Chapter 29 – Someone You Can Rely On

Because they had to wake up at dawn to do the bride’s makeup and styling, and traveling back and forth from the Friendship Home might make them late, everyone decided to sleep at the bride’s home for the night.

Shang Que, Ning Sheng, and Lin Jinyi shared one room. The three male guests were supposed to share another room, but Qi Sheng didn’t mind Ji Jingchuan’s betrayal in the slightest. Despite Brother Chuan playing mind games with him earlier, he still felt connected to him and enthusiastically invited Ji Jingchuan to share his bed.

After putting up the last of the balloons, everyone slowly dispersed. The once bustling house quieted down as night deepened. Moonlight streamed in through the glass windows, casting a silvery veil across the floor. At the center of the room, the soft double bed rustled as someone turned over.

Lin Jinyi opened her eyes and asked with concern, “We set an alarm, right?”

“We did, we did,” Ning Sheng picked up the phone beside her and checked. “I set three alarms between four and four-thirty. Even if we miss them, someone’s bound to knock on the door and wake us up.”

Lin Jinyi replied with an “Oh,” but she still couldn’t fall asleep. After tossing and turning for a while, she tentatively asked, “Why aren’t you asleep either?”

“I’m a bit nervous and excited. Can’t fall asleep.” Ning Sheng lowered her voice. “Did Shang Que fall asleep? Are we being too loud?”

“No, I’m on my phone.” Shang Que poked her head out from under the air-conditioned blanket, the dim light from her screen still glowing in her hand.

Lin Jinyi was shocked. “You’re hiding under the covers in the dark playing with your phone? Aren’t you afraid you’ll ruin your eyes?”

“It’s fine. I turned on eye protection mode.”

Ning Sheng asked curiously, “Does that even help?”

“Of course it helps,” Shang Que said seriously. “It’s like how ice cream is cold, so it has no calories. You can eat it without worry.”

“…So it’s all psychological, huh?” Lin Jinyi reached over and covered her phone. “Stop playing. Since none of us can sleep, how about we chat for a bit?”

Shang Que played along. “What should we talk about?”

“Do you have someone you like?”

“Goodnight. I’m going to sleep.”

“Shang Que!” Lin Jinyi turned over and shook her arm. Seeing she got no reaction, she turned to someone else. “Ning Sheng, what about you?”

Ning Sheng rolled herself up in the blanket. “Ah, so sleepy. Going to sleep now. Goodnight.”

“?” Lin Jinyi puffed out her cheeks, then suddenly said, “I was going to share my romantic experience, but since you’re all sleeping—”

Before she could finish, both of them turned back in unison. “Go ahead.”

“…,” Lin Jinyi originally just wanted to tease them, but now with two pairs of eyes staring intently at her, she had no choice but to speak. She thought for a moment. “I wouldn’t call it a romantic experience, exactly. It was more like… one-sided feelings.”

Ning Sheng was surprised. “You actually experienced unrequited love?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Lin Jinyi was a bit embarrassed and annoyed. “You’re not allowed to tell anyone!”

“We won’t breathe a word.”

Only after getting their promises did she continue, “It was probably back when I first entered the industry. I was staying at a hotel with the crew. One night, the male lead knocked on my door and hinted that if I wanted to make it in this industry, I’d have to accept certain unspoken rules. I was hot-tempered back then and slapped him. He got mad and kept trying to drag me into the room. Fortunately, someone from the crew next door was staying on the same floor, a guy…”

Lin Jinyi paused. “It was a much more famous male actor who happened to be passing by. He saw what was happening and stepped in to help me. Otherwise, that guy might really have succeeded.”

Ning Sheng suddenly caught on. “Was it your first drama? Didn’t the male lead get blacklisted later?”

“Yeah, my dad was the one who made that happen,” Lin Jinyi sneered. “That guy really didn’t have a brain. If my dad hadn’t invested tens of millions into the production, how else would I have landed the second female lead role straight out of the gate?”

