Obedient

Right after that, another female voice flowed in over the song, sweet and gentle, in stark contrast to Li Lan’s clear, cool timbre. One was cold, one was soft, yet they blended together with surprising ease, carrying an unspoken understanding.

This was a single that had only been released as a demo and never officially put out.

At the sound of that voice, Li Lan’s expression grew even more dazed. Even her breathing seemed to soften, as if any heavier breath would scatter this illusory reunion.

“Manager Lan.” Qian Chu reminded her softly to answer the phone.

Li Lan was still lost in the tune. By the time she came back to herself, the call had already ended.

The other side wouldn’t call a second time. Since Li Lan had no way to hear it again, she raised the phone and called back. The other person picked up very quickly.

“Director Yang, did you need something from me?” Li Lan collected herself, her tone back to calm.

“Qi Yao made you angry?”

Director Yang’s voice carried a smile. Even her voice was somehow more pleasing than the female voice in the song, like a jar of rich red wine—elegant and weighty.

Li Lan wasn’t the least bit surprised that she’d heard about it. She said evenly, “No, it was just work.”

“Qi Zong and I are out to dinner.” There was some noise on Yang’s end, but it soon quieted, as if she’d walked away with her phone in hand. “Qi Zong said the newcomer at the company doesn’t know any better and asked me to pass along his apologies to you.”

Li Lan didn’t want to say much. “I understand. Anything else?”

The smile in Yang’s voice deepened, taking on a hint of indulgence. “Fine, let’s not talk about him. Let’s talk about you.”

Li Lan’s breathing caught; her fingertips tightened suddenly. “...Go ahead.”

“Next week you’re filming a variety show with your little one, and I’m very pleased,” Yang said lazily, as though she were chatting with an old acquaintance. “I have plenty of good resources here. If you’d been willing to take them earlier, you wouldn’t have needed to make a wasted trip abroad. With your conditions, you’d have been first-tier long ago. People like Qi Yao wouldn’t even be able to get close to you.”

Li Lan lowered her eyes. Her voice held no anger or joy as she said lightly, “Director Yang’s resources are too good. I’m not trained in the field; if I took them, I’d only waste the scripts. What a shame that would be. As for going on variety shows to increase exposure... it’s just moving to the next stage.”

Yang suddenly said, “Wear the outfit I had made for you to tomorrow’s spring-summer show.”

Li Lan looked down. “I’m only going as an audience member.”

“Not necessarily,” Yang said with an easy smile. “Maybe they’ll want you to walk the runway at the end of the show? All right, it’s settled.”

Li Lan drew in a deep breath.

Yang said again, “I heard that after the exhibition, you’re also going to shoot the cover for Vague.”

“Mm.”

“I spoke to Vague’s editor-in-chief about it. The style of those photos that went viral after you were hot-searched was too sexy; I don’t like it. In the future, nothing like that is allowed to appear in your commercial shoots.”

Li Lan fell silent again.

The call went quiet for half a minute. Then Yang seemed to remember something and laughed. “I liked the wine you sent me last time. As for the variety show side, I’ve already spoken to them; no one will make things difficult for your little one.”

Li Lan had no choice but to speak. “Thank you, Director Yang.”

“Thirty is the age to stand on your own,” Yang said gently. “You should take one more step.”

Li Lan’s knuckles around the phone had gone white from how hard she was gripping it. Something was being held back in her expression as she said respectfully, “Thank you for your support.”

Yang said, “No need to thank me. Just in time, there’s something I need your help with.”

Li Lan suppressed the shadow in her heart, but the call went on.

“I just finalized it with Qi Zong and the others. Qi Yao, together with another little girl, Yu Ling, will be joining this variety show.”

Qian Chu had listened silently the entire time and didn’t dare interrupt. But when she heard that Qi Yao was going too, disgust flashed in her eyes as expected.

Li Lan waited quietly for Yang to continue.

“As for Qi Yao, for Qi Zong’s sake, don’t hold it against him. He won’t dare trouble you again,” Yang’s voice remained languid and unhurried, yet it felt like an invisible white silk ribbon slipping around the throat. “But as for Yu Ling... she reminds me of you when you were young. Beautiful, smart, but wiser than you. She knows when to lower her head.” She paused, her tone tinged with a trace of wistfulness. “I want to cultivate her properly. You understand what I mean, right?”

Li Lan closed her eyes wearily. “I’ll take it as it comes.”

A low laugh came from the other end of the line; elegant, with a faint trace of morbid pleasure, especially clear inside the sealed car.

“A beautiful flower should grow according to my tastes,” her voice was very gentle. “Cut away the unnecessary branches, trim it into the most perfect shape... Li Lan, you’ve already disappointed me badly. I hope Yu Ling doesn’t follow your old path.”

After hanging up, Li Lan took a long time to shake off that dull, suffocating feeling.

