novelraw Chapter 777: You Win
Chapter 777: You Win
The living room was completely silent.
Qiuqiu sat cross-legged on the soft sofa, holding Su Yu's private phone in her hands, her cheeks flushed with concentration.
She was immersed in a near-dizzying sense of satisfaction.
As a die-hard, hardcore fan, she knew everything about Su Yu.
The directors she had worked with, her genuine close friends in the industry, those who were superficially polite but privately held subtle rivalries...
Therefore, handling these private messages and comments felt almost instinctually proficient to her.
Which seniors required respectful replies, which peers needed only a brief acknowledgment, which fan comments were worth responding to—she had it all clear in her mind.
An idol becomes an idol not only because of the spiritual admiration they inspire, but also because of the illusion onto which one projects one's own desires.
This was exactly how Qiuqiu felt about Su Yu.
Right now, she was experiencing a kind of spiritual "possession."It was as if she had truly, momentarily merged with that radiant goddess, taking her place to receive the world's love and praise, feeling that overwhelming, tsunami-like glory.
This ultimate fan experience made her fingertips feel slightly feverish as they pressed against the screen.
Only after finishing a batch of replies did she realize her mouth was dry.
Putting down the phone, she got up and walked towards the open-plan kitchen.
Water flowed into the glass with a soft, splashing sound.
She turned off the tap and took a sip.
The surroundings returned to silence.
Right at that moment.
An extremely faint, intermittent sound drifted over from the depths of the dark corridor.
This century-old apartment in Paris's 16th Arrondissement, despite renovations and excellent soundproofing, still retained its original architectural structure.
On such a deep, quiet night, certain highly penetrating sounds could still vaguely be heard.
At first, Qiuqiu thought it was her imagination, or the sound of wind against the windows.
She tilted her head to listen.
The sound rose and fell, intermittent, carrying a unique, almost song-like rhythm.
Qiuqiu's eyes lit up slightly.
Was Su Yu singing?
She remembered Su Yu's beautiful, unaccompanied singing after getting drunk last time—it was so moving, the best live performance she had ever heard.
But this time, the vocal tone was even higher-pitched, as if challenging an extreme vocal range.
And Tang Song had once been Su Yu's golden lyricist and composer...
Could he be trying out a new song for her in the room?
Or were they improvising together?
She could hardly resist the temptation of this curiosity.
Putting down the water glass, she walked softly deeper into the corridor.
The closer she got to the master bedroom, the clearer the sound became.
But also... the more off it seemed.
The carved white double doors were tightly shut, a sliver of warm light leaking from beneath them.
Qiuqiu stopped before the door. Reason whispered, urging her to turn and leave.
But that curiosity belonging to a fervent fan, coupled with the long-buried flutter of emotion she felt for Tang Song, were like two invisible hands firmly gripping her ankles.
Holding her breath, she slowly pressed her ear against the door panel.
Su Yu's voice was still as divinely sexy and enchanting as ever, but now it seemed on the verge of losing control.
Like struggling, like succumbing.
The next second.
Qiuqiu's face, usually cool and aloof, became extremely unnatural.
Her whole body froze before the door, motionless.
That was no song.
That was... that was...
Su Yu... how could she... be like that?!
How could she say such things?!
Various chaotic sounds followed one after another.
Among them, Tang Song's voice was mixed in.
It was completely different from the gentle warmth she was familiar with.
That voice was low, hoarse, carrying a terrifying sense of possessiveness.
Guiding, commanding, in...
Cheng Qiuqiu's worldview was being reshaped.
She stood there.
She didn't leave.
Shame made her whole body tremble lightly.
But that obsession, akin to a dependent personality, bred a morbid craving amidst the fear.
After all, inside were Tang Song and Su Yu.
An indescribable thrill, mixed with the forbidden pleasure of glimpsing her idol's most private side, overwhelmed her.
Moreover.
Just moments ago, she had been "playing" Su Yu online.
This intense sense of dislocation and identification gave rise to an absurd illusion:
As if she, too, was participating in some way.
If... I were also inside...
Would I never be left behind by them?
Dark, murky, sticky thoughts, like damp moss, silently crept into her heart.
She slowly crouched down, wrapping her arms around her knees, curling herself into a tiny ball.
But her ear remained tightly pressed against the door.
Above her head, the [Dream Flower Seed] gently swayed, emitting a greenish glow only Tang Song could see.
Qiuqiu's face grew hotter and hotter, even the skin on the side of her neck burning with a faint redness.
The "concert" inside the door was far longer than she had imagined.
She didn't know how much time had passed before Qiuqiu suddenly stood up and returned to her own room.
By the time she came to her senses, she was already sitting alone on the bed in the guest room.
The lights in the room were off, only the motion-activated night light in the corner cast a circle of hazy, warm yellow.
