As She Wished - Chapter 3

Her words were a question, but from her casual tone, it was impossible to tell what emotion she was feeling.

“It’s not like that…” Fu Jing swallowed, shaking her head left and right like a little rattle-drum. She still had not figured out how to smooth things over after that.

Gu Qingci had already given Tao Xian a look and turned to leave.

She had not truly intended to listen to an explanation in the first place.

Tao Xian followed after her, then quietly said to Fu Jing, “It’s fine. She won’t get angry. Sit here and play by yourself for a while longer.”

Fu Jing: “…Okay.”

She watched the two of them walk away, puffed out her cheeks, and felt both disappointed and slightly relieved.

In any case, it was good that the beauty was not angry.

Fu Jing sat for a while and chatted idly with Qin Zijin through messages. Then she stood up, wanting to go ask for a glass of ice water. As she walked over, she did not see the step clearly and tripped. Her body steadied and she did not fall, but her phone flew out.

It was cleanly thrown two meters away.

“…”

The woman beside her bent down to help pick it up. She even glanced at it and smiled. “You’re really lucky. Even after that, the screen didn’t crack at all.” Her voice was gentle and soft.

She was dressed neatly and properly, and her bearing carried a calm, dignified, scholarly air.

She was somewhat different from the other customers.

When Fu Jing took the phone, she blurted out, “Thank you, Teacher.”

The woman froze. Her gaze fell on this little girl she did not know, and after hesitating for a few seconds, she asked, “You are…?”

“I’m a student at Songjiang University.” Fu Jing instinctively introduced herself. After a pause, she realized what the woman meant and hurriedly explained, “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, I’m not your student. I just thought you especially looked like someone who teaches.”

So she guessed right? From this reaction, she had definitely guessed right!

Fu Jing was happy about her rare sharpness.

Seeing the other person nod and admit it, she immediately asked cheerfully, “Teacher, are you from one of the nearby universities?”

“No.” Song Shujin was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled kindly. “I only teach middle school.”

“Oh…”

Today was the weekend.

Fu Jing was really bored, and on top of that, she had a natural sense of closeness toward teachers. So she found another topic and continued asking, “Then, Teacher, who do you like here?”

Song Shujin froze again, then quickly said, “No one. I just came in casually to have some fun. I should go too.”

She smiled apologetically at Fu Jing, then turned and left.

“…”

It seemed she had asked the wrong thing.

Fu Jing could only return to the booth alone. Bored, she ordered one of every tea on the menu and tasted them in turn to pass the time. She did not know when Gu Qingci would come to work normally.

Just as she was thinking about what Gu Qingci looked like, slowly, another image suddenly flashed through her mind.

It was hazy and indistinct.

A draft of wind carried in the sweet, rich fragrance of osmanthus flowers. The person before her was copying Buddhist scriptures with a brush. Fu Jing seemed to be trying to please her, adding tea for her, only to clumsily pour it crooked and wet a corner of the scripture paper.

That person raised her face. Her plain white clothes were lit brightly by the sun, her phoenix eyes like stars, smiling as she looked at Fu Jing’s helpless face and deliberately asked in surprise, “Does the Princess have some dissatisfaction? Why not say it directly?”

Back then, she had stood beneath a peach blossom tree, her hair caught by a flowering branch.

That year, the blooming branches were full of spring, and the moon in heaven was perfectly round.

“…”

—

Fu Jing came back to herself and only then realized she was still sitting in the booth at the bar. The lights were ambiguous, the music was clamorous, and nothing around her had changed in the slightest.

That brief moment just now had been like a short dream.

She blinked hard, finding it strange. Why had she suddenly started daydreaming…

And it did not feel much like a dream. Instead, it felt like she was recalling something from the past.

She knew people occasionally experienced a dazed sense that what was happening now had already happened once before. That was a kind of memory-processing error in the brain.

But that was usually only an instant feeling.

And it was treating the present as something that had already happened, not treating an image that appeared out of thin air as the past…

The colored lights flickered and changed with the music, heightening the atmosphere. Light and shadows swept across the various teas on the table. There were so many cups in front of her, but the booth was empty, and she was still sitting there alone.

Fu Jing bit her lip. Suddenly, an indescribable hollow sense of loss rose in her heart. She could not remember anything, yet she badly wanted to.

She took a sip of tea and lifted her eyes almost helplessly.

Just in time to see Gu Qingci coming down from the second floor.

Facing the light, Gu Qingci’s features were elegant and refined. Her fair face was graceful and beautiful, her temperament gentle and dignified. Only those pitch-black phoenix eyes were too bright; when one looked into them, they gave off a feeling that was mild yet unapproachable.

The moment their gazes met, Fu Jing miraculously forgot all her dejection.

She could not help revealing a bright, unrestrained, completely unsubtle smile at her. At the same time, the teacup in her hand slipped and knocked against the edge of the table.

Fu Jing reacted quickly and reached out to fish the cup back, but the tea still spilled, soaking her white shirt.

