A Promise in a Thought 72

Chapter 72

On the day Jiang Chenyin returned to Qinzhou, Duan Zhiheng arrived at the airport early to wait for her.

The summer sun was scorching. Jiang Chenyin’s wavy hair was casually draped over her shoulders. She was wearing a light gray-blue dress with a crossover V-neck design that accentuated the beautiful lines of her neck. There was a matching belt at her waist, and her slender waist and long legs were even more eye-catching.

When she saw Duan Zhiheng, her assistant, Xiao Lu, covered her mouth and giggled. Jiang Chenyin shot her a look before she stopped, and then she dismissed her and got into Duan Zhiheng’s car.

But she still sat in the back seat. Even though she saw the expectant look in Duan Zhiheng’s eyes, she subconsciously ignored it. Because she had not yet decided to take that step. That step was very small, but for her, it was extremely difficult to take.

On the way back to the city of Qinzhou, Jiang Chenyin sent a message to Bo Muyu to let her know she was safe, and then let out a long sigh and looked out the car window.

Duan Zhiheng’s voice came over, “Are you very tired?”

Jiang Chenyin withdrew her gaze, looked at the driver’s seat, and smiled. “No. It’s rare to relax for a few days. I actually quite enjoyed it.”

Duan Zhiheng continued, “You probably haven’t gone on a trip since you came back last year. Don’t you plan to take a break?”

A smile bloomed on Jiang Chenyin’s lips, and she shook her head. “I had enough rest during my years abroad. Now, it’s enough to just relax occasionally.” She paused, then asked casually, “What about you? Don’t you plan to take a break? You’re known in the industry for being a workaholic.”

“Me?” Duan Zhiheng let out a laugh and sighed. “I was thinking of working more when I’m young, otherwise I’ll miss out on a lot of things when I’m old.”

Jiang Chenyin nodded thoughtfully, noncommittal.

The car was quiet for a moment, and soon Duan Zhiheng began to sigh with emotion along the same lines, “It’s also because of this idea that I haven’t started a family at my age. To be honest, my grandparents called and urged me before I came back this time.”

“So that’s the reason you haven’t started a family,” Jiang Chenyin smiled. “But with your qualifications, it’s not a difficult thing to start a family.”

Just then, they reached a traffic light. Duan Zhiheng stopped the car and turned to her with a smile. “I hope so.”

He glanced at the remaining time on the red light, then turned his head again. “My birthday is next week. I’m planning to invite some friends here for a gathering, and I’d like to invite you to attend. I wonder if you’ll have time?”

The smile that had been rising in Jiang Chenyin’s eyes gradually faded, replaced by contemplation. Duan Zhiheng’s meaning was already very clear. To attend his birthday banquet with him meant to show her and his friends that she was the person he was pursuing.

But at the same time, he was very tactful and did not make her feel uncomfortable. After all, he had also used the title of “friend.”

Seeing that Jiang Chenyin was considering it, Duan Zhiheng said in a warm voice, “I really hope you can come.”

Jiang Chenyin did not want to be too quick to decide to develop something with someone, but his measured advance and retreat always made her hesitate.

By the time Duan Zhiheng started the car, she finally agreed, “Okay, I’ll be there that day.”

“That’s great,” Duan Zhiheng was clearly happier than before. “Then I’ll pick you up at that time.”

Jiang Chenyin pressed her lips together and smiled, turning her gaze to the car window.

Duan Zhiheng drove her to the vicinity of her house. After parking, he also got out of the car, intending to walk her to her door.

He dragged Jiang Chenyin’s suitcase and said as he walked, “Xiaoyu is at home by herself these few days. I wonder if she’ll be very bored.”

Jiang Chenyin thought along his lines, a breeze-like smile instantly appearing on her lips. “She probably won’t be. She’s always very busy at home, either working or watching movies and TV series.”

Duan Zhiheng said with a surprised laugh, “Is that so? Even her leisure time is related to work. She’s not thinking about her script when she’s watching movies and TV series, is she?”

Jiang Chenyin nodded matter-of-factly. “It’s possible.”

Duan Zhiheng turned his head to gaze at her side profile. “What about you? What do you like to do in your free time?”

Jiang Chenyin thought for a moment. “On weekday nights, I’ll watch movies and TV series with her. On weekends, I’m at my parents’ place, and I’ll occasionally go out with friends.”

Duan Zhiheng’s gaze was focused. “You and Xiaoyu seem to be together a lot. I thought before that besides living together, you didn’t have much interaction in your lives.”

“Of course it’s not just living together,” Jiang Chenyin stopped on the steps in front of her house. “She’s liked being with me since she was a child, and it’s the same now.”

Duan Zhiheng stopped with her and handed her the handle of the suitcase. “Then I’ll be leaving now. You should get some good rest.”

Jiang Chenyin nodded. “Mmm, drive slowly.”

Duan Zhiheng watched her go in before leaving.

