translated_Chapter 74

74: No Retreat

74: No Retreat

Her little brother was actually very, very good.

If she just gave him a little bit of a good life, Qiu Ci would be very obedient.

He was thoughtful and knew how to repay kindness.

Why did they develop to the point of trying to poison each other to death?

Qiu Shi felt a headache, slurped a mouthful of noodles, and picked up some pickled vegetables.

After Qiu Ci cleaned up, it was already eleven o’clock. Qiu Shi was asleep.

He washed the dishes before going to bed.

He had to go to work tomorrow, so Qiu Ci set an alarm.

What was Qiu Shi doing? Making a phone call? Qiu Ci chuckled.

There was no way, she was already like this.

To be honest, she hadn’t paid attention to anyone else or anything else recently.

Because of Qiu Shi.

He contacted a master craftsman and sent Jing Yueming’s design drafts there.

Later, he was too busy, but he also wanted to do it himself.

His hand had recovered quite well in the past few years.

The back of his hand faced the neon lights outside the window. Although it still trembled slightly, it was much better.

It would get better.

Although he was not good at this industry, he was, after all, a student returning from overseas, so he could barely manage.

Because it was an urgent order for the clothes, and he had helped find all the materials needed, Qiu Ci also helped with the cutting.

The clothes were delivered in a month.

During this time, Qiu Shi stayed in her studio. Occasionally, Jing Yueming would go to see her.

Qiu Ci also left the clothes there.

One day, after getting off work, Qiu Ci was scrolling through his Moments when he went downstairs.

A post from Qiu Shi caught his attention.

There was no caption; the picture was of Qiu Shi wearing the red dress designed by Jing Yueming, with a man’s hand around her waist.

The face wasn’t visible, but the hand was young enough that Qiu Ci could only think of Jing Yueming.

Qiu Ci drove to pick up Qiu Shi.

Downstairs in the office building, he hesitated to go up.

In the cold wind, he, who didn’t smoke, tried a cigarette.

It seemed that nicotine was like alcohol and caffeine.

It had no effect on him.

He sighed and went upstairs.

He knocked on the door first, but there was no answer. Qiu Ci took out the key and opened the door with two clicks.

The lights were off, and no one was inside.

The background in the Moments post was indeed the studio, so it seemed Qiu Shi had left.

He checked the surveillance at home, but she wasn’t there either.

Where did Qiu Shi go?

Did she leave with Jing Yueming?

Qiu Ci wouldn’t be able to rest easy if he just went home like this.

He called Qiu Shi.

“Where are you?”

“I’m at Little Jing’s place,” Qiu Shi said calmly. It seemed that the treatment during this time was effective.

“Are you coming home?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end. “I’m not coming back tonight.”

Qiu Ci felt as if his heart was a steak in the refrigerator, frozen cold and hard.

“Okay.” Qiu Ci didn’t even know how he said that word.

What did it feel like to spend the night in a studio filled with the smell of paint and turpentine?

The unpleasant smell made Qiu Ci dizzy.

But he still sat in the chair until the sky turned white.

He didn’t go home, and he didn’t sleep. The floor was littered with cigarette butts, telling the story of the nearly thirty-year-old man’s mood.

In a daze, Qiu Ci thought of the piano.

That little guy was always optimistic and had no worries.

At ten o’clock in the morning, footsteps, humming, and the sound of a key being inserted into the lock.

And Qiu Shi’s surprised question: “You didn’t go to work?”

“I want to take a day off,” Qiu Ci said.

“Why did you come so early?” Qiu Shi put down her bag.

The man raised his deep eyes: “Why did you leave with Jing Yueming and not come home?”

“I took the clothes over to him. Weren’t you planning to give them to him?”

“Did you need to deliver them to his home? Qiu Shi, my patience is also limited. I’m not Tsukimi Rin, who you can fool with a few words.”

Before Qiu Shi could answer, he continued, “If you want to be with Jing Yueming, give me your phone and don’t bother Tsukimi Rin anymore.”

“No,” Qiu Shi shook her head.

“Why not? I tell you to leave Jing Yueming, and you won’t. I tell you not to contact Tsukimi Rin, and you still won’t? What do you want, Qiu Shi!” Qiu Ci felt more and more uncomfortable.

Clearly, Qiu Shi couldn’t answer this question right now.

“Give me your phone,” Qiu Ci emphasized again, and reached out his hand.

Qiu Shi protected her bag: “I said no, don’t force me, okay?”

“Is choosing between two things forcing you?” Qiu Ci finally couldn’t help himself: “Is Tsukimi Rin forcing you? You made the call, and it didn’t work out. Why can’t you be with Jing Yueming? I’ll take another step back. Give me your phone, and I won’t care about your affairs with Jing Yueming.”

“I won’t give it to you. It’s not Tsukimi Rin.”

“What? What isn’t Tsukimi Rin?” Qiu Ci seemed to have missed the murmur.

“It’s not Tsukimi Rin forcing me. It’s you, Qiu Ci. You pretend to be a good person and poison me. My own brother poisons me!” Qiu Shi also became angry: “I also want to ask why? Qiu Ci, you’ve even cried yourself to tears during this time, haven’t you? You want to kill me for money, which Renaissance ancestor taught you that? Which teacher or elder taught you that? You stand on the opposite side of me because of Tsukimi Rin and Jing Yueming, these outsiders, and now you’re even sticking up for them? Qiu Ci, why can two unrelated people get all of your tenderness, while your own sister who raised you gets a poisonous paint?”

This angry scolding woke Qiu Ci up: “When did you find out?”

“I fucking knew from the beginning.”

“If you knew, why did you still use it?” Qiu Ci was puzzled. With Qiu Shi’s personality, she should have exploded on the spot, but she forced herself into a mental illness.

“Don’t I have the ability or the talent? Qiu Ci, why do you have to be enemies with me?” Qiu Shi’s face turned red with anger.

When did they start like this? A long, long time ago, not as good as before when she was sick, at least she wouldn’t argue with him like now: “Okay, give me the phone,” Qiu Ci emphasized again.

“I won’t give it to you,” Qiu Shi said firmly.

“Then call her now and see if she answers!” The stubbornness in Qiu Ci’s eyes became Qiu Shi’s greatest fear: “Don’t torture yourself anymore. Forget Tsukimi Rin, okay?”

Qiu Shi took out her phone and dialed: “No.”

Unsurprisingly, no one answered.

It had been more than a year, and she still wouldn’t give up. When would it end?

Qiu Ci sat and waited for her to finish.

One unanswered call after another.

Tapping at everyone’s hearts.

“Hahahaha, Qiu Shi, why bother?” Qiu Ci almost felt sorry for her: “We have our own lives. Forget those ten years.”

Qiu Shi still shook her head: “I can’t forget. I’m so sad… Brother, I’m so sad.”

“Forget her.” Qiu Ci squatted down, comforting the crying Qiu Shi.

“I really, I can’t…”

“She hurt you like this. Why bother?”

“But I can wait for her for a lifetime.”

Qiu Ci scoffed: “A lifetime is so long. You’re already going crazy after waiting for just one year.”