020
[Ran out of money, send some back]
Tang Ruoyao quietly looked at the text for a while before putting her thesis aside. She got out of her bed and raised her phone, saying, “I’m going out to make a call.”
Wen Shuxian and Cui Jiaren were too busy quarrelling with each other to hear her, but Fu Yujun who was sitting at her own seat occupied with her laptop nodded in her direction, “Go on.”
Tang Ruyao walked to a secluded corner of the staircase and dialed.
The call was answered quickly, as if the person on the other end was waiting for her.
“Didn’t I just send you money recently?” Tang Ruoyao pressed her back against the wall, keeping an eye on her surroundings, her voice low.
Her stepmother, Jiang Xuezhen, replied in a loud voice, “How long ago was the last time? It's not like you don’t know your brother is at the age where he needs more money. His teacher says he should sign up for a summer camp, other kids are going, he can’t lose out at the starting line.”
Tang Ruoyao kept her silence for a moment, pursing her lips, “How much?”
Jiang Xuezhen unreasonably demanded, “One million.”
Tang Ruoyao pressed her toes against the base of the wall, and laughed to herself, lowering her head, “Is he going abroad then? Is one million even enough?”
Jiang Xuezhen evasively replied, “Something like that,” before impatiently saying, “Anyway, quickly send me the money, it needs to be handed in tomorrow.”
Tang Ruoyao hummed, “Take a picture of the summer camp fees for me.”
Upon hearing that, Jiang Xuezhen immediately changed her tone and scolded, “You earn so much money, what’s it to you to give your brother a little more, how are you so petty…”
“Say another word of rubbish and you won’t get a single yuan,” Tang Ruoyao interrupted plainly.
Jiang Xuezhen hung up, grumbling.
Tang Ruoyao took her phone with her back to her dormitory room. As she was climbing back on her bed, her phone vibrated. Once she was on her bed, she opened her notifications to see that Jiang Xuezhen had sent a picture of the summer camp fees.
Nowadays, raising a child is getting harder and harder, the expenses climbing higher and higher. If you want your child to receive a prestigious education, you have to start from when the child is an infant. This summer camp takes place abroad, and the cost is so high that it’s scary, from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.
Tang Ruoyao swept her eyes over the fee schedule a few times, and planned to transfer Jiang Xuezhen the money using the most expensive option as the standard. Just as she opened the bank transfer page, the call interface popped up on her phone again.
Jiang Xuezhen.
Feeling agitated, Tang Ruoyao went out to pick up the call.
Fu Yujun glanced at her hastily disappearing back thoughtfully.
“What do you want now?” Tang Ruoyao suppressed her temper, answering the phone in a low voice.
“Jiejie,” Unexpectedly, it was a little boy’s voice, bright and tender.
Knitting her brows together, Tang Ruoyao asked, “Tang Fei?”
The little boy replied, “It’s me,” he lowered his voice, “Mom’s gone to take a shower, so I secretly used her phone to call you.”
Tang Ruoyao gradually relaxed her expression, and in a warmer tone said, “Why did you call me?”
Vigilantly keeping an eye on the direction where the bathroom was, Tang Fei said quietly, “Mom saved all the money you sent back to us last time. There’s still a lot left, she’s trying to trick you, don’t send her more. I’ve already signed up for summer camp, I’ll be attending the most expensive one.”
“Got it,” Tang Ruoyao changed the topic, asking, “How have you been lately?”
“Good,” Tang Fei replied, smiling, “I just miss you a little bit. Jiejie, when are you coming back?”
“I haven’t finished with my school work.”
“Then you must come back before I leave for summer camp.”
“Mhm, I’ll try to,” Tang Ruoyao raised her head calmly, and exhaled before asking softly, “How’s dad?”
Tang Fei sighed, “Same as before.”
Tang Ruoyao hummed again, her heart sinking. Repressing her emotions, she covered the microphone, to take a deep breath and inhale fresh air.
The sound of water from the bathroom stopped.
Urgently, Tang Fei said, “I have to go, bye Jiejie.”
