Chapter 14: Xue Erbai’s Tender Touch

Xue Erbai’s body had been a little unusual ever since she was young.

That is—

If she caught a chill or got blown on by the wind, she was very likely to run a low fever; sometimes, it would even spike into a high one.

The illness came on fast and passed just as quickly.

By the next morning, she would usually wake up clear-headed and refreshed.

She would even forget parts of what had happened while she was feverish, keeping only a hazy impression.

Just like now.

She only remembered a few scattered fragments.

For example—

complaining that Ji Wushan hadn’t told her about joining the show, complaining about how their marriage wasn’t to be made public unless absolutely necessary.

Those were the things she had kept bottled up.

Actually, she more or less understood why Ji Wushan hadn’t told her about the show.

Because she herself very rarely, if ever, talked to Ji Wushan about work.

They weren’t close enough for that yet.

And as for not making it public unless necessary, that was based on the same foundation.

If they were dating normally, in love normally, married normally, then the background story wouldn’t matter at all.

But the reality was that the Ji family had been trying to gather support everywhere for the sake of money.

To put it nicely, that could be called matchmaking.

To put it bluntly, it was advertising.

As for her, Xue Erbai, she was taking advantage of someone’s misfortune; what about the others?

That would be called taking a bargain.

None of that sounded pleasant at all, so the two of them had silently agreed not to publicize the marriage when they signed the contract.

In the family, Xue Erbai had managed not to avoid the subject.

Ji Wushan...

wasn’t exactly avoiding it either, because her parents were avoiding it even more.

That sort of behavior really did seem like taking the money and walking away.

She had met Ji Xian a few times because of cooperation, but every time, Ji Wushan had never been mentioned.

What was there to make public?

Making it public would be the same as laying Ji Wushan’s family bare for everyone to see.

She didn’t know whether Ji Wushan wanted that or not.

At any rate, she didn’t want Ji Wushan to be criticized and sized up by others.

So her complaint wasn’t that kind of complaint.

It was really just fear that someone might set their sights on the “single” Ji Wushan!

How was she supposed to explain that?

She couldn’t work it out.

This whole thing was full of romantic tricks; how was she supposed to explain it clearly!

The more Xue Erbai thought about it, the less sense she made of anything. In the end, she could only roll around on the bed.

But after a few turns, she remembered even more embarrassing things!

The nightgown she was wearing was a little short, and with even a slight movement, the fabric at her thighs would ride up, so last night when Ji Wushan had helped wipe the inner side of her thighs...?

Had it all been seen?!

So embarrassing!

---

A few minutes later, Xue Erbai lay on the bed and stared at the message she had sent.

"Xiao Pu."

"Am I still salvageable?"

"Didi, Xiao Pu??"

The sound of water splashing came from the bathroom beside her; Ji Wushan was taking a shower.

Early in the morning, she was taking a shower.

Xue Erbai only heard it after sending everything to the so-called show-off woman; she vaguely suspected that when she’d woken up and the room had been quiet, Ji Wushan had been applying body wash.

At the thought, her face turned red again despite herself.

Even though...

Even though they had already done everything, once it got dark and she still couldn’t see clearly, just thinking about it made her shy.

She tugged at her already messy hair, ignored the shoulder strap that had slipped halfway down, and lay limp on the single bed, tossing and turning while staring at the QQ chat window on her phone, waiting for her friend, the so-called show-off woman, to come online.

But no; she got no reply at all.

She could only follow the sound of water toward the bathroom, glance over, then look away again.

She propped up one foot and bit at a finger, feeling a little irritated...

When the bathroom door was pushed open from the inside, she turned back instinctively.

A cool dampness and a faint tea fragrance drifted over.

Xue Erbai pulled her finger out of her mouth, a little red in the face.

"Y-you’re done showering?"

She almost bit her tongue on the words.

And they sounded stupid, too!

She couldn’t help scolding herself inwardly; it was obvious the shower was already over!

