Women’s Favor

Unfortunately, Nan Changgeng had never fallen for that. She always found a way to slip past that slightly excessive ease and intimacy, the kind Lin Baiyu seemed so naturally inclined to lean into. She laughed in mock surprise and said,

“So I’m helping you, eating my stir-fried meat, and that still makes you the generous one?”

She was being thoroughly unromantic about it.

Lin Baiyu turned her face away and shot her a sidelong glare, pouting a little before saying reluctantly, “Fine, I’m not being unreasonable either.”

Once the joke was over, her expression brightened again. Her words were sincere. “Seriously, Nan-jiejie, you’re so nice. I’m almost going to fall in love with you. I’ve gone straight from being a career fan to being a fan of your personality; I really, really like you.”

Nan Changgeng suddenly leaned back a little; for an instant, a trace of alertness flashed through her eyes. But there was no sign of happiness at all.

Once the stiffness in her body eased, she smiled as if nothing had happened and turned her gaze away to avoid the other girl’s eyes, as though the brief pause had only been shyness at the praise.

Her attitude was relaxed and open. “You needed it, and I happened to know how to do it. It’s nothing.”

“How is that nothing? You helped me a lot.” Lin Baiyu reached out and hooked an arm around Chen Xia beside her, tugging her closer. “Once the show’s over, my sister here will definitely thank you properly, right?”

As she spoke, she turned her hand and lightly patted Chen Xia’s cheek.

She had an elegant air about her, so even this sort of behavior still looked like something a proper young lady might do; there wasn’t much of a delinquent edge to it.

If Nan Changgeng wasn’t foolish enough to decide to learn dancing, then on the show she really couldn’t help her much. But outside the show, given both of their family backgrounds, there was a lot more she could do.

Chen Xia had her mouth full of meat. She slowly lifted her head and didn’t answer; instead, she stared at Lin Baiyu and gave a heavy, stubborn snort.

Nan Changgeng didn’t even get a chance to ask why Chen Xia would be the one doing the thanking before Lin Baiyu answered her with action.

“Hey, what do you mean by that!” Lin Baiyu’s gaze turned sharp in an instant. She tossed her chopsticks aside, hooked one arm around Chen Xia’s neck, and pinched the other girl’s puffed-up cheeks, glaring at her with open menace. “You’re not happy about it?”

The motion was so practiced it was as if she had done it countless times before.

Chen Xia tilted her head back and rolled her eyes as hard as she could, her face full of stubborn defiance. Then she let out another cold snort.

Her meaning was obvious.

Lin Baiyu raised her brows, and instead of getting angry, she deliberately put on a suspicious look.

“Who was it that once said she’d be my number one best friend forever, that she’d do anything for me, and that my business was your business? Don’t tell me you want to go back on your word?”

She had been unhappy just now because she hadn’t expected to be embarrassed so suddenly. Now that she’d recovered, she was sure this girl had just gotten... jealous again.

Her friend was incredibly jealous. She had such a bright, easygoing personality, yet for some reason she was always petty when it came to her. Sometimes if she got a little too close to other friends and then didn’t coax Chen Xia afterward, Chen Xia could give her the cold shoulder for a whole day.

If the two of them hadn’t grown up together and truly cared about each other, she really wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with someone like that. The possessiveness was way too strong.

They’d even had a huge argument before because of this. She had accused Chen Xia of not respecting her, of infringing on her freedom; Chen Xia had flatly refused to give in. They had nearly ended up cutting ties completely.

In the end, it was Chen Xia who gave in first; those words had been what she said when she begged for them to make up.

But afterward, Lin Baiyu had been very careful to keep some distance from her other friends, and the two of them had almost never fought over it again.

This time really had been unexpected. She hadn’t even said anything, had she?

Chen Xia’s face flushed red at first; then it went green and white, and she glared at Lin Baiyu with even more anger.

“Let go. I want to eat!”

And she still had the nerve to bring that up!

Back then she had spent so long building herself up psychologically, thinking she’d use the moment to force herself into saying it. Since things had already gone that far, her patience had reached its limit; even if she didn’t say anything, she couldn’t keep being friends with Lin Baiyu anymore. Better to gamble once; if it didn’t work, then so be it.

In the end, she had poured out her heart and said so much, and Lin Baiyu had thought she was there to make up; she had completely failed to hear that it was a confession!!

Then later, when Lin Baiyu was willing to compromise, Chen Xia hadn’t been able to bear losing the stability they had now, and she’d dragged it out until this very day without daring to break the silence and spell things out.

Lin Baiyu let her go and withdrew her hand. Her brows knitted in surprise, and her temper was starting to rise as she looked her over. “What are you doing? Picking a fight on purpose?”

Chen Xia ignored her, shoved the last two bites of rice into her mouth, stood up, and let out another double snort before picking up her bowl and plate and walking off.

“Hmph, hmph, hmph. Are you a pig?” Lin Baiyu ground her back teeth and lifted a leg to kick her on the butt.

Chen Xia stumbled; she nearly dropped her bowl. She turned back in anger, but before she could curse, she met Lin Baiyu’s cold eyes, faintly burning with rage, and the words immediately stuck in her throat.

Too angry to swallow it, too cowardly to say it anyway, she stood there in silence for a long moment, gave a resentful little snort, and fled as if running for her life.

Lin Baiyu was so angry she laughed.

“Idiot.” Such a big vinegar jar.

[……Something’s off. Very off.]

[No, seriously, what did I just hear! Are “I’d do anything for you no matter what” and that kind of line really something friends can say? You two should maybe tone it down?]

