The Amnesiac Drama Queen Is Crashing the Live Stream - Chapter 25.2

She stood precisely opposite Xia Qingyue, right behind her.

There was no telling how long she had been there or how much she had overheard.

Xia Xingtang’s body froze instantly.

She opened her mouth, her eyes darting around nervously. “What are you doing here?”

Though Xia Qingyue and Yu Feifei had already stepped away, the small balcony, which could only accommodate a few people, suddenly felt overwhelmingly crowded.

“You’ve been lured away for too long, so I came to check on you.”

“Oh.” Xia Xingtang’s mind went blank. She responded woodenly and then fell silent.

“Nothing else to say?”

Xia Xingtang’s fingers curled slightly, clutching the fan in her hand tightly. “H-how long have you been here?”

Pei Luoqing watched her with amusement.

Perhaps it was the extra drinks she’d had that evening, but even her voice sounded intoxicating. “What if I said I just got here? Would you believe me?”

Xia Xingtang fell silent.

Clearly, she didn’t believe it.

If it weren’t for the two-story drop behind her, she would have seriously considered jumping.

Pei Luoqing straightened up, a hint of laughter still lingering in her eyes. “Well, anyway, I didn’t hear someone say I’m devoted and deeply in love, so much so I’d jump into a lake or smash into a wall for her, that I’m good-looking and even-tempered…”

Clatter. The fan in Xia Xingtang’s hand fell to the ground.

Pei Luoqing took two steps forward, picked up the fan, and handed it back to Xia Xingtang, admiring the blush that spread from her neck to the tips of her ears.

Then, suppressing a laugh, she drawled as she continued recounting, “The kind of catch even Xia Qingyue couldn’t find with a lantern.”

Xia Xingtang stared blankly at Pei Luoqing, feeling as though her entire mind had gone empty in that instant.

But Pei Luoqing clearly had no intention of letting her off the hook. She sighed with feigned emotion, “So, in Tangtang’s heart, am I really that perfect?”

By the time Xia Xingtang came to her senses, Pei Luoqing had already led her out of the banquet hall.

Passing through that door, the extravagant revelry inside was left behind. The evening breeze outside brought her a moment of clarity.

After the black Rolls-Royce started moving, Xia Xingtang suddenly spoke, “Pei Luoqing, you’re childish.”

Eavesdropping on people’s conversations, bullying a kid, utterly childish.

Pei Luoqing didn’t deny it. “Mm.”

Xia Xingtang was in a good mood. “And I never said I was going home with you.”

Pei Luoqing still went along with her. “Mm.”

This compliance left Xia Xingtang momentarily stunned.

What’s going on? Pei Luoqing hadn’t drunk much earlier, just a few extra glasses to cover for her since she shouldn’t drink with her injured foot.

Could she have been pressured into drinking more after Xia Xingtang left?

But Xia Xingtang quickly dismissed that possibility. That sly fox Pei Luoqing would never let herself be at a disadvantage.

That left only one possibility: Was Pei Luoqing actually dating her now?

Help!

Could she please have the old Pei Luoqing back?

Xia Xingtang turned toward the car window. “Then you’re still making decisions on your own.”

“Should I take that to mean you’d rather stay with me at Shili Fangfei tonight?” Pei Luoqing’s voice was cool, tinged with a deliberately pitiful tone. “The guest rooms here are quite popular among couples, you know.”

Xia Xingtang: ???

How shameless! Did she think Xia Xingtang didn’t know that the most frequent guests here were CEOs like her, often accompanied by their mistresses?

What ordinary mistress would spend thousands to stay here for one night?

Xia Xingtang decided to turn Pei Luoqing’s words back on her. “Aren’t you a bit old to be playing the college student game?”

Pei Luoqing replied, “Because I’m childish.”

Great. Pei Luoqing had successfully circled the conversation back to that.

Xia Xingtang really wanted to pry open that brain, worth who knows how many billions, and see if it had truly been rattled tonight.

Where was her maturity and steadiness? Her low-key restraint? Had they all been eaten by a dog?

Lost in thought, she accidentally muttered the words aloud.

Pei Luoqing chuckled softly. “Well, maybe a certain little dog did eat them.”

