Chapter 68

A month flew by in the blink of an eye, and Director Zhang’s variety show for the second half of the year was also scheduled.

Jiang Lai counted on her fingers; it had been nearly three months since she’d last seen the woman. She missed her terribly, her heart already flying back to her, wishing she could grow wings and go to her side at once.

But all the competition-related matters kept tangling around her, leaving her no room to split her attention. She forced herself to push the progress forward as fast as she could; Wen Nuan watched her work herself this hard and couldn’t help urging her to slow down a little.

Jiang Lai listened, but she didn’t do it.

Wen Nuan also knew what was going on between her and Cheng Shuyang; she knew exactly what Jiang Lai had in mind. But the girl wouldn’t listen, and she had no way to make her.

The night before filming, she finally got on the plane home.

On the plane, she kept checking herself in the mirror. As she looked, she complained to Wen Nuan, “Xiaonan, why do I feel like I’ve gotten uglier lately?”

Wen Nuan studied her carefully and couldn’t see anything different from usual. “Sister Alai, I don’t see it. But you do seem a little thinner.”

“Really?”

Jiang Lai, unconvinced, looked herself over again. “You’re right; I really have lost a little weight.”

On the day of the official shoot, she arrived on set very early. Not long after, Gu Xizhou also walked in. The two of them hadn’t seen each other in a long time, so naturally they couldn’t avoid talking about the latest gossip.

They were deep in conversation when a familiar perfume scent suddenly rushed into Jiang Lai’s nose. She sniffed carefully, her eyes lighting up. “Aunt Cheng is here!”

“Where? Why don’t I see her?”

Gu Xizhou leaned to the side and looked out, but saw no one coming.

“I smelled her. If you don’t believe me, just wait and see.”

Right after that, a crisp clicking of high heels came closer and closer; the woman followed behind Xu Zhiyi and walked in.

Seeing this, Gu Xizhou couldn’t help giving Jiang Lai a thumbs-up. “I have to hand it to you, Jiang Lai. I think being a designer is selling yourself short. Your nose is practically on par with a police dog’s.”

Jiang Lai shot her an annoyed glare. “Can you talk properly? If you can’t, then shut your mouth.”

“Oh? And who’s this, with such a big temper? I could hear you scolding our Xizhou from miles away.”

Xu Zhiyi sat down beside Jiang Lai with a teasing smile, but when her gaze swept over the woman, there was a hint of probing and provocation in it.

Cheng Shuyang paused where she stood and met Xu Zhiyi’s eyes. The latter looked calm, even lifting a brow at her.

The woman’s lips curved slightly; then she naturally walked to the other side and sat in the empty seat beside Gu Xizhou. The few of them weren’t sitting far apart, but the atmosphere was indescribably strange.

Jiang Lai shifted a little to the side, increasing the distance between herself and Xu Zhiyi, and said very politely, “Hello, Teacher Xu.”

But when she faced the woman, her smile bloomed like a flower, even her voice turning softer. “Teacher Cheng, hello to you too.”

The woman’s mouth held a faint smile. “Hello.”

“Cough, cough, cough.”

Xu Zhiyi watched closely from the side and deliberately cleared her throat a few times. “What’s this? Are your eyes only for your Aunt Cheng?”

Jiang Lai turned to look at her, smiling innocently. “Teacher Xu, what are you saying? Didn’t I already greet you? I was even planning to greet you first.”

Xu Zhiyi clearly froze for a moment, surprised by Jiang Lai’s quick wit this time. Then, as if she suddenly understood something, her gaze moved back and forth between her and the woman, her expression full of meaning.

“So that’s why you’re in such a good mood this time. Turns out when good things happen, people really do feel refreshed. Things worked out the way you wanted?”

She leaned lazily against the back of the chair, her voice carrying a hint of languor.

“What are you talking about? What are you all talking about?”

Gu Xizhou was a beat slow to react and looked utterly lost, not understanding what kind of code the few of them were speaking in.

“Nothing, nothing.”

Jiang Lai reined in the smile on her face and blinked at the woman not far away. The latter looked at her indulgently and silently mouthed for her to behave.

After receiving the woman’s admonishment, she obediently sat still in her chair for a while.

“Aunt Cheng!”

Yu Tian came bouncing over to the woman and hooked her arm affectionately.

Xu Zhiyi narrowed her eyes. “Now this is getting interesting.”

The woman tried to pry Yu Tian’s arm away, but couldn’t; instead, she was hugged even tighter. “Why are you pushing me away? We haven’t seen each other for so many days. Don’t you miss me?”

“Yu Tian, stop talking nonsense.”

The woman was visibly a little distracted, her gaze repeatedly drifting toward Jiang Lai’s seat. The girl happened to be looking at her too; when she saw the woman look over, the grievance in her eyes deepened.

The woman’s heart tightened for no reason. She lightly patted Yu Tian’s arm. “All right, let go.”

Only then did Yu Tian reluctantly release her and turn to chat and laugh with the others.

Xu Zhiyi sat to the side and took the whole scene in. She said slowly, “Some people, if they don’t make their ownership known, who would know something belongs to them?”

Jiang Lai’s brow tightened. She looked at Xu Zhiyi; could she already know that she and Aunt Cheng were together? That shouldn’t be. Who told her?

The knot in her heart only grew tighter, and then during the team assignment, she missed it because she wasn’t paying attention; she lost the chance to be on the same team as the woman and could only watch helplessly as Yu Tian smugly pulled the woman away.

