Chapter 31
“Qin Ai, good evening. I haven’t called you before because I thought you might be busy. Are you free now?”
Even though she couldn’t see Zuo Bian’s face, Qin Ai’s mood brightened just hearing her voice.
“I’m free now, I was just about to rest.”
“Oh, are you going to sleep? Did I disturb you?” Zuo Bian’s voice carried a hint of guilt.
Qin Ai chuckled softly. “No, I was going to, but I haven’t gone to bed yet.”
“It is quite late, I’m sleepy too. I was going to sleep, but I wanted to hear your voice before I did, so I stayed up.”
“Why didn’t you call earlier? That way you could have gone to bed earlier.” Qin Ai heard Zuo Bian yawn through the phone.
“Because I was afraid you were still working. What if I disturbed you? So I thought I’d call you later.”
Qin Ai closed the piano lid with one hand and stood up. “You can call me anytime you want.”
“That’s not a good idea. What if you’re in an important meeting? Maybe I should just send you messages. You check your phone often, right?”
“Mm, I do. It’s getting late; you should go to sleep.”
Zuo Bian couldn’t help but yawn again. She was used to going to bed early and waking up early. Her body had its own biological clock, and she felt sleepy when it was time.
“Then I’ll go to sleep. You should rest too, Qin Ai. See you tomorrow.”
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
After hanging up the phone, Zuo Bian happily jumped onto the bed, pulling 555, who was inhabiting the small doll, into a hug.
555 was playing with Little Frog, completely engrossed, when it was suddenly “choked” by Zuo Bian. It struggled to break free from her embrace, but Zuo Bian’s grip was too strong. It could only resign itself to being hugged.
“I’m going shopping with Qin Ai tomorrow, what should I wear?” Zuo Bian said as she hugged 555 tighter.
555 struggled to speak. “I think you should loosen your grip before you consider that. I can’t breathe.”
Zuo Bian looked down at 555, confused. “But you’re just a doll. You don’t have lungs or a trachea, you don’t even have nostrils. How can you suffocate?”
555 was stunned for a moment, realizing that Zuo Bian had a point. “Eh? I guess I’m fine. It just feels a bit stuffy.”
Zuo Bian loosened her grip and placed Little Frog on the bedside table, patting its head. “You two be good, it’s time for bed. Good children should go to bed on time.”
“I’m super good, ribbit!” Little Frog straightened its nonexistent back and said energetically.
555 knew that Little Frog was very obedient to Zuo Bian and wouldn’t play with it, so it said obediently, “I understand, I’m going to sleep now.”
555’s plush body instantly went limp as its consciousness returned to Zuo Bian’s mind.
Zuo Bian held a plush doll in one hand and a soft white dumpling in the other, quickly falling into a deep sleep.
A new day began with the rising and setting of the sun. Little Frog, a more effective alarm clock than any actual alarm clock, began its countdown on time.
“1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7… 97, 98, 99, 1, 2, 3…”
When Little Frog reached the third round of counting, Zuo Bian opened her eyes in her soft, pink bed.
Du Yundong had decorated this room for Zuo Bian. It was full of soft pinks and pure whites, with delicate lace bed curtains, a soft white carpet, a beautiful warm white vanity mirror, and colorful wind chimes hanging by the window.
Du Yundong had given Zuo Bian everything she considered beautiful, hoping that she would live a happy life.
【Good morning, time to get up and get ready.】
“Good morning, ribbit!”
Zuo Bian slipped her jade-like feet into soft slippers, took a carton of Wangzai milk from the drawer, inserted a straw, and brought it to Little Frog’s mouth.
Little Frog opened its cat-like mouth, took the straw, and started drinking the milk.
555, envious and jealous, said sourly, 【Hmph, brown-noser.】
Little Frog finished the carton of Wangzai milk with a satisfied sigh. “You can only watch me drink, ribbit, since you don’t have a mouth.”
【You’re making me angry! You bad frog!】
“555, Little Frog is right, you don’t have a mouth.”
【Wuwuwu, I don’t want to hear it, I don’t want to hear it!】
Zuo Bian comforted 555 while washing up. She chose a smoky pink knee-length dress and stuffed her bag with various drinks before leaving.
While in the car, Zuo Bian sent Qin Ai a message, asking where they should meet.
Instead of receiving a reply, Zuo Bian got a call from Qin Ai.
“Hello, Qin Ai, I’ve just left the house.”
“I’m on my way too. Let’s meet at the entrance of Luoxia Street.”
Zuo Bian nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell the driver.” She held the phone away from her ear and said to the driver, “Driver, please take me to Luoxia Street.”
“Did you run into anyone yesterday?” Qin Ai didn’t monitor Zuo Bian’s life, but she had heard that Lin Qingqing went home crying yesterday, saying that Zuo Bian had played her.
Zuo Bian recalled what had happened yesterday and said, “I met Lin Qingqing. She’s a bit strange.”
