Chapter 45
Almost everyone present turned their heads at the same time, several pairs of bright, lively eyes landing in perfect unspoken agreement on the man in the driver’s seat.
Clearly, among everyone here, Lin Zhiqiao was far from the only one shipping Jiang Ling and Pei Ning as a real entertainment-industry couple.
Hearing Jiang Ling’s voice, Pei Ning paused for a moment. The faint weariness between her brows was almost instantly replaced by surprise and delight.
“Jiang Ling? Why are you back?” she asked, startled. “Weren’t you abroad?”
“My schedule changed, so I came back early.” Jiang Ling lifted a brow and said teasingly, “What, not happy to see me?”
Pei Ning smiled and walked over to him. “Of course not. I’m just a little surprised. Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
“I knew you were filming a variety show these past few days, so I didn’t want to disturb you.” Jiang Ling opened the car door and stepped out. “I just didn’t expect the place you were filming would be here.”
He reached out and wrapped an arm around Pei Ning’s waist, then lowered his head and brushed lightly against the side of her face. It was only a brief touch before he pulled away, and Pei Ning naturally tilted her head a little to cooperate. The motion was so familiar and effortless that it was obvious they did this kind of thing often.
Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes went straight to starry mode, and he transformed into a screaming monkey on the spot.
[Waaah wow wow wow——]
[Sure enough, fresh, hot sugar personally handed out on-site by a real CP is the most delicious kind! I love it, I need more, give me more!!!]
“Ahhh, oh my god, JiangPei are actually in one frame together!!!”
“What is this? It’s sugar! [takes one huge bite while hugging it.jpg]”
“Yesterday I was crying to my bestie that I hadn’t gotten any food lately, and today I got fed a whole mouthful. Who’s the happy one now, wuwuwu.”
“Can we dream a little and hope President Jiang becomes a special guest on Our Life? This child is starving and craving so badly! I urgently need President Jiang and Sister Pei to shower me with sugar, QAQ.”
Although Pei Ning was already used to Lin Zhiqiao’s inner thoughts, hearing something directly related to herself still made her feel faintly awkward.
Of course, given her personality, none of that showed on her face. She looked as calm and unaffected as ever.
But…
Pei Ning tilted her head and glanced at Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling also looked completely normal. Sensing her gaze, he lowered his head and returned a smile exactly like always, warm and natural, then asked softly, “Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?”
From his expression and reaction, it didn’t look at all like the response of someone hearing Lin Zhiqiao’s inner voice for the first time.
Pei Ning realized that Jiang Ling probably could not hear Lin Zhiqiao’s thoughts.
The hand at her waist tightened a little. Following that force, Pei Ning leaned gently toward Jiang Ling’s side and said softly, “It’s nothing. Let’s go home.”
This villa belonged to Pei Ning. She had bought it together with her studio back then.
In truth, she did not live here very often. Most of the time, she actually stayed overnight at the studio with the rest of her team.
But when Jiang Ling happened to have time, he would occasionally come over and stay with Pei Ning for a few days, and in those moments the two of them would come back here to live alone together.
In a low voice, Pei Ning explained the variety show filming situation to Jiang Ling.
“The production team said it had to be kept confidential, so I didn’t tell you in advance.” she said. “The staff from the show will be staying here for this period, and the cameras will be running live most of the time. If you feel it’s inconvenient…”
“It’s not inconvenient at all.” Jiang Ling said just as softly. “I won’t have to fly abroad again for a few more days. I’m free these next few days, so I’ll just treat it as accompanying you while you work.”
Hearing that, Pei Ning turned her head and smiled lightly. Pei Ning, known as the cold goddess and someone who usually rarely smiled, only revealed a softness worthy of that word under circumstances like this.
Walking behind the two of them, Lin Zhiqiao was practically unable to stop himself from wanting to hold his face in both hands.
[He has time for the next few days! Doesn’t that mean I’ll be able to eat freshly made, freshly handed-out sugar for the next few days too? Is this what happiness arriving too suddenly feels like, aaaah?!]
[JiangPei are really real beyond all doubt, wuwuwu. Such natural interactions, such sweet chemistry—every little detail can be picked apart into a hundred pounds of sugar!]
[I’ve already prepared my insulin, so President Jiang and Sister Pei, please don’t hesitate! Smash me to death with your cloyingly sweet sugar!!!]
The others standing beside him all nodded in unison.
Ahead of them, Pei Ning found it a little funny inside, though she did not feel the slightest resistance to it. In fact, she found it rather interesting.
Ever since both her career and her relationship with Jiang Ling had stabilized, Pei Ning had always known that she and Jiang Ling’s JiangPei CP had a huge number of fans online.