Without waiting for Tang Ruoyao’s response, he quickly ended the call and deleted the call log in one go.
Jiang Xuezhen rubbed her hair as she came out of the bathroom. Seeing her son sitting obediently in the living room reading a book, she felt very proud, and walked over to kiss Tang Fei’s cheeks vigorously.
The phone on the coffee table lit up. Jiang Xuezhen took a look at the bank transfer notification and raised her brows happily. Upon seeing the amount transferred, her face darkened.
Tang Fei discreetly looked at the transfer amount; it was fifty thousand.
Jiang Xuezhen complained as she opened the banking app to check her balance, “Your jiejie is really becoming more and more selfish. She only has you as a brother, if she doesn’t spend her money on you then who should she spend it on?
Tang Fei indifferently said, “Oh.”
Privately, he wondered at the absurdity: on what basis can we spend the money jiejie earned?
***
Not having received a satisfactory sum, Jiang Xuezhen continuously called Tang Ruoyao, but Tang Ruoyao refused to answer. After a few more times, it was finally quiet.
Fu Yujun raised her hand from below, quietly knocking on the base of her bed.
Tang Ruoyao raised her eyes and looked over gloomily, unable to conceal her low spirits in time.
Fu Yujun tilted her head, “Spacing out? What’s bothering you?”
Tang Ruoyao shook her head.
Fu Yujun smiled kindly and asked, “Then would you like to take a shower? I just finished washing up.” She raised her chin at Wen Shuxian and Cui Jiaren, “They’re still playing around anyway.”
Tang Ruoyao finally noticed that Fu Yujun had at some point in time changed into a cooling camisole, her long hair wet and hanging loosely on her shoulders.
Tang Ruoyao didn’t look much at her, withdrawing her gaze. She was annoyed at herself for lacking focus, that such a small matter could trouble her for so long, until she was ignorant of the things happening around her. Adjusting her emotions, she propped herself against the bedframe and got up, “I’ll go now.”
Fu Yujun suddenly called out to her.
Tang Ruoyao stopped and looked back.
Fu Yujun said, “You can use my shower gel, yours has been left unused for too long.”
Tang Ruoyao smiled, “Got it”.
Wen Shuxian perked her ears, and poked her head out from her bed, shouting, “Tangtang use mine, mine smells nicer! It’s rose-scented!”
Fu Yujun jumped up as fast as lightning and squeezed Wen Shuxian’s cheeks together. Laughingly, she complained, “You shut up, what are you everywhere for.”
Wen Shuxian, having fun, laughed heartily as she said, “I don’t care, Tangtang and I are the best match in 405.”
Cui Jiaren joined in the fun, whispering, “What about me?”
Wen Shuxian mocked, “You have a boyfriend, don’t try to get involved,” Thus eliminating her ruthlessly.
With her back towards them, the corner of Tang Ruoyao’s pretty lips lifted involuntarily. As she stepped into the bathroom and shut out the sound of laughter behind her, she heard Wen Shuxian roaring just as the door met the frame, “It’s fine even if you don’t use my shower gel, but you must use my shampoo! Mine is the most expensive!”
Tang Ruoyao had basically spent the entire second semester of her fourth year at university off campus, so her bathroom supplies were left to gather dust, having been used only twice at the start of the semester. Looking at them now, someone had wiped them clean, but she still used Wen Shuxian’s shampoo and Fu Yujun’s shower gel.
The weather was hot, and even with the air-conditioner turned on, one would feel hotter as they shower in hot water. Thinking that she would not go to sleep immediately, Tang Ruoyao didn’t blow her hair dry too carefully, just wrung her hair out with bare hands. Her long wet hair stuck to her slim white neck, the front of her clothes dampened, moulding to two full arcs even as water droplets gathered upon her clavicle and slid down in a delicate curve.
She was tall, and wearing just a camisole with her back as straight as bamboo, her white shorts made her long legs appear even more eye-catching.
Just as she walked out, someone pounced on her, and a warm palm grabbed her ice-cold arm.
