Chapter 220: Vacation
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
“…I know.” Ruan Yesheng squeezed her hand slightly, then intertwined their fingers, and whispered, “That’s why I came to see you. To let you see me.”
“I knew you would come, I was waiting for you.” Xi Mo held her hand in return.
"No wonder you didn't lock the door." Seeing how certain she was of her arrival, Ruan Yesheng deliberately said, "What if you fell asleep while waiting and I still hadn't arrived? You wouldn't just be crying yourself to sleep, you'd be crying your heart out in your dreams."
Xi Mo: "..."
She choked on her words for a moment, but still sounded certain: “Even if I fell asleep, you would still come, lie down beside me, and sleep with me.”
Ruan Yesheng said, “I already said I would leave later, and now you are saying we sleep together.”
“You only said it. You haven't done it.”
Ruan Yesheng glanced at her, immediately let go of her hand, and turned to get out of bed: "I'll do it now."
Xi Mo froze.
While getting down, Ruan Yesheng held back a smile: “You are just relying on the fact that I like you, thinking I will definitely stay. Xi Mo, in this world, some things are not one hundred percent certain.”
Xi Mo directly leaned over, wrapped her arms around her waist, and pressed her cheek against her back: “Stop acting.”
Ruan Yesheng was clung to, like a big cat. She lowered her head in surrender, no longer resisting, letting herself be held.
“I’m relying on the fact that you like me. If one day I can't rely on that anymore, it means you don’tt like me that much anymore.” Xi Mo asked softly, “Yesheng, can you… let me keep relying on this?”
Can you keep liking me like that forever?
That intense love, the kind that started in their youth, the kind where it had to be her. Now that she had tasted it, how could she bear to let go even a little? She regretted even more why she only truly tasted it now. Her past self really didn't know what was good for her. If she could go back to college, she would slap her younger self without a second thought.
Others might misunderstand Xi Mo’s meaning, but how could Ruan Yesheng not understand?
“Why are your sweet nothings always so strange?” Ruan Yesheng rubbed the hand Xi Mo had wrapped around her from behind.
"It's enough that you understand," Xi Mo said. "I know you understand."
Ruan Yesheng chuckled softly.
Xi Mo leaned close to her and said earnestly: “You should also rely on the fact that I like you. We rely on each other.”
Ruan Yesheng turned her face to look at her: “So we rely on each other and become very arrogant together?”
“…Mm.” Xi Mo rubbed against her back once.
The two lay back under the blanket, talking for a while. Xi Mo turned off the lamp by the bed and said, “Sleep.”
“You still haven’t said goodnight to me.” Ruan Yesheng said.
Xi Mo quickly said, “Goodnight.”
“This program still needs an upgrade.” Ruan Yesheng said. “You still haven't given me a goodnight kiss.”
Xi Mo moved closer to her and kissed her lips in the dark.
Feeling the warmth on her lips, Ruan Yesheng hugged Xi Mo tightly, responding to the tenderness between their lips.
After a long kiss, Xi Mo softly said, “Don’t be afraid. Your mom will be found. Since it might be the same kind of thing behind this, there may still be clues your mom left behind in that village in Guizhou that have not been found. I still want to go to that village, but we can't act rashly. We need to wait for the right chance. And we need to discuss it with Uncle and the others, then find a way to get their permission and team support, and also find helpers.”
“For helpers, are you thinking of Tinghuan?” Ruan Yesheng agreed with Xi Mo’s thoughts and asked.
Yan Tinghuan raised cicadas. That alone was already beyond ordinary people. Moreover, after investigating together with Ruan Yesheng all these years, among the people they knew, Yan Tinghuan was indeed the best choice.
“Yes.” Xi Mo said. “When she comes back, we will ask what she thinks.”
“It might take Tinghuan a long time to come back. I got her email. She has something important to deal with in Wuyuan and will be held up for quite a while.”
“Then we will wait patiently for her.”
“Okay.” Ruan Yesheng nodded.
The two fell asleep in each other's arms. The winter night was cold, and they were each other's source of warmth and comfort at this moment.