Sometimes when they met fans outside, the more lively ones would often bring up Jiang Ling too, ask about their relationship, or make some harmless jokes.
Pei Ning was already used to that sort of thing, but hearing a CP fan’s inner thoughts was still a first for her.
It felt as though she had suddenly stepped into the viewpoint of the CP fans. Every little move between her and President Jiang was magnified, and many things she herself considered completely ordinary and natural somehow made the CP fans smile like pleased aunties.
It was a novel experience, but not one she disliked.
Pei Ning kept a calm expression, showing no discomfort whatsoever because of Lin Zhiqiao’s overexcited thoughts.
Yet a sudden thought flashed through her mind—
Could Lin Zhiqiao’s gossip this time…
end up landing on herself?
The thought came so abruptly that even Pei Ning startled herself, and her steps faltered for a moment.
Jiang Ling noticed that tiny abnormality at once and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”
Pei Ning came back to herself and said, “I just suddenly thought of something…”
Jiang Ling let his hand slide down and took hold of the hand hanging by her side. “What is it? Do you need my help?”
“No.” Pei Ning squeezed his hand back. “Just some random thoughts. No need to bother with them.”
—Random thoughts, and very unrealistic ones at that.
Pei Ning found herself half wanting to laugh, half helpless. She felt she must have spent too long following Lin Zhiqiao around eating gossip, because even her own train of thought had become far more jumpy.
Ever since getting to know Lin Zhiqiao, Pei Ning had eaten a lot of live, on-the-spot gossip.
From the very first gossip about Ji Ran and Yuan Yu, to later the gossip about Ji Yuan and her boyfriend, and then afterward the Harp CP gossip…
Although she had not participated in the Harp CP dating show because she already had a boyfriend and therefore couldn’t eat that gossip on site, she had not missed the livestream.
Rounded off, that still counted as following the gossip all the way through.
Although wherever Lin Zhiqiao went, gossip always followed, Pei Ning still felt that she and Jiang Ling were different from people like Ji Ran and the others.
She and Jiang Ling had already been together for seven years. And if the time Jiang Ling had spent pursuing her was added, then that made a full eight years.
Never mind the so-called seven-year itch—over so many years, the things she and Jiang Ling had gone through together were far more than outsiders knew.
If there had truly been a problem in the relationship between her and Jiang Ling, then without anyone else needing to expose or remind them of it, their relationship would never have lasted this long in the first place, nor weathered so many storms and tests.
Pei Ning still had a great deal of confidence in herself and Jiang Ling.
Even if Lin Zhiqiao dug up some gossip, it was far more likely to be the harmless sort of small gossip than anything that could genuinely affect their relationship.
Thinking that, Pei Ning relaxed again.
Dinner was cooked personally by President Jiang and Pei Ning. After everyone had looked over their rooms, they were arranged in the living room and left free to amuse themselves.
Compared to the first episode’s experience of idol trainees’ daily life, Pei Ning’s lifestyle was obviously much more relaxed and free.
Everyone sat in a neat row on the extra-long sofa, fully immersed in watching the movie projected across the giant screen.
Lin Zhiqiao took the seat at the very edge of the sofa.
From there, he was closest to the kitchen, making it easiest to observe every move Pei Ning and Jiang Ling made in the open-plan kitchen.
The two of them were both very practiced at cooking, and their cooperation was amazingly smooth. It was obvious they were not putting on some fake act for the show, but were really used to cooking together like this in their everyday life.
In Pei Ning’s own words, songwriting and composing were things that consumed a lot of inspiration, and her inspiration came more from life itself, so she paid special attention to a sense of ritual in daily living.
Cooking together with the person she loved was clearly one of the effective ways to increase happiness.
Jiang Ling and Pei Ning moved busily about the kitchen. Even though there was no extra, deliberate interaction between them, the sight of their backs together still looked especially warm.
[Even their aprons are a couple set!]
[Sister Pei is wearing blue, and that pink one is actually President Jiang’s! ] Lin Zhiqiao let out a foolish little giggle. [I reasonably suspect President Jiang bought the matching aprons, but Sister Pei refused to wear pink, so he could only coax her into putting on the blue one while he wore the pink himself!]
In the kitchen, the corner of Pei Ning’s mouth curved upward, and a flicker of laughter passed through her eyes.
—Lin Zhiqiao’s guess was right.
“So who is it exactly, peeking through the screen at other people’s happiness? [tiger crying.jpg]”
“How is this any different from married life!!!”
