Chapter 23: Getting Back Together Part 2

Even so,

Shi Sui was anxious: [Home yet?]

Half a minute ago: [Not home?]

Probably afraid a call would distract her driving, she sent texts.

Jiang Ruoning got out, checked her phone, and saw the two messages in a row. Her heart fluttered.

As she left the garage, she called Shi Sui.

She could hear the TV on Shi Sui’s end. Jiang Ruoning asked, “You haven’t gone to bed yet?”

“Nope.” Shi Sui turned, looking at the empty sofa. Jiang Ruoning’s presence there felt like a hallucination, but her scent still lingered in the air. Hand on the sofa backrest, she said, “About to shower and sleep.”

“Mm.” Jiang Ruoning clamped her phone between her shoulder and ear as she rummaged in her bag for her keys. She couldn’t tilt her head too much, and the phone nearly slipped. In her flustered scramble to catch it, her bag fell. A hand reached out and picked up her bag for her.

Jiang Ruoning turned her head.

She lit up with surprise. “Ye Yu!”

Shi Sui gripped her phone tighter and sat up straight.

Ye Yu stepped out from behind Jiang Ruoning, looked at her, and handed over the bag.

Jiang Ruoning took the bag and asked her, “How did you get here? When did you arrive?”

She was utterly shocked.

The call hadn’t ended yet.

Shi Sui heard Ye Yu’s voice. “Just now. I was about to call you.”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Oh, then…”

Ye Yu handed her a gift with her other hand. “I brought this for you.”

Jiang Ruoning blinked in confusion. “What is it?”

She slung her bag over her wrist and took Ye Yu’s bag, opening it. She couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Why did you buy this?”

Ye Yu said, “I remembered you liked it last time.”

Jiang Ruoning looked down, a smile playing at her brows and eyes.

Ye Yu watched her. The expression on Jiang Ruoning’s face as she got out of the car and made the call had been just like this—happy, delighted. Her date that evening must have gone very smoothly.

This wasn’t her first date.

Ye Yu remembered when Jiang Ruoning had just entered the industry. One day, she had mysteriously sought her out, saying, “Ye Yu, Ye Yu, do you know who asked me out today!”

Looking at her excited expression, Ye Yu had asked, “Zhou Lan?”

Jiang Ruoning’s face had filled with surprise. “How did you know?”

Ye Yu hadn’t really wanted to know, but for those few days, Jiang Ruoning kept talking about it—Zhou Lan shooting such-and-such magazine cover, attending such-and-such fashion show, getting invited to such-and-such event. Zhou Lan was a senior at her company and quite influential in the industry. Back then, Jiang Ruoning was a total newbie. Though her raw talent and looks were top-notch, she lacked experience. Zhou Lan didn’t mind giving her a few pointers.

So Ye Yu was quite familiar with Zhou Lan.

She really admired her.

Every other word out of her mouth was about that person.

Ye Yu couldn’t avoid knowing even if she tried.

That time, Jiang Ruoning had fussed over her outfit endlessly, wearing her favorite clothes, spraying on perfume. She flitted past Ye Yu like a flaunting butterfly, asking nonstop, “Does it look good?”

Looking at her so happy, Ye Yu had nodded. “It looks good.”

Jiang Ruoning had happily gotten into Zhou Lan’s car.

Ye Yu waited until the afternoon when Jiang Ruoning returned—even earlier than expected. Zhou Lan had sent her back. After getting out of the car, she strolled slowly over, shrugged, and gave an awkward smile.

She had asked, “Back so early?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “She went to meet some friends.”

She asked Jiang Ruoning, “Why didn’t you go?”

Jiang Ruoning looked down. “Actually, she wanted me to come along, but I didn’t want to.”

Why not?

Jiang Ruoning couldn’t quite explain. That earlier burst of excitement seemed to have vanished with the date. She asked if something had happened, and after some hesitation, Jiang Ruoning finally said that during dinner, Zhou Lan had touched her hand.

She had dodged it.

A very natural physical reaction.

Very awkward.

