Chapter 35 A fleeting kiss.

Su Cheng was surprised that Jiang Muzhou was still leaning down to whisper in her ear. As soon as she turned her head, her lips unexpectedly touched his warm cheek.

A fleeting kiss, like a dragonfly skimming the water.

She sprang away abruptly.

Although the touch was instantaneous, the tingling sensation, like an electric shock, spread like wildfire from the lips to every part of the body.

The card in his hand fell to the ground with a thud, and the ball of thread attached to the card was pulled sharply, falling to the ground and rolling a long way.

"I'm sorry." Su Cheng was momentarily stunned, her head lowered, her voice barely audible. "I didn't mean to."

My cheeks flushed rapidly, and my heart pounded wildly, as if my blood was thumping inside me.

She subconsciously pursed her lips, but then realized that the scent lingering on her lips was that of another person.

The cool scent of vetiver blends with the calming aroma of herbs and woods.

And there's that unique, comforting warmth about him.

The two lips that had just closed quickly parted again, like repelling magnets, and dared not close again.

My face was burning, and the burning sensation intensified.

Unaware of the consequences of her unintentional transgression, she hurriedly lowered her eyes to avoid the scrutinizing gaze that might come, and squatted down to pick up the fallen card and the rolled-away ball of yarn.

Her ears turned bright red, her fingers clenched tightly, and her soft, pink lips trembled slightly.

He gently placed his fingertips on the spot where her lips had just touched his skin, where the cool dampness still lingered.

Like rain after a long drought, seeds buried for a long time in the cracked earth are able to break through the soil and sprout tender shoots.

He slowly withdrew his fingers, rested his chin on his hand, and said in a deep voice, "Be more careful in the future."

Her raven-feather-like eyelashes trembled slightly, casting a small shadow.

Hearing that Jiang Muzhou didn't seem to intend to pursue the matter, Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and sat up straight again.

Her pounding heart was like a never-ending alarm, constantly reminding her of her recent transgression.

She deliberately moved to the side, leaving at least an arm's length of space between them.

The neatly arranged braided yarn was now even more tangled than before after being messed up like this.

She kept her head down, not daring to look at him. The word "okay" was stuck in her throat and hadn't come out yet when she heard him add, "If it were someone else, it would be very dangerous."

The fingers that were untying the braided thread paused.

There will be no one else.

She wouldn't get that close to other people.

She carefully rewound the orange braided thread around the card, pressing down on one end with her thumb every few turns to flatten the thread.

"How many times do I need to wrap it?" she asked, her neck stiff and her eyes unblinking.

Having learned from her previous experience, she didn't dare to move her head this time.

Jiang Muzhou shifted his gaze to the card in her hand and gestured to indicate its size, "About the width of a fingernail will do."

He picked up a metal ring and demonstrated how to make a loop, then showed how to slip the finished loop onto the wound thread.

Su Cheng carefully followed his technique, and the originally tangled threads gradually took on the shape of tassels as her fingers danced across the fabric.

Overwhelmed by excitement, her eyes lit up, and she forgot to remain on guard.

Her dark, moist eyes looked at Jiang Muzhou, and she sincerely exclaimed in admiration, "You're so amazing, you can do everything."

The tender bud in my heart felt as if it had been gently scratched by a breeze.

Jiang Muzhou twitched the corner of his mouth and chuckled.

He had heard too many praises: teachers praised him for being smart, classmates praised him for being capable, and elders said he was promising.

But no one had ever looked up at him like that, their bright, dark almond-shaped eyes blinking as they stared at him with genuine admiration.

He appreciated it.

The awkward atmosphere seemed to ease a bit, and Su Cheng muttered softly, "I owe you what happened just now."

Jiang Muzhou glanced down at it. "What?"

Her ears turned red, but she tried to keep her voice calm, "Although this was my first kiss, you might feel like you got the short end of the stick, so..."

Taking a deep breath, she looked directly at the other person and said, "I can promise you one thing: I'll be there whenever you call, as long as it's within my power."

Jiang Muzhou raised his eyebrows but remained silent for a moment.

Seeing that he didn't object, Su Cheng quickly concluded, "Then let's consider this matter over."

“I’ve already erased this memory.” She pinched a wisp of empty air outside her temple with her thumb and forefinger, as if tossing it away. “I hope you have too.”

Jiang Muzhou chuckled. He turned his head, about to say something, but saw that Su Cheng had already turned her face away to pick out glass bead accessories.

She carefully selected and chose an orange-yellow sunflower.

Just like her, she is bright and vibrant, like a ray of sunshine, full of life.

-

The day after Su Cheng gave Fang Xin'ai the tassel badge pendant, the pendant suddenly became a hit.

The incident stemmed from Fang Xin'ai attending an offline event. While taking her OOTD (Outfit of the Day) photos at the airport, she seemingly unintentionally revealed a badge charm on her small crossbody bag.

Eagle-eyed fans recognized that this was the same pendant Su Cheng modified during her live stream, and immediately flocked to her comment section to flood the screen with messages, with thousands of people begging for a link.

She couldn't help but marvel at how amazing the new actress's ability to drive sales was; no wonder brands were scrambling to collaborate with such popular celebrities.

However, she got this for free. Fang Xin'ai not only didn't receive any promotion fees, but also proactively ordered 500 keychains as gifts for the fan meeting.

