A Promise in a Thought 30

Chapter 30

The temperature in Lingzhou had dropped, and Bo Muyu received a definite piece of news: the gathering was ending soon.

By that calculation, it had only been three or four days.

Since her conversation with Bo Muyu about personal matters yesterday, Su Man had not brought up any private questions again, because she felt that she didn’t want to know too much, and Bo Muyu didn’t want to say too much either.

So, she took Bo Muyu around to meet various well-known screenwriters and directors. After two days, Bo Muyu had already made a small name for herself among some of the seniors.

At a table by the side of the venue, the three of them sat down together.

Su Man smiled and said, “Uncle Pan, my dad is always talking about you at home, saying when are you going to come and see him.”

Pan Cheng laughed heartily and raised his wine glass. “If I had the time, wouldn’t I go see him? He’s at home enjoying his leisure now, but I still have a movie to direct in the second half of this year.”

Su Man and Bo Muyu also raised their wine glasses and drank with him.

“Oh, by the way,” Pan Cheng suddenly became serious, put down his wine glass, and looked at Bo Muyu. “To be honest, I’m personally taking a wait-and-see attitude towards the theme you’re planning to produce this time. You know, this theme is not uncommon anymore. Although there aren’t many films about this character, there are quite a few, and there’s also a very famous TV series.”

Su Man nodded in understanding and also looked at Bo Muyu.

“I know all this,” Bo Muyu said unhurriedly, her expression solemn. “Since Director Pan understands this, then you should also know that the character and plot of the protagonist in God of War are all the same in these films or TV series, with no deviation from historical records.”

“That’s true. Go on,” Pan Cheng said, finding it interesting and gesturing for her to continue.

Bo Muyu nodded. “Of course, I don’t intend to tamper with history either. I will still follow the historical path, but I will make the overall character setting fuller, or I can make his experiences richer than what is recorded in history. After all, history is also written by people. Some things are not necessarily recorded, are they?”

After she finished, she looked at Su Man, who nodded and smiled.

“Very good,” Pan Cheng immediately nodded in approval. “You’ve convinced me. Nowadays, when filming historical films, it’s certainly advisable to stick to the rules, but innovation is not out of the question. Just don’t subvert the character’s historical image too much, as that can easily have the opposite effect.”

“Thank you, Director Pan,” Bo Muyu said, a smile on her lips.

Pan Cheng turned to Su Man and said, “No wonder your dad insisted on having this girl join the screenwriting team for that movie back then. She really has a lot of ideas. No, she’s very bold. I remember she was still a university student at that time.”

Bo Muyu took her wine glass, lowered her head, and took a sip of champagne, feeling a little happy about the praise.

“Uncle Pan, you don’t know. She was famous in school for her bold ideas. Many teachers said that for someone so quiet, it was really hard to tell that her ideas were so bold.”

Pan Cheng laughed loudly. “Then you’ve really found a treasure.”

“Not at all, Uncle Pan. Let me toast you.”

The venue was noisy. Bo Muyu sat quietly on the side, listening to Su Man and Pan Cheng talk, occasionally smiling in response when she was mentioned.

When they left in the afternoon, close to dinnertime, Bo Muyu glanced at her watch as she walked.

Su Man asked, “Xiaoyu, are you going back to the hotel? Are you not attending the cocktail party later?”

Bo Muyu stopped and said with some apology, “No, I’ve arranged to have dinner with Auntie Yin.”

Su Man stared at her, then chuckled in a low voice, “You’ve been with President Jiang all these two days. I thought you were close before, but I never thought you were this close.”

They ate together, and at night, they stayed in the same room. There were probably many more things that Su Man hadn’t seen.

It was really the first time Su Man had seen a junior of Bo Muyu’s age be so close to an elder. Usually, Bo Muyu never took the initiative to mention Jiang Chenyin to her, nor had she ever seen Bo Muyu immediately turn to Jiang Chenyin when she encountered a problem. But as long as the distance between Jiang Chenyin and Bo Muyu was close, Bo Muyu would become very clingy to her, and her whole person would be a little more cheerful.

