Frivolous - Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The fans didn’t know what had happened.

They saw Chen Ran return from the variety show recording looking even thinner than during her tour, her mental state visibly fragile. They swarmed the Fengjin official social media accounts with angry comments:

• Can this damn company act human for once?

• Stop scheduling work for her! Can’t you see the state she’s in?

• Yu Tingzhou, come out and take your lashing.

Chen Ran stared at the comments, crying and laughing simultaneously: Fortunately, I still have them.

Yu Tingzhou didn’t take the blame for long. Soon, news leaked that Chen Ran had purchased a competitive item for 15 million yuan at a charity gala, with all proceeds donated to a children’s welfare home. Public opinion shifted toward praise:

• Is Chen Ran in the entertainment industry just to do charity?

• Take care of your health!

• So that’s why she’s taking on so many shows and performances.

Such comments made Chen Ran feel a pang of guilt.

In a flash, it was the night of the Fengjin Year-End Gala. Ode Band was assigned to a remote corner of the hall. On stage, Yu Tingzhou delivered a speech; the innate confidence radiating from her was exactly the demeanor Chen Ran yearned for.

During the dinner, the young members of Ode Band were being constantly toasted and forced to drink. Chen Ran had a low tolerance; every swallow felt like liquid fire in her lungs and stomach.

When a well-known stage actor came to clink glasses with Chen Ran again, Su Ping’an patted Chen Ran’s shoulder. Seeing Chen Ran’s dazed look, Su Ping’an briefly squeezed her hand and swapped seats with her.

“Her tolerance is low. I’ll drink for her.”

Chen Ran felt the slight coolness of Su Ping’an’s hand transfer to her heart, providing a faint relief to her burning chest.

Midway through the banquet, a person walked toward the innermost private booth, surrounded by a small crowd. She wore a grey, waist-cinching coat with a wide lapel and gold-plated bamboo-frame glasses. On her fair right wrist was a sandalwood prayer bead bracelet. She was dignified, elegant, and noble.

Seeing Chen Ran staring at the newcomer, the stage actor whispered an introduction: “That’s Zhou Jingting, the daughter of Zhou Houyi from the Zhou Corporation. She’s a professor at Tinghang University and grew up with Boss Yu.”

Chen Ran tasted the words in her mind: Zhou Corporation. Professor. Grew up together.

None of those phrases were things she could even hope to touch. Yet, that woman was now gracefully walking toward Chen Ran’s table. From their meeting gazes, Chen Ran was certain: Zhou Jingting was coming specifically for her.

Chen Ran forced a smile onto her face, preparing her greeting and standing up. But as they drew near, someone else stepped in to talk to Zhou Jingting. Zhou Jingting began to exchange pleasantries with the interloper.

Chen Ran remained standing at her seat, neither sitting nor fully standing. In her life, she had experienced many moments of inferiority: watching parents pick up classmates in the rain, worrying about the cost of extra workbooks, or being unable to afford graduation photos and claiming she didn’t want them.

In hindsight, those embarrassments were nothing. Compared to the humiliation of this moment, they were trivial.

She, Chen Ran, truly belonged to a different world than Zhou Jingting and Yu Lanzhou. No matter how hard she tried, it only seemed to add a pathetic layer of bitterness.

“Hello.”

A cool voice sounded from across from her. Zhou Jingting was greeting her. Chen Ran snapped back to reality, but she didn’t meet the woman with a smile this time. “Hello.”

“Is that bracelet still with you?”

Not knowing the intent behind the question, Chen Ran didn’t answer.

“I know this might be impolite, but could you sell that bracelet back to me? You can name any price.”

Chen Ran didn’t hear a hint of apology in her voice only the tone of someone used to getting what she wanted. She smiled faintly. “Sorry, it’s not for sale.”

“But I heard…” Zhou Jingting trailed off.

I heard you transferred the copyrights of all your works to Ge Chao for that 15 million.

