Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 39 - The Next Second, He Kissed Her
Chapter 39: The Next Second, He Kissed Her
Thanks to Wen Liang, Chen Die barely got a few hours of sleep that night.
Around noon, Fang Ruan called and invited her to a café.
Under Chen Shao’s leadership, Yiming Entertainment had fully embraced ‘eat, drink, and be merry’ as their company culture. While other companies had the chairman’s office on the top floor, his company had a café there instead.
After all the drama during the Spring Festival, Chen Die had actually benefitted from the chaos — her exposure and fanbase both skyrocketed.
“There are two primetime variety shows that reached out to you. I think at this stage, doing a variety show is a good idea — the production cycle is short, and it’ll keep your face familiar to viewers. These two are both filmed and aired simultaneously. Then we can wait for a good script and be more selective.”
Fang Ruan had initially worried Chen Die would refuse. She was stubborn by nature and now, as the chairman’s sister, no one could assign her work she didn’t agree to.
Luckily, after a slight pause, Chen Die nodded in agreement.
Fang Ruan placed two program briefs in front of her. “One is a dating reality show. The show pairs up male and female celebrities to live together and films it documentary-style.”
“…” Chen Die had just yawned and almost choked. “Yeah, not doing that one.”
Fang Ruan had expected that reaction and chuckled. “Then check out the second one. It’s a lifestyle show called <Three Meals a Day>. It’s similar to <Wilderness Kitchen>, another slow-paced variety show. But in this one, they pick a location for each episode and stay there for two days and one night. You can also preview the current cast.”
Since Chen Die was new in the industry and hadn’t made enemies yet, she didn’t really mind who else was on the show.
“It’s airing on the same network as <Wilderness Kitchen>, kind of a spinoff. So it already has a solid launchpad. Plus, it’s recorded and aired weekly, so you’ll get results quickly.”
Chen Die carefully reviewed the contract and, after confirming there were no issues, signed on the last page.
“Great.” Fang Ruan gathered the scattered A4 papers. “I’ll send it over to the show’s team to get it logged.”
With that, Fang Ruan left.
Chen Die hadn’t finished her coffee and wasn’t in a rush. She was about to start a game when she heard the sound of high heels clicking up the wooden stairs behind her.
It was work hours, and although Yiming Entertainment did have this cozy little café on company grounds, apart from a few staff having small meetings, the place was pretty quiet.
Chen Die instinctively turned to look.
Not someone she knew well, but Chen Die felt an odd sense of familiarity with her.
Ye Chuqing.
Ye Chuqing spotted her too, and her reaction was... a bit much. She gasped dramatically, eyes wide, and pointed at Chen Die with real intensity.
Chen Die: “…”
She was confused.
Her relationship with Ye Chuqing shouldn’t be close enough for such an over-the-top reaction, right?
Ye Chuqing rushed over and was about to say something, then noticed a few staff chatting at another table. She swallowed her words and changed tone.
“Let’s go out for afternoon tea.”
“…Okay.” Chen Die hesitated, then agreed.
There was a tea restaurant near the company.
Chen Die hadn’t even worn a mask today, so she was recognized the moment she stepped in. After taking several selfies with fans, she finally made it to a private booth.
“What did you want to talk about?” she asked.
Ye Chuqing took a sip of tea, looked up, and then made a dramatic gesture — clasping her fists in admiration. “I seriously admire you.”
“Hmm?”
“All that stuff online — it’s true, right? Chen Shao is your brother, Wen Liang is your ex?”
Chen Die realized she was face-to-face with a real-life gossip enthusiast. “…More or less.”
“I really admire you. How did you survive being caught between those two without dying of rage?”
Once Ye Chuqing got started, she was fired up. Those two men were basically the biggest headaches she’d encountered since returning to the country. Was this a new trend — chairmen acting all eccentric now?
Chen Die didn’t realize Ye Chuqing knew both of them. She was also ridiculously tired, but since this woman was, after all, the chairwoman of the National Film Conference, she forced herself to stay awake and listen politely. “What happened with them?”