Qian Chu had long heard rumors about Yang’s bizarre way of doing things, and over the years beside Li Lan, she had absorbed plenty of it firsthand. Worried, she asked, “Director Yang hasn’t looked for us in a long time. What does she want you to do this time?”

Li Lan shook her head. “It’s nothing major. She wants to sign an artist and have me act as a go-between. If possible, she wants me to help her on the variety show too; even better if I can help make her blow up.”

“Then why doesn’t she go find Yu Ling herself? What does that have to do with you? Is Director Yang still not giving up on you?” Qian Chu fretted. “But you’re already thirty.”

Li Lan froze, then couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh. “The way you say that makes it sound like someone wants to keep me.”

Qian Chu sighed. “It’s basically the same. She’s always sticking her nose into your career, overstepping everywhere. My mom stopped telling me what to wear after I turned fourteen.”

“Stop talking about her,” Li Lan said warmly. “Drive properly.”

Qian Chu asked in a small voice, “Then what about the clothes for tomorrow’s exhibition?”

Li Lan said calmly, “We’re not going to the exhibition tomorrow.”

Qian Chu looked at her in surprise through the rearview mirror. “Huh? Then are we still going to Guangzhou?”

“We are,” Li Lan said with a faint smile. “We’ll go to Guangzhou for morning tea, and after the cover shoot, we’ll come back.”

Qian Chu laughed. “Great. Then I can wear a little dress tomorrow.”

Li Lan smiled. She remembered that Zhu Qing liked seeing her in dresses. Tomorrow just happened to be free; she could video call Zhu Qing... As for the outfit, she’d wear that sexy pale-gold gauze dress.

—

Night had fallen thick and heavy. By the time Li Lan’s plane landed, the sky still hadn’t fully brightened.

Xiao Bao’s call came in.

“Can I go straight to find Zhu Zhu?”

Li Lan checked the time, puzzled. “Weren’t you on last night’s flight?”

Xiao Bao said seriously, “There was a delay during the transfer. Auntie Cancan told me to call them after I got off the plane, but the teacher said Zhu Zhu has amnesia. If I go find her, I’ll scare her.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t watching your flight,” Li Lan said a little awkwardly. “As for Zhu Zhu... she should be fine, right?”

Li Lan’s interactions with Xiao Bao were still a little unfamiliar. She thought of the first time she’d met Zhu Qing after the memory loss.

By nature, Zhu Qing was kind and open, and once she knew the two of them were partners, she would instinctively draw close to her. Xiao Bao... should be the same, right?

No, wait. Did kids these days even like children that much?

Xiao Bao cheered and trotted forward. “Then I’m going to see Zhu Zhu right now!”

Li Lan immediately said cautiously, “You can go find her, but don’t call her Mom. That’ll scare her.”

Xiao Bao slowed down, pouted, and said, “Oh.”

Two seconds later, Xiao Bao asked, “Why?”

Li Lan was also confused. “Why do you always want to call her Mom?”

Xiao Bao looked unhappy. “Because, j-just because I want to.”

Li Lan pinched the bridge of her nose. She really had no idea how to handle a child and could only say helplessly, “Do whatever you think is best. She doesn’t remember you, so don’t be too noisy.”

Xiao Bao nodded obediently. “Okay.”

After the call ended, Li Lan hesitated for a moment, then sent Zhu Qing a message.

[ Xiao Bao has two nannies and one teacher; food, clothing, housing, transport, and playtime are all taken care of ]

Zhu Qing replied very quickly.

[ Got it. I’m on my way to pick her up now ]

Li Lan had a headache.

[ What I mean is, any demands she makes of you are her way of acting cute ]

Zhu Qing didn’t understand what Li Lan meant.

Li Lan sighed. [ Forget it. You’ll understand once you see her ]

Zhu Qing turned off her phone in confusion and took the coffee handed to her by the driver, Qian Cancan.

That one line about the plane being delayed had kept both of them from sleeping well. As soon as they got the landing message, they came to pick her up.

Zhu Qing’s confusion lasted all the way until half an hour later.

“Zhu Zhu——!”

Xiao Bao shot out from the exit like a little missile, crashed into her arms, and knocked both her and her breakfast flying. Then, with a loud waah, she burst into tears.

The volume, and the intensity of feeling, were comparable to an air-raid siren.

Zhu Qing: ...

Zhu Qing stood frozen in place, holding a coffee cup with no lid, staring at Qian Cancan, who had retreated three steps away.

————————!!————————

Zhu Qing, curious: Who’s Director Yang?

Li Lan, coldly: Yang Huayi.

Zhu Qing continued, curious: And who’s Yang Huayi?

Li Lan, still coldly: I think she’s a pervert.

Zhu Qing: Wow, a live pervert.

Li Lan: ...

(PS: Director Yang, umm, is an important character.)