One weekend in March, the two found time for another trip. Like their previous trip to Lucheng, the schedule was a bit tight.
However, the goal wasn’t really tourism; they just wanted a change of scenery to spend time together, instead of the unchanging daily routine between the company and home.
Chi Shuo suggested it, and He Lindi thought about it for perhaps a second before nodding in agreement.
The city they were going to was Liucheng. It wasn’t their first time there, but they weren’t together back then, and that was the year before last—quite some time ago.
They didn’t take a plane, opting for the high-speed train instead. At eight in the evening, they exited the high-speed rail station.
Chi Shuo pulled the luggage while He Lindi dazedly held her hand, clearly not fully awake from her nap on the train.
After getting into a taxi, arriving at the hotel, and checking the room for safety, He Lindi suggested, “Let’s just order takeout.” She rubbed her lower back. “I’m not feeling up to it. The ride tired me out. If we’re going to move, let’s do it tomorrow.”
Chi Shuo was screen-casting a drama she was currently watching and nodded. “OK.”
He Lindi lay prone on the bed, but she wasn’t sleeping. Instead, she propped her chin on a pillow and started playing on her phone.
To be precise, she was taking selfies.
She had worn makeup today, and it looked very natural now. However, she was the type who looked the same with or without makeup, so her selfies here were no different from usual.
The drama playing was projected onto the screen behind them. He Lindi adjusted the angle, bringing Chi Shuo into her shot as well.
She called out to Chi Shuo, “Shuoshuo Jie Jie.”
Hearing this, Chi Shuo turned her head towards her. He Lindi seized the moment and snapped the photo.
She was very satisfied with this candid shot; she had calculated both the lighting and expressions perfectly.
Seeing her action, Chi Shuo’s lips curled. “If you wanted to take a selfie with me, you could have just asked, couldn’t you?”
“Wouldn’t that ruin the surprise?” He Lindi’s voice sounded a bit sweet. It tickled Chi Shuo’s ears. Before the feeling faded, He Lindi added, “Life needs to be full of surprises, otherwise, what if you get tired of this face of mine someday?”
Chi Shuo: “…”
Chi Shuo propped herself up and leaned closer. She pinched He Lindi’s cheek, feigning anger. “Are you silly?”
He Lindi wrapped an arm around her neck, signaling her to look at the camera. “I’m going to post this one on Weibo. Let’s take a good one.”
She set the timer. Watching the countdown tick down, Chi Shuo swallowed, then turned her head slightly, looking with smiling eyes at He Lindi right beside her. He Lindi also had a faint smile on her lips. The scene looked very beautiful.
He Lindi posted the photo on Weibo. Her caption was, as usual, brief: 【This year’s selfie with her (1/1)】
The content in the parenthesis? Fans who were initially happy suddenly froze—
【Teacher He, you can’t do this.】
【Fuck! Damn it! This is so fucking sweet!】
【Suggest you post daily!!!】
They only saw these comments about ten minutes later. After posting on Weibo, the two shared a kiss, stopping only when they felt it was enough.
He Lindi’s lips glistened. She licked them, then got up to open a bottle of water. They both drank some before feeling less thirsty.
He Lindi scrolled through the comments, smiled, but didn’t reply to any, just pressing back.
She refreshed her own feed and then saw a new Weibo post.
Shi Jinghe V: 【Compared to the neighbor who posts selfies once a year, I post twice a year over here. Much more conscientious.】
Shi Jinghe was a friend He Lindi had made half a year ago. She was an internet celebrity on Weibo, a top-tier one at that. Her popularity completely overshadowed other types of internet celebrities.
And their common ground was quite obvious: they both had girlfriends.
The reason He Lindi and Shi Jinghe knew each other was simple: Shi Jinghe had hired her to photograph her family’s candy brand. At the time, in the photography studio, Shi Jinghe’s girlfriend was also present. He Lindi got along well with them, so they followed each other on Weibo and chatted happily on WeChat, meeting several times since then.
Shi Jinghe’s Weibo post was clearly ‘pulling and stepping’ on her. He Lindi saw it and laughed, but didn’t comment on Shi Jinghe’s Weibo. Instead, she opened WeChat and sent her a message.
Some netizens were always obsessive, able to ‘ship’ any CP. Before, just because the two followed each other on Weibo and interacted, a group of crazy people commented that they thought the two were sweet together.
He Lindi had cursed them out on the spot.
After a while, the takeout arrived, and Chi Shuo got up to get it.
He Lindi had stopped chatting with Shi Jinghe. She also got up and sat down on the sofa.
She opened the bags and asked, “Speaking of which, hasn’t your editor been pushing you lately?”
Chi Shuo’s manga wasn’t finished yet, but she had been stuck on the plot recently. She hadn’t updated last week, and this week she had run off on this trip.
Chi Shuo shook her head. “No.” She said, “She wouldn’t dare.”