The next morning, Ruan Yesheng was afraid people at the Xi Manor would see her coming out of Xi Mo’s room, so she got up very early, wanting to go back sooner. Hearing her movements, Xi Mo also woke up and hugged her, unwilling to let her leave: “It’s so early. Don't you want to sleep a bit longer?”
“What if your family sees me?” Ruan Yesheng touched her face.
Xi Mo’s heart tightened. Reluctant to let her go, she cautiously guessed: “Do you think we might be feeling guilty? Actually, people think we are good friends. It is pretty normal for good friends to sleep together?”
Ruan Yesheng could not help laughing: “Really?”
“…Really, right?” Xi Mo herself was only half-convinced.
“I don’t know what others would think.” Ruan Yesheng carefully said, “But the way your dad looks at people makes me nervous. I don't know what he is thinking, especially since he knows many things but doesn’t say them.”
Xi Mo's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly said, "Then...go first. Let's go home early, we won't have so many worries at home."
Ruan Yesheng bent down and kissed her on the cheek, then got dressed and got out of bed. Xi Mo watched her walk out of the room.
In the morning, the two returned to Xi Mo’s villa and finally relaxed. It was still the New Year holiday, but some security staff and helpers stayed on duty in the villa because wages were tripled during this time. Also, Xi Mo usually treated the people taking care of the villa very well, so many chose to stay. Anyway, when some of them went home for the New Year, they also had to deal with relatives pushing marriage and asking endless questions, so everyone felt staying in the big villa was better.
Every year at this time, as usual, Xi Mo would invite everyone to eat a New Year meal together and give each person an extra big red envelope. Originally this was a special benefit for the villa staff, but Feng Tangtang was sitting at home and suddenly received a transfer from Xi Mo for the same amount, shocking her. Gu Qisong got one too.
On the second day of the New Year, Xi Mo visited Feng Tangtang’s house with Ruan Yesheng. They had already brought gifts, and now Xi Mo also gave New Year money. Feng Tangtang was deeply grateful and thought she still wanted to work for Sister Xi in her next life.
Zhou Wenxu stayed every year. After everyone else left to get busy, he found Xi Mo alone and handed the big red envelope back to her, saying, “Xi Mo, this year, I can't accept this red envelope.”
“What’s the matter?” Xi Mo found it strange. Every year before, Zhou Wenxu accepted it, so she thought maybe something had happened.
Zhou Wenxu said guiltily: “There’s something I never told you before. I actually already knew Gu Qisong. He is my friend. I was the one who vouched for him so he could apply to be a bodyguard under Lu Qingming. I should have told you back then, but I was worried that since you didn’t know him well, you would think he got in through connections and not trust his real ability. So I thought I would wait until he worked for a while, until you understood his ability, then tell you.”
Xi Mo was indeed a little surprised at first, but she said, "I knew that someone must have vouched for Gu Qisong. When we were looking for bodyguards to accompany him on set, it was through Lu Qingming and my dad. They wouldn't trust someone from outside with no background to apply, so there must have been an internal guarantee. I just didn't expect it was you who vouched for him."
Zhou Wenxu lowered his head: “Gu Qisong has a lot of financial pressure. He really needed this job. He has a younger sister at home who has been getting treatment, and I was afraid he wouldn’t get hired.”
“You don't need to worry about that.” Xi Mo said. “Actually, with your recommendation, I trust his ability even more. You wouldn't let someone who couldn’t protect me stay by my side. Take the red envelope. Everyone has one. How can you not? You have been here since college. I know what kind of person you are.”
Zhou Wenxu was deeply moved: “Thank you.”
Standing nearby, Ruan Yesheng smiled.
She sensed that Xi Mo was indeed very different from before. In the past, Xi Mo probably wouldn't have been so honest with Zhou Wenxu about these things. Now, she was willing to clearly express her thoughts to the people around her, which also helped to bridge the gap between them.
Wood, by its very nature, was something that brought warmth.
After the New Year holiday ended, Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo returned to Beijing and continued filming for ‘Seeing This Letter…’
Gu Cen and Li Siran lived in Beijing. As long as the group had no activities, Gu Cen would visit Li Siran on set, dragging both Li Siran and also Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo to all kinds of places she thought had good food. Gu Cen never sat properly on set and often directly sat on Li Siran’s lap while scrolling on her phone. Everyone in the crew knew they were close, and because of Gu Cen’s older brother and sister, people in the crew were especially polite to Li Siran.
