Chapter 206

Chapter 206

They did not have any photos together, not a single one.

Zhong Ning loved taking photos: beautiful scenery, a flower, a leaf, a cat rolling around on the lawn. But out of consideration for Xie Shiqing’s eye disease, she rarely shared them. She carefully protected the latter’s self-esteem.

Yet she also could not avoid posting entirely. If she posted no pictures at all, Xie Shiqing would think she was deliberately looking down on her, discriminating against her.

So Zhong Ning only posted occasionally, once every few days, subtly controlling the degree.

But they still did not have any photos together.

Zhong Ning seldom took selfies, and there were very few people appearing in her camera roll. Most were scenery and animals.

Xie Shiqing’s USB drive contained a lot of videos, all exported from surveillance footage. She had so many things she could watch to remember Zhong Ning. Having been blind for so long, she also forgot that things like taking photos together even existed in the world.

A poisonous jealousy suddenly surged in her heart. Sitting on the bed, Xie Shiqing’s chest heaved violently as she gasped for breath. She reached back, grabbed a pillow, and was about to throw it.

The white, soft pillow was lifted high, paused midair, and after a moment was placed back exactly where it had been.

No. She could not.

She could not lose her temper here. Zhong Ning was right outside the door. If she lost control now, would the effort she put in these past few days not all go to waste?

She had repeatedly emphasized aloud that she had changed, completely corrected herself, become someone entirely different from before. And now, just because of one video, a few staged photos—taken even right in front of her—she would tear apart the image she had worked so hard to maintain.

That would be abandoning a watermelon to pick up sesame seeds!

Calm down, endure, calm down, endure…

Xie Shiqing clenched her molars tightly. Her hands twisted the sheet beneath her with force as she repeatedly took deep breaths.

She must restrain herself, whether she could do it or not—she had to.

She finally had progress. Zhong Ning had softened and believed she had changed. If her true nature leaked out now, would everything not collapse?

Her heart pounded like crazy. It was as if cloth wrapped tightly around it, layer upon layer, leaving no gap, then pulling from both sides, squeezing, trying to press out the last drop of blood—an unbearable suffocation.

She could not be exposed. She could not be exposed.

Xie Shiqing lifted the corners of her lips and pushed open the bedroom door, her expression natural and tone light as she greeted Zhong Ning, saying she was going to take a shower.

Zhong Ning suspected nothing. She only reminded her not to shower too long, then lowered her head again to look at her phone, a faint smile on her lips.

What was she looking at?

Was she talking to that blogger? Was she discussing those photos?

Xie Shiqing quickly turned her head away, showing Zhong Ning only her back. Her smile disappeared as she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door.

The bathtub gradually filled with water.

Xie Shiqing stirred the surface with her fingers, watching the ripples spread out in circles.

Once upon a time, Zhong Ning always held her while they bathed together.

And now, the only thing she received was a reminder to watch the time—only because she was sick. Otherwise, that reminder likely would not even exist.

Xie Shiqing lay down in the bathtub, held her breath, and sank beneath the water.

Bright silver waves shimmered on the surface, reflections of the lights above. Everything was blurred, hazy. An empty, quiet stillness surrounded her.

The air in her lungs slowly escaped, turning into tiny bubbles that slipped from her mouth and nose, like nimble little fish darting up toward the surface.

The suffocating pressure silently weighed down on her chest, yet Xie Shiqing seemed unaware of it. She stretched her hand upward into the air, as if trying to grasp that patch of light in her vision that drew closer and closer.

Her palm broke through the water’s surface, exposed to open air, and the sudden coolness pulled her consciousness back.

Xie Shiqing sat up. Water streamed down her features. She reflexively gulped in fresh air. The warm water still wrapped around her just as always—silent, saying nothing.

She leaned her head back against the rim of the tub and closed her eyes. A bead of water slipped from her lashes, disappearing into her hair.

She turned on the massage mode. The water began to circulate, pulsing against her body, sometimes stronger, sometimes gentler. Xie Shiqing bit her lower lip and imagined it as Zhong Ning’s warm hands.

She raised a hand to her chest, her fingertips sliding downward.

After a while, Xie Shiqing changed the water. She carefully washed away the sticky traces on her skin, cleaned every finger, letting the clear water carry off the slickness between them.

Irritation was unnecessary. It would only drive Zhong Ning away.

Any trait she disliked must not be shown.

Be someone Zhong Ning liked.

Xie Shiqing faced her reflection in the mirror, her lips silently forming the words: No losing control. No noise. No hysteria.

You must be someone Zhong Ning likes.

She picked up the hairdryer and meticulously dried her hair, smoothing the soft curls with her fingers until they lay neatly over her shoulders.

Be someone who looks positive and sunny, someone healthy and upward, someone who loves herself.

She put on her bathrobe and examined her face again. The hot water had warmed her skin, leaving it rosy and bright.

Excellent.

Very good.

Keep it up.

The woman in the mirror slowly blossomed into a smile, then furrowed her brows to rein it in, adjusting the angle and the curve of her eyes.

Just like that.

She carried that smile as she walked out. With a voice sweet as milk, she moved to Zhong Ning’s side, tilted her head, and said, “Ning-jiejie, staying in the house all the time is really boring. What are you doing?”

Zhong Ning tilted her phone outward, revealing a combat scene on the screen. At the same time, her fingers were tapping nonstop, sliding combos across the display.

“Playing Stellar Core, running a dungeon.”

“It looks interesting. Is this game hard?” Xie Shiqing sat beside her hand, asking with curiosity.

“It should… not be hard. A lot of people play it. The character combos are pretty simple, basically only two sets. You just mix them as you want in real battle,” Zhong Ning said after thinking for a moment.

This was based on what she had seen fans say in the chat group. To Zhong Ning, no game was truly difficult.