Chapter 32
During the recording of the second episode, the weather was awful.
By the time the group reached the filming location, the sky had turned sour and begun to drizzle.
“Director Zhang, this Jiangnan scenery in the rain really does have its own charm,” Xu Zhiyi said with a smile as she walked up beside the director.
The man kept nodding. “Exactly, Zhiyi. When the time comes, we can boat on the lake, drink tea, and chat and laugh with a few good friends by our side—what a blessing in life!”
The two of them stood not far away, joking with each other.
As soon as the girl stepped out of the nanny van, a passing vehicle splashed dirty water onto the hem of her pants.
Jiang Lai looked down at her trousers, the corners of her mouth twitching uncontrollably.
A muffled burst of laughter sounded beside her.
She gritted her teeth and shot the person next to her a look. “Miss Gu, please keep your laughter to yourself.”
“Oh, come on.”
Gu Xizhou slung an arm around her shoulders in a grand, generous gesture. “We haven’t seen each other in so many days. Don’t tell me you don’t miss me?”
“Sorry, I don’t.”
Jiang Lai shoved her away without mercy.
Gu Xizhou didn’t get angry; she just pouted. “You’re so cold. I missed you a lot.”
Jiang Lai didn’t have time to answer. She lowered her head and rummaged through her bag for tissues, wanting to wipe the mud off her shoes. But no matter how many times she turned the bag inside out, she couldn’t find any.
“I clearly remember putting them in here. How could they be gone…?”
Just as she was getting annoyed, a pair of fair hands suddenly appeared in her line of sight, a sealed pack of wet wipes resting quietly in the palm.
“Thanks.”
Before she even looked up, she hurriedly crouched down and wiped the dirt from the hem of her pants.
The person watched her for a long moment, then couldn’t help saying, “You can’t wipe it like that. It’ll only make it dirtier.”
The moment Jiang Lai heard that familiar voice, her movements froze. She slowly lifted her head, and when she saw the face in front of her, disbelief filled her expression.
As if she had already expected that reaction, the other woman let out a soft laugh. “What, haven’t seen me in a few days and you don’t recognize me anymore?”
“You… I…”
Her mind short-circuited for a moment, and Jiang Lai stammered incoherently, unable to believe she would run into her in a place like this.
“I’ll pull you up.”
The other woman held out a hand, clearly in no mood to let Jiang Lai keep refusing.
“Then I’ll trouble you.”
“No trouble at all. I’d be delighted.”
With a firm tug on her wrist, she pulled Jiang Lai to her feet.
The atmosphere turned a little strange.
The girl scratched the tip of her nose, awkwardly searching for something to say. “Long time no see. But… why are you here?”
The other woman smiled at her. “Don’t tell me you didn’t know this show can invite flying guests?”
“Oh, so that’s it. I really didn’t know…”
Seeing her expression, she understood immediately.
Right. The Jiang Lai she knew was carefree and scatterbrained. Being thoughtful had never really been her style.
“Yuan, come meet the director!”
A slightly older woman stood not far away, waving at them.
“Okay, Sister Chen, I’ll be right there.”
After saying that, she smiled apologetically at Jiang Lai. “Then, A-Lai, I’m going to say hello first. I’ll come find you in a bit.”
“Okay, go ahead.”
Song Shiyuan took two steps forward, then suddenly stopped. She jogged back to Jiang Lai’s side and leaned close to her ear with a smile, speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“Jiang Lai, I’m very happy to see you again.”
Her body stiffened, and she looked up at Song Shiyuan as the other woman ran off.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
Gu Xizhou leaned in with a teasing expression. “Explain it. What’s your relationship with Song Tianhou? You two seem kind of ambiguous.”
“We don’t have any relationship at all.”
Jiang Lai lowered her head and dragged her suitcase toward the hotel.
“I don’t believe you. But if you don’t want to say, I won’t force you.”
“…I’ll explain it to you when I have time.”
The girl nodded. “Okay. But it seems the senior has been standing there watching you for quite a while…”
Following Gu Xizhou’s gaze, Jiang Lai looked over and, sure enough, saw Cheng Shuyang on the second floor standing in a row with Xu Zhiyi and the others. The woman was holding a document, her gaze resting lightly on her. There was no visible emotion on her face.
Jiang Lai immediately felt a little guilty and looked away. She had been too focused on talking to Song Shiyuan just now; she hadn’t even noticed the people upstairs.
“A-Lai!”
Xu Zhiyi turned slightly and called out to her. “Is that person your friend?”
“Mm, she was a senior in college I got along with pretty well back then.”
“Oh—an older schoolmate.”
The woman dragged out the last syllable, her expression saying she understood perfectly.
Being stared at by all of them made Jiang Lai extremely uncomfortable. “I’m going to put my things in my room first.”
After saying that, she practically fled back to her room with her suitcase.
Xu Zhiyi chuckled twice, then turned to the woman beside her, who had remained silent. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Weren’t you pretty talkative just now?”
“Are you being childish or not?”
“How could that be? I love watching this sort of thing.”
She curved her lips into a smile and, as she passed the woman, patted her shoulder. “If you don’t like it, someone else naturally will.”
“Boring.”
Cheng Shuyang glanced sideways at her, then walked away expressionlessly.
Downstairs, Gu Xizhou put her hands on her hips. “I’m telling you, why do you have to say things like that just to upset people?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Xu Zhiyi snorted coldly, her tone displeased. “I’m your senior. Be more respectful.”
“Okay, Senior Xu.”
Back in her room, Jiang Lai finally let out a long breath and angrily raked her fingers through her hair.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
She flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, close to tears. What was all this? Wasn’t it chaotic enough already?
