I’m Already Like This; I’m Not Lying

Yan Yue wheeled herself over to Qin Qingyan’s side.

“What did you say?”

Qin Qingyan turned back. “I said the candy was for you.”

“For me?”

Qin Qingyan suddenly bent down, bracing her hands on either side of the wheelchair, and kissed Yan Yue on the lips. The tip of her tongue nudged the candy into the other woman’s mouth; then she lightly licked Yan Yue’s lips before reluctantly pulling away.

No candy in the world could be sweeter than that.

“Sweet and sour; pretty good, isn’t it?” Qin Qingyan asked with a smile.

“Rogue.” Yan Yue said the two words evenly, then turned her wheelchair toward the sofa. Yet her emotions were still churning, and the numbing tingle on her lips lingered.

After lunch, Qin Qingyan didn’t stay long before a call came催促 her back. She looked at Yan Yue, and Yan Yue was looking at her too.

“Don’t make other people wait too long. Go on,” Yan Yue said.

Qin Qingyan wanted to see some reluctance on Yan Yue’s face, but there was none. She understood that Yan Yue did hate to see her go; she just wished the other woman would show a little more weakness in front of her instead of always maintaining that forced calm.

It wasn’t until Qin Qingyan left that Yan Yue suddenly realized she hadn’t dragged her feet this time like she usually did; she had gone very cleanly and decisively.

A tight, uncomfortable ache settled in Yan Yue’s chest.

Bai Ruo had seen what was happening on Weibo too. The argument between netizens and her own fans was getting more and more intense, and she didn’t know how she should step in and handle it. Help the fans deal with Li Xian?

She wasn’t that much of an asshole.

Soon, Bai Ruo also noticed that someone was suppressing the hot search; a bunch of scandalous revelations about several popular celebrities had drawn many netizens’ attention away.

She scrolled on Weibo. Maybe the words about Li Xian being pregnant had appeared too many times; the search bar automatically recommended some topics about pregnancy. After hesitating, she still clicked in to look. Most of them were about what pregnant women should and shouldn’t do, and she read through them one by one.

One entry caught her eye: postpartum depression in pregnant women.

Postpartum depression?

Bai Ruo rolled over and read carefully.

[ A psychiatric and psychological disorder whose main symptoms are emotional low mood and depression after childbirth; it is primarily characterized by depressive emotions, and in severe cases may involve thoughts and behaviors such as self-harm, suicide, or harming the baby. ]

The further she read, the more serious Bai Ruo’s expression became; in her eyes was a tension even she herself hadn’t noticed.

Could it really be that serious?

She hurriedly searched again: under what circumstances do pregnant women get postpartum depression?

Among the many words, she spotted the key lines at a glance and read them softly, “Poor relationships with family members, not getting enough support, raising a baby being too exhausting, poor sleep quality…”

She thought of Li Xian. If that was the case, wouldn’t Li Xian be very likely to get it?

She shut off her phone and stared at the ceiling.

It probably wouldn’t happen, right? At the very least, Li Xian’s parents cared about her quite a lot, and as for support…

Bai Ruo suddenly got up and headed out.

Yan Yue was sitting on the balcony, basking in the warm sun and enjoying the river view in the distance. A shadow abruptly fell across her.

“What a nice sun,” Bai Ruo said with a smile as she sat down.

Yan Yue looked her over. “Looking for me about something?”

“Nope. Nothing at all. I’m just here to soak up some sun and warm myself up.” Bai Ruo lay back down, as if she really meant to sunbathe.

“Mm. Then I’m going to sleep first.”

“Wait!” Bai Ruo quickly made up an excuse. “I actually do have something I want to… I mean, ask you.”

Yan Yue smiled and listened.

After some struggle, Bai Ruo said, “I have a friend. Her wife is about to give birth, and she’s been really worried about postpartum depression. Is postpartum depression something that’s easy to get?”

Postpartum depression?

Yan Yue understood something. “I’m not an obstetrician; I don’t have professional knowledge. Why are you asking me?”

“Well, just chatting. No need for professional knowledge.”

