Chapter 11 Why is she so happy?: Jiang Yan just smiled, holding her hand high like a joyful knight.
Yu Jintang stood on the pedestrian overpass, watching the musical fountain in the distant square burst into bloom like fireworks. The water jets rose and fell, shimmering with dazzling colors.
He brought the lighter to his lips and lit a slender women's cigarette.
This lighter has an old-fashioned design, seemingly having withstood fire and heavy impacts; its black and silver casing is mottled and worn. A string of English words is engraved on its bottom: "All things and I are free verses of poetry."
Yu Jintang sipped her cigarette, her eyelids slightly lowered. When the cigarette was halfway burned, she suddenly looked up and glanced around. Yang Xingji remained in the car; the other two hadn't come out yet.
She stroked the lighter tenderly for a moment, then stepped downstairs.
Suddenly, someone ran towards them. Yu Jintang turned around alertly and saw a girl in a school uniform rushing towards them, her face filled with panic. The girl also saw him, her frantic gaze sweeping over him before finally fixing on him, and then she charged headlong into him.
Suddenly, five or six tall, muscular boys appeared behind the girl, seemingly chasing her. Two of them were wearing the same school uniform as the girl. The girl lunged forward and grabbed her sleeve.
"Help me...help me!"
Yu Jintang glanced at the menacing boys, then pulled her along and ran towards the other end of the overpass. They had only taken two steps when they suddenly stopped and slowly backed away.
Two more boys, panting heavily and with ferocious expressions, climbed up ahead.
Yu Jintang slowly took a step back, trying to stall for time: "What do you want to do?"
"Mind your own business." A boy said with a dark face, "We're from the same school, who are you? Get lost!"
Thinking about what Jiang Yan had said, Qin Lan, without thinking, wandered off to the foot of the overpass.
Jiang Yan, who followed her out, only saw her suddenly freeze for a moment, then kick off her high heels and run wildly, rushing onto the overpass in the blink of an eye.
"Qin Lan!" Jiang Yan didn't have time to stop her, so she picked up her high heels that had fallen off the ground and quickly chased after her.
Qin Lan silently rushed onto the overpass, and before anyone could react, she kicked a boy hard in the neck, grabbed another boy's head with both hands, and slammed him to the ground.
"Yu Guaiguai, are you alright?" she called out.
"Hey, you underestimate me, huh!" Yu Jintang decisively pulled the girl down the stairs, saying, "Just you wait, I'll show you what I'm capable of next time!"
"Nonsense, you think you can fight with that kind of physique?" Qin Lan retorted.
The two boys on the ground lay there, grimacing, while the others gathered around with grim expressions. Qin Lan immediately tossed her long hair, covering her face completely. In the middle of the night, with her hair down and her face covered, she looked like Sadako, which startled the people opposite her.
The crowd looked at each other, bewildered: "Is this a human or a ghost?"
Another series of hurried footsteps approached, making a loud clatter on the steps of the overpass. A tall, burly bodyguard appeared behind Sadako, staring at the group of high school students with an unfriendly expression.
"Come on, I'll play with you guys." Qin Lan caught her breath and held out a hand. Immediately, someone handed her a hat, mask, and sunglasses. Qin Lan took them and put them on, then casually tore the hem of her skirt diagonally up to her thigh.
Then she walked arrogantly toward the group of tyrants, her long hair flying wildly in the night.
The boys opposite exchanged glances and scattered like birds. Qin Lan curled her lip in displeasure and turned to walk towards the two boys she had knocked to the ground.
"You actually called for help? Do you know who we are?!" the boy shouted, his voice trembling with fear.
"High school kid, huh?" Qin Lan said nonchalantly. "When I was in school, you were still playing in the mud."
"Who are you calling a brat!" the boy roared, bracing himself on the ground as he tried to jump up. But the bodyguard swiftly stepped forward and kicked him back to the ground.
"Why did you bully that girl?" Qin Lan asked in a deep voice.
"Because she's a disgusting lesbian!"
"Oh," Qin Lan said, "It seems that after it was legalized, homophobia has become a trend."
"Homosexuality is disgusting!" the boy said, uttering a vicious curse.
Qin Lan arrogantly removed her sunglasses, staring down at him with a sinister expression. The other boy, feeling uneasy under her gaze, timidly said, "You can't beat a minor."
"It's nothing." The woman laughed arrogantly, squatted down and patted his face: "If I want to beat someone up, even an octogenarian like me won't be able to escape."
