Bai Ruo’s Decision

Li Xian’s father and Li Xian’s mother stayed at the hospital to care for Li Xian. Li Xian’s father would occasionally leave to handle work matters, while Li Xian’s mother remained by her side at all times.

Su Yan came carrying a basket of fruit and politely knocked on the door. Li Xian’s mother quickly smiled and invited her in.

Li Xian kept looking at Bai Ruo, but Bai Ruo never once looked back. Perhaps because of the pregnancy, Li Xian had become sensitive and fragile.

Su Yan sat by the bed. “Soon, right?”

“Mm.” Li Xian smiled.

“Will it be very hard?” Su Yan asked.

“Not too bad. I can manage.”

Su Yan nodded, then looked at Bai Ruo, signaling that she had already asked for her.

Bai Ruo averted her eyes and pretended not to notice.

They talked for another half hour or so before the two of them prepared to leave. Li Xian looked at Bai Ruo, the reluctance in her eyes plain to see, but she didn’t know how to ask her to stay; she seemed not to have any reason that could make Bai Ruo remain.

“Alright, Auntie, no need to see us out, really. Keep Li Xian company; we’ll head off first.”

Li Xian’s mother looked at Bai Ruo, as if she wanted to say something but held it back.

Su Yan nudged Bai Ruo with her elbow and asked softly, “Are you sure you’re not staying?”

Bai Ruo gently refused.

In the corridor, Su Yan asked again, “It’s still not too late to go back now. Are you really sure you won’t keep Li Xian company? A woman about to give birth is exactly when she needs someone with her; at the very least, if you were there, Li Xian would feel more at ease.”

Bai Ruo stopped walking. “But I’d feel awkward. Besides, I’ve thought it over. Even though I really still like Li Xian, maybe only by letting her go can I live better. Seeing her, I’ll still worry about her, but I can’t convince myself to do anything about it either. So it’s better not to have too many ties.”

Su Yan seemed to half-understand. “Then what are you planning to do?”

“There’s a travel variety show coming up. They’re filming overseas, and several of the countries they’re going to are places I really like. It’ll be a good chance to go out and clear my head.”

Su Yan looked at her with emotion. “Nice, sis. Didn’t expect you to have grown so much.”

“What, impressed by how cool your sister is?” Bai Ruo raised her brows, looking pleased with herself.

“Ugh!” Su Yan sped off ahead.

“What do you mean by that? Looking for a beating, are you?”

Two days later, Li Xian gave birth to a daughter in the early hours of the morning.

Five days later, Bai Ruo flew overseas with the film crew.

Jingsheng Community.

The cane Qin Qingyan had bought for Yan Yue hadn’t been a waste after all; Yan Yue could now move about short distances on two crutches. Walking back and forth across the living room two or three times was no problem at all.

When she sat on the sofa to rest, Qin Qingyan hurriedly handed her some warm water, then carefully wiped the fine sheen of sweat from her forehead.

“In a few more days, I think the crutches can be thrown away too,” Qin Qingyan said.

Yan Yue wasn’t especially thirsty. She took a small sip and handed the cup back to Qin Qingyan. Seeing that more than half the water was still left, Qin Qingyan drank it in one go, then set the cup on the coffee table.

“How is Li Xian?” Yan Yue asked.

“She’s doing pretty well. She still doesn’t know Bai Ruo has gone abroad; we’re planning to tell her later, after her body’s recovered a bit more.”

Yan Yue nodded. “Bring my computer over.”

Qin Qingyan did as she was told, then sat beside her, resting her chin in her hand as she watched Yan Yue handle the documents.

“You really are a workaholic,” Qin Qingyan said.

Yan Yue leaned back on the sofa and stared at the screen. “Anything that can be handed off, I’ve already let go of. These things can’t be avoided.”

“I know.” Qin Qingyan folded her legs under her and leaned against Yan Yue’s shoulder. “I just hope you won’t be so busy.”