Chen Ran glared at her. Zhou Jingting sensed the hostility in Chen Ran’s eyes and smiled a smile filled with high-level tolerance. She said, “That bracelet… originally, I gave it to her. Later, we had a spat, and she donated it to someone else.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not for sale.”

“Alright.” Zhou Jingting didn’t press further. “Then I wish you a pleasant night.”

“Thank you.”

Only after Zhou Jingting left did Chen Ran feel the oxygen return to her surroundings, though her chest remained tight. She said to Su Ping’an, “I’m going out for some air.”

Standing at the hotel entrance, splashing her face to sober up, she saw a familiar luxury car pull up. The license plate was a number she had memorized it ended in 23. Her heart began to race uncontrollably again.

Will you come? Will you be here?

It was the Fengjin annual gala, after all. Perhaps Yu Lanzhou would attend. In truth, Chen Ran had prepared for tonight specifically hoping to see her. She had picked out her luxury outfit a month ago.

The valet opened the right-side door. Chen Ran stood straight. A woman stepped out graceful, wealthy, and sharp. It was Yu Jizhi.

Chen Ran’s posture slumped. She hid in the shadows, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her coat and tapping one out. Just as she lowered her head to light the thin cigarette, the flame illuminated her face. She looked up and froze.

She didn’t dare breathe. She saw the person she thought of day and night.

Tears instantly welled in her eyes, and the strength left her legs. Chen Ran watched Yu Lanzhou in the back seat: deep eyes, a cold expression. Around her neck was a string of fine beads from a distance, they looked like sandalwood. One by one, strung together by silk, they hung on Yu Lanzhou’s once-empty neck.

It suddenly felt as if Yu Lanzhou now belonged to someone.

Chen Ran remembered that Yu Lanzhou never used to wear necklaces. Never. Before, she could lie to herself and say she could chase the moon without restraint. But that necklace was a signal flag as vivid as a death sentence.

A small cut seemed to open in Chen Ran’s heart, seeping bright red blood. She felt a bone-deep regret. She regretted that step she took at the edge of the cliff; she regretted her self-righteousness in wanting Yu Lanzhou not to pity her; she regretted not being even more thick-skinned.

She crushed the cigarette in her fingers and instinctively took two steps toward the car. In the next instant, the car door closed, cutting off Chen Ran’s burning gaze. For a fleeting 0.5 seconds, their eyes met.

Then, Chen Ran saw Yu Lanzhou’s smooth brow furrow into a hill. Even the faint red mole near her eye seemed to turn cold. It was as if seeing Chen Ran was an omen of bad luck.

Chen Ran stood there dazed for a long time, even after the taillights vanished at the end of the street. Her hand moved to her itchy left inner arm, reaching into her sleeve. Even though she scratched the skin until it bled, she no longer felt the slight relief she used to.

The traffic blurred before her eyes, the red and white lights piercing. Chen Ran wandered toward the other side of the road, trying to hide from the glare.

“Chen Ran!”

A shout came from behind. Soon, her arm was grabbed. She looked up and saw Su Ping’an’s angry face. Su Ping’an pulled her to the curb and yelled, “What the hell are you doing?!”

Chen Ran was silent. Only then, by the light of the streetlamp, did Su Ping’an see that Chen Ran was crying. She loosened her grip and pulled out a handkerchief to block the tears.

She softened her voice. “You saw her?”

Still no response. Su Ping’an, wearing only a sweater, tugged at Chen Ran’s sleeve and led her to her car. “It’s cold. Let’s go back first. I’ll go back for our bags and coats.”

Staring into Chen Ran’s eyes, she instructed carefully, “Wait for me in the car.”

Chen Ran didn’t answer. Su Ping’an recalled a time they were going to a recording and the driver was extremely reckless. A sudden brake caused everyone to glare at the driver, but he didn’t notice and continued his erratic driving. Su Ping’an had wondered if the driver was trying to take revenge on society.

During another sharp brake, she had looked at Chen Ran. The girl’s expression was perfectly serene. For a moment, Su Ping’an felt Chen Ran wanted the car to crash.