“You…you are inhuman!” The boys’ lips trembled.
"They're incredibly rich." Qin Lan threw down her bodyguards' clothes to cover their faces, and just as she was about to get up, someone took off her hat.
"Who is it?" she asked, displeased. She raised her head arrogantly and then fell silent.
Two bodyguards picked up the little boy and walked away into the distance.
Jiang Yan put on her hat and squatted down: "Lift your foot."
Qin Lan then noticed that she was still carrying her high heels.
"We'll change in the car later." Qin Lan really didn't want her to touch her feet. Heaven knows if she'd kick her in the face because she's too sensitive.
"Lift your foot," Jiang Yan repeated.
Qin Lan reluctantly lifted one foot.
Jiang Yan stretched out her hand again: "Please give me a pack of wet wipes."
The female bodyguard rummaged in her suit pocket. Jiang Yan pulled out a tissue and gently wiped her swollen feet. Luckily, there was a lawn between the restaurant and the overpass, and a carpet was laid in the middle of the overpass; otherwise, they would have been worn out.
Qin Lan shivered; her soles were itchy and uncomfortable, and her toes involuntarily curled up. Jiang Yan wiped her feet gently, her fingertips occasionally brushing against her skin. Qin Lan swayed as if she couldn't stand steadily, and then reached out to grab Jiang Yan's hair.
"Teacher Qin really likes to pull people's hair," Jiang Yan said softly. "She does it everywhere."
Qin Lan realized that her "where" was a specific question, and couldn't help but pull her away again in anger: "You damn Jiang Yan, you talk too much."
Jiang Yan helped her put on her shoes, her hair still hanging messily in front of her eyes. She carefully tidied it up, then turned and went down the overpass.
"Hey, Jiang Yan," Qin Lan called out to her retreating figure.
Jiang Yan turned around as she wished, and the expression she revealed surprised her. For the first time, she noticed something flowing in Jiang Yan's eyes, as if a river was waiting for the flowers above to fall.
She seemed to be waiting for me. Qin Lan thought to herself, a surge of desire rising within her to say something, but she didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth, but in the end, she uttered the same stiff sentence as before: "Give me back my hat."
“No,” Jiang Yan said, and Qin Lan noticed that the peculiar expression that had caught her attention had faded. She put on her hat and said again, “No.”
"What?" Qin Lan exclaimed angrily, "That's my hat!"
"No," Jiang Yan refused for the third time, "It's mine now."
Qin Lan was furious, but when Yu Jintang's assistant came to explain the situation, she suppressed her temper. Yu Jintang and the girl went to give their statements, and Qin Lan instructed her bodyguards to send the two boys they had caught to the station as well, while she went for a walk along the river to clear her head.
The effects of the alcohol had dissipated in the wind. Only then did she realize that she had mistakenly drunk the wine from Yu Jintang's glass that night. As she realized this, she was walking on the high stone steps by the river, the night wind blowing in her face.
Qin Lan felt a chill. She shivered and swayed slightly. A crisp sound of heels clicking quickly approached. She turned around and saw Jiang Yan catching up, slightly out of breath.
"Why are you here?" Qin Lan raised her eyes flippantly. Jiang Yan was sure she wanted to make her come down, or perhaps she had ulterior motives, but Jiang Yan said nothing, only raising her hand high.
"What are you doing?" Qin Lan asked, her beautiful eyes glancing around.
"Teacher Qin, give me your hand."
Qin Lan felt uneasy recalling the feeling of physical contact with her. Jiang Yan reacted quickly and took her hand.
"What are you doing! You—you let go!" Qin Lan was startled, and her head started spinning again. She had barely drunk any alcohol in the past three years, and tonight she had only had a little, yet she was already so confused.
It's strange, but when Jiang Yan's fingers touched her, she actually felt a little comfortable.
"I won't let go." Jiang Yan said with a smile, "Teacher Qin is drunk, I'm afraid she'll fall and become fish food."
"Nonsense! Which eye of yours saw that I was drunk?" Qin Lan said angrily, "I only had one sip."
Jiang Yan simply smiled, holding her hand high like a joyful knight. The low-hanging night sky, the twinkling cold stars, the willow-like arm holding hers, and her inexplicably pounding heart. The tuberose emitted a delicate fragrance, and the river made the lights on the opposite bank shimmer like shooting stars. Qin Lan turned her head, looking at Jiang Yan with puzzlement. Why was she so happy?
