Chapter 32

Jiang Sisi had recently created a WeChat group for the crew, pulling in the lighting technicians, cinematographers, screenwriters, actors, and several others.

Messages flooded the group nonstop as everyone waited for the renowned director Jiang to call them onto set. Bored out of their minds, they chatted and bantered daily.

Leng Xiang accepted Jiang Sisi’s friend request, and the other woman quickly sent her an address.

The address wasn’t far from Black Pool Bar—about a ten-minute walk at most.

Leng Xiang followed the directions to Jiang Sisi’s place, went upstairs, and rang the doorbell.

It was a little after nine, not quite ten—an awkward time. What could she possibly want?

Jiang Sisi opened the door quickly.

She wore pajamas: long sleeves and long pants. Her long, wavy hair spilled casually down her back, unstyled and a bit messy, which made her look languid and soft.

“You’re here,” she said. “Come on in.”

Leng Xiang stood at the threshold and murmured an acknowledgment. She peered inside—the entire house was pitch black, save for the moonlight filtering through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows. No other lights were on.

What was Jiang Sisi up to, not even turning on the lamps?

Had the bulbs burned out, and she needed help changing them?

Leng Xiang entered with some hesitation, swapping her shoes for slippers. The carpet muffled all sound, leaving the room utterly quiet.

Jiang Sisi led her into the living room.

There wasn’t even a sofa in Jiang Sisi’s home. The floor was covered in a soft, thick, warm-toned shag carpet, and the wall behind it was painted the same warm hue, blending seamlessly with the rug.

A circle of backrests with cushions lined the living room floor, serving as makeshift sofas. Scattered across the carpet were heaps of animal-shaped pillows of all sizes.

There was no TV in the living room either, but one entire wall was dominated by a projection screen.

Jiang Sisi explained, “I live here alone and rarely have people over, so I just decorated it however I felt like.”

She added, “Have a seat wherever. What would you like to drink?”

Leng Xiang sat cross-legged on a cushion, leaned back against a backrest, and then stretched her legs out straight.

Leng Xiang: “…”

No wonder Jiang Sisi had set up her place like this—this position was incredibly comfortable.

Leng Xiang said, “Anything’s fine. I’m not picky.”

Jiang Sisi soon returned with two glasses. The liquid inside was dark with a reddish tint, like thick, ripe fruit puree or high-purity red wine, glowing an eerie crimson under the moonlight.

Jiang Sisi set the glasses on the small tea table on the carpet and handed one to Leng Xiang.

Leng Xiang said, “Thanks.”

She sniffed it first—only the aroma of fruit juice.

She took a sip.

The taste was similar to the low-alcohol fruit wine she’d just had at Black Pool Bar, but this seemed even milder, almost no alcohol bite, just sweeter.

Leng Xiang asked, “What is this?”

Jiang Sisi replied, “Mulberry juice with strawberries. The mulberries are fermented, so there’s a bit of wine flavor, plus some added sugar. How’s the taste?”

No wonder it resembled that low-alcohol drink from Black Pool Bar.

Leng Xiang said, “It’s pretty good.”

Jiang Sisi fiddled with the remote, and the projection screen lit up with a soft glow.

Soon, text appeared on the screen: “Loading film…”

Leng Xiang was about to say something when a sudden “meow” echoed from an unseen corner of the living room.

Leng Xiang whipped her head around and saw a snow-white Ragdoll cat emerge from a pile of pillows. Its beautiful, glass-like eyes blinked curiously at the stranger.

Jiang Sisi clapped her hands. “Xiangxiang, come here.”

The Ragdoll cat obediently crawled out from the pillows and trotted over, rubbing its fluffy head against her palm.

Jiang Sisi scooped the cat into her arms and stroked it a couple of times. The ever-docile Ragdoll nestled quietly in her lap.

Jiang Sisi said, “Its name is Xiangxiang. Cute, right?”

Xiangxiang?

Xiangxiang?

A vein pulsed cheerfully on Leng Xiang’s forehead.

Leng Xiang said nothing. Jiang Sisi glanced at her, the screen’s glow illuminating her face.

Seeing Leng Xiang’s expression, Jiang Sisi knew she’d misunderstood. “Xiang as in fragrance. I’ve had Xiangxiang for years.”

She smiled and said, “You two are fated. Want to hold it?”

Fated my foot.

Leng Xiang wanted to refuse, but Xiangxiang seemed to understand, lifting its fluffy head. Its glass-like eyes gazed at her calmly and gently, and it let out a soft “meow.”

Leng Xiang’s hand reached out instinctively.

No one could resist the charm of a Ragdoll cat princess.

Jiang Sisi passed the cat over, and Leng Xiang cradled it carefully, afraid to startle it.

Watching the girl and the cat, Jiang Sisi couldn’t help thinking they resembled each other somehow.

Probably that shared beauty.

Leng Xiang noticed her gaze and wanted to release Xiangxiang, but her hands clung to the cat like glue. She couldn’t let go.

Who could bear to release such an adorable little cutie?

Jiang Sisi eyed her cat-stroking hands with a teasing glint.

What are you looking at? Could anyone really refuse this little cutie?

Leng Xiang coughed and asked, “So, what did you call me over for?”

Just then, the massive projection screen finished loading.

Jiang Sisi said, “To watch a movie with you.”

Leng Xiang asked, “What movie?”

