Chapter 76
Jiang Siyi looked down.
Oh, there was indeed a crack.
“This guesthouse is yours?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Seeing the tension between them, the producer quickly interjected, “Mr. Shen, Ms. Jiang, let’s talk this over calmly.”
Jiang Siyi’s hand was still on Shen Shiwu’s arm, and instead of letting go, she leaned closer.
She tilted her chin up, her demeanor confident, like when she used to pick fights. “You really want me to pay for it?”
Despite her tough exterior, her eyes were still filled with grievance.
Shen Shiwu, looking down at her, clearly saw through her act.
Seeing that Shen Shiwu didn’t respond, Jiang Siyi lifted her chin even higher, her eyes wide, trying to hold back her tears.
She asked again, “Really? You want me to pay?”
The producer was panicking.
She wanted to say, Please, calm down, this is our investor. But she didn’t dare to speak—after all, Jiang Siyi’s status in the literary world was also significant.
She couldn’t offend either of them.
So she decided to retreat, to avoid the conflict, but then she saw Shen Shiwu looking at Jiang Siyi quietly.
Then Shen Shiwu sighed softly. “Forget it.”
The producer was surprised, but seeing that they had finally separated, she was relieved.
She quickly gestured towards Shen Shiwu. “Mr. Shen, thank you for generously providing the guesthouse as our filming location.”
“Our guests and crew won’t be staying here at night, so your valuable paintings, antique books, and other collections are safe…”
Hearing this, Jiang Siyi suddenly realized something.
So the reason the guests had gone back to their hotels wasn’t because the guesthouse was uncomfortable, but because Shen Shiwu didn’t allow them to stay.
A rebellious thought crossed Jiang Siyi’s mind.
If others weren’t allowed, what about her? Could she be an exception?
Since Shen Shiwu still had feelings for her, she would probably agree, right?
So, as Shen Shiwu finished inspecting the guesthouse and was about to leave, Jiang Siyi pretended to fall—
“Ouch,” she half-collapsed onto the floor, rubbing her ankle dramatically, “that hurts.”
The producer, seeing her fall, immediately rushed over, but Shen Shiwu blocked her.
“Didn’t the director want to discuss something with you?” she said calmly.
The producer slapped her forehead. “Oh, right.”
But she quickly looked back at Jiang Siyi, who was still on the floor. “But Ms. Jiang…”
The next moment, Jiang Siyi sprang to her feet. She patted her clothes, which weren’t even dirty, and waved her hand dismissively. “I’m fine, you go ahead.”
The producer was stunned.
She scratched her head, puzzled, then finally turned and left.
Jiang Siyi and Shen Shiwu were alone again.
Seeing that no one else was around, Jiang Siyi quickly closed the door. As the black wooden door slowly closed, Shen Shiwu looked at her, about to ask what she was up to—
Thud.
Jiang Siyi collapsed onto the floor again.
She blinked, her voice soft and pitiful. “I fell again, it hurts.”
After a long silence, seeing the fake tears glistening in the girl’s eyes, Shen Shiwu took a few steps forward.
She didn’t bend down, but simply extended her hand. “Get up.”
Jiang Siyi, her plan working, tilted her head. “Carry me.”
“No.”
“Oh, okay,” she said agreeably, “then let me stay here tonight.”
All that effort, just for this.
Shen Shiwu shook her head inwardly, but her voice was still cold. “No.”
Jiang Siyi’s eyelashes drooped.
She looked down at the floor, like an abandoned puppy.
Fine.
They weren’t back together yet, it was understandable that Shen Shiwu was being cold to her.
But…
Perhaps the Shen Shiwu from before had spoiled her too much, the contrast now too stark.
She still felt a pang of sadness.
Outside, the crew was packing up the equipment, their voices loud. “Whose light stand is this?”
“Where’s my softbox?”
It was a different kind of noise from inside the guesthouse.
Footsteps approached, hurried and urgent. The producer, seemingly surprised by the closed door, hesitated. “Mr. Shen, Ms. Jiang, we’re almost done packing up, do you want us to take you back to the hotel…”
The door was closed?
Had they really started fighting?
She worried inwardly.
Jiang Siyi composed herself and stood up, about to leave, when Shen Shiwu, who had been standing quietly, suddenly moved.
She opened the door, then quickly closed it again.
Jiang Siyi, now trapped inside: “?”
She pushed against the door, but it wouldn’t budge. It must be Shen Shiwu blocking it with her back. Jiang Siyi frowned, finding it ridiculous, and almost yelled, “Let me out!”
She heard footsteps outside again.
But this time, they faded away.
Before she could even think, the door was opened from the outside. Jiang Siyi, still pushing against the door, stumbled and fell into Shen Shiwu’s arms.
This time, she had actually fallen.
Thinking this, smelling the familiar scent, she couldn’t help but snuggle closer.
“Hands.”
“Huh? What about my hands?”
Jiang Siyi was puzzled. Seeing that Shen Shiwu didn’t reply, she looked down.
And saw that her hands were on Shen Shiwu’s breasts…
Her face flushed, and she quickly pulled her hands away.
“Sorry, I didn’t… I mean, I didn’t do it on purpose,” Jiang Siyi said, her expression serious, trying to defend herself.
Shen Shiwu didn’t pursue the topic.
She steadied Jiang Siyi, then walked further inside and sat down on a chair.
Jiang Siyi, not understanding what she was doing, said, “Then I’ll be going…”
But as she opened the door, she froze.
The courtyard was empty, the entire crew gone without a trace.
This place was in the countryside, quite far from the city center, a half-hour drive away.
Jiang Siyi stood there silently, wondering, Where was the driver?
How was she supposed to get back to the hotel?
Just then, Shen Shiwu’s calm voice came, “It’s windy, close the door.”
