As She Wished - Chapter 11

As soon as the words fell, Gu Qingci laughed softly.

It was the kind of low laugh with a breathy sound, light and slightly hoarse. It kept magnifying and echoing in Fu Jing’s heart, soft and gentle, carrying a ticklish feeling.

The blush on Fu Jing’s cheeks quickly spread to her ears. Her breathing unconsciously slowed, and her whole body stiffened. She only felt as if her soul had been hooked away by Gu Qingci.

Gu Qingci’s smiling gaze fixed on her. “Why aren’t you speaking anymore?”

Fu Jing was thoroughly speechless. “…”

She suddenly discovered that when Gu Qingci smiled like this, there was actually a small dimple beside her cheek. Her eyes shimmered and flowed, so beautiful it shook the heart.

Fu Jing stared at her, almost unable to come back to herself.

In a daze, she had the illusion that her feelings for Gu Qingci were not simply interest and liking born from love at first sight, but more like a kind of love, desire, and obsession that required the greatest effort to control.

Gu Qingci was also studying her… this child whose emotions were all written on her face.

A clean, soft little white flower blooming vigorously inside an ivory tower.

Clear to the bottom, a child from a completely different world from hers.

Until she saw that unusual gaze. In those black almond eyes was a longing for her, a feeling so rich and lingering that it seemed to pierce through time and space.

“…”

Gu Qingci slightly turned her eyes away and pressed her lips together. The little intention she had to tease Fu Jing suddenly vanished completely. A trace of alarm surfaced. This emotion came inexplicably and felt unfamiliar, yet it somewhat broke through her calm.

Very soon, she raised her hand and finished the wine in her glass, then stood up and said, “I was only joking with you. Don’t take it to heart.”

—

Fu Jing froze, then hurriedly got up and followed her out. “Are you going home?”

Gu Qingci gave a sound of agreement.

“You drank, so you can’t drive. I’ll send you. I have a driver’s license.”

“No need.”

Gu Qingci went downstairs, turned the corner, and said to Tao Xian, “I’m going back. Help me call a designated driver nearby.”

Behind her, Fu Jing raised her hand high and desperately gave Tao Xian a look, signaling: Me! Me! Me!

So Tao Xian directly pointed at Fu Jing and said, “There. The nearest one to you.”

Fu Jing hurriedly advertised herself. “Free and reliable! Super good driving skills! Sister, trust me!”

“Forget it.” Gu Qingci completely ignored her and said to Tao Xian, “I’ll contact one myself.”

Fu Jing shuffled in front of her, lowered her eyes, and pouted pitifully as she muttered, “Why won’t you use me? Do I look that unreliable?”

Gu Qingci’s home was not exactly close to here. If she really let Fu Jing send her back, she would instead worry about this child’s safety at night. Of course, she had no intention of telling the truth.

Gu Qingci simply nodded. “Yes.”

“Do you know that you can’t judge people by appearance…” Fu Jing’s tone was slightly annoyed. As she lifted her gaze, she suddenly noticed the empty marble countertop nearby. Earlier, this was where she had arm-wrestled everyone and won from beginning to end.

Suddenly, she had an idea. “How about this? Arm wrestle me. If you win, let me send you home. If I lose, pretend I never said anything.”

Gu Qingci shook her head without considering it at all. She took out her phone and looked through her contacts for the designated driver’s number. “There’s no need.”

“Are you afraid? Afraid that even though you’re so tall, you’re not as strong as me? You’re afraid you can’t beat me!”

Fu Jing’s provocation was extremely childish.

It had no effect at all.

Gu Qingci found the phone number she needed and walked toward the door.

Fu Jing followed behind her and continued raising the stakes. “Sister, if you can beat me, then for the next month, you can order me around however you want. I’ll listen to everything you say. If you tell me to walk east, I definitely won’t even look west! How about it? Okay?”

Hearing this, Gu Qingci stopped.

Fu Jing did not brake in time and almost bumped into her back, so she retreated half a step.

Gu Qingci turned around and realized the distance between them was a little too close. She froze for a moment, then naturally raised her hand and rubbed Fu Jing’s head. “All right. If you want to compete, then compete.”