Jiang Sisi replied, “The final cut of my last film, Youth Tour. It’s going for review tomorrow. Barring surprises, it’ll hit theaters in two months.”

“The finished product just arrived,” Jiang Sisi smiled. “I wanted my new lead actress to watch it with me.”

Youth Tour was an ancient wuxia film about a band of young wanderers seeking revenge in the jianghu with youthful abandon.

Or not quite.

The entire film employed heavy flashbacks and interspersed narratives, weaving the protagonists’ youthful and middle-aged assassination attempts together through a female character.

The young protagonists rode through the red dust, galloping toward the capital with wild freedom. They called themselves wanderers, convinced they’d become renowned heroes and achieve great things.

They plotted to assassinate a tyrannical, power-hungry villainous minister, but the plan failed. Their families were implicated, and the minister wouldn’t let them go, forcing them into hiding and a meager existence.

Over a decade later, the middle-aged protagonists were scattered, bogged down in mundane lives.

One day, a woman tracked them down and reunited them.

Her name was Wei Ning, the only girl among the wanderers back then—the woman the male lead Yin Qing had loved in his youth. Now, she was a married woman.

Wei Ning arrived in rags, stumbling and covered in wounds.

She told them how the minister they once targeted now controlled the court, with the young emperor as a puppet. Without removing him, the nation would fall.

The wanderers, nearing thirty, devised a more meticulous plan to finish what their younger selves had failed.

They swore: no minister, no home.

It was the obsession of their youth.

And they succeeded.

Nearly thirty, they reveled with wine, hearts surging with triumph and relief.

Wei Ning smiled warmly beside them, pouring more drinks.

After the wine, everyone but Yin Qing collapsed, blood streaming from their orifices. They never woke.

Black-clad figures appeared around Wei Ning, shielding her as swords pointed at Yin Qing.

Yin Qing stared in disbelief, eyes bloodshot. “You… poison woman!”

The young emperor’s ascension had sparked a power struggle. The minister was one faction; Wei Ning’s husband led the other.

The minister was her husband’s greatest threat.

Wei Ning recalled their foolish youthful oath and hatched a plan.

It worked.

She spared Yin Qing.

To avenge his comrades, Yin Qing targeted her husband.

As in any standard film, he succeeded.

In the final scene, Yin Qing’s sword menaced Wei Ning. Now widowed, she laughed.

Wei Ning, dressed up, still looked girlish. She said to him, “You know, I had countless chances to kill you.”

She met his eyes. “Will you kill me now?”

She giggled. “I know you used to like me.”

“But I hate you. I hate you!”

After the failed youthful assassination, Wei Ning’s parents hadn’t escaped in time and were slaughtered by the minister.

She, the only woman in the group, knew nothing of the plan.

She hated the minister—and the ridiculous Yin Qing and his wanderers even more.

She married to avenge her parents.

Yin Qing’s lips trembled. He dropped his sword in despair.

In a flash, Wei Ning snatched it and plunged it into his chest.

Flames erupted; the film cut to black.

Wei Ning trembled, hands over her face, sobbing brokenly.

To buy osmanthus wine for sharing, but never the same as youth’s tour.

The two-and-a-half-hour Youth Tour ended, and Leng Xiang drew a deep breath.

Xiangxiang meowed twice in her arms. She realized she’d nearly stroked its fur bald.

She let go quickly, and Xiangxiang leaped down, burrowing into Jiang Sisi’s lap.

Jiang Sisi stroked the nearly bald patch, scratched under Xiangxiang’s chin, but her eyes fixed on Leng Xiang. “Aww, Xiangxiang, did Xiangxiang bully you just now?”

This Xiangxiang was not that Xiangxiang.

Hearing her old childhood nickname roll off Jiang Sisi’s tongue—so tender and lingering—made Leng Xiang’s ears turn red.

And she’d been the one to nearly bald the cat first. Feeling guilty, she gritted her teeth.

Leng Xiang said, “…I didn’t notice. Sorry.”

Jiang Sisi held the cat toward her. Under the screen’s glow, Xiangxiang’s glass eyes gazed obediently.

They locked eyes, human and cat, for a moment.

Xiangxiang meowed again.

Leng Xiang felt inexplicably guilty.

Had she stroked too hard…?

Jiang Sisi wiggled the cat at her, pinching her voice playfully. “Xiangxiang, Xiangxiang apologized. Will you forgive her?”

Veins popped cheerfully on Leng Xiang’s forehead.

Leng Xiang snapped, “Are you childish or what!?”

Jiang Sisi, enough already!

Grown adults acting like this! Childish! Boring!

Leng Xiang rolled her eyes internally a hundred times.

Jiang Sisi backed off with a laugh. “Okay, no more teasing.”

She shoved the cat back into Leng Xiang’s arms. “If you like it, hold it more. It likes you too.”

“My Xiangxiang doesn’t warm up to anyone but me. You two really are fated.”

Leng Xiang couldn’t resist the Ragdoll’s cuteness. Stone-faced, she took the cat back.

Cats were the best heartwarmers.

As Leng Xiang played with the cat, Jiang Sisi rewound the film to the moment Wei Ning raised her sword against Yin Qing.

Leng Xiang’s eyes followed, looking up at the screen.

“Quiz time for this scene,” Jiang Sisi smiled. “What do you think was going through Wei Ning’s mind?”