Chapter 74
On Friday night, after finishing a gig, Lan Yuxin stole some free time and brought some late-night snacks to see Jiang Chenyin.
Jiang Chenyin’s usual habit was to absolutely not eat anything after eight o’clock, unless there were special circumstances, such as an unavoidable social engagement, or when Bo Muyu begged her to eat. But she really couldn’t resist Lan Yuxin’s pulling and dragging, and even Bo Muyu was pulled from her room to the dining room.
Lan Yuxin had her assistant buy barbecue, as well as congee and noodles. Jiang Chenyin reluctantly accompanied her in drinking congee, while she herself feasted on the barbecue.
Hearing from Jiang Chenyin that Bo Muyu liked sweets, she had specifically asked her assistant to buy sweeter flavors, so Bo Muyu was also eating with a greasy shine on her lips, just much quieter than Lan Yuxin.
“I’m not criticizing you, Teacher Jiang…” Lan Yuxin said, tugging at the collar of the dress that had been custom-made for the show and grinning. “You’re going to work out anyway. What’s the harm in eating a little more? It’s not like you’re just eating and not moving.”
Jiang Chenyin took a small half-spoonful of white dove congee with her spoon and said to her, “I’m old. I have to try to control my intake of high-calorie foods. I don’t eat much food with saturated fat either.”
Lan Yuxin shot her a look, her tone nonchalant. “You’re just full of rules. Look at me, I’m enjoying myself, aren’t I?”
Jiang Chenyin shook her head helplessly. “You’ll know in the future. You should listen to me and stop eating and drinking so much from now on. Exercise more.”
Lan Yuxin was now wronged. She took a bite of the string of palm-sized treasures in her hand and pouted. “Where do I have the time to exercise? Don’t you know how many gigs your company has arranged for me recently? It’s rare for me to be able to find time to have a late-night snack with you.”
Jiang Chenyin couldn’t help but expose her lie. “Oh, please. What’s your status now? Where do you need so many gigs? You’re clearly just playing around.”
“Teacher Jiang!” Lan Yuxin grabbed the corner of Jiang Chenyin’s clothes. “Why did you have to expose me! The little one is still here!”
Jiang Chenyin raised an eyebrow. Bo Muyu, who was eating grilled chicken wings, said in a cool tone, “I’m eating. I’m not listening to you.”
“See? She won’t pay attention to you when she has meat to eat,” Jiang Chenyin said with an innocent smile, taking a tissue to wipe the grease from the corner of Bo Muyu’s mouth.
Lan Yuxin glanced at the relishing Bo Muyu and muttered, “A little block of wood with no sense of romance…”
She paused, then grabbed Jiang Chenyin, who was about to continue drinking her congee. “By the way, you’ve agreed to go to Director Duan’s birthday next week, right?”
Jiang Chenyin’s expression was placid. “Mmm, I’ve agreed.”
Bo Muyu had just taken a bite of the sweet and tender meat. Hearing this conversation, her eyelashes trembled, and her ears perked up.
“Hehehe, your little sister is still thinking of you, right?” Lan Yuxin winked, a wicked smile on her face. “He invited me too, and he even told me that he was afraid you would be too restrained. But, for the sake of your smooth development, I turned him down. You can be the hostess.”
Jiang Chenyin’s brow twitched. She put the spoon back in the bowl and chided, “Don’t talk nonsense.”
Lan Yuxin continued to chew on the palm-sized treasures, finishing the remaining two in a few bites, and then picked up another string of meatballs, saying indistinctly as she ate, “Teacher Jiang, you’re not being honest. It’s certain that Director Duan is interested in you. Otherwise, why would he pick you up from the airport right after you met? Have you ever seen any friends be so proactive right from the start?”
Of course, Jiang Chenyin knew all this. Her fingers unnaturally squeezed the spoon, and she fell silent.
She felt that the situation was already developing in a direction she had never wanted to go. She had clearly never intended to give hope to anyone who showed her affection, but this time, because of the comfort she felt when she was with Duan Zhiheng, she had subconsciously chosen to give it a try.
She had thought that if she had someone she liked, she would take the initiative to express her affection. Because of Duan Zhiheng’s neither-too-close-nor-too-far distance, she had been tacitly agreeing to a relationship with him that was seemingly friendly but slightly ambiguous, based on the subconscious thought of “let’s see if I’ll like him.”
Jiang Chenyin lowered her head in thought, then suddenly said, “Yuxin, I think I’ve gone astray on this path.”
Lan Yuxin was taken aback and asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Bo Muyu also stopped eating and looked up at her.
“I’m very conflicted,” Jiang Chenyin sighed, and when she looked up at Lan Yuxin, there was a hint of confusion in her eyes. “On the one hand, I’m unwilling to hurt others, so I don’t want to get too close to some people who might develop a relationship with me. But on the other hand, Director Duan has never mentioned any intention of taking a step further. He makes me feel very comfortable and suitable to be with.”
