When I Woke Up, I Had Three Romantic Partners - Chapter 56

Xiao He quickly put away her phone, feigning nonchalance. “I’m here.”

For now, it’s probably best not to tell Sis about this kind of thing.

Chi Jinqing looked at Xiao He, who seemed somewhat guilty, and asked doubtfully, “What’s wrong with you today? Why are your hands a little cold?”

Xiao He avoided eye contact. “Sis, if—if there’s something that benefits you, but is bad for someone else, what would you do?”

“That depends on how it’s bad for the other person.”

“Why are you asking this today?”

Chi Jinqing’s expression grew serious. “Did something happen?”

Xiao He vehemently shook her head. “No, nothing happened.”

Chi Jinqing: “What do you think your expression looks like when you lie?”

Xiao He: “…”

“Hand over your phone.”

Chi Jinqing reached out, leaning against the hallway wall, her gaze fixed intently on Xiao He.

Xiao He: “…”

Xiao He pursed her lips and handed over the phone.

Chi Jinqing logged into Xiao He’s account and skimmed through the headlines, right up until she saw the trending topic expressing sympathy for Chi Jinqing. She frowned and clicked on it.

This trending topic was too strange today. And why was it about sympathizing with her?

Coupled with Xiao He’s words, Chi Jinqing felt more and more certain that there must be something big going on.

The explosive revelations quickly started to appear within the topic. The deeper Chi Jinqing read, the more tightly her eyebrows furrowed. What was the meaning of this?

She dialed Su Yunhui’s number.

Su Yunhui was lying at home looking at the headlines. She had indeed pushed this forward, but she didn’t just want this result.

“Hello.”

Su Yunhui’s lazy, nonchalant tone made Chi Jinqing a bit uncomfortable. She pressed her lips together. “What’s going on with the headlines? How could the company not buy this out? What are you trying to do?”

Su Yunhui took a drag from her cigarette and slowly blew out two smoke rings. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

Chi Jinqing: “I mean the headlines these past few days. Did you have a hand in it too?”

Some of the subsequent revelations contained things that only Su Yunhui and she knew about, information unknown to others. Therefore, she was certain this matter was absolutely related to Su Yunhui.

Su Yunhui flicked the cigarette ash, saying casually, “So what? Even if I really did move, what of it?”

“Chi Jinqing, I advise you not to interfere in this matter, or I won’t be able to protect your secrets either.”

Chi Jinqing gripped her phone tighter. “Su Yunhui, how did you turn into this kind of person?”

Su Yunhui: “I’ve always been this kind of person. To achieve my goals, I stop at nothing. This is my survival rule. If you can’t stand it, then close your eyes.”

Chi Jinqing: “Don’t you want the company anymore?”

Su Yunhui sneered. “This rotten company. I did so much for it. In the end, what did it give me?”

“This world is fundamentally different from what we imagine. Everyone thinks they will become the brightest star, but eventually, all stars will wither, fall, and be extinguished. The world will still spin without us.”

Su Yunhui exhaled a long puff of white smoke, her eyes distant. “All this superficial splendor is fake. Nothing is real, nothing is eternal.”

Chi Jinqing took a deep breath and demanded, “So you’re going to drag everyone down with you, is that right?”

“If she didn’t do anything wrong, how could I drag her down?”

Su Yunhui lowered her voice and scoffed. “Do you think she’s as simple as you are? Chi Jinqing, in your world, everything is too beautiful. Even after you lost your memory, you’re still this simple, this easy to deceive.”

“You haven’t seen the other side of the world, so you don’t understand. Even if I have to die, I’ll drag her down—we’ll perish together.”

Chi Jinqing shook her head in disbelief. “You’re crazy. You’ve truly gone mad.”

Su Yunhui gave a dull laugh. “Just let her come find me. If I retreat even half a step, she wins.”

With that, she hung up the phone and didn’t bother with any more messages.

She twisted open a bottle of rice wine beside her. It was her private collection, her favorite kind of wine, a gift from Duan Xu when they were still together years ago.

Later, when the wine was finished, she kept the bottle.

After Duan Xu left, she bought many cases and hid them away.

Whenever she felt frustrated, unhappy, or too happy and needed to celebrate, she would open a bottle to drink.

The alcohol content wasn’t very low, but mixed with soda, it was just right. A few sips wouldn’t make her drunk, only slightly tipsy, putting her in a very relaxed state.

She loved it.

This time was no different. She raised the glass towards the dimly lit moon outside, her eyes filled with twisted pleasure and a sense of revenge. Two bottles were already rolling near her. She murmured, “Duan Xu, do you see? I’ve been very brave. I no longer treat work as the most important thing. I’ve learned what it means to cherish things. When will you come back?”

“I miss you so much, Duan Xu.”

A single, hot tear rolled down her cheek. Every time she drank this wine, memories of the past would flood her mind. Every time she reminisced; her heart felt like it was being sliced open.

“Duan Xu, Duan Xu, Duan Xu…”

Su Yunhui downed the glass of wine in one gulp. Though the wine carried a sweetness, she only tasted bitterness.

