Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Girl With Fiery Spirit

The girl Jiang Qi liked, it turned out, was only superficial…

As for the matter of red bean bubble tea, it was actually Zhi Qi’s unreasonable request when she was sixteen.

It was another rainy day at Lin Lan, and Zhi Qi always found rainy days romantic when she was in a good mood. But when his mood wasn’t great, it just made her irritable.

For example, girls experiencing menstrual cramps would feel particularly irritable. During lunch break, when most of the classmates had gone to eat, Zhi Qi was lying on her desk, pale-faced. Unconsciously biting her lips due to cramps, she pressed her small hands against her abdomen, trying not to whimper in pain.

Until most of the classmates had left the classroom, Jiang Qi returned from the restroom and noticed the girl’s abnormal condition. Seeing Zhi Qi’s face so pale and her breathing so weak, Jiang Qi’s eyebrows immediately furrowed with concern as he walked quickly over. He thought the girl had a fever, so he touched Zhi Qi’s forehead with his hand, which was still cold from washing, causing her to shiver.

“Hey.” Most girls on their periods were in a bad mood. Zhi Qi angrily swatted Jiang Qi’s hand away, weakly scolding, “Don’t touch me.”

Frowning, Jiang Qi asked, “Are you running a fever?”

Zhi Qi remained silent.

“Let’s go.” Jiang Qi took off his school jacket and draped it over Zhi Qi, as if he was about to bend down and carry her on his back. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

—

Wrapped up in the boy’s oversized school uniform like a “quail,” the girl felt speechless.

How was she supposed to explain to a clueless boy who knew nothing about these matters that she wasn’t running a fever, but was experiencing something she was too shy to talk about?

Her stomach was already in excruciating pain, and now she had to think about these things.

Feeling even more annoyed, Zhi Qi pulled the uniform up over her head like a child and muttered, “I’m not going, I’m not feverish!”

—

Jiang Qi couldn’t help but feel a bit at a loss. After a while, he clumsily and cautiously asked, “Qiqi, where exactly does it hurt?”

Silence.

After a long while, he finally heard Zhi Qi’s muffled voice, “My stomach hurts.”

Jiang Qi hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed. He wasn’t stupid. When Zhi Qi spoke awkwardly and shyly like that, could he still not know the reason? Like all ordinary boys, Jiang Qi was at a loss when faced with the issue of his favorite girl being on her period.

He thought for a long time, then gently pulled down the school uniform covering the girl’s head. Sure enough, her pale face from earlier now had a slight blush of embarrassment. Her black eyes were shining as she looked at him, whether from pain or embarrassment, he couldn’t tell.

Jiang Qi’s Adam’s apple involuntarily bobbed.

“Um…” he didn’t realize it, but his usually cool voice became a bit hoarse, “shall I go get you some hot water?”

He didn’t understand these things about girls, but it seemed like drinking hot water during her period was always a good idea, right?

But the girl didn’t want to drink tasteless hot water.

“I don’t want to drink that,” Zhi Qi looked at him with her big eyes, acting spoiled because of her period, her voice soft and gentle, “I want red bean milk tea.”

Milk tea with red beans, her favorite combination.

“Okay,” Jiang Qi agreed without hesitation, then added after a moment’s thought, “but it has to be hot.”

Zhi Qi smiled, “Will you buy it for me?”

“Of course,” Jiang Qi replied.

“You’re really nice,” Zhi Qi said naturally, not noticing Jiang Qi’s embarrassed expression, then couldn’t help but sigh, “Are you only this nice to me when I’m in pain? You’re never like this usually.”

Perhaps when girls were in a bad mood, they tended to overthink things. After hearing this, Jiang Qi couldn’t help but feel amused and exasperated. Zhi Qi was just talking nonsense. If he could, he would listen to her forever.

Although the phrase “forever” sounded distant and elusive coming from a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy, Jiang Qi truly felt that way.

Emotions churned in Jiang Qi’s eyes for a moment, but he didn’t say anything as he stood up. “I’ll go buy it for you.”

“Forget it,” Zhi Qi said, actually just being difficult. She glanced out the window and stopped Jiang Qi, “It’s still raining outside.”

“It’s okay,” Jiang Qi shrugged it off, but before leaving, something came to mind. He turned back to Zhi Qi and said earnestly, “From now on, every rainy day, I’ll buy you milk tea to drink.”

The young man wanted to subtly express to Zhi Qi that he absolutely wasn’t only considerate towards her during her period. As long as Zhi Qi wished, he would do everything within his power to fulfill her requests.

Not to mention a cup of red bean milk tea.

That day, the rain in Lin Lan was quite heavy. In the end, the young man returned with a cup of milk tea, soaked but still protecting it.

Jiang Qi’s black hair was wet, sticking to his forehead. His eyes were brighter than gems as he handed the still warm milk tea to the lazy girl, his voice cool, “Zhi Qi, drink it. It’s still hot.”

…

Memories seemed to overlap with the present.

The same person, milk tea, eyes, and the same words.

“Zhi Qi, drink it. It’s red bean flavored.”

Zhi Qi silently took the cup of milk tea, still warm to the touch, her expression dazed. For some reason, as she looked into the pure and hopeful eyes of the young man, her black eyes blinked, and tears uncontrollably fell down her cheeks. Like beads falling off a broken string, crystal clear and silent.

Zhi Qi suddenly felt that she shouldn’t have been so temperamental with Jiang Qi.

