Can We Get Married First?  65

Chapter 65

“Why did you send me those two lines of poetry?” Chi Lin asked.

“Eat the ice cream, and I’ll tell you.”

Chi Lin glanced at the small cone and ate it in one bite. “Now you can tell me.”

“My, Xiao Chi Lin, so fierce. There’s no romance at all,” Tan Luo complained. Even though Chi Lin had complied, she still avoided answering the question.

“I never agreed to a date with you in the first place.”

Tan Luo waved her phone. “Really? I even bought movie tickets. Are you sure you don’t want to go? Maybe I’ll tell you after the movie.”

Chi Lin knew Tan Luo wouldn’t reveal anything easily, and saw no point in arguing. Watching a movie was no different from watching TV at home. If Tan Luo confessed afterwards, great. If not, Chi Lin had her own ways of making her talk.

Chi Lin tentatively agreed.

Tan Luo hummed cheerfully as she walked towards the cinema, Chi Lin trailing slowly behind.

“They’re really going to the cinema?” Wei Zhuoning was incredulous. “Why?!”

Lin Xiaozhi: “I don’t think Chi Lin is very willing. If it were a real date, they wouldn’t be walking separately. Come on, let’s keep following.”

Tan Luo bought a mountain of popcorn and drinks, struggling to carry it all, and asked Chi Lin for help.

Hands in her pockets, Chi Lin showed no inclination to assist.

“As cold as ever,” Tan Luo muttered, carrying everything herself.

Lin Xiaozhi bought two hats for disguise and tickets for the next three movies, ensuring they could follow them inside.

At the ticket counter, Tan Luo called out to Chi Lin and went in.

Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning, heads down, followed closely behind.

The movie was a cheesy romance. The cinema was mostly empty, allowing Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning to sit diagonally behind Tan Luo.

Chi Lin entered at the last minute and sat in the front row. Tan Luo, laden with popcorn and drinks, joined her.

As the lights dimmed, Lin Xiaozhi and Wei Zhuoning could only see their heads. Tan Luo’s head was particularly restless, constantly leaning towards Chi Lin.

Wei Zhuoning: “I should have brought a gun!”

Lin Xiaozhi patted her leg. “Calm down. Chi Lin didn’t sit with her, which proves my point. Tan Luo is cunning, she must have tricked Chi Lin somehow.”

Wei Zhuoning swore, “If Tan Luo lays a finger on Chi Lin, I’ll…”

Chi Lin stared blankly at the screen. Seeing her coldness, Tan Luo, finding no amusement in it, focused on her popcorn.

“Those two lines of poetry… they’re from my favorite poem,” Tan Luo’s voice, barely audible over the movie dialogue, forced Chi Lin to strain to hear. “‘My head rests on the mountain, my silken quilt is cold, I awake to the fading night.’ Is that why you agreed to see me?”

Chi Lin didn’t reply, but her silence was an answer.

“Gold sparrow hairpin, face powdered red, a brief encounter amidst the flowers. You know my heart, you sense my longing, this love we must ask heaven about. Incense forms tassels, wax forms tears, reflecting the hearts of two. My head rests on the mountain, my silken quilt is cold, I awake to the fading night.”

Her Majesty had sent Chi Lin this poem during her first expedition, a poem of longing delivered across miles. Upon receiving the handwritten poem, Chi Lin had been battling a severe cold, but the war allowed no respite. After two sleepless nights, the poem, every word infused with Her Majesty’s yearning, transported Chi Lin back to the capital, to the gardens they frequented. It was as if she could see her lonely Majesty before her.

Whenever she thought of this poem, Chi Lin felt a pang in her heart. It held immense significance for both of them.

Tan Luo using the last line as her friend request message might seem like childish chuunibyou to others. But for Chi Lin, it was a critical hit.

Why would Tan Luo send her this poem? There was no way Tan Luo could know the secret shared between her and Her Majesty. Could there be such a coincidence?

Chi Lin was determined to uncover the truth, but her instinctive dislike for Tan Luo kept her distant.

“If you feel this connection with me, why are you so distant?” Tan Luo leaned closer. “Are you shy, Xiao Chi Lin?”

Wei Zhuoning: “What the—?!”

Chi Lin shifted her head away from Tan Luo.

Unfazed, Tan Luo changed the subject. “If you don’t want cola, how about trying my special tea?” She pulled out a thermos from her bag, opened it, and offered it to Chi Lin. “Smell it. It’s a familiar scent.”

Chi Lin smelled Fu Xuan Zi.

