After Appearing on a Dating Show with a Top-Star Omega - Chapter 4

Before the two of them even had time to begin their interrogation, the phone on the desk beside them rang first.

“Ding-dong-dong—”

The sound of a WeChat voice call was extremely familiar. All three of them looked over at once.

Jiang Yuan’s phone lit up. In the center of the screen was the profile picture of a little cat hugging the moon.

Liang You seemed to have a premonition and asked, “Senior Yu?”

Jiang Yuan answered dully, “…Mm.”

She picked up her phone and went to the balcony to take the call.

The dormitory at A University came with a balcony, separated from the room by a glass sliding door.

Jiang Yuan walked in and stood in the corner.

Her gaze swept over the constantly vibrating screen, and for some reason, she felt a trace of nervousness.

She raised her hand, swiped to answer the call, and pressed the phone to her ear.

“Jiang Yuan?” Yu Qingshi’s voice came through the electric current, sounding a little unreal.

Jiang Yuan answered stiffly, “…Senior Yu.”

“Have you seen the news?”

The other person’s voice was weak, drifting lightly through the air as if carrying a deep exhaustion. It no longer had its usual cool clarity.

Jiang Yuan’s thoughts wandered slightly.

Was she sick?

“I saw it. I just saw it.” Jiang Yuan lowered her head and guessed why Yu Qingshi had called.

Her fingertips unconsciously poked at the soil in the succulent pot, again and again, making shallow little pits.

Yu Qingshi sighed softly. The phone amplified the sound of her breath, making it unusually clear. She said, “I’m sorry.”

“…”

Jiang Yuan had not expected to receive such a response first. Her lashes trembled slightly. “N-no, I’m the one who caused trouble for you, Senior.”

“It was clearly me.” Yu Qingshi’s voice was serious, rarely without even a trace of a smile, as she stubbornly corrected her. “You only helped me.”

“I was the one who dragged you into this.”

Jiang Yuan shook her head, then remembered that Yu Qingshi could not see it. “No, I was too slow at the time. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been photographed.”

“It was me…”

“It was clearly me…”

Their voices overlapped, and both of them paused.

Because of this inexplicable tacit understanding, the two of them burst into laughter.

The corners of Jiang Yuan’s lips curved, a faint smile rippling across them. “Did Senior call because you need me to cooperate with clarifying things? What do I need to do?”

Yu Qingshi said, “It’s hard to explain over the phone. Let’s meet and talk. Are you free now?”

Jiang Yuan replied, “I’m free. Where should I go? I’ll come over now.”

Yu Qingshi said, “I’ll arrange for my assistant to pick you up. Sorry to trouble you with the trip.”

“It’s fine. It’s wha—”

“It’s not what you should do.” Yu Qingshi gently interrupted her. “There’s no such thing as should or shouldn’t.”

With a smile in her voice, her tone was soft. Her words were light and shallow, her breath subtle, yet they were like a breeze passing through a hall, gently brushing over one’s heart.

“It’s Jiang Yuan who is too good. So good that people can’t help wanting to keep asking you for help.”

The phone beside her ear was cold, but those words burned Jiang Yuan’s ears red.

They were too close. The phone dutifully transmitted every word, along with Yu Qingshi’s tone, making it seem as if she were murmuring right beside Jiang Yuan’s ear.

Jiang Yuan moved the phone a little farther away, then, for some reason, brought it closer again. The distance had not changed at all, yet she herself did not notice.

“Th-thank you.” A blush climbed up her cheeks, and Jiang Yuan quietly let out a breath.

The two of them did not chat any longer and hung up.

Jiang Yuan raised her hand and pressed the phone against her face to cool herself down.

She turned around and was startled by the scene in front of her.

Two figures were plastered against the transparent glass door. Liang You and Qi Meng’an were leaning against it, their ears pressed tightly to the glass. They were pressing so hard that their ears had even changed shape.

Jiang Yuan could see them clearly from the other side of the glass door.

She walked forward, curled her index finger, and knocked on the door.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

Because they were too close, the sound was huge beside their ears. The two of them were shaken into lifting their heads at the same time. After meeting Jiang Yuan’s eyes, they bounced away in perfect unison and each returned to their own seats, pretending nothing had happened.

Jiang Yuan pushed open the glass door and returned to her bed to change clothes.

The bed curtain blocked the view from outside. Jiang Yuan’s gaze unconsciously slid toward the small cabinet on her bed desk.

