Chapter 35 Part 2: Shipping Our Own CP

After a day of intense training, Song Jin and Duan Yan removed their stage makeup in the dressing room, changed into comfortable casual wear, and prepared to head home.

Inside the car, the dim yellow light created a warm atmosphere.

Duan Yan’s phone screen flickered in the light. She received a call from Auntie Lian. Her voice came through the speaker, asking about their dinner preferences.

Song Jin leaned back against the seat, relaxing her tense body. She responded softly, “Just something simple is fine. Aren’t we on a diet anyway?”

Duan Yan nodded gently, the light from the phone screen dancing on her face. She gave Auntie Lian a simple reply and then hung up.

Silence returned to the car, with only the soft hum of the engine and the sound of the wind outside intermingling.

“Sister Duan, does your foot still hurt?”

Song Jin turned her head, her eyes full of concern. She remembered Duan Yan bumping into a stool in the changing room.

“It’s nothing serious, I just bumped it accidentally.”

Duan Yan’s voice was gentle, trying to reassure Song Jin.

Song Jin’s gaze shifted back to the window. She suggested softly, “You should still apply some ointment later. After all, there’s another runway show tomorrow. It wouldn’t be good if something happened on stage.”

Duan Yan felt Song Jin’s concern. With a hint of teasing in her voice, she tapped Song Jin on the forehead. “Stop just worrying about me. You need to take care of yourself too. Don’t end up exhausted and collapsed again tomorrow.”

Song Jin’s cheeks flushed slightly. She laughed awkwardly, feeling a little annoyed inside. Clearly, Duan Yan’s impression of her poor stamina was still vivid.

“I used to work out every day at home! I have defined abs and muscles. It must be because I’ve been slacking off on exercise recently. Today was just an accident.”

Song Jin explained hurriedly, a sense of urgency in her voice.

A playful glint flashed in Duan Yan’s eyes. She raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze sweeping up and down Song Jin’s body, as if assessing how much truth there was in her words.

Seeing that Duan Yan didn’t believe her, Song Jin anxiously took out her phone, wanting to show Duan Yan her workout records to prove her innocence.

The light in the car was dim, making the phone screen’s brightness seem particularly glaring.

On the screen, Song Jin’s eyes sparkled with confidence. She stood before a mirror, proudly displaying the results of her fitness routine. Her hands rested lightly on her waist, and with each breath, her defined abs appeared even more distinct and sculpted under the light.

Duan Yan nodded and reached out to gently pat the back of Song Jin’s hand. “I believe you, of course I do.”

Despite this, Song Jin still felt that Duan Yan wasn’t completely convinced.

Song Jin felt a little displeased and secretly made up her mind that one day, she would definitely let her witness Song Jin’s stamina firsthand.

After dinner, the two sat comfortably on the living room sofa, their feet soaking in a basin of warm water infused with medicinal herbs, enjoying a rare moment of relaxation in their day.

The soft lighting in the room created a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Song Jin was scrolling through her phone when her eyes suddenly landed on a promotional notice sent from the film’s production team.

In the center of the promotional poster was a photo of her and Duan Yan.

In the dim lighting, Duan Yan, dressed in Republican-era clothing, was gently embracing her from behind, as if comforting her. The overall tone of the photo was dark, creating an atmosphere of farewell that drew one in.

Song Jin was very pleased with this photo. Merely admiring it wasn’t enough, so she saved it and set it as her satellite chat background.

Her original chat background was a picture of small daisies; now it was this.

Song Jin felt as if she had taken another step closer to Duan Yan. She then gently tugged on the corner of Duan Yan’s shirt, signaling for her to also forward the announcement.

Duan Yan was immersed in the world of her book and didn’t really want to be distracted by her phone, so she asked Song Jin to forward it for her.

Duan Yan’s phone was simple; it didn’t even have a password.

Song Jin opened Duan Yan’s Weibo. Her eyes darted around as an idea formed. She deliberately used Duan Yan’s phone to retweet the post she herself had just made.

The times were 10:20 PM and 10:21 PM, one after the other, exactly one minute apart.

After posting, Song Jin seemed to realize something was amiss. She explained cautiously, putting on a pitiful expression like a little cat that had made a mistake, hoping for her owner’s forgiveness.

“Sister Duan, I’m sorry, I accidentally retweeted my post instead of the production team’s. It shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

Song Jin’s voice carried a hint of apology.

Duan Yan frowned. She didn’t know much about these things online, but seeing Song Jin’s cautious expression, she gave a reassuring smile. “It’s fine, it’s just a Weibo post. It won’t cause any problems.”

Song Jin snickered inwardly, knowing that Duan Yan didn’t really understand the ins and outs of the internet.

“That’s good.”

Song Jin handed the phone back to Duan Yan and continued to follow the updates on her own phone, while Duan Yan lowered her head again to enjoy her reading time.

[? Duan-bao, why did you retweet Song’s post and not the production team’s?]

[I’m done. Why did the official account put this annoying photo in the center? I really can’t stand seeing Vase Song together with my YanYan.]

[What’s this, are they going to start shipping a CP?]

Song Jin saw the comments under the post Duan Yan had retweeted. One of them mentioned “shipping a CP.”

She couldn’t help her curiosity. She switched to her alt account and clicked into the comments.

Finally, someone with a discerning eye had recognized that she and Duan Yan were a couple.

Unlike Duan Yan, Song Jin was very proficient with these social media apps.

[YanJin is Real¹: “You think so too? I think they look like it too! (spinning in circles)”]

Song Jin’s Weibo alt account name was taken from the last character of her and Duan Yan’s names.