“So when are President Jiang and Sister Pei getting married? I’ve had my cyber wedding money ready forever already [anxiously rubbing hands.jpg]”
“Does no one feel like… President Jiang and Sister Pei are calm and emotionally stable parents, while Ji Ran and Lin Xiao Qiao are the little kids sitting there with mouths open waiting to be fed?”
“That’s exactly it. The sense of them being one big family is way too strong [dog head.jpg]”
“The kids are already here, so President Jiang, when are you proposing? Don’t make me kneel and beg you [humble kitty head.jpg]”
At that moment, the villa’s doorbell rang.
From the direction of the kitchen, Pei Ning called out, “Could someone get the door? It should be Tiantian.”
The newcomer was indeed Pei Ning’s manager, Gong Tiantian.
Even off the clock, Gong Tiantian was still wearing her black-framed scholar glasses, her neat ponytail swaying behind her.
“Ah, it smells amazing.” Gong Tiantian couldn’t help sighing. “Another day of freeloading a meal. So nice.”
She skillfully found a place on the sofa and sat down. The row of little kids gained one more member.
Lin Zhiqiao’s gaze was drawn to the thick notebook in her hands.
“Is that a work notebook?” Jiang Qianqian asked curiously, her tone full of admiration. “You don’t even forget work when you come over to eat.”
Gong Tiantian shook her head. “Not work.”
She glanced toward the two busy figures in the kitchen and placed the notebook—at least three centimeters thick—onto the table. “It’s The CP Scholar’s Research Notes, JiangPei Vol. 8.”
Lin Zhiqiao and the others: “…?”
In a mysterious tone, Gong Tiantian asked, “Want to see?”
Lin Zhiqiao asked in a small voice, “Are we allowed to?”
That didn’t sound like the kind of thing you just casually let people look at…
Gong Tiantian said, “It’s fine. This volume only just started. There’s not that much in it yet.”
A huge number 8 was written on the notebook, with a circle drawn around it.
[…Don’t tell me there are already seven whole notebooks before this one?!]
Gong Tiantian glanced at Lin Zhiqiao and revealed a meaningful smile. Then she opened the heavy notebook—
“x year x month x day, President Jiang came to visit the set and brought Ningning a bouquet of jasmine.
ps: Based on my experience, this bouquet is definitely not just an ordinary bouquet.
pps: Sure enough, there was a present hidden in the flowers—it was a jasmine necklace [holding face.jpg]
ppps: There was even a handwritten letter! It said it was for the 2500-day anniversary… as expected of President Jiang, the sense of occasion is completely maxed out!
pppps: Damn it, President Jiang whisked Ningning away. Ningning left early to go out with President Jiang and ‘look for inspiration’… and once again I’m the one left behind to clean up the work mess!!! [humble wage earner crying.jpg]
ppppps: Forget it. In view of the top-tier sugar I got to eat, I forgive this dog couple [I truly know how to brainwash myself.jpg]
pppppps: The sugar was delicious. Will eat again next time (slurp)”
Everyone: “…Whoa!”
With one casual page flip, they had already stumbled on such rich daily JiangPei romance. Lin Zhiqiao read it with astonishment written all over his face.
“In the beginning, Ningning was the one who asked me to record these things.” Gong Tiantian pushed up her glasses. “She said outsiders see things more clearly, and I might record details she herself wouldn’t notice. Maybe from that angle it could stimulate her and give her inspiration.”
“But later on…” she continued, “keeping these research notes simply became a habit.”
Lin Zhiqiao couldn’t help exclaiming inwardly, [This is basically the notebook of a professional CP scholar! If these ever circulated among the CP fan groups, the CP fans would probably go insane!!!]
In the eyes of everyone present, Gong Tiantian now had the words Professional CP Scholar pasted across her forehead.
“I’ve already gone insane, wuwuwu. I hereby declare that Sister Tiantian is the true head of the JiangPei fanbase [kneels softly.jpg]”
“Is Sister Tiantian considering organizing all these notes and publishing a book? I’ll buy it no matter how expensive it is. I’m begging you, really begging.”
Under the near-reverent gazes of the crowd, a flash of pride and smugness passed over Gong Tiantian’s face.
“I don’t just have notes like these for President Jiang and Ningning. I have them for others too.” she said. “I also have one for Harp CP, and before that…”
She suddenly cut herself off and glanced at Ji Ran.
Ji Ran realized what she meant. “…Don’t say it. I’m begging you, don’t.”
Gong Tiantian looked at him with sympathy in her eyes. “Fine, I won’t.”
Then she looked at Lin Zhiqiao and let out a deep sigh.
