Chapter 25: Lin Xi

Xiang Bei closed the door, and it clicked shut behind him.

Lin Xi let out a heavy sigh, still keeping her arms crossed. She walked back to the living room, her gaze falling on the huge bouquet of roses on the coffee table, looking a bit troubled.

“Is Xiang Bei crazy? I can’t even fit such a big bouquet in my vase.” Lin Xi looked speechless. She glanced at the vase on the cabinet, then at the roses—layer upon layer of petals, a glaring bright red. “Why do men always love giving flowers? Flowers are the least creative gift.” She approached the coffee table. Her eyes, now free of makeup, were no longer as sharp as before, but her mouth still didn’t let up. “Did something wrong? Buy some flowers! Holidays? Buy some flowers! Don’t know what to give? Buy some flowers! Other than looking nice, what use are flowers?”

‘Well, at least on the point of Xiang Bei being crazy, Gao Qinghe agreed.’

She sat in a corner of the sofa and quietly pulled the collar of her shirt up, covering the pendant that was already under her clothes.

“…But isn’t it enough that flowers look nice?” Gao Qinghe’s voice was low, with a hint of hesitation. She looked up at Lin Xi. “I actually quite like flowers. Each kind has a different meaning and symbolism…”

“What meaning? That their love is like these flowers—based only on novelty and short-lived?” Lin Xi replied grumpily, but she still bent down to pick up the bouquet and deftly placed the flowers on the kitchen island.

‘Good, good, good. She should have known—Lin Xi was a romantic killer.’ ‘So she didn’t even like flowers. Then everything made sense now.’

“Qinghe,” Lin Xi sighed, walked back to the sofa, and sat down next to Gao Qinghe. She turned her head to look at her. “I spoke too harshly just now. I said I wouldn’t lecture you… Sigh, maybe I’m just worried about you. Now that your parents aren’t around, and Gao Jingdong is nowhere to be found, and you’re still so young…”

“Lin Xi, don’t say anymore.” Gao Qinghe gently interrupted her, her tone soft. “It was my fault just now.” She seemed to suddenly let go, no longer feeling that Lin Xi was superior.

‘On the contrary, Gao Qinghe felt that their relationship had instantly reversed, and she could naturally be the one to forgive Lin Xi.’

“I know you’re doing this for my own good. I shouldn’t have said those things. Maybe you really do think I’m a child… I guess so. I spoke so willfully; I must have caused you a lot of trouble.” A sense of superiority seeped into her heart like a fine rain. Gao Qinghe’s voice instantly softened, even becoming deliberately gentle.

“…I don’t actually think you’re a child.” Lin Xi rubbed her temples, the pressure of her fingertips carrying a weary tenderness. She turned to look at Gao Qinghe. After removing her makeup, her dark circles appeared even darker. “Qinghe, this might sound a bit strange to you… but I think you’re a lot like I used to be.”

‘…?’

‘She really didn’t understand. What was Lin Xi talking about?’

Gao Qinghe was full of question marks. She blinked twice and spoke:

“Does that mean… before you got together with my cousin?”

“That’s part of it. Also when I first got together with your cousin.” Lin Xi’s voice was soft but carried a hint of bitterness. She didn’t mind Gao Qinghe’s expression, as if lost in memory. Her gaze swept over the bouquet of roses on the kitchen island, then over the laptop beside it, and finally dropped to her own hands on her knees. “Back then, I also cared a lot about how others saw me. I wanted everyone to like me.” She paused and let out a self-deprecating laugh. “At that time, I was too obsessed with my appearance, so I did a lot of meaningless things.”

‘She spoke sincerely, but Gao Qinghe felt that Lin Xi must have misunderstood something.’

‘Lin Xi?’ ‘Cared about others’ opinions?’

‘Ha, if she really cared—even if she cared about her own thoughts—would they have been fighting every few days like that before?’

Gao Qinghe frowned slightly, but still couldn’t bring herself to ask those words directly.

“…So now, Lin Xi, do you not care as much about others’ opinions anymore?” Gao Qinghe’s voice was weak, but she asked only in a perfunctory way.

“Much better.” Lin Xi finally lifted her head, her voice soft but firm. “Now I care more about my inner voice. I want to figure out what I truly want.”

‘…There it is again, that nonsense!’

‘What exactly does “what you want” mean? No, who doesn’t already know what they want?’ ‘Doesn’t everyone want the same things? How special does she think she is?’ ‘Only someone as rich as Lin Xi would have the leisure to worry about this kind of stuff!’

“So, Qinghe, maybe I just hope you can also find what you want, what you want to do. I’ve been through this too, so I understand what you’re thinking.” Lin Xi sighed and stood up on her own. “I’ll do my best to help you with anything you need, so don’t worry. Take it slow.”

Gao Qinghe frowned as she watched Lin Xi talk to herself while rearranging the ornaments and photo frames on the coffee table.

‘Her words, her actions, even this suffocating feeling in Gao Qinghe’s own heart—all were so familiar that it was annoying.’

“I need to get up early tomorrow, so I’ll go to bed first. You should get some sleep too.” Lin Xi straightened up, looked at Gao Qinghe, and gave a slight smile. “As for the modeling thing, I hope you’ll at least consider it for yourself and not make a decision too soon.” She gently patted Gao Qinghe’s shoulder, her fingertips pressing slightly as if to reassure her. Without waiting for a reply, she turned and walked toward her room. Her back was habitually straight, her posture still languid and elegant, her golden hair tied up at the nape of her neck, revealing a slender, somewhat stubborn neck.

Gao Qinghe watched Lin Xi’s retreating figure, still utterly confused by everything she had said.

‘Even though Lin Xi claimed she wasn’t lecturing her, Gao Qinghe still found her condescending expression extremely annoying.’ ‘She had heard these words no less than ten times during their arguments before. How many times had Lin Xi acted like she was teaching someone how to live? She was really tired of Lin Xi’s rhetoric.’

‘But annoying as it was, she hadn’t felt this stifled back then. At that time, she just took it as a girlfriend’s loving whip of discipline for a less ambitious boyfriend, and she even thought, what was the point of a woman struggling so hard?’ ‘But now this… feeling of powerlessness? Or something else? What exactly was it?’

Gao Qinghe irritably flopped back onto the sofa, but felt something digging into her back.

She reached behind her and touched the Tiffany blue necklace box that Xiang Bei had given her, which she had hurriedly hidden behind her in her panic.