Chapter 8, Section 8: "Perhaps we realized it sooner than you think."
Jiang Yi didn't tell Gu Lai about his return; all she knew was that he was going to stay in Country I for a month.
Gu Lai had arranged to make a cameo appearance with some friends in the industry. After filming for half a day, she had dinner with some people and returned home. By the time the driver dropped her off, it was already night.
After that phone call, we didn't contact each other for two days, as if we had gone back to the two weeks before the call.
Gu Lai dislikes socializing. This time, it was a gathering organized by a friend and the film crew. Moreover, it was a co-production of her studio, with her making a guest appearance. Filming wrapped up in half a day, which was quite polite. Fortunately, there were only those who flattered her and no one dared to force her to drink or cause any social trouble. Gu Lai was just a little tired.
The house was dark, except for a few lights that were usually on—the pool, the lawn, and the entryway—which the staff had turned on before leaving. Gu Lai assumed no one was home, so she changed her shoes, took a shower, and went to the private cinema in her bathrobe to watch a movie.
Upon opening the door, it wasn't the darkness I expected. Warm lighting shone on the coffee-colored soundproof velvet, making even the dust in the air seem gentle.
On the screen, Chaplin's comical, silent actions are on display, while Jiang Yi, whom we haven't seen for half a month, is curled up on the sofa under a silk quilt.
Jiang Yi had no expression; the black-and-white film flickered in her beautiful eyes. The warm interior lighting softened her sharp features and complexion, making her look like a jaguar satiated and drowsy after a hunt.
Gu Lai paused for a moment before walking in, and only after closing the door did Jiang Yi belatedly look over.
Gu Lai was still holding a tablet in her hand. After closing the door, she just stood there looking at her, not knowing how to start a conversation.
Jiang Yi lifted the silk quilt and stepped down, barefoot onto the shaggy carpet, to retrieve her phone from the small coffee table. He then turned up the air conditioning. His gaze slid over Gu Lai's still-damp hair, lingering in her eyes: "What movie do you want to watch?"
Gu Lai wondered if others would be as unreasonable as she was.
She's feeling both good and bad right now, doubly exhausted, and it's all very abstract, like taking a sip of water after running a marathon and finding it turns out to be wasabi.
She didn't know why Jiang Yi could be so rational and calm as if nothing had happened, yet not completely indifferent, for example, smiling and telling her that he was going home early to give her a surprise.
Jiang Yi acted as if she had just taken a shower, her calmness bordering on unnatural.
Jiang Yi didn't get a reply, so he looked down and tapped his phone a few times. The screen switched from a black and white silent film to a color screen. Then he handed the phone to her and sat back down.
The phone was too small, and their fingertips inevitably touched when they were handed over. Gu Lai felt as if she had touched a handful of ice and snow.
“Looking Homeward, an old movie, someone recommended it to me recently,” Gu Lai said casually. “Your hands are so cold, is the air conditioning too cold?”
Jiang Yi looked up at her and smiled slightly: "It's alright, I'm covered with a blanket."
Gu Lai asked, "Why do you seem a bit listless?"
Jiang Yi said, "I'm jet-lagged. I originally planned to watch a movie and go to sleep around midnight."
Jiang Yi's manner of answering questions was strangely obedient, as if the decisive and domineering soul that was called "President Jiang" or "Little President Jiang" had suddenly been peeled off from her.
Gu Lai seemed more like she was sick, and when you're sick, you naturally become listless.
Gu Lai reached out and touched her forehead; it was warm, not like she had a fever.
Jiang Yi didn't move. He looked at her before she reached out her hand, and when she withdrew her hand, her previously hidden, shimmering, affectionate eyes were revealed. Jiang Yi was still looking at her, like a spring pool deep in a secluded valley.
Jiang Yi said in a very knowing and declarative tone, "You don't have a fever, do you?"
Gu Lai sat down next to her and started playing a video on her phone. While fiddling with it, she said, "Why so many days earlier?"
"I'll come back once I've finished taking care of things."
After Jiang Yi finished speaking, he fell silent, and the opening theme music of the movie began to play.
Neither of them mentioned what had happened before: the cold war, the arguments, the missed phone calls, and the brokenness after the anniversary.
It floats in the sky like a cloud, but no one tries to reach it.
...Maybe I'm too tired and don't want to stand up and touch it.
Gu Lai chuckled briefly at this inexplicable thought, while Jiang Yi beside her stirred and glanced at her very lightly.
