Seeing Nian Qiao’s car, Ding Sishu’s tongue nearly slipped out of her mouth. What a coincidence. Ding Sishu had only done a few side gigs. She’d come for two reasons: to help her coworker, and to earn a bit of money. Nian Qiao’s car wasn’t flashy, but Ding Sishu had memorized the plate. As she watched, she thought — it can’t be that much of a coincidence, right? Spotting the driver through the windshield, it really was… that much of a coincidence. She glanced at the plate number, then slowly shrank back into a corner. Backing up, she bumped into the coworker behind her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Not feeling well.” Ding Sishu said. “Maybe heatstroke.”
The coworker glanced at the sun, which hadn’t even fully risen. “Seriously?”
She glanced again — Nian Qiao’s car had driven past. Just passing through. Ding Sishu breathed a sigh of relief.
Back home that night, Ding Sishu received a text from Tiantian, telling her to come to the studio tomorrow. Tiantian’s message made Ding Sishu a little nervous. Maybe guilt. Could Nian Qiao have seen her during the day? Whatever. She couldn’t hide at home forever. She replied to Tiantian and went to bed early. The next morning, Ding Sishu got up bright and early. When she arrived at the studio, Tiantian was already at the door. He greeted her and walked her into the meeting room together. Ding Sishu saw Nian Qiao, whom she hadn’t seen in a while. Yesterday she’d been too busy shrinking away to catch a glimpse of Nian Qiao in the car. So even seeing Nian Qiao’s car, Ding Sishu hadn’t been entirely sure it was her. In theory, Nian Qiao shouldn’t have been going out. The company hadn’t scheduled anything. The studio was Nian Qiao’s studio — established early on, specifically founded for her by Huateng, handling her day-to-day affairs. For a long time, the Nian Qiao Studio had been just a department under Huateng. In the past two years, for publicity purposes, the studio had changed course. This year, it was clearly pulling away from Huateng. For example, the current “Bayonet Squad” hadn’t been secured by Huateng for Nian Qiao — it was the Nian Qiao Studio. Due to Nian Qiao’s personal requests, Huateng rarely booked variety shows for her. Huateng genuinely respected Nian Qiao’s wishes. Apart from the Little Boss’s issues, it was no wonder Nian Qiao had stayed with Huateng so long.
If not for the studio, Nian Qiao probably wouldn’t have taken “Bayonet Squad” at all. It would be her variety show debut. She couldn’t pretend not to see Nian Qiao, so Ding Sishu gave a soft greeting. Nian Qiao kept her head down and didn’t respond. Didn’t she hear? Nian Qiao was wearing a light, airy outfit, radiating even more coldness than usual. Tiantian, however, was booming, patting Ding Sishu’s shoulder as he called out: “Miss Nian, Ding Sishu is here.”
Only then did Nian Qiao look up. “You’re here?”
Been here. She’d called out twice. Meeting Nian Qiao’s gaze, Ding Sishu swallowed. “Miss Nian, long time no see.”
Nian Qiao smiled. “Has it been long?”
“Captain’s here.” Just then, the Captain entered.
“Captain’s here.” Seeing him, Nian Qiao looked around the room. “We’re about all here. Let’s begin.”
“Little Ding, sit by me. I have something to show you.” The Captain knew Ding Sishu was coming.
This trip to the studio was probably arranged by the Captain. While idle at home, Ding Sishu had messaged the Captain, and she’d told her to rest well. As the Captain spoke, she glanced at the documents. Work arrangements. One look and she knew it was thanks to the Captain.
“Little Ding, you’re good at combat. These next few days, follow the coach and help Miss Nian train.” The Captain said.
“Okay.”
The meeting ran over forty minutes, covering work arrangements and preparation for “Bayonet Squad.” After it ended, Ding Sishu lingered in the meeting room. She had nothing else to do, but thought she should say goodbye to Nian Qiao — maybe Nian Qiao had instructions for her. She waited ten minutes while Nian Qiao kept talking with the Captain and the manager. The Captain was about to leave when she saw Ding Sishu. “Little Ding, coming?”
Nian Qiao probably had nothing for her. Thinking that, Ding Sishu followed the Captain out.
“Captain, did you arrange this?” Ding Sishu asked.
“Yeah.”
As expected.
“Miss Nian agreed to it too. When we record ‘Bayonet Squad,’ you’ll be accompanying her.” The Captain said. “Did you rest well these past few days? The workload’s about to get heavy.”
Ding Sishu nodded. “We start tomorrow?”
“Mhm.” The Captain said. “There’s not much time. Miss Nian has to film ‘October Beacon Fire’ in two days, and after that comes the ‘Bayonet Squad’ recording.”
Ding Sishu was stunned. “Hasn’t Miss Nian recovered yet?”
A tendon injury took a hundred days to heal. Did Nian Qiao have a hundred days?
“I mentioned that to Miss Nian. She said she wants to try.” The Captain said.
Ding Sishu had to respect Nian Qiao’s work ethic. She figured the “October Beacon Fire” crew must be struggling. They were probably praying for Nian Qiao to rest. Before, her acting had barely been passable without extra problems. Now she was limping around — how were the editors going to work magic? Ding Sishu found herself wanting to laugh. When Nian Qiao was being dedicated, did she ever think about how it affected others?
