Delicate Beauty in the Palm : Chapter 54 - Moments
Chapter 54: Moments
“Um…”
Chen Die felt a sudden pang of guilt. She pressed her lips together and looked at Wen Liang with utmost sincerity. “My flight was delayed, and then I ran into him in the terminal. We just chatted a bit and added each other as friends.”
Wen Liang looked at her with a half-smile, half-sneer: “Added him... and then wished each other good night?”
“We didn’t even say that to each other! I didn’t reply…” Chen Die blinked, then decided to regain the upper hand. “He just said good night—what’s the big deal? You, as my boyfriend, have never said goodnight to me.”
Wen Liang suddenly remembered a few nights ago, when he said ‘goodnight’ to Chen Die over video after she had already fallen asleep.
But he didn’t bother explaining. He just gave a cold snort. “Impressive.”
“......”
Chen Die was getting a bit uncomfortable under him—it was the program crew’s room, after all. Even though she had turned off all the cameras before going to bed, it still felt weird. Like they were being watched.
“Get off me first,” she said, trying to push him away.
Wen Liang didn’t budge. He raised one hand and pinned her wrist above her head against the blanket. His eyes were dark, and some strands of his now-slightly-longer bangs hung low over his forehead.
Chen Die, a little dazed, thought: Ever since she mentioned that she liked how his hair felt when it was longer, he hadn't shaved it all off like he used to when getting a haircut.
It wasn’t long now, but not as spiky as before either.
“Say it,” Wen Liang said, his other hand cupping her neck and lifting her head to meet his gaze. “Who am I?”
Chen Die looked confused: “Wen Liang.”
“And who am I to you?”
“…?” The way he asked that made it hard to answer without feeling awkward.
Wen Liang squeezed her neck lightly, urging, “Come on.”
“Boyfriend,” Chen Die finally said.
Wen Liang nodded toward her phone on the side: “And him?”
“He’s not,” Chen Die started to find his behavior kind of cute now and chuckled. “I’ve told you so many times—he’s just the neighbor older brother from back then.”
Wen Liang didn’t like that answer. His face was stern: “Say it again.”
Chen Die paused, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
“The former neigh-bor.”
She deliberately left off the word older brother.
Wen Liang let out a mocking laugh and gave her a side-eye full of sarcasm, finally releasing his grip on her neck.
So it was just those two words that bothered him.
Did this man have some weird, unknown kink or something…?
Wen Liang got off her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Chen Die immediately sat up too, smoothing her hair, half afraid this maniac would suddenly pounce again.
She studied his expression for a while and could tell he really wasn’t happy.
Thinking from his perspective—if another woman had sent Wen Liang a ‘good night’ text late at night, she’d probably be jealous too. So maybe she had been in the wrong a little.
Wanting to be open and honest, Chen Die scooted over and asked softly, “Do you want to see our chat history?”
Wen Liang turned his head, giving her a side glance: “No.”
“......”
Fine.
Chen Die wanted to make it up to him but didn’t know what to say in this awkward atmosphere. So she switched the roles and asked, “Then can I see your chat history?”
“You think I’m like you?”
He always got so mean when he was upset.
Made her feel like she’d really done something terrible.
After getting shut down again, Chen Die didn’t bother trying to cheer him up anymore. Wen Liang pulled out his phone and tossed it to her, almost dropping it—she had to scramble to catch it.
She unlocked the screen. “What’s the password?”
“2395,” Wen Liang said calmly.
Chen Die froze, lifting her head.
Her password was 9523, meaning ‘Wen Liang Chen Die.’
And his password was 2395, meaning ‘Chen Die Wen Liang.’
She typed it in, unlocked the phone, and couldn’t help but smile. “When did you change it?”
“A while ago.”
Feeling spoiled and proud, Chen Die grinned wider. “Then I’m adding my fingerprint, too.”
Wen Liang let her do whatever she wanted with his phone.
She entered her right thumbprint into Wen Liang's phone as a fingerprint password. Then she glanced at his lock screen—it was still the original default pattern wallpaper that came with the phone.
