Chapter 27: Sandpaper p2
After changing her clothes and finishing her makeup, the floor manager knocked on the door and called for her. Jiang Mi pursed her light cherry-colored lips in the mirror and made a final adjustment. Opening the door, she subconsciously glanced at the closed door next to her.
When she turned and walked out, after a few steps, she heard the floor manager’s inquiry and the sound of the door next to her opening at the same time.
She paused, resisted the urge to turn back, and continued to walk forward without looking away. The dull sound of “Liang Yongping’s” short-heeled leather shoes echoed.
She only heard Zhao Jia, who was beside her, enthusiastically greet the person behind them, “Good morning, Teacher Yan. Thank you so much for yesterday. I wanted to thank you in person just now, but I saw you were busy, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Jiang Mi seemed to have just noticed Yan Wei behind her and also turned around. Without any warning, she met Yan Wei’s misty eyes directly. The polite words she had prepared were momentarily stuck in her throat.
She reacted quickly, her smile just right. “Morning, Teacher Yan. Surui, morning too.”
Yan Wei looked at her for two seconds. The curve of Yan Wei’s lips was more unpredictable than today’s weather. The white trench coat brushed against the dark gold embroidery on the cheongsam underneath. At the same time, the coldness of brandy, wrapped in a sense of pressure, followed Yan Wei’s slow steps towards her.
“Morning, Jiang Mi.”
Jiang Mi: “…”
Just like the several times before, she had a feeling of a chill down her spine.
She thought for a moment, swallowed the words of thanks that were supposed to follow Zhao Jia’s, and then maintained her smile, waiting for Yan Wei to approach with a cold and sore feeling on the back of her neck.
Their shadows were completely parallel on the floor tiles.
The cool morning breeze drifted around them. The scent of roses in the air seemed to be more obvious than usual. Jiang Mi took a shallow breath. “Teacher Yan, thank you so much for yesterday. If there’s anything you need me to do in the future, just let me know.”
The first sentence was true, and the second sentence was also true, but not that true. There was some politeness to it, because she knew that Yan Wei would never really need her help with anything.
Of course, this sounded more like, let’s pretend what happened in the DK restroom yesterday never happened.
Yan Wei glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. “Making so many promises, aren’t you afraid of tripping yourself up?”
The dull sound of a wooden stick being hit on the set came from the distance. Jiang Mi said, “It’s sincere, anyway. Thank you very much.”
What she had, Yan Wei had. What she didn’t have, Yan Wei also had. Oh, and she sold her art, not her body, so it seemed that apart from this kind of promise, she had nothing else to give Yan Wei.
Yan Wei glanced at her. “And?”
Jiang Mi lowered her eyes. “And, and I heard from Zhao Jia about the company and the anti-fan. Thank you for that too.”
“And?”
“And, what else?” Jiang Mi turned her head slightly, her gaze shifting from Yan Wei’s smooth profile. “Teacher Yan, for example?”
Hearing this, Yan Wei stared at her for a few seconds, and finally, her lips twitched into a cool, clear smile, and she said nothing more. She knew very well that Jiang Mi knew what she was talking about. She took it as Jiang Mi keeping her distance from her.
She didn’t care.
Because Jiang Mi didn’t know yet that she no longer had a choice—from the moment Jiang Mi insisted on stepping into her world.
She had warned her.
It was Jiang Mi who had insisted on breaking in.
Now that she was interested, it was no longer up to Jiang Mi to end the game.
Of course, Jiang Mi was doing it on purpose. How to describe it? She seemed to have discovered a side of Yan Wei that she had never seen before. Although Yan Wei’s expression was still cold, after meeting her eyes, she was no longer afraid.
It seemed she had succeeded.
It seemed she was also close to finding what Yan Wei cared about.
It seemed she was really starting to understand Yan Wei.
And? And Bai Qiu’s departure.
Although she felt it was a pity and that the punishment didn’t fit the crime, when she realized that if Yan Wei had blamed Bai Qiu for the small trinket, in addition to nervousness and guilt, she actually felt a hint of triumph.
