Amnesia Trap (GL) - Chapter 68

During the night, Sheng Zhi suffered from insomnia.

She lay in the dim room with her eyes open listlessly, staring at the ceiling that she couldn’t quite see clearly.

…She couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t muster even a hint of drowsiness.

Her reason told her she should sleep quickly; if she didn’t, it would be dawn soon. But her heart, her consciousness, and even her body seemed to have developed a will of their own at this moment, defecting from her command without hesitation.

Should I look at my phone for a bit? Maybe by looking at it, she’d get sleepy.

She set her phone to a pitch-black night mode, but looking at the apps, she didn’t have much interest in any of them. She swiped back and forth with a lack of enthusiasm.

By the time she snapped out of it, she realized she had somehow, by some possessed impulse, started searching: [How to tell if someone really likes you]

Her fingertip hovered over the “Delete” key for a second, but ultimately, Sheng Zhi bypassed it and pressed “Enter.”

…Since she’d already typed the words, she might as well search.

As she thought this, the page loaded the search results. At a glance, the screen was filled with all sorts of colorful information—first came ads for dating apps, followed by fragmented pieces on relationship fortune-telling and Tarot consultations.

Sliding past the useless soft ads, Sheng Zhi clicked on a blog post that looked the most serious in comparison.

[To determine if someone truly likes you, you can look at several aspects:]

1. Observe their expressions and gaze. Does the person pay extra attention to you? When looking at you, do they instinctively break into a smile?

Those smiles of Ji Qingfan—the curved eyes and hooked lips—floated through her mind along with the text. Sheng Zhi held her breath slightly and kept reading.

2. Pay attention to their attitude. The person will want to share their life with you and create points of intersection. If they like you, their attitude toward you will definitely be subtly different from how they treat others.

Irresistibly, she immediately thought of the messages Ji Qingfan sent her, filled with the desire to share, and that special treatment that was so obvious it couldn’t be ignored.

3. If someone likes you, they will want to know everything about you, such as your preferences and interests. They might ask your friends, test the waters indirectly in daily life, or ask you directly…

At this point, Sheng Zhi found it hard to keep reading. She looked away and swallowed involuntarily. Not only did every point match, but Ji Qingfan did these things far more delicately and earnestly than the text described.

But… these actions only appeared after she faked amnesia. The last phone call before the “amnesia” was her saying the contract was up and they could divorce, which Ji Qingfan had refused for the sake of future interests.

After that, she woke up in a hospital bed, saw Ji Qingfan, and decided to use faked amnesia to end the marriage since the other woman wouldn’t agree to a divorce. Then, Ji Qingfan had straight-up lied to her face, claiming they were in a “honey-sweet” marriage for half a year and had just shared a bed the night before.

…Right, she almost forgot: Ji Qingfan still didn’t know she was faking it.

Her thoughts were so cluttered and messy that she felt like rolling around on the bed—it would be best if she could roll these thoughts together like egg yolks until they were smooth. But in reality, because Ji Qingfan’s hand was still resting on her waist, she didn’t even turn over once.

One moment Sheng Zhi thought she was overthinking; the next, she thought she wasn’t. Regardless of which angle she took, she could find evidence to support it. She bit her lip and turned back to finish the rest of the post, scrolling to the very end.

The end of the blog wasn’t a numbered list, but a few simple lines:

[If you have read the above and are still hesitant, then go try it out and feel for yourself. If the person truly likes you, it’s impossible not to feel it. Even if you don’t think they like you, that feeling of being liked will be transmitted to you bit by bit; it’s only a matter of time.]

After reading this, Sheng Zhi found it even harder to sleep. She set the phone aside and forced her eyes shut, starting to count sheep like a hypnotic ritual.

One sheep, two sheep, three sheep.

Four sheep go “baaaa”… five sheep jump around…

Six sheep are stepping on and pushing each other, happily leaping out of the pen and running toward Ji Qingfan on all fours…

Sheng Zhi opened her eyes again, feeling utterly lifeless. The hand around her waist felt vivid.

She tilted her head slightly, stealing a glance at the person beside her in the darkness. One glance followed another, her heart itching as if it had been scratched.

Gosh.

Do you… like me or not?

She truly had no drowsiness. Lying there until dawn began to break, she thought of how Ji Qingfan usually made breakfast and suddenly felt a strong urge to get up and make a meal herself.

Afraid of waking Ji Qingfan with too much movement, Sheng Zhi very carefully and slowly tried to move the hand around her waist aside. But just as she was about to move it off, the owner of the hand instinctively tightened her grip and pulled her back into her embrace, as if terrified she would run away.

…Is she awake?

She was pressed firmly into the soft embrace, her cheek buried inside, nearly losing her breath. Looking up, she saw a collarbone not covered by hair. Sheng Zhi, her face turning red, struggled out and realized Ji Qingfan wasn’t actually awake; that reflexive embrace was just a subconscious reaction.

Sheng Zhi let out a breath. While getting up with light movements, she quietly took a nearby pillow and stuffed it into Ji Qingfan’s arms. This time, Ji Qingfan settled down.