Afterward, she apologized to Zhou Lan, who comforted her. “No need to feel sorry. People’s bodies are always more honest than their feelings.”

Jiang Ruoning hadn’t quite understood what that meant and had asked her about it.

She was at a loss for words.

After that, Jiang Ruoning rarely mentioned liking anyone for a long time.

But none of those worked out.

The joyful glow after a date was something Ye Yu had never seen on Jiang Ruoning’s face before.

Had she really let go of that person?

Did her body no longer resist others’ closeness?

Ye Yu reached out to touch Jiang Ruoning’s shoulder. Jiang Ruoning looked up at her, her eyes clear and bright, utterly pure without a trace of other emotions.

Jiang Ruoning noticed her movement. “What?”

“Nothing.” Ye Yu patted her shoulder. “There’s a wrinkle here. How come you wore this on your date?”

Jiang Ruoning looked down at her clothes. Her face flushed for an instant, red tinting the corners of her eyes—her shyness was all too obvious. Ye Yu’s hand at her side clenched into a fist.

“It’s hers.” Jiang Ruoning didn’t even know why she was so shy. She couldn’t even bring herself to say Shi Sui’s name.

Fortunately.

Ye Yu didn’t dwell on the name. She just said quietly, “You two…”

“It’s not what you think.” Jiang Ruoning said, “My skirt wasn’t convenient for acupuncture, so I swapped clothes with her.”

Ye Yu nodded. Her throat felt dry and sore, worse than a cold or fever. Her voice came out a bit hoarse. “Why didn’t you swap back?”

Jiang Ruoning froze.

Yeah. She had gone to Shi Sui’s place.

And they hadn’t swapped back.

Did she want to take Shi Sui’s scent home with her?

Jiang Ruoning tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I forgot.”

Her answer sounded unnatural, but Ye Yu didn’t press.

Jiang Ruoning said, “Coming to my place?”

“No.” Ye Yu said, “Sister Man’s waiting for me in the car.”

Jiang Ruoning was surprised. “Where? Why didn’t you say anything? I…”

As she spoke, heading to greet Jin Man, Ye Yu grabbed her wrist. “She’s resting.”

“Oh.” Jiang Ruoning said, “Alright then. Be careful on the way back.”

Ye Yu slowly released her hand. “Got it.”

Jiang Ruoning waved at her. “Call me when you get home.”

Ye Yu smiled and replied, “Got it.”

Jiang Ruoning watched her get back into the car.

One hand holding her bag and gift, the other gripping her phone, waving goodbye. Ye Yu ducked into the car. The windows were tinted dark black—you couldn’t see inside from outside, but you could see out.

Once Jiang Ruoning could no longer see her, she turned away and unlocked her phone, realizing the call hadn’t ended. She gritted her teeth and carefully held it to her ear.

There was no sound on the other end.

The silence made Jiang Ruoning hold her breath. Very softly, she called, “Shi Sui?”

A quick response came. “Mm?”

One syllable.

Jiang Ruoning’s heart pounded wildly.

The palpitation made her a little dizzy.

She didn’t know why she was reacting so strongly.

Maybe because Ye Yu had just mentioned the clothes thing. Shi Sui must have heard!

She definitely heard!

But fortunately.

Shi Sui didn’t say anything. She just asked, “Done chatting with your friend?”

“Ah.” Jiang Ruoning said, “You—” She caught herself. “It was Ye Yu.”

Shi Sui’s tone was flat. “I know.”

Jiang Ruoning patted the heat from her cheeks and stepped into the elevator.

Ye Yu sat in the car.

She watched Jiang Ruoning disappear from view, watched the distant lights flicker on and off.

The car was empty.

She sat alone, quietly watching.

Once Jiang Ruoning got home, she set down her bag and gift. She couldn’t bear to let go of her overheating phone and flopped onto the sofa. Shi Sui asked her, “What did Ye Yu want, finding you so late?”

“She brought me a gift.” Jiang Ruoning said, “Last time we were abroad shopping together, I liked this doll, so she bought it for me this time.”

Shi Sui said, “You like dolls?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “Getting on in years, I always end up liking cute things.”