Bo Muyu narrowed her eyes, wanting to say something but not knowing how.
Lan Yuxin asked as she ate, “Are you saying that you’ve decided not to accept anyone, but you’re also letting Director Duan get closer and closer to you?”
Jiang Chenyin nodded, rested her elbows on the table, and buried her face in her hands with a long sigh.
“Your idea was a bit contradictory to begin with,” Lan Yuxin said, putting down the string of meatballs and tugging at her collar, looking wild and unrestrained. “You can’t completely avoid this kind of communication, unless you become a nun. Oh no, unless you become a hermit!”
Jiang Chenyin looked up. Lan Yuxin nodded at her with a large gesture, then continued to eat her string of meatballs.
“You said you would take the initiative to pursue someone if you liked them, but there aren’t that many love-at-first-sights in this world that would make you decide to pursue someone after just one look. More often, feelings develop through getting along.”
Lan Yuxin contentedly ate her meatballs, patted her stomach, and tapped the rim of Jiang Chenyin’s bowl with her bamboo skewer, for a rare moment becoming serious. “But you also said you want to keep a distance from people who might develop a relationship with you. Doesn’t that fundamentally cut off the possibility of you liking someone? What kind of pipe dream are you having, thinking that you’ll fall in love at first sight with someone?”
Jiang Chenyin shook her head and buried her face in her hands again.
“So…” Lan Yuxin said in a heartfelt yet slightly teasing tone, “You said before that you wanted to keep a distance from people who might develop a relationship with you, and you also said that you would definitely take the initiative to pursue someone if you liked them. That’s just an empty promise!”
She picked at Jiang Chenyin’s contradictions as if she were on steroids, then let out a contented sigh and leaned back in her chair. “Oh my god, I’ve finally said all this today. I’ve been holding it in for so long…”
Bo Muyu had been listening seriously, and Jiang Chenyin was also feeling annoyed. Hearing her relaxed tone, they both couldn’t help but look at her.
“What are you looking at me for?” Lan Yuxin touched her face and gave them a flirtatious wink. “I know I’m pretty, and my figure is not bad, but don’t be so direct, okay?”
“Ahem…” Bo Muyu choked on a mouthful of meat and quickly took a sip of her drink.
Jiang Chenyin, on the other hand, was taken aback for a moment, then shook her head and smiled, a sense of relief from having her thoughts seen through. “Actually, I know all this in my heart. Even when I feel that I’ve gone astray, I’m very clear about it, which is why I feel so conflicted.”
Lan Yuxin continued to say calmly, “Then isn’t that it?”
“But…” Jiang Chenyin looked at her with difficulty.
Their eyes met. As friends for many years, Lan Yuxin immediately understood what she meant.
“If…” Lan Yuxin flicked her hair and lowered her head, murmuring to herself, “If it really doesn’t work out, then just do what you have to do. Although I was the one who arranged for you to meet Director Duan, if it really doesn’t work out, of course I wouldn’t want you to be unhappy.”
Jiang Chenyin’s expression was complicated. Only after a while did she say in a warm voice, “Alright, let’s not talk about this topic. Hurry up and eat your late-night snack.”
Bo Muyu, however, shot Lan Yuxin a placid look. So Director Duan was arranged by Lan Yuxin for Jiang Chenyin.
Lan Yuxin didn’t leave until after ten. After that, Jiang Chenyin and Bo Muyu went back to their room to shower. Jiang Chenyin finished first and was half-lying on the bed, holding a laptop and watching a movie that Lan Yuxin had just recommended to her.
When Bo Muyu came out of the bathroom, she saw that Jiang Chenyin was very interested in the movie. As she got into bed, she brought a fresh scent with her. Dressed only in a T-shirt and underwear, her legs were smooth and slender, and they touched Jiang Chenyin’s.
“Muyu, come and watch with me,” Jiang Chenyin said with a smile, reaching out to put an arm around her shoulder and moving closer, pushing the laptop on the small table to the middle.
Bo Muyu leaned against Jiang Chenyin’s shoulder and asked, “Is this the first The Mummy?”
“Mmm, I’ve seen this series before, but after Yuxin mentioned it, I wanted to watch it again.”
At this moment, the screen was showing the scene where the male and female protagonists first meet. Bo Muyu said, “This series is an old movie. The first one has the highest rating online, and the last one has the lowest.”
Jiang Chenyin smiled and said, “Maybe many movies and TV series can’t escape this curse.” She paused, blinked, and said with a hint of a plaintive tone, “But we’re only watching a movie today. Don’t use your professional knowledge, okay, big screenwriter?”
Bo Muyu rubbed against her shoulder, silently agreeing.
