Close Enough To Pluck the Stars” (GL) - Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The Calico Cat was dazed. She had been led along for a few steps before remembering to resist.

Xiao Xiaoxiao had harbored a crush on the Calico Cat since primary school and couldn’t bear to personally use force on her, so she shot a look at Zhao Pu: Little Jeep, hurry up and pin her down.

Zhao Pu had been a loyal friend since childhood, priding himself on being willing to take a bullet for his pals—though he mostly spent his time joining Liang Ke in “robbing and pillaging” their neighborhood as kids.

A friend’s loyalty is higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea.

Thus, he neutralized the Calico Cat in two or three moves and shoved her into the driver’s seat of Xiaoxiao’s new car.

Liang Ke was a good friend, but Zhao Pu had recently become “sworn brothers” with the rich lady, and his values were much more upright than when he was a child.

He felt deeply that he had followed the wrong person in his youth. Although Liang Ke excelled in her studies, she was extremely headstrong; at critical moments, he only wanted to follow the rich lady’s orders.

“What are you doing? What are you doing!” Liang Ke pushed back, but two fists were no match for four hands.

“Brother, this is for your own good—saving you from fire and water.”

“Where is there fire or water?”

“I said it wrong; it’s a blizzard,” Xiao Xiaoxiao interjected. “Your Dr. Shu’s hometown must be Siberia. I shiver just from her looking at me, yet you dared to talk back to her. It’s the Lunar New Year; do you want to die?”

Zhao Pu chimed in for the rich lady: “Young people must learn to judge the situation and not kick against the pricks, or you’ll drag your brothers into a state of constant fear with you.”

Liang Ke was ungrateful, staring angrily out the window. Finding that Shu Qingchen was already gone, she turned her glare toward the luxurious interior of the car instead.

The steering wheel felt excellent to the touch. Oh, and look at the material of these seats.

Zhao Pu pointed and asked, “Cool, right?”

Liang Ke said, “You evil humans, don’t tell me this is real leather.”

“No, this is an innovative material—finer, softer, and more durable and easy to clean,” Xiao Xiaoxiao introduced seriously.

Speaking of cleaning, Liang Ke was suddenly interested and wanted to look up data online. Xiao Xiaoxiao took her phone away and urged, “Aren’t you here for a test drive? Leave the theoretical research for later.”

“Exactly, exactly!” Zhao Pu beat the drum of agreement.

And so, the Calico Cat was hoodwinked into speeding off, cutting through the heavy traffic with boundless scenery along the way. People even filmed them curiously while they were stopped at red lights.

Liang Ke felt uncomfortable facing the cameras. She said to Xiao Xiaoxiao, “This car is great, but it doesn’t suit my simple and low-key personality.”

“Oh, really? I was planning to lend it to you for a few days,” Xiao Xiaoxiao said.

“I suit it! I’m not low-key, and I’m not simple. I’m a perfect match!” Zhao Pu raised his hand from the back seat.

He said it twenty times, but Xiaoxiao pretended to be deaf.

Fed up with the pestering, Liang Ke took the car for a spin on a quieter stretch of road before returning Xiaoxiao and the car home.

Boss Xiao, accompanied by a young butler, was personally waiting in front of Building 7. He still didn’t have a kind look for Liang Ke: “Didn’t you promise last time not to pursue my daughter? You’ve changed your mind so quickly.”

Liang Ke originally didn’t want to bother with him, but she was in a foul mood today. Since she couldn’t start a physical fight, she decided to bicker instead: “That’s right. Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day; I’m here to familiarize myself with the route.”

Boss Xiao asked in horror, “Why familiarize yourself with the route? Are you going to rob me?”

“Yes, to kidnap your daughter at this time tomorrow.”

Boss Xiao clutched his chest, panting. “Kidnap her to where?”

“Anywhere is fine, as long as I help her escape your control and experience a free life.”

Xiao Xiaoxiao was directing the butler to put the new car in the garage in the distance, but she heard everything. She returned and interrupted gloomily: “Little Cat Liang, you can’t eat just anything, and you definitely can’t say just anything. Otherwise, I’ll force you to make good on that promise tomorrow.”

Liang Ke immediately shrank behind Zhao Pu and fell silent.

Boss Xiao instinctively felt his daughter was on his side and was very happy. He wanted to throw a few more insults at Liang Ke, but Xiaoxiao cut him off.

She said one thing: “Dad, if you keep bullying Liang Ke, I’ll marry her tomorrow.” Then she went inside.

The two quarreling parties immediately ceased fire and politely exchanged goodnights.

“Do come and visit often,” Boss Xiao said through gritted teeth with a forced smile.

“Certainly, certainly. Please take care of your health, Uncle.” Liang Ke waved with ill intent from afar, putting on a dramatic show of a reluctant parting until Zhao Pu forcibly pulled her away.

The two of them walked side-by-side, maintaining some distance, through the incredibly vast estate of the wealthy. They spent their time identifying landmarks and analyzing directions, much like a small-scale hike.

