After Redeeming the Female Lead, I Faked My Death and Escaped - Chapter 47

The last time the two had been in contact was when the other party had gently persuaded her to join the cast of Sunken.

By the time Xu Ying returned to the set, Cheng Jun had already wrapped up filming and was busy with other commitments.

During this period, they hadn’t exchanged a single word. Now, seeing this call come in, Xu Ying hesitated for a moment before answering.

The alpha’s end of the line was unusually noisy, and she got straight to the point: “Got any free time lately?”

Her tone was as familiar as ever, as if the gap in their communication hadn’t affected their relationship in the slightest.

After a brief pause, Xu Ying replied, “Yes, what’s up?”

Since wrapping up filming, though her schedule was still packed, Xu Ying found herself with more free time.

Gu Qingzhu was about to be discharged from the hospital.

After stabilizing with medication and treatment, the omega’s condition had finally improved to the point where she no longer exhibited obvious suicidal tendencies.

On the day the doctor assessed her condition as improved, Gu Qingzhu immediately brought up the topic with Xu Ying.

Of course, she knew staying in the hospital a little longer wouldn’t be a bad thing.

But that was only for her.

What about Xu Ying?

Xu Ying’s career was just taking off. With every project she took on, the number of people who admired her grew.

Her social media activity had transformed from near silence to constant engagement, with new fans expressing their longing for her at all hours.

No one understood the weight of such attention better than Gu Qingzhu, who had experienced it firsthand. She knew exactly how bright Xu Ying’s future could be.

So why waste her time forcing her to visit the hospital?

By the end, Gu Qingzhu’s tone had grown heated, as if she would insist on her decision even if Xu Ying disagreed.

But not long after, she softened again, unwilling to see Xu Ying’s face clouded with confusion and disappointment.

“Love Capture,” Cheng Jun said after a brief silence, naming a variety show. “Interested? It’s just two days of filming. The signed guest had an emergency, so we need a replacement.”

“The producer is a friend of mine.”

Xu Ying raised an eyebrow. “A, dating show? Sorry, I”

Cheng Jun cut in, “It’s just teaming up to promote a CP. The format is still game-based, nothing too intimate.”

“It’s a live broadcast, and we’re short one person. If nothing else,” she added after a pause, “you could invite Gu Qingzhu to join you.”

Xu Ying:

In the end, Xu Ying only said she needed time to consider it.

Cheng Jun was understanding and even congratulated her on her magazine sales before hanging up.

Xu Ying hesitated.

If Cheng Jun could find out about the magazine so quickly, why hadn’t she reached out during the Sunken incident, as if she’d known nothing about it?

Only when the screen went dark did Xu Ying put the phone away, pushing the thought aside.

Before giving Cheng Jun an answer, she had to accompany Gu Qingzhu through her fourth desensitization therapy session.

The treatment for phobias typically involved either desensitization or fundamentally changing one’s perception of the source of fear.

Either way, it required direct interaction with cats.

The first time Gu Qingzhu saw a cat, she had another breakdown. Silent and withdrawn, she traced the scars on her left wrist until the nurses restrained her hands.

Xu Ying had taken three days off work to stay by her side before the omega spoke again.

The second time, Gu Qingzhu once again showed obvious signs of panic. Under the doctor’s gaze, she took a step forward on her own, only to start vomiting violently the next second.

It wasn’t until the third session, with Ying Xu by her side, that Gu Qingzhu stiffly managed to stay in the same room as the cat for ten minutes.

Noticing that Ying Xu’s presence effectively soothed Gu Qingzhu’s emotions, the doctor proactively invited her to participate in the fourth session.

Ying Xu didn’t refuse.

This time, the treatment location was set in a park.

The warm spring sun bathed everyone in a gentle glow, yet Gu Qingzhu still felt a chill. She took another jacket from the nurse.

“Ying-jie said she’ll be here soon,” Xiao Lu encouraged. “It’ll be over quickly, Qingzhu. Don’t be afraid.”

Gu Qingzhu took a sip of the water she offered and murmured an absentminded agreement.

