“Hmm?”
Of course Jiang Lai knew what shipping CP meant.
Even if her way of thinking was a bit out of touch with young people these days, she wasn’t completely detached from the times.
After becoming a young woman, aside from her height and constitution being far inferior to before, Jiang Lai had gained a lot more benefits.
Previously, Jiang Lai hadn’t been interested in these new things, or maybe she’d simply lost the ability to accept anything fresh.
But now, with a younger body, her mind felt more lively as well.
If it had been before, just handling a single matter would leave Jiang Lai feeling physically and mentally exhausted, especially in spirit.
But now, it was as if she had endless energy.
This feeling of being reborn made Jiang Lai think that there was nothing bad about her current body at all.
She could understand the whole CP thing, but what Jiang Lai was curious about was why Xu Ruobing chose her.
If she wanted to get even more popular, it would obviously be better to pair up with someone from the entertainment industry.
After all, she herself was just a nobody.
A look of disbelief flickered in Jiang Lai’s eyes.
She simply couldn’t understand Xu Ruobing’s reason for choosing her.
Was it really just because of that short video?
Before Jiang Lai could voice her question, Xu Ruobing hit her with a nearly fatal question, “If I’m not mistaken, Miss Jiang, you don’t have a job, do you!”
Xu Ruobing thought back to all the times she’d run into Jiang Lai.
Almost every time was on a weekday, so she could pretty much guess that Jiang Lai’s current occupation was a Housewife.
Xu Ruobing didn’t know if it was because she’d watched too many dramas or heard too many melodramatic stories, but even though she didn’t know Jiang Lai very well, just from her own observations, she’d already pieced together a melodramatic marriage story in her mind.
In that story, Jiang Lai was someone who couldn’t get love, was unhappy in her marriage, and was unable to escape— a pitiful soul.
If her marriage was happy, how could Jiang Lai have gone to a bar looking for something ambiguous?
But at the same time, Jiang Lai didn’t seem like a naturally promiscuous person; otherwise, she wouldn’t have just sat alone drinking in silence after arriving at the bar.
If Jiang Lai had taken the initiative to hit on someone in the bar, with her looks, there’d be no need to even wait for her to ask to share a table—she would’ve been scooped up by someone else long before.
Jiang Lai’s body was delicious, full of alluring charm, but her nature was pure.
She was even evasive about her own desires and wants, her shame making her unable to face them directly.
If she were more self-aware, she wouldn’t have chatted so much with Xu Ruobing yesterday.
During yesterday’s conversation, Jiang Lai had been sneakily trying to find out from Xu Ruobing how girls handled their own physiological needs.
Her cautious attitude made it seem like the two of them would be caught and hauled away just for talking about these things, as if a third person would find out—when in reality, it wasn’t anything all that serious.
Yesterday, Xu Ruobing had even wanted to boldly say what she was thinking, to tell Jiang Lai that she could help her with those needs, so she wouldn’t have to ask anymore.
But saying something like that would be too likely to scare Jiang Lai.
Everything had to be taken step by step.
Besides, Xu Ruobing herself still had a bit of that idol persona, afraid that Jiang Lai would think she was some kind of wanton or easy woman, and that everything she did was just because she was interested in Jiang Lai as a person.
Before, it was more about physical concern, but now, she wanted to understand everything about Jiang Lai, and she very much wanted Jiang Lai to stay by her side.
Xu Ruobing didn’t just want a physical connection anymore; she wanted something much, much more intimate.
As long as Jiang Lai clearly refused, Xu Ruobing would never cross the line.
She was always consistent in this.
Her eyes remained pure, as if filled with all the starlight in the world, without a trace of darkness, shining only for Jiang Lai.
Experiencing this kind of doting firsthand, even someone like Jiang Lai, who believed herself to be strong-willed, felt her heart wavering more and more.
This direct, physical attraction to Xu Ruobing, and her complete adoration of her looks— it was a kind of obsession that had nothing to do with the soul, just pure physical infatuation.
Who in this world doesn’t like something beautiful…
You could say that with just this face, Jiang Lai was sure there wasn’t a single person in the world Xu Ruobing couldn’t win over.
If there was, it must be someone Xu Ruobing didn’t like, or simply didn’t care to bother with.
Just meeting her gaze, smelling that cool fragrance wafting from her body, left Jiang Lai feeling bewitched.
She could hear Xu Ruobing’s delicate breaths, see the way she looked at her with such care, and feel her own heart pounding wildly as a result.
But all this ambiguity and infatuation was shattered by the cruel fist of reality when she remembered she was currently unemployed.
“Yes…”
At that moment, Jiang Lai couldn’t help but feel inferior.
Right now, she was just someone who relied on others.
Xu Ruobing could clearly sense Jiang Lai’s drop in mood, and knew that her words had made her feel bad, but it also meant she could finally get to the point.
“Since you don’t have a job, can I sign you? I want to help you debut.”
As Xu Ruobing spoke, she even hummed lightly, her lips bright and fiery red from the earlier intimacy.
Against her pale skin, that splash of red was especially striking, swaying before Jiang Lai’s eyes and irresistibly captivating.
“Can I? I can’t dance, and I can’t sing…”
When it came to debuting, Jiang Lai’s mind was still stuck on girl groups, but that wasn’t what Xu Ruobing meant.
She wanted Jiang Lai to become a lifestyle blogger.
Seeing Jiang Lai’s clueless look, Xu Ruobing patiently and carefully explained the plan she’d been thinking about these past few days.
Whenever she got to a key point, she’d praise her own cleverness and couldn’t help but hum a little tune in delight.
Just the way she hummed was enough to make one’s heart flutter.
Those enticing, rosy lips slowly parted, her voice tender and enchanting, deliberately mixed with a breathy tone that made Jiang Lai’s face flush red.
At this moment, Jiang Lai felt that physical attraction and pleasure were truly terrifying.
The two of them didn’t even have much of an emotional foundation, but whenever she was with Xu Ruobing, her mind kept wandering to strange places.
This kind of direct, physical attraction was just the body and genes making a choice.
To put it more simply, it was just plain lust…
Her heart was like a rogue, greedily coveting Xu Ruobing’s beauty.