“Compared with normal women after childbirth, women who are depressed are definitely more likely to fall ill. Tell your friend to coax her wife more and keep her company more; that can’t go wrong,” Yan Yue said.

Bai Ruo said, “But my friend is just too busy with work. She really doesn’t have time…”

“Anyone who doesn’t care about their own wife isn’t the kind of friend you should be making.”

Bai Ruo went quiet.

Then she quickly found another excuse. “It’s just that my friend’s wife gets along pretty well with me too, so I’m worried. I don’t want her to get it.”

“Then think of a way to make her happy. If her partner doesn’t have time, get her friends to keep her company more.” Yan Yue suddenly understood what Bai Ruo had come to her for.

She smiled at Bai Ruo, and Bai Ruo knew she had figured it out; she looked at her pleadingly.

Yan Yue lifted a brow and leaned back. “Why should I?”

“I’ll work like a horse and a donkey for you from now on; I’ll go through fire and water without a second thought!” Bai Ruo vowed.

“For this sort of thing, I have Qin Qingyan.”

“Then… I’ll have people keep an eye on Qin Qingyan’s movements in the film crew at all times.”

“She wouldn’t.”

Bai Ruo had always envied Yan Yue and Qin Qingyan, and at this moment, even more so.

“You really want to?” Yan Yue asked.

Bai Ruo nodded quickly.

Yan Yue took out her phone and sent someone a message. After a while, it seemed the other side replied.

“You can bring her over, but you have to do it yourself; deadline…” She glanced at the time. “Three o’clock this afternoon.”

This wasn’t a difficult condition. But wouldn’t that mean she’d have to take the initiative to contact Li Xian? Wouldn’t that make her the one rushing over to curry favor?

What about her dignity?

“Two minutes have passed,” Yan Yue said.

Bai Ruo gritted her teeth, stood up, grabbed a coat and threw it on, then headed out quickly.

In the car, Bai Ruo hesitated for a long time, staring at the number on her phone and still unable to press the call button.

In the end, she simply drove to the Li family home, slowed down and circled outside a few times, then pulled over. Glancing at the time, it was already after two.

After several rounds of hesitation, she finally called. The other end picked up very quickly, the voice trembling with disbelief.

“A-A-Ruo?”

That familiar voice felt unusually distant.

Bai Ruo’s tone was cool and indifferent. “Where are you?”

“Supermarket.”

“Send me your location.”

After hanging up, Bai Ruo felt inexplicably lighthearted. It was easy enough; simple and effortless.

When she drove over, she saw Li Xian waiting by the roadside from far away, carrying a lot of things in her hands.

The sight made her angry for no reason, though she couldn’t even explain why.

After parking, Bai Ruo took the things from Li Xian and put them in the trunk.

“Yan Yue hasn’t been in good shape lately. I’m taking you to see her,” Bai Ruo said.

Li Xian immediately understood why Bai Ruo had come, but she was still happy; at the very least, Bai Ruo had been willing to come looking for her on her own.

The two of them said little on the way, and that made Bai Ruo feel strange. By her usual standards, no matter what, Li Xian should have tried to start at least one or two topics, but this time she didn’t.

When they arrived at Jingsheng, Bai Ruo carried Li Xian’s things and went straight into the elevator. Li Xian followed behind her and didn’t ask much.

When they opened the door, Li Xian immediately saw Yan Yue on the sofa eating fruit, the television playing a comedy sketch. She didn’t look as though she was in bad shape at all.

Bai Ruo walked forward. “Two forty-seven.”

“Not bad.”

Li Xian was a little bewildered, and sat down next to Yan Yue. “A-Ruo said you weren’t in good shape?”

Yan Yue glanced at Bai Ruo, who had been there just a moment ago; now she was gone without a trace.

Careless. Since the person wasn’t here, then she could start making things up.

“What? I was just wondering why you suddenly came over here. Seeing that big bag of things, I thought you two had made up.” Yan Yue sounded confused.

Li Xian was stunned. “Not you? You asked me where I was before. I thought something really had happened to you.”