“It’s already much less than before. After the car accident, Yicheng took over most of it for me. Now that I’m almost recovered, I should get familiar with everything first so I can take it back over more quickly.”

Qin Qingyan rested her chin on Yan Yue’s shoulder. From this angle, she could see Yan Yue’s eyelashes clearly, flickering as they were; it made her heart itch.

“Does that mean we won’t see each other much for a long time?” Qin Qingyan said. “Think about it; once you take over again, you’ll definitely be busy late into the night, and I’ll be filming at night too. We’ll hardly have any time to see each other.”

Yan Yue paused her typing and thought about it. That did seem to be the case. She turned her head to look at Qin Qingyan; they were very close, close enough to feel each other’s breathing.

“There’ll still be time. It’ll just be hectic at the beginning. After a while, things will go back to normal.”

Qin Qingyan rubbed against the side of Yan Yue’s neck, reluctant. “That’s still a long time.”

Yan Yue pushed her forehead back. “At most a month.”

Qin Qingyan sighed. Never mind a month; even being apart from Yan Yue for a week was unbearably hard.

“Then we have to video call every day,” Qin Qingyan said.

“Okay.”

“And you have to call me.”

“Okay.”

That was more like it. Qin Qingyan was satisfied.

Half a month later, Yan Yue was walking almost normally. She went to the hospital for a checkup, and all her indicators were normal. A few days later, she returned to the company.

Every day at noon, Qin Qingyan would pick a time and call her on video right on schedule. In the call, Yan Yue had tied up her loose hair, which added a touch of maturity and competence to her. The white shirt she wore only made her look colder and more refined.

While admiring her, Qin Qingyan couldn’t help thinking how long it had been since she’d seen Yan Yue like this. As always, she was enough to make her heart race.

“Have you eaten?” Yan Yue asked.

“I have. Have you had lunch yet?” Qin Qingyan asked, glancing at the background behind Yan Yue.

“Not yet. The assistant will bring it up later. Things are a bit busy, so I’m trying not to waste time,” Yan Yue said.

Qin Qingyan let out an oh, then teased, “Then isn’t it delaying your work when I call you on video?”

Yan Yue laughed. “How could I dare? Teacher Qin took the time to call me; no matter what, I have to answer.”

“But we agreed you’d be the one to call me. You’ve only called twice.”

Yan Yue couldn’t deny that. Every time, Qin Qingyan’s call had come a step ahead of hers.

“But it’s fine. There’s still a long way to go,” Qin Qingyan said with a smile.

They chatted a little longer before Qin Qingyan waited for the other side to hang up, then returned to the film crew to get back to work.

“Qingyan!” It was Lin Yi again. “Where did you go? I looked for you forever.”

“What do you need me for?”

“For this.” Lin Yi held out a hand. In her palm was a little teddy bear charm.

Qin Qingyan glanced at it but didn’t take it. “Pretty cute.”

“Right? It’s for you.” Lin Yi smiled brightly.

“No need.”

Lin Yi blocked her way. “You have to take it. The director bought these. Everyone on the crew got one. They said some company wanted us to help advertise or something; I’m not really clear on the details. Anyway, this little bear is pretty cute.”

Qin Qingyan looked at a nearby staff member’s phone; sure enough, there was a little teddy bear hanging from it. Only then did she reluctantly take it.

Not far away, Yang Zhuting watched the scene with a blank expression.

“Instead of being a proper rich young master, she insists on acting. And her acting is still utterly terrible to this day. Who knows what she’s thinking? Now she’s even handing out little gifts to try to win people over, and it’s another company’s artist,” the assistant said.

Yang Zhuting said, “Don’t put it that way. Things given by a rich young master aren’t something just anyone can casually accept.”

“Do you think Lin Yi might be into Qin Qingyan?”

“Lin Yi? No, she wouldn’t be.”

The assistant didn’t understand why Yang Zhuting was so certain, but she knew her place and didn’t ask further.

That night, after filming ended, Qin Qingyan was in a hurry to go back and see Yan Yue. As soon as she got into the car, Lin Yi ran over and called out to stop her.