Chen Die blinked at him playfully. “Wanna let me change your wallpaper?”
“Go ahead.”
Chen Die had tons of pretty pictures of herself saved in her photo album—some selfies, some stills from shows, and others taken by fans.
She selected about a dozen and sent them all to Wen Liang, then used his phone to save each of them to his photo album.
She showed him one by one. “Which one do you like?”
Wen Liang was still sulking and couldn’t even be bothered to look. “None of them.”
“Tch.”
Chen Die snorted and ignored him. Based on her own taste, she picked one fan-taken photo from the airport that she’d always liked.
She set it as both the lock screen and home screen wallpaper.
Then she opened WeChat.
Chen Die had the habit of regularly deleting chat history. Only a few chat threads were kept. But Wen Liang didn’t have that habit—scrolling down showed a long list.
The top few were all company group chats and conversations with a few assistants and business partners.
At first glance, the last message in most of those threads was something like “Got it,” “OK,” or some report.
Thinking about it, Wen Liang really didn’t seem to have any close friends.
His personality wasn’t well-suited for making friends, and he didn’t seem to need them either. The few people who occasionally showed up around him were all rich boys, but even they were a little intimidated by him. Anyone trying to get close usually had some ulterior motive.
Chen Die paused, then asked, “What about those female companions?”
“Didn’t add them.”
Chen Die gave a snort, pushing further: “Yeah, if you added all of them, your WeChat friend list would be full by now.”
Wen Liang raised an eyebrow and pinched her cheek. “Still haven’t explained your little issue, and now you’re pinning me with shady assumptions?”
“......”
Truth be told, she knew all about those so-called ‘female companions’ of his. At most, he’d bring someone to a fancy banquet every now and then, but that was it. Wen Liang never seemed that interested in women.
After the college entrance exams, when their relationship shifted, Wen Liang even asked if she wanted him to accompany her to the event. She refused, not wanting to run into anyone from the Chen family.
Still… how could this guy stay mad this long?
It was just a ‘goodnight’ text.
It’s not like she wanted the other guy to send it!!
Chen Die sighed internally. Alright, I’ll try to coax you one last time!
She scooted even closer to Wen Liang until their thighs were touching. She hooked her index finger around his pinky and softened her voice: “I was wrong, don’t be mad anymore, okay?”
No reaction.
Chen Die leaned in. Since Wen Liang wouldn’t turn his face toward her, she raised her chin and kissed his ear, continuing to act cute: “Older Brother Wen Liang~(Wen Liang-gege~).”
Wen Liang’s whole body stiffened, a vein pulsing at his temple.
Chen Die gave him a kiss on the cheek too and pulled back… still no reaction.
Alright.
Seriously?
She’d been trying to coax him forever and he was still giving her nothing. Well, forget it then!
Chen Die stood up with a whoosh and stormed toward the door. As she walked, she said, “Think whatever you want. I’m going to sleep. You can leave.”
Before she even got the door open, Wen Liang quickly closed the gap, bent down, and scooped her up from behind—one arm under her knees.
Caught off guard, Chen Die shrieked and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?!”
“Shhh.” Wen Liang glanced at her and walked back to the bed, tossing her onto it before bracing his arms on either side of her. “Be any louder and you’ll attract attention.”
“?”
Chen Die stared at him in disbelief, his face now so close. In a low voice, she asked, “What are you doing?”
“Sleeping with you.”
“???”
As he spoke, he began to undress.
Slowly, unhurriedly unbuttoning his shirt.
Chen Die was absolutely stunned. How could anyone be this shameless?
He undid a few buttons, but seeming to get impatient, he tossed the covers aside and pulled her under them with him.
Wen Liang lifted her chin and kissed her roughly, biting and licking her lips as if venting his frustration. When he felt her resisting, he finally eased off and sat back up.
His eyes still held that stormy intensity, but gradually, the edge softened, and he stopped being so forceful.
