Chapter 7: Her Dream-Girl Speech Got Caught on Screen!

It had to be because of the way she opened it that was wrong!!!

Xue Erbai’s throat tightened at Ji Wushan’s question. The swallow she’d just taken seemed to still be ringing in her ears.

But Ji Wushan’s voice was also coming through the television, crystal clear.

Paperlight Shimmer was an interview-style program. After graduating, Ji Wushan had joined the show as an intern, and it had taken her nearly four years to work her way from behind the scenes to in front of the camera. Her hosting style was serious and never intentionally flashy, but every now and then, it still revealed a trace of gentleness.

That was completely different from the faint, warm bath scent lingering in the living room.

Xue Erbai couldn’t help turning to look at Ji Wushan. She sat there quietly, her eyes clear and calm, as if she had simply voiced the tiny doubt in her heart out loud and set it neatly on the table.

Xue Erbai, though, was a little flustered.

Flustered about how to answer Ji Wushan.

Should she tell her that every Wednesday, without fail, she sat in front of the television?

That because she couldn’t keep watching her all the time, whenever she thought of her, she would replay Paperlight Shimmer over and over?

That she even remembered exactly when Ji Wushan would lower her head and smile faintly, and when she would knit her brows slightly?

Those were all private thoughts of hers; they were embarrassing.

And they didn’t line up at all with the first answer Ji Wushan, after losing her memory, would accept.

Too heavy; too hard to say; too dangerous to reveal carelessly.

Especially in front of Ji Wushan, who had lost her memory.

So Xue Erbai steadied herself, sat up straight, and stopped looking at Ji Wushan. Instead, she looked at the figure on the program.

“We’re wives.”

“Besides, this house should have some things that belong to you.”

Her words were vague, but they carried a trace of barely perceptible seriousness. They were factual, too.

The more Xue Erbai spoke, the straighter she sat. She even turned to face Ji Wushan directly, whose cheeks were still faintly flushed from her bath.

Then she moved a little closer and said in a low, soft voice, “And your voice is so nice. Who wouldn’t like it?”

That sounded even more sincere, which only made Ji Wushan feel a little disappointed.

Seeing herself on TV had already shocked her somewhat.

It was curiosity; it was also curiosity.

Curiosity about what she was like, and curiosity about what she looked like in Xue Erbai’s heart.

But that answer left her feeling stuck in the middle.

She had no memory of what she was like at work.

But when she thought back to her university days and the scores in her major, she could clearly imagine what she must have been like.

Not much different from what was on television.

The sofa sank beneath them as the two of them shifted a little closer.

Lemon and tea scents, under the warm orange light, quietly mingled together.

For a while, only the sound from the TV filled the room. Xue Erbai watched intently; Ji Wushan, besides watching carefully, would occasionally drift into thought.

No matter how professional she might have been, she had no memory of those three years of work experience.

Not only that; she didn’t have the three and a half years of internship after graduating from college, or the three years of hosting experience either.

So she watched even more carefully, and remembered even more carefully.

She tried to find memory in language, in body language.

The hour-and-a-half program passed quickly.

Ji Wushan seemed to have found something.

By contrast, Xue Erbai looked... reluctant for it to end?

Because after the program ended, Xue Erbai, who had been sitting with her arms crossed, changed position, took out her phone, opened a food delivery app, and asked very naturally, “Can I cast your previous episodes to the TV?”

“Do you want to keep watching?”

“Mm. Should we order some fruit too and eat while we watch?”

Ji Wushan had no objections. She answered softly and lowered her head to look at the notebook on her lap.

She had never been very used to recording things on cold electronic devices; she always preferred to write by hand.

So she drifted back into her notes.

By the time twenty-odd minutes had passed, Xue Erbai had brought in the takeout. Soon after, she came out of the kitchen with rinsed blueberries placed in front of Ji Wushan.

Ji Wushan’s eyes shifted; she reached out to take one, but Xue Erbai, still casting the screen by habit, brought a blueberry to her lips. “Very sweet.”

That motion felt as if they had done it many times before.

