After Transmigrating as a Scumbag Alpha, I Marked the Crazy Hotshot – Chapter 105
by Little PandaCheng Jing X Tu Xiuxiu
Not that bad
The apartment had a warm color palette. As soon as the door opened, soft lights turned on.
It was a studio apartment that could be taken in with a single glance, and from Cheng Jing’s perspective, it seemed almost constricting. She was indeed a little surprised.
“Wait a moment,” Tu Xiuxiu said.
The two of them stood at the door. The entryway wasn’t even wide enough for two people, so Cheng Jing stood slightly off to the side, though still on the cashmere doormat underfoot.
Therefore, when Tu Xiuxiu bent down to open the shoe cabinet, the hem of her creamy-white qipao brushed against Cheng Jing’s trousers, and her entire waistline was presented before her eyes, distinct and imbued with a certain intense color.
Cheng Jing’s eyes unconsciously darkened a few shades.
Only after two seconds did she look away.
Tu Xiuxiu took out a pair of dark blue slippers. The tag was still on, and she tried to pull it off but failed.
Cheng Jing reached out, took them from her, and tore the tag off effortlessly before changing into them.
Tu Xiuxiu glanced at the back of that hand but said nothing.
In her heart, however, she felt that this utterly ordinary scene seemed unrealistic when applied to Cheng Jingβit was far too down-to-earth.
The apartment was only about 60 square meters.
Tu Xiuxiu hung up the black trench coat, casually said, “Have a seat,” and then went to her room to get the first-aid kit.
Cheng Jing sat on the sofa and glanced down at the back of her hand. The light downstairs hadn’t been clear enough, but now it was, and she could see the wound was so small it was insignificant.
Looking at the enormous first-aid kit, Cheng Jing suddenly curled her lip. “It’s almost healed.”
There was a hint of self-mockery in her tone, which dissipated into the quiet air with an unsuppressible trace of a smile.
She seemed to be in a good mood.
Tu Xiuxiu had just taken out the gauze and iodine. Hearing this, her movements paused, surprised that Cheng Jing would suddenly joke with her.
She had also seen it clearly in the entryway; it was nothing serious. But after her initial surprise, she began to suspect Cheng Jing was making fun of her.
Her tone immediately changed.
“I was making a fuss over nothing. In any case, CEO Cheng did get your skin broken for me.” As she spoke, she placed the bottle of iodine on the table.
The plastic bottle landed with a dull thud.
Cheng Jing was taken aback. After a long moment, she said, “Your temper seems to have grown.”
Tu Xiuxiu said nothing, her movements stopping.
She was probably thinking of putting everything away.
She was such a failure. A sudden realization struck herβshe had clearly made up her mind, so how did it come to this?
How did she end up bringing her upstairs?
Tu Xiuxiu felt a little deflated.
Cheng Jing suddenly spoke. She held out her hand, looking up slightly from the sofa. “Weren’t you going to apply medicine? Come on.”
Tu Xiuxiu looked at that well-proportioned, slender hand. “Didn’t you say it was nothing?”
“It seems to hurt a little now.”
“⦔
Tu Xiuxiu pursed her lips, walked over to sit beside Cheng Jing, and after a moment of silence, reached out to take hold of her fingers.
One hand was cool, the other even cooler.
But because of this temperature difference, Cheng Jing felt that Tu Xiuxiu’s hand was warm.
The woman’s movements in applying the medicine were clumsy, visibly cautious. The dried blood was a bit difficult to wipe away, and she was very focused.
Cheng Jing watched her with lowered brows.
“Have you been well?”
It was an abrupt yet calm greeting.
Like old friends reuniting after a long separation.
But this question should have been asked at first sight, or perhaps at their previous meeting even earlier.
Tu Xiuxiu’s hand, resting on the pale blue veins, trembled.
A moment later.
“And you?”
“I can’t say I’ve been well.”
Tu Xiuxiu’s eyelashes fluttered. She didn’t respond for a moment.
Cheng Jing never showed weakness in front of her, never in front of anyone. Yet this statement contained an element of weakness.
It was truly bizarre.
