Running Over The Head Of My Ex [Rebirth]

Chapter 38

Zhuo Zhiwei was stunned for a moment. She curved her lips into a smile as her beautiful eyes gradually welled up with tears, like ripples suddenly appearing on a cold, serene lake under the moonlight.

Her fingertips trembled as she wrapped her arms around He Qingqi’s waist, closing her eyes slowly to savor what might be the last warmth she would ever feel.

After a while, Zhuo Zhiwei composed herself and gently pushed He Qingqi away.

“I still have to say it,” Zhuo Zhiwei said softly. “I want to tell you.”

She raised her head slightly, her elegant and charming chin accentuating her grace. Her slender fingers unbuttoned the first button of her nightgown and continued to the second.

He Qingqi’s face turned crimson instantly. She averted her gaze and blurted out, “No, no, no, this isn’t appropriate.”

Zhuo Zhiwei blinked, looking at He Qingqi’s burning ears, and couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. Her laughter was as refreshing and pleasant as a gentle breeze stirring wind chimes.

This person truly felt different towards her. At least, there were some feelings involved. Otherwise, between two ordinary friends, unbuttoning a button shouldn’t warrant such an inappropriate reaction.

Inappropriate? She didn’t intend to do anything!

Zhuo Zhiwei’s face couldn’t help but flush with embarrassment as she playfully slapped He Qingqi’s back, scolding, “What are you thinking?”

“Huh?” He Qingqi was bewildered, turning back to look at Zhuo Zhiwei in confusion.

Zhuo Zhiwei glared at her, revealing half of her shoulder.

With her shoulder half exposed and the nightgown barely covering her, there was a mysterious allure about her. He Qingqi felt her mind go blank, blood rushing to her head.

This is too much.

Don’t look at what you shouldn’t!

When Zhuo Zhiwei looked up at her again, she noticed He Qingqi’s unfocused gaze and ears were as red as if they were about to bleed, but there was no hint of inappropriate intent.

Zhuo Zhiwei couldn’t help but smile helplessly.

What a coward!

But still, quite the gentleman. Cute.

Zhuo Zhiwei’s eyes curved into a smile.

Then she straightened He Qingqi and pointed to her left shoulder. Seeing that He Qingqi still didn’t dare to look, she sighed, “Look at my left shoulder.”

“Oh, oh,” He Qingqi nodded repeatedly, her mind unable to process anything, following the instruction subconsciously.

She glanced at her left shoulder.

There were three scars—two vertical and one horizontal.

He Qingqi’s pupils contracted sharply as she stood up abruptly, staggering backward due to the force. Her eyes were filled with shock and pain, her brows furrowed tightly, and she stammered, “How did this happen?”

For once, He Qingqi’s mind wasn’t a mess. Linking it to what Zhuo Zhiwei had just told her, she asked incredulously, “Was it that person too? How dare she! What’s wrong with her? How could school bullying be so disgusting?”

It’s no surprise that He Qingqi suddenly recalled some events from their past lives. At an awards ceremony, she once saw Zhuo Zhiwei arguing with Wonders’ manager backstage. Or rather, it was the manager shouting while Zhuo Zhiwei remained silent.

Zhuo Zhiwei’s refusal to wear a strapless dress that the company had prepared sparked the argument.

Looking at those shocking knife scars, He Qingqi’s fingers trembled before clenching into a fist. She couldn’t believe such things still happened in modern times. She now only wanted to find out who that person was and hire the best lawyer to make sure they suffered.

Seeing Zhuo Zhiwei nod, He Qingqi grew even more furious.

Zhuo Zhiwei suddenly let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Actually, I’m considered lucky.”

“Lucky?” He Qingqi found it absurd, shaking her head in disbelief. “This is lucky? What was she trying to do? She must be crazy.”

Zhuo Zhiwei answered seriously, “She wanted to carve the word ‘bitch’ on my shoulder.”

“But… I was lucky.”

Before He Qingqi could ask further, Zhuo Zhiwei continued, “Qingqi, do you remember what I told you about my parents?”

“Yes.” He Qingqi nodded. “You said they died.”

Her reply was straightforward. Even a fool could now see that her parents were involved in this matter.

Zhuo Zhiwei shook her head. “At that time, I was just suddenly reminded of them and spoke out of anger. They are actually alive and well.”

“Do you know who carved those words on me?”

He Qingqi played along, “Who?”

“My half sister,” Zhuo Zhiwei said with a mix of mockery and sighing. “We are only five months apart. Do you know what that means?”

At this moment, He Qingqi found it even harder to believe. Today, her worldview was crumbling, and her anger was poised to erupt.

“The most unacceptable part is,” Zhuo Zhiwei said, looking at He Qingqi and smiling bitterly. “I am the daughter of the other woman.”

“My mother wronged her mother.”

“And I am the witness to her father’s betrayal.”

“So, I had to be nailed to the pillar of shame.”

“I deserved to be scolded, to be isolated, to be subjected to cold violence.”

“Qingqi, do you think I deserve it?”

Zhuo Zhiwei’s voice was cool, but it carried a mix of complex emotions: guilt, hatred, resentment, and a fleeting moment of grievance.

