Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 53 - [Jiang Xian: Goodnight.]
Chapter 53: [Jiang Xian: Goodnight.]
When Chen Die woke up, she still felt a little dazed, as if she hadn’t fully emerged from the dream where someone had said, “Goodnight, Lingling.”
She stared at the ceiling with open eyes for a couple of minutes before raising her hand to cover her face, finally feeling awake.
She rolled over and picked up her phone by the pillow to check the time. The screen was still on the chat with Wen Liang—the video call had ended.
Call duration: 253 minutes.
Chen Die froze, staring at those numbers for a while before slowly curling her lips into a smile.
After a night’s sleep, her throat still hurt a bit, but at least her head wasn’t as dizzy as it was the night before.
After washing up, she chugged a big glass of warm water and headed out.
Her company, Yiming Entertainment, had an entire floor dedicated to a gym for their artists. It offered a good level of privacy too.
Chen Die had never had any real issues with her figure, so it was her first time at the company gym. To her surprise, it was pretty lively.
Besides the artists who had already debuted, there were also groups of trainees practicing.
As soon as Chen Die walked in, quite a few people greeted her.
Although she hadn’t debuted long ago, her achievements already far exceeded many others, so plenty of people were eager to be friendly.
A female trainer came up to her and asked what she wanted to work on.
“I have a drama coming up and need to put on a bit of weight—not too much though. Just a balanced figure, since I’ll be wearing a qipao,” Chen Die casually explained.
The trainer was great at pinpointing what mattered and nodded. “Then we’ll focus on strength training to target your chest and hips.”
“......”
Fair enough.
To put it bluntly, that was basically the goal.
Chen Die nodded helplessly, and after the trainer introduced the equipment and exercises, they began a one-on-one session.
“That’s it, shoulders open, chest out.”
“Squat lower—keep your back straight, don’t stick your butt out, sink into it.”
……
Chen Die felt both embarrassed and exhausted. After completing three full sets, she was totally wiped out. She collapsed onto a yoga mat, breathing heavily, not even having the energy to wiggle a finger.
Meanwhile, the trainer was calm and collected, sipping water from a thermal mug, only slightly sweaty.
“Your stamina’s really not there. Some of the trainees who come here are just 16 or 17 and can power through six or seven sets like it’s nothing.”
Chen Die had always lacked stamina and athleticism since she was a kid. She wanted to reply, but she was too tired to even open her mouth, so she just waved her hand.
At that moment, her phone vibrated nearby, and the trainer handed it to her.
Lying face-up on the mat, Chen Die saw it was a message from Wen Liang.
[Wen Liang: Are you awake?]
[Chen Die: I’ve been up for a while.]
She casually snapped a photo of the gym equipment next to her and sent it.
[Chen Die: Just finished working out. I sweat like 100 pounds out. I’m dead.]
[Wen Liang: Why’d you go to the gym?]
[Chen Die: Got a role that needs a bit of fitness prep. Just wrapped up.]
[Wen Liang: I should be back tomorrow.]
Chen Die paused, then sat up.
[Chen Die: Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be done for a few more days?]
[Wen Liang: Yeah, wrapped things up early.]
[Chen Die: But I’m about to fly out to film that show.]
[Wen Liang: I bought a ticket straight to your filming location.]
Chen Die blinked at that message, then sent back a sticker of a kid blowing a flying kiss.
[Wen Liang: How about something more substantial?]
Pfft.
This guy had zero sense of romance.
After chatting for a bit, Chen Die felt a bit better. The exhaustion from earlier had passed. She went to the shower, cleaned up, changed clothes, and gathered her stuff before waving goodbye to the trainer.
She also stopped by the company to meet with Fang Ruan and finally signed the official contract for <A-Xiao>, which she hadn’t had the chance to finalize earlier.
Compared to when she had signed on for <Hairpin Flowers> as a complete rookie, this contract was much more generous, with many considerate terms.
After spending some time at the company, she headed to the airport in the evening.
