Shen Chuchu felt her mouth move too quickly when she finished speaking. Just because the scent of hot pot lingered around her nostrils, she should not have said the kiss was hotpot flavoured. After all, this was her first kiss!
Han Xingyan’s hand movements came to a halt when he heard this.
“No, it’s a taste that belongs to you.”
“Oh.” Fortunately, he did not remark it was hot pot flavour, Shen Chuchu thought to herself.
Han Xingyan was clearly in a pleasant mood. He stroked Shen Chuchu’s hair and said, “It’s late now, you should get some rest.”
Shen Chuchu thought about what just happened, she nodded with flushed cheeks then turned around and entered her home. She was alone in the entire room after closing the door, and the sound of her heartbeat seemed to be even louder. Shen Chuchu paused for a moment, unsure if her heart would simply jump out.
Shen Chuchu looked outside through the spyhole after calming down. Her mood brightened and her smile deepened when she discovered that Han Xingyan was still standing outside.
Only when she was about to shower, did Shen Chuchu suddenly think of a question. “The flavour remains the same…” What did he mean by this, did they…at the hotel. Did they kiss then?
So what exactly happened back then?
Shen Chuchu struggled with the question all night and when Wang Qian arrived, she still failed to fully comprehend. She certainly could not knock on the door opposite and ask, “Did you kiss me at the hotel last time?” How could she ask such a question? If she did not ask then it was like a feather making her heart itch.
“Boss, do you want to bring this? Boss…”
“Huh? Yes.” Shen Chuchu came back to her senses and looked at the thing in Wang Qian’s hand.
Wang Qian glanced at Shen Chuchu and felt she was somehow different today. She was constantly in a daze and occasionally touching her lip and face from time to time. It kind of looked silly.
While one was busy and the other in a daze, the doorbell suddenly rang. Wang Qian peeked through the spyhole and turned her head around to ask, “Boss, did you order breakfast?”
After asking, Wang Qian was a little puzzled. The boss had said to not bring breakfast as she over-ate last night and did not want breakfast since she was worried about getting fat going into the crew.
“Huh? No. I didn’t order breakfast.” Shen Chuchu froze for a moment then replied.
Wang Qian pointed to the door and said, “But it’s Su Ji’s food delivery staff outside.”
Shen Chuchu frowned and said, “Ask him.”
“Sorry, maybe you got the wrong door. We didn’t order breakfast.” Wang Qian said.
The staff outside replied, “Hello, is this Miss Shen? Mr Han has prepared a heartfelt breakfast for you.”
Mr Han? Wang Qian instantly thought of Han Xingyan who lived opposite them. She turned and looked at Shen Chuchu, “Boss, this is from Mr Han.”
Shen Chuchu was both bubbling happily and at a loss inside as they brought her breakfast and placed it on the table. Could it be that Han Xingyan thought she could eat this much? Two steamed baskets of xiaolongbao*, a plate of fried jiaozi*, four sticks of youtiao*, a bowl of egg soup…
*TL-note: xiaolongbao is a steamed dumpling consisting of a paper-thin wrapper enveloping a seasoned pork filling and hot, flavorful soup.
*TL-note: jiaozi is a Chinese crescent-shaped dumpling filled with minced stuffing that can be steamed, boiled or fried.
*TL-note: youtiao is a long golden-brown deep-fried strip of dough
Although she struggled inside, it had a delicious fragrant smell so, despite Wang Qian’s questioning look, she could not help but reach out and take a xiaolongbao.
At this moment, Han Xingyan called.
“Chuchu, I had some stuff to attend to this morning so I am there early. Has the breakfast arrived? Is it enough?”
Shen Chuchu had initially thought Han Xingyan was overly considerate, but her expression had turned black after hearing the final few words.
“Enough!” Shen Chuchu gritted through her teeth, “This is enough for the whole day.”
“Then don’t eat too much. Let’s have lunch together. I’ve made a reservation on Huaihai Road.” Han Xingyan said with a smile. Despite the fact that his pleasant mood was separated by the phone, it was still accurately transferred to Shen Chuchu’s heart.
Shen Chuchu unexpectedly replied, “I am going back to Hengdian to shoot later.”
Shen Chuchu thought to herself afterwards that the familiar tone made her feel a bit uneasy. It sounded as if they were already boyfriend and girlfriend based on his tone. When did she agree with him, yesterday…she did not agree with him yesterday. She was still a little confused.
Han Xingyan did not expect this reply and paused for a moment then helplessly replied, “Okay, stay safe. Let me know when you arrive.”
Han Xingyan was still on the call when Secretary Wang came in to deliver documents. For some reason, Secretary Wang felt chills all over. He really did not understand how in a matter of minutes he went to retrieve the documents that the office had turned from a warm spring into a cold winter. He put the documents down and swiftly left.
