After Appearing On A Marriage Reality Show, The Top Star Cried and Says She Doesn't Want a Divorce - Chapter 28

Jiang Banxia shuddered, letting out a strange shriek, as if thousands of ants were crawling over her skin.

She turned to Zhou Qiutong and exclaimed, “Help me! Can Li Tang really sound that gentle?”

“I’m not entirely sure either.”

“But Xiao Yi is so adorable!”

Still resentful about Li Tang secretly turning off her alarm, Yan Mengyi immediately bowed to everyone, apologizing profusely.

“I’ll wash up right away and come help.”

Li Tang refused, insisting, “No need. Just get dressed and come down for breakfast.”

Yan Mengyi ran her fingers through her hair, the light in her eyes dimming slightly as she pressed her lips together, a hint of frustration crossing her face.

“Didn’t you prepare gifts for everyone?” Li Tang reminded her. “Now’s the perfect time to grab them. Otherwise, you’ll forget later.”

“Right.”

The gifts were meant to be given upon arrival, but yesterday’s heat had nearly left them all delirious. By the time they remembered the gifts, it was already late at night.

“A gift? Is there one for me?” Jiang Banxia blinked her starry eyes.

“Everyone gets one,” Yan Mengyi said.

“Originally, I wanted to tell Xiao Yi to just make two hairpins for IGP and skip you and Artist Zhou. But she wouldn’t listen,” Li Tang said, exasperated yet fond. “She insisted that since you and Artist Zhou are my friends, you must get one too.”

“Xiao Yi’s the best! How long have I known you, you ungrateful scoundrel?”

“Do you know how much strain her crafts put on her eyes? She works from dawn till dusk…”

“I wanted to give everyone a gift,” Yan Mengyi said, then dashed back to her bedroom to change and fetch the presents.

Pei Nalian and Jin Youshu also went back to quickly shower and change into workout clothes.

While showering, Pei Nalian deliberately left the door ajar and called to Jin Youshu, “Honey, could you bring in my clothes?”

Jin Youshu walked to the door to hand over the clothes, but Pei Nalian suddenly pulled her inside.

The bathroom door closed, and the sound of water continued to echo.

Pei Nalian, wrapped in a towel, complained while drying her hair.

“I really underestimated Yan Mengyi. She acts like this sweet, passive, and somewhat clueless homebody, but she’s actually so calculating. She prepared gifts in advance without telling anyone, leaving us completely unprepared.”

“It does seem a bit awkward,” Jin Youshu agreed. “Last night, Artist Jiang and Artist Zhou gave her face masks, but we didn’t bring anything. It’s a bit rude. We’ll have to bring something next time we film.”

*****

By the time they returned to the dining table, sandwiches had already been arranged.

Li Tang had also prepared a steaming cup of coffee for each person.

“Is this all black coffee?” Jiang Banxia asked, trying to negotiate. “Could you add a bit of sugar to mine?”

“These beans are from a friend who brought them back from Saint Helena Island. Sugar? What are you trying to do?” Li Tang bluntly refused Jiang Banxia’s request and urged her to savor the coffee.

Jiang Banxia stared at the thick, dark liquid in her cup, her eyebrows furrowing involuntarily.

Yan Mengyi pushed the gifts she had prepared toward the group. The velvet boxes concealed their contents.

Jiang Banxia was the first to open her box and let out a sharp exclamation.

“Goodness! Xiao Yi! Did you make this? It’s stunning!”

Zhou Qiutong opened her box and expressed equal astonishment.

Pei Nalian and Jin Youshu took their seats. Pei Nalian had already prepared a polite smile.

But the moment she saw the gift, her heart was completely captivated. Her admiration and emotion were entirely genuine.

The gifts were handmade hairpins, each shaped like a flower. Yan Mengyi had carefully crafted each one to reflect the recipient’s personality.

“What’s this?”

“Thread-Wrapped Flowers.”

This was a traditional craft that couldn’t be mass-produced and required meticulous handwork. The intricate design and delicate wrapping of the thread created a shimmering, silk-like sheen that shifted with the angle of light, skillfully blending ancient techniques with modern aesthetics in a restrained yet exquisite manner, like a finely detailed painting.

Seeing the delight on everyone’s faces, Yan Mengyi’s anxious heart finally settled.

“Time was tight, so I gathered interviews of everyone online and designed different styles for each of you based on my intuition. I’m glad you like them.”

“Your hands are so skilled,” Jiang Banxia said. “I once worked on a fantasy drama with a famous stylist, but after she finished my makeup, I was dumbfounded. It was so plain and lifeless, people might have thought I’d been dragged in from a funeral.”

Zhou Qiutong cleared her throat. Everything they said could be used against them later if Mo Zhenyi wanted to, and the stylist Jiang Banxia was criticizing was still active in the industry. There was no need to offend her.

“Everyone has different tastes,” Zhou Qiutong said. “But Xiao Yi, your work really touches anyone who sees it.”

They carefully placed their boxes on the other side of the table to avoid the food smells before starting breakfast.

As members of a girl group, Pei Nalian and Jin Youshu drank black coffee like water.

Yan Mengyi took a small sip of black coffee and her face instantly twisted.

Li Tang discreetly pushed the sugar toward Yan Mengyi.

