**40**

Ning Zhi showed her little fans to Shen Yizhi, proud like a king who had just conquered the world showing off her kingdom.

Scrolling down a few pages, she caught a glimpse of Shen Yizhi actually zoning out.

Really, she was reporting to her that she hadn’t wasted these past few years, yet she wasn’t paying attention at all. Ning Zhi gave her a sullen glance and explained, “It’s impressive to gain so much support in just one year.”

Although she still hadn’t caught up to Shen Yizhi, Ning Zhi was already very satisfied as long as she wasn’t compared to Shen Yizhi. She casually read aloud the phrase written by fans on the screen, “Ning Zhizhi has a promising future,” her eyes curving into a smile as she said, “See? They say I have a promising future.”

Her small dimple was very cute. Shen Yizhi’s gaze fell on her face, and she smiled softly: “Yes, Ning Ning has a promising future, and the road ahead is bright.”

The moment Ning Zhi saw her smile at her, her heart skipped a beat.

She couldn’t stay with her any longer, or she would lose control and say things she shouldn’t. Forcing herself to stand up, Ning Zhi stretched lazily and said, “I’m going to sleep.”

After talking for quite a while, their attention was fully on each other. It was only when they stood up that Ning Zhi realized this room was too empty and too quiet.

She heard rustling sounds behind her, and Shen Yizhi also stood up.

Casually placing the water cup back on the bar, Ning Zhi, with an irregular heartbeat, turned around and said lightly, “You should go to bed early too.”

While speaking, she struggled to lift her leg off the ground.

“Ning Ning.” Shen Yizhi called out to her from behind.

Ning Zhi, who had been reluctant to leave, immediately stopped, then turned back indifferently, perfectly showing a look of confusion.

Shen Yizhi stood in her original spot; they were half a living room apart, and the dim light almost swallowed Shen Yizhi.

Ning Zhi held her breath, waited a few seconds, and then Shen Yizhi asked, “Do you want to go to the set together tomorrow morning? You can take my car.”

Ning Zhi’s mind went blank, then quickly started racing. Going to the set together basically meant going to work together. Of course, she wanted to go to work with Shen Yizhi, but whenever she was with her, she couldn’t control herself. She had already said too much tonight.

She hesitated for a while, then Shen Yizhi pinched the corner of her clothes and suggested, “We can rehearse the lines on the way.”

Ning Zhi immediately seized the suggestion, nodded with a stern face: “Okay, but you have to get up early. If you’re late, I won’t wait for you.”

Shen Yizhi’s eyes slightly lifted at the corners, smiling: “I won’t keep you waiting.”

She smiled so beautifully that Ning Zhi turned away blankly, returned to the guest room, and then lay on the bed, covering her head with a pillow.

She really said too much tonight, even telling Shen Yizhi that she wanted to be her little dog.

Fortunately, she said it was all in the past.

This person interferes with her thoughts too much. Ning Zhi sighed, turned over, and closed her eyes, ready to sleep.

Shen Yizhi’s words, “I have never disliked you,” shone brilliantly in her mind like stars.

It was as if a soul imprisoned for six years was suddenly freed; Ning Zhi felt her whole body lighten.

She arranged the pillow properly and lay down upright.

After closing her eyes and sleeping for a while, a persistent thought surfaced.

Did she really never hate her? Or was it because so much time had passed that it was better to be polite, especially since they still had to cooperate.

Did she really say that sentence just because she was too angry to hold back her words? But during that whole period, she was very impatient with her. Ning Zhi could feel it; at that time, Shen Yizhi really didn’t want to have contact with her.

The newly released soul hesitated in front of the cage, afraid to leave on its own, asking the guard, “I am deeply sinful, can I really leave?” Was that release order real, or just a false illusion?

Ning Zhi pulled the blanket over her face. If she were a puppy, she would be a puppy living in the past, fussing over all the trivial details long left behind and covered in the dust of time.

She fussed until she didn’t know what time it was and only drifted off to sleep in a daze. When she woke up, Shen Yizhi had already prepared breakfast and was waiting for her.

Ning Zhi poured herself a large cup of coffee. Remembering that she had to go to work with Shen Yizhi today, she stuffed food into her mouth while sending a WeChat message to Yangyang, telling her to go to the set by herself.

Shen Yizhi sat quietly eating breakfast across from her, unlike her, who kept checking Weibo and replying to WeChat messages, busy and restless.

“Just one cup is enough.” Shen Yizhi lightly tapped the table as she was about to pour a second cup of coffee, pushing the peeled egg with a cracked shell toward her.

Ning Zhi withdrew her hand from the coffee pot and took a small spoon to scoop the egg and eat.

She couldn’t help but think a little further—Shen Yizhi knew she had a sensitive stomach and couldn’t drink too much coffee, knew she liked her boiled eggs cooked to about seventy percent, knew Shen Yizhi liked sour foods, and knew she was allergic to eggplant.

They understood each other’s habits well, and if they could live together, they might get along very well.

The moment this thought surfaced, Ning Zhi forcefully pushed it back down.

It’s better not to think about things that are impossible.

They went to the set together, and on the way, Ning Zhi took out the script and seriously rehearsed lines with Shen Yizhi. However, most of the lines were her own scenes, and Shen Yizhi also improvised some lines from other characters to practice with her.

Ning Zhi felt that Shen Yizhi was at a disadvantage like this, and said sincerely, “If you ever need help with lyrics next time, you can always come to me.”

With a face striving for fairness.

