"No." Fang Bai pulled He Ziyan back. "Don't go looking for her."
He Ziyan wanted to say something more. If it were really just about work, would Fang Bai have this expression?
But looking at the person in front of her, she swallowed her words and asked, "Aunt Fang, are you thirsty? I'll go get you a bottle of ice water."
Fang Bai shook his head, let go of his hand and said, "I'm going back to the hotel first. If Xiao Ning looks for me later, please tell her."
At this point, we had no choice but to go back to the hotel.
Why don't you send her a message?
Fang Bai paused: "She can't see."
Inside the courtyard.
Ji Yuning held her phone, her eyes glued to the screen, constantly checking for new messages.
Jiang Qingyue took a sip of tea, and as the aroma filled the air, she calmly asked, "If you cared so much, why didn't you chase after them just now?"
Ji Yuning looked up and asked calmly, "Is there anything else?"
She couldn't wait any longer.
"That's all." Jiang Qingyue put down her teacup and said elegantly, "We've talked about everything that needed to be talked about, and as for things that shouldn't have been talked about..."
Jiang Qingyue raised an eyebrow. "Do you think Miss Fang might misunderstand?"
Ji Yuning also wanted to know.
The woman left without receiving a single message.
After saying goodbye to Jiang Qingyue, Ji Yuning walked steadily towards the filming location, thinking that Fang Bai should be with He Ziyan.
When they arrived at He Ziyan's place, they saw He Ziyan fanning Mu Xuerou, who was feeding He Ziyan water. The two were chatting and laughing, and the stalemate from yesterday was gone.
Everyone was there, except for Fang Bai.
Mu Xuerou was the first to see Ji Yuning, and she greeted her with a smile, "Yuning."
He Ziyan looked in the direction of the sound.
"Hmm." Ji Yuning took two steps forward. "Where's Auntie?"
Mu Xuerou exclaimed, "Huh? Isn't Aunt Fang with you?"
Ji Yuning pursed her lips and nodded.
He Ziyan looked at Ji Yuning, who continued fanning Mu Xuerou, and said, "Aunt Fang is feeling a little unwell, so I had the driver take her back to the hotel."
"Not feeling well?!" Mu Xuerou looked at He Ziyan with concern. "Why didn't you tell me? Where is Aunt Fang feeling unwell? Should we go to the hospital?"
He Ziyan turned her head and winked at Mu Xuerou from an angle where Ji Yuning couldn't see her, then said in a deep voice, "It looks like she has heatstroke. She probably stayed on the mountaintop for too long."
Before Mu Xuerou could understand what He Ziyan meant by suddenly blinking, she caught a glimpse of the person who remained calm and composed no matter what she faced, and who acted steadily and without haste, before she turned and ran away.
Run away.
This was the first time Mu Xuerou had ever seen Ji Yuning so anxious.
There are shuttle buses parked in front of the resort, specifically for staff to go up and down the mountain.
Sitting in the car, Ji Yuning frowned, her eyes filled with alternating worry and self-blame.
Going downhill was faster than going uphill, and Ji Yuning soon arrived at the hotel.
Carrying the medicine she bought at a nearby pharmacy, Ji Yuning didn't have a room key and was worried that knocking on Fang Bai's door while he was sleeping would disturb him, so she asked the hotel staff to open the door for her.
The room was dimly lit with the curtains drawn, but Ji Yuning still spotted Fang Bai sitting on the sofa by the wall, swirling his wine glass and drinking.
The TV was on, and even though it was a bit noisy, the sound of the door opening was still clearly audible.
Fang Bai turned her head and saw that it was Ji Yuning, but then she turned her gaze back without making a sound, keeping her eyes fixed on the TV, as if the TV program was more attractive to her than Ji Yuning.
It was ignored.
But there was something more important than that. Ji Yuning called out, "Auntie."
"Hmm?" Fang Bai then turned his gaze to Ji Yuning, as if he had just noticed her. "You're back?"
"..." Ji Yuning walked to the sofa. "Drinking alcohol while suffering from heatstroke?"
Fang Bai frowned, puzzled: "Who has heatstroke?"
"He Ziyan said you have heatstroke." Ji Yuning leaned down slightly and placed her hand on Fang Bai's forehead. "Is anything bothering you?"
Fang Bai subconsciously brushed away Ji Yuning's hand and leaned back.
A clear defensive action.
Ji Yuning withdrew her hand from mid-air.
"Auntie is perfectly fine." Fang Bai waved his hand. "It's so dark, how could I possibly have heatstroke?"
Is it getting dark?
It was midday, and the sun was high in the sky. The curtains were drawn to block out light, and the lights weren't on.
Ji Yuning glanced at the table and downed most of the wine.
I know Fang Bai is slightly tipsy.
