After Secretly Marrying the Top Celebrity, I Fell in Love - Chapter 31

In the spacious study, Ye Manqing sat quietly at the office desk.

Her dark green shirt was without a single wrinkle, the cuffs were rolled up, revealing her slender, fair wrists. On her left wrist was a thin gold-banded ladies’ wristwatch.

The gold watch was simple yet luxurious, serving both as a timepiece and a fashion accessory.

The woman slowly drank her milk, her lips gradually stained with the milky scent. Before long, the glass was empty.

Ye Manqing did not call Yu Tang right away to inform her of her decision. Instead, she planned to wait until Yu Tang had met with Xia Xinglu’s manager tomorrow.

Ye Manqing wanted to see just how determined Xia Xinglu was to be with Ruan Yun and whether she was worth Ruan Yun fighting for.

Love is a matter between two people. When the road ahead is difficult, if one person succumbs to the pressure and retreats first, it might not be a bad thing for the other to see reality clearly sooner.

By the time she finished the glass of milk, Ye Manqing had not only figured out how to handle Ruan Yun’s trending topic but also how to take the next step to close the distance between herself and Bai Yiyan.

Getting up, Ye Manqing took the empty glass out of the study and went straight to the kitchen on the first floor. After cleaning the glass, she placed it upside down on the drying rack.

The glass was clean and translucent, with many sparkling water droplets clinging to the inner wall. The droplets rolled down the inner wall of the glass, one by one, dripping down.

Upstairs in the master bedroom, Bai Yiyan was still awake. She must have slept too much during the day, so now she couldn’t fall asleep.

After suddenly waking up, Bai Yiyan found no one beside her on the pillow and saw that it was almost midnight. So, Bai Yiyan went to the kitchen to heat up a cup of milk, thinking of taking it to Ye Manqing.

Indeed, Ye Manqing was in the study.

Separated by a door, Bai Yiyan heard Ye Manqing on the phone.

Bai Yiyan stood by the door with the tray for a while until the sound of the phone call stopped. Only then did Bai Yiyan knock on the study door.

After delivering the milk, Bai Yiyan returned directly to the bedroom.

The bedroom was quiet, with the air conditioning consistently maintained at the most comfortable temperature for the human body—twenty-six degrees Celsius.

Bai Yiyan was wearing a moon-white silk pajama set. Her soft, dark hair was draped over both sides of her chest. She leaned back against the headboard, reading the script in her hand with her eyes downcast.

In the afternoon, Bai Yiyan received a call from Zhang Mingxiu, who not only expressed concern for her health but also informed her of the start date for joining the crew, which was set for three days later.

Bai Yiyan had already read the script completely more than five times. She had long memorized all the lines for the second female lead role in the script.

This opportunity was too hard-won for Bai Yiyan, so she had to work harder than others. Memorizing lines was only one of the basic qualities of an actor.

The key was how to thoroughly understand a role and perceive the character itself through the text.

Bai Yiyan was not from an acting background; she hadn’t even gone to university. She relied entirely on her own exploration in acting, summarizing experiences from the various extra roles she had played.

Fortune favored her; in terms of acting, Bai Yiyan was more naturally gifted than many professionally trained actors. She was quick to learn everything and had extremely high comprehension.

Besides talent, Bai Yiyan was also very resilient. Talent combined with acquired effort contributed to Bai Yiyan’s increasingly good acting skills.

Bai Yiyan was engrossed in reading the script and didn’t even notice when Ye Manqing entered the bedroom.

“It’s so late, why aren’t you sleeping?” Ye Manqing went straight to the bed and sat sideways on the edge. Her gaze first fell on the script in Bai Yiyan’s hand, then she looked up at Bai Yiyan.

“Still reading the script.”

Ye Manqing’s tone was calm and gentle, without any hint of blame. But the meaning of her words was clearly to tell Bai Yiyan to stop reading the script and get some rest early.

Bai Yiyan obediently closed the script, met Ye Manqing’s eyes, and her lips parted slightly: “I won’t read it anymore.”

Ye Manqing reached out to Bai Yiyan, her intention clear.

“…” Bai Yiyan paused, then handed over the script.

Ye Manqing also had the script for Nine Heavens because she was specially invited to play a role in the drama. Her part was small and estimated to take less than a week to film.

Ye Manqing took the script, placed it on the bedside table, and then also placed her phone on top of the script.

She did not place her phone face down but openly kept the screen facing up.

Ye Manqing: “Director Zhang called me this afternoon. He must have called you too, right?”

Bai Yiyan nodded lightly: “Mhm.”

Ye Manqing suddenly changed the subject and asked straightforwardly: “Yiyan, what are you planning to do with the apartment you rented?”

