After the Black Moonlight’s "Death Escape" Failed [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 55

Chapter 55: Friends

◎ Al, as long as I’m here, everything will get better ◎

Jiao Qingyin stared fixedly at the flowers in front of her.

The flower language of Gypsophila is pure and sincere love. The flower language of Forget-Me-Nots is a heart that never changes.

Jiao Qingyin felt that Wen Fengyue probably didn’t know what they symbolized, but in her opinion, both types of flowers suited the other person perfectly.

The other’s heart was one of pure sincerity; she felt it.

“…They’re very beautiful.”

Seeing that Jiao Qingyin was willing to talk to her again, Wen Fengyue’s eyes visibly brightened. However, after the former took the flowers, she suddenly became worried again.

Jiao Qingyin’s garden was filled with a vast patch of roses, each one worth a fortune, while her bouquet… couldn’t even buy the soil used to plant those roses.

Thus, before the other could speak, Wen Fengyue spoke up with a hint of urgency: “These are bionic flowers. If you don’t like them…” You can throw them away.

“I like them very much.”

“…” Wen Fengyue opened her mouth, looking a bit dazed.

Jiao Qingyin pushed the covers aside and sat up straight. Holding the large bouquet in her arms, she leaned in and took a deep breath.

The white Gypsophila were small and numerous; nestled against Jiao Qingyin’s cheek, they made her look as if she were truly surrounded by a cluster of stars.

The artificial fragrance wasn’t very natural—it leaned more toward perfume or essential oils—but as Jiao Qingyin had just said, she liked it.

Because these were flowers given to her by Wen Fengyue.

The other’s clumsy apology and clearly expressed goodwill swept away the lingering spark of anger in Jiao Qingyin’s heart like a hurricane. She was so happy to receive this gift that the emotion showed plainly on her face.

Gazing at Jiao Qingyin’s genuine smile, her eyes lingering for a moment on the small dimple, Wen Fengyue felt her body temperature climb another notch for no reason.

“I-It’s good that you like them.” She stammered.

Thinking about why Jiao Qingyin had been angry, Wen Fengyue lowered her head and said somewhat dejectedly, “I will pay more attention to my health in the future.”

Jiao Qingyin was currently thinking of a way to preserve this bouquet permanently. Hearing that very quiet reflection, she could hardly suppress the upward curve of her lips.

“Teacher Wen, come a little closer.”

Wen Fengyue didn’t really want to make eye contact with Jiao Qingyin at this moment, so she kept her eyes on the bedsheets and slowly shuffled closer to the other’s side.

Then, a soft sensation came from her forehead.

Jiao Qingyin had set the flowers down, embraced her, and pressed her own cheek against Wen Fengyue’s forehead.

“—!”

Wen Fengyue’s pupils shrank. She instinctively wanted to pull away, but in the next second, Jiao Qingyin pinched the back of her neck.

“Teacher Wen, don’t move.” Jiao Qingyin’s soft complaint sounded by her ear.

Even though she knew the other probably didn’t mean it—that her fingers just happened to rest on her neck and she pinched lightly only to restrict her movement—Wen Fengyue still couldn’t stop herself from shivering.

Her fingers trembled, bunching the bedsheets into a mess of wrinkles.

One second, two seconds, three seconds… smelling the floral scent that had rubbed off on Jiao Qingyin, Wen Fengyue forgot where she was in her count and had to start over.

After an unknown amount of time, Jiao Qingyin let her go, her eyes curving slightly. “Mm, it shouldn’t be a fever.”

Jiao Qingyin seemed truly happy that she didn’t have a fever. But looking at her face, Wen Fengyue felt that she was sick.

And seriously ill at that.

She felt she needed to say something, but after countless thoughts collided in her brain, what she finally uttered happened to be the most unromantic sentence possible:

“The optical computer has a function to monitor the user’s vital signs. If it were an illness with obvious characteristics like a fever, the device would warn me in time… there—there’s no need to test my temperature this way.”

As she reached the end, her voice grew smaller and smaller until it became inaudible to Jiao Qingyin, and then she stopped.

Jiao Qingyin let out a chuckle. “I see. Then next time, I’ll just wait for the device to warn me…”

“…No.”

“What’s wrong? You just said—”

Wen Fengyue gripped the sheets even tighter and said it again: “No.”

