Chapter 115: Silly
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng saw Xi Mo’s face change. She clearly couldn’t stand hearing that stuff but still forced herself to save face. So Ruan Yesheng asked, “Are you scared of hearing this?”
Xi Mo sneered. “There’s no such word as ‘scared’ in my dictionary.”
Ruan Yesheng burst out laughing. “Huh? Why’re you suddenly quoting domineering CEO lines?”
“What’s that?” Xi Mo frowned. She didn’t really get it.
Ruan Yesheng looked her over, half teasing, half curious. “What do you even read online? You don’t know the trending domineering CEO quotes? And yet you said it so naturally.”
“What nonsense.” Xi Mo’s frown deepened.
She really didn’t read that kind of nonsense.
Xi Mo was always busy. She had her own plans. When she wasn’t working, she’d read, exercise, or practice piano. During bits of spare time, she might secretly scroll through celebrity gossip using a alternate account. Even though she knew all the fan slang and could figure out which star people were talking about just from initials, she didn’t know a single domineering CEO quote.
Ruan Yesheng realized she honestly didn’t know, and started laughing harder, clearly amused. She explained with interest, “Let me tell you, it has a source. There’s this story about a domineering CEO who falls in love with a girl from a poor family. They go into a restaurant to eat. It’s a regular-priced place that often does promos and discounts.”
Strangely, no matter how domineering the CEO is, he’ll always fall for a girl who looks completely ordinary. And she always has to be strong, like a blade of grass that bends but doesn’t break, no matter the wind or rain.
No one knows who made that rule.
Xi Mo didn’t say anything else. She just kept peeling her tangerine while listening carefully.
She wasn’t really interested in this kind of thing. But because it was Ruan Yesheng explaining it to her, even if it was something boring, she still found it oddly entertaining.
Ruan Yesheng went on, “Then the waiter came over and asked the domineering CEO what he wanted to order, and even recommended a few discounted dishes. The CEO frowned and said, ‘There are no such words as *discount* in my dictionary.’ Then he pulled out a gold card and handed it to the waiter.”
Xi Mo: “…”
Ruan Yesheng told this completely pointless story with vivid expressions, even mimicking the CEO’s voice. With a straight face, she said, “Then the waiter came back again and said since he ordered a lot, he’d hit the promo amount, so the restaurant would give them two free drinks. The CEO frowned and said, ‘There are no such words as “free” in my dictionary.’ Then he pulled out the gold card and handed it over again.”
Xi Mo: “…”
She frowned as she ate the tangerine, thinking, this CEO is sick.
“That’s basically it. Actually, there’re a lot of lines in the domineering CEO quotes. These are just a few random ones.” Ruan Yesheng thought for a bit. “But you know, the more I think about it, I don’t think your dictionary has the word ‘scared’ either. It only has two other words.”
“What two words?” Xi Mo actually had the patience to play along.
There was a trace of mischief in Ruan Yesheng’s eyes. “Your dictionary only has ‘not happy’.”
Xi Mo: “…”
Her face darkened a little, then she gave a snort. “I’m not happy.”
Ruan Yesheng was stunned for a second, then burst into laughter, shoulders shaking. She’d never expected that one day, Xi Mo would actually go along with her joke.
“You’re so silly,” Ruan Yesheng laughed.
"You are even more silly." Xi Mo replied to her.
The two of them just sat there in the room, chatting. Even the air felt soft and light, carrying the fresh and sweet scent of tangerines.
Time always passed quickly when it was pleasant. As it got late, Ruan Yesheng had to get up and leave. She opened the door and stood there, looking at Xi Mo, her heart filled with layer upon layer of reluctance.
“I’m leaving now. Good night,” Ruan Yesheng said softly, standing under the corridor light.
Xi Mo nodded. “Good night.”
Ruan Yesheng turned and walked away, but she had only taken a few steps when Xi Mo stepped out and called to her from behind, “Wait.”
Ruan Yesheng turned her head.
“I’m going to the set tomorrow,” Xi Mo said in a quiet voice.
Ruan Yesheng’s eyes opened slightly wider, and joy lit up her face.
Xi Mo had already wrapped filming and didn’t need to be on set anymore. Now that she was telling her she’d go tomorrow, the meaning was clear.