She lifted her head and looked towards the floor-to-ceiling window.
The glass reflected her figure.
It was a cool, delicate face, now tinged with the blush of arousal.
She looked at herself in the reflection.
She bore a fifty percent resemblance to Su Yu.
Although she wasn't as flawless as her idol, lacking that innate superstar aura.
Yet she appeared unprecedentedly vivid, beautiful, and unfamiliar.
Look, look, the reflection in the window seemed to quietly transform.
That face gradually took on Su Yu's charm, her body seemed to materialize into that silver, flowing evening gown.
And behind her, a tall, straight figure slowly appeared—it was Tang Song.
He reached out, encircled her waist, his warm breath spraying against the back of her ear.
"Huff—huff—"
Qiuqiu's breathing instantly became rapid, her chest heaving violently.
She instinctively leaned back, wanting to press closer to the warmth in that phantom embrace.
But she only tumbled into the soft bedding.
She closed her eyes.
In the darkness, the sound of her heartbeat was deafening.
A never-before-felt, heart-clawing craving was awakening from deep within her body, scalding and urgent.
Unconsciously, she licked her dry lips and turned over.
The friction of fabric against bedsheets made a soft, rustling sound, unusually clear in the silent room.
On Su Yu's birthday night.
In this dreamlike Paris apartment.
Cheng Qiuqiu closed her eyes, biting the back of her hand, tears seeping from the corners of her eyes.
Her mind and body seemed to be crossing an invisible shackle, beginning to find complete salvation.
Above her head, the [Dream Flower Seed] began to tremble violently.
A strand of eerie crimson appeared amidst the green light, growing brighter and brighter.
.....
Huaxia, Shenzhen Bay No. 1, Building T5.
6 AM, the sky not yet light.
Inside the master bedroom, Liu Qingning slowly opened her eyes.
She stared blankly at the ceiling for a while, her consciousness like a seashell slowly surfacing after the tide receded, becoming clearer bit by bit.
Sitting up, she lazily rubbed her cute oval face.
"Huff......"
She let out a long exhale and stretched.
This past weekend, she had completely "rotted."
She hadn't left the house, hadn't looked at a single line of code, hadn't replied to a single email, hadn't even worked out.
When hungry, she'd have Auntie Mei make some local snacks. When tired, she'd fall straight asleep. When awake, she'd space out, listen to music, watch movies.
This feeling was truly long overdue.
It made her feel, in a daze, as if she had returned to 2016.
That long summer vacation after the college entrance exams.
She was the county's top science student, having just received her admission letter from Imperial Capital University.
There were no chasing deadlines, no pressure from peer competition, only watermelon, air conditioning, endless TV shows to binge, and that fool who always came to find her on his little electric scooter.
Life back then had no anxiety, only a heart full of dreams and soft, gentle time.
That was the lightest, most carefree period in her memory.
Later, she went to the Imperial Capital and met too many prodigies.
Later still, she started her business, stepping one foot into the brutal racetrack of the adult world.
The pride and insecurity engraved in her bones pushed her to run desperately.
She was eager to prove herself, eager to make perfect preparations for that "future" that might not even come.
So she put on ill-fitting high heels, walked hurriedly, and never dared to stop again.
"So lying flat and slacking off... feels this good."
Liu Qingning murmured softly, unable to help but curve the corners of her mouth.
The smile was slightly stiff from lack of use, but her eyes held a layer of long-absent ease.
She picked up her phone from the bedside table.
Her fingertip slid across the screen, stopping at Su Yu's chat window.
Typing a message, she wrote: "Happy birthday, Su Yu. I'm sorry I didn't prepare a gift for you, and I can't get it to you. When you come to Shen City sometime, I'll treat you to a meal."
She thought for a moment, then added: "I hope you and TA have a great time."
After sending the message.
She tossed the phone aside and fell back into the soft bedding.
Perhaps two days of slacking off had truly made her lazy, as she, for the first time ever, actually wanted to go back to sleep.
But after lying there for a while, her biological clock still urged her to get up.
After all, it was Monday.
Out of habit, she neatly folded the blanket, tied up her ponytail, and did a simple wash-up.
Changing into comfortable sportswear, she walked out of the room.
She jogged slowly on the treadmill in the living room for a short while, only about ten minutes or so.
Then she stopped.
Turned off the machine.
"Huff—huff—"
She sat down on the living room sofa, a bit tired, and picked up a towel to wipe her sweat.
Outside the window, dawn was breaking, a thin mist still lingering over the sea.
"Miss Qingning, finished your workout already?" Auntie Mei came over with warm water, looking somewhat surprised.
Usually, her morning exercise was an unshakeable fifty minutes.
"Mhm, finished." Liu Qingning smiled and took the water cup.
"Why so short today?"
