After a Contractual Romance with the Scumbag Movie Queen - Chapter 64

When Qi Puzhi stepped out of the hotel, her gaze immediately fell on the roadside.

Her footsteps paused.

There stood a heavy-duty motorcycle.

Its sleek and fluid lines were painted in a base of understated yet luxurious gray-black, but the colors were splashed with bold, untamed flair.

A young woman with a graceful figure lounged lazily atop the bike. One foot rested casually against the body of the motorcycle, while the other long leg stretched easily to the ground.

Her delicate, picturesque profile was haloed by the bright sunlight, breathtakingly beautiful and ethereal.

Jiang Tian seemed to sense her presence and turned to look. Before she could adjust her expression, her face carried a hint of cool detachment, perfectly complementing the motorcycle’s edgy vibe, creating an air of distance.

Yet, in the next second, the corners of her lips curled up, her dimples deepening into an intoxicating smile.

She dismounted the bike, holding a helmet, and walked over to Qi Puzhi in a few strides.

“Jiejie.”

In the gentle breeze, Jiang Tian’s long, dark curls swayed behind her. To match the motorcycle, she had dressed especially sharp and effortlessly cool today.

Her eyes lingered on Qi Puzhi, unable to look away. “Jiejie is so beautiful.”

Qi Puzhi met her gaze, seemingly lost in thought for a moment.

The two had been busy with work and hadn’t seen each other for days. Jiang Tian had been watching her intently while patiently waiting.

But then, unexpectedly, Qi Puzhi’s rosy lips parted slightly as she whispered, “Do you want to kiss me?”

“Hmm?” The question caught Jiang Tian off guard, and for once, she was momentarily stunned.

Two seconds later, she snapped out of it.

Her brow arched slightly, about to respond, when a soft palm covered her mouth.

Qi Puzhi bit her lip, shifting her gaze away awkwardly, and murmured, “I didn’t say anything.”

But Jiang Tian wasn’t about to let her off so easily. Amusement danced in her eyes, brimming to the point of spilling over.

“Jiejie seems really taken with my style today.”

She gently pulled Qi Puzhi’s hand away, holding it in her own. Then, lowering her head slightly, she pressed a light kiss to the woman’s lips, right there on the street, uncaring of their surroundings.

“Happy now?” she asked considerately, though she didn’t bother hiding the teasing lilt in her voice.

Qi Puzhi had initially felt embarrassed, but seeing Jiang Tian’s playful taunt, she rose to the challenge instead.

With a low, alluring hum, she replied, “Not bad. Keep it up.”

Jiang Tian chuckled, playing along perfectly.

“Let’s get your helmet on first.”

She helped Qi Puzhi put on the helmet and adjusted her hair.

Then, she led her onto the motorcycle.

It was Qi Puzhi’s first time riding one, and she felt a thrill of novelty. Instinctively, her hands settled on Jiang Tian’s waist as she asked, “How fast are you going to ride later?”

Jiang Tian grasped her hands and pulled them forward, wrapping them tightly around herself.

The young woman’s clear, smooth voice reached Qi Puzhi’s ears, slightly muffled by the helmet, making it feel almost surreal.

She said, “This fast.”

The next second, the engine roared to life like a beast unleashed, and the motorcycle surged through the streets with wild abandon.

The wind whipped around them fiercely, yet it couldn’t dampen the exhilaration.

Qi Puzhi clung tightly to Jiang Tian, resting her head against her back as the American cityscape blurred past them.

Jiang Tian had grown up and studied here, perhaps the graffiti on a random street corner or the rings of a tree held fragments of her youth and growth.

This way, Qi Puzhi felt as though she was sharing in Jiang Tian’s past, her youthful freedom.

The motorcycle came to a stop near a massive cylindrical building.

Earlier, Jiang Tian had been vague and mysterious about their “escape” for the day, so Qi Puzhi had no idea what she had planned.

Traveling was probably just about eating and exploring, after all.

However, when she was led to the entrance of the building and saw the English words on the sign, her heart trembled slightly.

Memories of childhood racing magazines by her bedside and the ruler her grandmother wielded upon discovering her unconventional hobby flashed through her mind.

In her youth, Qi Puzhi had once thought racing was incredibly cool, yearning for its passion and excitement.