“Ugh, what is that smell? It’s awful,” Wei Zhuoning, several rows back, pinched her nose.

Chi Lin looked at Tan Luo, her expression complex. “This is…?”

“After trying the tea you made at the library, I couldn’t forget it. I wanted to ask for the recipe, but you ignored me, so I had to experiment myself.”

“How did you make it?”

“You know better than I do. Why ask me? Isn’t Fu Xuan Zi the key ingredient?” Tan Luo said. “It was so hard to find! I practically went to every herbal shop, my nose almost giving out before I found it. Luckily, it has a distinct smell, hard to forget. Just like you, Xiao Chi Lin.”

Chi Lin: “?”

“It took a lot of effort, but I got it in the end, didn’t I?”

Chi Lin’s skin crawled. It was definitely the same creepy Tan Luo. But her dedication to finding Fu Xuan Zi was unexpected. Chi Lin had sensed a similarity between Tan Luo’s frivolousness and Her Majesty’s, but she hated associating Her Majesty with Tan Luo.

Tan Luo: “Try it. See how my tea compares to yours.”

Chi Lin: “No, thank you. I’m not thirsty.” She, like most people, couldn’t stand the smell of Fu Xuan Zi.

“Then I’ll enjoy it myself.”

“Please do.”

Chi Lin noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that Tan Luo actually drank it all, even licking her lips afterwards.

…

Chi Lin had no idea what the movie was about. Afterwards, Tan Luo chattered about the beauty and figure of the female lead.

Chi Lin couldn’t muster any enthusiasm. Logically, she should have bombarded Tan Luo with questions. After all, Tan Luo had just presented a crucial clue, the “connection” Chi Lin had been searching for. It was the most direct evidence she’d found since arriving in this era.

She believed in coincidences, but when faced with one this significant, suspicion was her first reaction. Perhaps it was simply her dislike for Tan Luo. If Lou Mi had recited that poem, she might have already bowed down and called her “Your Majesty.” The thought made Chi Lin chuckle softly.

Seeing her smile, Tan Luo mistook it for interest and pressed her advantage. “We must have been a couple in a past life.”

Chi Lin looked at her warily. “What nonsense…”

“Why else would it be so coincidental? You’re Chi, I’m Tan. Aren’t we a match made in heaven?”

Chi Lin: “…” Is it too late to change my surname?

Tan Luo suggested dinner, but Chi Lin claimed she had already eaten and wasn’t hungry.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going.”

Tan Luo didn’t press the issue. “Oh, okay. I’ll walk you back.”

“No need, I drove here.”

“Then give me a ride?”

Chi Lin: “It’s not convenient.”

Tan Luo stroked her chin, studying Chi Lin. “So you only came because of that poem, and you still hate me. Let me guess, what’s so special about that poem?”

Chi Lin: “Don’t overthink it. I just wanted to understand something.”

Tan Luo reached out to pat her shoulder, a comforting gesture.

But the moment her hand moved, Chi Lin grabbed her wrist.

Tan Luo winced in pain, surprised. She tried to pull her arm back, but couldn’t. She was no match for Chi Lin’s strength, but she wasn’t weak either. The sudden struggle pulled her collar askew.

“Oops.” Looking down, Tan Luo saw two buttons had popped open, revealing her right breast.

Just as Chi Lin was about to avert her gaze, she noticed a birthmark on Tan Luo’s right chest.

Unfazed by her exposed skin, Tan Luo maintained her signature smile. “Xiao Chi Lin, you’re quite forward, ripping my clothes off like this.”

Chi Lin hadn’t realized her grip was tightening. Tan Luo’s smile faltered. “Xiao Chi Lin… you’re really strong. If you break my hand, there won’t be any happiness for us in the future.”

Chi Lin could guess how grim her expression must be. “Why… do you have a birthmark there?”

Tan Luo glanced down. “Ask my mother, not me.”

“Have you always had it?”

“…If I got it two days ago, it wouldn’t be a birthmark, it would be a tattoo.” Tan Luo adjusted her clothes, pleading, “My hand is about to break. Have mercy!”

Seeing Tan Luo pleading reminded Chi Lin of Her Majesty begging for forgiveness. As if pricked by a needle, Chi Lin instantly released her grip.

Tan Luo rubbed her aching wrist, taking a step back. “I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you, I just wanted to comfort you. So much for good intentions. I almost lost a hand.”

Seeing glimpses of Her Majesty in Tan Luo’s mannerisms, Chi Lin turned and walked away without another word.