“Bear. You left your bear behind.”

Qin Qingyan had completely forgotten about the charm, so she thanked her and left.

“Lin Yi is actually pretty nice. It’s just that acting with her is a real pain,” Su Yan commented.

Qin Qingyan nodded, playing with the bear charm before setting it on the armrest box.

“The director really went overboard. How can a bear compare to milk tea? Still, this bear is pretty cute. Even without us advertising it, I’m sure it’ll become popular someday,” Su Yan said.

By the time they were nearing Jingsheng, Qin Qingyan coughed lightly and glanced at Su Yan. “Su Su, you should head back and stay somewhere else tonight.”

Su Yan understood immediately. When Qin Qingyan got out of the car, she even reminded her, “There’s no filming tomorrow morning. You can sleep in.”

When she got home, Qin Qingyan found that the lights were actually off.

Had Yan Yue not come back yet? Should she call and ask?

But then she suddenly thought this was the perfect chance to surprise Yan Yue. So she sat on the sofa and kept an eye on the door at all times. Yet half an hour passed, and Yan Yue still hadn’t returned.

Was she not coming back?

No, that shouldn’t be it. At the very least, she would have told her first.

So she waited a long time more. By the time she checked the clock, it was already ten-thirty. Qin Qingyan sighed; tonight’s mission had officially failed.

Close to eleven, Yan Yue finally came back.

The moment she came in, she saw Qin Qingyan looking at her with obvious dissatisfaction. Yan Yue froze. “I handled some things, so I was a little late.”

“Have you showered?” Yan Yue asked again.

“No.”

“Then should I go first?” She’d been tired all day and wanted to sleep early.

Qin Qingyan could see how tired she was too, so she nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll watch TV a bit longer.”

She watched a variety show for quite a while, but her mind kept drifting; then she sent Su Yan a crying emoji.

Su Yan: What’s wrong?

Qin Qingyan typed: She just got back. She’s in the shower now. No filming today.

Su Yan: !!! You should shower together! What a perfect chance!

Qin Qingyan froze. Right—how had she not thought of that? But the sound of water soon came from the bathroom, and she could only sigh and send a dead-body-lying-there-crying emoji.

Qin Qingyan: No hope left.

Su Yan: Useless!

About twenty minutes later, Yan Yue finished washing and was blow-drying her hair.

Qin Qingyan took her pajamas and, frustrated yet helpless, walked into the bathroom. Ten-odd minutes later, she came out.

By the time she finished drying her hair and returned to the bedroom, only the bedside lamp was still on. Qin Qingyan tiptoed under the blanket and lay down, edging a little closer to Yan Yue.

Looking at Yan Yue’s back, Qin Qingyan let out another silent sigh and reached out to twirl a strand of her hair with her fingers.

The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Such a good opportunity, wasted for nothing.

Lying there and staring at the ceiling, she sighed again.

Soon after, Yan Yue’s voice came from beside her. “Aren’t you sleeping yet?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Isn’t filming tiring?”

Qin Qingyan closed her eyes and didn’t want to answer.

After a while, Yan Yue rolled over. A little later, Qin Qingyan felt a soft warmth on her lips.

She opened her eyes at once; Yan Yue had already turned back over.

“Go to sleep. Not tonight. I’m too tired.”

Qin Qingyan blinked. “So you knew all along.”

“Do I look that stupid?”

Qin Qingyan propped herself up, brushed the loose hair from her cheek, and looked at her. “You don’t have to do anything troublesome; I’ll do the work.”

She still wanted to fight for it a little more. The night was long; what if there was still a chance?

“I have work tomorrow,” Yan Yue said dully with her eyes closed.

“No, I’m free tomorrow morning.” Qin Qingyan answered immediately.

“I have to get up early for work.”

“Then I’ll be quick?”

Yan Yue said nothing. She rolled over, turned her back on Qin Qingyan, and fell asleep.

Fine. The fight had failed.