Although They're Mentally ill, They're Extremely Easy to Comfort - Chapter 41

Qiao Bo’er placed the coffee on the bone china saucer. The bright, almost blinding light of the study reflected her cheeks clearly in the cup. The expression of silence remained unchanged, and she maintained her quiet demeanor.

The spoon in her hand stirred slowly. The exquisite face in the cup became distorted with the spreading ripples.

She slightly lifted her eyelids to look at Su Yunjin, her gaze like sharp icicles. There was no need to hide the killing intent, and the entire room was immersed in an inexplicable atmosphere of tension.

Even though the woman before her had an aura so powerful that it was hard for Su Yunjin to withstand, she did not regret the mandatory tone of her previous statement.

Soon, Qiao Bo’er’s lips curved up. Her smile was provocative, and her tone was full of sarcasm: “Whatever state I’m in with Ling Xi, it’s just between her and me. Isn’t Miss Su’s demand of me a little excessive?”

Su Yunjin picked up the coffee and took a sip. Qiao Bo’er’s reaction was within her expectations. Compared to open confrontation, being friendly on the surface but treacherous underneath was much harder to deal with. She leaned back in the swivel chair, scrutinizing Qiao Bo’er’s face: “I don’t understand, what exactly do you see in our Ling Xi, given how beautiful, rich, and powerful someone like CEO Qiao is?”

“Liking someone is composed of many factors. Your question about what I see in her is flawed in itself. If Miss Su insists on opposing my contact with Ling Xi, I can only say one thing to you—Ling Xi can only be mine, and no one should think of interfering with me getting her.”

Qiao Bo’er made no secret of her long-held desire for Ling Xi, which made Su Yunjin frown. Yet, she also found it inexplicably amusing: “CEO Qiao certainly speaks with great arrogance. In this era, acting willfully and domineeringly is unlikely to bring good results. At the very least, you have to respect Ling Xi’s feelings. Is she willing?”

Su Yunjin’s rhetorical question, “Is she willing?”, carried an unexpected lethality. Qiao Bo’er’s fleeting frown was easily caught by her.

Su Yunjin sneered, a look of victory all over her face.

“You fundamentally don’t understand what Ling Xi means to me. To judge and warn without knowing the whole story, it’s hilarious how outsiders always like to stand in the position of a ‘Mother Teresa’ to observe the good and bad in others, don’t you think?”

Qiao Bo’er’s words were sharp. Just as she said, in Ling Xi’s world, Su Yunjin and Xiao Mo were like two guardian deities, forming a double barrier that shielded her from all factors that might hurt her.

From a certain perspective, they seemed to have never asked Ling Xi whether she liked this kind of indiscriminate protection.

Qiao Bo’er’s words undoubtedly hinted at some unknown information, which allowed the astute Su Yunjin to concisely throw out three crucial questions in a few seconds: “Did you know Ling Xi a long time ago? Who exactly are you? Why did you suddenly appear?”

The time was not ripe, so Qiao Bo’er naturally wouldn’t reveal all the answers easily. She retorted with a cold laugh: “Does it matter?”

Su Yunjin stood up and paced the study. After careful consideration, she decided to take a step back: “Qiao Bo’er, if you simply find Ling Xi’s childish personality endearing and are just looking to tease or mess with her, I advise you to stop now. She’s like a porcelain doll; she can’t withstand rough handling.”

“If you have other motives, or if you knew the former Ling Xi and are only appearing now to rekindle a past relationship, I also advise you to quickly drop that idea. When it comes to relationships, Ling Xi has driven herself into a dead end; she can’t play that game.”

“Dead end…”

Qiao Bo’er murmured. She didn’t quite understand the meaning of that phrase. In the blank memories of the past few years before she broke into Ling Xi’s life, what exactly had the person she deeply loved gone through?

Qiao Bo’er’s reaction surprised Su Yunjin. She asked doubtfully: “You don’t know what happened to Ling Xi?”

“To be precise, I don’t know the cause and effect.”

“Hmph, knowing nothing, no wonder you look so confident.”

Like Qiao Bo’er, Su Yunjin also held back. She, too, would not tell the other person about the drastic changes between the former Ling Xi and the current Ling Xi.

“Knock, knock, knock…”

Just as the two were at a stalemate, a knock sounded, and they exchanged glances, tacitly ceasing their conversation.

The door soon opened, and Ling Xi poked her head in, winking playfully at the two of them. She was holding a large durian and cheerfully greeted them: “What are you two talking about? Hurry, hurry… come out and crack open this durian!”

Su Yunjin glanced at Qiao Bo’er and left the study with Ling Xi first.

Qiao Bo’er remained seated on the sofa. After a few seconds of thought, she dialed Qu Ye’s number and arranged for something she had stubbornly refused to do for years.

“I want Ling Xi’s personal information from the past three years of her life in Xuancheng. Go handle it immediately.”

“Boss, you insisted on not doing a background check on Associate Professor Ling, so why the sudden change…”

“Just do what I told you to do.”

“Okay, I’ll deal with it right away.”

Stepping out of the study, Qiao Bo’er immediately saw Ling Xi holding a piece of fresh Musang King durian in her left hand, chewing a big mouthful with pleasure. Perhaps because it was so delicious, before she even swallowed it, she quickly took another big bite, typically ‘eating what’s in her mouth while watching what’s in the bowl,’ as if someone were going to snatch it from her.

“If you simply find Ling Xi’s childish personality endearing… or if you knew the former Ling Xi…” Su Yunjin’s words still echoed in her ears, causing Qiao Bo’er to stand rooted to the spot, staring at Ling Xi for a long time, unable to recover.

“What are you spacing out for?” Ling Xi’s tone was as excited as a six-year-old who had received New Year’s money: “This Musang King is absolutely amazing! Here, try some.”

