Chapter 101

Ranlong didn't look at her. She looked at the ground. There was nothing on it except gravel and fallen leaves, so she tiptoed out so she could see her sneakers. There was a little dirt on them.

She could feel Qiu An's gaze on her. They were actually very close to each other. Qiu An's breath fell on the side of her face, sometimes warm and sometimes cool.

Qiu An's hand was still hidden in her pocket, holding hers tightly.

The pockets weren't that warm, and I couldn't tell who was sweating and who wasn't. It was chilly, but no one let go.

Ranlong seems a little nervous.

It seems like Qiu An hasn't spoken for a while?

Did she misunderstand? Did Qiu An actually not want to explain this matter at all?

Inviting her out tonight just to have some free time and meet up? So, is she spoiling the fun?

So before Qiu An could speak, Ran Long was anxious to withdraw her question: "Um, um...it's my fault. I won't ask anymore. Just pretend I never asked, okay?"

"Why?" There was a hint of smile in Qiu An's voice.

Ranlong, that little fool, always misjudged the waiting time when he was nervous. For example, just now Qiu An was only a second late in speaking, which is a long story. Is one second really a long time to speak?

"Anyway...it doesn't matter whether you were innocent in the past or not. It's fine now, so don't be unhappy."

"It doesn't matter anymore? My past with her, you don't care at all?"

"No, I don't care..." Ranlong's voice became softer and softer, so soft that Qiu An had to put his ear close to her mouth to hear it clearly.

"to be honest."

Qiu An's gentle voice carried a hint of authority and oppression. She turned sideways, and Ran Long was caught off guard and met her gaze.

A pair of eyes that can accommodate all rivers and streams, seem to be able to tolerate all her immaturity.

"Okay." Ran Long surrendered and said frankly, "I care about her a lot. Whenever I think of Yuan Chengyin, I hate her so much that I want to kill her."

Qiu An smiled gently and took her hand out of Ranlong's pocket. Ranlong followed her all the way out and tried to persuade her to stay twice, but finally let her leave.

Qiu An put his arms around Ranlong's waist and put himself in her arms. When Ranlong learned that the purpose of her leaving was to hold her better, he put his arm around her shoulders with peace of mind.

They were close together, with no gap between them.

"I will tell you all the reasons and consequences. After I finish, you can decide whether to continue this relationship. No matter what you choose, I will respect your decision and will not blame you."

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and Ranlong's palms began to sweat again. She swallowed and asked nervously, "Does it need to be so solemn?"

"Just listen to me first."

"Oh, okay." His dyed nails dug into his coat.

"Yuan Chengyin's liking for Yao Ling isn't a recent thing. She's had a crush on Yao Ling for a very long time, almost over ten years now."

"So long? How come I didn't know about this?"

"I also found out about it by chance. We were still at Ji'nan Film Studio at the time, and I auditioned for an independent director's short film. The project was intended to compete for international awards, so even though I had no fame or traffic at the time, the director still chose me to play the second female lead. But on the night of the audition, the crew suddenly informed me that I was not selected."

"Was he squeezed out by someone else?"

"That's right. Later, I attended a premiere, and Yuan Chengyin and a friend of hers happened to be there. During our casual chat, we talked about that award-winning short film, and her friend shared some inside information. That's when I learned that the second female lead had been replaced with an actress under the investor's management. Her friend also said that the author of the short film had been holding onto the filming rights, and it was only after a producer who was related to her repeatedly visited and persuaded her that she finally relented. And that author was Yao Ling."

Ranlong couldn't help but complain: "I knew it was her!"

Qiu An was puzzled: "How do you know?"

"It's just... I feel like it's very appropriate for this lingering guy to appear here."

Qiu An chuckled and continued, "When Yuan Chengyin heard the name 'Yao Ling', she was stunned for a long time. That night, I deliberately got her drunk and finally got the information out of her."

"So you've used this trick before."

"I have many more tricks up my sleeve."

"Really?" Ranlong tilted his head to look at her. Because the distance was just right, he kissed her hair that was chilled by the cold wind.

"Listen to me." Qiu An lowered her head, her brows and eyes darkened. "Yuan Chengyin said that she has liked Yao Ling for a long time, but Yao Ling has never looked her in the eye. Just two days ago, Yao Ling started dating someone else, so she made up her mind to sever all ties with Yao Ling."

“…” Ranlong opened his mouth and closed it again.

"I thought at the time that Yao Ling was related to the producer, who was a key figure who was no less important than the investors. Perhaps through Yao Ling, I could get the role that originally belonged to me back. But I didn't know Yao Ling at that time."

"So... you want Yuan Chengyin to help you?"

"Well, during that time, Yuan Chengyin was depressed and distraught, so I stayed by her side to comfort her... well, 'seduce' her, and eventually succeeded in getting her attention shifted to me. I got a chance to gain leverage."

This was her third chance.

Ranlong was stunned for a moment, then managed to find a sentence: "Then you really are, uh, taking an unconventional approach."

Qiu An seemed to understand her strengths and was very good at using them. Ran Long should have known that Qiu An was prone to tears, crying in front of her and in front of others; Qiu An was beautiful and had a good figure, and if she could seduce her, she could seduce others.

The fact that Qiu An dared to confess meant that she was prepared to be pushed away. However, she felt a force pushing inward on her shoulder.

Ranlong did not push her away, but hugged her tighter.

My eyes are slightly hot and my nose is sore.

She cried too many times, which made her tears cheap. She shouldn't use these cheap tears to exchange for her true love.