After a long moment without saying anything else, Ji Wushan simply hummed in response and sat down at the vanity, the hair dryer buzzing.

Xue Erbai grew shy all over again, shy that she had shown her true self before Ji Wushan.

Then, feeling both pleased and troubled, she shuffled over and reached for the hair dryer in Ji Wushan’s hand.

Ji Wushan stiffened and didn’t hand it over.

Instead, she turned to look at Xue Erbai; after sizing her up for a few seconds, she said, "Go shower first."

Huh?

Xue Erbai straightened up, feeling a little embarrassed.

She thought of how she hadn’t showered because of the low fever, of how sticky and uncomfortable she was all over!

It had to be that. Ji Wushan had to be disgusted by her!

But her expression didn’t change. She stepped back half a pace and said, "Okay, I’ll go right now."

She was unwilling in her heart and moved very slowly.

But Ji Wushan was still urging her from behind. "Hurry up and shower; don’t catch a chill again."

"Oh... oh?"

Xue Erbai turned back in surprise, only to see that Ji Wushan still had her back to her.

Yet in the mirror, she could see Ji Wushan’s gaze on her.

Xue Erbai pressed her lips together and said softly, "Last night, thank you for taking care of me."

"I say nonsense when I have a fever..."

"It wasn’t trouble, and it wasn’t nonsense either; I just don’t remember it."

"But we’re wives, so we should take care of each other."

Ji Wushan said it matter-of-factly, and her gaze also withdrew.

Xue Erbai, however, felt that something was not quite right.

But she really couldn’t figure out what was so wrong.

So she could only listen to her words and hurry, faster and faster, to finish showering.

After washing up, Xue Erbai felt much fresher.

Not just in her body, but in her mood too.

The bathroom was full of steam; it was warm, and there was a white tea scent everywhere.

Her own lime fragrance mixed with the white tea aroma as she left the bathroom and ran over to Ji Wushan to ask for praise. "I showered really fast, didn’t I?"

Ji Wushan paused, then showed a faint smile. "Fast."

Then she stood up neatly and gave Xue Erbai her seat.

Filming was about to begin soon, and Ji Wushan’s workload was a little heavier than Xue Erbai’s.

Xue Erbai looked at Ji Wushan, who had gone back to reading the script, and obediently dried her hair. Just as she finished, the assistant came to knock on the door.

"Teacher Ji, Teacher Xue, it’s time to head out."

There was no time to chat. Xue Erbai threw on a random outfit and left.

Ji Wushan’s steps were a little quicker than hers, and time waited for no one; Xue Erbai could only suppress the urge to talk to her.

She was taken away by Cong Yuan, while Ji Wushan went over to Lv Wan’s side.

About an hour later, the cameras were set up on the boat, and everyone boarded.

Not only the guests, but many more staff members as well; even the once-popular actress, the breakout star, and the internet celebrity streamer all had assistants with them.

Only Xue Erbai, Ji Wushan, and... Zhong Dai.

Among the internet celebrity streamer guests, she was the least popular one, purely because her looks were good enough; she had long, straight legs and a proper face.

Last night, when she’d curled up on the sofa, she had only seemed to have long legs; when she boarded the boat and brushed past Xue Erbai, Xue Erbai got a much more direct sense of her height from behind.

She had to be over 175.

Xue Erbai’s barefoot height was 172, so she was half a head shorter than the other woman!

A little unconvinced, and yet awkwardly stretching up onto her tiptoes felt tacky, Xue Erbai’s whole body swayed. Zhong Dai hadn’t been looking at her, but with that sway, her gaze still shifted to Xue Erbai’s back, then farther back.

Xue Erbai looked too.

She saw Ji Wushan’s hair blown messy by the wind; there was no longer any thought of comparing heights. Xue Erbai steadied herself, raised a hand, and wanted to smooth the strands that had drifted to Ji Wushan’s lips.

Ji Wushan seemed to notice.

With a slight curl of her fingers, she brushed the hair back behind her neck.

