Chapter 24: Day 24 of Transmigrating into an Object Part 1

A reason…

Yeah, her eagerness to invite Shen Wenyi must seem suspicious. After all, their relationship wasn’t close enough to casually go see a movie together.

Not only were they not close—the fact that they could even meet without arguing was already a groundbreaking level of friendly interaction.

She had considered that Shen Wenyi might doubt her motives and had tried to come up with a reasonable excuse. She just… hadn’t managed to think of one.

Shen Wenyi wasn’t stupid. Last night, she’d said she wanted to thank her and gave her a gift, only for it to end miserably. Shen Wenyi had definitely suspected she did it on purpose.

If she used gratitude as an excuse again now, not only would Shen Wenyi not believe her, she might just snap right in her face: “The best thank-you is to stop annoying me!”

If Shen Wenyi actually said that, she wouldn’t even have a comeback.

So she couldn’t use gratitude.

What reason could she use, then?

Shen Wenyi sat in her nanny van, raising an eyebrow at her.

“Finished making something up yet?”

Without blushing or missing a beat, she lied, “Actually, I invited you to the movie to help us work better on Weiyang Palace.”

Shen Wenyi said, “Oh? How do you figure?”

She racked her brain, bullshitting recklessly. “Tonight’s film has very layered interactions between the male and female leads, and the scenes between the female lead and the supporting actress are also worth studying. I think it’s perfect for us to analyze and draw inspiration from.”

Shen Wenyi frowned. “What movie is it?”

How the hell would I know what movie?!

When she’d booked the tickets, she’d just filtered for the latest showtime at the nearest cinema and picked one randomly without paying any attention. A domestic film, anyway.

She pretended to be mysterious. “You’ll find out when we get there, won’t you?”

Shen Wenyi nodded slightly. “If it’s for work, then I have no reason to refuse. Didn’t you say the scenes between the leads are good? Little He, go check if Zhang Yang’s done filming and bring him along.”

What?!

“No!”

Shen Wenyi looked at her. “Why not?”

Because the System said I can’t bring anyone else along!

She said, “Uh… because… Zhang Yang still has another scene. Yeah, Zhang Yang still has a scene, and the movie’s about to start. If we wait for him, we won’t make it.”

Zhang Yang really did have one more scene to shoot—Shen Wenyi definitely knew that much.

Shen Wenyi pressed her lips together, lowered her lashes and thought for a moment, then looked up. “It’s really just to study acting skills?”

She nodded with righteous conviction. “What else? It’s not like I’d drag you out late at night to date you, right? I’m not a homosexual.”

Shen Wenyi smiled faintly. “True. Even if the whole world turned gay, you wouldn’t.”

She said, “Exactly. You might turn gay before I ever do.”

Was it her imagination, or did the temperature inside the car suddenly drop? Chilly.

Shen Wenyi said, “The location.”

She said, “What location? Ride in my car. I’ll drive.”

Shen Wenyi said, “No need. I’m used to my own car.”

She said, “It’s so late. Let Little He and the others go back and rest. I’ll drive you. Assistants are people too; they finally got off work.”

Shen Wenyi pursed her lips and sighed. “Suddenly I don’t want to go anymore.”

She shoved Shen Wenyi’s bag into the car, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her out.

“Come on, let’s go~ I’ll treat you to a late-night snack after~”

She kicked Little Xie over to Shen Wenyi’s car so the two assistants could head back first. Shen Wenyi got pushed into her nanny van, and she personally drove her to the movie.

She’d been pretty tired after a day of work, but now she suddenly felt a surge of energy. She chatted with Shen Wenyi as she drove, all about work stuff. That was the only thing they could talk about; anything else was guaranteed to lead to a fight.

She was talkative, Shen Wenyi not so much. After a few minutes, Shen Wenyi started yawning. She glanced over at the passenger seat—dark circles had appeared under Shen Wenyi’s eyes. She really was exhausted.

Come to think of it, during the time she’d been unconscious, Shen Wenyi had been running around handling things for her and never seemed to get proper rest. Then after getting back, she’d rushed right into work. The one time she finally got off early, she’d been dragged out by her to see some stupid movie.

Shen Wenyi had sacrificed far too much for her mission.

Why was she suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt?

She said a couple more things, then fell silent. Shen Wenyi didn’t seem to notice she’d stopped talking, her eyes slowly closing on their own. Within minutes, she was asleep.

She turned the heater up a little and draped the down jacket she’d taken off over Shen Wenyi.

Shen Wenyi opened her eyes for a look, then shut them again.

The car grew quiet, with only the faint hum of the engine and the alternating light and shadow from the streetlamps passing by.

She focused on driving. The show started in about twenty minutes, still plenty of time—just five minutes to get inside.

Suddenly, a faint, slightly husky voice broke the silence.

“Are you a homosexual?”

Why bring that up again? Was she that afraid she might try something during this late-night movie trip?

