Appearing on a Marriage Show Before Getting Divorced - Chapter 12

Beneath the quilt, Ruan Youran’s and Chu Nian’s scents—a mix of hair fragrance and body warmth—mingled together.

What kind of lethal poison was this?

Before Youran could even speak, her body went soft just from Chu Nian’s proximity. Truly soft. Her limbs lost all strength as she watched Chu Nian press closer, her hand encircling Youran’s waist, her eyes staring unblinkingly.

In this kind of darkness, Youran could actually see the light in Chu Nian’s eyes. She felt her heart race and her throat go dry, as if she had been drugged.

Once… the power had gone out at home just like this.

Chu Nian had leaned in, and Youran had teased her: “Oh, don’t come over here, go away!” When Chu Nian tried to back away helplessly, Jianjian grabbed her hem. Chu Nian turned back to find Youran pouting with a raised eyebrow: “You’re a heart arsonist.”

Chu Nian: “…”

“What, you set a fire in my heart with your eyes and now you just want to leave?”

Immediately after, Chu Nian had been pulled in, and Youran had pressed herself completely against her… Back then, a power outage felt like a heaven-sent celebration for the two of them.

But now… Youran had finally built a wall of hatred to isolate this ambiguity, yet Chu Nian seemed to be doing it on purpose. She leaned very close, exhaled a soft breath against her, and asked, “Do I smell good?”

With that one sentence, Youran’s body reacted instantly. She glared at Chu Nian with fury. This was what Chu Nian used to say whenever she wanted to do something… “indescribable.”

Hearing it now, after so long and in this environment, Youran really wanted to ask Chu Nian: Have you no shame?

Chu Nian slowly raised a hand, wanting to touch Youran’s face. God knew how much she had missed her during those three years apart. But just as her hand was about to touch skin, Youran coldly slapped it away. “Trying to take advantage of me?”

Chu Nian paused, looking at her. “Didn’t you just agree to draw a perfect full stop?”

Ruan Youran: “…” A perfect full stop requires me to get touched?!

Youran put on her cold, arrogant face, adopting the “haughty princess” stance she was best at. She looked down at Chu Nian and said indifferently, “I won’t say more. I’ll give you a look and let you figure it out yourself.”

Chu Nian (flatly): “Sorry, it’s too dark. I can’t see.”

Then, Youran was suddenly pulled into a hug. Just as she was about to shriek, Chu Nian covered her mouth and whispered, “Don’t make a sound. Do you want the whole country to see you like this?”

Youran’s face flushed red instantly. Not from anger… but because Chu Nian’s posture was simply too much for her to handle. Chu Nian was pressing her entire weight down, her fragrant long hair falling onto Youran’s collarbone, stirring up an uncontrollable restlessness.

Seeing that the person beneath her had settled down, Chu Nian fell silent too. She didn’t do anything excessive; she just quietly rested her head against Youran’s chest, listening to her heartbeat.

Thump… thump… It sounded so beautiful.

She remembered when they were eighteen, Youran had “flirted” with a male classmate in the back row, making Chu Nian’s eyes turn red with jealousy. It sparked their first real argument.

At the time, Youran’s mouth was particularly “pesky,” saying whatever would pierce Chu Nian’s heart: “What? He’s been chasing me for so long and you’re like a block of wood with no reaction. Am I not allowed to let flowers bloom elsewhere? You get mad over a few words? There’s going to be much more later, mmph—”

Chu Nian had grabbed Youran’s arm and slammed her onto the bed. Youran was stunned, staring blankly. Chu Nian hadn’t had the sophisticated composure she had now; her eyes were red with rage as she glared: “Do you have a heart? Do you?!”

And who was Ruan Youran? Seeing Chu Nian’s red eyes, she immediately shifted gears. She puffed out her chest. “Come here. Come here and listen for yourself.”

Thump, thump, thump…

That intense heartbeat, one after another—after all this time, it was still just as fiery.

Chu Nian felt a wave of bitterness. Her tears finally escaped, sliding down her cheek and onto Youran’s neck, as if slipping right into her heart. Youran froze, turning into a block of wood.

After an unknown amount of time, Director Niu’s muffled voice came through: “What? Did you fall asleep? That’s enough, you two.”

The quilt was flipped open. Aside from her slightly messy hair, Chu Nian had already regained her composure. She sat on the bed and gave a faint smile to the camera. That smile… killed a million people behind their screens. Even Director Niu, at her age, felt her heart give an unfaithful thump.

Youran sat up as well, silently hanging her head, her long hair obscuring her face. This was her most frequent pose during this shoot. She couldn’t do it—she really couldn’t pull herself out of her emotions as quickly as Chu Nian. Perhaps she really was useless.

Filming ended late, and everyone gathered for hotpot. After the “Surprise Dark Journey,” everyone seemed a little different.