Speaking of this topic, Chi Shuo frowned. “I’m really stuck on the plot, I can’t figure it out. I keep wanting to pair up the female supporting characters.”
“…?”
He Lindi had never looked at Chi Shuo’s drawings because she was afraid she would judge the story by her own standards and influence Chi Shuo, so she had always refrained from looking.
Chi Shuo looked worried. “I’ll think about it some more. I’ll definitely update next week.”
“Good luck.”
The next day, the two woke up early, around eight o’clock. After washing up and putting on makeup, they went out, not for anything else, just wanting to eat a Liucheng breakfast.
They entered a breakfast shop. At the entrance, the staff were loudly hawking “Steamed buns, mantou, flower rolls, tea eggs,” and other main breakfast items. It was very lively.
Most of the customers were middle-aged men and women; perhaps because it was the weekend, most office workers were sleeping in.
The two ordered congee, steamed buns, and steamed dumplings. When the food arrived, they were shocked; they hadn’t expected one portion to be so large.
Chi Shuo: “…Can’t finish it.”
He Lindi frowned. “Hold on, let me think if I have any friends in Liucheng.”
“And if you do?”
“Call them out for breakfast.”
Chi Shuo laughed. “Forget it, Didi Mei Mei. You might as well eat more yourself.”
The shop was almost full. To avoid waste, the two spent over half an hour on the meal, but there were still steamed buns and dumplings left over. They really couldn’t manage anymore, so they paid the bill and left.
They were stuffed just from breakfast. Chi Shuo touched her stomach through her clothes, then sat down on a roadside bench to rest.
He Lindi sat beside her, digesting along with her. After a short while, a news notification popped up on Weibo: 【Qi Siqiao announces retirement from acting, leaving the entertainment industry, grateful to former agency Chenyue Film and Television…】
He Lindi was a bit stunned. She didn’t click on it immediately, but turned to the person beside her, who had a favorable impression of Qi Siqiao. “Shuo Shuo, Qi Siqiao announced her retirement too.”
Chi Shuo had her eyes closed initially. Hearing this, she immediately opened them, her eyes filled with shock. “Really?”
She leaned her head closer to He Lindi. He Lindi tapped her phone screen, and Qi Siqiao’s latest Weibo post popped up.
…She really had retired.
Chi Shuo was too surprised to speak. She also felt there was something toxic about Chenyue Film and Television; first, Shen Qu announced a five-year break, and now Qi Siqiao, a young actress, directly announced her withdrawal from the entertainment industry.
He Lindi looked somewhat sad. “I still have several of her autographs.”
Chi Shuo also frowned. “It’s a bit sudden.”
“She said she’s thirty. What reasons do you think a woman would have for choosing to give up her career at thirty?”
Chi Shuo thought for a moment and gave her answer: “First, exhaustion. Second, earned enough money. Third, like Shen Qu, felt she needed treatment. Fourth… the mysterious lover she mentioned in interviews before is a woman.”
As audience members, people can ship same-sex CPs, but as actresses, their sexual orientation basically has to be heterosexual. Once they come out in the industry, the consequences are generally not good.
He Lindi thought she made sense. “You reminded me. Once, when I went to take photos for her, there was a young lady with a great demeanor beside her. Their behavior on set was very normal, but my gaydar went crazy at the time; I felt their relationship wasn’t ordinary.”
Chi Shuo let out a “Pfft” laugh. “Gaydar? You?”
He Lindi: “…Leaving, I’m going back to Yun Cheng, bye bye.”
Despite saying that, not only did she not leave, but she leaned even closer to Chi Shuo. Their arms touching, they watched the people coming and going, feeling that relaxing like this in a different place was a very good choice.
Chi Shuo pursed her lips and said, “What do you think we’ll be doing when we’re thirty?”
“That’s still five years away.” He Lindi started fantasizing. “When we’re thirty, you’ll already be a rich woman. I won’t need to go out for photoshoots or business trips to earn money. I’ll just lie at home every day eating chips, drinking Sprite, and crazily make love with you.”
This time it was Chi Shuo’s turn. “I’m going back to Yun Cheng, bye bye.” She said, “Crazily make… what the hell! We’re on the street! Can you restrain yourself a little!”
Chi Shuo’s ears turned red. He Lindi raised her hand, pushed her hair aside, and saw it.
He Lindi giggled. “Then how about crazily rolling around in bed? Wouldn’t that prove we’re both rich and have good stamina?”
“…”
“He Lindi, where did you get all that dirty talk in your head?”
Chi Shuo exhaled, stood up, and pretended to be fierce. “Let’s go, we still need to go to the zoo. It’s about time.”
He Lindi’s smile was radiant. She took Chi Shuo’s hand, swaying leisurely down the street. She said, “Actually, I don’t know what I’ll be like when I’m thirty, but when you’re thirty, the person beside you will still be me. We’ll still be walking down the street together like this. I’ll definitely bring a camera and fill that photo album.”
