Chapter 14: Ating jumped out from the crack of the stone

Following Jiang Wenting’s gaze, Beiye also looked over.

Yi Lan’s gaze was fixed on the chain.

Jiang Wenting shook her wrist.

“You like it? I can’t give you this. It’s a birthday present from Beiye, it’s very expensive!”

Her gaze did not retract because of this.

Jiang Wenting really couldn’t bear it.

After struggling and hesitating for a few seconds, she finally reluctantly took the chain off her wrist and fastened it onto the other’s.

“Let’s agree, I’m just lending it to you for a few days. You have to return it later, okay!”

Yi Lan looked at the sparkling platinum chain on her wrist.

A birthday gift, very expensive!

But Jiang Wenting had clearly said that she didn’t have a birthday.

She remembered very clearly that afternoon when she returned from the training ground and didn’t see Jiang Wenting.

When she asked the soldiers, they said the lady had gone to the kitchen to fiddle with food.

So, she rushed over immediately.

As soon as she entered, she saw Jiang Wenting with her sleeves rolled up, rolling out noodles, her face and body covered in white flour.

When she saw her, she smiled with her eyes curved.

“Jiejie, why are you here? Today is your birthday. A-Ting wanted to cook a bowl of longevity noodles for Jiejie.”

That was the first time someone had remembered her birthday and had specially cooked noodles for her.

She asked Jiang Wenting, “When is A-Ting’s birthday?”

She said, “A-Ting was born from a crack in a stone, she has no birthday. If Jiejie wants to celebrate A-Ting’s birthday, then the day A-Ting and Jiejie met will be A-Ting’s birthday.”

She had always remembered the day they met, wanting to celebrate Jiang Wenting’s birthday properly the following autumn, but she didn’t get to.

So, so she did have a birthday.

Her birthday was today.

Her friend had given her a birthday gift, very precious, and she liked it very much…

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” The girl’s clear voice pulled Yi Lan out of her reverie.

Beiye looked at the two of them, her eyes bright.

“If it’s beautiful, let Jiang Jiang earn more money in the future to buy you the same series of rings, necklaces, and earrings. I’ll have our Jinglan help you find a way.”

Hearing this, Jiang Wenting retorted, “What do you mean let me earn more money? Why don’t you earn more?”

Beiye squinted, her tone overly matter-of-fact.

“I have Jinglan to buy them for me!”

Jiang Wenting rolled her eyes.

“Showing off your love will lead to a quick demise!”

She stuck out her tongue and glanced at Yi Lan.

“You two can show off too, right?”

Jiang Wenting was so angry she wanted to hit her.

“Say that again and see what happens?”

Beiye leaned back against the bed with a mischievous smile.

Jiang Wenting rushed up and pinched her waist.

Beiye dodged and fell back onto the bed, giggling.

Jiang Wenting asked, “Admit you’re wrong?”

The other didn’t say anything, so she tickled her.

Beiye was tickled until she was limp all over, laughing and begging for mercy.

“I was wrong, I was wrong, Jiang Jiang, I was wrong…”

The sound of their laughter and playful fighting reached Yi Lan’s ears.

Somehow, her mood also became cheerful.

At the same time, she also clearly sensed that this little girl was different from that girl named Xiao Ru.

Although they were both people Jiang Wenting valued, this person before her had no hostility towards her at all.

Jiang Wenting and Beiye played for a while before stopping.

Seeing that her mood was not so heavy, Beiye finally remembered to ask about last night.

“By the way, Jiang Jiang, did you and Xiao Ru have a fight yesterday?”

At the mention of this, Jiang Wenting’s head started to ache again.

She glanced at Yi Lan out of the corner of her eye, still a little concerned about her emotions.

But since Beiye asked, she still answered, albeit vaguely.

“It was actually a very, very small misunderstanding. I still don’t know why she’s angry. Usually, no matter how unwilling she is, she would never just walk away.”

“A very small misunderstanding?” Beiye remembered the video call with Xiao Ru last night, remembering her red, swollen eyes.

The young girl had been with Jiang Wenting for some years.

Although she was younger than them and had a sharp tongue, she was never a truly willful person and had always taken good care of Jiang Wenting.

She thought for a moment and decided to tell Jiang Wenting about Xiao Ru crying last night.

After hearing this, Jiang Wenting’s expression became nervous.

She looked at the hospital bed almost without thinking.

“Beiye, I might need your help.”

Beiye knew what she was thinking and said, “Go ahead, Jiang Jiang. I also want to have a good talk with Yi Lan.”

Jiang Wenting took out the new phone she had specially bought for Yi Lan yesterday.

“I bought Yi Lan a phone on the way here yesterday. I got a secondary card with my own number. The software and everything hasn’t been downloaded yet. You can teach her how to do it. I’ll be back soon.”

Beiye took the phone.

“Wow! You’re something else, Jiang Jiang. You even got a couple’s card!”

Jiang Wenting reprimanded her, “Don’t talk nonsense!”

Beiye giggled.

Jiang Wenting couldn’t be bothered with her, quickly disguised herself, took her keys, and left.

Beiye called out from behind her, “Jiang Jiang, I want a YOGBOX Hawthorn Love milkshake, half sugar, with red bean and water chestnut boba.”

Jiang Wenting: “Got it!”

Then she closed the door, leaving only Beiye and Yi Lan in the ward.

