Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 48

Sheng Zhi grew even more furious when she realized Ji Qingfan hadn’t chased after her.

Beyond the anger, there was a sense of dejected grievance stemming from the sudden gap in attention. She felt she was being quite absurd. On one hand, she claimed she didn’t care and that it was easy to push her away, but the moment Ji Qingfan stopped clinging to her, her behavior suggested she cared immensely…

She was just—just a little bit disgruntled, that’s all.

The clock ticked away, the hands pointing to the nighttime hours. Sheng Zhi rolled around on her bed several times, her mind a mess of chaotic thoughts. She took her frustration out on her quilt, silently accusing Ji Qingfan.

After her silent protest, she put Ji Qingfan on “Do Not Disturb,” deciding that even if Ji Qingfan sent a message, she wouldn’t reply immediately.

However, despite her aggressive move to enable the mute setting, messages might not pop up, but she couldn’t stop herself from checking the app repeatedly to see if there were any new ones.

She felt so conflicted and twisted that she almost felt like she was splitting in two. After repeating this cycle several times, Sheng Zhi was at her wit’s end. During one of her many checks, she bit her lip and simply turned “Do Not Disturb” off.

There were quite a few people messaging her, but among them, there was still nothing from Ji Qingfan.

—Ji Qingfan had not only failed to come find her, but she hadn’t even sent a single text.

Sheng Zhi stared at their chat box. Their conversation was still stuck on those two messages Ji Qingfan had sent earlier:

“Why did you retract it?” “Jiao Jiao, I’m here.” She stared at those two lines, her hesitant finger hovering over the screen. She typed two words and deleted them, only to start typing again two minutes later. She sent a message, feigning nonchalance: [Still eating?] …What kind of question was “Still eating”? Anyone with a brain would know they couldn’t possibly still be eating.

Sheng Zhi immediately regretted it. She retracted the message and followed it up with another that wasn’t much better: [When are you coming back?] She felt this sentence was already an active sign of backing down.

However, the sent message was like a heavy stone dropped into the deep ocean—no echo.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes… in the blink of an eye, over forty minutes had passed since she sent the message.

This had never happened before. Ji Qingfan had always replied to her messages instantly, as if she were holding her phone every second, replying the moment she received a text.

Did she not see it, or did she see it and just didn’t want to reply? The more Sheng Zhi looked at the message she had sent, the more aggrieved she felt. Thoughts popped up one after another, her emotions surging until she angrily blacklisted Ji Qingfan. Blacklisting her on one app wasn’t enough; she blocked her on every other social platform as well.

There were many apps where she had to block Ji Qingfan, and it took her several minutes to finish.

This action didn’t make her feel much better. Her heart still felt empty and stifled with an emotion that was hard to bear.

Sheng Zhi threw her phone aside, deciding to stop overthinking.

But after a short while, she heard her phone chime. It was different from other notification sounds—it was a text message.

She sat up abruptly. Because she moved too fast, she accidentally knocked the phone onto the floor and had to climb out of bed to pick it up.

It must be Ji Qingfan, right? Did she panic because she saw I blocked her? Sheng Zhi picked up the phone, a hint of a smile beginning to form on her face, but her expression froze instantly the moment she saw the content.

How noisy.

Ji Qingfan looked at the wine in her glass. Beside her, Jing Mu hadn’t stopped talking from the moment they left the restaurant until they arrived at the bar.

If she hadn’t considered that she still needed her to complete the upcoming plan more smoothly…

“Qingfan, you’ve definitely never been to a place like this, right? The moment you spoke, I knew this was the kind of place you wanted to visit,” Jing Mu said, sitting down beside her. “But don’t worry, with me here, you can do whatever you want. After all, the point of coming here is to be happy.”

Ji Qingfan turned her head, her gaze appearing very sincere to the one being watched: “Thank you.”

She raised her glass toward her and appropriately lowered her eyes: “Let’s drink a bit more.”

A perfect performance controlling every subtle signal—she had things on her mind, her emotions had no outlet.

The lights were dim and hazy, with the surrounding music forming a backdrop. Jing Mu, eager to show off, downed every glass quite readily. While drinking, she chatted with her about art, literature, and life as a child.

“Qingfan, I could tell the moment I saw you—you have a special temperament.”

“Your family must be very learned and know how to educate someone properly to raise you so well.”

Hearing this, Ji Qingfan seemed unable to hold it in and laughed out loud.

Seeing her laugh like that, Jing Mu was nearly entranced. The alcohol made her breathing grow rapid. She unconsciously moved closer to Ji Qingfan, her voice mixing with the scent of alcohol. She reached out, seemingly wanting to hook a strand of her hair: “Truly, Qingfan, you are exceptionally beautiful. I really can’t understand how Miss Sheng has the heart to lose her temper with you. A beautiful woman should be treated gently…”

However, the intoxication made her stare blankly, unable to react as Ji Qingfan avoided her touch.

“Don’t drink anymore. You’re drunk.”

Ji Qingfan avoided her.

Jing Mu seemed to interpret another meaning in that sentence. She paused, then picked up her glass and downed it once more, the glass hitting the table with a heavy thud: “I’m not drunk.”

