Pretending To Be Affectionate [Transmigration] - Chapter 51

Gu Qing’s grip was far stronger than Ling Yu had expected.

She completely ignored Ling Yu’s halfhearted demand to stop. Her pale fingers locked around Ling Yu’s arm and dragged her outside.

Ling Yu was hauled out of the club like a sack of grain.

Even a clay figurine had a temper, let alone Ling Yu, whose disposition had never been particularly mild.

She glanced sideways at Gu Qing.

Under the dim yellow lights, the woman’s skin appeared extraordinarily pale. Her face displayed little emotion, while her narrowed phoenix eyes remained perfectly calm.

It was the stillness before an enormous wave crashed ashore.

Ling Yu laughed in anger.

“Did I burn down your ancestral graves, or do you hold a grudge against me for murdering your father? Why are you abducting me like this?”

Ling Yu rotated her right wrist, tilted her head, and gave Gu Qing a light glance.

Gu Qing ignored her.

She merely loosened her grip slightly, her pale lips pressed into a thin, cutting line across her face.

Ling Yu’s mood was beyond description.

Gu Qing’s deranged behavior made absolutely no sense.

When Gu Qing continued refusing to speak, Ling Yu raised her free hand, curled it into a fist, and swung toward that beautiful face.

Unexpectedly, even as the rush of air swept across Gu Qing’s frost-covered features, she did not dodge.

Ling Yu had ultimately underestimated how tolerant she was of Gu Qing’s cold beauty.

“Deranged,” she cursed under her breath.

When her fist came within an inch of Gu Qing’s cheek, Ling Yu forcibly changed its direction and struck her shoulder instead.

Gu Qing appeared not to feel the pain.

She turned around expressionlessly and lowered her inscrutable blue eyes, giving Ling Yu a deep look.

She explained nothing.

Her lips remained tightly pressed together as she half dragged Ling Yu by the arm toward a deserted alley.

Ling Yu interpreted the look as an invitation to fight.

Of course Attorney Gu would choose somewhere without witnesses, making it easier to destroy the evidence afterward.

How thorough.

Ling Yu simply could not understand why Gu Qing wanted to fight her.

She admitted that inviting Gu Qing tonight had been deliberate.

Gu Qing did not trust her. Whenever she looked at Ling Yu, complicated entanglement clouded her eyes.

Ling Yu had merely used her actions to tell Gu Qing:

Relax. I will never entertain another fantasy about you.

That was what Ling Yu could not understand.

She had voluntarily distanced herself and even arranged this scene so Gu Qing could witness with her own eyes that the nonsense from two years ago had been nothing more than the antics of a player who had grown tired of the small fry in her circle and wanted a change of flavor.

That should have been precisely the result Gu Qing wanted.

Frankly, Gu Qing had never been the one unable to accept the game.

From beginning to end, that person had been Ling Yu.

She had inexplicably completed her mission.

Aside from the first two months, when approaching Gu Qing had been an act, Ling Yu had never concealed her true personality afterward.

Gu Qing herself might not realize that she possessed a peculiar magic.

Whenever she rejected someone with that cold face and superior demeanor, an intensely abstinent, queenlike aura surrounded her.

Arrogance had been carved into Ling Yu’s bones from birth.

It had nothing to do with her mission.

From the first moment she saw Gu Qing, she had wanted to conquer her and watch her cry.

Eventually, Ling Yu had stopped acting altogether and unconsciously revealed her true nature.

Later, she genuinely lost control. Her actions became mixed with a private desire to conquer Gu Qing.

Somewhere in that attempted conquest, she had invested a measure of sincere feeling.

Fortunately, she pulled herself back before going over the edge.

Meeting again after two years, Ling Yu would never repeat the same mistake.

So what logic lay behind Gu Qing’s refusal to let the matter go?

If it was about deception, Ling Yu might have pretended to be deeply devoted, but she had never deceived Gu Qing into loving her.

That woman had rejected her decisively from beginning to end.

Every pore in her body had radiated disgust toward Ling Yu.

Ling Yu could not understand why Gu Qing looked so furious and betrayed tonight.

Did she want to fight?

Was she simply in a bad mood?

Ling Yu raised her eyelids provocatively and gave Gu Qing a look expressing her complete willingness to fight.

She stopped resisting and allowed Gu Qing to drag her beyond Decadence Street.

A dark, narrow alley ran beside it.

The utility poles were covered in advertisements—saunas, foot massages, manicures. Colorful business cards densely layered every available surface.

Gu Qing pushed Ling Yu against one of the poles.

A strand fell loose from Ling Yu’s bun and swept a thin flyer to the ground.

The movement had contained slightly too much force. One delicate strap of Ling Yu’s dress slipped halfway down, exposing a smooth, pale shoulder and one side of her butterfly-wing collarbone.

Gu Qing’s gaze settled upon the flimsy black fabric barely covering Ling Yu’s chest.

A fleeting darkness passed through her phoenix eyes.

She appeared even angrier.

Her gaze traveled over the broad expanse of skin exposed beneath Ling Yu’s black lace dress, moving from top to bottom and then back upward.