Gu Lai then realized that the opening credits had already ended and the main story had begun.
She shrank back a little, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and pulled some of the silk quilt over herself. This silk quilt had always been kept here as a spare; she chose it because it was large enough to comfortably cover two people at the same time, yet very light.
The previous silk quilt had torn and needed replacing. Jiang Yi, who never cared about such trivial matters, just watched her choose, propping her head up. For some reason, she suddenly blurted out, "Let's use synthetic fibers."
Jiang Yi didn't know the material of the summer quilt, but she knew it was always made of silk, so she looked at her with a puzzled expression and asked why.
She showed Jiang Yi Pinduoduo, saying it was incredibly cheap.
Jiang Yi's red lips opened and closed, indicating a preference for using inferior products.
Pinduoduo held fond memories for Gu Lai during her lowest point, so she didn't need to download it; she'd just browse it occasionally, like casually strolling through a supermarket. She was suddenly seized by a dramatic moment, standing before Jiang Yi with a solemn, deep voice: "Do you look down on us, the tools of the proletariat?"
Jiang Yi said no, he had already gone there incognito with you countless times, it was just his nature as a businessman.
Gu Lai asked what his nature was, and Jiang Yi replied in a very serious and stern tone that his nature was to not do business at a loss, and that cheap goods are no good. He suggested that they tell Eileen their requirements and ask her to help them choose.
Gu Lai tinkered with the software for a while, then opened another app to show her some tips and tricks. She said that synthetic fiber technology is so advanced now that summer blankets are so light and thin.
Jiang Yi finally couldn't help but roll her eyes in a rather inelegant way, and declared domineeringly and spoiledly, "I have money, I want the best!"
Look, that's the kind of person her husband, Ms. Jiang Yi, is—picky, domineering, and very good at manipulating others.
Have any other people seen Ms. Jiang roll her eyes? No, right? Ms. Jiang only lets them test how fast her knife is.
Do others know the little bit of tenderness hidden beneath Ms. Jiang's domineering exterior? No, they'll just call her Sister Gu, Sister Lai, or Madam, please don't tell scary stories.
Who wouldn't be captivated by the word "unique"?
"It's actually a romance film," Jiang Yi said.
Gu Lai snapped out of her daze, turned to look at her and nodded, their eyes meeting briefly before looking away.
Her memories made her miss the beginning of the story again. Seeing the female lead and the second female lead exchanging flirtatious glances, she was momentarily confused about what was going on.
So, they've already started talking about it, or what?
It was Jiang Yi's voice again.
"We hit it off immediately, but haven't started dating yet; we're currently in a flirtatious phase."
Gu Lai said "Oh," and began to concentrate on watching the movie, her brows gradually furrowing. When the end credits rolled, she leaned back, pulled the blanket over her shoulder, buried herself in it, and let out a long sigh.
When I looked up again, the screen had returned to the system interface, and a small cup of hot honey water had magically appeared on the coffee table in front of me.
The other cup was in Jiang Yi's hand.
Gu Lai felt her time inexplicably speed up. She picked up her water glass and asked, "When did you go out to pour it?"
Jiang Yi lowered his eyes and took a few sips, replying between sips, "Just now."
Gu Lai nodded, and that was the end of the matter; she didn't press further about which "just now" it was.
The silence was almost eerie, she thought, but looking at Jiang Yi, she seemed quite content and showed no intention of speaking.
Maybe so. Perhaps Jiang Yi is used to creating a cold atmosphere for others, so he is more adaptable. People who have been in subordinate positions since childhood will subconsciously try to change their ways, and even if they later hold high positions, it is difficult to change the habits formed in childhood.
Gu Lai tapped away on her phone while drinking, then started a new movie. Jiang Yi sat quietly beside her, scrolling through his phone. After Gu Lai finished, she turned to Jiang Yi as the movie's opening music played and asked, "How did you notice I was spacing out?"
Jiang Yi held a cup in one hand, and the rising steam appeared in front of her. She looked at Gu Lai through the mist and said, "Perceptive? Or you could use the word 'sensitive'."
Gu Lai asked, "What's sensitive?"
After saying that, she suddenly realized that, based on her experience watching all kinds of movies and scripts, the lead actor in an idol drama would say something like, "I'm sensitive to you." The audience would criticize it as incredibly cheesy, but the person in question would find it incredibly sweet.
Jiang Yi won't give others the chance to think she's greasy; they'll only be impressed or tormented by her.