Wen Liang looked at her for a moment, then raised his hand to gently wipe the moisture off her lips and let out a slow breath. “If I go out now, people will see me.”
“......”
Oh.
“Then everyone will really think we did something.”
“......”
Men and their lying mouths.
“Be good. I’ll leave early tomorrow so no one sees me.” He lowered his head again and kissed her nose. “Just lying here. I won’t touch you.”
“......”
Chen Die didn’t know why, but his words reminded her of those infamous ‘classic f-boy lines’ she’d read online.
Yet she just couldn’t resist when Wen Liang spoke to her so gently. She bit her lip, then pushed him slightly and scooted over to the corner of the bed, reluctantly giving in: “Then go take a shower first.”
“Not gonna.”
Wen Liang’s shirt already had several buttons undone—only two in the middle were still fastened. Too lazy to unbutton them one by one, he grabbed the hem, crossed his arms, and pulled it off from the bottom.
Chen Die: “……”
The hell…???
This is your idea of ‘just lying here’???
He casually tossed the shirt to the floor, then opened his arms toward her. “Come here. Just wanna hold you for a bit.”
Chen Die curled up in his arms, completely frozen, not daring to move a muscle. She could faintly smell the lingering scent of body wash on him from earlier in the day, mixed with the familiar hint of tobacco.
She buried her face in his chest, took a deep breath, and tried her best to relax.
She came here to film a serious program, so why did it feel like she was sneaking around having an affair with her boyfriend at night?
And worst of all—this boyfriend was one of the show’s investors.
Above her, Wen Liang spoke, voice a little husky: “What were you training yesterday morning in the gym?”
Chen Die thought about it, then listed the moves her trainer had taught her: “Squats, straight-arm push-ups, dumbbell bench press… and I think one was called barbell bench press?”
Wen Liang paused.
Just from the names, he already knew what kind of training she was doing—and he gave a husky little laugh.
After chuckling for a bit, his hand slipped under the blanket. “Come on, let me check. See if it’s working.”
“......”
Are you kidding me?!
Wen Liang had long since lost all sense of shame. Chen Die instantly tried to back away, but she was already on the edge of the bed. One retreat and she nearly fell off—only to be pulled back by Wen Liang again.
Ten minutes later.
Thud! With a loud crash, Wen Liang was successfully kicked off the bed, smacking his head on the edge in the process.
Chen Die didn’t even check if he was hurt—face flushed red as she pulled her nightgown back down.
Completely mortified and furious, she grabbed a pillow and hurled it at him. “Are you mentally ill or something?!”
Wen Liang didn’t dodge. The pillow hit him square in the face. His long legs sprawled out without a care, and he just gave a low chuckle, totally unfazed. Then he raised a hand and placed his index finger on his lips in a slow, deliberate motion—like some damn pervert.
Chen Die stared at him, thinking about what that very hand had just been doing moments ago, and felt her entire body go up in flames.
Wen Liang didn’t seem at all embarrassed about getting kicked off the bed. He stood up and walked into the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of running water filled the room. Chen Die lay back down, heart pounding, still sore from where he’d grabbed her.
She rolled over, face down, burying herself into the sheets with a frustrated little wiggle. She was mortified.
The water ran for a long time. The heat on her face slowly began to fade—until she suddenly realized what he was doing in there. A new wave of heat hit her like a punch.
Pervert!!
The water was still running when her phone buzzed.
[Jiang Xian: Are you asleep yet, Xiao Die?]
Chen Die froze.
At this point, she’d be crazy not to realize what was going on.
If that ‘goodnight’ message from earlier was just something a childhood ‘older brother’ would say… then this ‘are you asleep yet’ clearly crossed a line.
Chen Die didn’t know how to reply. Her gaze drifted to the three previous messages Jiang Xian had sent.
Ugh, so annoying.
She lay on her stomach, arms folded, chin resting on the backs of her hands. She hadn’t noticed when the water stopped, or when Wen Liang came out and stood behind her.
Not until a wet hand suddenly reached over and snatched her phone.
