Chapter 26: Holding Hands
Lu Zhiyin sat on the bed, lost in thought, after her plan to seek help from the deity failed. The scenes of Leng Qing Qiu threatening her played repeatedly in her mind, along with the terrible indecent video.
Past memories of Leng Qing Qiu also surfaced.
She vaguely remembered deleting the indecent video of herself. Why could Leng Qing Qiu still produce the video?
This point aside, as Leng Qing Qiu might have a backup. Lu Zhiyin also recalled the things in Leng Qing Qiu’s computer.
Those records of bloody killings.
Those things could send Leng Qing Qiu to prison once, and perhaps a second time too?
However, Lu Zhiyin didn’t need to send Leng Qing Qiu to prison again. After being reported, she could have uploaded the video online before the police arrested her, ruining her own life.
What Lu Zhiyin needed was to get hold of those evidence, using it as leverage against Leng Qing Qiu.
As long as both she and Leng Qing Qiu held the other’s lifeline, she wouldn’t be controlled by Leng Qing Qiu because of that terrible video.
After all, she no longer cared about “favorability.” She didn’t need to consider Leng Qing Qiu’s thoughts anymore.
It’s worth mentioning that Leng Qing Qiu’s evidence of crimes was on Lu Zhiyin’s previous phone, and she couldn’t get that phone.
But Lu Zhiyin still remembered who sent Leng Qing Qiu to prison last time.
“Sigh… it seems I have to proactively find Long Qinxin…”
Lu Zhiyin closed her eyes slightly and muttered to herself.
She tried desperately to disassociate herself from the ladies but was unable to.
Long Qinxin had sent Leng Qing Qiu to prison. Given her hatred for Leng Qing Qiu, she wouldn’t destroy Leng Qing Qiu’s evidence of crimes, nor would she submit all of it.
Lu Zhiyin only needed to ask Long Qinxin for a backup.
Lu Zhiyin thought that with her looks, this would be no problem at all.
She lay back, covering her eyes with one hand. Half of her vision was gone, and the amount of things she saw was reduced, but it didn’t make her uncomfortable.
Lu Zhiyin unwrapped the bear doll and hugged the brand new, half-human-sized doll.
The doll in her arms was exceptionally soft. With a slight squeeze of her hand, her fingertips could sink into the doll’s filling. When she released her hand, the indented fabric would spring back to its original state.
This reminded Lu Zhiyin of herself last night, becoming a human doll.
She released the doll and turned to open the macaron box.
“…”
Glancing at Ouyang Qing, who was watching her with amusement, Lu Zhiyin hesitated for a few seconds before choosing to eat them herself.
Since Ouyang Qing didn’t intend to help her, these gifts couldn’t be given away. Since she had paid for them, Lu Zhiyin didn’t intend to throw them away.
Every cent she had was earned through her own hard work.
She opened the box, took out a small and exquisite pink pastry, and took a bite.
The excessive sweetness spread in her mouth, and she frowned.
Lu Zhiyin didn’t dislike sweet flavors, but this was too sweet, and she couldn’t handle it.
After forcing herself to eat one, Lu Zhiyin completely lost her appetite and had nothing else to do.
She started to feel bored.
Ouyang Qing was equally bored.
“…”
Silently watching Lu Zhiyin, who sometimes smiled and sometimes frowned, Ouyang Qing’s mind recalled the scene of Lu Zhiyin and Zhu holding hands.
Holding hands… Ever since leaving her own little space, she saw this every day but didn’t know the meaning behind it.
Ouyang Qing had never held hands with anyone, nor did she want too much contact with humans whom she considered inferior beings.
But she was indeed curious.
Why did the humans walking with their hands held appear so happy? Even her favorite little toys did?
“Hey, come here for a moment.”
She beckoned Lu Zhiyin with her finger.
“…Ah, what is it?”
Lu Zhiyin stood up abruptly. Due to what happened last night, she had deep psychological scarring from Ouyang Qing and subconsciously assumed Ouyang Qing was going to tease her again.
“Just come here when I tell you to, don’t ask so many unnecessary questions.”
Ouyang Qing seemed a little impatient. Her golden eyes no longer held the chilling calmness they once did for Lu Zhiyin.
This Ouyang Qing actually made Lu Zhiyin feel a bit more at ease.
She moved her feet to Ouyang Qing, looking down at her.
“Crouch down.”
Being looked down upon made Ouyang Qing uncomfortable. Only she could look down on others; no one else could look down on her.
She pointed to the floor of the bedroom.
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhiyin still felt inexplicable but didn’t resist much, obediently crouching down.
She hated Ouyang Qing and feared her, but she didn’t have the ability to resist Ouyang Qing. All she could do was infinite obedience until Ouyang Qing got tired of her submissive attitude and abandoned her to torment others.
“…Sigh…”
Looking at the white-haired girl crouching before her, Ouyang Qing took a deep breath.
She extended her left hand and looked at her palm.
After a few minutes of hesitation, Ouyang Qing grasped Lu Zhiyin’s right hand.
As their skin touched, Ouyang Qing could feel the coolness and softness of the girl’s palm, which wasn’t much different from her own.
Perhaps, the bug in her eyes wasn’t as dirty as she thought? Ouyang Qing had such a thought.
She shook her head, throwing away the inappropriate thought, and continued to hold Lu Zhiyin’s hand.
Her fingers moved bit by bit, her fingertips sliding over the lines on the girl’s palm, feeling the slight warmth from the capillaries beneath the skin.
She had to admit that shaking hands with someone wasn’t unpleasant.
“…? What’s this, what’s happening?”
Lu Zhiyin hadn’t reacted yet. She didn’t know what possessed Ouyang Qing to suddenly hold her hand.
Didn’t Ouyang Qing hate interacting with her? Didn’t she look down on her?
Ouyang Qing today was quite different from the scumbag she remembered, and Lu Zhiyin’s mind was in a mess.
Unlike Lu Zhiyin’s hand, Ouyang Qing’s hand was cold, not cool, but cold.
Almost like a piece of ice… yes, soft ice.
Being held by Ouyang Qing made Lu Zhiyin uneasy and extremely uncomfortable.
Although Ouyang Qing’s skin was smooth and soft, shaking hands with her was indeed a torment.
Not long after, Lu Zhiyin’s hand became numb and even felt a bit of pain.
Lu Zhiyin didn’t know if Ouyang Qing was naturally like this or if she was deliberately tormenting her, but Lu Zhiyin leaned towards the latter.
“…There’s no special feeling… why is everyone so happy about it?”
Muttering in confusion, Ouyang Qing released Lu Zhiyin’s hand.
The girl’s hand felt really good to hold, but it shouldn’t make people that happy, right?
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Too lazy to answer Lu Zhiyin’s question, Ouyang Qing casually brushed it off.
Lu Zhiyin didn’t press further, but obediently returned to her original position.
After Lu Zhiyin left, Ouyang Qing stared blankly at her hand, savoring the softness her palm had touched.
It was a softness completely different from fabric and cotton.
Ouyang Qing couldn’t understand the emotion contained in the act of holding hands, but it felt pretty good.
She didn’t mind holding hands with her little toy a few more times later.
