Chapter 37: A Slice of Cake

Chapter 1

With the start of filming for “Beauty’s Bones” just around the corner, Zhou Jing had synced the upcoming start date into her schedule.
These past few days, Jiang Wenting and Yi Lan were busy preparing the things they needed to bring to the Northwest.
Of course, Shen Jinglan and Beiye were not idle either.

After a full day of packing, several suitcases were already stuffed full, but Jiang Wenting still felt uneasy, checking them over and over again.
She had rarely packed her own luggage before; Xiao Ru had always helped her organize everything before a shoot.
That girl was more meticulous, unlike her…

The thought of Xiao Ru made Jiang Wenting’s movements, rummaging through the suitcase, pause.
Yi Lan tilted her head to look at her, her indifferent eyes questioning.

She laughed, letting out a helpless sigh with a hint of a spoiled tone: “Yi Lan, do you think we’ve brought enough? I keep feeling like we won’t have enough things when we get there.”

Yi Lan glanced at the row of neatly arranged suitcases and said flatly, “Are you thinking of moving the whole house over?”

Jiang Wenting chuckled, her tone honest and casual: “Xiao Ru used to prepare all this before. I’ve never packed myself, so I’m a bit unsure.”

Hearing the name Xiao Ru, Yi Lan’s eyelashes lowered slightly.
Then, she ducked her head and began to count the items inside the suitcase, flipping through them very seriously and carefully.

Just then, Jiang Wenting’s phone on the coffee table rang.
She walked over and glanced at the screen; it was a video call from Beiye.

Jiang Wenting answered.
The other side was a mess, with several suitcases also piled up on the floor.
A moment later, Beiye’s round face leaned into the frame.

–”Jiangjiang, have you guys finished packing? Do you think I should bring a few down jackets? I heard the temperature difference between day and night in the Northwest is huge, but Jinglan said it’s not that exaggerated. Did you guys pack down jackets?”

Hearing this, Jiang Wenting felt a sense of balance; it turned out she wasn’t the only one feeling hesitant and unsure.
She flipped the camera around, pointing it at Yi Lan, who was squatting on the floor like a small mushroom, rummaging through a suitcase.
Her voice was full of pride: “Not yet, I don’t know if we should bring down jackets either. Look, Yi Lan is double-checking the suitcases for me!”

Beiye heard the show-off tone in her voice and tutted.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something: “Oh, right, Jiangjiang, do you guys have anything else to do after you finish packing? Want to come out for dinner?”

Jiang Wenting thought for a moment.
It seemed they had nothing else to do, and the luggage was almost packed.
Plus, after a busy day, she was too lazy to cook.
So she readily agreed: “Sure, what time and where? We’ll head over later.”

Beiye gave her an address.
After they hung up, Jiang Wenting checked the time and said to Yi Lan, “Yi Lan, let’s hurry up and pack. We’re having dinner with Beiye and the others later!”

The other woman didn’t say anything, but her movements of rummaging through things subconsciously quickened.
From their time together recently, she quite liked being with them.

At eight in the evening, at Yunqiao Ji, when Jiang Wenting and Yi Lan arrived, Beiye was already at the table.
But the person next to her was not Shen Jinglan.
When Jiang Wenting saw her, her gaze froze for a moment.
Beside her, the moment Yi Lan saw who it was, a flicker of an almost imperceptible emotion crossed her usually wooden face, but she quickly masked it with indifference.

“Jiangjiang, over here!” Beiye saw the two of them and waved.

Next to her, the young woman in a baseball cap shifted awkwardly, not even looking up.

Seeing Xiao Ru, with whom she had lived under the same roof for so many years, for the first time after all this time, the bit of anger in Jiang Wenting’s heart completely dissipated.
She pulled Yi Lan along and sat down calmly, her teasing gaze sweeping over a certain person across from them.

“Well, what a rare guest?”

Hearing her voice, Xiao Ru still didn’t speak, her hands fidgeting awkwardly with the plate in front of her.

Beiye smiled, “Jiangjiang, stop teasing the kid.”

Then she nudged the person next to her with her elbow: “Hey, didn’t you say you wanted to treat your big sister Yi Lan to a meal? How come you’re mute now?”

