Chapter 34: Absolutely Not, Absolutely Not – The Torn Skirt
Absolutely not, absolutely not.
Dong Ling really hadn’t intended to cause this misunderstanding, but things had come to this.
Song Mingzhi seemed to sense her gaze, so the moment Song Mingzhi was about to turn her head, Dong Ling quickly lowered her head and pretended to be looking at her phone.
Dong Ling mentally prepared herself to explain the situation to Song Mingzhi and tell her not to misunderstand.
But it felt a bit strange, so after struggling for a while, Dong Ling still didn’t say anything.
She continued scrolling through Weibo, then despaired as she saw the topic trending further and further off track.
Because there seemed to be more and more people shipping them, and with the increasing number of reposts, the number of followers on both Song Mingzhi’s and Canghai Entertainment’s official Weibo accounts were rising. A new CP name, “Song Zhong CP” even appeared. (Zhong as in 送终 – send off to the end/death)
Dong Ling was completely speechless, wasn’t this CP name a bit too ominous?! Absolutely not!
But CP fans had their own interpretation, saying that this CP was sweet enough to send them to their graves, and also, anyone who went against this CP could go bury themselves.
Well-reasoned and convincing.
Moreover, the candid photo taken by the paparazzi became the iconic picture of the CP fandom, and some artists even drew comics and fan art. Dong Ling thought, was it because this was the only picture of her and Song Mingzhi together that they could find?
Anyway, her video response had gone viral, bringing along other trending topics.
Dong Ling had mixed feelings, but this was undoubtedly a good thing. The trending hashtags gained popularity, more people pre-ordered movie tickets, and the previous negative publicity was completely reversed, few people believed those fabricated accusations about Song Mingzhi.
But these netizens were truly strange, imagining her and Song Mingzhi being secretly married, debuting her wife, wasn’t that a bit much?!
Please don’t be so absurd.
But Dong Ling couldn’t clarify it either, public opinion was difficult to control. Sometimes, you knew it would go downhill, so she could only leave it as it was for now.
Looking up from her phone, Dong Ling belatedly realized that the place Song Mingzhi was taking her to was quite far, not within the city center.
They had been driving for almost twenty minutes, and the surrounding lights were becoming dimmer.
In mid-to-late April, insects were already chirping by the roadside, creating a sense of tranquility.
Since the destination was a secret, Dong Ling didn’t ask.
The gentle night breeze blew in from the window, she leaned back in her seat, looking out the window, feeling drowsy and relaxed.
Until a bumpy road jolted her awake.
“This section of the road hasn’t been repaired yet, it might be a bit bumpy, but we’re almost there.”
Song Mingzhi saw that Dong Ling was startled awake and comforted her gently.
Dong Ling became even more curious, and after Song Mingzhi parked the car, she excitedly used her phone’s flashlight to illuminate the surroundings.
“Where is this?”
“A private scenic spot that hasn’t officially opened yet.”
Song Mingzhi also turned on her flashlight, leading Dong Ling forward.
After walking along a winding path, Dong Ling saw a glimmer of water.
There was a lake in front of them, probably artificial, with a bridge over it and lush grass on both sides.
“Be careful.”
Song Mingzhi led the way, illuminating the path for Dong Ling.
After crossing the small bridge, there was a grape trellis on the paved road, with ropes tied to it, a hanging chair suspended from one side, and a swing on the other. The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.
Dong Ling thought, it must be very beautiful during the day, but it was too dark to see anything at night, why did Song Mingzhi bring her here at night?
She soon got her answer.
Because further down the path, a large expanse of lake appeared.
The lake surface was dotted with lights, filled with shimmering fragments of light.
The beauty was breathtaking, like a dream come true, as if the saying “A boatload of dreams weighs down the Milky Way” was literally realized, even though there weren’t that many stars in the sky tonight.
After observing carefully, Dong Ling realized that the lake was actually covered by a giant canopy, but it seemed transparent at night, imperceptible to the touch.
“Want to go up?”
Song Mingzhi pointed to a small boat by the shore, and Dong Ling nodded excitedly.
Dong Ling held Song Mingzhi’s hand, lifted her skirt, and got onto the boat. Sitting there, she scooped up a handful of water with childlike wonder.
Although she only touched water, visually, it was as if she had scooped up a handful of stars.
“Why did you suddenly bring me here?”
Dong Ling played with the water, looked up at Song Mingzhi, curiosity on her face.
“I wanted to cheer you up. I couldn’t think of anything better, but I suddenly remembered a friend mentioning a private scenic spot that’s about to open, not far from Beihai, so I brought you here to take a look.”
Song Mingzhi found herself a little awkward in front of Dong Ling, unable to use any of her negotiation skills, even her usual composure had disappeared.
She was actually very surprised that Dong Ling would speak up for her like that. From a businessman’s perspective, such marketing wasn’t mature or prudent, and even risky. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but when she saw it, she didn’t think about any of that.
All she could think about was how straightforward, adorable, and protective Dong Ling was, and she regretted not taking action first and letting Dong Ling be angered by those people.
So she immediately thought about how to make Dong Ling feel better. She considered those scenic spots within the city, but Dong Ling came from a wealthy family, she had already experienced those things, what would be new? Then Song Mingzhi suddenly thought of this place.