Xia Xingtang turned her face expressionlessly toward the window and refused to engage further.

Outside, the temperature in Yuncheng, which had reached 30 degrees during the day, had dropped considerably by night. A thin layer of mist had formed on the window.

In a fit of pettiness, Xia Xingtang drew a stick figure on the fogged glass, kneeling, holding a crown.

She added several dots above its head, representing bumps from being beaten up, a symbolic thrashing of Pei Luoqing.

Pei Luoqing had been scrolling through messages on her phone but glanced over when she noticed Xia Xingtang doodling.

She patiently waited for Xia Xingtang to finish her masterpiece before leaning in closer.

Xia Xingtang felt a wave of warmth from behind her, and her loosely draped hair seemed to press more closely against her back.

The qipao she wore tonight was thin, and even the slightest proximity brought a distinct sensation.

Pei Luoqing carried the familiar scent of cold fragrance, mingled with a hint of alcohol, enveloping Xia Xingtang.

The distance was too close, her back felt as if it had instantly caught fire.

Pei Luoqing reached out and drew another stick figure beside the one not yet swallowed by the mist.

In this posture, she seemed to encircle Xia Xingtang, holding her in a loose embrace.

Pei Luoqing had even meticulously drawn facial features on the stick figures and surrounded them with shimmering light effects, symbolizing their identities.

Xia Xingtang felt strangely unsettled by the atmosphere, her heart racing uncontrollably.

She tried to convince herself that the stuffiness from the car’s enclosed space was causing this illusion.

After calming herself slightly, she nonchalantly lifted her head, only to see two more stick figures drawn beside the original pair.

The kneeling stick figure had now stood up and was placing a crown on the standing one’s head.

Both stick figures were surrounded by sparkling light effects.

But the most crucial detail was that their faces were pressed together.

Even without clearly drawn features, it was obvious what the two stick figures were doing.

Xia Xingtang’s expression froze. She stared for a long moment before finally confirming she hadn’t misread it.

Had Pei Luoqing actually drawn stick figures kissing? Was she treating this like a comic strip?

What’s next? Should she draw a bed for Pei Luoqing to continue her artistic endeavors?

Shameless!

She couldn’t imagine the usually serious and aloof Pei Luoqing having this side to her.

So childish. Was she making up for a deprived childhood?

But remembering what she’d learned about Pei Luoqing’s family background recently, Xia Xingtang’s heart softened. With an illegitimate child older than the legitimate daughter, Pei Luoqing’s childhood couldn’t have been happy.

Moreover, she’d heard that three years ago, that illegitimate child had already been brought into the family business by Pei’s father. If not for the car accident, Yunji Group might have ended up with that illegitimate child.

Everyone despised mistresses and illegitimate children, this was especially unavoidable in their social circle.

Her heart softening momentarily, Xia Xingtang’s words came out with a slightly tender tone: “Are you crazy?”

Pei Luoqing remained calm: “Weren’t you the one who drew me first?”

“Who drew you? Don’t flatter yourself.”

“Oh? I never said I drew you either,” Pei Luoqing gave Xia Xingtang a meaningful look. “Or could it be that you’re imagining these little figures as us?”

Xia Xingtang’s recently steadied heartbeat quickened again.

She opened her mouth to retort but found herself at a loss for words.

Frustrated, she pushed Pei Luoqing away and curled up in the corner, muttering sulkily: “If you keep bullying me like this, you’re really going to lose me.”

Pei Luoqing watched Xia Xingtang’s subtle expressions with interest, her vivid, striking features somehow captivating.

Pretending to be timid and submissive, yet with an undeniable stubbornness in her expression.

Given the chance, she’d bite back at any moment.

Pei Luoqing sighed. “Xia Xingtang.”

“What?” Xia Xingtang straightened up, wondering what she’d done wrong now.

“The premise of losing you is that I once had you,” Pei Luoqing exhaled softly. “When you say things like that, it’s easy for me to mistake it as a hint.”

Two adults who’d been married for three years, anything they did behind closed doors was perfectly justified.

Xia Xingtang turned to meet Pei Luoqing’s gaze. In the dim, confined space of the car, all she could hear was the pounding of her own heartbeat.

One after another, the sounds grew louder and faster.