Being called out in public, Xiao Ru’s face flushed bright red.
She pulled down the brim of her cap very unnaturally, her tone sullen: “Sister Xingchen, I never said I wanted to treat her!”

Beiye deliberately said, “Oh,” teasing her, “Then who was it that sent me a message asking me to invite them?”

The other person fell silent.

Jiang Wenting said, “Alright, let’s hurry up and order. I’m starving after being busy all day!”

After speaking, she took the initiative to scan the QR code on the table.
Ignoring the two across from her, she leaned closer to Yi Lan, scrolling through the menu on the screen: “Take a look, is there anything you want to eat?”

Her tone and actions were extremely natural.

Xiao Ru, across the table, caught all these details in her peripheral vision, and a nameless sourness suddenly welled up in her heart.
She wanted to vent, but there was nowhere to vent, so she could only endure it, enduring it until her eyes burned.

Jiang Wenting, however, was completely unaware.
After selecting the dishes, she lifted her gaze from the screen and saw Beiye hand the phone to Xiao Ru: “Check it, anything else you want to add?”

The other shook her head.

It was a weekday, so there were few people in the restaurant.
Soon, the server began to bring out the dishes.
Throughout the meal, Xiao Ru was quiet.

She was both jealous and awkward.
Seeing Jiang Wenting being so good to Yi Lan, she gritted her teeth in frustration, but when she remembered her purpose for coming today, she suppressed it.
The past few days of separation had made her realize that more than hating Yi Lan, she was more afraid of losing Jiang Wenting.

As for Yi Lan, she completely ignored the other’s hostility.
She was already a quiet person, and even when speaking with Jiang Wenting, she would spit out words one by one.
At this moment, she just silently ate her food.

It was Jiang Wenting, however, who unconsciously took her feelings into consideration.
Like right now, she dipped a peeled shrimp in sauce and placed it on Yi Lan’s plate, her voice soft and gentle: “Try this, it’s especially delicious.”

She had already repeated such intimate details countless times recently and didn’t feel embarrassed at all.

However, the person across from her, trying hard to control her emotions, finally couldn’t bear it anymore and rolled her eyes, letting out a soft “Hmph” and muttering under her breath, “As if she doesn’t have her own hands.”

After Xiao Ru finished speaking, Beiye nudged her with an elbow.
She herself realized she hadn’t controlled her emotions just now and secretly glanced at Jiang Wenting.
Seeing that the other didn’t seem to have any reaction, she wasn’t sure what to do, so she silently lowered her head and ate the rice in her bowl.

Jiang Wenting knew this kid’s personality, and her behavior tonight was already very good.
She was silent for half a second, then placed another shrimp she had peeled onto the plate opposite her, her tone joking: “Here’s one for the person who has hands, too.”

Seeing that she didn’t seem angry and was even talking to her, the frustration in Xiao Ru’s heart subsided slightly.
As she picked up the shrimp on her plate with her chopsticks, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled up a little.

Jiang Wenting was amused by this small detail, and then her voice became serious: “Xiao Ru, don’t be so harsh with Yi Lan in the future, you hear me?”

Xiao Ru’s chewing paused, and she looked up.

Jiang Wenting’s expression was solemn: “All these years, we’ve been together day and night. I see all the good you’ve done for me, everything you’ve done for me. In my heart, you’re not just a trustworthy friend, but family. But precisely because you are family, on matters of principle, I can’t just keep spoiling and indulging you.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Yi Lan, then shifted her gaze back to Xiao Ru: “What happened that day was your fault, Xiao Ru. You should apologize to Yi Lan.”

Jiang Wenting rarely lectured people so seriously.
In their usual interactions, she was always the weaker one.
With this kid before her, she would spoil her when she could and coax her when she could.

So when Xiao Ru heard these words, she was stunned for a moment.
She pressed her thin lips together, a mix of complicated emotions stuck in her throat.
She wanted to speak, to explain, but in the end, she couldn’t utter a single word of defense.
She just lowered her head deeply and said in a muffled voice, “I’m sorry.”

But Yi Lan, who had been silently eating, spoke up at this moment: “You don’t need to apologize to me.”

In this world, she didn’t really care how others treated her.
But the other was, after all, someone Jiang Wenting valued, so she still chose to respond to her words with a cold tone.