“Mm.” Fu Jing’s throat moved. She walked over, pulled out a chair, sat down, and got into position. Clearing her throat, she said, “Let’s have a match!”

On the surface, she pretended to be calm, but her heart was pounding wildly because of that natural, intimate gesture.

Even her hand felt a little weak.

“…”

Gu Qingci sat down and calmly held her hand. Before she could say anything,

she saw that the child who had just been sitting straight-backed as if victory were already certain suddenly buried her face in her arm, blushing all over as she let out a soft hum. “Wait a second. Let me calm my heartbeat first!”

Holding Gu Qingci’s hand, Fu Jing only felt all her mental energy gather on that warm, soft, delicate touch. Her whole body felt weak and soft. Like a little puppy being stroked along its fur, she truly could not muster any strength.

If they started like this, she might really lose to her.

“Wait.”

Fu Jing stood up, turned, and called Tao Xian over to be the referee and shout the start. Then she bounced a few times and did some stretches.

Finally, she closed her eyes and hypnotized herself. “The person in front of me is only a beautiful woman I don’t know.”

After the hypnosis ended, she became calm and composed.

Fu Jing kept her eyes closed like this and said with a cold expression, “Sister Anjiu, call the start.”

“…”

Gu Qingci: “…”

She slightly turned her face aside, holding back the helpless smile on her face, and nodded to Tao Xian.

Tao Xian placed her hand over their hands. “Three, two, one, start!”

She let go, and the two of them began arm wrestling seriously.

Fu Jing discovered that Gu Qingci’s strength was unexpectedly great. If not for the delicate softness of the hand she was holding, she would almost suspect that the person opposite her was a man.

She had never lost to a girl in arm wrestling.

Even in middle school, when she competed against boys in her class, she had barely lost.

This time, she used all her strength and could only barely maintain the situation without being completely forced down by the other party.

Fu Jing could not help opening her eyes. She saw Gu Qingci lightly pressing her lips together, her expression calm as before. It was clear she was also exerting strength, but she did not look nearly as desperate as Fu Jing did.

The two of them pushed slightly to the left, then slightly toward the right, and suddenly reached a stalemate.

It looked difficult to determine the winner.

Fu Jing thought that most girls did not have good stamina, but she still did, so she should be able to hold out until the end. She held her breath and worked hard to persist, but after a long while, she felt Gu Qingci’s strength was seemingly endless. The longer they went, the steadier she became, as stable as Mount Tai. Fu Jing could hardly move her at all anymore.

“Sister, you’re so beautiful today.” Fu Jing steadied her breathing, raised her lips into a flattering smile, and tried to please her. “Although you’ve always been very beautiful, today you’re especially, especially beautiful.”

“…” Gu Qingci laughed softly. “Is that so?”

Completely unmoved.

Fu Jing gritted her teeth, first barely keeping the stalemate. Then her heart hardened, and she began performing shamelessly. “Sister, I actually don’t want to let go of you at all. Can we keep holding hands like this forever? Your hand is so strong. At night, you could still…”

Within seconds, most of the strength in Gu Qingci’s hand loosened.

The corners of Fu Jing’s lips instantly lifted. Suppressing the joy in her heart, she thought that although this move was a little shameless, if it could win, why would she still need shame?

She could be thick-skinned and have no martial virtue, but she could not lose!

Just as Fu Jing was smiling slyly and wanted to press forward in one burst to secure victory, Gu Qingci suddenly increased her strength and completely reversed the situation, forcing Fu Jing’s hand all the way down.

She lost in an instant.

Fu Jing: “…”

Author’s Note:

An irresponsible little theater: If all the older women said this line, the younger women’s inner thoughts would be…

Examples:

Tong Mingyue: “Better to stir a thousand rivers than stir a Daoist’s heart.”

Xu Can: What does that mean? She knows… Is this line a hint or a warning…

Gu Qingyun: “Better to stir a thousand rivers than stir a Daoist’s heart.”

Tong Yao: A bolt from the blue… You’re actually a monk?!!

Gu Qingci: “Better to stir a thousand rivers than stir a Daoist’s heart.”

Fu Jing: Stir a heart? She said her heart was stirred by me!!! Haha, I knew she liked me!!!