The Male Lead's Sister Reborn (GL) - Chapter 19

Shen Xiruo blinked her eyes, as if in disbelief, and raised her hand, lightly trying to touch her cheek.

But she didn’t actually touch her face; she just held her hand suspended a little distance away, frozen there.

Jiang Qian was also stunned.

She didn’t know why she had made such a gesture. It truly looked like she was acting spoiled with her girlfriend… God knows that Jiang Qian truly felt only friendship for Shen Xiruo! Although something felt slightly off… But now, the most urgent matter was to clearly explain to Shen Xiruo that she really didn’t mean anything by it.

After saying she didn’t want to be “kept,” she immediately turned around and kissed the other person. This was truly unjustifiable.

“Xiruo, I wasn’t… I didn’t mean anything by it. That was just an accident, haha, an accident.”

Jiang Qian used the back of her hand to cover her face. She was blushing so fiercely that she had to use her hand to cool her face down.

It was also because she didn’t dare to look at Shen Xiruo’s expression right now.

For some reason, Shen Xiruo didn’t answer for a long time, so long that Jiang Qian almost dropped her hand to secretly look at her.

It wasn’t until Jiang Qian was about to lose her patience that Shen Xiruo’s voice finally came: “Do things like this also happen unintentionally?”

Jiang Qian was speechless.

She truly couldn’t explain. This kind of thing… this kind of thing was definitely intentional.

If she didn’t have any hidden feelings, how could she have subconsciously made such a gesture?

She forced a laugh: “Ah… actually, when I’m playing around with my girlfriends, I often do things like this, a little kiss or a little pinch or something.”

However, Jiang Qian knew she was desperately lying because she was gay. She had been kissed on the cheek by others before, but to actively kiss someone else’s cheek—that was a first.

“Hmm? Which girlfriend?” Shen Xiruo finally turned half her body and looked at her.

In those dark eyes, smoke, clouds, and a hurricane seemed to be brewing, carrying turbulent emotions.

Jiang Qian didn’t know what those emotions were. She didn’t dare to look directly and kept her head down.

She muttered: “Well, no specific girlfriend really… it was back when I was in school, those kinds of things happened… but that’s not important, is it…”

Shen Xiruo suddenly turned off the engine, which had been gently idling, and the car instantly became quiet.

Jiang Qian immediately felt that something major was about to happen. She subconsciously straightened her back and sat up properly.

Shen Xiruo’s somewhat heavy breathing echoed in the car, as if brewing a storm.

Jiang Qian watched her profile nervously, but couldn’t see any signs.

This moment, like waiting for a sentence, was the hardest to bear.

Jiang Qian’s heart, which had been rapidly pounding at first, slowly began to rise to her throat. She didn’t dare to move, and her heartbeat even seemed to slow down a bit.

“I’m not quite clear about what you mean. But I want to tell you that I, Shen Xiruo, have never regarded you as a… kept person.”

Jiang Qian’s heart immediately dropped back into her stomach. She felt a cold sweat break out on her back.

She had been genuinely afraid of hearing words like “We are not friends” from Shen Xiruo.

Their relationship was somewhat delicate. Any step forward or backward was extremely sensitive.

So she nodded repeatedly: “Yes, yes, yes, that’s what I mean. I think if we’re friends, you don’t necessarily have to send me gifts all the time, right? It’s not a holiday or anything. Friends usually don’t send gifts…”

Shen Xiruo interrupted her, the corner of her mouth curling slightly, but there was no smile in her eyes: “But I send you gifts not for your sake, but for my own happiness.”

Jiang Qian was stunned: “Huh?” She truly hadn’t expected this answer.

Her previous impression of Shen Xiruo was that she was polite and well-mannered. She wouldn’t suddenly become domineering like this.

“What makes you happy?” Jiang Qian was very confused.

“I don’t have many friends. You are one that I highly value. My sending gifts to my friend has nothing to do with whether you like it or not. When I send something, you must accept it.”

Shen Xiruo finished this speech, then reached out and took Jiang Qian’s hand, gently stroking the back of it.

Jiang Qian felt every pore on the back of her hand tremble.

Shen Xiruo’s fingertips brushed across her hand. Jiang Qian looked up blankly at this woman who had suddenly become unfamiliar.

This domineering, powerful woman, who held immense authority, was only now removing the mask she had been wearing in front of Jiang Qian.

She was not a gentle kitten; she was a fierce beast.

Originally, she had planned to let Jiang Qian off for now.

