This was heartbreaking.
Ding Sishu shook her head again, and the big characters above her vanished. Her eyes really were going bad. She lowered her head and rubbed her eyes, and just as she did, a strand of hair slipped forward.
“Chives are inflammatory,” Nian Qiao said, her voice soft and gentle, as she ran a hand through Ding Sishu’s long hair.
Back at the hotel, Nian Qiao’s phone vibrated twice. After taking a sip of water, she swiped the screen open. The messages were just as she’d expected.
“You’ve worked hard. Get some rest.”
“Don’t let the wound get wet. Once I’m through with these next couple of days, I’ll come find you.”
Nian Qiao didn’t reply. She only glanced at the water in her cup.
While she was out on the balcony catching the breeze, she spotted Ding Sishu coming out for a smoke again—limping, yet still not forgetting her cigarette. Ding Sishu clamped an unlit cigarette between her lips, took a few dry drags, then poked the cigarette pack with the butt a few times before finally tucking the cigarette back inside.
Seeing Ding Sishu like that, Nian Qiao remembered telling her a couple of days ago to smoke a couple fewer. Had she actually listened?
Nian Qiao stayed outside for a while longer. Before long, Ding Sishu came back out—this time fresh from a shower. She rested both hands on the railing, let out a sigh, and fumbled around in her pants pocket for a good while. From her pocket, she fished out two cigarettes.
Actually, Ding Sishu didn’t want to smoke two. Normally, she smoked one before showering. She’d thought about how Nian Qiao didn’t like the smell of smoke and had tried to suppress the urge—but she couldn’t hold back, and instead her craving had only grown. When she finally smoked, she was still pretty happy. She mentally condemned herself for a second, then figured, well, Nian Qiao wasn’t sharing a room with her anyway.
After Ding Sishu went inside, Nian Qiao lowered her head and smiled. Back in her room, she saw the text on the screen again. “Are you asleep?”
“I’ve read the contract. Let’s find a day to talk.” Nian Qiao set her water cup down beside her phone.
These past few days, they’d been shooting two-hander scenes. If you asked whether they were easier—they were definitely easier than the explosion scenes. Following Nian Qiao around, whenever she had nothing to do, Ding Sishu would scroll through her phone and check the news from home. She’d never paid much attention to the entertainment industry before. Like most people, she’d only give a glance to whatever drama was popular. Now it was different—her boss was a big star. She had to at least be professionally relevant, right?
After a loop around the forums, Ding Sishu picked up a few fandom terms—”toxic solo fan,” “climbing the wall,” “stalker fan.” Having spent five years in Africa, Ding Sishu looked at fans tearing each other apart and could only feel that their footwork was awfully flashy. She couldn’t understand a single word.
What is this?
What the hell is this again?
Even their flame wars were “staying in your own corner and simping.”
Wild. Too damn wild.
“What are you reading?”
“Nothing.” She swore she hadn’t been looking at Nian Qiao’s “dirt.” Ever since Nian Qiao caught her last time, a small shadow had lingered in Ding Sishu’s heart.
“Miss Nian, you’re my ultimate bias.”
Looking at Nian Qiao, the fawning impulse surging up from the bottom of Ding Sishu’s heart couldn’t be held back.
“Ultimate bias?” Nian Qiao paused. She didn’t look like she understood, either.
That can’t be right. You’re a star! So many fans are howling “ultimate bias, ultimate bias” under your Weibo posts. Ding Sishu almost shed a tear for those fans. Your “ultimate bias” doesn’t even know what an ultimate bias is.
“I’m the one you like the most?” After reading the explanation on the phone screen, Nian Qiao turned to look at Ding Sishu again.
People with good looks basically possess a language “conversion” ability. They can make every single sentence sound incredibly ambiguous.
“Mm?”
“…That’s about right.” Steady your heart. How many people wanted to be teased by Nian Qiao? How many ever got the chance?
Seeing Little Sheep’s sudden goofy smile, Nian Qiao felt like laughing too. She looked down and saw several instant messages sliding into Ding Sishu’s phone.
Earlier, seeing that Nian Qiao didn’t understand, Ding Sishu had handed her phone over.
“Your messages.” Nian Qiao turned the phone around and pushed it to Ding Sishu.
“Okay.” Ding Sishu grinned foolishly twice, then glanced down. The chat window was already open.
She drew a sharp breath.
“Sorry, Nian Qiao is already in my bed.” That was a message from the fan.
That one was fine—still within “normal limits,” so to speak. That wasn’t what Ding Sishu was crying about. It was the messages she’d sent the fan earlier.
The chat had been scrolled up a little. Nian Qiao had probably seen it.
Society was in decline. Absolutely appalling.
“Didn’t Eat Chives Today Either”: “Honestly, she’s so cute, I really want to fck her.”
“Didn’t Eat Chives Today Either”: “Ah, this damned phantom limb, acting up again.”
“Didn’t Eat Chives Today Either”: “Don’t even think about it—Nian Qiao is already under me!”
“…” Ding Sishu looked up.
Nian Qiao didn’t seem as good-humored as before. Her face appeared to sink.
QAQ
“Miss Nian…” Ding Sishu spoke with difficulty. She felt she could still struggle a bit. This account wasn’t hers! She’d eaten chive buns this morning!
Nian Qiao’s face darkened, and she turned her head away without another word.
QAQ Don’t go! Unnie!
Nian Qiao still walked off without looking back.
