Even Her Breath Seemed to Brush Her Cheek

Lin Yang couldn’t help but curve her lips.

She said into the microphone, “Alright, I’m getting off now.”

Yan Ci drawled, “Where are you rushing off to? Even President Chu, that big-shot workaholic, isn’t in a hurry to leave, and I’m an overtime maniac too. What billion-yuan project do you have waiting for you out there?”

Chu Ling said meaningfully, “Lya’s been raising a dog lately.”

Yan Ci took a moment to process that, then asked hesitantly, “Are you implying something?”

Chu Ling said, “Nothing implied.”

Yan Ci took her at her word and said, “Raising a dog is pretty good. It can cheer her up. The time she was in a good mood last year made me a lot of money.”

Lin Yang was afraid they’d keep talking and say something they shouldn’t.

She said, “You should all worry about yourselves.”

Then she left the meeting in a hurry, only to find Xu Zhitong looking a little pleased.

Pleased for two seconds, Xu Zhitong immediately started putting on an act again. She hmmed and grumbled, “It’s all your fault. How could you say something like that to other people? They’ll think the one beside you is a dog. How am I supposed to meet them later?”

Such a little green tea.

Lin Yang ignored her, tidied up the materials, and shut down the computer.

Xu Zhitong came over and leaned against the desk as she asked, “But have they ever seen me? I feel like your senior seems to know me somehow. What she said at the end was kind of shady.”

She was secretly pouring oil on the fire. “Does she like you, so she doesn’t like me?”

Lin Yang was silent for a moment.

Her senior really did seem to dislike Xu Zhitong a little.

But it had nothing to do with liking or not liking her. It was because back when they were abroad, she had seen just how much Lin Yang cared about Xu Zhitong.

Her senior was someone who scoffed at love. From a friend’s point of view, she simply thought this wasn’t worth it.

Lin Yang said, “Even if a rock fell in love, she still wouldn’t want to. She’s just a friend. Think about something proper. The more you keep thinking strange things, the dumber you get.”

Xu Zhitong gave a pitiful little “oh.”

This wasn’t even weird.

And besides—

Xu Zhitong asked, “Do you think I’m dumb? Are you looking down on me for being illiterate?”

Lin Yang: “Illiterate?”

She had thought Xu Zhitong had been reading comments online and seen some nasty remark, maybe about her mispronouncing a rare character while singing, condemning her as illiterate.

Instead, Xu Zhitong said, “Yeah. I didn’t understand a lot of the terms you guys used in the meeting just now. Look, I haven’t gone to senior year of high school, and I haven’t gone to university either. I’m basically like an illiterate person.”

She said it so seriously.

After Lin Yang heard that, she leaned back in her chair and looked at Xu Zhitong, unable to stop herself from smiling teasingly.

Her voice even held a laugh. “Ha, no wonder you sound so pure.”

!!

Xu Zhitong had come looking for comfort. She hadn’t really come to hear Lin Yang mock her.

She immediately refused to accept it, putting on a fierce face as she leaned closer and pressed in on Lin Yang. “Hey, Lin Xiaoyang, are you laughing at me?”

“Nope. I told you not to overthink things.”

Lin Yang leaned back a little, rocking side to side in the office chair, then tilted her head to look at her with a smile.

Sunlight slipped through the gap in the curtains and fell across her profile in bright gold. Her eyes were smiling too, curved into crescents, the corners of her mouth lifting so that two little dimples appeared on her cheeks.

Lin Yang’s smiles in the past had always been light, faint, and quick.

She rarely smiled like this, so openly, even with a hint of mischief.

So cute.

Xu Zhitong forgot for a moment what she’d been about to say and froze.

It felt like her heart skipped a beat.

Vaguely, she thought to herself.

Ah... this was what she wanted.

She didn’t want to see Lin Yang quietly shedding tears like she had last night anymore.

She wanted Lin Yang to always be happy, always be blessed, to smile like this and never shed tears for anyone.

-

Xu Zhitong went back to broadcasting in the voice-room style, and she gradually became a little more used to it.

She should have gotten used to it a few more times, but then the rumors started flying again: people said her face had been ruined in the car accident, which was why she didn’t dare show her face on stream.