But before this interest could be even slightly indulged, it was ruthlessly crushed.

Later, after moving out of the Qi family, she happened upon a documentary about racing at a street stall and bought it, placing it on the shelf in her small apartment.

At the time, Jiang Tian had stayed over and curiously asked about it, prompting Qi Puzhi to casually mention a few things.

Over the years, she had buried herself in work, biding her time for revenge, and hobbies had become a luxury, gradually forgotten in the distant past.

She never expected Jiang Tian to have remembered her youthful passion so vividly, bringing her to this famous racetrack in America six years later.

When Qi Puzhi turned her head, her eyes slightly red, Jiang Tian didn’t seize the moment to claim credit.

Instead, her gaze softened as she soothingly stroked the woman’s long hair and smiled. “Sister, want to make a bet with me later?”

Qi Puzhi remembered she had recently decided to quit gambling.

But she blinked and quickly replied, “What’s the bet?”

“If the car I pick wins,” Jiang Tian’s eyes drifted to Qi Puzhi’s neck, “you have to wear what I give you today.”

Qi Puzhi glanced down at the sapphire necklace she was wearing a previous gift from Jiang Tian.

The terms of the bet were a little ambiguous.

If it was a gift from Jiang Tian, why wouldn’t she wear it? The emphasis on “wearing” it almost made it seem like.

But Jiang Tian had been looking at her neck, not her fingers, so it probably didn’t mean that.

After a moment’s thought, Qi Puzhi nodded. “Fine. And if the car I pick wins?”

Jiang Tian chuckled lightly. “What then? I might feel like being a little shameless.”

The implication was clear no matter what, she wanted Qi Puzhi to wear that thing.

Qi Puzhi mulled it over internally, but outwardly, she pinched Jiang Tian’s ear. “No cheating. If I win, I call the shots today.”

She was testing the waters, but Jiang Tian agreed far too readily, making it seem like there was no ulterior motive after all.

Many renowned racers were competing that day, and the stands were nearly packed.

Amid the roaring engines and the crowd’s fervent cheers, Qi Puzhi watched the cars speeding across the track, feeling as though the regrets of her childhood were slowly being reclaimed and mended.

Perhaps due to the law of equivalent exchange, she lost the bet.

Jiang Tian’s chosen car took first place.

The moment the results were final, Jiang Tian immediately turned to Qi Puzhi, her eyes bright with triumph. “Sister, you have to honor the bet.”

Qi Puzhi met her gaze.

Amid the bustling crowd, Jiang Tian’s lips curled into a carefree smile, radiant as midsummer.

Youthful, vibrant, and brimming with unrestrained joy.

As if winning this bet meant everything to her.

Qi Puzhi found herself swept up in her emotions, feeling for the first time that losing could be so exhilarating.

She couldn’t help but smile back. “Alright.”

For Qi Puzhi, this day truly was a liberating escape.

Pain and resentment were left behind, leaving only the gentle breeze of May and the tender curve of a young woman’s eyes when she looked at her.

Jiang Tian took her on motorcycle rides to the racetrack to watch races, to live performances by an American singer who frequently appeared on her playlist at twenty-two, and to feed the cats and dogs at a shelter that Jiang Tian had once rescued.

She said, “I used to think that every time I saved one of ‘them,’ perhaps I was saving its next life.”

Qi Puzhi knew that “them” referred to the little dog that had once accompanied her and then left her.

So it wasn’t just her who still remembered it.

Qi Puzhi stroked the belly of a dog rolling playfully at her feet, imagining how Jiang Tian must have rescued it when it was injured.

The girl must have been both gentle and brave.

She quietly lowered her gaze, pressing her lips together to hide the moisture in her eyes.

Every step they took that day was about mending the regrets of Qi Puzhi’s past.

It was as if the forgotten, rusted, and decaying fragments of her history things no one seemed to care about, were being cradled carefully in someone’s hands, tenderly brushed clean.

So meticulous, so tender, that Qi Puzhi felt as if she were dreaming.

It was the kind of fierce, unwavering love she wouldn’t have dared to imagine, even as she stood in the midst of it.

Before her mother left, she had said to her in despair, “Love is a lie. Don’t expect anyone to love you.”