“That’s just wonderful,” Tu Xiuxiu said, looking up.
Cheng Jing neither confirmed nor denied it.
After their gazes met for a short while, Cheng Jing asked, “Do you hate me that much?”
Tu Xiuxiu was still stuck on the previous topic and didn’t answer right away.
Cheng Jing answered for her. “It seems so.”
Tu Xiuxiu lowered her gaze and switched to a new cotton swab. “Why haven’t you been well?”
Cheng Jing: “You haven’t answered me yet.”
Have you been well?
After a brief silence, Tu Xiuxiu realized the wound didn’t even need gauze; a single bandage could cover it.
Yet she had treated it like a catastrophe.
“What’s the point in knowing?” Tu Xiuxiu suddenly stood up. “What does it have to do with you whether I’m doing well or not? Does hearing that I’m not doing well after leaving you make you feel better? Or does knowing that no matter how decisively I spoke, I still can’t help but look at you when I see you give you a sense of superiority?”
“Cheng Jing, don’t make me look so cheap, alright? Leave me a little dignity.”
Only then did Cheng Jing notice that the creamy-white dress was stained with dark brown iodine. The sight seared her eyes.
Tu Xiuxiu walked to the side, almost in a rage. Cheng Jing reached out and grabbed her.
She used force without realizing it.
Neither of them was prepared.
Tu Xiuxiu’s legs hit Cheng Jing’s knees, and she fell right into Cheng Jing’s arms.
Her knees hit bone, but her hands touched something soft, something that could be held in one hand. She heard a deep breath and a low grunt.
Her heart pounded like a drum, and she hastily moved her hand to Cheng Jing’s shoulder.
Then, her gaze melted deeply into Cheng Jing’s.
Three years was but a smear of mosquito blood in a lifetime.
But for her, it was a cinnabar mole1.
Even if she acted high and mighty, using that pride to keep up appearances, the moment she saw Cheng Jing, she couldn’t deny the palpitations in her heart.
That was something no mortal could control.
If one could control it, one would be no different from a god.
“Xiuxiu, I’m not that bad,” Cheng Jing said.
When Tu Xiuxiu’s body collided with hers, she had reflexively caught her. Her hands landed on Tu Xiuxiu’s waist, half-bracing, half-holding, with one slightly higher on her ribs.
Slender, but not bony.
Cheng Jing said slowly, “I was a bastard, but I never thought that way. In the past, I owed you, but I never felt your affection was cheap. You shouldn’t see yourself that way either.”
This was the truth.
Of course, back then, she had never thought they would develop deeper feelings.
During these last two meetings, she had been thinking about these things.
People are not unfeeling plants or dry bones. She had always thought all her affection was for Chengcheng and the Cheng family, so she never considered more.
These past few days, she had felt a bone-deep clarity.
After isolating herself in the deep sea, she felt a kind of sudden, enlightened emotion.
It was very faint, very special.
Something she had never seen before.
So Tu Xiuxiu’s affection, to her, was precious.
Her feelings were complex.
Every time she thought of, or saw, Tu Xiuxiu, her thoughts deepened.
“You might still think I’m a bastard for saying this, but I can’t deny one thing: I really do have other thoughts about you. For example, right now⦔ Cheng Jing’s voice was calm, but her gaze was so serious it was almost coercive.
It was the powerful aura forged in the business world.
Honest, and shocking.
Tu Xiuxiu’s heart leaped violently. She suddenly felt the spot on her waist grow hot.
“And I can’t deny another thing: in my heart, you are, after all, different from others.”
That was why she couldn’t stand to see Tu Xiuxiu constrained or bullied by others.
That was why she couldn’t just stand by.
She had always done whatever she wanted, acted on whatever impulse she had.
Once she had thought it through, a clear goal was all she needed.
Backing Tu Xiuxiu was the same.
She had subconsciously classified Tu Xiuxiu as one of her people. Whoever bullied her deserved to dieβthat was the essential thought in her heart.
There was no reason for it, at least not back then.
But now, there was.
Just a moment ago.