They even dug up screenshots from her last livestream, where fans had jokingly filled the screen with bullet comments, and claimed it was insider information from her fanbase.

No one knew where they’d gotten the hospitalization records from those few days.

With righteous certainty, they said the selfie she’d posted to the fan group had been edited all night and then repaired countless times with AI before it was sent out.

Someone posted a debunking thread and produced a whole pile of mosaic-covered proof, saying her selfies were photoshopped.

Compared with her old selfies, they insisted it didn’t look like her at all.

The manager sent her a link to the rumor thread, worriedly saying that next time she should post that kind of thing in the members’ group instead; the fan group only required a few level badges to enter, so it was a mixed bag, and a lot of people were taking screenshots to spread rumors.

Xu Zhitong read through it and was a little stunned.

If it hadn’t been her own photos, she would’ve believed it!

The pictures were a little unnatural, but that was because she hadn’t really taken selfies much while she was still in school, so even now she wasn’t used to posing. After taking them, she couldn’t help but use beauty filters to smooth them out a bit...

Yu Dudu also sent her screenshots of the rumors, along with a pile of frantic emoji stickers.

[Dudu the Great: It’s that bunch of streamer fans. Seeing that Cotton Empress is about to protect you and that you’ve got a breakout trajectory, they’d love nothing more than to stomp you into the ground so Cotton Empress’s money goes back to their own beloved streamer.]

She listed a few streamers’ names.

[Dudu the Great: These fanbases are the worst. It’s hilarious. Go browse that forum and you’ll see it. They’re always using ordinary passersby to judge the streamers, acting all high and mighty, and at the same time complaining that Cotton Empress sends too much, saying she’s picking concubines on Yinfu. This round of rumors started with them.]

So complicated.

Xu Zhitong hugged her phone and sat in a long, stunned silence before going to the study to ask Lin Yang, who was working, “Should I post the original image information? That should prove I wasn’t disfigured, right?”

Lin Yang took her phone, looked through everything, and let out a cold laugh.

In a frosty, indifferent voice, she said, “This is enough to file a lawsuit for defamation. I’ll call the lawyer in a moment; we can just sue them directly.”

So cool.

Xu Zhitong’s eyes sparkled.

Lin Yang reached out and ruffled Xu Zhitong’s hair while Xu Zhitong stood beside her looking at the phone.

“It’s not a big deal. No need to respond or prove anything. Just turn on the camera and stream normally tomorrow night,” Lin Yang said. “I’ll contact Yinfu and give you a traffic boost. You might even break one hundred thousand viewers.”

Xu Zhitong: “Huh? Me?”

A 100,000-plus live audience number—was that really something a little singing streamer like her could even dare to dream about?

Lin Yang’s hand moved down to pinch her cheek.

Looking at Xu Zhitong, she smiled. “Didn’t you say a couple of days ago that you were a gold-thread dog? You gave yourself that title and didn’t enjoy a single bit of it; wouldn’t that make you a silver-thread dog, then an iron-thread dog?”

What? So many dogs.

Lin Yang’s hand smelled so nice.

Her fingertips were smooth too, as if she’d just put on hand cream.

Xu Zhitong drifted off for a second, then blinked and said, “Then silver-thread dog actually sounds pretty tasty.”

What she really wanted to eat was something else.

Lin Yang: “...”

The next day, after she posted the night’s livestream preview, the number of reservations was extremely high.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help feeling a little anxious, muttering under her breath, “I still actually hope they’re here for my singing.”

Lin Yang pressed her down in front of the vanity mirror and said, “I’ll draw them in. You just keep them here with your singing. You’ve got that ability.”

If she was going to livestream with the camera on, she needed to do her makeup and styling in advance.

The camera was very unforgiving; Xu Zhitong had only just been discharged from the hospital, and without makeup she’d look a little listless and too plain.

Xu Zhitong sat obediently at the dressing table.

Lin Yang took a small hair clip and clipped up the loose strands of her bangs.

Her smooth forehead was exposed.

Xu Zhitong looked at herself in the mirror, studying her face from side to side. “My dark circles seem a little lighter.”

