013
The car stopped at the neighborhood gates. Qin Yinong got out of the back seat, and Guan Han followed behind, pulling her suitcase.
The two walked inside.
The neighborhood was beautiful, with clean roads, lush trees, and a cool breeze. It was still a bit hot outside, but they couldn’t feel it after coming in. This was a well-known luxury villa area in City B. Either high officials, rich people, or superstars like Qin Yinong lived here. The security conditions need not be mentioned.
Guan Han raised her head, and the sky from here was exceptionally blue.
Qin Yinong was still wearing the same eye-catching red dress, but she had changed out of her high heels and casually put on a pair of sneakers, which made for quite an unusual combination. She didn’t have the trademark loose smile on her face, but judging from her relaxed brows, she was in a happy mood at the moment.
After turning a few corners, Guan Han squinted and saw a single-family villa not far away. Looking through the gaps of the large iron gate, to the left of the yard was a garden of flowers, and to the right was a self-planted vegetable garden, full of green plants.
They opened the iron gate from the outside, and a woman who was watering the flowers in the garden raised her head vigilantly. She put down the spray bottle when she saw them, and said in surprise: “Miss!”
Qin Yinong slightly frowned first, and then smiled at her: "Aunt Fang."
Aunt Fang rubbed her hands nervously on her apron, not knowing where to put her hands. She froze for a moment before coming to her senses, lifting her legs, and running inside: “I… I’ll go tell Madam you’re back!”
Qin Yinong raised her voice and called to stop her: "I'll go in myself, it’s only two steps, you don't have to worry about it."
Aunt Fang stopped and hesitated.
Qin Yinong thoughtfully and softly suggested, “How about this, can you pick some fresh vegetables and fry a few dishes at noon. We couldn’t get home grown food out there.”
Aunt Fang let out a chuckle and left with a smile.
Guan Han put the suitcase in the living room and said, "I'll go help."
Qin Yinong said in a warm voice: "Won’t you come in for a glass of water?"
It was as if she was treated as a guest.
Qin Yinong was completely different at home and in the outside world. Guan Han couldn’t switch over her identity though, and hesitated. Qin Yinong had already changed shoes and entered the door, prepared slippers for her, and took a disposable paper cup to pour water.
Guan Han was slightly startled, and had to follow her inside.
Qin Yinong put the water on the coffee table in front of her, and said: "I’m going to talk to my mother for a while. I’ll come back later, make yourself comfortable.”
Guan Han could make out a figure on the balcony, facing away from her with a rickety posture. She only glanced briefly, then retrieved her gaze, got up uncomfortably, and said, "I'll go help Aunt Fang."
She had been with Qin Yinong for a long time. She had become accustomed to the actress Qin Yinong whose anger never showed its colors. She couldn’t adapt so suddenly to this role of a perfectly ordinary family member.
Qin Yinong was taken aback, and said: "Okay."
Guan Han slipped away swiftly.
Qin Yinong looked at her back and smiled to herself for a while, then turned and walked to the balcony.
The two doors of the balcony were closed, and no movement in the living room could be heard. There was a thin stream of water flowing from the faucet. The laundry was soaking in a basin and piled up into a small hill of fabric. Mother Qin picked out a milky white bib from the basin and began to scrub it.
There was a sudden shadow over her head. Before she could react, her hands were empty, and her thin shoulders were surrounded by two arms at the same time.
Qin Yinong sighed helplessly: "Mom, didn't I tell you to use the washing machine? Also, there is still aunt Fang at home, why do you always do it yourself?"
Mother Qin--Ji Shulan--had her heart lifted, and then dropped again (T/N: Her name is Ji Shulan 纪书兰).
"You scared me to death." Ji Shulan exclaimed as she came out from under Qin Yinong's arms. She patted her heart in shock, shaking Qin Yinong's arm up and down, and said in distress, "Why have you gotten thinner?"
