Chapter 69

When it was time to split up again for the tasks, the others quickly noticed that something between Jiang Lai and the woman felt a little off.

Jiang Lai, who had always insisted on being on the same team as the woman before, was silent this time. She looked utterly indifferent; the two of them sat there in awkward silence, like strangers who didn’t know each other at all.

“Alai, do you want to be on my team?”

Gu Xizhou carefully edged closer to Jiang Lai. She didn’t dare say anything too harsh; used to Jiang Lai’s carefree, unbothered manner, she was actually a little flustered now.

“Mm, okay.”

The girl agreed without the slightest hesitation.

“Aunt Cheng, then we’ll be a team.”

Yu Tian’s excitement was impossible to hide.

“Alai...”

“Don’t say anything else. Aren’t we supposed to go get the mission cards?”

With her back to Cheng Shuyang, Jiang Lai walked off in the opposite direction.

The woman stood where she was and took in the whole scene. Her hand, hidden beneath her sleeve, clenched tightly into a fist, her fingertips digging deep into her palm.

The task location was an athletic field; it was basically a one-on-one showdown. Everyone had a wristband tied around one arm; they fought in pairs, and whoever had their wristband torn off first lost.

Jiang Lai absently fiddled with her own wristband, but her gaze kept drifting toward the woman’s position. The woman’s wristband was yellow, standing out sharply against her fair skin.

Maybe it was luck; maybe someone had arranged it on purpose. In the first round, Jiang Lai drew Yu Tian as her opponent.

Knowing she and Yu Tian were at odds, Gu Xizhou, fiercely loyal, immediately volunteered to take the round for Jiang Lai, only to be stopped at once by the girl.

“Alai?”

She looked a little lost.

“I’ll do it myself.”

Jiang Lai carefully tightened the wristband. Her eyes were as calm as still water; not a ripple showed on the surface, and yet no one could read what she was feeling.

But Yu Tian still insisted on coming over beside her. “Sister Alai, you’re tying it so tight. Are you afraid you’ll lose to me later?”

“How do you know I’ll definitely lose?”

Jiang Lai’s tone was light, as if she were talking about something very ordinary.

But there was an edge to it.

Yu Tian’s smile dimmed a little. Clearly, she understood the implication, yet she still showed a hint of defiance. “Sister Alai, don’t be too confident. Be careful you don’t get slapped in the face later.”

The sunlight fell right between them; the air seemed to hold a faint, indescribable tension. They both knew that in this match, what mattered was never the outcome of the game.

Jiang Lai tilted her head slightly and said nothing more before turning toward the field.

Yu Tian refused to back down and followed after her.

The two of them took their positions; as soon as the whistle sounded, Yu Tian suddenly lunged at her. Jiang Lai instinctively dodged and raised an arm to block, colliding squarely with Yu Tian’s forearm.

“You’re really protective of your own things.”

“We’re each relying on our own ability.”

The next second, Yu Tian flicked her wrist. Jiang Lai was too late to dodge, and a heavy slap landed hard across her face.

The sharp crack rang out especially clearly across the empty field. Jiang Lai’s face was knocked to the side; her ears rang, and even her temples throbbed.

Slowly turning back, she looked at Yu Tian as if she were watching a joke.

Yu Tian stood across from her, her arm still raised from the strike. A flash of panic crossed her face.

“Yu Tian, have you lost your mind? This is live.”

Jiang Lai pressed a hand to her burning cheek. Yu Tian’s slap had come too suddenly; she hadn’t had any time at all to react.

Only then did Yu Tian come back to herself. She hurriedly tried to explain, “I didn’t mean it. You were the one who bumped into me...”

Before she could finish, a voice held tight with anger cut her off.

“Yu Tian!”

The woman had no idea when she had come over. Her face was dark and frightening. When her eyes landed on the half-swollen side of Jiang Lai’s face, her brows furrowed sharply.

“Does it hurt?”

