I Love Her Because She’s Dim-Witted And Filthy Rich - Chapter 44

In mid-January, Duan Bainian joined the cast of the film Shadow.

With the end of the year approaching, Su Miao hadn’t taken on much work, leaving her so idle that she was practically growing mold. Her daily routine consisted of waiting for Duan Bainian to finish work, video chatting with her, sleeping, and waking up to continue waiting for her to finish work.

After a few days of this, Su Miao was bored to tears, so without a word, she bought a plane ticket to Shanghai.

When Su Miao stealthily made her way to the Shadow film set, Duan Bainian was filming a tea-drinking scene.

Duan Bainian was dressed in a modified blue cheongsam with high slits at the base, revealing glimpses of snowy white skin. The soft fabric wrinkled at her waist, looking languid and seductive.

As the fragrance of tea curled upward, Duan Bainian held a jade teacup and savored the aroma. She sat on a rattan chair in front of a door, her long legs crossed, her toe hooking a high heel, swinging it back and forth.

She caught the eyes of the young men at the door, and she caught Su Miao’s heart.

Su Miao couldn’t help but swallow hard, her mind beginning to play strange things on a loop.

After a while, when the scene ended, Duan Bainian finally noticed Su Miao had arrived.

She asked in surprise, “Why are you here?”

Su Miao’s eyes curved like fish tails. “I was too bored by myself, so I came to find you.”

Duan Bainian gave Su Miao a slight glare. “Why didn’t you even bring an assistant? Isn’t it dangerous to travel alone?”

Su Miao replied, “Xiao Song isn’t my private assistant. This isn’t a work trip, so how could I have an assistant? Besides, my mom and the others don’t even know I ran off here yet.”

Duan Bainian was shocked. “You’ve really rebelled now, haven’t you? You didn’t tell me, and you didn’t tell your mom; you just snuck out?”

It wasn’t that she was overreacting; Su Miao had never traveled alone before, and this was a first. For a simpleton like her, being sold off to a remote mountain gully to bear children might be a joke for others, but for her, it was a real possibility.

Su Miao actually thought Duan Bainian was praising her and looked proud. “Hehe, I’m impressive, right?”

Duan Bainian: “……” You are truly something else.

Since she was already here, there was no point in saying more. Duan Bainian gave her a few instructions and took her back to the dressing room.

As soon as they entered, Su Miao conveniently closed the door, hugged Duan Bainian, and closed her eyes. “Give me a kiss, quick~”

Duan Bainian froze for a second. “Uh… do you want to take a look at your surroundings?”

Confused, Su Miao opened her eyes and turned her head slightly, meeting Guan Jing’s gaze head-on.

Su Miao: “……”

She hurriedly pushed Duan Bainian away, her face flushing red with embarrassment. “Guan Jing, you’re in the dressing room… why didn’t you say anything?”

Guan Jing was also a bit awkward. “Well, you came in demanding a kiss; you didn’t exactly give me a chance to speak.”

Duan Bainian said amusedly, “Alright, it’s not a big deal. Guan Jing, go buy a small mousse cake for me. Su Miao was just clamoring for one.”

Guan Jing agreed and left the room.

Su Miao asked in confusion, “You must have misheard? When did I say I wanted to eat mousse cake?”

Duan Bainian leaned into Su Miao’s lips, her smile tender. “It’s not that you want to eat cake; it’s that I want to eat you.”

In Beijing, Su Miao’s routine was waiting for Duan Bainian to finish work, video chatting, and sleeping.

On the set of Shadow, Su Miao’s routine was waiting for Duan Bainian to finish work, asking for kisses, rolling in the sheets, asking for kisses, sleeping, waking up to ask for kisses, going to the set to watch Duan Bainian act, and asking for kisses during break intervals.

After staying like this for four or five days, Su Miao was enjoying herself so much she forgot about home, but Duan Bainian felt a bit uneasy.

During a meal, she asked tentatively, “Are you planning to stay here forever?”

Su Miao didn’t quite understand. “What’s wrong? Is my staying here causing gossip? Is it inconvenient?”

Duan Bainian smiled. “Of course not. I mean, by staying here, you’re wasting your time. You could clearly be doing more meaningful things to grow.”

