Chapter 125: Spring Water
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
It was already late at night. Many hospital rooms had turned off their lights, and the hallway lights were also dimmed. But Ruan Yesheng’s room was still bright and quiet.
She stood at the doorway, right at the line between light and dark. She could clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat pounding like a drum, one beat after another, making her forget how to speak for a moment.
Xi Mo also stood there, looking at her for quite a while, before saying, “I’ve already said it. Aren’t you going to say good night to me?”
Ruan Yesheng finally woke up from the daze, and a smile bloomed on her face. “Good night.”
There was a moment of satisfaction in Xi Mo’s eyes, but then it was like she covered it up, and it couldn’t be found anymore. On her face was a bit of seriousness again as she said, “Since we’ve already said good night, I should go back now.”
“That’s it?” Ruan Yesheng froze a bit.
“What else?” Xi Mo asked back. “What else can it be?”
“You really came over just to say good night to me?” Even though just that one ‘good night’ already made Ruan Yesheng’s heart beat faster, she still couldn’t help but hope for more.
“Really.” This time, Xi Mo nodded lightly.
She answered seriously. Ruan Yesheng finally felt sure this was really what Xi Mo came for. In her heart, she felt satisfied, but also a little bit disappointed.
She came over just to say good night. It seemed like a very small thing, but Xi Mo still chose to do it for her. Ruan Yesheng had reason to believe that Xi Mo really cared about her right now.
But Xi Mo was also so stiff that Ruan Yesheng didn’t know what to do. She came to say good night, and she really just said good night.
You’re already here, can’t you say a bit more?
Fine then. Ruan Yesheng sighed in her heart. Since Xi Mo didn’t say anything, she’d just find something to talk about herself. Right now, even getting to stay with Xi Mo five more minutes felt good to her.
“Why didn’t you just say good night on the phone? Isn’t that easier and saves you the trouble of coming here?” Ruan Yesheng asked happily.
She really wanted to hear Xi Mo’s answer.
But Xi Mo’s eyes looked off to the side, like she felt awkward about answering this question.
In Ruan Yesheng’s eyes was a deep hope, like spring water rippling from a breeze.
After a moment, Xi Mo said, “It’s close anyway.”
Ruan Yesheng: “…”
The spring water in her eyes shook a little, like the wind suddenly flipped the waves, blowing so hard she almost couldn’t breathe.
Seeing the change on Ruan Yesheng’s face, Xi Mo paused, then changed her words. Her voice was calm but soft: “I wanted to say it to you face to face.”
A smile came back into Ruan Yesheng’s eyes.
Very good. Now that spring water was gentle and smooth again, like a nice sunny day.
Since she was in such a good mood, Ruan Yesheng just wished she could talk with Xi Mo more. But they were still standing at the door, and Xi Mo didn’t look like she planned to come in and sit. She would probably go back to rest soon. Ruan Yesheng couldn’t bear to part with her, but also hoped she’d sleep early. Her heart was full of mixed feelings, pulling her apart.
She thought for a bit, then decided to ask one last thing she wanted to know. After that, she’d let Xi Mo go back.
“By the way, did you also take a variety show lately? I don’t think I heard you mention it.” Ruan Yesheng remembered what Yan Mu said in her messages and asked Xi Mo.
She still remembered how confused Yan Mu was when she messaged her: “Miss Ruan, did Sister take a variety show? How come I didn’t know? She never does variety before. I just talked with her about writing lyrics, and she only said she’s very busy, not writing anymore, because she had to catch a variety show.”
At that time, when Ruan Yesheng saw the words in Yan Mu’s message box, she was also confused. She had taken a variety show, but Xi Mo hadn’t. From the start, Xi Mo’s plan was to take a break after filming Sui Ting, and wait until it was time to join Gu Ru’s crew again.
Ruan Yesheng told Yan Mu that she hadn’t heard Xi Mo mention anything about a variety show.
Yan Mu replied to her: “Huh? Did Sister just brush me off again? Maybe she thought I was nagging and didn’t want to talk about writing lyrics anymore. She used to do that too. Said she was busy filming movies, but later I found out she’s always picky about movie quality, so she didn’t even have that many movies to film.”
Ruan Yesheng felt it was strange. Why did Xi Mo use the excuse of variety shows this time instead of her usual filming excuse?