Chen Die froze, then immediately turned her head, reaching out in panic. “Give it back!”
Wen Liang grabbed her hand, glanced at the phone, let out a cold laugh, and directly tapped on the voice message feature. Speaking into the phone, he said, “She’s already asleep. Mr. Jiang, please don’t contact my girlfriend this late in the future.”
“......”
He really never cared about saving face for anyone.
After saying that, Wen Liang scrolled up through the chat. It didn’t take long to reach the top, where the first message was the friend request notification.
His eyes swept over the three messages Jiang Xian had sent earlier.
They were about Chen Die’s former family.
Wen Liang had never looked into her past before, and now that he saw this, it all felt very unfamiliar.
His mood gradually darkened. He handed the phone back to Chen Die, then raised his hand to gently touch her face. “What did he say to you?”
What Wen Liang meant was: What did he tell you about your past? But to Chen Die, it sounded like he was getting jealous again. She jerked her head back to avoid his hand, frowning: “What was that hand doing just now in the bathroom? Don’t touch my face with it.”
Wen Liang paused.
“It wasn’t this hand.” He raised an eyebrow, looking all casual and smug. “And it’s not like you’ve never touched it before. Why pretend now?”
“......”
Wen Liang sat down on the edge of the bed and tapped on her phone twice with his knuckle. “So, what are you thinking?”
Chen Die was quiet for a few seconds. “I don’t know.”
It had been so long since she’d felt anything close to familial affection—she had almost forgotten what it was like. So when she heard news about her former adoptive parents, her first reaction was mostly… numb confusion.
They’d gone through a major surgery.
Now, so many years later, it was probably long healed. They even had a biological son now.
That was nice, she guessed.
But did the past even matter anymore?
Still, deep down inside her, there was this faint, nagging feeling she couldn’t shake off—something unspoken, hard to define.
Why was she the one they threw away?
“If you want to go back and take a look, I’ll go with you,” Wen Liang said, watching her closely.
Chen Die bit her lip. “Why would I go back?”
“Vacation.”
Chen Die looked up. “Huh?”
“The filming ends tomorrow. You’ve still got a few free days before joining the new crew, right?” Wen Liang ruffled her hair. “If you don’t want to meet them, we’ll just go to the town, hang out a bit, then leave.”
Chen Die started to waver.
It was just a short trip. No big deal, right?
If she didn’t want to see anyone, she could just avoid going near their house. Or maybe… just take one look from a distance.
Seeing how she lowered her head in deep thought, a conflicted expression on her face, Wen Liang chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “Just think of it as keeping me company.”
With that shift in conversation, Chen Die had completely forgotten the shameless things this jerk had done earlier. She hugged him back, resting her head against his chest and gently rubbing against him like a cat.
In a low voice, she said: “From the way Brother Jiang Xian talked… it sounds like maybe they had their reasons back then.”
She paused. “Even if it was something like needing money for surgery or whatever… maybe if that’s true, I could finally let go a little.”
Wen Liang felt a sudden ache in his chest. He leaned over and kissed her ear. “Okay. After filming wraps up tomorrow, we’ll go.”
The next morning.
It was still dark outside when Wen Liang quietly got dressed and left early.
He was trying to make it look like Chen Die had slept alone—like a proper “sneaky affair.”
After he left, Chen Die went back to sleep for a bit before getting up.
Wen Liang had gone off somewhere. As she got ready, she thought back to the conversation they had the night before.
And sure enough—nighttime is the worst time to make decisions.
In that impulsive moment, she’d agreed to go back and take a look. But now, in the clear light of morning, the fear and hesitation crept in again.
“Hey, Little Sister Die, up this early?” Ran Liming came downstairs and greeted her.
Chen Die turned around. “Morning. I’m making breakfast.”
Ran Liming rolled up his sleeves and joined her. “Let me help.”
Not long after, Li Cong also got up. The three of them prepared a big, hearty breakfast to wrap up the final episode of the show. As they laid everything out on the table, Lin Qingye finally emerged from his tent—slowly, dragging his feet.
