Make Her Heart Flutter - Chapter 46

“We saved some for you two. You were gone for so long, I didn’t even know what excuse to make up.”

The three of them chatted as they walked, soon arriving at the entrance.

The elderly grandparents immediately started stuffing dates into Chi Shuang and Jiang Qi’s arms upon seeing them: “Sweet, delicious.”

After spending the afternoon together, Jiang Qi and the others had gradually grown familiar with the elderly.

Jiang Qi accepted the dates, revealing a rare smile in everyone’s eyes: “Thank you.”

“No need for thanks, what’s there to thank? They’re from our own trees, hardly worth any money.”

With Jiang Qi and Chi Shuang’s return, the lively atmosphere lasted for quite a while.

However, all good things must come to an end. Though reluctant, everyone had to head back.

“Goodbye, grandparents!” Jiang Ran, being the youngest, waved at the group of elderly, tears nearly welling up in her eyes.

Especially the kind-faced grandmother, who was also quietly wiping her tears.

She had been particularly kind to Jiang Ran today, though Jiang Ran didn’t understand why.

Jiang Ran wasn’t an unfeeling person, so due to the afternoon’s kindness, little Jiang Ran was listless on the way back.

“Seems like we forgot something.” Chi Shuang, sitting in the back seat, furrowed her brows as she pondered.

“Did we?” Jiang Qi thought back but couldn’t recall anything missing.

Chi Shuang breathed a sigh of relief: “Then I’m reassured.”

At the nursing home, when Xiao Lin came out of the kitchen carrying bags of items, the elderly stared at him in astonishment: “So much stuff? Xiao Lin, did you strike it rich?”

Xiao Lin, responsible for the nursing home, earned just over three thousand a month, supporting his entire family. He often added dishes to the nursing home’s meals.

Basically, he had little leftover money, how could he afford all this?

Xiao Lin smiled mysteriously: “It’s from those who came today.”

One elderly person frowned and clapped their hands: “Oh, what a sin! Those kids, how old are they? How could we eat things they bought?”

Xiao Lin chuckled.

The elderly were simple and kind-hearted, they couldn’t bear to accept things bought by children.

“Don’t worry, the kids who came today are all big celebrities!”

He explained, gradually easing the elderly’s concerns.

However, Xiao Lin still chose not to tell them about the nursing home’s reconstruction plans, afraid they would get their hopes up for nothing.

As she stepped into the courtyard, Chi Shuang finally remembered: “Oh no! We left the camera crew over there.”

Jiang Qi blinked: “Hmm… I thought they would call the director’s team.”

Chi Shuang sighed: “Ah, my apologies to them.”

Saying this, Chi Shuang picked up her phone and briefly explained the situation to the director.

Today’s income: 120 yuan. Expenditure: 114.5 yuan.

Food expenses increased by 6.5 yuan.

But at least they managed to get a free meal.

…

Even summer evenings were hot, with breezes feeling like blasts of heat.

Fortunately, air conditioning made it somewhat bearable.

But in the early hours of that night.

Jiang Qi suddenly woke up from the heat. Drenched in sweat, she couldn’t see her hand in front of her face.

She swallowed hard and checked her phone: 2 a.m.

Why did the air conditioning turn off?

Frowning, she pressed the air conditioner button using her phone’s light.

No response? A power outage?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Jiang Qi, just waking up, was a bit dazed and couldn’t imagine who would be knocking so late. After all, only she and Chi Shuang lived in this house.

She lay in bed for two seconds before calling out, “Coming.”

Being woken from a dream by the heat wasn’t exactly pleasant, but the moment she saw Chi Shuang’s face, still gentle and beautiful even in the darkness, her mood instantly lifted.

“The power’s out,” Chi Shuang said.

Seeing that Jiang Qi seemed to have just woken up, Chi Shuang continued, “Only our place is affected. The circuit breaker tripped suddenly around midnight. I tried resetting it once, but it didn’t work. Probably an issue with the wiring somewhere.”

As Chi Shuang calmly analyzed the situation, Jiang Qi’s mind cleared up. “But it’s not practical to find someone to fix it now. I doubt the production crew has an electrician on standby.”

Chi Shuang nodded. “I thought the same, wondering if we could just tough it out. But once the cool air faded, the room became unbearably stuffy.”

It was true, Jiang Qi had been woken by the heat herself.

“When I was very young, we didn’t have air conditioning or even fans. In the summer, we used to sleep on the rooftop, it was windy and cool up there,” Chi Shuang shared.

This building happened to have a flat roof with stairs leading up to it.

Jiang Qi thought for a moment. “Alright, let’s go up and check if it’s windy enough and whether we can sleep there.”

Chi Shuang agreed.

Once they climbed up, they found the rooftop unexpectedly spacious and clean, with a strong breeze blowing.

Unlike the artificial wind from an air conditioner, this was a natural wind, refreshing and cool. After standing there for just a short while, the sweat on their bodies had completely dried.

They went back downstairs to fetch their blankets, then laid them out side by side.

“Will there be mosquitoes?” Jiang Qi wondered aloud as she finished arranging her bedding and sat down.

“Probably not. It’s too windy, mosquitoes can’t fly up here,” Chi Shuang reassured her.

After all the commotion, Jiang Qi found she couldn’t fall back asleep even with her eyes closed.

She glanced at Chi Shuang beside her, whose profile remained as stunningly beautiful as a fairy’s.

“Are you asleep?” Jiang Qi asked softly after a while.

“No,” Chi Shuang replied, opening her eyes and turning her head. Their gazes met.

It felt almost like they were sharing a bed!

Jiang Qi’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly averted her eyes.

Chi Shuang raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess what you’re thinking? You can’t even look me in the eye now.”

“Nothing,” Jiang Qi turned her head away, deliberately avoiding Chi Shuang’s gaze.

Her eyes wandered to the sky, and she gasped in surprise. “There are stars!”

In the city, light pollution was so severe that the night sky usually appeared orange-red. Catching a glimpse of stars required perfect timing and conditions.

But here, the sky was filled with twinkling stars.

Those popular starry night wallpapers from childhood now seemed tacky as an adult, but seeing the real night sky in person, no one could resist being captivated by it.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen this,” Chi Shuang murmured, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.

Jiang Qi blinked a few times, moistening her dry eyes from staring too long. “Can you tell me about yourself? I’d like to hear.”

Chi Shuang’s expression paused briefly before a smile reappeared on her face.

“I’m an orphan. An unwanted orphan.”

Despite the sadness of the words and the story, Chi Shuang spoke with a gentle voice tinged with a faint smile.

It was as if she wasn’t talking about her own life, but reciting a story.

“I grew up in an orphanage since childhood, was discovered by a talent scout, and then struggled through the entertainment industry for seven years!”

The tone of the last sentence finally carried a hint of fluctuation, like a reflection, or perhaps a sigh.