“I just went to your company to talk to your brother about a future film project,” Ye Chuqing said.
Chen Die: “…”
The way she kept calling it ‘your company’ and ‘your brother’ felt so weird.
“Chen Shao’s got issues. Why the attitude?”
Ye Chuqing launched into a full-on rant.
Chen Die actually thought the two might get along just fine — both a little chaotic, very direct.
But oh, she was so tired…
She really wants to sleep.
When will this story end?
To speed things up, Chen Die fast-forwarded the conversation: “And what did Wen Liang do to you?”
"Sister, that slap you gave him was so satisfying! It was like you got revenge for me too!!"
Chen Die looked at Ye Chuqing in front of her — arched brows, bright eyes, red lips, and undeniably beautiful. The kind of beauty that was elegant and radiant, someone you couldn’t imagine having any darkness in them.
And right now, she was genuinely thrilled — all because Chen Die slapped Wen Liang.
Wait a second, didn’t Ye Chuqing go abroad a few years ago?
…Could this be some unresolved romantic drama from Wen Liang’s past?
“Remember last time you overheard me on the phone, saying I had to go on a blind date? That jerk was him. That rotten temper of his is such a waste of that face.”
Chen Die: “…”
She didn’t catch most of what Ye Chuqing said after that.
So the woman who was rumored to be engaged to Wen Liang… was actually Ye Chuqing?
Suddenly, Chen Die remembered what she’d overheard Ye Chuqing saying on the phone:
“Seriously, some men fall apart in the spotlight. He? He falls apart as soon as he opens his damn mouth.”
“He actually said he’s not into me. Screw him. I’m honestly proud of myself for not kicking him in the face.”
Yep. That definitely sounded like something Wen Liang would say.
Honestly, when Chen Die had gotten mad about the marriage rumor, it wasn’t just because he was supposedly involved with another woman. It was more the accumulation of a million humiliating little moments over time — all the exhaustion bundled into one.
But now that she knew that woman was Ye Chuqing… she couldn’t help but feel strangely relieved.
Relief was quickly followed by embarrassment as she remembered how pitiful she’d been back then.
God, what was she doing back then?
Even though Ye Chuqing was the chairwoman of the National Film Conference — and her personality was certainly unexpected — she was still very capable. After venting about the two men, she casually started chatting about the new regulations in the film industry this year.
With more oversight and restrictions these days, Chen Die learned a few helpful tricks for choosing scripts.
By 3:30 PM, the two of them got up to leave the tea restaurant.
However, since Chen Die had already been spotted by fans on her way in, someone had apparently posted about it online. The moment she stepped outside, she was suddenly swarmed by a crowd.
This was her first time experiencing something like this.
She told Ye Chuqing to go ahead while she stayed to handle it.
“Everyone, let’s keep it down a bit,” Chen Die said, putting a finger to her lips. “There are still guests inside. If you want photos, let’s take them outside, okay?”
The fans obediently followed her out of the restaurant.
One of them handed their phone to a waiter, and Chen Die stepped into the center of the group to take a picture with them.
“Sister, you’ve got to keep going strong! We’ll always support you!!”
“Please take care of yourself, don’t push too hard — your health comes first!”
“Don’t mind all that hate online lately, we love you no matter what!”
……
The fans all spoke at once, eager to show their love for her.
Chen Die really admired how openly they could express their feelings. That was something she never quite learned to do.
Maybe it was because of how she grew up — she’d always found it hard to show affection, worried it wouldn’t be met with care or respect.
She thanked each fan sincerely, then waved goodbye as they slowly dispersed.
Watching them leave, waving at her as they went, Chen Die thought about calling Fang Ruan to ask for a ride home. But just as she took out her phone, it rang.
Chen Die glanced down.
It was a call from Zhu Qicong.
“Hello?” she answered.
A familiar voice replied on the other end. “It’s me.”
Just hearing his voice instantly brought his face to mind.