“Hey, Xiao Chi Lin!” Tan Luo called after her, but Chi Lin didn’t stop.

“Let’s do this again sometime,” Tan Luo added cheerfully, flexing her wrist.

…

Wei Zhuoning sat on a bench in the mall, legs outstretched, her gaze vacant. “Do you think Lou Jiejie knows about this?”

Lin Xiaozhi, leaning against her shoulder, sipped her drink. “I’m not a psychic, I don’t know what’s going on in Lou Jiejie’s head.”

Wei Zhuoning was deeply affected, struggling to process Chi Lin’s meeting with Tan Luo. Ignoring Lin Xiaozhi’s attempts to comfort her, she continued to mutter, “Even though we couldn’t hear them, it was obvious Chi Lin didn’t want to be there. How did Tan Luo coerce her?”

Lin Xiaozhi: “I told you, Tan Luo is a scumbag through and through. Nothing she does would surprise me.”

Checking her phone, Wei Zhuoning’s worry deepened. “The Winter World Cup is just around the corner. Nine Heavens’ first match is in three days. I hope Lou Jiejie doesn’t find out about this. It could affect her performance.”

…

Getting into her car and setting the navigation for “home,” Chi Lin noticed her voice was still shaky. As the car ascended from the parking garage, the sunlight warmed her chilled body, her blood slowly regaining its normal flow.

The evidence she’d been desperately searching for on Lou Mi, the proof she’d meticulously sought to confirm, was nowhere to be found, yet it had appeared on someone completely unexpected.

Her Majesty’s birthmark was on her left chest, Tan Luo’s on the right. The location wasn’t the same. Tan Luo’s was also light gray, not the pink of Her Majesty’s. But the shape was very similar. Just like her own birthmark differed from the original Chi Lin’s.

Chi Lin stared at her pale reflection in the car window.

Lou Mi had been her primary focus. Even without definitive proof, she had almost started treating Lou Mi as Her Majesty. It was like sailing on the open sea, finally finding a direction, sailing towards salvation, seeing land, feeling rescue was imminent, only to be told: You’ve been going the wrong way. That’s not your destination.

Chi Lin had made many important decisions in her life. Now, she stood at another crossroads.

She lowered the car’s temperature. Warmth and comfort weren’t conducive to thinking. Besides, she was never bothered by the cold.

…

Finding herself restless at home, Lou Mi went to the ENIAC club.

With the Winter World Cup imminent, Zhuo Jinglan had wanted Lou Mi to rest, but Lou Mi couldn’t sit still.

Besides boredom, she was also slightly worried about their newly recruited trainee, Slay, last year’s Rookie of the Year.

Despite his aggressive gaming ID and fierce playstyle, Slay was quite timid in person, slightly chubby, wearing glasses, and blushing furiously during matches.

He excelled in 1v1, but his style wasn’t initially a good fit for Nine Heavens. Lou Mi and the team had been working on integrating him into their strategy, and he was gradually adapting, his teamwork improving.

Arriving at the club, Lou Mi saw Slay emerging from the shower, wearing baggy shorts, his wet hair sticking up. Surprised to see her, and embarrassed by his casual attire, he stammered a greeting. “M-Mi-jie! What are you doing here?”

Lou Mi discreetly averted her gaze. “Didn’t you go home?”

“Uh, I slept late last night, so I just stayed here.”

Just then, Hu Hu emerged from the lounge, yawning loudly, equally surprised to see Lou Mi. “Huh? Mi-jie’s here?” Xie Buyu and Fu Tu came downstairs, looking like they hadn’t slept at all.

“What are you doing here?” Xie Buyu asked. “Shouldn’t you be resting at home?”

Lou Mi: “I see. I’m the only one who’s supposed to rest, while you guys are all training overtime?”

Fu Tu: “We’re young, we have plenty of energy. A few all-nighters won’t hurt us. You’re not like us, old lady. You need more rest.”

Lou Mi grabbed her neck, making her squeal and reach out to Xie Buyu for help. “Aren’t you going to save me?!”

Lou Mi: “Why would she save you?”

Xie Buyu actually intervened. “Mi-jie, be the bigger person. Don’t bother with this idiot.”

Fu Tu: “You’re the idiot.”

Her retort lacked force, sounding more like a coquettish complaint.

Lou Mi: “…Wait a minute. How long has it been since I last saw you two? What’s with the public display of affection?”

Taking advantage of her distraction, Fu Tu slipped from her grasp and hid behind Xie Buyu.

Xie Buyu explained, “Mi-jie, what are you thinking? Don’t project your own romantic fantasies onto us.”