Of course, Xiao Ru was not the type to easily humble herself and apologize to others.
Having her apology rejected like this, she felt very uncomfortable, her hand holding the chopsticks tightening and tightening.

A few seconds of silence fell over the dinner table.
After a few seconds, Beiye finally stepped in to smooth things over: “Alright, alright, we’re all family. It’s good that it’s all out in the open. No need to make the atmosphere so tense. Hurry up and eat, the pork ribs are getting cold!”

As she spoke, she picked up a large piece of pork rib and placed it in Xiao Ru’s bowl.

Xiao Ru: “Thank you, Sister Xingchen.”

Beiye let out an “Aiyo”: “Still being so polite with me.”

The girl, who had been strongly suppressing her emotions, for some reason, suddenly felt her eyes sting, and large tears rolled down.

Beiye noticed her emotional state and quickly grabbed a tissue: “Why are you crying now? Let me see?”

The girl averted her gaze, her voice muffled: “I’m not, I’m not crying, Sister Xingchen.”

Jiang Wenting didn’t say anything.
Just then, the server brought the last soup to the table.
The simple interlude eased the atmosphere at the table.
Xiao Ru quickly composed herself.
For the rest of the time, Beiye did her best to steer the conversation elsewhere.

Then they started talking about packing luggage and returned to the issue of “whether or not to bring down jackets.”
Only then did Xiao Ru look at the two of them with disdain: “It’s summer now, do you two have any common sense!”

Beiye pointed the finger at Jiang Wenting: “Jiangjiang, didn’t you grow up in the north with your mother? How come you don’t know?”

Jiang Wenting retorted: “The north is huge. The small town where I lived is a thousand kilometers away from where we’re filming. Besides, how old was I then? My family was so poor, I never even saw a down jacket in winter!”

The atmosphere finally became lively.
The group ate and chatted.
Midway, when Xiao Ru went to the restroom, she secretly paid the bill.
When Beiye found out, she ruffled her hair into a mess.
Jiang Wenting, on the other hand, didn’t say much.

After the meal, Xiao Ru was still awkwardly saying she was going to stay in a hotel.
Without a word, Jiang Wenting tossed a set of car keys in front of her: “We’ve been packing all day, my bones are about to fall apart. If you’re staying in a hotel, who’s going to drive!”

From beginning to end, Yi Lan hadn’t said a word.
When she stood up, Jiang Wenting took her hand.

Chapter 2

July in the Northwest was the most comfortable season of the year.
The altitude sickness wasn’t as severe as they had imagined.
Beiye “wowed” all the way in the car like a child who had never seen the world.
The car sped along the highway for a while, and under the setting sun, a vast expanse of red crashed into their vision.
Beiye nearly jumped out of her seat.

“Waaah!!!”

Even though everyone had been listening to her chirping all the way, they were still drawn in by her actions.
In the driver’s seat, Shen Jinglan explained patiently, “It’s the Danxia landform. They say a long time ago, a painter accidentally knocked over his palette, leaving behind such a spectacular view.”

Her voice was very soft, her tone very low, and her words were rich with fairy-tale colors.

Jiang Wenting clicked her tongue.
Along the way, they had witnessed so many other sides of CEO Shen that they were all a bit numb to it now.
She glanced at Yi Lan, who was sleeping with her head tilted to the side, and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch her cheek: “Yi Lan?”

Yi Lan was in a daze from sleep and was woken by the warm touch of the fingertips.
She lifted her eyes, a hint of grogginess in them.

Jiang Wenting pointed out the window: “Look, a painter just accidentally knocked over his palette outside and dyed all the hills red.”

Shen Jinglan: …

Yi Lan looked out the window.
After looking for a good few seconds, she finally made it out.

“It’s not dyed,” she said slowly. “Within the Western Borders, there’s a stretch of such natural landscape. A little further ahead, low mountains and vegetation will appear, but there is very little water.”

Yi Lan didn’t continue.
She remembered the soldiers who had been trapped and died of thirst and hunger, and a pang of pain shot through her heart.

Jiang Wenting raised her hand and rubbed her head: “Our Yi Lan knows so much!”

