After she said that, Jiang Hanguang noticed that Cheng Ying, who was standing before her, had frozen. Then, the alpha’s exposed ears turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
They were so incredibly red that Jiang Hanguang felt she could almost see steam rising from them.
“Xiao Ying?” She raised her hand and gently pinched the woman’s bright red earlobe. “You…”
Before she could finish her sentence, the alpha whose ear she had pinched shot back a good distance, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She clutched the ear with both hands, a look of shock on her face.
For some reason, Jiang Hanguang was reminded of a virtuous woman being harassed by a hooligan in a TV drama.
But Cheng Ying’s persona only matched the “woman” part of the phrase “virtuous woman.” Jiang Hanguang felt that they could be considered friends now, so pinching an ear shouldn’t have warranted such a huge reaction.
Cheng Ying stared in disbelief at Jiang Hanguang, who was looking back at her with a bewildered expression.
How could this woman, after saying something like that, so nonchalantly touch her ear! Didn’t she know how easily that could make someone… make someone’s heart race?
Cheng Ying looked at Jiang Hanguang’s confused expression, and the flame that had shot up in her heart slowly subsided.
Yes, it seemed she really didn’t know.
If it had been anyone else, Cheng Ying would have unhesitatingly concluded that they had ulterior motives and were just feigning an innocent and harmless appearance to confuse her.
But the person who did this was, of all people, Jiang Hanguang, and Cheng Ying had an almost superstitious faith in her character.
She was certain that Jiang Hanguang’s words held no other meaning—at least, not the one she was imagining.
And pinching her ear was merely a subconscious act of friendly intimacy. The inappropriate images popping into her head were her own problem.
Yes, it was all her own problem.
Cheng Ying was suddenly struck by a huge sense of defeat. The number of times in her life she had developed genuine feelings for someone could be counted on one hand. If one were to draw a pie chart for a more direct view, Jiang Hanguang would undoubtedly occupy an extremely large slice.
Second only to her mother, and it was only a matter of time before she surpassed her.
For Jiang Hanguang, her heart was stirred, and she did many things she had never done before. She even developed a desire for an omega that she had never experienced—the desire to be close to someone, to have more physical contact.
But what about Jiang Hanguang?
Admittedly, Jiang Hanguang treated her differently than before. The woman no longer feared or guarded against her; instead, she was close to her and cared for her like a friend.
But it was only ever like a friend.
Miss Jiang was noble and upright; she wouldn’t be like her, with a mind full of filthy thoughts.
A performance is only brilliant with evenly matched actors. Right now, she was flailing about like a clown, while her counterpart remained completely oblivious, making the whole scene seem exceptionally ridiculous.
But what did she want Jiang Hanguang to do? Fall in love with her? Be utterly infatuated, willing to live or die for her?
It was better not to. If a person was destined to be a tragedy, their greatest contribution to the world was to stay far away from other people.
She wasn’t even willing to bring trouble upon Xu Ning, so how could she bear to harm Jiang Hanguang?
So, the way things were now was perfectly fine. She shouldn’t get carried away.
Cheng Ying swallowed the grievance that welled up with her frustration, flashed an audacious smile, and reached her hand toward Jiang Hanguang. “Aha, you sneak-attacked me! Quick, let me pinch you back.”
Caught off guard, Jiang Hanguang was pinched squarely. She smiled and didn’t pull away, letting her do as she pleased, even joking, “Boss Cheng, you’re so petty. You have to get me back for just pinching your ear.”
The woman’s earlobe was small and delicate, and felt wonderful to the touch. But Cheng Ying neither dared to linger nor could she bear to let go immediately. She could only feign a casual air, flicking it three or four times before retorting, “Miss Jiang, don’t act innocent after getting the upper hand. I’m already generous enough with you.”
So generous that you’ve thrown my heart into utter chaos, yet I can’t bear to claim even a bit of interest.
Afterward, afraid that Jiang Hanguang might go down and get dragged into the other pair’s drama, Cheng Ying kept her chatting for a while. By the time Jiang Hanguang’s attention returned to the two below, it was nearly lunchtime.
Li Wan collapsed into a chair, panting, her face covered in dust and grime. Gone was the delicate, innocent flower she had seemed to be when they first met; now, she looked more like an exhausted sanitation worker.
Xie Chengcheng stood beside her, looking both wronged and cautious. She offered a cup of water, which Li Wan ungently pushed away, leaving Xie Chengcheng to take an awkward sip herself.
Cheng Ying smiled. “What’s that saying? Even a clay Bodhisattva has a bit of a temper.”
Jiang Hanguang was a decent person and didn’t gloat. She gave Cheng Ying a tug. “Let’s hurry down.”
Although Zhang Zeyun was a demanding director, she kept her word. Lunch was a deluxe boxed meal with four meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a shrimp and winter melon soup.
Despite this, the atmosphere at the dining table was abysmal.
Jiang Hanguang didn’t talk much during meals, and aside from her, Cheng Ying had no desire to interact with the other two.
While these two were enjoying a peaceful meal, the problem lay with the other pair. Li Wan was clearly too exhausted to speak, but Xie Chengcheng, seeing her displeasure and feeling anxious, kept trying to start a conversation to make sure she wasn’t angry.
“Wanwan, this dish is so delicious. I’ll make it for you when we get back, okay?”
