Comfort

The chaotic fandom square fell silent for half a minute, then a wave of awkward comments surfaced.

【Ah, so Lanlan took it herself, hahaha】

【Aaaahhh, Sister, I was wrong! I’m going to go drag the photographer’s knives back right now!】

【Sister Lan personally handled the camera? Then it’s fine! Everyone disperse, disperse】

【So it was I who had eyes but failed to recognize a master! Lan-jie’s own shot is even more alluring than the photographer’s [thumbs up]】

The criticism almost vanished without a trace; even the few who were still holding out had shifted from attacking her to earnestly “advising” her.

【Lan Bao, as an old fan, I personally miss your fresh, lively early vibe more; it really highlighted that unique youthful feeling of yours~ Of course, no matter what style you choose, we’ll support you. I just couldn’t help quietly expressing this little selfish wish】

Li Lan leaned over and, seeing the screen, asked curiously, “Is this also part of fan culture back home?”

Qian Chu’s mouth twitched, and she very much did not want to answer that question.

Fans could really be blindly obedient sometimes; their first rule was to defend their idol. Zhu Qing had simply turned their spears back on themselves. It had to be said, that was rather clever.

Even if it did make other people look a little stupid.

Zhu Qing’s call came through again, sounding very pleased. “Li Lan, did you see those comments?”

Hearing her laugh, Li Lan’s lips curved slightly. Her tone remained calm. “Mm. Are you still angry?”

“Not angry,” Zhu Qing said, her fingers tapping quickly on the screen. “Wait a sec; I’ve still got one more thing to reply to.”

Qian Chu’s heart jumped into her throat again. Sure enough, in the stream of kneeling-apology comments, another reply from “Li Lan” popped up.

“Li Lan” replied to the comment from “Lan Ting Evening Breeze: Aaaah, Sister is here! May I ask how this orange-red outline shading was shot? So beautiful!!”

【Li Lan: This one was shot by the photographer】

The fans once again fell into collective silence.

Qian Chu: ……

Just which photos had Li Lan taken, and which ones had the photographer taken!

Qian Chu said darkly, “She’s messing with your fans. Aren’t you going to do something?”

Zhu Qing immediately bristled. “I’m not messing with them; I’m telling the truth. Aside from the one photo where Li Lan pressed the shutter while standing very close to the camera, the rest were all taken by me. It’s the fans mindlessly following the crowd, using thug logic and double standards on me; what does that have to do with me?”

Qian Chu was too angry to speak. She lowered her head and hurried to contact the studio staff, telling them to get in touch with the fan leaders at once and send people to control the comments.

Li Lan quietly settled back into the rear seat. They’d be at the airport soon, and she had to board a plane.

“Li Lan, you’re not angry, are you?” Having finished venting at the fans, Zhu Qing finally felt refreshed; only then did she belatedly realize that what she’d done might not be good for the harmony between Li Lan and her fans.

Li Lan’s brows and eyes softened, but her voice was as cool as overnight tea. “It’s fine.”

Zhu Qing couldn’t quite tell where she stood, so she asked in a small voice, “Will the fans have opinions about you?”

This woman was just as impulsive as before; before snapping at people and roasting them, why hadn’t she thought that the fans might have opinions? Li Lan pressed a finger to her temple, sounding a little helpless, with a trace of indulgence even she didn’t realize she had. “Real fans won’t.”

“If they do have opinions, they can’t blame me,” Zhu Qing muttered. “If someone curses at me, then I’m going to curse back.”

Li Lan laughed and shook her head. Such a childish temper.

“Then how are you supposed to go on a variety show with me?” Li Lan said. “No matter what people say online, there’ll be praise and there’ll be insults.”

She fell silent for two seconds, thinking of Zhu Qing’s attitude from before, and said quietly, “Actually, if you really hate this sort of thing, we can turn down the variety show. You don’t have to appear in public with me.”

Zhu Qing hurried to stop her. “No way. Those are just brainless fans; they curse hard and kneel fast, and they flip faces faster than turning a page. I’m not afraid of them. Worst case, I curse them back. Because of their comments, I’m supposed to hand over six million? Absolutely not; I’d be losing money like crazy.”

At that, Zhu Qing’s voice dropped, a little embarrassed. “Besides, didn’t you give me the account yourself so I could, cough, roast them back?”

Li Lan’s expression showed a hint of being moved, followed by a touch of wistfulness.

She hadn’t expected Zhu Qing, after losing her memory, to say something like that.

Before, she had tried her best to protect Zhu Qing, and Zhu Qing had also disliked Li Lan’s work environment. As for her fans and the content of her work, the two of them rarely discussed or communicated about it.

She hadn’t expected that after losing her memory, Zhu Qing would be willing to take photos for her on her own initiative, even to go online herself and trade barbs with the fans.

What pleased her most was that after Zhu Qing finished sparring, she didn’t stay angry. She wouldn’t keep sinking into disgust and rejection.

Although Li Lan herself also disliked certain aspects of the entertainment industry, she was, after all, someone in it. If Zhu Qing could accept her work, she would feel comforted and at ease; that would mean Zhu Qing was accepting her true self.

