Before he could express his deepest feelings, Cheng Qing only glanced at her back, shook his head with a helpless smile, and then turned to greet the others: "Hello, I am Cheng Qing."
Qu Minghui quickly stood up: "Hello, Teacher Cheng."
Fang Silei and Cheng Qing were already old friends, so at this moment they didn't bother to talk about how thoroughly she had run away from things over the past year.
Seeing that Losi was uncooperative, she said to Cheng Qing, "You should try to persuade Losi! She said she won't cooperate with you."
Cheng Qing turned to look at Luo Xi, who was standing by the table with her back to him. Looking at her stubborn back and her clenched fists, Cheng Qing nodded.
She walked behind Losie, raised a hand and placed it on Losie's shoulder, calling her, "Losie."
It's Lossie, not Miss Los.
But at this moment, when Luo Xi looked at Cheng Qing, who was "deliberately" imitating Teacher Cheng, she felt both angry and unable to suppress her excitement and panic.
Luo Xi slowly turned her head to look at Cheng Qing, tears of grievance sliding down her cheeks. Why did she have to imitate her?
I know perfectly well... how much I miss her.
Cheng Qing smiled, flicked her forehead lightly with one finger, and repeated, "Lossie."
Losi then realized what was happening, frowning as she looked at Cheng Qing: "Losi?" She tilted her head, her puzzled expression tinged with naivety: "Are we that close?"
Teacher Cheng's demeanor, Teacher Chen's smile, Teacher Cheng's gestures and tone of voice, even this sudden change in address...
Everything seemed perfectly clear, yet this was something almost impossible...
Is it possible?
Cheng Qing was not angry at all; she still smiled, her bright eyes shining.
She said jokingly, "You're going to make Teacher Cheng sad. Don't you miss me?"
Losi was completely stunned, her mind went blank, and she was unable to think at all.
Qu Minghui: "..." This tension is being wasted here.
Fang Silei: "..." Do you know how difficult she is to please right now? Dare to flirt with her at this time? Are you asking for death!
Cheng Qing looked at Luo Xi, and under her gaze, finally spoke slowly, "But I miss you, Luo Xi."
Losi remained unresponsive, staring blankly at Cheng Qing.
Then, suddenly...
"Ughhhhhh!!!"
Inside the private room, just when Fang Silei thought Luo Xi was about to jump up and explode, she suddenly looked up and burst into tears, crying for no reason. It was as if she had been suppressing her grievances for a long time, or as if she were a child crying tears of joy after suddenly getting candy.
No one knew what was wrong with her. She just stood there, sobbing and crying, tears streaming down her face.
Cheng Qing stood before her, smiling with relief, showing no sign of being startled. She even had the leisure to wipe away her tears, but no matter what she did, she couldn't stop the torrent of tears from flowing.
Like a child, Losi's gaze was fixed on Cheng Qing, staring at her blankly, not daring to blink, yet that didn't stop her from constantly shedding tears.
It seems that only in this way can the longing of the past year be released through tears.
Cheng Qing felt sorry for her and, disregarding the gazes of everyone present, pulled Luo Xi into her arms.
Unstoppable tears and endless longing stained Cheng Qing's clothes.
Everything, everything, was reduced to Cheng Qing's three words: "I'm sorry."
So, Losie cried even louder...
***
After Luo Xi and Cheng Qing sat down again, Qu Minghui and the others felt a little better. After all, watching Luo Xi cry on the sidelines, they didn't know whether to leave or stay.
Fortunately, just as rumored, Losi was very easy to coax in front of Cheng Qing. Even though she was easy to coax, Cheng Qing still had to coax her for quite a while.
Qu Minghui recalled Luo Xi's arrogant and domineering demeanor earlier, but when he looked at Luo Xi again, he saw that her eyes were practically glued to Cheng Qing.
She was so well-behaved before... she was like a completely different person.
Fang Silei couldn't stand it anymore and coughed heavily.
Losi snapped out of her daze, frowned at Fang Silei, and looked at her with deep dissatisfaction in her eyes.
Fang Silei sneered and said to Cheng Qing, "If she doesn't want to take the role, I'll find you an even bigger star."
Upon hearing this, Luo Xi's heart tightened, and she gripped Cheng Qing's sleeve even tighter.
Cheng Qing smiled helplessly and looked at Fang Silei, saying, "Don't tease her."
Fang Silei chuckled and looked coolly at Luo Xi: "Weren't you very loud just now? It's either her or you, it's either you or her."
Cheng Qing paused for a moment, then turned to look at Luo Xi's red and swollen eyes, and asked with amusement, "You really said that?"
