The Movie Queen's Virtual Little Girlfriend - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Beautiful

Ultimately, Jiang Yitong only responded with a faint “Good,” quickly moved her gaze away from Fang Qing’s face, and opened the door to step out of the car.

With her vision blocked, Fang Qing felt a bit dazed, frowning in confusion as she followed her.

Jiang Yitong hadn’t received a message from Xia Yang, so she had no choice but to follow Fang Qing toward the private room she had booked. The hallway was noisy; the sounds of singing leaked out from other rooms—some were pop songs Jiang Yitong had heard before, others were oldies being belted out with passion.

Fang Qing pushed open a door, and Jiang Yitong followed, her gaze passing over Fang Qing’s shoulder to see Xia Yang and the others singing their hearts out.

“Teacher Jiang, Sister Fang Qing, you’re here!”

With the microphone held near her lips, Xia Yang turned to look at the two late arrivals, her radiant smile pulling Jiang Yitong back from her illusions into reality.

Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, she thought of someone else.

Different smiles, yet there must be a common thread—otherwise, why would she think of that person so aimlessly? Perhaps it was because, just minutes ago, she had been looking at that girl’s photos, and the smiling face in those images remained in her mind, not yet given enough time to be erased.

Jiang Yitong sat at the edge of the sofa, quietly listening to the others sing.

There were five people in the room, but only two were sitting: her and Fang Qing. Jiang Yitong watched the three people dancing freely in front of the big screen; they possessed the youngest hearts and the most exuberant energy. She, however, was like the only outsider—unable to blend in, quiet, and taciturn.

Fang Qing looked at her, her gaze slowly moving and tracing her profile inch by inch, as if she held a brush in her eyes, outlining her features stroke by stroke.

Jiang Yitong didn’t like to sing and didn’t think she could sing well. Given her personality, no one in the room insisted that she perform a song. As the birthday girl, Xia Yang didn’t make her sing for her; instead, she urged her to eat and drink, singing to her instead. She asked Jiang Yitong to pick a song, but Jiang Yitong just shook her head with a light smile. “Anything is fine.”

She couldn’t think of any song titles for the moment, and if forced to come up with a singer, the only one who came to mind was the one who had been repeatedly mentioned today: Jiang Wanyou.

“Then I’ll go with a rock song, something lively!”

Xia Yang’s style was versatile; she seemed to be able to handle any type of music. In this short time, Jiang Yitong had heard her switch through at least three different genres. Jiang Yitong had always known Xia Yang excelled at martial arts, but today she truly realized that the girl could do anything well, all born from passion. Xia Yang was passionate about martial arts, passionate about singing, and passionate about acting.

Xia Yang’s birthday cake was placed on the table. Some were responsible for lighting the candles, others for leading everyone in singing the birthday song. Jiang Yitong stood at the very edge, watching the candlelight dance and illuminate Xia Yang’s face; her features were half-lit, half-shadowed.

The young girl, who had just turned eighteen, had a long road ahead of her. She would live life fervently. As Jiang Yitong fell into thought, the birthday song reached its end. She saw Xia Yang clasp her hands together and close her eyes.

Just past eleven, she was making a wish—the first beautiful wish of her eighteenth year. Jiang Yitong didn’t look away, watching her close her eyes, watching her open them, and watching her blow out the candles. The room was bathed in dim, dazzling colors; the only warm orange glow was extinguished, but the warmth remained.

Through Xia Yang’s eighteenth birthday, Jiang Yitong seemed to see her own—the good and the bad—which together had shaped who she was today.

“What did you wish for, Xia Yang?” someone asked.

“Hey! Why are you asking? It won’t come true if you say it out loud!” another immediately countered.

Xia Yang laughed and said it was fine. “This year’s birthday wish…hmm…actually, there’s nothing much to wish for. I just hope my parents stay healthy, and I hope I can remain as I am, or perhaps even be more passionate about life than I was last year.”

“Actually, the latter part isn’t really a wish; it’s something I have to do myself. It’s fine to say it out loud; it will come true even if I do. The same goes for my parents’ health; they will stay healthy.”

She explained, her gaze sweeping from the colleague on her far left all the way to Jiang Yitong’s face. Jiang Yitong’s expression was calm, but when she faced Xia Yang, she showed a genuine, faint smile.

“In short, I thank you all for coming and spending such a special and wonderful eighteenth birthday with me.”

As Xia Yang spoke, she suddenly took two steps back and gave them a deep bow before anyone could react. Jiang Yitong watched quietly, neither stopping her nor saying a word. She was like someone living in a different world than those who immediately reached out to pull Xia Yang up; there was an invisible, transparent barrier between her and the others.

Time was tight, and not everyone had prepared a gift; two of them simply offered their most sincere blessings.

The gift Jiang Yitong had prepared for Xia Yang had been resting by her side—a small, dark red paper bag. She took it out, extracted a small box, and opened it. An exquisite bracelet was revealed before Xia Yang’s eyes, the inlaid gemstones reflecting the colorful lights from above. The light seemed to enter Xia Yang’s eyes, and Jiang Yitong saw them brighten.

“Happy birthday, little sister. May your wishes come true,” she said, handing over the box. She only withdrew her hand after Xia Yang took it, offering the simplest yet most sincere wish.

Although Shen Si had gone to the store specifically to buy the bracelet that afternoon, Jiang Yitong had chosen the style on the official website. The meaning of this piece was “a beautiful future”—it couldn’t have been more appropriate for Xia Yang.

Xia Yang clearly loved the gift. Of all the presents, this one was the most precious. She wanted to put it away at first, but after a few seconds of hesitation, she decided to put it on immediately. She turned her wrist, full of joy, unable to take her eyes off the bracelet. “It’s so beautiful, truly so beautiful. Thank you, Teacher Jiang.”

Jiang Yitong smiled faintly, her eyes reflecting the young girl’s joy.

The scene flickered suddenly, and Xia Yang’s figure transformed into another’s. Xia Yang’s smile was like her name, a warm sun in summer—direct and hidden from nothing. The other person’s smile was different: sweet, serene, like rain nourishing the earth.

On the way back, Jiang Yitong opened Weibo again—no hesitation, no hesitation, as if this had been her goal all along. She scrolled through her feed, no longer shocked that her account was still mutually following Jiang Er, no longer marveling that Jiang Er’s post still appeared in her feed, and no longer questioning whether she was in a dream or reality.

She calmly opened the nine photos again, looked at them meticulously once more, then clicked into Jiang Er’s empty comment section and left a silent reply.

Jiang Yitong: Very beautiful.

Her reply was concise, with no further elaboration, let Jiang Er understand it however she wished.

The scenery was beautiful, and the way Jiang Er loved life was beautiful, too.

In truth, either way was correct.

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