Chapter 6: Teasing and Counter-Teasing

Seeing Cheng Jinzhi like that, Rong Si glanced at her own naked body and felt a little strange too. This whole situation—obviously Cheng Jinzhi had been the one forcing her all along, yet now it looked like Rong Si was the one forcing Cheng Jinzhi. Rong Si stood up and pulled on her bathrobe, her movements a bit too sharp, radiating displeasure.

“Hey…”

Just as Rong Si’s hand touched the doorknob, Cheng Jinzhi’s voice came from behind her, sounding incredibly weak.

Rong Si turned to look at Cheng Jinzhi. Having second thoughts?

“You… I… You’re wearing my bathrobe…”

The moment the words left Cheng Jinzhi’s mouth, the door slammed shut.

…Well, it was true. Cheng Jinzhi was mortified inside. The pure, innocent act she’d just put on was way too contrived. After going bankrupt, she’d been eating “vegetarian” for way too long, and she couldn’t get back that “no-holds-barred” feeling from before.

Cheng Jinzhi picked up Rong Si’s bathrobe—it was completely soaked. It looked a bit large on her; Rong Si was taller. Honestly, this teenager, what on earth did she eat to grow so tall? Her appetite was clearly so small.

Before she could put it on, a clean bathrobe was passed through the doorway. “Put this on.”

“…Okay.” So… Rong Si had gone out to find her a bathrobe.

When she came out, Rong Si was sitting on the sofa, long legs bent and draped elegantly over the armrest. A medical kit sat on the coffee table. There were bruises on her calf. Had she done that with her earlier shoving?

Rong Si’s hair was still a little damp. She raised a hand to tuck it behind her ear, revealing a pink little ear.

“Want me to help with the medicinal liquor?” Cheng Jinzhi shuffled over reluctantly.

Rong Si said nothing, so Cheng Jinzhi sat down beside her and reached for the medicinal liquor. “Trust me, I’ll fix you right up.”

“Fix you right up”… that sounded a little dirty, especially in front of Rong Si. Cheng Jinzhi quickly reined in her words.

In her past life, every time Cheng Jinzhi finished filming a rough-and-tumble scene, her body would end up covered in bruises. Probably because she’d been pampered and spoiled since childhood, her skin was especially delicate. Later on, she’d just ask the crew for a bottle of medicinal liquor or a few plasters, apply them, and rush straight to the next shoot. At first she hadn’t gotten the technique—the more she rubbed, the more swollen it got. But gradually, she mastered the timing and the handwork, and finally managed to promote circulation and disperse the bruises.

Cheng Jinzhi poured some medicinal liquor into her palm and patted it, the motion perfectly natural. She gently took hold of Rong Si’s calf. Rong Si’s right leg wasn’t just bruised—it was swollen a full size compared to her left. “Did I…”

“It wasn’t you.” Rong Si seemed to know what Cheng Jinzhi was thinking. She paused. “A couple days ago, I took a stunt double job.”

“Didn’t I already open an account for you?”

“Your money—I’m borrowing it.”

“Then you didn’t have to take a stunt job…”

Rong Si lowered her head. “I don’t know anything yet. I need experience.”

Cheng Jinzhi was taken aback. Rong Si actually admitted so candidly that she didn’t know anything. Wasn’t this the age when people were supposed to be most competitive?

“Bear with it. It might hurt a little.”

Rong Si’s expression didn’t change. After a long moment, she spoke. “Do you have someone else?”

“No…”

“You’re lying.”

“I…”

“Then why won’t you touch me? Tired of me already?” Rong Si’s tone was gentle, as if discussing something completely ordinary.

“You mean you moving into the dorms?” Cheng Jinzhi finally caught on. So all of Rong Si’s earlier behavior had just been to “keep” her.

“The dorms are pretty convenient. I need to warm up my voice in the morning anyway.” Cheng Jinzhi said. “Coming back and forth is too much of a hassle. Might as well save the time for reading.”

A couple more exchanges, and Cheng Jinzhi felt like she’d turned into “a worried mother sending her sulky daughter off to school.” She quickly killed that illusion. She was only in her early twenties, damn it!

“I’m not tired of you.”

Only after Cheng Jinzhi said this did Rong Si’s expression relax. She lifted her eyelids. “Okay.”

After applying the medicinal liquor to Rong Si’s leg, Cheng Jinzhi went to wash her hands. When she came back, Rong Si was still sitting on the sofa.

“Then you sleep here. I’ll go to… the next room.” Just as she reached the door, Cheng Jinzhi felt something was off. God damn it! This was her house! Why did she have to sleep in the next room every single night!

Cheng Jinzhi turned around and walked back. Right, hold on to this indignant feeling. She charged up to Rong Si, who looked up at her. Facing Rong Si’s indifferent expression, Cheng Jinzhi’s emotions, like an inflated balloon, were instantly popped.

“You… you sleep in the next room.” Under Rong Si’s calm gaze, Cheng Jinzhi stammered, as if she were the one trying to steal a magpie’s nest.

“Mm.”

Cheng Jinzhi obediently saw Rong Si to the door. “Good night.”

“When does 《Girls’ Fortress》 start filming?”

“Whenever you’re ready, we can start.”