With something even better to look forward to, Ruan Yesheng returned to her room. After washing up, she still couldn’t fall asleep from excitement. Before, she saw Xi Mo every day mostly because they were working on the same set.
She hadn’t expected that even without work, she would still get to see Xi Mo.
Xi Mo was actually willing to go just to see her.
Ruan Yesheng could not sleep. She leaned against the headboard, holding her phone, scrolling through her past chat history with Xi Mo. The more she read, the more she smiled.
After a while, her message alert sounded. It was from Shen Qingbie.
Shen Qingbie sent a voice message, complaining, “Ruanruan, what should I do? I can’t sleep. Talk with me for a bit.”
Ruan Yesheng knew this was bad news. Once she started talking with Shen Qingbie, they would end up chatting until the end of time. There was no way she could sleep again. So she did not answer directly and just typed back, “What’s wrong?”
Shen Qingbie replied pitifully, “It’s not me, it’s A’Yu. Ever since we came back from your set, she’s been acting weird. She’s been hot and cold with me lately. You know how we’ve always been stuck together like glue—closer than real sisters—but now she doesn’t seem to want me around much. She barely chats with me unless it’s about work. And a few times, I caught her staring at me with a cold face, like she had something to say but couldn’t get it out. I’m not used to this at all. I’m so frustrated I can’t sleep.”
Ruan Yesheng sighed and replied, “Honestly, I think in this world, there might not be a person who can handle chatting with you. Your level of small talk is too high. Ordinary people like us aren’t qualified.”
Shen Qingbie: “…”
Ruan Yesheng tried to help her figure it out. “When someone suddenly changes how they treat you, it’s usually because of someone they met or something that happened. Since Yu An came back from the shoot, has she been dealing with someone often? Or did something happen?”
Shen Qingbie thought about it and said, “The company just signed a handsome guy. They assigned her to manage him. Lately, she’s been spending a lot of time with him because they have a lot to talk about. The company wants to package him.”
“Who?”
Shen Qingbie rolled her eyes dramatically in the hotel where her current filming crew was staying. “Some newbie called Lin Shunfeng. He came from an idol group survival show, he got second place.”
“I think I kind of remember him. He’s really good-looking,” Ruan Yesheng recalled. She had seen Lin Shunfeng’s photos online before. He had been the most handsome one in that show, but he messed up a dance and did not win first place.
Once Shen Qingbie got started, she spilled everything like beans pouring out of a bag, full of complaints. “A’Yu hasn’t been sticking with me lately. I’ve been filming these past few days, and she hasn’t come to check on me even once. But she went to Lin Shunfeng’s birthday event in person! A’Yu has changed. She promised me before that I’d be her number one priority. She said she’d only half-care about all those couquettish vixens. We even pinky-swore on it! But look at her now, breaking her promise just like that.”
“Lin Shunfeng—just his name sounds like a courier service—and she treats him better than me! I’m so mad. The company signs a bunch of new artists every year, but she’s never acted like this for any of them. Smiling at the new, ignoring the old—now I’m starting to believe A’Yu really fell for that little pretty boy. Otherwise, why would she be acting so strange?”
Ruan Yesheng: “…”
You just keep rambling and rambling.
“Yu An is not that kind of person,” Ruan Yesheng said. She still had faith in her. “She wouldn’t fall for a traffic idol like that.”
“Well, I think she would!” Shen Qingbie sounded very alert, like a detective possessed, her tone sharp as she analyzed the situation. “A’Yu’s mature and gorgeous. She has that intellectual beauty vibe. Put a pair of glasses on her and she’s just like one of those calm and dangerous types. With looks and power, big-sister types like her usually fall for pretty boys. She’s high up in the company and even holds shares. Even if she’s not interested, those pretty boys will throw themselves at her. You’ve no idea how desperate those newbies are to climb up the ranks. They’d do anything just to get more resources from a manager with real power.”
“Managers dating the artists under them isn’t anything new,” Ruan Yesheng said. “But usually, they keep it hidden. Especially for traffic idols—once they get caught dating, it’s basically a dead end. They’ll lose fans like crazy. The company would never let a manager date a traffic idol. Don’t let your thoughts run wild.”
“Of course I know that,” Shen Qingbie was way too familiar with celebrity gossip. “Even though the rules say it’s not allowed and it’s bad for the idol’s career, who can stop them from doing it behind everyone’s backs? As long as they never admit it and stay careful, it’s fine, right? Just last month, I saw Xiao Ling from the company—you know, that singer—secretly kissing his manager while hugging her. His fans have no idea, and they better not find out either. But we’re in the same company, and some things just can’t be hidden.”
