Chapter 49: Injured Part 2

The attic of this old house was ancient to begin with, and the production team had chosen it partly for the dramatic effect.

They had filed safety reports and even smoothed over the corner nails.

But they had overlooked the nails still sticking out of the wooden boards.

Yan Muyu had steadied Xuan Zhelu, but she herself lost her balance. Her hand instinctively braced against the side, knocking down a hanging raincoat. Her palm scraped against a nail, and she stumbled back a couple of steps as blood welled up.

Yan Muyu’s skin was so pale that the blood stood out starkly.

Xuan Zhelu jumped in shock, her eyes brimming with tears. She stood there stunned.

Yan Muyu glanced at her wound and even comforted her: “It’s fine.”

The next moment, someone came up. Qiu Chao grabbed Yan Muyu’s hand and examined it.

She had just finished washing up, her fresh makeup giving her face a clear, translucent glow. But her brows furrowed in unmistakable anger. She didn’t even notice how she had instinctively glared at Xuan Zhelu.

Qiu Chao said, “You need a tetanus shot.”

The wound looked painful just to see. Yan Muyu winced and hummed in agreement. She turned to Xuan Zhelu: “Even if you’re sleepy, watch your step. How about you and I switch rooms tonight?”

Her voice held no blame whatsoever—pure reassurance—which made Qiu Chao’s earlier glare seem like overkill.

Xuan Zhelu’s eyes welled up with tears. She stood one step above Yan Muyu on the narrow staircase, where the light came solely from the transparent tiles overhead.

It was early morning, the sunlight gentle rather than blinding, making Xuan Zhelu look utterly guilt-ridden on camera. She sniffled and said, “Sorry.”

Yan Muyu patted her shoulder. “Aren’t you supposed to head downstairs? Go on ahead.”

Her tone was perfectly calm. She even stepped aside to make room, adding, “Watch your step.”

[That looks so painful.]

[Without Yan Muyu catching her, Xuan Zhelu probably would’ve tumbled right down.]

[She’s such a good person.]

[Liu Song just got shoved aside by Qiu Chao earlier—she was so worried about Yan Muyu.]

Qiu Chao grabbed Yan Muyu’s wrist and pulled her down the stairs. “Does it hurt?”

Her voice cracked a little. Yan Muyu couldn’t tell if it was from just waking up or…

She didn’t dare dwell on it.

Yan Muyu said, “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”

Qiu Chao pressed, “We need to get that tetanus shot right away. How did you hit the nail on the raincoat?”

Everything in this house had an air of age to it—the insect nets, the brown raincoats, the strings of straw sandals.

The air smelled of old wood. Qiu Chao looked up at Yan Muyu, her eyes actually glistening with tears.

And right above them loomed a camera. Early-morning viewers tuning into the livestream were caught off guard by the intense eye contact and left baffled.

[What just happened?]

[I thought I’d switched to the romance channel next door.]

[Sis is crying again? Qiu-jie turning from cool boss babe to sweet girl? Nooo, not like this.]

[How is Yan Muyu… so reliable? (blush)]

[What did I miss? This vibe is perfect for a kiss right now.]

[This variety show might be rural, but it reminds me of Qiu-jie’s debut movie…]

[Xuan Zhelu can be so careless sometimes?]

[So they’re switching rooms, and Yan Muyu’s the one getting screwed over?]

Qiu Chao sounded so frantic. Yan Muyu saw her practically leaning into her and quickly nudged her aside.

Yan Muyu said, “Yeah, heading there now.”

She added an explanation: “I was in too much of a rush just now and didn’t watch out.”

“Good thing I didn’t fall—that would’ve been bad. Xuan Zhelu’s fans would’ve torn me apart.”

She even had the composure to joke.

Seeing Qiu Chao still rooted there, Yan Muyu started down the stairs, asking, “You hungry? Looks like I get to go get a shot first.”

She muttered, “Today we might get to have a nice breakfast in town.”

