The Night is Called Gentle - Chapter 56

The aroma of tea lingered in the damp air of the rain. Lin Zhixia held a celadon teacup, her gaze following Yan Huaiqing’s movements as she drank.

She seemed to belong naturally in such an environment poised and dignified within the aesthetics of traditional Chinese elegance. Her innate grace and composure seeped through, as if drawn out by the misty rain, settling into the corners of her eyes and brows. Even her hair seemed to exude tranquility and ease.

“You must be hungry,” Yan Huaiqing suddenly turned, startling Lin Zhixia into a slight tremble that sent tea sloshing in a half-arc. “Shall I make something to eat?” She glanced toward the kitchen.

Lin Zhixia gently set down her cup and stood. “Let me help.”

Yan Huaiqing didn’t refuse, just as she never had before, indulging her like a little shadow trailing behind.

“What would you like to eat?”

“Hmm ”

Lin Zhixia thought for a moment before replying, “Hot noodle soup.”

“No appetite?” Yan Huaiqing’s fingers paused near the refrigerator.

“It’s just you haven’t been back in a while, Teacher Yan. I was worried there might not be any ingredients,” Lin Zhixia said softly.

Yan Huaiqing smiled and opened the fridge. “I told Auntie before I came back. She already bought the groceries.”

“Oh.” So it had been premeditated. Lin Zhixia scanned the refrigerator and quickly added, “Then let’s add more meat to the noodles.”

Amused by her sudden change in appetite, Yan Huaiqing took beef and leafy greens from the fridge, then bent down to search the cabinet for noodles.

“I’ll wash the vegetables.” Lin Zhixia naturally took the ingredients from her and turned on the faucet.

Yan Huaiqing stood at the counter, slicing the beef into thin strips with practiced ease. It seemed the injury on her arm had healed well.

The two worked together seamlessly boiling water, cooking noodles, occasionally exchanging smiles and light conversation as if they had lived together for a long time.

The water in the pot came to a boil, bubbling noisily. Steam rose, blurring Yan Huaiqing’s profile. Lin Zhixia watched her for a while, suddenly feeling the urge to rest her chin on Yan Huaiqing’s shoulder.

“Xia Xia, wash two bowls, then go wait outside.”

“Oh, okay.” Lin Zhixia snapped out of her reverie.

Outside, the rain pattered softly, making the interior feel especially quiet. On the table sat two bowls of hot noodle soup and two side dishes one meat, one vegetable creating an atmosphere of pure comfort.

So comfortable, in fact, that Lin Zhixia almost felt she had already become a part of Yan Huaiqing’s life.

Bowing her head to stir the noodles, the steam blurred her vision.

Yan Huaiqing watched her for a moment, then reached out and twirled a finger near her own ear, softly reminding her, “Don’t let your hair get in the way.”

Lin Zhixia looked up, meeting her gaze, and sheepishly set down her chopsticks to retie her hair. “Thank you ” Her voice was almost inaudible.

Yan Huaiqing smiled, withdrew her hand, and resumed eating unhurriedly.

After the meal, Lin Zhixia curled up by the window to listen to the rain. Yan Huaiqing went upstairs, changed into a knitted cardigan, and settled by the tea table to brew floral tea.

When the sweet scent of tea had wafted up to the rafters, Lin Zhixia hid behind the wooden window frame and called out in a hushed voice, “Teacher Yan, Teacher Yan, come quick, come look.”

Yan Huaiqing casually picked up a blanket from the sofa, draped it over her, then leaned close to the crack in the window to peer outside.

“What is it?” she whispered, matching Lin Zhixia’s tone.

“Look,” Lin Zhixia clutched a corner of the blanket and pointed with half a finger, “In that hollow space at the top right of the windowsill there are two little chubby birds.”

Yan Huaiqing followed her pointing finger and indeed spotted a pair of plump sparrows nestled in the crevice of the carved window lattice. Their feathers were so fluffy they resembled two little pom-poms, tenderly pecking at each other’s beaks.

