Chapter 278: Having You Is Enough
Even if she wanted to forget, she couldn’t. The hurt that Nangong Ying had caused her—to be honest, it was already quite good that she hadn’t pursued the matter. She could have chosen to make it public, or to sue her, but in the end, she didn’t because of the kindness Nangong Ying had shown her in the past. It made her unable to be ruthless.
So, they were even.
“Linna, why do you always have to face these things alone? Why don’t you ask me for help?”
“You can’t help, Jiangning.”
“But you should at least ask me.”
“It’s useless. You don’t understand. You’re no match for Chenghe.”
The entertainment industry was even more complicated than the novel circle. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was infiltrated by the underworld. In the last century, the Hong Kong entertainment industry was extremely dark.
Yu Linna didn’t want to get bogged down in this matter, nor was she willing to bring it up. After all, it really wasn’t something worth mentioning. She believed that these dark experiences should be kept to herself. There was no need to involve others.
Fang Jiangning felt very upset hearing this.
That year, Yu Linna had disappeared for a period of time. She didn’t know what she had been up to. Now, she finally understood. It was the entertainment industry, it was Nangong Ying. No wonder she had never seen her interact with Nangong Ying since then. If it wasn’t for a heartbreaking betrayal, how could she have become so cold? She had gained a deep understanding of the warmth and coldness of the world. She was no longer naive, but she was no longer lively either. Many times, Fang Jiangning wanted to see her smile like before, but that was a luxury.
She really missed the Yu Linna of the past. She couldn’t come back.
“Then Nangong Ying, now she… you two are no longer in contact?”
“Mmm. She lives her life, I live mine. Isn’t that fine? Neither of us wants to bring up that matter.”
But Nangong Ying was indeed doing very well now.
Her career prospects were bright. She had signed with the big company Chenghe, and many film companies had extended an olive branch to her. She herself had also taken on many roles. The previously hyped Blue Pupil was originally scheduled for National Day, but after a rescheduling storm, it was finally going to be released on Christmas. The pre-sale tickets had already exceeded one hundred million. Her popularity was really getting stronger and stronger.
The Nangong Ying who had once stunned the audience at the national singer competition had finally entered the rising period of her career. She would become a superstar in the entertainment industry.
And Yu Linna was also in a rising period. Her career was also developing. Soon, Ballad of the Enchantress would be broadcast, and at that time, her popularity would continue to rise. And The Smile of the Rose had also finished its run on the web platform. There were temporarily no plans to film a second season. But the company had clearly tasted the sweetness and was trying to find a way to invite Shion-sensei to write the script for the second season, but Yu Linna had been refusing. Because she wanted to focus her career on animation and novels.
The script for Wulin Kitchen Maiden was completed early, and the production company had also finished filming the first season. It would be broadcast at the end of January.
She was also busy with the character designs for the mobile game Armor Time. This game was expected to be launched in September of the following year. Before that, the game’s character designs had to be completed first. And this was not a difficult task for Yu Linna, just that it would be very tiring.
So she had no time to spare for the script of the second season of The Smile of the Rose. She didn’t have that time.
…
Some more time passed. As the day of the animation’s premiere drew closer, Yu Linna became busier and busier. She was drawing and writing manuscripts in her dorm every day, and sometimes she had to go out. A few times, she was so busy that she missed the dorm curfew and simply stayed in a hotel, working on her manuscripts and drawings at the same time.
She was really turning herself into a robot.
“She went out again?”
“Mmm, she called back and said she’s not coming back.”
“What a busy person.”
Dorm 383 hadn’t seen much of Yu Linna recently. Although she still came to class, she had gradually started to ask for leave, and then she even learned to skip class. Zhao Yuyan’s roommates felt that she had been corrupted by her, actually skipping class. She was originally a good student.
But everyone in the dorm knew that she was different from Air-sensei. She really went out because of work.
…
In the middle of the night, Yu Linna was staying in a hotel. After finishing a day’s work, she started to draw. The character designs for the mobile game Armor Time were all in her hands. She had to finish them as soon as possible, at least 60% by the time Ballad of the Enchantress premiered.
Originally, Yu Linna had been drawing well in the hotel, not sleeping all night, planning to catch up on sleep when she got back. The room’s doorbell rang. She wondered who was knocking on her door in the middle of the night. If it was a pyramid scheme, she would drive them away.
She opened the door and saw a black-haired girl she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“Zhiyun? How did you know I was here?”
“Have you forgotten who I am? It’s easy for me to find out which hotel you’re staying at.”
“Come in.”
To be able to see Zhiyun outside was really a surprise. They were usually at the same school, but they saw each other less often than in high school, and even pretended not to know each other when they met on campus.
Ye Zhiyun walked into the hotel room. The dim yellow light shone in the room. There was only one large bed in the room, and on the desk was a computer and a large stack of character design line drafts. These were all Yu Linna’s discarded drafts. She picked up one of them and looked at it. As expected of Yu Linna’s work, the characters were drawn very beautifully, and the art style was also a refined and beautiful style. Yu Linna was very suited for this style.