The off-road vehicle passed through the mountain highway, leaving the vast expanse of red behind.
Low mountains with sparse vegetation appeared in layers.
Beiye said excitedly, “It’s really true, Yi Lan, you’re so amazing!”

As she spoke, she turned over and squeezed her head through the middle of the seats, tilting her head to look at Yi Lan.

Yi Lan felt uncomfortable being stared at by her.
Jiang Wenting blocked Beiye’s view with her palm, saying irritably, “What are you looking at?”

Beiye freed her eyes from Jiang Wenting’s palm and sized her up again.
After looking, she called out, “Jiangjiang.”

Jiang Wenting: “Spit it out!”

Beiye giggled: “I’m really starting to suspect now that Yi Lan time-traveled from ancient times!”

That one sentence made the person in the seat’s heart clench.
Beside her, Jiang Wenting rolled her eyes: “You’re crazy!”

She didn’t believe in ghosts or gods, and she certainly didn’t believe there were any time-travelers in this world.
The only thing she was persistent about was earning lots and lots of money to make her life a little better, and then a little better still.
And now, she not only wanted to make her own life a little better, she also wanted Yi Lan and Xiao Ru, who were by her side, to live more comfortably.

Beiye, being ignored, let out a dissatisfied humph, turned her head to look at Shen Jinglan, and called out coquettishly, “Wifey?”

Shen Jinglan’s slightly magnetic throat let out a “Mm.”

Beiye smiled sweetly: “Do you believe Yi Lan is a time-traveler?”

Shen Jinglan: “I do.”

Beiye was very happy to get a response.
She propped herself up and counted on her fingers, one by one, the reasons she believed Yi Lan was a time-traveler.
Shen Jinglan listened intently, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

Jiang Wenting said indignantly, “Sister Lan, you just spoil her!”

After speaking, she rubbed the head of the person next to her again and said firmly, “Our Yi Lan did not time-travel!”

Yi Lan’s phoenix eyes lowered slightly.
For a moment, she too wondered, why didn’t Jiang Wenting suspect her identity at all?
Even if it was just a slight hesitation or doubt, and then with that bit of suspicion, she would ask her: “Where did you really come from, and what is your purpose in getting close to me.”

But it seemed she had never asked.
From the moment she arrived in this world, she had always been so unconditionally tolerant and caring of her.

The Jiang Wenting of this world, the Jiang Wenting without memories of their past life, she was such a kind and sincere person.
She was clearly already having a hard time, yet she always thought of helping others.
But such a kind person had abandoned her in their previous life.

The red in the sky gradually dimmed along with Yi Lan’s darkening gaze.
The low mountains on both sides of the road were submerged in the night.
Shen Jinglan turned on the car lights.
The off-road vehicle sped through the night wind, occasionally overtaken by cars from behind.
Beiye, who had been chattering all the way, was perhaps tired.
The car was rarely quiet.

By the time they reached their destination, it was already the latter half of the night.
Zhou Jing and the others had arrived three days prior.
Xiao Ru had flown over first and settled into their lodgings.
Everyone hastily tidied up and went to sleep.
The next morning was the opening ceremony.

For the start of a new drama, a worship ceremony was required.
The actors held incense on the red carpet and knelt, bowing to the east, bowing for auspicious purple qi from the east, bowing for great luck and prosperity.

“Come on, three, two, one…”

“Wishing ‘Beauty’s Bones’ a successful launch and soaring ratings!”

Zhou Jing’s opening ceremony was relatively simple.
After the team members celebrated, they introduced each other.
Jiang Wenting and Shen Jinglan were both top-tier actors in the industry and needed no further introduction.
Zhou Jing gave the spotlight to Yi Lan.

“Let me introduce everyone to the actress playing the Wolf Girl in ‘Beauty’s Bones’, Yi Lan.”

After speaking, she handed the microphone to Yi Lan, signaling for her to come on stage.

Yi Lan took the microphone, glanced at Jiang Wenting.
Jiang Wenting leaned close to her ear and whispered something.
She took the microphone and went on stage.
Facing the audience, she stood at attention and clasped her hands: “Please guide me.”

It was a very proper courtesy.
After speaking, she walked down with the microphone and stood by Jiang Wenting’s side.