Chen Die froze for a second, her fingers tightening around the phone without realizing it.
She didn’t say anything. Wen Liang asked again, “Where are you?”
Chen Die didn’t answer that question. Instead, she asked, “Why are you calling me using Zhu Qicong’s number?”
Wen Liang gave a cold snort. “You blocked me, remember?”
“......”
Still the same damn temper.
Chen Die stood by the road, worried someone might recognize her. She lowered her head while holding the phone, pressed her lips together, and gave a soft, indifferent “Oh.” Then she finally answered his earlier question: “Why do you care where I am?”
Her words were just as sharp as his.
Wen Liang clicked his tongue.
Neither of them spoke for a moment. Then Chen Die broke the silence first. “If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.”
“Oh.”
Chen Die curled her lips in irritation and mentally cursed Wen Liang several times before decisively hanging up the call.
She stomped her foot right where she stood — the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Using Zhu Qicong’s phone to call her just to say those annoying things? Was he trying to piss her off on purpose?
The next second, a pair of shoes appeared in her line of sight, stopping right in front of her.
Chen Die looked up — and unexpectedly met Wen Liang’s dark eyes.
“You…” She froze.
Wen Liang looked at her and said, “I have something to say to you.”
Chen Die blinked, not quite processing what was happening. Her long lashes fluttered, and for once, she looked a bit adorably confused. She stared at Wen Liang for five seconds before glancing off to the side.
Sure enough, his car was parked just across the street.
And he had the nerve to pretend to ask where she was…
When she had just been chatting with Ye Chuqing and learned that the blind date guy had been him, Chen Die had actually already stopped being mad about the whole thing. But the moment Wen Liang showed up in front of her, she immediately recalled all those hurtful things he said that night.
She scoffed and turned her head away: “Here to say I’m dumb and easy again? Well, I don’t want to hear it…”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Chen Die quieted down, biting her lip and stopping mid-sentence.
“It was my fault that time. I shouldn’t have said those things to you,” Wen Liang said softly, lowering his head to look at her. “I’m sorry.”
Hearing his apology, Chen Die suddenly felt a wave of grievance: “You only said that because it’s how you really feel, right? That’s why it came out so easily in the moment.”
Wen Liang reached out and held her hand.
He didn’t even know why he was doing it — he just had an urgent need to calm her down. When he noticed she wasn’t pulling away, he stepped closer and tried to pull her into a hug.
Chen Die’s body leaned back slightly in rejection.
Wen Liang’s hands froze, and he didn’t continue.
He just held onto her hand gently and said in a low voice, “I was being an asshole.”
That night, he had been angry and panicked — it was the first time in his life he’d ever felt real fear. He didn’t dare imagine what might’ve happened if he’d arrived a moment later.
But the second those words left his mouth, he knew he’d gone too far.
Ever since he’d taken Chen Die in when she was sixteen, even though Wen Liang had a bad temper, he had never said a harsh word to her — not once.
Truthfully, he had always doted on her.
After that night, he couldn’t stop replaying what he said over and over in his head. The more he thought about it, the more he hated himself for it. No matter how he looked at the situation, the real person to blame was Qu Fang. But instead, he lashed out at Chen Die without bothering to understand what had really happened.
“Lingling,” he called her softly.
Chen Die frowned and mumbled, “Don’t call me that.”
“Just come with me. I’ll take you home.”
Only then did Chen Die remember they were standing in the middle of a busy street. While there weren’t any pedestrians nearby at the moment, someone could recognize them at any time.
“No need,” she said quietly, head lowered. “I’ll take a taxi.”
Wen Liang replied, “It’s not safe for you to take a taxi right now.”
“…I don’t think it’s safe in your car either.”
Wen Liang paused, then compromised, “Let Zhu Qicong take you. I’ll get a taxi myself.”
“......”
Chen Die wanted to refuse again, but just then a group of people came pouring out from a street corner. Left with no better choice, she got into the car.
That evening, less than thirty minutes after she got home, a video of her and Wen Liang on the street went viral and made headlines again.
