GV – Chapter 86

Ye Yuhuan’s worries didn’t come true. The distance from the home theater to the bedroom didn’t affect them much. On the contrary, they made excellent use of that distance. The temperature didn’t cool; instead, it persisted, burning. Song Zhiqing moved forward in a panic of impending dehydration, touching the sweaty body of the person before her, only to start panicking again that they would both faint from dehydration on the way back to the room.

Thankfully, young bodies are robust, and the night was lucky enough not to be burned dry by their passion.

They collapsed in the two a.m. moonlight.

The moonlight itself seemed soaked through, pressing down heavily upon them, outlining the two people embracing under the thin blanket in exquisite detail.

When they awoke, it was already two in the afternoon.

The chirping of birds at dawn hadn’t woken them, nor had the sunlight at noon.

But hunger had.

This also meant that when the two opened their eyes and looked at each other, they didn’t have the spark-filled feeling a young couple who had just tasted the forbidden fruit should have. Hunger and exhaustion had consumed too much of their energy. Ye Yuhuan could only slowly lift herself to give Song Zhiqing a kiss.

Song Zhiqing listlessly pouted at the air, which served as her response.

Last night, they hadn’t slept in the room where they’d left their luggage. That room was truly in no state to be slept in, and with their depleted strength, cleaning it would have been a form of torture.

They managed to take a shower, and when they opened their eyes again, it was broad daylight.

Ye Yuhuan silently judged herself as debauched.

Song Zhiqing opened her mouth to speak but found her throat incredibly dry, like firewood that had been baked all night, the kind that could spontaneously combust with a little more heat. Only after downing two glasses of water did her voice finally become audible.

She took stock of her sore and numb limbs, as well as a certain place that now had a particularly strong presence.

“How terrifying,” she said, as if with lingering fear.

“Mm, yes,” Ye Yuhuan said, reaching out to rub Song Zhiqing’s waist, seemingly filled with shame.

And so, they spent almost the entire summer vacation in terror.

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed. Ye Yuhuan became a shared disciple of many professors in the psychology department, while Song Zhiqing shone brightly in her career as a singer. Their love had been surprisingly public from the very beginning, and as Song Zhiqing’s status in the entertainment industry gradually rose, they found themselves watched even more closely by many pairs of eyes.

However, the result of all this painstaking observation was merely turning oneself from an unscrupulous paparazzi into a dating show cameraman.

The paparazzi had just snapped a photo of Song Zhiqing emerging from the airport looking unwell and had even thought of an explosive headline about their relationship being on the rocks. But then Ye Yuhuan immediately popped out, and Song Zhiqing instantly beamed with joy.

Oh, great. So she was in a bad mood just because she hadn’t seen her girlfriend, huh!

This paparazzi, who had witnessed the truth behind so many so-called “perfect couples” in the entertainment industry, didn’t give up. Who isn’t deeply in love at the beginning of a relationship? But as long as she was constantly surrounded by gorgeous people, over the years, even if Song Zhiqing’s heart didn’t stray, could Ye Yuhuan, a commoner, not become suspicious?

So what if Song Zhiqing usually went to school with Ye Yuhuan? She still had to come out for activities during winter and summer breaks. Two months was enough time to film a shoddy drama and for several on-set couples to get together. Blinded by the experience of his long career, the paparazzi believed this couple would definitely break up, and he would be the first to capture it.

Then he photographed Song Zhiqing and Ye Yuhuan on a sweet vacation during the National Day holiday.

He photographed Song Zhiqing and Ye Yuhuan returning to the Song family home together for the New Year.

He photographed Song Zhiqing and Ye Yuhuan hugging and holding hands countless times.

And a considerable number of kisses.

How to put it?

He was the clown.

But he had taken the photos, and they wouldn’t sell for a good price, so he could only post them online casually, pretending to be one of their CP fans to earn some traffic.

As a result, his marketing account became the happy home for “HuanLeSong” CP fans.

How to put it?

He really was the clown—I came here to break up this family, not to make this family rich!

Some busybody commented that this was the lowest-budget dating show in history. By waiting for the paparazzi to drop gossip on Mondays and Fridays, you could happily find out what sweet things the HuanLeSong CP had done that week.

