She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Spring Radiance: “The Snail Girl.”

Lu Shuyu spoke with such bold confidence that Xia Leshuang didn’t react for a moment, simply staring back in a daze.

Lu Shuyu curled her lips into a smile and nudged her hand forward slightly, reminding her softly: “I only brought one.”

Xia Leshuang finally let out an “Oh,” nodding as she reached into her pocket. “Okay.”

She pulled out the one she had just put back, then hurriedly fished out two more from her other pocket. Holding all three band-aids between her fingers, she gently placed them into Lu Shuyu’s palm.

“Take them all,” she said softly, her expression so earnest she looked like a well-behaved little squirrel.

Lu Shuyu couldn’t help but chuckle. The slight unpleasantness caused by Xia Leshuang’s refusal to mention the past vanished instantly.

I’m a bit too easy to coax, Lu thought to herself, though she simply said, “Thanks.”

She tucked the extra two into her pocket and skillfully peeled the backing off the remaining one. Before applying it, a sudden thought made her pause—Xia Leshuang’s hand twitched as if she wanted to reach out and help.

Lu Shuyu smiled, her fingers moving quickly to finish the task. She then bent down to pick up the band-aid that had fallen earlier and showed off her hand. “Perfectly applied. I’m very practiced at this.”

While she had wanted to go with the flow and let Xia Leshuang help, she felt the timing wasn’t quite right.

“Yes, it’s on well,” Xia Leshuang replied.

The night wind grew noisier, making their hair increasingly messy. Lu Shuyu brushed a stray strand away from her mouth and said, “Let’s head back. It’s late.”

Thanks to the small “band-aid interlude,” the atmosphere between them loosened significantly. Even though neither spoke, the heaviness had lifted.

When they exited the elevator, Xia Leshuang called out to her again, looking tense as if she had finally made a resolution.

“By the way, PD Lu… that day—” “I had been drinking and might have been a bit out of it. I’m sorry.” “And… thank you for taking me in.”

After finishing those three sentences in a rush, her smile was slightly stiff from nerves. She paused for a moment before looking up at Lu.

“I should have thanked you that day, but I had a meeting with the others to discuss the script, so I didn’t have time.”

So, that’s really how it was.

Lu Shuyu bit her lip, the corners of her eyes curving upward in a clear sign of a good mood. She smiled: “No need to be polite, Teacher Xia.”

“After all,” she arched an eyebrow, “it’s not everyone who is lucky enough to meet a ‘Snail Girl’.”

Xia Leshuang froze, her dark pupils filled with innocence and confusion.

Lu Shuyu suppressed a laugh, pulled out her room card, and waved it at her. “Goodnight, Teacher Xia. See you tomorrow.”

Before the door closed, she heard Xia Leshuang’s reply: “See you tomorrow.”

…

Early the next morning, the production crew was ready.

“Song PD,” Hua Tong entered the room, “I’ve checked the flow with the guest teachers. Everything is fine.”

“Good.” Song Yi nodded. She, Chi Shan, and Chen Qian headed out, running into Lu Shuyu, who was returning from a quick trip to the restroom.

“All set?” Lu Shuyu was drying her hands, making the transparent band-aid on her palm quite noticeable.

Song Yi felt a bit helpless. “Injured again?”

Chi Shan shook her head. “No wonder PD Lu buys band-aids in bulk. She certainly goes through them.”

At this, Lu Shuyu flashed a smile, her brow tilting upward with a hint of mystery. This “smiling-but-silent” look made Chi Shan shiver; she took half a step back. “The sun isn’t even up yet. Why are you smiling like that? It’s creepy.”

Lu Shuyu rolled her eyes at her and tossed a tissue. “Let’s go.”

Unlike yesterday’s team shoot, today was a group competition, so the crew split into two—Song Yi and Chi Shan in one, Lu Shuyu and Chen Qian in the other.

Because of their performance yesterday, today’s captains had been pre-determined: Xia Leshuang and Luo Han, the two physical powerhouses of the Jin Jin Tuan.

Lu Shuyu and Chen Qian headed to Xia Leshuang’s room, while Song Yi and Chi Shan went to the fourth floor to find Luo Han.

“It’s an outdoor shoot today. Be careful not to get hurt again,” Song Yi called out.

Lu Shuyu heard her, turned back to give a high “OK” sign, and shouted back with a grin, “Got it!”

Chi Shan shook her head. “Sometimes I really feel like you treat Shuyu like a daughter.”

Song Yi chuckled. “Probably because she always calls me ‘Teacher.’ The sense of responsibility just kicks in.”

“Ohhh—” Chi Shan pitched her voice high and whiny. “Teacher~!”

Song Yi turned and walked away without looking back.

…

Knock, knock—

On camera, a clean, slender hand knocked on the door. It opened quickly to reveal Xia Leshuang wearing the Jin Jin Tuan uniform. The lemon-yellow color looked fresh and bright, very eye-catching.

Her styling today was similar to yesterday’s—her hair pulled back cleanly to reveal her forehead. Her striking features and bone structure looked heroic under the lens; even Chen Qian couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

Lu Shuyu handed over the mission card. Xia Leshuang took it, her gaze briefly sweeping over Lu’s other hand before landing on the card.