Ji Wushan felt a little dazed. She parted her lips and bit into the blueberry; as the juice spread, she couldn’t help asking, “Do we often watch dramas together?”

“Not often.”

“If we’re free on weekends, we do it like this.”

Xue Erbai’s voice held no warmth at all; by the end of the sentence, it even sounded low and subdued.

She thought of the last time.

Probably half a month ago.

The time she and Ji Wushan had been... intimate.

Besides physical contact, they had also agreed that every half month, they would spend some time doing ordinary things together.

They were both committed to being the perfect contract partners.

If they were free, they would meet; if they weren’t, there had to be a reasonable explanation.

They never crossed the line.

As long as it was reasonable, everything seemed tolerable.

So the most recent time had been half a month ago, but that had also been one of only two chances in their three months of marriage.

Even heaven had been kind; the sunlight had been lovely, shining on the sofa and casting the shape of the two of them across it.

Only the distance had been great.

Even greater than now.

Another episode of Paperlight Shimmer was about to end. Ji Wushan yawned, closed the notebook, and also locked the tablet she had been using for work.

She slowly stood up and lowered her head slightly to look at Xue Erbai. “I’m going to rest first.”

Xue Erbai looked over and gave a small nod.

The three hours of quiet had made her vaguely understand something.

Whether it was Ji Wushan’s questions or her earnest attitude, they were all proving one thing.

Ji Wushan was trying very hard to piece together this hazy memory; she was even showing a hint of independence.

Unlike in the hospital; unlike last night, she was already gradually becoming familiar with things.

“Mao Ying just sent me the schedule for the variety show recording. I’ll get up early tomorrow and take a careful look at it.”

Ji Wushan spoke to Xue Erbai as if giving a report.

But Xue Erbai understood.

This wasn’t a report.

“Okay, then tonight we...” Xue Erbai had only said half before stopping to watch Ji Wushan’s expression.

She showed no change at all, simply taking over naturally: “Let’s sleep well tonight.”

Then she walked toward the master bedroom.

Not long after, Xue Erbai also stood up. The lights in the living room dimmed, and the master bedroom glowed faintly.

---

If not for this hospitalization, Xue Erbai actually never would have seen Ji Wushan’s colleagues, much less had a chance to see what she looked like while preparing for work.

Even if it was the version of her after losing her memory.

So she moved her work to the living room. During the day, she watched Ji Wushan frown, grow troubled, and repeatedly rewatch her own program.

That gentle, calm voice didn’t just come from the TV; it also drifted through the living room, the balcony, and even the kitchen.

Sometimes Xue Erbai would get so absorbed that she’d let her own work slide.

This particular day was one of those times. She’d gone to sleep late, and she woke up late too.

The bed beside her was cold. She turned over several times and still couldn’t warm it up, and then she heard a little commotion coming from the kitchen.

She sat up abruptly.

Could Ji Wushan cook?

These past few days, breakfast had always been ordered either by Qiao You or by her. Xue Erbai would get up early, and by the time Ji Wushan woke up, there’d already be food ready. Nothing like today.

So she wasn’t sure; she’d better go take a look!

When she came out in a nightdress that was a little rumpled from sleep, Ji Wushan was indeed busy in the kitchen, wearing an apron.

Sunlight fell across Ji Wushan’s profile, and Xue Erbai, who had been walking over, stopped in place. She crossed the room very slowly, then leaned against the doorway.

With a hint of complaint, she said, “You should’ve called me up to make breakfast.”

That made her seem very bad at taking care of people.

Although, she really wasn’t good at taking care of people.

But she had specifically asked Qiao You to keep an eye on the Province Y project, freeing up half a month just so she could take care of Ji Wushan!

If she couldn’t do it, she could learn!

She rolled up sleeves that didn’t really exist and squeezed up beside Ji Wushan.

After one look, she was a little shocked.

The breakfast Ji Wushan had made looked and smelled wonderful.

It was just a simple fried egg and ham, but it smelled delicious.

It just didn’t look very pretty.

She must have made it with her left hand.

“Don’t make it tomorrow morning. I’ll do it; teach me, okay?”

