Zhong Ruanxing reached out and flicked her finger on Song JinXing’s forehead.
As expected, Zhong You angrily covered her head with her little meaty hands, not glaring at her this time, but running to hide behind Song JinXing's back to tattle: "Sister! Sister is bullying me!"
Song JinXing smiled helplessly, picked her up and put her in the prepared children's seat, reaching out to rub the spot on her forehead that was flicked a few times.
Zhong You then made a face at Zhong Ruanxing.
This scene looked like a happy family of three.
The little girl couldn't sit still while eating. After a few bites, she was attracted by someone performing the piano in the bamboo forest nearby. She kicked her little legs a few times and asked Song JinXing to put her down so she could run over and watch.
Zhong Ruanxing cautioned her, "Walk slowly, don't bump into people."
Zhong You's little braid swayed: "I know."
After watching her run into the bamboo forest and sit on the rock in front of the piano-playing lady to listen attentively, Zhong Ruanxing retracted her gaze. When she turned her head back, she found Song JinXing looking at her somewhat absent-mindedly.
Zhong Ruanxing suppressed the inexplicable acceleration of her heartbeat under his gaze, and strangely touched her face: "Do I have something on my face?"
He shook his head, but didn't say anything. He lowered his head and ate a few bites, and thought of how she had talked about this restaurant enthusiastically today, so he commented: "This place is great."
"You think so too, right!" Zhong Ruanxing was very happy to be affirmed: "It was Bai Yinyue who brought me here. When I first came in, I thought that I must bring you here to try it when you came back."
Song JinXing's eyelashes trembled, and somewhere in his heart seemed to be suddenly moved by these words.
He remembered seeing a sentence somewhere: when someone is very important in your heart, whenever you go to a beautiful place, eat delicious food, or play with a fun toy, you will want to take them there to experience it as well.
So was he that person in her heart?
"What are you thinking about?" Zhong Ruanxing asked suddenly. Without waiting for his answer, she frowned again: "You seem to be tanned. You must apply whitening masks when you go home tonight! Use it for three days in a row!"
Song JinXing smiled and nodded.
As they ate, they chatted about future work plans. With Zhong Ruanxing’s current popularity online after finishing filming Counterintelligence, there would definitely be new scripts coming her way. What actors feared most was not having any dramas to film. If they didn’t seize the current popularity to take on more roles and start filming, the popularity would quickly disappear without follow-up works.
Therefore, whether Song JinXing was willing or suitable, he could only continue acting until they swapped back.
Fortunately, although he didn’t like it, he didn’t hate it either. The weak complained about the environment, the strong adapted to the rules, and truly capable people could shine no matter which field they were placed in.
Zhong Ruanxing pondered and said, "Before starting the next drama, the company should arrange some variety show appearances for you. If you don't want to go, just turn them down. Your personality is not suitable for variety shows anyway, let's just focus on acting."
Song JinXing nodded in agreement.
Zhong You ran back to grab a snack, then dashed away again quickly.
Seeing her beloved sister, Zhong Ruanxing suddenly asked him, "Do you want to meet your family?"
After the swap had gone on for so long, she had already met his dad and sister. Putting herself in his shoes, she felt that he must also miss his own family, like Song's grandparents. But thinking of his illness, she was uncertain again.
Sure enough, Song JinXing was silent for a moment and shook his head: "No need."
She didn't know how to feel, just a little stuffy. After a while, she asked him seriously, "Song JinXing, are you happy now?"
Was he happy?
He had a clingy sister, a caring dad who silently looked out for him, and a mother who would take his hand and place a piece of candy in his palm. It was a warm little family. In his heart, compared to his cold million-dollar mansion, it was better by a thousand times, ten thousand times.
But it never truly belonged to him.
He was afraid that one day he would lose it, so he never dared to truly indulge in it.
But he was happy. Those decades of lost familial warmth, even if he only shallowly experienced it, still made him feel happy.
So he looked at Zhong Ruanxing and nodded.
Zhong Ruanxing smiled and clinked her teacup against his: "That's good. I hope you can be a little happier every day."
After the meal, Zhong Ruanxing told him to take Zhong You and leave first. After all, she was now a celebrity, no longer the unknown little starlet who went unnoticed wherever she went. If they were photographed together, it would cause another storm.
Lying on Song JinXing's shoulder, Zhong You was a little drowsy, but her eyes were looking back: "Sister, can't we live with sister?"
It would be so great if she could live with two sisters!
Song JinXing was stunned for a moment, then chuckled lowly: "Not yet."
Zhong You's voice was soft: "Then when can we?"
"In the future."
"What time is the future?"
"The future is not a time."
"Then what day of the week is the future?"
The street lamps stretched two silhouettes, one big and one small, and the rest of the voices were blown away by the night wind, falling among the roadside bushes.
...
When he returned home at night, Zhong's dad and mom were back too. Not having seen his daughter for three months, Zhong's dad was unusually talkative, caring about him for a while, and then asking what he wanted to eat. Tomorrow was a day off, so he wanted to personally cook for his daughter.
Zhong's mother had no concept of time. Her memories were fragmented. This time her memory had probably gone back to when Zhong Ruanxing was in high school. She kept holding his hand and asking, "Is the dormitory comfortable to live in? Do you get along well with your roommates? Don't keep reading after lights out at night, it’s bad for your eyes."
No matter what she asked, Song JinXing would patiently answer.
Even if she immediately forgot what she had asked and went out to deliver medicine to Grandma.
After taking a bath and lying in bed, Song JinXing was filled with a feeling he had never had before, as if being wrapped up by the tide. He opened his phone and saw a photo Zhong Ruanxing had sent of herself drenched in sweat on the treadmill, with the caption: Operation Save Song's Abs!
His eyes overflowed with laughter as he sent her the weight he had measured tonight.
Zhong Ruanxing replied very quickly:
- The numbers haven't changed, very good, keep it up!
Just as Song JinXing was about to text back, a call suddenly came in from an unfamiliar number in Beijing.
Without any suspicion, Song JinXing answered the call: "Hello?"
A voice with a smile came from the other end of the call: "Little junior sister, good evening."
Song JinXing frowned. The image of the man he had seen on the balcony of the KTV in Hangzhou that night flashed through his mind.
Seeing that the other side was silent, Cheng Yaowen laughed and asked, "Why don't you ask how I got your number?"
Song JinXing spoke coldly: "Do you need something?"
Hearing the voice colder than ice and snow from the phone, Cheng Yaowen was not angry at all. His voice was still laughing and cheerful: "It’s Teacher Wen’s 60th birthday after tomorrow. I'm inviting you on her behalf. You must show your face, little junior sister. Teacher specifically told me that she misses you very much."
That violin teacher of Zhong Ruanxing?
Although he knew there was a high probability that this was just an excuse he had come up with, it wouldn’t be good to refuse if it really was the teacher’s birthday.
Song JinXing didn't agree right away, just said lightly: "I see."
Without waiting for Cheng Yaowen to continue speaking, he hung up and called Zhong Ruanxing instead.
Zhong Ruanxing was still on the treadmill. Upon hearing his recount, she immediately saw through Cheng Yaowen's trick: "Teacher Wen is very low-key. She would never have a big 60th birthday party. This must be something he stirred up. But it really is Teacher's birthday that day, so we do need to go. Don't worry, we can take this chance to meet Cheng Yaowen and see what he's up to."
Laughing and proud literature