It wasn’t a friend’s place, but a project she had invested in, it hadn’t been opened to the public yet, no one could come in, it was the perfect place. So she had someone turn on the lights in advance, creating the scene Dong Ling saw.
Listening to Song Mingzhi’s long explanation, Dong Ling’s eyes widened.
“Just to cheer me up? I’m not angry anymore.”
Dong Ling said this, but she was secretly delighted.
Song Mingzhi specifically brought her here to coax her because she was worried she would be angry.
Wuwuwu, she was so nice.
Thinking of that incident, Dong Ling frowned again and said: “And I wasn’t angry for myself, they dared to spread such rumors about you, aren’t you angry?”
“Because I know they’re all fake, and I also know you have my back.”
Song Mingzhi rarely got angry, only when her limits were pushed would she show some emotion. Those slanders and rumors were like clowns to her, she could deal with them at any time, it wasn’t worth getting angry over.
Besides, Dong Ling had said she would protect her.
Dong Ling didn’t know if it was because of the environment, but she found Song Mingzhi’s words extremely romantic.
Looking into Song Mingzhi’s eyes, which reflected the starlight on the water, Dong Ling quickly averted her gaze.
She didn’t know why she was avoiding her gaze, feeling an inexplicable panic in her heart.
“Do you think my response was childish? After all, I even cursed at them.”
Dong Ling recalled Song Mingzhi reposting that Weibo post and said somewhat shyly.
Song Mingzhi affirmed: “You cursed them well.”
Seeing Song Mingzhi say this so seriously, Dong Ling chuckled.
A breeze blew in from outside the enclosure. Dong Ling lay comfortably on the boat, feeling extremely relaxed.
The sound of splashing water came from not far away, and Dong Ling quickly pointed her flashlight in that direction.
“Mingzhi, there are fish! So pretty!”
“Shall I row closer for a look?”
“Okay!”
Song Mingzhi quietly watched the girl happily splashing water and playing with the fish, capturing this scene with her phone.
Hearing the shutter sound, Dong Ling turned to look at Song Mingzhi.
Song Mingzhi’s heart skipped a beat under her gaze, she was about to explain when she saw Dong Ling change her posture.
“Are you taking pictures of me? Take a few more, this place is so beautiful, I want to post them!”
She didn’t mind at all, but gave Song Mingzhi an even brighter smile, her charming eyes, in the scene of intertwined water and starlight, even more captivating.
Song Mingzhi kept pressing the shutter button, capturing Dong Ling in various poses, storing them in her phone.
Dong Ling played there for a long time before returning to shore. She had accidentally gotten her skirt wet, and it was now clinging to her calves, uncomfortable against her skin.
“Wait, let me deal with my dress.”
Dong Ling pointed at the hem of her skirt to Song Mingzhi, leaned against the hood of the car, bent down, grabbed the fabric, and pulled hard.
The sound of tearing fabric was particularly loud in the night, Dong Ling was going to tear off the wet part.
As for the price of this dress, she didn’t care at all, unless she really liked it, she never wore a dress twice, so tearing it was fine.
But Dong Ling didn’t have much strength, after tearing most of it, she couldn’t tear any further.
“Mingzhi, help me.”
The hem of this dress had a slit, while the rest of the fabric was whole, Dong Ling had already torn most of it.
She sat on the hood of the car, bent her legs, and held the torn fabric, waving it at Song Mingzhi.
The black of the car made her skin look even fairer.
The moonlight seemed to flow over the texture of her skin, creating a dizzying shimmer.
Her calves dangled in front of the car, the black high heels hooked on her feet complementing the color of the car.
The lines from her ankles upwards were smooth, the wet fabric falling from Dong Ling’s palm, with a tattered beauty.
Song Mingzhi was momentarily lost in thought, then nodded when she met Dong Ling’s gaze.
The waterlogged fabric was heavy, and the fabric itself had a certain elasticity, so to tear it, she had to start above the waterline.
A faint fragrance entered her lungs with each breath, the dampness of the water seemed to be inhaled as well, otherwise, why would Song Mingzhi feel a little breathless?
So she subconsciously increased the force in her hand, the change so quick that even Dong Ling, the person involved, didn’t react.
Dong Ling looked down at the fabric above her knees and fell into contemplation, well, it had suddenly become a mini-skirt.
“I’m sorry, I…”
Song Mingzhi took a deep breath, her expression apologetic.
She hadn’t expected the fabric to be so weak, tearing off such a large piece at once.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s quite cool like this, let’s go.”
Seeing Song Mingzhi’s expression, Dong Ling quickly said, she didn’t need the dress anyway, and although the damage was a bit more extensive than she had imagined, it wasn’t too bad.
Dong Ling stepped onto the ground. The cool spring night breeze blew, making her unconsciously touch her legs.
Song Mingzhi’s gaze subconsciously followed her movement, and hearing Dong Ling’s words, she quickly got into the car.
“Let’s throw it away when we see a trash can later.”
Dong Ling looked at the piece of fabric in Song Mingzhi’s hand and said casually.
Song Mingzhi looked at the piece of fabric, then quickly averted her gaze as if burned, and nodded absentmindedly.
Dong Ling didn’t notice Song Mingzhi’s unusual behavior and happily edited the photos Song Mingzhi had just sent her.
Song Mingzhi’s photography skills were really good, Dong Ling thought, she must take Song Mingzhi with her next time she went out, and make her her photographer!
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