Chapter 98: Just A Little Bit Of Tenderness Can Ignite Her
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng seemed to freeze on the bed.
She first looked at Xi Mo, then slowly moved her gaze to the leg Xi Mo was pressing on her. She didn’t move for a long time.
This time, Xi Mo also seemed to react a little late. In the silence of the early morning, she felt an indescribable awkwardness, but her leg still didn’t move away.
After staying like that for a moment, Xi Mo’s leg finally moved a little, about to pull back.
But Ruan Yesheng quickly shifted her body, her hands fast as lightning, and grabbed her leg in one move.
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng hugged her leg like sticky candy. She lifted her eyes, and the shimmering water in them was filled with endless charm.
"You... let go of me." Maybe she was afraid of touching somewhere on Ruan Yesheng, so Xi Mo didn’t use much strength to struggle. She only gritted her teeth and said.
"It’s not that I won’t let go." Ruan Yesheng squinted her eyes and smiled. "It’s just that the ‘pillow’ keeps moving around on its own."
Xi Mo: "..."
But Ruan Yesheng looked like she was just joking with her. Very soon, she let go of her hand and said, "I won’t delay your time. Go wash up first. After all, later you still have to rush to find out if Ding Qihong has been caught or not."
Xi Mo did plan to go ask around for news, but she didn’t admit to the description Ruan Yesheng used. "I’m not in a rush."
"Then I’m the one in a rush." Ruan Yesheng curled her lips into a smile.
Xi Mo glanced at her and got out of bed. Just as she was about to change out of her pajamas, she suddenly remembered something. Her hands paused, and she turned her head back a little nervously.
But when she saw Ruan Yesheng’s current state, the words that were about to come out of her mouth were swallowed back down.
Ruan Yesheng had already turned around on her own and said, "Go ahead and change. I won’t look."
Xi Mo stayed silent.
Last night before going to bed, she had changed clothes in a hurry. Now, she could take her time getting dressed and walk toward the bathroom.
By the time they were both ready, it was already close to eight.
Because of the hospitalization, Lin Qitang had given them a day off from filming. It was rare to get a good night’s sleep.
"Tangtang hasn’t come yet. The clothes and toiletries you brought this time can stay here for now. Later, let Tangtang take them back." Xi Mo glanced at the pajamas Ruan Yesheng had taken off and left on the bed. To be cautious, she added, "Anyway, these are just spares. You still have some in your room."
These things were brought over by Feng Tangtang yesterday evening, packed in a bag. Outsiders didn’t know what was inside. Everyone in the crew knew that Feng Tangtang and Ruan Yesheng were good friends. She often came in and out of this room, occasionally bringing things over. It could even be considered an unofficial assistant role out of friendship.
But if someone sharp-eyed saw Ruan Yesheng carrying a bag out of Xi Mo’s room early in the morning, they might find it a little strange.
"Alright, I’ll just leave it here. I won’t take it back," Ruan Yesheng said. "In case I want to come over and sleep again next time, it’ll be more convenient."
Xi Mo: "..."
Ruan Yesheng studied Xi Mo’s expression, which was almost frozen stiff, and laughed heartily. She then added, "I wonder if anyone outside knows I stayed over at your place last night. What if I go out later and get caught by lurking paparazzi? What should I do? I’m actually a little nervous."
Xi Mo said calmly, "You don’t have to worry about that. You can check our country’s entertainment news reporting style. Paparazzi always focus their sneak shots on heterosexual gossip. It’s always about which female celebrity met which male celebrity, or which male celebrity spent the night at a female celebrity’s place. Have you ever seen a major headline about a woman leaving another female friend’s room in the morning? Even if there is, it won’t cause much of a stir."
This phenomenon was rarely noticed by people, but Xi Mo pointed it out.
It was interesting, yet so common that everyone overlooked it.
Many female celebrities get very close to other female co-stars while filming. When they have gatherings in their rooms and get tired, they’ll sleep on the same bed to rest. Some even post cute pictures on Weibo, pouting and kissing at the set, or openly showing affection for each other. Fans below go wild, shouting things like, "They’re real!" "So sweet, sis!" "Please keep giving us sugar!" Each of them ships the CP so hard they almost pass out.
But what’s interesting is that most people enjoy the sugar but don’t actually believe it’s real. As long as the people involved don’t make a serious official announcement, everyone just sees it as friendship or fanservice for shipping. As long as it’s sweet, as long as it’s cute, as long as they’re happy eating sugar, that’s all that matters. Whether it’s real or not, only they truly know.
Paparazzi care even less about this. While marketing accounts might join in on the fun, no one really treats it as an actual scandal. That’s why the comment sections under same-gender celebrity interactions and real opposite-gender celebrity scandals are completely different.
This isn’t just in the entertainment industry—it’s the same in everyday life.
People think if a man and a woman are too close, they might be dating. But if two girls are best friends and sleep in the same bed in a dorm, no one finds it strange. Most people just see it as friendship.
In the eyes of many in this society, girls' friendships are naturally intimate. Even if they kiss each other, it's just seen as playful affection.
