As She Wished - Chapter 7

Fu Jing stared at the message on the screen and blinked hard. She raised the back of her hand to press it against her cheek. Sure enough, it was a little hot again. She quickly replied to Qin Zijin: [I understand!]

A lychee-flavored lollipop.

She peeled off the wrapper, held it in her mouth, and sat in front of the computer, quickly sending the third draft of her paper to her advisor. She was so happy that she kept humming.

After sending it, she closed the laptop.

After showering, Fu Jing very obediently got into bed and went to sleep.

“…”

As soon as she fell asleep, she began dreaming continuously.

It was the same scene she had daydreamed about while sitting in the bar earlier, continuing onward—

Fu Jing had accidentally spilled tea onto the paper.

The Buddhist scripture that had been copied for more than half a shichen was ruined entirely because of that small tea stain and had to be redone from the beginning. The tiny characters filling the page were graceful and elegant. That person had been imitating Fu Jing’s handwriting.

So she had been ghostwriting for her.

Seeing that the person’s expression was normal, without even the slightest movement of her brows, Fu Jing simply set down the teapot and sat properly beside her. Then she asked openly, “I made you copy for so long for nothing. Aren’t you angry? They all say that you have the very worst temper. On the surface, you’re good to me, but in reality, you hate me to death inside. Maybe you’re even thinking about how to kill me.”

Hearing this, she froze for a moment, then only smiled. “Then what does Jiaojiao think?”

“I don’t know,” Fu Jing answered quickly. “But I think that at the very least, you wouldn’t bear to kill me. At most, after you gain power in the future, you’ll kick me away at once.”

“…Is that really what you think in your heart?”

Fu Jing nodded decisively. “Mm!”

She smiled again and shook her head, looking as if she did not care at all. After a few seconds, however, she suddenly raised her hand and twisted Fu Jing’s nose, her tone unable to hide its reproach. “You really are a little thing with no conscience!”

At that time, the osmanthus flowers had just begun to bloom, and autumn filled the world.

This woman, rumored among the common people to have the most vicious heart of all, seemed to only ever show refined and gentle expressions in front of the little Princess. She was always considerate and indulgent, helplessly doting on her.

Nine years older, she had almost raised her with her own hands.

In their life of depending on each other, she had truly spoiled her for an entire lifetime.

Later, the whole city was in the depths of winter.

Inside the mountain temple, blue smoke curled endlessly.

Fu Jing bent down and knelt before the Buddha. With lowered brows and eyes, she said with utmost sincerity, “If there is a next life, please do not let her remember me. Not even the slightest bit. I will go find her. This time, let me…”

—

When daylight came the next day, the alarm rang.

Fu Jing was dizzy and dazed, almost suspecting that she had not slept at all the entire night. Frowning, she reached for her phone. Her waist ached and her back hurt, as if she had fallen onto the floor in the middle of the night.

She straightened up, turned off the alarm, and struggled to get out of bed.

She remembered that she had been dreaming nonstop.

But when she tried to recall what she had dreamed about, only a hazy shadow barely appeared.

After entering the bathroom, Fu Jing brushed her teeth in a daze. She lifted her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror. Her face was paper-white, her eyes lifeless, with obvious dark circles beneath them.

She looked especially like someone who studied physics.

“…”

As for the dream, she seemed to vaguely remember someone saying, “I only wish for the Princess to be safe and happy, smooth and successful for a lifetime… When have I ever feared being cut to pieces, or leaving behind a foul name for ten thousand years?”

She could feel the speaker’s faintly gentle tone, as well as the unruly arrogance that had never changed even unto death beneath that seemingly soft, warm, and considerate exterior.

She did not know why the dream felt so real.

Fu Jing spat out the foam in her mouth, hurriedly splashed her face with clean water, finished washing up, and walked weakly to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for herself.

Suddenly, she really wanted to see Gu Qingci.

