Little Bean stared at her owners with large, misty, sorrowful eyes. It was a sight that would make anyone melt into a puddle. Yi Ling knew a viral opportunity when she saw one, and she immediately snapped a few photos of Little Bean to upload to Yan Huan’s Weibo.
She edited the photos before uploading. She added a ribbon to Little Bean’s tiny head, and a speech bubble that said:
“Mommy is too tired to take care of me.”
It was so adorable everyone who saw the photos almost died of cuteness overload.
As for Yan Huan, she slept soundly until the next morning. She woke up bright and early, feeling refreshed, and disguised herself again with a scarf, a hat and a pair of rimless glasses before heading out. But as fate would have it, she bumped into Lu Yi on his way to work as she was going down in the elevator.
He was dressed smartly in his uniform. He stood like a military man; everything about him, even his facial features, seemed tough and angular. He did not smile. His face seemed perpetually frozen, to match his personality.
He was like a frozen brick. Anyone who crossed him ran the risk of having their skull smashed in.
Yan Huan turned towards a corner of the elevator to avoid him.
But Lu Yi had seen through her disguise and recognized her as soon as he stepped inside.
Lu Yi did not know that his stern, wooden face scared everyone: children, men, and women alike.
Ding! The doors of the elevator opened, and they walked out, one after the other. Lu Yi was a fast walker, but Yan Huan deliberately lagged behind. The distance between them grew, until finally, she lost sight of Lu Yi entirely.
Yan Huan abruptly stopped walking. She felt aggrieved and hurt in some way, but could not explain why.
When she walked out the building entrance, however, she saw that Lu Yi was still standing by the doors. She could not tell what he was waiting for—he was just standing there, like a pillar or a pine tree.
The shadow from his tall, strapping figure fell across her. He seemed sturdy enough to shelter her from the wind and rain.
In the next instant, all the unhappiness within her had transformed into bubbly joy. She tightened her scarf around her as she happily walked past him to buy breakfast for herself and Yi Ling. They would eat, work, and then go home to rest. It was going to be another fruitful day.
She did not see the inexplicable look of helplessness and resignation in Lu Yi’s eyes as he watched her retreating back.
“Still so tiny…” he muttered to himself. He checked the time on his watch, and finally uprooted himself from the entrance.
Yan Huan bought two bags of buns and two bowls of soybean pudding. When she returned to the apartment building, Lu Yi had already left. She swung her bags of food merrily: Okay, time to go home and dig in.
When she arrived at her apartment, Yi Ling had just woken up. She had not washed her face, brushed her teeth, or smoothed her messy bed hair, but she was already on her phone. She gave an unladylike yawn every now and then.
Yan Huan removed the buns from the bag. She did not have to say anything; Yi Ling immediately recognized the aroma of the buns, and quickly dashed into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she was done, she hurried out to dig into her breakfast.
Around nine o’clock, they reported to Yuelun Entertainment again. Yi Ling walked behind Yan Huan, dressed in a black suit. Her hair was spiked up, and she looked very much like a strong, capable bodyguard who would not hesitate to get into a brawl.
The commercial shoot lasted half the day. The production team was very pleased with Yan Huan’s performance, and immediately debited the pay they had agreed upon to her credit card.