She Said She Has Feelings For Someone - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Acting Coquettishly—Is This Something Friends Can Do?

Perhaps due to the discomfort of her illness, Lu Shuyu’s expression held a hint of sharpness.

But to Xia Leshuang, it felt like a sugar-coated pill; the slight bitterness and pain no longer mattered, and she accepted it willingly.

“Yes,” she finally responded. “We are friends. Just like before.”

As soon as she spoke, Lu Shuyu froze for a moment. Then, her brows softened, and she broke into an unreserved smile, her joy visible to the naked eye.

After her laughter subsided, she saw that Xia Leshuang was still dazed. She shot her a look and tilted her chin up: “Come closer.”

Xia Leshuang moved closer instinctively. Lu Shuyu leaned against her, resting her head in the crook of Xia’s neck. Her forehead pressed against the side of Xia’s neck, transmitting a scorching heat.

“Hand,” Lu Shuyu added.

Xia Leshuang took her hand and warmed it between her own again.

“Ah…” Lu Shuyu sighed. “It really wasn’t easy finally becoming Teacher Xia’s friend.”

Hearing this, Xia Leshuang felt helpless. Her heart felt so sweet it was almost aching. She smiled and said softly, “Sleep. I’ll watch over you.”

Late into the night, the two returned to the hotel. Lu Shuyu collapsed directly onto the bed, kicking off her shoes with zero regard for her image.

She closed her eyes, her voice light and raspy: “You’ve worked hard, Teacher Xia. You should go rest too…”

Xia Leshuang helped tuck her in and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

The person on the bed seemed to have fallen asleep; there was no reply for a long time.

“Asleep?” Xia Leshuang leaned in slightly, wanting to check her breathing.

One of Lu Shuyu’s eyes suddenly snapped open, startling her. Once Xia backed away, the eye closed again.

It seemed she was refusing food and only wanted to sleep—a “Do Not Disturb” sign in human form.

Xia Leshuang pursed her lips and prepared to stand up, but the person on the bed suddenly reached out and snagged her pinky finger.

She looked over in surprise. Lu Shuyu still didn’t open her eyes, only saying: “Xia Leshuang. If you don’t want to go, stay with me a while longer. This is something friends can do.”

…

The next day, when Xia Leshuang woke up, she realized she had fallen asleep on Lu Shuyu’s bed.

Before she could process how “a while” had turned into “all night,” she got up to look for Lu Shuyu, who was no longer beside her.

“Shuyu?”

Before she could call out more than twice, the door opened, accompanied by the sound of chatting. She instinctively tried to hide, but heard Director Chi Shan’s voice at the door: “Is someone talking in your room?”

“Teacher Xia is here,” Lu Shuyu replied naturally. “Yesterday, I accidentally held onto her and slept the whole night.”

…

The air went silent for a moment.

Xia Leshuang’s scalp felt numb. She poked her head out and met the blank stare of Chi Shan: “Director Chi, morning.”

“Oh, I see.” Chi Shan’s mouth hung open as she stammered out a few syllables. Then, taking a deep breath, she smiled: “Morning, Teacher Xia! Well, you two eat, I’m headed out!”

She finished talking and bolted, running incredibly fast.

After a night of rest, Lu Shuyu’s condition was much better; she was practically back to full strength.

“Morning, Teacher Xia~”

She walked in carrying a bag of breakfast, heading quickly to the table. As she unpacked, she said, “Go wash up and come eat. I’m starving to death.”

“Alright,” Xia Leshuang chuckled. “You eat first.”

Lu Shuyu didn’t have time to reply. She used both hands to grab food, letting out a muffled “Mm-hmm” from her throat as a response.

Having not eaten properly for nearly four days, she ate like a starving ghost, making Xia Leshuang’s heart soften at the sight.

This Lu Shuyu is wonderful.

By the time Xia finished washing up, nearly half the food on the table was gone. And the person who was just acting like a “starving ghost” had stopped eating, propping her chin up while looking at the sky outside.

It was a beautiful sunny day.

Xia Leshuang smiled and sat at the table. “Finished already?”

“Yeah,” Lu Shuyu nodded. “I haven’t eaten well for days, so I shouldn’t eat too much all at once.”

Only then did Xia Leshuang notice the portion sizes on the table; they weren’t large. Usually, if Lu Shuyu were this hungry, she could have finished it all alone. No wonder Chi Shan hadn’t suspected anything… until she saw Xia Leshuang herself.

The fact that Lu Shuyu spoke so directly was likely because she viewed them as friends and felt no need to hide.

Thinking of this, Xia Leshuang’s heart tightened slightly. She lowered her eyes and began to eat. She had originally planned to apologize for accidentally sleeping there, but now she didn’t want to say it.

Some things were better left unclarified. Leaving room for imagination might be better.

Seeing her focused on eating, Lu Shuyu went to open the window. A warm spring breeze blew in, carrying the scent of moisture and sunlight.

“How is it? Doesn’t it go perfectly with breakfast?”

Xia Leshuang paused, then smiled gently. “It’s quite nice.”

Lu Shuyu beamed, turned to embrace the spring breeze, and took a deep breath, saying full of anticipation: “Going to the island today will definitely be a success!”

…

After breakfast, the production crew packed up to head to the island.

The boat sailed across the sea. It was a glorious day, and even the boatman commented that they had picked perfect weather.

Lu Shuyu, her spirits restored, was delighted; the smile never left her face.