“Oh, that was because Bai Ruo was too embarrassed to ask, so I had her send the message.”

So that was it?

Li Xian felt a little happy, but after a moment she looked at Yan Yue again. Some words were stuck in her heart; she didn’t know whether she should ask.

Yan Yue blinked. “I’m already like this; I’m not lying casually. It’s true.”

Sure enough, Li Xian let out a breath of relief.

“Don’t overthink things during pregnancy. If you’re happy, laugh; if you’re sad, cry. No need to hold it in,” Yan Yue said. “How about staying here with me for a few days?”

“I…”

“Strike while the iron is hot; opportunities like this don’t come often,” Yan Yue said.

After hesitating, Li Xian agreed.

For an entire afternoon, the sound of Yan Yue and Li Xian chatting and laughing drifted through the living room from time to time, while Bai Ruo went back and forth fetching water and returning to her room several times, constantly trying to make her presence known.

But nobody paid attention to her.

She wanted to go look for Su Yan, but found Su Yan fast asleep, sprawled out with no concern for image whatsoever. After taking a photo, Bai Ruo left in satisfaction.

Around five or six, Qin Qingyan still hadn’t come back; this was the first time.

Yan Yue looked toward the door several times, but there was no movement at all. Her phone also hadn’t received any messages. Thinking back to the morning, had Qin Qingyan really gotten angry?

Out on the street, Qin Qingyan was wearing a mask, glancing at her watch from time to time, her expression growing more and more impatient. The other driver was still pestering her relentlessly.

“The headlights on my car alone will cost more than a hundred thousand to fix. You wouldn’t even be able to pay for it by selling that junk car of yours. If you can’t drive, then don’t come out onto the road. I’m busy as hell; do you think I want to waste time here with you? I’ve always been easy to talk to, but today, if nobody gives me an explanation, no one’s leaving!” the man said angrily.

The driver beside Qin Qingyan said, “Whatever kind of car yours is, you ran into us. How can you still blame us? When the traffic police get here, we’ll wait for them to decide fault and see who exactly can’t drive.”

The man could see how anxious Qin Qingyan was, and became even more shameless.

“Fine. It’ll take at least another half an hour for the traffic police to get here. Since you don’t want to pay, I’ll just spend my time waiting for the police to come. I’ll listen to whatever they say.” His eyes moved back and forth between the driver and Qin Qingyan.

“Heh, wearing a mask too; who knows what shameful relationship the two of you have…”

Under Qin Qingyan’s sharp, cold stare, the man’s smoking hand froze. He awkwardly looked away and snorted.

The driver was just about to step forward when Qin Qingyan stopped him.

They were at a deadlock when the phone rang.

“Sister Qingyan, where are you? Why aren’t you back yet?” the caller asked, yawning.

“Something came up. I’ll be back later,” Qin Qingyan said.

“Where are you?” The sleepiness vanished at once.

Qin Qingyan gave her the address.

As time passed, Qin Qingyan grew more and more impatient. If the traffic police still didn’t come, she might really just pay and leave. Yan Yue was still waiting for her at home.

Thinking of Yan Yue’s legs, even though she knew delaying a little wouldn’t affect the rehabilitation outcome, she still couldn’t help fearing that one in ten thousand chance.

For some reason, the traffic police still hadn’t arrived. The other party remained calm and composed.

Qin Qingyan noticed something and said to the driver beside her, “Uncle Xu, call the traffic police again.”

“Call again?” Uncle Xu instantly understood. No wonder the other side had been pushing so hard; maybe they hadn’t called at all, and were just waiting to see them panic and force them to pay up on their own.

Su Yan and the others arrived soon after. Several people got out of the car and walked over quickly.

At this moment, Xu Shuran stepped out of the car. “Qingyan, the traffic police still haven’t come?”

“No. Teacher Xu, you should go inside and wait. It wouldn’t be good if you were recognized without a mask on,” Qin Qingyan said, standing in front of her. Seeing Su Yan and the others coming over, the furrow between her brows gradually eased.

Then she looked back and met Yan Yue’s eyes in the front passenger seat of the car.