“This wine is from my home.”
The sommelier poured a small half-cup of white wine from the decanter into Wang Ziyue’s glass. Wang Ziyue lifted the cup, sniffed it, then took a shallow sip.
She nodded, and only then did the sommelier pour half a cup into Jiang Cheng’s glass as well.
A tiny string of bubbles rose in the crystal-clear cup.
“It’s non-alcoholic.” Wang Ziyue noticed the hesitation in Jiang Cheng’s eyes.
Jiang Cheng mimicked Wang Ziyue’s actions and lightly sipped the pale yellow liquid.
A very smooth mouthfeel, fresh with a slight acidity, followed by a sweet aftertaste.
Jiang Cheng licked her lips.
The corners of Wang Ziyue’s mouth lifted in a faint smile. She waved to the waiter, and the appetizers were soon served.
In a porcelain plate with gold trim sat prosciutto and melon, perfectly portioned for one bite.
Then came escargot baked with garlic butter, tender and bouncy, dancing in the mouth.
The main course was red wine-braised beef. Jiang Cheng had eaten her mom’s version, and while tasting it, she glanced at Wang Ziyue.
That glance made Wang Ziyue set down her knife and fork. She wiped her mouth with a napkin and asked with slight unease.
“Not to your taste?”
“No, it’s delicious.” Jiang Cheng speared another piece. The beef’s beautiful marbling was soaked in rich red wine.
She ate in small bites, not noticing the sauce dripping and leaving a reddish-brown streak at the corner of her mouth.
Wang Ziyue stood up and walked to Jiang Cheng’s side. The girl looked up with her mouth slightly open, her eyes filled with undisguised surprise.
“You got some on your mouth.” Wang Ziyue bent down and wiped Jiang Cheng’s mouth with her own napkin.
Looking at the girl’s stunned gaze, her own eyes darkened. Her sight drifted downward to those thin lips glistening with oil.
Undercurrents surged, like a beast lying in wait.
So close.
Jiang Cheng hurriedly leaned back. The chair legs scraped harshly against the marble floor.
**SCREECH!**
Wang Ziyue snapped awake. She saw the resistance spreading in Jiang Cheng’s eyes.
“Sorry… I spaced out.”
She had been working overtime for two days straight after staying in bed. Wang Ziyue had been spinning like a top.
Yet in this exhausted state, something deep inside her had broken free from its restraints.
*You’re too repressed, Wang Ziyue.*
She sat back down.
The pianist at the piano was now playing a variation.
She glanced toward the center of the hall, irritation showing on her face.
“Would you like us to pause the performance?” A waiter nearby approached thoughtfully.
She had seen the earlier scene. To say she wasn’t shocked would be a lie. President Wang had been rejected?
“No need. What dessert would you like? Mousse? Ice cream… or soufflé? The desserts here are quite good~” She recommended enthusiastically.
“Please give me a hot cocoa.” Jiang Cheng saw the light in Wang Ziyue’s eyes suddenly go out. “I… I just finished mine.”
“What just finished?”
“You know… the thing… that you get too.” Jiang Cheng glared. Wang Ziyue’s slow reaction finally clicked.
“Oh, oh, then… all the things I prepared for tonight…”
“It’s fine.” Jiang Cheng’s lips curved into a faint smile. She sat there quietly, beautiful like a doll.
No, this isn’t how it should be… Wang Ziyue felt this dinner was suffocating. The lively conversation she had imagined never happened.
Jiang Cheng simply enjoyed each dish calmly and offered praise.
But that wasn’t praising her. Wang Ziyue didn’t think she had any “love the house, love the crow” mentality.
Besides, comparing herself to food.
Did she have no pride?
Wang Ziyue recalled picking Jiang Cheng up at the bus stop. Her attitude seemed to change after that. No, even earlier…
But tonight’s meeting gave Wang Ziyue a deeper understanding of this change.
Jiang Cheng was avoiding her—not just physically, but emotionally resisting.
She had sealed herself up again.
“Sister.”
Jiang Cheng’s voice was very sweet, but the flat tone made the sweetness crisp.
Like overly sweet juice diluted with soda water—refreshingly perfect.