When Qiao Bo’er snapped out of it, Ling Xi was already standing in front of her, holding out the piece of durian that hadn’t moved in her left hand, still rambling with a full mouth: “I specially saved it for you. If you don’t eat it, I will!”

“You eat it.” Seeing Ling Xi’s rare kindness towards her, Qiao Bo’er responded with a gentle smile.

The durian was kindly brought to her mouth, yet the woman refused her good intention. Ling Xi grumbled unhappily: “Suit yourself.”

The matter of agreeing to a reduced compensation for Ling Xi was resolved, but her conversation with Su Yunjin had disturbed Qiao Bo’er’s state of mind. At this moment, she only wanted to devote her precious time solely to Ling Xi. Solitude with her was the happiest.

Lifting her hand, she intentionally looked at the time, and Qiao Bo’er murmured: “It’s about time to go home. You drive me.”

Hearing that Qiao Bo’er wanted to leave, Ling Xi pointed at the large bag of untouched fruit, looking plaintive: “But there’s still so much fruit left to eat.”

“I’ll buy you new ones tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“I’m not as good at lying as you are.” Qiao Bo’er teased her indulgently. Ling Xi stuffed the durian into her mouth all at once and clapped her hands: “Fine, I’ll take you.”

When Xiao Mo saw Qiao Bo’er pick up her purse and prepare to leave, he asked doubtfully: “CEO Qiao, why not have some fruit before you go?”

“No need, I still have a lot of work matters to deal with. I won’t stay and bother the two of you.”

Qiao Bo’er casually made up an excuse. Su Yunjin naturally didn’t try to keep her and arranged: “Alright then, let Ling Xi see you off.”

Qiao Bo’er understood the hidden meaning in Su Yunjin’s eyes. She took out her business card holder from her purse, being polite: “I don’t have many friends in Xuancheng, and I’m very happy to have met you both. Thank you very much for your generous hospitality today… This is my business card. Please feel free to contact me if you need any help.”

Qiao Bo’er handed the elegantly designed business card directly to Su Yunjin.

Walking into the parking garage, Qiao Bo’er tossed the car keys to Ling Xi, demanding matter-of-factly: “I drank alcohol. You drive.”

Before Ling Xi could react, she was already sitting securely in the passenger seat.

Ling Xi got into the car, fumbling with how to start the engine, complaining non-stop: “I mean, look at you, knowing you sent Assistant Qu away, you shouldn’t have drunk alcohol during dinner, but you drank more than anyone else!”

Qiao Bo’er was preoccupied. Her gaze was aimless as she stared out the car window, subconsciously replying: “Because I have you…”

Ling Xi rested her arm on the steering wheel, turning sideways to look at the distracted Qiao Bo’er. She poked her shoulder: “What’s wrong with you? You were fine during dinner. What did you and Yunjin talk about in the study that made you lose your soul?”

Qiao Bo’er’s mood came on abruptly. She turned and leaned close to Ling Xi, cupping her face and playfully pinching it: “You cared about me during dinner, and now you’re worrying about me?”

The crazy woman’s hands, which were cupping her face, were now firmly wrapped around Ling Xi’s neck. Ling Xi didn’t have time to dodge, and didn’t even have time to play dead. Squinting her eyes, she resigned herself to the fact that Qiao Bo’er was about to start randomly kissing her again.

Unexpectedly, the woman did not act wildly.

Qiao Bo’er’s softness was pressed against Ling Xi’s body, making her instinctively hold her arms high in the air, her whole body stiff as a stone statue.

After an internal struggle, Ling Xi’s temper finally softened, and she asked with concern: “Qiao Bo’er, you’re acting strange. What exactly is the matter?”

Qiao Bo’er’s face was buried in Ling Xi’s neck, and she pleaded muffledly: “Don’t move, I just want to hold you properly.”

Ling Xi’s hands eventually fell onto the slender waist and back, patting rhythmically as if comforting a child: “Are you perhaps too tired from work today?”

“Maybe I regret that my argument that ‘sooner or later you’ll be mine’ was unreasonable. Not seeing you for a whole afternoon made the day incredibly hard to bear.”

Qiao Bo’er’s voice was soft and gentle. Ling Xi would rather argue and quarrel with her than face her tender affection.

Because she was powerless against this side of Qiao Bo’er, she had absolutely no way to deal with it.

“It’s probably not good to keep hugging… Let’s not be like this…”

Ling Xi tried hard to organize her words, wanting the woman in her arms to recognize the fact that they wouldn’t be together, but the words caught in her throat. Because she couldn’t think of any better words to reject such tenderness.

Qiao Bo’er seemed to have read Ling Xi’s mind and placed a finger on her lips before she could continue: “Don’t say anything. I just want to stay with you quietly for a while. Just hold me…”

There was no fierce oppression, no clawing provocation, and even the energy for bickering seemed pale. This Qiao Bo’er, who had thrown away her armor and abandoned her weapons, was both unfamiliar and vulnerable.

This side of her made Ling Xi stop feeling repulsed and disgusted. In the simple embrace, Ling Xi felt a certain indescribable sense of helplessness.

It was like falling into a bottomless deep sea, struggling to reach out and grab something, but finding nothing. She could do nothing but sink.

Powerlessness is the most terrifying thing.

Qiao Bo’er’s disordered and morbid emotions infected Ling Xi’s nerves. Her face instantly turned pale, and she opened her mouth slightly, unable to let out a sound of distress.

In her mind, the person sinking was not only Qiao Bo’er but also herself. The image was as clear as a suffocating and despairing movie being played out.

The reason they could empathize was that the pain was magnified countless times the moment they touched.

Yes, they were stuck in a certain vicious cycle from the past, still suffering without finding salvation.

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