Chapter 16

The scene was clear enough—Song Qingre hadn't lied, and Yan Qingqiu really had kept her, humbling Song Qingre into the role of her mistress.

Song Qingre kept her eyes lowered, her expression pained, as if struggling in despair.

But why did Qiu Bao look even more miserable than she did?

Su Xingjie's mind raced, and she snapped back to reality. Yan Qingqiu didn't look like a sugar mommy at all—she seemed coerced, forced into the role of a keeper. But there was no such thing as someone being forced to be a sugar mommy.

More likely, there was some willingness involved.

That only made her more dizzy.

Su Xingjie turned and grabbed Yan Qingqiu's shoulders, shaking her hard because she didn't know what else to do. Her best friend, who had chased Fu Ye for years, was actually keeping Song Qingre? Had the world gone mad!

"Qiu Bao, did you hit a dead end in love, so you thought you'd keep Song Qingre to feel what it's like to be loved?" Su Xingjie couldn't wrap her head around it.

Yan Qingqiu was just looking for an excuse, so she said, lifelessly, "You... you could see it that way... I just, suddenly wanted to be loved."

Su Xingjie's worldview was crumbling, pieces flying everywhere.

Even though Yan Qingqiu had said it herself, Su Xingjie still couldn't understand. Before, Yan Qingqiu would've wanted to stab the woman with a knife, and now she was in a sexual relationship with her.

"Girl, stop shaking me... I'm getting dizzy..." Yan Qingqiu said weakly.

Su Xingjie was so shocked her face twisted. She let go, her face flushed red, and one button on her chest popped slightly. She quickly tugged at it, but when she couldn't cover it, she gave up and left a sliver of cleavage exposed.

Yan Qingqiu looked at Song Qingre, then at Su Xingjie.

Song Qingre played the part of mistress perfectly—she stepped over to block Yan Qingqiu's view, pulled out a makeup remover pad, and wiped Yan Qingqiu's mouth. Yan Qingqiu was afraid she'd lean in for a kiss, but Song Qingre only cleaned the lipstick off her lips, her fingertip brushing the small bow of Yan Qingqiu's upper lip for two seconds before settling on her shoulder.

Yan Qingqiu was wearing a slip dress, its thin straps clinging to her skin. Su Xingjie had left red marks on her shoulders, and now they were heating up again.

"Had enough humiliation? You must be feeling pretty smug now, huh? My heart's completely shattered because of you." Song Qingre let out a breath, its warmth brushing against Yan Qingqiu's nostrils. Her long lashes fluttered, looking as if they held moisture when she blinked. "I'll never escape your grasp in this life, will I?"

She... was she really that upset?

Yan Qingqiu didn't dare move, panic rising in her chest. She raised a hand to push her back a step. "Don't touch me. Go inside now. I'm ordering you."

"Then, boss, I'll head in first... I didn't perform well today. You won't punish me, right?" Song Qingre asked, narrowing her eyes. There might have been a hint of pain in her expression, but the tenderness in it was overwhelming, and that was even more terrifying to Yan Qingqiu.

Yan Qingqiu turned her head away, refusing to look at her, and when she saw Su Xingjie, she wanted to close her eyes again.

Song Qingre pushed the door open and paused at the threshold.

Su Xingjie stared at Yan Qingqiu, her lips moving slightly. She had a million things to say but couldn't get a single word out. "You've really... really kept her? But what are you getting out of it?"

This was as absurd as being chosen for a moon landing, stepping onto the moon, and turning around to find that all of humanity on Earth had already emigrated in spaceships.

Yan Qingqiu nodded, trying hard to sound confident. "Yeah, I kept her. Surprised?"

She really hadn't expected Su Xingjie to find out. It was way too dramatic.

Yan Qingqiu scrambled to make something up. "Honestly, I got caught up in the moment, you know? If I didn't keep her, Fu Ye would've. So I just stepped up."

After finishing her lie, she saw Su Xingjie looking too devastated to respond, and Yan Qingqiu felt even more uneasy. She walked over and patted Su Xingjie's shoulder. "Once she pays off her debt, it'll all be over. I'm just keeping her in check to humiliate her. Didn't you see how she groveled just now, doing everything I say..."