Ning Sheng was momentarily stunned by her frankness, then asked curiously, “So… do you still like that person?”

Lin Jinyi fell silent. After a long pause, she murmured, “I guess I don’t like him that much anymore.”

Shang Que had already guessed it was Lu Zhixu when Lin Jinyi said she had a one-sided crush. In the original storyline, the reasons were never explained, so Lin Jinyi was portrayed like a brainless and spiteful side character, constantly causing trouble and sabotaging the main couple’s relationship.

But reality clearly wasn’t that one-dimensional. The more Shang Que experienced, the more she realized that many things couldn’t be summed up neatly in a single book. Just like now— the female lead, the supposed villainess, and herself, the villain’s sister— were all peacefully lying on the same bed, talking like close girlfriends with nothing to hide.

So was Ji Jingchuan’s tragic end really his punishment for being a villain?
Shang Que couldn’t help but recall the dreams she’d had before: the voice altered by distortion, the calls that never connected, the shattered photo frame, and the word that came from his mouth—

“Jiejie (Big Sister).”

Qi Sheng sat on the window sill, taking a sip of his Wangzai milk. His childish face was filled with exaggerated sorrow. “Brother Chuan, I feel really sad.”

Ji Jingchuan crouched beside him and casually asked, “But didn’t you say your sister always steals your snacks, makes you do chores, and bullies you?”

“She’s my sister! If she doesn’t steal my snacks, who else should she steal from? If she doesn’t make me work, who else should she make work? If she doesn’t bully me, who else is there to bully?” Qi Sheng snapped, then countered indignantly, “Don’t tell me your sister didn’t do the same to you?”

Ji Jingchuan thought for a moment. When they were kids, Shang Que did kind of exploit him like that, but those memories had grown so fuzzy. Now, all he could remember clearly were the good things she had done for him.

When their parents fought, she held his hand tightly and said, “I’m here.”

When he had nightmares, she would pat his back and sing him to sleep.

Scene after scene— all of them were her kindness.
Even the memory of her getting into the car with their mother without looking back while he cried behind them was fading. Replacing it was her smiling face as she said before leaving, “Don’t be sad, Chuanchuan. We’ll see each other again really soon.”

Even if that “really soon” ended up being over ten years, Ji Jingchuan now held not a shred of resentment in his heart.

When he didn’t respond, Qi Sheng huffed, “You just don’t get it!”

Ji Jingchuan didn’t argue. “Maybe I’ll understand when I’m younger.”

“You don’t get it—wahhh—I’m going to drink away my sorrow!” Qi Sheng tilted the can in his hand, but not a single drop of milk came out. He cried even harder, “Wahhh I want to drink myself into oblivion!”

Ji Jingchuan’s head throbbed from the noise. He quickly pulled out a spray bottle. “Okay, okay, drink—here, use this.”

Qi Sheng looked through tear-filled eyes. “Isn’t this pepper spray?”

“Nope. Open your mouth.”

Qi Sheng obeyed, and Ji Jingchuan sprayed twice into his open mouth. A sweet and tangy taste hit his tongue.

“It’s a sour fruit drink,” Qi Sheng smacked his lips and forgot to cry. “Tastes good.”

Even though he didn’t get to “drink himself into oblivion,” after staying up all night, Qi Sheng had no energy left to cause trouble the next day. He behaved obediently and stood to the side while the bridesmaids led the traditional door games. The atmosphere was lively and fun.

“For the final challenge, you have to say the correct phrase to get in!”

The groomsmen outside shouted, “Open sesame!”

“Nope, try again!”

“Little bunny, open the door, Mommy’s home!”

A high-pitched voice made everyone laugh. One of the bridesmaids slapped the door in amusement. “Trying to promote yourself a generation? None of you are getting in!”

“Sorry, sis, we know we were wrong!”

