The Whole World Is Waiting for Me and My Ex-Girlfriend to Remarry (Entertainment Industry) - Chapter 21

A thin white slip dress by the bedside in the dead of night.

Largely thanks to Zhong Qing’s influence, by the time the first month’s salary from the assessment came in, Dong Huaci was feeling quite generous. She grandly sent half of it to her mother, but then turned into a total miser with the remaining ninety percent, locking it away tightly. She ate in the cafeteria, drank plain water, and had zero interest in entertainment or spending. Her only “luxury” was grabbing small snacks from the convenience store at the bottom of the company building. Occasionally, in the middle of the night after an especially grueling training session, she would creep out of the dormitory like a little hamster.

He Xizi had become annoyed several times: “Dong Huaci~ why can’t you just buy them earlier? You’re making me hungry too, you know.” She was from Jiangsu, and her speech naturally carried a certain sweet, coquettish lilt. Later, after Dong Huaci entered the entertainment industry, many of her own “acting cute” tricks would carry the shadow and tone of He Xizi’s feminine cadence.

“Oh, Xixi, I’m sorry for waking you.” Dong Huaci spoke softly, furtively turning on a small desk lamp. Her small face looked even more pitiable under the stark white light. “I’m just starving.”

He Xizi checked the time on her phone and nodded with an air of great magnanimity. The dormitory was still pitched in darkness. He Xizi glanced toward Zhong Qing’s bed, where Zhong Qing remained as still as a mountain with steady breathing. “Then keep it down. That one’s sleep is even lighter than mine, and she has a terrible morning temper.”

Dong Huaci nodded vigorously and haphazardly. She was wearing a thin white slip dress; since they were all women, she didn’t bother hiding, revealing her clear body curves as she climbed out of bed and began fumbling around for something to throw on. He Xizi closed her phone, and the dorm returned to its initial silence. Dong Huaci regretted tossing her clothes around the day before; the more she looked, the less she could find to wear. Fearing that her movements would disturb her roommates, she slowed down further. As she stepped onto the floor, she heard the faint sound of Zhong Qing turning over in her bed.

“Did I wake you too?”

Their dormitory didn’t have bed curtains for privacy, but the indoor space wasn’t small. The beds were all on the floor, arranged in pairs facing each other. Dong Huaci was in the innermost corner, with He Xizi opposite her. To her right, near the door, was Zhong Qing; the bed opposite Zhong Qing was still vacant. From this angle, when Dong Huaci turned her head slightly, what flickered before Zhong Qing’s eyes were Dong Huaci’s exposed collarbones and her long, slender arms, which glowed with a pale, cool light in the night.

Zhong Qing opened her eyes with a lazy fatigue. Her messy black hair almost covered most of her expression; Dong Huaci could only feel her gaze, which remained as aggressive as ever. Even though she had just woken up in a daze, it still made Dong Huaci feel a strange sense of “thief-like” guilt. But there was likely no hatred in that gaze; instead, there was something else—what was it? Dong Huaci felt her legs go weak; her hands stopped moving. It felt exactly like the dull ache in her thighs right after a dance class. Yes, it was a kind of… stagnation. Her heart pounded, like an insect falling into a web. She felt as though… she had been locked onto.

“What are you doing?” Zhong Qing’s voice was a bit hoarse and muffled, but it remained undeniably charming. She was a natural-born talent for singing love songs.

“I’m going down to buy something to eat.” Dong Huaci bent over like a cat, her eyelashes trembling as she faced Zhong Qing’s bedside. “But… I suddenly forgot where my little cardigan is. I haven’t taken it out all summer, but I’m too lazy to change clothes.”

Her slip dress was white and slightly sheer.

Zhong Qing pretended she wasn’t fully awake, but her eyes were already fixed on the areas below the collarbone where too much skin was showing. Dong Huaci’s figure wasn’t the absolute “top-tier” type, but the curves were just right—not vulgar, yet incredibly alluring. That was the agonizing part. To be precise, she wasn’t yet a high-end “boutique apple” that had been packaged, tied with a ribbon, and put in a gift box; she was a wild fruit within Zhong Qing’s reach. Zhong Qing felt sorry for objectifying Dong Huaci this way, and her thoughts even led her to believe she was being lewd, but she had to admit—she was reaching her limit.

She couldn’t keep up the act much longer.

Pretending to be a “normal person”—no, pretending to be heterosexual—was just to avoid trouble and fit in better. It had never been a problem before. Zhong Qing had suffered the consequences of being “out” in the past, but since not everyone understood that “being a lesbian doesn’t mean liking every woman you see,” she figured it wasn’t a big deal. She didn’t feel the need to apply for a private room just for that. She had good friends, and dancing with female friends never gave her any special feelings. Her “life mask” had worked perfectly in reality without a single hitch—until the eighteen-year-old Dong Huaci dropped from the sky, crashing into every corner of her life like a rainstorm.

She. Had. Thoughts.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. It was a kind of… destiny’s attraction. As the midnight demons crept around, Zhong Qing forced her eyes shut and said, “Wear my clothes.”

“What?” Dong Huaci asked.

Zhong Qing simply sat up. Her temper wasn’t great as she pulled off the black T-shirt she was wearing for sleep. Dong Huaci watched, stunned and unable to look away, as she saw Zhong Qing’s bare upper body—nothing but a cross necklace hanging at her chest. Her physique was so good it made Dong Huaci immediately turn her face away. Zhong Qing brushed her hair back and pulled the quilt over herself, but an inexplicable fire seemed to be growing within her: “We change clothes in the dorm every day; it’s not like you haven’t seen it. Put it on and go quickly. If you’re not sleeping, I still need to.”

