Make Her Heart Flutter - Chapter 24

Jiang Qi simply nodded, pressing her lips together without speaking.

She often wore this expression, so Chi Shuang didn’t think much of it. Then, as Jiang Qi brought over the red bean soup with glutinous rice balls, Chi Shuang thanked her.

Chi Shuang took a sip. The red bean paste was smooth and sweet, and when paired with the chewy little rice balls, she couldn’t help but narrow her eyes in delight.

Sweets were the best at lifting one’s mood. After a few bites, she noticed that this red bean soup was different from the ones sold outside.

Chi Shuang asked, “Did you make the red bean soup yourself?”

“Mm,” Jiang Qi replied. “I soaked the beans last night while making the pickled fish soup.”

Chi Shuang nodded and smiled. “I thought so. To make it this smooth, you’d have had to wake up really early.”

Jiang Qi nodded again in response and quietly continued eating her breakfast.

Chi Shuang tilted her head, thinking it might be due to a hangover, and didn’t dwell on Jiang Qi’s unusual behavior today.

Just as Chi Shuang was taking small bites of the snow-white glutinous rice balls in her bowl, she heard Jiang Qi ask, “What were you going to say earlier?”

Earlier?

Chi Shuang flashed a bright smile. “The red bean soup with rice balls you made is delicious.”

“Is that so? Thank you.”

But what Jiang Qi had really been asking about was the unfinished sentence Chi Shuang had started when she first came downstairs.

Around ten o’clock, Tang Qiluo and Yan Xu finally arrived from outside, complaining loudly about whether they had bought fake alcohol.

“My head hurts!” Tang Qiluo shook her head, draping an arm over Yan Xu’s shoulder.

“Xiao Qi made hangover soup. Each of you, have a bowl,” Chi Shuang said, serving the soup and placing it in front of them.

Yan Xu hadn’t drunk much and was already feeling fine, but seeing the steaming bowl of hangover soup, she smiled and accepted it.

“How’s Xiao Qi? She was the most drunk yesterday. Wait… did you just say the hangover soup was made by Xiao Qi?” Tang Qiluo was still a bit muddled, having just asked about Jiang Qi before realizing the soup was her doing.

Chi Shuang replied, “Mm, she went upstairs to change. There’s red bean soup with rice balls warming in the pot. You can have some after the hangover soup. I’ll go call Ranran and Chu Mu.”

Jiang Qi sat on the bay window in her room, her back leaning against one side, long legs bent and resting on the windowsill. She watched the figures downstairs grow smaller and smaller until they disappeared around the corner.

Perhaps because of her youth, Jiang Ran recovered much more quickly. By the time she sat down at the dining table, she was already full of energy.

On the other hand, Tang Qiluo and Shang Chumu weren’t faring as well.

Suddenly, everyone’s phones chimed at the same time.

[Gather this afternoon for promotional photos @everyone]

It was the small group chat the program crew had created for easier communication. Seeing this message, everyone remembered that although the show had been filming for half a month, they still hadn’t taken their promotional photos.

Since this wasn’t directly related to the program’s content, the crew opted to send a message rather than announce it over the loudspeaker.

“Ugh, I drank last night, and my face is still puffy!” As a model, Shang Chumu was extremely conscious of her appearance. She touched her face, on the verge of tears.

Jiang Qi came down the stairs, waving her phone. “Just got another message. We’re leaving at eleven.”

“No way, then I need to go put on a face mask!” Shang Chumu immediately stood up, leaving only her retreating figure.

Tang Qiluo, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, poked her head out. “Yanyan, wait for me. Let’s go back together.”

“Mm.” Yan Xu nodded, then watched Shang Chumu’s retreating back.

Jiang Ran quickly gulped down the last mouthful of red bean soup from her bowl, tossed the bowl to Tang Qiluo, and shouted “Thank you, Brother Qiluo!” while already sprinting away at full speed.

“JIANG RAN!!!”

The furious voice echoed through the entire living room. Yan Xu suppressed her laughter as she tried to comfort her.

Seeing this, Chi Shuang raised an eyebrow and turned to go upstairs. Passing by Jiang Qi, she casually grabbed her arm: “Let’s go up.”

She didn’t quite understand why, but after last night’s drunken episode, Chi Shuang had suddenly gained clarity.

There was no need for her to desperately seek revenge. Whether she jumped off a building or Jiang Qi died miserably on the streets, she would always return to this point in time.

But what if both of them lived well? Wouldn’t that break the cycle?

So, if the two of them could become good friends, that would be wonderful too. After all, she had already exacted all her revenge in her previous life.

Of course, if Jiang Qi still ended up hurting her in the end, then she’d just make sure Jiang Qi would find life not worth living and death not attainable.

Thinking this, Chi Shuang’s smile gradually widened. In a sweet voice she had never used before, she asked: “We’re going to take promotional photos later. Do you want to use a face mask? I have plenty.”

It was similar to the coquettish tone Jiang Ran usually used. The moment Jiang Qi heard it, half her body went numb, and her heart started racing uncontrollably, just like last night.

“Ah? Is that okay?” Jiang Qi asked dumbfounded.

Chi Shuang suddenly found Jiang Qi quite amusing: “Of course it’s okay! Aren’t face masks for everyone to use?”

Having cast aside prejudice and stripped away hatred, Chi Shuang felt immeasurably lighter. Even Jiang Qi seemed cute to her now.

Though they wouldn’t be together again, even if her heart still fluttered for her.

Actually, she found it quite strange herself. In her second and third lives, whenever she saw “Jiang Qi,” she only felt chills of disgust and nauseating anger.

Yet now, her feelings toward Jiang Qi were exactly the same as at the very beginning, she couldn’t help but feel her heart race, as if she were facing a different person.

A different person?

Something flashed through Chi Shuang’s mind, too quickly to grasp.

Her lips pressed together seriously: “Go back to your room and entertain yourself for a while. Something suddenly came up.”

“Ah? But I thought we were going to do face masks?” Jiang Qi didn’t understand why Chi Shuang had suddenly turned pale, standing there with a confused and hurt tone.

All she got in response was the “bang” of a closing door.

“Alright then.” Jiang Qi sighed to herself. She had been gently stood up.

Over the past two days, the weather had heated up quickly, especially after yesterday’s rain. The sun beat down mercilessly on the ground, with temperatures approaching 38 degrees Celsius.

They would need to bring things for the promotional photo shoot. Jiang Qi took a milky-white backpack from her suitcase and packed a power bank, sunscreen spray, a sunglasses case, and a low-power rechargeable handheld fan.

Standing by the bed, she scanned the room. After a moment’s thought, she stuffed an unopened pack of preserved plums from the bedside table into her bag.

Checking her wristwatch, only fifteen minutes had passed. Jiang Qi decided to wash her face.

The door to Chi Shuang’s room across the hall remained tightly shut.

This two-story Western-style house wasn’t a recent construction, and like most old houses, it suffered from poor soundproofing.

Jiang Qi glanced around to make sure there were no cameras or filming crews nearby. Then, like a creep, he leaned close to Chi Shuang’s door, lowering his gaze to listen intently.

All he could hear, however, was the rapid clatter of keyboard typing.

Probably working on something, Jiang Qi thought to himself.