Zhou Qiutong asked Li Tang while eating, “I remember you couldn’t cook before. When did you learn?”

“You couldn’t cook before?” Yan Mengyi asked, biting into her sandwich, her eyes filled with confusion.

That December, the weather was damp and cold. After a twelve-hour flight, Li Tang arrived at Berkeley in the early morning to be met at the airport by Yan Mengyi, whose face was cold and distant.

It was a cold day, and the weather in Berkeley seemed to always be like this.

Li Tang didn’t know how long Yan Mengyi had been waiting. When she took her luggage from Yan Mengyi, her icy fingers touched Yan Mengyi’s hand.

She walked forward alone, shoving her other hand into her pocket to warm it up. Only after warming her hand did she take Yan Mengyi’s hand and ask, almost reproachfully, “Why did you come?”

“You haven’t replied to my messages for two weeks. I came to see you because I was worried about you.” Yan Mengyi looked at Li Tang’s dark circles under her eyes, her heart aching.

At that time, they didn’t have much money. After Li Tang married Yan Mengyi, they had completely cut off ties with their families.

They rented a cramped bedroom near the school. The bed was so small that it creaked when both of them lay on it. The dim, damp, foreign air seemed to have a completely different smell.

The familiar, beloved scent of Yan Mengyi’s lover brought her comfort, and she closed her eyes.

The long journey had been exhausting for Yan Mengyi, who dreaded traveling. She slept for a long time.

When she woke up, Li Tang had brought a sandwich to her bedside.

“You flew twelve hours to see me in economy class, barely able to move,” Li Tang said. “Taking you to a fast-food joint now would be really unfair.”

“So you learned to cook the day Xiao Yi went to find you?”

“Sort of. White people’s food isn’t hard to make,” Li Tang said. “Except for the first few eggs I burned, everything else was pretty simple.”

As if remembering something, Li Tang added to the camera, “I didn’t waste the burned eggs—I ate them myself.”

“That’s so romantic.”

“Twelve hours isn’t too bad,” Pei Nalian chimed in. “International flights that long are normal. For a while, Youshu and I were separated by work and often had these long flights. But back then, knowing I’d see her soon made the fatigue fade.”

“That’s your problem. I don’t want Xiao Yi to be so tired,” Li Tang said, cutting off Pei Nalian.

Besides, Yan Mengyi, someone with social anxiety and no sense of direction, had planned her first solo trip to a foreign country all by herself.

Li Tang didn’t even want to imagine how helpless Yan Mengyi must have felt back then.

“We were young back then. Being young is so good,” Jiang Banxia said, then suddenly stopped, sniffed the air, and leaned against Yan Mengyi’s shoulder. “I just smelled something fragrant. It wasn’t coffee. Your scent is so unique.”

“Really?” Yan Mengyi pinched the fabric of her shoulder and sniffed. “It’s probably just the incense.”

“What brand is it? I think I’ve smelled it before.”

“I don’t think it’s sold anywhere. Senior Sister made it herself.”

“But this scent is so distinctive. I’m sure I’ve smelled it before. I definitely wouldn’t forget it.”

“I remember you mentioning a certain scent when you were on a variety show with Tangtang before,” Yan Mengyi said.

“Huh! Now that you mention it, I think I remember.” Jiang Banxia finished eating quickly and picked up her phone to scroll through her photo album.

She found a screenshot of a video call.

Zhou Qiutong leaned over to look, her expression immediately tensing. “Why… why did you save this?”

“I was only gone for a week for work, and someone missed me so much they were in tears. Of course I had to capture it!”

Jiang Banxia patted Zhou Qiutong’s hair.

“Good girl. You really looked adorable when you were crying. And now I remember, I did smell this scent when I went into Tangtang’s room that day.”

Jin Youshu leaned over to look as well. As if she’d noticed something, she zoomed in on a part of the photo.

“This hotel can prepare different pillows according to guests’ requests, but this pillowcase looks weird. It doesn’t match their usual style.”

Yan Mengyi glanced over and immediately flushed, shooting Li Tang an incredulous look.

Li Tang avoided her gaze, turned off Jiang Banxia’s phone, and handed it back.

“Focus on eating.”

Zhou Qiutong grinned mischievously.

Jin Youshu and Pei Nalian were completely lost. “What’s going on?”

Li Tang coughed a couple more times, but still couldn’t stop Zhou Qiutong from talking.

“Do you know what a ‘comfort object’ is?”

Pei Nalian shook her head, showing she had no idea.

“A comfort object is a term used online. In psychology, it’s called a ‘comfort object’—something people, especially children, use to reduce anxiety and fear. For example, some kids really love their stuffed animals and even take them on trips when they’re teenagers.”

“Before, I really thought I was immature,” Jiang Banxia said. “But when I think that even someone as amazing as Tangtang needs to smell Xiao Yi’s nightgown to fall asleep, I feel like I’m pretty amazing myself.”

“You.” Li Tang picked up a cherry tomato, pretending to throw it at Jiang Banxia to shut her up, but then slowly relented to avoid wasting food.

Pei Nalian and Jin Youshu watched Li Tang and Yan Mengyi across the table perform a comedic face-changing act. Both were focused on eating, but their pale faces gradually flushed red from the bottom up.

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