Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 65

In the past, Sheng Zhi truly couldn’t be bothered with work, let alone the concept of a “nine-to-five.” She felt, deep in her soul, that a job was just something that tied a person down. She hadn’t inherited a single shred of Madam Sheng Xi’yi’s workaholic personality.

But lately, work had become less repulsive. Not only was she no longer resisting it, she was actually putting in effort. She wanted to work hard and improve her skills; she didn’t want people to describe her as “childish,” “unreliable,” or “only interested in playing” anymore.

As the morning passed, Sheng Zhi filed her documents away and couldn’t help but wonder what Ji Qingfan was doing at that moment. Even when she was busy, she would suddenly start wondering what Ji Qingfan was up to.

Her phone was silent; no messages had arrived. She checked carefully and confirmed there wasn’t a single notification.

Maybe she’s sleeping? After all, a cold makes one weak.

Sheng Zhi felt a fresh wave of annoyance with herself. They really had been too reckless last night—soaking wet, hair not dried properly, and playing for so long. She knew Ji Qingfan had a weak constitution…

And Ji Qingfan was far too indulgent with her. She valued profit so highly, yet she didn’t seem to care much about her own health. Therefore, Sheng Zhi decided she should care more. If Ji Qingfan wouldn’t look after herself, Sheng Zhi would do it to balance things out.

Thinking this, Sheng Zhi checked the time and ordered some nourishing dishes, estimating they would arrive just as she got home. She turned on her screen and sent a message to Ji Qingfan: [Are you feeling any better?]

Even though she wasn’t sure if Ji Qingfan was sleeping, she sent it anyway. To her surprise, a reply came back almost immediately:

[Mhm, much better. The medicine Jiao Jiao applied for me was very effective.]

[Image] [Image]

Sheng Zhi had just picked up her glass to take a sip of water. When she saw the photos, she choked before she could even swallow.

When she asked “Are you feeling any better?”, she hadn’t prepared herself at all. She never expected Ji Qingfan to send photos—especially those kinds of photos…

Lustrous skin, a decadent and gorgeous glow.

It was too vivid, too much. Even a passing glance seemed to sear the image into her brain. Her face flushed hot, and she instinctively flipped her phone face-down.

Whether it was from the choking or something else, heat surged into her cheeks. She coughed so hard she couldn’t catch her breath for a long while. She used water to settle her throat and adjusted her breathing; by the time she finally stopped coughing and steeled herself to flip the phone back over, she found the photos had been retracted.

In their place was a new voice message:

“I only realized after sending them that Jiao Jiao might be working. Sending photos like that seems like too much of a distraction.”

Her voice still carried that slight nasal congestion from the cold.

Sheng Zhi stared at the “Message retracted” notification on the screen. After a pause, she sent a “cat baring its teeth” emoji, followed by a rapid-fire text: [Exactly! Total distraction! And I was asking if your COLD was better!]

A short line of text, but if one ignored her flaming cheeks, her typing was fierce enough. She didn’t turn off the screen after sending it, but kept staring at the chat.

A few seconds later, a new message popped up. It was another voice note from Ji Qingfan.

“I thought Jiao Jiao would be more concerned about this area. After all, you looked very worried when you were applying the medicine this morning,” at this point, she let out a light, sweet laugh, her voice dropping into a soft, low murmur. “The cold hasn’t changed much, but I feel a lot better after receiving your concerned message…”

“By the way, is Jiao Jiao coming back to have lunch with me?”

She didn’t speak very fast, making every word sound sincere.

That tone again—

Listening to the voice note, Sheng Zhi felt her already rapid heartbeat skip even faster. It was only when Ji Qingfan asked that she realized she hadn’t even consciously debated whether to go back; she had simply ordered the food and prepared to head home.

Home.

The word touched her. The urge to see Ji Qingfan felt inexplicably urgent. That feeling made her feel awkward for a moment, so she didn’t reply to the question about whether she was coming back.

…It had only been one morning. Was she really missing Ji Qingfan this much?

She didn’t reply to the message, but by the time she snapped out of it, she was already leaving the office. The food she ordered arrived at the house at the same time she did.

Ji Qingfan looked visibly dazed when she saw her. “Jiao Jiao? Why are you back?”

The more Sheng Zhi thought about it, the more random her own behavior felt. She looked away and snapped, “Didn’t you ask if I was coming back?”

“Since Jiao Jiao didn’t reply, I thought you meant ‘no’…” Ji Qingfan stopped mid-sentence. She happily reached out as if to hug her, but halfway there, she restrained herself and withdrew her arms.

Sheng Zhi had been ready for the hug when she saw her reach out, but Ji Qingfan stopped. Just as she thought Ji Qingfan would immediately kiss her to show her joy, Ji Qingfan didn’t do that either.