She tried to sound mature, and heard a soft laugh from the phone. Dissatisfied, Jiang Ruoning said, “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Shi Sui said, “Just that the doll isn’t as cute as you.”

Jiang Ruoning: …

Incredible.

How did sweet nothings come so easily to her?

Unbearable.

Jiang Ruoning suppressed her twitching lips. “You…”

She trailed off.

Shi Sui asked, “Me what?”

Jiang Ruoning said, “How many relationships have you been in?”

It had to be a lot.

A sour feeling bubbled up in her heart unexpectedly.

God!

Jiang Ruoning rolled her eyes at herself.

Shi Sui said, “Once.”

Jiang Ruoning sat bolt upright. “Once?”

Shi Sui said, “Mm. I dated once in school.”

Jiang Ruoning didn’t believe it. “Really?”

So experienced from just once?

Shi Sui said, “Really.” She asked Jiang Ruoning, “What about you? How many?”

Jiang Ruoning said proudly, “Several.”

Shi Sui gripped her phone tighter and took a deep breath. It felt like her heart and lungs had malfunctioned—constant throbbing pain that hurt even to breathe. The hand clutching the phone clenched hard. Jiang Ruoning poured fuel on the fire. “They all chased me.”

A faint metallic taste rose in Shi Sui’s throat. Her tongue tip brushed her lip corner—she’d bitten it sometime without noticing. It stung when she scraped it. Jealousy exploded in her heart, but her tone stayed gentle. “They have good taste.”

Jiang Ruoning never expected that response. It was as if she were some incredibly precious treasure.

She let out a dry laugh, her face burning hotter than her phone. She made an excuse. “I’m going to shower.”

Shi Sui agreed. “Mm.”

This time, Jiang Ruoning hung up. She took a light breath and saw the call duration on her phone.

An hour and a half.

So from when she got back until now, she’d done nothing but lie on the sofa chatting with Shi Sui for over an hour?

Terrifying.

Jiang Ruoning tossed her phone aside, grabbed her pajamas, and went to shower. After, her first move wasn’t blow-drying her hair but loosely wrapping it in a dry towel. She buttoned her pajamas and rushed out of the bathroom, groping for her phone on the sofa.

Shi Sui hadn’t messaged her.

But the little group chat was buzzing.

Jiang Ruoning saw Qu Lele asking Qin Zheng: [Coming for dinner the day after tomorrow?]

Qin Zheng: [Mm. Ye Yu’s back, right? @Ye Yu]

Ye Yu: [Just landed. Isn’t Yun An still on her business trip?]

Qin Zheng: [No playing without her~]

Yun An: [……]

Qu Lele: [What do you all want to eat? I’ll have the chef prep some.]

Zhou Yueqing: [Sour crab. Prep two extra portions this time, okay? I didn’t get any last time.]

Jiang Ruoning: [+1, I want some too.]

Zhou Yueqing: [Oh ho, someone finally shows up. We @’d you earlier and you ghosted.]

Jiang Ruoning had seen the earlier @ but glanced over it, thinking it was just about tomorrow’s dinner plans, so she hadn’t chimed in.

Rubbing her wet hair with the dry towel, she stood by the coffee table, cradling her phone in one hand: [What’d you @ me for?]

Zhou Yueqing: [Zhengzheng says you’re dating? Bringing her to dinner the day after?]

Qu Lele: [You’re dating? When? Who?]

Zhou Yueqing: [Why so excited @Qu Lele? You like her?]

Qu Lele: [What the hell!]

Jiang Ruoning: [Mm, bringing her the day after. Her name’s Shi Sui.]

The group went dead silent for a moment after she sent that.

Qin Zheng paused in her grip on the phone. She hadn’t gotten a chance to private message Zhou Yueqing yet when she saw Zhou Yueqing post in the group: [Shi Sui? You two got back together?]

Jiang Ruoning frowned: [Back together?]

Zhou Yueqing: [Yeah, didn’t you date in college?]

Jiang Ruoning’s phone slipped from her hand, smacking her foot. She looked down but didn’t even feel the pain.