Jiang Lai shook her head, still polite even now. “It doesn’t. Thank you for worrying about me, Teacher Cheng.”

Seeing Cheng Shuyang so concerned about the girl, Yu Tian suddenly felt that what she’d just done was rather ridiculous. She opened her mouth, wanting to apologize, but the woman’s cold stare scared her into silence.

“I’ll take you to see a doctor.”

“No need.”

Dodging the woman’s touch, Jiang Lai stepped back two paces and ran straight into Gu Xizhou, who had come looking for her.

“Aunt Cheng, don’t worry. I’ll take Alai.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

After the two of them left, the woman finally looked away and walked up to Director Zhang.

“Director Zhang, that section just now will probably need to be reshot later.”

“I know, I know. I’ll delete it right away.”

The man, as if waking from a dream, hurried off to delete the footage. He really hadn’t expected Yu Tian to be this bold.

After dealing with the other matters, the woman finally turned to Yu Tian, who had been standing off to the side in silence. Her voice was icy. “Yu Tian, explain yourself.”

Because of the uproar, Jiang Lai had no appetite and simply fell asleep in her room. In her dream, she only felt something cool pressed against half her face; it was so comfortable that she couldn’t help leaning into it.

When she opened her eyes again, she vaguely realized someone was sitting by her bedside. She was just about to call out when the woman gently soothed her.

“Don’t shout; it’s me.”

Jiang Lai forced herself to sit up. “Why are you here?”

“I found an ice pack for you in the kitchen. Use it to reduce the swelling; it’ll go down faster.”

Jiang Lai didn’t reach out to take it. “No need.”

“Alai, are you still mad at me?”

The woman’s voice suddenly turned choked. Jiang Lai was startled and finally looked at her properly.

The grievance in her own heart surged up too. “Why are you crying? I’m the one who should be crying. The one who got hit was me...”

Before she could finish, the woman’s hand brushed her cheek. “Does it hurt?”

She insisted, “No.”

Tears suddenly fell from the woman’s eyes, landing on their joined hands. She pressed the ice pack into Jiang Lai’s hand and then pulled her into an embrace, her voice breaking as she spoke. “But my heart hurts.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t take good care of you, Alai. I’m sorry. I’m really sorry...”

Jiang Lai only felt her chest tighten. She lifted her arms and hugged the woman back, her voice muffled. “Aunt Cheng, does that count as making up?”

“We never broke up; we just had an argument.”

————————

Sharp-eyed netizens were always able to dig up all kinds of sweet little bits of evidence from every detail the two leads left behind.

For example, the matching earrings they wore; or the couple phone they used; or when a landslide happened in Guxian, the woman just happened to be at the scene.

And then there were all the sweet moments the two of them shared on the variety show.

All signs pointed to the fact that this was absolutely no coincidence.

At the press conference for the new drama, the reporters naturally weren’t about to let this chance slip by; they kept pressing the woman.

But who was she? She was Cheng Shuyang, the youngest Best Actress in the country. Questions like this were child’s play for her, though she only gave the reporters a rather ambiguous answer.

“The relationship between Alai and me is very good; we’re quite in sync. Sometimes we even share things we’ve been using lately, so appearing with the same items shouldn’t be a problem.”

Jiang Lai, standing beside her, also nodded in agreement. Leaning toward the microphone, she said, “Right. Teacher Cheng is a very good senior and has taught me a lot. For everyone who ships me and Teacher Cheng, please ship responsibly and cherish the present.”

Her playful tone drew a roar of laughter from the crowd.

Director Zhang promptly steered the microphone back to the new drama.

And in the corner where no one could see, the two of them had their fingers tightly interlaced.

In the makeup room, Jiang Lai was leaning on the sofa and scrolling through news about the press conference.

“Alai, sit properly.”

The woman saw her undisciplined posture in the mirror, frowned, and couldn’t help speaking up.

Hearing her, Jiang Lai looked up at the woman, stuck out her tongue, and muttered softly, “Got it.”