Tang Ruoyao reacted quickly, retracting her arm, turning sideways, and extended an elbow with lightning-fast reflexes. Just as she was about to land the blow on the lecher’s face, a scream of horror stopped her in her tracks.
“Have mercy!”
Tang Ruoyao withdrew her hands.
Fu Yujun took amusement in the other’s misfortune and laughed, “Who told you to be so perverted, you were almost disfigured, huh?”
Wen Shuxian patted her chest with lingering fear, “I was almost scared to death. Who knew she would have such a huge reaction.” Stopping mid-speech, she suspiciously eyed Tang Ruoyao with squinted eyes and hissed, “That’s not right, something happened.”
Tang Ruoyao’s heart jumped unsteadily, and she walked away to pour herself a glass of water as if nothing happened.
Wen Shuxian checked the dormitory door, and after confirming that the door was closed, said to herself, “There’s definitely something up with Tangtang!”
Tang Ruoyao maintained her silence.
Fu Yujun scanned Tang Ruoyao’s calm and still face, not saying anything.
Only Cui Jiaren asked, “What happened?”
Wen Shuxian said, “I think she’s dating someone.”
Cui Jiaren asked again, “Why?”
Wen Shuxian answered, “Only those who are dating would be so sensitive about physical touch with others.”
Cui Jiaren propped her chin up with her hands, and continued to ask sincerely, “Then why wasn’t she so sensitive before?”
Wen Shuxian also felt that she was just guessing wildly. Scratching the back of her head, she opened her mouth to speak more nonsense, “Then maybe it’s because she was recently intimate with her lover, hahaha.”
Tang Ruoyao choked, her ears immediately heating up.
Fu Yujun slightly quirked her eyebrows.
This topic ended early with nothing more to say due to Tang Ruoyao’s closed-off expression.
At 1 a.m. the lights in the dormitory were turned off.
Tang Ruoyao tossed and turned, unable to sleep. There was an active volcano buried in her heart at all times, and while it was usually dormant, once it was kindled, it would burn into a raging fire that was all-consuming.
Wen Shuxian just had to insist on needling her.
When Tang Ruoyao closed her eyes, she once again relived those nights spent entangled in tight embraces, two people rolling in sweat. Qin Yinong would whisper hoarsely in her ears, letting her bloom as she brought her to the edge again and again.
Her camisole soaked with sweat and her back sticky, Tang Ruoyao kicked off her blankets, and lay with her arms and legs exposed, feeling discomfort everywhere.
After a while, she turned over slightly, moving her legs, and exhaled towards the ceiling.
Suddenly there was light coming into sight.
The bed right opposite her had a small eyesight-protecting lamp turned on. Fu Yujun turned onto her side to look at her, and whispered, “Is it hot?”
Tang Ruoyao wiped the sweat from her neck, and whispered back, “It’s fine.”
The other two were asleep.
Fu Yujun extended her hand out from the bedside rail. In her hand was the remote control for the air-conditioner. She whispered, “Turn the AC down a few degrees and adjust the direction of the fan.”
Tang Ruoyao replied, “Thanks.”
With a smile, Fu Yujun turned off the lamp.
Tang Ruoyao was burning from the inside, it wouldn’t matter how many degrees she adjusted the temperature to, so she didn’t change the temperature, although adjusting the fan direction was better than nothing. With her back facing the wall, Tang Ruoyao turned on her phone and logged into a private account.
@Day by day with Miss Q:
[Can’t sleep, I miss her, I wonder if she misses me. And, today I heard a piece of good news during the day. I'm looking forward to the next time I see her.]
While posting, she was careful to select visible only to herself.
It’s normal for celebrities to fall off their horses, don’t underestimate netizens’ ability to dig around.
Tang Ruoyao gradually returned to her normal state, and started feeling sleepy. With her phone pressed under her pillow, she fell asleep in a daze.
***
Qin Yinong was lying on her bed. Suddenly, her eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes abruptly, waking up in cold sweat. Looking out from the floor-to-ceiling windows with the curtains opened, the sky was still as dark as ink. It was approaching the time when it is darkest before dawn.
