Chapter 42: You have no right to interfere in matters between us

Gao Qinghe hummed a tune as she unlocked the door with her key.

Lucky.

This morning at dim sum, the owner kept giving her free new dishes because she was pretty.

In the afternoon, she went to the mall to buy ice cream and was told she was the hundredth customer, so they gave it to her for free.

Then she passed a beauty salon and someone called her in, saying that if she did a treatment and agreed to have her photo taken for promotion, she could get it for free because of her looks.

So she spent the afternoon doing a treatment, which came with a free manicure.

Afterward, she entered a raffle and won a free essential oil spa.

By the end of it, Gao Qinghe felt her body and soul had been purified.

“Lin Xi-jie, I brought bubble tea—”

Gao Qinghe’s voice was light and cheerful.

She raised the bag of tea in her hand as she changed her shoes.

But she sensed a heaviness in the atmosphere at the dining table.

The living room was perfectly quiet, with only the dining table lamp on.

Lin Xi sat facing the door, staring at Gao Qinghe without a word.

Her gaze made Gao Qinghe nervous.

Xiang Bei sat nearby; his expression was more relaxed than Lin Xi’s, but far from friendly.

This made Gao Qinghe think of the feeling she had when she came home after causing trouble in middle school, with her parents waiting to have a serious talk with her.

“Hey, Lin Xi-jie, what’s wrong?”

Gao Qinghe instinctively used the same coping strategy she always had.

She forced an awkward smile as she tiptoed into the living room.

“Come, sit down first.”

Lin Xi gestured for Gao Qinghe to sit across from her and Xiang Bei.

Gao Qinghe pulled out a chair, glancing at Lin Xi and then at Xiang Bei, feeling uncertain.

With such a serious expression, it couldn’t be something trivial like forgetting to turn off the tap.

Lin Xi was one thing, but why was Xiang Bei here?

She sat down and looked at Lin Xi with a pleading expression.

“…Qinghe, when you promise something, you have to keep your word. Didn’t anyone teach you that?”

Lin Xi’s face was stern, but as she looked at Gao Qinghe’s expression, she suddenly seemed helpless.

“Besides, this is a job. Unjustified absence isn’t acceptable in society.”

Lin Xi pinched the bridge of her nose, looking tired.

‘Oh, it’s about this after all.’

Now that she knew the reason, Gao Qinghe felt more at ease.

She dropped her playful attitude and put on a pitiful expression.

“Lin Xi-jie, I couldn’t help it. The shoot went on too late yesterday, I was really tired, and I felt uncomfortable this morning…”

“That’s not what your message said.”

Lin Xi pulled up Gao Qinghe’s message, turned the phone around, and placed it on the table.

“What you wrote here is that you think fashion modeling isn’t for you.”

“Ah… right,” Gao Qinghe had completely forgotten about this morning’s message and only remembered her wording now.

“Fashion modeling really isn’t for me. Binding my chest, making me wear high heels—is it reasonable to go against nature like that? I didn’t want to do it anymore after yesterday. I wanted to tell you all this, but I waited a long time and didn’t see you.”

“…So you didn’t want to do it anymore yesterday, and only remembered to ask me to take leave this afternoon?”

Lin Xi propped her forehead with one hand, her voice low.

“Didn’t you say you felt uncomfortable this morning?”

‘Great, it’s over. She hit every one of Lin Xi’s triggers.’

From her understanding of Lin Xi, Gao Qinghe knew this was the calm before the storm.

“No, no, Lin Xi-jie, I was wrong…”

“So what is it then? If you’re going to make an excuse, at least make it believable!”

Lin Xi cut off her apology, still not looking at her.

Her lips were pressed into a thin line, trembling slightly.

“I really did want to tell you in person, but I didn’t meet you…”

“Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I saw your message right after my exam?”

Lin Xi’s face was full of disbelief.

“Qinghe, I recommended you because I trusted you, and now you’ve put me in a tough spot! I spent half an hour apologizing to them on your behalf… And what were you doing this afternoon?!”

