Chapter 14: Huai Xing Was Practically Pinned Against the Seat.
The place where they parked wasn’t exactly secluded; cars and electric scooters passed by from time to time.
A night breeze blew, and the rustling of leaves rose and fell. Yet, all of it was blocked out by the silver car parked on the side of the road.
Huai Xing was practically pinned against the seat. Chu Wantang’s left arm was hooked around her waist, her right hand was on the back of her head, and her chin was resting on her shoulder. She even turned her head slightly, her somewhat scorching breath passing through their intertwined hair and locking onto that patch of her skin.
Their upper bodies were separated by a thin layer of fabric, which couldn’t block out all their body heat.
She could clearly feel Chu Wantang’s heartbeat, but her chest was numb and her mind was blank. She even forgot to breathe, unable to determine if their heartbeats were in sync.
With the last remnants of her consciousness, she answered mechanically, “Then can I hug you tighter?”
And she did just that, hugging her back and emphasizing again in a soft voice, “You’ll always be number one to me. I only care about you.” She wasn’t very good at hugging Chu Wantang in such a quiet atmosphere. Suddenly remembering what Tu Zhaoyu had said at the wedding banquet, she asked tentatively, “Jiejie, were you feeling wronged at work? And about the Xu family…”
Thinking about it carefully, Chu Wantang’s emotions had been more exposed these past few days, right between these two incidents. And as Chu Wantang’s only family, she naturally had the right to receive these emotions.
Everything was very reasonable, not strange at all.
Chu Wantang closed her eyes lightly. Hearing her question, she understood what was going on. After pondering for two seconds, she went along with it. “Mm.”
She then tightened her left arm and asked in return, “But if it weren’t for these things, would I not have the right to be hugged tighter by you?”
“How could that be? I’d hug you tightly whether they happened or not.” A faint scent of alcohol entered Huai Xing’s nostrils. She revealed a smile, her mood like a balloon soaring into the sky, light and airy. “I just feel…”
“Hmm?”
“I feel like I’ve really grown up and can be relied on by you.”
Chu Wantang’s brow arched slightly, her lips twitching, but she said nothing.
Having gotten a definite answer, Huai Xing no longer dwelled on it.
Tonight’s gains had exceeded her expectations.
She had deliberately skipped dinner, wanting to use this to make Chu Wantang notice that something was wrong with her. In other words, she actually believed that Chu Wantang had already noticed her behavior at noon.
And she couldn’t keep “acting up.” She had to find an opportunity to uncover the reason behind it.
Of course, she wouldn’t tell the truth, but she could make up some seemingly reasonable excuses.
In her mind, she could have blamed her awkward mood on spring, as spring is a season when depression is more prevalent, so it would be normal for her to have such large emotional fluctuations. If that reason didn’t pass, she could also say it was because her friend got married, and she felt that time was flying by, and reminiscing about the past inevitably made her feel down. If the second excuse was still ineffective in front of Chu Wantang, she would then embellish it a bit and tell a half-truth, just like how she had used her identity as a sister to express her longing.
But unexpectedly, Chu Wantang had been able to guess her thoughts so directly and accurately, and had revealed the reason for her actions. Even if all of this was still based on the foundation of them being sisters, it was enough.
So, the seemingly strong Chu Wantang would also feel upset because she hadn’t received a timely response.
So, the emotional connection between her and Chu Wantang was much deeper than she had thought.
So, this was what it felt like to be actively relied on by Chu Wantang.
Her heart felt so full.
Thinking of this, she couldn’t help but break the relatively quiet atmosphere again and said softly, “Jiejie, if you feel wronged in the future, you can tell me directly. I want to share some of your pressure.” She patted Chu Wantang’s back, her eyelids lowered. “You said it yourself, we are the two closest people in the world.”
The closest?
In the dim light, the woman’s eyelashes fluttered. She held the person in her arms, the pleasant scent of the solid perfume in her nostrils. A flash of dissatisfaction crossed her deep eyes.
It was far from enough.
…
Sunday, time kicked into March.
With only a week left until the “LANLING LIFE” show, even though it wasn’t a workday yet, several departments at “Lan Ling” were already busy and had gone to the show venue.
The venue for this show was a landmark stadium in Yuncheng, which could accommodate five hundred people, including a backstage changing area, makeup room, media area, VIP area, and so on.
Huai Xing and the others were required to gather at the venue. Tomorrow was the official full rehearsal, but the ten of them, who had been pulled in halfway, had to familiarize themselves with the positions first to avoid wasting the other models’ time tomorrow.
Outside the venue, a huge poster with the “LANLING LIFE” theme was hung.
