translated_Chapter 19

19: Prone to Cheating

Before dawn, Qiu Shi kissed the adorable girl in front of her: “I’ll be back soon.”

But this “soon” turned out to be two months.

They had never been apart for so long after knowing each other.

Tsukimi Rin had no choice but to throw herself into work. One day, while grabbing a quick bite with her assistant at a restaurant, she saw news on the wall-mounted television.

Coincidentally, today’s news was about someone close to her.

A female host in uniform humorously shared financial gossip: “Famous financial company CW’s heiress and the young master of the Qin family announce their relationship, bringing the two families closer. What impact will this have on the financial world, especially the Asian financial world?”

The video showed a familiar woman standing next to a man, both wearing silver rings on their fingers.

The tonkotsu ramen in her bowl suddenly became disgusting, like vomit.

Tsukimi Rin quickly paid the bill and rushed to the public restroom to throw up everything she had eaten.

So disgusting.

Her brain told her to stay rational, but her heart ached terribly.

She took out her phone, not caring whether it was a convenient time for Qiu Shi.

Half a minute passed without anyone answering. What was going on? What was she doing?

Before the call was disconnected, someone answered.

“Rin-nee?” a refreshing and magnetic male voice said.

Tsukimi Rin immediately guessed it was Qiu Ci: “Qiu Ci? Where’s your sister?”

“It’s me. Is there anything you need?” he asked politely, as if he would agree to anything Tsukimi Rin said.

“Can… can Qiu Shi answer the phone?” What time was it in North America? Evening? Why wasn’t Qiu Shi answering the phone?

Her choked voice made him suspicious.

“If you need material help, you can tell me,” Qiu Ci probed.

Tsukimi Rin felt a chill: “She’s dating someone?”

As soon as she said this, Qiu Ci’s clever brain quickly figured out the situation: “Do you still want to find her?”

“Should I find her?” Qiu Ci had only just learned about their relationship. Tsukimi Rin felt like she had been played for four years. What kind of relationship was this? Why didn’t anyone on Qiu Shi’s side know about their relationship, not even Qiu Ci, whom they both knew?

Why was it that everyone knew about that young master Qin?

“You should find her. Matters between two people should be clarified with each other,” Qiu Ci said. She could hear the rustling of clothes and then a knock on the door.

In the distance, she heard Qiu Shi asking, “What’s wrong again?”

“There’s a phone call for you on this phone,” Qiu Ci replied.

“Who is it?”

“Tsukimi Rin.”

Qiu Shi hurriedly took the phone: “Hello? What’s wrong? It’s so late.”

“Why wasn’t your phone next to you?” Tsukimi Rin said in a low voice.

“I use a secure phone during the day. I forgot to switch to it at night.”

“You know I can only call you on this phone.” Tsukimi Rin couldn’t stay calm: “I saw the news. You’re dating a man? Why couldn’t you tell me first?”

Qiu Shi was silent for a long time, either pondering or colluding with Qiu Ci. After a long time, or what felt like a long time to Tsukimi Rin, she said: “Rin-chan, I can explain. The company is having some trouble. Even if I inherit it, it will be difficult to convince everyone. Qin Yishan’s family is a financial giant in the country. We’re just in a cooperative relationship.”

“I don’t want this explanation. If you want to start a new relationship for various reasons, we can… break up peacefully.” After she said this, both of them were silent.

She could only vaguely hear Tsukimi Rin sobbing softly.

“Rin Rin, I don’t want to break up. We’ve been together for four years,” Qiu Shi said, trying to persuade her: “Besides, where won’t we need money in the future? If I don’t break into the financial world, everything I’ve learned and everything I’ve done will be wasted. I’m doing it for our future.”

“Then I want you to come here now, come to Tokyo. I want to talk face to face,” Tsukimi Rin said firmly.

Qiu Shi’s tone was gentle and coquettish: “I’m a little busy right now. After I finish up in a few days…”

“Busy dating? Hmm? It’s been two months. Have you called me even once?” As she spoke, her tone gradually turned cold: “The only news I got about you was that you publicly announced you were dating a man. I’m sorry, I can’t accept that, Qiu Shi. I can’t accept infidelity even in a cooperative relationship.”

“You’re too idealistic. I can’t be a lesbian in this circle. You know that acceptance is very low in China.”

“I don’t want to discuss this on the phone. If I don’t see you, I’ll take it as a breakup. Leave me some dignity, Qiu Shi.” Leave her with the last bit of decency.

“I’m really busy lately…” Before she could finish speaking, the call was disconnected.

Qiu Shi irritably threw the phone aside, closed the door, and continued to sleep.

What did Tsukimi Rin even count as? She did like Tsukimi Rin, but the inheritance was more important.

It wasn’t just Tsukimi Rin’s ideals that were ideals; her ideals were also ideals.

To ask her to go from New York to Japan now for a relationship that couldn’t be seen in the light of day? How was that possible?

Qiu Ci shook his head, adopting a neutral attitude towards the two of them and not interrupting too much. He took the iPad back to his room to continue working on the design draft.

After Tsukimi Rin hung up the phone, she washed her face with cold water.

Someone like Qiu Shi probably just saw her as a lover.

But Tsukimi Rin was not willing. She was not willing to be a lover. She was the kind of person who would abandon everything for what she wanted.

For her dream of becoming a detective, she could give up the financial path her parents had paved for her. For Qiu Shi, she had completely broken off relations with her family.

She couldn’t stand Qiu Shi’s pretense in front of others.

Breaking up was actually possible.

The wet woman in the mirror didn’t resemble the optimistic night-shift cashier she once was.

Because of work, she was exhausted, and she also saw her lover publicly cheating.

In two months, Qiu Shi would fly so far away. She shouldn’t have left Tokyo.

Maybe Qiu Shi had never thought about staying in Japan; otherwise, why didn’t she buy property?

Tsukimi Rin worked overtime until twelve o’clock at night. This time, the client was a wife who suspected her husband of cheating. The basic evidence had already been obtained, and the rest was for the assistant to organize.

She returned home alone, ignoring her empty stomach, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Dreaming was the fastest way to escape the pain of reality.

She didn’t know how long she slept. She kept thinking about the future.

Knowing that Qiu Shi would be unfaithful, in a sense, Qiu Shi was actually still straight. Why did she get together with her in the first place?

Was it because of familiarity over time? Or that sentence – “You are my only friend in Japan.”

When Qiu Shi found out that this obedient and honest friend was going to be with someone else, she couldn’t sit still.

She confessed to her first, was that it? Qiu Shi.

Was she going to have another friend in China now that she was leaving Japan?

Perhaps she was occupied by emotions of being used and abandoned.

Or perhaps the hormones of the female body itself controlled the brain.

Tsukimi Rin kept shedding tears.

She didn’t realize it until most of the pillow was wet.