After Redeeming the Female Lead, I Faked My Death and Escaped - Chapter 28.2

“So, this must be Miss Ying Xu?” Before Assistant Lu could speak, Sheng Changming had already greeted her with a smile. “Xiao Yu often mentions you to me.”

The moment Sheng Changming spoke, the system displayed his identity for Ying Xu, text matching the information available online, devoid of any real reference value.

Ying Xu responded with a strained smile.

She hadn’t forgotten her current persona, a lovesick Alpha anxiously visiting the object of her affection. Someone like that wouldn’t have any interest in social niceties.

A flicker of admiration flashed in Sheng Changming’s eyes, but it was quickly concealed. He sighed softly. “Xiao Shan must have told you about Qingzhu’s situation, right? She’s too young and impulsive. If she’s ever offended you in the past, just let me know what needs to change.”

“Qingzhu is someone who cherishes the past, she loves old things and old acquaintances.”

A single phrase “young and impulsive” brushed aside everything Shan Qiaoyun had done. And “old acquaintances” referred not only to Shan Qiaoyun but also served as a reminder to Ying Xu that she only remained by Gu Qingzhu’s side because of Xu Ying.

Ying Xu replied calmly, “Whether Miss Shan does well or not, I’m merely an observer. It’s not my place to comment.”

“Is that so?” Sheng Changming seemed surprised but remained unmoved.

The next second, the hospital room door was opened from the inside. The doctor removed their mask and instinctively looked at Sheng Changming first.

Ying Xu took in this scene and unconsciously furrowed her brows.

She had thought Gu Qingzhu was just visiting the ward temporarily.

Why was there a doctor here, and why did they immediately want to communicate with Sheng Changming?

What happened to Gu Qingzhu?

A flurry of questions swirled in her mind. Just as she opened her mouth to ask, Sheng Changming smiled and said, “Then I won’t disturb your reunion with Qingzhu. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Sheng Corporation looks forward to collaborating with you, Miss Ying.”

He mentioned “Sheng Corporation,” not “Qing Hong,” as if he was actively trying to build a closer relationship with Ying Xu.

Ying Xu remained silent.

Soon, she had no more attention to spare for this matter.

Right before Ying Xu’s eyes, the door was tremblingly opened by Assistant Lu.

She had never imagined that her reunion with Gu Qingzhu would happen under such circumstances, in this way.

Having just vented her emotions and taken medication, Gu Qingzhu was unusually quiet. Her dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her complexion was even paler than it had been in the bathroom that day, almost devoid of color, yet it made her delicate features all the more striking. She was shrouded in an air of illness, like a watercolor painting drenched in ink.

Her eyes were fixed on the window, their depths filled with a leaden gray hue.

Only when she heard the sound did she slowly turn her face, then lift her lashes.

A few seconds later, Gu Qingzhu stared at Ying Xu’s face.

Under the influence of the medication, her mind was unusually active, as if her entire being were floating among the clouds, weightless.

Yet at this moment, when she instinctively wanted to reach out and mimic the actions she had once taken in her subconscious, she realized her body felt unbearably heavy.

She couldn’t move an inch, so she could only watch, silently observing, as if trying to etch this face and its owner firmly into her memory.

But after remembering for what purpose?

Her thoughts were blank. Gu Qingzhu couldn’t recall, nor did she want to.

Before her, the Alpha once again wore an expression she recognized.

A slight frown, downturned eyes she looked utterly sorrowful.

Ying Xu spoke: “I’m sorry.”

Gu Qingzhu wondered, what did Ying Xu have to be sorry for? The one who should be saying those words was her. If not for her, Ying Xu wouldn’t have appeared at the mansion, wouldn’t have been provoked into relapsing.

It must have been Shan Qiaoyun’s doing. Once she left this place, she would make sure Shan Qiaoyun disappeared as far away as possible.

“Every time I hear you apologize, it makes me sick,” Gu Qingzhu finally spoke, her words causing Ying Xu to pause, her face flickering with uncertainty.

“You hate me, don’t you?” Gu Qingzhu said.

Her thoughts weren’t flowing smoothly now. She weighed each word carefully, speaking softly and slowly, her beautiful voice enunciating every syllable as if reciting a lingering poem.

Yet this poem wasn’t meant to praise or glorify anyone.

It was like an arrow, its sole purpose to pierce through “Ying Xu” and all her thoughts, pinning them mercilessly in some forgotten place.

“When you look at me and say you’re sorry, are you always thinking”

“Why am I not dead yet?”