After getting out of the car, Huai Xing and her companions looked up and all “wow”-ed at the poster, feeling a sense of pride.
Two minutes later, everyone entered the backstage area, which was filled with promotional materials for the show.
There were many staff members backstage, some from the outsourced stage design and lighting and sound teams, and some were “Lan Ling’s” own employees, making more perfect and precise confirmations. Tomorrow was the rehearsal, and they had to strive for perfection and avoid any mistakes.
The corridor was a bit narrow, and the atmosphere felt stuffy, not so light and cheerful.
As they walked, He He turned her head slightly and made a long face at Huai Xing, who was behind her to the right. “What should I do? I’m already nervous and it hasn’t even officially started.”
“Then when it officially starts, you won’t be nervous anymore,” Huai Xing said comfortingly, her eyes bright.
She had a lot of experience on stage, so she didn’t feel much at the moment.
She suddenly remembered the scene in the cubicle. Just like how she wasn’t actually afraid of thunder, she had been playing the violin on stage since she was a child and was already immune to such occasions. There was no question of being nervous or not. But she was willing to be misunderstood by Chu Wantang in order to have contact with her.
So scheming, Huai Xing, she “despised” herself.
But she hadn’t forced Chu Wantang to hug her.
Thinking of Chu Wantang, the smile on Huai Xing’s lips deepened. Before long, their group was standing in order in the waiting area behind the stage.
The stage lights weren’t on, but the venue wasn’t dark. A dozen or so lights were enough to illuminate a large part of the space, making the seats near the front of the T-stage on both sides clearly visible.
“Are you nervous? If you are, come use the ‘4-7-8’ breathing technique with me. Inhale for four seconds, hold your breath for seven, and then exhale for eight to lower your heart rate.” The model teacher guided them from the front. “Come on, inhale—”
“We talked about this in class. Spine straight, shoulders down, gaze straight ahead… Remember your positions, and use your peripheral vision to observe the distance in front and behind…”
Huai Xing was the last in line, unhurried.
After a while, the model teacher saw that their states had adjusted and snapped her fingers.
The sound engineer understood the gesture and played rhythmic music.
“Remember the key points I taught you these past two days. Come on, the first one, go.” The teacher led the first person out.
The line moved forward. Everyone was visibly nervous, but they all straightened their backs, their expressions like they were going to their deaths.
Before long, it was Huai Xing’s turn.
When she got on the stage and the lights hit her, she noticed that there were quite a few people sitting in the audience. Many staff members had paused their work to watch. But standing at the very front were Chu Wantang, CEO Mei, and several other company managers. They were standing together, their heads tilted, seemingly discussing something.
Posing, interacting, turning.
After this round, they lined up on the stage in two groups of five to display their looks.
CEO Mei came on stage and stood in the center.
She was nearly fifty, well-maintained. Under the lights, the skin on her face was smooth and delicate, with few fine lines. She was wearing casual clothes, her temperament gentle, and she was talking to her subordinates.
Huai Xing was at the very end. There were many people, so she didn’t deliberately hide her gaze. From a dozen meters away, she looked at Chu Wantang in the front along with everyone else.
It would be a problem if she deliberately didn’t look, right?
Chu Wantang was the type of person who was born for the spotlight, the center of attention wherever she went.
Su Cheng had once told Huai Xing about their university days, mentioning that a talent scout had originally wanted to scout people at the film school, but after getting off the bus in the university town, he had randomly asked a few students on the street who the most famous girl in the area was, and everyone had mentioned Chu Wantang’s name.
For the next few months, Chu Wantang had received offers from several companies, all of which were rejected.
Now, Chu Wantang’s brilliance was also hard to hide in the fashion design industry.
However, the current Director Chu was not satisfied with everyone’s first time on stage. She held a copy of her own notes and looked at the temporary models who were still holding their poses on stage, her brows not at all relaxed.
Her gaze swept over them, and she pointed out the problems very directly: “Everyone’s biggest problem is still a lack of confidence. You haven’t shown your presence. Secondly, the rhythm of your steps is a bit messy. I saw someone rushing the beat, and also…” At the end, she gave a helpless smile. “I’m afraid we’ll have to trouble everyone to practice here today. Thank you for your hard work.”
CEO Mei raised her hand and said warmly, “We’ll achieve the desired effect by doing it over and over again. You have to believe in yourselves.”
The “sea of questions” tactic was indeed effective. After a morning and afternoon, the appearance of the temporary workers had changed greatly. They wouldn’t delay the other groups much during the official rehearsal tomorrow.
