Guiying was badly shaking in one of the bathroom stalls. She drew in a sharp breath, her body convulsing and her forehead breaking into sweat. Her lips were quivering as she was mumbling something to herself. Tears streamed out of her eyes despite her resistance. Her fingers were drenched with the wetness by continuously wiping her cheeks, but more tears came to replace them.
She once again touched her throat, scratching her fair skin slightly with her nails. It started to turn reddish the more repeatedly she kept scratching. She took several deep breaths to calm down.
Guiying then heard some voices of a few women who just stepped in.
"Tonight's Summit is so crazy! I really thought nobody would be able to match CherryBlossom. But I must say that MissImperfectlyFine is giving her a tough competition."
A second woman said, who was also a writer from a small publishing company, "Yeah! Her story had just a different feel!"
"It's really hard to choose. CherryBlossom did an amazing job too."
"Indeed. But I feel MissImperfectlyFine was better. I really cannot explain it, but her story touched me harder."
"I know right!? I feel the same."
Guiying heard their conversation and felt even more breathless. She clutched her head, pain gripping her from her temples. The women talking among themselves was akin to loud, annoying noises from which she wanted to run away.
When those women left was when Guiying could finally breathe. But she didn't have a moment's rest as her phone buzzed. She thought it would be Zhan Yahui asking her to come back. But it was a call from her brother, Cai Lingyun.
Guiying bit her lower lip and slowly picked the call. "Bro…"
"Guiying!" Cai Lingyun chirped from the other end. "I just saw the Summit through the live stream! My sister did such an amazing job! You are awesome, Guiying. I am proud of you!"
Guiying blinked and a moment later, her eyes beamed. "R-really…?" She did her best to hide her choking voice.
"Of course! I loved your story. Hehe, I proudly said to my colleagues that you are my sister! They were so impressed, haha!"
She trembled with joy bursting in her heart.
"But what I am more shocked about is Ai!"
"I mean…I don't know how to say it, but Ai has changed so much. Her writing felt so different and deeper. I am so happy for her! All this time, everybody was accusing shit at her. But now they know how capable she is. Hah!
That's a slap in their faces! I am so proud to have two amazing sisters!"
Guiying couldn't reply to that. Her lips parted in an attempt to ask something, but she couldn't.
"I told you, Ai will be amazing! She is like an unpolished diamond right now. Once she hones her skills, she is going to be a prolific writer!" The excitement in his voice filled the atmosphere.
"Ahh, it will be so difficult to choose a winner," he lamented. "Can you both not win?"
Guiying shook. Feeling slightly dizzy, she quickly wanted to wrap up the call. "I-I have to go back, Bro. I will call you back later."
"Oh yeah! Give my best wishes to Ai too. I have been trying to reach her mobile, but she isn't picking up," he sighed.
Her smile faltered. "S-Sure…"
She took another deep, uncomfortable breath as soon as she hung up. Tears flowed endlessly, but she finally coped with the sudden onset of these negative emotions building inside her.
Adjusting her appearance and makeup, she quickly stepped out of the washroom only to be bumped into Yating.
She widened her eyes in surprise. From the corner of her eye, she felt as if she saw a shadow leave. But she took it as her imagination.
"Yating. What happened? Why are you outside the washroom?"
With a gaze mixed with uneasiness and iciness, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a corner. "I want answers."
Her face was marred with confusion. "Answers? What answers? And why do you look so scary?"
Yating narrowed his eyes. "Because I am on the verge of losing someone precious and tonight, I need to clear the misunderstanding that has been separating me and Ai for all this time."
Guiying was totally bewildered. "Huh? You and Ai?"
Yating took a step forward and squinted his eyes. "Tell me honestly, Guiying. I will ask you a question, and you will have to answer me truthfully."
"Yes…?" She blinked. She felt the air freeze for some reason.
"I will be blunt with you. Do you like me?"
Her eyes shot out wide in shock. "What!? What, what, what? Where is this coming from?"
"Just answer me! Do you like me or not?"
Guiying dumbly watched him. "No! I mean, I like you as a friend and a colleague. But not as a romantic partner."
Yating gauged her expression and tried to discern if she was saying the truth or not.
Guiying was still confused over the sudden question that he popped. "What's happening? Why did you suddenly ask about my feelings for you?"
He took a deep breath and asked again. "You are not lying, right?"
She glared at him. "Why will I lie? I don't like you that way. Plus…" she contemplated and finally admitted. "I have someone else who I like. I cannot tell you who it is, but I do like someone.
So, it's impossible for me to like you that way."
The more he listened, the more he believed her. Guiying genuinely didn't seem to be interested in him.
She folded her arms. "Where did this misunderstanding even come from?" Discover more novels at novel※fire.net
Yating felt as if his shoulders got lighter with her confirmation. He pressed his forehead, easing the tension between his brows.
Yating explained in short about what happened during New Year's Eve when he confessed to Ai.
She gasped, not able to understand if it was because of learning his feelings for Ai or about what Ai said to him.
"I…I don't get it. Why would Ai say that I like you? I never talked to her about this. Not you, not even about the person I like. I never said to her that I have feelings for you."
Yating trembled, his heart bursting with joy. "I don't know, Guiying. But right now…I only want to meet Ai and remove this doubt and misunderstanding from her heart because once it does, there would be nothing in her way to stop her from accepting me."