Chapter 37: You’re So Annoying

“Obvious?”

“First, tone down the estrogen overflowing from you.” Xia You said.

Cheng Jinzhi pretended to suck in her saliva. “How’s your online romance going?”

“I told you it’s not an online romance!” Then Xia You pulled out her phone. “Now that you mention it, I haven’t looked at my phone for a minute. I wonder if she’s replied.”

Then Xia You’s face fell. “She said she was getting on a plane last night, and she hasn’t messaged since.”

“Xia You, take it easy.” Gou Yu said, crossing her arms over her chest in an X. “What is an online romance? When the other party ‘goes offline’, it means a breakup.”

“I think I need to think about the worst.” Xia You covered her eyes, then tossed her phone to Cheng Jinzhi. “Jinzhi, help me check if there’s any news about a plane crash in Shen City.”

“Don’t be so dramatic. Maybe it’s just a simple breakup.”

“Alas, I’m such a lovesick woman.” Xia You said. “I’ve even thought of excuses for her if she got hit by a plane, but she just won’t reply.”

“Xia You, do you know what I’m seeing?” Gou Yu said, “with empathy.”

“You think I’ll play along with your gag? In your dreams.” Xia You pulled out her book, then turned to Cheng Jinzhi. “You still haven’t said whether Rong Si has feelings for you.”

“Come on.” Gou Yu quickly hooked Xia You’s shoulder. “I’m saying, if you’re in a hurry to lose your virginity, I can pick you out some ‘small’ ‘accessories’…”

Xia You slapped her palm against Gou Yu’s forehead, pushing her off her shoulder. “If you say that to the Diva, she won’t mind giving you some ‘small’ ‘accessories’ either.”

At the mention of the Diva, Gou Yu shuddered. Clutching her rear, she glanced around anxiously.

“I think Rong Si treats you well.” Xia You hugged Cheng Jinzhi’s arm again.

“I have money, right.”

“How do you say that with a hint of pride in it?”

“To be honest, someone like Cheng Jinzhi—decent looks, wealthy, and most importantly, a bit dumb as a sugar mommy.” Gou Yu said. “Anyone would worship her.”

“Xia You, be realistic. Don’t drag feelings into everything.” Gou Yu said. “If my family went bankrupt and I ran into a landlord like Cheng Jinzhi—rich and clueless… hiss…”

“What about you, huh?” Cheng Jinzhi smiled, pinching Gou Yu’s cheek. “You don’t have to wait for bankruptcy. I’ll kill you right now.”

There was now a faint, hidden sore spot in Cheng Jinzhi’s heart: Rong Si yielded to her for money. Everything she did for her—the fish she bought yesterday, the meals she cooked—all because she had money.

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you concerned about my mood?” Cheng Jinzhi stopped at a red light, looking at Rong Si in the passenger seat.

Rong Si looked at her, expressionless, saying nothing. Then she slowly leaned toward Cheng Jinzhi. Cheng Jinzhi admitted she swallowed. No way… this was the middle of the street… in public, in front of everyone…

A soft “click” left Cheng Jinzhi baffled.

“You forgot to buckle your seatbelt.” Rong Si said. “I was watching you for quite a while.”

“…” Luckily this wasn’t a film or drama, where the protagonist’s stupidest inner monologues get narrated aloud with full emotion. If anyone knew what she’d just been thinking, she’d dig a hole and bury herself right now. Forget the rebirth; let her be buried for fifty years.

Cheng Jinzhi was vexed and irritated. She turned her head, “concentrating” on the blinking red light countdown.

Rong Si, however, didn’t withdraw her gaze. Her jawbone shifted slightly, as if she were smiling.

Two more classes and Cheng Jinzhi’s courses ended. Exams came three days after the last class, so now she had to study properly. From the azure blue swimming pool, Cheng Jinzhi surfaced and took off her goggles. The moment she stepped ashore, Rong Si wrapped her in a large bath towel, gently rubbing her long hair. “Go shower first. Don’t catch cold.”

Cheng Jinzhi glanced at the textbooks on her lounge chair and stuck out her tongue. “Fine.”

Just now in the study, she’d read two paragraphs before taking the book and running downstairs, telling Rong Si she’d get some air and read in the natural breeze. Two pages later, she was playing in the pool.

When Cheng Jinzhi came out, there was a cup of water on the table, slightly warm, with a faint saltiness—probably Rong Si had put in some iodized salt. Cheng Jinzhi sipped it and saw Rong Si sitting on the sofa reading. She walked over. Rong Si had already brought her professional textbooks from the lounge chair, neatly stacked on the table.

“Come here.” Rong Si took the white towel from Cheng Jinzhi’s neck and gently dried her hair. “Why didn’t you blow-dry?”

“It’s summer. I wanted it to air-dry.”

Rong Si set down her book and focused on drying Cheng Jinzhi’s hair. Cheng Jinzhi picked up the textbook and opened to the page marked by the bookmark. The bookmark was that OCD freak Rong Si’s handiwork—she’d marked the page for her. As for Cheng Jinzhi, she’d usually leave the book face-down or fold a corner when she got up. Cheng Jinzhi examined the bookmark. It was very pretty, with light, elegant ink-wash painting on it. She smelled it—faint ink fragrance. Fine aged ink.