As she spoke, she got more and more upset. “I honestly don’t care what other people do. Who’s dating their manager or not, what’s it got to do with me? But A'Yu just can’t! I’ve seen those little pretty boys at the company, all super eager around A'Yu. She’s got power, she’s rich, has so many connections, and she’s super smart. She’s really good at investing too. When you add up all her assets, turns out she’s even richer than me. With her being this perfect, successful woman, that Lin Shunfeng guy must be trying to cling to her thighs!”
“Wait... are you even insulting Yu An right now?” Ruan Yesheng rubbed her brow and said, “That sounded more like you’re praising her to the sky.”
“Did I?” Shen Qingbie was totally unaware.
Ruan Yesheng noticed something interesting and asked, “That’s weird. How do you know Yu An’s assets are more than yours? You already earn a lot, and she has lots of hidden investments. How would you know all that?”
“A'Yu told me,” Shen Qingbie said. “Her real estate, investments, savings books, even the money in her bank cards—she’s shown me all of it. I even know her bank card password. A'Yu never hides anything from me. Ruanruan, even though you and I are super close, I’m sorry—I can’t tell you A'Yu’s bank card password.”
Ruan Yesheng: “...”
…Well, did I even ask for it?
But it really was strange. Yu An had even shared her entire financial situation with Shen Qingbie. That showed just how much she trusted her. But now, she was suddenly acting cold, so no wonder Shen Qingbie minded it so much.
“Ugh, I’m so annoyed.” Shen Qingbie rolled around alone on the hotel bed while holding her phone. Then she lay there with the phone doing voice messages, and the phone almost fell and hit her face.
She did not even know why she was so annoyed.
But the moment she thought about A'Yu possibly being in a relationship, she just felt more annoyed.
She used to be the closest to A'Yu. But if A'Yu was dating someone, then they could not be close anymore.
“Don’t overthink it,” Ruan Yesheng tried to comfort her. “Maybe it’s just work. You even said the company is trying to promote Lin Shunfeng. Yu An is your manager, but she’s also his manager. And with her position in the company, you really can’t expect her to be with you every day. She’s such a busy person, but she still always stayed by your side before. I was even surprised by that.”
"Alright then." With Ruan Yesheng chatting with her, Shen Qingbie had finally poured out all the frustration she had held in for so long and felt much more at ease. "By the way, what time exactly does your wrap up party start streaming? The official account only posted the date and the streaming room before. They didn’t say the exact time, what kind of secret are they trying to keep? You tell me in secret, I’ll go wait."
"Ten in the morning," Ruan Yesheng said. "Aren’t you still filming at that time?"
TV dramas take a long time to shoot and produce. To keep the attention going, drama crews nowadays are smart. They don’t miss any chance to stir up buzz. On the day of the wrap up party, with all the stars gathering, streaming it live would create another huge wave of hype.
After the fans found out the wrap up party would be livestreamed, they were in an uproar and started counting down excitedly.
"I’ll have a break," Shen Qingbie said.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
The two kept chatting on their phones. But Shen Qingbie could talk too much, and in the end, Ruan Yesheng got so sleepy that she didn’t even know when she fell asleep.
The next day, Ruan Yesheng arrived at the set very early. Her scenes for today were heavy, and she had to prepare far ahead of time.
While listening to Lin Qitang explain the scenes, she kept glancing around the set now and then. There were busy crew members everywhere, but even though she kept losing focus, she still didn’t see the person she wanted to see.
"Alright, let's start!" Lin Qitang called out.
Ruan Yesheng walked to the camera position and, full of hope, turned her head to look again.
Xi Mo was sitting beside her rest chair, holding a tablet in her hands, and looked over at her.
A smile finally showed in Ruan Yesheng’s eyes, and she felt a kind of comfort that was hard to describe. Standing in front of the camera, she quickly got into the mood.
Author's Note:
With a frown, the domineering Director Jun-style line: "In my dictionary, there's only the word ‘cute’."
Not true [.
With teary eyes and a pitiful tone, the real Director Jun-style line: "Everyone, please give more ratings, more comments, more watering, more love, mwah mwah~"