"But I think she's the one keeping you in check. You've got no spine at all," Su Xingjie said quietly.

Yan Qingqiu: Funny, I was thinking the same thing.

"That's not true!" Yan Qingqiu comforted her with more kind words. Once Su Xingjie felt better, Yan Qingqiu walked her out, studying her friend's expression, and asked, "Do you still want to eat something?"

The two of them came out from the stands, and Su Xingjie circled back to the topic. "So, you really kept her just to humiliate her, toy with her, and make her hold her head low, right?"

Yan Qingqiu's gaze swept to a figure upstairs, and she quickly pulled out a chair for Su Xingjie to sit. "Have some water, girl..."

Su Xingjie was indeed thirsty from all the talking. She took a sip of tea but still felt something was off. "Qiu Bao... I'm really surprised."

Yan Qingqiu nodded. To be honest, I'm pretty surprised too.

"And I can't really understand it."

Yeah, me neither.

Yan Qingqiu sighed.

"How about giving yourself some time to process this? Let's call it a day," Yan Qingqiu said.

Su Xingjie really did need time to decompress. She propped her chin on her hand and said, miserably, "I should've seen it coming... when you forcibly kissed her back then, that was already weird."

Normal people wouldn't do something like that.

Yan Qingqiu figured that after such a shock, Su Xingjie shouldn't be driving herself, so she pulled out her phone, lowered her head, and called her a rideshare driver. This topic really couldn't continue—the more they talked, the more mistakes she'd make, and if she slipped up, things would get messy.

"Are you really not coming to my place? I keep feeling like Song Qingre is creepy, kind of scary..." Su Xingjie said, scooting her chair closer. "Come to my place. I have a feeling you're going to sink deeper and deeper. Let's talk this out properly. Did you fall for her tricks? Walk right into her trap?"

"I..." Yan Qingqiu almost bit her tongue.

"You can't just switch from obsessing over Fu Ye to suddenly liking Song Qingre, can you?" Su Xingjie's tone turned sour.

"How could I?" Yan Qingqiu said seriously. "As long as she pays back the money, everything's settled. Don't overthink it. I'll be fine, for sure."

Yan Qingqiu also swore to herself: from now on, she'd draw a clear line between her and Song Qingre!

Su Xingjie still couldn't accept it and commented grumpily, "Women really shouldn't be too rich."

Yan Qingqiu quickly corrected that mindset. "Xing Xing, don't ever say that. Women—seriously, rich women like you are endlessly attractive."

Su Xingjie regained a bit of drive and thought for a moment. "How about you transfer the keeping arrangement to me? I can see Song Qingre is just messing with you."

"No... girl, I'm touched you'd say that, but some suffering I have to bear on my own." Yan Qingqiu couldn't even handle Song Qingre herself, so how could she let her friend suffer? She said softly, "This is complicated and hard to explain."

Su Xingjie couldn't get through to her.

Something felt off.

Was Song Qingre really the type to be pushed around?

Su Xingjie wanted to say something but felt like she was missing a piece of the puzzle.

When Song Qingre got back upstairs, the tea had already gone cold. Ye Sichun picked up the teapot, and her gaze casually swept over Song Qingre, catching the slight curve of her lips—a smile. She looked at her eyes, and they were brighter than the blazing summer sun.

Song Qingre seemed unable to hold back a laugh, turning the teacup in her hand to study its pattern.

Ye Sichun regretted not joining in on the fun. "Is it really that funny?"

Bringing the cup to her lips, Song Qingre drank the cold tea. "Not funny... it's adorable."

Ye Sichun looked downstairs again—the two of them were settling the bill and getting ready to leave. She asked, "Aren't you going down to join them? What if the little miss doesn't go home tonight?"

Song Qingre stood up. "She'll definitely come home today."

Ye Sichun got up to leave, then thought better of it and sat back down. She watched Song Qingre walk outside. The two of them exchanged a few words, and Song Qingre went over, opened the passenger door, and made a gesture for Yan Qingqiu to get in. Yan Qingqiu looked reluctant, her brow furrowed tightly, but before long, she got into the passenger seat and buckled her own seatbelt.

"?"

