I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 43

The next day, Duan Bainian h ad a local commercial event. Early in the morning, while Su Miao was still fast asleep, she had already headed downstairs.

Seeing Guan Jing downstairs, Duan Bainian greeted her with a smile, “How long have you been waiting?”

Guan Jing pushed open the car door, “Not long, I just got here myself.”

After getting into the car, Guan Jing began to notice that something was off with Duan Bainian.

First, she stared out the car window in a daze, and for reasons unknown, the corners of her mouth curled up into an almost unbelievable smile. Then, she took out her phone and scrolled through photos; Guan Jing couldn’t see clearly from the side, but it looked like a photo of someone lying in bed. After that, Duan Bainian sent a WeChat message to someone—a long paragraph that looked like a mini-essay.

Guan Jing couldn’t help but mutter to herself. Was this still the usually steady and composed Duan Bainian?

An hour later, Guan Jing couldn’t resist testing the waters, “Sister Nian, are you in a relationship?”

Duan Bainian snapped back to reality, surprised, “Who did you hear that from?”

Guan Jing: “…Does that even need to be heard from someone? Just look at your every move today—the mysterious smiling, the photo scrolling, the long messages… anyone could tell, right?”

Duan Bainian showed a rare hint of shyness, “Yes, I am in love.” And last night, they even…

Guan Jing was shocked, “You’re really in a relationship? Does President He know? You’re in the rising stage of your career; being in a relationship isn’t great, is it?”

Being in a relationship with Su Miao was something Guan Jing, as her assistant, definitely wouldn’t be able to keep a secret. Moreover, since He Aizhi had already permitted it, Duan Bainian decided to just say it.

“The person I’m dating is Su Miao.”

Guan Jing’s pupils shook, “…!!!”

Duan Bainian smiled and added, “President He knows.”

Guan Jing: “I didn’t expect the CP I ship to actually come true one day. I’m so moved, boo-hoo!”

Duan Bainian frowned, “You’re a ‘Nian-Miao’ CP fan?”

Guan Jing pulled out her phone, “I can’t take it, I can’t take it! I have to share this news with Xiao Song! This is too exciting!”

Duan Bainian stopped her, “Don’t. I’m only telling you because I trust you; don’t tell anyone else. Xiao Song isn’t Su Miao’s dedicated assistant and doesn’t have that much contact with her, so there’s no need to say anything.”

Guan Jing struggled to stuff her phone back into her pocket, “Isn’t this going to kill me, having to keep it in?”

Duan Bainian said amusedly, “Then what should I do?”

Guan Jing complained, “You might as well have not told me!”

Around three or four in the afternoon, Duan Bainian finished her commercial event and prepared to go home. Reaching the bottom of her apartment building, she remembered something and called Yu Xue.

After a long while, Yu Xue’s lazy voice answered, “What’s up? Have you terminated your contract with Nanyang Entertainment? If so, come over; I’ve already cleared a spot for you here.”

Duan Bainian gave an apologetic smile, “There’s no need, Yu Xue. I won’t be terminating the contract for the time being. I’ve troubled you these past few days; next time we meet, I’ll treat you to dinner.”

Yu Xue: “Why aren’t you terminating it anymore?”

Duan Bainian thought for a moment and said, “It’s a long story. Let’s talk about it when there’s a chance in the future.”

After hanging up, Duan Bainian stood downstairs but didn’t seem to have the intention of entering the building just yet.

Two days ago, she had asked Yu Xue for help, inquiring if she could introduce a suitable new agency. Yu Xue had her own studio and said that if Duan Bainian had nowhere else to go, she could join her.

Now that things had taken a turn for the better and she didn’t need to leave Nanyang, she naturally didn’t need to go to Yu Xue’s studio.

However… Duan Bainian was still prepared to terminate her contract eventually.

She had thought a lot over the past two days.

In the beginning, He Aizhi had extended an olive branch to her and saved her during a crisis; she was very grateful. But no matter how much He Aizhi took care of her or how nicely she spoke, Duan Bainian could still see a hint of arrogance in He Aizhi’s words and actions.

She could understand it. After all, to He Aizhi, she was just one of many artists. In their interactions, she was entirely in a lower position. It was only natural for He Aizhi to look at her with the arrogance of a superior.

If it were a simple superior-subordinate relationship, Duan Bainian would never have minded this slight; she had been battered by society for years and had been looked down upon countless times.

But once she remembered that this was Su Miao’s mother, Duan Bainian immediately lost heart. The self-esteem deep in her soul began to crawl out bit by bit, clearly clamoring about how sad she felt.

Because she was on good terms with Su Miao, He Aizhi gave her resources.

Because she was in a relationship with Su Miao, He Aizhi withdrew her resources.

Now that she had reconciled with Su Miao, He Aizhi was providing resources again.

