SH – Chapter 3

The north wind whistled, and snow filled the sky.

One on the wall, one below.

Jian You quietly watched Yun Chu. Yun Chu had beautiful eyes—watery, almond-shaped eyes whose corners were tinged a faint red by the wind. They were so full of sincerity that one couldn’t help but believe whatever she said.

Jian You averted her gaze. “Sound familiar?”

Yun Chu: “Yup.”

Jian You: “Number one in the Acting Department, Class of ’13, at the Bei City Film Academy. Played the fourth female lead in the web series Like Stars, Like the Moon. Signed with Mangosteen Entertainment in your junior year. Left a deep impression on several directors with your superb acting skills… An excerpt from Yun Chu’s resume.”

Jian You asked, “Remember now?”

Yun Chu fell silent for a moment, then said in a small voice, “Teacher Jian, I was wrong…” The wind was making her a little cold. She sniffled, then suddenly caught a fragrant aroma. “That smells so good. Is that pork rib soup?”

Jian You watched her for a moment. “…Come down.”

Of the three people present, Wen Yi was the most delighted. She had been worried Jian You would scold her for letting a stranger in, but it turned out the two actually knew each other. She ladled a bowl of soup for Yun Chu and said, “Xiao Chu, so you’re a celebrity!”

Yun Chu gave a dry laugh. “I just play small parts. I’m not famous.”

She turned to look at Jian You, a sliver of uncertainty in her heart growing. Her tone was light. “Teacher Jian, you have such a good memory. You must have seen my resume that time I came to the set for a guest role, right?”

Jian You hummed in agreement. “It was hard to forget.”

Yun Chu recalled the wildly embellished claims on her resume, and her face flushed.

But as soon as she confirmed one thing, her heart sank. She took a sip of soup, thinking dejectedly, Jian You really doesn’t remember me. In bed, she had been wide awake, lifting my hair, cupping my face to get a better look, even kissing and biting me. And now, she gets out of bed and pretends not to know me.

“You live next door?” Jian You asked suddenly.

“It’s my grandma’s house,” Yun Chu replied, snapping out of her thoughts. “But I grew up in this alley. When did you move here, Teacher Jian?”

“Two years ago.” Jian You finished her soup and handed the bowl to Wen Yi.

Yun Chu did a quick calculation. That was probably the year Jian You had just won the award for best director. Her own career had stalled that year, and she hadn’t landed a single role. She’d opened a restaurant and spent all her time there, so she rarely visited her grandma.

Yun Chu said regretfully, “If I’d known, I would have visited more often. Then I could have met you sooner, Teacher Jian.”

Jian You smiled.

With Yun Chu there, Jian You wasn’t in a hurry to go to her room. She leaned back in her chair and watched the snow. Yun Chu seemed to have an innate ability to charm people. She said something to Wen Yi that made her laugh. “But I don’t watch reality shows,” Wen Yi said.

“Why not?” Yun Chu wondered.

Wen Yi said, “Don’t they all have scripts?”

Yun Chu was surprised. “You even know that?”

Wen Yi said, “I heard it from Xiao Jian.”

Yun Chu looked at Jian You. Caught off guard by the mention, Jian You blinked, then nodded. “I’ve written a script for a reality show before.”

Yun Chu asked, “Which one?”

After asking, she let out a little “ah.” “If you’re not supposed to say, don’t tell me.”

“It’s nothing I can’t talk about,” Jian You said. “It was also a dating show. Sisters in Love, Season 3. Have you seen it?”

Yun Chu’s eyes widened slightly. “You wrote that?”

As the phenomenal dating show of that year, Sisters in Love, Season 3 was a collection of high drama and shocking twists, and Yun Chu had followed it with genuine emotional investment. The final straight couple hadn’t worked out, but two of the female guests had announced they were together after the show ended, which pushed its popularity even higher.

“Wait,” Yun Chu said, putting down her bowl. “That show had a script? Were the two women scripted too?”

