After a Contractual Romance with the Scumbag Movie Queen - Chapter 48

The transition from winter to spring always brought a slight chill to the nights.

Qi Puzhi looked at the young woman before her and suddenly remembered events from many years ago.

Her mother had hanged herself in the grand hall of the Qi family villa. After the funeral, as a sign of mourning, the household only permitted black clothing and white scarves.

The villa was also adorned in black and white everywhere.

Seven days later, she was finally allowed to return to school from home.

On the way, she passed the very same corner she now stood before.

That was the first time she had ever seen Jiang Tian in her memory.

The little girl was strikingly beautiful, her skin as fair as snow. Her features, not yet fully matured, carried a hint of baby fat, softening her otherwise slightly cool demeanor and making her appear tender and adorable.

She stopped Qi Puzhi on the road.

“Sister.” At the time, little Jiang Tian only reached up to her chest, looking up at her with an endearing, obedient gaze.

Facing a stranger, she showed no trace of timidity, smiling openly with crescent-moon eyes. “Our practical class theme is flower wrapping, giving the beauty of fresh flowers to others.”

“You look a little sad, sister. Can I give you my flower?”

It was a meticulously wrapped fresh bloom.

A soft yellow, its petals swaying gently in the breeze.

Amidst the sea of black and white that had filled Qi Puzhi’s vision in recent days, this was the first splash of color she had seen.

She took it, lowering her gaze to stare blankly at the flower.

By the time she snapped out of her daze, the little girl was already gone, as if she had truly only been there to complete her practical class assignment.

Qi Puzhi carefully nurtured the flower on her dormitory desk.

Her roommate, unaware she had returned, walked in mid-conversation: “I heard her mom committed suicide, rich families really are a mess.” before locking eyes with her.

In the awkward silence that followed, Qi Puzhi said nothing, shifting her gaze back to the flower.

No matter how diligently she cared for it, fresh flowers inevitably wither.

Qi Puzhi, who hadn’t shed a single tear after her mother’s death, suddenly found herself weeping uncontrollably that day as she touched the withered petals.

By the end, she didn’t even know what exactly she was grieving for.

Seeing the woman lost in thought, standing motionless for a long while, Jiang Tian walked closer and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Qi Puzhi blinked lightly, as if snapping back to reality.

Her lips parted slightly before she spoke. “Jiang Tian, that flower you gave me that day. was it really for a practical class?”

Jiang Tian seemed to immediately recall which day she was referring to.

She answered swiftly, “Sister, I went to school abroad as a child. Why would I leave a practical class assignment unfinished until returning home for vacation?”

When Qi Puzhi remained silent, staring at her, Jiang Tian reached out, touched her hand, and held it.

“Lying isn’t good, I know. But back then, I prepared a flower every day and waited here for you. It wasn’t until the third day that I finally saw you, I was afraid you wouldn’t accept it.”

Qi Puzhi’s breath hitched slightly. After a pause, she asked, “How old were you back then? To already?”

“I don’t know if it counted as liking you at the time, I was only in middle school, after all.” Jiang Tian gently led her in another direction, her voice soft. “It was probably just. a pure desire to see you happy because I knew you were sad.”

Back then, nearly everyone living in this villa district knew something had happened in the Qi family.

Qi Puzhi pressed her lips together, not delving deeper into how Jiang Tian had noticed her before that day.

From her perspective, her story with Jiang Tian had begun many years later. Only now did she realize that Jiang Tian had been waiting for her far longer than she had ever imagined.

Seeing the woman remain silent, Jiang Tian stopped walking. Taking advantage of the dim streetlight, she leaned in to kiss the corner of her lips and teased, “What’s wrong? Touched? Sister, I don’t want a love that’s only about gratitude.”

Qi Puzhi’s lashes fluttered slightly as she tilted her head during the peck.

Letting the kiss meant for the corner of her lips land squarely on them instead.

Using action to tell her that this love was far from just about gratitude.

Softness met softness, and in such an intimate entanglement, it was all about the other facets of love. about longing, about heartbeats.

Late at night, the villa district, already sparsely populated, was utterly deserted.

But kissing here was still too bold. Especially for someone who had been a celebrity for years, restraint in public was practically ingrained in her bones.

After their lips parted, Qi Puzhi gasped for breath, belatedly realizing how irrational she had just been.

Calming herself, she asked, “Where are you taking me?”

Though Jiang Tian had said she would take her home, she wasn’t leading her out but deeper into the villa district.

Instead of answering directly, Jiang Tian asked, “What do you most want to do right now, sister?”

Qi Puzhi thought for a moment and whispered, “I’m hungry.”

Under Jiang Tian’s gaze, which seemed capable of fulfilling any wish, she paused before adding pitifully, “And thirsty.”

She hadn’t eaten a single thing at the banquet earlier, avoiding anything that could be consumed.

Jiang Tian’s eyes curved, her dimples clearly visible. Her gaze held a rare youthful pride as she said, “What a coincidence, I guessed as much.”

It was the first time Qi Puzhi learned that such a place existed in the villa district.