She looked into Jiao Qingyin’s eyes, using the skills she had accumulated over years of acting to maintain a seemingly calm expression. Then she said: “I just remembered, that function of the optical computer often malfunctions, so…”

“So?”

“…So, if there is a similar situation next time, I’ll have to trouble you to use that method again… to check for me.”

While Wen Fengyue lied through her teeth, she felt she was truly despicable. She was clearly exploiting Jiao Qingyin’s sympathy to obtain… to obtain the other’s initiative in physical contact.

As the older one, she should be setting an example. How could she do something as deceptive as tricking a child!

How old was Jiao Qingyin? She often showed an air of worldly innocence in strange ways; could she be a fresh adult who had never touched society outside of school?

The entertainment industry is one of the worst areas for falsified ages; official numbers are not to be trusted. Wen Fengyue sincerely worried if she was bullying a child who had just come of age.

But Jiao Qingyin seemed to have believed her words. Not only did she nod, but she added responsibly: “Then Teacher Wen, if you feel unwell anywhere, come find me. I will help you check.”

Wen Fengyue’s self-criticism vanished instantly at those words. She bit her lip and nodded. “Mm, I’ll rely on you.”

Jiao Qingyin responded with an utterly pure expression, making Wen Fengyue feel even more guilty while secretly rejoicing.

That night, Wen Fengyue lay in bed staring at the pitch-black ceiling. Her mind was full of Jiao Qingyin and… some plans for the future.

Jiao Qingyin was very happy after receiving the bionic flowers. She not only divided the Gypsophila into several bottles to decorate various parts of the villa but also picked out the Forget-Me-Not to be dried and made into a bedside ornament.

However, Wen Fengyue didn’t think for a second that she could keep giving her such cheap gifts.

Her little star… deserved to be matched with the most perfect bouquets.

Wen Fengyue suddenly became unwilling to just drift along and live out the rest of her life in a mess according to her original pace. Because of the accident that was Jiao Qingyin appearing in her life, she changed her mind.

She wanted to take back everything she had lost, one by one.

No, not just what she lost. She also wanted to… tightly grasp things that did not yet belong to her.

The next morning, Wen Fengyue, who had suffered from insomnia all night, woke up very early. After learning from the small robot that Jiao Qingyin was still sleeping, she went downstairs first.

The originally somewhat empty living room now felt much more lived-in because of the bottle of Gypsophila on the dining table.

Wen Fengyue walked into the kitchen. Looking at the smart stove, her desire to cook a meal for Jiao Qingyin was itching to be acted upon.

However, while ingredients could be identified via the optical computer, cooking steps were rarely circulated on the Star-Net—recipes were secrets of major natural restaurants, highly valuable, and no one would voluntarily disclose them.

Some of the simplest cooking methods could be found, but something like boiled cabbage… didn’t sound very tasty.

Wen Fengyue’s eyebrows were knit tight as if a major life problem sat before her.

In the end, she reached for the fruit, which was foolproof. She couldn’t cook, but she could manage to cut a fruit platter according to a tutorial.

So, when Jiao Qingyin came downstairs yawning, she was greeted by a nervous Wen Fengyue and an exquisite fruit platter on the table.

Wen Fengyue had even used an apple to carve a lifelike little puppy.

Jiao Qingyin gave a very supportive “Wow,” and the tips of Wen Fengyue’s ears instantly turned red.

She gave a light cough to hide her shyness. “It doesn’t compare to the meals you make… If you are willing to teach me, I can make breakfast for you next time.”

After saying it, Wen Fengyue’s face went pale. She realized this sentence was essentially applying for a long-term stay with Jiao Qingyin.

No one would want someone they just met to stay in their house forever…

Jiao Qingyin agreed quite readily. “Sure!”

She walked to Wen Fengyue in a few steps, cradled the apple puppy in her palm, and asked, “Can I eat it?”

“Ah,” Wen Fengyue hadn’t reacted to her thoughtless words yet; her reply was half a beat slow. “You can… it was meant for you to eat.”

Jiao Qingyin laughed and bit off the puppy’s head in one go, then ate the paws and tail. The apple juice moistened her lips; Wen Fengyue stared blankly.