Everything about her seemed to fit Wang Ziyue’s heart.
If every investment project were as cute as Jiang Cheng, that would be great.
Wang Ziyue’s thoughts began to wander. Jiang Cheng was secretly observing her too.
Tonight’s Wang Ziyue was truly strange—either spacing out or grinning foolishly, like she had lost her mind.
“Sister?”
“Hm? Yes, yes, did you want to say something?”
Wang Ziyue hadn’t expected Jiang Cheng to speak first. She was still thinking of a topic.
“Do you have anything you want to ask me?”
Jiang Cheng was direct and decisive. Wang Ziyue, on the other hand, hesitated.
She watched the waiter bring in a tray and place the hot cocoa beside Jiang Cheng.
“We need to talk about some things.” Wang Ziyue said to the waiter.
The waiter nodded. Soon, the entire restaurant was left with just the two of them.
“Jiang Jiang, the first time we met, it was just the two of us like this.”
Wang Ziyue’s eyes held only Jiang Cheng.
The two seemed to be at the end of the world, in a secret corner no one passed, whispering words only they could hear.
“Yes, but actually, it wasn’t just two people.”
Wang Ziyue’s pupils suddenly dilated. The person in front of her split, overlapping into shadows on the left and right.
Her guesses, her delusions—all seemed pulled into reality.
The person before her was clearly Jiang Cheng, yet Wang Ziyue saw that slender boy.
“You already guessed, right? But how could something so unbelievable happen? How could this be?!”
Jiang Cheng’s smile was pale and gloomy. Her calm, her facade—torn apart by reality in this moment.
She jumped off the floating board that was Wang Ziyue and sank into the abyss. Her vision blurred.
“Jiang Cheng!” Wang Ziyue suddenly stood and pulled her into an embrace.
**THUMP—THUMP—**
Wang Ziyue’s heartbeat was so clear and strong. Jiang Cheng listened and inexplicably calmed down.
She smelled the woody scent on Wang Ziyue—faint, with a hint of milky fragrance, warm like this hug.
Wang Ziyue had hugged her purely on instinct.
Her mind was still processing Jiang Cheng’s words. The moment she saw tears in Jiang Cheng’s eyes, her body had moved first.
She was reluctant to let go for a moment. The girl’s body was soft, her collagen-filled cheeks buried in Wang Ziyue’s chest. Her exhaled breath passed through the thin summer clothes, turning into countless feathers brushing her heart.
They hugged quietly for a while before Jiang Cheng squirmed.
Wang Ziyue released her. Seeing Jiang Cheng’s red-rimmed eyes after looking up, her heart ached again.
“Jiang Jiang, close your eyes.”
Wang Ziyue’s voice was magical. Jiang Cheng obediently closed her eyes.
She took a clean warm towel and covered them. The cool touch made Jiang Cheng’s eyelashes tremble twice.
“Okay, open your eyes.” Wang Ziyue patted Jiang Cheng’s big bun.
“Let me redo your hair?” She suddenly suggested.
Jiang Cheng hesitated for a few seconds before nodding. She sat with her back to Wang Ziyue, her tied-up hair let down.
Wang Ziyue always carried a small comb in her bag, but now she was stumped. What hairstyle should she do?
“Don’t you have anything else to ask me?”
“Ask what?” Wang Ziyue paused, leaning her face from the side. This time, Jiang Cheng didn’t turn away but looked straight at Wang Ziyue.
Critical hit.
Wang Ziyue pulled back her head and casually continued combing Jiang Cheng’s hair.
“Other things… how I became a girl, why I appeared in your room, and so much more…”
“The things you hid from me before?” Wang Ziyue’s voice lightened considerably. Though still shocked, it was gradually buried under a wave of relief.
For the first time in days, she felt this good (secretly thrilled). The gloom in her heart was swept away by Jiang Cheng’s confession.
“If you want to tell me, of course I’m willing to listen.” Wang Ziyue was a bit smug, but Jiang Cheng realized she really wanted to say it.
Not forced, not out of options… but because she wanted to confide in Wang Ziyue.