Lin Zhiqiao: “…?”
He had the distinct feeling that the look she had just given him carried a trace of… resentment?
That was not his imagination.
Gong Tiantian closed the notebook. Behind the gleam of her lenses, fierce fighting spirit practically blazed out of the frame!
The Double Flame CP between Ji Ran and Yuan Yu had once been one of the pairings she had been most optimistic about. Who could have guessed it would collapse so completely? And with such a giant, revolting bomb about a straight man pretending to be gay, no less!!
For Gong Tiantian, who prided herself on being a veteran CP scholar, it had been an enormous blow.
That heavy Double Flame Research Notes volume had been locked away in a box labeled dark history, never to see daylight again.
But—
Double Flame collapsing did not mean JiangPei would collapse too!
The seven years between Jiang Ling and Pei Ning were a relationship Gong Tiantian had personally watched every step of. Apart from the two people involved, there was absolutely no one who understood their relationship better than she did.
Inside her heart, Gong Tiantian clenched a fist.
As a senior CP scholar, she was going to declare war (unilaterally) on Lin Zhiqiao!
Lin Zhiqiao, completely unaware of the complicated storm of thoughts raging inside Gong Tiantian, noticed her strange look and instinctively had 888 check her favorability.
888 said, [Gong Tiantian’s favorability is 60.]
Lin Zhiqiao was surprised. [Positive? Not negative?]
[Positive, positive.] 888 said. [But Jiang Ling’s favorability toward you is negative.]
Lin Zhiqiao took a look. It was negative 10 points.
Thinking back to that Weibo push notification he had once seen—Jiang Ling collaborating with Lin Chen—Lin Zhiqiao wasn’t surprised at all.
That special effect the Lin family had on people. He understood, he understood.
As long as it didn’t interfere with him eating CP sugar, it was all fine.
In the kitchen, the atmosphere between Jiang Ling and Pei Ning was just right.
Exactly as Lin Zhiqiao had guessed, when Jiang Ling and Pei Ning were at home, they really did often cook together.
Pei Ning greatly enjoyed the process of cooking, while Jiang Ling, in order to cooperate with her, had evolved from a rich young master who originally didn’t so much as touch uncooked grain into the kitchen god he was now.
It was no small transformation.
While waiting for the soup to simmer, Jiang Ling suddenly asked, “Have you not been doing well lately?”
Pei Ning paused, a little surprised. “How could you tell?”
“I could feel it. You’ve been a little different from usual.” Jiang Ling said. “Trouble at work?”
“It doesn’t really count as trouble.” Pei Ning shook her head. “If I have to describe it… maybe it’s a bottleneck period. Or maybe I’m just overthinking myself into a dead end.”
Pei Ning was praised as the new generation’s little queen of love songs. High quality and high productivity were her trademarks, but recently she had been unable to produce any work that truly satisfied her.
Work-wise, Jiang Ling couldn’t help her much, so all he could do was comfort her. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Inspiration is the kind of thing you can’t force.”
Pei Ning gave a soft hum. “I know.”
Jiang Ling caught the trace of heaviness hidden in her tone. He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to the top of her hair.
“Alright, don’t keep worrying about this while you’re cooking.” he said with a smile. “Maybe after one night’s sleep, inspiration will just come to you on its own tomorrow.”
Pei Ning smiled, lifted her head, and took the initiative to kiss him once—a brief touch before separating. “I’ll borrow your blessing.”
A small burst of commotion broke out in the living room.
Lin Zhiqiao let out an untamed civet shriek: [Oh oh oh——!!!]
Gong Tiantian picked up her pen and began scribbling furiously, recording another fresh round of research notes.
A moment later, she put the pen down and suddenly lowered her voice. “Let me tell you all a secret.”
Seven heads leaned in with a whoosh. Even the cameraman, who had been standing farther off like a planted post, took two steps closer.
“It’s something I noticed by accident before.” Gong Tiantian whispered super quietly. “President Jiang seems to be preparing a surprise for Ningning.”
Lin Zhiqiao’s eyes shone with excitement. “What surprise?”
“No idea, but it’s definitely a big one.” Gong Tiantian was just as excited. “If I’m not mistaken, President Jiang must have deliberately changed his schedule and come back early just for this.”
She said with total conviction, “Believe me, it’ll happen within the next few days.”
Everyone’s anticipation shot straight to the maximum.
“Ahhh, what surprise?! Will it be livestreamed when it happens?!”
“Please, Mr. Cameraman, livestream twenty-four hours a day, thank you, thank you [bows ninety degrees.jpg]”
“It sounds like a massive surprise… can I dream a little and hope for a proposal? [scream.jpg]”
“What? A proposal? Pass it on! President Jiang is going to propose to Sister Pei!!!”