Unfortunately, her flight ended up delayed—but thankfully, she had accounted for extra time in advance.
Chen Die sat alone, bored out of her mind, with her cap pulled low as she played games in the departure lounge. After half an hour, she got up and went to a nearby convenience store to buy a pack of gum.
She unwrapped a piece and popped it in her mouth. On the way back, she noticed someone sitting beside the seat she had just occupied.
Hmm...
He looked a little familiar.
What a coincidence.
Just as Chen Die was hesitating, Jiang Xian lifted his head and, upon seeing her, paused as well. Then he smiled at her. “Xiao Die?”
“Brother Jiang Xian(Jiang Xian-ge).”
Thanks to Wen Liang, even just saying someone else’s name now made her feel this inexplicable pang of guilt, like some kind of betrayal. Chen Die chewed her gum and sat back down—right next to Jiang Xian.
She had been close to him as a kid.
Jiang Xian had been the older brother who lived in the neighborhood. The school they attended at the time combined elementary and junior high, and Jiang Xian was a grade above her.
Her adoptive parents had always been busy with work and didn’t have time to pick her up, so they’d asked Jiang Xian to walk her home after school.
Back then, he would come to her classroom door every afternoon, take her hand, and walk her home. Plenty of classmates had gossiped about the two of them.
But that was all childhood stuff. Now, so many years later, it was actually harder to feel comfortable with an old friend than with someone new.
Especially since Chen Die’s last memories of that small town weren’t exactly pleasant.
“You heading to work too?” Jiang Xian asked.
“Mm-hmm. Going to record a show.”
Jiang Xian thought for a moment. “It’s been almost seven years since we last saw each other, hasn’t it? How have you been all these years?”
“I’ve been well.”
Chen Die paused. Back when the Chen family came looking for her, it had stirred up quite a commotion in their little town—a whole convoy of cars showed up at her doorstep.
Though people in the town didn’t really know who the elite families of Yan City were, the story still spread like wildfire. It became the gossip of the town.
She added, “But I didn’t end up living with the parents who came to find me.”
Jiang Xian had only learned more about this after getting to know people in the business world. They told him the Chen family’s daughter was named Chen Shuyuan.
He’d asked back then, “Isn’t her name Chen Die?”
“Nope. Who’s Chen Die?” His friend had looked puzzled, then suddenly remembered, “Oh, but I think that’s the name of Wenyuan’s little canary—some actress or something. Why? You know her?”
“No, probably just mixed it up,” Jiang Xian had replied.
……
That was more than a year ago now.
It had been the first time Jiang Xian heard of Chen Die again—from someone else’s mouth.
Later, as Chen Die began gaining recognition as an actress, he gradually started seeing her name in the news. He more or less figured out what was going on between her and Wen Liang.
“Time really flies. In the blink of an eye, that 16-year-old girl I remember is now all grown up. You must be 23 now, right?”
Jiang Xian’s voice was smooth and gentle, like jade.
Chen Die began to relax. The awkwardness faded, and she smiled. “You’re not supposed to ask a girl her age, you know.”
Jiang Xian chuckled. “You’re already in a relationship. Wen Liang is your boyfriend, right?”
“Ah… yeah,” Chen Die nodded.
Jiang Xian’s eyes dimmed slightly. He pressed his lips together. “That’s nice.”
Even though he had already confirmed it back at Wen Huaiyuan’s funeral, hearing Chen Die say it out loud hit differently.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’ve been too busy with work. No time to date,” Jiang Xian replied. “Actually, I went back to our hometown for the New Year this year. Everyone saw your movie—they were all so surprised. They kept saying how impressive you are.”
Chen Die paused. That shift in topic had come out of nowhere.
Since moving to Yan City, no one had brought up her old town to her again.
“Really,” she said, lowering her eyes, then joked, “Didn’t anyone say I got prettier?”
“People always said you were pretty, even when you were a kid. Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen would take you out, and people would constantly compliment you. Don’t you remember?”
Chen Die didn’t say anything.