So, what about the future? Did the amount of resources she received depend entirely on how she got along with Su Miao?

Did she herself have absolutely no value in He Aizhi’s eyes, other than her relationship with Su Miao?

She didn’t want to date Su Miao with a utilitarian mindset. Her love for Su Miao should be based purely on mutual affection.

A contract termination was definitely going to happen, so Duan Bainian had the idea of starting her own studio.

But the timing wasn’t quite ripe yet. On one hand, her own strength wasn’t sufficient, and on the other, she hadn’t figured out how to tell Su Miao. If she said it directly, Su Miao would likely be heartbroken.

After lost in thought for a while, a WeChat notification pulled Duan Bainian back.

It was Su Miao asking when she would be home.

Duan Bainian smiled and typed back, [I’m back, I’m already downstairs.]

As soon as she opened the door, a small dark shadow immediately pounced on her.

“Ah! You’re back!”

Looking at the radiant smile on Su Miao’s face, the gloom in Duan Bainian’s heart swept away instantly.

She pulled Su Miao into a hug, “What did you do at home today?”

Su Miao sniffed hard at Duan Bainian’s neck, “Nothing much. I just watched a few episodes of anime and boiled some chicken breast for Ergou. He ate it so happily! Nom nom nom!”

After hugging for a while, Duan Bainian released Su Miao, “I’m going to change my clothes. Let’s go out for dinner later.”

Su Miao said disappointedly, “Eating out? Aren’t you going to cook for me?”

Duan Bainian laughed, “There are no ingredients at home. Let’s go out for dinner, and on the way back we can buy some ingredients so I can cook for you tomorrow.”

Su Miao finally cheered up, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go eat!”

By the time they returned from dinner, it was already 8:00 PM. The two tidied up, showered, and went to bed.

Su Miao tried her best to burrow into Duan Bainian’s arms, “Hug me.”

Duan Bainian reached her arm under Su Miao’s neck and pulled her into an embrace, “Is this, okay?”

Su Miao giggled, “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

As they hugged, Duan Bainian’s hand subconsciously slipped inside her clothes.

Su Miao laughed uncontrollably, “It tickles! It tickles!”

Duan Bainian didn’t stop her hand, “How come you didn’t say it tickled last night? Last night, I saw that you liked it very much.”

Su Miao’s face turned bright red instantly, “Oh my, what are you talking about!”

Duan Bainian teased, “Don’t you know what I’m talking about?”

Su Miao panted while laughing, “Stop, stop, stop.”

Duan Bainian: “What’s wrong?”

Su Miao stammered, “That… it hurt a bit after yesterday, and it still hurts now.”

Duan Bainian: “……”

She pinched Su Miao’s cheek and said with a heart full of melancholy, “Fine, let’s sleep.”

The next afternoon, the two packed up and prepared to go to Su Miao’s home.

Previously, He Aizhi had called and asked if they were free the next day to come over for a meal together.

Duan Bainian naturally agreed.

She had originally intended to find an opportunity to visit. After all, they were now officially “out” to He Aizhi, and she should pay a formal visit as Su Miao’s girlfriend. Since He Aizhi called, it was the perfect opportunity.

Seeing He Aizhi again, Duan Bainian felt a bit apprehensive and a bit awkward.

He Aizhi didn’t seem to have changed at all, her smile as kind as ever, as if the events of the previous two days had never happened.

She took the gifts from Duan Bainian’s hands, “It’s just a meal like usual, why make it so formal?”

Duan Bainian smiled, “I used to bring gifts too, Auntie. It’s just that I brought a bit more this time. I haven’t seen you in a while, so it’s only right to bring more.”

The meal was quite standard. Duan Bainian was as gentle and sensible as before, He Aizhi was kind and warm, and Su Miao still laughed heartlessly.

But Duan Bainian knew that in this meal, only Su Miao’s laughter was sincere.

Adult smiles always carry too much disguise.

It was already 8:00 PM after dinner.

He Aizhi asked them to stay the night and head back tomorrow.

He Aizhi asked the nanny to take Duan Bainian to the guest room, saying she could ask the nanny for anything she needed to eat or drink.

The guest room was quite simple, but it had a large balcony. After Duan Bainian finished tidying up and was about to crawl into bed, a small head peeked in.

Looking at the sneaky Su Miao, Duan Bainian smiled, “What are you doing here?”

Su Miao whispered, “Come sleep at my place.”

Duan Bainian thought about it and refused, “It’s not quite appropriate. Your mom specifically arranged this guest room for me.”

Su Miao hummed, “Now you say it’s not appropriate, why didn’t you say that the night before last?”

Duan Bainian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “What do you think?”

Su Miao: “Then forget it, come play in my room for a bit, and you can come back when it’s time to sleep.”