Like starting a new map in a game.
The excitement also became a kind of reward. Whether it was pushing her luck or not knowing when to stop, she was just taking a risk, trying to see if there was a possibility of a more equal relationship with Yan Wei.
And now, the value of this probability seemed to be increasing bit by bit.
But one day later, when Jiang Mi recalled her thoughts at this moment, she wanted to slap herself twice.
Excitement was sometimes a reward, but too much excitement… was fatal.
Yan Wei walked forward without a word, and Jiang Mi followed beside her. The two of them walked to the set in silence, neither saying another word. Jiang Qu was standing in front of the machine, looking at the camera. When she looked up and saw them, she waved and then told them to go upstairs and prepare.
Still the second floor.
The scene where Liang Yongping retreated.
Jiang Qu confirmed with the two of them, “If there are no problems, we’ll start in one minute.”
Yan Wei nodded.
Jiang Mi said, “Okay.”
All the machines were ready. The two of them stood in the room. In this quiet minute, it was as if they were the only two people in the room and outside. Jiang Mi lowered her head and took a deep breath, not looking at Yan Wei, but she always felt that Yan Wei was looking at her.
Cold, heavy, and damp.
With a “Action!”, Jiang Mi breathed in the scorching air and immediately pulled back her wandering thoughts.
**
Liang Yongping had told Qin Shui her thoughts. She wanted to end this absurdity while there was still a chance.
As she was leaving, Liang Yongping was cornered by Qin Shui at the door. Her back was against the door, and she didn’t dare to look at Qin Shui, only slightly turning her head.
She heard Qin Shui ask, “So you think that being with me now is cheating?”
Liang Yongping’s ten fingers dug deep into Qin Shui’s shoulders. The smooth fabric of the cheongsam gathered into wrinkles in her fingers. Her knuckles turned white with force, and her clenched teeth were like a shell guarding the last pearl. But the touch on her waist was like a spreading wildfire, and a fine electric current shot up her spine as it sank.
Her earlobe was gently pinched. She wanted to avoid it, but inadvertently, it became a gesture of welcome.
She gritted her teeth and said, “I didn’t.”
They were almost pressed together. The scent of rose shower gel seeped into her breath, and Qin Shui’s soft voice was like a feather brushing against her eardrum.
Qin Shui said to her, “You haven’t called me ‘sister’ in a long time.”
“Call me that, and I’ll let you go.”
Liang Yongping’s mouth opened, and the next second, her eyes were filled with shadow.
Qin Shui’s nose was against hers, and her clear voice was slightly hoarse. “Call me.”
Liang Yongping closed her eyes. She should have struggled, but the moment Qin Shui got close, she suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness. Was it really Qin Shui who had stopped her?
Was it really?
She asked herself.
Her eyes turned red. She felt the gentle friction of their foreheads and noses. She could only hear Qin Shui’s watery voice in her ear, “Be good, call me.”
“Sister.”
A tear fell.
Qin Shui kissed her.
Liang Yongping’s hands were on Qin Shui’s shoulders, a gesture of pushing away. Even her tightly clenched teeth were full of resistance… but the caress on her waist made her quickly surrender.
Qin Shui’s kiss was extremely gentle, at first just a ripple-like touch. Liang Yongping didn’t dare to open her eyes, as if by doing so, she could deny her own fall.
She could only feel Qin Shui’s gentleness, again and again, like ripples on a lake.
But soon, her teeth lost control and broke through her defenses. A violent breath suddenly swept over her. It was no longer a spring breeze, but the onslaught of a storm.
She tasted the taste of rust mixed with the wetness of Qin Shui’s lips, a stinging and trembling, like being rubbed with sandpaper. That gentleness became violent, and her lips were bitten by her teeth, as if in response to some past revenge.
The pain made her unconsciously open her mouth, and so Qin Shui kissed her deeply…
Almost, Jiang Mi almost couldn’t catch her breath.
She was panting and sweating profusely.
Under this suffocating pain, Jiang Mi opened her eyes, and then, she looked into a pair of eyes full of possessiveness.
