Jiang Nianzhi sat in the lounge, crossing her legs. Even though it was her left leg pressed down, the nerves in the back of her right knee were twitching uncontrollably. That panicked tremor caused her heart to pound wildly, making even the hand resting on her forehead tremble.
With one hand supporting her head, Jiang Nianzhi quietly turned her head to look at the woman sitting on the sofa.
Jiang Nianzhi quickly turned her head back when she saw that the woman was turning to observe the scene inside the lounge. She couldn’t help but want to sigh, yet she was afraid of being noticed by the woman.
This was the first time Jiang Nianzhi understood what anxiety felt like, and she somewhat regretted inviting a wolf into her home.
This woman was far too good at putting on an act, repeatedly manufacturing opportunities for accidental encounters in front of her just to capture her attention.
Jiang Nianzhi’s palms were sweating uncontrollably, her cheeks and lips turning pale as the panic and unease in her heart threatened to submerge her entirely.
That summer, the face from beneath the bed flashed before her eyes once more. Lightning and a torrential rainstorm tore through the sky. In the pitch-black bedroom, the heavy breathing beneath the bed and, as the figure bent down, those pitch-black eyes staring straight into hers.
Jiang Nianzhi could not control her thoughts as that night flashed through her mind over and over again.
Her hands shook uncontrollably, her heart feeling as though it were about to leap out of her throat. Covered in cold sweat, her ears could no longer catch the commotion outside; all she could hear on an endless loop was the screaming from that night, and her frail body trembled, unable to suppress the overwhelming dread.
Jiang Nianzhi sensed from her peripheral vision that someone was approaching.
The person moved very quickly, walking up to her side and leaning close to her ear as if wanting to say something.
However, Jiang Nianzhi could not hear a single word.
Tinnitus, dizziness, and pitch-black darkness before her eyes.
Jiang Nianzhi realized that her state was abnormal, yet she was powerless to control it. Her thoughts slipped toward a black hole, and her entire being was swept along by overwhelming emotions, plunging downward.
Belatedly, she detected a rich, fishy taste in her mouth, followed by a cloying sweetness.
Jiang Nianzhi had no idea what was happening to her, and soon afterward, she seemed to truly sink into a pitch-black abyss.
The emotions brought on by the stress response gradually subsided, slowly replaced by the sensation of sinking into a warm nest.
It carried a faint woody fragrance that made one feel serene and at ease.
Jiang Nianzhi felt that it might be better to just stay unconscious like this forever, where she would no longer have to worry about or fear anything at all.
Until a click sound landed right beside her ear.
It felt as though Jiang Nianzhi had been yanked out of a dark cave. Before she even opened her eyes, she felt the sunlight spilling onto her eyelids, and her eyelashes fluttered slightly.
She opened a pair of drowsy eyes, coming face-to-face with Xiao Mei.
Xiao Mei wore an apologetic expression and apologized profusely. “Sister, I am so sorry. I did not mean to wake you up. I just thought that having this warm brown sugar water right beside you would be nice for you to rest and drink once you woke up.”
Hearing Xiao Mei’s voice, Jiang Nianzhi belatedly realized she was still at the shooting set. She struggled to sit up and picked up the glass cup beside her. “Just now…”
“Forget it.”
“Where is that person?”
Curious, Xiao Mei asked, “Who?”
Jiang Nianzhi took a sip of the brown sugar water in the cup. Her movements paused as if recalling the scene from earlier, and she rubbed her brow. “The woman I brought inside.”
“Sister, she has already left. I told her not to talk about this outside, so you can rest assured,” Xiao Mei swore with absolute certainty.
Jiang Nianzhi wasn’t worried about that; she trusted Xiao Mei’s work completely in this regard. Over all these years, Xiao Mei had never needed repeated instructions to do her job well.
She just had a headache. What on earth was going on with that woman’s repeated coincidences?
Was she a fan, or someone sent by someone else?
Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside.
Jiang Nianzhi stood up and rubbed her shoulders. “Bring the clothes over. Let me change now, and have the makeup artist and stylist come in.”
Xiao Mei looked at her with concern, wanting to say something. She parted her lips, but ultimately walked out of the room in silence, sending in the stylist and makeup artist who had been waiting outside.
Suining took a stick of chewing gum from her pocket, flipped open the thin plastic lid, and shook the bottle so that two pieces of gum tumbled out into her palm.
Raising her hand, she tossed the two pieces of gum into her mouth, her teeth crushing the candy as the sweet and minty flavors flooded her mouth.
With her mouth full of sweetness, the headwind blowing toward her pressed down the restless agitation inside her.
