Can't Hide My Love for You - Chapter 13

Cheng Yixin froze mid-motion, her glass halfway to her lips. Before she could even take a sip, she felt a lump in her throat, as if she had swallowed a stone. She wished she could find a crack in the floor to crawl into.

Clutching the glass, she said guiltily, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s alright,” Chi Yi said casually, as if it were of no consequence, before inviting her to sit on the sofa.

In an attempt to hide her embarrassment, Cheng Yixin took a sip of her drink. Only then did she realize it wasn’t plain water; it had a hint of peach—lightly sweet, with bubbles dancing on the tip of her tongue. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was a low-alcohol sparkling cocktail. It was cold, refreshing, and quite delicious.

“I figured you’d prefer something sweet over plain mineral water,” Chi Yi said, watching her glass with a playful glint in her eyes. “Are you afraid I’m trying to get you drunk?”

The cocktail likely had an alcohol content of only 3%; getting drunk was impossible. However, having just stumbled through such a socially mortifying topic, Cheng Yixin felt a bit stifled in the living room.

“The garden looks lovely,” she suggested. “Why don’t we sit outside?”

Chi Yi readily agreed, but instead of taking her to the front yard, she led her to the backyard.

She slid open the floor-to-ceiling glass doors. The backyard porch was made of wooden decking, which felt pleasant underfoot. The backyard was much smaller than the front; the ground was a mosaic of large, irregular marble slabs, with patches of turf along the walls. A tall tree stood in the corner, its branches laden with papaya fruit. In the center stood a set of garden furniture—a round table and a single chair—and next to them, a wooden swing chair.

“I put the other chair away. Sit here while I go get it,” Chi Yi said, turning to head back inside. Cheng Yixin caught her arm and asked, “I want to sit on the swing. You take the chair.”

Cheng Yixin sat on the swing. There was plenty of room for her, but it would have been a tight squeeze for two; it was clearly designed for one. Chi Yi sat in the chair in front of her, facing her, which felt a little formal.

“Why didn’t you get a bigger one?” Cheng Yixin teased. “Then two people could sit together.”

Chi Yi stood up, pushed the chair aside, and walked behind Cheng Yixin. She grasped the ropes and began to push the swing slowly. “Isn’t this better? This way, we both get to participate.”

“You really know how to do this,” Cheng Yixin smiled. Looking up, she could see the bright, clear moon surrounded by a scattering of stars. It was a beautiful night.

But the thought of such a perfect evening being marred by the people on Weibo fabricating rumors about her caused her mood to plummet.

“Did you click on the trending topics about me tonight?” she asked.

The motion of pushing the swing faltered for a brief second. From behind her, Chi Yi replied, “I did.”

“I don’t know what you think of me. I might not be as good as you imagine. To others, I might have a ‘celebrity glow,’ but in reality, I’m just an ordinary person with my own flaws.”

“That’s only human,” Chi Yi said.

“No, what I mean is…” Cheng Yixin struggled to find the words. “Regarding those rumors online—you might think they’re absurd now, but when you see so many people saying the same thing over and over, you might eventually start to doubt the truth yourself.”

Cheng Yixin didn’t know how to express it. Sometimes, when she saw those anti-fans speaking with such absolute certainty, she would almost start to doubt her own memories, let alone an “outsider” like Chi Yi.

“Why would I learn about you through other people’s words? Like I said, I have eyes,” Chi Yi said firmly. “To me, you are wonderful—better than anyone else.”

Spoken words held far more magic than cold text. Cheng Yixin dragged her toes on the ground to stop the swing and turned to look at Chi Yi. After a few seconds of eye contact, she suddenly burst into laughter.

“Are you sure you’ve never been in a relationship? Why do I feel like you’re such a flirt?”

Whether it was true or not, this was the first time anyone had said such things to her, and it was enough to touch her heart.

“Does this count as ‘being in a relationship’ now?” Chi Yi asked.

“Why did you choose to be with me?” Cheng Yixin couldn’t help but ask. With Chi Yi’s looks and status, she could find someone else in a heartbeat. “Was it just because I hit on you at the bar that night?”

If it had been anyone else, would Chi Yi have accepted?

Chi Yi hesitated. If that night hadn’t happened, she doubted their progress would have been this fast. “I’ve been following you for a long time,” Chi Yi admitted. “I just never had the chance to meet you.”