"Don't feel like moving, tired." She blinked, her tone light, "You can also make less food, I'll eat less. From now on... no more morning workouts."
"Ah? Okay..." Auntie Mei was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Then I'll go prepare breakfast."
"Thanks, Auntie Mei."
Watching Auntie Mei walk into the kitchen, Liu Qingning slowly drank her water, leaning back into the sofa.
She used to insist on exercising every day and had to video call Tang Song at a precise time.
Ultimately, it was the unwillingness and possessiveness in her heart driving her.
She wanted to become sexier, more beautiful, wanted to show her best self even in video calls.
She also wanted Tang Song to be forced to "check in" with her every morning, to confirm his care for her.
Wasn't that just a disguised form of monitoring?
But now...
That tense, chasing sense of anxiety had suddenly loosened.
At her core, she was never a diligent person; she was even a bit lazy.
Her health wasn't great since childhood, and she didn't like exercise.
Because she was genuinely smart, she could get high scores without studying too hard.
Since no matter how hard she tried, she could never come close to the level of beauty of someone like Su Yu or Jin Meixiao, then why not... just lie flat.
After all, even if she lost another ten pounds, developed abs, at most her chest would be a bit smaller, her waist a bit thinner, her collarbones more pronounced.
She would still be far, far from their unreasonable, heaven-sent beauty.
That was a genetic gap, not something effort could bridge.
And as for Tang Song...
He also had more than just Wen Ruan as a lover.
No matter how much she forced him, it would only make him feel tired and make herself feel wronged.
Since she couldn't control him, then she wouldn't.
Anyway, he... would never leave her.
Having experienced a severe setback and having personally witnessed Su Yu's broken yet blazing obsession.
Liu Qingning's mindset seemed to have slid from extreme "tension" to the other extreme.
Lazy, casual, even carrying a bit of a "what's done is done" kind of relaxation.
A few strands of morning light drifted in from the window, gently enveloping her.
She turned on her side, for the first time seriously looking at the sunrise outside the window.
The morning light pierced through the sea mist, dyeing the water's surface a gentle orange-pink.
The nearby mangrove forest was lush and green, egrets skimmed low.
Having lived here for so long, she was busy every day looking at reports, writing code, chasing deadlines.
She had never realized that from this angle, Shencheng Bay was actually this beautiful.
Beautiful enough to calm the heart.
Beautiful enough to make one want to just sit here all day, doing nothing.
She stood up and walked slowly along the 270-degree floor-to-ceiling windows to the other side.
"Whoosh—"
She pulled open all the curtains.
The gradually awakening city spread out in the morning light, the glass curtain walls of skyscrapers flowing with golden light.
She looked at all this, her eyes sparkling.
This was almost one of Shen City's most top-tier luxury residences.
For someone used to ordinary rental apartments, every day here should have been a pleasure.
Yet she had managed to live like an ascetic, like a soldier always ready for battle.
"I'm so stupid, really."
Liu Qingning softly scolded herself in the reflection on the glass.
She reached out, her fingertips touching the cool glass.
The girl in the reflection was bare-faced, hair slightly messy.
But because of that completely relaxed demeanor, she exuded an exceptionally vivid cuteness.
She was never that kind of gorgeous and flamboyant beauty, but rather possessed a slightly youthful, lively cuteness.
Like the female classmate everyone wanted to be close to in school, like a green lime with morning dew.
This kind of appearance had been extremely popular on campus.
But as the years passed, with too many burdens on her shoulders and too many strings pulled taut in her heart, that spark had been worn away bit by bit.
Appearance reflects the heart.
When the heart grows heavy, the person naturally loses their luster.
Even her brows and eyes were often unconsciously furrowed, revealing a weariness of someone constantly rushing.
"Fool, you win."
"I'm letting you go."
And letting myself go too.
She finished whispering, then suddenly remembered something, her eyes turning lightly.
A flicker of lively, earthly vitality passed through her pupils.
She turned and strode towards the kitchen.
"Auntie Mei, what are you making?"
"Simmering millet porridge, steaming shrimp dumplings, and that sticky rice chicken you said you wanted to try last time."
"Oh oh, it's fine, you continue. Can I watch and learn? I want to learn how to cook from you."
"Ah? How can that be! The kitchen is greasy and smoky, not good for your skin."
"It's okay, how much harm can it do? I'll just take care of my skin later. I just want to learn a few signature dishes."
"Alright then... I'll do it slowly. You can ask me anytime about anything you want to learn."
"Mhm mhm."
In the morning kitchen, the intermittent sound of their conversation drifted out.
Liu Qingning asked casually, yet seriously.
Auntie Mei answered carefully, a smile in her eyes.
The fragrance of porridge quietly spread from the kitchen, mingling with the morning light, filling the entire house.