“Emotions,” Jiang Yi said calmly, his voice like a wisp of white smoke rising and then dissipating. “You actors have to be able to portray emotions and desires, so of course someone like me has to be able to perceive them. Otherwise, how can I negotiate, manipulate, and strike with precision?”
Gu Lai didn't speak, but her expression clearly showed disbelief.
"People who work in the arts may be sensitive to the hem of the muse's skirt, and people in business may be sensitive to economics and others, right? In any case, they are not dull and ignorant."
Jiang Yi smiled at Gu Lai through the mist.
"Perhaps it was noticed earlier than you think."
If Jiang Yi wanted to, she could be a profound scholar, because she had read many books, something Gu Lai had always known and always believed in.
Now she thinks it makes sense, after all, while Jiang Yi was maneuvering and maneuvering, she was waiting for resources to fall from the sky.
Gu Lai nodded, focusing her attention on the screen. However, whether it was her imagination or not, Jiang Yi seemed impatient with this movie; at least he had shown enough patience with the previous one.
After Yu Guangli finished speaking, Jiang Yi held his water glass, occasionally sipping and occasionally looking up, but most of the time he seemed to be just staring blankly ahead.
When Gu Lai turned off her phone after the movie ended and tried to watch it again, Jiang Yi had already fallen asleep.
She then remembered what Jiang Yi had told her: she had originally planned to go to sleep after watching the Chaplin film. She hadn't adjusted to the time difference, and was probably already sleepy, so her listlessness wasn't due to illness.
She also forgot to ask Jiang Yi how long he hadn't slept.
Gu Lai should have felt guilty, but she didn't; her first reaction was actually relief.
The awkward conversation between them was actually the result of one not adjusting to the time difference and the other being multitasking.
Gu Lai went out to rinse her mouth and prepared mouthwash and warm water for Jiang Yi before returning to call her.
"Jiang Yi," Gu Lai squatted down, looked up and called her softly, "Go back to your room and sleep."
Jiang Yi looked visibly startled awake, his eyes filled with the restlessness of someone who hadn't slept well.
But she only opened her eyes, and quickly returned to her calm and composed state, reaching out to pull Gu Lai's hand, her hand as cold as if it were winter.
"Try some traditional Chinese medicine to regulate your body," Gu Lai said as she leaned against the wall watching her rinse her mouth. "Your hands are getting colder and colder."
Jiang Yi glanced at her in the mirror: "I have kidney deficiency due to middle age."
Late at night, Gu Lai wanted to respond to her with her old car, but after laughing for a while, she said, "Do you want some? I remember the old lady has a traditional Chinese medicine doctor who is very good at treating illnesses."
The old lady was referring to Jiang Jueming.
Jiang Yi hummed in agreement.
Gu Lai said, "Why are you being so agreeable today?"
Jiang Yi spat out the mouthwash and said clearly, "I'm sleepy and don't want to use my brain."
It was obvious that sleepy people acted slowly. Gu Lai had already lay down and started playing on her phone when Jiang Yi came in and turned off the lights.
The faint light of the city night filtered through the thick gauze curtains, spreading into the bedroom as a blurry, misty halo. Gu Lai opened her eyes but couldn't see anything clearly. However, she was too familiar with the place; listening to the rustling sounds beside her, she seemed to already know what Jiang Yi was doing.
Take off your shoes, take off your clothes, change your clothes, cover yourself with a blanket, tidy up your pillow, and tidy up the blanket.
Gu Lai waited for the sound of her lying down and her head hitting the pillow, but there was no sound.
A warm breath, carrying the scent of mouthwash and Sharon rose, approached, then turned into a small kiss on my cheek. As the breath faded, Jiang Yi's voice rang out beside me.
"Goodnight," she whispered.
Gu Lai's eyes widened suddenly. She used almost all her knowledge of the profession and her self-control to reply with a gentle and calm "Goodnight".
—Actually, it's too late to say goodnight, she thought.
She heard Jiang Yi pull the blanket up a little and breathe evenly. Tears streamed down her face amidst the shallow, almost imperceptible breathing. She didn't know how to stop them, nor did she dare to make a sound. She could only lie flat and blink futilely at the ceiling.
She didn't even know or understand why she was crying; she had just fallen into a deep abyss of sorrow, and just as she was about to fall into a dream, she heard Jiang Yi turn over.
Is this considered sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams?
Gu Lai received no answer, nor did she have time to wipe away her half-dried tears, and thus she sank into a bizarre and fantastical dream.
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