After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 16

Xu Linqiu studied her for a long moment and realized she was being entirely serious; her eyes held a steady, indifferent light. As for the “bottom line” issue, Linqiu prided herself on being easy to get along with, so she doubted they would ever cross it.

Seeing Linqiu’s silence, Yi Chenqing shook out the jacket in her hand. She stepped forward, stood slightly on her tiptoes, and draped the jacket over Linqiu’s shoulders. She then stepped back to her original position and said calmly, “Alright. We can date, but it must be with the goal of marriage.”

Xu Linqiu couldn’t understand why she was so fixated on “taking responsibility.” The heavy jacket only made her feel colder against her wet skin, and she couldn’t help but laugh as she looked at her. “Don’t you think this jacket is a bit useless right now?”

“It can cover you. Your dress is too transparent,” Chenqing replied with utmost gravity. She turned slightly and made a “please” gesture with her hand. “I’ll take you through another path to the small villa to change.”

One must be polite to one’s girlfriend, she thought.

“Mhm.” With a smile and a nod, Linqiu began to walk. Her ankles were slightly flushed, and her white, wet feet stepped lightly across the ground.

“Your shoes.” Yi Chenqing took a few quick steps. Linqiu stopped and watched as Chenqing picked up the high heels that had been nearly forgotten and placed them before her.

“Mhm.” While Linqiu put on her shoes, she saw Chenqing bend down again to pick up her phone.

Linqiu stood up, and Chenqing handed the phone to her. “It’s very close. We don’t have far to walk.”

Her tone was as flat as ever, but Xu Linqiu felt a flicker of warmth in her heart. She took the phone and walked forward with a curve to her lips.

“Let’s go.”

The two of them walked side-by-side. The dim yellow streetlamps felt a bit dilapidated, giving Linqiu a sensation that she had returned to the nights in Country F. Her rental apartment in Country F had been near a night market. Sometimes, when she was hungry at night, she would walk through narrow alleys past old streetlamps to get a bowl of fried rice from a stall.

Except now, the air wasn’t filled with the aroma of snacks, but with the rich fragrance of flowers. And beside her shadow, there was now another upright, steady shadow.

After a few turns, a small Chinese-style villa came into view, nestled in the backyard. Surrounded by overgrown plants and flowers, it carried a slightly eerie atmosphere.

“Sometimes I stay here with Grandpa to do some gardening,” Yi Chenqing explained softly as she pushed open the door and turned on the lights. “The door is never locked because this path only leads to the back garden.”

The interior of the villa was small. Linqiu gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and followed her upstairs.

Neither of them noticed a small, dark figure darting beneath the staircase on the first floor.

Only after the sound of a door closing came from upstairs did a five- or six-year-old girl peek her head out. Her watery eyes were filled with anticipation.

Is Mommy here to see her? She even brought an auntie.

No.

The light in her eyes instantly vanished, and she walked back to her room as quietly as possible. Great-Grandpa had said that the one who wears dresses and comes looking for her is “Mommy.” The one wearing pants is the “sick Mommy” who shouldn’t appear in front of her—otherwise, Mommy might have an episode and bite her.

But that auntie… she looked like her “Mami.”

Yi Hehe ran quickly to the desk against the wall. Standing on her tiptoes, she reached for a photo frame tucked away in the innermost corner. Inside was a class photo; the students were all in blue uniforms with white trim. Two people in the photo were circled in red ink, connected by a red line.

The little girl stared intently at one of the faces and suddenly broke into a sweet smile.

That’s right. It’s Mami.

If Mommy brought Mami here, it meant they were about to make up. Then they could both come and see her…

She hugged the photo frame, overwhelmed with joy.

Yi Chenqing opened the wardrobe only to find several more dresses inside. She threw them into the clothing recycling bin every time, but apparently, the Old Master tirelessly bought new ones to replace them. The old man’s taste was predictably poor, but she certainly couldn’t tell him that.

“Um… can I wear that blue one?”

Xu Linqiu stood behind her, peering over her shoulder at a blue dress in the wardrobe. Yi Chenqing paused, then took out the dress and handed it to her.

The dress was made of cotton and looked somewhat like a sailor suit. Linqiu hadn’t expected Chenqing to own something like this. She took the garment with a smile and added quite frankly, “I’ll also need underwear.”

“I assume that’s okay, Chenqing?” She tilted her head, her eyes crinkling, as if she were simply asking for permission.

Yi Chenqing could feel the back of her ears heating up. She turned away so she wouldn’t have to look at Linqiu, then crouched down to open a lower drawer. “You can call me Chenqing,” she muttered.

When the drawer opened, the first thing that caught her eye was a pair of cotton panties with a strawberry pattern and a matching bra. There were several sets in different colors.

This must have been Mrs. Xu’s doing! Such a girlish heart!

In that moment, Yi Chenqing’s cheeks flushed a rare shade of red.

“I seem to remember that when you were little, you used to call me ‘Sister Lin.’ We didn’t see much of each other as we grew up, so I haven’t heard it in a long time,” Linqiu remarked. “If I call you Chenqing, you should call me ‘Sister Lin’ too.”

Linqiu’s gaze swept over the strawberry underwear, her eyes full of amusement. She then added considerately, “If you mind, I don’t have to wear them.”

Yi Chenqing pressed her lips tight and rummaged through the drawer. She found that beneath the strawberry underwear were tissues with “ghost faces” drawn on them in colored markers. All of her old, plain underwear was gone.

Having no choice, she gritted her teeth, kept her head down, and picked up a set to hold out.

Xu Linqiu took them from her hand, her voice incredibly gentle. “Wait just a moment for me. I’ll be quick.”

“Mhm. The towel…”

“It’s in there.”

“Mhm.” Linqiu nodded with a smile and stepped into the bathroom.

After they took turns washing up and changing, the hot water seemed to calm Chenqing significantly. However, the moment she saw Xu Linqiu sitting primly on the sofa smiling at her, she was reminded that they were wearing the same style of underwear, just in different colors.

The pale blue cotton sailor dress looked different on Xu Linqiu—it was a blend of mature elegance and a touch of innocence.

Chenqing’s entire body went stiff, her wet hair doing its best to hide her crimson ears. “I’ll walk you back to the hall.”

“Alright.” Linqiu stood up and followed her out the door.

As the two of them walked quietly back toward the gravel path, Linqiu suddenly remembered: “If we’re dating, does that mean we should go on a date?”

“I’ll wash these clothes and return them to you then,” Linqiu added.

Yi Chenqing glanced at her, met her smiling eyes, and immediately looked away. “I don’t have any plans the day after tomorrow. I’ll call you then.”

“Okay~”

A cool breeze brushed against their cheeks, lifting their hair and carrying the scent of flowers. The chirping of cicadas in the summer night sounded like a concert in the silent darkness. The two walked slowly, their growing heartbeats warming the atmosphere between them.

Shi Ji walked into the hall in a foul mood, searching for a drink. Suddenly remembering something, she turned around with a touch of impatience to look at Yi Yanbai, who was behind her.

“Is there something you want?”

Yi Yanbai met her fierce, “peach-blossom” eyes. Her heart tightened, but she remained composed. “I’d like to talk to you,” she said steadily. “About what happened that night at Hongxun.”