When she’d first woken up with her memory gone, probably because she’d been unconscious for several days, her complexion had really not been good.

Pale and dull, with heavy dark circles too.

But now, after being discharged, she went to bed early, got up early, woke naturally, ate three nutritionally balanced meals a day, and seemed to have put on a tiny bit of weight.

Lin Yang leaned against the vanity table, her gaze falling on Xu Zhitong’s face. She seemed to be thinking for a moment before saying, “Mm.”

Xu Zhitong muttered, “You’re being perfunctory.”

She closed her eyes and let Lin Yang apply her primer and foundation.

The soft makeup sponge patted gently against her face. Lin Yang wasn’t using much force, but for some reason it still felt a little itchy.

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help opening her eyes to look, only to realize that one side of Lin Yang’s long hair had fallen loose and brushed against her face, tickling her.

The strands of hair, together with Lin Yang’s wrist, carried that familiar white tea scent.

They were very close.

Lin Yang bent slightly at the waist, carefully shaping Xu Zhitong’s face.

Wouldn’t this position be uncomfortable? Xu Zhitong couldn’t help thinking. Before she lost her memory, when she was dating Lin Yang, Lin Yang might not have bent over like this to do her makeup.

Maybe she would have been sitting on her lap instead...

Xu Zhitong coughed softly.

Just thinking of fragrant, soft Lin Yang sitting on her lap, the two of them facing each other, with Lin Yang’s hand perhaps resting on her shoulder and her head slightly tilted as she focused on doing her makeup...

What a good meal, you little SleepyBlue.

Xu Zhitong’s imagination made her heart thump wildly.

But she was also a little gloomy. These past few days, Lin Yang didn’t know what she was worried about, and she hadn’t brought up the topic of their relationship again.

Xu Zhitong didn’t dare take the initiative either. Every time she thought of that night and the tears dampening Lin Yang’s shoulder, her heart ached so badly it felt scorched.

So even when her pulse raced, all she could do was reach out and tuck the strand of hair behind Lin Yang’s ear.

Lin Yang’s hair was very soft. As Xu Zhitong drew her hand back, her fingers accidentally brushed Lin Yang’s earlobe.

Ah, so soft and tender.

People said that those with soft ears were afraid of their wives.

Were her ears soft?

Before Xu Zhitong could test it, Lin Yang stepped back a little and set down the sponge in her hand. She turned to find a hair tie and loosely tied her hair back.

“Close your eyes.”

“Okay.”

After finishing the base makeup and contour, Xu Zhitong opened her eyes only when Lin Yang told her to, moving her eyes as instructed so Lin Yang could draw the drooping eyeliner.

Lin Yang’s expression was especially serious. Maybe she was afraid of poking her. Her fingers, with their manicured nails, curved slightly as the soft pads of them gently pressed against Xu Zhitong’s skin, every movement slow and careful.

But it was so close.

Her breath seemed to be brushing Xu Zhitong’s cheek.

Xu Zhitong breathed in the pleasant scent on Lin Yang’s body, wrapped in her breathing, her heartbeat rising and falling with Lin Yang’s movements.

Her lashes trembled before she could stop them. Lin Yang paused and said, “Don’t move. Look up.”

Xu Zhitong obediently did as she was told, and happened to look right at Lin Yang’s lashes.

Lin Yang was probably only wearing light makeup. Her skin had always been excellent; not to mention blemishes, she practically had no dark circles at all. The foundation on her face was almost transparent.

Her eyes were beautiful, the eyeliner lifting slightly at the ends. The red tear mole at the outer corner of her left eye showed through in a pinkish hue beneath the foundation, and it was very cute.

When would she be able to kiss that tear mole?

Xu Zhitong looked at her own face until she blushed.

As she kept drawing, Lin Yang looked down at her work and at the face turning red in spite of having no blush on it. She paused.

She didn’t say anything.

It was as if they understood each other without needing words.

Xu Zhitong had beautiful bone structure and clear, defined features. When Lin Yang did her makeup, she only deepened the contours that would otherwise get lost on camera, and emphasized the eye makeup so her eyes would look more spirited.