But Jiang Qian’s kiss made her completely change her mind.

Such a sweet and gentle Jiang Qian must be hers!

Shen Xiruo touched Jiang Qian’s hand with a flirtatious gesture, her lips curved, and she gave Jiang Qian a captivating smile: “Come to my place to sleep.”

Jiang Qian was dazzled by her extremely beautiful smile: “…Huh? Didn’t we say a hotel?”

Shen Xiruo smiled: “A hotel is never as comfortable as home.”

So, Jiang Qian was inexplicably driven by Shen Xiruo to the entrance of the Shen family apartment.

This place she had visited once before already recognized Jiang Qian’s fingerprint and was very intelligent.

She went inside and looked around, finding that the interior layout was the same as it was half a month ago.

Jiang Qian blurted out, “Haven’t you been staying here?”

Shen Xiruo skillfully hung Jiang Qian’s bag and coat on the coat rack, then turned and said: “No.”

Jiang Qian asked again: “Then where do you usually live?”

Shen Xiruo: “There’s a bed in the company office.”

Jiang Qian looked at her sympathetically, thinking that office workers really had it tough, and big bosses had it even tougher, sleeping in the office every day, unable to return home…

“Coming home alone isn’t fun anyway,” Shen Xiruo added.

Jiang Qian’s inner thought: I can’t respond to that.

After the two of them finished washing up according to their previous routine, Shen Xiruo hooked her lips and stared at Jiang Qian with a smile: “Still sleeping in the master bedroom tonight?”

Jiang Qian felt a chilling sensation, yet an inexplicable sense of anticipation crept up. But thinking about the situation in the car tonight, she really didn’t dare to think too much.

She felt like Shen Xiruo had become a little scary tonight.

Seeing her not answer, Shen Xiruo smiled: “Then you should still sleep in the master bedroom. The bedding you used last time hasn’t been changed, but the cleaning lady did vacuum.”

Jiang Qian muttered: “Okay.”

She turned and walked toward the master bedroom, feeling a bit uneasy.

When she entered the master bedroom, she turned off the light and gently half-closed the door. She didn’t even know why she was doing this.

Lying under the covers, her mind was still swirling with thoughts of Shen Xiruo’s expression and tone earlier.

Shen Xiruo had become a little scary since being kissed on the cheek… Perhaps this was the true nature of a dominant CEO. Although a supporting female character, she was a genuine alpha.

Before long, Jiang Qian fell asleep amidst her wild thoughts.

Perhaps due to the excessive expenditure of energy, Jiang Qian slept soundly until it was already past ten the next morning when she woke up with a stretch.

Thinking that the drama had wrapped up and she didn’t have to work today, she felt a burst of happiness and only wanted to curl back up for another nap on the soft bed.

What was the first thing to do after waking up? Play on her phone!

Jiang Qian looked at Weibo on her phone for a while, scrolling until she found the wrap-up promotional photos for the drama.

In addition to a new set of stills, they also released some behind-the-scenes footage.

The footage actually included a close-up of Jiang Qian holding the white lilies with a radiant smile.

The drama’s official Weibo mentioned: “The female lead, Jiang Qian, received flowers and a gift from a mysterious fan, filling her with happiness and deep emotion.”

Jiang Qian retweeted this Weibo with her main account. After much deliberation, she typed: “Thank you for all your support and love. Meeting Affectionate You has been the fortune of my life.”

She finished typing, carefully checked for typos, and then sent it.

After sending the tweet, she briefly scrolled through the comments, was satisfied to see that her fans were already rallying, and then moved on to other things.

Before long, her agent, Li Hong, private-messaged Jiang Qian, sending a screenshot: “Do you know her?”

The screenshot showed Su Xiangxue’s official account retweeting Jiang Qian’s post.

Su Xiangxue V: “Had the honor of meeting Jiang Qian once. She is as beautiful as her name suggests, tender and elegant. Looking forward to your wonderful performance in the drama!”

Su Xiangxue was a well-known major star in the entertainment industry right now, though mostly active in television dramas, still far from being a movie star.

It looked like she was praising Jiang Qian, and nothing seemed outwardly wrong.

However, Jiang Qian felt an indescribable feeling of discomfort.

She messaged Li Hong back: “Ignore her. I don’t know her.”

Li Hong replied with an “OK” hand gesture and didn’t ask further, only forwarding three scripts: “Pick one.”

Jiang Qian looked at the titles of the three scripts and suddenly felt one of them looked familiar.