That earlier hug had pulled her from the abyss once more. Her body and mind were exposed to the sunlight, no longer wanting to escape.
Clearly the moon, yet burning like the sun.
“I was afraid you couldn’t accept it.”
“…”
“Jiang Jiang, turn around and look at me.”
Jiang Cheng first turned half her face. After meeting Wang Ziyue’s serious gaze, she slowly turned fully.
“What do you think I couldn’t accept? Turning from male to female, or that you hid so much from me?”
Jiang Cheng said nothing. She looked down and fidgeted with her skirt hem.
*Still a child…* Wang Ziyue narrowed her eyes at the small gesture, both amused and exasperated.
“Who are you now?”
“…Jiang Cheng.”
“And originally?”
“Jiang Cheng…?”
“Do you think you’re two different people? Do I see two personalities in you? Is the soul you show me any different?”
The certainty in Wang Ziyue’s eyes calmed Jiang Cheng’s heart a little.
“You’re changing the concept. When I was Jiang Cheng, you clearly disliked me…”
Jiang Cheng wouldn’t admit to holding a grudge. She was just a bit bothered. Yes, just a little.
“That was because!” Wang Ziyue thought of her guesses back then and felt her face burn.
She had thought Jiang Cheng was deceived by that scumbag Jiang Cheng.
“See…”
“In short, there were some special reasons… ahem, I mean, back then I thought maybe your—”
“You thought I was dating Jiang Cheng?” Jiang Cheng’s voice was faint. Things that didn’t make sense before now clicked.
She sighed resentfully. Mom suspected her of early romance, and now Wang Ziyue too.
She really just wanted to study hard.
“The day you appeared before me, you were Jiang Cheng, but that’s just a name representing your identity. Does your personality, your temper, everything inside you change because of a name or appearance?”
Wang Ziyue turned and held up a makeup mirror in front of Jiang Cheng. Her hands hadn’t stopped since earlier. Now, in the mirror, Jiang Cheng had a retro hairstyle.
Somewhat familiar…
“I watched your Juliet performance. You did great.”
Jiang Cheng touched her nose, a bit embarrassed. So Wang Ziyue had styled her hair like back then—though she had worn a wig at the time.
“The line you said—‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet…’ Your appearance and name have changed, but your lovely perfection won’t change a bit.” Wang Ziyue pulled a rose from the bouquet and handed it to Jiang Cheng. “So now, you are this rose.”
“That line was Juliet expressing love…” Jiang Cheng was already convinced.
Wang Ziyue smiled and pinched her nose. “Little kid… I’m starting to suspect you’re into early romance.”
“I just want to study hard.”
“Yes, yes, study hard, improve every day.”
Wang Ziyue watched Jiang Cheng’s cheeks puff up in anger and felt even happier.
The girl had maturity beyond her peers, yet still hid the innocence of her age.
She had probably struck gold.
Jiang Cheng’s phone on the table rang, and so did Wang Ziyue’s.
They each unlocked their phones. Jiang Cheng pointed at the contact name and walked to the other side of the restaurant.
“Hey? Mom, yes… yes, I’m fine. We just chatted and had dinner. Okay, I’ll come down soon. Yes… you go home first.”
Jiang Cheng returned to her seat. Wang Ziyue had just hung up too.
“I was supposed to show my face downstairs earlier. They’re almost done eating. How about your side…?”
“Mom said she’s getting ready to leave too. I told her to go ahead.”
Jiang Cheng had a small selfish wish. She realized she wanted to stay with Wang Ziyue a bit longer.
“Hmm, then wait for me here. I’ll take you home after.”
“Didn’t you want to hear about the things I hid from you…”
“It’s getting late today, but…”
“Hm?”
“Next time, do you want to come to big sister’s house and tell me then?” Wang Ziyue blinked and walked out of the restaurant without waiting for an answer.
Her face exploded red the moment she turned, too flustered to notice Jiang Cheng’s slightly disheveled state.
*What am I doing?* Jiang Cheng thought.
*Oh my god!!*
*What am I doing?! Flirting with an underage high school girl?*
Wang Ziyue stood in front of the elevator, so embarrassed she wanted to shove her head into the nearby trash bin.