“Mm.”
“Wanwan, about painting that wall this afternoon… I’m afraid of heights. What should I do?”
“…I’ll do it.”
“Wanwan…”
“Stop talking and eat.”
“Wanwan, don’t be like this. You’re scaring me.”
Never mind Li Wan, who was at the center of it all; even Cheng Ying, sitting nearby, was starting to feel despair.
Li Wan hadn’t found herself a sponsor; she’d adopted a child, the kind who was still in kindergarten.
After finishing their meal and taking a short rest, the four of them started working for their dinner.
This time, Jiang Hanguang took the lead, and she and Cheng Ying took on more than two-thirds of the living room area.
The production team gave each pair a ladder and advised that it was best to have someone hold it steady at the bottom to prevent falls.
While climbing the ladder with a can of paint, Cheng Ying jokingly said to Jiang Hanguang, who was holding it steady below, “Hanguang, this isn’t fair. You’re the one who made the generous offer, but I’m the one doing all the hard work?”
The Jiang Hanguang of the past would have likely apologized at this point, but now that she was familiar with Cheng Ying, she could recognize the alpha’s teasing. She smiled. “Or would you rather I do it?”
“Better not.” Cheng Ying grinned and glanced at the other pair. “If you looked at me with that kind of expression, my heart would break.”
Xie Chengcheng’s fear of heights was no lie. Despite Li Wan’s coaxing and pulling, she only made it up two steps before her legs began to tremble so badly she was about to fall. The exhausted Li Wan had no choice but to take over herself. After all, Cheng Ying and Jiang Hanguang were already tackling a huge section, and it wasn’t an option for their pair to do nothing at all.
Her weary face was completely devoid of a smile, showing only irritation and annoyance. Xie Chengcheng, holding the ladder below, hesitated several times, wanting to speak, but was intimidated into silence by the look on the other woman’s face.
Cheng Ying thought with a sense of wry amusement that Jiang Hanguang’s efforts to preserve the other pair’s relationship were likely to be in vain.
The show still had over twenty days of filming. If those two didn’t have a fight within a week, she would eat her hat.
Cheng Ying didn’t think this was a bad thing. Xie Chengcheng’s temperament was in dire need of a harsh lesson from reality. She would probably quiet down for a while after this.
As for their fighting affecting the shoot, she refused to believe that Zhang Zeyun hadn’t seen the issues with this pair during casting.
If she had shoehorned them into the show for money, she would naturally have to bear the consequences.
If it was for some other reason… it was best not to think about it.
Cheng Ying hummed a little tune as she painted one stroke after another on the wall. Today’s work was much easier than yesterday’s, and she also got to spend it with Jiang Hanguang.
Although painting wasn’t exactly skilled labor, Cheng Ying had never done it before. Often, she would dip a full brush, and when she swiped it on the wall, more than half the paint would end up on her clothes. Fortunately, her reflexes were sharp, and she managed to dodge quickly, so her face wasn’t splattered too much.
By the time she finished one section and had to move, the once neatly dressed alpha looked exactly like a Dalmatian—a white-spotted one.
In a hurry, Cheng Ying jumped down from the second-to-last rung. Unexpectedly, Jiang Hanguang, who had been holding the ladder steadily, lunged forward at the very instant she leaped.
Just like that, Jiang Hanguang threw herself into her arms without a second thought. To be precise, the woman had used her own body to stop her momentum.
Almost subconsciously, Cheng Ying wrapped her arms around the omega who had actively “thrown herself into her embrace.” The waist in her grasp was slender and supple, and through the thin fabric, she could clearly feel the softness and warmth of Jiang Hanguang’s body.
That heat was like a ball of fire that shot straight to her face in an instant.
Jiang Hanguang seemed to realize Cheng Ying hadn’t slipped. Pulling out of her embrace, she warned with a worried look, “Don’t do that again. What if you had slipped and fallen?”
The scolded alpha, for once, didn’t offer a glib retort. She just raised a hand to cover her face, and Jiang Hanguang once again saw her crimson ears.
Do Cheng Ying’s ears get red that easily? How have I never noticed before?
After a moment, Cheng Ying finally lowered her hand and said dryly, “Got it.”
She didn’t look up at Jiang Hanguang. If she saw that Jiang Hanguang’s expression was as calm as ever, she thought she might actually get angry.
But as if to spite her, Jiang Hanguang crouched down slightly, studied Cheng Ying’s face, and then, on her own accord, took her by the hand and sat her down on a small nearby stool.
Nearby were the hot water and a towel that Jiang Hanguang had fetched during their break.
The woman conscientiously soaked the towel, wrung it out, and began to gently wipe Cheng Ying’s face.
“Let’s wipe this off before the paint dries completely. It’s bad for your skin,” Jiang Hanguang explained.
But Cheng Ying paid no mind to that. Her senses were filled with Jiang Hanguang’s scent, and her skin was being wiped with meticulous, gentle care. The damp towel was soft, but every inch of skin Jiang Hanguang touched seemed to tremble.
She had no choice but to meet Jiang Hanguang’s eyes. Those bright, black eyes were still as clear as glass and as innocent as a child’s, yet they reflected a timid, cowering shadow.
Cheng Ying’s hands, resting on her knees, silently clenched into fists.
Sure enough, she was still… a little angry.
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