Although this guy always made her angry by leaving without notice, Jiang Qi’s life must be a hundred or a thousand times more difficult than hers. And now that they finally met, she was still playing games with him.

Whenever Zhi Qi cried, Jiang Qi would panic.

He frantically took out tissues from the compartment in the car but couldn’t find the right words to comfort her, so he awkwardly handed them to Zhi Qi. The girl didn’t take them and just kept crying with her head down, so Jiang Qi had no choice but to lean in and gently wipe her tears.

His movements were as gentle as if he were handling fragile porcelain, delicate and tender. But being too cautious could also be demeaning. Zhi Qi didn’t want Jiang Qi to appear so submissive in front of her, but it seemed that the young man couldn’t change.

Sighing silently, Zhi Qi sniffled and forced herself to swallow her bitter emotions. She shouldn’t affect Jiang Qi, shouldn’t make him worry.

Zhi Qi suppressed the urge to ask Jiang Qi about what had happened in the past and how he had spent these years in prison. After a moment of silence, her voice slightly hoarse, she asked, “Can I come to the set to see you in the future?”

This time, she wanted to gradually integrate into Jiang Qi’s life, to make him understand that they were equals, that neither of them was superior to the other, and that she would admire him as well. Jiang Qi looked at her in surprise, as if not understanding what she meant.

After a while, he asked, “Are you really willing to come?”

Zhi Qi smiled through her tears, “Of course I am, but you don’t have to… don’t have to wait for me all the time.”

She understood Jiang Qi’s stubbornness. If she didn’t make it clear, he might wait for her every day. But she couldn’t guarantee that she would come often. All she could say was “try her best.”

But even so, it was enough to make Jiang Qi happy. A somewhat obscure joy flashed in the young man’s eyes, and he nodded vigorously in response.

Zhi Qi didn’t expect to receive a call from Shen Lei after returning to school. When she answered the call from an unknown number and heard the smooth self-introduction on the other end, she was momentarily stunned until the man on the line identified himself as Shen Lei.

“Director Shen…” Zhi Qi greeted somewhat perplexed. “Hello.”

Although the girl was puzzled, she couldn’t help but wonder how her phone number had been obtained. Could it be true what Meng Chunyu had said, that the big shots could find out anything?

After Shen Lei politely exchanged greetings, he quickly got to the point. First, he apologized to her.

“I’m sorry, it was me who had my assistant bring you over,” the man said somewhat embarrassedly. “I apologize for making you worry.”

In fact, Zhi Qi had already guessed this, but what she didn’t understand was why Shen Lei had deceived her into coming over. Why was he so urgent to have her see Jiang Qi?

But Shen Lei was quick to clarify her doubts.

“Miss Zhi Qi, to be frank, this audition is quite important for Jiang Qi,” Shen Lei sighed and explained briefly about Jiang Qi’s previous refusal of Wang Zhaoqiu’s offer, as well as his less successful first audition with Qiu Heng, and so on. He continued, “He couldn’t get into character in the last scene, and couldn’t manage to smile.”

“So I had to resort to bringing his beloved here, thinking that maybe seeing you would help.”

And indeed, Shen Lei’s bold attempt proved to be effective.

But Zhi Qi felt a bit embarrassed at his use of the term “beloved,” although she didn’t deny it. She simply blushed shyly and remained silent. However, Shen Lei’s purpose for calling this time was not just to express gratitude.

The man remembered the “plan” he had discussed with Qu Heng earlier and tentatively asked Zhi Qi, “Miss Zhi Qi, forgive me for being forward… Would you be able to come to the set more often in the future to see Jiang Qi?”

Zhi Qi was momentarily stunned, her eyes narrowing slightly. “What do you mean?”

She didn’t quite understand.

“Well, to be more straightforward, Jiang Qi is currently struggling with expressing happiness, joy, and contentment. He’s doing well with other emotional performances, but he just can’t seem to smile naturally,” Shen Lei sighed. “Today, luckily, you came, otherwise he might not have succeeded in the final smiling shot.”

This time, Zhi Qi understood Shen Lei’s meaning.

So, Shen Lei’s intention was to have Zhi Qi “help” Jiang Qi complete this film by accompanying him on set when he needed to portray those emotions of “happiness and contentment.” Understanding this, Zhi Qi couldn’t help but laugh.

“Director Shen, do you not trust Jiang Qi?” Zhi Qi’s question made Shen Lei pause for a moment, and he instinctively refuted, “How could that be?”

“I don’t quite understand how your entertainment industry works, but I believe in Jiang Qi,” Zhi Qi said firmly and earnestly. “He’s capable of portraying a character independently, without anyone’s help.”

Perhaps sensing Zhi Qi’s displeasure, Shen Lei endured the embarrassment of being contradicted and explained weakly, “That’s not what I meant.”

He somewhat regretted agreeing to Qiu Heng’s proposal to “persuade” Zhi Qi to come over.

“Besides, I’m not just anyone’s lackey, I won’t be at anyone’s beck and call,” Zhi Qi said calmly, even though she had actually agreed to Jiang Qi’s request to come see him often. But in front of others, Zhi Qi wouldn’t give any promises that could be considered shackles to herself. She continued, “I also have my own things to do, Director Shen. Please trust Jiang Qi, and thank you for your suggestion.”

With that, she hung up the phone.

On the other end of the phone, Shen Lei listened to the beep of the phone, and after a while, he only had one thought in his mind— the girl Jiang Qi liked, on the surface, seemed obedient, but deep down, she harbored a strong and independent spirit.