"..." Qin Yinong said, "I'm healthy, really, don’t believe what you see."
As she spoke, Qin Yinong turned around in front of Ji Shulan to demonstrate.
Ji Shulan made up her mind to fatten her up some, and asked eagerly: "What do you want to eat at noon?"
Qin Yinong pondered for a moment, her eyebrows seemingly relaxed, and she swallowed, saying, "Cucumber salad."
Ji Shulan: "...Anything else?"
Qin Yinong shrugged and said, "Whatever food there is, I’ll eat it. I’m not a picky eater."
Ji Shulan slapped her thigh suddenly: "I still have black-bone chicken soup on my stove!" Before Qin Yinong could speak, Ji Shulan dragged her legs to the kitchen.
"I'm going to taste it." The voice was already headed in the direction of the kitchen.
It wasn’t noticeable when she was standing still, but when she started walking, she limped, as if one of her legs was shorter than the other. Ji Shulan was almost sixty years old; her hair was all white, and her back was rickety, like a weather-beaten hand-me-down bow.
Ji Shulan is an example of a good hand being beaten. She was originally a daughter of a wealthy family, a silver spoon, so to speak. But she fell desperately in love with a poor man. The Ji family style was strict, and Ji Shulan’s father drove her out of the house in a fit of anger. Ji Shulan and the poor man--Qin Yinong's father--settled in the south, and used the money brought from Ji Shulan’s parents to help him start a small company. For a while, everything was peaceful and happy, but the good times didn't last long. Qin Yinong's father did not manage finances well, and the company went bankrupt. Because of this, his temperament changed, and he developed an addiction to alcohol. He was arrogant and couldn't stand the wretchedness in the workplace. After that, he hardly worked anymore, and the family lived on Ji Shulan's meager income.
Ji Shulan saw someone’s misfortune and misbehavior, and spent all her youth and energy on it. All for a scumbag, who not only burdened her, but their daughter as well. A few years ago, she walked in on him in bed with another woman, and Qin Yinong rushed to take Ji Shulan away. She called a lawyer to quickly arrange for their divorce. She still thinks about this constantly, obsessing over it.
As for the Ji family, Ji Shulan’s father has passed away, and now her brother is in charge. When Ji Shulan went back to her parents’ house to kneel and confess her mistake, her brother recognized her as his blood relative, as well as Qin Yinong. But Ji Shulan had completely lost face to the Ji family, and hardly attended Ji family gatherings. Qin Yinong occasionally attended, and she and the Ji family got along well. She could even talk to Ji Shulan’s mother occasionally.
It's not that she had any feelings for a family she hadn’t seen for 20 years, but since she was already accepted as family, she would not let go of any chance to build these connections.
Qin Yinong's eyes darkened, and she took off the diamond-encrusted watch on her wrist and placed it on the table. She habitually rolled up her sleeves and was about to hand wash the clothes for her mother, but had just realized she was wearing a long skirt that didn’t even have sleeves to push back. Old habits die hard.
She was in a daze for a while when her eyes slowly turned to the lush tall trees outside the balcony. Beams of light projected on the wall through the branches of the tree, while the wall itself was covered with blue creepers. In the corner next to it were fully bloomed roses. Just right.
She looked up. The sky was very high and far away.
Everything was getting better.
Qin Yinong lowered her head, blinked her shimmering eyes, and naturally pulled the corners of her lips into a relaxed smile.
***
When Guan Han came in with her mobile phone, Qin Yinong had already washed her clothes and was going through it with clean water a second time. Seeing her skillfully wring out the clothes, stretch them flat, and hang them on the clothes rail, Guan Han stiffened involuntarily.
Qin Yinong shook off a T-shirt in her hand, grabbed a clothespin, raised her hand neatly and hung it up, and went to take another one. Seeing that she hadn't spoken for a long time, she glanced over at Guan Han. "What’s up?"
