The couple actually had a very good relationship, so Cheng Qing didn't think anything could happen.
He simply took his younger sister outside to sit in the yard. A neighbor passing by saw Cheng Qing return and said with a bright smile, "Oh my, isn't this the Olympic champion back? Are your parents arguing?"
Cheng Qing smiled slightly: "To exchange feelings."
The neighbor laughed loudly: "Olympic champions are really something else! Even their jokes are so humorous."
Everyone joked with Cheng Qing for a bit and then left. Cheng Xiaomei sat down next to Cheng Qing and whispered, "Didn't you and your sister-in-law just leave? Why are you back already?"
Cheng Qing raised an eyebrow and looked at his younger sister. It had been half a year since they last met. He had thought it was a separation of life and death, but he never expected that they would meet again.
But upon his return, everything had changed dramatically; even his younger sister knew to call him "sister-in-law."
Cheng Qing chuckled, "Where did you learn all this?" After all, in that world, same-sex marriage is legal, and same-sex couples are legal partners. Calling her "sister-in-law" isn't entirely wrong in a way.
However, the world here is different.
Cheng Xiaomei scoffed, "When I called Xi Nuan 'sister-in-law,' she was so happy. Did I need to learn that?"
Cheng Qing: "...Oh."
Cheng Xiaomei asked gossipily, "What happened? Did you have a fight? How can women fight? Sis, you study fencing, you're supposed to be strong, you didn't actually fight, did you?"
Cheng Qing: "...What nonsense are you thinking? Of course I didn't do anything."
Cheng Xiaomei patted her chest and said, "That's good."
Cheng Qing then asked, "How did your college entrance exam go?"
Cheng Xiaomei's face instantly turned pale: "...Didn't I already ask last time? Why ask twice if you didn't do well on the test?"
Cheng Qing: "...Then what are you doing here?" Whether you passed the exam or not, you should go back to school!
Cheng Xiaomei blinked and said, "Isn't this all thanks to my sister-in-law? She found me a really good school, the No. 1 High School in the city, and she sent me there to repeat a year. Now it's almost Qingming Festival, so I came back to celebrate!"
Cheng Qing couldn't help but feel a little dazed. The other Cheng Qing and Qian Xinuan in this world had probably gone through a lot as well. After all, in the heart of that other Cheng Qing, there was a Ming Yue. Compared to herself and Luo Xi, their experiences were probably even more difficult.
Therefore, it wasn't easy for them to come together. Qian Xinuan knew that her family wasn't Cheng Qing's family, but their genuine affection for each other was still touching...
That's great!
"I don't know why, but this year my mom insisted that I come back for the holiday. She was very strict with me, so I took leave."
Cheng Xiaomei's voice pulled her back to reality. Cheng Qing couldn't help but look at her mother, who was arguing with her father at home, and felt a pang of heartache.
She knew why her mother wanted her younger sister to come back; because this might be my...
"By the way, sis. I heard you can get a marriage certificate abroad. Are you planning to go and get one?"
Hearing Cheng Xiaomei's question, Cheng Qing turned to look at her helplessly: "What's the point if it's not a marriage certificate from China? We're going to live in this country. Whether our relationship can last is more important than that certificate. Wait a minute? Didn't Qian Xinuan get married?"
Cheng Xiaomei was taken aback, wondering why her older sister was calling her sister-in-law by her name so directly. She couldn't help but ask seriously, "What do you mean? Are you looking down on your sister-in-law?"
She immediately lectured her sister: "Divorced women are still independent and self-reliant. They're richer than you, so just let it go!"
Cheng Qing: "...That's not what I meant."
After Cheng's mother and father finished their fight, they came out laughing and said, "Qing'er, let's go home."
Cheng Qing quickly stood up and said, "Okay."
The dinner wasn't tense at all. It was clear that Cheng's father had accepted Qian Xinuan, but he hadn't quite let go of his pride as the head of the family, so he was a little awkward.