Dinner was in a private room at a nearby restaurant. In addition to the temporary workers, there were also Chu Wantang, CEO Mei, and the other managers.
“Lan Ling” had many female employees, and CEO Mei had always been kind. In private, in front of her employees, she didn’t put on many airs. She summarized the efforts made for the show and couldn’t help but mention the difficulties the company had faced in its development over the years.
A large round table, more than a dozen people.
Huai Xing didn’t say much and was a bit quiet. Her gaze would occasionally fall on Chu Wantang, who was sitting next to CEO Mei.
In two days, it would be exactly one month since she had joined the company, and the notice of her becoming a permanent employee was about to be delivered. At this moment, such a scene made her feel that coming to “Lan Ling” was one of the right decisions she had made in recent years, just like her choice to become family with Chu Wantang.
As if guessing what she was thinking, when Chu Wantang picked up her water glass, her gaze passed through several people and met hers. She even raised an eyebrow faintly.
Huai Xing quickly sat up straighter.
When she lowered her head to pretend to eat, the corners of her lips couldn’t help but curl up.
Time passed quietly. It was already eight o’clock when they came out of the restaurant.
CEO Mei still had time to ask how everyone was getting home. She suggested that everyone take a taxi, and the company would reimburse the fare.
Since the boss had spoken, everyone naturally agreed.
A short while later, CEO Mei, Chu Wantang, and the other managers left.
The transportation around the venue was convenient, with subway and bus stations nearby. Huai Xing stood by the roadside, pretending to be hailing a taxi.
A few minutes later, she received a call from the “driver.”
She looked around and answered the call. “Hello, driver. Are you at the corner? Okay, I’ll be right there.”
With that, she said goodbye to the other colleagues who hadn’t gotten a car yet and jogged into the night. At the roadside a hundred meters away, she got into the familiar silver car.
“Hello, passenger. Please fasten your seatbelt,” Chu Wantang said very seriously, holding the steering wheel.
Huai Xing fastened it and smiled, pressing her lips together. “Jiejie, how did I do today? I didn’t embarrass you, did I?”
“You did very well,” Chu Wantang said, driving forward, not stingy with her encouragement. “Even better than Wan Yi.”
“That’s an exaggeration. Sister Wan Yi can’t hear this.”
Chu Wantang chuckled lightly. “It’s okay.”
Wan Yi would also be participating in the rehearsal tomorrow. This news couldn’t be hidden at all and had already spread. It was just that her schedule was still busy after returning to the country, so she hadn’t officially met Huai Xing yet.
Huai Xing didn’t care about that at the moment.
She only cared about Chu Wantang. The words Chu Wantang had said about only caring about her echoed in her ears again.
At that moment, the phone in her bag started to vibrate.
Huai Xing came back to her senses and looked down at the caller ID: “Sister Shiwei.” Thinking of Chu Wantang beside her, she didn’t answer the call immediately.
Chu Wantang caught her reaction and asked, “Why aren’t you answering the phone? Who is it?”
“Sister Shiwei.”
Huai Xing looked at the profile of the person in the driver’s seat and said, “I’ll reply to her on WeChat later.”
“Answer it,” Chu Wantang said in a relaxed tone. “Xiao Xing, she grew up with you. She’s your friend. I just don’t like you putting her in the position of family. It’s just a phone call. I don’t mind.”
Huai Xing did have this consideration. Hearing Chu Wantang say this, she no longer hesitated.
She smiled on her end of the phone and called out, “Sister Shiwei.”
Wen Shiwei got straight to the point. “Xingxing, I’m coming to Jingcheng tomorrow! I can only stay in a hotel for now.” She cleared her throat. “Do you have time later? I’ve added a real estate agent and I’m planning to look at some apartments. I want you to come with me.”
“I’m sorry, Sister Shiwei. I’m busy with work recently. I probably only have time at night.”
“I know you’re busy with work. I need you at night.”
“Then…” Huai Xing was about to agree when she heard a cough from beside her and immediately changed her words. “Then can Jiejie come with us?”
Wen Shiwei seemed to have expected that Chu Wantang would come along and said without minding, “No problem. Sister Wantang is older than us and has more experience. It’s better to have her with us.”
After the call ended, Chu Wantang glanced at the girl and said with feigned helplessness, “I just happened to cough. I didn’t say I wanted to go. How did you end up arranging it for me?”
“Then I must have misunderstood. I’ll send a message to Sister Shiwei.”
Chu Wantang’s brow twitched. Seeing that Huai Xing was really opening WeChat, she said unhurriedly, “I have a car. It’ll be more convenient to look at apartments.” She paused. “But, is there no reward? Huai Xing.”