“Are you a fan of mine?” Cheng Yixin asked reflexively, having heard that line in many different contexts.

“…” A look of speechlessness flashed in Chi Yi’s eyes. After a three-second pause, she finally said, “I suppose you could say that.”

Cheng Yixin giggled. “I’m just joking.”

“But—” She stopped smiling and stood up, turning to face Chi Yi with a nervous expression. “I knew of you before that night. But… I knew of you through Lu Qing. I knew she couldn’t stand you, so…”

Her fingers curled at her sides. Reaching the point of confession made her incredibly tense. She was terrified that if she didn’t handle this right, tomorrow’s headlines would be: Cheng Yixin Plays with Innocent Girl’s Heart.

After bracing herself, she said, “I hit on you that night on purpose. I admit, I had a vengeful motive. I only approached you because I knew she had a problem with you… I just didn’t expect things to end up the way they did…”

Cheng Yixin’s face was a mask of awkwardness. Who would have thought a drunken one-night stand would actually happen to her? She felt like a total jerk. Especially since the person involved was Chi Yi, someone with a completely blank romantic history. The guilt was overwhelming.

As she cursed herself in her head, her head bowing lower and lower, she suddenly heard Chi Yi say, “I know.”

“???!” Cheng Yixin’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with shock.

She knows? What does that mean?

“It was just a guess…” Chi Yi rubbed her nose and looked away. “I didn’t think you were the type to actively hit on people. It just so happened that I appeared, and it just so happened that Lu Qing and I were ‘at odds.’ You had also been drinking, so you came over.”

Cheng Yixin was stunned. How could this person be so perceptive? And yet, there was no sign of the negative emotions she expected from someone who had been used.

“You realize I was using you when I got together with you?” she confirmed.

“I realize that,” Chi Yi said, looking at her. “So, now that the business with Lu Qing is over, are you going to break up with me?”

A shadow of obscured emotion flickered in Chi Yi’s eyes—faint, like a wounded deer, though she didn’t say a word.

Faced with Chi Yi’s question, Cheng Yixin felt like her throat had been glued shut. She suddenly felt like a true “scumbag” playing with someone’s feelings. Even if Chi Yi’s feelings for her were likely just the infatuation an outsider has for a star.

Cheng Yixin had written several reasons why they were incompatible in her notes app, but now, she couldn’t remember a single one.

Come to think of it, besides the age gap… everything else about Chi Yi hit her ideal preferences perfectly.

She blinked and looked at Chi Yi for a few seconds. “What is your ideal type?” she asked out of the blue. “Do you think… I fit it?”

The question took Chi Yi by surprise.

“I’ve never really thought about an ‘ideal type,'” Chi Yi replied. “I think you’re great just as you are.”

She added, “If everyone only dated according to a checklist of ideal traits, I think most people would stay single.”

Cheng Yixin arched an eyebrow. She turned around and sat back down on the swing.

“Fair enough,” she said.

The question of breaking up was passed over just like that. While Chi Yi might not be her “ideal type” on paper, it wouldn’t hurt to try and get to know her better.

After sitting outside for a while, it began to get chilly, so they moved back to the living room. They left the glass doors slightly ajar to let in the fresh air.

Cheng Yixin noticed a ukulele in the corner of the room. Remembering the piano in her own house, she asked, “Do you use that for decoration too?”

“That instrument?” Chi Yi followed her gaze. “It’s not just decoration. I play it sometimes.”

“You can play this?”

Cheng Yixin then learned about Chi Yi’s past for the first time. In university, Chi Yi had joined a music club and learned several instruments. After graduating, she took over the family business left by her parents, and music became a hobby.

Cheng Yixin gave her a thumbs up and was about to coax her into playing a song when Chi Yi’s phone rang.

“Wait a moment, let me take this. Make yourself at home.”

Chi Yi walked a few steps away to the porch to answer the call. In the quiet of the night, her voice drifted to Cheng Yixin’s ears on the breeze.

Having practiced her song for the past few days, Cheng Yixin was now extremely sensitive to Cantonese. She instantly recognized that Chi Yi was speaking to the person on the other end in Cantonese.

…However, she couldn’t understand a single word of it.