But she still straightened her back; however, before long, she started acting up again, as if she had forgotten the woman’s reminder just then.

The woman let out a helpless laugh. “Alai...”

Jiang Lai’s ears were sharp. She immediately sat up and moved right in front of the woman, placing both hands lightly on her shoulders as she looked at her in the mirror.

“Teacher Cheng, has anyone ever told you that looking like this is a little unfair?”

The woman glanced at her in the mirror, a smile at the corners of her mouth. “Only you. You’re so sweet-tongued; you know exactly how to make me happy.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

The girl leaned closer; her breath brushed the skin behind the woman’s ear.

“...Stand up.”

The woman tapped the back of her hand, her breathing unsteady.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Lai deliberately acted as if nothing were happening. Her fingers slid over the smooth fabric of the gown; when they passed the waist, it felt like a feather brushing by, and she clearly sensed the woman’s body tremble.

“Be good, Alai. Listen...”

The woman sighed, sounding both helpless and indulgent.

“What did you say?”

As she spoke, her fingertips moved up another half inch and happened to brush the ribbon tied at the woman’s waist. She suddenly stopped, letting her finger rest against the dangling end of the ribbon.

“Aunt Cheng, this ribbon looks pretty tight. Do you want me to help you check it?”

Seeing that hint of mischief in her eyes, the woman reached out and caught her restless wrist. “Alai, have you not played enough yet?”

Jiang Lai pouted, but she didn’t pull her hand back. Instead, she wrapped an arm around the woman and drew her into her own embrace. Through the fabric, she could clearly hear the other woman’s heartbeat.

They were very close; their breaths tangled.

When the woman lifted her head, she kissed Jiang Lai’s chin.

“Can you let go now? Someone could come in at any time...”

Jiang Lai pressed in even closer, taking advantage of the moment. “This is your private makeup room. Who’d be so clueless as to walk in...”

Before she could finish, the door was pushed open from outside, along with Xiaoman’s voice.

“Aunt Cheng, look at this outfit...”

The girl’s words broke off abruptly. She stared at the two of them wide-eyed, and Jiang Lai was a little dazed too. For a moment, the three of them just stared at one another.

In the end, it was Xiaoman who reacted first. She covered one eye with a hand and used her other hand to pull the door shut for them, even saying very considerately, “You two continue; just pretend you didn’t see me.”

The door closed again.

Jiang Lai blinked, somewhat at a loss.

“Still not letting go, hmm?”

The woman gave her forehead a light flick, sounding exasperated.

Reluctantly, she let go and opened the door. Xiaoman was hiding at the doorway, eavesdropping; now that she’d been caught, she could only give her an awkward smile.

“Come in.”

The woman called out from inside.

Xiaoman moved as if granted an imperial decree and shot into the room at once.

The woman was facing the mirror, adjusting the wrinkles at the waist of her dress. Just as her fingertips pinched the crooked ribbon, a hand lightly pressed over hers.

“I’ll do it.”

Jiang Lai’s voice came from behind her, carrying an easy familiarity as she took the ribbon from the woman’s hand.

The woman froze for a moment; then, as if remembering something, she smiled gently. “I almost forgot. In this area, you’re the professional.”

Left hanging off to the side, Xiaoman desperately wished she had never come into this room. The sweetness was off the charts, but she had no choice; she could only steel herself and hand the woman a document.

“Aunt Cheng, this is from the production team that wants to work with us.”

“What is it? Let me see.”

Jiang Lai leaned over curiously.

“Hey...”

Before Xiaoman could even finish refusing, Jiang Lai had already skimmed through it at lightning speed; her expression grew darker and darker.

“Hmph.”

She tossed the thing in her hand aside and walked straight out of the makeup room, ignoring the woman no matter how many times she called after her.

“What’s wrong with her?”

The woman was a little puzzled, but once she saw the script in Xiaoman’s hand, everything became clear.

“That girl.”