At a casual glance, one might mistake them for two carved patterns on the window.

“They’re sheltering from the rain.”

“Right. They were quarreling earlier, ignoring each other, until the one on the right hopped over to make up.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, you missed it.”

What a pity.

A faint smile touched Yan Huaiqing’s lips as she withdrew her gaze and looked at the head beside the window. “Let me see what kind of eyes could spot such a delightful scene.”

“Mine, of course.”

Lin Zhixia turned her head, their eyes meeting. Her pupils reflected the daylight outside, deep yet clear, as if each had taken the other into their heart.

In the mingling of their breaths, a raindrop happened to fall from the eaves, rippling the misty rain reflected in their eyes.

Lin Zhixia felt that if Yan Huaiqing didn’t kiss her now, she would owe her a kiss for the rest of her life.

Just as the raindrop hit the windowsill, Yan Huaiqing’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. Her gaze drifted from the tip of Lin Zhixia’s nose to her lips, and she unconsciously swallowed.

The sound of rain outside suddenly seemed distant.

She raised her hand, her fingertips brushing past Lin Zhixia’s earlobe as she tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“The tea is ready it’s for replenishing qi and blood.” She withdrew her hand and averted her eyes.

Lin Zhixia stubbornly turned her head away, resting her chin on the windowsill as she watched the rain, the sky, the air anything but her.

In Norse mythology, there was a plant called mistletoe. Anyone standing beneath it, even sworn enemies, had to kiss. If she ever had a say, she would plant the entire courtyard full of it.

Yan Huaiqing chuckled at the back of her head. She felt that whenever she was in trouble, Lin Zhixia was there, yet when Lin Zhixia was in trouble, she had been absent for a whole week

She owed her.

And she needed to make it up.

The list of compensations was blank, waiting for her to fill it in.

She reached out and patted Lin Zhixia’s back. “The tea’s getting cold,” she said, with a hint of indulgence.

People tend to become unruly when pampered. Lin Zhixia didn’t turn around, burying her chin in the embroidery of the wool blanket, her voice sly and evasive: “The tea’s on the stove how could it get cold? Xiao Qing, have you lost your mind?”

*Thwack *

A light slap landed on the back of her head.

Followed by a chiding remark: “No sense of respect.”

Why would anyone enjoy being hit? It was merely the thrill of testing boundaries before the strike.

Besides, when that palm brushed through her hair, there was an undeniable tenderness.

It didn’t hurt anyway.

Lin Zhixia buried her head in the blanket, secretly delighted.

Yan Huaiqing turned to pour tea, and from the sound of it, only poured one cup, as if she intended to drink it herself.

Turning back now would be awkward. Lin Zhixia swallowed and stubbornly lifted her head, drinking in the wind instead.

Yan Huaiqing’s phone rang. The screen showed Su Wangyue’s name. She answered and put it on speaker.

“Catastrophe! You skipped the meeting this afternoon, and now look what’s happened the sky is falling!” Su Wangyue blurted out without preamble.

Lin Zhixia jolted at the exclamation, cautiously perking up an ear to listen closely.

Yan Huaiqing took a sip of tea and chuckled softly, adjusting the volume on her phone. “What’s wrong?” she asked calmly.

“The academy is reviving the classics, and my partner isn’t you,” Su Wangyue fumed.

Lin Zhixia’s ears perked up alertly, but Yan Huaiqing’s voice remained languid: “Is it Tingyun?”

“You knew? Since when? And you’re not even worried? You’re about to lose me, do you realize what that means?”

The barrage of questions over the phone echoed Lin Zhixia’s own thoughts. She subtly shifted her angle, brows tightly furrowed.

Yan Huaiqing stood up, fetched some nuts and fruits, and calmly explained, “Almost all roles in ‘Several Layers of Mountains’ are female leads. The academy would never let talented young actors like you sit idle they’ll naturally make other arrangements. The dean mentioned it to me a few days ago, but I didn’t expect it to be scheduled so soon.”