What she had thought might damage their relationship had, with Zhu Qing’s vigorous tit-for-tat response, vanished without a trace.

“I’m getting on the plane,” Li Lan said softly. “Leave a message on WeChat if anything comes up.”

Zhu Qing replied obediently, “Okay.”

After hanging up, Qian Cancan, who had followed the scent of drama over, asked softly, “That’s it? It’s over?”

She had already been outside; after Qian Chu sent her a WeChat message, she came straight to Zhu Qing. At first, Qian Cancan had wanted to stop Zhu Qing from using Li Lan’s account to reply, but after glancing at those disgusting attacks, she got angry too.

Online harassment like that—anyone who’s experienced it knows. It was truly impossible to tolerate even a little.

Zhu Qing had just come down from the rush of blood to the head; she and Qian Cancan stared at each other uncertainly. “Probably… over? Anyway, Li Lan didn’t say anything.”

“That’s true, Li Lan-jie’s manners have always been very good,” Qian Cancan nodded. “Looks like you two have been getting along pretty well these days, for her not to get angry over this.”

Zhu Qing scratched her head. She couldn’t tell whether Li Lan was angry or not.

Li Lan had always been very good at managing her expression, unlike Zhu Qing herself, whose emotions were written all over her face.

“Getting along pretty well?” Zhu Qing sounded doubtful. “She seems kind of distant with me. Hiss—no, that’s not quite right. It should be more like polite acquaintances.”

She had no memory of being in love with Li Lan, but even without ever having seen a pig run, she had at least eaten pork; Zhu Qing naturally knew what real couples should feel like when they were together.

That atmosphere wouldn’t turn into polite acquaintances just because she’d lost her memory.

The way Li Lan looked at her should have been tinged with longing and sadness; she should have averted her eyes whenever Zhu Qing looked over, hiding the love that would unconsciously leak out of them. It shouldn’t have been steady and placid the whole time, quiet as an unruffled lake.

Qian Cancan found that baffling. “You two are polite acquaintances?”

“Yeah. When she’s with me, she keeps her distance; no overstepping, no flirtatious words. The vibe between us is really very flat,” Zhu Qing said, carefully recalling the details of their interactions. Li Lan really hadn’t shown any interest in her. “I keep feeling like she’s still bothered by the past and is deliberately keeping her distance from me.”

Qian Cancan agreed. “That makes sense. After all, you lost your memory and forgot everything; Li Lan didn’t forget. Not to mention you were making a drunken scene in front of Li Lan…”

“What!?” Zhu Qing shot straight up like a stray calico cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Qian Cancan looked suspicious. “You forgot? You insisted on dragging me out to drink away your sorrows, saying Li Lan wouldn’t let you go on the variety show. Halfway through, you got drunk, and Li Lan called to pick you up. But speaking of which, even your photos get you attacked by fans, so not letting you go on the variety show was a very wise choice.”

Zhu Qing froze completely; from her earlobes down to her collarbone, her skin flushed red in an instant. When she opened her mouth, she nearly choked on herself. “W-why are you saying I made a drunken scene? What did I do?”

She liked drinking, but she rarely drank herself into a blackout. Besides, in her memory, her alcohol tolerance was pretty decent; who knew that less than a bottle would get her drunk.

Who knew that after getting drunk, Li Lan had been the one to take her home!

Hadn’t that meant her wild, unrestrained side had been exposed?

How was she supposed to keep up the image of a “dutiful wife and mother” in front of Li Lan now?!

Although she didn’t accept being molded into virtuous obedience, if Li Lan liked her well-behaved side, then acting coy and obedient in front of Li Lan wasn’t impossible.

But all those plans had been ruined by that drunken episode!

Qian Cancan made a face that said even dogs would shake their heads, clicking her tongue. “You were all loose-lipped and hard to handle; who knows what kind of trouble you caused… Did Li Lan not tell you the next day?”

Zhu Qing picked up the empty cup in front of her, trying to calm herself by drinking water; she failed.

“She didn’t say anything. Just told me to drink some porridge and eat, then agreed to let me go on the variety show,” Zhu Qing recalled Li Lan’s reaction from the morning carefully, trying to find any trace in the details, but failed again. She lamented, “It’s over; Li Lan’s impression of me is definitely even worse now.”

Zhu Qing flopped down, looking utterly hopeless. “I feel like Li Lan is going to slap the revised divorce agreement in my face any minute now.”

Li Lan didn’t have much feeling for her to begin with, and she’d gone and made a scene like that on top of it. Her score in Li Lan’s eyes was probably already completely ruined.

Thinking of that, Zhu Qing felt miserable beyond words and sent Li Lan a message, dropping to her knees in apology.

【Zhu Qing】: I’m sorry about what happened last night. I won’t get drunk again next time.

Two hours later, after the plane had landed, Li Lan finally saw the message.

Last night?

Zhu Qing wasn’t suited to getting drunk outside, but at home…

After savoring the memory for a moment, Li Lan responded with comfort.

【Her】: No next time.

————————!!————————

Zhu Qing: I’m never getting drunk again.

Li Lan: No.

Zhu Qing: ??

Thank you all, my lovelies, for your support; love you all~