But Cheng Qing was the eldest daughter in the family, so she naturally understood her father. She reached out and picked up a piece of fish, her father's favorite food, and placed it in his bowl. When her father looked over, she smiled and said, "Dad, don't be angry. Children and grandchildren have their own blessings."
Mr. Cheng glanced at the fish in the bowl and said angrily, "What kind of talk is this? Do you think I would just stand by and do nothing if I saw my children and grandchildren going astray?"
Cheng Qing hummed in agreement: "Then I'll break up with her."
"What?!" Mr. Cheng slammed his chopsticks on the table, feeling not the joy he expected, but even more anger: "That's why I said you young people!!! What kind of love can there be between people of the same sex!!! Without that marriage certificate, you'll break up after just one argument. How can I feel at ease with that, you tell me!"
Cheng Qing smiled again: "Okay~, you're right. I'll listen to you, and I'll make it work with her."
"What!!!" Mr. Cheng was still very angry, feeling like he had been tricked: "The way you're saying this makes it sound like I'm a big supporter of you."
Cheng Xiaomei couldn't help but roll her eyes: "You didn't miss a single drop of the wine your sister-in-law gave you!"
Mr. Cheng: "..."
Cheng Qing looked at her three closest family members and couldn't help but smile. She loved life like this; if only Luo Xi were here.
The meal was finally finished thanks to the rare opportunity for the group to be together.
Mr. Cheng stopped making things difficult for Cheng Qing and let her go back to her room to rest alone.
Cheng Qing's room was still in the same place, but the bed had changed from a single bed to a double bed that Cheng Qing had never seen before. Looking at the bed, Cheng Qing suddenly fell silent. For a moment, she didn't know if it was for the Cheng Qing of that world or for herself? Was it for Luo Xi or for Qian Xinuan?
At 11:30 p.m., Cheng Qing was still awake.
She was wearing her pajamas from her hometown when she carried a chair to the first-floor courtyard by herself. There was a vegetable garden in the courtyard where her mother usually liked to grow some vegetables that were commonly used in the family.
The sky over this village is clearer than in the city, and you can rarely see a sky full of stars.
Cheng Qing sat there, motionless, admiring the long-lost stars.
It seemed as if the stars in this world were different from those in that world. As Cheng Qing looked at them, she felt a stinging sensation in her eyes.
She misses Losie...
Author's Note:
I'll update earlier today...
Oh, I forgot about 520. (OvO)
Going back...it'll be soon, soon, soon _(:з」∠)_
Chapter 155
"Qing'er".
Cheng Qing quickly wiped her eyes as her mother's voice came from behind her, then turned around and smiled at her mother, saying, "Mom, why aren't you asleep yet?"
Cheng's mother walked over to Cheng Qing and casually pulled up a low stool to sit down: "I saw you down there, so I came down to take a look."
Cheng Qing chuckled, "I'm fine, you go and rest!"
Of course, Cheng's mother didn't leave. She sat next to Cheng Qing for a while and said, "You over there... have you found someone you like?"
Cheng Qing didn't respond at first; she didn't know how to tell her mother. Perhaps her mother could accept Qian Xinuan only because she knew that Cheng Qing wasn't her daughter.
She may not be able to accept her own daughter, nor may she be able to accept Losi.
"You went into the operating room once, and the doctor gave me... a notice. Qing'er, nothing in this world is more important than your healthy life!"
Cheng Qing immediately understood what her mother meant. She turned to look at her mother again, looking at the gray hair at her temples and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
A pang of sadness struck her, and she felt she should tell her mother. So, after a moment's hesitation, she said, "Yes, I've fallen for a girl."
As if she had expected this, Cheng's mother gave a bitter smile and said, "It's good that you're both alive even though you've switched bodies. I don't care whether you like boys or girls anymore..." As she spoke, she took Cheng Qing's hand and patted it weakly and feebly, still having the mind to ask Cheng Qing, "What kind of person is she?"