“What did you say? Did you firmly oppose it? Did you vow to defend the Wang-Yan pairing?” Su Wang’s tone was full of anticipation and urgency.

Lin Zhixia grew even more anxious this was frontline gossip, after all.

“I agreed,” Yan Huaiqing said as he shelled a walnut and placed it on the corner of the table.

“Agreed.” Su Wangyue seemed to choke on her words.

“You actually agreed?!”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Yan Huaiqing, are we still partners? How could you agree to something this big without even discussing it with me?”

“Do you know what I’m about to face?”

“I’ll definitely be torn apart by the fans.”

“They’ll say I couldn’t stand the loneliness while you were injured and went chasing after other actresses.”

“Then rumors of our fallout will spread across all platforms, followed by an escalating war of words, and I”

“I’ll surely become the target of the CP fans’ attacks. I might even be the next one to get paint thrown on me.”

Su Wangyue exaggerated to the extreme, as if the sky were about to fall.

Poor Teacher Su.

Lin Zhixia wrinkled her nose sympathetically.

“So, you want to take on the big role and still play the good person?” Yan Huaiqing’s tone grew sharper, carrying a hint of sarcasm.

Lin Zhixia’s mind took a sharp turn, and she found herself siding with Teacher Yan.

“What nonsense are you talking? Do you really think so little of me?”

“I do want the role, but for you, I could give it up. I could walk away right now.” Su Wangyue declared, as if making a vow.

“That’s getting ambiguous,” Yan Huaiqing interrupted, her tone rational to the point of coldness. “If you don’t take it, someone else will. If you let baseless speculation and these so-called sentimental attachments ruin your career, frankly, that’s just vulgar. You wouldn’t deserve to be my partner.”

Silence fell on the other end of the line.

Lin Zhixia wasn’t sure if they were arguing or if she was even supposed to be hearing this. She held her breath, shrinking by the window and pretending she didn’t exist.

“Don’t provoke me, Yan Huaiqing!”

“You know I respond to softness, not force. If you push me too far, I’ll never partner with you again.”

It was clear from her tone that she was already sulking and desperately needed a way out.

“You’re scaring me to death,” Yan Huaiqing retorted without a second thought.

“Yan Huaiqing , where are you? I’m coming over to give you a beating! You’ve infuriated me! You’re inhuman.”

Su Wangyue had received neither softness nor force just frustration. Her anger traveled through the network signal, and one could almost picture her expression.

Lin Zhixia nearly laughed out loud, her covered head trembling slightly.

“Alright, alright, enough acting. Save that energy for your leading role. I’m hanging up.”

Without another word, Yan Huaiqing ended the call, then calmly sipped her tea as if nothing had happened.

These two really were a match made in heaven! Lin Zhixia huddled by the window, feeling both happy and dejected.

“You’ve had enough of that, haven’t you? Isn’t it stuffy hiding like that?” The tone directed toward the window had noticeably softened.

It was a gentle remark, an olive branch. In contrast to their earlier exchanges, it felt tender and affectionate.

Lin Zhixia could no longer hold back. She slowly turned around, pulling the blanket down from her head, and said quietly, “Actually, I don’t agree with changing partners either.”

Quite the audacity, acting as if she were part of the inner circle.

Yan Huaiqing’s hand, which had been shelling walnuts, paused. He lifted his eyelids and retorted, his gaze fixed on her messy hair, “Did I ask you?”

Quite the cutting remark.

Lin Zhixia pouted slightly and tiptoed over to the tea table, shifting the topic. “But I was convinced by Teacher Yan.”

One shouldn’t pause so dramatically mid-sentence.

Yan Huaiqing pursed his lips helplessly, pushed the shelled walnuts toward her, and poured a cup of tea, handing it over.

He still hadn’t mentioned the gift.

Lin Zhixia picked the most intact walnut and popped it into her mouth, then took a sip of tea, trying to soothe her insatiable heart.