Even though their relationship had cooled, even though mocking Nian Qiao wasn’t quite right, Ding Sishu couldn’t help it. She pressed her lips together, watching Nian Qiao wobbling along ahead, desperately holding back her little white teeth. They were already in the training room. Ding Sishu had arrived early, chatted with the coach, and Nian Qiao had come in too.
“Little Ding, don’t just stand there watching.” Seeing Ding Sishu off to the side, the coach spoke.
Despite his bulging muscles, the coach was quite considerate. “Some moves aren’t suitable for me to demo. You teach Miss Nian.”
“Okay.” Ding Sishu finally set down her water bottle.
Nian Qiao had come fully prepared, dressed in proper training clothes. Her figure was stunning — all the right curves in all the right places, her chest impressively full. She was nearly rivaling Ding Sishu’s cousin.
“What the coach said just now was absolutely right. I have nothing to add.” Ding Sishu said. “The first step in combat training is building resilience — learning to take hits.”
“Miss Nian, are you up for it?” As she spoke, Ding Sishu glanced at Nian Qiao’s ankle.
“I can do it.” Nian Qiao was sweating, already half an hour into training.
Nian Qiao looked thin, and she was even thinner in Ding Sishu’s arms. Ding Sishu threw Nian Qiao down twice, and Nian Qiao’s brow furrowed. Pinned to the mat, Nian Qiao slightly clutched at Ding Sishu’s clothes. Ding Sishu’s face was also damp with sweat. She looked up at Nian Qiao. “Still okay?”
“I’m okay.” Nian Qiao said.
“Little Ding.” The coach, who’d been drinking water, couldn’t help calling out. “Be gentler.”
After the coach left, Nian Qiao and Ding Sishu practiced a while longer.
“Wait.” Thrown to the mat once more, Nian Qiao spoke.
Ding Sishu had trained rookies before. During combat drills, many female soldiers couldn’t take it. When they asked for a break, Ding Sishu refused. “Will the enemy give you a break?”
Ding Sishu wouldn’t dare say such a thing to Nian Qiao. Don’t be a hypocrite — but thinking about it, she climbed back over Nian Qiao anyway. “Miss Nian…”
“Hm?” Nian Qiao, cheeks flushed, looked at Ding Sishu, her breathing slowing.
“Um… well…” But under Nian Qiao’s gaze, Ding Sishu lost her nerve. So she was being a hypocrite. Whatever — this was different. A person had to be flexible.
Nian Qiao spoke. “Enjoying yourself?”
Following Nian Qiao’s gaze, Ding Sishu looked down. She was pressed right against Nian Qiao’s chest. Ding Sishu’s brain short-circuited. “Not bad.”
“No, wait—” She was pressed against Nian Qiao’s chest! Ding Sishu’s ears went red, and she scrambled to sit up. “Need a hand up?”
Nian Qiao looked at Ding Sishu for a moment before extending her hand. Ding Sishu pulled her to her feet.
Enjoying herself?
A little too much.
Remembering how she’d just pinned Nian Qiao to the ground — oh my god, roughly speaking, that was basically a counter-attack! Sitting up, Nian Qiao’s cheeks were still flushed. She looked at Ding Sishu, who scratched her ear and knelt in front of her.
“Upset that I’ve been ignoring you?” Nian Qiao said.
“No.” Nian Qiao wouldn’t think she was using her position for personal gain, would she?
Wrongfully accused! Even if she were, what she’d “gained” was… Ding Sishu sneaked a glance at Nian Qiao’s chest. It wasn’t her hands — it was her chest touching Nian Qiao’s chest. Nian Qiao’s chest was so soft that Ding Sishu felt her own was “hard as iron.”
While she was sneaking looks, Nian Qiao puffed out her chest. Ding Sishu looked up — Nian Qiao was looking at her. Clearly, Nian Qiao had caught her. So perverted. Ding Sishu felt ashamed of herself.
Nian Qiao’s face was tense, on the verge of laughing at the little sheep’s sneaky behavior. “Don’t want to stay by my side?”
“Huh?” Where was that coming from?
“Didn’t you just take a phone call?”
“Oh, that was a spam call.” Ding Sishu hadn’t been careful earlier and had picked up a call from a security company about an interview.
“Really?” Nian Qiao said. “You seemed to be getting along great with that spam call.”
Ding Sishu lowered her head, scratching her cheek. “You were the one who didn’t want me.”
The little sheep sounded a bit wronged. Nian Qiao had been the first to ice her out. She’d even suspected Ding Sishu of being a spy! Could Ding Sishu be a spy? When the Little Boss had been shouting at Nian Qiao, Ding Sishu had stood right in front of her.
“So you ARE upset that I ignored you.”
“I can’t out-argue you.” So somehow this became HER fault? Women were creatures of emotion, and even the thick-skinned Ding Sishu was no exception. She’d just stood up when Nian Qiao called her back.
“What?”
“Help me up.” Nian Qiao extended her hand.
As Ding Sishu helped her, Nian Qiao gently squeezed her fingers. Her voice was soft too. “Don’t accept other people’s offers.”
