The Premeditated Seductress Childhood Friend - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Being Good To You

Since she couldn’t get a clear answer, Xu Qingyu stopped asking. She served herself a bowl of silver ear and red date soup, sipping it slowly, one spoonful at a time. Song Yixi finished two bowls of soup and started on the meat.

Xu Qingyu was full quickly and sat back to watch her eat. “Is it good?”

“Mhm.” Song Yixi’s mouth was full, so she couldn’t speak; she just gave a big thumbs up.

It wasn’t easy to find such a good restaurant in such a remote location. No—it wasn’t just good. It felt like a pure tonic, slow-simmered without additives or “food tech.”

She swallowed a mouthful of soup and said, “I’m going to come here often.”

“As long as you like it.”

Seeing that she was nearly finished, Xu Qingyu called the waiter over for the bill. A long receipt was placed in front of Xu Qingyu. Song Yixi caught a glimpse of it, and suddenly the pigeon meat in her mouth lost its flavor.

This one meal cost over a thousand yuan.

Xu Qingyu didn’t even blink; she scanned the code and paid. “Can I open a membership card here?”

The waiter said yes and mentioned there were discounts for members.

Xu Qingyu said, “Open one. Top it up with ten thousand first.”

“Cough, cough—!” Song Yixi choked violently. “Wait, why do you have so much more pocket money than me?” She thought her three thousand a month was plenty.

Xu Qingyu glanced at her and said flatly, “I earned it myself.”

Song Yixi pursed her lips, silenced. Xu Qingyu had grown up in a Traditional Chinese Medicine clinic; she was skilled in the professional techniques of “looking, listening, questioning, and feeling the pulse.” She had won numerous awards. For her, earning this kind of money really wasn’t that difficult.

Only Song Yixi knew how much more effort Xu Qingyu had to put in compared to a healthy person, given her frail body. Not wanting to waste Xu Qingyu’s money, Song Yixi finished every last drop of the soup. “I’m full. Let’s go.”

“Mhm.”

Xu Qingyu took the membership card from the front desk and handed it directly to Song Yixi. “Take it. Tell me when the balance is low.”

Song Yixi didn’t dare take it. “You made this for me?”

Even though her friendship with Xu Qingyu was worth far more than ten thousand yuan, the thought that this was money Xu Qingyu had earned by treating patients while dragging her weak body along made it hard for her to spend.

“Yes.” Xu Qingyu forced it into her hand. “If you like the food, eat more of it.”

The newly issued card was cool to the touch, but it felt heavy in Song Yixi’s palm. “Why… why are you being so good to me?”

It was a different kind of “good” than before. An overt, blatant kind of good. Song Yixi had never experienced this before. She was afraid that just as she had learned self-control, she would be swept away again by Xu Qingyu’s tenderness. If one day Xu Qingyu stopped being this good to her, she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Xu Qingyu was silent for a moment before asking, “Haven’t we always been like this since we were kids?” So close they were like one family.

Song Yixi thought about it and said, “When we were little, it was because our families were close. We were just thrown together a lot. But you wouldn’t do things like this—buying me a phone, giving me a membership card, and… ‘compensating’ me.”

“So that’s how you see it.” Xu Qingyu’s lip twitched slightly.

She had guessed that their perspectives were different and that there were misunderstandings, but she hadn’t expected that in Song Yixi’s eyes, they were just “thrown together.” From her perspective, it wasn’t like that at all.

She had treated Song Yixi differently from everyone else since childhood. She never brought friends home, but Song Yixi could come whenever she wanted. If it were just because of their parents, Song Yixi wouldn’t have been allowed in her bedroom, let alone be allowed to sleep in her bed covered in injuries after a fight.

Perhaps she had been too reserved in the past. She never said anything, and she never took the initiative. Just like the misunderstanding about her dating—if she had sought out Song Yixi sooner, given the girl’s personality, she could have coaxed the reason out of her in a few sentences. A simple explanation would have settled it; they wouldn’t have needed a cold war for so many years.

