Chapter 91

At three in the afternoon, Jiang Sisi packed a few things and drove to the Love Cottage.

Leng Xiang’s luggage was mostly still at the Love Cottage, so she hadn’t brought anything. Jiang Sisi packed two pieces of clothing and took Xiangxiang with her back to the Love Cottage.

Leng Xiang held Xiangxiang and sat in the passenger seat. After they got out of the car,

Leng Xiang watched as Jiang Sisi pulled a small suitcase from the trunk and asked, “We’re only staying for two days. Why bring clothes?”

Logically speaking, since Jiang Sisi wasn’t participating in the recorded episodes, just the live streams, she only needed to stay at the Love Cottage for two days a week.

Jiang Sisi locked the car and said, “It’s going to get colder in a couple of days. Did you bring any thick clothes?”

Leng Xiang thought for a moment. “No.”

She hadn’t brought many clothes in the first place.

Jiang Sisi leaned down and kissed her. Xiangxiang, squeezed between them, let out a “meow” and swiped a paw at Jiang Sisi.

Jiang Sisi grinned. “There you go. Besides, I might end up staying a few extra days.”

Leng Xiang asked, “Why?”

Jiang Sisi replied, “You probably won’t be able to leave until Wednesday, right?”

With the recorded episodes, Leng Xiang did need to stay until around Wednesday.

Leng Xiang turned her head away, a faint blush tinting her ears. “I never said I wanted you to stay and sleep with me.”

Jiang Sisi took Leng Xiang’s hand. Leng Xiang held Xiangxiang, and the sight filled Jiang Sisi with satisfaction.

She said, “I can’t sleep without you by my side.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Weren’t you the one who couldn’t sleep without Xiangxiang?

This Xiangxiang wasn’t that Xiangxiang—Jiang Sisi was playing on her name again.

Leng Xiang ignored her, though a curve lifted at the corner of her lips. She held Xiangxiang and walked toward the Love Cottage.

Jiang Sisi smiled and followed, walking side by side with her.

Lu Rui got out of another car and spotted the two walking together from afar.

She wanted to go over and greet them before heading to the Love Cottage together, but before she could, her eyes narrowed as she noticed Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang’s hands.

They were holding hands.

Lu Rui froze, a storm churning in her heart.

One night before, she’d woken up thirsty in the middle of the night, gone downstairs for water, and seen them in the kitchen—Jiang Sisi eating noodles, Leng Xiang watching her eat.

Back then, she’d just thought their relationship was unusually close, almost unnaturally so. Now she realized it truly was unnatural.

Lesbians—didn’t that disgust people?

No wonder a perfectly good romance show had turned into this mess.

The audience only paid attention to those two. She’d once overheard the production team discussing that during the mall shoot, the claw machine segment with Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang had taken up three-quarters of the traffic.

Lu Rui thought maliciously, If the audience knew they were actually together, would they still watch? They’d probably be grossed out.

She glanced once more at Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang walking ahead, her mind racing.

She remembered the production team wasn’t happy with the current state of Love Diary either, frustrated by Jiang Sisi and the guests repeatedly ignoring the script.

The production team wouldn’t just sit idly by, she was sure of it.

And she shared their goals.

In that case, why not do something about it…

…

Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang entered the Love Cottage. Everyone else except Lu Rui was already there.

Qin Yang and Bai Rou sat on one sofa, while Yi Jing and Xu Xingche sat on the other. All four held scripts in their hands.

Yi Jing looked up, saw Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang come in, and waved the script at them.

Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang sat on the sofa at the far end. Jiang Sisi asked, “What’s this?”

Yi Jing tossed his script to her. “New script from the production team—mainly for tomorrow’s live stream.”

Because of the previous live stream where Yi Jing had threatened to quit midway, the production team had been terrified and barely coaxed him back. They hadn’t dared interfere much with the later schedule, which meant the first live stream and recorded episode hadn’t achieved the expected effects.

The production team had originally planned a love triangle among the four, interspersed with the two-person romance, all scripted to connect seamlessly. But the first episode hadn’t followed the script, so everything after had fallen apart.

Thus, they’d rushed out a new script overnight, just for the latest second live stream and recorded episode, as a precaution.

Jiang Sisi took the script, flipped through two pages, tsked, and closed it.

She said, “Gao Qin will be like this for the rest of his life—clinging to his scripts forever.”

With that, she turned and went upstairs with the script.

Leng Xiang, holding Xiangxiang, watched Jiang Sisi leave, then stood and followed her upstairs.

The four on the sofas exchanged bewildered looks, unsure what had just happened with Jiang Sisi and Leng Xiang.

Leng Xiang went up to the third floor and entered Jiang Sisi’s room.

The room was just as it had been during the last recording. Leng Xiang carried Xiangxiang inside, where Jiang Sisi sat on the bed, flipping through two more pages of the script.

Jiang Sisi seemed to be trying her best to read it, but after two pages, she felt an inexplicable resistance despite forcing the words in.

Leng Xiang set Xiangxiang on the bed and sat down beside her.

With a nimble leap, Xiangxiang landed squarely on the script spread across Jiang Sisi’s lap. It rolled over, exposing its snowy white belly, stretching out tiny paws and meowing at Jiang Sisi. Its glassy bead-like eyes blinked innocently at her.

As if it hadn’t interrupted her work at all.

Jiang Sisi laughed helplessly, picked up Xiangxiang, and tossed the script aside.

