Chapter 101: I Am Interested
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
She waited a long time. Ruan Yesheng almost stared a hole through her phone screen, but she still did not get a reply from Xi Mo.
The message she sent just now was really just a kind of test.
Actually, she was not even sure if Xi Mo had seen those few selfies that Shen Qingbie posted.
Not to mention the pile of comments under them.
Even if she did see the photos, Xi Mo most likely did not notice that one comment.
But Xi Mo replied to her very fast before, and now there was no more sound.
Did that mean she saw it?
Ruan Yesheng was hoping, but also nervous.
Xi Mo, lying on the bed, was also a bit far away.
She quietly stared at the phone on the nightstand for a while.
In the end, she sat up, picked up the phone, unlocked it, and started typing in the message box: "I saw it."
Her finger hovered over the send button, not moving.
After a moment, she thought about it, then deleted those few words she just typed.
She typed again: "Are you interested in campus romance dramas?"
Then she pressed send.
Ruan Yesheng had been holding her phone the whole time, so she saw the reply right away.
After carefully reading the message, the happiness in her heart was suddenly replaced by confusion.
What did Xi Mo really mean?
Did she see it, or not?
She always felt that Xi Mo’s reply was like there was a layer in between, hazy and unclear.
If she had to guess, she could come up with several meanings.
Ruan Yesheng did not dare to speak too clearly, so she also asked back in that same fuzzy way:
"What about you? Are you interested?"
Xi Mo had first wanted to reply without thinking:
"If you are interested, then I am interested."
But she did not know what was going on today.
When she typed, her fingers were not as quick as usual.
She even felt a rare kind of nervousness.
She had just typed the four words “If you are interested,” when she accidentally sent it out — and there was even a comma at the end.
But after she sent it, she looked and felt something was wrong.
She was even startled herself.
Why did she send that?
What on earth went wrong in her head?
She quickly got flustered and took the message back right away.
From sending to withdrawing, it was probably just a few seconds.
Ruan Yesheng's eyes had never left the screen, so of course she saw that message.
When she first saw it, she already felt it was strange.
"If you are interested," — this sentence pattern was not normal.
It looked like something that got sent before it was finished.
A few seconds later, when she saw Xi Mo took it back, she felt even weirder.
She replied: “What does that mean?
It looks like you only sent part of it and didn’t finish, right? And why did you take it back?”
“It doesn’t really mean anything.”
Xi Mo’s neck even started to sweat a little as she replied:
“Maybe I got a bit sleepy and sent it halfway.”
“Then what’s the other half?”
Ruan Yesheng asked again.
“I don’t remember.”
Ruan Yesheng: “…”
Xi Mo kept replying: "I'm going to take a shower. I'm sleeping early tonight. See you tomorrow. Good night."
Ruan Yesheng had no choice but to also say good night.
She stared at her phone screen in a daze.
Xi Mo was also staring at her phone, lost in thought.
She sat still by the bed for a long while, gently let out a breath, then went to the bathroom with her clothes.
Shen Qingbie came home very late.
It was Yu An who drove her back.
She had finally gotten a few days off, but tomorrow she’d be busy again, so she had to make good use of the time— go home first and have a good, comfortable sleep.
Shen Qingbie leaned against the sofa scrolling Weibo.
Since she said she was hungry on the way back, and Yu An was worried she might eat something unclean outside, she rolled up her sleeves and went to the kitchen to make her shredded chicken porridge.
Don’t be fooled by how Shen Qingbie always posts selfies of herself eating all kinds of delicious food. She’s not really eating them. She has to keep her figure, so when she sees good food, she just tastes a little. She doesn’t dare to eat too much.
It’s not that she doesn’t like it. Actually, she craves it so badly. But what can she do.
But she can still drink the porridge Yu An made. It was light and just right. The shredded chicken was cut into tiny strips, and there was barely any oil. It tasted fragrant and smooth.
Yu An finished cooking the porridge and brought it over to Shen Qingbie. Shen Qingbie moved a bit and sat beside her holding the bowl, saying, “It’s really late today. Why don’t you not go back and just sleep here tonight?”