She truly believed she was a mistake from birth and felt guilty towards her father’s wife and daughter. She hated her parents for their shamelessness. She could atone for their sins, kneel and apologize, and live a life entangled in this shame.

But still, she wanted to ask He Qingqi, the only person she ever liked.

What do you think?

Do you also find me so despicable, so filthy, and so… disgusting?

“No,” He Qingqi’s eyes grew red, her eyelashes trembling, as she choked out, “No, Zhiwei, how can you be blamed for this?”

He Qingqi’s eyes sparkled as she reached out to embrace Zhuo Zhiwei, her lips quivering.

I’m sorry.

…

She suddenly recalled certain memories.

Zhuo Zhiwei would never discover those memories, and she had never shown concern for them before.

“Would you hate someone just because they are the child of a third party?”

It was such a silent summer night. Her fifth film had just wrapped, and it was her last night at the hotel.

Zhuo Zhiwei was still her lead actress, maintaining a polite distance from her. But that night, after the celebration party, for the first time, they were alone in the quiet of the night.

“Can I come in for a drink?” Zhuo Zhiwei stood at her door, holding a glass.

Despite her surprise, she invited Zhuo Zhiwei in.

They sipped their drinks on the balcony under the moonlight, the silver glow giving Zhuo Zhiwei’s usual calm expression an ethereal quality.

It was the closest they’d ever been in their past lives, having known each other for many years.

Zhuo Zhiwei swirled her drink and asked quietly, “He Qingqi, would you hate someone just because they are the child of a third party?”

She frowned, thinking of He Qingzhou, and assumed Zhuo Zhiwei was speaking on his behalf. She rolled her eyes inwardly.

She had heard this argument countless times. Next, she would say she generally wouldn’t, and then the person would continue, asking why she treated He Qingzhou that way. He wasn’t even a third party’s child; he was her brother, and he treated her well, among other things. She had heard it so often that she was able to recite it.

She wouldn’t admit she initially disliked He Qingzhou because others said he caused her mother’s death, nor would she say she had stopped disliking him as she grew older.

Call her stubborn or prideful; she wouldn’t admit she recognized He Qingzhou as her brother.

Having heard it so often, she was impatient and decided to block the argument from the start, saying casually, “I would.”

As expected, the person fell silent, blinking in surprise before regaining her composure and smiling.

Her expression remained calm as she looked into the distance, drinking one glass after another with graceful elegance that even He Qingqi, a married woman, had to admit was captivating.

The air grew quiet, with only the sound of waves breaking the silence.

Suddenly, He Qingqi turned and saw a tear glistening on Zhuo Zhiwei’s beautiful face, reflecting the moonlight, clear and shimmering.

She was startled. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” the cool voice replied. “I’m just feeling a bit melancholic about another farewell.” She wiped her tears.

“Maybe I drank too much.”

He Qingqi laughed heartily. “Your alcohol tolerance is that bad?”

“Yes.” Zhuo Zhiwei sighed deeply, her voice blending into the wind. She turned her face, those beautiful eyes like falling stars, and stirred a faint ache in He Qingqi’s heart.

“I’m not good enough.”

But in an instant, it seemed she had imagined it, as there was no trace of tears on Zhuo Zhiwei’s face.

In the end, a drunken Zhuo Zhiwei shouted, “He Qingqi, get lost.”

She laughed, thinking it was a joke. “This is my room. If anyone should get lost

It should be.”

She intentionally left the sentence unfinished, giving Zhuo Zhiwei a meaningful look.

Zhuo Zhiwei nodded. “You’re right. Then I’ll get lost.”

“Goodbye.”

He Qingqi, sensing something amiss, still nodded in her drunken state. “Then good night.”

The door closed softly.

The next day, sober, she recalled the night’s events, feeling she had made a mistake.

She attempted to call Zhuo Zhiwei to explain, but Zhuo Zhiwei, acting nonchalant, said it was just a casual question. Seeing no change in her demeanor, He Qingqi dismissed it.

But their contact dwindled, and eventually, she didn’t see Zhuo Zhiwei for three or four years. She truly disappeared from her world, as she said.

…

Qingqi’s eyes stung, and her throat tightened. She felt like a dull knife was slowly piercing her heart, the motion silent and blood-red.

Looking again, she saw that she was holding the knife’s hilt and that Zhuo Zhiwei, her best friend in this life, was the target of the blade.

She suddenly felt she was no different from Zhuo Zhiwei’s sister, who hurt her physically while she inflicted emotional pain.

She made hurtful comments without thinking, based on misguided judgments. Despite her subsequent explanations, the harm had already occurred, and no justification could repair the wounds.

Fortunately, fate had given her another chance.

He Qingqi suddenly remembered Zhuo Zhiwei’s past demeanor.

Always distant, keeping everyone at arm’s length. Even with her, their visibly close relationship rarely saw Zhuo Zhiwei smile. Moments like this, sitting close together, had never happened.

He Qingqi’s heart ached, fighting off sudden sadness; her clear eyes were now clouded by a somber mood.

She felt she had missed something, but she couldn’t pinpoint what.