Qin Yinong pressed her chest over her violently beating heart and panted heavily, bending an elbow to raise herself up. She turned to look at the clock on her bedside drawer.
It had just passed 4 o’clock in the morning.
Sitting up slowly, Qin Yinong turned on a lamp and leaned against the headboard, her eyes closed for a little while longer, half-awake. The night had sounds belonging solely to the night, the wind and the summer insects buzzed around her, piercing their way into her ears. Clenching her fist, Qin Yinong frowned uneasily.
Enduring with her eyes closed until the alarm rang, Qin Yinong opened her eyes as if she had been granted amnesty, and went to the bathroom to take a shower.
To other people, sleep is rest. To Qin Yinong, sleep is the torture she had to suffer through in order to keep up spirits the day.
After washing away the thin layer of sticky sweat, Qin Yinong went downstairs feeling entirely refreshed. She first went to the kitchen to cook porridge, then she opened the door to Ji Shulan’s room, lightly climbing into the bed, and turned on her side to hug Ningning’s small body. She buried her head and kissed Ningning’s face.
There was a soft sound as Ji Shulan moved slightly, she had probably woken up.
Qin Yinong whispered, “It’s 6.30a.m, the porridge is ready.”
Ji Shulan quietly got off the bed.
Qin Yinong opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling above with the help of the weak light, quietly contemplating. When the child in her arms moved and began to mumble as she showed signs of awakening, Qin Yinong closed her eyes and pretended to be sound asleep.
She heard Ningning talking to Ji Shulan quietly.
“Mom hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Mhm.”
“Let’s not bother her, let’s let her sleep a little while more.”
“Sure.”
“Is mom very tired?”
Ji Shulan paused for two seconds before saying, “Yes.”
Qin Yinong then felt something warm on her cheeks, then something soft and filled with milky fragrance pecked her.
“If I kiss mom, will she feel a bit better?”
“Yes, Ningning is so good.”
As their voices decreased in volume, the bedroom emptied of two people in quick succession, and the door closed gently.
Qin Yinong’s eyes moved under her wet eyelids.
As Qin Yinong and Ji Shulan made breakfast together, little Ningning sat at the balcony of the living room listening to stories. Ningning is a very well-behaved child, she didn’t need the adults to entertain her while reading stories, she could listen happily by herself. She could already read quite a number of words, and there were many picture books at home for her, so she could look at the pictures as she listened.
“I have some promotional work in the morning, I’ll have to go out,” Qin Yinong washed her hands. She held a wooden ladle in one hand, uncovering the lid of the rice cooker to scoop up the porridge.
“What work is it?” Ji Shulan handed her a bowl. “When will you be back?”
Qin Yinong blew away the steam from the porridge, saying, “Just a magazine cover shooting session and interview. It won’t take long, I’ll be back by tonight.”
It won’t take long, but she can only return at nightfall?
Ji Shulan didn’t ask anymore, and hummed as she instructed, “Stay safe.” Then she changed the subject, “Were you able to sleep last night?”
“I slept for four to five hours.”
“Then that’s fine.”
Qin Yinong handed Ji Shulan a bowl of porridge, saying, “Tell Ningning to come over and eat her breakfast.”
A bowl of porridge and a spoon were placed in front of Ningning, but she carried a book in hand, eyes absorbed in the book.
“Eat your porridge,” Qin Yinong rapped her knuckles on the table in front of her.
“After I finish this page,” Ningning said as she turned to another page.
Seeing this, Qin Yinong frowned. No wonder Ji Shulan was worried she would get near-sighted.
Qin Yinong put her spoon down, gently knocking on the side of her bowl.
“Qin Jianing.”
There is no child who isn’t scared of their mother calling their full name. Ningning shuddered all over as Ji Shulan promptly took away the book in her hands and stuffed the spoon into her hands, gently saying, “Good girl, eat your porridge.”
Qin Yinong’s face was cold as she asked, “Have you washed your hands?”
