Chapter 36: A’Ting

After Yi Lan finished wiping Jiang Wenting’s face, she was about to unbutton the clothes on her body when Jiang Wenting suddenly sat up, covering her own chest with both hands: “Ah, no, no, I can do it myself, I’ll do it myself!”

She narrowed her long, phoenix-like eyes, finding it a bit hard to understand.
There wasn’t a single part of this woman’s body she wasn’t familiar with, yet at this moment, she was like a startled little deer, afraid of being taken advantage of.
It was a little amusing.

Seeing the other’s silent scrutiny, Jiang Wenting belatedly realized her reaction was a bit exaggerated and smiled awkwardly, explaining, “I’m not intentionally avoiding you, Yi Lan, I’m just not used to others changing my clothes for me.”

The cool and detached woman gave a soft “Mm,” and took the wet towel into the bathroom.

Jiang Wenting took a set of pajamas from the walk-in closet, changed quickly, and walked to the bathroom door in her slippers: “Yi Lan?”

Yi Lan was mopping the floor.
Hearing the sound, she glanced back.

A smile graced the corners of Jiang Wenting’s eyes: “I’m done.”

She gave another soft “Mm” and continued mopping with the mop in hand.
Jiang Wenting slipped through the crack of the door and hugged her from behind, her tone soft and coaxing: “I’m sorry.”

Yi Lan’s body stiffened for a moment.
She wanted to push her away, but Jiang Wenting rested her chin on her shoulder: “Let’s not tidy up anymore, let’s go rest, okay?”

The person in her arms hesitated for a moment, then put down the mop.
The two of them returned to the bedroom together.
Jiang Wenting glanced at the bed she had messed up, smiled sheepishly, and walked over in a few steps to smooth it out.
Turning back, she asked, “Which side does Yi Lan want to sleep on?”

Yi Lan pointed to the side with the charging plug on the nightstand.
Jiang Wenting made an “OK” gesture, walked around to the other side, and lay down.
After lying down, she deliberately lifted the quilt, motioning for Yi Lan to come up.
The other woman didn’t hesitate and lay down in the direction she had pointed.
However, she didn’t seem to intend to sleep right away, holding her phone and scrolling through it.

Seeing that she had coaxed the person into bed, Jiang Wenting felt relieved and said, “I’m going to sleep then, Yi Lan. I’m so tired today. You can play on your phone for a while, but you should also sleep early, okay?”

She closed her eyes as soon as she finished speaking.
Yi Lan scrolled through her phone beside her, and soon, she heard the woman’s steady breathing.

She was asleep.

She put her phone away and turned halfway onto her side, her gaze falling on Jiang Wenting’s face.
The soft bedside lamp made her features appear even more gentle.
She raised her hand, tracing her silhouette in the air above—her eyes, nose, mouth—and finally returning to the tear mole at the corner of her eye.

It was very beautiful, but it shouldn’t exist.

—Uncle Jiang, the Jiang and Beiye families have been friends for generations. Jiangjiang and I grew up together, and I saw very clearly what kind of life she lived in your home. As her father, aren’t you afraid that Auntie will be heartbroken in her grave when you say such things now?

Beiye’s final question had silenced whatever that man wanted to say, and it also more clearly proved the darkness of that period in Jiang Wenting’s past.
She didn’t know how the other had managed to endure it, nor did she understand what kind of fragile heart was hidden beneath this gentle face.

“Jiang Wenting,” Yi Lan parted her lips, softly calling her name.
A few seconds later, she asked again, “Is this retribution?”

But why, knowing that you haven’t been well, do I feel so…

Words like ‘sad’ flashed through her mind.
She didn’t dare to say them out loud, just kept staring at the woman before her.
After a short while, Jiang Wenting’s relaxed brows began to furrow.
She seemed to have entered a dream, surrounded by the sounds of slaughter.

Everyone was fleeing.
She was swept up in the crowd, struggling to move forward.
The sound of horse hooves, the sound of trampling after arrows whizzed by, the cries and shouts—she was terrified, helpless.
But just then, a familiar force landed on her shoulder, followed by a stern reprimand: “What are you following me for? Get back to the tent, don’t cause trouble here!”

Jiang Wenting couldn’t see the person’s face clearly, only touching her blood-soaked battle armor, thick and gory.

The clashing of weapons continued, with stray arrows flying past her side from time to time.
The force grabbed her, dodging left and right.

“Escort the Madam back to the main tent!” the woman roared, throwing her to another figure beside her.
She couldn’t see that person’s face either, only running and running along with their steps.
After running for an unknown amount of time, the tragic sounds of slaughter finally began to quiet down.

She turned back, wanting to see that woman’s silhouette one last time, but it was empty behind her.
There were no scattered corpses, no bright red bloodstains, but there were a few warhorses, quietly eating the green grass on the ground.

A very strange feeling!

Jiang Wenting couldn’t help but think, ‘Am I dreaming?’
But in the next second, a cold female voice suddenly appeared.

“Madam?”

Jiang Wenting instinctively straightened up and looked towards the source of the voice, only to find nothing there.
She looked all around but still couldn’t find any trace of anyone.
Yet that voice appeared once more: “What are you looking at, Madam? I’m right here!”

The voice was so close it was right by her ear, but she still couldn’t see anyone.
Jiang Wenting’s heart tensed.
She kept comforting herself: ‘Don’t be afraid, it’s a dream. I have to wake up quickly, and everything will be fine once I wake up.’