Beiye and Xiao Ru were watching from the sidelines.
Seeing Yi Lan like this, Xiao Ru couldn’t help but complain: “How embarrassing. She’s not some big star, yet she doesn’t even do a self-introduction on stage. Anyone who didn’t know would think she was just dropping by for a visit!”

Beiye glanced at her but didn’t say anything.
In the next second, the microphone fell into Shen Jinglan’s hands.

She stood on the stage, her presence commanding: “Hello everyone, I am Shen Jinglan, the stunt double for the Wolf Girl. I am very happy to be working with Yi Lan. She is a very talented actress.”

The equally brief words caused several exchanges of glances from below the stage.
Even though everyone already knew about this before filming started, hearing it said with such high praise from Shen Jinglan herself gave it a different feeling.

The actors, big and small, in the venue, were now looking forward even more to the performance of the actress playing the Wolf Girl.

After the actors’ speeches, Zhou Jing handed out red envelopes to the team.
Then everyone took a group photo.
The opening ceremony concluded successfully.
In the afternoon, the crew entered the filming stage.
Yi Lan’s first scene was the Wolf Girl being driven out by the wolf pack.

On the desolate grassland, she crawled on all fours, sometimes looking back, sometimes baring her teeth, her dark pupils full of reluctance.

Yi Lan imagined the alpha wolf who had protected her since she was young standing on high ground, not a trace of sentiment in its eyes.
The emotions in her heart reached their peak at this moment.
She threw her head back and howled: “Awooo…”

This scene was quickly captured by Zhou Jing.
She gave an “OK” sign, but Yi Lan hadn’t snapped out of her state yet, tears streaming down from her eyes.
The onlookers couldn’t help but sigh: “That was amazing. I can finally understand why Teacher Zhou chose her to play this role!”

“One take! If she keeps this up, ‘Beauty’s Bones’ can wrap up in less than a month!”

Jiang Wenting didn’t have a scene here, so she acted as an assistant, stepping forward to help her up and secretly giving her a thumbs-up: “Yi Lan, that was a great take, Teacher Zhou is very satisfied!”

Only then did the praised person snap back to reality.
She did seem to be an exceptionally talented actress.
In those brief few seconds, she had completely experienced the despair and helplessness of the girl being driven out by the wolf pack in her mind.

Zhou Jing, having captured the shot she wanted, walked over and asked with concern, “How are you? Are you feeling okay? Do you want to proceed to the next scene?”

Yi Lan nodded.
The next scene was of the Wolf Girl walking alone in the mountains.
It wasn’t very dramatic, but it was very difficult to capture that feeling of despair and desolation.

She was on all fours, her back to the camera, crawling and crawling.
The steep mountain peaks seemed endless.
Her stomach growled in protest from not having eaten for a long time.
A memory flashed back to the alpha wolf dropping a chewed-up rabbit at her feet, its blood-stained tongue licking her cheek.

“Wuwu…”

Along with a few whimpers, tears streamed from Yi Lan’s eyes.
She shook her head, her stubborn figure appearing thin in the wind.
This continued for a while.
The girl’s figure staggered.
She had no strength to move forward and was tripped by the rugged mountain path underfoot.
She tried to get up, walked a few steps, and fell to the ground again, repeating this over and over until she couldn’t get up at all.

“That’s a wrap!”

Zhou Jing called cut.
Yi Lan was still struggling.
Jiang Wenting went over to help her but was pushed away by her limp elbow.
She looked into her eyes; her cold and clear pupils were filled with aggrieved tears, crystal clear.

Jiang Wenting was stunned for a moment, then raised her hand to wipe her tears: “It’s okay, Yi Lan, this scene is over. One take, no need to reshoot. Let’s take a break and eat something later, okay?”

Zhou Jing also came over at this time to show her concern: “Are you alright?”

She rarely showed such consideration for her main actors; Yi Lan was an exception.
At this moment, Shen Jinglan emerged from the crowd: “Let her rest. I can shoot the next scene!”

Hearing this, Zhou Jing quickly waved her hands: “Ah, no, no, let’s rest first. The next scene can be filmed tomorrow!”