When she heard the director’s voice, Nian Qiao turned around. As she turned, she thought of Ding Sishu behind her, and the corners of her lips lifted again. She didn’t look back—she simply left with a “solemn” stride, and she could feel Little Sheep trembling behind her the whole way.
Ding Sishu changed her username to “The Chives Have Yellowed.”
The moment she changed it, the fan messaged her again, sending her an early commercial of Nian Qiao’s. “Don’t go yellow—I’ll go green for you!”
In the video, Nian Qiao was around fourteen or fifteen. Extremely soft and adorable. Her face still had some baby fat. Nothing like the aloof goddess she was now. Well, of course—it was only after 《Contending for the Phoenix》 exploded that Nian Qiao started going down the aloof path. Ding Sishu stole a glance at Nian Qiao ahead of her. Even though she was a little scared, she still opened the video.
Little-girl-version Nian Qiao was so cute. She even stuck out her tongue. Ding Sishu felt healed. To calm her shock, she patted her little heart, and she didn’t seem as afraid of adult-version Nian Qiao anymore. She looked up and ran straight into Nian Qiao’s gaze.
Nian Qiao looked very serious.
QAQ
She was a little scared again.
By the time she finished discussing the scenes with the director, it was already very late. When Nian Qiao came out, she saw Ding Sishu hanging from the bar. Ding Sishu turned over on the bar, her back to Nian Qiao, seeming not to know she had come out.
Nian Qiao glanced at Ding Sishu’s ankle. It was still a little swollen, and even from the way she turned, it was obvious her leg wasn’t very agile. But her physical fitness was excellent—with both hands gripping the bar, she could do pull-ups without putting much strength into her legs. Her rhythm was steady. In the time Nian Qiao watched, she’d already done more than ten pull-ups.
Nian Qiao had been watching, but her gaze slowly drifted to Ding Sishu’s waist. The waistline was well-proportioned, a lovely sight. When she pulled up, the edge of her underwear peeked out again. White underwear made her skin look healthy and toned.
As for the other’s physical stamina, Nian Qiao did have some firsthand experience. That night, when Nian Qiao had lain over her back, she had held herself so well, so steadily. As Nian Qiao moved, her waist arched into a beautiful curve.
Slender, yet powerful.
“M-Miss Nian…” Seeing Nian Qiao walk out the door, Ding Sishu’s hands slipped, and she nearly sat down on the bar.
“Keep going.”
Ding Sishu touched the inside of her thigh. If Nian Qiao hadn’t been there, she would have been rubbing it already.
“No… Miss Nian, I’ll walk you back to the hotel.”
“Didn’t I tell you to go back first?”
Ding Sishu scratched her ear. She felt she owed Nian Qiao an apology. If Nian Qiao hadn’t seen it, fine—but since she had, it was embarrassing. Saying things like that, what difference was there between her and those sleazy middle-aged men?
“Miss Nian, I…” Ding Sishu stopped at the door of Nian Qiao’s room again.
How should she put it? Ding Sishu didn’t know how to say it.
“Come in.” Without looking back, Nian Qiao entered the room and went straight to the cabinet.
Ding Sishu swallowed, looking around. It was very late now, and everything was silent. Big Star Nian wasn’t going to silence her, was she? That was unlikely, right? Then she thought—wait, that’s not right. If anyone was going to do something bad, it would be her. Her combat power was far above Nian Qiao’s. If Nian Qiao wasn’t afraid, why should she be?
“Sit on the sofa.” Nian Qiao pulled out a first-aid box and took out medicated oil from it.
“Roll up your pant leg.” Holding the medicated oil, Nian Qiao walked over again.
Ding Sishu stared at the medicated oil in Nian Qiao’s hand. Was Big Star Nian “repaying resentment with virtue”? She was even going to rub medicated oil on her?
Ding Sishu shifted from “a little scared” to “a little expectant.”
“Hand.”
Nian Qiao shoved the medicated oil into Ding Sishu’s hand.
“What are you thinking?” Seeing Ding Sishu dumbfounded, Nian Qiao spoke. “Don’t know how to apply it?”
“I do, I do.”
“Apply it yourself, then.”
“Mm, mm.” Ding Sishu’s ears turned red, and she hurriedly bent over. What was she thinking? Had she read too many novels?
“Apply it gently,” Nian Qiao said.
The more Nian Qiao said “apply,” the more embarrassed Ding Sishu became. It felt so full of double meaning.
“You should be hired by the company, right?” Nian Qiao said.
“Ah?” Ding Sishu said. “Yes. I signed my contract with the company.”
“I was hired by Miss Nian, too,” Ding Sishu said.
“Weren’t you reading about my contract termination drama during the day?” Nian Qiao smiled. “If I really do terminate with the company, who would you go with?”
“Ah?” Ding Sishu was stunned. No way? Everyone online said Nian Qiao wouldn’t terminate. The several big movies Huateng was negotiating recently were all tailor-made for Nian Qiao.
“No… I didn’t read about that.”
“Little Smarty.” Nian Qiao blinked.
Ding Sishu’s ears reddened. She had meant to cover it up, but the other woman had taken it as her “dodging the issue.” She really hadn’t been paying attention to that. She was just looking at… little-girl Nian Qiao… Ding Sishu was too embarrassed to say it. It was a bit gross.
“Your news sources are really unreliable. Qiaoqiao won’t terminate with Huateng.” The fan was quick to react—the moment Ding Sishu asked about the termination, the fan said it was unreliable. “It’s total nonsense, too. Where did you hear it?”
…Could Ding Sishu say it was from the woman herself?