She drank herself into a stupor. In her dream, she saw a young, naive Duan Xu, who was still looking at her with such affection, gently saying, “You’re back. Are you tired? When I came back from my part-time job today, I saw the supermarket had discounted spare ribs. You love them the most, don’t you? I made you sweet and sour pork ribs. Hurry and wash your hands, let’s eat.”

It all felt so real, as if they had truly returned to their innocent college days. Duan Xu still loved her, didn’t look down on her, was willing to live with her in the smallest basement apartment, and made her favorite sweet and sour pork ribs.

“Duan Xu…”

After Su Yunhui hung up, Chi Jinqing pressed her lips together, contemplating whether to call Si Jiamo.

This situation clearly looked bad. If she let it continue, it would be detrimental to everyone.

An occasional display of vulnerability might be fine, but if someone constantly played the victim, suddenly jumping out to claim they were miserable and shattering the CP fanbase they had built, the backlash could be devastating.

She didn’t want to risk that.

After much deliberation, she decided to call Si Jiamo to ask about the situation. If there was a need for coordination, she could also help on her end.

The phone rang for four or five seconds before being answered. Si Jiamo’s slightly tired voice rang out, “Ah Jin, what is it?”

Chi Jinqing said unnaturally, “Did you see what’s happening on Weibo?”

It sounded noisy on Si Jiamo’s end. She walked a short distance until the noise subsided slightly.

Si Jiamo: “I haven’t looked. Why?”

Although she hadn’t looked, how could these things not reach her ears?

So, she was well aware.

Chi Jinqing: “Aren’t you going to withdraw the trending topic? These revelations can’t be good for your image.”

Si Jiamo said carelessly, “Whatever. It’s not like anything they said is wrong.”

She herself didn’t care about those false claims, but to Chi Jinqing, it sounded like she was admitting to them.

Chi Jinqing said coldly, “If you didn’t do it, why would you admit it?”

“How can you face the fans who like you by doing this? They want an idol who can lead them in the right direction, not someone who takes all the blame, regardless of whether they are covered in dirt or not.”

Si Jiamo: “Then what kind of person am I in your mind?”

Her voice was indifferent. “Am I not exactly that kind of person? I’m despicable, taking advantage of your debt, deliberately making you sign an unfair contract, forcing you to become my secret lover.”

“And I’m shameless, deliberately preventing you from becoming famous, not letting you pay off your debt early, not giving you freedom.”

She chuckled self-deprecatingly, abandoning herself. “Everything they say is quite accurate. There’s nothing to nitpick.”

Chi Jinqing clenched her jaw. She didn’t know why, but she suddenly felt incredibly angry, angry enough to grind her teeth.

She was so furious that she didn’t even want to reply to Si Jiamo.

Si Jiamo paused for a moment. Seeing that Chi Jinqing wasn’t speaking, she said, “If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now.”

Chi Jinqing: “Wait.”

Si Jiamo: “What else?”

Chi Jinqing said through gritted teeth, “You bastard, do you think saying a few words like that can offset the years of suffering I’ve been through? I’m telling you, absolutely not.”

“You made me lose so many years of opportunity. I will absolutely not let you off that easily. Si Jiamo, if you continue to be so self-destructive, then just wait for the day I trample you underfoot.”

Si Jiamo was silent for a moment, then chuckled lightly. “I look forward to it.”

With that, she hung up the phone, infuriating Chi Jinqing to the point where she wanted to smash her phone right then and there.

“Idiot! Bastards!”

“They’re all a bunch of bastards!”

Xiao He watched Chi Jinqing nervously. It was the first time she had seen Chi Jinqing lose her temper so badly.

“Sis, what’s wrong? What about the headlines? Should we withdraw them?”

“Withdraw them! Withdraw all of them!”

Despite her explosive anger, Chi Jinqing’s rationality remained. She could use her own methods to make Si Jiamo regret it and suffer.

But she absolutely could not become a gun in someone else’s hands, pointed and firing at others at will.

Xiao He: “Then I’ll call.”

Xiao He talked to the backend of Weibo. She frowned, then increased the bid.

The two had a very intense conversation, and eventually, the trending topic was withdrawn.

Xiao He looked at Chi Jinqing aggrievedly. “Sis, they were too much! Seriously, they were deliberately waiting for us. They actually raised the price. It makes me so mad.”

Chi Jinqing was used to it and patted her shoulder. “That’s how people in this circle are. Besides, Si Jiamo’s and my status are enough to keep this headline trending longer.”

“And there are others who want to see us embarrassed, so they definitely added money to buy the hot search. If we want to withdraw it again, the money we have to spend will naturally be more.”

“Alright, let’s go to work. Keep a close eye, and don’t let this happen again.”

Xiao He pouted and muttered, “Sis, she treated you like that. Why do you still spend money to withdraw the hot search for her? We’re already out of money. We were supposed to return the money to Zhuge Wei, but now we can’t.”

“The salary from the previous drama—it all went down the drain.”