Free gifts? Why not accept them? Especially when they're couple's items...
The words "couple's items" made Guan Qingtong's heart flutter. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her excitement.
Guan Qingtong resisted the urge to immediately grab the gifts, instead raising an eyebrow and subtly glancing at Su Yirao to gauge her reaction.
Perhaps because they had been playing their roles for so long, Su Yirao seemed unfazed. She smiled gracefully, not missing a beat.
He Xiaoyue, trying to support her girlfriend, softly asked, "Is it appropriate?"
"I don't think it is," Zhu Yuan chimed in, ostensibly replying to He Xiaoyue but clearly addressing Su Yirao and Guan Qingtong.
The store clerk blinked, unable to decipher their exchange.
"Whether it's appropriate or not is up to the people involved. You two don't get to decide," Su Yirao said, still smiling. "Qingtong, what do you think?"
Su Yirao turned to her, eyebrows slightly raised, her lips parting in a subtle challenge.
"I don't think anyone could be more suitable than us," Guan Qingtong replied, snapping out of her reverie and matching Su Yirao's energy.
With that, she accepted the gifts from the store clerk, thanking them politely.
"Please include these gifts with our delivery. We'll be heading out for lunch and don't want to carry them around."
The store clerk finally understood and handed over her business card. "Of course, feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the delivery."
Guan Qingtong took the card and thanked her again.
"Competing with something fake when you're real—how pointless," Zhu Yuan quipped, leading the group out of the store.
"Needing to compare yourself with something fake shows a lack of confidence—how immature," Su Yirao countered with a smirk.
Zhu Yuan stopped in her tracks, a flash of irritation crossing her face as she prepared to retort.
He Xiaoyue gently squeezed her hand, but before she could say anything, Zhu Yuan beat her to it, her tone light but pointed. "With a sharp tongue like yours, you should be in PR."
The others, all well-acquainted with the subtext, fell silent.
Su Yirao's smile froze slightly, her expression turning a bit awkward.
After a moment, He Xiaoyue chuckled, casting a fond glance at Zhu Yuan, and the two of them burst into laughter.
It was rare for Su Yirao to be at a loss for words, so He Xiaoyue and Zhu Yuan were clearly enjoying it.
Only Guan Qingtong remained out of the loop, blinking in confusion as she asked, "Wouldn't a PR professional need a good memory?"
Zhu Yuan and He Xiaoyue laughed even harder.
Seeing Guan Qingtong's puzzled expression, Zhu Yuan, clutching her side from laughter, said, "If you say you're a straight girl, I'll believe you, but it's hard to buy! We're all adults here—no need to pretend!"
In the original story, before meeting the male lead, Guan Qingtong had been weighed down by family responsibilities, with no time or understanding of romantic or intimate relationships. So her confusion now made sense—she had only agreed to pretend to be Su Yirao's girlfriend to help her avoid marriage pressure.
Su Yirao cleared her throat, feeling the need to protect the clearly clueless Guan Qingtong.
"Let's drop it and focus on lunch. What do you feel like eating?"
Zhu Yuan, too, decided to let it go, grinning as she suggested, "I found this Japanese place nearby on Little Red Book that looks good."
"Let's go there."
As they walked out, Guan Qingtong pulled out her phone to discreetly search for answers to her lingering questions, but Su Yirao gently stopped her, whispering, "Let's not."
Being told not to only made her more curious. If Su Yirao didn't want her to search, she felt even more compelled to find out what had caused Su Yirao to lose her composure.
Later that evening, after they returned home and while Su Yirao was in the shower, Guan Qingtong sat on the couch, phone in hand, diving into searches for "PR," "sharp tongue," and similar keywords.
Her search led her to various sites on banned and sensitive topics, opening up a whole new world of information.
She lost track of time, engrossed in her discovery.
It was eye-opening, realizing how much more there was beyond just liking someone.
Her face flushed and her mouth went dry as she quickly locked her phone, gulping down several glasses of water to cool herself down.
This was getting out of hand. Su Yirao would be out of the shower soon, and she couldn't risk being caught looking at such things.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, and went back to grab her phone from the table.
But as she turned around, the scene she had feared became reality.
Su Yirao, clad in a silk nightgown, had casually sat down on the couch, looking around for something.
Her hand was dangerously close to Guan Qingtong's phone, the screen still glowing with its incriminating content.
Guan Qingtong's heart skipped a beat, her mind racing as she blurted out, "Sister Su, are you looking for the remote?"