Chen Ran had once said in an interview that she liked speed, racing, and planes. Su Ping’an hadn’t thought much of it until the period when Yu Lanzhou refused to see Chen Ran. She had accidentally glimpsed Chen Ran’s photo gallery: it was full of car crash videos and a specific photo of a high-speed train with a dried, blood-like stain on the nose.

Su Ping’an felt that Chen Ran liked things that could be destroyed in an instant.

“Forget it. I’ll have Chou Fang bring our things later. Let’s go home, okay?” Su Ping’an didn’t dare let her guard down, afraid she would lose Chen Ran in a split second.

She leaned over to buckle Chen Ran’s seatbelt and took her to her own home. A luxury flat, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a view of the moon.

Su Ping’an set the heater, bent down to change Chen Ran’s slippers, and led her to the soft sofa. She used a disinfectant wipe to carefully clean the blood from under Chen Ran’s fingernails.

“Stay here for a while,” she said. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to rest easy.”

Hearing this, Chen Ran blinked, as if coming back to herself. She stood up. “Where’s the bathroom?”

Su Ping’an pointed the way. “Do you need me to do anything?”

“No.” Chen Ran looked back at her. “Ping’an, I won’t do anything reckless. Even when I’m drunk, I won’t do anything reckless.”

Su Ping’an hummed in response.

Chen Ran emerged from the bathroom three minutes later. She seemed to have washed her face, but her cheeks still held the faint flush of alcohol. She sat back on the sofa. “Ping’an, I want to talk to you for a bit.”

“Mhm. Go ahead, I’m listening.” Su Ping’an watched her with focused intensity.

“Let’s talk about her. I’ve never told anyone else.”

“When I was seventeen, she came to the orphanage to choose an adopted daughter. Originally, she chose me. I knew she could change my life, but I just didn’t want her to choose me. Then, a moment later, she changed her mind. I actually thought we had a psychic connection back then.”

“Then Yu Zhou went missing. I went to find her, and we both got trapped in a slope in the deep mountains. She sent so many people to find us. After we were rescued, I saw her step off a helicopter. She hadn’t even taken off her headset yet. She was wearing a white shirt—the kind of material that looks expensive and her sleeves were unbuttoned. Her exposed arms were whiter than the shirt. Her hair was pinned up with a sandalwood double-pronged hairpin.”

“She was so beautiful. I had never seen anyone so beautiful.”

“I’ve always told you I’m unlucky sometimes. That night, she said to me, ‘No one is unlucky forever.’ When she spoke, her voice wasn’t cold and hard like usual; it was soft. I truly felt my heart was jumping outside of my chest.”

“I loved her. I really, really loved her.”

“Later, I wondered if I just loved her money. Until the day I accidentally saw her feet.” Chen Ran paused. “I’m a strange person. I hate other people’s feet. Even if they have nothing to do with me, seeing them makes me uncomfortable. Sometimes just thinking about it makes me feel sick.”

“But she was different. Seeing her feet didn’t repel me. It was even…” Chen Ran didn’t finish the sentence.

“That’s when I was sure. My attraction to her is physiological.”

Su Ping’an, who had been listening silently, suddenly asked, “What about mine?”

She and Chen Ran had been roommates for so long; Chen Ran had seen her feet many times.

Chen Ran was silent. Su Ping’an smiled. “I see.”

Chen Ran shook her head. “No, I even hate my own feet.”

“Okay, I understand. Keep going.”

Chen Ran suddenly laughed. “There is no ‘after that’.”

But Su Ping’an saw tears in her eyes again. Then she heard her say: “It seems she’s settling down with Zhou Jingting. Or she already has.”

“The reason I appeared before her so urgently and ridiculously is because of a rumor I heard: people say they have a pact to be together when they turn 36. Yu Lanzhou is about to turn 36.”

Su Ping’an softened her tone. “So, what do you plan to do?”

Chen Ran leaned her head back slightly, pursed her lips, and wiped away her tears. Firmly, she said: “I will make her mine. I will.”

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