Shen Chuchu remembered the kiss last night and wanted to ask why she had to let him know. What was their relationship? However, she hesitated and then replied, “Alright, ok.”
“When will you come back?”
“In half a month if everything is successful.”
“Okay, I will pick you up then.”
Shen Chuchu felt a little strange after hanging up the phone. After a few minutes of speaking with Han Xingyan, her entire body felt as if it had been turned on by a switch, and all of her cells were alive. The corners of her mouth also turned up involuntarily.
Shen Chuchu glanced at Wang Qian who had curiously looked at her numerous times and asked, “What, something’s the matter?”
Wang Qian did not expect to be caught and was stunned then shook her head. She connected the dots with the breakfast, the phone conversation and her boss’ facial expression. Apart from being in love, what else could it be?
Shen Chuchu gazed at the half-bitten xiaolongbao in her palm and sighed sadly when she realised she had almost finished eating the two baskets of xiaolongbao. She cried out, “What do I do, I ate so much again.”
Wang Qian thought to herself. I wanted to remind you but I could not bear it when you were eating so happily.
Shen Chuchu struggled for a few minutes then shoved the rest of the bun inside her mouth. Afterwards, she rushed to the scale. Very good, only a pound heavier.
“I remember that weight is the heaviest in the morning so it should be lighter in the evening right?” Shen Chuchu asked with uncertainty. She has to shoot this evening so maybe she will be lighter by then.
Wang Qian glanced at Shen Chuchu’s expectant look but replied honestly, “But I seem to remember that weight is the lightest in the morning and it gets heavier at night.”
Wang Qian thought to herself as she watched Shen Chuchu’s despairing look. Fortunately, she didn’t mention the next line. She really wanted to highlight that when you are on camera, it is not about the weight but rather whether you appear fat or not. Although some people are fat, their facial features are not and thus they are fine when filming in costume. Their boss, on the other hand, was clearly not this type of person. Her boss had a plump face when she arrived in the morning so she must have eaten a lot the night before.
Shen Chuchu took a deep breath and said, “I will not eat lunch or dinner today.”
When Shen Chuchu was about to leave, she picked out sunglasses with a bigger frame to cover her slightly swollen face. At the airport this time, more people recognised her and she truly believed she was more popular than she had been previously.
“Woah, are you really Shen Chuchu? I’m so lucky today.”
Shen Chuchu smiled as she glanced at the very lovely girl with a ponytail in front of her and smiled as she took a selfie with her.
“Chuchu, are you going to be shooting?” The girl excitedly asked.
Shen Chuchu smiled and nodded, “Yes, I’m going to Hengdian.”
After a few signatures and selfies, Shen Chuchu and Wang Qian boarded the flight.
In the afternoon, Shen Chuchu arrived on set. The director questioned her upon seeing her, “Chuchu, what did you eat in the past month that made you look so fat?”
Shen Chuchu was embarrassed as she looked around at the staff’s eyes and said in a low voice, “Didn’t you say that I can put on a little weight?”
The director almost laughed at this reply and said, “I said you can put on weight appropriately. I didn’t tell you to let go and eat. I think it’s best to not shoot tonight and you should instead go to the gym. You can’t shoot with a fat face. Come and see me tomorrow morning.”
Shen Chuchu bowed her head, almost as if she were an ostrich. She really wanted to explain that she did not weigh much. She had just overeaten the night before and her face was puffy. Shen Chuchu was filled with rage as she remembered the person who had taken her to eat hot pot the night before.
Han Xingyan was studying the document when he felt a shiver down his spine and sneezed hard. Secretary Wang asked, “Boss, is the AC too low? Do you want me to adjust it higher?”
Han Xingyan replied without his head raised, “No.”
Secretary Wang sensed his boss’ mood was not bad and said, “Then it must be someone thinking of you. My mom used to tell me when I was young, a sneeze means someone was thinking about you in their mind.”
When Han Xingyan heard this, he raised his head and gave Secretary Wang an approving look and said, “Yeah, that seems to make sense.”
Could it be that Shen Chuchu was thinking about him? Han Xingyan was in a great mood this afternoon because of this knowledge. While Shen Chuchu, who was far away in Hengdian, was in a foul mood. Truly taking one bite equates to an extra day of workouts.
After a bath at night, Shen Chuchu, who had been fatigued all day, laid on the bed like a dead dog. She pulled out her phone and went on Weibo.
“Chen Meng The Third Party”
Shen Chuchu was intrigued by this hot search because she thought Chen Meng had done a new film called “The Third Party,” so she clicked the link. Surprisingly, what she discovered was that this was not a movie but a true story. And the story’s hero is more than one.