As Xue Erbai spoke, she leaned a little closer to Ji Wushan. Seeing Ji Wushan’s ears turn red again and her body stiffen, she gradually realized her words might have been a little... mushy.

It really didn’t sound like something she would have said in the past.

Maybe it was because Ji Wushan had been keeping her distance again these past few days.

As expected, people were never satisfied; once a relationship had been drawn closer and then pulled away again, it felt terrible.

Xue Erbai was like that.

Ji Wushan was the opposite. She took a small step back and tossed out one sentence: “I’m going to shower. You eat first.”

Then she hurried into the bathroom.

Not the one in the bedroom, but the one outside.

Xue Erbai sighed, feeling she had pushed too hard, and carried the two breakfasts to the dining table to wait for Ji Wushan.

More than ten minutes later, Ji Wushan came out of the bathroom.

Her stitches had been removed, but she still couldn’t make any big movements, so she walked very slowly; she was so slow that she nearly passed the dining table before noticing Xue Erbai.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Why haven’t you eaten?”

“I was waiting for you.”

The two of them ate in silence, so quiet that Xue Erbai almost couldn’t tell whether there was another person sitting across from her.

At that moment, she also realized what was wrong.

The Ji Wushan before losing her memory was cold, so cold she didn’t want anyone to get close. But now Ji Wushan had a sort of transparency to her.

After a while, her gaze went a little blank.

“Does it not taste good?”

Xue Erbai asked lightly. Ji Wushan paused, then shook her head. “No, it’s very good.”

Still blank.

For a moment, Xue Erbai was at a loss.

The doctor had said Ji Wushan’s condition shouldn’t be overstimulated right now; they needed to be gentler.

But she was afraid that if they stayed gentle for too long...

They would become like two lumps of air.

And yet she had no solution.

After the meal, Xue Erbai washed the dishes while Ji Wushan took a few laps around the living room. Then Ji Wushan suddenly said, “I have to go record a program next week. I’m planning to go back upstairs tonight and prepare for it.”

Xue Erbai’s hand froze. She took a deep breath and slowly said, “...Okay.”

After staying here for a few days, Ji Wushan had already figured out many things.

For example, in this house, the things that belonged to her had actually all been prepared by Xue Erbai; they fit, and yet not quite.

She wanted to go back and see what the world that should have belonged to her looked like.

So after the meal, she went upstairs.

Seven years had passed, and her preferences hadn’t changed much. The living room, bedroom, study; even the walk-in closet had been recreated exactly according to the image she had once imagined.

Even the way she dressed was the style she had envisioned.

Ji Wushan tried on several outfits. In the end, she hugged a knitted sweater and sat in the closet, staring blankly.

On her phone was a WeChat message Xue Erbai had sent a few minutes earlier.

【What do you want for lunch?】

She didn’t know what she wanted to eat. Anyway, she’d be going back downstairs soon, so she simply didn’t reply.

Time passed minute by minute; Ji Wushan went downstairs.

She pressed her fingerprint and gently opened the door.

Xue Erbai’s voice was full of excitement: “Xiao Pu, looking at it, don’t you think it’s especially, especially thrilling?”

“This is basically my dream come true!!!”

“Honestly, you... ah!!!”

Ji Wushan had been walking over with some confusion when Xue Erbai suddenly turned around and looked at her. After a startled cry, she even dropped her phone onto the floor.

It landed right in front of Ji Wushan.

Her eyesight hadn’t been great before, especially these past few days, because she’d been trying too hard to get back to work and her eyes had been sore, so she was wearing glasses. But now her vision was excellent.

When she crouched down to help Xue Erbai pick up the phone, she saw the screen very clearly.

《Cold and aloof host and XX...》

She stiffened slightly, and her confusion deepened.

Xue Erbai also reached for the phone.

Their eyes met.

Xue Erbai bit her lip hard and looked at Ji Wushan in utter embarrassment.

The only thought in her head was...

Ji Wushan had seen what was on her phone; she definitely had seen it!

Her dream-girl speech had been exposed!

Author’s Note:

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