Impressive.

·

The car kept driving, and the two of them sat in the cramped space in silence.

Yan Qingqiu gripped her phone tightly. She caught a faint, sweet scent of pheromones—citrus—drifting her way, but she didn't dare say anything about it.

Then her phone pinged twice. She looked down and saw another message from an unknown number.

FY: 【Why didn't you wait for me? The waiter said you came by.】

The message sounded like it was saying: "You came for me. I'm on your mind."

Yan Qingqiu was already pent up, so she furiously typed back: 【Did the waiter tell you that Song Qingre and I kissed again? She kissed my lips all swollen, and tons of people saw. So embarrassing. Thanks for calling her over to get cozy with me~】

FY: 【Song Qingre? I never called Song Qingre over. Can you stop using her to piss me off?】

Still lying. Yan Qingqiu almost gagged.

She blocked that number too.

She snuck a glance at Song Qingre, afraid she might see her messages, but Song Qingre was focused and driving properly.

Yan Qingqiu cursed that bastard Fu Ye a thousand times over in her head.

It was all his fault—otherwise, would she be this awkward?

Just as she was thinking, a chime went off in her head, and she jolted upright.

"What's wrong?" Song Qingre asked.

Yan Qingqiu shifted aside and didn't answer.

The System suddenly popped up: 【Congratulations, Host! Story exploration has reached 49%! Just 1% more and you'll be halfway there. Host will be the first to complete this, breaking the historical record. Keep up the effort, and the rewards will double! Your application has already been submitted~ Host is amazing! Keep pushing to be number one~】

Yan Qingqiu was dumbfounded. She hadn't done anything, and the story had progressed?

Maybe receiving Fu Ye's message and meeting him would unlock some plot point.

Like when she and the male lead meet, the female lead covers her face and runs off crying, "Wah, wah, let me explain," and the male lead says, "I don't want to hear it," and then they kiss in the rain and their feelings skyrocket.

Yan Qingqiu shuddered.

If she actually went, the plot would be: Song Qingre misunderstands her and turns to leave, she chases after, chasing and chasing until she catches up to the hotel entrance, where Song Qingre says, "I won't believe you unless you kiss me, unless you fight me with your body."

"...Uh."

Dammit, it fit the plot perfectly, and it was kind of hot.

Yan Qingqiu looked at Song Qingre again, then out the window.

They were almost home.

Song Qingre stopped the car and tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. Yan Qingqiu was about to say "no need," but Song Qingre's hand reached over and unbuckled her seatbelt for her.

Song Qingre asked, "Anything else you want to say about today?"

"From now on..." Yan Qingqiu started to say, "Don't call yourself my mistress," but then she saw the butler standing at the entrance to greet them.

The butler nodded at them, with a smile that was inexplicably gratified.

"Damn it." Yan Qingqiu cursed under her breath. She could tell the butler was imagining something steamy again. Her face burned, and she shoved Song Qingre away.

Song Qingre asked, softly, "Ah, what do you want me to do next?"

The words tingled all the way to her nerves. Yan Qingqiu turned and pushed the car door open. This atmosphere, this suffocating feeling, and the overwhelming mess of it all.

She rubbed her face to clear her head.

Had she gotten the character relationships wrong? What if Song Qingre was the female lead, and she was also a female lead, and they were in some steamy GL plot?

Then wouldn't she be paid content in the game?

No way!

The door swung open, and Yan Qingqiu ran into the courtyard, her face red.

Song Qingre leaned back, watching her with a lazy smile.

The faint scent lingering in the air wrapped around her restless emotions. Once it settled, she took out her phone, snapped a photo of Yan Qingqiu's back, and set the visibility to everyone.

A minute later, a Moments post: 【Qiu Qiu smells so good.】

Ye Sichun liked it instantly.

And replied: 【God, you're such a flirt. She's not an omega—two Alphas, what's there to smell?】

After posting, Song Qingre grabbed a tissue. The moment the tissue touched the lipstick print on her fingertip, her brow twitched. She lowered her head and sniffed. Then she looked up at Yan Qingqiu, who was walking crookedly toward the house.

She glanced at her phone comment again.

On her fingertip was... omega pheromone?