After the makeup was done, Lin Yang took out a straightening iron and styled her hair a little.

Xu Zhitong’s hair was relatively stiff. Once it was slightly straightened and tidied, it looked very good.

When Lin Yang finished spraying on the setting spray and was lightly tidying it with her fingers, Xu Zhitong tilted her head and let Lin Yang touch her ear.

Lin Yang paused, then curled her fingers and asked, “What? Did I spray your ear?”

Xu Zhitong shook her head. “Touch my ear. Is it soft?”

For some reason, Lin Yang really did pinch it.

“It’s okay.”

Xu Zhitong immediately said smugly, “People with soft ears are afraid of their wives.”

Lin Yang’s eyes widened slightly. “...”

The easily teased Lin Yang tossed the spray into her arms and turned away.

Xu Zhitong sulked and opened the jewelry box herself to put on some earrings and accessories.

After she’d almost finished, she puckered her lips in the mirror and made the same expression she’d had while talking to Lin Yang just now.

It was clearly already very handsome and very pretty.

Just how stone-hearted did Lin Yang have to be to react so little to a face like this?

Don’t tell her it was because she’d gotten enough of it already and stopped cherishing it?

-

The stream started at 10 p.m.

Xu Zhitong spent half an hour adjusting the lighting and looked at Lin Yang eight hundred times.

Because the stream would have the camera on, Lin Yang was worried she’d keep looking over at her while streaming, so she wouldn’t stay in the room. She’d have to stay in the living room instead.

Xu Zhitong struggled with it several times before admitting that if Lin Yang were in the room, she would definitely not be able to resist sneaking glances.

She could only agree with a pitiful little “okay.”

Lin Yang patted her head, comforting her. “It’s fine. If anything comes up, you can type to me on Weixin. I’ll be watching the stream the whole time.”

Xu Zhitong: “Okay.”

She noticed that ever since that day, Lin Yang seemed to have taken a liking to patting her head.

How could that not count as another kind of attitude shift?

After a casual pat, Lin Yang paused for a moment and told Xu Zhitong to lower her head so she could fix something.

She had accidentally messed up the hairstyle Xu Zhitong had just set.

A little ahoge had sprung up on the left side, kind of like a dog ear. It was very cute.

Lin Yang pressed it down, though for some reason she couldn’t flatten it.

“...”

She watched for a while with obvious amusement, then simply made the other side symmetrical and made that ahoge stand up too.

“?” Xu Zhitong suspiciously looked at the smiling Lin Yang, then turned to see herself in the camera lens and quickly looked back. “What do you mean by that!”

Lin Yang said, “Mm, cute. Go live.”

There wasn’t time to fix the hairstyle anymore. The livestream was about to start.

Xu Zhitong started streaming alone in the room.

Three minutes after going live, the viewer count jumped to 50,000 and was still climbing.

There should be traffic there that Lin Yang had specially added.

【Is this the one whose selfie was debunked?】

【Didn’t they say she was disfigured? Is this an AI livestream?】

【Is this a replay?】

【The streamer is pretty good-looking. Which company’s AI is this powerful? Get one for my favorite streamer too】

【Real person?】

【Is Yinfu’s beauty filter this strong now?】

The bullet comments were a mess, too many to read through.

Xu Zhitong was distracted by the flood of comments and, oddly enough, didn’t feel that nervous anymore.

She ignored the comments and said, “Good evening, everyone. Long time no see; tonight is still a singing stream.”

【Is it real AI or fake AI? How can it talk and sing too? Is technology really this advanced now?】

【What bullshit AI, this is a real person. Can passersby stop talking after watching for a bit?】

【The streamer looks better than in the selfies】

【Is she going to sell products?】

【Babies, don’t reply to passersby, don’t reply to passersby, don’t reply to passersby】

At the same time, the moderator’s frequent blacklist alerts also appeared.

The stream’s management had previously all been done by fans, but because they’d expected tonight wouldn’t be peaceful, Lin Yang had specially hired people to manage the public chat.

And since they’d already given the fans a heads-up in the group beforehand, the filthy remarks in the public chat were reduced a lot before long.