What identity was she supposed to use when facing Song Shiyuan? Ex-girlfriend, or junior from college…? But no matter how you looked at it, the relationship between the two of them was clearly not that simple.
“A-Lai.”
A knock sounded at the door, cutting off her thoughts.
“Coming.”
She tidied her messy hair before opening the door.
When she saw who it was, she was a little surprised. “Aunt Cheng? Why are you here?”
A faint smile rested on the woman’s face. “It’s time for dinner. Everyone’s waiting for you.”
“Oh, oh, oh. Then please wait for me a moment.”
She bent down to change her shoes.
Just as she was about to close the door, the woman couldn’t help speaking. “It’s a little cold outside. If you wear those out, you might catch a chill.”
Jiang Lai shook her head and gave her a bright smile. “It’s fine. I’m young. I’m not afraid of the cold.”
The woman looked at her helplessly and gave her a mildly reproachful glance. “Are you saying I’m old?”
“No, absolutely not!”
The girl raised three fingers solemnly in oath.
Cheng Shuyang laughed softly and tucked the loose strands of hair behind her ear. “All right, I was joking with you. At my age, standing next to you really does make me look like an old woman…”
“No way. Aunt Cheng, you take such good care of yourself. If you went out and said you were my older sister, people would believe it. And…”
She wiggled her eyebrows. “These days, everyone likes someone like you—mature, charming, the kind of older sister who’s seductive without even trying.”
“You!”
The woman tapped her forehead. “No respect for your elders. Now even my jokes are fair game for you?”
Jiang Lai clutched her forehead and leaned back, but there was a smile in her eyes. “It’s true, though. You’re good-looking. Why shouldn’t people say it?”
“You’re still at it?”
Seeing this, the woman raised a hand as if to tap her again, but the girl immediately caught her wrist, leaving her unable to move.
The girl’s palm was hot; she struggled twice, but couldn’t break free.
“A-Lai…”
Her voice was a little helpless, yet carried a subtly seductive note.
Jiang Lai leaned in slightly. Before she could speak, the door behind her opened.
The two of them froze at the same time.
The girl’s gaze dropped to their joined hands, unreadable.
“Cough.”
Jiang Lai pulled her hand back and gave an awkward laugh. “The weather is pretty nice today…”
Before she even finished, she regretted it. Who said the weather was nice on a rainy day? Her brain must have been squeezed by the door.
“Ah… Senior Song, hello.”
Song Shiyuan didn’t dwell on how Jiang Lai addressed her. She only smiled, stepped aside, and said, “Come in quickly. Everyone’s waiting for you to eat.”
“Then, Aunt Cheng, let’s go in quickly. I’m starving.”
She walked briskly into the private room.
As Cheng Shuyang passed by her side, she happened to meet Song Shiyuan’s gaze; the other woman did not look away.
“Hello, Senior.”
The woman gave a slight nod. “Hello.”
Seeing the two of them come in, Director Zhang was very warm. “Come, sit. We’ve been waiting for the two of you!”
Jiang Lai stood by the door, a little hesitant.
There was an empty seat beside Song Shiyuan, and there was also an empty seat beside Aunt Cheng, but whichever one she sat in seemed awkward…
Perhaps seeing her embarrassment, Gu Xizhou immediately stood up, moved over one seat, and waved her over. “A-Lai, sit here.”
“Okay.”
Jiang Lai felt as if she’d been granted amnesty; she quickly walked over to her, gratitude impossible to hide in her voice. “Good sister, I’ll never forget a kindness as small as a drop of water. I’ll treat you to something delicious next time.”
Gu Xizhou grinned ingratiatingly. “No need. Come find me tonight and just explain your relationship with Song Tianhou clearly.”
Jiang Lai: “...I knew you had ulterior motives.”
Gu Xizhou laughed so hard she hiccupped, and still didn’t forget to put a chicken leg on Jiang Lai’s plate.
“Eat more. You’ll need the strength tonight to tell me a story.”
She bit viciously into the chicken leg and looked around at the people at the table, feeling like something was missing.
“Why didn’t Lin Wanqiu come to dinner?”
The moment Gu Xizhou heard that name, undisguised disgust showed on her face. “She said the weather was bad and she wasn’t feeling well, so she wouldn’t come down to eat with us. If you ask me, she’s just being pretentious; Qin Huaicheng was really blind…”
“Alright, alright, stop talking.”
Jiang Lai quickly stuffed a bite of food into her mouth. “It’s all in the past. Don’t keep bringing it up.”
After several rounds of drinking, most of the table had dispersed.
Jiang Lai helped the drunk Gu Xizhou to the restroom; for a moment, only Cheng Shuyang and Song Shiyuan remained in the large private room.
Song Shiyuan picked up a wine glass and walked over to the woman. “Senior, this is our first time meeting. I’ll toast you.”
Although the woman didn’t quite understand, she still drank.
“A-Lai is usually pretty careless. Thank you for taking care of her.”
At those words, the smile on the woman’s face gradually faded. Her grip on the glass tightened little by little, and the look in her eyes turned distant.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve taken care of her.”
Her voice was colder than usual as her fingertips unconsciously traced the rim of the glass. “A-Lai is very sensible on her own. I don’t need to spend much effort taking care of her.”
The atmosphere between them seemed to turn awkward.
The girl didn’t get angry. She only slowly swirled the liquid in her glass, her expression unreadable.
“That’s best, if that’s what you think. But Senior, you’d better not lie to her.”
The woman suddenly stopped moving. The smile in her eyes vanished completely. “What do you mean by that?”
“Nothing much. I just hope you’ll follow your own heart and not do something self-deceptive.”
The two of them looked at each other, as if they could see straight through what the other was thinking.
“In the future, I’ll be in your care as well, Senior.”
Author’s note: