Chapter 73: She Noticed It All
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The light in Ruan Yesheng's eyes brightened, and her body, which was leaning against the soft cushion, instinctively sat up straight. Xi Mo had replied to her so quickly, as if she had been waiting all along, and was so considerate.
No wonder there were no further messages from Xi Mo; she must have thought Ruan Yesheng was busy and didn't want to disturb her.
She felt both sour and delighted, and quickly typed: "I was delayed by something earlier, so I'm just getting back to you now."
Her fingers paused for a moment, her lips curling up slightly. With a playful thought, she sent a second message: "How do you know I was necessarily busy earlier? I may have read the messages and photos you sent and found them too boring and didn't want to reply quickly.”
Xi Mo still replied instantly: "You always respond to my messages quickly, unless you are busy with something important."
Then she sent a second message: "So I think I'm not boring to you."
Ruan Yesheng stared blankly at the words Xi Mo sent. Clearly, they were just common Chinese characters put together, but why did these words make her heart tremble so much?
She also somewhat understood that Xi Mo actually noticed her every move, but had never mentioned it before.
Suppressing the flutter in her heart, Ruan Yesheng tentatively replied, "Then what about me? Am I boring to you?"
Xi Mo's reply was still very quick: "Aren't I flirting with you? How could you be boring?"
Ruan Yesheng's eyes widened, thinking she was seeing things.
Then Xi Mo replied: "I made a typo. I meant to chat with you, not flirt*. Just correcting."
*聊 (liáo) - to chat, 撩 (liāo) - to tease/provoke/stir up emotions/flirt.
One input method to type on phone is the pinyin method where the user will just type the romanization of the Chinese character like ‘liao’ and a list of suggested Chinese characters will appear and the user will just choose which character the user wants to type.
Ruan Yesheng: "..."
She stared at those words for a long time, actually starting to be unable to tell whether Xi Mo had unintentionally made the typo or had intentionally made it.
She had some expectations in her heart, which allowed her emotions to fluctuate even facing just a word. It was precisely because she anticipated this way that she would speculate in that direction, though in reality, it might not be the case.
After all, some people are indeed like this. When they develop feelings for someone, sometimes they even start to believe that the other person might like them back. They scrutinize every message from the other person, trying to decipher its true meaning. Often under the influence of this infatuation, everything they see seems filtered through rose-colored glasses, laden with subjective interpretations. If they can interpret even a hint of perceived special meaning, it can excite them for a long time. But the sad reality often is that it's just wishful thinking.
She feared that these hopes would turn out to be empty fantasies, fueled solely by her own feelings.
If unsure, perhaps she shouldn't think too much about it.
Ruan Yesheng replied somewhat unsettledly, "It's fine even if you typed it wrong, I know what you mean."
She pressed the phone against her chest and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling, feeling a bit regretful. Was her response inappropriate? Should she say something else?
Unsure if it was influenced by the information she heard from Baseball cap, she felt like she wasn't in the right state of mind at the moment. Normally, Ruan Yesheng would seize such opportunities to casually chat with Xi Mo.
Outside, there came the patter of raindrops tapping against the window. The rain was coming down hard, and the sky was turning darker.
Yan Tinghuan looked over to the window and started to worry about the takeout she ordered: "The takeout hasn't arrived yet and it's already raining."
Xi Mo's message continued, "You said earlier you were going to eat, but you're busy, so you probably haven't had lunch yet, right?"
Ruan Yesheng had to admit honestly, "Not yet, I'll have to wait a bit longer."
"Then let me know when you're about to eat."
"Are you busy right now?" Ruan Yesheng sensed something and asked her.
"A little bit. Remember to message me later."
Ruan Yesheng sent another message acknowledging this, but she didn't receive any further replies from Xi Mo.
Xi Mo put away her phone and watched as Shen Qingbie approached her. Yu An seemed concerned that Shen Qingbie might say something indiscreet when outside, so she stayed close by her side.
Feng Tangtang was busy eating and didn't notice someone approaching. It was just her and Xi Mo at the small table. Seeing Xi Mo had already put down her chopsticks and was messaging someone, Feng Tangtang asked, "Ruanruan, are you done eating? Do you want more?"
"I'm almost done. Take your time eating, don't rush," Xi Mo replied, glancing cautiously in Shen Qingbie's direction.
Shen Qingbie and Ruan Yesheng weren't close, so why was she coming over?
Moreover, Shen Qingbie had arrived at the set around ten in the morning and had been watching her and others act ever since, without leaving. Logically speaking, Shen Qingbie came to the set for Yan Mu, but Yan Mu hadn't appeared in the morning. Therefore, Shen Qingbie should have been able to return to rest, yet she stayed to watch the filming until lunch break.
Although Xi Mo had been filming all morning, her keen perception made her aware that Shen Qingbie's gaze seemed to always be focused on her.
In other words, it seemed like Shen Qingbie was actually watching Ruan Yesheng.
Upon realizing this, Xi Mo wasn't pleased.
"Having a meal?" Shen Qingbie walked up to the table, smiling as she greeted.
Feng Tangtang looked up and almost choked on her food. She hurriedly swallowed and stood up, bowing repeatedly. “Sister Qingqing!"
Xi Mo: "..."
You're my assistant!
Stand up straighter for me!
Shen Qingbie glanced at Xi Mo, then at Feng Tangtang, and said, "Please, sit down, sit down. I saw you eating here, so I came over to say hello. I hope I didn't disturb you?"
Feng Tangtang shook her head repeatedly, "Not at all, not at all!"
She thought to herself, Sister Qingqing is really friendly.
But Xi Mo felt that the glance Shen Qingbie gave earlier seemed meaningful.