“I’m used to it,” Bo Muyu replied, her clear eyes without a trace of impurity. “I’ve liked being with Auntie Yin since I was a child. Maybe others think that I’m not a child anymore and still so clingy to her, that it’s not good at all. But I can’t change it, and she has never asked me to.”

A hint of doubt appeared in Su Man’s eyes. “Could it be that she’s too embarrassed to say it directly…”

Before she could finish, Bo Muyu’s gaze turned grim. She immediately stopped, then forced a smile. “Perhaps, she’s used to it too.”

Only then did Bo Muyu look away, her tone placid. “Then I’ll be going back first. Senior, don’t drink too much tonight.”

“Mmm, I know.”

Su Man replied softly, her gaze locked on Bo Muyu’s retreating back, and she sighed inwardly.

For dinner, Jiang Chenyin took Bo Muyu out to eat. After dark, the two of them went for a walk by the river.

People had already started to come out for a walk on the riverbank. Jiang Chenyin held Bo Muyu’s hand and walked against the wind, their long hair fluttering slightly in the evening breeze.

Bo Muyu swung Jiang Chenyin’s hand and said in a low voice, “Auntie Yin, you’re going back tomorrow.”

“Mmm,” Jiang Chenyin smiled brightly. “What, do you want me to stay and keep you company for another day? You’re going back the day after tomorrow anyway.”

Bo Muyu frowned, her grip on her hand tightening. “No, you still have work. And I have to go out tomorrow too. We don’t actually have much time to spend together.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Jiang Chenyin asked again deliberately, even though she knew she had made up her mind.

Bo Muyu pulled Jiang Chenyin to a stop, met her gaze as if to firm up her own decision, and after a moment, nodded gently. “Mmm, you should go back tomorrow. I’ll be back soon too.”

Jiang Chenyin said with amusement, “Okay, big screenwriter.”

They continued to walk forward. Passersby came from the opposite direction, and several of them looked at Jiang Chenyin.

Bo Muyu squeezed Jiang Chenyin’s hand and asked in a low voice, “Auntie Yin, will someone recognize you?”

Jiang Chenyin glanced over and said with a dismissive smile, “The chances of that are very small. I’m not a famous person. But even if they do, it’s fine. No one will come up to me.”

“Then why are people always looking at you…” Bo Muyu muttered to herself, then turned to look at Jiang Chenyin.

Her captivating eyes, her gentle smile. At this glance, the gurgling river and the leisurely passing fishing boats were nothing but a backdrop.

Bo Muyu’s other hand reached over to hold her arm, and she answered her own question in a soft voice, “Because you’re beautiful. It must be. Right now, you’re the most beautiful one here. No wonder people look at you when they walk by.”

Jiang Chenyin reached out and poked her forehead, her voice wrapped in a smile. “Where did you learn that from?”

“Why would I need to learn that?” Bo Muyu said, pulling her hand down. “I’ve always thought you were beautiful. I thought so when I was a child, and I still think so now that I’ve grown up.”

Jiang Chenyin couldn’t help but press her lips together and smile. A very likable thing about a child who was used to being direct was that their compliments were very genuine. Because what they said was what they truly thought, unlike others who were just flattering, which sounded very insincere.

After walking for a while, they found a coffee shop and sat down. After each ordering a cup of coffee, Jiang Chenyin took out her phone.

Just then, the phone buzzed. Jiang Chenyin glanced at it and then placed it on the table.

Bo Muyu turned her head and saw that it was a trending news notification, but the content was about Jiang Chenyin.

[It has recently been reported that actress Jiang Chenyin, who has been abroad for many years, has finally returned to the country. She remains very low-key and shows no signs of having started a family…]

The rest of the content was replaced by an ellipsis because it was too long. Bo Muyu unconsciously craned her neck to see.

Jiang Chenyin found this amusing. “If you want to look at my phone, why don’t you just take it and look? Why are you craning your neck so much?”