Jian You said, “They weren’t.”

“That’s good.” Yun Chu breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest. “As long as the CP I shipped is real.” She propped her chin on her hand and looked at Jian You. “I just never expected that you’d write scripts for reality shows, Teacher Jian.”

Jian You’s answer was simple and direct: “I needed the money.”

Back then, she had just finished paying for this house in full and was flat broke, so she took any writing job she could get. But she was protective of her reputation and requested to remain anonymous. The show’s director wanted excitement and drama; she was the contractor, paid to do a job, so of course she did as he asked.

Yun Chu, however, was amazed by Jian You’s talent. Even a casual project of hers had turned into a phenomenal show. She joked, “It would be great if you wrote the script for our show, Teacher Jian. It would definitely be a massive hit.”

Like all reality shows, Little Tricks for Love also had a script. However, to allow for some surprises, the guests could choose for themselves: some scripts were detailed down to every line, while others allowed for complete improvisation.

Yun Chu loved the thrill of a blind box and enjoyed surprises. Plus, since this was her first time on a reality show, she wanted the experience to feel fresh, so she had opted not to receive a script.

Yun Chu said, “By the way, Teacher Jian, did you get a script?”

Jian You liked to be in control of every situation, so she had requested one. “I did.”

Yun Chu was curious. “So who’s your main CP?”

Jian You opened her mouth to answer, but Yun Chu stopped her, waving her hands frantically. “Never mind, never mind, don’t tell me! I need a little surprise!”

Jian You didn’t press the issue and went back to flipping through the guests’ profiles and photos.

The sleeves of her winter down jacket were long, covering the backs of her hands and revealing only her slender fingers. Her nails were neatly trimmed and clean. From Yun Chu’s angle, the lines of her profile were exquisite.

She stole a glance, and then another.

Jian You is so beautiful, she thought. Even in the entertainment industry, which is full of gorgeous women, her beauty stands out.

Back in school, the acting department had been close to the directing department, so she had spent all her time hanging around there. Ostensibly, she was a diligent student, eager to learn by auditing classes, but in reality, she spent every lecture just watching Jian You.

Once, Jian You sat in the back row while she was in the front. She spent so much of that class looking back that she nearly sprained her neck.

Zhou Zhitao had made a sarcastic comment about it, saying that going to class with Jian You was great. “A professional cure for neck problems, guaranteed for a hundred years. Just keep twisting. Think of it as exercise.”

Yun Chu felt like she hadn’t matured at all over the years. She’d snuck glances in school, and she was still sneaking them now. Sooner or later, she was going to go cross-eyed.

The soup was finished, and she had warmed up. Seeing that Jian You had no intention of playing host—and knowing that looking at her any longer would just make her heart race—Yun Chu decided to stand up and stretch. “Well, Teacher Jian, I’ll be going now. Thanks for the soup!”

Jian You looked up. “Going?”

Yun Chu nodded. “Yup.”

Jian You said, “You mean climbing, right?”

Yun Chu: “…?”

Why is she insulting me!

Then, she understood what Jian You meant. Her face fell. “Teacher Jian, you can’t just abbreviate things like that. I’m wall-climbing, not crawling.”

Jian You said, “Oh.” She paused. “Then you should… climb the wall.”

Wen Yi, having just finished cleaning up, pushed the door open and came out. She said cheerfully to Jian You, “Xiao Chu is quite the wall-climber. Whoosh, she’s up, and thump, she’s down. Young people are so agile!”

Yun Chu: “…”

Wen Yi! Is that really something to brag about? Teacher Jian! You don’t have to look over with such an expectant expression! Aaaah!

Yun Chu was having an internal meltdown. What’s it like to reunite with your schoolgirl crush while you’re climbing a wall, only to have to climb it again right in front of her? She could definitely answer that question now!

Yun Chu squeezed her eyes shut and steeled herself. “Here I go.”