It scraped across her inch by inch like a blade before repeatedly settling upon the slender waist beneath that thin strap—a waist that could seemingly be encircled with one hand.

Veins appeared faintly across the back of Gu Qing’s hand.

With her eyes half narrowed, she resembled a vicious beast ready to attack.

Did Gu Qing believe that being beautiful gave her the right to terrorize others?

Who had spoiled her like this?

Ling Yu scoffed and raised her eyelids. Her brows lifted flirtatiously as she looked at Gu Qing.

“Do you like what you see, miss?”

“Is this all you care about?”

The provocation in Ling Yu’s eyes stirred something absurd and unbearable within Gu Qing.

Suppressing her emotions, she stared at the pitifully thin fabric covering Ling Yu.

“What is this supposed to be? Dressing like this to attract everyone’s attention? Ling Yu, are you really that starved for affection—”

Before Gu Qing could finish, Ling Yu’s fist flew toward her again.

This punch was different from the last. Instead of aiming for Gu Qing’s face, it struck toward her abdomen.

As Ling Yu moved, her strap slipped even farther, exposing a generous amount of softness beneath it.

It was already late at night.

Several drunken men loitered on the street nearby, shouting obscenities and trading one vulgar joke after another.

Gu Qing’s phoenix eyes narrowed into slits.

She was genuinely furious.

Her chest rose and fell. Even her breathing possessed the unnatural calm of someone suppressing herself with tremendous difficulty.

She caught Ling Yu’s incoming fist and stepped closer.

Under the light, dark red veins floated through her blue eyes.

In an extremely restrained voice, she asked:

“Ling Yu, what exactly do you want?”

Ling Yu gave her a look of complete innocence.

“Can’t you tell?”

She paused and met Gu Qing’s eyes.

Upon receiving the questioning gaze poised to erupt, Ling Yu scoffed without courtesy.

“Don’t tell me you thought our encounter on the day I returned was something I deliberately arranged so I could approach you.”

“Or that I unblocked you and transferred money because I wanted to tell you I loved you?”

Her tone was supremely mocking.

She posed both questions as though telling a joke.

Gu Qing did not laugh, but Ling Yu did.

Gu Qing lowered her lashes.

“I never thought that.”

“Oh.”

Ling Yu swept Gu Qing with the corner of her eye.

“You saw everything yourself. What could you and I possibly have left to discuss? We severed all ties two years ago. I don’t think there’s any need for us to remain in contact. Wouldn’t you agree, Attorney Gu?”

Ling Yu had not intended to speak so bluntly.

But Gu Qing’s condition made her feel faintly endangered.

Under the dim yellow light, half of Gu Qing’s face remained hidden in shadow.

Her lips pulled into an indescribable curve.

She stared into Ling Yu’s eyes, took a slim cigarette from her pocket, and held it between her fingers.

Then her mouth moved faster than her reason.

“Then why did you specifically tell Fang Jia to bring me here tonight and watch you fool around?”

Gu Qing appeared perfectly calm.

Only the rise and fall of her chest and her hurried breathing revealed the truth.

Ling Yu’s expression immediately stiffened.

When she realized Gu Qing’s gaze had circled her frozen face, it was already too late.

Gu Qing’s lips curved meaningfully.

Her eyes seemed to say:

I never claimed you did it deliberately. Why did you confess so quickly?

Instead of becoming angry, Ling Yu laughed.

Even after being exposed, she showed no fear.

She met Gu Qing’s gaze with complete candor and arrogance.

“You’re right. So what? It was only a game.”

Ling Yu had lost patience with this pointless conversation.

She had assumed Gu Qing wanted to fight, in which case they could simply have fought.

Instead, Gu Qing stood motionless like a turtle inside its shell.

Ling Yu raised an arm and shoved the woman blocking her aside without restraint.

The lace strap slipped down her shoulder.

After their earlier struggle, a broad expanse of skin was already exposed.

At some point, the drunken men across the street noticed them.

One whistled.

“Damn, she’s hot.”

Gu Qing abruptly raised her eyes.

The final thread of restraint in her mind snapped.

She crushed the cigarette between her fingers.

When Ling Yu passed beside her, Gu Qing seized her arm, leaned forward, and pushed her back against the wall beside the utility pole.

Gu Qing advanced two steps.

Her face enlarged before Ling Yu’s eyes. Her reddened eyes narrowed as she bit Ling Yu’s lips with vicious, almost brutal force.

Her cool fragrance overwhelmed Ling Yu.

At the same time, the rusty taste of blood filled her mouth.

Ling Yu did not react at first.

The moment she felt pain, fury exploded inside her like fireworks.

She grabbed Gu Qing in return.

Glancing at the woman’s feverish, almost crazed eyes, Ling Yu raised an eyebrow and braced one hand against Gu Qing’s shoulder.

She met those profound eyes with lazy composure.

In a flash, Ling Yu bent one leg, pressed a hand against the back of Gu Qing’s head, and reversed their positions.

After a brief moment of shock, Gu Qing narrowed her eyes and tangled with her again.

The air turned suggestive.

Fabric rubbed against fabric.