Could it be that she will really take part in a variety show?
That would be something unheard of. She had never seen Xi Mo in any variety show. It was hard to imagine what Xi Mo would look like in one.
“No,” Xi Mo said.
Ruan Yesheng looked closely at Xi Mo’s face and felt like she wasn’t lying.
"Then if you didn’t want to keep talking to Yan Mu about writing lyrics, why did you have to use the excuse of being busy with variety shows?" Ruan Yesheng was even more curious. Even though she knew Xi Mo didn’t always stick to the same excuse, she still felt something was off.
But the corner of Xi Mo’s eyes seemed to have a little smile, one you couldn’t catch if you didn’t look closely. She said, "I don’t go on variety shows, but that doesn’t mean I can’t watch variety shows. When I said I was busy with a variety show, it can also mean I was busy watching a variety show. Doesn’t watching variety shows take time too?"
"You even go out of your way to watch variety shows?" Ruan Yesheng looked like she had just discovered something new. "What kind of show? Is it that fun? You’re actually interested?"
Xi Mo kept a straight face and said, "I haven’t watched it yet. How would I know if it’s fun?"
Ruan Yesheng: "…"
Now she was even more curious.
Xi Mo actually chose to watch a variety show without knowing what it’s really about. That didn’t seem like her style. In Ruan Yesheng’s mind, if Xi Mo wanted to watch something, she’d always look up all the details first, just to avoid wasting time.
But Ruan Yesheng thought fast. She already felt something strange in Xi Mo’s words, but there was still a kind of logic in it.
Xi Mo wanted to watch a variety show, but she said she hadn’t seen it yet and didn’t know how it would be. If it was a show that already aired, Xi Mo would’ve had time to check it out first, then decide if it’s worth watching. She wouldn’t watch a show blindly without knowing anything.
Unless the show hasn’t aired yet and only has trailers out now, and she can’t judge it yet. But if it hasn’t aired and Xi Mo wasn’t even interested in variety shows, she shouldn’t be excited about one that’s not out.
Or maybe, the show hasn’t even been filmed yet, and Xi Mo was going to watch live.
Watching a variety show being filmed live could also count as catching a variety shows. If she followed this guess, was Xi Mo planning to visit a friend’s variety show set?
And it had to be a variety show being filmed recently.
Thinking of this, Ruan Yesheng looked up and stared straight at Xi Mo.
Her face slowly changed from deep thinking to a bright and beautiful smile.
She seemed to have guessed something. Her heart was beating fast. The more she thought about it, the more she felt her guess was close to the truth. But at the same time, she felt nervous, afraid she was thinking too much and being too full of herself.
After all, Xi Mo gave up her good vacation, and chose to follow her all the way to a small town in Sichuan just to watch her record a show. Was that really possible?
Zhang Zhiyin told her the conditions there weren’t very good and reminded her to prepare well.
“The show you’re watching, did it start airing already?” Ruan Yesheng tried hard to hide her nervousness and tested bit by bit.
“Not yet.” Xi Mo was honest. When she answered, there was a small smile on her lips that was hard to notice.
“Then… has the filming started?” Ruan Yesheng got even more excited and asked again.
“Not yet.” Xi Mo answered her very nicely.
“When will it start filming?” Ruan Yesheng's breathing got tight.
“In a few days.” Xi Mo’s smile at her lips became more clear.
“Is it… where will it be filmed?” Ruan Yesheng’s voice got even softer.
She was so close to the right answer. Ruan Yesheng clearly knew she was about to pick that fruit from the tree, the one that belonged to her, but she was still super nervous. Her heart was beating so fast it was like it wanted to jump out.
“A town in Sichuan.” Xi Mo finally said.
Her smile was like a breeze blowing through the hospital room. It passed by Ruan Yesheng’s eyes and landed softly on her heart.
It not only made the spring water in her eyes sway, but also blew her heart into soft numbness.
Ruan Yesheng jumped forward, stretched out her arms, and hugged Xi Mo happily. She laughed beside her ear and said, “Did you buy your ticket yet? What a coincidence, I’m also going to that town in Sichuan to film a show. Let’s go together!”
Xi Mo was hugged all of a sudden by Ruan Yesheng, and her ear felt super itchy.