After returning home and resting for a while, Jiang Chenyin went out to buy a cake for Bo Muyu. Before dinner, she received a message from her, saying that she had a social engagement that she really couldn’t get out of, and that she would be home as soon as possible.

A screenwriting supervisor… is starting to have social engagements.

Jiang Chenyin felt both pleased and a little bit of a loneliness that she couldn’t get used to for a moment. She didn’t know what Ye Xialan and Bo Mingliang would do when they felt this emotion, but at least the two of them could still accompany each other.

But she was different. She had really let Bo Muyu become too much a part of her life. No wonder Lan Yuxin had told her to be prepared. As days like this became more and more frequent, she would feel more and more lonely.

Jiang Chenyin shook her head to drive away the wild thoughts in her heart, sighed, and let out a bitter laugh.

After she had eaten dinner by herself, she tried her best to tidy up her emotions and looked around to see what had changed in the house during the few days she was away. She didn’t find any obvious changes, but some toiletries had been added in the bathroom. The shower gel and shampoo they used together had been replaced with new ones, and their towels were also brand new, but the toothbrushes and rinsing cups were clearly a set.

Jiang Chenyin looked at them curiously. Light blue and light pink. The light blue one had already been used. In other words, the light pink one was for her?

She let out a laugh. Why had this child changed hers to pink?

At once, she swept away the somewhat dejected state of mind from just now, found a nightdress to take a shower, and calculated that it was about time for Bo Muyu to be back.

The sound of water in the bathroom was hazy. Bo Muyu walked into the room, her eager eyes finally calming down when she saw the graceful curves of Jiang Chenyin’s body reflected on the glass door of the bathroom, followed by a faint blush on her cheeks.

Just then, the bathroom door opened a crack, and along with the clearer sound of water, Jiang Chenyin’s voice also seemed to be wrapped in water, moist and lustrous. “The cake is on the table. Change your clothes before you eat.”

“Mmm, got it,” Bo Muyu replied to her. Taking advantage of the fact that she couldn’t see, she was a little shy, but she couldn’t help but cast her gaze towards the crack.

It was only when Jiang Chenyin had closed the bathroom door that Bo Muyu touched her nose and went to change her clothes.

After changing, she sat down at the table to eat the cake. Bo Muyu pricked up her ears to listen to the sound of water in the bathroom, her eyes deep, her thoughts unknown.

After Jiang Chenyin came out, she let down her tied-up long hair. The heat and the sound of water from the bathroom seemed to fill the entire room. Bo Muyu could smell the fragrance of the shower gel even as she ate her cake.

But she did not turn around, her eyes fixed on the laptop in front of her, the movie playing on the screen not really being watched by her.

“Muyu, what are you watching?” Jiang Chenyin asked, seeing her so engrossed that she had almost forgotten to eat her cake, and couldn’t help but walk over.

“A Thai movie,” Bo Muyu’s eyes flashed, as if she had been woken up, and she quickly took a bite of her cake.

“What movie is so good that you forgot to eat your cake?” Jiang Chenyin asked, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her, her alluring, faint fragrance instantly surrounding her.

The screen showed a university dormitory, which seemed to have only two people living in it. And one of the girls with long hair was bending over to draw a line down the middle of the aisle between the two beds, while the girl with short hair had a somewhat helpless expression.

Jiang Chenyin asked, “What’s the theme of this? Campus?”

Bo Muyu nodded, then shook her head, turned her head slightly, and after pressing her lips together firmly, she said softly, “This is a lesbian movie that takes place on a university campus. The title is Yes or No.”

She gazed at Jiang Chenyin, her eyes not blinking, for fear of missing any of her micro-expressions. She was probing. She wanted to see how Jiang Chenyin would react, and also what she thought of such a relationship.

Jiang Chenyin was only taken aback for a moment, then she asked with a smile, “Why did you suddenly want to watch this? I remember you don’t seem to have watched this kind of movie before.”

Bo Muyu returned a smile, still gazing at her. “Xiao Han introduced it to me. She told me not to be so narrow-minded and only watch heterosexual relationships, but to watch other themes as well.”

Jiang Chenyin nodded and reached out to ruffle her hair. “Hurry up and eat your cake. Don’t just watch.”

Why did it seem like there was no reaction at all?

Bo Muyu pressed on, “Auntie Yin, have you seen this kind of movie before? What do you think?”

Jiang Chenyin flicked her hair, her gentle face holding a gentle smile. “Which aspect are you asking about? The production? The acting? Or the plot?”

“None of them,” Bo Muyy tried her best to keep her voice and expression as calm as possible. “I’m asking about homosexuality as a sexual orientation. What do you think?”

Jiang Chenyin’s smile almost immediately faded. Her watery, sparkling eyes gazed at Bo Muyu, but a hint of contemplation also appeared in them.

She was thinking about how to answer this question. How to answer it more appropriately?