…Whatever, it’s just a hug and a kiss. It’s not like I was looking forward to it.

Lunch was peaceful. After they finished, Sheng Zhi watched Ji Qingfan finish her medicine.

“I’m about to leave now.” Sheng Zhi brushed back her long hair and glanced at Ji Qingfan.

Ji Qingfan’s reaction was still not what she expected; she only smiled and hummed in response, not clinging to her as she usually did.

“I’m really about to leave now.”

After saying it again, she took a few hesitant steps toward the door, then stopped as if remembering something. She turned her head with feigned nonchalance and asked, “By the way, were you sleeping this morning?”

After all, she hadn’t received a single message.

Hearing this, Ji Qingfan shook her head lightly. “No.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“I suppose you could call it listening to light music and white noise.” Sensing something in Sheng Zhi’s expression, her voice grew even softer. “I always want to send you lots of messages, but Jiao Jiao would probably find it annoying…”

Noticing Ji Qingfan’s expression, Sheng Zhi was momentarily stunned. She thought Ji Qingfan wouldn’t care whether she replied or not. But now, it seemed she actually cared quite a bit?

Regardless of the motive, Ji Qingfan didn’t look indifferent. The discovery caused a ripple of pleasure in Sheng Zhi’s heart.

“I didn’t see you send that many. Send them if you want,” she huffed. At worst… at worst, she’d just reply to every single one.

After saying that, she glanced at her again.

—I’ve said this much, why hasn’t Ji Qingfan come over all sticky and sweet to kiss me and say she’ll message me all the time?

Her gaze lingered on Ji Qingfan’s face, then at the distance between them. Realizing Ji Qingfan had kept her distance during lunch too, Sheng Zhi spoke up with extreme awkwardness: “You’re acting a bit strange today.”

Ji Qingfan’s eyes held a trace of worry. “Since I have a cold, I don’t want to pass it to Jiao Jiao…”

Sheng Zhi looked at her in disbelief. “Just because of that?” Her beautiful cat-like eyes went wide. “We just got out of the same bed this morning!”

The implication was that this avoidant behavior to “prevent infection” was meaningless. After all, weren’t they huddled together in sleep just hours ago?

“It’s different,” Ji Qingfan’s lashes fluttered, her tone shallow and weak as she maintained her distance.

Sheng Zhi suddenly stepped forward and bit her. “What’s so different about it?”

Her pale lips were “re-colored” by a different kind of lipstick, her frail appearance suddenly flushed with a vivid, crimson brilliance. Sheng Zhi moved so fast that by the time she realized what she’d done, the sight of it made the tips of her ears burn.

Afraid of what Ji Qingfan might say, she reached out to wipe away the crimson that had smeared past Ji Qingfan’s lip line, speaking first to beat her to the punch: “Ahem… I mean, I’m much healthier than you. You should spend this energy on yourself instead.”

Having finished her piece, she didn’t dare look at Ji Qingfan’s reaction and hurried away.

It was strange. No, it was too strange.

Was she… really falling in love with Ji Qingfan?

She craved her more and more; her moods were increasingly influenced by her. Even just one morning apart made her desperate to see her, hold her, and kiss her.

Love?

She denied the thought from the bottom of her heart. Admitting to love in this situation would be voluntarily placing herself at a disadvantage. More importantly… she couldn’t let Ji Qingfan sense this change.

Sheng Zhi touched her ear, her heart in a mess as she recalled her sequence of actions. Just then, her phone rang; it was a message from Ji Qingfan. Sheng Zhi pursed her lips, intentionally acting as if she were just replying out of routine.

However, she noticed something else—she hadn’t been at the company during noon, and now that she was back, she realized someone from the Jing family had come to see her and had been waiting all afternoon.

“I’m not seeing them,” she frowned and had the front desk reject them.

But the Jing family representative was more stubborn than expected and refused to leave. When Sheng Zhi finally came down, the person, who had waited all afternoon, rushed out from somewhere and forced Jing Mu to kneel right in front of her.

“Please, spare the Jing family! As long as you stay your hand, we’ll do anything to make it up to you…”

The scene was unsightly—a weeping, bitter plea in a most humble tone. But looking at their submissive state, Sheng Zhi only found it ridiculous. Was this an admission of guilt? Remorse? No, impossible. If it were sincere remorse, they wouldn’t have come to her to say this. This was just a last resort because their own interests were finally at stake; they were starting to feel terror.

She didn’t even acknowledge them, let alone take it to heart, and simply had security clear them out.

“It’s all your fault! You idiot! If it weren’t for you, how could Jingpang have fallen to this state? It’s over, everything is completely over…”

Jing Mu was slapped several times by her breaking family members. She turned her head, silent as a puppet, with only a few flickers of resentment flashing in her eyes.