The Night is Called Gentle - Chapter 11

“A Lin Mei Mei descended from the heavens, like a wisp of cloud newly emerged from the mountain.”

Her voice was slightly hoarse and a bit off-key.

When Lin Zhixia was excited, she exhibited two states: one was a frenzied, all-consuming writing spree, and the other was a milder form of self-indulgent madness. The latter occurred rarely, and it was even rarer for her to be this excited so early in the morning.

The rain that had drizzled on and off for a week had finally stopped. Timid sunlight spilled over the overly damp city.

Wrapped in her blanket, Lin Zhixia rolled around a few times before getting up to draw the curtains. Seeing the long-awaited sunshine made her even more exhilarated.

“Graceful as a flower mirrored in water, her movements like the wind brushing through willow branches.”

Humming the opera lyrics, she washed up, then tiptoed to the kitchen to heat milk, boil eggs, and steam a few shrimp dumplings that Zhao Jinchu had personally filled and wrapped.

Her appetite was excellent at breakfast. After eating, she carried her laptop from the study, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and pretended to be busy.

Li Meng had sent a message early in the morning, saying that Editor-in-Chief Sun had already contacted the theater, and they might get a response as soon as today.

Lin Zhixia was inwardly delighted but maintained an air of composure, leisurely replying with three big characters: “Got it.”

She made some half-hearted revisions to her manuscript, and just before noon, Editor-in-Chief Sun called.

Because Sun was always overly enthusiastic, Lin Zhixia straightened up before answering the phone.

“Xiao Lin, Li Meng told me everything. So you’ve agreed to collaborate! Your awareness is truly higher than all of ours. You’re promoting traditional culture, promoting opera culture!”

“You flatter me, you flatter me.”

“Entrusting this matter to our agency, you can rest assured. I’m very familiar with your Aunt Zhao, and we have a lot of professional exchanges with their school. Naturally, we’ll give your matter our utmost attention.”

“I’m assured, I’m assured.”

“The theater troupe was very excited to hear you agreed to collaborate. They said they’d like to meet you in person to discuss. For an adaptation, it’s quite necessary to hear the author’s opinions.”

“No, no.”

“All these years, you’ve never revealed your identity, and we’ve always respected that, so we didn’t agree on your behalf. Also, their organization isn’t as financially robust as a film company. As for the copyright fee, you know, it might not be very high. But don’t worry, the agency will fight for you.”

“No need, no need.”

“What do you mean, no need? This is the first time your work is being adapted it has to be done beautifully!”

“Didn’t you say it’s about promoting opera culture? No pressure.”

“Oh my Your awareness is even higher than I imagined. Truly worthy of being Director Lin’s daughter.”

“You flatter me, you flatter me.”

“The letter of intent was prepared by their institute early this morning and already emailed to me. After all, it’s a major organization they handle things very properly. I’ll have Li Meng send it to you shortly. If you have any issues or requests, just speak up. I know you young people don’t care about many things, but one thing at a time, right?”

“Yes, yes.”

“I’ll contact you if there are any new developments. Anyway, feel free to share any thoughts or requests you have you can also reach out to Li Meng. Collaboration is all about communicating well in advance to avoid any misunderstandings later.”

“Okay, okay.”

“Let’s leave it at that for now. We should arrange a meal with Professor Zhao and Director Lin one of these days.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Take care then.”

“You too.”

After hanging up, Lin Zhixia stretched her body and limbs, confirming to herself that she wasn’t a robot.

It wasn’t that she was socially anxious or being dismissive; she just wasn’t very good at chatting with overly enthusiastic elders she wasn’t familiar with. It felt as though their enthusiasm had compressed her inner universe into collapse.

While her inner universe was still recovering, her phone buzzed a few times messages from Li Meng.

“Lin, I’ve sent the letter of intent for the theater collaboration to your email. Please take a look.”

“I’ve noted the adaptation format, content, and approximate copyright fees.”

“If there are any issues, just let me know.”

“If you find it troublesome, I can also come to you in person to confirm the details.”

Such efficiency! Do all working professionals operate this efficiently nowadays?

Grabbing her laptop, Lin Zhixia felt a bit wistful as she downloaded the document. She hadn’t had the chance to work in a company yet and was quite eager to find a job.

Opening the document, she squinted her eyes. As expected of a formal organization the document was quite official.

Thinking of the “nonsense” she had sent to Yan Huaiqing, she began to reflect on whether her own writing had been too casual.

Shaking her head to refocus, she continued reading the details Li Meng had highlighted.

A quick skim no issues.

A careful read still no issues.

After all, the adaptation part was just a general direction, and specific details weren’t immediately apparent. But given Yan Huaiqing’s taste, it was likely to only improve the work.

As for the copyright fee, since it was for promoting traditional culture, there were no problems there either.

“No issues,” Lin Zhixia sent three big characters in reply.

Li Meng responded instantly: “You’ve finished reading?”

“Not many words.” Of course she could finish it quickly.

“Are you sure there are no issues??”

“None.”

The other party is typing,

A minute later, still typing,

Lin Zhixia tilted her head from side to side, curious about what the other person could possibly be typing.

“Well, shall I go ahead and respond?”

After all that time, just this?

“Sure, go ahead,” Lin Zhixia replied instantly as well.

Closing her phone, she stretched her legs, picked up her laptop, and headed to the study. It had been such a busy day finally, she could focus on revising her book in peace.