Downstairs, Liu Song had first been shoved by Qiu Chao, nearly banging into the table. Then she saw Xuan Zhelu come down but head straight outside without a word.

Probably off to the bathroom.

Then Yan Muyu and Qiu Chao emerged, one after the other.

Yan Muyu wore high-waisted black pants with fringe at the hem, topped by a plain T-shirt with no prints whatsoever—simple and clean.

Which made the bloodstain on it glaringly obvious.

Liu Song nearly cried out.

Yan Muyu, ever the boss, put her to work: “Little Squirrel, grab me the first-aid kit. I’ll disinfect it a bit.”

Xing Wen beat Liu Song to it from off-camera. No one had expected something like this.

Qiu Siyuan asked, “Should we take you now? To a clinic.”

Yan Muyu said, “No shots with the team?”

Qiu Siyuan shrugged.

Yan Muyu: “Way too lax. Deduct all the prize money, huh.”

She said it without any real force, but she didn’t smile either. She seemed genuinely annoyed.

The mood grew tense for a moment. Then Yan Muyu said, “Oh? Guess I’ll ride in the car then?”

Qiu Siyuan: “Special schedule today. Everyone rides together.”

Liu Song: “What kind of car?”

Xi Xi, who had been doing makeup outside, strode in with a smirk. “Ox cart.”

Yan Muyu: …

Liu Song: …

Viewers: …

[That’s brutal!]

[Super rustic.]

Yan Muyu: “Me too?”

Qiu Siyuan glanced at her injury. The viewers didn’t catch the close-up of the wound, but they could sense Yan Muyu’s pain.

She kept a straight face, but her brows were tightly furrowed.

Qiu Siyuan said, “You go handle that wound first.”

Yan Muyu let out a “Yay!” and whistled at Liu Song. “Jealous?”

Liu Song winced just looking at her hand and shook her head. “Young Boss Yan, take care of yourself.”

Qiu Siyuan: “We’ll meet up at the destination.”

As the boss, Yan Muyu had Xing Wen ride with her, clearly worried about the injury.

Just as the door was about to close, someone approached.

Qiu Chao hopped on board like she owned the place, giving Xia Yuanyuan in the back an eerie sense of déjà vu.

Right—like that time at the bar when she cornered someone.

Yan Muyu: “What are you doing? Aren’t you filming?”

Qiu Chao shut the door and looked at Yan Muyu. “You’re my manager. I’m worried.”

Xing Wen: …

Hadn’t that got it backward?

Yan Muyu: “Why are you coming with me?”

The driver was from production. He punched in the navigation to take the boss to a clinic in town.

Today’s variety task was learning to make fish lamps—a full-group activity starting from breakfast.

The itinerary alone sounded exhausting.

Xing Wen was about to say someone was coming when she turned and saw Qiu Chao suddenly hug Yan Muyu.

She watched in shock as Qiu Chao kissed the corner of Yan Muyu’s lips.

No camera in the car, no one filming outside.

In this sealed space, the driver was oblivious, still checking the map. Xing Wen stared, dumbfounded.

She felt like she was hallucinating.

The next second, someone knocked on the window.

Xuan Zhelu had gotten ready to head out and came to apologize to Yan Muyu. But as the window rolled down, Qiu Chao’s icy face appeared.

Xuan Zhelu blinked in shock. “Why are you here?”

Qiu Chao leaned into Yan Muyu’s shoulder, boldly giving Xing Wen the vibe of a smug main wife looking down—

“Young Yan is my manager. It’s my duty to go with her to the clinic.”

Xuan Zhelu: “Huh?”

She was convinced now: Qiu Chao had designs on Yan Muyu. Nothing about her seemed right anymore—not even the obvious showing off from yesterday.

Yan Muyu couldn’t take it anymore. She told Xuan Zhelu, “You head out first. I’ll catch up.”

Yan Muyu seemed so even-tempered, not beaming with smiles, but Xing Wen figured anyone spending a few days with her would see her true colors.

