After Marrying the Villain with Seven Personalities [Transmigration into a Book]) - Chapter 70

The bright incandescent lights overhead, mixed with the sound of a racing heartbeat, made one’s head spin. With her fingertips touching damp, heated skin, Yi Chenqing slumped exhaustedly against her. Xu Linqiu stroked her back, picked her up, and carried her toward the bathroom.

Clothes were tossed into a basin. Warm water cascaded from above, washing away the stickiness from their bodies.

Xu Linqiu pulled the cork from a red wine bottle. The remaining wine poured out, mixing with the warm water as she rinsed the bottle clean.

“Where is… my gift…?”

Yi Chenqing’s voice trembled slightly. She buried her head in Xu Linqiu’s neck, the comfort of the moment overriding everything else, prompting her to speak softly.

“Don’t rush…” The low, soothing murmur was as gentle as the warm water.

It wasn’t until they were tucked into the soft, cozy covers that Xu Linqiu brought out the gift box.

She pressed her forehead lightly against Chenqing’s as they lay side-by-side on their sides, slowly lifting the lid.

Two diamond rings were nestled on a square cushion. The diamonds were tiny—so small they were almost invisible—but the overall design was striking, making it impossible to look away.

“I suddenly remembered later and went back to have them engrave our names.”

Xu Linqiu smiled, taking one out to show her the letters inside the band.

“You wear mine, and I’ll wear yours.”

Her gentle voice felt like a monologue. Yi Chenqing remained silent, simply staring at her. Her eyes grew hot, and before long, tears began to flow.

She said, “It hurts.”

“Does it? I’m sorry, I might have been too rough just now.” Feeling pained for her, Xu Linqiu quickly circled her waist to check, but Chenqing caught her wrist and buried her face deeper into Linqiu’s neck.

She gave the skin of Linqiu’s neck a light nip, her voice tinged with a hint of playfulness: “What’s the use of just showing them to me? Put it on for me.”

“It won’t hurt once it’s on…”

“Oh~ You’re lying to me.”

“Our Qingqing has even learned how to lie now~” Xu Linqiu laughed. She took Chenqing’s left hand and solemnly slid the diamond ring onto her finger.

The size was perfect. The silver-white ring complemented her cold, pale skin beautifully.

“They say there is a blood vessel in the ring finger that connects directly to the heart, and pure diamonds can connect everything. So, wearing a ring here represents two hearts being linked.” Yi Chenqing looked up and took the other ring from the box. Xu Linqiu held out her hand.

She watched as Chenqing slowly put it on her, a smile in her eyes. “Where did you hear that?”

The ring felt a bit cold when first put on.

Yi Chenqing looked up at her, using her ring finger to lightly hook onto Xu Linqiu’s. “I searched for it. I’ve wanted to buy these for a long time, but I just couldn’t find a pair that felt right.”

“And in the end, I beat you to it~” Xu Linqiu shook their joined hands and teased: “Actually, I think the index finger is more useful, and the middle finger isn’t bad either. Combined with the ring finger… well, I haven’t tried that yet. I wonder if you could handle it…”

“You…” The corners of the woman’s eyes turned red with a trace of seduction. Her ears flushed instantly, yet she actually managed to pinch Linqiu.

Linqiu caught her hand, interlacing their fingers. She leaned down with a smile to kiss her forehead, quickly changing the subject: “Do you like this style?”

“Mm… it’s beautiful. The diamonds look like stars.”

“Pitifully small stars, right?”

Yi Chenqing laughed and buried her face in Linqiu’s neck, rubbing gently. The faint fragrance of the woman surrounded her. As drowsiness gradually took over, she asked softly, “Do you remember what I said on our wedding night?”

“You said you would try your best to cultivate feelings with me and respect me as much as possible.”

“I still remember.” Xu Linqiu smoothed her hair. After a moment, hearing no response, she thought Chenqing had fallen asleep. But the woman suddenly spoke again, voice low: “And now… I love you.”

Her voice was weary yet natural, as if she were simply stating what they would have for breakfast tomorrow.

Xu Linqiu looked down at her half-profile; her face was slightly flushed, her lashes rested quietly against her lower lids, and her breath against Linqiu’s neck was light and shallow.

“Mm, I know. Me too…” she replied softly. She cupped Chenqing’s face, leaned down with focus, and kissed her lips.

Yi Chenqing unconsciously reached up to wrap her arms around Linqiu’s neck, tilting her head to respond. Linqiu sucked slowly, prying open her defenseless teeth to tangle with her tongue.

She was obsessed, beyond saving.

The tiny diamonds sparkled under the light. After a while, the lights in the room went out, followed by a low, laughing voice.

“Qingqing, goodnight.”

The news of them picking out rings only stayed online for a day; without the principals coming forward to confirm, it was all just gossip.

What Xu Linqiu cared about most was that for many days afterward, no matter how she and Qingqing played, the other personalities seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Just as she was beginning to get used to this, she received an invitation along with a message from “Qingqing.”

[Did you get the invitation? Want to know why we all sent you gifts? Come here.]

Qingqing hadn’t come home from work yet. Clearly, this was another personality. As for which one… she looked closely at the invitation and saw it was for a large-scale concert.

