Chapter 16

When Jiang Lai recognized the person following behind Xia Wanwan, the smile on her face slowly faded. Her tone turned helpless. “...Why are you here?”

Apparently displeased with Jiang Lai’s attitude, Song Shiyuan huffed and turned her head away, ignoring her.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere between them, Xia Wanwan very tactfully pulled Jiang Lai aside. “What’s going on with you? Weren’t you on pretty good terms with Senior in school? How come the second you graduate, you can’t stand being around her?”

Jiang Lai dodged the question and instead asked, “How did you two end up together?”

“Oh.”

Xia Wanwan shrugged. “Isn’t Yin Zheng filming recently? Senior’s singing the theme song for their drama, and I went to visit the set. So I casually asked whether Senior wanted to come visit you and my mom’s set too...”

Jiang Lai only felt as if a herd of horses had stampeded straight through her heart. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end couldn’t get a single word out. All she could do was sigh helplessly.

“Let’s go. You both must be tired from the trip, so I’ll treat you to a meal.”

In the car, the awkward atmosphere still lingered.

Xia Wanwan was at a loss. Faced with two people who clearly had no intention of speaking, she could only take the initiative to smooth things over herself.

“Senior, I heard you’ve been holding a concert lately. Coming with me to visit the set—won’t that throw off your schedule?”

Song Shiyuan glanced at Jiang Lai in the driver’s seat before turning to Xia Wanwan. “Mm, it is a bit rushed. I might head back after lunch.”

“Ah...”

Xia Wanwan felt a little regretful. “If I’d known that, I wouldn’t have dragged Senior along to visit the set with me. That way, you could have rested a little more.”

“It’s fine. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Wanwan and A-Lai. Besides... this chance is rare; I didn’t want to miss it.”

“But... it’s still my fault for not asking more clearly.”

Xia Wanwan was still a little uneasy.

Song Shiyuan gently laid her hand over Xia Wanwan’s and gave her a soft smile. “It really doesn’t matter. You don’t need to blame yourself. And besides...”

She looked at Jiang Lai in the front seat, her gaze tender as water. “I’ve already seen the person I wanted to see. I’m very satisfied.”

“Screech!”

Before Xia Wanwan could even process the meaning behind Song Shiyuan’s words, Jiang Lai suddenly slammed on the brakes. The force of inertia sent the two people in the back seat straight into the front-seat headrests.

Xia Wanwan held her rapidly reddening forehead and couldn’t help kicking the back of Jiang Lai’s seat. “A-Lai, what’s wrong with you? You didn’t even warn me or Senior before braking; I nearly got knocked to death.”

“Sorry.”

Jiang Lai lowered her eyes, her expression impossible to read. “Are you two all right? Did either of you get hurt?”

Song Shiyuan shook her head, then looked at Jiang Lai with some concern. “What about you? Are you hurt? If you don’t feel well, you have to say so.”

“I’m fine.”

Song Shiyuan still wasn’t reassured. She carefully reminded Jiang Lai of a few more things before finally letting it go. Even someone as slow on the uptake as Xia Wanwan could tell something was off between the two of them.

At lunch, Song Shiyuan naturally took care of Jiang Lai as well; even though Jiang Lai ignored her, it still didn’t dampen her enthusiasm.

After lunch, Jiang Lai took the two of them sightseeing. It wasn’t until night fell that the two of them drove Song Shiyuan to the airport. By the time they arrived, there was still some time before her flight.

Jiang Lai’s voice was hoarse. “Go check in.”

Song Shiyuan set her suitcase aside and opened her arms toward her. “Can’t I get one last hug?”

Jiang Lai didn’t move.

Song Shiyuan kept her arms open in the same position. After a moment, Jiang Lai sighed, as if conceding defeat, and slowly pulled Song Shiyuan into her embrace. “Take good care of yourself over there.”

Feeling that familiar embrace again, Song Shiyuan’s eyes stung. She held Jiang Lai’s waist tightly, as if she wanted to pull her completely into herself.

Xia Wanwan, standing nearby, didn’t say anything; she simply looked away in silence.

Only when the announcement over the loudspeaker sounded did Jiang Lai seem to wake from a dream and push Song Shiyuan away.

By then, Song Shiyuan’s eyes were already red. Looking at Xia Wanwan, whom the two of them had left hanging on the side, she also opened her arms. “Wanwan, give Senior one more hug. The next time we meet, who knows when that’ll be.”

After hugging Xia Wanwan as well, Song Shiyuan picked up her suitcase and went through security. Her steps were brisk, but there was a trace of loneliness in them. When she reached the boarding gate, she still couldn’t help looking back. That glance met Jiang Lai’s eyes.

Jiang Lai froze, but still lifted her face and smiled, waving at her.

The tears Song Shiyuan had held back for so long nearly spilled. She took a deep breath and forced them back, then turned and walked toward the boarding gate.