She said firmly, “Of course not.”

After a pause, since reciprocity was only fair, she asked back, “What about you? Are you?”

Shen Wenyi was silent for a few seconds, then said flatly, “If you aren’t, how could I be?”

See, this person—she was the one who asked the question, so why did she seem upset?

She said, “Then why did you sneak a kiss while I was unconscious?”

Eyes still closed under her down jacket, Shen Wenyi said, “I didn’t kiss you. Stop spreading rumors.”

Now that, she had to say something about.

She gripped the steering wheel. “Let me tell you, I might not have been able to move or speak at the time, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t lucid. I still remember you asking me about putting on lipstick and saying you’d only do it once I woke up. I’m right, aren’t I?”

Shen Wenyi shifted, pressing her forehead against the car door, shrinking into the jacket with her neck turtled in. Her long lashes cast shadows on her cheeks like butterfly wings. Her mouth didn’t yield, though, and she still wouldn’t open her eyes.

“I didn’t kiss you. It was CPR.”

CPR? Seriously, CPR?!

She’d considered this answer. Had she really guessed right?

It felt kind of absurd. The idea that Shen Wenyi liked her was absurd. Shen Wenyi giving her CPR was also absurd.

She laughed. “Actually, I figured as much. I just knew you couldn’t possibly like me. If you did, why would you have been at odds with me for all these years? You were this close to taking off your heels and just whaling on me.”

Shen Wenyi said sullenly, “I’m not like you.”

She said, “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I’m rough and you’re not?”

Shen Wenyi ignored her. She tilted her head for a look. The warm yellow streetlights flitted across Shen Wenyi’s face, softening that cool, aloof expression with a touch of warmth. The car’s heater gently lifted strands of her hair. Curled up in the passenger seat, Shen Wenyi looked so small, so pitifully delicate.

A proud, lofty flower, reduced to a little waif?

She couldn’t help the curve of her lips. It felt like malt syrup had been stirred into her heart—sweet, soft, an utter sticky mess.

She didn’t say anything more. Driving smoothly, she reached the cinema. By then, Shen Wenyi had fallen asleep. She timed it, waking her only with five minutes to spare.

“The movie’s about to start, Teacher Shen.”

Shen Wenyi let out a soft hum. That groggy, husky sound from deep in her throat, soft and tender, was an absolute otaku-killer. One random little noise and her heart felt like it was struck, pounding hard.

Good thing she was a woman, and still capable of functioning independently.

She picked up the down jacket she’d draped over Shen Wenyi, put it on, got out of the car and zipped it up. Shen Wenyi had already gotten out too.

The outdoor parking lot offered no shelter from the wind. The night breeze blew Shen Wenyi’s long hair into disarray. She shielded her hair with one hand and covered her yawn with the other, her own jacket still unzipped.

She swept her hair back over her ear, walked over and zipped Shen Wenyi’s jacket up for her. She straightened the downy collar and pulled the hood over her head.

“It’s easiest to catch a cold right after leaving a heated car. You should be more careful.”

Shen Wenyi let her lashes droop as if she couldn’t be bothered, murmuring faintly, “None of your business.”

She said, “No good deed goes unpunished, huh. I was just trying to help.”

Shen Wenyi ignored her, stuffing both hands into her pockets and heading for the outdoor elevator. A distant headlight swept past. Were Shen Wenyi’s ears a little red? Before she could make it out clearly, Shen Wenyi had already put on a mask and pressed a hand down to stop her down hood from fluttering wildly.

She put on her mask too, taking a couple of quick steps to catch up to Shen Wenyi. She pressed the elevator button and they went in together.

A midnight screening. Not many people. She told Shen Wenyi to go straight to the ticket check and wait. She herself ran off to pick up the tickets. After hesitating a moment, she still bought the two essential movie staples—popcorn and cola.

They got their tickets checked and went in. Screening room 5 had only a scattered handful of people. Without bothering to look at their seat numbers, they walked straight to the middle of a row near the back and settled comfortably.

Nice. Good view. Nobody behind them, and separated by seven or eight rows in front were only two couples. She counted on her fingers—six people in the whole room.

Satisfying.

The lights had been off since they arrived. The big screen was playing cinema promos. No sooner had they sat down than the ads ended and the movie began.

Shen Wenyi leaned back in her plush seat, legs crossed, fingers laced together resting on her knees. She perked up, eyes fixed on the big screen with a look of earnest study.

She glanced at her quest log. Seeing the words “Hold hands while watching a movie,” she couldn’t help the headache looming.

She’d only just declared she wasn’t a homosexual, and now she was supposed to reach out and grab someone’s hand… What would Shen Wenyi think?

Any normal person would suspect she was bent, right?!

No way! She was clearly, perfectly straight!

Beside her came Shen Wenyi’s confused voice: “This…”

She snapped out of it. “Mm? What’s wrong?”