Losi tensed up: "I... I wasn't talking about you! You know perfectly well."
Her shy demeanor was a far cry from her previous haughty air.
Fang Silei: "..." Hey, where did your earlier swagger go?
Cheng Qing smiled and grabbed her tense fist. Luo Xi loosened her grip because her hand was being held.
Cheng Qing then looked at Qu Minghui and said, "We'll both consider the variety show you mentioned."
Qu Minghui's gaze darted back and forth between the two, and he asked, "Two?"
Cheng Qing nodded with a smile: "Yes, the two of us. We'll pick each other up together, and we'll refuse together if we have to."
Seeing that Luo Xi beside her did not object, Qu Minghui was shocked and sighed, but still asked, "Are you sure?"
Cheng Qing thought for a moment and said, "After all, it's a dating reality show, so the possibility of sudden changes is not very high. No matter what the outcome, we should both agree."
Fang Silei: "..." Is that a fair way to put it?
Qu Minghui: "..."
Lossie smiled but didn't interrupt. Clearly, she agreed with Cheng Qing's words.
So, when they saw Qu Minghui and the others off from the hotel, Fang Silei turned around and saw Luo Xi turn around and pounce on Cheng Qing. Not caring about the impact on the single Fang, she stood on tiptoe and kissed Cheng Qing's lips.
Fang Silei: "..."
The kiss was so sudden that Cheng Qing was only stunned for a moment before smiling and lowering her head to kiss him.
Losi stood on tiptoe and hugged Cheng Qing's neck tightly. At first, she only dared to lightly lick Cheng Qing's thin red lips.
Cheng Qing placed her hands on her waist, chuckled softly, and responded to her.
After a long separation, their longing was overwhelming, and only a deeper kiss could ease their emotions.
Fang Silei: "...Holy crap, I'm still alive and well!"
Cheng Qing kissed Luo Xi again, then pulled her into his arms and looked at Fang Silei, saying, "Try to understand! After all, it's really not easy for two people in love to be separated for a year."
Fang Silei was furious: "..." Whose fault is this? I even offered to reimburse your airfare when I called you to come, and all you did was apologize!
Because Luo Xi's condition was so terrible, she even flew to Fanhe City to find Cheng Qing. But... Cheng Qing actually went back to her hometown and was growing chives on the balcony with her father!
Plant chives!!!
How can people do things?
Now you're blaming me?!
Fang Silei was furious!
Luo Xi wasn't angry. She smiled and hugged Cheng Qing's waist, pressing her ear against Cheng Qing's chest, and said happily, "Qingqing, I missed you."
Cheng Qing patted her head and said, "Me too."
Losi chuckled and continued, "I love you."
Cheng Qing continued to murmur, "Me too."
Losi just kept grinning like an idiot...
Fang Silei slammed her hand on the table and stood up, shouting, "Your relationship is so good, so the past year was just a breakup period?"
Cheng Qing paused, then thought about it carefully, and said with a sudden realization, "It does look somewhat similar."
Fang Silei was completely speechless: "...Whatever, I'll go pay the bill, you guys hurry up and come out too."
After Fang Silei turned and left, Luo Xi looked up at Cheng Qing, her big eyes blinking brightly.
Cheng Qing smiled and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Losi pursed her lips and asked softly, "Are you really back?"
Cheng Qing: "Mm."
Lossie: "Aren't you leaving?"
Cheng Qing: "Mm."
Lossie asked again, "How did you get back? Are you hurt?" Just like before, when she came into this world in a car accident? Lossie felt so sad just thinking about it.
Cheng Qing smiled softly, her gaze suddenly unfocused. She said, word by word, "No, I chose to come back myself, and I can never go back. So, you absolutely cannot abandon me."
Losi's heart skipped a beat. Had the choice returned to Cheng Qing's hands?
She couldn't even imagine how heavy this choice was for Cheng Qing, or how long she had been tormented by it.
At that moment, all she could do was bury her head in Cheng Qing's chest, soaking her clothes, and say in a hoarse voice, "I will love you for the rest of my life."
Cheng Qing was stunned. These were the words she had left for Luo Xi before she left.
Cheng Qing chuckled, hugged her tightly with satisfaction, and said, "Me too."
***
Fang Silei leaned against the door of the private room and breathed a sigh of relief...
Over the past year, she had witnessed Losi's madness, and several times she thought Losi was committing slow suicide. Even Fang Silei had blamed and even hated Cheng Qing.
If you didn't love me, why did you even get close to me in the first place...?
Fortunately, everything is fine now.
Author's Note:
Since there's no open ending, let's go for a happy ending! 0v0