＊
Yu Jintang pulled the girl a short distance away before stopping. A bodyguard pulled up in his car, and she gave the girl a bottle of water. After the girl finished drinking, she asked, "Are you feeling better?"
The girl looked up and said, "Thank you for saving me."
Yu Jintang glanced at her; she was quite pleasing to the eye.
"What's your name?" she asked casually.
"My name is Lü Xi."
“Oh… Lu Xi,” Yu Jintang asked, “Why are they chasing you?”
Lu Xi lowered his head and remained silent.
“Okay.” Yu Jintang kindly changed the subject: “We need to make a statement later. Where do you live? I’ll have someone take you home after we’re done.”
Lu Xi gently tugged at her sleeve: "Can you not let me go home? My dad drinks, and he beats me every time he drinks. I'm so scared."
Yu Jintang paused for a moment, then asked, "Are there any other people in your family?"
"My mother has passed away."
Yu Jintang thought to herself, "Just as I thought." Lu Xi then said, "I... I don't have any money either, but my grandparents will be coming in two months, and then I'll be safe."
"So you don't want to go home, and you don't have money to go to a hotel, so you want to come with me?" Yu Jintang raised an eyebrow.
"Is it okay?" Lu Xi looked up at her expectantly. "You saved me. I know you're a good person."
"Let's go make a statement first." Yu Jintang waved noncommittally and walked aside with her bodyguard, saying a few words: "You can stay with me tonight."
Lu Xi breathed a sigh of relief and followed.
After leaving the police station, Yu Jintang asked, "Are you hungry? Let me take you to get something to eat."
Lu Xi nodded and hurriedly took out her phone: "What do you want to eat? It's my treat."
"Put it away." Yu Jintang casually placed his hand on her wrist and pressed it down: "What kind of logic is it to let a child pay for a meal?"
“I’m not a kid anymore.” After holding it in for a while, Lu Xi went around to the front to argue, “I’m in high school.”
"Oh, a high school freshman kid."
"No, that's not it." Lu Xi's face flushed red. "It's my treat."
"Oh, okay, I can't stop you if you insist on treating me." Yu Jintang chuckled, had the driver stop in front of a private restaurant, went inside, ordered a table full of delicious dishes, and even opened a bottle of red wine: "Let's go pay the bill."
Lu Xi: "......"
Lu Xi: "Consider it a debt I owe you, and I'll definitely pay you back in the future."
"Then you can remember it yourself. Okay, sit down and eat."
Lu Xi sat down and carefully used her chopsticks to pick up a few vegetable leaves from her bowl.
"Eat more meat." Yu Jintang used serving chopsticks to put a few pieces of meat on her plate. "The driver will take you to school tomorrow morning. I have work to do and can't take care of you during the day."
"Tomorrow is Saturday," Lu Xi whispered. "I don't have to go to school."
Once filming starts, the crew will be working non-stop for several months. Yu Jintang had long forgotten what day it was. After a moment of surprise, she started to mutter, "Then why are you staying in the hotel by yourself?"
“I want to come with you.” Lu Xi looked at her longingly. “It’s so boring being alone. I won’t cause you any trouble, I’ll be good.”
Yu Jintang looked at her for a while, then chuckled: "You still say you're not a child? You talk so childishly."
Lu Xi was furious, but Yu Jintang had already called someone to pack the food. She had no choice but to follow them to the hotel, where the receptionist greeted Yu Jintang warmly as "Second Miss."
"Get her a room for two months," Yu Jintang said.
Lu Xi lowered her head, clutching her schoolbag. Yu Jintang suddenly leaned closer, the safety pin on her hat dangling erratically: "What are you thinking about? You look so down. Is it because you want to live with me?"
Lu Xi reacted strongly, raising her head with her entire face flushed red. After a long while, she stammered, "W-Is it okay...?"
"Of course not." Yu Jintang smiled and rubbed her head, then straightened up: "Little one, go to bed early. If you want to work with me, you have to get up at five o'clock tomorrow morning."
The child is naive and inexperienced; after such a fright tonight, it's perfectly normal for him to instinctively want to stay with his savior.
Yu Jintang herself had gone through the same thing, and seeing Lu Xi now was like seeing herself back then. Therefore, she was clearer about what she should do, and she also knew that no matter what she did, she couldn't change some things that were destined to happen sooner or later. However, this did not affect her life.