Shen Yizhi held back a laugh and agreed, “Okay.”

Today’s shoot was still on location.

Ning Zhi was exposed to the sun all day long, applying layer after layer of sunscreen and even taking heat-relief medicine in advance. Yet, when filming started, she still felt dizzy from the intense sunlight.

Chi Sheng still couldn’t find a job. The tutoring position seemed like a stroke of luck from the heavens—there was only one, and if he missed it, he wouldn’t find another.

So, when she passed by a construction site, she impulsively walked in. The foreman scrutinized her from head to toe, didn’t even check her ID, and handed her a pair of gloves, saying, “You earn as much as you move, paid by the amount.”

Chi Sheng didn’t say a word, put on gloves, and started working with a group of workers at the construction site.

It was hard work, but the pay was actually higher than her tutoring job, so Chi Sheng decided to stay. She carried bricks during the day and went to tutoring classes at night.

While working, the workers would chat. Seeing Chi Sheng so young, with smooth skin, not looking like a poor kid who couldn’t afford school, they couldn’t help but ask why she was working. Chi Sheng told the truth: “I need money.”

The older workers all laughed. Who doesn’t need money?

Chi Sheng smiled shyly and didn’t say much, just kept her head down and worked hard, thinking about earning more.

Working really is tough, especially for someone like Chi Sheng who had never done heavy labor before, but she gritted her teeth and persevered, only to be so exhausted every night that she fell asleep as soon as she touched the bed.

Of course, Grandma asked her what she was doing, since she was dirty every day and had several cuts on her hands.

Chi Sheng didn’t lie; she told Grandma she was working part-time, but she changed the details a bit and covered it up: “I’m attending a tutoring class and also learning sculpture on the side. The cuts are from accidentally scratching myself with the carving knife.”

While talking, she vividly explained the art of sculpture to her grandmother, mentioning that there was a course on it at university. Her grandmother was very interested and wanted to experience it first.

The elderly woman, upon hearing about classes and studying, felt it was a serious matter and didn’t ask further. She only reminded Chisheng to be careful and not to hurt herself.

Chisheng reassured her grandmother, settling one worry, and worked even harder, earning almost as much as the older workers.

She didn’t contact Ruan Yinmeng again—not because she didn’t want to, but because she didn’t know what to say. Many times she held her phone, thinking about making a call or sending a text, but in the end, she didn’t dare to do anything.

She knew that most likely there would be no response; Ruan Yinmeng was determined to drive her away and would no longer respond to her.

Once, she ran into her in the hallway when she was rushing out.

They hadn’t seen each other for more than half a month at that time. Suddenly meeting like that, no one expected it. Chi Sheng stopped in her tracks, staring at her in a daze. Ruan Yinmeng, on the other hand, was much calmer; she was momentarily distracted but quickly returned to normal and walked toward her.

Chi Sheng held her breath, watching her, watching her approach, watching her pass by and go upstairs. She stood there for a while, then suddenly remembered she still had to go to the construction site, and hurried off, not willing to waste a single second.

It was only at night, while teaching the children, that she was writing on the blackboard. The chalk scraped sharply against the board, and she suddenly stopped. That’s when she remembered she should have greeted her, even just saying good morning. How could she have let her leave without a word?

She was stunned for a long while, her chest tightening painfully, her mind filled with the image of Ruan Yinmeng glancing at her.

She seemed a little thinner, or maybe not. She couldn’t remember clearly. She was so dazed that she hadn’t even taken a good look at her. Even though she thought about her every moment, when they actually met, she didn’t even manage to clearly see her face.

This was just a small incident; Chi Sheng was still busy working.

By the end of August, she had received the salary from the tutoring class, plus what she earned at the construction site, which was a considerable amount—at least in the eyes of a boy her age like Chi Sheng, it was a lot of money.

As soon as she got home, she headed straight to the third floor and knocked on Ruan Yinmeng’s door.

Ruan Yinmeng opened the door and was very surprised to see her.

Chi Sheng had darkened a lot. She didn’t go inside but stood at the door, looking at her somewhat shyly. She smiled and placed a thick stack of money into her hand.

Ruan Yinmeng was stunned. She looked down and saw numerous small cuts on Chi Sheng’s originally fair hand.

She looked back at Chi Sheng, who didn’t wait for her to speak and said, “I earned this myself. Half is for you, half for Grandma. Don’t keep working there; find another job. Use this money to get by. From now on, whenever I earn money, I’ll give you half.”

She had worked so hard for a whole month to let Ruan Yinmeng know that she would help her and was capable of doing so—not just empty words.

Ruan Yinmeng paused for a moment before understanding her meaning. She had barely managed to steady her emotions, but tears were already welling up. She gritted her teeth and forced her voice coldly, “Wasn’t I clear enough last time?”

Chi Sheng’s brow twitched suddenly. She recalled what Ruan Yinmeng had said last time, and that overwhelming feeling that had driven her to collapse and cry on her knees surged up again. She took a deep breath, suppressing all her sadness.

Very clear, I understand everything.” She smiled, her eyes as pure as a lake without any impurities. “You won’t accept me, nor will you treat me the way you used to. I understand all of it.

Ruan Yinmeng said, “Then you…”

Chi Sheng interrupted her and said seriously, “Ruan Yinmeng, my feelings may have no outcome, but your future must have a place to land.”

She paused for a moment, afraid that Ruan Yinmeng still wouldn’t agree, then softened her voice: “I will help you until you no longer need it. Give it a try, it won’t be that hard.”