The phrase "only straight girls flirt" partly stems from this societal perception. If A and B are good friends, A is straight, and B secretly loves A, then A, unaware of B’s feelings, might hug her, sleep in the same bed, or even kiss her on the cheek. To A, these are all normal acts of friendship, but for B, whose heart is racing uncontrollably, it might feel like A loves her back.
Ruan Yesheng understood these social dynamics well.
Yet, when Xi Mo brought it up, she found herself in a daze.
Right. She liked Xi Mo. That was why she was so sensitive, why she worried about others thinking it was a big deal that she spent the night in Xi Mo’s room.
Because she had a secret—a secret so big it felt overwhelming.
She felt guilty, so she was overly concerned.
But in reality, she was overthinking it. The outside world wouldn’t even care.
Seeing Xi Mo’s calm demeanor, Ruan Yesheng sighed silently. It made her realize something, even if only a little.
Xi Mo was so composed. Maybe it was not because she had rationally concluded that there was nothing to worry about, but simply because she did not care.
She did not have feelings for her. That was why she had no reason to be concerned.
Was that right?
Ruan Yesheng asked herself, but she had no answer. The moment of hesitation she felt earlier, when Xi Mo pressed down on her leg in bed, was slowly fading away.
"That makes sense." Ruan Yesheng looked at Xi Mo and said, "After all, Yan Mu already said you're a ‘universe-level straight woman.’ The paparazzi wouldn’t even consider you spending a night with another woman as news, right? You don’t think it’s a big deal either, do you?"
Xi Mo: "..."
She stared at Ruan Yesheng, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with her all of a sudden.
Ruan Yesheng said, "I’m going back to my room. I forgot my makeup bag. I need to fix my makeup."
She opened the door, ready to leave.
Xi Mo called after her. "Do you want to have breakfast together?"
Ruan Yesheng stopped in her tracks. After a moment, she turned back to look at Xi Mo.
Then, she smiled. "Yes."
The slightest bit of her own fantasies could make her depressed.
But with the person she likes, just a little tenderness can ignite her.
Sour, sweet, bitter, spicy. A mix of emotions, all at once.
This was the unreachable feeling called secret love.
"Then come down after you finish your makeup," Xi Mo said softly. "I’ll wait for you on the first floor."
Ruan Yesheng nodded, turned around, and walked away, her steps light and quick.
Xi Mo went downstairs to wait. While waiting, she paid special attention to the hotel entrance. There were two people watching the door with sharp eyes, their expressions cautious. Earphones hung from their ears.
She guessed they were plainclothes police officers.
Guests were coming and going that morning, and the police were still monitoring the entrance. It was likely that they had not caught Ding Qihong yet, which was why they had not withdrawn.
After a while, she spotted Cui Jiayu, accompanied by a young police officer.
Cui Jiayu looked unwell. Her beautiful face showed clear signs of exhaustion. The young officer beside her seemed to be advising her to rest, but she refused.
Xi Mo was worried that Cui Jiayu would notice her staring, so she quickly lowered her head and looked at her phone.
Cui Jiayu walked to a secluded spot where no one else was around. Cheng Yu handed her a can of coffee and said, “Boss, don’t push yourself too hard. Your health matters.”
Cui Jiayu frowned and took a sip of coffee. “A living, breathing person—did she just vanish into thin air inside the hotel?”
She had accepted Gu Qisong’s testimony and carefully searched the floors above the sixteenth. But she hadn’t let down her guard on the other floors either. She had officers check every single room, questioning each occupant. Yet, in the end, the empty rooms remained empty, and in the rooms with registered guests, it was always the actual occupants who answered the door.
Cheng Yu said, “Boss, is it possible that Ding Qihong entered one of the rooms, hid herself, and then threatened the guest inside? Maybe the guest lied to us when they answered the door, saying there was no one else inside.”
“Are you stupid?” Cui Jiayu said. “If she really threatened a guest but wasn’t right beside them, the moment that guest had a chance to speak with the police, wouldn’t they immediately ask for help?”
“Then maybe she’s holding something important hostage,” Cheng Yu said. “Like a guest’s child. If the hostage is in her hands, of course, the guest wouldn’t dare tell us the truth. They’d have no choice but to obey her.”
Cui Jiayu rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. “If that were the case, the guest answering the door would have shown signs of distress, like nervousness. But we paid special attention to the ones who seemed nervous, and all of them had other shameful reasons. None of them were acting that way because of Ding Qihong.”
"Then maybe that person is just a really good actor," Cheng Yu continued. "We couldn’t tell, after all, there are a lot of actors from film crews staying here."
Cui Jiayu turned her head and gave Cheng Yu a sideways glance. "Alright, if she really took a hostage and forced the guest to lie, then that means Ding Qihong and the hostage were together—two living people. We checked every single room. Where could they possibly be hiding? Don’t even mention under the bed. We already checked every bed that had enough space underneath. Some were too low for anyone to fit."