Xu Zhitong said, “The streamer’s job is to sing. If you like it, you can put on a badge; there’s a song list from the streamer in the fan group.”

She sent out red packets to lure passersby into getting the family badge.

After nearly the whole process was over, Lin Yang entered the livestream using the account Cotton.

In an instant, the viewer count surged even more.

Everyone from every fanbase was sharing the stream to watch the excitement.

【[Floating Screen] Cotton: Streamer, turn on song requests.】

Xu Zhitong followed the instruction and opened song requests.

Ignoring everyone else’s requests, Cotton directly sent a batch of 999 Yinfu song requests.

Before long, the first ten songs on the request list were all songs she’d chosen.

Ancient-style songs about spirited young heroes.

Lin Yang hadn’t discussed any of this with her beforehand, but Xu Zhitong looked at the song list and couldn’t help smiling.

She knew what Lin Yang meant.

Choosing these songs, with their melodies and lyrics, was both a response and a provocation.

The whole thing could be summed up in three words: “I don’t care,” or, “I’m not bothered.”

Ignoring someone was the most unbearable answer of all.

“Oh my, so many songs. Thank you for the gifts, Cotton Empress.”

Xu Zhitong couldn’t help teasing her. “What’s this, Cotton Empress? You haven’t shown your face in ages, and the moment you show up you’re piling on points so nobody else can request songs?”

【[Floating Screen] Cotton: ...】

【[Floating Screen] Cotton: Sing your song.】

After saying that, probably to make up for it, Lin Yang threw out a pile of diamond red packets.

Xu Zhitong narrowed her eyes and smiled.

“I’m loading the accompaniment.”

From the first line Xu Zhitong sang, Lin Yang started sending special-effect gifts.

1, 2, 3... 98, 99, 99+

She shot straight to first place on the hourly ranking.

The viewer count soared past 100,000 in no time.

It was a special-effect gift nobody had seen before, called Heart Like My Sword.

A brilliant castle burst with fireworks. Inside the castle, beneath flowers and a red carpet, a golden-haired woman in a gorgeous dress drew a long sword and gently tapped it three times on the shoulder of the knight kneeling before her in full armor, completing the ritual of bestowing the sword.

The 3D animation was exquisitely detailed, with even romantic music effects.

The bullet comments went blank for a moment, then erupted in amazement.

【So this is the unique premium custom gift Cotton Empress ordered? AHHHHHH】

【So pretty!!!!】

【How much was that? Ten, hundred, thousand, ten-thousand, wife, mom, master】

【How much does this gift cost?】

【I thought Cotton Empress hadn’t ordered a unique premium custom gift [covering face]】

【So it’s not a response to the rumors, but a grand exclusive display of favor? This life is too good, I can’t even...】

【Sister, look at me, I can sing too QAQ】

【So meaningful... Cotton Empress’s custom gift that had been hidden for over two years at level 75 looks like this... Haji Kun has really become your knight, huh】

【Wuwuwu so romantic】

【Family, hasn’t our SleepyBlue finally married into a wealthy family?】

【Has the wedding livestream date been set?】

【How did Cotton Empress secretly mix a fan badge into 99+ Heart Like My Sword】

【Cotton Empress: The big gift came too fast; I forgot to add the badge and intimacy points!】

【Mom, I’m ready to be born. What’s my due date?】

【No one is allowed to snatch this; these are my two moms!】

Xu Zhitong didn’t read the chaotic, fast-flying comments, but she was also pleasantly surprised by this custom gift.

After finishing the song, she softened her voice and looked at the livestream screen, her eyes bright.

“Thank you, Cotton Cotton. You sent so many. It’s so pretty.”

【[Floating Screen] Cotton: Mm. Only for you.】

Author’s Note:

Babies, tomorrow I’m on the cover slot, so tomorrow’s update will be at 11 p.m. >3

TL Note:

green tea (绿茶茶) = a slang insult for someone who acts sweet or innocent while being petty, jealous, or manipulative.

picking concubines on Yinfu (在音符选妃) = joking slang for a big-spending fan treating streamers like favorites in a harem.

family badge (灯牌) = a livestream fan badge that shows loyalty and can unlock fan-group access.