Gu Ru always pursued perfection, so the filming cycle dragged on. Gradually, the weather turned warm. Everything was full of life, and the breeze felt warm. It should have been a relaxing season, but something happened on Gu Ru’s side, forcing the crew to take a break.
More accurately, something happened to Gu Cen, and it affected Gu Ru.
No one knew what happened, but a video suddenly appeared online. In it, Gu Cen pointed at someone and loudly cursed them. From the filming angle, it looked like Gu Cen was scolding the person recording the video. While Gu Cen talked, that person kept filming. Gu Cen was so angry she exploded and cursed again at the person filming: “You shameless old geezer, all you know is suck blood! I’m telling you, if you dare come again, just try me! You’re still filming! Put your phone down! What are you trying to do?!”
She cursed a lot more afterward.
Once the video came out, it immediately caused a huge uproar.
People online had very high standards for celebrities. Even if celebrities got filmed, they couldn’t obviously show anger. If they cursed, grabbed phones, or pushed people, it was even worse. No matter the truth, online judgment would come first. Before understanding the truth, what netizens first saw was the scene of her yelling, and that kind of impact immediately made people side with the one filming.
Gu Cen’s fans and Eos8 fans were panicking, speaking up for her and saying there must be a reason, asking everyone to wait for the truth. But netizens wouldn’t listen. They all accused fan groups of silencing people. Some hot-tempered fans fought back, leading to even fiercer arguments. Some toxic solo fans of other Eos8 members secretly pushed things further, wanting to make sure Gu Cen could never recover from this.
Then things went even further off track. Someone revealed online that famous director Gu Ru was Gu Cen’s older sister, and the Movie King Pei Tingquan was Gu Cen’s older brother. Another terrible storm broke out.
“So her background is that strong, no wonder her temper is so bad.”
“So this is the so-called Beijing circle princess? I learned something today.”
Netizens also launched large-scale attacks on Gu Ru and Pei Tingquan. Many people online hated the rich and hated those with good family backgrounds. These people gathered together, using this incident as an opening and attacking wildly without caring about the facts.
Gu Ru told Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo that the crew would take a break for a while. In her current state, she could not fully focus on filming. If they had other work, they could go handle it first.
“Are you worried about Gu Cen?” Xi Mo softly asked. She knew Gu Ru was mentally strong. Those insults would not affect Gu Ru, and she definitely would not stop filming because of them. Now that Gu Ru was troubled, it was probably because seeing Gu Cen get cursed like that hurt her heart.
“She really never stops causing trouble.” Gu Ru sighed and said, “It is also my and Tingquan’s fault for not caring enough about her. That’s why she turned out like this. Tingquan happens to have free time recently and came back. I plan to stay with Gu Cen for a while with him. We can't let her get depressed from all this hate.”
Ruan Yesheng and Xi Mo were also very worried about Gu Cen and decided to visit her before returning to Shanghai.
When they called, Gu Cen said she wasn't home that day and was staying at Li Siran's place. So the two of them made an appointment with Gu Cen to go to Li Siran's house the next morning before leaving.
The next day, the two arrived at Li Siran's house. Gu Cen immediately opened the door and invited them in with a smile: "Sister Ruanruan, Sister Xi. I'm so happy that you came to see me. Come in quickly."
The two looked at Gu Cen closely. Gu Cen exuded an extraordinary energy and spirit, and she seemed to be in high spirits. She didn't look like someone who looked depressed at all.
Following Gu Cen into Li Siran’s house, Li Siran was not there. Ruan Yesheng asked: “Where is Li Siran?”
“She went to the rooftop to dry blankets and bedsheets. She washed a lot of things and hasn't come down yet.” Gu Cen smiled. “I thought the balcony was enough, but she insisted the rooftop had better sunlight and could kill bacteria or something.”
Before joining the group, Li Siran had a very poor family background. Her family barely cared about her, and she had done chores herself since childhood. The place she rented now was actually a bit small, though enough for one person. The company takes a large cut of her earnings, and because Li Siran wanted to save money to buy a house in Beijing, she was always frugal and did everything herself. She and the spendthrift Gu Cen were complete opposites.