Watching Song Shiyuan’s figure disappear into the crowd, the smile on Jiang Lai’s face slowly faded. Only then did Xia Wanwan, standing beside her, speak for the first time.

“Come on. Explain what’s going on between you and Senior Song.”

“You don’t have to work?”

“I’m not working. Besides you, doesn’t the set also not need you today?”

“Coincidentally, I’m off today too.”

“Perfect. I’ve got a whole pile of questions I want to ask you.”

At night, the sea breeze drifted past, carrying a faint salty scent.

Looking at the drunk Jiang Lai in front of her, Xia Wanwan really wanted to lift her head and sigh at the sky. She had no experience taking care of someone who was drunk.

In the end, she had no choice but to call her mother, praying that Cheng Shuyang would answer.

Just when she was nearly desperate, the call finally connected, and Cheng Shuyang’s sleepy voice came through from the other end. “Hello, Wanwan? What’s the matter, calling Mom so late?”

Hearing the drowsiness in Cheng Shuyang’s voice, Xia Wanwan felt guilty, but she still explained her request. “Sorry, Mom. I’m disturbing your rest this late, but A-Lai is with me right now, and she’s drunk. I don’t know where your guesthouse is either. Could you come pick her up?”

There was no reply from the other end, only a rustling sound. After a moment, Xia Wanwan seemed to hear a door closing.

“Where are you? Send me the location.”

Hanging up, Xia Wanwan looked at the person before her, feeling anything but at ease. Jiang Lai was several years older than her. Usually she seemed carefree and unrestrained, but on certain matters, Xia Wanwan really did treat her like an older sister.

Suddenly, Jiang Lai opened her eyes and staggered to her feet, still holding a bottle of alcohol. Xia Wanwan, terrified she might fall, stayed right beside her the whole time.

“A-Lai, be careful!”

“To hell with Qin Huaicheng, to hell with Song Shiyuan; I’m never going to like you people again!”

“A-Lai...”

Hearing her choked voice, Xia Wanwan’s eyes reddened. Only today did she truly realize how much Jiang Lai had been carrying all this time.

No wonder there had been a period back then when Jiang Lai’s mental state was especially bad, as though her soul had been hollowed out. So at that time, she had already been forced to break up with Song Shiyuan.

By the time Cheng Shuyang arrived at the location, this was the scene she saw.

Jiang Lai was barefoot, holding a bottle in her hand, sitting on the ground with no dignity whatsoever.

“Wanwan?”

Seeing Cheng Shuyang, Xia Wanwan felt as though she had seen a savior; her eyes practically lit up.

“What happened?”

Cheng Shuyang frowned and walked forward.

“Mom, A-Lai met some people today and got a little upset. Don’t say anything to her when you get back later.”

The woman sighed. “I know. You should head back to the hotel soon. It’s pretty far from here, and it’ll be dangerous if you go back too late.”

“Then Mom, I’m troubling you.”

“All right.”

Cheng Shuyang tapped the tip of her nose. “Do you still not trust me?”

Helplessly, Xia Wanwan could only keep looking back every few steps as she left.

Once Xia Wanwan was gone, only the two of them remained on the beach. Cheng Shuyang sighed and slowly walked over to Jiang Lai, her voice gentle. “A-Lai, let’s go home, okay?”

Jiang Lai turned her head; just one look was enough to make Cheng Shuyang’s heart tighten again and again, as though a giant hand had grabbed it and made it impossible to breathe.

She truly couldn’t connect the Jiang Lai in front of her now with the lively Jiang Lai from yesterday. She didn’t understand what on earth could have driven Jiang Lai to this state...

But right now, she didn’t have the time to think it through carefully. First, she had to coax this young ancestor home, so she patiently softened her tone and coaxed the drunk woman. “A-Lai, let’s go home, okay?”

Jiang Lai shook her head hard before barely managing to recognize the person in front of her. “...Aunt Cheng?”

Cheng Shuyang let out a breath of relief. She could still recognize her, so she didn’t seem to be too drunk. But the next second, she froze in place.

Jiang Lai suddenly threw herself into her arms, her voice full of grievance. “Aunt Cheng, they all bully me...”

Cheng Shuyang had just been about to push her away when she felt a patch of coldness at her neck.

Jiang Lai was crying...

Instantly, it felt as though her hands had turned to lead; she couldn’t move another step and could only let the woman cling to her.

“Aunt Cheng, what’s so bad about me? Why doesn’t anyone like me..."

Jiang Lai’s shoulders shook violently, her voice pitiful beyond words. Tears crashed onto the woman’s collar, soaking a dark patch into the fabric.

Cheng Shuyang didn’t know what had happened, so all she could do was hold the person in her arms even tighter and comfort her again and again.

“How could that be? A-Lai is the best.”

The girl’s sobbing gradually quieted.

The woman simply let her hold on, gently patting her back to comfort her, tender to the utmost.

Author’s Note:

Xia Wanwan: “If you two get married in the future, I have to sit at the main table. Without me, this family is absolutely going to fall apart!”