Back then, Qi Puzhi had looked into her mother’s eyes and couldn’t have agreed more. Because even her mother didn’t truly love her.

But now, at this moment, she wanted to tell her mother.

Perhaps not.

Jiang Tian also took her to see the sights she had once visited alone, longing all the while to share them with her.

The sky was painted with the pink hues of sunset vibrant, dreamlike, like something out of a comic.

When Jiang Tian pressed her against the back of a certain sculpture, Qi Puzhi didn’t yet realize what was happening.

Until the distant, resonant tolling of a bell reached her ears.

Qi Puzhi seemed to sense something and instinctively asked, “What’s that?”

Jiang Tian gazed at her and said, “Right now, there are probably hundreds of people gathered in front of this sculpture, praying to it.”

Qi Puzhi blinked slowly, her lips parting slightly.

“This sculpture is considered a symbol of love by the locals. At the end of every month, if the day is clear, they gather under the sunset to pray devoutly, hoping to find their true love.”

Jiang Tian brushed her lips lightly against Qi Puzhi’s, her voice soft and intimate. “I came here once before. The sunset that day was just as beautiful, the same pink as today. My friends said that when you pray, you should imagine the features of the person you’ll meet in the future. So I pictured her eyes, her nose, her lips, her figure.”

“And then I realized, every single part was Qi Puzhi.” The young woman’s laughter was light and mesmerizing. “That’s when I knew I liked you.”

Back then, she had already admired someone, but she hadn’t realized it was the stirrings of love. In the lingering echoes of the bell, her heart had awakened.

Many years later, she had that very person in her arms, her own love story fulfilled. And now, she had brought her back here.

No need for prayers anymore. Behind the sculpture, she kissed Qi Puzhi fervently.

Secretly, intimately, while a hundred people prayed for their own love ahead.

A fulfillment of a wish, and a blessing anew.

Qi Puzhi’s eyes grew misty from the kiss. Between breaths, she saw the young woman’s lashes tremble as she kissed her with closed eyes, devout as a worshiper. Behind them stretched the vast lake, bathed in endless pink light.

She asked, “The year you realized you liked me, when was it?”

Jiang Tian’s kisses grew increasingly fervent, causing Qi Puzhi to lose herself in the moment, forgetting whether she had even responded.

Later, the kisses trailed to her ear, then down to her neck.

Qi Puzhi struggled to suppress her voice. Though it was just kissing, doing this in broad daylight still felt a bit too bold.

But she didn’t ask her to stop.

Tilting her head slightly, she offered herself where Jiang Tian had once longed for her with devotion.

Nearly lost in the sensation.

And then.

Jiang Tian took her to a grassy spot by the lake.

Someone was playing music there, with quite a few people gathered around listening.

The breeze from the lake at night was exceptionally refreshing. The lighting was dim, but the faint obscurity seemed just right. Paired with the music, it was relaxing and free.

Jiang Tian pulled Qi Puzhi to sit in an empty spot right in front of the performer.

Leaning close to Qi Puzhi’s ear, she whispered, “Sister, you know For You was written for you, right?”

It was the first complete song she had ever composed. Back during the initial evaluation stage of Starlight Journey, she had performed it too.

Qi Puzhi nodded. She had secretly added it to her playlist and listened to it countless times.

She thought Jiang Tian had more to say, but during the performer’s break between songs, Jiang Tian suddenly stood up and borrowed the guitar from them.

Sitting cross-legged in the spot where the performer had been, she strummed the guitar once to test the sound, then lifted her gaze to stare straight at Qi Puzhi.

Meeting her eyes, Qi Puzhi’s heart skipped a beat.

The next second, Jiang Tian leaned toward the microphone and softly sang, “Feel it in my bones.”

The young woman’s voice, under the night breeze, was clear and tender, brimming with affection.

Singing to the woman she loved, every word, every note born from her.

Qi Puzhi watched Jiang Tian, her hair occasionally swaying in the wind, her slender fingers gliding over the strings, the effortless freedom that seemed to float around her as she immersed herself in the music, and the way her eyes held Qi Puzhi’s gaze.

In the night, under the flickering lights. A moment that would forever be etched into Qi Puzhi’s soul.