With a whoosh, she scrambled up, and with a thump, she jumped down. All in one smooth motion.

From the other side of the wall, she heard Jian You say, “That really is impressive.”

Yun Chu: “…”

Thanks, but I really didn’t need that compliment.

Although the old woman didn’t like her, she wouldn’t actually lock her out in the freezing cold. Sometimes she’d turn a blind eye and leave the door unlocked, she just didn’t want to see her.

Yun Chu stood at her grandmother’s door and knocked. “Grandma, are you asleep?”

There was no answer.

“I wanted to tell you, I’m going to be on a reality show. I have to shoot the promo photos tomorrow, and my flight is tonight, so today I—whoa!”

Before she could finish, something went thwack against the door from inside and fell heavily to the floor, scaring the rest of the words right out of her.

It was probably a slipper.

Yun Chu smiled sheepishly. The old woman’s temper was as foul as ever.

She knocked again, cautiously this time. “Good night then, Grandma.”

Fearing her grandmother would throw something else at her, she turned and fled.

Her room was upstairs, and from its bay window, she could see into Jian You’s courtyard. The stove used for the soup had been extinguished, and the yard was quiet. A loquat tree, its leaves withered, swayed in the wind.

After watching for a while, she flopped onto her bed and kicked her legs in the air happily a couple of times before pulling out her phone.

Yun Chu: !!!

Yun Chu: Taozi! Guess what! It’s fate! My wife and I are destined to be together!

Yun Chu: She lives next door to my grandma!

Zhou Zhitao, who was still awake, replied instantly: ? Since when do you have a wife

Yun Chu: Just now

Taozi: Who

Taozi: I thought you were going to be a nun for Jian You

Yun Chu: It is Jian You…

Taozi: ?

Taozi: Does Jian You know?

Yun Chu: It was a unilateral decision

Taozi: …

Yun Chu: Seriously, don’t you think it’s fate? We’re neighbors! I can see her yard from my room, and she even gave me some pork rib soup, and it was sooooo good T_T

Taozi: I haven’t heard from you in like five minutes and suddenly your life is full of drama…

Finding it too troublesome to type, Yun Chu started a voice call. They talked for half an hour as she explained in detail what had just happened, focusing on how Jian You had smiled at her several times and repeatedly emphasizing that Jian You had been the one to invite her down for soup.

Taozi was speechless. “Anyone would have taken pity on you, hanging on the wall like that.”

“Stop bursting my bubble.” Yun Chu rolled out of bed. The heat was on full blast, making the room stuffy, so she opened the window a crack. Just then, she saw Jian You returning from outside, walking her dog. “Jian You,” she breathed.

Zhou Zhitao asked, “What?”

Yun Chu switched from a voice call to video and aimed her phone at the yard next door. It was still snowing. Jian You had just gotten back from walking her dog, and her collar and hair were dusted with snowflakes. The Samoyed, not yet ready for the fun to end, was rolling around in the yard, refusing to go inside.

Jian You indulged it, dropping the leash and standing by to watch it play.

After a moment, she pulled her phone from her pocket. Snowflakes drifted down onto the screen, and she patiently wiped them away. They were too far away for the camera to get a clear shot. Zhou Zhitao asked, “What’s she doing?”

Yun Chu shook her head. “I can’t tell. Replying to a message?”

Zhou Zhitao guessed, “Don’t tell me she’s dating someone.”

Yun Chu: “…Don’t say that.”

But the more Zhou Zhitao thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. “Who else would you stand in the snow to text back? Even if you’re not cold, it’s hard to type with all that snow falling. You’d have to care a lot about the person!”

Yun Chu’s heart plummeted, her stomach churning with anxiety. She was already preparing for the heartbreak of a love that hadn’t even begun when the phone in her palm suddenly vibrated.

Yun Chu absently switched back to her screen.

It was a friend request.

Y: This is Jian You.