Cheng Qing chuckled and began to slowly recount her story with Luo Xi. Under a sky full of stars, the mother and daughter sat close together, chatting amiably.
Finally, Cheng Qing concluded: "We didn't go through any major ups and downs; everything just fell into place naturally."
Cheng Qing said this, which should have been a happy thing, but the sadness in her voice could not be concealed.
Cheng's mother felt extremely distressed. She hugged Cheng Qing and gently patted her back, saying, "Child, Mom knows. When it comes to feelings, some people fall in love at first sight and it's for life."
Cheng Qing hummed in agreement, but she couldn't appear too weak in front of her mother, so she asked instead, "Does anyone else know that he came here and was with Qian Xinuan?"
The two worlds are fundamentally different. What doesn't matter if someone finds out there is a completely different story here.
Mrs. Cheng smiled and said, "She's a good girl, and I support her. As for who knows the inside story, only the three of us in our family know, and for now, only Ms. Qian's agent knows."
Cheng Qing smiled faintly: "Bringing such a big star back, don't the relatives know?"
Cheng's mother: "I told them you were friends, and they didn't suspect anything."
Cheng Qing chuckled and asked, "What if I don't get married in the future? How should I tell them?" Loyalty is fundamental between lovers.
Mrs. Cheng rolled her eyes: "There are plenty of unmarried people in the world these days. Your third aunt's son is still childless by choice! What does that even mean? My aunt's daughter is 34 and still not married, while my second aunt's daughter got married quickly, already three times at only 29. Why care about what others think!"
Having faced life and death, Cheng's mother had long since opened her mind, no longer bound by worldly conventions, only wishing for her family's lifelong peace.
Cheng Qing laughed heartily, put his arm around his mother's arm, and said, "My mother is really open-minded!"
Cheng's mother patted Cheng Qing's shoulder affectionately and said confidently, "Of course, my child doesn't steal or rob, so what am I afraid of? My child, I'm open-minded about everything now. As long as you are healthy and happy, I'm content."
Cheng Qing smiled and nodded, resting her head on her mother's shoulder, and said happily, "Mom, it's so good to see you again..."
Under the starry sky, the mother and daughter sat side by side in the courtyard, their backs touching in the stillness, yet radiating a touch of warmth.
***
"What do you mean by not accepting?" Fang Silei asked Luo Xi, patting the script in her hand. "You signed a contract."
Losi listlessly propped her chin up and looked at the world outside the floor-to-ceiling window, saying, "So what if I breach the contract? I'll just pay the compensation."
"Is this about losing money? This is irresponsible! Besides, how many scripts have you turned down? Do you even know what you're doing?"
Luo Xi scoffed and looked at Fang Silei: "I know! I'm like this, it's not like you just found out today."
"You're ruining your future!!!" Fang Silei jumped up, furious.
Losi responded with an "oh," completely unmoved.
Fang Silei took a deep breath and said, "What exactly happened between you and Cheng Qing? Can't you get back together?" She was going crazy if they didn't. What could they possibly argue about that was worth arguing about for a year?!
Losi's gaze suddenly turned cold. She looked at Fang Silei and said coldly, "It has nothing to do with her. Don't mention her again."
Fang Silei choked. Every time Cheng Qing was mentioned, she would say the same thing, but she clearly cared! And Cheng Qing was the same; every time she called, she would only apologize and never say anything else.
Where did your skills go to make Losi so infatuated back then?
Even the promise of eternity fell silent; there was no interaction for a year, and the two lived in different places and never met.
In a world completely disconnected from reality, only those pitiful, die-hard fans who refuse to believe the truth still cling to the promise of eternity.
Fang Silei sighed deeply, resignedly turned and left.
Losi still rested her chin on her hand, gazing out the window, her eyes devoid of light, unable to see the future.
***