After what felt like a series of twists and turns, they suddenly came upon a 24-hour hot food stall, like emerging from darkness into light.

Jiang Tian didn’t mention that nearly every child in the villa district knew about it after all, even someone like her, who only visited for a few days each year, was aware.

She led Qi Puzhi inside, seated her, and recommended some dishes based on her preferences.

Later, Qi Puzhi couldn’t recall whether the food was good or not. She only remembered the warm yellow lighting, the cozy wooden tables and chairs, and the young woman across from her, whose features were as delicate as a painting, softly asking if the meal suited her taste.

In those moments, Qi Puzhi even forgot all the unpleasantness of the evening, the faces of Qi Ke and the relatives, the hidden ugliness beneath the grand banquet’s revelry.

Only the comforting warmth of the fresh soup reached deep into her heart.

Thinking of Driver Jiang, still waiting miserably in the car, Qi Puzhi packed some food to bring to her.

But then Jiang Tian said, “Sister, after we give these to Driver Jiang, can we not leave?”

Qi Puzhi instinctively asked, “Then where would we go?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she understood Jiang Tian’s meaning.

Sure enough, Jiang Tian chuckled softly and said, “I sincerely invite you to grace my room tonight.”

Her words carried a hint of ambiguity, but Qi Puzhi knew Jiang Tian simply didn’t want her to exert herself further, opting for an early rest nearby.

Thinking of the Jiang family villa right across from the Qi residence, she felt an inexplicable emotion.

Since childhood, her father had told her that the Jiang and Qi families had ancestral enmity, and that a proper Qi family member must stay far away from the Jiangs.

Back then, Qi Puzhi had been so obedient that she never even glanced toward the Jiang side.

Later, as she matured, she scoffed at the ancient grudges. After venturing into the entertainment industry alone and establishing her own path, she had collaborated with the Jiang family on numerous occasions.

Now, being led by Jiang Tian into the Jiang family’s courtyard, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of wistfulness.

“Are you sure your parents aren’t home recently?”

Before stepping inside, Qi Puzhi asked again with some unease.

Ever since that awkward encounter at the dinner table when Jiang’s parents had behaved strangely toward her, Qi Puzhi had realized Jiang Tian must have already told them something.

“They’re not home,” Jiang Tian replied, finding her nervousness about meeting the parents both amusing and endearing.

Though the square footage was roughly the same, the interior design of the Jiang residence felt much cozier than the Qi family home.

The house was indeed empty. Jiang Tian led her straight to the third-floor bedroom.

The moment Qi Puzhi stepped inside, she found herself staring at her own reflection.

It was a massive poster. What made her freeze wasn’t the bashfulness or delight of seeing her own image in her lover’s bedroom.

She recognized it as the first photoshoot she had done after her debut.

At 22, Qi Puzhi had been like a bird freshly escaped from its cage.

Reckless and stubborn, charging headfirst into walls without looking back, her youth marked by countless bruises and scrapes.

Back then, she had been unknown, her budding career smothered in scandal before it could even begin to shine.

That set of photos had never been published as an album, let alone printed as posters. They had simply vanished into obscurity.

Noticing her gaze fixed on the poster, Jiang Tian softly explained, “I downloaded the pictures back then and printed this myself.”

She pressed close from behind, arms encircling Qi Puzhi’s waist, breath warm against her ear as she whispered, “I told you I’d be your first fan. I never broke that promise.”

After that, it came as no surprise when Qi Puzhi discovered the neatly arranged collection of her magazines and photo books lining Jiang Tian’s shelves.

With all these guarded fragments of the past laid bare before her, the night should have been filled with tender passion.

Yet when they retired to bed, Jiang Tian remained unusually restrained.

Qi Puzhi waited, but when the younger woman simply held her properly without even a kiss, she couldn’t help feeling puzzled.

In the darkness, she bit her lip, hesitating before subtly teasing her partner with slight movements.

Jiang Tian seemed to stir, her voice drowsy as she asked, “What’s wrong, jiejie?”

“…” Qi Puzhi blinked, staying silent for a few seconds before muttering, “Have you been possessed by Liu Xiahui?”

Jiang Tian froze momentarily before bursting into quiet laughter.

She nipped at Qi Puzhi’s nearby ear. “Jiejie wants something?”

Qi Puzhi’s ears had always been sensitive. The sudden bite made her instinctively shrink back slightly. “Not exactly that,” she murmured. “It’s just that tonight you.”

Before she could finish her awkward thought, Jiang Tian understood.

After a pause, Jiang Tian said, “I revealed too much tonight. I was worried you might think I had ulterior motives, dumping all this on you at once.”

“I never want those years of waiting to pressure you into changing your pace, to open your heart faster out of some sense of obligation or guilt.”

The younger woman’s love burned deep and fierce, yet she wanted Qi Puzhi’s affection to remain pure.

Not accelerated by gratitude, not given as repayment.

Such earnest, almost naive expectations of love.

Qi Puzhi suddenly felt her eyes grow warm.

She smiled, gazing at Jiang Tian through the darkness.

“If I had to pick what fascinated me most about you tonight,” she said, “it would be this moment.”