And you didn’t even need a VIP or VVIP subscription.

For a time, the reputation of this paparazzi, who used to be told daily that he’d be better off tightening screws in a factory, actually improved drastically.

Alright, even a clown can be loved.

Meanwhile, Shen Wei, who was going crazy missing her wife, was finally reunited with her after she graduated early. Although the plane tickets they had bought over the three years were enough to fill a scrapbook, and in the final year Shen Wei had simply bought a private jet to have on standby for her wife-viewing trips, with Shen Wei’s love-addled brain, she wouldn’t be satisfied unless Shangguan Xianxian was within arm’s reach.

As for Shangguan Xianxian, well, besides her philanthropy, which she considered her life’s work, she went along with Shen Wei in everything else.

As a result, Ye Yuhuan’s voyeuristic constitution had been acting up with particular frequency lately, and she saw many things that should have been censored. Having lost the motivation of using these scenes to make Song Zhiqing give up on love, Ye Yuhuan was deeply pained by this. When Shen Wei found out, she strangely felt as if she had gotten her revenge.

Although she was also constantly on the losing end, she felt, perhaps, a little better?

The capitalist Shen, who had been active for three years and was known as the youngest “iron rooster,” started throwing handfuls of money into Shangguan Xianxian’s charitable organization after her wife returned. Her spending was so lavish that many financial columns began to analyze whether Shen Wei was planning to retire. But as a non-active partner and a relatively good friend, Ye Yuhuan knew that besides having nothing else to do, the main reason she had worked so hard to make money all these years was to wait for this very moment.

Rather than letting Shangguan Xianxian painstakingly light the sparks of kindness in people one by one, she wanted to first build a Great Wall of kindness, light all the beacon fires within it, and let them burn endlessly. She wanted the kindness that Shangguan Xianxian hoped everyone could have to become a kindness that was a habit for everyone.

At that moment, Ye Yuhuan acknowledged that she was the center of this world.

Everything now was a world away from the dream she’d had. Shen Wei and Shangguan Xianxian had not only a winding and romantic love story but also a respectable career. Song Zhiqing’s life was no longer bleak; on the contrary, she had successfully lit up everything, including Ye Yuhuan.

In Ye Yuhuan’s previous imagination, love was a friction full of sparks. They would both have to grind away their overly sharp edges for each other; otherwise, it would be difficult to embrace, and they would get hurt.

But people aren’t metal. The human body is soft, warm, and malleable. And love makes people even softer. So there was no pain, only a comfortable sigh after an embrace. If one had to speak of pain, it could only be a regret for her previous indecision.

How wonderful Song Zhiqing is. I released the monsters in my heart bit by bit, but she stitched them up and bandaged them bit by bit, then told me they were only injured.

Now, my heart is actually full of little rabbits. Cute, pink little rabbits that like to run on the prairie, little rabbits with strong desires.

So, this world is now at peace, Ye Yuhuan thought. This must be the “and the princess and the princess lived happily ever after” from the stories.

Then, as the rescued villainess and the girl who rescued the villainess, in this atmosphere of universal celebration, perhaps they could become even closer.

Late at night, after a satisfying session, Song Zhiqing was lying on top of Ye Yuhuan. Her beautiful eyes and brows were beaded with sweat. Under the warm yellow light, she looked like a Rococo-style sculpture. She lowered her head and bit Ye Yuhuan’s collarbone, humming softly, “I told you to stop.”

Ye Yuhuan blinked innocently. “But the last time I listened to you and stopped, you ignored me for three days.”

“Today is different!” Song Zhiqing argued defensively.

After saying that, she bit her again.

Ye Yuhuan hissed lightly and raised a hand to pinch Song Zhiqing’s cheek. “Actually, you just want to bite me, don’t you.”

Song Zhiqing chuckled, turned her head, and bit Ye Yuhuan’s finger. She licked it lightly with the tip of her tongue, the lingering flush at the corner of her eye searingly hot.

“You found me out.”

Ye Yuhuan sucked in a sharp breath, flipped over, and pinned the troublemaker down. “Don’t mess around.”