Zhao Pu teased that they should have brought a tent and a portable stove, then they could have gone camping and boiled some noodles.

Liang Ke asked, “Are you hungry?”

“It’s all your fault for having a problem with Professor M. Otherwise, I would’ve been eating roast duck. Why else would I be thinking of noodles?”

“What professor? He’s just a research rat—greedy and lecherous. The height of shamelessness,” Liang Ke summarized angrily.

“OK, OK, stop scolding him for a second and see if we’re going the right way.” Zhao Pu grumbled while rubbing his calves. “Rich people have such hard lives—just leaving the house is like a pilgrimage. They say the grandest house here is Building 1, located in the deepest part of the estate. The owner is a low-key, mysterious multi-millionaire that even Boss Xiao can’t cozy up to. If only that were my house, I’d have a better chance of pursuing Xiaoxiao.”

“Materialistic. Vain,” Liang Ke criticized. “Besides, I can complain, but you can’t. You’re a ‘princeling’ of sorts; you should have seen at least a little bit of the world.”

Zhao Pu countered with a completely irrelevant point: “So what if I’ve seen the world? Xiaoxiao still wants to marry you.”

“Wrong. That was clearly a joke, mainly to subdue her father.”

“She wants to marry you; she hasn’t given up,” Zhao Pu started singing Mayday’s “Stubborn.”

“She won’t.”

“She will!”

“No!”

The two friends were so lost in their battle that they didn’t notice the car ahead until the driver honked gently several times.

The two of them immediately snapped out of it and moved to opposite sides of the road to let the car pass. But as it drove past Liang Ke, the passenger window rolled down slowly, revealing the face she had been thinking about all evening.

“Dr. Shu,” Liang Ke greeted with a flinch, feeling mocked by fate.

“Mmh. What are you doing here?”

Exactly—what are we doing here? How could we run into each other even like this?

Seeing Liang Ke remain silent, Zhao Pu quickly explained: “We came to drop Xiaoxiao off and were just heading back.”

“Yes, yes,” Liang Ke regained her senses and pointed toward the road they came from. “Over at Building 7.” I definitely wasn’t following you.

The driver was a gentle young man. Seeing her nervousness, he kindly said, “Then you’re going the wrong way. This is Building 1; the exit is in the other direction.”

“…” Liang Ke remained silent in shame, blaming herself for getting so invested in the argument that she took the wrong path.

Shu Qingchen said calmly, “Get in. It’s a long way out from here.”

Liang Ke’s instinct was to refuse, but Zhao Pu had already opened the door and climbed in. She had no choice but to follow, sitting silently behind Shu Qingchen. As she buckled her seatbelt, she was once again struck by the luxury of the car.

The center console in the front had a refrigerated compartment; she wanted to ask the driver for an ice-cold Coke to calm her nerves.

In truth, Liang Ke wasn’t as impulsive as she had been at dinner. Even if you gave her the courage of ten thousand men, she wouldn’t dare question her leader in her car: Did M do anything else inappropriate later? Why are you at Building 1? Are you unhappy to see me? Why are you always so cold?

However, on second thought, someone like Shu Qingchen being in a place like this was either for visiting relatives/friends or reporting for work. Could this be her home?

Liang Ke sat in the back with a thousand “cats” scratching at her heart the whole way. she didn’t even notice when Zhao Pu got out, or when they arrived at her own home. It wasn’t until Shu Qingchen got out of the car and looked at her with her arms crossed: “Liang Ke?”

“Mmh, huh?” Liang Ke snapped back.

“Get out. Xiao Liu needs to head back.”

“Mmh, oh, right.”

Liang Ke scrambled out and followed Shu Qingchen, quickly picking up her pace as they climbed the stairs. Hunger made her feel a bit light-headed, and she silently reflected that a five-story walk-up was truly inhumane.

“Sit.”

“Thanks.” Liang Ke was stiff with nervousness. It took her a moment to remember this was her own home.

“Do you have anything to ask me?” Shu Qingchen said considerately.

Without thinking, Liang Ke said, “No.”

“Is that so?” Shu Qingchen laughed. “Don’t be stubborn. Answer honestly.”

That laugh caused the Calico Cat’s brain cells to fuse, temper, and sublimate. Finally, she emboldened herself to ask: “What did M want with you?”

“Half was official business, half was private.”

“Official business needn’t be detailed.” The “Courageous Cat” continued: “Did he make any excessive moves or requests?”

Shu Qingchen’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t answer, simply observing Liang Ke in silence.

The Calico Cat knew her courage wouldn’t last long, so she persisted: “Did he make things difficult for you?”

Shu Qingchen still didn’t speak. Instead, she reached out and stroked the cat’s head.

But Liang Ke didn’t give up. She gathered her nerve and dodged the hand, then grabbed Shu Qingchen’s hand and held it on her own lap. “Tell me. I’m not some bored gossip; I truly care about you.”

Shu Qingchen didn’t struggle, letting her right hand be held by Liang Ke. After a long silence, she sighed and said, “Mmh. I know.”