Zhou Yining squinted, smiling, and hooked her arms around his neck. “Why do you want to hear about my high school days?”

Ji Dongyang: “Just curious.”

In high school, she was somewhat normal, besides learning to smoke and running around with groups of boys, because hardly any girls liked to play with her. Back then, Zhou JiaHui was in the class next door. Both were Zhou Lihui’s daughters, yet Zhou JiaHui was always surrounded by many girls.

Zhou Yining counted on her fingers, telling him about her high school years. She specifically highlighted how many boys liked her. She tilted her face up, laughing. “Do you want to hear more?”

Ji Dongyang frowned. This was largely the same story Lu Xiao had told him. He looked straight at her. “Nothing else?”

*Zhou Lihui was busy with company affairs. Having an affectionate little princess and a gentle wife was enough.* He gave her plenty: inexhaustible pocket money, the best food, clothes, and accessories, and a driver for her daily commute. She hadn’t developed her illness yet. *Perhaps the people around her were too negligent; perhaps they thought her behavior was nothing serious. In any case, no one managed her, no one cared, and no one ever discovered that she had psychological issues.* It was a deep-seated root of illness from childhood, yet after so many years, not a single person had noticed.

*Truly ridiculous.*

Even she hadn’t known herself.

Zhou Yining shook her head. “No, I’m really not lying to you.”

Zhou Yining didn’t know why Ji Dongyang was suddenly interested in her high school years, nor did she think too deeply about it. Now, his hand was on her waist. She sat on his lap and shifted slightly in his direction, moving closer. She turned sideways to face him directly, wetting her slightly dry lips.

Then she opened her bright, clear eyes and looked at Ji Dongyang, leaning her face in, aiming precisely for his lips, ready to kiss him…

The next second, her vision went dark. Her eyes were covered again. She protested, “Don’t…”

*Don’t cover my eyes every time.*

The next second, Ji Dongyang’s lips were on hers, swallowing her protests between their lips and teeth.

This was the first time he had kissed her before she could touch his lips.

His kiss was fervent, forceful.

Her body gradually slid to the side, her bottom landing on the sofa, her legs draped over his. They deepened the kiss, their bodies leaning further. Ji Dongyang wrapped his arm around her waist, suddenly flipping them over, pressing her beneath him. His kisses traveled from her lips to her chin… her ear… the hollow of her neck…

The person in his arms trembled slightly, breathing softly. Her eyelashes fluttered, sweeping against his palm. Ji Dongyang could practically imagine her expression. He buried his face in the hollow of her neck, pecked her once, and then stopped.

Zhou Yining waited for a long time, but the next step never came. She reached out to touch his back, sliding her hand inside his sweater, directly feeling the man’s sexy muscle lines. Ji Dongyang freed one hand, pulled hers out, and pressed it onto the sofa. He half-propped himself up and looked down at her.

The little girl was slender and fair, her cheeks flushed, and even her neck was pink. His left hand covered her eyes; the difference in their skin tones was obvious.

With his right hand restraining hers, he felt like he was bullying her. This thought excited him, as if someone had lit a fire inside his body.

Zhou Yining didn’t know what he was hesitating about. Her eyelashes kept brushing his palm, unsettling him.

Ji Dongyang interpreted her continuous blinking as nervousness. He closed his eyes, pulled her up, his voice slightly hoarse. “Enough. You need to go back and sleep.”

Zhou Yining kept blinking. She turned to look at him and saw him leaning against the sofa cushion, eyes closed, unbearably handsome.

She scooted closer, a little disappointed. “We’re not going to do it?”

“…”

“My period might start tomorrow.”

“…Go back.”

Zhou Yining pouted. “Then look at me once.”

After a long pause, Ji Dongyang opened his eyes to look at her, the heat in his gaze already calmed. Her eyes were still bright and watery. He looked away, stood up, and pulled her to her feet, leading her to the door. He lifted his chin slightly, pointing toward the door. “Alright, go back.”

Zhou Yining turned around again and hooked her arms around his neck. “I won’t be staying at the hotel tomorrow. I can’t come find you at night anymore.”

Ji Dongyang pulled her hands away. “Perfect.”

*Lest she come every night to provoke him.*

Zhou Yining kicked him playfully and ran off in a huff.

Ji Dongyang stood there, then suddenly chuckled. Did he find her so capricious and fickle? *She was quite alright.*

*As long as she wasn’t crying, everything was fine.*

…

The next day, Zhou Yining really did move out of the hotel and back into her apartment near the hotel.

This apartment had been bought for her by Zhou Lihui when she was in high school. After Zhou JiaHui threw away her dog, Maoqiu, Zhou Yining wanted to tear her apart every time she saw her. The two girls would inevitably cause a scene whenever they met, sometimes even getting physical. By the third year of high school, the situation had escalated to a point where they had to be separated.

Zhou JiaHui couldn’t possibly leave the Zhou family. Zhou Yining calmly stated that she wanted to move out, so Zhou Lihui arranged this apartment for her. It was large and luxurious, and he hired a housekeeper to cook and clean for her.

Back then, she often smashed everything she could in the house. The next day, Zhou Lihui would send people to buy new things for her. He was always generous with money if it could solve a problem.