In a way, Gu Qingzhu’s understanding of Ying Xu was crystal clear.

She hated her.

No one could go through what she had and still cling to any lingering affection. Ying Xu was exactly as Gu Qingzhu had imagined.wearing a mask to get close to her, her heart full of schemes and calculations.

But even knowing that… so what?

Wasn’t this all Gu Qingzhu’s own choice?

In the silence, Ying Xu forced a faint smile.

She said softly, “I’ve never thought of Qingzhu that way.”

Honeyed words.

Just rhetoric, not sincerity.

Yet those light, fleeting words still fell like a stone into a pond, sending ripples through the water.

Everyone loves honeyed words. Gu Qingzhu once thought she was an exception. Now, it seemed she was no different.

She mocked herself inwardly, but her gaze remained fixed on the Alpha’s face, searching for any trace of guilt in those brief seconds.

But there was none.

Nothing at all.

Ying Xu simply watched her quietly, her eyes reflecting only Gu Qingzhu’s image.

Finally, Gu Qingzhu heard her own voice.

“Your contract with the production team still stands. There’s no termination, nor will there be.”

“This role belongs only to you.”

“Go back.”

In recent years, Gu Qingzhu had rarely shown weakness or compromised on anything.

Ying Xu was the sole exception.

She had thought that speaking these words would bring pain akin to flaying her skin, just like when she first learned of Xu Ying’s death, standing outside the operating room, every gaze like a blade stripping her bare until only raw flesh remained.

But perhaps it was the medication taking effect. As she spoke now, she felt only an eerie calm.

As if it were just an ordinary greeting.

Once spoken, it was done. She could turn away and forget, and Ying Xu, who heard it, could do the same.

Yet Ying Xu still didn’t react.

She simply stared at Gu Qingzhu, her eyes filled with something the Omega couldn’t comprehend.

Even now, Gu Qingzhu had no idea what Ying Xu was thinking.

“Unwilling?” Gu Qingzhu spoke again, this time slower than before. “It doesn’t matter. You can’t afford the breach penalty. When you’re desperate, you’ll still come to me.”

Still silence. No response.

Like throwing a stone into an empty valley and hearing no echo.

This dead quiet filled Gu Qingzhu with genuine irritation.

A thought crossed her mind, and her gaze turned mocking. “You don’t actually think, at this point, anyone else would care about your life or death, do you? Sheng Qiuyu?”

In Gu Qingzhu’s eyes, Sheng Qiuyu was nothing. A parasitic flower, without her background, she would never have achieved anything.

Only Gu Qingzhu.

No one but Gu Qingzhu could help Ying Xu.

Ying Xu had no choice but to choose her.

Gu Qingzhu watched coldly, her mind racing.

Would the Alpha rage at her for slandering Sheng Qiuyu? Or would she pledge loyalty again, trying to prove herself trustworthy?

Or would she simply walk away, refusing outright?

So many possibilities flashed before her, yet Gu Qingzhu couldn’t say which version of Ying Xu she wanted to see.

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit her. She leaned heavily against the hospital bed, coughing violently, but nothing came up. Her vision blurred, and she felt utterly humiliated.

By her body. By her thoughts.

Why did she want to see Ying Xu?

Why was she showing weakness in front of Ying Xu?

What was she even doing?

Gu Qingzhu took a deep breath, no longer wanting to force Ying Xu to make a choice.

She tried to wipe away the haze in her vision, but it was futile.

Until a faint shadow appeared before her.

The corner of her eye was lightly covered by paper, as if adding color to a painting, each stroke applied with utmost care.

“Sorry,” Ying Xu finally spoke in front of Gu Qingzhu. The woman’s gaze avoided hers for the first time, and Gu Qingzhu heard her murmur, “I don’t know how to express what I’m feeling right now… Ms. Shan said you missed me. I thought it was just a lie she made up to make me happy.”

“I’m sorry, Qingzhu.”

“If I had come sooner, would you.”

“not have been so sad?”

Sad? Gu Qingzhu thought. What kind of nonsense was Ying Xu spouting?

It was just taking medicine. Just staying alive. Just mustering the courage to ask her to stay.

Why would she be sad? Wasn’t this what she was supposed to do anyway?

Gu Qingzhu nearly lost her voice, unsure how to respond, only sensing the restraint in Ying Xu’s tone.

She lifted her face and met a pair of eyes brimming with unshed tears.

Ying Xu said “I’m sorry” again.

For the first time, Gu Qingzhu couldn’t tell whether the voice came from beside her ear or from deep within her own heart.