Chapter 23

Inside the bar, the clink of glasses sounded unusually sharp. Jiang Lai seemed a little drunk. Leaning against the counter, she looked at the woman with hazy eyes. “Are you sure your husband won’t come looking for me later to settle accounts?”

Maybe she hadn’t heard Jiang Lai clearly. Xia Wanwan leaned in. “What did you say? I can’t hear you.”

“I said, if Yin Zheng finds out I brought you to a place like this, will he come give me trouble...”

Xia Wanwan waved a hand grandly. “He won’t. If he dares say anything to you, then go find my mom.”

Jiang Lai was helpless. “Why would I go find your mom?”

“To have my mom back you up, of course. Ah Zheng is most afraid of my mom, and most importantly, my mom likes you the most...”

“Stop drinking. You’re really drunk. Now you’re talking nonsense.”

Seeing Xia Wanwan like this, Jiang Lai knew she couldn’t let her keep drinking. She quietly put the bottles back beside her.

“Come on, stop drinking. I’m taking you home.”

After brushing off the people with ulterior motives around them, Jiang Lai barely managed to help Xia Wanwan to the car waiting by the entrance.

“You really should lose some weight. How are you this heavy?”

She poked Xia Wanwan’s face in irritation and silently complained to herself for a while.

Then she got into the car as well. The night breeze brushed past gently, and she seemed to regain a little clarity.

Her gaze fell on the phone not far away, and a new unread message suddenly popped up.

She looked away.

Never mind. What if it was something important...

She turned slightly and picked up the phone.

“Are you not asleep yet?”

“Aren’t you not asleep either?”

As if the person on the other end had been waiting by the phone for her message: “I’m shooting night scenes today, so I may be a little late. But you—it’s already very late. Why are you still awake?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“...Something on your mind?”

A smile curved her lips as she leaned back in her seat. “No. I just can’t sleep.”

The woman fell silent for a moment. After a long while, her voice finally came through the receiver. “Since you can’t sleep, answer me one question.”

“What question?”

“When are you planning to come back to the crew?”

Jiang Lai closed her eyes and had no intention of answering.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a little strange.

“Why did you suddenly stop talking?”

“There are some things going on at home. I probably won’t be going back for a while.”

“Do you need my help?”

“No. I can handle it myself.”

Perhaps sensing that Jiang Lai didn’t want to linger on the topic, the woman didn’t ask any further.

“Alright, then get some rest early...”

The call screen went dark. Jiang Lai looked out the window and irritably raked her fingers through her hair.

More than half a month passed in the blink of an eye. One day, while Jiang Lai was resting at home, she suddenly received a call from Director Zhang.

“Director Zhang?”

“Ah Lai, is it a bad time to call this late?”

“It’s fine. Go ahead.”

Director Zhang chuckled twice. “You’ve been resting for quite a while now, haven’t you?”

“Mm, about half a month.”

“When are you coming back to set?”

Jiang Lai tightened her grip on her phone. “Director Zhang, if I remember correctly, this drama is almost finished, right? It won’t make any difference if I go back now.”

“It’s almost done; there are only a few days left.”

“Then I won’t go. Xiaoman can finish the rest on her own. I’m sorry, Director Zhang. This was my first time working with you, and I ended up causing such a mess. I’ll apologize to you properly in person later.”

“...Really not coming back? What about the wrap party?”

“I won’t go either. You all have fun.”

“Alright, then I understand.”

Director Zhang suddenly changed the subject. “I’m planning a variety show after this drama wraps. You absolutely have to come then!”

Just as she was about to refuse, Director Zhang cut her off. “Hey, don’t tell me you don’t want to come. It’s not very nice to keep slapping this old man’s face, is it?”

Jiang Lai was a little helpless. “Fine. Then when the time is confirmed, just call me. I’ll definitely go.”

After hanging up, Jiang Lai stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and slid weakly down the wall, closing her eyes in exhaustion. Why was life always unable to go the way she wanted...

As she was thinking, the faint sound of a door opening interrupted her train of thought. She turned toward it and saw a small figure walking into her room, her voice timid. “Sister, Mom says dinner is ready.”

“Okay, I’ll be out right away.”

She slowly stood up and held out her hand to the girl. “Pull me up.”

A small hand rested on Jiang Lai’s. It was soft and tiny.