It seemed to be… a low-budget film in the original novel that started slow but became a big hit, which Su Xiangxue used to gain massive popularity, becoming a formidable obstacle to the female lead.

Meeting Su Xiangxue first thing in the morning ruined her mood…

Well, now she could compete with Su Xiangxue for the leading female role.

Why did Su Xiangxue have to hypocritically retweet her post? And say such insincere things? Who didn’t know that Su Xiangxue was secretly cursing Jiang Qian hundreds of times in her heart?

The fact that the male lead was still sending flowers to Jiang Qian was enough for Su Xiangxue to be jealous for over ten days. This villainous supporting female character was a very envious type in the original book.

Jiang Qian messaged Li Hong back: “I want Wolf’s Journey in the Desert.”

Li Hong: “The conditions will be tough. You’ll have to film in the Northwest. Can you handle it?”

Jiang Qian: “I can handle it!”

Li Hong: “ok.jpg”

That’s how efficient capable people were!

Jiang Qian stretched. The mood that Su Xiangxue had spoiled instantly improved greatly.

She knew that if she chose to compete for this script, she would definitely win it.

For no other reason than the fact that she knew from the original novel that the director of this movie first approached Jiang Qian, and only after being rejected did he seek out the similar-type Su Xiangxue.

Given that, wasn’t this a sure thing?

“Get up in the morning! Embrace the sun! Fill your body with! Brilliant sunshine!” Jiang Qian quietly shouted slogans to encourage herself while doing simple aerobics in the bedroom.

Suddenly, someone pushed open her bedroom door.

Jiang Qian, jumping on the bed, was so startled that she lost her footing on the smooth silk sheets and fell heavily onto the floor.

“Aah ouch—it hurts, it hurts!”

“Are you alright!” The figure outside the door immediately rushed in, first reaching out to expertly feel all the bones in Jiang Qian’s body—up, down, left, and right.

Jiang Qian felt completely uncomfortable being touched. Even the pain in her hip, which had been hurting a little, disappeared, replaced entirely by embarrassment.

Shen Xiruo finished checking her, finally showing a relieved expression, and whispered in her ear: “I’ll help you up.”

Before Jiang Qian could react, Shen Xiruo had already reached out with both hands, passing them under her back and knees, giving her a princess carry.

Jiang Qian was forced against Shen Xiruo’s chest, feeling a fierce heartbeat inside.

Shen Xiruo’s eyes were as black as an abyss, but her movements were extremely gentle.

That heartbeat, thump, thump, thump, was steady and strong.

Listening to it, Jiang Qian suddenly felt an indescribable sense of security, like warm water, washing over her entire body.

Shen Xiruo carried her to the bed, set her down, and smoothly pulled the sheet over her.

Jiang Qian felt Shen Xiruo’s scent lingering around her nostrils—a cool, woody, very pleasant fragrance.

I wonder what perfume she uses. It smells so good. I should ask her for the brand later and try it out…

Jiang Qian’s thoughts were a jumbled mess when she suddenly heard Shen Xiruo’s gentle voice ask: “Where did you hurt yourself?”

Jiang Qian’s thoughts were still scattered, and she subconsciously blurted out: “My butt…”

As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately raised her hand, wanting to cover her mouth or cover Shen Xiruo’s ears.

But it was too late. Words spoken were like water spilled…

Shen Xiruo listened and was silent for a moment.

Jiang Qian desperately tried to salvage the situation: “I’m fine, I’m fine, you don’t have to worry about me…”

Shen Xiruo, however, stood silently by the bed, seemingly ignoring Jiang Qian’s words.

Jiang Qian’s cheeks slowly turned red. Although her butt was currently throbbing with a fiery pain, she felt even hotter in the face.

What is all this! Why is even a simple injury so embarrassing!

“Take them off.” Shen Xiruo’s cool voice.

“Ah ha?” Jiang Qian thought she had heard wrong and subconsciously rubbed her ears.

“I said, take off your pants. I’ll check for you.” Shen Xiruo stared intently at Jiang Qian’s hip area.

Jiang Qian’s face was blushing beyond measure. She slowly reached out, placing her hand on the edge of her pants, but hesitated to move.

Until Shen Xiruo raised an eyebrow at her and smiled wickedly: “What, do I have to do it myself?”

Jiang Qian: “…” What kind of plot is this, with a tyrant forcefully seizing a common girl?

The tyrant, Shen Xiruo, continued: “That’s fine too. After all, I’ve already seen all of you.”

Her slender fingers, light and soft, reached out.