YanJin. Sounded like yánjǐn—rigorous and prudent. It was indeed a perfect match.

Song Jin patiently waited for the other person’s reply.

Only then did Song Jin see the other person’s username.

Why was Duan Yan the top? What were they thinking? Was her own presence not strong enough?

[YanJin is Real¹: “Don’t you think Little Flower Song has a stronger presence? Don’t reverse the CP ah (crying)”]

[Best Actress Duan Pushes Down Little Flower Song: “What’s this? I think you have a point, totally feel it now (thinking)”]

Seeing that the person had changed their name to “Little Flower Song Pushes Down Best Actress Duan,” Song Jin nodded in satisfaction and mutually followed them on her alt account.

Duan Yan noticed Song Jin smiling from ear to ear and asked curiously, “What’s the good news? You seem so happy.”

Song Jin naturally couldn’t reveal that she was out shipping their CP. She randomly opened a video from a funny pet blogger and held it in front of Duan Yan.

In the video, a fluffy little cat was trotting to the bathroom doorway, then cautiously approaching the toilet, preparing to drink water from it.

However, at the crucial moment, the owner appeared. The kitten’s movements instantly froze, its eyes wide, as if expressing surprise and a bit of embarrassment at being caught red-handed.

Duan Yan saw it and felt a sense of camaraderie, her eyes curving into crescents with laughter.

“Cats all seem to have a quirk for drinking toilet water. My orange cat is the same; she always likes to run into the bathroom to drink from the toilet.”

Song Jin’s smile froze in an instant.

She, truly, never drank water from the toilet like those other cats!

Duan Yan looked up and saw the expression on Song Jin’s face, realizing her words might have been misunderstood by Song Jin.

She forced herself to stop smiling and said apologetically, “I’m sorry.”

Hearing Duan Yan apologize, Song Jin decided to let it go.

‘Wifey has already apologized, what more could you want?’

Night fell, and all was quiet.

Duan Yan seemed to have grown accustomed to Song Jin’s little habit. She tacitly allowed her to sneak into her room every night and even thoughtfully left the door ajar for her.

When it was eleven o’clock, Song Jin turned into a little cat, ran to Duan Yan’s room, and tiptoed into her warm bed. Duan Yan, in turn, skillfully picked her up, settled her in her arms, and placed her in a safe and comfortable position.

Lying in Duan Yan’s arms, Song Jin quickly fell into a deep sleep amidst the familiar scent.

However, in the middle of the night, Song Jin was suddenly startled awake from a deep dream, her heart pounding like a drum, sweat slightly dampening her forehead.

In her dream, the scene of Duan Yan falling on the T-stage was vivid in her mind.

Song Jin’s heart clenched tightly, unable to forget the pained expression on Duan Yan’s face when she fell.

Although Duan Yan insisted she was fine, Song Jin could not stop worrying about the condition of her ankle.

She confirmed that Duan Yan was completely asleep, with only the sound of her even breathing beside her ear.

Only then did Song Jin carefully slip out of Duan Yan’s embrace, lift the blanket, and change back into her human form. She lifted Duan Yan’s ankle with her wrist, gently and cautiously, for fear of disturbing the sleeping Duan Yan.

Under the gentle glow of the moonlight, Song Jin examined it carefully.

Duan Yan’s ankle indeed had no wounds, nor was it swollen. This allowed her anxious heart to finally settle.

Song Jin carefully placed Duan Yan’s foot back under the covers, tucked the blanket in, and then planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

Afterward, she transformed back into a cat, lay down in Duan Yan’s arms, closed her eyes, and slowly drifted back to sleep.

Duan Yan slept restlessly and woke up early before dawn.

The sky was still enveloped in the embrace of the night, with only a faint line of light quietly seeping in from the edge of the curtains.

Duan Yan’s gaze fell on the thread-like sliver of light on the floor.

It was like fragmented time, lying quietly on the cold, hard floor.

The gentleness of Song Jin’s fingertips lingered in Duan Yan’s mind.

It was as if a subtle tremor remained on her skin. The sensation made her heart race, made her crave it endlessly.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but Duan Yan always felt that Song Jin seemed to harbor some kind of affection for her.

However, Song Yu’s previous words were like cold water, waking her from her fantasy.

The reason Song Jin acted so close to her was perhaps just out of a biological instinct, a desire to be near the person who had given her warmth and security during her time as a kitten.

Was this, truly, love?

In this emotion, the intertwining of friendship and gratitude might also be mixed with elements of love.

But Duan Yan didn’t dare to gamble, nor was she willing to take the risk.

Song Jin was seven years younger than her. After her birthday this year, she would be just twenty-two. If it weren’t for her exceptional intelligence that allowed her to skip grades and finish her studies early, she might still be on a university campus right now—a wide-eyed kid with a touch of naivety, head buried in her books.

And she herself would be twenty-nine this September. How could she lead such a young soul to explore the realm of emotions?

Sighing deeply, Duan Yan decided to cast all these troubles aside. She reached out, stroked the fluffy orange cat in her arms, and closed her eyes.

TL Notes:

1. YanJin is Real: The username 严谨是真的 (Yánjǐn shì zhēn de) is a pun. “YanJin” (妍瑾) is a combination of Duan Yan‘s and Song Jin‘s names. It is also a homophone for the Chinese word 严谨 (yánjǐn), which means “rigorous” or “serious.” So the name can be read as both “YanJin is Real” and “Being Serious is Real.”