Dong Huaci knew she was in the wrong, but her face was still red enough to bleed. She silently slipped on the T-shirt Zhong Qing handed her. Now she was fully covered, though the outfit looked completely mismatched. She hurriedly grabbed her phone, slipped on her slippers, tossed her keys into her pocket, and ran toward the door.

The door closed, but Zhong Qing’s breathing became increasingly unstable.

She stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, knowing full well that her actions toward Dong Huaci had long since crossed the boundaries of what she defined as “friendship.” She didn’t know how much He Xizi had just seen, but He Xizi was someone who knew her quite well.

Zhong Qing said, “Xixi, are you awake?”

From the other side, He Xizi rolled over: “Heard nothing, saw nothing, not providing emotional counseling.”

Zhong Qing let out a soft groan: “Help me.”

He Xizi sat up and opened her small phone: “I thought you were playing it quite cool since the new roommate arrived. You stopped asking me to write songs. This whole month, you’ve been radiating an aura as cold as a block of ice. How come as soon as she leaves, you’re asking me for help?”

Zhong Qing: “Am I?”

He Xizi looked like she had guessed it all along: “Tell me, when did you fall in love?”

He Xizi had known about Zhong Qing’s orientation for a long time; they were in the same year. Moreover, when He Xizi was heartbroken right after entering the company, it was Zhong Qing who comforted her. During those talks, Zhong Qing had explained how her own orientation awakened, what patriarchy was, and why she didn’t love men, helping He Xizi get over that cold-blooded boyfriend who wasn’t worth the tears. He Xizi was originally a “little woman” on the outside, but now she was determined to be a “little woman” to attract the audience while being a “big woman” on the inside who only cared about money. But in Zhong Qing’s words, He Xizi just needed to be herself.

Zhong Qing rolled over: “Was I too wild just now?”

He Xizi: “If you were a… well, you know, a guy… you’d already be in jail.”

Zhong Qing: “I wasn’t fully awake. Did I scare her? I just feel like… I think I’m quite charming.”

Those last words made He Xizi roll around on her bed laughing. She said, “Spoken like a true lesbian. Maybe you should update your WeChat Moments more with those melancholic, metaphorical posts. Change your background image, post some poetry—I feel like that has a better future.”

Zhong Qing frowned deeply: “Would she misunderstand? No, I really don’t think she’s someone who likes girls. What do you think? That face is just a… she said she’s never been in a relationship.”

“You’ve got a bright future; you’ve already managed to dig up her dating history.” He Xizi started playing with her phone. “Hey, I have an inspiration. Want me to send you some captions?”

Zhong Qing felt a bit helpless: “You send them. I knew you hadn’t given up.” She suddenly grew quiet and sighed. “I’m afraid if I tell her, we won’t even be friends anymore. If I say it out of the blue, I’ll scare her. Besides… I’m not even sure yet.”

“I think your behavior just now was scary enough. If this were posted on a Weibo vent account, it would be ‘shocking content’ pinned for three days,” He Xizi stabbed with her cool wit.

So, when Dong Huaci returned clutching a pile of roasted chicken wings, large chips, near-expiry salad, and sweet beans, she found the dormitory lights on late at night. Zhong Qing had changed into another shirt and was sitting at the table with He Xizi, leaving a spot for Dong Huaci. He Xizi sat between them, waving at Dong Huaci and saying they couldn’t sleep either, so they ordered takeout to eat together.

Although Zhong Qing didn’t look up during the conversation, Dong Huaci somehow felt that Zhong Qing had already looked her over completely—and was even quite satisfied with her wearing her clothes. He Xizi gave a very convincing look of surprise: “Dong Huaci, I have to say, you look quite good in Zhong Qing’s clothes. You both have great figures; you could practically swap wardrobes.”

The styles are just too different, though. And Zhong Qing’s clothes are too expensive; I really couldn’t afford to pay her back if I ruined them, Xixi.

Dong Huaci smiled, thanked He Xizi for the compliment, and sat down. Like a little mouse, she was the first to tear open the packaging and start eating, sharing more than half with Zhong Qing and He Xizi. He Xizi shot Zhong Qing a look that Dong Huaci missed entirely. Dong Huaci was savoring the fresh roasted chicken leg from the convenience store. Zhong Qing, with her long hair down, sat with her head lowered lazily, her mind wandering. Her thoughts were a mess of fragments. She watched Dong Huaci—who didn’t have a manicure—and noticed her rounded pink nails with a bit of food residue on them. For some reason, it gave her an appetite and made things difficult to bear. She thought of some images she perhaps shouldn’t have seen—and not just from tonight. Dong Huaci really loved that white slip dress that was a bit sheer on top. Countless times in the darkness, Dong Huaci would sit on the bed, putting her hands behind her head to fix her hair; as her arms lifted, the fabric would cling tight, revealing everything in its primal state without any reservation. She would then innocently glance at her and ask: “Zhong Qing, what are you writing?” “Zhong Qing, are you eating?” “Zhong Qing, did you just get back from dance?” All those miscellaneous questions.

Zhong Qing unconsciously tapped her knuckles randomly on the table. Returning to the present moment of this deep night, both He Xizi and Dong Huaci couldn’t help but look at her—though their moods were likely very different: one nervous, one curious. Zhong Qing gave a gifted, casual smile. She said, “That was just a panbeat score, ‘Small Town Summer,’ just tapping it out randomly. Doesn’t it sound good? My mother taught me. Since we’re bored anyway, do you want to hear me tell a story?”