When I Woke Up, I Had Three Romantic Partners - Chapter 74

“You…”

Before Si Jiamo could finish speaking, Chi Jinqing said, “Come with me.”

Under the director’s surprised gaze, Si Jiamo followed Chi Jinqing into her private dressing room.

As soon as the door was locked, Si Jiamo stared straight at Chi Jinqing, her gaze direct. Without needing to say anything, anyone could tell what she wanted to ask.

Chi Jinqing: “How are you here?”

And even here… playing a supporting role and being bullied.

Si Jiamo’s voice was slightly husky: “I was waiting for you.”

Chi Jinqing didn’t speak. She knew what Si Jiamo was referring to, but she hadn’t made up her mind yet. So, she rested her chin on her hand and glanced at Si Jiamo, remaining silent, as if she hadn’t recalled anything.

Si Jiamo couldn’t gauge her intention and was afraid that Chi Jinqing might truly forget her vow. After a moment of silence, she couldn’t help but speak: “You said before that you would give me an answer.”

“It’s been two years, and I’ve been waiting.”

Chi Jinqing said casually: “The fact that I haven’t given it means I haven’t figured it out.”

“What’s the rush with something I haven’t decided on?”

“I waited eight years; can’t you wait two?”

Si Jiamo was choked speechless. She didn’t know what to say, as this was all trouble she had created in the past. Now, no matter what she said, she couldn’t force the other person.

“I’m sorry…”

She could only apologize with her head lowered. Besides apologizing, it seemed she couldn’t say anything else.

Chi Jinqing: “Did it take you two years just to learn how to apologize?”

Si Jiamo pursed her lips and turned her head away.

Chi Jinqing looked at her and suddenly said, “You’ve lost everything now, haven’t you?”

Si Jiamo blinked, not understanding her meaning. She felt she hadn’t said that, but if that’s what Chi Jinqing believed, it wasn’t wrong, as she was indeed somewhat penniless in this industry now.

“What do you want to do?”

“Hmm…”

Chi Jinqing rested her chin on her hand, her gaze lingering on Si Jiamo’s face, which, despite the light makeup, couldn’t hide its aggressive nature. She contemplated the past events and her own heart.

To be honest, seeing Si Jiamo use everything she had to ‘perish together’ with An Beiqing, it was impossible for her heart not to be touched.

This was the object of her youthful crush, and the one she had been relentlessly pursuing and entangled with for so many years.

She had felt attraction, experienced heartbreak, and even considered never seeing her again.

But seeing the other person being trampled in the humble mud, a look completely different from the aloof expression she remembered, what she felt more was a sense of discomfort.

Perhaps she was just a person who, no matter what, desired peace.

“You no longer have anything I need, and you are no longer important to me, so I can only give you one answer.”

Si Jiamo, whose face had turned pale upon hearing the preceding words and who looked momentarily shaky, stared blankly at Chi Jinqing, awaiting her final verdict.

“We can’t go back to the past. I hope you can move forward.”

Chi Jinqing’s voice was very cold, as cold as the heart of Chi Jinqing that Si Jiamo had once frozen.

Si Jiamo’s lips trembled slightly, then she gritted her teeth. Even though she knew the result, she still wanted a more decent ending.

“I…”

“However, considering you sacrificed a lot to help me before, I can’t just ignore you.”

As soon as she said this, it seemed to give Si Jiamo hope, and her eyes lit up again.

Chi Jinqing: “Don’t get too happy too soon. I have a condition.”

Si Jiamo eagerly said, “Tell me! Anything I can do!”

Chi Jinqing curved her lips. Though sitting, she seemed to look down at Si Jiamo, saying flatly, “Just like you demanded of me back then, now I demand of you: become my exclusive pet.”

“Our relationship can only be this way. You are my dog, and I am your master.”

Si Jiamo: “!”

Her voice was strained: “…Dog?”

What did that mean?

“It means you show up when I need you and get lost when I don’t.”

Chi Jinqing twirled a strand of her long hair around her index finger, her expression indifferent: “I will give you money and resources, just like you did back then.”

Ultimately, she still resented the decision Si Jiamo made back then, so she wanted to humiliate Si Jiamo in a more insulting way. This time, she would use her own methods to make Si Jiamo remember who held the dominant position.

Her years of being subservient were merely because she owed money, and she owed Si Jiamo a favor. Now, the favor was repaid, and the debt was something Si Jiamo herself had forfeited. Although Si Jiamo didn’t want it, Chi Jinqing still honestly returned the money to her.

By most standards, Si Jiamo had enough to survive.

But if she wanted to continue in the entertainment industry, it wasn’t considered very wealthy.

So Chi Jinqing offered this choice.

“Just use your body to give this relationship a suitable new symbol.”