Shen Jinglan: …

What kind of person was this?
When she first mentioned letting Yi Lan play the lead and her being the stunt double, Teacher Zhou had been a hundred percent unwilling.
Now that she saw the person’s acting skills were on point, she had turned around and thrown her, the stunt double, to the back of her mind.

After just a few short scenes, Yi Lan’s popularity in the crew soared.

Jiang Wenting took her to the car to rest.
Several young people gathered around to ask for advice: “Teacher Yi, you’re amazing! All your scenes were done in one take. How did you do it!”

Yi Lan’s expression was faint.

Jiang Wenting smiled, her tone rather proud: “Teacher Yi was born to do this. We can’t imitate it.”

Many members of the crew were familiar with Jiang Wenting’s personality, so they became bolder when talking to her: “Teacher Jiang, are you and Teacher Yi good friends?”

Jiang Wenting glanced at Yi Lan, her eyes moving slightly: “Are we?”

Yi Lan averted her gaze.
A few seconds later, she faintly dropped two words: “We are not.”

The actors were disappointed: “You’re not? You two look like you have a very good relationship. We even saw Teacher Yi use a water gun to block fans for you before!”

Jiang Wenting looked at everyone and smiled gently, then said, “We are family, the very, very close kind.”

Chapter 3

Zhou Jing was an acting fanatic.
Sensing Yi Lan’s performing talent, she would rather extend the filming time for the Wolf Girl’s scenes than use Shen Jinglan as a stunt double.
Of course, Yi Lan was also very tough, completing all the filming by herself, and basically every shot was done in a single take.

Over the next few days, considering her physical condition, Zhou Jing first arranged for Jiang Wenting’s solo scenes and the other actors’ scenes.
Yi Lan was dragged by Beiye to their residence to rest.
Jiang Wenting and Xiao Ru came to the set.
Zhou Jing packed her morning schedule with scenes.

Three or four main shots plus two special effects shots and one sequence.
By the time they finished, it was long past lunchtime.
Teacher Zhou even “thoughtfully” gave her an hour and a half break, letting her go back and see her family.

Jiang Wenting was so hungry her stomach was touching her back.
She packed a few servings of small wontons and ran back to where they were staying.

Xiao Ru complained from the side: “It’s such a short break, wouldn’t it be better to eat and lie down in the car for a while? I really don’t get you!”

Jiang Wenting smiled and used her previous excuse again: “Sleeping in the car is so suffocating. Lying on the sofa for 15 minutes feels completely different from lying in the car for an hour, okay?”

Xiao Ru let out a cold “Hmph” and fell silent.
She knew crystal clear why Jiang Wenting wanted to go back.
However, the lessons from the previous times made her unwilling to expose things too much.
One, it was to give Jiang Wenting face.
Two, she thought, as long as that layer of window paper wasn’t pierced, there would always be a layer between them, and she would still have a chance.

The two drove 41 kilometers to get to their residence.
The buildings here were all built along the mountain, a long strip of small, two-story houses with courtyards, all neat and tidy.
Although they were residential buildings, the facilities inside had everything one could need, not at all like what they had imagined before they came.

Jiang Wenting, Beiye, and the others had rented an entire courtyard house.
The first floor was the living room and kitchen, and the second floor had four rooms.

Beiye and Shen Jinglan took one room, Jiang Wenting and Yi Lan took one, Xiao Ru had one to herself, and the last one was used by Shen Jinglan as an office.
Now that she didn’t have to be a stunt double, she was happily “free and at ease,” handling company affairs in the empty room all day.

When Jiang Wenting and Xiao Ru pushed the door open, a gust of cold air blew from the living room, making them both shiver.
They looked up and saw Yi Lan and Beiye sitting cross-legged on the sofa, face to face.

Yi Lan was only wearing a silk slip dress, her slender arms exposed to the direct blast of the air conditioner, covered in goosebumps.
Beiye was even more exaggerated, in a tank top and a pair of baggy shorts, holding a fan in her hand, fanning herself while talking.

Yi Lan was shivering while listening intently to her, and there was even a faint smile on her lips.

Who knew what Beiye had said to make her so happy that she didn’t even notice people had entered the room.

Seeing this, Jiang Wenting shoved the wontons into Xiao Ru’s hands, strode over in two or three steps, snatched the fan from Beiye’s hand, and looked at her with a cold face.