Judging from the angle, it was shot through the window by a customer in the tea restaurant behind them.
Chen Die was once again reminded — she was really famous now. Every move she made was under public scrutiny.
[This is too iconic!!!!!]
[Mr. Wen failed to hug Diedie again, version 2.0, BUT he did manage to hold her hand!!]
[Nooooo! Our Diedie is still young! Promise mama you’ll chase your career first before becoming a rich housewife, okay??]
[Ugh I can’t believe I’m now obsessed with a secret-cam video of an angsty CEO x radiant goddess romance.]
[So shippable. Someone hand this to a screenwriter, I want to see this drama come to life!!]
……
Chen Die had no idea what exactly it was about her and Wen Liang that made people ship them so hard. In recent days, their popularity as a couple even surpassed that of the <Hairpin Flowers> CP. Some fans even started a super-topic just for their pairing — ‘WenDie CP.’
And the top descriptor? <Unattainable love! A deeply tragic romance!!>
Two weeks later, the variety show <Three Meals a Day> that Chen Die had signed on to officially began filming.
The original cast was supposed to be three men and two women, but one of the female cast members had an emergency just before shooting began and had to drop out — leaving Chen Die alone with three male celebrities.
Chen Die was the youngest of the group. The three male celebrities were all several years older than her.
One of them was Ran Liming, also an actor, known more for his appearances on variety shows. He had great public appeal.
Li Cong and Lin Qingye were both singers.
The first destination of the shoot was set abroad.
Filming began with everyone pushing their luggage out of the airport, then getting into vehicles one after another to arrive at the filming location.
The production team had built a wooden cabin there to serve as the shooting base.
Once everyone had met and tidied up their hair and makeup, filming officially began.
Even though they had already been informed of the rules ahead of time, they still had to draw task cards again in front of the cameras and reintroduce the game rules of <Three Meals a Day>
Although <Three Meals a Day> was a slow-paced lifestyle show, it wasn’t all easygoing. Meals, dining arrangements, and even sleeping spots were determined through games.
By the time they arrived, it was already evening, so there weren’t many tasks on the first day. After having dinner together, it was time for the bed selection challenge.
The production team had prepared three rooms with varying quality. The person who lost the game would have to set up a tent and sleep outdoors.
The game was simple: the production team would name a theme — in this case, songs that mention animals in the lyrics. Each person had to take turns singing a lyric that fit the theme. Whoever couldn’t think of one would be eliminated.
The catch? Two out of the four contestants were singers.
Chen Die seriously suspected the production team had done this on purpose.
Lin Qingye lazily raised an eyebrow and said, “Sure.”
Fortunately, Chen Die had a pretty solid mental database of lyrics. The four of them went through several rounds without any issues, though as the game progressed, the pace began to slow.
Chen Die eventually used up her last animal-related lyric.
Ran Liming and Li Cong followed, singing their lines — then it was Lin Qingye’s turn.
Chen Die glanced at his expression and felt a little excited. If he lost, he’d be stuck sleeping in the tent — and she didn’t really care which of the three indoor rooms she got, as long as she wasn’t outside.
Three seconds passed, and the production team began the countdown. Just before time was up, Lin Qingye casually sang another song.
The melody was beautiful, and his voice was too — but the lyrics were kind of mumbled, and more importantly… what even was that song?!
“What song is that?” Li Cong asked before she could.
“It’s my new song. Just came up with it,” Lin Qingye turned to the camera, utterly shameless. “Might as well use the show to preview it.”
Chen Die: “???”
And just like that, Chen Die was the first one eliminated.
Lin Qingye clearly had the same idea she did — once it was his turn again, he raised his hand to pass and secured the third indoor room, leaving with a satisfied smile.
…What a jerk.
Two minutes later, the game ended. Li Cong came in first, Ran Liming second.
Not that it mattered to Chen Die anymore. She was stuck with the tent and went off in despair to pitch it by herself.