The entire apple puppy was quickly eaten by Jiao Qingyin. Throughout the process, her slightly smiling expression… always made Wen Fengyue feel that the “puppy” wasn’t what the other actually wanted to eat.

“Teacher Wen, do you have plans this morning?” Jiao Qingyin sat down in front of Wen Fengyue and tilted her head.

Wen Fengyue shook her head. “No.”

She originally had plans, but she had refused the company’s arrangements. Perhaps because it was the first time seeing her so firm, the new manager didn’t dare say anything and agreed.

Wen Fengyue thought Jiao Qingyin wanted to practice lines. While she couldn’t sleep last night, she had made some notes, just waiting for the other to ask. But the person in front of her said: “Teacher Wen, we haven’t added each other as optical computer friends yet.”

As soon as she mentioned “friends,” Wen Fengyue remembered the moment at the event when she thought Jiao was going to add her and ended up being sentimental. Her already red ears began to burn.

Wen Fengyue kept her expression as unchanged as possible, opened her optical computer, and held it out to Jiao Qingyin. With a beep, the two became friends.

Jiao Qingyin’s profile picture was a white puppy. In the photo, it was wagging its tail and smiling foolishly.

“A dog you raised?” Wen Fengyue asked instinctively.

“A… puppy I used to raise.” Jiao Qingyin answered casually. She was looking at Wen Fengyue’s profile; the avatar was solid black and the feed was empty, exuding a melancholy, reclusive vibe.

So Jiao Qingyin raised a dog… Wen Fengyue stared at the puppy on the screen, feeling quite uneasy in her heart.

Seeing Jiao Qingyin’s normal expression, she suppressed her feelings as long as she could before speaking in a seemingly casual tone:

“The reason you said before that you wanted to raise a white-haired, blue-eyed dog… was it because of this one? …Because of it, you want to raise a dog that looks similar?”

Jiao Qingyin was taken aback, then immediately shook her head. “No, I only want her. If I can’t find her back, I won’t raise another.”

“…” Wen Fengyue was silent for a full minute before managing to squeeze out a sentence. “…You really do love it.”

She didn’t realize how sour her tone was, and she missed Jiao Qingyin’s look of barely suppressed amusement.

Just then, the two fiddling with their devices both received a message. Someone from the company had added them to the same group.

A-Xiao: “Teacher Jiao, Teacher Wen, this group is the work notification group for Satellite. We will post all promotional tasks that require you to work together in here.”

Wen Fengyue’s fingers twitched. She had always filmed movies; Satellite was her first TV drama. The promotional methods for the two were very different and couldn’t be judged by past experience.

A-Xiao: “The company hopes you can maintain Star-Net interactions every three days and public cross-platform interactions every five days…”

Wen Fengyue was a bit distracted, but Jiao Qingyin had already replied: “Understood, we will cooperate fully.”

“How are we going to cooperate?” Wen Fengyue stared at that word “we” for a moment and looked up at Jiao Qingyin.

“The company wants to hype the CP, so they definitely want us to be as close as possible.” Jiao Qingyin put on an analytical air, speaking logically. “How about we take a photo together first, upload it to Star-Net, and then comment on each other’s posts?”

Wen Fengyue lowered her head. “That verified Star-Net account… is in the company’s hands.”

She looked exactly like a dejected puppy. Jiao Qingyin suppressed the urge to pat her head and instead asked someone to give the account back.

Getting back the account that should have been hers, Wen Fengyue modified her password while watching Jiao Qingyin pick a filter out of the corner of her eye. Jiao Qingyin was too good to her; she was only going to owe more and more.

“How do you want to take the photo?” Wen Fengyue asked. She had already decided that no matter what Jiao wanted to do, she would cooperate. She indeed resisted hyping scandals, but if the partner was Jiao Qingyin, it was different. Not only was she not annoyed, she was actually eager; the secret feelings for Jiao in her heart stirred joyfully.

But in the next moment, she heard Jiao Qingyin say: “The most intimate would definitely be a photo of us lying in bed together with no clothes on.”

Jiao Qingyin’s tone was light, but Wen Fengyue nearly shattered the water glass she had just picked up.

Before she could answer, Jiao Qingyin showed a look of a successful prank. “Just kidding—Star-Net would probably crash because of the two of us.”