From Gu Qingci’s perspective, she only saw this child not far away, who had inexplicably been looking downcast all over, suddenly start smiling foolishly at her.

And while smiling foolishly, she even poured water onto herself with the back of her hand.

She looked as though her IQ was not very high.

“…”

Fu Jing awkwardly set the cup down properly. Her gaze circled around, but she could not find anything on the table that could be used to wipe her clothes a little, so she simply ignored it. After all, wet clothes could not be wiped dry anyway.

As if nothing had happened, she picked up the cup and drank the remaining half-mouthful of tea.

Her eyes continued staring at Gu Qingci as she secretly indulged in infatuation.

She’s so beautiful. How can someone be that beautiful? Forget just having a pretty face—even her waist is a waist, and her legs are legs…

Eh, her legs moved…

Huh?! Why is she walking over…

Fu Jing blinked and hurriedly adjusted her sitting posture, obediently placing both hands on her knees like an elementary school student. Her almond eyes looked at Gu Qingci innocently, while the corners of her lips carried an upward curve she could not control.

She looked both cute and silly.

Gu Qingci walked over and casually took a napkin from her bag, handing it to Fu Jing in a gentle tone. “Here, wipe it a little.”

“Wipe what?” Fu Jing was dazed and shocked. She subconsciously raised a hand to touch the corner of her lips. Don’t tell her she had been staring at Gu Qingci so hard that she started drooling?!

“…”

Seeing her reaction, Gu Qingci froze for a few seconds. Rarely, she could not help curving her lips.

She pulled out a tissue and helped her wipe the water on the table that might wet her again. “I heard you’ve been sitting here every day. Who are you waiting for?”

It was only a casual remark.

Fu Jing opened her mouth, but she could not answer for a long while.

“I’m waiting for you…”

Who else could she be waiting for?

Her words were spoken too softly, disappearing silently into the noisy surroundings. The heavy metal music made Fu Jing’s heart feel faintly numb from the vibrations.

Gu Qingci did not hear clearly. “Hm?”

Fu Jing stared straight at her. When their eyes met, she quickly lowered her gaze again, her heart beating like a drum as she wondered whether Tao Xian had told Gu Qingci about her, and if she had, how she had described her.

After guessing for a long time, she still had no clue.

“Of course I’m waiting for you.” Fu Jing suddenly felt a little like giving up on herself.

She had never understood how to speak in roundabout ways.

“Waiting for me?” Gu Qingci received an answer she had not expected. Her gaze fell on this unfamiliar young girl’s face, and after studying her for a few seconds, she asked as though with interest, “Kid, do you know me?”

Fu Jing: “…”

She did not know whether this counted as knowing her or not. After thinking about it, she said, “I know your name is Gu Qingci, and that you’re the top draw of the bar.”

As soon as the words fell,

Gu Qingci’s brows furrowed almost imperceptibly. Very quickly, she smiled faintly again, the curve of her lips playful. “Then why are you waiting here for me?”

“Be-because… because…” Fu Jing tried hard, but she could not say it. What other reason could there be? But even with her lack of common sense, she knew she should not confess on only their second meeting.

“You’ve been whimpering for half the day.” Gu Qingci suddenly sat down beside her, resting her elbow on the edge of the table and turning her face toward her. Her tone made no attempt to hide its teasing. “Are you acting spoiled with Sister?”

“…”

Fu Jing’s face instantly turned bright red. Her breathing stopped, and only then did she finally react that Gu Qingci was joking with her.

She only felt that in all her life, she had never been this embarrassed before. “I… I…”

“What do you want to say?” Gu Qingci curved her lips and even leaned closer to laugh beside her ear, with an obvious breathiness in her voice. “Speak properly. Are you a little stutterer?”

Little stutterer Fu Jing pursed her lips aggrievedly, lowering her lashes and blinking quickly. A shy pink spread from her earlobes all the way down to her neck.

This person was too much!

She was deliberately making fun of her!

After a moment of silence,

Fu Jing had been teased for so long that, strangely, the nervousness and discomfort in her heart lessened a little. Since it was already like this, she might as well just say what she wanted to say directly!

Right. Why couldn’t she just say it directly?

Having made up her mind, Fu Jing cleared her throat and asked with clear, soft eyes, “Because I like you. Could you give me your contact information, so we can properly get to know each other?”

“Forget it.” But Gu Qingci smiled and shook her head, her tone tactful. “Sorry. You’re too well-behaved.”

Fu Jing: “…”

She did not fully understand what those words meant.

She only knew that she had been rejected. Gu Qingci disliked her for being obedient, so she had rejected her.

Although she had not figured out any further information, an instinctive thought emerged: No! She could not! She could not be rejected just like this!

The pink bubbles that had originally been floating in her mind quickly disappeared for the time being.

Fu Jing widened her eyes. With a flash of inspiration, she immediately stood up and replied forcefully, “Am I well-behaved? Then I think you must be blind!”