"Yes, do you know where it is?" Su Yirao replied, still scanning the area.
Guan Qingtong quickly darted over, locking her phone and slipping it into her pocket in one swift motion.
"It's behind the couch cushion."
Su Yirao's attention shifted as she found the remote.
"Want to watch TV with me for a bit?"
"No, I have work tomorrow, so I'll head to bed early. You should rest soon too," Guan Qingtong said hurriedly, making a quick exit to her room.
Once inside, she locked the door and pulled out her phone, staring at the screen, her face burning with embarrassment.
Surely, Su Yirao hadn't seen anything... right?
If she had... Guan Qingtong couldn't even imagine how her image would suffer.
She groaned in frustration, hastily clearing her browser history, but the thoughts lingered in her mind.
Her feelings weren't as pure and innocent as she'd thought. They were now tinged with something deeper, something unspoken.
She reached out into the air, her fingers brushing against nothing, as she remembered the vibrant flower that had once adorned Su Yirao's shoulder.
It wasn't just the flower she wanted to touch. It was something more, something deeper.
"Stop it! You're not worthy!"
She smacked her hand away from the invisible thoughts, forcing herself to return to reality and calm down.
She lay down, but it was clear that sleep would not come easily that night.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Su Yirao found herself distracted, thinking back to the brief glimpse she'd caught on Guan Qingtong's phone. Her usual composure felt slightly off-kilter.
She glanced at Guan Qingtong's closed door.
"A young girl, and yet so shameless!"
But then she reminded herself of Guan Qingtong's age and laughed softly.
She had always thought of Guan Qingtong as a little sister, forgetting that at her age, she too had already known about all the things she wasn't supposed to know.
Guan Qingtong was an adult, after all. Knowing was fine. It was just...
With everything that had happened lately—Xiao Lin, the fake relationship, Zhu Yuan, He Xiaoyue...
In such an environment, could it be that Guan Qingtong might...
If she did, it wouldn't be a bad thing. In fact, it might even be good. Su Yirao could keep her close for a while longer, avoiding the pressure to marry.
She shook her head, realizing her thoughts were running wild.
She had changed Guan Qingtong's fate as the protagonist, but her personality and inclinations were still pretty much the same. Could someone like her really have a shift in orientation?
She was definitely overthinking this.
Seven or eight days later, Guan Qingtong's mother was finally discharged from the hospital and moved into the newly furnished apartment next door.
Since Su Yirao had to work, Guan Qingtong went alone to the hospital, taking her mother to the new apartment.
She thought she had prepared everything perfectly, but her mother's unease was something she hadn't anticipated.
Her mother, pale from her recent illness, looked around at the upscale neighborhood, the luxurious décor, and the empty apartment, her expression growing increasingly troubled.
"Qingtong, are you sure we're in the right place?" Her mother's voice was filled with worry, her face even paler.
Guan Qingtong led her to the couch, urging her to sit down.
"This is it, Mom. Isn't this place so much better than where we used to live?"
She didn't notice the anxiety in her mother's eyes, too excited as she continued, "Now we don't have to share a room anymore. You'll have this whole apartment to yourself. Isn't that great?"
"Living alone?" Her mother's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm right next door. If you need anything, just call out."
"Two apartments?" Her mother's breathing grew labored. "Plus the medical expenses? Qingtong, where did you get the money for this?"
She grabbed Guan Qingtong's hand, her voice trembling with disappointment and fear.
"Qingtong, you didn't do something foolish, did you? I'd rather die than see you go down the wrong path!"
Realizing the misunderstanding, Guan Qingtong quickly explained, "No, Mom, don't worry. I earned this money honestly. I didn't do anything wrong."
"Then tell me, where did you get the money? And what's the deal with these two apartments? Is someone keeping you?"
"It's nothing like that, Mom. You're just overthinking it."
Guan Qingtong explained everything—how she met Su Yirao, how she helped with the medical bills, and even the fake relationship they had agreed to.
"Mom, Sister Su is really a good person!" Guan Qingtong concluded earnestly.
But her mother, Chen Xuefeng, didn't seem to fully grasp or believe what she was hearing.
"A female boss? So you're being kept by a woman?" Chen Xuefeng's voice was filled with disbelief.
"Sure, women can be more affectionate than men, but I can't approve of you being kept, no matter what!" Chen Xuefeng said, her anxiety growing.
Chen Xuefeng: Gender isn't the issue. Love is fine, but not if it's improper!