She cradled Xiangxiang, absently stroking its fur. “How many times have I told you? Don’t disturb Mommy when she’s working. Why aren’t you a good kitty, hmm?”

Xiangxiang: “Meow QAQ!”

Leng Xiang said, “If you really don’t like it, we can just quit the show.”

Jiang Sisi looked at her in surprise, then smiled, her eyes full of tenderness. “Didn’t you complain I was holding you back from making money?”

Leng Xiang answered honestly, “Yeah, it is. Nine million is easy money—miss this village, and there might not be another.”

“But if you really don’t like it, then forget it. No big deal.”

Jiang Sisi ruffled her hair. “It’s not that I hate scripts. Before shooting a new film, I read tons of them. I just don’t like scripts in a reality show.”

“The whole point of a reality romance show is authenticity. If you can’t even manage that and have to pad it with scripts to fool the audience, the show has no point. I’d rather watch a drama.”

Jiang Sisi added, “I just pinched my nose through two pages—this script’s not even good. The audience isn’t blind. Adults dating don’t need all these twists and turns. A little conflict after getting together is normal, but writing it like this is overkill.”

Leng Xiang murmured, “Isn’t our relationship full of twists and turns?”

Jiang Sisi burst out laughing.

She reached out. “Come here, let me hold you.”

Leng Xiang scooted closer, and Jiang Sisi pulled her into her arms.

Xiangxiang, squeezed between them again, meowed angrily, swiped another paw at Jiang Sisi, and leaped out. It darted to the baby carriage doll in the corner of the room.

Jiang Sisi held Leng Xiang and sighed. “After I returned to the country, I studied at China Film for a while. Gao Qin was my classmate—he’s the chief director of Love Diary. He wasn’t like this before: full of ideals, high-spirited. Time really wears people down. Looks like he’s been through a lot.”

“Of course, I’m not saying idealism is better—overly idealistic directors can’t make money these days. But I didn’t expect him to become so extreme.”

Leng Xiang hummed softly in her arms.

She tilted her head up, blinking at Jiang Sisi. “So, are you still hosting?”

Jiang Sisi leaned down and kissed her lips. “If I leave, will you come with me?”

Leng Xiang pondered, a bit conflicted, then finally nodded reluctantly.

Jiang Sisi laughed again.

She said, “Fine, we’ll play along. For old times’ sake as classmates, give him some face.”

They lingered on the bed for a while, Jiang Sisi nearly peeling off Leng Xiang’s clothes.

Leng Xiang’s sweater was halfway off, her shoulder half-exposed, when a knock came at the door.

Leng Xiang immediately shoved Jiang Sisi aside and hastily fixed her clothes.

Jiang Sisi looked at her helplessly but got kicked toward the door to answer it.

A staff member stood outside, reminding them that dinner was ready and they should come down.

Dinner was made by Qin Yang and Yi Jing together. Yi Jing, a Beijing prince who’d never set foot in a kitchen, looked somewhat decent frying vegetables under Qin Yang’s guidance. When the dishes came out, Qin Yang tasted one with chopsticks and said, “Not bad, edible.”

Yi Jing lifted his head proudly, his expression screaming praise me.

Qin Yang chuckled. Taller than Yi Jing by twenty centimeters, he casually ruffled Yi Jing’s hair.

Yi Jing froze on the spot.

Qin Yang realized his blunder and raised both hands. “Sorry, habit from petting my kitty.”

Yi Jing: “Kitty?”

Qin Yang said, “My dog—a purebred Husky.”

Yi Jing: “…You call a Husky ‘kitty’?”

Yi Jing suddenly caught on. “You just petted me like your dog?”

Qin Yang nodded. “Yeah.”

Leng Xiang and Jiang Sisi came downstairs to this chaotic scene.

Yi Jing chased Qin Yang around the house, yelling furiously while running, “Stop right there! Treating me like a dog—got some nerve! If I don’t beat you till you call me daddy today, I’ll take your last name!”

Qin Yang ran while laughing. “Sorry, really sorry.”

Leng Xiang: “…”

Jiang Sisi: “…”

After dinner, Leng Xiang and Jiang Sisi went upstairs to review tomorrow’s script.

Though Jiang Sisi was reluctant, as the host, if they were following the script, she needed to figure out how to make the scenes flow.

At eight that evening, the first recorded episode of Love Diary aired on the TV station, and resources went up online simultaneously.

A storm of controversy erupted across the internet.

The Love Cottage was quiet at the time.

Lu Rui came down from the second floor. No one was on the first floor, so she breathed a sigh of relief before heading to the basement.

The basement was where the staff and production team stayed, usually empty at this hour.

But the director’s room was lit.

Gao Qin sat in his office chair, frowning deeply over tomorrow’s script.

Lu Rui slipped quietly into the director’s room. Gao Qin heard the noise, looked up at the intruder, and froze.

Lu Rui wore a deep black nightgown, her long hair loose down her back, rounded shoulders bare.

She had a pretty face, and the nightgown accentuated her figure nicely.

Gao Qin’s gaze lingered on her shoulder, then flicked to the door behind her.

Lu Rui closed the director’s room door.

She walked toward Gao Qin with a smile. “Director Gao, I have an idea I’d like to discuss with you. Am I disturbing you?”

Gao Qin’s eyes shifted from her shoulder to her chest. He swallowed.

“What idea? Tell me.”