Wen Fengyue gave a muffled “Mm.” Only she knew how many divergent fantasies she had just entertained about the scene Jiao described.

Jiao Qingyin adjusted the filter and opened the automatic camera mode. She sat next to Wen Fengyue and said, “Taking one with our heads leaning together should be enough.”

As she spoke, she leaned in. Her hair brushed against Wen Fengyue’s neck, causing the latter’s body to stiffen.

“Come on, smile.”

Wen Fengyue obediently curled her lips. The optical computer began to flash continuously; later, they would just need to choose from the photos it took.

But before the final moment, Wen Fengyue tilted her head.

She felt this wasn’t enough.

If it was just heads leaning together, family could do that, friends could do that, even fans and idols could do that in a photo. What they needed was a more intimate action—

Her lips lightly brushed against Jiao Qingyin’s hair.

Jiao Qingyin had been at ease, leading Wen Fengyue step by step according to her plan, but when the other person made this unexpected move, a trace of surprise inevitably leaked into her eyes.

This change in expression was also perfectly captured by the camera.

After taking a hundred photos in one go, the device returned to normal mode and displayed them on the screen. The rapid-fire shots didn’t differ much, but Wen Fengyue picked out her favorite at a glance.

“This one looks very good,” Wen Fengyue evaluated.

In the photo, she was looking down and lightly kissing Jiao Qingyin’s hair, while the other was pressed close to her side with a look of surprise and a lingering smile. The small frame was filled by the two of them, with a hint of Gypsophila in the background. The whole image was aesthetic and romantic; Wen Fengyue couldn’t look away.

“…It really is beautiful,” Jiao Qingyin came back to her senses. “What made you… suddenly turn your head?”

She wasn’t sure of Wen Fengyue’s intent, so she didn’t use words that might cause misunderstanding.

However, Wen Fengyue’s answer was like a stone thrown into water, creating massive ripples in Jiao’s heart:

“Because I suddenly really wanted to kiss you like that, so I did… I’m sorry. I didn’t ask for your permission beforehand. Are you angry with me?”

“…No,” after a few seconds, Jiao Qingyin, intending to test the waters, asked, “But… is it perhaps a bit too intimate?”

Hearing this, Wen Fengyue turned to look at her.

Her eyes were dark. Besides obvious unease, there was a deeply hidden desire. Jiao Qingyin’s heart skipped; she almost thought the other person had remembered the past.

But Wen Fengyue’s next sentence calmed her down.

“It is a little… but we are friends. There’s nothing wrong with doing slightly intimate things, is there?”

Having said that, seeing Jiao Qingyin just staring at her without speaking, Wen Fengyue secretly gritted her teeth and added a sentence from an unknown mindset: “You said it, we are friends… right?”

Jiao Qingyin looked at her for several seconds before a smile slowly bloomed. “Right… we are friends.”

Wen Fengyue breathed a sigh of relief. Jiao Qingyin sneered heavily in her heart.

Friends… Wen Fengyue better keep treating her as a friend.

“Then I’ll post it?” Wen Fengyue, still thinking she had gotten the better end of the deal, asked with red ears.

“Mm-hm.” Jiao Qingyin nodded. Then, while Wen Fengyue was off guard, she reached out, put her arm around Wen’s neck, and blew a breath into her ear.

Wen Fengyue squeezed a crack into her optical computer wristband.

“Jiao Qingyin, you…”

“Since we are friends, Teacher Wen, stop calling me that.” Jiao Qingyin tilted her head, a few strands of hair sliding into Wen Fengyue’s collar. “Change how you address me.”

“You…” Wen Fengyue was so nervous her speech was slurred. “How do you want me to call you?”

“Who comes up with their own nicknames?”

“Then…”

Wen Fengyue thought for a long time with a red face. Just as Jiao Qingyin was about to let her off the hook out of pity, she said in a low voice: “‘Jiao Jiao,’ can I call you that?”

The arm Jiao Qingyin had around her loosened.

Wen Fengyue didn’t know why and thought Jiao didn’t like it, so she quickly tried to fix it: “If you find it awkward, I’ll just call you Little Jiao like the others.”

“…It’s fine. Calling me that is very good,” Jiao Qingyin recovered from her daze, a smile returning to her face. “Then what about you, Teacher Wen? Do you want to modify how I address you?”