Li Siran loves tidying up, and although her home is small, it is always very neat and clean, with many clever decorations. However, the two of them found that the house was a bit messy this time, and there were signs that some small decorations had been knocked over and then put back on, and some were even lying crookedly, not having had time to be tidied up.
Gu Cen served the two fruit and drinks. She wasn't very good at cutting fruit, so the pieces were uneven. Ruan Yesheng wanted to help her, but Gu Cen quickly said, "Sister Ruanruan, you're a guest. I'll do it. You can just sit and wait."
Ruan Yesheng had no choice but to do as she said. Fearing that she might cut her hand, she stood there for a while, just in case she could help if anything happened.
Gu Cen always dressed as she pleased. Now that the weather was warmer, she was dressed lightly. Ruan Yesheng turned her head and noticed several small red marks on the side of Gu Cen's neck. Gu Cen was oblivious and probably didn't even know she had these marks on her neck.
Ruan Yesheng quickly averted her gaze, finding it inappropriate to look any longer, and left the kitchen. However, when she went to the bathroom, she noticed some items left on the counter and paused, momentarily stunned.
When she and Xi Mo got intimate, they always paid attention to cleanliness and disinfection. One glance was enough for her to know what those things were used for, only the brand was different.
If Li Siran were here, she would definitely have put them away. Looking at the situation, things were probably rushed, and she had not had time to clean up.
Ruan Yesheng silently walked back and quietly said to Xi Mo: “Later, go wash your hands in the kitchen.”
“Why? Is the bathroom broken?” Xi Mo asked. “Why does your expression look strange?”
“Don’t ask yet.” Ruan Yesheng said. “I will tell you after we go back. Let’s leave early later and not stay for food.”
Despite her doubts, Xi Mo nodded.
Gu Cen excitedly brought out the fruit and said, "I'm not very good at it. Li Siran cuts it much better than me, but she will take a while to come down. If she sees I didn't take care of you two, she will definitely scold me.”
Ruan Yesheng laughed and said, "Why are you being so polite with us?"
Gu Cen sat down and chatted with them, saying, "Sister Ruanruan, Sister Xi, I really will miss you for a while."
“If you have time later, do you want to come to Shanghai for a few days?” Ruan Yesheng chatted casually. “Yan Mu has a concert in Shanghai in a few days. Xi Mo and I will go. Do you and Li Siran want to come?”
Gu Cen's eyes lit up, but she quickly lowered her head and said, "I want to go, but I can't. My sister and brother insist on dragging me on a trip. They finally have a vacation, and I can't refuse. Especially my sister, she's suddenly been very nice to me, very caring, asking about my well-being. Oh my god, she even cooked for me herself. To be honest, I'm not used to it. I would rather she scold me.”
“Your sister is worried about you too,” Ruan Yesheng said.
Gu Cen was a little anxious and hurriedly explained, "Did you see my video too? Sister Ruanruan, Sister Xi, please don't misunderstand. Although my sister always says that I can't say anything nice, I'm really not like that in the video. I know I was wrong and shouldn't have cursed like that. I was just really angry at the time, and then that old gee... ah, I mean that person, posted it online."
Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=2188414
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too.
"Don't worry, of course we know you, Xiao Cen," Ruan Yesheng comforted her, then asked, "Who is that person, and what caused such a big conflict?"
“He is Li Siran’s father. He never cared about Li Siran at all.” Gu Cen said angrily. “But after Li Siran joined the girl group and became more popular, he kept asking her for money. If she didn't give it, he threatened to go online or join shows and expose her for not supporting him after becoming famous, ruining her reputation. Li Siran was afraid her work would be affected, so she already gave him money several times. But he kept pushing for more and asking for more. How is that different from blackmail?”
Ruan Yesheng’s gaze turned cold, and Xi Mo frowned too.
“Li Siran suffered a lot growing up. She usually cannot even bear to spend money. He never did his duty before, so how does he have the nerve to ask Li Siran for huge amounts of money now? When I found out, I got angry and went to solve the problem with him. Then conflict happened. I couldn't hold back and cursed him. That shameless person recorded it and posted it online.” Gu Cen got angrier the more she talked.