Yu An had come to Shen Qingbie’s house many times, so familiar with it that it felt like her own home. But she had never spent the night there.
“Alright,” Yu An thought for a bit and answered.
“Great,” Shen Qingbie was happy and smiled sweetly.
Yu An saw her smile and felt like her smile wasn't just sweet, it looked a little silly too. She didn’t know why, but she smiled a bit herself.
Shen Qingbie drank her porridge while showing Yu An the comments under her selfies. She said, “A’Yu, look, someone said your face turned red after I kissed you. How come I didn’t see that?”
Yu An: “…”
Shen Qingbie usually read comments a lot. After being around them so much, she got really good at using reaction memes, and she even knew lots of fan slang.
She looked at those comments and knew her fans were trying to ship her and Yu An as a CP. This kind of thing was super popular now. As long as it was two pretty people, fans would start pairing them up. But it wasn’t real. She totally got that.
And because she totally got it, she didn’t take it to heart. She just thought the fans were joking around.
Shen Qingbie put down her bowl and looked at Yu An seriously. She said, “Let me kiss you one more time and see if your face really turns red, okay? I’ve never seen you blush before, A’Yu.”
Yu An suddenly stood up from the couch and stepped back a few times. She said, “...I’m going home.”
Shen Qingbie got nervous. “You just said you were staying over. Why are you leaving now?”
“I just remembered I have something to take care of at home,” Yu An said. “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning.”
Shen Qingbie still wanted to talk, but Yu An already grabbed her bag and headed to the door. After opening it, she looked at Shen Qingbie who had followed her over and said, “Go to bed early.”
“Oh.” Shen Qingbie nodded while holding the porridge Yu An made for her.
Yu An left, but Shen Qingbie couldn’t stop wondering.
What’s up with A’Yu? She’s acting weird. Is she mad at her?
Did A’Yu not like her kissing her face? Before, she thought it was nothing. She and A’Yu were the closest. Kissing her face was a way to show closeness. If it wasn’t A’Yu, she wouldn’t even want to kiss.
Only A’Yu was the closest and most familiar to her.
So when she took selfies with others, she just pouted for show. Only when she was with A’Yu did she really kiss her cheek.
Shen Qingbie couldn’t understand, but she slowly finished the porridge. She was always easygoing and didn’t think too much about it. After showering, she went upstairs to her bedroom to sleep. Her sleep was sweet and deep.
At the same time, Yu An couldn’t sleep.
….
Xi Mo and Ruan Yesheng had been filming nonstop for several days on set. During this time, Liu Yusi and Ding Pei finished their scenes one after another. Yan Mu was the male lead and had relatively more scenes. After shooting a few outdoor scenes later, Yan Mu would almost be done too.
The day before the holiday, the two took the same flight to hurry back. This trip was very secret. Xi Mo did not want others to know about it. Feng Tangtang was not there, and Gu Qisong didn’t go either.
As soon as they got off the plane, a tall man in a suit came to pick them up. Xi Mo knew this man; he was an assistant close to her father, Xi Ji.
They followed Xi Ji’s assistant to a car. The window rolled down, and in the back seat sat a man with a cold expression.
“...Dad.” This was the second time meeting him, and Ruan Yesheng still felt a little nervous.
Xi Ji nodded at her.
“…Uncle Xi.” Xi Mo got nervous too when she saw her own dad. “Hello.”
“Hello, Xiao Ruan.” Xi Ji was much friendlier this time. “Where do you live, Xiao Ruan? Get in the car. We’ll drop you off first.”
Xi Mo quickly said, “Thank you, Uncle Xi, but it’s okay. I’ll call a car later, no need to trouble you.”
“No need to be polite, Xiao Ruan,” Xi Ji said. “The car’s right here, it’s no trouble at all. You can chat with Xi Mo on the way too.”
Ruan Yesheng stood beside Xi Mo and lightly patted her waist.
Xi Mo froze, her whole body tensing up. She glanced sideways at Ruan Yesheng. Ruan Yesheng was looking at her with hopeful eyes, clearly wishing she could stay with her a bit longer. Otherwise, with so much time left in the car, she really had no idea how to get along with Xi Ji. The pressure was too much.