One time, Zhou Lihui and Qin Yuan walked in together and saw the destruction firsthand. Qin Yuan, her mother, the mother who ran off abroad after giving birth to her and wouldn’t return to see her for years, seeing her daughter like this, perhaps felt a pang of heartache.

Qin Yuan seemed unable to look at her and turned her face away.

Then, Qin Yuan decided to take her abroad. Zhou Lihui agreed, and she herself agreed.

Zhou Yining told Zhang Ran that he could leave after dropping off her luggage. Zhang Ran nodded. “Do you need me to buy anything else for you?”

Zhou Yining: “No need. You can go back.”

After Zhang Ran left, Zhou Yining began unpacking. She had lived in this apartment for a period after returning to the country. Her clothes were still in the closet, and the place was clean. All she needed to do was change the sheets.

Lying on the bed, she suddenly felt something was wrong. Sure enough, her period had started.

Perhaps due to the emotional fluctuations recently, her lower abdomen ached more than usual. The next day on set, the makeup artist noticed immediately. “Your complexion is so pale. Did it start?”

Zhou Yining nodded weakly. Zhang Ran quickly prepared a cup of brown sugar water for her. “Hurry and drink it while it’s hot. You’ll feel better.”

After drinking the steaming brown sugar water, she did feel much better.

After finishing her makeup and changing clothes, she held a hot water bottle and waited by the side. Ji Dongyang stood opposite her, discussing with Director Wei. He glanced her way, noticed her abnormal complexion, and suddenly remembered what she had said last night. *It was true.*

*He’d thought she was just trying to provoke him.*

Zhou Yining wasn’t feeling well today, and her filming state was poor, leading to frequent **NGs**.

Since filming began, Zhou Yining had performed excellently, and a situation like this had never happened before. Director Wei was quite lenient. He waved his hand. “Go take a rest. We’ll continue later.”

Zhou Yining was incredibly grateful and retreated into her resting room.

As the female lead now, her treatment was better than before. Like Ji Dongyang, she had a private resting room.

A while later, someone knocked on the door.

Zhou Yining called out, “Come in.”

She looked up and saw Shen Yanjun walk in. She frowned. “Why are you here?”

Shen Yanjun hadn’t managed to say a word to her during his last visit. He smiled. “I was passing by and thought I’d check on you.”

Zhou Yining pouted. “Are you that idle?”

Shen Yanjun glanced at her, looking a little helpless. “No, I really was just passing by. Uncle Zhou said you weren’t answering his calls and asked me to check on you. When are you going back for a meal? I’ll go back with you.”

Zhou Lihui had called her, but only to ask her to give up the role. After that, she stopped answering.

Shen Yanjun stared at her, seemingly trying to figure out the right way to speak, but Zhou Yining cut in. “Zhou JiaHui’s birthday is coming up, isn’t it? My father wants me to go back then, right? After all these years, he still dreams of me and her being harmonious sisters.”

Shen Yanjun frowned. “You misunderstood. Uncle Zhou doesn’t want you and Zhou JiaHui to get along. He wants to mend his relationship with *you*.”

Zhou Yining smiled. “Too late.”

Another round of knocking interrupted what Shen Yanjun was about to say. Zhou Yining stood up. “I need to prepare for filming now.”

She pulled the door open and saw Ji Dongyang standing outside. He looked down at her. “Rest up?”

Zhou Yining nodded. “Mm.”

She stared at him. He turned away. “Rest is done, come over and run lines.”

Zhou Yining stared at his retreating back in astonishment, her eyes lighting up as she followed him. As soon as they entered his resting room, she embraced him from behind. “Run what lines? Didn’t we already run them?”

Ji Dongyang smiled, pulled her arms off his waist, and turned to face her. “Didn’t you NG a lot of times just now?”

Zhou Yining: “…”

She rubbed against him again. “My stomach hurts.”

Ji Dongyang remembered her pale face earlier. His expression softened a bit. He placed his hand on her lower abdomen. “Here?”

She nodded. “Mm, it hurts terribly.”

*It didn’t actually hurt that much anymore, but she loved seeing him like this. It was so rare.*

Ji Dongyang pursed his lips, gently pressed her lower abdomen once, and quickly pulled his hand back. He turned and picked up the coffee cup from the table, taking a sip.

Zhou Yining suddenly hugged him tightly from behind. The coffee cup shook from the impact, splashing quite a bit of coffee out, right onto Ji Dongyang’s white shirt. He had just changed into it for the scene. He silently glared at the brown stain on his shirt and slowly set the coffee down.

He pulled her hands off him again and turned to face her, allowing her to see her handiwork clearly.

Zhou Yining: “…”

*She hadn’t meant for that to happen…*

She quickly apologized, “I didn’t do it on purpose!”

Ji Dongyang knew she hadn’t. He let out a sigh. “It’s fine. I’ll change later.”

Zhou Yining pouted. “Are you mad?”

“No.”

*Just a shirt. No big deal.*

—
NOTES
Brown Sugar Water: A traditional Chinese remedy for menstrual pain, often made with ginger.
NG: Short for “No Good,” meaning the shot was bad and needs to be retaken.