Su Miao thought about it and answered seriously, “How can being with you be called a waste of time? Being with you is the most meaningful thing!”

Confessed to in such a way, Duan Bainian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “You could go study, or take on work; in short, you need to keep growing. The reason your mother didn’t want us together at first was because she thought you were too weak and worried you’d get hurt. If you keep growing, why would your mother worry about those things?”

Su Miao said reluctantly, “But I don’t want to be apart from you. If growing means being apart from you, then I’d rather not grow.”

Duan Bainian: “It’s not a long-term separation, just ten days or half a month. You can visit me when you’re free, and I’ll visit you when I’m free.”

Su Miao silently picked at her food and didn’t speak.

Duan Bainian added, “Your mom wasn’t very happy about us being together anyway. You have to let her see that being with me makes you better, right?”

Su Miao pouted. “Fine, fine, I get it.”

Duan Bainian stroked Su Miao’s head. “So, what do you plan to do?”

Su Miao said gloomily, “A while ago, my mom said she wanted me to continue studying acting with my previous teacher. I didn’t want to back then, so I didn’t agree. When I go back to Beijing this time, I’ll go back to studying with that teacher.”

Duan Bainian breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “That’s good then. Go study acting.”

As promised, Su Miao went to her old teacher’s advanced class and returned to the life of a nine-to-five student.

She was still seen as aloof in the eyes of her classmates; only Duan Bainian knew how much of a chatterbox she really was.

【Today the teacher picked me for an objectless performance, and he praised me! Hehe!】

【Just now a classmate danced some jazz, it was really beautiful. She’s so amazing. I want to learn too, but I’m already this old, it probably won’t be easy to learn.】

【On the way home tonight, I met a stray cat. It was tiny and skin and bones, so pitiful. I’m going to pack a few of Ergou’s canned foods tomorrow. If I see a stray cat in the future, I’ll give it some to eat.】

【Time flies, Chinese New Year is almost here in the blink of an eye. My mom wants to take me to my grandma’s for the New Year, but I don’t want to go. I want to go to the set and spend it with you.】

……

On the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the advanced class went on break.

Su Miao said goodbye to He Aizhi and flew to Shanghai again.

Because the New Year was approaching, the atmosphere on the set was a bit livelier. Every night, the director would invite everyone to gather for a meal.

Su Miao arrived just in time for one. She had gone to eat happily, but she ended up eating a belly full of anger.

Even after returning to the hotel, Su Miao was still furious. “That producer clearly isn’t a good person, yet he kept toasting you. What does he want? The key is, you actually drank the wine he toasted! Can’t you refuse!”

Duan Bainian pinched Su Miao’s cheek. “It was a group dinner, the atmosphere was there. Besides, he was just toasting, he didn’t do anything else. Drinking a bit to show respect is necessary; there’s no need to snub him, right?”

Su Miao retorted, “He didn’t do anything else, but his eyes were glued to you! If there weren’t people around, who knows what he would have done!”

Duan Bainian laughed. “Alright, alright, I know what I’m doing. I wouldn’t give him a chance to be alone with me anyway, right? I know at least that much.”

After being coaxed for a while, Su Miao’s anger finally subsided a bit. She pouted, “Kiss me!”

Duan Bainian had a mischievous look. “Are you a kiss-demanding demon?”

Su Miao snorted. “Hurry up! Kiss me!”

The two shared a long, lingering kiss.

While Duan Bainian went to take a shower, Su Miao had nothing to do, so as usual, she went on Weibo and entered the “NianSu CP” Super Topic to see if there was any new fan fiction—reading fan fiction about herself had already become one of Su Miao’s daily pleasures.

In the past, when she saw the kind of fan fiction that made her blush, Su Miao would hide under the covers to read it. Now, she was becoming increasingly blatant about it, often sharing the ones she found particularly exciting with Duan Bainian.

Duan Bainian came out and took one look, knowing Su Miao was reading “indescribable” fan fiction again. She slapped Su Miao’s bottom. “Do your ‘Mommy fans’ know you’re this kind of idol?”

Su Miao chuckled. “Only you know.”

Two days later was New Year’s Eve.

The crew finished work early and arranged a group meal. They also bought some small handheld sparklers and distributed them to everyone outside the restaurant.