Cheng Yu was at a loss for words. After a long pause, he said, "Then it’s like she really did disappear into thin air. This is bizarre. We even checked every guest who left through the main entrance, and there was no sign of Ding Qihong leaving."
Cui Jiayu stayed silent, watching the hotel entrance while sipping her coffee.
After finishing her makeup, Ruan Yesheng came down from the fifteenth floor. As she walked up to Xi Mo, she glanced toward the entrance as well.
Xi Mo typed a few words on her phone and showed them to Ruan Yesheng: "Ding Qihong still hasn’t been found."
Ruan Yesheng wasn’t too surprised. She signaled Xi Mo with her eyes, and Xi Mo quickly deleted the message before asking, "Where do you want to eat breakfast?"
"Let’s just eat at the hotel restaurant. It’s quieter," Ruan Yesheng said. "After eating, I want to stop by the set."
"Isn’t today your day off?" Xi Mo asked as they walked toward the restaurant.
"It is, but I feel fine, so I just want to take a look. Staying in the hotel feels too stifling." Ruan Yesheng's voice softened.
She actually just wanted to see Shen Qingbie.
Shen Qingbie had messaged her earlier, saying that she had to leave today. Since it wasn’t convenient to say goodbye in person, she could only send a message.
Yan Mu’s scenes were wrapping up in a few days. Since both she and Xi Mo were on break, Yan Mu’s schedule had been packed, requiring him to be on set early in the morning. Given Shen Qingbie’s relationship with Yan Mu, she might stay on set for a while before leaving.
"Then I’ll go with you," Xi Mo said naturally, almost without thinking.
Ruan Yesheng smiled.
After breakfast, Gu Qisong drove them to the set.
There were fewer people on set than usual today. Xi Mo asked the production coordinator a few questions. The coordinator explained that an outdoor set was being completed in the nearby mountains and would soon be put to use. Some crew members had been reassigned there, including several prop masters, who would have to stay for a few days.
Then, lowering his voice, the coordinator added, "Ruanruan, the police checked every room yesterday. I feel like something’s going on. They said they were checking IDs, but this morning I asked around, and a lot of people said the police showed them a photo of a woman and asked if they had seen her. That woman isn’t some murderer or fugitive, is she?"
"I don’t know," Xi Mo feigned ignorance. "The police came to my room to ask questions too."
"This is pretty scary." The coordinator showed Xi Mo her phone screen. "It hasn't been officially reported yet, but plenty of people online are already talking about it. They're saying the police raided our set last night. Some are even claiming someone died, which is why the police showed up. Now they’re calling our production, cursed. Isn’t that ridiculous? If people keep smearing us like this, how are we supposed to keep filming?"
"It’s fine," Xi Mo said. "The police will probably keep this under wraps. They won’t report it on a large scale. As for the gossip, there's always going to be talk."
They chatted for a bit before Xi Mo walked over to Ruan Yesheng and shared what she had learned.
The two stood close together, whispering. To outsders, it was an intimate scene.
From a distance, Shen Qingbie watched them. She pulled out her phone and turned to Yu An. "A'Yu, let’s take a photo together."
"A photo?" Yu An adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on her nose. "I see you every day. What do we need a photo for?"
Yu An had excellent eyesight and usually didn't wear glasses. The gold-rimmed glasses she wore this time were purely for decoration. Her features were exquisitely refined, and whenever she attended important events with Shen Qingbie, people who didn't know her often mistook her for an actress from the same company. But after speaking with her, they were invariably impressed by her sharp tactics.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
She always carried herself with the polished demeanor of an elite professional, but the addition of the gold-rimmed glasses lent her an air of scholarly elegance, with just a hint of allure beneath it.
That morning, before they left, Shen Qingbie had been particularly excited, showering her with exaggerated praise. "You look like a refined scum in these—seductive and stunning."
Yu An’s face turned dark.
Was that supposed to be a compliment?
Shen Qingbie's mouth never stopped running. Half the time, her "praise" felt worse than an insult. Yu An wished she could one day find a way to shut her up.
"It's rare for us to visit the Sui Ting set. Let’s take a picture to mark the occasion." Shen Qingbie moved to a spot where she could adjust her selfie angle, making sure Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng, deep in whispered conversation, were clearly visible in the background. Then, she smirked to herself.
Yu An crossed her arms, staying put.
Shen Qingbie dashed back, tugging at Yu An. "Come on, get over here!"
Yu An stumbled. "Wait a second, I’m about to twist my ankle in these heels!"
"Oh! Are you okay?" Shen Qingbie immediately let go in panic.
"I'm fine." Yu An shook her head. What could she even say? With this troublemaker, even if she weren’t fine, she had to be fine.
Shen Qingbie pulled her over to the chosen spot, lifted her phone, and said, "A'Yu, come closer. Your face needs to be pressed against mine."
Yu An: "…"
Not far away, Ruan Yesheng suddenly laughed at something. Her gaze never wavered from Xi Mo.
Xi Mo also looked at her and smiled.
Author’s Note:
Qingqing did a good job, and was rewarded with cuteness points.[.