Lou Mi: “???” Who’s having romantic fantasies? I’m here because I’m lonely and miserable!

And you two are practically glued together, and you blame me for overthinking?

Hu Hu was texting his girlfriend, Slay video-chatting with his. Lou Mi looked around, realizing she was likely to retain her title as ENIAC’s reigning single for the foreseeable future.

Since she was there, she reviewed opponent footage and ran simulations late into the night, only leaving when Zhuo Jinglan shooed them out.

Exhausted, Lou Mi returned home. Lou Lixing and Peng Ziyuan were watching TV in the living room. Chi Lin was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Chi Lin?” she asked Peng Ziyuan.

“Xiao Lin is already asleep,” Peng Ziyuan replied. “She seemed tired today. She went to bed after dinner.”

“Oh…” Lou Mi mumbled listlessly, took a shower, and went to bed early.

For the next few days, Lou Mi was consumed with preparations for their first match, practically living at the club. She messaged Chi Lin, and Chi Lin replied, their conversations limited to mundane greetings and inquiries about meals and sleep.

Lou Mi had never been in a relationship, but she wasn’t completely clueless. Ever since Chi Lin’s abrupt departure that day, the budding warmth between them had frozen.

Zhuo Jinglan, always attuned to her team’s moods, was particularly sensitive to Lou Mi’s state. During a lunch break, when they were alone, she asked, “Lou Mi, are you okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem off. You even made mistakes in the practice match this morning.”

“Those weren’t mistakes. I deliberately let some monsters through so Fu Tu could get a multi-kill with her ultimate. Efficiency.”

“Don’t give me that. I can’t argue with your logic, I admit it. But the first match is tomorrow. The whole world is watching us, watching you. I’m not trying to pressure you, but… I wanted you to retire before. Why are you putting yourself through this? Isn’t it for the Winter World Cup points, for your last season next year? If we lose the first match and get eliminated, all your effort will be wasted. Competitive sports are brutal, it’s either win or lose. You should understand this better than anyone.”

Lou Mi nodded. “I understand.”

Seeing her reluctance to elaborate, Zhuo Jinglan dropped the subject, letting Lou Mi sort out her emotions.

Lou Mi’s performance improved in the afternoon, easing Zhuo Jinglan’s worries.

The next morning, everyone at the club gathered for breakfast. To lighten the mood, they told jokes.

Lou Mi’s phone buzzed constantly with messages from family and friends. On Weibo, her most recent post was still the photo with Chi Lin, flooded with encouraging comments from fans.

“Lou Jiejie! You got this!”

“Nine Heavens all the way!”

“Lou Jiejie, don’t feel pressured, just play your best!”

“Don’t let anything else distract you, focus on the game!”

“Hey, upstairs, don’t talk about unnecessary things, okay?”

Lou Mi, initially scrolling quickly through the comments, stopped and scrolled back.

Anything else? What things?

Clicking on the profile of the commenter who’d mentioned distractions, she found a wall of hateful comments directed at Chi Lin.

“Xue Cai CP is over. I’m so full of anger, I could burst.”

“Lou Mi has always been amazing to her. When she was bullied at school, Lou Mi stood up for her, even posting about it on Weibo. How many fans’ hearts did she break? How many followers did she lose? How much hate did she get? I cried my eyes out. But if that’s what Lou Mi wanted, we supported her. As long as Chi Lin treated Lou Mi well, we were fine with it. But what did Chi Lin do? She’s a total ingrate! Going on dates with someone else while Lou Mi is preparing for the World Cup? I have one question: does Chi Lin even have a conscience?”

Lou Mi knew “CL” referred to Chi Lin, but…

Chi Lin on dates with someone else?

Scrolling further, past dozens of hateful comments, she saw a retweet.

A marketing account had posted four photos. The person in the photos was indeed Chi Lin.

Chi Lin sat on a park bench with a woman, the woman’s arm casually draped across the back of the bench, as if she was embracing Chi Lin. There were other photos of them at the mall and an amusement park. The implication was clear: Chi Lin had been spending time with this woman.

“Mi-jie?” Hu Hu called her repeatedly, but she didn’t respond.

“Mi-jie?!” Xie Buyu raised her voice. Lou Mi looked up.

“Let’s go,” Xie Buyu said, already in her team uniform, ready to head to the live stream studio.

Everyone had finished breakfast and left, leaving Lou Mi sitting alone.

“Yeah, you guys go ahead. I’ll get changed.” Lou Mi put her phone in her pocket and went to the locker room.