SH – Chapter 20

Jian You and Yun Chu returned hand in hand.

The small courtyard was bustling with activity. Zhu Wan’er was using the large iron wok, cooking over a wood fire, which made the stir-fried dishes even more fragrant. She, Pei Wan, Wen Xi, and Meng Zhaozhao hadn’t left the village; they had just wandered around nearby and gathered a lot of vegetables. Paired with some lean meat, the aroma drifted far and wide.

The four of them were about to start eating when the director’s team told them Jian You and Yun Chu were on their way back, so they decided to wait a little longer.

A wooden shelter had been set up in the courtyard with a stove burning inside. Wen Xi added more firewood, and as the flames leaped up, she exclaimed dramatically, “So pretty! Quick, film this.”

The follow-cam PD captured the scene.

“Meng Zhaozhao, quick, get your phone out and take a picture!”

The follow-cam PD: “…”

He’d gotten his hopes up for nothing.

“Why don’t you take it?” Meng Zhaozhao asked, pulling her phone from her pocket.

Wen Xi replied matter-of-factly, “Because I think it’s cold.”

“And I don’t?”

“Like I care.”

“…” Meng Zhaozhao said to the cameraman, “Cut this part out.”

Wen Xi glanced at her in surprise.

Meng Zhaozhao explained, “I’m worried you’ll get flamed to death by viewers after the show airs.”

Wen Xi opened her mouth to say something just as the gate creaked open. Jian You and Yun Chu walked in, holding hands.

Zhu Wan’er: Wow.

Pei Wan: Oho.

Wen Xi: ?

Meng Zhaozhao: That was fast… ?

Jian You said, “…Are you all waiting to eat?”

Pei Wan was the quickest to react. She hummed in agreement and said, “Go wash your hands. We were just waiting for you two.”

“Okay,” Jian You replied.

She let go of Yun Chu’s hand and walked straight into the living room.

Yun Chu… Yun Chu stood frozen in place. The hand Jian You had held was turning red in the north wind, yet it felt scorching hot and damp. She wiggled her fingers slightly, let out a long sigh, and fanned her flushed face. Meeting the guests’ curious, gossipy gazes, she stammered, “What are you all doing?”

The guests: “?”

Yun Chu: “Eating?”

The guests: “??”

Yun Chu: “Isn’t it cold eating out here?”

Zhu Wan’er: “…It is.”

Yun Chu wrapped her down jacket tighter around herself and asked, “Then why aren’t we eating in the dining room?”

The others: She has a point!

Yun Chu’s mind was completely occupied with thoughts of Jian You’s hand and how to divert everyone’s attention. Seeing them all looking at each other, trying to figure out who had suggested eating in the courtyard, she breathed a quiet sigh of relief and followed them into the living room.

Jian You wasn’t in the living room. The bedroom door was slightly ajar, letting a sliver of light escape.

Yun Chu’s heart pounded.

She hung her coat on the rack and hesitated for a moment before walking to Jian You’s door. She raised her hand and knocked. Jian You’s voice came from inside: “Come in.”

Yun Chu pushed the door open.

Jian You had undone her braid, and her long, curly hair fell languidly over her shoulders. She was sitting at the vanity, choosing a hair tie. Seeing Yun Chu enter, she looked at her through the mirror. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Yun Chu said. “I’m not sleepy yet. I wanted to spend a little more time with you.”

Jian You smiled. “So clingy…”

Yun Chu’s face grew even redder.

“Have a seat,” Jian You said.

Yun Chu felt as if she’d been granted amnesty. She was about to sit on the sofa when she suddenly turned to look at Xiao Lan. Xiao Lan had a bad feeling. Sure enough, the next second, Yun Chu walked over and said, “You can go out for now.”

Xiao Lan protested, “…There are still cameras in here even if I leave.”

It would still be filmed! It would still be broadcast!

“Mm, so I don’t need you,” Yun Chu said.

Xiao Lan: “…”

That stung.

Though she couldn’t witness the sweet moment firsthand, Xiao Lan was still a professional and retreated. Yun Chu closed the door and silently gave herself a pep talk. But when she turned around, she was startled to find Jian You standing right behind her. She instinctively pressed herself against the door. “Teacher-Teacher Jian!”

Jian You raised her hand, showing off the hair tie on her finger. “Is this one pretty?”

A bright orange persimmon charm dangled from the tie, a cheerful splash of color.

“It’s pretty,” Yun Chu said.

Jian You nodded and casually tied up her long hair, but she didn’t step back. She was well within Yun Chu’s personal space. As she lifted her arm, the fluffy fabric of her sleeve brushed against Yun Chu’s cheek.

“Teacher Jian,” Yun Chu began.

“Hm?”

“…I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“…”

“I was just thinking, we had a really nice chat today. And I was… uh, well, I just felt that holding hands would be a natural next step.” After saying that, she added, as if to cover her tracks, “Even if it’s just for the show.”

“For the show?” Jian You asked.

“Mhm…” Yun Chu’s voice lacked conviction.

“You don’t have to do that next time.”

“What?”

“If you want to hold my hand, just hold it. You don’t need to overthink it and come up with all these roundabout reasons. It’s not just about me,” Jian You said, taking a step back to look her directly in the eyes. “If I don’t like it, I’ll refuse.”

“You didn’t refuse,” Yun Chu pointed out.

“No,” Jian You said, glancing down at her own palm. “Holding hands felt… nice. What did you think?”

Yun Chu nodded. “It was pretty nice.”

But inwardly, she was cheering wildly: It wasn’t just nice! It was absolutely amazing! Palm against palm, warmth transferring between them—she wished she could hold Jian You’s hand for a lifetime!