In the first three sessions, she had encountered the same cat. During this time, the doctor often showed her pictures or videos of it. The creature that seemed like a monstrous beast in Gu Qingzhu’s eyes was, in others’ hands, as docile as a stuffed toy, obedient and tame. Sometimes, displeased with its owner’s distraction, it would even leap forward, craving affection.

Though it was inappropriate, Gu Qingzhu couldn’t help but associate the cat’s behavior with Ying Xu. They both seemed equally timid at times, yet incapable of hiding their thoughts, eliciting either frustration or tenderness from their “owners.”

Owner.

The word made Gu Qingzhu’s thoughts stutter. In her ears, she seemed to hear that alpha’s voice again.

“A relationship like before, I’d be willing to do that too.”

Back then, she had just slapped the alpha. What kind of relationship was she referring to?

Did Ying Xu even know what she was talking about?

Gu Qingzhu tightened her grip on the bottle. For a moment, even her fear was slightly alleviated by this unspeakable thought.

To lift her spirits, Assistant Lu brought up the magazine again. Hearing the sales figures, Gu Qingzhu frowned almost imperceptibly. “Only 200,000 people bought 300,000 copies?”

Assistant Lu:

“This time, there was a purchase limit,” she reminded softly.

The next second, under Gu Qingzhu’s strange gaze, she abruptly realized, what did the limit matter? Gu Qingzhu’s point was that they should just find thirty more accounts to buy the remaining copies.

As the beta resignedly got to work, the doctor arrived.

Gu Qingzhu looked up but didn’t see Ying Xu. A flicker of hesitation passed through her eyes before she lowered them again. When she saw the cat in the cage, that hesitation turned into a bone-chilling fear.

She took another sip of water.

This time, the doctor wanted Gu Qingzhu to tentatively reach out and touch the cat.

Gu Qingzhu froze, instinctively shaking her head. “No.”

But the doctor insisted, “You can do this. You need to try.”

Gu Qingzhu stood up, rejecting the idea again. The doctor, surprised by her sudden resistance after her previous cooperation, was taken aback. “Why? Is it because Ying Xu isn’t here? If that’s the case, we can wait until she arrives”

“It has nothing to do with her,” Gu Qingzhu interrupted. “I just don’t want to”

She glanced at the cat. It had already been let out, darting around a fenced-off patch of grass under the watchful eye of a nurse, a collar around its neck.

The sight of its restraint made Gu Qingzhu’s fingers curl. Once again, she thought of Ying Xu.

“Forget it,” Gu Qingzhu shook her head. “Let’s end the session here.”

After a long silence, the doctor finally agreed to her request.

The cat was picked up again and placed back into its cage, clearly unwilling, its sharp cries drawing Gu Qingzhu’s gaze once more.

Before getting into the car, Assistant Lu watched as a nurse led the cat toward a pet hospital across the street and asked in surprise, “Is it being fostered?”

The nurse shook her head. “It was abandoned. We’ve been looking for a new owner for it recently.”

As if realizing something, she quickly added, “It’s always been very gentle. We made sure it was well-behaved before bringing it to meet Miss Gu. Please don’t worry”

Gu Qingzhu lowered her eyes. She had never considered this before. But then again, if the cat truly had an owner, why would they allow it near someone as unstable as a psychiatric patient?

“I want to walk around here for a bit,” Gu Qingzhu suddenly spoke up, drawing everyone’s attention. Her tone was stiff. “Ying Xu and I agreed to meet.”

At these words, few doubted her. The two were indeed close, and no one knew what they discussed in private.

Even so, Assistant Lu stayed by her side.

On a weekday, the streets were empty, with only scattered pedestrians.

After walking for a while, Assistant Lu began typing replies on her phone. Gu Qingzhu walked faster, soon leaving her behind. But whenever Assistant Lu looked up in alarm, she could still spot the omega’s figure in the distance, which reassured her.

Gu Qingzhu had to pause every now and then.

Partly because of the nurse’s words she kept thinking about the cat bound by ropes.