She raised her hand. Her fingers were long and slender, yet no matter what, she could not bring herself to reach out.

After hesitating for a while, Jiang Yuan still opened the cabinet and took out the gift box inside.

She straightened the mirror on the desk and raised her hand to put on the earrings.

The silver earrings had a gentle luster, and the cat paw design was cute and playful.

The person in the mirror had her hair tied in a low ponytail. She wore a blue shirt and white jeans, an outfit that looked ordinary and common on campus.

Jiang Yuan had deep-set brows and eyes. Her striking features gave her an innate sense of pressure, but her personality happened to be the exact opposite—wooden, gentle, and plain.

The cat paw earrings balanced out her aura very well, adding a touch of refinement to her outfit.

They also made her look much more eye-catching.

Jiang Yuan hesitated, but in the end, she still took off the earrings and placed the gift back deep in the corner.

She climbed down the bed ladder, picked up her bag, and prepared to go out.

Two gazes were burning, abrupt, and impossible to ignore. Yet the owners of those gazes even thought they were hiding themselves well.

Jiang Yuan remembered the interrogation that had yet to begin and tentatively said, “I’m going out?”

One sentence startled the birds in the cage. The two of them immediately slid their chairs over.

Liang You tugged at the hem of Jiang Yuan’s clothes. “Wuwuwu, Xiao Yuan, I’ll only ask you one question.”

Jiang Yuan nodded. “Go ahead.”

She had thought she would receive questions like: “Is it true? When did you start dating? Where are you going now?”

But—

Liang You whimpered, “When you hugged my goddess, did she smell good? Wuwuwuwu—”

Qi Meng’an, beside her: “…”

Jiang Yuan did not understand, but she still thought about it seriously.

Thread after thread of cold magnolia fragrance wrapped around her, fragrant and rich.

She answered honestly, “She smelled good.”

“Wuaaaah, I knew it!!!”

Qi Meng’an: “…That’s enough from you.”

＊

Online, the situation had become a bloody storm of drama, but in reality, Jiang Yuan left campus smoothly.

Aside from her two roommates, who were close to her and spent time with her daily, Jiang Yuan’s relationship with other people was average.

Others could not recognize her based on the photo alone, much less connect her to Yu Qingshi’s supposed romance.

Jiang Yuan matched the license plate number and successfully got into the nanny van.

The assistant sitting in the passenger seat greeted her and handed her a bottle of warm water.

Jiang Yuan blinked a few seconds slower than usual. “Thank you.”

The assistant turned back and smiled faintly. “Sister Yu prepared it.”

The bottle was warm, heating her palm and then her heart. Jiang Yuan curved her lips, and the tip of her heart softened a little.

The scenery outside the window flowed backward. The driver was highly skilled, driving quickly and smoothly the whole way.

Jiang Yuan had thought the meeting place would be a private room in a restaurant, or perhaps a studio like last time.

The black car gave her no time to react. It drove straight into a residential compound, then stopped steadily.

The driver and assistant showed no intention of getting out.

The assistant turned around and handed her an elevator card. “Sister Yu lives on the sixteenth floor. You can just take the elevator up.”

Jiang Yuan accepted it blankly. The elevator card was light and smooth, entirely black, with the floor number written on it in gilt script.

So this place was… Senior Yu’s home?

Jiang Yuan got out of the car. In front of her, the apartment building had one household per elevator, each floor consisting of a large flat.

The greenery around it was lush, and the buildings stood far apart from one another.

Jiang Yuan obediently swiped the card and went upstairs.

When she reached the door, she raised her finger and pressed the doorbell.

Inside, footsteps sounded light and shallow. The sound gradually grew louder, approaching the door.

“Click.”

The door opened, and the warm light inside spilled out, falling over Jiang Yuan.

“You’re here, Jiang Yuan.” Yu Qingshi stood behind the door, her head tilted slightly to the side, her black hair naturally scattered over her shoulders.

At home, Yu Qingshi was dressed casually. Her milky white hoodie was loose, making her look even more slender.

Her exposed collarbones were clearly defined, making her look unusually thin and fragile.

Jiang Yuan’s gaze lingered on the heavy dark circles under her eyes.

Yu Qingshi’s face was bare of makeup. Her skin was fair and luminous, so the faint gray beneath her eyes appeared especially obvious.