The only one who knew music was likely Xiao Lan (Little Blue).

This was a very formal occasion, hosted by a famous musicologist. Those invited were either rich or influential. Xu Linqiu could only change into a formal mermaid gown and enter the venue alone. Fortunately, few in the music world recognized her.

The concert was in a grand, tiered auditorium, nearly every seat filled. Remarkably, an empty seat had been left beside her. Even more remarkably, the first performer was Xiao Lan.

She wore a graceful, floor-length deep blue gown. Wearing a feathered half-mask, her aura was extraordinary. She gave a slight bow, her voice cold and clear: “This piece is for the person I love.”

Her gaze traveled from afar to land on Linqiu. Many people followed her gaze. Xu Linqiu looked away, pretending not to notice.

But as the beautiful piano melody began, she couldn’t help but look back, her heart filled with doubt. What kind of skill allows her to open such an event? To be honest, she could tell the piano playing wasn’t exceptionally brilliant, though the intense love within the music was palpable.

Music isn’t a subject one can master in a few years. Even if one could, it would require unimaginable talent. For Qingqing, this was already impressive.

Once the piece finished, Xu Linqiu joined the crowd in applauding. To her surprise, the person on stage walked straight toward her and sat in the empty seat beside her. She asked somewhat nervously, “Did you like it?”

“I prefer listening to simple music at home. I’m not used to these kinds of occasions,” Xu Linqiu replied without looking at her.

Yi Chenlan didn’t speak again. She simply sat side-by-side with her, quietly enjoying the rest of the performances together.

Xu Linqiu was distracted throughout the concert. The moment it ended, she asked, “The reason? Tell me.”

“Follow me.”

The woman stood up, leading her through the crowd and out of the venue, gesturing for her to get into a car. Once they were inside, the car drove straight toward home.

“It’s late. Let’s go home.”

“I knew you wouldn’t like the ‘surprise’ I gave you,” Yi Chenlan said. “Though I think if it were Yi Chenqing, you might have hugged her happily.”

“But I still wanted to do this. This has always been the scene I dreamed of… you sitting in the audience watching me play. Even if you weren’t smiling, you were looking at me. The piano music represents my deep love. At that moment, it felt as if we were the only two people in the entire hall.”

She kept talking to herself, her voice light yet tinged with a slight, pleasant tenderness.

Xu Linqiu admitted she was moved—but only because she saw the bandages on the woman’s fingers. Perhaps this night really was important to her, and in the limited time she had, she had practiced desperately… for that one, not-so-extraordinary piano piece.

Actually, Linqiu liked the piece. it contained fiery emotion, yet the expression wasn’t overly heavy; it flowed out steadily through mellow tones, as gentle as a breeze.

She didn’t speak. She just leaned against the car window, watching the busy traffic outside. Buildings and scenery receded rapidly; the night was as bright as day.

Everything felt like a dream.

When they arrived at the villa, Xu Linqiu got out before Yi Chenlan could open the door for her. As the car drove away, she turned and stood at the entrance, looking at her.

The woman’s long hair was lifted by the breeze. Her lips curved slightly as she spoke again: “Do you know what I represent?”

“Inferiority,” Xu Linqiu replied. She added, “I’m sorry, I really couldn’t tell.”

“It’s okay that you couldn’t tell. You only need to know that from childhood through all those years, I have always existed, along with that intense love… It’s just that now, I should no longer exist.”

“I am the negative part. Because of my inferiority, I forced myself to hide, using silence and coldness. I feared loss, so I was panicked and humble.”

Her smile was somewhat pale. She continued, “Merging is easy, but recovering memories is not. That’s why they wanted to use gifts to increase her mental pressure. When that pressure reaches a breaking point, she will recover all her memories. The person you want will return.”

All her memories?

Knowing she possessed such painful memories made Xu Linqiu hesitant. And to think that recovering them had to be built on such mental stress…

Would she even want them? Were those memories—painful or beautiful—worth it?

At that moment, Xu Linqiu’s heart was in turmoil. The cold night wind made the leaves rustle. She suddenly recalled that night, the Qingqing who possessed all her memories, who had smiled and hugged her, saying: “Even if the sky falls, I will never let you go.”

Was it true that as long as they were together, all past pain became insignificant?

“Don’t overthink it. She is willing,” the familiar voice reached her ears. She looked up to see a smiling Yi Chenlan, who said softly: “Because of these memories, she will grow. Her love will mature. She doesn’t care at all about that past pain. All she cares about is you.”

In that instant, that “her” seemed to be her as well.

With the warm light of the house behind her, the woman stepped forward twice, her eyes rimmed with red. She held out her hand: “Can you hug me one last time? Just once…”

It was a humble request, full of love.

Xu Linqiu looked at her for several seconds before moving forward to embrace her. The cold night wind couldn’t dispel the warmth of the hug. Linqiu sighed internally, placed her hand on the woman’s back, patted it, and whispered: “It was beautiful. I liked it very much.”

A cold drop fell onto her shoulder. The woman gradually grew weak until her entire weight was leaning on Linqiu.

Xu Linqiu held her waist. She knew Xiao Lan was gone. That “inferiority” that had permeated her feelings since her student days… was gone.