁶. As she wrote, she said to her: “I received a call from Director Zhang. It’s very rare for someone to still recommend me to sing a theme song these days.”

She smiled: “It’s because you yourself have the strength.”

“I haven’t been in the circle for several years. Now it’s the young people’s world. Still, thank you for your recommendation. That person who just went on stage, is she your friend?” Zhang Xin asked with a smile.

She thought for a moment, and said: “She’s the person I like.”

Zhang Xin turned her head to look at her, raised an eyebrow, and nodded. Finally, she handed the postcard to her, her attitude a bit more serious. She said: “Good luck.”

Jin Shuilan pinched the postcard and sighed lightly.

She turned her head to look at Lu Zhenqiu’s door. In no more than two minutes, she was already standing at the entrance. Jin Shuilan raised her hand, wanting to knock, but her fingers curled and uncurled several times without ever knocking. Finally, she called out: “Qiuqiu.”

Lying on the bed, Lu Zhenqiu was startled when she heard a sound at the door. She turned her head to look. Maomao also raised its head. She patted Maomao’s head, telling it not to move, and got out of bed herself. She hesitated for two seconds before walking towards the door.

A bedside lamp was on in the room, stretching her shadow very long. The shadow was cast onto the bottom edge of the door. Jin Shuilan lowered her head and saw the shadow in the crack of the door. She heard the sound of the doorknob turning.

Jin Shuilan grasped the doorknob first and said: “Don’t open the door.”

She didn’t really want Lu Zhenqiu to see her in this state.

Reeking of alcohol, so dejected, completely without confidence, not at all like her.

Lu Zhenqiu gripped the doorknob, her fingertips tightening. The edge dug painfully into her fingers, the pain seeping into her body, and her heart also throbbed with a faint, aching feeling.

Jin Shuilan stood at the door for a long time. The alcohol was numbing her nerves. She felt dizzy for two seconds, unable to form the words she wanted to say into a single sentence. Finally, she rested her forehead against the door and said: “Qiuqiu, good night.”

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