Lu Xi was escorted to her room by Yu Jintang, who then left. Lu Xi swiped her card to enter and looked around the room. It truly lived up to its five-star hotel reputation; even the standard room was more luxurious than she had ever imagined. She cautiously glanced at her large bed, washed her face, and prepared to sleep. Before going to bed, she scrolled through her phone and suddenly remembered that she had added the woman who had saved her on WeChat. She opened the chat and typed: "Thank you for saving me today, sister. Get some rest."
Then I sent an emoji.
Yu Jintang replied instantly: 【You too!】
Another emoji was sent in response.
Lu Xi couldn't help but laugh. She clicked on Yu Jintang's profile picture, intending to check out her WeChat Moments.
I fell silent upon seeing it.
First of all, this woman's nickname is "Evil and Charming, Arrogant and Unruly, Lonely as Snow, Cold and Melancholy, Gentle and Crazy Peerless Demon Lord," which already shocked me once when I added her as a friend.
But her subsequent posts on social media shocked her time and time again.
The pinned post consists of just three words: 【Kill! Kill! Kill!】
The next row contains three-word mantras.
June 29: [Hate! Hate! Hate!]
June 7th: [Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!]
June 1: [Death! die! die! 】
May 3rd: [Sword! Sword! Sword!]
April 21: [My heart is as lonely as snow. I am wicked and arrogant.]
April 3: [Killing Sorrow.]
April 1st: [In this life, I will wash the world in blood!]
March 6: [Theoretically, we could hold the earphones in our hands and use bone conduction to listen to music when it's inconvenient to wear them.]
February 9th: [That melancholy summer (salute) You, so bright (crying) You so passionately stormed into my world (remembering) So unforgettable (heart) The frozen sunset clouds (sun) The lingering smell of blood on my wrist (moon) The growing pains of those years (loneliness) Longing is like a bottomless pit (wailing) In lonely times (rage) I light your favorite cigarette (bow my head) I still can't forget you (laughing and crying)]
Lu Xi silently withdrew, not even having the courage to finish reading.
＊
There were quite a few messages in the small group of five.
At the top were two pictures posted by Yu Jintang. Qin Lan was startled when she saw the red dress and quickly clicked to enlarge them. Sure enough, it was her. One picture showed her running wildly on the lawn, and the other showed her doing a downward kick on the top of a pedestrian bridge.
Yu Jintang: [Sister Qin is so cool! {roses}{roses}{roses}]
Yang Xingji: [? ? ?]
Yang Xingji: [I was only sitting in the car for a short while, and Sister Qin already got a role in a martial arts film?]
Song Man: [I only practiced dancing for a bit, and Qin Lan has already turned into a monkey in the primeval forest?]
Yun Chui: [Put your shoes on, the ground is cold.]
Song Man: [Oh, so some people are still alive.]
Song Man stared at her phone for a long time before Yun Chui's profile picture finally appeared: [Thank you for your concern]
Yu Jintang: [Everyone, stop laughing at Lao Qin. Not only did Lao Qin not wear shoes tonight, but he also got humiliated in front of his arch-rival.]
Qin Lan flew into a rage, pressing the voice prompt button: "Yu! Jin!! Tang!!!"
She had to scroll to the bottom of the chat history and then scroll back up for a long time. Under the execution information, Song Man and Yun Chui had written a row of detailed explanations.
Yu Jintang: [Alright, alright, everyone, let's give Lao Qin a break. Lao Qin's had it tough, having such a bad night and now we're laughing at him. Everyone, stop laughing, hahahahahahahahahahahaha]
Yang Xingji: [Hahahahahaha]
Song Man: [Hahahahahahahahahaha]
Yun Chui: [Alan, don't listen to the negative comments]
Yun Chui: [Hahahahahahahahahaha]
Song Man rolled her eyes.
Yang Xingji: [Sister Qin's two photos are quite handsome, but why do they look like they were taken secretly?]
Yu Jintang: [Remove the feeling, it's just that I was secretly photographed. I thought it looked pretty good when I was editing it, so I asked for a copy.]
Song Man: [So what exactly did you guys do tonight? It was both about rivals and action scenes.]
Yun Chui: [Wait a minute]
Song Man: 【！！！】
Song Man: [Qin Lan, you didn't hit Jiang Yan, did you?!]
————————!!————————
Good monkey! Sorry to bother you, how about going to the streets for a wild ride with me? Let's grab some drinks, how fun! We can rest a bit when we get tired, or if you don't want to, I'll just have to wander around aimlessly. I think you're a bit too high-class, and I don't need to be hypocritical with you anymore. I hope you don't hold a grudge about what happened a while ago. *pinch* *kiss*
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