Bo Muyu quickly shook her head. “I just wanted to see that news. Why are you in it?”

Jiang Chenyin said placidly, “The daily job of these entertainment media is to pay attention to new and interesting things in the industry. It’s not strange that I’m in it. After all, I’ve been back for so long. If it were someone else, they would probably be a trending topic the day after they got back.”

Bo Muyu took her phone to look, clicked on the news, and saw some fans commenting things like “Teacher Jiang is mine” underneath. The level of attention was neither high nor low.

The waiter brought their coffee. Jiang Chenyin first put a sugar cube in Bo Muyu’s cup, then stirred her own coffee with a small spoon and chuckled in a low voice, “This news is basically just saying that I’m back, and I still seem to be single.”

Bo Muyu looked up at her, handed the phone back, and nodded. “Yes, that’s right.”

Jiang Chenyin didn’t speak, put down her spoon, and took a sip of her coffee.

Bo Muyu frowned in deep thought. She remembered Jiang Chenyin’s unusual emotions when she had told her about her past relationship, and she also remembered Old Master Jiang’s request and Ye Xialan’s instructions. All these things could be connected into a line, but it was missing the most crucial point, the one thing she still hadn’t figured out.

It must be that one point that determined everything now, but she just couldn’t find out what it was.

Seeing her looking as if she were thinking about something, Jiang Chenyin watched her for a while and then said, “Muyu, come and sit with me.”

Bo Muyu came back to her senses. “Hmm?”

Jiang Chenyin said again, “Come here.”

The seats in this shop were not single seats, but two-person sofas. They had been sitting opposite each other. After Jiang Chenyin said this, she moved to the side, leaving a space for Bo Muyu.

After Bo Muyu sat down, Jiang Chenyin crossed her legs and leaned back into the sofa, sighing softly.

“Muyu, have you ever wondered why I haven’t started a family?” Jiang Chenyin asked with a low laugh, looking at her. “I’m only three years younger than your mother. At my age, you should have already been an adult.”

“My mom just had me early. Many people get married late or not at all now,” Bo Muyu said. She had never found it strange that Jiang Chenyin hadn’t started a family. On the contrary, she wanted to cherish the time when Jiang Chenyin was still single.

She maliciously hoped that Jiang Chenyin wouldn’t have such a person, but then she was conflicted, wanting Jiang Chenyin to have someone to rely on, to comfort her after a nightmare.

Jiang Chenyin chuckled, her voice still low, but with a hint of softness. “Do you want me to start a family?”

Bo Muyu was stunned for a moment. How should she answer this question? Would Jiang Chenyin be angry if she said she didn’t want her to? If she said she did, it would be against her own wishes…

She lowered her head and thought for a few seconds, hesitating. She inadvertently looked up and met Jiang Chenyin’s gentle, watery eyes, and she instantly calmed down.

“I don’t,” she said, looking into Jiang Chenyin’s eyes. “I don’t want someone to replace me and stay by your side for a long, long time. But…”

Jiang Chenyin smiled and reached out to stroke the top of her soft hair. “Don’t worry. Whether such a person will exist in the future or not, you will never change in my heart.”

Bo Muyu didn’t know what to say and could only lower her head in silence.

She should have been happy about Jiang Chenyin’s promise, but she felt a hint of sourness because of the uncertainty in her words.

In the end, will there still be such a person?

Jiang Chenyin took a sip of her coffee, looked out the window at the flowing traffic, and the corners of her lips lifted. She said, “Starting a family is not a task that I must complete on my path of life. It’s more like an item I want to obtain at a certain period, a small goal I want to achieve. If I get it and complete it, that’s certainly a joy. If I don’t get it and don’t complete it, it’s irrelevant to me. It can’t determine whether my life is complete or not.”

Bo Muyu looked up at her. As she was trying to digest her words, she saw her turn back, a clear, breezy smile on her lips as she asked, “Do you understand what I mean?”