*
The next day, the main mission for the Our Life group was still to look for inspiration.
Thanks to the setup from the previous day, everyone felt even less burdened about playing around today.
Very soon, evening came again.
Dinner was once more cooked by the two top chefs, Jiang and Pei. After the meal, Jiang Ling suggested that everyone go for a walk by the lake.
The lake was not far from the villa area. It took less than ten minutes by car.
There were too many people, but luckily President Jiang’s car was big enough to cram everyone inside.
The lakeside seemed especially lively tonight.
Pei Ning found it strange. “Is today some kind of holiday?”
“Today’s Saturday.” Jiang Ling said.
The breeze by the lake was cool and perfect for driving away the stuffy heat. Most of the people there had come out for a walk.
Some had already recognized Pei Ning, Ji Ran, and the others, but after seeing the cameraman following them, everyone very restrainedly kept their distance. No one rushed up. They only greeted them from afar.
Lin Zhiqiao even heard someone calling his name, sounding pretty excited—apparently one of his fans.
The group walked along the lakeside for a while. Then, up ahead, a burst of noisy commotion suddenly appeared.
A whole crowd had gathered at the lakebank, clearly watching some gossip-worthy scene unfold.
Lin Zhiqiao’s heart itched to go over and join in, but because they were livestreaming, he didn’t dare just rush over.
Luckily, someone else had the same idea. “Want to go take a look?”
The one who proposed it was Jiang Ling. He seemed very curious about whatever was going on over there.
Pei Ning hesitated. “Better not. There are too many people.”
“Let’s go look.” Jiang Ling coaxed. “It seems like someone’s confessing. Don’t you need inspiration? This is the perfect chance to go see.”
Pei Ning was persuaded.
The whole group changed direction and headed toward the place that could practically be called a sea of people.
Jiang Ling led the way at the front.
There were a lot of people, but President Jiang had special path-clearing skills. Very quickly, the group cut through the crowd and slipped into the very center.
There, spread before them, was a beautifully arranged sea of flowers.
Huge swathes of roses had been arranged into an exquisite display. At one glance, it looked as if they were standing in an ocean of roses.
But that ocean of roses still seemed to be missing something.
Pei Ning looked around. “There are only flowers, but no person?”
“There is.” Jiang Ling said.
Pei Ning instinctively asked, “Where?”
“Here.” Jiang Ling said.
Before Pei Ning could react, Jiang Ling reached out, took her hand, and pulled her straight toward the center of the flower sea.
Lin Zhiqiao clapped a hand over his mouth, almost screaming from excitement: [Aaaaahhhh——]
[Is this the surprise Tiantian was talking about?! Don’t tell me this is… a proposal scene?!]
“Excited to the point of suffocation.jpg”
“If this isn’t a proposal, I’ll swallow my keyboard whole [aaaah.jpg]”
“It was worth camping in this livestream room twenty-four hours a day! President Jiang, charge forward, aaaah!”
“Confirmed—President Jiang definitely arranged this all on purpose! Borrowing a variety-show livestream to propose! Who else would dare pull something like this!!!”
Pei Ning’s mind went blank.
Not until Jiang Ling pulled her all the way to the middle of the flower sea, and she saw the microphone in his hand, and heard the voice she knew better than anything—
“A-Ning, this year marks the eighth year since we met, and the seventh year since we got together.”
Jiang Ling looked at Pei Ning, the affection in his eyes almost solid enough to be touched.
He said a great many things, beginning from the first time they met, then talking about how Pei Ning had finally accepted his confession, then moving on to all the difficulties they had gone through and overcome together over the years.
Pei Ning listened quietly, and little by little her eyes grew red.
“I’m not a person who likes talking about the future, but the future with you is the exception.” Jiang Ling said. “I hope my future can have you in it.”
He dropped to one knee and lifted the exquisite ring box in his hand. “A-Ning, will you marry me?”
Pei Ning had always been someone with exceptionally stable emotions. No matter how big the matter, she could usually remain expressionless.
But now she could no longer keep control of her face.
She extended a hand, her voice catching with emotion. “I…”
Before she could finish her answer, a sharp shriek suddenly tore across the entire scene—
[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! How can you be doing this to me like this?!]
[Sister Pei, wait, Sister Pei, aaaah! Do you even know that the script you’re actually holding is one of those old-school, melodramatic, body-and-heart-abusing substitute-lover, pregnant-and-running-away storylines, aaaahhhh!!!]