Sheng Zhi successfully got out of bed and went to wash up. She really wanted to make the kind of breakfast that looked professional, but once she entered the kitchen, looked at the utensils, and then at the tutorials…

Let’s keep it simple. Just some sandwiches or something.

The fridge was well-stocked. The lettuce leaves were a crisp, dripping green after washing, and water droplets slid down the round, full curves of the tomatoes. Sheng Zhi finished washing the vegetables, placed them on a plate, took two of the whitest and prettiest eggs, and selected two perfectly shaped pieces of bacon.

The start was perfect. Until she picked up the knife and tried to slice the tomato.

…Wait, in the tutorial, when others sliced tomatoes, the tomato sat there obediently and turned into slices after a few cuts. Why was it so wrong when it came to her?

Looking at the mess of a tomato under her knife, Sheng Zhi fell silent for a moment, dejectedly put down the knife, and decided to cut it later. She’d fry the eggs first.

However, it turned out that cutting tomatoes wasn’t the worst part. When she started cracking and frying the eggs, the situation turned into a disaster.

When Ji Qingfan entered the kitchen, Sheng Zhi was frantically using chopsticks to pick out tiny bits of eggshell from the pan amidst the hot oil that was splattering everywhere. Seeing Ji Qingfan enter, Sheng Zhi’s hand holding the chopsticks jerked. She quietly turned around, trying to hide the mess. “Why are you down? It’s still early, go back up and sleep for a bit.”

“I’m not sleeping. When I opened my eyes and found Jiao Jiao gone, my heart panicked…” As Ji Qingfan drew closer, her gaze scanned Sheng Zhi’s surroundings. “Is Jiao Jiao making sandwiches?”

Seeing she had been caught, Sheng Zhi turned back to the pan in self-abandonment. “Yes.” She bit her lip, bracing herself, but the tips of her ears still burned when she heard Ji Qingfan let out a soft laugh. “What are you laughing at? You’re not allowed to laugh.”

But Ji Qingfan laughed again, as light and soft as a feather. She hugged her from behind, her breath like a murmur: “I can’t help it. I feel too happy; it really feels more like a dream than a dream.”

Her breath was warm. Sheng Zhi’s hand shook, and the piece of shell she had just picked up fell back into the pan. Ji Qingfan pressed her cheek against hers. Instead of taking the chopsticks away, she reached out and covered Sheng Zhi’s hand with her own, picking out the shell together.

“This is truly the most perfect fried egg I’ve ever seen.”

Hand-in-hand, she helped her flip the egg and put it on the plate, then fried the bacon too. But the tomato was beyond saving; looking at the mangled mess, Sheng Zhi felt increasingly embarrassed. Yet, Ji Qingfan kept praising her.

The praise was so much that Sheng Zhi felt like she was about to start steaming like a freshly opened bun in a street stall. How is it ‘that’ good…

Just as she thought this, the blog post she read on her phone popped into her mind:

[A person who truly likes you will always sincerely feel that you are special and wonderful, even if you aren’t that perfect.]

Sheng Zhi’s lashes fluttered. …It was fine before she read that post, but now, every action of Ji Qingfan made her wonder about her feelings.

Breakfast ended, and it was about time to leave.

“Jiao Jiao, let’s go to the office together today.” Ji Qingfan held the glass of cold medicine and swallowed the last few mouthfuls, her eyes fixed on her without blinking, like flowing water. “I feel like it’s gone.”

Sheng Zhi listened to her voice and felt she was indeed much better. The prominent nasal tone from yesterday had faded.

“Then let’s go together.” Their eyes met, and she replied.

In truth, she could feel more than just the cold getting better—Ji Qingfan’s joyful mood was much more vivid. The way she looked at her was so bright and clear; if she had a tail, it would be wagging behind her. Because of this imagery, Sheng Zhi couldn’t look Ji Qingfan in the eye for a while.

She had made the decision to test her, but she didn’t know the specific way to do it. After much thought, Sheng Zhi figured Xia Xiyan had plenty of dating experience and would have some ideas, so she gave her a call.

Xia Xiyan wasn’t surprised by the call. Jiang Wanyin had gone abroad; Xia Xiyan hadn’t been optimistic when she learned about Wanyin’s feelings for Sheng Zhi, and the outcome was obvious. Among their group, Sheng Zhi had the most flirtatious and “playgirl” face, and her figure was captivating, but she happened to be the one with the least emotional experience. Yet, that made her harder to pursue; she had to be interested in the person for anything to happen. If she wasn’t interested, no amount of chasing would work.

But since it was out in the open, it was good for Jiang Wanyin to let it go early.

Just as Sheng Zhi thought, Xia Xiyan had many ideas. However, after chatting for a long time, they couldn’t find an optimal solution. Finally, a weary Xia Xiyan started talking nonsense: “If all else fails, just have a drink with her. Test her while she’s drunk. No matter how airtight someone is, they’re bound to show some cracks when they’re truly wasted, right?”

She said it casually, but Sheng Zhi’s eyes lit up.

“Thanks! I’ll buy you dinner later.” She hung up the phone happily.