When she saw Tu Xiuxiu’s anxious expression, she discovered that the wasteland in her heart once again had something vibrant and alive.
She didn’t restrain her thoughts.
She wasn’t a restrained person to begin with.
She was conveying the thoughts of a normal, mature adult, with sincerity.
A few short sentences.
Tu Xiuxiu’s mind went blank for a moment.
Cheng Jing said these things as skillfully as a veteran, without a hint of embarrassment.
This was Cheng Jing’s charm.
Cheng Jing possessed all the excellent qualities of a mature, adult woman.
Just like when they made love, Cheng Jing rarely blushed or acted shy like she did. This was what fascinated her about Cheng Jing.
But.
Cheng Jing’s excessive clarity also made her greedy.
It’s only ‘different.’
There’s nothing more, is there?
Tu Xiuxiu bit her lip, the moist, red lower lip bitten to a sheen. Perhaps it was because Cheng Jing’s body still carried the alpha pheromones from earlier, and they were too close, causing a faint influence.
Perhaps it was because her knees had been resting on Cheng Jing’s leg for too long.
Her legs were a little numb, a little weak right now.
“Sore?”
Cheng Jing suddenly asked.
As if she had sensed her inner thoughts and physical discomfort.
Suddenly, Cheng Jing opened her legs a little. Her knees slipped down from between them, and she went from kneeling on Cheng Jing’s leg to kneeling between Cheng Jing’s legs.
Her knees were on the soft sofa now, which felt more comfortable.
But the distance between them was even closer, and the posture had become strange.
Neither of them moved away.
A strange atmosphere suddenly began to swirl around them.
Something was in the air, ready to ignite at a touch.
Cheng Jing’s gaze traveled from her eyes to her red lips. Tu Xiuxiu’s gaze, equally uncontrolled, drifted downward. They were not strangers meeting for the first time, nor were they adherents of platonic love. They were far too familiar with each other’s feelings and desires.
Their breathing grew heavier.
On this point, no explanation was needed.
Cheng Jing’s thumb, through the thin embroidered fabric, gently caressed her taut lower abdomen. There were no further movements, as if testing the waters.
She tilted her head up slightly, gazing into Tu Xiuxiu’s eyes.
Both were silent.
The next second, they moved closer at the same time, the kiss like a lit spark.
It had the potential to burn the withered winter grass to ash.
Later, when Tu Xiuxiu spoke of their first meeting, of this day, she felt that her beginning with Cheng Jing was born of desire.
Cheng Jing saidβ
“Mm, but desire also comes from the heart.”
As the kiss deepened, the qipao crumpled, wrinkling on her legs. Cheng Jing grabbed her knees, as slender as lotus roots, and lifted Tu Xiuxiu’s legs, placing them on either side of her body.
The qipao became even more wrinkled.
The creamy-white fabric made her skin look even more delicate.
After undoing one frog button, Cheng Jing lost her patience and lowered her head.
At first, Tu Xiuxiu leaned back for convenience, but later, unable to bear it, she bent forward.
Tu Xiuxiu trembled. Just before completely losing her territory, she was jolted awake and pressed against Cheng Jing’s shoulders.
With trembling breaths, she grabbed the hem of her qipao and got off Cheng Jing, her bare feet landing on the carpet.
The collar of the qipao was already torn into a parabolic line.
Her face was flushed, her breathing rapid. She should have looked disheveled, but she didn’t.
She had preserved that last bit of empty pride.
She stood by the sofa, her eyes red and moist as she looked at Cheng Jing.
Cheng Jing’s hands were empty. She looked up in surprise. As the wind blew over her fingers, she could still feel the coolness of evaporating moisture.
She met that pair of eyes. She was thinking about something, and yet she also seemed to understand something.
It began with desire, but I also want your affectionβI am not content with just being ‘different.’
This is how Tu Xiuxiu later replied to Cheng Jing.
Desire will fade, but the spirit will not.
That day, Cheng Jing washed her hands, smoked a cigarette on the balcony, and then left.
Before leaving, she stood in the narrow entryway, turned her head, and asked Tu Xiuxiu again, “Are you doing well?”