The problem? Someone needed to tell her how to actually set the damn thing up. Chen Die had zero hands-on ability, and to make it worse, the tent didn’t even come with instructions.
Before long, Li Cong and Ran Liming came out too.
Ran Liming offered, “How about we switch? You can take my room.”
Li Cong offered the same.
Chen Die waved them off. “No need, it’s fine. You guys go wash up.”
They helped her set up the tent into some kind of shape before heading back inside. But not long after, Chen Die realized the front support poles were the wrong length. She had to take it apart and start over.
“......”
It was the dead of winter. Why was she even doing this to herself?
Her fingers were going numb from the cold. She dropped the poles to the ground and rubbed her hands together, blowing into them for warmth — just then, someone walked up beside her.
He bent down and picked up the pole she had just tossed aside.
The man’s side profile was ridiculously good-looking — and looked exactly like Wen Liang.
Chen Die was stunned. She glanced around at the nearby cameras — even her personal cameraperson had quietly turned off the camera.
“What are you doing here?” she stepped closer and asked.
“Business trip. Just finished up today and thought I’d drop by,” Wen Liang said. “I’m one of the investors for this show.”
“…”
No one told her that when she signed the contract.
Chen Die didn’t know what to say for a moment, and meanwhile, all the cameramen had already tactfully walked off. So much for professional instincts — where was the urge to get juicy footage for the show?
She stood there, watching as Wen Liang took the poles and began threading them through the tent fabric, his movements steady and efficient.
Chen Die was surprised and asked, “You know how to set up a tent?”
“It’s not that hard.”
“…Oh.”
Wen Liang handed one corner of the tent to Chen Die and told her to hold it. He lowered his gaze to glance at her and added, “I used to set these up in the military.”
Chen Die froze for a moment.
Her hands were indeed freezing, so she pulled her sleeves over them and held the support rod Wen Liang had given her, feeling no guilt whatsoever as she watched him set up the tent for her.
If it had been anyone else helping her like this, Chen Die would’ve felt too embarrassed to just stand there.
But thinking about it, she realized she’d always been quite used to accepting Wen Liang’s kindness.
Wen Liang quickly finished assembling the tent. It was neat and sturdy — a lot better than the half-finished mess from earlier.
Chen Die went to get the blankets and bedding from the production team and knelt at the edge of the tent, carefully laying them inside.
Wen Liang stood beside her, not helping this time, just watching. Chen Die had a great figure — not skinny, but with all the right curves in the right places. Her sweater hugged her body tightly, cinching slightly at the waist.
Wen Liang’s gaze darkened slightly.
After all this time, he was definitely feeling a bit pent-up.
Chen Die had no idea what kind of impure thoughts were going through his mind. She stretched out her legs and finished tucking the bedding into every corner of the tent, then crawled back out.
Wen Liang glanced inside the tent and frowned. “That’s all the blanket you have?”
Chen Die shrugged. “I lost the game.”
The blanket might be a bit thin for the cold night, but it wasn’t unbearable — and it added to the variety show’s drama, so she didn’t think it was a big deal.
Wen Liang frowned deeper. “You’ll catch a cold. Come sleep in the RV with me.”
Chen Die raised her eyes. “Sleep with you, in the same bed?”
Wen Liang didn’t answer.
“There’s filming going on here,” she said flatly. “You’re the investor — are you trying to sabotage your own show?”
In the end, Chen Die didn’t agree to sleep in the RV. After Wen Liang left, the director brought over a GoPro and set it up inside the tent.
“When you’re about to change and get into bed, you can turn off the GoPro. If it gets too cold, let us know and we’ll bring you another blanket,” the director said.
With all the online drama about her and Wen Liang swirling around, and with him showing up in person on the first day of shooting, no one on set dared to offend their ‘golden sponsor.’
After thanking the crew, Chen Die washed up and crawled into her tent.
Just as she settled under the blanket, Fang Ruan sent her a picture.