Jiang Xian seemed to realize something too. He turned to look at her. “You haven’t been in contact with them?”
“No.” Chen Die lowered her head. The tension from touching on this topic made her unconsciously want to bite her nails.
Ironically, her last name, Chen, hadn’t come from her birth parents when she returned to Yan City. It was from her adoptive father, whose last name was also Chen. She had always been named Chen Die.
“I’m sorry,” Jiang Xian said.
“It’s nothing. How are they doing now?” Chen Die asked casually, trying to sound relaxed.
“They’re doing well. A couple of years ago, they renovated the house. Both of them are in good health. Not long after you left, Aunt Chen got pregnant—had a boy. He should be around six now, goes to school nearby. He’s a good kid.”
Chen Die opened her mouth slightly and gave a quiet “ah”: “Well, that’s… pretty good, then.”
“Xiao Die, about what happened back then, I always felt—”
Jiang Xian paused, as if choosing his words carefully. “Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen couldn’t have been that heartless. There might’ve been things we didn’t know about. Don’t think of yourself as a child they just abandoned.”
“Mm.” She responded without emotion. After a long pause, she added in a soft voice, “...But the truth is, they did abandon me.”
Right after she said that, the boarding announcement for her flight came over the speakers.
Chen Die stood up, not waiting for Jiang Xian to say anything else. After a brief goodbye, she grabbed her suitcase and walked toward the gate.
The plane took off.
Chen Die put on her eye mask and turned off the overhead light.
She planned to sleep through the flight. Once she landed, she’d arrive at the filming location, get a bit of rest, and then start shooting the final season of <Three Meals a Day>.
But every time she tried to fall asleep, Jiang Xian’s words echoed in her head—There might have been things we didn’t know.
What could it have been?
When the Chen family came to take her away, her adoptive parents didn’t stop them. And they had, in fact, accepted money from the Chen family.
Chen Die couldn’t remember much of the past clearly anymore. Maybe it was because she’d deliberately chosen not to think about it. Now, when she tried to recall the details, everything felt shrouded in a layer of fog—vague and unclear.
She dozed off in a haze for a few hours. By the time the plane landed, it was early morning the next day.
After turning her phone on at baggage claim, she saw that Jiang Xian had sent her three messages.
[Jiang Xian: I forgot to tell you—shortly after you left, Aunt Chen had a pretty serious surgery. The cost was really high. I suspect part of the money came from the Chen Group.]
[Jiang Xian: I know that even for surgery money, they shouldn’t have let them take you away. But I still remember how, when you were little, Aunt Chen came to my house to ask me to walk you to school. She said, ‘My girl’s so pretty, I don’t feel safe letting her walk alone. What if she meets a bad person?’]
[Jiang Xian: So how did it come to them letting you leave like that?]
Chen Die stood by the luggage carousel, hand resting on the handle of her suitcase, head lowered, reading those three messages over and over.
An odd feeling swelled in her chest. Hard to describe—like a pebble had landed right on her heart.
Looking back carefully, she remembered that while her adoptive parents hadn’t exactly spoiled her, they had never treated her poorly either.
Chen Die stood there for a while, suddenly wanting to talk to Wen Liang.
But when she tried messaging him—no reply. Called—his phone was off.
Heh.
Scumbag.
The final season of the show was being filmed abroad, so the airport was filled with blue-eyed, blond-haired foreigners. Chen Die could finally take off her hat and mask.
Still lost in thought, she got into the car sent by the production team.
Since it was the finale, filming officially began the moment they got into the car at the airport. There was already a camera mounted on the back of the seat in front of her.
Right away, she was handed an envelope containing ten rapid-fire Q&A questions.
Chen Die quickly slipped into work mode, pushing all the messy thoughts to the back of her mind.
By the time she arrived at the shooting location, the other three cast members were already there.
After some quick greetings, the shoot officially began.
They chatted for a while and each answered their questions, building up a very emotional and sentimental atmosphere. As evening fell, it was time for the tradition of fighting over the bedrooms.
This time, the game was a card game that relied on psychological tactics.
