The Night is Called Gentle - Chapter 45

The first thing Lin Zhixia did upon returning home was look in the mirror.

First, she examined the lipstick mark on her left cheek, then the tiny mole nestled within her right eyebrow.

A mix of joy and worry.

The lipstick print on her left cheek was faint yet perfectly intact, preserving the flawless shape of its owner’s lips. Just looking at it filled her with delight.

Yan Huaiqing had kissed her there how could she not be overjoyed? Lin Zhixia pressed her fingertip against the mark for a long time, reluctant to wipe it away.

There was indeed a small mole hidden in her right eyebrow, also faint and nearly invisible unless one looked closely. She leaned closer to the mirror, pressing it lightly with her thumb, feeling a wave of anxiety.

Could it be true that her love life would be fraught with difficulties?

Lin Zhixia wasn’t one to dwell on sentimentality, nor had she ever given much thought to matters of the heart. But every journey has a beginning, and she hadn’t yet realized it.

Just as she hesitated about whether to wash up, her phone chimed. The scriptwriter had sent a notification in the script group,

“everyone, gather in the main conference room at 10 a.m. sharp next Monday for a script discussion.”

Almost instantly, a string of “Received” replies flooded the chat.

Lin Zhixia’s finger hovered over the screen, waiting for a moment. When Yan Huaiqing didn’t respond, she typed “Received” as well. Just as she was about to send it, a profile picture with an ink-wash style popped up, followed by the message: “Good evening.”

Lin Zhixia’s face flushed hot for no reason, especially her left cheek. She unconsciously rubbed it, smudging the lipstick mark into a blur that resembled a suggestive peach blossom.

She deleted the text in the input box and retyped: “wanshangh.”

The default suggestion popped up. She tapped it and sent it.

The screen displayed:

Yan Huaiqing: “Good evening”
Lin Zhixia: “Good evening bad”
Su Wangyue: “What’s bad about the evening?”
Xiao Hua followed: “Why is the evening bad?”
Scriptwriter: “How is the evening bad?”
Lyrics teacher: “Where are you going to be bad in the evening?”
Props teacher: “Who are you being bad with in the evening?”

Even “good” and “bad” could get mixed up what kind of glitch was this input system?

Staring at the instant replies, Lin Zhixia felt like dying of embarrassment through the phone screen.

This was her first time sending a message in the group and it came off as anything but proper.

She wanted to smash her phone.

“Who’s the worst in the evening?” Yan Huaiqing replied.

The original chain was instantly disrupted as everyone began voting for the “worst person.”

A new chain started, and the result was unsurprising Su Wangyue was elected number one.

Perfect. A world where only one person gets hurt mission accomplished.

Yan Huaiqing didn’t say anything more but had quietly rescued Lin Zhixia from the awkward situation.

That day, she had bailed her out four times.

“Yan Huaiqing, Troupe Leader Yan, Boss Yan, Teacher Yan.”

“What kind of person are you, really?”

Lin Zhixia couldn’t help but want to ask her, speculate about her, think of her.

Before, she had thought Yan Huaiqing was someone restrained and proper, with a powerful aura, calm yet distant.

Later, she felt Yan Huaiqing was deeply enigmatic, like a snowfield under moonlight cold, vast, and carrying a fatal allure.

But gradually, as they grew closer, she began to see her as so tangible, vibrant, vivid, and approachable.

She never refused, nor did she pander. She always appeared at the most critical moments, only to withdraw abruptly.

She was like the epitome of contradictory beauty even with all outward desires suppressed, her powerful inner intensity remained impossible to conceal.

She would unconsciously take a step forward, stirring endless desire and imagination within you, then retreat half a step, standing quietly there to observe you, indulge you, watching you struggle in your longing yet never satisfying it.

Or perhaps, she would only satisfy you a little the rest, you had to imagine and fill in yourself.

As it happened, Lin Zhixia was a person with a rich imagination. If Yan Huaiqing’s omissions were a fishing hook, it was clear she had bitten.

After washing up and lying in bed, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep, like a fish hooked and thrashing in struggle. Her thoughts were filled entirely with Yan Huaiqing the more she struggled, the tighter the bite, impossible to escape.

She was sleepless.

The next day, she woke up late. While washing her face, she glanced a few extra times in the mirror, unconsciously worrying again about her romantic prospects.

When she leaned closer to the mirror to find the small mole in her eyebrow ah, it was gone.

Had she remembered wrong?

She searched the right side nothing. She searched the left side still nothing.

A mole absolutely could not vanish into thin air unless it had never been there in the first place.

She had been tricked by Yan Huaiqing again.

Drawing a mole just to tease her was it that amusing? The key point was, she was far too easy to fool.

She ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a huff, then stormed out, making a detour to four flower shops to buy flowers…

In the end, she dashed toward the theater, clutching a large bouquet of camellias.

Joyful indignation could make one feel inflated she intended to flaunt her retaliation.

When she entered the backstage of the theater, Yan Huaiqing was waiting for her cue. Strangely, she was alone.

Dressed in a moon-white traditional robe, she stood under the lights of the dressing room, as if enveloped in a faint mist.

“Good evening, Teacher Yan,” Lin Zhixia greeted politely, though a hint of barely concealed provocation lurked in her voice.

“Good evening,” Yan Huaiqing turned around, her gaze first landing on Lin Zhixia’s face, then shifting to the flowers in her arms, her brow lifting almost imperceptibly.

“For me?”

“For you.”

Lin Zhixia walked up to her but still held the flowers in her arms without handing them over.