As an experienced and well-trained assistant, Guan Han could quickly snap out of it, gathering her thoughts in an instant. She stepped forward and said, "It’s Miss Yao, something happened."
She didn't look flustered, although a good assistant ought not be in such a situation. But it also shows that she did not think it was a matter of urgency.
Qin Yinong was a little relieved, and nodded at the pile of clothes with her chin: "Do you know how to dry them?"
Guan Han: "...Yes."
Qin Yinong: "Could you help me?"
Guan Han: “Mnh.” The two women dried the clothes quickly and efficiently. Qin Yinong dried her hands, walked to the living room sofa, and sat down: "What's the matter?"
Guan Han handed her the phone to see.
On Tang Ruoyao's WeChat Moments post was a striking, bright red handprint.
Qin Yinong’s brows furrowed, her face instantly turned a ghastly white, and the veins on the side of her neck twitched slightly. She resisted the urge to smash the phone to the ground, and said in a deep voice, "Who did it?"
Guan Han was not surprised by her reaction, and pushed the bridge of her glasses up her nose. "She should have gone to the company today."
"Ruan Qin?"
Guan Han nodded: "Most likely."
Qin Yinong almost laughed. She rubbed the frame of the phone with her thumb, and her knuckles turned white with force. She stared into Guan Han's eyes and said, "You tell me... Is she tired of living?"
Guan Han said: "I will call Ruan Qin now."
Qin Yinong's face was gloomy.
Guan Han did not dare delay a second, and immediately dialed Ruan Qin's number. Ruan Qin was stubborn at first and denied it, but Guan Han eventually pried her open: she confessed and burst into tears. Guan Han was about to ask Qin Yinong what to do with her, but when she looked up, she saw Qin Yinong sitting with no expression on her face--no anger.
Guan Han stopped talking abruptly.
Qin Yinong glanced at her, tapping her index finger slowly on her knees, and said in deep thought: "As long as she gives us a truthful account of what happened, I will let it go. Also, don’t let her tell Tang Ruoyao that I know this."
Guan Han was puzzled, but followed Qin Yinong’s instructions.
The call ended.
Guan Han repeated what Ruan Qin said.
Qin Yinong sat there for a while, and suddenly rubbed her eyebrows tiredly. Her tone was uncharacteristically stumped: "Did I do something wrong?"
She left Ruan Qin with Tang Ruoyao as her manager, not completely unaware that Ruan Qin's mind was impure. Ruan Qin was mediocre; she bullied others and she feared hardship. Her scheming was written all over her face! In the entertainment circle, she was really the easiest kind of person to be manipulated. Even with her protection, Tang Ruoyao could let such a person bully her. If she left her in the future, what would she do?
How could she rest assured that Tang Ruoyao would survive alone in the industry? Can she survive?
If she didn’t care for so much in the first place…..
Guan Han had never seen Qin Yinong make such an expression, and inexplicably felt a little distressed. She sat there, gently placed her hand on Qin Yinong's shoulder, and quietly comforted: "Miss Yao is young; she still needs some time to grow up."
Qin Yinong suddenly raised her head.
"Young? She is already 22 years old! When I was 22--" Qin Yinong's eyes were red suddenly, and she opened her mouth, and finally said in a low voice, "Forget it, don't talk about it."
Guan Han was silent.
Qin Yinong calmed down, wiped her face, and said coldly: "Send her a message."
The author has something to say:
There will be slaps, but it will be another way
This chapter randomly draws 100 messages to send red envelopes
Thanks to the little angel who voted for me or irrigated the nutrient solution~
Thank you for the little angels who cast [Rocket Launcher]: From now on 6; Love and tears 3; Floating in dreams 2; Xia Ou, 1 cub;
Thanks to the little angel who cast [Grenade]: I am 3 future stars; leofuji, tomato scrambled eggs to be salty, 33917780 1;
Thanks for the little angel who cast [land mine]: [long list of readers]
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
translated by jaylin and mooie
edited by claudia and noba