Beiye looked up, her puppy-dog eyes blinking twice, and said in surprise, “How come you guys are back?”

Jiang Wenting tapped her on the head with the fan: “If we hadn’t come back, Yi Lan would have been frozen into a popsicle by you!”

Beiye let out an “Ah,” and saw Jiang Wenting grab the remote control on the coffee table and turn off the air conditioner.

She came to her senses and apologized with a smile: “Sorry, Jiangjiang, we got carried away talking and forgot to adjust the AC!”

Jiang Wenting rolled her eyes, pulled the thin blanket from the sofa, and draped it over Yi Lan’s body in a casual motion.

The smile on Yi Lan’s lips hadn’t completely faded yet.

Jiang Wenting reached out and rubbed her head: “What’s so funny that you’re this happy even when you’re freezing to death!”

Yi Lan quickly composed herself.
Beiye giggled: “Jiangjiang, I was telling Yi Lan about your embarrassing childhood stories. She loves hearing them.”

Jiang Wenting was speechless.

At this moment, Xiao Ru walked over, placed the wontons in her hand on the coffee table, and asked with a smile, “What embarrassing childhood stories, Sister Xingchen? I want to hear too!”

Beiye opened her mouth and said, “When Jiangjiang was 13, she wet the bed in Grandma’s little room and got her butt spanked by Grandma.”
She burst out laughing after saying it.

Xiao Ru also laughed out loud.
After laughing, she asked, “Still wetting the bed at 13? I stopped wetting the bed when I was 3.”

Beiye: “That’s right, her bladder control system is weak, and she’s lazy!”

Jiang Wenting embarrassedly threw a cushion at her: “Your bladder control system is the one that’s weak!”

Just then, Yi Lan, beside her, couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.

Jiang Wenting noticed

it, stopped her attack on Beiye, and instead pinched Yi Lan’s ear: “You’re laughing at me too! I was scared from being beaten back then, it was a stress reaction, okay!”

She said it very casually, as if it were just a completely normal retort, but Yi Lan’s heart felt as if it had been pricked by a needle, the smile that had just formed on her lips not yet faded.

Jiang Wenting didn’t notice at all and rolled her eyes at Beiye again: “Didn’t the doctor say so later? You’re not allowed to make fun of me for this ever again, you hear me!”

Beiye said while laughing, “Then you have to beg me!”

Jiang Wenting: “Beg you my foot!”

The two of them started chasing each other around the room.
After a while, the cold air from the air conditioner completely dissipated.
Beiye panted, sticking out her tongue: “Ah! It’s so hot!”

She reached for the remote control, but Jiang Wenting snatched it away: “Serves you right for being hot. Yi Lan is still sick. Don’t turn on the air conditioner in the living room from now on!”

Beiye’s eyes welled up, and she began her performance: “Ah, Jiangjiang, you’ve changed, you’re not you anymore…”

Jiang Wenting rolled her eyes, picked up the tattered fan from the floor, and threw it at her: “Go fan yourself somewhere else, don’t hover in front of me!”

Beiye giggled, picked up the fan, and wrapped an arm around Xiao Ru’s neck: “Let’s go, baby, we’re not needed here anymore.”

Xiao Ru didn’t want to leave.
She looked back at the packed wontons on the coffee table and struggled: “Sister Xingchen, I haven’t eaten yet…”

Beiye turned back, casually snatched a serving, and dragged both the person and the wontons upstairs: “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Only Jiang Wenting and Yi Lan were left in the living room.
Yi Lan’s good mood from just now had long been dispersed, and her expression became sullen again.
Jiang Wenting opened the small wontons on the coffee table and asked in a gentle tone, “Did Yi Lan eat lunch? I packed some small wontons, want some?”

The other person shook her head, not seeming to want to talk.

Jiang Wenting pouted, looking aggrieved as if she were about to cry: “Hmph, Yi Lan smiles when she’s with others, but she pulls a long face when she’s with me.”

She brought the wontons over, scooped one up with a small spoon, and held it to her lips: “Try it, it’s delicious!”