Despite the storm of emotions inside her, she kept a calm facade. She didn’t even know how she managed to leave the room. Facing Xiao Lan’s gossipy camera lens, she mumbled, “I’m going to take a shower,” and bolted upstairs, right past the others who had just moved into the dining room.

“Yun Chu! Time to eat!” Zhu Wan’er called out.

“Okay!” Yun Chu replied, not even turning her head as she continued up the stairs.

Zhu Wan’er: “…”

Meng Zhaozhao also called out, “Jian You! Time to eat!”

“Okay-” Jian You’s voice came from behind the bedroom door, which remained firmly shut.

Meng Zhaozhao: “…”

“Something’s up with those two,” Meng Zhaozhao said, sitting down. “What on earth happened when they were out?”

Pei Wan said, “They came back holding hands. They must have gotten together, right?”

“I don’t think so,” Wen Xi countered, eating her rice. “Even though they were holding hands, their expressions were off. Besides, if they’re dating now, that’s happy news. Wouldn’t they have announced it to us?”

“That’s true,” Zhu Wan’er agreed. “They’re being so secretive. It’s making me so curious.”

Their discussion led nowhere. Yun Chu was upstairs, and it would be weird to go up specifically to ask. And they didn’t dare enter Jian You’s room. The guests all turned their gazes to the production team, but the director just shrugged; they hadn’t seen Xiao Lan’s footage either.

Wen Xi glanced toward Jian You’s room, then lowered her eyes, her mood clearly souring.

Meng Zhaozhao noticed her change in emotion and put a piece of pork rib in her bowl.

“Thanks,” Wen Xi said softly.

Meng Zhaozhao said nothing more.

Pei Wan and Zhu Wan’er clearly sensed the strange atmosphere at the table. They exchanged a look and ate in silence, the quiet punctuated only by a few of President Pei’s compliments on Zhu Wan’er’s cooking. Zhu Wan’er joked, “Is your company cafeteria hiring a head chef? I could drop my camera and take the job anytime, as long as the salary is right.”

Pei Wan took her seriously. “Sure. Fifty thousand a month.”

Zhu Wan’er dropped her chopsticks.

---

Upstairs.

Yun Chu only felt hungry after her shower. Luckily, there were some snacks in the mini-fridge on the second floor. She sat cross-legged on the small sofa, nibbling on them and staring blankly at the village scenery outside. Her phone, sitting on the coffee table, kept buzzing with new messages, but she ignored them until it rang.

It was Chen Jing.

Yun Chu sighed. “What’s up?”

“Why aren’t you replying to my messages?” Chen Jing asked.

Yun Chu said mournfully, “I’m lovesick.”

“…” Chen Jing held back for a moment, but couldn’t resist. “Things are going well between you and Jian You, huh?”

“Hm?”

“Someone ran into you two.”

“I saw the post. They took a pretty good picture of me.” Yun Chu looked at her hand again, then asked, “What was so urgent that you had to call me?”

“Well…”

“Sister Jing, just say what’s on your mind.”

“I just wanted to ask you,” Chen Jing hesitated for a moment before continuing, “do you know anyone in our company’s upper management?”

“Of course. How could an outstanding employee not know the leadership?”

“One-sidedly doesn’t count.”

“…”

Then the only one left was Jiang Yu.

Could it be that Jiang Yu had come out and revealed that she knew her in the process?

Yun Chu told a little lie. “No, I don’t. What’s wrong? Why are you asking?”

“Nothing,” Chen Jing denied. “I was just asking. It’s good that you don’t. They should be the ones getting to know you! Our Xiao Chu is about to blow up! I don’t know what happened, but those dramas of yours that were shelved are all being cleared for release.”

Yun Chu was surprised. “What a coincidence.”

“I know, right!” Chen Jing laughed with delight. “Joining this variety show was the right move! It’s just one good thing after another!”

Yun Chu hummed in agreement. “It really is.”

She hadn’t taken on many projects after signing with Mangosteen Entertainment. She was picky about scripts and roles, disliking playing repetitive characters. So, among the shelved dramas were an unyielding opera singer from the Republican era, an innocent and naive bunny spirit in a fantasy series, and a decisive CEO in a modern corporate drama.

Different roles appealed to different audiences; if they were released, she would definitely gain a lot of fans.

“Why aren’t you more excited?” Chen Jing asked.

“Sister Jing?”

“What?”

“After I get famous, will I have a lot more work?”

“Of course! In the past two days, some media outlets have already contacted me for interviews, not to mention promotions, magazines, and all that. I haven’t even had time to deal with it all… Wait, what do you mean? You don’t want to be famous?”

“No!” Yun Chu said. “Just don’t schedule too much work. Quality over quantity.”

Saying she understood, Chen Jing hung up.

The call snapped Yun Chu out of her gloomy mood. It all felt like a dream. She brushed her teeth in a daze, fell onto the bed in a daze, and buried her face in the covers, unable to stop a happy laugh from escaping.

How could such wonderful things happen in this world, and how could they all happen to her?

Was this reasonable?

It was definitely not reasonable!

The next day, the guests were woken up by the production team’s surprise wake-up call. They gathered in the living room in their pajamas to hear the announcement of the day’s activity, all thinking the same thing: This is not reasonable!

Yun Chu stared blankly at the production team, repeating word by word, “Draw lots… to decide… our date… partners?”

The director: “Mm-hm.”

Yun Chu: “…”

Zhu Wan’er: “Can I go back to sleep after we draw?”

Pei Wan: “If one of my employees woke me up at this hour, they’d be fired.”

Wen Xi: “Can you rig it so I get Wan’er? She’s already conquered my stomach.”

Meng Zhaozhao: “…”

Jian You: “You guys are full of tricks.”