Ningning jumped off her chair and rushed to wash her hands. Ji Shulan followed; Ningning was too small, and she could not reach the hand soap. Returning, Ningning took a look at Qin Yinong’s face before obediently eating her porridge.
After breakfast, Ji Shulan and the driver sent Ningning to her kindergarten, while Guan Han came by early to wait for Qin Yinong.
Perhaps remembering how she wronged Guan Han the last time by only giving her an apple, Qin Yinong led her into the kitchen and lifted the lid, saying, “There’s meat pie full of beef filling, want some?” (T/N: 馅饼 xianbing is a pan-fried Chinese meat pie the size of dumpling)
Upon hearing this, Guan Han’s eyes lit up and she asked, “Did you make it yourself?”
Qin Yinong raised her eyebrows in silent admittance.
Guan Han immediately said, “I want it!”
Qin Yinong handed her a plastic bag.
Guan Han packed all the beef pie away, not leaving a single one behind.
Qin Yinong, “...”
She couldn’t help but ask, “Can you even finish all of them?”
Swallowing her saliva, Guan Han firmly protected the bag as if afraid that Qin Yinong would take it away from her and said, “If I can’t finish it, I’ll put it in the refrigerator.”
No one knew this but Qin Yinong was actually a superb cook. Guan Han had previously tasted the soy sauce fried noodles she had made for the cast and production crew before, and had eaten it with such relish that she almost swallowed her tongue along with the noodles. (T/N: 炸酱面 zhajiangmian is Beijing’s signature noodle) Even now, just thinking about it leaves a rich aftertaste, but Qin Yinong seldom cooks outside her house, and there are endless difficulties in getting to taste the food she cooks personally.
Qin Yinong said, “... Alright then.”
The morning shoot for the magazine went smoothly, as always. Some people are just born to be in front of the camera, and all 360 degrees of Qin Yinong’s face have no dead angles. The photographer had her change into several sets of clothes. Whether it was haughty, cold, or enchanting, Qin Yinong listened to the photographer’s instructions and adjusted her body language and bearing accordingly.
For the final set, she sat on a pitch-black single-seater chair, her long legs naturally and gracefully extended. She leaned forward, her elbows propped up on her knees, her red lips lightly pursed. Her white neck was raised in an arrogant arch, and she fixed her icy-cold gaze on the camera. All at once, the contradictory emotions of oppression and freedom assault the viewer’s senses.
After taking the photograph, the photographer gestured “ok” to her.
Qin Yinong took off her coat and, without waiting for Guan Han, a staff member had already taken it from her reverently. Softly, Qin Yinong thanked the staff member.
The staff member looked at her in shock, stunned to the extreme.
Qin Yinong smiled gently again in the direction of the staff member, before turning to look in another direction.
Guan Han was coming over with a woman of about 40 years old.
The woman was ‘VG’ magazine’s editorial director. Her surname was Lin, and within a few short years, she raised ‘VG’ up to become the new standard for China’s fashion media. She was very capable.
Approaching her, Director Lin was two steps ahead of Guan Han, and moved to hug Qin Yinong. After, she held onto Qin Yinong’s hands without letting go, teasing her, “You’re finally in my hands this time, huh? You can’t escape from having lunch with me today.”
Qin Yinong withdrew her hands without a trace and calmly smiled at her slightly, “I wasn’t planning on escaping, I’ve been hoping to cheat you of a free meal for a long time already.”
Director Lin laughed heartily.
Both the host and guests enjoyed themselves thoroughly.
After she finished dealing with the director, Qin Yinong sat in the car, pinching her eyebrows tiredly. Guan Han handed her hangover medication and a cup of water.
After seeing the water, Qin Yinong took the medication and leaned against the seat, lazily raising her eyelids halfway as she asked, “What time is the appointment with the psychologist?”
Author’s note:
The author has something to say:
I can’t write the omake anymore, I copied this paragraph from the commentary section hahaha. Thank you to reader “Jiu Luo”
Tang Ruoyao: It’s too hot, can I drink jiejie’s water?”
Thank you to all the little angels who gave me the overlord vote or provided nutrition~
translate by tetris, edited by noba