“Wait, I got it, I got it!” someone yelled cleverly. “Red envelopes incoming!”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a flurry of red envelopes flew in from under the door. Everyone scrambled to grab them.

The door was opened, and the groom came in smoothly. After a round of traditional rituals, Qi Sheng carried his sister on his back down the stairs. Though he was only a grade schooler with a slim frame, he walked steadily, one step at a time.

The wedding car waited at the entrance. Once Qi Lan got in, she patted his head and leaned down to whisper something into his ear.

Qi Sheng nodded obediently. Completely different from his tantrum the day before, he even forced a smile and called out, “Brother-in-law!”

But as soon as the car drove off and the crowd dispersed, Qi Sheng hid from the cameras—
and suddenly, tears streamed down his cheeks.

Everyone else was busy with other things. Only Ji Jingchuan, who had stayed by his side the entire time, noticed.

“Why are you crying again?”

“I won’t be my sister’s only servant anymore,” Qi Sheng sobbed.

Ji Jingchuan patted his shoulder to comfort him. “Isn’t your brother-in-law pretty obedient? Just think of it as having another servant to help take care of your sister.”

“How is that the same?!” Qi Sheng cried in protest. “How can you trust an outsider to serve her properly? You’ll understand when something like this happens to you.”

“I was being nice and you’re cursing me now, huh?” Ji Jingchuan frowned in annoyance. “I won’t let something like that happen to me.”

---

Ji Jingchuan had an awards ceremony to attend overseas. As soon as the variety show ended, his manager packed him off and put him on a plane. After more than ten hours of travel, plus rest time, the ceremony, and the celebration banquet, the entire process didn’t wrap up until Tuesday.

That night, as he was packing his luggage at the hotel, preparing to return to the country, he suddenly received a WeChat message from Shang Que.

[Shang Que]: Did you see the notice from the production team?

Before Ji Jingchuan could ask what notice she meant, Shang Que had already forwarded the message to him.

[Shang Que]: For the next episode, each group has to invite a friend to join the variety show. But since the filming will be extended to three days and two nights, most of my friends are already on set filming and can’t spare that much time. So, can you ask one of your friends?

[Shang Que]: Wait a minute, you do have friends, right?

What kind of question was that?!

Ji Jingchuan was in the middle of stuffing his trophy into his suitcase and didn’t have a hand free to type, so he directly sent a dissatisfied voice message:

“Of course I have friends.”

[Shang Que]: Then I’ll leave it to you. That guy Qin Xian from your group seems nice. If he has time, he could come along.

Qin Xian?

Ji Jingchuan immediately recalled how flattering Qin Xian had been toward Shang Que during their amusement park trip. Alarms blared in his head. He flatly refused:

“He doesn’t have time!”

Qin Xian was absolutely out of the question. That guy’s intentions toward Shang Que were far too obvious. If anyone was going, it had to be someone trustworthy.

Someone trustworthy…

Ji Jingchuan searched through his mental list and suddenly thought of a name.

[Username: The Universe’s Number One Genius]: Bro!

[The Universe’s Number One Genius]: We need to invite a friend to the variety show for the next episode. Are you free?

[Jing Ya]: I’m free.

[The Universe’s Number One Genius]: It’s from Friday to Sunday, three days and two nights.

[Jing Ya]: No problem.

[The Universe’s Number One Genius]: By the way, my partner is Shang Que.

[Jing Ya]: Is she the “sister” you mentioned before?

[The Universe’s Number One Genius]: Yeah, but don’t tell her I said that. She hasn’t acknowledged me as her little brother yet.

[Jing Ya]: Got it.

[Jing Ya]: Do you two have a conflict?

[The Universe’s Number One Genius]: It’s complicated. Hard to explain in just a few sentences. But Bro, no matter what, don’t dislike her just because of me. Shang Que just has a bit of a temper sometimes. Don’t take it personally.

[Jing Ya]: Don’t worry.

[The Universe’s Number One Genius]: Bro, you’re the best! >’o’<