Neither of them called a halt.

Within the dark alley, Gu Qing’s eyes were rimmed red, her breathing rapid and hot.

Ling Yu calmly watched her eyes, observing as the dense, seaweed-like darkness within them gradually receded.

Five minutes later, traces of blood marked both their lips.

It looked as though they had genuinely fought.

Gu Qing breathed heavily as she lowered her eyes toward Ling Yu.

That single look contained far too many complicated emotions.

Yet they quickly vanished into the night.

Just like the forceful, reckless kiss moments earlier, Gu Qing’s body had moved beyond her control despite her clear awareness.

She had inexplicably seized Ling Yu, as though only this could dispel the mysterious panic inside her.

Lowering her eyes and pretending indifference, Gu Qing asked:

“Doesn’t this mean you love me?”

Self-satisfaction and arrogance threaded through her voice.

Ling Yu chuckled.

“Why can’t you face yourself honestly, Attorney Gu?”

She lazily pointed toward Gu Qing’s rising chest and the heart pounding wildly out of rhythm beneath it.

Her lips curved into a teasing, suggestive smile.

It was perfectly normal for someone’s heartbeat to accelerate during a kiss.

Gu Qing clearly lacked common knowledge in this area. Her clumsy kissing technique alone made that obvious.

Naturally, Ling Yu did not believe Gu Qing liked her.

Gu Qing’s excessive confidence had merely angered her.

What they had shared was only a contest.

It had nothing to do with loving or being loved.

Unfortunately, Gu Qing confidently believed Ling Yu was in love with her.

Ling Yu felt helpless.

Under Gu Qing’s burning stare, she picked up the woman’s hand and placed it against her own chest.

Raising her eyelids, she asked mockingly:

“Can you feel it beating for you?”

Ling Yu’s pitch-black eyes stared directly at Gu Qing with a coldness Gu Qing had never seen before.

Gu Qing’s slender waist stiffened.

The yellow light in the distance fell unevenly across her back, making half her silhouette appear bent under an invisible weight.

Her hand instinctively entered her pocket and withdrew a slim cigarette.

She glanced at Ling Yu.

“Do you mind?”

Ling Yu smiled and gestured for her to proceed.

Her face showed none of the disgust Gu Qing remembered from two years ago.

Gu Qing raised her eyelids and looked at her twice more.

As she withdrew her gaze, her thick lashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

For the first time, she realized that Ling Yu’s disgust depended entirely upon the person.

Gu Qing opened her lighter.

A flame leaped between her fingers. She lowered her head to light the cigarette, then slowly exhaled a succession of smoke rings.

When Ling Yu turned to leave, Gu Qing stretched out her free arm and blocked her path.

Then she caught the strap hanging down Ling Yu’s arm between two fingers and slowly pulled it upward, placing it neatly and rigidly back upon her shoulder.

Her cool fingertips touched Ling Yu’s warm skin and trembled.

Then Gu Qing restrained herself and withdrew them.

She removed the cigarette from her mouth and tapped it.

Glowing ash fell past her pale fingertips and landed on her toes, quickly burning a vivid red mark.

She appeared not to feel the pain.

Blood from Ling Yu’s bite remained at the corner of her lips, making her resemble a vampire beneath the moonlight.

Gu Qing suddenly smiled at Ling Yu.

“Did you ever love me?”

Even after everything Ling Yu had said, Gu Qing still refused to believe her.

What answer was left?

Two years ago, Ling Yu had learned to reconcile with herself.

She never wanted to see herself reflected as filth in someone else’s eyes again.

Gu Qing was the female lead of a no-romance story, born and destined to sever herself from love.

Her true romance was her career.

Not Ling Yu.

Suppressing the emotion in her eyes, Ling Yu raised her head and brushed a finger over the blood at the corner of Gu Qing’s lips.

She fearlessly met Gu Qing’s viscous blue gaze.

With her lips bitten and bleeding, Gu Qing looked like a monster.

Ling Yu’s voice was very soft, like a whisper directly beside her ear.

“Never.”

Her answer was absolute.

Gu Qing stood beside the utility pole.

For an instant, she resembled a collapsing ice lotus whose stem had been snapped, sending it tumbling into the mud.

Ling Yu blinked, her vision momentarily blurred.

For one second, she thought she might have been the person who broke it.

But then she reconsidered.

How could that be possible?

She had misinterpreted Gu Qing’s behavior too many times.

Eventually, Ling Yu no longer dared read anything more into her actions.

After delivering the cruel answer, Ling Yu turned and left.

Gu Qing remained where she was, staring unblinkingly at Ling Yu’s back for a very long time—until she disappeared from sight.

She drew unconsciously on her cigarette.

Nicotine flooded her lungs.

Gu Qing abruptly doubled over and coughed violently.

When she raised her head, a damp haze veiled her blue eyes.

She brushed the long hair clinging to her cheek aside and looked into the misty night.

Only then did realization reach her, slow and heavy.

The person who had once clung to her and refused to leave no matter how fiercely Gu Qing drove her away had finally become a butterfly—

and flown through the gaps between her fingers.