After a Contractual Romance with the Scumbag Movie Queen - Chapter 58

Qi Puzhi found her sudden speculation rather amusing.

She was truly being presumptuous.

They had only met briefly five years ago, how could she possibly be related to Jiang Tian running away from home?

Casually smoothing Jiang Tian’s long hair, she said indifferently, “Go take a shower first. After you’re done, I’ll apply some medicine to your face.”

The beautiful face was covered in bruises, looking rather shocking.

Jiang Tian obediently agreed and took the clothes she had prepared.

Noticing Jiang Tian’s gaze lingering on the clothes, Qi Puzhi said somewhat awkwardly, “I’ve worn this T-shirt twice, but it’s been washed clean…”

Jiang Tian, seemingly unaware of the embarrassment implied in her explanation, naturally sniffed it lightly and replied from an angle Qi Puzhi hadn’t expected: “The laundry detergent you use smells really nice too.”

There wasn’t a trace of the arrogance of someone raised in privilege about her. Instead, she seemed curious about everything here and didn’t hesitate to express her fondness for it.

This made Qi Puzhi feel much more at ease.

While Jiang Tian was showering, Qi Puzhi was rummaging through a drawer for anti-inflammatory medicine when she suddenly received a phone call.

She had just started a new job as an extra two days ago, and now the supervisor was vaguely telling her she didn’t need to come in tomorrow.

At the end of the call, as if out of pity, the supervisor added, “Have you offended someone?”

Staring blankly at the ended call screen, Qi Puzhi tightened her grip on her phone and remained crouched in place, silent and unmoving for a long while.

“Sis?”

The freshly showered girl was wearing an oversized T-shirt, revealing two straight, slender legs. The ends of her dark hair clung damply to her fair neck, and she carried the familiar scent of the laundry detergent.

Snapping out of her daze, Qi Puzhi instantly concealed the gloom in her eyes.

She forced a smile. “Finished showering?”

Holding the medicine, she stood up and pointed to the bed. “Sit down. I’ll apply the medicine for you.”

Jiang Tian took in every change in her expression.

Without asking further, she sat on the edge of the bed and allowed the woman’s soft, medicine-coated fingertips to gently dab at her bruised skin.

“Does it hurt?”

Qi Puzhi was very close to her. As she spoke, her rosy lips parted, and her warm breath brushed against Jiang Tian’s skin.

Jiang Tian silently lowered her gaze, avoiding looking at her, and whispered, “It doesn’t hurt.”

After applying the medicine, Qi Puzhi inadvertently noticed the girl’s fair earlobes turning red.

Assuming it was just the lingering warmth from her shower, she didn’t think much of it and went to take her own bath.

By the time everything was done, it was already late at night.

Jiang Tian had already lain down on the bed on her own, so Qi Puzhi casually turned off the light.

The bed wasn’t very big, so it should have been a bit cramped for two people. Yet, Qi Puzhi could hardly feel Jiang Tian’s presence at all.

She spoke up, “Move a bit closer. Don’t fall off the edge.”

Jiang Tian slowly inched toward her barely noticeable.

Thinking she might be uncomfortable with physical contact, Qi Puzhi said, “There’s still space. You can move a bit more.”

Jiang Tian replied softly, “It’s fine.”

She refused to come any closer.

Preoccupied with worries about not being able to make ends meet the next day, Qi Puzhi didn’t press the issue further.

Lost in her heavy thoughts, she heard Jiang Tian cautiously ask, “Sis, do you want to be an actress?”

Qi Puzhi was a bit surprised.

If she had ever had any exposure, it was only when her company officially announced her on Weibo after she signed the contract.

And later, when they released a set of promotional photos.

At first, because of her striking looks, a small number of people might have taken notice of her because of those photos.

However, with no subsequent exposure or works, and the company’s ambiguous attitude of sidelining her, she remained virtually unknown online.

Yet Jiang Tian actually knew about her.

Qi Puzhi laughed self-deprecatingly, “What actor? I’m just scraping by doing odd jobs everywhere.”

Jiang Tian was silent for a moment before softly saying, “I think you’ll become a dazzling star in the future.”

Qi Puzhi assumed she was just saying something nice to comfort her and casually replied, “Is that so?”

Jiang Tian earnestly hummed in agreement, “Because even though you’re at a low point now, you naturally have a kind of magnetism that makes it hard to look away. People can’t help but watch you.”

Even without a makeup team to meticulously style her appearance, even though her clothes were cheap and plain due to financial hardship.

This kind of magnetism was rare even among the hottest stars in the entertainment industry.

She spoke with such sincerity and earnestness that Qi Puzhi couldn’t bring herself to respond with a teasing remark.

So, in the quiet of the night, she listened as the girl lavished her with extravagant praise.

It made her feel a bit embarrassed, as if she really were that remarkable.

Belatedly, Qi Puzhi chuckled and said, “What’s this? After I took you in, have you become an instant fan to repay me?”

“Not as repayment,” Jiang Tian muttered. “I was already your first fan.”

She said “first” with inexplicable confidence.

Qi Puzhi raised an eyebrow slightly, neither confirming nor denying whether she believed it.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

She suddenly remembered to ask this rather important question.

“Jiang Tian. Tian as in serene.”

The name suited her, giving off a gentle and quiet vibe. Qi Puzhi silently repeated it twice in her mind.