And partly because of the animal carcass under a car’s wheels, its blood blooming like a grotesque flower on her face.

These two images flickered relentlessly in her mind. The towering buildings around her made her instinctively imagine scenes of falling.

Gu Qingzhu tried her best, but her heart still pounded violently, as if trying to burst through her chest and crash to the ground.

Until she spotted a stray cat at a street corner.

Tortoiseshell-colored, tiny, like a dirty, tattered rag.

At first, Gu Qingzhu didn’t even realize what it was. But then it seemed to hear her footsteps, lifting its head, its clear blue eyes meeting hers.

The cat was terrified, its fur bristling as it let out a sharp hiss.

Gu Qingzhu hadn’t expected it to react so suddenly and took a reflexive step back.

But instead of empty air behind her, she stumbled into someone’s arms, her back pressing against fabric. The familiar scent of sandalwood filled her senses.

Gu Qingzhu looked up.

Ying Xu gazed down at her, one hand resting protectively around her waist.

“Qingzhu.” Just that simple address thawed the frozen chaos in Gu Qingzhu’s mind.

The alpha had clearly seen the cat and shielded her, saying gently, “Let’s go back.”

“Go back?” Gu Qingzhu was momentarily confused.

“Yes.” Ying Xu nodded, her voice softening. “Xiao Lu went back to handle the paperwork. Aunt Liu has already made your favorite dishes.”

Aunt Liu was one of the chefs at the estate. Gu Qingzhu frowned. “But I’m not supposed to be discharged for a few more days. And I haven’t finished treatment”

Ying Xu shook her head. “I’ve thought about it. If there’s really no way to ease things, then it’s fine not to.”

Gu Qingzhu stood frozen.

In the past, everyone had always indulged her.

Whether it was refusing to adapt to many “rules,” unwilling to comply with certain changes and arrangements, rejecting treatment to become “normal”, they were always endlessly tolerant and compromising.

In the eyes of outsiders, this was a kind of blissful “love.”

But Gu Qingzhu knew the real reason behind all this indulgence, because they had never truly cared about her. So no matter what consequences her “unwillingness” brought, the other party would gladly accept it, even harboring a hidden anticipation.

Naturally, Gu Qingzhu wasn’t foolish enough to mistake this for “love” either. Yet, under the subtle influence, she too had grown accustomed to compromise and had genuinely learned to use this method to please Ying Xu.

But why, despite everything, was the answer she received still rejection?

Gu Qingzhu raised her eyes, meeting a gaze filled with concern. She didn’t know how long she had been silent, but when she spoke again, her voice was slightly hoarse: “Don’t you think this isn’t normal?”

Ying Xu shook her head. “No.”

“I’ve said it before it’s fine even if it’s not normal. No matter what kind of Qingzhu you are, you’re wonderful. I’ve always.”

The warm sunlight stretched their shadows long. Ying Xu didn’t finish her sentence, because before she could, Gu Qingzhu had suddenly stepped forward.

Before Ying Xu could realize what she was about to do, the woman had already tilted her head up.

Lips met lips in an instant. Feeling the cool, faint warmth of the alpha’s mouth, Gu Qingzhu closed her eyes briefly, surrounded by the familiar scent, realizing she had already gotten her answer.

The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it was enough to leave Ying Xu standing frozen in place, unable to snap back to reality for a long while.

Until the woman asked again, softly: “You’ve always… what?”

Ying Xu looked at Gu Qingzhu’s unconsciously reddened eyes like an allergic reaction, even the tips of her ears were tinged with a faint blush.

Suddenly, she forgot her own reply, only remembering how the long street ahead seemed endless.

They walked for a while, and when they passed a certain sign, Gu Qingzhu suddenly spoke: “There’s a pet hospital over there.”

Ying Xu turned to look at her, only to see the omega say with slight awkwardness, “Let’s go buy some food for it. They said it can be boarded there.”

A breeze slipped past her fingertips. Ying Xu heard herself murmur a quiet agreement, and under the omega’s gaze, which held a trace of amusement, she remembered her own numb response.

“I’ve always liked you.”