Troublesome – Chapter 104

Mhm

Mhmm

Ye Wei’s heart and mind rippled¹ as she returned to the hotel, only then realizing she didn’t even have Jin Shuilan’s room key. Then she remembered what she had said about knocking. Did that mean someone was in the room?

She frowned in confusion, and a drum was beating at the bottom of her heart² as she went up the elevator. She kept feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

Before she could think it through, she was already standing at the door. 1302. She had been here a few times, but every time she had only passed by the entrance, never daring to knock. She would only glance at the door, hoping for a chance encounter with Jin Shuilan, though it had never happened once.

Ye Wei took a light breath and knocked on the door. From inside, a voice called out, “Coming.”

Lu Zhenqiu thought it was Jin Shuilan. She had just finished putting away her clothes and had taken a hot shower. She was lying by the head of the bed playing on her phone when she heard the knock. She jumped off the bed, walked to the door in two or three steps, and opened it with a smile. “Didn’t you say tonight…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw Ye Wei and fell silent for two seconds.

It was a little quiet all around.

Ye Wei looked at Lu Zhenqiu. She was wearing cotton pajamas, and although they were very loose, one could vaguely make out her fine figure. Her skin was fair, and her features were beautiful. She had the kind of looks that could attract someone at a single glance, with a completely different temperament from Jin Shuilan. Jin Shuilan was more aloof. Although she would joke with colleagues on set, people felt a sense of reverence when facing her, afraid of making a mistake in her presence. Consequently, there was a faint sense of unfamiliarity and distance with her.

But the Lu Zhenqiu in front of her didn’t give off that feeling. Her beauty wasn’t aggressive. Although the first sight of her made one’s eyes light up³, upon closer inspection, what was hidden in her bones was not cold pride and nobility, but a perfect fusion with gentleness.

A girl like this would instinctively make people like her.

But Ye Wei couldn’t bring herself to like her.

The two faced each other for a few seconds before Lu Zhenqiu asked, “Are you looking for Jin Shuilan?”

“Ah,” Ye Wei said. “Teacher Jin said she forgot the script in her room and asked me to come get it.”

Lu Zhenqiu knitted her brows. “The script?”

She had just tidied up and hadn’t seen any script. She said to Ye Wei, “I’ll give her a call and ask.”

Ye Wei nodded.

Lu Zhenqiu made the call in front of her. Jin Shuilan answered quickly. “The script? Oh, I just found it in the inner compartment of my bag. Help me thank Ye Wei. Sorry to have troubled her to make a trip.”

“Ye Wei?” Lu Zhenqiu’s gaze subconsciously flicked to the person in front of her. Hearing her name, Ye Wei looked at her. Lu Zhenqiu was speechless for a moment, then said a few seconds later, “I see.”

Ye Wei asked, “Did Teacher Jin say where she put it?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “She said she put it in the inner compartment of her bag and has found it now. Sorry to have troubled you to make a trip.”

Ye Wei waved her hand. “It’s fine, it’s fine.”

Lu Zhenqiu lowered her head. “I’m so sorry, Miss Ye. Let me pour you a cup of tea.”

After speaking, she walked to the table and poured a glass of water for Ye Wei. Ye Wei took it with both hands and took a sip. Lu Zhenqiu asked, “Would you like some fruit?”

“No, thank you.” Ye Wei wanted to be a little colder, but facing Lu Zhenqiu’s smiling face, she really couldn’t manage it. She could only give an awkward smile. “I’m heading back to the set right away. Thank you.”

Lu Zhenqiu nodded. “You’re going to the set too? In that case, could you help me bring something to Jin Shuilan?”

Ye Wei’s heart was dripping blood⁴.

But facing Lu Zhenqiu’s smiling face, she said, “Of course.”

Lu Zhenqiu turned, took a thermos from her bag, and handed it to Ye Wei, saying, “Could you take this to her? I had a cold the other day and have some instant drink mix left. She was coughing a little today, and I’m worried she might catch a cold too. This is a precaution.”

Ye Wei nodded.

So that was why Jin Shuilan went home a couple of days ago—because the person in front of her had a cold. Everyone knew Jin Shuilan hadn’t rested for several days, staying up night after night revising the script. To think she still found time to go back and visit someone who was sick.

Ye Wei wasn’t an idiot; she roughly understood what Jin Shuilan meant by sending her to get the script. This indirect method, which took care to preserve her face, still moved Ye Wei somewhat. When she returned and handed the thermos to Jin Shuilan, she asked, “Teacher Jin, is that your girlfriend?”

Jin Shuilan tilted her head, met her gaze for a few seconds, and gave a rare smile. “Yes.”

Patting her little heart that was still beating wildly, Ye Wei decisively returned to her post. Before dinner, Jin Shuilan went to find the director to discuss changes to the script. Originally, the setup of one plot point was going to require changes to several later installments. Now that this plot point was almost done filming, connecting it to the subsequent plots was no longer an issue, so Jin Shuilan shouldn’t be as busy from now on.

The director was a bit apologetic. “You must be exhausted these past few days.”

Cradling the thermos, Jin Shuilan took a sip of the water inside. “It’s been alright.”

The director said, “Want to go out for dinner together tonight?”

“Not tonight,” Jin Shuilan said. “I have something to do.”

The director didn’t ask what it was. After he was called away, Jin Shuilan sent a message to Lu Zhenqiu, asking what she wanted to eat for dinner. There was no reply. Clutching her phone, Jin Shuilan saw an actor approaching with a script, and she got back to work.