Xi Mo had no choice but to thank him again and got into the car with Ruan Yesheng. Ruan Yesheng sat in the middle. Xi Ji's car was very spacious. Even with three people in the back seat, it still felt comfortable.
Back then, if Xi Ji and Xi Mo were in the same car, the father and daughter barely said a word to each other.
But now it was different. There was another person, and maybe to avoid making the guest feel awkward, Xi Ji would make some small talk. And since Xi Mo was wearing Ruan Yesheng's face, she naturally became the center of his attention.
Because of this, the atmosphere in the car was not too awkward.
When they arrived at Ruan Yesheng's place, Xi Mo finally got out of the car and said goodbye to both Ruan Yesheng and Xi Ji.
After going upstairs, Xi Mo received a message from Ruan Yesheng: "Don't worry, I’ll take care of it tomorrow. But since you can’t go in, what should we do? Should I talk to your Dad and find some reason to let you in?"
Xi Mo felt a bit heavy-hearted and replied, "It would be hard for my Dad. In the past, it was always just the two of us who paid respects. Don’t talk to him about it. I’ll just stay outside. Besides, I look different now. It doesn’t feel right to go in front of the tomb. Just help me talk to my Mom properly."
Ruan Yesheng could only say, "Okay. I’ve memorized all the details you told me."
Xi Mo opened the door to Ruan Yesheng’s home and sat alone on the sofa.
Tomorrow was her mother’s death anniversary, but now, she did not even have the identity to go and pay respects.
Early the next morning, Xi Mo drove to the cemetery.
This place was a private cemetery, surrounded by a protective fence with a main gate. Only members of the Xi family were allowed inside—outsiders could not even get close. It had not been a cemetery at first. It was originally a villa that Xi Ji had built back in the day, with a very large front yard and backyard.
Xi Mo’s mother had loved this villa when she was alive and often came to stay. After she passed away, Xi Ji buried her in the backyard and had a private cemetery built for her, hiring people to take care of it.
Most people, after death, would be buried in a formal cemetery. Being buried in a villa’s backyard was almost unheard of. Most avoided the topic of death and would never bury their family in a house, since once someone was buried there, the place was no longer suitable to live in.
But Xi Ji did not care.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Even though he was very busy, he would still come to this villa from time to time. On four important days—Qingming Festival*, his wife’s birthday, her death anniversary, and the Zhongyuan Festival**—he would definitely return, stay the night, and keep his wife company.
*清明节 (Qīngmíng Jié), also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day, is a traditional Chinese festival dedicated to honoring ancestors. It falls on the 15th day after the spring equinox, typically April 4th or 5th Families visit the graves of their ancestors to clean the tombs, make offerings, and burn incense as a sign of respect.
**中元节 (Zhōngyuán Jié), also known as the Ghost Festival or Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival observed on the 5th day of the seventh lunar month—which falls in August or September in the Gregorian calendar. It is believed to be the time when the gates of the underworld open, allowing spirits to roam the living world. People offer food, burn incense, and joss paper to appease wandering souls and ensure their ancestors are well cared for in the afterlife.
When Xi Mo reached the place, she circled around to the backyard and looked in from outside the fence.
There was a sacrificial table set in front of the grave. Only Xi Ji and Ruan Yesheng were there. From afar, she could see Xi Ji lighting incense and candles, while Ruan Yesheng was placing fruit platters and food on the side. After she finished arranging them, she gently placed a bundle of white chrysanthemums in front of the tombstone.
There was a photo of Xi Mo’s mother on the tombstone. She was very beautiful, very young, and her smile was gentle.
She had passed away when Xi Mo was only five years old.
Xi Mo lowered her eyes, bowed three times toward the tombstone, then placed the white chrysanthemums she brought on the ground beside the fence.
Author’s Note:
I said in the last chapter that you need to read more to understand better~ Now that we have reached over 100 chapters, the time to change back is getting closer. Please be patient. Everything will develop naturally.
Thank you very much for the ratings, comments, encouragement, and the Overlord votes in the last chapter, thank you~
Also, the cuteness points you earned in the last chapter have successfully doubled~