‘Hmm, too late. Lin Xi has already exploded.’

She was clenching her fists, trembling with rage.

Her eyes were wide with anger, her brows tightly knit.

Her usually pretty features looked somewhat twisted.

Gao Qinghe had always been most afraid of Lin Xi’s temper like this.

“Hey, but they really exploited me too much… Xiang Bei, you know what they did to me yesterday. I almost passed out,” Gao Qinghe quickly turned to Xiang Bei for support.

But Xiang Bei just pursed his lips and spoke unhurriedly, “I think it’s rude to stand someone up.”

His voice was cold and low, clearly displeased.

“Especially canceling at the last minute.”

‘…Oh, so that’s it. He’s been waiting for this.’

Gao Qinghe understood fully.

‘What a great way to deflect blame. Xiang Bei is clearly here to settle a personal score.’

Gao Qinghe pressed her lips together, at a loss for words.

She was isolated now—neither of them was on her side.

“Qinghe, fashion modeling has never been easy. Sister Yuqi is strict, but every model she takes on ends up in a magazine. The ones who stick with it become famous. If you want to go down this path, can’t you handle this little hardship?”

“Isn’t that going a bit too far?”

Gao Qinghe finally got angry at Lin Xi’s words.

“What do you mean ‘this little hardship’? Do you think binding your chest is easy? I really felt like I was being choked to death, okay? You, you…”

‘You flat-chested woman can’t possibly understand my pain!’

Gao Qinghe forced the rest of that sentence back down her throat.

“I what?”

Lin Xi was furious now.

She slammed the table and stood up.

“I got scolded plenty too. If you want to be a model, this path is already a fast track to fame. Have you even thought it through?”

‘Oh, she got scolded a lot? Didn’t you just say she has a good figure, looks, and talent? What’s a few harsh words when you’re being appreciated?’

‘And what fast track? What use is fame? After the shoot, I only get two hundred bucks. She later looked it up: even if you make it into a magazine, a model gets at most maybe two thousand—and that’s after several shoots possibly getting picked once. How is that as satisfying as getting thirty thousand from Li Nan at once?’

“You only had your chest bound for a while. That kind of thing happens all the time in shoots. Do you have any perseverance at all? Fine, even if you quit, I won’t force you. But at least apologize sincerely! I took you seriously, and you treat it all like a joke?”

Without giving Gao Qinghe a moment to breathe, Lin Xi scolded her relentlessly, leaving her confused.

Gao Qinghe opened her mouth, not knowing where to start explaining.

She was terrified by Lin Xi’s aura, and her eyes turned red.

“Lin Xi, you’re being too harsh.”

Xiang Bei, who had been sitting by, couldn’t bear it anymore.

He seemed a bit sympathetic.

“They weren’t too kind to Gao Qinghe. She was really suffering that day.”

He paused, then added, “Your shoot back then wasn’t as tough as hers.”

“Me not as tough as hers? Weren’t you the one who said no matter what, you shouldn’t cancel at the last minute?”

Lin Xi flung her hair, her ponytail arcing through the air.

She turned to look at Xiang Bei.

“Whose side are you on?”

“I just think you don’t have to say such harsh things. Gao Qinghe didn’t do it on purpose. She apologized, didn’t she? Lin Xi, don’t be so cold-blooded.”

“Me, cold-blooded? Me, cold-blooded? Ha.”

Lin Xi looked both incredulous and absurd.

“I help people and end up being the bad guy?”

She turned to face Gao Qinghe, her voice surprisingly calm.

“Gao Qinghe, if you’re that dissatisfied with their methods, you could have messaged me that night. We could have discussed it together. Don’t be so willful, making me look bad to everyone.”

Then she faced Xiang Bei with a look of disgust.

“As for you, put away your knight-errant complex. This is between me and Gao Qinghe. Don’t you come in here muddying the waters!”