When they walked out of the room, dinner was already laid out in the living room. Seeing the two of them come out, Jiang Minghuai looked up, set down the newspaper in his hands, and said, “You’re out? Then sit down and eat.”

“Ah Lai, eat more. You’re too thin.”

At the dining table, Zhao Dan looked at her daughter with maternal affection, her chopsticks constantly reaching out to put food into Jiang Lai’s bowl.

“...Thank you.”

Jiang Lai really couldn’t handle such enthusiasm; she could only quietly slide her bowl away. She didn’t know that Zhao Dan saw this clearly, and a trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes.

“You haven’t come home for so long. What have you been doing out there?”

Jiang Minghuai spoke up, effectively rescuing her from the atmosphere.

“I’ve been on Director Zhang’s set recently, working as their costume designer.”

“Director Zhang?”

Jiang Minghuai frowned. “That Director Zhang?”

“The one who shot Stranger,” Zhao Dan explained helpfully.

“Oh, I remember now. Wasn’t Cheng Shuyang in that production too?”

Hearing Cheng Shuyang’s name all of a sudden, Jiang Lai froze; the chopsticks slipped from her hand and fell to the floor. “Mm, sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“It’s fine.”

Zhao Dan’s expression remained calm. She turned to the kitchen, fetched a new pair of chopsticks, and handed them to Jiang Lai before continuing, “Xiaocheng—I already thought she was very gifted when I taught at the school back then.”

Jiang Lai looked at her in surprise. “You taught Aunt Cheng before?”

“Mm. I was fortunate enough to be in charge of their class that year. Shuyang and Zhiyi were both very good children, and both were extremely talented in acting.”

“Aunt Cheng really is excellent.”

Jiang Lai lowered her head, a faint smile curving her lips.

“You like her too, don’t you?”

The woman put a piece of fish into her bowl.

“Mm.”

“If you have time, invite her over for a meal.”

“Really?”

Jiang Lai looked up sharply, unable to hide her excitement.

“Of course.”

Seeing his daughter like this, Jiang Minghuai opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Zhao Dan nudged his arm, and in the end he said nothing.

After dinner, Jiang Lai returned to her room first.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.”

Jiang Lai looked at the person who entered; it was Zhao Dan.

The woman’s expression was gentle, and she held a cup of warm milk in her hands. She placed it softly on the desk. “Drink some milk at night; it helps you sleep.”

Jiang Lai bit her lip. “Thank you.”

“If I’d known you’d be this distant from us now, I never should have let you go abroad alone back then. I should have gone with you no matter what.”

Zhao Dan sat on the stool nearby and sighed.

“No, it was because of me.”

“Mom isn’t blaming you.”

Zhao Dan patted her hand comfortingly. “Your father’s been home more lately too. Someone’s keeping me company, so you don’t need to worry. Just do what you want to do.”

“I know.”

Sitting by the bed, the woman’s face was full of satisfaction as she looked at her daughter. “My daughter, when did you grow up to be so beautiful?”

She gently stroked Jiang Lai’s hair again and again, her eyes turning red, her heart filled with guilt toward her.

Jiang Lai’s nose stung. The grievances she had endured these past days surged up all at once, but she forced back every tear.

“I’m your mother. Anything you want to say, you can tell me.”

“Mom...”

“Mm?”

“I think I’ve fallen for someone I shouldn’t have fallen for.”

The woman’s expression didn’t change at all; only the corners of her mouth held a faint smile. “There’s no such thing as should or shouldn’t when it comes to liking someone. As long as it follows your heart, that’s enough. There aren’t that many rules or reasons.”

Jiang Lai froze, her voice a little hoarse. “But what if... there are a lot of obstacles?”

The woman placed the milk in her hands and said earnestly, “Then it means you don’t like them enough. If you truly fall for someone, even if there’s a mountain of knives and a sea of fire ahead, you’d still spare no effort.”

The warmth of the milk cup passed through the glass into her palm, burning so hot it made her heart tremble a little.

“Our family doesn’t have that many demands. As long as you like them, that’s enough.”

The woman held her hand, her expression serious. “I didn’t raise you for very long when you were little, so I don’t think I have the right to ask about your love life. But I only have one thing to say: no matter who you like, protecting yourself is the most important thing.”

Moonlight streamed through the window and fell onto the silver strands at the woman’s temples.

“I just want my daughter to be happy.”

All the words left unsaid were tucked away in the woman’s careful, tender love for her.