She originally thought that with Wen Fengyue’s quiet personality, she would follow her lead and let her keep calling her “Teacher Wen.” She didn’t expect the other to nod after a moment of hesitation.

“‘Al’—the director of the orphanage told me that when she found me, the note with me had this name written on it.”

“One of my biological parents must have been from the Western Galaxy, which is why they named me that,” Wen Fengyue showed a nostalgic and sad expression. “It’s just… I’ve never told anyone this name before.”

Except for the old director who had passed away and given her the new name “Wen Fengyue,” Jiao Qingyin was the only person who knew her name was Al.

Wen Fengyue had never thought of saying this name before, but facing Jiao Qingyin, everything felt so natural. She couldn’t hold back and let out many words hidden in her heart.

“…I’ve thought many times about going to a place where no one knows me, changing my name back to ‘Al,’ and ideally just turning into a speck of dust or something. That way I wouldn’t have to worry about so many things anymore.”

“But… there’s always a voice telling me to stay, saying I still have things to finish, someone I haven’t waited for. But I’ve been getting more and more tired lately, I…”

Wen Fengyue snapped back to reality and cut her words short. She paused, then gave a beautiful smile. “I’m just talking nonsense. I still have many things I want to do.”

What she had just said were thoughts that had been haunting her recently, but fortunately—fortunately, she hadn’t left, or she wouldn’t have met Jiao Qingyin.

Fearing her previous statement would be misunderstood, Wen Fengyue, who now had a new goal, spoke: “Just pretend I never said it—”

Jiao Qingyin took a deep breath.

Before Wen Fengyue could see her expression, Jiao Qingyin reached out and pulled the other woman into a full embrace. She stroked her head and called out softly: “Al.”

“Al, don’t be sad.” “As long as I’m here, everything will get better.”

Ah, so warm, Wen Fengyue thought dazed. Without her noticing, a tear slid down onto Jiao Qingyin’s shoulder.

She allowed herself to indulge in this embrace for a long time.

Until a stomach growl sounded. Both Jiao Qingyin and Wen Fengyue were startled; the former let out a muffled laugh, while the latter was too embarrassed to make a sound.

But Jiao Qingyin’s laughing became excessive. Wen Fengyue could only try to defend herself: “I didn’t mean to…”

Jiao Qingyin loosened the embrace slightly. Wen Fengyue turned to look at her; she wasn’t sure if she was mistaken, but she felt the other’s eyes were a bit redder than before.

“You are apple-flavored today,” Jiao Qingyin said, leaning close to Wen Fengyue’s ear. “Cigarettes of this flavor suit you well.”

“!” Wen Fengyue covered her burning ear, attempting to quibble. “It’s because I ate an apple.”

Jiao Qingyin smiled and didn’t argue. Instead, she changed the subject. “Teacher Wen, filming for Satellite starts the day after tomorrow. I’ll send you some scenes I find difficult. How about we go over them after breakfast?”

Wen Fengyue agreed without thinking.

When Jiao Qingyin went to the kitchen to pick out ingredients, Wen Fengyue first sniffed her own collar. Not smelling the apple-flavored particle smoke, she opened her device.

She clicked on the puppy avatar and received the document. Sitting at the table with the serious mindset of answering Jiao Qingyin’s questions, she began to read.

Cheng Xing and Wei Ling: (Entwined together, using their tongues…)

Wen Fengyue quickly turned off the device. After a few seconds, she reopened the page.

Wei Ling (Looking at Cheng Xing whose hand she is holding): “Don’t regret this.”

Cheng Xing (With teary eyes): “I won’t regret it. I only want you.” Shouldn’t lovers be intimate with no distance between them?

Cheng Xing and Wei Ling: (Embrace, kiss)

Wei Ling: (Removes Cheng Xing’s clothes)

Wen Fengyue closed her eyes.

A fragrance gradually drifted from the kitchen. This smell, which should have calmed her heart, now made Wen Fengyue’s heart beat even faster.

Opening her eyes again, she finished reading the few scenes Jiao Qingyin sent at high speed.

The first was a kiss scene, the second was a bed scene, the third was… an even more intense bed scene.

At this moment, Wen Fengyue finally remembered why she had resisted taking the role in Satellite in the first place.