The Twenty-Third Night (1)
It was past 4 p.m. local time when Jiang Yan got off the plane. A quite conspicuously dressed Zhao Ke was waiting for her at the exit. Jiang Ran spotted her before the other did.
“Jiang Ran!” Zhao Ke called out excitedly, quickly followed by a… “Did you bring the things I asked you to, my dear ancestor?!”
“—Yeah I did.” Jiang Ran wanted to roll her eyes. “Also, the small hot pot. I put them all in the suitcase.”
“I really love you so much!” Zhao Ke helped her drag the case, took her hand, and walked out. “So let me invite you to a small hot pot tonight!”
Jiang Ran: —
That small hot pot was brought by herself, okay!
In the end, Zhao Ke didn’t follow through with her niggardly words and generously invited Jiang Ran to have authentic Japanese sushi. After having enjoyed themselves, they went to a large department store nearby and started to scan the goods.
A Bunny’s lipstick commercial was being played in front of the counter albeit the Japanese version. Jiang Ran paused, curiously looked at the screen and said, “I never expected to see Feng Jing’s ad at this place.”
“There is nothing weird about it.” Zhao Ke didn’t find it unusual at all. “He is the global spokesman for Bunny lipsticks, you’ll find him when you go to Europe too.”
“Can you get the Serenade 007 here?” Jiang Ran asked eagerly.
“It’s been sold out for a long time now, don’t even expect to find it any time soon.” Zhao Ke then brought her to the counter to look around. There was indeed no lipstick of the 007 series. “There are lots of Chinese students here who are also purchasing agents. No. 007 is one that keeps you yearning for it. You may be able to see it but to get one is almost impossible. There were also posters of Feng Jing here but might’ve been torn down by someone. ”
“— Turns out, Starlight Department Store really had a foresight because they had a security team protecting the posters.”
“It’s rumoured that billboards will be completely enclosed in glass cases such that the posters won’t get torn off by ardent fans to keep and can only be carried away.”
“—” Ah, the fans are pretty hardcore, why else would Bunny consider selling the posters as a marketing strategy?
“I read a post on Weibo that said Feng Jing has become the brand ambassador of Bunny? His movie is also about to be released, he really seems to be popular recently.”
Jiang Ran nodded. “Last time when he returned to City A, Yan Huanhuan took me along to pick him up at the airport … There were so many fans.”
“What????” As if she’d heard something akin to the tales of Arabian Nights, a shocked Zhao Ke looked at Jiang Ran. “You went to pick up a star?”
“— Yan Huanhuan dragged me there.” She emphasized those words again.
“Well, it’s really difficult to see.” Zhao Ke ignored her explanation but peered at her with an ambiguous look. “I never expected Feng Jing to be so charming.”
“—” Jiang Ran refused to continue this topic. “I have printed all the orders. Let’s go and purchase them.”
Because they were carrying two empty suitcases today, they lingered outside for a longer time. It was way past midnight when they finally returned to Zhao Ke’s apartment. The two friends tallied the harvest they had reaped today, before stewing a hotpot. They were both hungry, it’d been hours since they had had sushi in the afternoon.
The fact that the pre-cooked hotpot came in small portions made Zhao Ke frown. She took some vegetables from the refrigerator, chopped them into chunks before plopping them into the hot pot.
“Ah! I haven’t had hot pot in a really long while. The people here have delicate palates that could never handle authentic Chinese spice!” Zhao Ke held the bowl and used her chopsticks to quickly pick up the vegetables.
Seeing her friend’s eagerness, Jiang Ran reminded her: “Slow down, it’s just cooked and very hot.”
Here she uttered the final word, there Zhao Ke got burnt and hissed: “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?
“— Well, I won’t snatch the food away from you so take it easy.” She didn’t know what kind of life Zhao Ke lived here, but Jiang Ran felt as if she was facing a refugee.
Having heard that Jiang Ran would not snatch food with her, Zhao Ke slowed down. When they have finished eating the hotpot leisurely, the hour hand was pointing to 1.
“I’ll clean up. You take a break.”
Zhao Ke, being fair-minded, was conscientious and took the initiative to carry out the important task of cleaning. Jiang Ran turned on the computer as she mulled over whether to have a video chat with Er Huang.
She looked at the time. It is now 00:00 back in China.
He Zhiyuan must be asleep?
She logged into QQ and found that He Zhiyuan’s profile picture was still lit up, so she pinged.
【 Jiang Ran: Are you still awake?】
He Zhiyuan hadn’t really slept yet as he was even a little stunned.
After his shower, he found that Er Huang, who had been unhappy all day, had suddenly become lively … Almost hyperactive.
“Woo-ff.”
He Zhiyuan watched the dog bite a pillow from the sofa, drag it around in the living room, and then proceed to stamp his paws onto it.
He Zhiyuan: “—”
He felt it was due to Er Huang’s unfamiliarity and having not adapted to the new environment yet, so he went up to patiently soothe the dog. “Er Huang, what happened to you?”
“Woof!” Feng Jing barked at him. Why is he still not mad at all?
He Zhiyuan looked at the agitated Er Huang being so agitated, reached out his hands, and tried to scratch his fur. But even before he could touch him, the canine evaded.
“Woof!” He didn’t believe that He Zhiyuan couldn’t get angry.
Feng Jing thought for a bit, gnawed on another pillow, and threw it on the floor.
“Woof!” He yapped provocatively at He Zhiyuan.
He Zhiyuan: “—”
He walked over, picked up the two pillows on the floor, and handed them to Er Huang. “Do you like this? Go ahead, this is for you.”
Feng Jing: “—”
What’s wrong with this fellow?! Why don’t you follow the routine?!
While a human and a dog were confronting each other, He Zhiyuan’s laptop in the living room sounded a notification.
Feng Jing had a glint in his eyes. It must be because the pillows were too cheap that he didn’t care much! If I trod on the laptop, his reaction will be different!
But it didn’t seem like a good idea. Money was a trivial matter when compared to important documents concerning work … Feng Jing paused with uncertainty.
While he was still hesitating on whether to spoil the laptop or not, He Zhiyuan had opened his QQ and responded to Jiang Ran’s message.
【Not yet, I just took a shower.】