Chi Jinqing stood up and pinched Si Jiamo’s chin. Their height difference was originally minimal, but with Chi Jinqing wearing 15-centimeter heels, she appeared a notch taller.

Even though Si Jiamo had done such an outrageous thing, Chi Jinqing still wanted to be entangled with this person. Even if it meant being in pain forever, she didn’t want the other person to feel relaxed.

They had to experience equal suffering to alleviate the resentment in her heart.

“Now, you only have me.”

Just like she did back then.

“So, are you going to refuse?”

Chi Jinqing and Si Jiamo were very close, so close that their breaths intertwined, making Si Jiamo slightly dazed.

The air was both ambiguously sticky and cold, much like the relationship between the two of them.

“I am willing.”

Chi Jinqing lifted her hand and pressed it fiercely against Si Jiamo’s red lips.

Let it be this way.

Chi Jinqing thought self-destructively. She was probably destined to be ruined by this person in this lifetime.

.

In the following days, Chi Jinqing truly did as she said, providing for Si Jiamo, and Si Jiamo had to appear whenever she was summoned.

This kind of life didn’t last long before Ye Jin came with the final result.

She looked at Si Jiamo, who was clearly not free but willingly accepted her situation, and was extremely puzzled.

“Are you crazy?”

She actually abandoned so many shares and her status, choosing to become an illicit underground lover.

“I understand you less and less now. Are you people truly normal?”

Ye Jin felt that these people were the real lunatics, tormenting each other, and never learning to cherish one another. Perhaps only through genuine loss could these two realize the other’s importance.

Si Jiamo’s expression was calm: “As long as she likes it.”

“As long as she likes it, any form of compensation from me is fine.”

Ye Jin felt she was utterly irrational: “But it’s not a solution to keep deceiving her like this. You can’t possibly hide it from her forever, Si Jiamo, she will eventually find out.”

“Then let’s hide it for as long as we can.”

Si Jiamo clipped a flower and held it in her hand, sighing lightly: “Maybe one day, she will have a change of heart.”

Until then, let them continue this entanglement.

Before the break of dawn, let her stay in the darkness and take a good look at the life Chi Jinqing lived all these years.

Ye Jin was speechless.

“Suit yourself. As for your mother…”

Si Jiamo: “My sister will take good care of her.”

She lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling, but her tone was firm: “For so many years, I’ve followed my mother’s plan. This time, I want to live for myself again.”

“I don’t want to lose her again. I… can’t bear it.”

Chi Jinqing, sitting behind the monitor and listening to these words, was expressionless. Xiao He, standing beside her, secretly glanced at her face, and after a while, whispered, “Sister Chi, are you really planning to continue living with Sister Si like this?”

Chi Jinqing’s expression didn’t change, and she calmly retorted, “Why not?”

“Do you think I should forgive her?”

Thinking of what Si Jiamo had done in the past, Xiao He hesitated and shook his head. If Chi Jinqing just let her off, then what was the point of all the suffering Chi Jinqing had endured over the years?

But if she didn’t forgive, what did it mean for Si Jiamo to continue like this?

The situation between these two was too complicated, and Xiao He couldn’t figure it out.

“Just focus on your own work; don’t worry about the rest.”

Chi Jinqing: “When I finally feel like I’ve had enough and am tired of this game, I’ll let her go.”

Until then, let things continue as they are.

During the conversation, Si Jiamo’s gaze seemed to accidentally sweep across the monitor in the corner above her head, then she retracted her gaze, as if it were truly just an accident.

Chi Jinqing saw it but didn’t feel the need to say anything.

The two of them tacitly chose to remain silent.

Perhaps this arrangement was fine too.

After Ye Jin and Xiao He left, Si Jiamo sat on the first floor and Chi Jinqing sat on the second. They both tacitly avoided mentioning any other words, allowing the sun to slowly set behind them, the afterglow illuminating their identical expressions—calm and hesitant.

Perhaps one day in the future, Chi Jinqing will have a change of heart and choose to leave this relationship, or perhaps she will choose to forgive. But for now, both chose to escape.

When the sun completely dropped below the horizon, Si Jiamo stood at the door of the second-floor room, her gaze fixed on Chi Jinqing, who was holding a cup of coffee with her back to her. After quietly watching for a long time, her voice slowly dissipated into the last ray of sunlight.

Chi Jinqing waited until Si Jiamo closed the door and left before slowly putting down the already cold coffee. Gazing down at her reflection in the coffee, she softly responded, “Mhm.”

And the sentence Si Jiamo had said was: If you are willing, I can wait forever, because I love you.

Love is not a constraint, and Si Jiamo finally understood.

She finally chose to wait, waiting for a genuine affection that she hadn’t received for many years.

She didn’t know if she could still wait for it.

But until that moment arrives, she is willing to maintain the current situation.