This kind of art style, which didn’t sell on sex appeal or eroticism, and also had a moe and cute atmosphere, she liked it very much.
“I was wondering, why did you choose to be a novelist instead of a manga artist?”
“I think it’s probably because I like to write novels.”
“No, you’re too greedy. Haven’t you seen? You’re not only in charge of the novels, but also the illustrations. And that’s not all. You also take on game character designs and TV series scripts. You tell me, aren’t you greedy?”
Indeed, Yu Linna was a bit greedy.
She had been too poor in the past. Now that she finally had status and wealth, she was frantically trying to make money, frantically taking on orders. She only had one thought: to make a lot of money and become a rich woman.
“I still haven’t paid you back a lot of money, Zhiyun. You’re not willing to accept my money.”
Yu Linna said with a wry smile.
Ye Zhiyun was stunned.
If she hadn’t reminded her, she would have forgotten about this matter. Back then, she had redeemed her from Chenghe, spending over eighty million. Yu Linna had at most paid back over twenty million. She indeed owed her money.
But Ye Zhiyun didn’t care at all. She didn’t need her to pay her back. She just needed her to live well.
“Nana, tell me, what is your dream? You told me before that you wanted to be a novelist. What about now?”
“Nothing has changed now. But you, you’ve never said what your dream is.”
Ye Zhiyun’s smile slowly faded.
Her dream…
“My dream is quite difficult, probably even more difficult than you becoming a famous novelist.”
“What is your dream?”
“To create my own business empire. You see, isn’t it a fantasy? It’s okay, I know it’s very crazy.”
To create her own business era was not just crazy, but extremely crazy.
Even her father, who could be considered a wealthy man with huge assets, didn’t dare to say that he had a business empire, an enterprise that covered the whole country and even the whole world. This was really too difficult.
The position Ye Zhiyun wanted to reach was too difficult.
But she had an advantage over many young entrepreneurs, which was that she still had a background, startup capital, and more opportunities.
“It’s a good thing to have a dream, Zhiyun. I’m on your side.”
“Thanks. Nana, I was thinking, if I really start a film company in the future, can I ask you to be my screenwriter and write a script?”
“That depends on whether you can afford to hire me.”
“That’s easy to say, of course.”
The two of them looked at each other and smiled.
The hour hand of the night pointed to 1:20. The moon was gradually buried by dark clouds, and the light in the room became dimmer and dimmer. But the two of them had no intention of sleeping and still sat there talking. They hadn’t been together for too long. They cherished the opportunity to be together, to talk and chat.
“Zhiyun, when are you leaving?”
“I’m taking a plane to Malaysia at 10 tomorrow.”
“Can’t you not go?”
“I can’t. This is my work.”
Yu Linna’s eyes dimmed.
And Ye Zhiyun just patted her head, resting her head on her chest, stroking her hair.
“I also want to spend more time with you, but my time is really very limited.”
“So you came to see me?”
“Yes. Nana, do you know? I can only do this. I only have the right to choose when I make myself stronger. Nana, I just hope you promise me one thing: don’t refuse me, never refuse me.”
This was her only wish.
She had already bet everything she had.
Her aunt had said that their bet would last for a full year. After a year, if they were together, then everything would be fine. If not, then, she would…
She could only hope that Yu Linna would have feelings for her, although the probability was a bit low. After all, the love between two girls was not recognized by the world.
“Zhiyun, I’ll see you off at the airport tomorrow.”
“Okay. Whatever you say, I’ll agree to everything. For you, I’m willing to give up everything I have.”
She said emotionally, holding her face, brushing aside the hair on her forehead, and gently leaving a kiss on her forehead.
Yu Linna’s face slowly turned rosy. She felt a little hot. It was still winter. How could it be a little hot? But, a little happy, very happy. What was this feeling?
She really wanted to spend a little more time with her. The time they spent together was really too short.
What she had just said was like the lines of a male protagonist in a TV series. Ye Zhiyun, was she getting too into her role?
She just wanted to be with her as a friend.
Just like that…
“It’s very late, Zhiyun. Let’s go to sleep.”
“Mmm, then I’ll…”
“Stay, together.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s not the first time anyway. Let’s sleep together.”
Yu Linna’s face was a little hot, but she still forced herself to calm down. We’re both girls. It’s nothing to sleep together. She kept hypnotizing herself like this in her heart.
Ye Zhiyun smiled like a child who had gotten candy.
“Alright then. Then I’ll, be impolite.”
She hugged her, smelling her scent, and became more and more intoxicated. She really didn’t want to let go of this lovely girl. She really hated it a little. Why couldn’t girls be with girls in this world? It would be so good if the law allowed them to be together. But it didn’t matter. Fortunately, the law in the UK still allowed it.
She thought so.