The production team’s off-screen voice asked, “Chen Die, what’s your goal this round?”
Chen Die rested her chin on her hand, lifted her eyes, then casually pointed. “Send Lin Qingye to the tent.”
Laughter erupted all around.
And just like that, the emotionally charged atmosphere the crew had been building came crashing down.
When Ran Liming and Li Cong were asked, they both answered, “We’re here to help Little Sister Die out.”
After so many episodes, everyone except Lin Qingye had already spent a night in the tent. Last time, Chen Die had been sent there by Lin Qingye himself—she’d held a grudge ever since.
The game was all about psychological warfare, but Chen Die’s one sentence had united the other two against Lin Qingye, making the rest of the round go very smoothly for her.
Whether or not Ran Liming and Li Cong had gone easy on her, who knew—but Chen Die came out on top and finally got to stay in the luxurious bedroom.
And Lin Qingye, true to expectations, was sent to the tent—personally, by Chen Die.
Ran Liming and Li Cong clapped and cheered, completely switching sides in support of Chen Die—utterly lacking in brotherly loyalty.
After the game, they all messed around outside for a bit, and by the time they returned to their rooms, it was late at night.
Chen Die removed her makeup, waved at the camera in the bedroom, then threw a cloth over it and turned it off.
But once she lay in bed, Jiang Xian’s messages flooded back into her mind.
So annoying.
She rolled over, only then realizing—she hadn’t even replied to those messages Jiang Xian had sent her.
Chen Die sat up, grabbed her phone, and opened the chat window.
But she had no idea what to reply with. She stared at it for a long time, then finally sent Jiang Xian a gif of a little pig nodding.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
“Coming.”
Chen Die shuffled over in her slippers.
She figured it was someone from the crew coming to deliver a message, but when she opened the door, she saw someone she hadn’t seen in days—Wen Liang.
A road-worn, travel-weary Wen Liang.
For once, he wasn’t wearing a suit. Just a thin windbreaker, with one shoulder slightly damp from the light rain outside that night.
Chen Die stared at him, stunned. “What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I came to find you.”
“Oh, I thought you weren’t getting here till tomorrow.” Chen Die scratched her head.
She continued standing at the door, not letting Wen Liang in.
But his sudden appearance had completely wiped the stressful thoughts from her mind.
Although… she had taken off her makeup. Did she look awful right now?
Didn’t she get a surprise pimple on her forehead yesterday?
As her thoughts spiraled, Wen Liang lowered his head and kissed her on the lips. “I snuck over. Let me in.”
Chen Die: “?”
Wen Liang didn’t give her time to react. He gave her shoulder a gentle push, guiding her back inside, and shut the door behind them.
“No one from the crew saw you come up?”
“Nope,” Wen Liang replied as he took off his windbreaker. “Is the camera still running?”
“I turned it off earlier.”
Wen Liang nodded, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her into a hug, gently pushing her down onto the bed. Cupping her face, he kissed her urgently, knees on either side of her.
“Wait a sec—” Chen Die tried to push him away. “What are you, a starving ghost reincarnated?”
Wen Liang patted her cheek and mumbled, “Be good. I’m not gonna touch you, just let me kiss you for a bit.”
“......”
Fine.
Chen Die shifted, adjusting into a more comfortable position to kiss him back.
She had to admit, Wen Liang really did have a knack for kissing—as if he were self-taught. He used to come at her like a wild animal, all teeth and chaos, but now he somehow always managed to make her heart race and lose herself in the moment.
But just as she was fully immersed, her phone—tossed to the side earlier—suddenly chimed.
Wen Liang ignored it and kissed her again before pulling away. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the screen light up. He finally glanced over.
[Jiang Xian: Good night.]
Wen Liang raised an eyebrow, sat up on top of her, and held the phone up so she could see.
Chen Die was still dazed from all the kissing. It took her a moment to even register what the screen said.
Then she looked at Wen Liang’s expression. At that moment, she truly felt the meaning of two letters:
GG.
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