But Beiye was the kind of person who was very sweet and easy to get along with.

Even when faced with a block of wood like Yi Lan, she could still take the initiative to start a conversation with her.

“The software is downloaded! I’ll help you register an account, and then add Jiang Jiang as a friend, so you two can video chat!”

She brought the phone over to Yi Lan and chatted with her while operating it.

“I really didn’t expect that Xiao Ru would be serious this time. They’ve been together for so many years, and I’ve never seen them fight.”

Yi Lan didn’t have much resistance to this girl to begin with.

Plus, when she said she was going to add Jiang Wenting as a friend, she subconsciously focused a little.

At this moment, she couldn’t help but speak up, “Together for many years?”

Beiye scanned her own QR code with the newly registered account and said casually, “Yeah, they met when Jiang Jiang first entered the entertainment industry. It was quite unexpected. Jiang Jiang still had an agency back then, but she had very few resources. Her manager pushed her into a drinking party, and she was almost bullied. In the end, it was Xiao Ru who helped.”

She mentioned it in passing, changed  for the friend request to “Big Block of Wood,” and then continued to chat with her.

“Jiang Jiang is a very loyal person. She remembers every little bit of kindness people show her. Not to mention, the help Xiao Ru gave was no small matter. After that, she treated her like her own sister, wholeheartedly. Sometimes even I get a little envious.”

Yi Lan didn’t say anything more, silently pondering her words.

Beiye was very casual in what she said, jumping from one topic to another, but every sentence she said managed to hit on a point that Yi Lan wanted to hear.

Jiang Wenting drove and soon arrived at the hotel.

She didn’t directly swipe her room card to enter, but gently knocked on the door.

“Xiao Ru, it’s me.”

There was no response from inside.

Jiang Wenting knocked again.

“Xiao Ru, I’m coming in.”

Without waiting for the other person’s consent, she went straight in.

The two were staying in a twin suite.

The room’s curtains were drawn tightly.

Jiang Wenting came in from a bright place and was a little unaccustomed to it at first.

She inserted the room card into the slot, and the room’s lights came on, only then did she see the person huddled in the blanket.

“Xiao Ru,” Jiang Wenting walked over and gently poked her on the back.

Xiao Ru flinched.

Jiang Wenting sat on the edge of the bed and tried to lift the blanket covering her head.

“Let me see our baby. Still angry?”

Her gentle and fawning voice was like cotton tapping on her back.

The tears Xiao Ru had held back all night flowed out so easily, dripping onto the pillow.

Her thin shoulders couldn’t help but tremble.

Jiang Wenting was stunned for a moment.

When Beiye told her that Xiao Ru had been crying, she was already a little worried.

Now that this girl was crying in front of her, her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by something, a little sour.

“I’m sorry, Xiao Ru,” Jiang Wenting half-leaned over and wrapped her long arms around her.

“I called you last night but you didn’t answer. I was very worried about you!”

A single word of worry caused the grievances Xiao Ru had suppressed all night to erupt completely at this moment.

She suddenly turned around, her messy head burying into Jiang Wenting’s chest.

She hugged her tightly with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Jiang Wenting, you got angry with me for an outsider. For so many years, I’ve been sticking to you like a dog. What am I in your heart!”

Jiang Wenting was so shocked by her words that her mind went blank for a few seconds.

When she came to, she rubbed her head and said solemnly, “Xiao Ru, you’re not just anything. You’re my family, one of the few people in this world that I can trust and rely on.”

The person in her arms did not feel soothed by this, but became even more sad.

Jiang Wenting patted her back, calming her down bit by bit.

“Don’t be sad, okay? For so many years, I’ve always treated you like a sister. I know your temper the best. You’re stubborn but soft-hearted. It was my fault yesterday. I was dizzy after being on the wires all afternoon. I didn’t consider your feelings when I came back. I apologize to you.”

The person buried in her arms forcefully suppressed the sourness in her heart.

She was angry, she threw a tantrum, she was unreasonable with Jiang Wenting even when she was clearly tired.

Was all she wanted in the end just this apology?

It didn’t seem so.

Then what did she want?

She wanted Jiang Wenting’s concern, her care, her goodness.

But she was already good enough.

What else was she not satisfied with?

“I also know that everything you do is for my own good, including taking care of Yi Lan—”

Jiang Wenting sighed deeply, her tone slow and calm.

“I’ve always felt that I’m a rather cold person, and I don’t have much energy to help others. But I don’t know why, when I heard the doctor say that day that she only had a year or two left, my heart suddenly panicked. Do you understand that feeling, Xiao Ru?”

The person in her arms did not make a sound.

Jiang Wenting paused for a moment and continued, “That feeling was exactly the same as when my mother passed away. I really wanted to keep her. I knew she was different from my mother, I knew this world was so difficult, and I should focus on my career. But I don’t know why, my sympathy suddenly overflowed at that moment, and I couldn’t suppress it no matter how hard I tried.”

Her tone was still calm, with a hint of confidentiality.

“Xiao Ru, I promise you, when Yi Lan’s body is a little better, we’ll hand her over to the director. Then I’ll take on new dramas, commercials, endorsements…”

“Jiang Wenting!” The person who was sobbing a moment ago suddenly sat up, her red apricot eyes glaring at her.

“Are you a spinning top? Taking on new dramas? What’s the use of earning so much money if you ruin your health?!”

Jiang Wenting: …