Su Miao was skeptical. “Aren’t fireworks and firecrackers banned? Can we light these?”

Some crew members had already lit theirs, and they were crackling in the dark night.

Duan Bainian thought about it. “Probably these small ones aren’t forbidden.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Miao lit a sparkler with a lighter, lighting five or six in a row, having the time of her life.

In the bitter winter cold, most people lit one or two for the novelty and then quickly couldn’t stand the cold, returning to the hotel. Before they knew it, only the two of them were left downstairs.

Su Miao was a child at heart after all, still full of joy. She relit a “fairy stick” sparkler and smiled at Duan Bainian amidst the flickering sparks.

“Duan Bainian, you play too!”

Duan Bainian smiled and took the sparkler Su Miao handed her. She lit it and watched the dots of fire bloom in clusters, brilliant and peaceful.

After the noise came a long silence.

Shanghai on New Year’s Eve was much quieter than usual. At this moment, most people were at home for a reunion.

But Duan Bainian didn’t feel lonely, because the little dummy was accompanying her.

She looked at the lights of ten thousand homes in the distance and smiled. “We’ve known each other for almost a year now.”

Su Miao was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise, “Gosh, that’s right! We’ve known each other for a year! The days with you have passed so quickly!”

Duan Bainian’s heart softened. “I also feel like time flies when I’m with you. This is the first time I’ve spent New Year’s Eve with you… I really want time to stop at this moment.”

Su Miao beamed at the words. “Time can’t stop, but we can spend every New Year’s Eve together from now on.”

After thinking about it, Su Miao was a bit uncertain. “Do you think we will spend one New Year’s Eve after another like this in the future?”

Duan Bainian stroked Su Miao’s head. “Of course we will.”

At ten o’clock at night, the two returned to the hotel.

After washing up, because the excitement from the fireworks hadn’t faded yet, Su Miao was tossing and turning, unable to sleep. she kept pestering Duan Bainian to tell her a story.

Duan Bainian conveniently picked up the book she had been reading lately. “Is Norwegian Wood okay?”

Su Miao looked up. “Norwegian Wood? Isn’t that a song?”

Duan Bainian said amusedly, “There’s also a book. By Haruki Murakami. Do you want to listen?”

Su Miao didn’t care if Norwegian Wood was a song or a book; she was just looking for an excuse to have Duan Bainian coax her.

She burrowed into Duan Bainian’s arms, finding a comfortable position. “I’ll listen, go ahead.”

Duan Bainian stroked Su Miao’s hair and began to softly read the passage on the page.

“You’re extremely cute, Midori,” I added.

“How ‘extremely’?”

“Cute enough to make mountains crumble and seas run dry.”

Midori looked up at me: “Your choice of words is certainly extraordinary.”

“Hearing you say that makes my heart feel all warm,” I laughed.

“Say something even better.”

“I like you best of all, Midori.”

“To what extent?”

“Like a spring bear.”

Su Miao interrupted, “Why say ‘like a spring bear’?”

Duan Bainian sighed. “Listen to me finish reading; isn’t there an explanation coming up?”

Su Miao swayed her head. “Then keep reading.”

Duan Bainian continued to read.

“A spring bear?” Midori looked up again. “What about a spring bear?”

“You’re walking through a field in spring all by yourself when a cute little bear walks up to you. His fur is soft as velvet and his eyes are big and round. He says, ‘Hello, Miss. Would you like to roll around with me?’ So you and the bear grab each other and go rolling down a clover-covered hill, tumbling over and over all day long. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“It’s wonderful.”

“That’s how much I like you.”

Su Miao giggled. “I like you too, just like a spring bear.”

Duan Bainian smiled. “Are you saying I’m that bear?”

Su Miao: “Even if you are a bear, you are the most beautiful bear in the world.”

Duan Bainian winked. “Hello, Miss. Would you like to roll around with me?”

Su Miao froze for a moment before realizing Duan Bainian was mimicking the bear’s lines. She giggled, “There isn’t a clover-covered hill here.”

Duan Bainian laughed. “But there is a two-meter wide soft bed.”

And so this “rolling around” went tumbling on, from New Year’s Eve right into the first day of the Lunar New Year.