She silently sang along in her heart… waiting for Jiang Tian to reach the last line.

But Jiang Tian abruptly stopped.

Not only was Qi Puzhi momentarily stunned, but the listeners around them also exchanged puzzled glances.

Jiang Tian returned the guitar to the original performer, then stood and walked step by step toward Qi Puzhi.

The young woman was tall and graceful, her posture straight. In just a few strides, she drew closer and closer.

Qi Puzhi looked up at her, unconsciously holding her breath, a certain anticipation ringing in her chest, her heartbeat nearly erratic.

Jiang Tian knelt on one knee before her, bracing a hand on the grass beside Qi Puzhi, leaning in close to her ear.

In a voice only she could hear, Jiang Tian altered the lyrics to the melody and devoutly sang the final line,

“Will you marry me?”

Warm breath brushed against her ear, slightly scorching.

So scorching that Qi Puzhi’s mind went blank.

Her heart pounded violently, her ears ringing from the rush of blood surging wildly through her veins. The hand she had pressed into the grass clenched tighter and tighter, snapping a few unfortunate blades in the process.

After singing, Jiang Tian pulled back slightly, watching her intently.

Her lips pressed together, none of her usual composure in sight, carefully studying the expression on Qi Puzhi’s face.

But her heart was too anxious. Amidst the turbulent waves of emotion that refused to calm, she lost her usual ability to understand Qi Puzhi at a glance.

The woman’s eyes reddened, moisture suddenly welling up and spilling from the corners. She lightly bit her lower lip, her gaze deep yet tinged with something akin to pity.

Jiang Tian couldn’t decipher it at all. She felt as frustrated as a once-celebrated prodigy suddenly confronted with an incomprehensible riddle, a devastating blow in her life.

Perhaps it hadn’t been that long, but to Jiang Tian, the wait in this moment felt longer than all those years she had spent gazing at Qi Puzhi from afar.

So long that she could barely endure it, her back breaking out in a cold sweat.

Because of something, she had been certain this proposal would succeed, but now she began to worry she had misunderstood.

Her breath hitched. Just as she was about to say something to salvage the situation, she saw Qi Puzhi’s lips part slightly, as if about to speak.

The woman’s tear-dampened lashes fluttered as she reached out gently, her fingers trailing from Jiang Tian’s crown to her ear.

Jiang Tian’s chaotic, restless emotions were soothed effortlessly by that touch.

Years ago, her feelings had already been irrevocably governed by this woman.

When Qi Puzhi spoke, her voice was slightly hoarse, carrying a faint, indulgent yet helpless amusement. “Did you forget something?”

The first time Jiang Tian mentioned “putting it on” today, Qi Puzhi had already begun to suspect.

So throughout the day, the two of them had engaged in a subtle, veiled back-and-forth, testing the waters.

Though Jiang Tian had given no further hints after that one remark, Qi Puzhi had always had a premonition.

When they kissed behind the sculpture, she thought it would happen there, but nothing came of it.

Secretly, she had been disappointed, thinking she had guessed wrong.

Yet the words she had waited all day for were hidden in the last line of this song.

Of course. She should have known. Those words naturally belonged in the music Jiang Tian loved.

Seeing Jiang Tian propose now but failing to produce the item to be “put on,” Qi Puzhi assumed she had overlooked it in her nervousness.

She continued, “I said I’d honor my bet, so if you hand it to me, I’ll wear it. But not just because I lost”

Then Jiang Tian said, “The promise from your bet was already fulfilled.”

Qi Puzhi froze.

Meeting Jiang Tian’s gaze, she recalled how Jiang Tian had looked at her neck during their wager.

Her heart seemed to skip another beat.

A realization dawned, yet it was almost too unbelievable.

Her breath grew heavy as she lowered her eyes to the necklace around her neck,

No longer the sapphire.

It was an exquisite ring. Behind the sculpture, when Jiang Tian had kissed her neck, it had quietly settled against her collarbone.

Then it had stayed with her as she watched the sunset, felt the wind rush past on the motorcycle, and arrived at the grassy field to listen to Jiang Tian’s song.

By now, it had already absorbed her warmth.

This day was Qi Puzhi’s alone Jiang Tian’s romance.