And then, she saw Tu Xiuxiu standing by the sofa again, her eyes red.
Tu Xiuxiu said, “I have a performance tomorrow, so I won’t see you out. Take care, CEO Cheng.”
She knew Cheng Jing was returning to Beicheng tomorrow.
“Get some rest. Good night.”
Cheng Jing lowered her head to change her shoes.
The door closed.
The crisp sound of high heels on the floor grew more and more distant.
Tu Xiuxiu sat on the sofa and saw a teal-green cigarette box on the coffee table. It was the cigarettes Cheng Jing had left behind.
Cheng Jing didn’t used to smoke so much.
She didn’t know when it had started.
Cheng Jing had also lost weight.
There were dark circles under Cheng Jing’s eyes.
Cheng Jing had cut her hair again.
Cheng Jing really wasn’t doing as well as she had imagined.
Was she doing well? What a coincidence, she wasn’t doing well either.
Tu Xiuxiu reached up and gently wiped away her tears. She pulled a cigarette from the box and lit it, leaning against the sofa.
Smoke curled up. Outside the window, a wind blew from the southeast.
The following evening.
Everything at the theater was as usual.
The little incident at the theater last night didn’t have much of an impact, except that people in the house were occasionally gossiping that the tycoon named Elaine had brought her daughter backstage for a visit.
To see Tu Xiuxiu.
A few insiders said that the second-generation rich would never come again.
It was said that the night before, Elaine’s company had inexplicably lost several hundred millionβ¦
Tu Xiuxiu sat putting on makeup in front of the backstage mirror. She hadn’t slept well last night, and the makeup just wouldn’t sit right.
It took a very long time today.
“Xiuxiu.”
The owner came in from outside. Looking at Tu Xiuxiu’s stunningly beautiful face, he asked in a low voice, “Does CEO Cheng have any preferences when it comes to food?”
Tu Xiuxiu looked up. “No particular preferences.”
“Why do you ask? She won’t be coming,” she added in a soft voice.
She knew Cheng Jing was leaving today because she had overheard her on the phone in the car last night, talking about returning to Beicheng.
It must have been something very important.
The only thing that could make Cheng Jing drop her work was Cheng Jiqing.
That was why she had told Cheng Jing she had a performance today.
She had given herself a one percent hope, on the condition thatβif she could see Cheng Jing tomorrow.
If she couldn’t, then from now on, all debts of gratitude and resentment would be cleared.
She would never look back, even in death.
She needed Cheng Jing to give her some other kind of expectation, something tangible in her life besides empty thoughts.
She didn’t want to be just ‘a little different’; she wanted to be the one and only.
But Cheng Jing hadn’t come.
It was almost showtime, and Cheng Jing hadn’t come.
The owner said,
“She’s already here.”
Tu Xiuxiu, holding her cyan opera costume, waited in the wings.
With just one glance, she could confirm that Cheng Jing was not in the audience.
Tu Xiuxiu sneered inwardly. In the end, was I thinking too much?
The announcer called her name. Thunderous applause erupted.
She walked slowly onto the stage. A breeze came from somewhere, and she saw the curtain in the southeast corner open.
Cheng Jing walked in from outside.
The author has something to say:
20 red envelopes! Thank you for the donations!
I didn’t wear a hat the day before yesterday, went out and got caught in the wind, and tested positive again. My chest is uncomfortable, going for a CT scan tomorrowβ¦β¦ Everyone, please be careful not to get caught in the wind. There aren’t many chapters left of the extra. Due to my health, my condition really isn’t as good as before. Currently updating every other day; if I update daily, it’s an extraordinary effort. So let’s have a little more of this pair.
Good night.
Footnotes
- A reference to a famous passage from Eileen Changβs (εΌ η±η²) novel βRed Rose, White Rose.β A βsmear of mosquito bloodβ (θεθ‘) refers to a passionate love that, once obtained, becomes a mundane annoyance. A βcinnabar moleβ (ζ±η η£) refers to a love one never obtained, which remains a permanent, painful, and beautiful mark on the heart.
0 Comments