It was about Wang Yunxi. Over the past few days, that whole situation had exploded. The blogger who had previously posted the ‘four major accusations’ against Wang Yunxi followed up with data proving the original culprit behind framing Chen Die — using IP tracing and analysis — was none other than Wang Yunxi.
Most netizens couldn’t really understand the technical details, but the evidence was convincing enough: it was clearly her.
Chen Die’s fans and general gossip-lovers rallied, digging up a whole lot of dirt on Wang Yunxi.
Eventually, the focus turned to vote manipulation during the talent show Wang Yunxi had participated in.
And just like that, her agency released a statement saying they had terminated her contract.
Chen Die was reading that very statement on her phone when suddenly the tent flap was unzipped from the outside and Wen Liang ducked inside.
Startled, she dropped her phone. Her first instinct was to quickly reach over and turn off the GoPro that was still standing nearby.
Wen Liang picked up her phone, glanced at the screen, and gave a slight smirk.
“Are you crazy? What are you doing in here?” Chen Die whispered angrily.
Wen Liang hushed her, sat down beside her, and said in a low voice, “No one’s around.”
“......”
As if he wouldn’t have come in if there were people around.
The atmosphere now was oddly… illicit, like some kind of secret affair.
Wen Liang handed her phone back and suddenly asked, “Happy now?”
“What?”
He nodded toward the phone.
Chen Die knew exactly who was responsible for all the recent developments. But then she remembered what Fang Ruan had said earlier — that gloating like this didn’t exactly make her a saint.
So she said, trying to be kind, “It’s fine, I guess. I mean, Wang Yunxi’s situation is kinda pitiful, too.”
Wen Liang looked at her sideways with a knowing expression, a faint smile playing on his lips. “You think I don’t know what kind of person you are?”
“…” Chen Die gave up pretending. Since the GoPro was already off, she rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m happy. Satisfied?”
Wen Liang laughed.
He didn’t think this gleeful version of her was unkind. He’d always been self-centered, unconcerned with other people’s opinions — as long as his girl was happy, that was enough.
He leaned back, shifting into a more comfortable position, and looked at Chen Die. “Then smile for me.”
“No.”
Right after she refused, Wen Liang suddenly leaned in. Chen Die instinctively tried to move back, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back toward him. Then, with two fingers, he pushed up the corners of her mouth, forcing a smile on her face.
Chen Die slapped his hand away. Just as she was about to say something, Wen Liang called her name.
“Chen Die.”
His voice was deep and magnetic, tinged with a nasal tone — like the wind whistling outside the tent.
Chen Die looked up, meeting Wen Liang’s gaze at close range.
His eyes were dark, filled with emotions she couldn’t quite read. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
His gaze slowly dropped, landing on her lips. Chen Die knew that look — and it spelled trouble. All she wanted was to escape from his grasp as quickly as possible.
But the next second, he kissed her.
It was a soft kiss, barely brushing against her lips, so gentle that for a moment she felt dazed.
He tilted her chin up, holding it in his fingers. The kiss remained gentle, but his actions carried a dominant, possessive intensity. He traced her lips, licking and kissing along the curve with deliberate care.
His breathing grew heavier, the kiss becoming rougher, biting lightly at her lips and tugging at them.
After a while, he gripped her chin harder and said in a husky voice, “Open your mouth.”
Just three words.
And Chen Die snapped back to reality.
This man was dangerous — even his kisses were like boiling a frog in warm water.
Starting out tender, slowly lulling her defenses down — then striking, conquering, claiming.
Chen Die slipped a hand free from his hold and tried to push him away.
It didn’t work.
So she simply yanked his hair, hard, pulling his head back.
Wen Liang wrapped one arm tighter around her waist, used his other hand to pry her fingers off him, and in the next second, dragged her by the thigh and tossed her down onto the bedding.
Chen Die didn’t understand why it always felt like they were in the middle of a wrestling match.
He leaned over her, kissed her again, then bit her chin — hard — like he was venting his frustration. Lying atop her, his voice hoarse and low, he muttered: “You’re just hellbent on driving me crazy, aren’t you?”
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