“Dear Jin Jin member, today we begin the group racing mission. You are one of today’s temporary captains. Please wait for other members to join you. In the meantime, we have prepared a warm-up mini-game. Challenges are welcome!”

After reading the card clearly, Xia Leshuang took two seconds to process it, then turned back into the room. Once the camera followed, she said, “Let’s begin then.”

She spoke so decisively that Lu Shuyu couldn’t help but ask, “Doesn’t Teacher Xia have anything to ask?”

The script only outlined the flow; the guests didn’t actually know the specific rules of the games.

Xia Leshuang smiled and shook her head. “My intuition tells me there’s something tricky about this mini-game, so I’d rather just challenge it quickly.”

Lu Shuyu’s lips curled up. “Alright.”

She raised her hand, and the staff behind her pushed in a small table covered with a black velvet cloth, hiding whatever was beneath. The cubic shape under the cloth looked suspiciously familiar. Xia Leshuang instinctively guessed, “It’s not the letter balls again, is it?”

The letter balls were the props used in the hot pot game yesterday.

Behind the lens, Lu Shuyu looked over with a silent, teasing smile.

Xia Leshuang immediately pressed her palms together toward the camera. “Sorry, let’s redo that.” She stood still for two seconds and then asked with fresh surprise: “What is this?”

She really is a Movie Queen, Chen Qian thought with a smirk.

Lu Shuyu cooperatively lifted the black cloth to reveal a black box with a new, rainbow-colored Jin Jin Tuan logo.

“This is the Letter Game.” She patted the box, the band-aid on her hand standing out against the black. “Please draw three letter balls blindly and use those initials to form a word. It must be a noun for a physical object to count as a success. You have three chances. If you fail all three, the game is lost.”

Just as she hadn’t questioned the mission, Xia Leshuang only hesitated for a split second before nodding. “Okay, I’ll start.”

With Lu Shuyu’s nod, she immediately pulled out three balls, only to find they were different from yesterday’s. Yesterday’s were all lemon-yellow with stickers. These three were rainbow-colored, rainbow-colored, and black-and-white.

“D, SH, F…” Xia Leshuang read the initials. She rearranged them in her head, knitting her brows in thought before saying, “Dian-Feng-Shan (Electric Fan)?”

Lu Shuyu was surprised and clapped in congratulation. “Congratulations, Teacher Xia, on a successful challenge.”

“So,” Xia Leshuang asked expectantly, “is there a reward? Like priority choice?”

Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement. Lu Shuyu couldn’t help but laugh and clap enthusiastically. “And congratulations to Teacher Xia’s group for earning their specific team name—”

“The Can’t-Stay-Idle Team! (Xian-Bu-Xia Team)”

…

In an instant, the expression on Xia Leshuang’s face could only be described as “kaleidoscopic.” Chen Qian adjusted the camera to capture her reaction perfectly.

Finally, Xia Leshuang took a deep breath and gave a helpless smile, as if accepting her fate. “Alright,” she sighed. “I guess it works.”

Then, she looked at Lu Shuyu and asked curiously, “What about the other team?”

Lu Shuyu paused for two seconds before smiling. “Great transition point. Thanks, Teacher Xia~”

Xia Leshuang blinked, then slowly began to laugh. It was natural and radiant, just like the spring sunlight rising outside the window. She didn’t look at the camera; she looked behind it.

Lu Shuyu met her gaze, and for a moment, she felt as if she had been transported back nine years. She returned the smile.

Xia Leshuang froze for a second, then averted her eyes to look out the window. “It’s going to be a beautiful day,” she said.

Lu Shuyu didn’t respond. Her phone buzzed with a message from Song Yi: Luo Han’s recording was also finished. Although the mission cards were similar, they had been phrased differently to lead the guests. Luo Han hadn’t chosen to play the game; instead, she had left her door wide open and sat waiting patiently for her teammates.

“Teacher Xia,” Lu smiled, “your teammates are ready. You can head out now~”

…

Only when they got downstairs did Xia Leshuang realize that the game hadn’t just decided the team name—it decided their route. Two teams, two cars, two different paths.

The other five guests were waiting at the entrance. They waved good morning, and Xia Leshuang responded to each one.

“Shuang-shuang!” Jiang Fei suddenly said. “Guess who your teammates are!”

Xia Leshuang laughed, pointing at the way they had instinctively split into two groups. “I don’t think I have to guess. It’s pretty obvious.”

Jiang Fei realized her mistake. “Ah, forgot! My bad!”

“What is your team name?” Xia Leshuang asked curiously.

Luo Han laughed. “The Too-Lazy-To-Move Team (Lan-De-Dong Team).”

…

Xia Leshuang gave a short laugh and gave a thumbs-up to Chen Qian’s camera. “‘Can’t Stay Idle’ and ‘Too Lazy To Move.’ Those are great names.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Tang Jiahe extended her hand and shouted, “Jin Jins! Let’s do our best today!”

Just like yesterday, the six women stacked their hands and threw them upward—

“Let’s go!”