Only then did Xue Erbai see more clearly; Ji Wushan’s hair seemed to have gotten shorter again.

This morning, it had still fallen to her chest, but now it only reached her collarbone. Her makeup was exquisite, and she looked cool, neat, and capable.

Their outfits seemed to have switched places too.

Ji Wushan had changed into a sleeveless long dress.

Xue Erbai was dressed more casually.

Thinking about whether Ji Wushan would be cold once the sea breeze picked up in a little while, Xue Erbai secretly waited a few seconds, then sat beside her, itching to give her the jacket.

Yesterday’s incident had taught her a lesson; today she had deliberately worn a sun-protective shirt, misty blue, which suited Ji Wushan’s apricot-colored long dress.

Xue Erbai peeled off the sun-protective shirt, revealing a simple white T-shirt.

Today she didn’t act smug; the hem was neatly tucked below her waist.

She raised her hand again and leaned toward Ji Wushan.

Because she had deliberately moved slowly, she smoothly sat down beside Ji Wushan. Their scents intertwined, and the completely different perfume on Ji Wushan made Xue Erbai’s cheeks heat up.

At the company, she usually wore a light scent similar to the one Ji Wushan had on now; but since she had already taken this step, she indulged her own preference and wore a richer fruit fragrance.

"Sister Shengsheng~!"

Ji Wushan was looking over her notes.

On the boat, almost everyone besides her was dressed in relaxed, casual clothes, while she had to start filming as soon as she got off the boat; she had to go without the script and couldn’t spare much attention.

She only noticed Xue Erbai’s approach a little slowly.

The fruit scent irritated her a little; she lightly touched her nose before lifting her eyes to look at Xue Erbai.

The one who had said she would create their own wedding leave was now lowering her eyes, soft smiles spilling from her face.

Because of the way she addressed her, because of her smile, Ji Wushan was a little dazed. She parted her lips and asked, "...What is it?"

"The wind is too strong."

"Can you put this on?"

Her voice was soft too, and she didn’t dare speak too loudly; leaning close to her, she whispered the words. Ji Wushan shook her head without even thinking.

"No need; I have a jacket."

But because they’d be there soon, she hadn’t taken it out to fuss over.

Ji Wushan didn’t add that, because she saw Xue Erbai’s lowered eyes drop even further, the smile fading away.

A little at a loss.

Not knowing what to do.

The unease from that morning was magnified completely. She leaned close to Ji Wushan’s ear and asked in a small voice, "Are you upset that I brought up the part about not making things public unless necessary?"

"I’m not upset."

Ji Wushan denied it almost reflexively.

She really wasn’t upset, but faced with Xue Erbai’s moist, luminous eyes, she immediately thought of last night; last night Xue Erbai had cried even more, tears caught in her eyes without falling, and after asking her, she had started explaining on her own.

"I’m afraid other people will overthink it, and I’m also afraid they won’t overthink it."

"Ji Wushan, what am I supposed to do?"

Her emotions were so intense that Ji Wushan didn’t know how to respond.

She had no idea how the agreement had originally been signed.

She had a rough understanding, but she didn’t know what her own feelings had been like, didn’t know whether they matched what was written down, and couldn’t fully reconstruct it.

She could only rely on instinct and think.

Perhaps the agreement between them had been something improper, something not aboveboard.

She and Xue Erbai were nothing more than a marriage certificate.

Perhaps she didn’t know either, but it should have been the best marriage certificate that she, at that time, could choose.

Good enough that there was no need to get it tangled up in too much.

At the same time, it was not something she could reject too strongly either.

Ji Wushan looked around; everyone was busy, and no one noticed them here.

No one knew about the conversation between her and Xue Erbai either.

And no one knew about their relationship.

Even more, no one knew that the bare arm she had just brushed in the wind was now being gently stroked by Xue Erbai.

That gaze even carried an almost imperceptible hint of coquettishness.

Author’s Note:

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