Song Zhiqing didn’t speak, just licked again.

“Then be good.”

Ye Yuhuan pulled her hand out and moved it to another, equally damp place.

Considering the other’s concert the day after tomorrow, she didn’t dare make any big moves, but she still teased her to the point where she almost kicked out.

The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. Ye Yuhuan carried Song Zhiqing to the bath. In the bathtub, their bodies were pressed together without a single gap. The warm water soothed their tired muscles, bringing a sense of intimacy like milk blending with water.

At a time like this, it seemed best not to talk about anything, just to hold each other. After all, their bodies and their warmth were already whispering sweet nothings for them.

But Ye Yuhuan felt there was one thing that needed to be said with a real voice.

“Say, should we get married?”

Song Zhiqing, who had been resting with her eyes closed, suddenly snapped them wide open. She immediately spun around to face Ye Yuhuan, instantly splashing a large amount of water.

With no collar to grab, Song Zhiqing symbolically gripped Ye Yuhuan’s shoulders. “Are you proposing?”

“No, I don’t even have a ring.”

“Then why are you asking if I want to get married!”

“Because I want to marry you.”

Song Zhiqing’s fists clenched. “Isn’t that a proposal!”

Seeing Ye Yuhuan’s mouth move, Song Zhiqing immediately sneered, “Don’t you dare repeat that line about it not being a proposal without a ring.”

Ye Yuhuan’s mouth immediately snapped shut.

Then she muttered under her breath, “But a proposal only counts as a proposal if there’s a ring.”

Song Zhiqing couldn’t stand her. This person had become less and less coherent after studying psychology. Truly worthy of someone in a theoretical field.

She directly scooped up a handful of water and sprinkled it on Ye Yuhuan’s hand. “There, now you have a ring.”

There are so many water molecules, some of them must have formed a circle, right?—Okay, Song Zhiqing admitted she had been more or less infected by Ye Yuhuan.

“Eh?” Ye Yuhuan was dumbfounded.

She had always thought that with their long—and stable and sweet—relationship, marriage could be discussed calmly. Why was Song Zhiqing a little agitated? Wasn’t it a matter of course for them to get married?

Now it was just a matter of setting a date for the marriage certificate.

Obviously, Ye Yuhuan, who could never beat Song Zhiqing when it came to a sense of ceremony, had lost soundly this time as well.

The kind of sound defeat where the winner wants to beat up the loser.

However, although Ye Yuhuan had low EQ, she wasn’t completely without it. At this point, if she continued to be dense, she would be beaten permanently stupid.

So she stepped out of the bathtub, casually threw on a bathrobe, and walked out. Her steps were swift, causing the bathrobe to billow and reveal a long leg that glowed like jade.

At this moment, Song Zhiqing, left behind in the tub, was in no mood to admire the beautiful sight. She only had ten thousand question marks swirling above her head.

Who the hell is proposing to whom!

Two minutes later, on the verge of Song Zhiqing’s eruption, Ye Yuhuan returned.

She was holding a ring box.

“Let’s get married.”

She knelt on one knee.

Song Zhiqing shot her a glare, but immediately held out her hand.

Yes, she held out her hand.

But why was it getting farther and farther away from her?

No, it wasn’t just her hand. The entire world was receding, as if the world itself had become an expanding balloon. Ye Yuhuan was still kneeling on one knee, while the person she was proposing to expanded along with the world.

And me? She looked down and discovered that in this infinitely expanding world, only she was a solid and stable form.

It was as if she had been excluded from the definition of “the world.”

What’s happening?

Ye Yuhuan woke up.

An excited female voice sounded in her ear: “Wonderful! Miss Song has finally woken up!”

Miss Song?

Are they calling me?

But I’m clearly… I am… Song Zhiqing.

I am Song Zhiqing.

The absurdity of her identity made her faint immediately. Amidst the clamor of nurses and doctors, Ye Yuhuan’s—oh no, it should be Song Zhiqing’s now—last thought was, I could have accepted you no matter how absurdly you were fabricated, but why did you have to shatter?

How cruel.

Both of these worlds are.