Bai Yiyan was momentarily speechless by the sudden question.

Ye Manqing: “You’ll be in Hengdian filming for four months this time. Although four months’ rent isn’t much money, it’s still a waste for no one to live there.”

Bai Yiyan frowned slightly, not immediately understanding what Ye Manqing meant by those words. She still kept silent, quietly waiting for Ye Manqing to continue.

Ye Manqing’s snow-fox eyes gazed at Bai Yiyan, and she said sincerely: “Yiyan, move in and live with me.”

“…!” Bai Yiyan’s breath hitched, and her two long, slender eyelashes trembled slightly under the light.

Ye Manqing: “We are legal wives; living together is normal. Actually, I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time, but I never found the right opportunity.”

Now, Ye Manqing felt the time was right, so she proactively proposed the idea of “cohabitation” to Bai Yiyan.

Bai Yiyan was a bit hesitant, and her lips parted and closed: “I…”

Before this, Bai Yiyan had indeed considered canceling the lease. But she had never thought about moving in with Ye Manqing. In her view, the time spent here was merely a temporary stay at Ye Manqing’s house.

Although getting married meant they should live together, Bai Yiyan was not entirely mentally prepared.

Ye Manqing noticed Bai Yiyan’s hesitation and offered an alternative: “If you are used to sleeping alone, I can give you the master bedroom, and I’ll sleep in the guest room. Or, you can choose any guest room you like, it’s up to you.”

Bai Yiyan nodded: “Okay.”

Ye Manqing: “What do you mean by ‘Okay’?”

Bai Yiyan gazed into Ye Manqing’s eyes, drawn bit by bit by the woman’s cold, deep eyes, willing to be captivated.

“I’ll move in.”

Ye Manqing’s lips suddenly curved into a smile, ecstatic: “Great!”

Bai Yiyan: “Teacher Ye, can I have a guest room? The one next door is fine.”

Bai Yiyan didn’t necessarily need to sleep in a separate bed from Ye Manqing; she just wanted a room that belonged to her, an independent private space.

“…” The smile on Ye Manqing’s face faded a little, but she still maintained a slight smile on her lips.

“Of course, no problem.”

The date for joining the crew was set for the fifteenth of this month, which was the day after tomorrow. Counting today, there were only two days left.

With just two days, Bai Yiyan didn’t plan on taking any more extra roles.

Firstly, her bank account had an extra 300,000 yuan. Calculating it, this money not only covered Jiang Le’s entire six years of dance expenses going forward, but it was also enough for her future university tuition and living expenses. Secondly, Bai Yiyan had just recovered from a cold and finally stopped coughing. With the crew start date so imminent, she couldn’t afford to catch a fever again. Bai Yiyan was clear about the priority of these matters.

Ye Manqing stayed home all week, spending time with Bai Yiyan every day and taking care of her meals. After a week of not working, Ye Manqing had to resume work.

So, early this morning, Ye Manqing went out of town for a job announcement, saying she would be back by tomorrow night at the latest.

Bai Yiyan took advantage of the two free days to go back to her rented apartment and return the keys to the landlord. She would be staying in Hengdian for four months, so, following Ye Manqing’s suggestion, she decided to terminate the lease.

The rent was paid quarterly and was covered until September. By moving out a month and a half early, the landlord proactively refunded Bai Yiyan one month’s rent.

Bai Yiyan didn’t have much luggage, all her belongings fit into two suitcases. Aside from clothes and shoes for all seasons, toiletries, skincare products, and cosmetics, there wasn’t much else to take.

Although Ye Manqing was not at home, she was very thoughtful and assigned her driver and bodyguard to Bai Yiyan to help her move.

The next morning, Bai Yiyan moved out of the rented apartment, bidding farewell to the dilapidated old place she had lived in for two years. She felt a sudden sense of emotion, but definitely not reluctance.

The azure sky and golden sunlight shone through the lush, emerald leaves onto the uneven cement ground.

Bai Yiyan stood under a camphor tree in a white long dress, her long hair tied in a high ponytail at the back of her head. Her face was bare, and her impossibly long eyelashes were naturally curled, further deepening the sense of her profound eyes.

A playful ray of sunlight fell on Bai Yiyan’s high and delicate nose. Her brown pupils appeared semi-transparent, like two beautiful jade stones.

The camphor tree stretched its branches and bathed in the sunlight. One side was the shade formed by the leaves, and the other was the bright sunshine.

On the trunk, a snail was working hard to climb up, inching towards the sun. The snail crawled very slowly. Finally, the snail’s antennae touched the sun first.

Under the tree, Bai Yiyan watched the snail on the trunk thoughtfully.

The next second, Bai Yiyan extended her hand out of the shade, and also felt the sunshine.

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