After a while, Jiang Chenyin reached out and turned off the light, leaving only the bedside lamp on. The light suddenly dimmed, and the warmth was tinged with a hint of ambiguity.
Bo Muyu quietly wrapped her arms around Jiang Chenyin’s waist and found a more comfortable position on her shoulder to lean on, half-closing her eyes to watch with her.
Just then, Jiang Chenyin lowered her head and asked, “Are you sleepy? Do you want to go to sleep?”
Bo Muyu shook her head. “It’s Saturday tomorrow. It’s okay.”
“The thing I told you last time, the suggestion for you to open a studio, do you have any other ideas?” Jiang Chenyin asked, one arm around her, the other stroking her hair, the fine, soft touch in her palm making her reluctant to let go. “If you’re not willing or have other ideas, just tell me.”
Bo Muyu looked up and asked, “On the surface, it’s my own studio, but in reality, you’ll be managing me, right?”
The corners of Jiang Chenyin’s lips lifted, and she said seriously, “I can’t not manage you. Your parents and I are willing to let you train, but we also hope that you can be free and unrestrained. But you’re still young, and your experience is not enough, so there are some areas that must be managed.”
This was the answer Bo Muyu was waiting for. She tightened her arms and said in Jiang Chenyin’s ear, “Then I have no objections. But I will still write good scripts for my senior during my time at Hongsheng. I can’t not do my best just because I have a way out.”
“Of course. That’s what you should do,” Jiang Chenyin’s tone was gentle. “Then it’s settled. You don’t have to worry about these things. I’ll arrange them when the time comes.”
“Mmm.”
The movie was still playing, but neither of them seemed to have any intention of continuing to watch. But they were not sleepy either, just leaning against the headboard and chatting.
Jiang Chenyin really liked Bo Muyu’s hair. It was as soft and smooth as silk. She would pick up a strand and let it slip through her fingers, like a stream of water. When she held Bo Muyu, she would often play with her fine, smooth black hair. Every time it slipped from between her fingers, there was an indescribable feeling that fascinated her.
After stroking Bo Muyu’s hair for a while, she suddenly remembered what Lan Yuxin had said just now, and a faint curve appeared on her lips. “By the way, you’ll have to get your own dinner next Wednesday night. I’ve agreed to attend Director Duan’s birthday banquet.”
A sudden pain shot through Bo Muyu’s heart. She thought of the conversation in the dining room just now. Duan Zhiheng was special to Jiang Chenyin, and he was also the one who had made her hesitate for so long all these years. She didn’t know what would happen at this birthday banquet.
She remembered that the last time she had seen Duan Zhiheng, he had still called Jiang Chenyin “Miss Jiang.” But this time, she subconsciously felt that something would happen, because a person of Duan Zhiheng’s status would not invite people he was not familiar with.
He had invited Jiang Chenyin not long after they had met. There must be another meaning.
“Okay, I know,” Bo Muyu’s voice was much lower, and her hand also tightened on Jiang Chenyin’s nightdress.
She had said that Duan Zhiheng was a good person, and she still thought so. This man was a very good match for Jiang Chenyin. But she was reluctant, unwilling to watch Jiang Chenyin get closer and closer to someone else.
A thin mist appeared in her eyes, and a mixture of emotions welled up in her heart. Reluctance, panic, suppression, these emotions made her nose tingle, her eyes hot and cold, and a wetness welled up at the corners of her eyes.
Bo Muyu quickly pushed Jiang Chenyin away, pulled the blanket up to cover herself, and then huddled under the covers.
“What’s wrong? Are you sleepy?” Seeing this, Jiang Chenyin moved the laptop and the small table away and got under the covers with her.
“Mmm, I’m sleepy…” Bo Muyu said, using the stuffiness under the covers to hide her nasal voice.
Jiang Chenyin pulled the blanket down from her head, and she quickly turned over to face away from her. Jiang Chenyin adjusted the air conditioner temperature, tucked her in, moved closer, and put her hand on her waist in a half-hugging position.
“Come closer. You’re about to move to the edge of the bed,” Jiang Chenyin said, tightening her arm, a hint of a smile in her voice. “If you don’t come over, I’ll have to move over with you.”
Her scent surrounded her, making it impossible for Bo Muyu to completely escape, and in her heart, she had no intention of escaping at all. She was like a net that could accurately capture its prey. No matter which corner Bo Muyu hid in, she could be caught.
Thinking of this, Bo Muyu’s eyes grew hotter. She simply turned over and hugged Jiang Chenyin tightly, burying her face in her chest and greedily breathing in her scent. At that moment, the watery sheen in Bo Muyu’s eyes finally rolled down and landed on the pillowcase.
“Alright, go to sleep. Goodnight,” Jiang Chenyin said with a low laugh, at the same time tilting her head up slightly to let Bo Muyu find the most comfortable position in her arms.