At six in the evening, the shoot ended. Jin Shuilan packed up her script and stood at the main gate of the filming location. The sky was dark, with only the streetlights casting a warm glow. After nodding to the crew, Jin Shuilan returned to the hotel. The hotel wasn’t far from the set, just two streets away. Her walking pace was noticeably faster than usual. She hurriedly brushed past pedestrians and entered the hotel with her head lowered.

When she reached the door, Lu Zhenqiu still hadn’t replied to her message. Jin Shuilan paused in confusion for two seconds, then used her spare key to open the door. It was pitch black inside, without a single point of light. Seeing this, Jin Shuilan suddenly had the illusion that she had never picked Lu Zhenqiu up at all.

The illusion was quickly shattered. She saw a raised figure on the bed. The standard room had two beds; she usually used the outer one to put her bag and scripts. Now, Lu Zhenqiu had tidied that bed and was sleeping on it.

No wonder there was no reply. She had fallen asleep.

Jin Shuilan’s hand, about to turn on the light, paused. She watched for several minutes by the faint light from the hallway. All her fatigue dissipated, and her heart overflowed with a sense of bliss. She turned and closed the door, plunging the room into darkness. She quietly changed her shoes, turned on her phone’s flashlight, hung her bag on the rack, and walked to the bedside. She switched on the bedside lamp on the other side. It was a pale yellow. She casually lowered the lampshade, and the light instantly dimmed. A halo of light spilled out, falling upon Lu Zhenqiu.

Lu Zhenqiu was sleeping quite soundly, her body fragrant. At a moment like this, even the scent of ordinary shampoo became an alluring aroma. Jin Shuilan slowly sat down, looking down at Lu Zhenqiu. She had just reached out to brush aside the stray hairs on Lu Zhenqiu’s forehead when her hand touched her skin and a spark of static electricity jumped between them. Her hand went numb for two seconds, and Lu Zhenqiu opened her eyes.

Lu Zhenqiu was dazed for two seconds, then tried to sit up. “You’re back.”

Jin Shuilan nodded. “Why were you sleeping? Very tired?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “I had nothing to do, so I took a nap.”

Originally, she was scrolling through videos, then scrolled through Weibo for a while. She saw some upsetting news and wasn’t very happy. She was pulled into a game by Xiao Yu for a bit, and finally, she fell asleep while reading Jin Shuilan’s novel.

After she spoke, she saw the message on her phone. “You sent me a message.”

Her just-awakened voice was a little soft, gently tapping on Jin Shuilan’s heart and stirring up ripples. She asked, “What do you want to eat tonight?”

“Um…” Lu Zhenqiu hesitated, finally looking at Jin Shuilan. “I don’t know either.”

“You decide.”

Jin Shuilan said, “Okay.”

After she finished speaking, Lu Zhenqiu gave a muffled cough. Jin Shuilan glanced at the bedside table—there was no glass. She took the thermos from her bag and handed it to Lu Zhenqiu, saying, “There’s still some warm water inside.”

Lu Zhenqiu took it, opened it, and drank a couple of sips. Her throat immediately felt less dry.

After drinking, she held the thermos and scratched her head as she looked at Jin Shuilan, her gaze bright. Jin Shuilan felt her spirit focus when she noticed her gaze. The originally spacious room suddenly felt small. She turned her head to meet Lu Zhenqiu’s eyes. Lu Zhenqiu put down the thermos and tilted her head up. Having just drunk water, her lips were moist and glistening. Lu Zhenqiu bit her lip.

As if some kind of radar had been triggered, Jin Shuilan cupped Lu Zhenqiu’s cheeks and closed her eyes, about to kiss her.

But Lu Zhenqiu turned her head aside. Jin Shuilan’s lips brushed against Lu Zhenqiu’s cheek—soft and warm. Jin Shuilan was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Zhenqiu said, “Who was that who came to get the script today?”

Jin Shuilan understood with the heart and comprehended with the spirit⁵. She sat down beside Lu Zhenqiu and said, “A colleague.”

Lu Zhenqiu tilted her head. “Just a colleague.”

Jin Shuilan repeated with certainty, “Just a colleague.”

As she spoke, she leaned in. Lu Zhenqiu mumbled, “I haven’t even asked… Mmph…”

Jin Shuilan didn’t listen to her question, taking direct action instead.

The itch in her heart⁶ from the whole afternoon was finally soothed by a kiss. Lu Zhenqiu had taken to chewing gum recently when she had nothing to do, mint-flavored at that. The tip of Jin Shuilan’s tongue was filled with a clear sweetness. The sweeter it was, the more she wanted. Her advance was too fierce for Lu Zhenqiu to parry. Her hands rested on Jin Shuilan’s shoulders, hanging somewhat limply. There was a vague feeling of teetering on the edge of a boundary, waiting only for a pair of hands, or a tone of voice.

Lu Zhenqiu tilted her head back slightly and called out, “Jin Shuilan.”

Her voice was very light, yet carried a hint of the soft vulnerability of sajiao⁷, and was very bewitching. With that one syllable, Jin Shuilan’s rationality shattered. She grunted in acknowledgment, her hands grabbing Lu Zhenqiu’s wrists. The warm skin was just as she had imagined—delicate and sensitive, carrying the fragrance of shower gel, even more bewitching than her voice.

“Qiuqiu,” Jin Shuilan called out, her voice a little lower than usual, very magnetic and tinged with gentleness.

Lu Zhenqiu tilted her head. “Hm?”

Hearing her response, Jin Shuilan called her name again, as if confirming she had received a satisfying answer.

“Qiuqiu.”

Clearly, nothing had been said, and nothing had yet been done, but Lu Zhenqiu was already red of face and red of ears⁸. Her face was completely flushed. Jin Shuilan thought of the bullet comments that had floated by during her livestreams.

Lu Zhenqiu really was too easily embarrassed.

She liked it so much.

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