Having skipped lunch, she felt a bit hungry by mid-afternoon. She washed an apple, took a bite, and sent a message to the family group chat saying she’d be home for dinner.

Director Lin was busy and didn’t reply, but Zhao Jinchu welcomed her enthusiastically, sending a long list of dish names.

The apple was a bit sour. Lin Zhixia swallowed her saliva as she looked at the dish names, then opened her social media feed.

The first post was from Jiang Jing, saying she was returning to Ancheng, accompanied by a photo of an airport with a plane that looked like a chubby little figure quite adorable.

Lin Zhixia gave it a like, then opened Jiang Jing’s chat window: “Jiang Jing, when you’re back, let me treat you to a meal.”

She felt that the current “complicated fate” of Several Layers of Mountains was largely thanks to Jiang Jing’s accidental collision. Although she wasn’t planning to mention the adaptation just yet, she still wanted to thank her properly.

“Oh?”

“Didn’t expect that from you.”

“You’re quite straightforward.”

“When?”

“Where to meet?”

Jiang Jing’s chat style remained as consistent as ever.

“You decide, my treat. Anything you’d like to eat,” Lin Zhixia replied.

“Whoa, not afraid I’ll take you for an expensive meal?”

“Not afraid. It’s only right.” Lin Zhixia grinned foolishly at the screen.

“Tomorrow then.”

“I have to go to the theater in the afternoon.”

“Lunch or dinner both work.”

“I’ve been eating extravagantly for several days.”

“Can’t handle any more feasting.”

“Let’s have something light.”

Jiang Jing’s lack of formality made Lin Zhixia realize for the first time that some things and some people really didn’t require repeated refusals. She loved this natural, smooth flow of conversation.

“Sounds good,” she replied.

“Just waiting for my flight now.”

“Let me check some restaurants.”

“I’ll send you the choice.”

“OK.” Before locking her phone, Lin Zhixia thought for a moment and added, “If it’s not bothering you, could I go to the theater with you?”

Jiang Jing didn’t reply immediately, probably still looking at restaurants.

Lin Zhixia stared at the screen waiting. She really wanted to visit the theater.

She was curious about how Yan Huaiqing would react. Even without the adaptation matter, she’d be happy just to see her and watch the rehearsals.

“Of course you can!”

“It was quite late yesterday.”

“Teacher Yan was actually talking about you.”

“Said you should come sit at the theater when you’re free.”

“How did you do it?”

“Actually making Teacher Yan”

“Think of you”

“Unforgettably”

Jiang Jing’s messages came rushing in.

Unforgettable? Lin Zhixia’s pupils trembled slightly as she stared at those four characters. Even though she knew Jiang Jing tended to exaggerate, she still felt a sweet sensation in her heart.

“Me? What did Teacher Yan say about me?” Lin Zhixia typed. Could it be because of the suggestions she sent yesterday?

If only she had thought to add WeChat when sending those suggestions. If they were connected on WeChat, maybe Yan Huaiqing would have chatted with her directly yesterday. She felt a belated regret.

“Hmph”

“Not telling you”

“Just not telling you”

Jiang Jing was being deliberately mysterious.

“Pfft~” Lin Zhixia laughed. She could perfectly imagine Jiang Jing’s smug expression while saying this.

After some thought, she decided to leave her hanging for a while, convinced that Jiang Jing wasn’t someone who could keep things to herself for long.

Besides, with Jiang Jing’s personality, the more you pressed her, the more mysterious she’d become.

She locked her phone and placed it face down on the sofa, then went to her bedroom to change clothes. The reason for placing it face down was actually to resist the temptation to ask again.

When she checked her phone after changing, Jiang Jing had indeed sent a long string of messages.

“Hey”

“Aren’t you going to ask?”

“So composed”

“Aren’t you curious at all?”

“Quite restrained for someone so young”

“Do you even care?”

“You fake fan”

“Fine then”

“I’ll tell you”

“Last night, around ten, Teacher Yan called me about some rehearsal photos and happened to ask about you. Said if you’re free, I should bring you to the theater to hang out”

“I’m a bit jealous”

“Her tone was all soft when she talked about you”

“With me, it’s only work”

“Hmph!!”

For the first time ever, Jiang Jing had actually sent messages longer than ten characters, complete with punctuation.

She really couldn’t hold back!

Lin Zhixia let out a triumphant mental laugh.

Her tone was all soft when she talked about you. All soft!

Lin Zhixia quickly tried to imagine Yan Huaiqing speaking in a soft, gentle manner but found it impossible to picture. Still, it seemed she had left a rather favorable impression on him.

Hugging her phone, she spun around once before sending Jiang Jing a blinking kitten emoji, followed by a wagging-tailed puppy emoji.

Jiang Jing first replied with an eye-roll emoji before tossing over a restaurant link.

“Japanese restaurant.”

“Tomorrow at 1 PM.”

“You good?”

Lin Zhixia noticed that Jiang Jing seemed particularly fond of having lunch at 1 PM.

It wasn’t a bad idea it preserved the entirety of the morning and didn’t interfere with the afternoon starting at 2 PM. By slightly missing the usual lunch rush, the restaurant would be less crowded, and having waited a bit longer to eat, one’s appetite would be all the better.

“All good.”

After replying, Lin Zhixia grabbed her car keys and headed home for dinner.