She is so bad and has been hiding it from Ranlong. She doesn't deserve Ranlong to be so nice to her.

"And then there are the things you see. The sexy lingerie, the chat logs about booking a room, all of which are real. They really happened. I can't argue with that."

"It doesn't matter……"

"No, it's okay. If it does matter, you're right to mind. But please allow me to explain one last time. My relationship with her ended with the chat logs, and it didn't go any deeper. As soon as we got to the hotel, we regretted it, and in the end we just sat and chatted for a while." Qiu An laughed at himself, "She knew my purpose and asked Yao Ling for help without hesitation."

"Did it succeed in the end?"

Ranlong's focus seemed biased, and Qiu An was surprised: "Is this what you care about?"

"Hmm? Other than that, I can't think of anything else I should care about."

"No, it didn't work out. In the end, the investors came to me and said they would let me change roles, but they implicitly asked me to accept the unspoken rules."

"How disgusting."

"Well, that's why I didn't agree."

They sat quietly for a while, and the stone bench was warmed up, and their buttocks were finally not so cold anymore.

The clouds finally parted from the moon, and they realized it was quite round tonight. As the night deepened and the weather grew colder, Ranlong held Qiu An's hands, warming them with his palms, which had been chilled by the air.

Qiu An finished explaining, and now it was Ranlong's turn to find the flaws.

She sat up straight, cleared her throat, and tried to look like a discerning detective. "First, Yuan Chengyin is a fairly righteous person. You didn't choose to communicate with her first, but directly wanted to have sex with her. This is not common sense."

"Um."

Qiu An didn't refute her?

"Secondly, along the way, you've probably received quite a few offers of unspoken rules, and you've rejected them all, right?"

"Um."

"Then why did you choose to look for Yuan Chengyin in this way? Do you like her?"

"I like you, Ranlong."

Qiu An's timely correction was like an unexpected confession.

Ranlong's heartbeat suddenly accelerated.

No matter when, she would be moved by such straightforward love.

Qiu An continued, "You were the one who liked Yuan Chengyin back then. You were the one who told me you were secretly in love with her. Yuan Chengyin was brilliant, came from a wealthy family, had extensive connections, a cheerful personality, and was a master of flattery. I couldn't compare to her in any way. But she had one flaw: she didn't like you. Therefore, she wasn't worthy of you, unworthy of your affection, so I wanted to find something to use against her and 'destroy' her."

? !

It was the first time that Ran Long heard such sinister and frank words from Qiu An's mouth. He was unable to react for a moment, and a dull look appeared in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I lied to you. There's nothing innocent between Yuan Chengyin and me. I've never dared to tell you these things. I didn't dare tell you that I'm a very bad, very dirty, very despicable person. You once said that you were afraid I would regret being with you, but in fact, you are the one who should regret it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, you should regret it, I don't have the right to..."

"Nonsense!" Ran Long interrupted Qiu An's self-deprecating words.

When he held her face in his hands, Ran Long realized that Qiu An's face was already covered with tear marks. He didn't know how long she had been crying, but Ran Long had never noticed.

The tears that are still flowing, the tear stains that have long dried up, are all kissed into my mouth.

Bitter, salty, and still a little sweet.

Defenseless and surrounded by injustice beyond their comprehension, they choose to give up or foolishly respond in self-destructive ways when faced with the little things they desire.

Struggling is always hard to watch.

But there is no point in disciplining someone who is struggling.

After the kiss, the two parted their lips and gasped for breath.

Even though they were no longer kissing, they were still close enough that the cold wind couldn't find a chance to invade. In this freezing world, they luckily got a little warm space.

"Don't say sorry, Qiu An. It's my fault. I shouldn't have not believed you. I shouldn't have insulted and abused you, hit you, and made...made up obscene rumors about you before getting your explanation... I'm sorry."

"I don't blame you. I never blame you." Qiu An stroked Ranlong's cheek and wiped away the tears that fell quietly from her eyes.

"I don't blame you, Qiu An. Thank you for telling me these things."

The human heart is not white jade, not so flawless, not so clean. It is wrapped in a tangle of blood vessels, twitching constantly, almost ugly.

But sincerity does not mean being spotless, but it means having the courage to show such a heart to your lover.

She also had an abnormal possessiveness and cared about Qiu An and Yuan Chengyin's past. Just raising the question consumed all her courage.

Needless to say, Qiu An's confession required even greater determination.

Tonight, she learned all of Qiu An's secrets.

And Qiu An's secret is nothing more than his love for her.

How honored she is.

"Let's go, it's late, we should go back to bed."

Ranlong took Qiu An's hand and stood up. Under the soft warm street lights, stars fell on Qiu An.

It's snowing.

This year's first snow actually fell in Xindu, a place where it rarely snows.

They looked up at the sky at the same time.

The snow was so small and fine that it melted into water before it even hit the ground. When it hit my face, it felt like rain.

Yet, even these fragile snowflakes landed on Qiu An's hair, each one intact. She was Snow White, like the Snow Queen. She was the most beautiful protagonist in Ran Long's fairy tale.

The same thing happened to Ranlong that Qiu An saw.

"I love you." Ranlong said.

"I love you." said Qiu An.

It is "I love you" without the "also". The "also" is a thank you, it is the best and most precious gift God has given her, no doubt about it.

But "I love you" is from beginning to end and has nothing to do with "also".

"I love you." Qiu An said again.

Sometimes, it has nothing to do with "me".