Ji Yuning threw the medicine onto the sofa and looked at Fang Bai.
Fang Bai changed her clothes and put on the white camisole nightgown she had found last time. Her skin was as white as snow, and there were pink spots on her chest and neck, which was indescribably ambiguous.
Her long hair was casually braided into a plait, draped diagonally over her right shoulder, with loose strands around her ear, giving her a relaxed and carefree look.
She was tiny and huddled on the sofa.
Thinking of He Ziyan saying that Fang Bai had been waiting for a long time on the mountaintop, thinking of Fang Bai's departing figure, thinking of...
Ji Yuning put her hands at her sides and whispered, "I'm sorry, it was my fault."
Fang Bai stared at Ji Yuning with slightly drunken eyes. She felt a little dizzy and had no idea what Ji Yuning was apologizing for. After all, before she got drunk, she had listed several things Ji Yuning wanted to apologize for.
Hearing Ji Yuning apologize and seeing the way Ji Yuning looked at her, like a puppy that had done something wrong and been chased into the yard and accidentally gotten wet in the rain, Fang Bai's heart instantly melted.
Fang Bai opened his arms to Ji Yuning, spilling some wine in his hand. But this didn't affect the two of them. Or rather, neither of them noticed the wine spilling from their glasses as they looked at each other.
With a smile playing on his lips, Fang Bai said to Ji Yuning, "Hug."
Surprisingly easy to coax.
Ji Yuning bent down and hugged Fang Bai.
Then he sat down to the side, deepened the hug, tightened his arms, and expressed his remorse.
Someone bit my ear.
Perhaps out of concern for Ji Yuning, Fang Bai didn't bite very hard, but he still managed to bite her hard enough.
But for Ji Yuning, it was more like a kitten chewing its teeth.
Then Fang Bai asked, "Do you really like drinking tea?"
The voice, carrying the aroma of wine, was neither too loud nor too soft, and every word was clear.
After being hugged by Ji Yuning, Fang Bai smelled a faint tea fragrance, the same scent from his memories.
Her dizzy head remembered why she had gone back to the hotel.
Ji Yuning tilted her head, pressed her lips to Fang Bai's earlobe, and asked, "Does Auntie really like swinging?"
The drunkenness in Fang Bai's eyes lessened somewhat after Ji Yuning's words.
After thinking for a moment, Fang Bai asked, "You saw it?"
It's crystal clear.
Such a beautiful scene.
Ji Yuning buried her head in Fang Bai's neck and let out a muffled groan.
Long eyelashes brushed against Fang Bai's neck. Suppressing the ticklish feeling, Fang Bai asked uncertainly, "So... you saw it and didn't tell me before going back to the manor?"
That's half the reason.
The other half is... Ji Yuning went up the mountain to tell Fang Bai that she was busy and wanted to take Fang Bai back to the villa, but seeing that Fang Bai was accompanied by He Ziyan, Ji Yuning did not want to spoil Fang Bai's enjoyment of the scenery, so she turned around and left.
Ji Yuning was unaware that He Ziyan returned to the manor shortly after she left, and did not stay with Fang Bai.
When Ji Yuning received Fang Bai's message asking where she was, she couldn't quite describe the feeling in her heart.
Just as she was hesitating about how to reply to Fang Bai, she caught a glimpse of someone standing by the moon gate.
For some reason, the image that popped into Ji Yuning's mind was of Fang Bai and He Ziyan swinging on a swing. She suddenly wondered what Fang Bai's reaction would be if he saw her chatting and laughing with someone else.
Will you... get jealous?
Like her.
Ji Yuning admitted her mistake the moment she saw Fang Bai turn and leave.
But she was consumed by jealousy and couldn't control herself at all.
"Um... I'm sorry." Ji Yuning nuzzled Fang Bai and apologized obediently.
Fang Bai gently pushed Ji Yuning away, "Are you childish?"
Ji Yuning rested her head on Fang Bai's shoulder. "It's not childish. Auntie has never swung on a swing with me before."
"Naive," Fang Bai asserted.
Feeling a little thirsty, Fang Bai brought the wine glass to his lips, just about to drink, when he heard Ji Yuning say, "Drink less, okay?"
Fang Bai suddenly lost his temper, and said in a wronged tone, "I didn't advise you to drink less tea, so why are you advising me to drink less alcohol?"
The voice was soft; it was a kitten's growl.
After saying that, Fang Bai tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Ji Yuning's eyelids twitched.
She thought Fang Bai didn't care at all, but it turned out that he cared about her more than she imagined.
The sour feeling in her heart disappeared, and Ji Yuning grabbed Fang Bai's wrist, "Because drinking is bad for your health, I don't want Auntie to hurt herself because of me, and I don't want Auntie to have a headache after drinking."