Lin Yiyi and Song Ci were clearly closer. As Song Ci mixed a very spicy dipping sauce, Yiyi looked at her: “Kid, you know this will give you diarrhea, right?”

Song Ci (with a shallow smile): “I’m young.”

Lin Yiyi: “…” Is she mocking my age?!

Qin Yanlan had just showered. Lan Ke asked blissfully while eating meat, “Don’t you feel ten years younger after meditating with me?”

Qin Yanlan: “What, are you going to charge me for it?”

Lan Ke nearly bit her tongue. She lowered her head to eat, deciding not to provoke the CEO.

Youran had no appetite. She took a drink and walked toward the beach. Lately, she had grown to love the ocean. When her heart was too congested with emotions, only the vastness of the sea and the stars could offer a moment’s peace.

She walked barefoot on the soft sand. “Love~ oh, love~ 24 hours with you… power outage, power outage~ I’m going to your eyes to get electricity~” she hummed. This was a song called Power Outage she and Chu Nian had written for fun. Back then, it had led them straight to bed.

“Ruan Youran, you’re so useless,” she murmured to the waves. She sat on the sand, hugging her knees as the wind chilled her.

Footsteps sounded behind her. “Why are you here?” Youran asked, not looking back.

Instead of Chu Nian’s voice, a melodic female alto replied, “Why can’t I be here?”

Youran turned in surprise to see a stranger. A tall woman in a red dress with deep, sea-blue eyes looked at her. “Alone?”

Normally, Youran would flirt back with such a beauty, but she wasn’t in the mood.

“I heard you singing just now. It was beautiful,” the woman said, sitting down beside her.

“I know,” Youran replied, taking a sip of her drink.

The woman stunned, then laughed. She held out a hand. “Hi, I’m Soya.”

“Hi, I’m Rose,” Youran replied, mimicking the woman’s slightly accented Chinese.

Soya laughed heartily. She knew the girl was lying about her name, but she didn’t mind. They sat in silence. Sometimes, being with a stranger is more comfortable than being with someone familiar when you’re sad.

They chatted for a long time. Youran was surprised to find Soya was Director Niu’s sister (though not mixed-race like her sister, Soya’s mother was American). Soya was incredibly bold and funny. She even sang her own original Chinese song for Youran: “I’m so beautiful~ how can anyone be as beautiful as me? Don’t look at my face, I’m afraid you can’t handle it… don’t look at my eyes, I’m afraid you’ll go numb.”

Youran clapped until her hands were red. “Yes! That’s a great song. It feels like it was written for me. I’ll buy the rights!”

They laughed until it was pitch black. “I have to go back,” Youran said.

Soya stood up, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders. “Rose, it was great meeting you. Can we keep in touch?”

“If fate wills it, we shall meet again,” Youran smiled.

Soya misunderstood: “Yes! We are fated. We will definitely meet again!”

Back at the hotel, Youran fell asleep quickly. That night, Chu Nian seemed to have a nightmare. Her brow was furrowed, her hand clutching her chest as she murmured, “It hurts…”

Youran, usually a heavy sleeper, rolled off her bed and ran to Chu Nian’s side. “Chu Nian? Where does it hurt?”

Chu Nian was drenched in cold sweat. “Zhengzhi… give me the medicine…”

The name “Zhengzhi” made Youran freeze. Zhengzhi? Who is that? Why is she calling his name in her sleep?!

Chu Nian eventually settled back into a deep sleep, but Youran stared at the ceiling for the rest of the night, her heart feeling like it had been run over by a truck. She had thought Chu Nian still loved her… but now it seemed she was just being sentimental. She was calling out another man’s name.

The next morning at breakfast, Director Niu announced: “I feel like being the only commentator is boring, so I invited my sister to join the next phase. I’ll introduce her to you all.”

“Director Niu has a sister?” Lin Yiyi asked.

“Mhm. Same mother, different father. She’s not mixed like me.”

Youran (shocked): “Auntie, you’re mixed?!! With what?!”

Director Niu (furious): “What, I don’t look like it?!”

“My sister is beautiful,” Niu continued. “She’s headstrong. She said she’d never join a boring show like ours, but then she told me yesterday she fell in love at first sight with a Chinese girl on the beach. Said she was breathtakingly beautiful.”

Youran didn’t care; she was just annoyed thinking about the “Zhengzhi” from last night. But then, Soya walked in, dressed to the nines.

Youran didn’t look up until a familiar fragrance neared and someone grabbed her hand.

“Rose! It’s you!!!”

Youran went full Sparta. She stared at Soya in shock.

Soya’s eyes were brimming with joy. She gripped Youran’s hand and turned to a stunned Director Niu: “Sister! It’s her! This is the girl from the beach who said we were fated! The girl I fell in love with at first sight!”

Chu Nian: “…………”

Everyone else: “???!!!”