“I have no objections.”

“Then I’ll have DC contact Director Yi tomorrow.”

“Mm. Good night.”

“Have sweet dreams.” Cheng Jinzhi said.

Rong Si glanced at Cheng Jinzhi. “I hope so.”

With that, she left without looking back. Cheng Jinzhi watched for two seconds, then closed the door.

Rong Si didn’t have much to pack. The luggage tag on her suitcase hadn’t even been removed, and inside were only a few clothes.

“How does Ah Wei do things? Didn’t even buy daily necessities.” The suitcase was practically empty. Even on a trip, you’d bring sunscreen, right? Let alone when moving somewhere new.

“The school provides them.” Rong Si had visited the school once before, mainly to familiarize herself with the campus.

“The school stuff is cheap bulk goods.” Cheng Jinzhi closed Rong Si’s suitcase. “If there’s anything inconvenient, I’ll go shopping with you.”

“Don’t you have classes?”

Cheng Jinzhi shrank back. Yesterday Rong Si thought she had someone else, and now when she was being proactive, Rong Si was pushing her away?

“I have classes in the seventh and eighth periods. I’m free in the morning to buy daily necessities, and clothes too.” Speaking of clothes, Cheng Jinzhi perked up again. “Clothes maketh the man—and you’re not going to some ordinary academic university. With so few clothes, how are you supposed to show your personal style? You’re going to be a star out there someday.”

Rong Si looked down at her suitcase, then at Cheng Jinzhi. “Mm. Whatever you say.”

“I thought your old style was pretty good. Where are your old clothes?”

“Sold.”

Cheng Jinzhi opened her mouth, then closed it. She’d even sold her clothes. “How much debt does your family have?”

“It’s not a fixed number. It compounds every day.” Rong Si seemed to know Cheng Jinzhi’s brain wasn’t great, so she didn’t explain anything too complicated. “Right now, I can just barely pay off the daily interest.”

“Then am I wasting your time by making you go to school?”

“In the long run, no.” Rong Si’s words were measured and precise.

At least Rong Si was acting normal now—no more calling her “Master,” no more clinging to her. This distance, like proper mortal enemies, was right. “That’s good. Your old clothes were too plain. Young people need youthful energy.”

Like Cheng Jinzhi—even when she was past forty, she still loved wearing loud reds and greens, low-cut tops and high slits. Of course, that was also one of the things audiences mocked her for, comparing her to Xia You, calling her a tacky old woman who didn’t know how to dress with elegance befitting her age. Cheng Jinzhi had too many haters. Even when she did charity, people found fault, calling it a photo op.

Watching Cheng Jinzhi chatter on, Rong Si turned her gaze to her outfit. Cheng Jinzhi was wearing a low-cut red dress with bold makeup, which suited her temperament perfectly. She’d seen Cheng Jinzhi once before, back when Cheng Jinzhi was still at the girls’ school. That school was famously traditional—even their skirts had to fall below the knee. That day, Cheng Jinzhi had been dragged to stand as punishment by a senior because she’d cut her school skirt short and even unstitched the thread from the senior’s skirt, causing the senior to be publicly embarrassed. In schools like that, freshmen were paired with senior students, one-on-one, with a very strict school culture. It took decades to produce one weirdo like Cheng Jinzhi, an absolute headache. Rong Si had been there for an exchange program that day, and her supervising teacher had pointed out the punished Cheng Jinzhi to her. “Look, our school’s ‘scenic attraction.'”

If the teacher hadn’t said anything, maybe it would’ve been fine. But once she did, Cheng Jinzhi, with a book balanced on her head, straightened her spine even more, as if the more people looked at her, the more she showed off.

“Your clothes wouldn’t fit me.” Rong Si spoke up.

Cheng Jinzhi snorted. “I know. You’re going for the elegant goddess look.”

“And also, you couldn’t fit into mine.”

“Mm, true.” Rong Si’s expression didn’t change.

…She’d meant to tease Rong Si. Cheng Jinzhi looked at Rong Si, then down at her own chest. She felt like Rong Si had turned the tables and teased her instead. She looked up at Rong Si, who happened to meet her gaze. Cheng Jinzhi covered her chest with her hand and blurted out, “Where are you looking?”

Rong Si turned her face away and zipped up her suitcase.

Rong Si was so calm that it made Cheng Jinzhi seem like a jumpy mess. “Hey, you… saying nothing at all, it’s really awkward for me.”

Rong Si gripped the suitcase handle and glanced at Cheng Jinzhi again. “Your bust shape is passable.”

“What does ‘passable’ mean?” Cheng Jinzhi immediately reacted. It should mean “very beautiful,” right? What did “passable” mean? Cheng Jinzhi was quite confident about her chest.

“Pretty good.”

Cheng Jinzhi rolled her eyes so hard she nearly fainted. “Was I asking you to explain the literal meaning? Do I not understand Chinese?”

Rong Si didn’t answer, just lowered her head, lost in thought.

“Say something.” Cheng Jinzhi was about to be suffocated by Rong Si’s terseness.

“Beautiful.” Rong Si paused, her tone compromising. She added, “I haven’t seen anyone else’s, so calling yours beautiful isn’t an exaggeration.”

…Little brat.