Duan Bainian: “That works.”

Su Miao brightened up, “Quick, come, come!”

Duan Bainian followed Su Miao to her room.

Su Miao’s room was decorated in shades of blue, giving off a peaceful feeling. The cabinets were filled with various figurines, making it look like a small exhibition hall.

Duan Bainian exclaimed, “All your pocket money must have been spent on these, right?”

Su Miao’s face was full of pride, “I basically have most of the common ones on the market!”

Su Miao walked further in, “Look! That set of figurines you gave me last time, I put them here separately!”

Duan Bainian smiled, “You even put them in a separate place? Do you like the ones I gave you that much?”

Su Miao nodded like a chicken pecking at grain, “Yes!”

Duan Bainian took a tour and found a box of medicine on Su Miao’s computer desk.

She picked it up to look, “Ato… moxetine… capsules?”

She asked curiously, “Is this the stomach medicine the doctor prescribed for you the other day? I haven’t heard of it before.”

Su Miao froze for a second and snatched the capsules away, “No… it’s not.”

Duan Bainian looked at Su Miao strangely, “Why was your reaction so big? I was just asking casually, why did you snatch it?”

Su Miao’s face had turned completely red at some point. She hesitated and said, “It’s nothing, just some medicine I took when I was little.”

Duan Bainian asked, “What happened to you when you were little?”

Su Miao bit her finger and whispered, “It’s… it’s medicine for treating ADHD.”

Duan Bainian said in disbelief, “ADHD? You have ADHD?”

How could the Su Miao who was so shy in front of strangers look like she had ADHD?

Having said it out loud, Su Miao felt much more relaxed. She scratched her head and said, “Oh, I don’t know. It’s all because I was too stupid when I was little. I only learned the multiplication table in fifth grade. My mom took me to the doctor, and they said I had ADHD. If you’re stupid, you’re just stupid, why blame ADHD? I had to take medicine for five or six years, and I’m still just as stupid.”

Duan Bainian pulled Su Miao into her arms, “Who said you’re stupid? I think you’re very smart.”

Su Miao said dejectedly, “I know you’re just comforting me. My grades in school were always very bad.”

Duan Bainian laughed, “You manage to make me angry so precisely every time and then coax me back so precisely—could a stupid person do that? Like with memorizing lines before; your psychological quality just wasn’t good enough, you made mistakes because you were nervous. But look at later on, you said your lines so well!”

Su Miao remembered those days in Hengdian and couldn’t help but laugh, “Hehe, I also think I said my lines really well at the end. In those last few days during rehearsals, Wu Yang didn’t even scold me anymore!”

Duan Bainian gave Su Miao a peck on the lips, “Exactly. Even Wu Yang stopped scolding you; doesn’t that show how well you were doing?”

With that peck, Su Miao’s thoughts immediately drifted away. How could she think about whether she was stupid or not?

She wrapped her arms around Duan Bainian’s neck and pulled her closer, whimpering, “Kiss me~”

Duan Bainian could least resist Su Miao when she was like this—looking like she was yours for the taking. Anyone who saw her would want to tease the “dummy” mercilessly.

But they were in Su Miao’s house, and He Aizhi’s room was less than ten meters away; it really wasn’t appropriate.

She gave Su Miao a perfunctory kiss and then pushed her away.

Unexpectedly, Su Miao wouldn’t let go, her arms still hooked around Duan Bainian’s neck as she continued to whimper, “Kiss me a bit longer~”

If they continued, Duan Bainian wouldn’t be able to control herself. She deliberately changed the subject to tease Su Miao, “Did you really only learn the multiplication table in fifth grade?”

Hearing Duan Bainian’s suppressed laughter, Su Miao instantly snapped out of it. She knew Duan Bainian had no ill intent, but she was still unhappy hearing it.

She immediately pouted and pushed Duan Bainian away, “You’re so annoying!”

Looking at Su Miao’s reaction, Duan Bainian finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud, “How can you be so cute?”

Su Miao was still unhappy, “So what if I only learned the multiplication table in fifth grade! Is it that funny?”

Duan Bainian pulled Su Miao into a hug, “Who said it’s funny? Didn’t you know that I specifically like people who learn the multiplication table in fifth grade?”

Su Miao was stunned, “Huh?”

Duan Bainian laughed, “I only like people who learn the multiplication table in fifth grade. I don’t like those who learn it in fourth grade, and I don’t like those who learn it in sixth grade.”

That one sentence made Su Miao’s resentment vanish into thin air. Her face even turned red.

She thought, Oh my, Duan Bainian must really like her a lot, not even minding that she only learned the multiplication table in fifth grade.

At the thought of Duan Bainian liking her so much, she couldn’t help but smile secretly.

She rubbed her face against Duan Bainian’s neck, “Hehe, I like you too!”