Clearly, she had only just woken up. Clearly, she had only seen her last night. But she missed her so, so much…

She did not know where this longing came from, but it could not be restrained. It grew inch by inch, quickly winding around her heart, becoming heavy in an instant and impossible to ignore.

She opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of milk.

Just as Fu Jing was pouring oatmeal into a glass bowl, she suddenly realized something. She had originally been such a happy graduate student waiting to graduate and continue directly to a PhD, yet she still had to get up early two days a week to go to school and teach—just because Jiang Jianhua had instructed her to.

So, if the bar owner required Gu Qingci to work seriously…

Wouldn’t that mean she could see the person she liked right on time?

Fu Jing abandoned her breakfast, suppressed her excitement, and called Tao Xian.

While waiting, she recalled the fragments of business conversations she had heard from her mother in the past, trying hard to feel out the wording and techniques of commercial negotiation.

The moment the call connected,

the person on the other end had only just said “Hello.”

Fu Jing immediately could not hold it in and said, “Sister, I want to buy the bar. Name your price!” Her tone was full of bright, unconcealed excitement.

Tao Xian: “…………”

Tao Xian paused for a long time, her voice thick with sleepiness. “Fu Jing, did you sleep too late yesterday and wake up too early today, so you’re not fully awake yet? Or did you get drunk on tea and dizzy from mixing drinks?”

Fu Jing did not understand. “Why are you saying that? Can’t it be bought?”

“Do you have that much money?”

“I think,” Fu Jing said very sincerely, “based on your operating conditions, buying the shop probably shouldn’t cost too much money.”

Tao Xian: “…No!”

She was both angry and amused. She had never seen someone newly recruited as a part-timer who wanted to take over the shop the very next day.

Fu Jing furrowed her brows. Since the first plan would not work, she quickly changed to another one. “Then can I pay money to make Gu Qingci come to work at a fixed time every day?”

Tao Xian really wanted to applaud this fearless courage of a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

She could not help giving her a hint. “The person who can make that decision isn’t me.”

“Don’t lie to me. I know you’re the bar owner, so you always cover for your good friend Gu Qingci. You don’t even care when she doesn’t come to work.”

“…”

Tao Xian was stunned by this conclusion, which sounded quite reasonable at first glance but was actually completely reversed. For a long while, she could not speak.

On Fu Jing’s side, this meant tacit agreement.

Fu Jing asked, “Why aren’t you talking?”

Tao Xian thought for a moment, then tried hinting at the truth. “On the surface, I’m the one who manages the people in the shop, but when it comes to the real matters, we all listen to Gu Qingci.”

“Oh.” Fu Jing nodded, understanding. “So she’s the general manager, and you’re the chairwoman.”

Tao Xian: “…”

Fu Jing sighed. “I also thought that with your math level, running a business completely on your own might be a little tricky. So it turns out Gu Qingci is helping you. She’s so amazing!”

Tao Xian could not refute this part, so she only hummed. “Little President Fu, let me remind you first. Even if you really call the adults in your family over and have them acquire the bar—Beauty Gu still won’t be under your management.”

Fu Jing immediately felt disappointed. “How could it be like this…”

Tao Xian chuckled. “It just is.”

Fu Jing pondered for a moment and quickly proposed a compromise. “Then what do you think about me investing money and becoming a shareholder? If I pay her several times her salary, would she be willing to come to work more often?”

“…”

“Please?” Whether Tao Xian could see it or not, Fu Jing clasped her hands together and bowed in supplication on her own. She even let out a pitiful little whine. “I’m begging you, okay~”

On the other end of the phone, Tao Xian could not help being amused by her. After a while, she finally said leisurely, “I think you and Gu Qingci really are quite suitable. She’s the behind-the-scenes premier, and you’re the chairwoman who doesn’t understand a thing.”

Tao Xian said, “How about this? I’ll give you her number. Whatever ideas you have, go ahead and bring them up with Gu Qingci.”

Fu Jing: “…”