“All right, come back to your senses. Is it really that hard being on my team?”

She received a not-so-light knock to the back of her head. Jiang Lai covered her head and looked at Xu Zhiyi with some displeasure.

“What? Want to hit me? Then come on.”

Her irritation instantly fizzled out. She lowered her hand, dejected, and muttered unwillingly, “You all just keep bullying me...”

Xu Zhiyi gave a soft laugh and looked at her sympathetically. “That’s why I said you’re stupid; you can’t even protect your own person.”

Jiang Lai: “......”

You could actually speak without being so blunt.

The woman glanced around, confirmed that no camera was paying attention to them, then leaned close to Jiang Lai’s ear. “Put that expression away. Are you afraid the whole world won’t know that you and Cheng Shuyang are together?”

“Am I that obvious?”

“You think everyone’s an idiot?”

“How did you know, then? You couldn’t have just seen it in my expression too, could you?”

“Dummy. I was the one who arranged the car for Cheng Shuyang to go to Guxian. She told me to my face that she liked you. How could I not understand?”

Only then did Jiang Lai suddenly realize. “I haven’t thanked you for the Guxian matter yet.”

“No need. In the future... you won’t want to thank me.”

After leaving that line behind, the woman went on ahead on her own. Jiang Lai stood where she was, completely unable to understand what she meant.

“Hurry up. If the task fails, you’ll bear the consequences yourself.”

“Oh, coming, coming.”

————————

In the hotel corridor, just as Cheng Shuyang came out of the bathroom, she saw Xu Zhiyi waiting for her at the door.

She frowned and reached out to snatch the cigarette butt from her hand. “You’re still smoking? Do you want to die?”

Xu Zhiyi flicked ash off her fingertips. “You know I’ve never cared much about that.”

“Looking for me for something?”

The woman didn’t want to play riddles with her and asked directly.

“If I had nothing, then I couldn’t look for you?”

“...You’re still as boring as ever.”

Cheng Shuyang walked past her, but the woman grabbed her wrist. The next second, she was trapped between the wall and Xu Zhiyi’s embrace.

She instinctively wanted to break free, but the grip only tightened.

“Xu Zhiyi, what’s wrong with you? Let go!”

Her voice was laced with suppressed anger.

“Why are you hiding?”

Xu Zhiyi’s voice was pitched very low, like a snake flicking its tongue and winding around her heart. “Weren’t you perfectly calm just now?”

“Let go. I’m saying this one last time!”

“I won’t let go. Let’s see what you can do to me.”

“Are you out of your mind again!”

The woman used more force and shoved Xu Zhiyi away.

“You’re together with her.”

Cheng Shuyang’s hand rubbing her wrist paused. Her expression remained calm. “What does that have to do with you?”

“You really have no conscience, do you? Don’t forget; I’m the one who sent you to her side.”

“Even without you, I still would have found her.”

“You’re really no fun. You cross the river and burn the bridge.”

The woman truly didn’t want to say any more to her and turned to leave.

The instant they brushed past each other, she heard Xu Zhiyi’s desolate voice. “Cheng Shuyang, can you really forget her?”

The corridor was very quiet; Xu Zhiyi’s voice was crystal clear, every word falling unmistakably into her ears.

“I said it before: people can’t live forever in the past. You’re the same, Zhiyi. You should look ahead too.”

The moment the door opened, Cheng Shuyang caught the scent of a perfume in her room that didn’t belong to her.

She turned and gently closed the door, only to be pulled into a warm embrace. Before she could speak first, Jiang Lai’s aggrieved voice had already begun accusing her.

“Why did you let Yu Tian hold onto your arm?”

“When you were doing the task, was there any need for the two of you to be that close?”

The girl buried herself against the side of her neck; warm breath brushed over her skin and made it itch a little, until she couldn’t help dodging.

“You’re even avoiding me...”

“Be good. I’m not avoiding you.”

The woman patiently soothed her feelings, her voice soft.

“Do you want everyone to know about the relationship between the two of us?”

Jiang Lai lifted her head from her arms. “...I never thought that.”

“I know.”

Cheng Shuyang sighed, reached out to wipe away the tear tracks on her face, and kissed her forehead. “I’ll still say the same thing: no matter what you want to do, I’ll be with you.”

Only then did Jiang Lai’s emotions slowly settle.

The woman turned on the bedside lamp; warm yellow light spread across the whole room.

“I know you don’t like Yu Tian, but with her, there is favoritism...”

“...Alai, I can’t tell you right now.”

The woman lowered her eyes, and Jiang Lai couldn’t see the expression on her face.

The atmosphere carried a trace of subtle tension; Jiang Lai’s straightened back gradually slumped. After a long while, she spoke lightly, “Then I’ll go back first.”

“Alai.”

The woman held her wrist. “Stay and keep me company.”

“Cousin Cheng...”

“Can you?”

Jiang Lai’s fingertips trembled slightly. The warm touch around her wrist felt hot, the heat traveling along her skin straight to her heart, burning her a little in her panic.

She lifted her head and met the woman’s eyes. There was no longer the usual coolness there; only a faint plea remained, like shattered starlight falling into her heart.

Moonlight poured in from outside the window, casting a soft glow over their joined hands; it was so gentle that one couldn’t bear to refuse.

The woman didn’t speak for a while, only looked at her quietly. The hold on her wrist loosened a little, but it still carried an unmistakable insistence on keeping her there.

“I’m sorry.”