Chapter 39: Come to My Place Tonight

As the spotlight on stage lit up, the noisy audience in the theater instantly fell silent.

A playful dance tune ushered in the actors from backstage. 

Although Wang Ziyue’s gaze was fixed straight ahead, her mind was on the person seated behind her.

She tilted her head slightly; the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of pink hair.

Jiang Cheng was resting her chin on her arm, watching the stage. 

Whenever the plot amused her, the corners of her mouth curved into a wide smile.

“Chengcheng, look, isn’t that Yingying?”

Chen Ting suddenly leaned over and whispered in Jiang Cheng’s ear.

Only then did Jiang Cheng notice the girl in the corner. 

This time, Zhou Qingying’s appearance was completely different from her usual glamorous style.

She looked very plain, even a little dirty and disheveled.

Only those bright, sparkling eyes were shining. 

She was like the natural ruler of this stage, effortlessly drawing everyone’s attention.

Even Wang Ziyue stopped letting her mind wander; she watched quietly.

“Yingying really has talent… sigh.”

Jiang Cheng didn’t know what Chen Ting’s final sigh meant. 

She held back her curiosity and continued watching the performance.

In the script, Zhou Qingying played a girl from a broken family, and many scenes revolved around her and her mother.

For some reason, Jiang Cheng felt a sudden pang in her heart. 

She realized she was being led by Zhou Qingying’s acting and was resonating deeply with the protagonist.

The whole play wasn’t very long, but Jiang Cheng felt profoundly shaken.

She and Chen Ting were about to go backstage to see Zhou Qingying when they spotted Wang Ziyue standing outside the exit aisle, looking in their direction.

“I’ll go over for a bit.” 

Jiang Cheng pointed toward Wang Ziyue.

Chen Ting waved teasingly, not even asking who the woman was.

“I have something tomorrow; I’ll probably need to go out of town.”

Tomorrow was the day they had agreed to visit Wang Ziyue’s house.

“It’s fine; we can reschedule.”

“Reschedule…” 

Wang Ziyue’s expression looked conflicted. 

She stared at Jiang Cheng for a moment.

“Are you really busy the whole time?” 

Jiang Cheng tilted her head as she spoke; a strand of hair fell over her mouth. 

Wang Ziyue reached out gently and tucked it away for her.

“It’s not that I’m busy.” 

Wang Ziyue’s pause made Jiang Cheng’s heart skip half a beat. 

“I just want to invite you sooner. How about tonight?”

“Ah…”

The way Jiang Cheng drew out the sound made Wang Ziyue’s brow furrow slightly; she thought the next words would be a refusal.

“I need to check with my mom first. Let me ask her.”

“Okay… okay…”

Jiang Cheng somehow agreed. 

At first she really had wanted to refuse, but when she saw Wang Ziyue’s brows droop, she changed her mind.

She sent a WeChat message to her mother. 

A little while later, Jiang Xiaoyue called directly.

“What do you mean you’re going to President Wang’s house tonight—are you staying overnight?”

“I’m not sure. She just invited me to go over tonight.”

“Is she right beside you?”

“Mhm. She came to watch the performance too.”

Jiang Xiaoyue was currently standing in the emergency stairwell, leaning against the railing and rubbing the spot between her brows.

What a worrywart.

“Give me the phone.” 

Wang Ziyue noticed Jiang Cheng’s hesitation.

Jiang Cheng didn’t think much of it and obediently handed it over.

“Hello, Madam Jiang.”

Alarm bells rang in Jiang Xiaoyue’s head; her daughter’s voice had suddenly turned into her boss’s.

“Ah… hello, President Wang.”

Wang Ziyue gave a soft laugh. 

Compared to her usual tone in meetings, her voice now carried an indescribable gentleness.

Jiang Xiaoyue searched her mind for a moment and finally recalled the term for this kind of voice.

Clip-on mic voice.

“I’d like to invite Jiang Cheng to my home tonight. Would that be convenient?”

“Er, well…”

“It is rather sudden. How about this—I’ll drive her home after dinner.”

“Mmm…” 

Jiang Xiaoyue was still hesitant, but all her tangled feelings finally melted into a sigh. 

“Alright then. Sorry to trouble you, President Wang.”

“No trouble at all. Jiang Cheng is very well-behaved.”

Of course I know my own daughter is well-behaved. 

Jiang Xiaoyue pouted. 

She covered her eyes, pretending everything was just a dream.

In the pitch-black darkness behind her eyelids, a group of delinquent youths who always loitered around the neighborhood suddenly appeared—dyed straw-yellow hair, riding ghost-fire bikes.

Why am I thinking of those punks?! 

Bad luck!

Jiang Xiaoyue’s heart clenched. 

She slapped her cheeks and walked back toward the office.

“Hey, Group Leader Jiang, where did you disappear to? Director Chen just sent afternoon tea to the marketing department as a reward.” 

Ma Lin cheerfully brought over a pastry.

A golden, bright-yellow egg-yolk pastry.