Cheng Jinzhi’s study had several sets of fine brushes, inks, papers, and inkstones—bought by her mother at auction.

“Did you paint this?” Cheng Jinzhi turned the bookmark over.

“Mm.”

“Rong Si, how are you so free?”

“You didn’t come home at night. There wasn’t much I could do at night.”

“…You do have taste.” Cheng Jinzhi smelled it again. “So fragrant. When I wrote, it wasn’t this fragrant.”

“Your ink is fine ink. Using it would’ve been wasteful of me, so I bought my own stick.”

“It’s fine. I’d waste it too.” Cheng Jinzhi opened her book. “Use whatever you want.”

“How many exams do you have left?” Cheng Jinzhi asked.

“Three.”

“Almost done then. What are your summer plans?” Cheng Jinzhi said. “Going to Moscow?”

“I already went.” Rong Si said. “This summer I want to stay here, study, work part-time.”

Cheng Jinzhi thought for a long time, then said, “You don’t have to worry about my feelings. I’m just being awkward. Leave me to it, and once I’ve been awkward enough, I won’t be like this anymore. If you want to take roles, go ahead.”

Last time Rong Si took 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》, Cheng Jinzhi had shown displeasure. She was afraid Rong Si still had it on her mind.

“Mm.”

“…Can’t you at least be polite?” Say something like “if you don’t like it, I won’t take it.” It wasn’t like she’d actually stop Rong Si. She was still counting on Rong Si to repay the twenty million.

“From now on, I’ll show you every role I take.” Rong Si said.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll think it looks good and steal it?” Then Cheng Jinzhi realized that didn’t sound right. She looked up at Rong Si. “Are you making me your manager?”

Hadn’t Rong Si said before that any Weibo questions could go to Miss Cheng?

“Can you afford me? You still owe me money.” Cheng Jinzhi said.

“I’ll owe you.”

The “winner in life” persona really was overbearing.

“So whether you owe a little or a lot, it’s all the same to you?” Cheng Jinzhi pouted. “I’m not being your patsy. If you don’t join my company, don’t even think about me advising you.”

After the exams, Cheng Jinzhi felt light. Gou Yu looked unwell; she’d been woken by the proctors several times during the exam.

“Why haven’t I heard you mention the Diva these past two days?” Xia You hooked Gou Yu’s shoulder.

“She’s dead.”

“This morning the news said she and her husband went to Venice for vacation.”

“Venice is good. Her husband chose well—a nice place to scatter her ashes.”

“Babe, I love watching you talk tough.” Xia You patted Gou Yu’s shoulder and laughed.

“Did your online romance come online?” Gou Yu also “jeered” at Xia You.

“She asked me to intern at her company.” Xia You raised an eyebrow.

“You’re an acting student, yet you’re content to be a cashier. Lust has blinded you.” Gou Yu said, pulling a company stamp from her bag. She breathed on it and stamped it on the back of her hand, raising it toward the class. “I bought an entertainment studio. Anyone who needs an internship seal can come to me.”

“Boss Gou, how many celebrities’ blackmail money did you use to buy this?”

“Just small potatoes. Surely nothing compared to the advertising fees you all will earn.” Gou Yu said. “I’m doing you all a favor here—don’t forget me later.”

Gou Yu was at it again, probably going to gather everyone’s information for her files.

Xia You ignored Gou Yu and turned to Cheng Jinzhi. “I’m heading to Shen City this summer. Come play if you have time.”

“Mm. I’ll keep an eye out for calls from Shen City.” Cheng Jinzhi said. “If the police station calls to bail out a fallen girl…”

“Pfft.” Xia You said. “What are your summer plans?”

“Filming. 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 isn’t done yet—it’s filmed while airing.”

“This one’s gonna be huge.” Xia You said. “Don’t worry. When I get to Shen City, I’ll have the department store I work at play your 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 to promote you.”

“See, that’s all a cashier can do.” Gou Yu handed out intern forms while still finding time to tease Xia You.

“I’m the lobby manager.” Xia You turned and started bickering with Gou Yu.

Soon, 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 began airing on the streaming platform. Episodes one and two happened to coincide with the finale of 《Support in Old Age》. 《Support in Old Age》 was a family drama airing on Dongmang Channel, in line with current social values and extremely popular. Especially since 《Support in Old Age》 aired simultaneously on streaming platforms, 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 was inevitably affected. The hot topics the next day were all discussion about 《Support in Old Age》’s ending. So people started mocking the web drama:

“All that promotion, and the first two episodes flopped. So embarrassing.”

“Don’t be superstitious about IP productions. Better go back to traditional scriptwriting models.”

By Sunday’s episodes three and four, the plot had expanded magnificently. Episode three had only about five hundred thousand online views; episode four had six million. All through social media word-of-mouth. Overnight, the four episodes of 《Beauty of Rivers and Mountains》 broke eighty million views.