Yi Lan hesitated for a moment, then opened her lips and took the wonton with the tip of her tongue.
The soup from the wonton accidentally spilled onto the corner of her mouth.
Jiang Wenting, holding the bowl, was too lazy to bend down and grab a tissue, so she used her thumb to wipe it for her, her touch gentle and doting.

After wiping, she looked into her eyes, her own eyes curving into crescents as she smiled: “Isn’t it delicious?”

Yi Lan was scalded by her gaze and looked away.

Jiang Wenting was not convinced.
She tilted her head to look at her, clinging to her with a sweet, coquettish voice: “No, Yi Lan still hasn’t told me, is it delicious?”

The person felt uncomfortable under her gaze, opened her mouth coldly, and gave a one-word reply.

Getting her response, Jiang Wenting was satisfied.
She scooped up another one and fed it to her.

Yi Lan pressed her lips together, then after a few seconds, opened her mouth: “I’m full.”

Jiang Wenting didn’t insist further.
Instead, she fed the wonton in the spoon to herself, swallowing it in a big mouthful.
After swallowing, she scooped up another and stuffed it in her mouth, plopped down on the sofa, and complained while eating: “I was squeezed dry by Teacher Zhou all morning. The filming location is in the middle of nowhere, not even a convenience store. I was about to starve to death.”

After complaining, she didn’t forget to interact with her: “What did Yi Lan have for lunch?”

The other person didn’t respond.
She slid off the sofa and ran barefoot to the fridge.
A moment later, she came back holding a piece of water chestnut boba cake.

Jiang Wenting’s eyes lit up, her tone surprised: “Where did Yi Lan get cake?”

Yi Lan didn’t speak, just stood in front of her holding the cake.

Jiang Wenting had probably already guessed where the cake came from.
The nearest WenTinG bakery was in the city, but given how Shen Jinglan doted on Beiye, she was fully capable of crossing that 130-kilometer distance for her.
They had eaten cake for lunch, and the piece in front of her was one that Yi Lan had specially saved for her.

Realizing this, Jiang Wenting’s heart turned sweet, and even her beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with emotion.
But she still couldn’t help but confirm: “It’s the cake Sister Lan bought for Beiye, and when you were sharing the cake, Yi Lan saved my portion, right?”

The person in front of her looked at the cake and didn’t speak.

Jiang Wenting asked again: “Then did Yi Lan save some for Xiao Ru?”

The other’s phoenix eyes lowered, and she shook her head.
The cake was a gift from others; she couldn’t greedily take so much.
She had only set aside her own portion for Jiang Wenting to eat.
But being specifically asked about it now made her seem petty.

Who would have thought that in the next second, Jiang Wenting would lean over and bite off the tip of the cake in her hand.

White cream smeared on the tip of her nose.
With a mouthful of cake, she ate and smiled at the same time: “Yi Lan only saved it for me, right?”

It was a completely random sentence that made no sense.

Jiang Wenting took another bite after the first, her peach blossom eyes narrowed, a look of pure enjoyment on her face.
She was still holding the wonton bowl, with no intention of putting it down.

Seeing her eating so happily, Yi Lan couldn’t help but feel happy herself, holding the cake with both hands to feed her.

After a few bites, Jiang Wenting gestured with her chin at the water chestnut boba on the cake: “Teacher Zhou is controlling my weight. Can Yi Lan help me finish the rest?”

Hearing this, Yi Lan hesitated for a few seconds, unable to understand why she had to control her weight all of a sudden.
But seeing that Jiang Wenting had no intention of eating more, she couldn’t help but reach out a fingertip, scoop up a boba, and feed it to herself.

The boba, mixed with the creamy taste of the cake, burst on the tip of her tongue.
She felt that this piece of cake was more fragrant than when it was first bought this morning.
She didn’t know if it was just her imagination.
Yi Lan licked the small part of the cake that Jiang Wenting had left and ate it all up.

Their eyes met again.
The corners of their mouths and the tips of their noses were both stained with white cream.
One sitting, one standing.
One silly, one dazed.
It was a little amusing.

Jiang Wenting gestured with her eyes at the corner of her lips.
Yi Lan understood, stuck out the tip of her tongue, and licked away the cake crumbs remaining by her mouth.
She stared at the corner of Jiang Wenting’s lips, an urge rising to lean over and lick the cream there into her own mouth.