“Jiang Yuan?” Yu Qingshi asked in confusion, waving her hand in front of Jiang Yuan’s eyes.

Jiang Yuan came back to herself and hurriedly lowered her head to change into disposable slippers.

She followed Yu Qingshi inside. The interior was simple and refined, with a minimalist natural wood style that was elegant and spacious. Huge floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the entire lake.

The home felt lived-in, with delicate ornaments visible everywhere.

Jiang Yuan sat on the sofa, somewhat uneasy. She did not dare let her gaze wander around casually.

Yu Qingshi brought out washed fruit from the kitchen, placed it on the coffee table, and handed Jiang Yuan some cherries.

Jiang Yuan accepted them but did not eat. The first thing she asked was the question she cared about most. “Senior Yu, are you sick?”

Yu Qingshi was stunned. Her lashes lowered. “It’s nothing. Just an old problem.”

She smiled lightly and placed both hands on her cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”

Jiang Yuan still wanted to keep asking, but Yu Qingshi stuffed a cherry into her mouth.

The cherry was cold. Warm fingertips lightly brushed over her lips. Jiang Yuan instinctively bit down, and the clear sweetness of the juice spread through her mouth. For a moment, she forgot what she had wanted to ask.

From the moment they met, Yu Qingshi had noticed Jiang Yuan’s empty earlobes. “Do you not like the gift?”

Jiang Yuan answered obediently, “I like it.”

“Then why aren’t you wearing them?”

Jiang Yuan touched her earlobe. Already clumsy with words, she was even worse at lying. For a moment, she was speechless. After thinking for a long time, she finally squeezed out the truth. “I’m not very used to them.”

Yu Qingshi did not continue asking. She changed the topic. “I originally said I would treat you to a meal, but it kept getting delayed until now. Today, I ordered some dishes. Have a meal at my place?”

“Senior…” Jiang Yuan hesitated. “What about the matter online?”

She had thought she had come here to discuss the news with Senior Yu.

After all, for a top star like Senior Yu, rumors were better clarified as soon as possible.

Yu Qingshi was not in a hurry. “That’s a long story. It’s almost afternoon. You haven’t eaten yet, right?”

Jiang Yuan nodded.

Yu Qingshi smiled. “Then let’s eat first and talk afterward.”

Yu Qingshi did not know how to cook. Before Jiang Yuan arrived, she had ordered food from Lanxuanji.

The dishes were neatly arranged in wooden food boxes: pork belly with preserved mustard greens, squirrel-shaped mandarin fish, stir-fried shrimp, braised spring bamboo shoots, and so on… all kinds of dishes, dazzling in variety.

The two of them brought the food to the table together.

There was only one serving of rice. Yu Qingshi naturally handed it to Jiang Yuan and placed the vegetarian salad beside herself.

Jiang Yuan stared at the dishes obviously placed toward her side and then at the lonely salad beside Yu Qingshi. She asked in confusion, “Senior Yu only eats salad?”

“That’s right. I need to lose weight and maintain my figure.” Yu Qingshi was already used to it.

Cameras would make people look wider. In order to look good on camera, most celebrities were on the thinner side.

Yu Qingshi was even more so. Her frame was small to begin with, and once she lost weight, she looked even more delicate and thin.

Jiang Yuan stared at Yu Qingshi’s pale little face and frowned, stating the fact, “But Senior is sick.”

She looked at the dishes in front of them. They were either oily or meaty, none of them suitable for Yu Qingshi to eat.

Jiang Yuan continued asking, “Is there anything to eat in the fridge?”

Yu Qingshi froze, not reacting for a moment. “There should still be some…”

Jiang Yuan walked over and stopped in front of the refrigerator.

The black refrigerator was covered in fridge magnets. Each one was exquisite and came from different countries.

She suddenly turned back. “May I open it?”

Yu Qingshi nodded. “Of course.”

Only after hearing that did Jiang Yuan open it.

Everything inside the fridge was arranged neatly. Most of it was colorful canned drinks and all kinds of supplements.

Jiang Yuan’s gaze swept over them as she picked through the fridge.

There were only a handful of usable ingredients: eggs, greens, and, barely counting them, seaweed and dried shrimp.

Jiang Yuan glanced at the flour in the kitchen, then turned her head. “Senior, would you like some clear-broth noodles?”

In the next chapter, Jiang Yuan makes noodles by hand. [Sunglasses]

With how much you dote on your wife, you deserve to have one. [Shy]