Jiang Xiaoyue suddenly lost her appetite.

In the backstage resting room, Zhou Qingying was struggling to remove the wig from her head. 

She took off the hairnet and gently massaged her scalp to relax it.

“Where’s Chengcheng?”

She looked at Chen Ting, who had just walked in, through the mirror.

“Isn’t it enough that I came to see you? Chengcheng was called away just now by a woman with blonde hair—super pretty.”

“Oh…”

So that was President Wang. 

Zhou Qingying recalled how Jiang Cheng addressed her.

“Sister?”

“Are you calling me?” 

Chen Ting’s head snapped up. 

She had been stuffing jelly into her mouth; her cheeks puffed out.

“Get lost.” 

Zhou Qingying cursed.

Chen Ting looked baffled, unsure why her best friend was suddenly so angry.

“Don’t take it out on me just because you didn’t see Chengcheng.”

“Yeah, right now I really want to see Chengcheng.” 

Zhou Qingying stuck out her tongue—only for the resting room door to be pushed open the very next second.

Jiang Cheng stood frozen in the doorway; she had just heard someone call her name outside.

“You were calling me?”

“Yes! Our Yingying missed you so much. Perfect timing.”

“I didn’t…” Zhou Qingying felt a little embarrassed.

Jiang Cheng walked into the resting room. 

The others were still outside taking group photos; Zhou Qingying had come in first to change.

“Of course it’s normal to miss me—I’m Yingying’s number-one fan. Your performance just now was amazing!”

“Really?! Mo—uh, Chengcheng.”

“Yingying, are you still in character?”

“Maybe…” Zhou Qingying’s face flushed red and pale in turns, while Chen Ting beside them suddenly fell silent.

Jiang Cheng’s heart stirred. 

She was about to say something when there was another knock at the door.

“Yingying… oh, Jiang and Tingting, you’re all here.”

Unexpectedly, it was Principal Zhou.

“Uncle…”

“Hello, Principal.” 

Jiang Cheng glanced at Zhou Qingying—she hadn’t known the principal was her uncle.

“Hello, hello. How was today’s performance? I had urgent business and couldn’t make it in time.”

Principal Zhou had rushed over after dealing with the Wu Yi incident, but he was still late.

“It was great! Yingying was especially amazing today!” 

Chen Ting slung an arm around Zhou Qingying’s shoulders.

“Good, good. Your father will definitely be happy when he hears.”

After Principal Zhou said that, the atmosphere turned subtly awkward. 

Jiang Cheng didn’t know the reason behind it.

But soon the topic changed, and Principal Zhou began asking about Zhou Qingying’s training camp.

“You’ll be very busy this summer vacation. Have you decided on your target school?”

“I still want to apply to the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts…”

“Hm… alright. I’ll talk to your father about it. Don’t worry, just focus on your training.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Zhou Qingying smiled, but to Jiang Cheng it looked a little forced.

“Oh, right—Jiang, you’ve only recently transferred here. Are you settling in alright?”

“It’s good. Yingying and Tingting have helped me a lot.”

“That’s great—helping each other is what classmates should do. If you ever have any difficulties with studies or life, feel free to come to my office. Do your best on the final exams~”

Principal Zhou beamed, as if he could already see Haide High taking first place.

“I will…”

“Good, good. I still have things to do. Yingying, come to Uncle’s house for dinner tonight.”

“Okay.” Zhou Qingying nodded.

Principal Zhou waved with a smile and hurried off again.

“It’s getting late; we should probably head out too. Yingying, how are you getting home?”

“The school buses will take everyone back to school first.”

“I’ll ride with the instructor’s car. I need to stop by home first anyway.”

“Alright, then Chengcheng and I will head off~”

“Bye-bye.”

“See you at school.”

When Jiang Cheng and Chen Ting stepped outside, students were already gathering in small groups.

“Surprised?”

“Uh… a little.”

Normally, Zhou Qingying never acted particularly special at school.

“Sigh, Yingying and I have known each other since elementary school; our families used to live across from each other. Actually… she’s had it pretty rough.”

Chen Ting stopped there—probably touching on Zhou Qingying’s privacy—and said no more.

Jiang Cheng understood. Some things were only for Zhou Qingying herself to tell.

The two tacitly dropped the subject. 

Chen Ting started talking about final exams again; she had already begun reviewing and wanted to drag Jiang Cheng to the library over the weekend.

“Didn’t the principal just say to rest properly when it’s time to rest?”

Politely declined.

When Jiang Cheng got off the bus, she immediately noticed the black SUV parked in the corner of the tree-lined avenue. 

She couldn’t be more familiar with that license plate.

“My mom is coming to pick me up soon. Chengcheng, are you going home alone? Want a ride?”

“No need. My sister is here; I’ll go with her.”

“Oh~ Is your sister as pretty as you?” 

Chen Ting’s interest was piqued.

“Pretty. Very pretty.” 

The corners of Jiang Cheng’s mouth lifted.

The summer heat seemed to melt away beneath that refreshing smile.