He was frowning, looking totally out of sorts, even sneezed.
Definitely didn’t sleep well.
Chen Die glanced at him and laughed. “Come eat breakfast.”
And just like that, <Three Meals a Day> wrapped up with a cheerful final breakfast. Everyone went off to film their post-show interviews and then came together for a quick slogan about the next season.
All 8 episodes of <Three Meals a Day> were now complete.
Even though the show didn’t have a ton of drama or big twists, Chen Die had really enjoyed filming it—especially with these three, who she’d gotten along with naturally and effortlessly.
Everyone still had things to do afterward, so once the show ended, they just had a quick lunch with the production team, and that officially wrapped everything up.
Wen Liang only showed up at the very end. As soon as he appeared at the door, the show’s chief director came up to talk to him.
Ran Liming and the others said quick goodbyes to Chen Die and left one by one, while she stood off to the side, waiting with big hopeful eyes. Suddenly, she thought of a meme she’d seen online: Hello? All the other kids have already been picked up. Why aren’t you here yet?
Wen Liang finally finished talking with the director and walked over to her, giving her head a gentle pat. “Let’s go.”
Some of the staff nearby were already used to this kind of scene and just kept their heads down, getting on with their work.
Chen Die followed Wen Liang to the car. He didn’t say a word and looked like he was about to drive straight to the airport.
“Wait a sec,” Chen Die stopped him.
Wen Liang turned his head. “Hmm?”
“Let’s go on a date,” Chen Die said out of nowhere.
Wen Liang raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond.
“The timing is perfect,” she added. “No one here knows who I am anyway, and we’re already abroad. If we go back a little later, we could at least go on a proper date. You realize we haven’t even gone to see a movie together?”
Wen Liang was quiet for a moment, then smiled. “You’re this nervous?”
“......”
Busted.
She deflated a bit and slumped back in her seat. “Okay fine, I’m a little nervous.”
Wen Liang looked at her for a moment, then silently turned on the GPS and started driving in the opposite direction of the airport.
When they finally entered the cinema, surrounded by a crowd of blonde-haired, blue-eyed people, Chen Die suddenly remembered something pretty crucial—yeah, no one here recognizes her, but she doesn’t understand English movies for crap.
Wen Liang, on the other hand, seemed totally in his element. As soon as they entered, he casually scanned the place, then walked over to the ticket counter.
He tilted his head toward her. “What do you want to watch?”
Just to be safe, she was still wearing a mask, which she’d pulled down to her chin. She looked up at the board, eyes scanning the long rows of colorful English titles.
She used to be good at Chinese and English back in high school, and she’d passed CET-6 in college sophomore year. But she hadn’t touched a textbook since then, so it was no surprise that it all looked like gibberish now.
There didn’t seem to be any big releases out at the moment—she hadn’t heard of any of the titles.
She stared at the screen for a while, struggling, then just pointed randomly at one—it was a detective suspense film.
That’s when she realized: Wen Liang spoke really fluent and pleasant-sounding English. Smooth and confident. In no time, the staff handed him two tickets.
She suddenly remembered something Chen Shao had once said: that Wen Liang was a top student even when he was a kid.
They bought a hotdog and some soda, then went in.
This cinema didn’t have assigned seating, and the place was already pretty full, so they picked two seats all the way in the back, on the far right.
Feeling that small sense of unease you get when you’re in a foreign place, Chen Die stuck close to Wen Liang as they found their seats.
She leaned over and whispered, “Your English is really that good?”
The cinema was dimly lit. Ads were already playing on the screen. Wen Liang turned his head toward her; his eyes looked bright even in the dark.
“I travel a lot for work. Sometimes I stay for a whole week. Got used to it.”
Chen Die thought: This isn’t just about understanding! His pronunciation is way too clean and hot!
“Oh right, did you take CET-6 in college?”
Wen Liang casually replied, “Yeah, probably.”
Chen Die: “So how much did you score? Over 650?”