When a cat attains enlightenment, even its chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; it seems this can be considered as benefiting from the fortune of Huajuan.

However, with such a large demand, she certainly couldn't meet the demand by hand alone. Fortunately, the badge factory she had previously cooperated with was fully equipped and could produce tassel pendants in large quantities. After finalizing the pre-sale quantity with Wendy, the production of tassel badge pendants officially started.

After confirming the production process, Su Cheng sank into the soft cushions at the head of the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

She felt like a spring that had been stretched out of control. Although she had let go, her body still retained the muscle memory of being in a constant rush to post videos every day.

Once she relaxed, she felt a little uneasy.

When he usually lives next door, it doesn't bother me much if I don't see him for a day or two, since I know he's right next door.

But this time he really left, and Su Cheng's thoughts drifted away with him.

She couldn't help but let her imagination run wild. Would the pre-production preparations be incredibly busy? Would he be able to eat on time? Would he accidentally get injured while scouting locations?

Even though she knew perfectly well that Jiang Muzhou was the kind of person who was most reliable, with an orderly life and meticulous work, she still couldn't stop worrying about him.

Fortunately, Jiang Muzhou entrusted her with the responsibility of taking care of Yuanbao before he left. She fed Yuanbao, changed his water, and cleaned up his poop.

The same job, but her mindset was completely different from a month ago.

She called it a video recording for archiving, but in reality, she just wanted to use the excuse of official business to talk to Jiang Muzhou.

At noon, she took a picture of Yuanbao lying on his back in the sun and sent it to him. He only replied briefly, "Yuanbao said he was very happy to see you."

After dinner, she sent Yuanbao a video of him playing with a toy mouse, but received no reply for a long time.

She stared at the chat box, deleting and rewriting the text she had edited until only a brief greeting remained.

But just as she was about to send it, she deleted it all, leaving only a blank space.

She sighed helplessly, suddenly realizing that the greatest distance wasn't that he was thousands of miles away, but that she had to carefully consider whether sending a simple "goodnight" was inappropriate.

Jiang Muzhou transferred the payment to her as usual, based on the same fee she charged the first time she came to feed the cats.

When she was a child, she noticed a strange phenomenon: when adults went to buy things from a store owned by an acquaintance, they always used "we have such a good relationship" as a reason to ask for a discount or special offer.

This confused her, because in her view, true friends shouldn't act this way, and deep affection shouldn't become an excuse to take advantage. If she were to patronize her friend's shop someday, she would definitely pay the listed price honestly.

The adults all said she was stubborn, but they said it was just an unspoken understanding of human relationships.

When she finally grew up, she gradually accepted these rules of social etiquette. So when Jiang Muzhou offered to pay for feeding the cat at her home, she instinctively wanted to offer a discount, feeling that it was a courtesy that should be given between friends.

But he refused.

“Precisely because we’re friends, I can’t let you suffer.” His voice was clear and pure, like a clear mountain stream flowing gently in her ear. “If you put in the effort, you should get the reward you deserve. If you link the depth of friendship with money, then this friendship is no longer pure.”

His gentle and soothing tone, so light and soft, was like a wisp of mist that had traveled through many years and tenderly embraced that little girl.

As she accepted the transfer, she remembered a saying she had heard somewhere: "You should love someone who is good in themselves."

My phone beeped with a WeChat message notification.

[WeChat Sports: You walked 40 steps today. Tap to see your friends' walking rankings]

The distance from her house to Jiang Muzhou's house was exactly 10 steps.

The light in her eyes vanished in an instant, and she listlessly set WeChat Sports to Do Not Disturb mode.

Feeling empty inside, she had to find something to do and start thinking about the theme for the new video.

While analyzing the account data, she was pleasantly surprised to find that her fans had expanded from Linhai to all over the country.

Many fans have expressed their desire to adopt stray animals, but the rescue station currently only accepts adoption applications from the surrounding coastal areas, requiring a one-way travel time of no more than two hours. This is to avoid the health risks associated with long-distance transportation of pets and to facilitate follow-up visits.

Fans from other places who want to adopt pets cannot find reliable channels. Some unscrupulous backyard catteries even use the guise of "low-cost adoption" to sell defective kittens bred through inbreeding, taking advantage of people's kindness to make a profit for themselves.

With a spare cage available at the rescue station and numerous requests for help received, Su Cheng decided to make a compilation video about catching cats in the next episode.

She planned the video shooting script in her mind. The first episode taught beginners how to catch cats safely. The second episode shared which pitfalls to avoid when taking a new cat to the vet for a check-up. Finally, she taught her unique cat behavior education secrets and taught everyone how to achieve zero-cost cat breeding and raise an exceptionally good cat that can be petted, cuddled, and kissed.

As she pondered, Su Cheng's brain cells were exhausted, and drowsiness overcame her. She sank into the soft cushion and fell into a deep sleep.

The phone, which was still on the WeChat screen, suddenly lit up.

The white porcelain bowl is crystal clear and filled with amber-colored plum soup. A few plums float on the surface, casting faint shadows at the bottom of the bowl.

The soft moonlight shone down, reflecting tiny specks of light on the bowl's surface, as if carrying the starlight of the entire summer.

Author's note: Midsummer White Porcelain Plum Soup.