It was indeed getting colder in the evening. Jiang Siyi closed the door and went back inside, her voice slightly anxious. “Where is everyone? Why are they all gone?”
“They finished work, it’s normal.”
“But the driver is also gone, how am I supposed to get back to the hotel… I can’t even get a cab here.” Jiang Siyi opened a ride-hailing app on her phone.
Shen Shiwu, watching her slightly panicked expression, smiled faintly. Then, her mischievousness resurfacing, she said, “I’m leaving in five minutes, what are you going to do?”
Jiang Siyi looked up abruptly.
Her eyes widened. “You’re leaving too?”
“In five minutes?”
It was still okay now, but after sunset, this place would be deserted.
It would be truly terrifying.
So Jiang Siyi rushed over to Shen Shiwu, no longer trying to call a cab, and grabbed her arm, shaking it. “Take me with you.”
“Which hotel are you staying at? Maybe it’s on the way.”
Shen Shiwu pushed her head away. “It’s not.”
Jiang Siyi’s head bobbed back, nuzzling against her arm. “It is if I say it is.”
Seeing that Jiang Siyi was practically clinging to her, Shen Shiwu finally stopped teasing her. She asked casually, “You don’t want to stay here?”
Jiang Siyi, not realizing her trap, continued shaking her arm. “No, I don’t, I’m afraid of being eaten by ghosts at night.”
Shen Shiwu’s arm was starting to hurt from her grip.
But strangely, she didn’t push her away.
“Am I not human?”
Feeling that her arm was no longer being shaken, Shen Shiwu glanced at Jiang Siyi.
Jiang Siyi leaned closer. “You mean, you’ll stay here with me tonight?”
“If you don’t want to, you can still leave now.”
“It’s too late,” Jiang Siyi blurted out, then, realizing her mistake, she quickly corrected herself, “I want to!”
In the deserted countryside, in a traditional Jiangnan guesthouse, two people sharing a bed, one unable to sleep, the other…
Before Jiang Siyi could even finish fantasizing about their night together, Shen Shiwu, seeing through her thoughts, said ruthlessly, “Separate beds.”
I don’t want to.
Jiang Siyi’s face was almost touching Shen Shiwu’s, her expression pleading. Before she could even speak, Shen Shiwu gently pushed her face away and stood up.
“I’m going upstairs to rest, you can choose any room you like.”
She quickly disappeared upstairs.
Jiang Siyi, her eyes filled with resentment, followed her, lingering outside Shen Shiwu’s door for a while, then entered the room next door.
There were new blankets, pillows, clothes in the closet, and all the necessary toiletries.
But she still needed her pajamas and underwear.
After making the bed, Jiang Siyi realized her suitcase was still at the hotel. She thought for a moment, then knocked on Shen Shiwu’s door.
It was past five, not dinner time yet, and Shen Shiwu wasn’t sleepy, so she was working on her laptop.
Hearing the knock, she stood up and opened the door.
“What’s wrong?”
“My suitcase is at the hotel, I don’t have any clothes except for the ones I’m wearing.”
Shen Shiwu nodded thoughtfully, then went back to her room, picked up her phone, and was about to call the driver.
She was probably going to have her suitcase delivered.
That wouldn’t do.
How could she wear Shen Shiwu’s clothes then?
Jiang Siyi panicked and, just as Shen Shiwu was about to dial the number, she blurted out, “Shen Shiwu, actually… I lost my suitcase.”
“At the airport, someone took it by mistake, and I haven’t gotten it back yet,” she said seriously, and seeing that Shen Shiwu didn’t react, she rubbed her eyes, pretending to cry.
“Really, don’t you believe me?”
“Then who was the one who said her suitcase was at the hotel?”
Jiang Siyi squeezed out two tears.
She sniffed. “Okay, I lied.”
Shen Shiwu, thinking she was about to confess, raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.
But Jiang Siyi continued, “I was afraid you would think I’m stupid for losing my suitcase, so I lied.”
“…”
Shen Shiwu watched as Jiang Siyi shed a tear, glanced at her, shed another tear, glanced at her again…
Ten minutes later, Shen Shiwu gave up.
She put down her phone and opened her suitcase.
Then she went back to her desk and continued working.
So, she could choose anything she wanted?
Jiang Siyi, feeling a surge of excitement, carefully rummaged through the suitcase, then, her arms full of clothes, she rushed back to her room.
At dinner time, Shen Shiwu went downstairs.
There were still some fresh ingredients in the fridge, leftovers from the filming, and she took a few, preparing to cook.
After a while, she took off her apron and called out from the bottom of the stairs, “Jiang Siyi, dinner’s ready.”
Jiang Siyi immediately replied that she was taking a shower and would be down soon.
Shen Shiwu didn’t think much of it and sat down at the dining table.
She didn’t start eating, waiting for Jiang Siyi.
Fifteen minutes later, she finally heard footsteps on the stairs.
Jiang Siyi came downstairs, her hair still damp, the scent of white tea shower gel lingering in the air.
Hearing her approach, Shen Shiwu turned off her phone screen and looked up.
Her eyes widened slightly.
Jiang Siyi was wearing her white silk pajamas, a bit too large for her, loosely covering her thighs.
And below that, she wasn’t wearing anything, her bare legs pale and glowing in the light.
On purpose.
Shen Shiwu quickly looked away, her voice low. “Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold? Go upstairs and get dressed.”
Jiang Siyi was always rebellious.
She refused to obey.
Walking over to the dining table, she bit on a hair tie, casually tying up her damp hair. Shen Shiwu, exasperated, stood up, about to push her upstairs—
But before she could even turn around, she saw, through the slightly transparent fabric of the wet pajamas, a hint of black.
Jiang Siyi’s underwear…
…was also hers.
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