“Song Yixi.” Xu Qingyu told her clearly, “It won’t be like that anymore.”

Song Yixi felt her heart flutter at the sound of her name. “Like what?”

Xu Qingyu said, “If I’m going to be good to you, I’ll always be good to you. Buying you things, compensating you—it has nothing to do with our families.”

Song Yixi stared at her, dazed. Nothing to do with our families. Then what does it have to do with? And “always”…

On the way back, Song Yixi’s mind didn’t stop for a second. Her heart was beating abnormally fast. Her brain was so scrambled that after they got out of the car, she followed Xu Qingyu right into her apartment without even realizing it.

Xu Qingyu didn’t remind her. She closed the door and placed the takeout containers on the shoe cabinet. With her hands empty, Song Yixi finally snapped out of it.

“Sorry, I walked into the wrong place.”

She turned to leave, but Xu Qingyu caught her by the wrist. “Since you’ve already walked in, don’t leave.”

It sounded remarkably like a villain’s line. Song Yixi leaned against the door, feeling a bit intimidated. “What do you mean?”

Xu Qingyu stepped closer, standing on her tiptoes. Her breath brushed against Song Yixi’s collarbone and traveled up to her cheek. “Since I treated you to dinner, I might as well see it through. Let me teach you how to kiss again.”

Song Yixi’s throat tightened; she swallowed hard. Four years of hard-won self-control collapsed in an instant.

Xu Qingyu rested one hand on her shoulder. Slowly, the tip of her nose brushed Song Yixi’s cheek before she pulled back slightly, acting as if she were shy. Song Yixi tilted her head back, trying to keep out of reach. The ten-centimeter height difference wasn’t that great; since Xu Qingyu was on tiptoes and standing so close, Song Yixi couldn’t truly escape.

But seeing her resistance, Xu Qingyu seemingly lost interest. She didn’t persist, instead letting go of her shoulder to step away.

Now that Xu Qingyu wasn’t taking the initiative, Song Yixi was the one who grabbed her hand. “You…”

She was quite dissatisfied with Xu Qingyu’s “teasing and then leaving” behavior, but she had no excuse to scold her. She struggled to find the words. “Weren’t you going to teach me?” Her voice was so tiny it was like a faint buzz.

Xu Qingyu acted as if she hadn’t heard clearly. “Hmm?”

Song Yixi gritted her teeth and said it again: “Teach me.”

Xu Qingyu heard her this time, but she acted like she didn’t understand. “Teach you what?”

Knowing she was doing it on purpose, Song Yixi pursed her lips and fell silent. Not getting the answer she wanted, Xu Qingyu smiled slightly and handed the takeout food from the cabinet into Song Yixi’s hands.

“I’m a bit tired. Remember to heat this up before you eat it.”

Song Yixi was speechless, giving her only a resentful look. Although reluctant, Song Yixi wasn’t thick-skinned; Xu Qingyu had clearly given her the “guest-leaving order.” Unable to say anything more, she could only leave. She could lose anything, but she couldn’t lose face.

…

After returning and putting the soup in the microwave, Song Yixi stood there and frustratedly ruffled her hair. If she had known, she wouldn’t have rejected her in the first place. What was I pretending for? No, what was Xu Qingyu pretending for?

Song Yixi raised her fists and punched the air twice.

Yu Wei happened to open her door just then. “What are you doing?”

Song Yixi immediately stopped, smoothing her hair back as if nothing happened. “Nothing. I brought you some soup. Drink it while it’s hot.”

With that, she retreated to her room with quick, tiny steps under Yu Wei’s suspicious gaze.

Her heart was still racing because of Xu Qingyu. Song Yixi lay face down on her bed for a while, unable to calm down. She felt for the phone in her pocket, ducked under her covers, and with a trace of guilt, clicked open her hidden photo album.