Her heart, which had been weighed down by the loss of her job, seemed to gradually relax in their casual, whimsical conversation.

It had been a long time since Qi Puzhi had talked like this. Prolonged solitude had made her somewhat withdrawn.

But now, she inexplicably felt the urge to express herself.

And because a sixteen-year-old girl should be pure-hearted, not as complex and sensitive as those in the outside world, she didn’t bother weighing her words, speaking whatever came to mind.

About dreams, about interesting news she’d heard recently, about the puppy she’d rescued the day before.

And Jiang Tian seemed genuinely interested in everything she said.

As drowsiness set in and she drifted off to sleep, Qi Puzhi faintly heard a clear, gentle voice whisper:

“So you’ve rescued another puppy.”

The murmur almost sounded tinged with jealousy.

She thought it must have been part of a dream.

After all, she had only rescued one puppy the day before, where did “another” come from?

Besides, who would want to be Qi Puzhi’s puppy? The one from the day before had been baring its teeth at her all the way to the hospital.

She hadn’t even had the heart to share that awkward detail with Jiang Tian.

Lost in these thoughts, she sank deeply into sleep.

Qi Puzhi always liked to sleep with one pillow under her head and another to hold.

They say this is a sign of insecurity.

This time, the other pillow had been given to Jiang Tian, leaving her with nothing to hold.

In the middle of the night, feeling an emptiness in her arms, she subconsciously turned over in her drowsiness and pulled a warm, soft bundle into her embrace, even wrapping her legs around it.

It was even more comfortable to hold than a pillow… Qi Puzhi unconsciously nuzzled against it.

She had no idea how much trouble this action was causing Jiang Tian.

The girl faced the person hidden in her heart like moonlight, preferring to sleep so close to the edge of the bed that she could easily fall off rather than take the chance to have physical contact with her.

Afraid that her hidden feelings might taint the other unknowingly.

Yet the woman wore cotton pajamas, buttoned up to her collarbone, her full curves unrestrained by a bra, pressing freely against the girl’s arm.

Jiang Tian almost forgot how to breathe, her heart racing wildly, her skin burning, her mind blank.

Struggling to regain her composure, she tried to move her arm, to escape from Qi Puzhi’s embrace.

As soon as she shifted, Qi Puzhi let out a dissatisfied hum and tightened her grip on the unruly “pillow.”

“…” Jiang Tian felt suffocated by the war raging in her mind.

She finally resolved that even if it meant briefly waking Qi Puzhi, she had to break free.

After some effort, she managed to stuff a pillow into Qi Puzhi’s arms and free herself.

Sitting up halfway, Jiang Tian tried to calm her rapid breathing and glanced sideways at the person beside her.

The culprit, eyes tightly shut, face serene and ethereal, was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of Jiang Tian’s inner turmoil.

The sensation on her arm lingered. Jiang Tian lay back down, forcing her mind to clear and urging herself to fall asleep quickly.

The next day, Qi Puzhi was woken by the alarm and found Jiang Tian pitifully lying at the edge of the bed, without even a pillow, her head resting directly on the sheet.

She glanced at the pillow in her arms, thinking she must have snatched it in her sleep, and felt a pang of guilt.

Jiang Tian, a light sleeper, woke as soon as the alarm sounded.

“Sorry,” Qi Puzhi said, noticing Jiang Tian’s first reaction was to rub her neck, making her feel even worse. “I might have a habit of grabbing the pillow in my sleep.”

Jiang Tian immediately recalled something, hesitated to speak, and her ears quietly turned red.

She shook her head lightly, indicating it was fine.

“Do you want to sleep a bit longer?” Qi Puzhi wasn’t sure whether to return the pillow she had held close all night, feeling it was a bit awkward.

Jiang Tian blinked softly. “If you’re going to the hospital to see the puppy, could I come along?”

Qi Puzhi had mentioned the plan casually before bed the previous night.

It wasn’t really convenient. If the puppy bared its teeth at her in front of Jiang Tian, Qi Puzhi would feel a bit embarrassed.

But meeting the girl’s bright, earnest gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

In the end, she agreed, gambling that the puppy wouldn’t bite the hand that fed it.

“Then hurry and change in the bathroom.”

Qi Puzhi checked the time; if they were any later, they’d miss the next bus, which only came every half hour.

While Jiang Tian was in the bathroom getting ready, Qi Puzhi quickly tidied the bed.

Holding her own clothes, she glanced at the bathroom door, thinking Jiang Tian would still be a few minutes.

To save time, she decided to change right there on the bed.

But the girl, spurred by her “hurry,” moved with lightning speed and suddenly pushed the bathroom door open.

Jiang Tian’s eyes fell on the woman’s graceful figure on the bed.

Qi Puzhi sat with her back turned, her upper body bare, her flawless, delicate back glowing like warm jade in the sunlight.

Her long, dark curls cascaded over her shoulders, making her fair skin even more striking.

The sound of the bathroom door opening stunned both Jiang Tian and Qi Puzhi.

Qi Puzhi’s hands trembled slightly, her lips parted, unsure of what to say.

She heard the disordered footsteps behind her, then the bathroom door closed again, this time with a bit more force.

Jiang Tian leaned against the door, her eyes slightly reddened at the corners, breathing heavily.

The scene from moments earlier lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.

Having sailed smoothly through life until the age of sixteen, the successive shocks of last night and this moment made Jiang Tian realize for the first time,

Life is not easy.