“How is she strange?” A smile unconsciously appeared on Qin Ai’s lips, her eyes filled with amusement.
Zuo Bian said, “She invited me to a milk tea shop, but she ordered coffee.”
Qin Ai chuckled. “Did anything else happen? I heard Lin Qingqing cried.”
“Cried?” Zuo Bian wasn’t sure if she had heard correctly.
Hearing that Lin Qingqing cried, 555 immediately started cursing. 【How dare that Lin Qingqing cry? As expected of a threat level 61, she must have gone crying to Qin Ai and badmouthed you. Host, you can’t lose! Who can beat you at playing the Green Tea?】
“Mm, she cried.”
Zuo Bian quickly recalled the content of the Green Tea Handbook. “Actually, actually, I was also very sad yesterday. She told me a lot about you, things I didn’t know. I felt a little lost. I also want to understand you like she does.” Zuo Bian’s first few words sounded rehearsed, but the last sentence, “I also want to understand you like she does,” sounded genuine.
Qin Ai suddenly chuckled softly. “Just come to me directly, I’ll definitely let you understand me deeply.”
The innocent Zuo Bian couldn’t possibly understand the hidden meaning in Qin Ai’s words. She said happily, “That’s great! Then I want to ask you, what kind of person do you like?”
【!!!! Host, you’re being too direct!】
“What kind of person do I like? That’s a good question. I might not be able to answer clearly over the phone. I’ll tell you the answer when we meet.”
“Okay, then tell me when we meet later.” Zuo Bian was still smiling when she hung up the phone.
【Host, you’re moving so fast! It’s only chapter 31 in the Jinjiang(jjwxc) version, and you’re already about to confess!】
‘Confess? Aren’t Qin Ai and I already together?’
【Huh? When did that happen? Why don’t I know anything about it?】
Zuo Bian smiled. ‘Qin Ai and I have been friends for a while now, and we recently became sworn sisters.’
【True, sworn sisters. Wait, that’s not what I meant! Forget it, let’s just wait for Qin Ai to confess. A Green Tea can never confess first.】
Zuo Bian nodded and checked her reflection in the car window, making sure there was nothing stuck in her teeth.
Soon, Zuo Bian’s car arrived at the entrance of Luoxia Street. Her bodyguard, Shi Miaozhu, opened the car door for her.
As soon as Zuo Bian got out of the car, she started looking around, trying to find Qin Ai in the crowd.
Although the drama she was filming hadn’t aired yet, her outstanding beauty was enough to attract attention.
While waiting for Qin Ai, several people tried to hit on her, but Zuo Bian easily brushed them off.
For example:
Passerby A: “Excuse me, beautiful, can I add you on WeChat?”
Zuo Bian: “Thank you, but no.”
Passerby B: “Miss, are you waiting for someone? Don’t wait anymore if you’ve been stood up. I’ll take you out to have fun, my treat. I guarantee you’ll have a good time.”
Zuo Bian: “You look like a bad guy. Bodyguard Sister, Bodyguard Brother.”
Immediately, two tall and muscular bodyguards in black suits, a man and a woman, stood on either side of Zuo Bian, scaring off the would-be suitor.
After the bodyguards retreated, blending into the crowd at a safe distance, another person approached Zuo Bian.
Passerby C: “Little Sister, can we get to know each other?”
Zuo Bian: “You look much older than me, why are you calling me Little Sister? Is this what they call pretending to be young? Uncle, you don’t look like a good person.”
Passerby C defeated.
Zuo Bian wasn’t being sarcastic when she said those things, she genuinely thought that way. The way the last two men looked at her was strange and made her uncomfortable.
Zuo Bian didn’t encounter a fourth suitor. She saw Qin Ai herself.
Qin Ai’s expression was impatient as she got out of the car. Zuo Bian then saw her answer a phone call.
Whoever was on the other end of the line, Qin Ai’s expression wasn’t pleasant.
“Don’t bother me with such trivial matters. Just throw them out.” After saying that, Qin Ai hung up the phone and looked up, her eyes meeting Zuo Bian’s across the crowd.
Zuo Bian instinctively smiled at Qin Ai, who returned the smile and strode towards her.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, something came up.”
A few hooligan relatives were causing a scene in front of the Qin Group building. It wasn’t a big deal, but it was annoying.
Zuo Bian asked, “Is it taken care of now? If you’re still busy, we can go shopping another time.”
Qin Ai put her phone in her pocket and smiled. “It’s nothing important, I’ve left it to my subordinates. Let’s go shopping.”
Only then did Zuo Bian notice that Qin Ai wasn’t wearing her usual white outfit today. Instead, she was wearing a dusty pink suit. Her lower body was clad in high-waisted trousers, and her upper body was adorned with a lighter, almost smoky pink, collarless silk shirt.
Walking side by side, they looked very much like a couple.
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