[The gay vibes are smacking me in the face, especially Chen Xia’s]

[Lesbians are great; they can flirt openly even on a show]

[This ship is genuinely delicious. Childhood friends, plus young lady and jealous loyal dog; all the ingredients are there! It’s just pitying Nan Changgeng, being made part of their play…]

If Nan Changgeng knew people were this concerned about her, she’d probably be moved, at least a little.

She was silently speechless inside.

Watching other people’s drama was very entertaining, if only the drama had nothing to do with her.

Her movements slowed a little as she tried to lower her presence, not wanting to get dragged into this at all.

Lin Baiyu, having been thrown off by the whole scene, had no more mind to joke with Nan Changgeng. She withdrew her gaze and looked at her instead, smiling a little apologetically.

“Chen Xia’s acting up again, Nan-jie. Don’t take it to heart. I’ll deal with her when we get back.”

Nan Changgeng didn’t have time to be bothered by any of that.

She was just grateful the two of them hadn’t dragged her into it earlier.

“It’s fine. You two should communicate properly and not fight. Whatever it is, just talk it out,” she advised seriously.

She didn’t know how much effect those words would actually have; there was only so much she could help with. As long as they didn’t come crying to her after blowing up too badly, that was enough.

She could see a little of what was going on between them. One of them had feelings; the other didn’t. Who knew how awkward things would get from here. It wasn’t that she was especially good at reading hearts; it was just that she had seen this kind of thing a lot.

She could only blame the fact that she had always been rather popular with women.

Many years ago, before she had suffered those changes and while she was still living abroad, most of the friends around her were women. Maybe because her style leaned slightly androgynous, their boyfriends would always look at her with wary, guarded eyes.

Seeing them cling to and hug her was apparently more nerve-racking to those men than seeing them linked arm-in-arm with other men, as if they were afraid she might steal their girlfriends away.

Maybe in their eyes, she was the sort of enchantress who could snatch a woman’s soul with just a crooked finger.

Chen Xia’s look from just now was somewhat like those men’s. But it was much friendlier than theirs.

She just hadn’t expected that after so many years, her shuraba constitution was still intact; and the one getting jealous because of her had even evolved from men into women.

Thinking of that, Nan Changgeng let out a wistful sigh.

Lin Baiyu hurried to reassure her. “Don’t worry, sis. I’ll talk to her properly. We’ve always been like this; even if we fight, it won’t affect our relationship.”

Nan Changgeng half-believed her at best. She hadn’t planned to get involved in other people’s affairs to begin with.

“Let’s talk about something serious. Tell me your arrangement requirements.”

Lin Baiyu nodded at once, forgetting all about eating as she started talking at length.

Nan Changgeng listened while leisurely finishing her meal, then had to go back to the dorm to get to work.

The practice room was noisy and crowded; it wasn’t the right place to do the arrangement.

She had thought Lin Baiyu would go find Chen Xia first after the meal, but instead she saw that the other girl showed no sign of urgency at all; she went straight back to the dorm with her and studied the arrangement together.

Nan Changgeng had nothing to say about that. She simply ignored it, sat down at the desk by the window, and got to work.

She borrowed a laptop from the staff, downloaded the specialized software, and once work started, she focused on nothing else.

Following the dance Lin Baiyu had newly choreographed, she carefully considered how to arrange the music: instruments, drumbeats, where to add tracks, where there should be rests and spaces, where it should be denser and more intricate...

Lin Baiyu’s perfectionism was reflected in dance; Nan Changgeng’s perfectionism was reflected in music.

Once she got into that state, no one could interrupt her. Unknowingly, several hours passed.

Even though Lin Baiyu already thought the arrangement was complete and perfect, and however she listened to it, she couldn’t hear anything wrong with it, Nan Changgeng was still dissatisfied; she revised it back and forth and spent another half hour on it.

Only then did she finally stop, stretch with a relaxed sigh, save the file, and carry the laptop over to shove it into Lin Baiyu’s arms.

“All done. Try it and see if you’re satisfied.”

Lin Baiyu nodded hurriedly. She leaned slightly forward and held the computer tightly, looking like a servant who had just received a royal reward and was deeply grateful.

“I’m satisfied, of course I’m satisfied; extremely satisfied. Sis, you’re amazing.”

She almost broke out in a cold sweat, fearing that if she spoke even a little too slowly, Nan Changgeng would change her mind, remember some detail she still found unacceptable, snatch the computer back, and revise it for another hour.

In order to prevent such a terrifying thing from actually happening, she didn’t dare stay any longer. After thanking her, she held the laptop and prepared to send it straight back to the program staff.

With work finished, Nan Changgeng relaxed at once and sleepiness crept back over her.

Too bad the bed was right beside her, but she still couldn’t sleep.

She could already predict how many people would come looking for her to ask for vocal coaching once she got back to the practice room.

She had a slight habit of acting like a teacher when it came to her field, so she was both miserable and happy about it.

And Lin Baiyu, now in possession of her arrangement, was equally unable to sit still. She first returned to her own practice room, uploaded a copy of the song onto the equipment, and played it over the speakers so the team members could get familiar with it.

Then, after returning the laptop, she still had to take a detour to Wei Zhiyu’s team’s practice room. She had no time at all to deal with Chen Xia, who was sulking over the earlier spat.

Chen Xia sat cross-legged on the floor and watched Lin Baiyu hurry in and hurry out without sparing her even a glance; her heart turned completely cold.

She leaned back, then lay down limply with dead-fish eyes.

The netizens waiting in this livestream room to ship the couple were even more heartless; not a single one felt sorry for her, and the whole screen was full of hahahahas.

And at this very moment, inside the practice room where Wei Zhiyu’s team was located, it was just as chaotic.