Some people now regarded heterosexuality as supreme, and homosexuality as unforgivable. There were also some who called homosexuality true love, and heterosexuality only for procreation. She had never publicly expressed her opinion, but she had never thought that any sexual orientation was superior or inferior to another.

Sexual orientation was equal. There was no such thing as support or belittlement. So she had always felt that the most appropriate approach was not to use some kind of behavior to make a sexual orientation unique, but to treat it in the most ordinary and common way. This was equality.

She thought for a long while, and only after organizing her words did she speak in a serious tone, “Muyu, I can say that I have an opinion, and I can also say that I don’t.”

Bo Muyu’s brow tightened. “What do you mean?”

She blinked, reached out to press the space bar to pause the movie, and then put an arm around Bo Muyu’s shoulder. “What I mean by having an opinion is my attitude. I feel that whether it’s heterosexuality or homosexuality, no one is superior, looking down on the masses. Everyone is equal. A person’s sexual orientation does not affect their character.”

Bo Muyu couldn’t wait to press, “Then what about not having an opinion? What does that mean?”

“What’s the rush?” Jiang Chenyin pinched her nose with a smile. “What I mean by not having an opinion is actually another perspective on what I just said. Because I feel that there is no difference between these two sexual orientations, so I don’t distinguish between them. I treat them all the same. This is not having an opinion.”

Bo Muyu’s heart was pounding. She desperately suppressed her emotions and told herself not to get excited. Feeling her mouth was dry, she quickly turned to get a glass of water and took a sip. Only after she had calmed down a little did she turn back.

“Auntie Yin, why do you treat it this way? Have you had someone like that in your life?”

Jiang Chenyin paused for a moment. “Not now, I don’t think. But I did when I was in school. There was a same-sex couple in my grade at that time. I was quite surprised at first, but later I found that both of them had very good personalities and good grades. On the contrary, I’ve seen a few heterosexual couples who were very nasty.”

She stopped to think, as if she had gone back in time, and said with a frown, “There was a boy who actually lifted his girlfriend’s skirt in the middle of class without a care in the world, with so many people watching… oh my god… did he have any respect for his girlfriend?”

As she spoke, she entered the helpless and disgusted state of that time, sighing repeatedly. “So from that time on, I knew that sexual orientation does not represent whether a person is outstanding, let alone their character.”

“I think so too,” Bo Muyu said, revealing her small canine teeth, a hint of starlight in her eyes. “Auntie Yin, you’re so right.”

Seeing her praise her, Jiang Chenyin couldn’t help but smile, and said with some annoyance, “We were just talking about our opinions. How did we get to this?”

“What’s wrong with that? It’s okay to just tell me,” Bo Muyu said with a curve on her lips, a wave of warmth in her heart.

Did this mean she would have a little bit of hope? Jiang Chenyin had no objection to homosexuality, so at least one obstacle had been weakened. Although a wall might seem very thick, if she first removed the bricks that could possibly be moved, and slowly thinned it, then there would come a day when she could completely push it down.

But soon her heart grew a little cold. What about Duan Zhiheng? Duan Zhiheng was definitely interested in Jiang Chenyin. But fortunately, Jiang Chenyin did not like him, otherwise she would have already taken the initiative.

So, it was not necessarily possible for Jiang Chenyin and Duan Zhiheng, right? Thinking this, Bo Muyu let her heart warm up a little, carefully protecting that faint flame.

“Stop spacing out. Hurry up and eat your cake. I’m going to put on a face mask,” Jiang Chenyin said with a soft laugh, reaching out a finger to poke her dazed head.

“Oh…” Bo Muyu finally came back to her senses.

Jiang Chenyin paused, then smiled. “Wait, why did you change my toothbrush and cup to pink?”

Bo Muyu’s heart skipped a beat. “Doesn’t it look good?”

Jiang Chenyin sighed. “It’s too childish…” She took Bo Muyu’s hand and touched the fine laugh lines at the corner of her own eye. “I’m not seventeen, big screenwriter. Your light blue one would be more suitable for me. It doesn’t look so childish.”

Bo Muyu cleared her throat, bit her lip, and chuckled in a low voice, “Then that means it looks good. Don’t worry about the color.” She didn’t let Jiang Chenyin continue to hold her hand, and took the initiative to move it down to cover Jiang Chenyin’s lips. The warm breath made her fingers tremble, and then a hint of solemnity appeared in her brow. “I said that you will never change in my heart. Don’t always have that kind of thought in your mind. I don’t like it.”

Jiang Chenyin suddenly felt her heart beat a little faster. This child was too good at coaxing people, and she was becoming more and more irresistible.

“Alright, hurry up and eat your cake…” Jiang Chenyin pulled her hand down, quickly stood up, and shot her a look that was both annoyed and fond.

“Oh…” Bo Muyu licked her lips. She saw the corners of Jiang Chenyin’s lips, which she couldn’t help but lift.

She was clearly very happy.

After Jiang Chenyin turned around, she let out a light sigh of relief and unconsciously touched her heart.

It was even sweeter than the cake…