Yan Huaiqing raised her hand, her fingertips lightly brushing the pure white petals, and smiled.

White camellias, also known as “Eighteen Scholars” their flower meaning: How dare you belittle my love.

It seemed she had realized she’d been teased and was now retaliating.

“What made you think of giving me flowers all of a sudden?”

“Teacher Yan, I am your fan. What fan doesn’t give flowers?”

Lin Zhixia smiled at her but still didn’t hand over the flowers.

Yan Huaiqing, aware of her prideful little game, took a step forward, reached out, and took the flowers from her arms like a compromise, yet also like an embrace.

The moon-white robe embracing the snow-white camellias made her look as if she had stepped out of an ink-wash painting utterly breathtaking.

Lin Zhixia looked at her and asked, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yes, very beautiful. Thank you, dear fan.” Yan Huaiqing lowered her head to look at the flowers, her eyes crinkling slightly.

“But, what kind of flowers are these? I’ve never seen a fan give these before. What’s their flower meaning?” she asked again, suppressing a smile.

A deliberate question.

Lin Zhixia had anticipated this move. She lifted her chin, glanced down at Yan Huaiqing, and provided the answer: “Peonies. Their flower meaning is devoted love. Among thousands of people, I love only you.”

“Teacher Yan, do you like them?” She then relaxed her shoulders and peered up at her from below.

“Peonies.” Yan Huaiqing savored the word, her gaze slowly drifting downward, indeed spotting two pinkish-white peonies hidden among the camellias.

She had come prepared.

“I really like it.” Yan Huaiqing turned, leaving her with a view of her back as she placed the bouquet on the dressing table. Her fingers lightly brushed the petals. “Thank you for your affection I’d be remiss to decline it.”

Was that a little ambiguous?

The air, quicker to sense it than the people, grew thin.

Lin Zhixia’s chest tightened, and she drew a soft breath. “Teacher Yan, actually, I have a question I’d like to ask.”

“Hmm.” Yan Huaiqing didn’t turn around.

“When did you get that beauty mark? I didn’t notice at all.” Lin Zhixia took a step forward, angling her body to look at her.

“Weren’t you busy watching your Teacher Su? Naturally, you wouldn’t have paid attention to me.” Yan Huaiqing tilted her head slightly, a faint curve lifting the corner of her lips.

Your Teacher Su? Wouldn’t have paid attention?

Lin Zhixia was caught off guard, her mouth falling slightly open.

Once she processed the words, she unconsciously mimicked Su Wangyue’s tone. “Teacher Yan, are you even human?”

“Then what am I?” Yan Huaiqing turned to face her, her eyes filled with confusion and innocence.

“What I mean is, how could any normal person remain so composed while being watched, mocked, photographed, and scrutinized and still have the presence of mind to play a trick on someone else by drawing a beauty mark?”

Yan Huaiqing suddenly raised her hand and lightly brushed her own brow. “It must be because she thought that person was easy to tease.”

Hah!

Stung by her gesture and tone, Lin Zhixia instinctively reached up to touch her own eyebrow bone, both embarrassed and annoyed. “Team Leader Yan really knows how to hide things. It’s a shame you didn’t win first place in last night’s voting.”

Yan Huaiqing chuckled softly, the moon-white sleeves of her robe swaying gently with the motion. “But I didn’t see you nominate me either. What, are you trying to stand up for your Teacher Su again?”

“You.” Lin Zhixia was momentarily speechless.

“If you like your Teacher Su so much, take these flowers to her. She’s right next door.”

“I…” Lin Zhixia faltered again.

“Young people these days they claim to love you to your face, then turn around and fancy someone else. It’s hard to figure them out.”

“This.” Where did that even come from?

Yan Huaiqing suddenly stepped closer, the hem of her long gown brushing against Lin Zhixia’s trousers. She reached into the bouquet and plucked out two peonies. “Look, even your ‘undivided affection’ comes in pairs.”

“I…” Lin Zhixia struggled for words, her throat itching with frustration.

It suddenly struck her that in every exchange, she always ended up at a disadvantage. Yan Huaiqing could effortlessly see through her thoughts and skillfully steer the situation even turning the tables on her.

It’s just not fair.

She truly, deeply empathized with Su Wangyue in that moment.

“It’s getting late. I need to prepare for the stage. There’s no room in the audience today would you like to stay backstage?” Yan Huaiqing released the peonies in her hand, her voice as calm as still water, as if the earlier ambiguity had never occurred.

Lin Zhixia stood where she was, feeling thoroughly defeated, yet sensing that something about Yan Huaiqing today was different.

It felt somewhat deliberate.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. Xiao Hua leaned against the doorway, panting and out of breath. “Security still hasn’t found anything. Should we start the show on time?”

Her expression was panicked, her tone urgent, as if something had gone wrong something that couldn’t be resolved quickly.

Lin Zhixia’s chest tightened in response, her mind immediately conjuring images of potential stage accidents.

But when she glanced back at Yan Huaiqing, she found her not only unperturbed but also smiling at her before turning toward the door to reply, “I’ve encountered this before. It’s always been empty threats no need to make a fuss.”

“Oh.”

Xiao Hua’s gaze shifted between the two of them, then fell upon the bouquet on the table. He swallowed hard, suppressing the flood of words he wanted to say, and responded, “Then I’ll go inform everyone.”

“Go ahead.” Yan Huaiqing withdrew her gaze, her peripheral vision casually sweeping over Lin Zhixia.

She was already scrolling through her phone.

It seemed the secret couldn’t be kept any longer.