But the more she sank, the harder she pinched herself.
She was clearly pinching very hard, but she couldn’t feel any pain.
That voice, calling her Madam, Madam…

“Go away!” she yelled at the voice, “Go away!”

But the more she yelled, the tighter it clung to her.
In a short while, one voice turned into a crowd, men and women, swarming towards her densely: “Madam, we are here!”

Jiang Wenting was on the verge of a breakdown, her voice tinged with sobs as she tried to drive them away: “No, don’t come over, don’t…”

“A’Ting,” just as Jiang Wenting was at a loss, a voice, gentle and low, said, “Don’t be afraid.”

She still couldn’t see a figure, but her heart suddenly found an anchor.

She looked up, staring blankly ahead, even forgetting her desire to break free from the dream in that moment…

Beside her, Yi Lan used the pads of her slightly calloused fingers to stroke away the tears and the mole at the corner of her eye, calling her name once more: “Jiang Wenting.”

Her voice was low, like a murmur, and also like she was comforting herself.

Tears continued to seep from the corners of Jiang Wenting’s eyes, but her breathing gradually steadied.
Yi Lan watched over her.
After a while, the other’s relaxed brow furrowed once again.

“I was wrong, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Jiang Wenting began to cry and apologize in her dream.
Hearing her mumbled words, Yi Lan’s heart suddenly tensed.
‘Why is she apologizing? Has she remembered the things she did in our past life?’

Until, she curled up her body again: “Don’t hit me, Auntie, it hurts, it hurts… Bei… Ye…”

Hearing those last two words, Yi Lan quickly realized that Jiang Wenting must be dreaming about the times she was bullied by those people.
Watching her continuously curl up and sob quietly, Yi Lan hesitated for a few seconds, then stretched out a long arm and gently wrapped it around her.

With her body briefly sheltered, Jiang Wenting’s dream began to change.
She dreamed of her grandma’s house, dreamed of the old woman with red-rimmed eyes cursing Mrs. Jiang for being inhuman, and then carefully treating the wounds on her arm.
She also dreamed of Beiye, and of Shen Jinglan.

Finally, the dream shifted to the room on the third floor.
On the bed, she saw a clingy Yi Lan draw near, prying at the medicated wound on her arm to examine it, like a curious baby, sniffing it one moment, tilting her head to look at it the next.

Then, the curious baby curiously lifted the gauze wrapped around her arm.
When she saw those bloody wounds, she froze for a few seconds, and tears streamed down her face, crying uncontrollably.

No matter how Jiang Wenting tried to comfort her, she couldn’t be pacified, which made Jiang Wenting herself feel a little sad.
In the end, she heard Yi Lan call out “A’Ting” in a breathless tone.

A’Ting—

Such a familiar name.
It seemed someone had always called her that before, but Jiang Wenting couldn’t remember who that person was.
She tried hard to think, her head almost splitting, but she still couldn’t recall a single thing…

That night, Jiang Wenting had many fragmented dreams.
Yi Lan stayed by her side, not closing her eyes once.

The next day, when Jiang Wenting woke up naturally, she saw the person beside her leaning against the pillows, holding her phone and watching a video with focused and serious eyes.
She turned on her side, propping her elbow on the pillow to watch her, and watched for several minutes.

Yi Lan’s gaze remained fixed on the phone screen.

Jiang Wenting smiled.
She discovered that no matter what the other person did, her concentration was exceptionally focused.
Just like at this moment, she was just scrolling through short videos, yet she could be so engrossed and absorbed in it.
It was a little cute.

After staring for a long time, the person beside her seemed to sense it, pressed pause, and spared a sliver of her attention from the screen.

“You’re awake so early?” Jiang Wenting’s voice was warm and sweet.

Yi Lan gave her a blank look, then averted her gaze, pressed the play button, and continued watching.

Jiang Wenting: …

She propped herself up and leaned over, glancing at the screen.
The video was playing some clips from a movie shoot.
In the frame, a blonde actress in tattered clothes was being lowered by wires, her shoulders and arms covered in blood.
She clutched a stick in her hand, rolling in the desert, kicking and hitting.

The phone’s sound was off, but Jiang Wenting knew which scene this was.

“Is Yi Lan watching ‘Desert’s Pinnacle’?” Jiang Wenting asked.

The person holding the phone paused the video at her words and turned her head.

Jiang Wenting knew the other was studying the details within, so she pointed at the frozen image of the main actress on the screen and explained it to her bit by bit.

“This part is the opening of the movie. The female lead accidentally wanders into a giant snake’s territory, and the snake attacks. It’s a fight scene between one person and one snake. Look, her shoulder is injured, but she portrayed that determination to survive when her life was on the line very well.”

“In the end, the female lead was quickly defeated, but later the snake didn’t eat her. It kept her, giving her some food and herb juice every day. The female lead survived and lived with the snake, spending more than ten years in the desolate desert. It’s very healing…”

Yi Lan listened intently, and Jiang Wenting explained just as earnestly, not forgetting to add at the end: “This movie made a lot of money back then, and it was the one that popularized the survival-on-a-deserted-island genre. The actress became a star right after her debut. Amazing, right?”

Yi Lan was silent for a moment, then said coldly: “You envy her very much?”

Jiang Wenting nodded vigorously: “Of course, that way I could earn lots and lots of money. Then we could move into a big house, buy lots and lots of expensive jewelry, and also…”

As she spoke, she started smiling blissfully.
Yi Lan rolled her eyes.
“Idiot!”