Wen Liang had a faint memory: “I think my CET-6 score was the same as my CET-4. Something like 700 and a few points.”
“......”
Chen Die had no words.
She’d been hanging out with this guy for so long, and only now did she realize—this man was an academic weapon.
Full score: 710. You scored 700+?
Are you even human???
Lately, she’d been praised a lot by fans and film critics, and her ego had been slightly inflated. But after this comparison with Wen Liang, she felt like she was just a pretty face with no real substance.
During the movie, Chen Die completely couldn’t keep up with the local English speed, but was too embarrassed to ask Wen Liang for translations.
It was just… too humiliating.
Even though it was a serious suspense thriller and the BGM did a great job building tension, there were a lot of raw, steamy scenes that would’ve never made it past censorship back home.
As a professional actress, Chen Die could appreciate such scenes purely from a storytelling and performance perspective—she used to analyze them in class without blinking.
But now, sitting next to Wen Liang, it felt entirely different.
She couldn’t help but wonder—why is everything in the world so R-rated lately?!
By the time the movie ended, Chen Die felt like she’d just spent two hours sweating in a sauna. She didn’t even understand half the plot.
As soon as it ended, she raised her hand to fan her face and quickly walked out.
Outside, Chen Die put her mask back on, took out her phone, and snapped a photo of two movie ticket stubs, happily posting it to her Moments.
Wen Liang watched her post, then pulled out his phone to give it a like. He opened the photo and glanced at it, clearly unsatisfied: “That’s it?”
It was just two simple ticket stubs. Aside from that, only Chen Die’s fingers were visible. There was no indication of who she had gone to the movies with.
“I didn’t block anyone from seeing this post,” Chen Die explained.
She had attended various events over time and added quite a few people on WeChat—many of whom she had only met once. She worried someone might take a screenshot and send it to a reporter.
Wen Liang gave a soft scoff, opened his camera, and without bothering to find a good angle, snapped a picture of Chen Die.
A totally straight-guy, utterly unflattering angle.
Then, without a word, he posted the photo to his own Moments.
Chen Die was scrolling through the comments on her own post. As soon as she refreshed, she saw Wen Liang’s and immediately looked up and glared at him: “What are you doing?!”
He replied matter-of-factly: “No one would dare screenshot my posts.”
“You couldn’t have told me before posting it?! I saved so many cute photos of me in your gallery just yesterday, and this is the one you post? The one without even a single edit?” Chen Die complained, pointing at the photo and nitpicking all the ugly parts, “And I’m practically bare-faced right now.”
Wen Liang was getting annoyed: “Then let your dear Older Brother Jiang Xian see just how ugly you are without makeup.”
“......”
Here we go again!!
How can someone be so petty?!
Other boyfriends’ wonder: What to do if my girlfriend is too dramatic?
For Chen Die, it’s: What to do if your boyfriend is the one who’s too dramatic?
Wen Liang had never posted much on his Moments—his feed was practically empty. So when he suddenly uploaded something, and it turned out to be a photo, of a gorgeous woman no less—and that woman just so happened to be the famous actress who’d slapped him in the past—his WeChat friends went wild.
[What the hell is going on??!!]
[Mr. Wen finally got the girl?!]
[Sister-in-law is so beautiful.]
[Mr. Wen, can you ask your girlfriend to sign something for my girlfriend?!]
……
Not long after, Ye Chuqing commented too.
[? What kind of blackmail-level photography skills are these?]
Chen Die: “……”
Only girls can truly understand just how criminal this photo angle is!
“See?!” She started angrily scolding him again.
Wen Liang didn’t want to hear it. He leaned down, his fingers brushing against her face as he hooked into the edge of her mask and tugged it downward.
All the words Chen Die had been about to yell were swallowed back because of his sudden move. She widened her eyes and stared blankly at him.
“Perfect time, place, and people,” Wen Liang echoed her earlier words.
She blinked, her breath slowing: “Hm?”
He kissed her on the lips, his voice husky and low: “Finally, I don’t have to hide it when I kiss you.”
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