Hua Tong joked: “Producer Lu is feeling better? You look like you’ve come back to life.”

“Sorry,” Lu Shuyu laughed. “I worried you all these past few days.”

As they chatted, someone on deck suddenly cried out, “A whale?!”

This was followed by a chorus of gasps from the staff. They hurried over and indeed saw a massive creature beneath the azure water.

“Wow,” Jiang Fei said happily. “We’re so lucky.”

Lu Shuyu was thrilled. Her eyes instinctively searched the crowd until she found Xia Leshuang behind her.

She flashed a bright smile: “Xia Leshuang, did you see it?!”

The wind and waves were roaring. She raised her voice so every word reached Xia clearly.

Xia Leshuang’s heart raced. Smiling, she nodded and shouted back: “I saw it! We are very lucky!”

In that moment, Xia Leshuang suddenly remembered a wish she had made in her heart long ago—the hope that one day, she and Lu Shuyu would meet again by chance.

Fortunately, that wish had come true. Every day since reuniting with Lu Shuyu had been more vivid, joyful, and happy than the days before.

…

Shortly after the whale sighting, they arrived at Zhang Island.

When they reached the designated guesthouse, they discovered an even greater coincidence.

“Grandmother?” “Granny?”

He Wenyin and Luo Han spoke at the same time. Both were startled. They looked at each other just as the owner of the guesthouse shouted in surprise: “Oh my, it really is Yin-yin and Miss Ma!”

Lu Shuyu realized then that this guesthouse had been recommended by the local island staff; it might have been an intentional arrangement. Of course, it was also because only Granny’s house had a large garden, making it the top choice for aesthetics.

However, the connection between He Wenyin and Luo Han could only be explained by Granny.

After settling in, they learned about Luo Han’s history here. It turned out that eight years ago, Luo Han had lived here alone for six months and helped Granny renovate the garden. Likely wishing to remain unrecognized, she told everyone her surname was Ma and asked them to call her Miss Ma.

“Eight years ago…” Chi Shan counted the days. “Teacher Luo spent a year in lawsuits after retiring. She must have come here shortly after winning?”

Lu Shuyu nodded. Based on the timeline, that seemed right.

“Back then, Teacher He was busy studying and acting, so they never crossed paths.”

Hua Tong sighed emotionally. “That’s so coincidental. They ended up meeting after all these twists and turns.”

Lu Shuyu chuckled. “The way you say it makes it sound very ‘shippable.'”

Hua Tong winked. “Well, the screenwriters have already given up on the ‘official’ pairings anyway. We can ship whoever we want!”

That was true. The interaction between the six guests was already so vivid; any two people together created a unique chemistry. Forcing “official” lines would feel unnatural; they hadn’t written any since the T-City episode.

Lu Shuyu finished packing and looked out the window. She saw the blue sea and heard the waves riding the wind—warm and cozy. In the garden below, the guests were chatting with Granny He, laughing and enjoying a great atmosphere.

Xia Leshuang was acting alone again, leaning against the door and staring intently at the sea as if it were a novelty.

“Alright,” Lu Shuyu smiled and withdrew her gaze. “We can head out.”

They walked along the coast. The island had been developed but wasn’t very famous, so tourism hadn’t quite taken off, though the facilities were complete—including a stylishly decorated seaside bookstore.

The directing team brought cameras to film some b-roll footage in advance. Chi Shan sighed while filming: “It’s so beautiful. I feel like I could film b-roll forever.”

Lu Shuyu couldn’t help but laugh. “If we go into the mountains later, will you be so filmed out that you won’t want to come back?”

“Maybe not,” Chi Shan shook her head. “The mountains are beautiful, but the risk is high. A rainstorm or something would be terrifying.”

They hadn’t scouted Zhang Island beforehand, so they recorded as they went. Fortunately, the theme was leisure; otherwise, it might have been stressful.

Suddenly, a raindrop splashed onto the tip of Lu Shuyu’s nose. Looking at the bright sun overhead, she didn’t react at first. But the raindrops began pitter-pattering down faster. They finally realized: “It’s raining!”

“A sunshower!”

There was a convenience store right behind them. The crew immediately sought shelter—half went inside, half stayed under the eaves.

Lu Shuyu stood under the eaves, watching the curtain of rain, the sunlight, and the sea.

“Director Chi,” she called out. “Ask the store if we can set up a shot inside.”

“Got it.” Chi Shan immediately understood.

As the glass door opened and closed, the wind chimes rang out vibrantly. Behind the glass, Chi Shan set up the camera to film the view from the store’s perspective.

Lu Shuyu didn’t stay idle either. She turned on her handheld camera and ran to the opposite side of the store to capture the scenery in the rain.

“Lu Shuyu—”

Suddenly, someone called her name. The voice was familiar.

As she turned around, the person was already standing behind her, holding a transparent umbrella over both of them. She stared at Lu Shuyu with a look of worry and helplessness.

“Lu Shuyu,” Xia Leshuang called again.

This time, Lu Shuyu could tell that the other woman was a little bit angry.

“I’m here,” she replied, knowing she was in the wrong. She complied immediately.

She pursed her lips and blinked, looking incredibly well-behaved. The anger Xia Leshuang felt from her deliberately standing in the rain dissipated instantly.

Xia Leshuang felt helpless, but a different kind of irritation rose up. She held it back but eventually couldn’t help but ask:

“To your friends… do you always act this coquettishly?”