Although it was just a glance, and Shen Qingbie quickly turned to look at Feng Tangtang, she felt that Shen Qingbie's expression was somewhat strange, as if she recognized Ruan Yesheng.
Yet, she also felt that such speculation was even more inappropriate because if Shen Qingbie truly knew Ruan Yesheng, why would she appear unfamiliar? If they were truly acquainted, Shen Qingbie would have behaved as naturally and familiarly as Yan Tinghuan did initially in front of her.
But Shen Qingbie didn't.
Just as Xi Mo was still hesitating, unsure of how to talk to Shen Qingbie, Yan Mu came over again. He apologized immediately, saying, "Sister Qingqing, Sister An, have you been waiting long? I was delayed this morning by something. Come on, let's go eat. I know a restaurant with great food."
Shen Qingbie smiled and replied, "It's okay, we haven't really been waiting much. We've just been hanging around the set until now."
Seeing Shen Qingbie's attention diverted by Yan Mu, Xi Mo immediately took out her phone, lit up the screen, and held it to her ear. She didn't actually dial anyone but started pretending to talk urgently, saying, "What? What did you say? It's that serious? Okay, wait for me, I'll rush over right away."
Feng Tangtang heard her pretending to make a phone call and noticed her becoming anxious. She asked, "Ruanruan, what's wrong?"
Xi Mo replied, "Someone urgently needs me. I have to go."
Feng Tangtang felt worried for her, saying, "Hurry up and go. I'll take care of things here."
"Okay, please tell Yan Mu and the others for me. I'll leave now." Feeling increasingly uneasy about the strange atmosphere, Xi Mo wasn't prepared and felt if she stayed longer, something might go wrong. She made a quick decision to leave.
After Shen Qingbie and Yan Mu finished talking, they turned around and saw only Feng Tangtang sitting at the table.
Shen Qingbie: "..."
Yan Mu was also puzzled, "Tangtang, what's going on? Miss Ruan was just here a moment ago?"
Feng Tangtang explained, "Ruanruan received an urgent phone call. She saw you chatting and couldn't disturb you, so she left first and asked me to inform you."
Yan Mu understood and smiled, waving his hand, "Oh, I see. Everyone has urgent matters sometimes. Miss Ruan is always so polite."
Shen Qingbie looked somewhat puzzled, showing a hint of confusion.
Yan Mu led Shen Qingbie and Yu An to dinner, chatting as they walked. The conversation eventually turned to Xi Mo. Yan Mu said, "I was supposed to have a scene with Sister this afternoon, but Director Lin told me Sister took a leave today, so it's been moved to tomorrow. I hope Sister Lu doesn't suddenly schedule me for anything else tomorrow."
Shen Qingbie was shocked, "What did you say? Xi Mo took a leave?"
Yu An: "..."
Yan Mu nodded and said, "Yes."
"Do you know why she took leave?" Shen Qingbie asked immediately.
"Director Lin didn't tell me either. It seems Sister had something urgent come up. I'm not sure about the specifics."
Shen Qingbie kept signaling to Yu An, who pretended not to notice her.
After Yan Mu walked ahead, Shen Qingbie held back for a while. Finally, she found an opportunity to lean close to Yu An and whispered, "A'Yu, did you hear what I said yesterday? Xi Mo really took leave; she's sick."
Yu An: "…"
Shen Qingbie also realized her mistake, saying, "My meaning is that she has an eye condition. She has an eye disease and took leave to see an eye doctor. I didn't expect to be right."
Yu An: "…"
... you're a crow's mouth*, the sickest.
*1. a harbinger of bad luck/news/ a jinx, 2. a chatty and annoying person. 3. a person with a bad breath
.…
Ruan Yesheng sat on the sofa, listening to the rain outside, and asked, "Tinghuan, has the takeout not arrived yet?"
This translation is originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Yan Tinghuan, puzzled by her repeated inquiries, responded, "Don't you often say eating takeout isn't healthy? Why are you asking about takeout today? When did you become so interested in it?"
Ruan Yesheng didn't want to directly mention that Xi Mo had asked her to message her before eating, so she casually replied, "I'm just hungry. When you're hungry, who cares if it's takeout or not? There's only takeout available anyway. There's no rice or vegetables. Otherwise, I would have cooked myself."
"It's raining outside, so the takeout might be delayed," Yan Tinghuan said, then added with regret, "Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've had a meal you cooked."
Ruan Yesheng smiled, "There's no way around it. Xi Mo can't cook. If I suddenly started cooking, it would raise suspicions."
Before long, the takeout finally arrived. Ruan Yesheng went to the kitchen to wash a few dishes, transferred the food from the takeout containers to plates, and carefully arranged everything on the dining table.
Yan Tinghuan usually ate directly from the takeout containers to avoid washing dishes. Seeing Ruan Yesheng preparing dishes and utensils just for a takeout meal seemed quite incomprehensible.
"Let's eat.”
She invited Yan Tinghuan to eat while she herself hadn't started eating yet. Instead, she opened her phone and sent a message to Xi Mo, "I'm eating now."
Yan Tinghuan took a bite of the food and saw Ruan Yesheng smiling while looking at her phone, with a charming and affectionate expression. She immediately understood and clicked her tongue, "Tsk, it turns out you're reporting to someone. Of course, you have to do it properly."
"Eat your food," Ruan Yesheng retorted, giving her a sideways glance.
Xi Mo quickly replied, "What are you eating? Send me a photo."
Ruan Yesheng stood up and neatly arranged the plates and dishes, preparing to take a photo.
Yan Tinghuan couldn't stand it anymore and said to her, "Stop arranging. It's just takeout. Are you trying to make it look fancy for her?"
Author's Note:
A sweet and cute me will continue to update【.