She quickly looked behind her. Luckily, no one was walking in the hallway at that moment. Then she wrapped her arm around Ruan Yesheng and walked her back into the room, and closed the door.
After entering the room, Xi Mo’s body went stiff. She didn’t move.
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
Ruan Yesheng noticed she really looked like a wooden stick right now. Then she realized a bit late that she had acted too much. Her ears felt hot with shame, but on her face she looked calm like nothing happened. She let go of Xi Mo and smiled even brighter.
“No one saw, right?” Ruan Yesheng asked in a low voice.
“No one.” Xi Mo seemed to let out a breath of relief.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about gossip reporters.” Ruan Yesheng gave a small laugh at herself. “It’s just a hug, it’s nothing. Other people might think we’re sisters.”
Xi Mo: “...”
Ruan Yesheng looked at the weird expression on Xi Mo’s face, one that was hard to describe, and she almost laughed herself to death inside.
She was laughing but then felt a bit sad.
She didn’t want to be her sister.
She wanted to be her… girlfriend.
When Ruan Yesheng thought about that, even her heart started to tremble.
This word was like a branding iron wrapped in sugar, burning a deep and painful mark into her heart. It was a dream too high to reach, but it came with a sweetness she gladly accepted.
“I haven’t bought the plane ticket yet.” Xi Mo looked at Ruan Yesheng for a while before she spoke.
She always liked to plan things early. Every trip before, Lu Qingming would handle it all—booking tickets and all the small stuff. She never had to worry.
But this time, she didn’t know what time to book, or which flight to pick.
Because she didn’t know what Ruan Yesheng would choose.
“Then let’s buy the same flight and sit next to each other, okay?” Ruan Yesheng walked over and picked up her phone. She smiled while tapping on it. “I’ll check the flights now. Not many people are flying there these days, so it’s pretty easy to buy tickets. That’s why I didn’t book too early. Later on, it might snow a lot. Good thing the shoot is only for two days, we can come back quick.”
The two of them talked it over, picked the time and flight, and bought both the round trip tickets. It was just the two of them going.
“It’s okay for Tangtang and Mr. Lu not to go, especially since Tangtang’s been tired for so long, she really needs a break.” Ruan Yesheng was still a little worried and said, “But Gu Qisong won't go either?”
“I’m not recording the show this time. It’s like a vacation. I don’t want Gu Qisong following me everywhere. Sometimes I need space too, to relax a bit,” Xi Mo said.
But Ruan Yesheng still felt worried about what happened with Xi Mo’s allergic reaction. She said, “Still, I don’t feel safe. Strange things have been happening lately. I really think someone’s targeting you.”
Xi Mo went quiet.
Ruan Yesheng’s eyes lit up. She said, “We can check if Tinghuan’s free. If she can come with us, then we don’t need to be scared.”
Xi Mo frowned. “Yan Tinghuan? Isn’t she somewhere with no signal?”
Even though Yan Tinghuan always seemed a bit unreliable, Xi Mo knew she had real skills, so she didn’t say no right away.
“Maybe there’s signal now?” Ruan Yesheng said. “I’ll try calling. If she’s free, she can come with us. She has the cicadas. If anything weird happens, she’ll spot it fast.”
After a while, the call actually connected.
Ruan Yesheng let out a breath and said, “Tinghuan, finally you answered.”
When Yan Tinghuan heard Ruan Yesheng’s voice, she thought it was Xi Mo from the sound. She still didn’t know the two of them had already switched back. She said, “Goddess, wow, you’re calling me Tinghuan directly now? That means our friendship is leveling up. How about next time you call me Huanhuan?”
Xi Mo: “...”
Ruan Yesheng held back her laugh. She didn't tell her the surprise right away. She softened her voice and said, "Huanhuan."
On the other side, Yan Tinghuan got goosebumps and said, "Better not, goddess. I feel like I just got struck by lightning. Did you eat the wrong medicine? This doesn't sound like how you usually talk. Are you copying how my Ruanruan talks? You two aren't already behind my back, being that close, right?"
Xi Mo: "..."
After a moment, Xi Mo turned on the speaker and said, "How do you think I should talk?"
Author's Note:
The wooden block is going to watch Ruanruan record a variety show~~~~
Ruanruan, as long as you keep holding on,
the dream of having a girlfriend can come true [.