Too easygoing, like a pushover.

But pinching her was surprisingly tough.

Xuan Zhelu: “Then why can she come with you? I want to…”

Yan Muyu’s head throbbed. “Right now, I’m her manager. Legit reason.”

No livestream catching this, but the content was awkward enough for Xing Wen.

Xuan Zhelu: “But she…”

She looked at Yan Muyu, suddenly wondering if Yan Muyu even realized Qiu Chao’s intentions.

But how could Yan Muyu not know?

She was so sharp—every rejection of hers had been so…

Qiu Chao had no intention of letting Xuan Zhelu keep staring at Yan Muyu. She smiled at her. “We’ll meet up with you later. Bye.”

The window closed, and Qiu Chao told the driver they could go.

Xing Wen had the strange feeling that she was like a maidservant being ordered around by the new lady of the house.

But that seemed far too feudal. She took a deep breath and glanced at Yan Muyu in the rearview mirror.

The other woman’s hand still rested on her leg as she gazed at the mountain forest outside the window.

Qiu Chao, however, was watching Yan Muyu.

“You didn’t have to come along,” Yan Muyu said.

“I was worried about you,” Qiu Chao replied.

Before Yan Muyu could insist it wasn’t necessary, Qiu Chao leaned in closer. “You clearly hate pain, though.”

“Can’t you at least be nicer to Xuan Zhelu?” Yan Muyu asked.

She thought of the message from Lou Haiyan—Xuan Zhelu’s pay had been cut in half.

The buzz she brought was undeniably huge.

From a collaboration standpoint, it was the perfect partnership.

“I wasn’t targeting her,” Qiu Chao said.

“I heard you two have some personal grudge,” Yan Muyu pressed. “Is that true or not?”

Xing Wen’s mind raced: How are you not reacting at all to Teacher Qiu kissing you? Are you that used to it?

Are they really hooking up?

When did this even start?

And it didn’t look anything like the online rumors of some predatory auntie hitting on her niece—clearly, Qiu Chao was the one taking the initiative!

But Yan Muyu’s question was exactly what Xing Wen wanted to know, too, so she instinctively perked up her ears.

“It’s true,” Qiu Chao admitted.

“Didn’t you only work together on one drama?” Yan Muyu said.

“You’re awfully concerned about me,” Qiu Chao replied.

She acted as if they were the only two people in the car, like she’d been holding herself back for far too long and now wanted to plaster herself against Yan Muyu.

“Stop leaning over all the time,” Yan Muyu said.

“But aren’t we sleeping together tonight?” Qiu Chao murmured.

Her voice carried a soft, melting sweetness that made even Xing Wen’s skin crawl.

Yet her boss remained utterly unmoved. “It’s normal for me to care. Aren’t I your manager?”

“That year, my button fell off,” Qiu Chao said.

Yan Muyu let out a soft “ah.”

Her gaze drifted to Qiu Chao’s wrist, where a simple bracelet dangled—a single button.

“Did she make it fall off?” Yan Muyu asked.

Qiu Chao shook her head. “It just dropped in the changing room. I overheard her talking.”

Yan Muyu smiled. “She’s pretty gossipy.”

To Qiu Chao, it sounded like favoritism. She lowered her eyes, a sour, swelling ache rising in her chest.

She spoke word by word: “The bracelet is made from the button on my first love’s shirt.”

Qiu Chao rubbed the yellowish plastic button, her expression turning wistful. To Yan Muyu, it evoked the Qiu Chao of years past—the one who had never gotten her shot at stardom.

“I heard Xuan Zhelu say my bracelet was tacky,” Qiu Chao continued.

Her voice grew even sweeter, almost cloying. “How could it be? My first love was the best person in my heart, even in the cheapest shirt.”

Suddenly, Yan Muyu found this version of Qiu Chao utterly unattractive.

“Oh,” she said, thinking: What kind of idiot is unlucky enough to lose that?

Then she caught herself: Why do I even care?

What’s there to be annoyed about?