“Qingfan, I will be gentler, more considerate, and dote on you more than Miss Sheng. What exactly is the problem? What else are you worried about?”

As her sentences followed one after another, the scent of alcohol grew thicker. she asked her aggressively, appearing completely confused, demanding an answer. In her non-stop questioning, she worked herself up into an even more agitated state.

“Why? Qingfan, what are you dissatisfied with regarding me?”

Ji Qingfan met her gaze, her voice low as she spoke, sounding helpless: “Don’t be like this. You know, I…”

“No, I don’t know,” Jing Mu said, her voice louder than Ji Qingfan’s low tone. “So what if you’re married? You have no feelings; it’s just a contract. I will rescue you from this terrible contractual relationship. Believe me.”

As if to prove her determination, Jing Mu urgently tried to grab her hand. Ji Qingfan stood up abruptly and shook her head slightly: “Don’t say any more.”

Her eyes held complex emotions that were hard to read. That expression, combined with her seemingly tipsy state, would make anyone’s heart ache. “Calm down. I’m going to the restroom.”

Ji Qingfan maintained that expression until she entered the restroom.

The expression vanished from her face instantly. She frowned with a hint of disgust and checked the time.

The medicine had been prepared long ago; she had been carrying it with her. Ji Qingfan took it out and swallowed it quite naturally.

The nature of this medicine was very potent, and her health wasn’t great—she would definitely have a high fever tomorrow. But her physical health didn’t matter. As long as she could achieve her goal, none of it mattered.

Moreover, if she had a high fever…

She looked at herself in the mirror, her cheeks slightly flushed. Because of the imagery she was imagining, her gaze became somewhat intoxicated.

What’s so bad about a high fever? Jiao Jiao will feel sorry for me… She knew better than anyone—

Sheng Zhi only looked like she had a bad temper; in reality, she was a softie with a sharp tongue. She claimed to dislike trouble and was afraid of pain, yet she would take injured stray cats and dogs to the hospital. Even if she was scratched or bitten, her first instinct was to comfort the little animal.

If tonight went as smoothly as planned, and she had a high fever tomorrow, Sheng Zhi would surely be overwhelmed by emotions like heartache, guilt, and pity.

Thinking of this, Ji Qingfan lowered her lashes.

Thinking about it this way, such a scheme is truly base. Base beyond measure, but she had no other choice.

She spied on her, unable to control those frantic thoughts. Especially during the years Sheng Zhi was abroad, those crazed ideas intensified with her spying. She could only constantly tell herself “no, you can’t,” torturing herself in the cycle, pulled taut to a dangerous degree.

She wished she could lock her up, wished she could sever all her social ties and everything she cared about. Yet, while she had such frantic fantasies, she couldn’t bear to do it.

The opportunity to make her belong entirely to her had always existed. The real reason she hesitated to act was because she couldn’t bear it, and once it was done, their relationship would fall into an irredeemable abyss.

So… she couldn’t show it to her.

She had to restrain that possessiveness and obsessive love; she couldn’t show it to her.

She had to disguise herself like a normal person. Only then would it be possible to gain her affection.

An unspoken, clamoring love; a love pleading for her pity. She wanted her to hear it, yet was afraid she would.

Compared to this, hurting herself was a simple and easy task.

As long as she could gain her pity, gain a bit more of her attention than usual, and achieve closer contact, none of this mattered at all.

The medicine wouldn’t take effect so quickly. Ji Qingfan calculated the time, adjusted her breathing, and walked back out.

Jing Mu was visibly more drunk: “Qingfan, you’re back. Let’s keep drinking.”

“No more,” Ji Qingfan said, also acting drunk, her posture swaying slightly. “It’s late; it’s time to go back… Have your assistant drive. Both you and I have been drinking.”

If Jing Mu were sober right now, none of this would be so smooth. But she was drunk. Alcohol amplifies certain thoughts and makes people do things they usually wouldn’t dare to do.

When they got into the car, Jing Mu saw that she still hadn’t brought it up again and couldn’t help but ask once more: “Is it really not possible?”

Ji Qingfan pressed her hand to her head.

Perhaps due to the alcohol, a thin layer of red spread across the woman’s cheeks, and her voice was very soft. Jing Mu felt an itch in her heart as she watched. This version of Ji Qingfan was too different from her usual self. She moved closer and closer, as if finding an excuse for herself: “Qingfan, what are you saying? Let me listen closely.”

Ji Qingfan slightly narrowed her eyes, showing her intoxication, and her refusal seemed to become muddled: “Jing Mu, don’t come closer. It’s too close.”

Jing Mu heard her say her name, and her breathing grew heavy.

“Then you agree to what I said before. I’m in no hurry. It doesn’t matter that you’re not divorced yet…”

Meanwhile, the assistant in the driver’s seat nervously sent the pre-written message to Sheng Zhi.

After sending it, her hands were shaking. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if Jing Mu discovered she had been set up, although under these circumstances, she wouldn’t find out at all.

…Sorry, boss. It’s not that I don’t want to be loyal, but President Ji really gave me too much.

The little assistant put down her phone, took a deep breath, and drove the car out.