She was truly annoyed. She kept getting miraculously transported to various places for no rhyme or reason, and she even began to wonder if she had developed a mental illness.
Why was it that every time she closed her eyes, the very next second she would appear somewhere else?
She had never been to this place before, and she couldn’t find a single connecting clue among all these scenes.
The only thread she could count as a clue was that very pretty female celebrity, but before this, the two of them had never met at all.
Suining’s irritation grew, and she chewed the gum in her mouth so hard it made a squeaking sound.
She stood at the entrance of the greenhouse, with the door to the greenhouse just behind her at an oblique angle.
This spot was prime for feeling the cold air rushing in from all directions, and her nasal passages were filled with the stinging, spicy winter wind.
As the cold wind blew and time passed, Suining gradually regained her calm. She turned around, intending to find someone to borrow a phone from again.
She needed to get someone to pick her up; with such frequent jumping around, she would definitely make sure to carry one with her from now on.
Turning her head, she saw someone approaching and raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Inside the room, Jiang Nianzhi had weighed her options and decided she still wanted to see this person, if only to subtly remind her that her behavior just now was clever enough that she should understand what was meant.
She asked the stylist and makeup artist to wait a moment, put on her coat, and walked toward the door. Along the way, her heart fluttered with anxiety; even when someone greeted her, Jiang Nianzhi didn’t notice, walking forward with her head lowered and her gaze cast downward, her fingers clutching a corner of her clothes and continuously twisting them unconsciously.
She began to ponder how she should start the conversation. For some reason—perhaps because the woman was simply too gorgeous—
Jiang Nianzhi instinctively felt that she shouldn’t be the type of person to engage in stalker-like or obsessive behavior.
Yet all these coincidences forced her to consider that very possibility.
Jiang Nianzhi carefully recalled her three encounters with the woman. Each time, a period of time had passed between them. This woman should be a long-term resident of Dongcheng; her clothes, expensive jewelry, and overall aura all showed that she was no ordinary person.
Yet every single time they ran into each other happened to be when Jiang Nianzhi was away on business trips out of town.
Every encounter took place during a business trip. Upon reflection, Jiang Nianzhi felt that if the woman really were a stalking fan, it would be quite unnecessary, as most of her schedules—fashion appearances, new drama live-streams, and various filming projects—were all completed right here in Dongcheng.
If this woman wanted to tail her, Dongcheng would have been a much easier place to do it.
Jiang Nianzhi couldn’t quite figure it out. She felt she shouldn’t view this woman—or anyone else, for that matter—through the lens of an obsessive stalker.
Could it really just be a coincidence?
As she continuously pondered how to approach the subject, she had already walked outside to the greenhouse.
Jiang Nianzhi looked at the woman’s back, her grip on the hem of her clothes tightening. She parted her lips to speak, but for some reason, her wildly pounding heart and tight chest made it impossible for her to produce any sound.
The cold wind swept over, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.
Jiang Nianzhi somewhat regretted coming out here, but her feet felt as though they were rooted to the ground.
She always felt that not saying thank you was terrible; she wasn’t that kind of person. Public figure or not, she needed to offer a sincere apology for what happened earlier.
The other party had helped her, so she simply had to say thank you.
Just as Jiang Nianzhi finally mustered the courage to take that step and was about to turn to leave.
The woman turned around.
The cold wind blew against the woman’s back, carrying the faint woody scent she held in her arms out into the air.
As Jiang Nianzhi caught a whiff of this fragrance, she recognized it as the exact same woody scent she had smelled right before passing out earlier.
It possessed an out-of-season warmth amidst the cold wind.
The two of them exchanged an awkward gaze. Jiang Nianzhi felt somewhat distracted; for the first time, she stared rudely at someone without yet opening her mouth.
The cold wind howled past her ears.
The wind by the Linjiang side was strong, and Jiang Nianzhi saw the woman opposite her open her mouth. Her lips moved as if she were saying something.
However, the howling wind swept away the woman’s words completely, and Jiang Nianzhi didn’t catch a single thing.
At the same time, she felt too embarrassed to ask the woman to repeat herself.
She and the woman were truly unfamiliar with one another, and her impulsive action of chasing after her like this was somewhat impolite as well.
Jiang Nianzhi pointed toward the greenhouse. She was actually feeling a bit cold herself, her hands and feet chilled, and after just a short moment out here, the wind kept sneaking into her collar.
The woman standing opposite her paused for a moment, then walked over with extreme politeness.
The distance between the two closed once again. This time, the woman’s hand brushed past her side—whether because Jiang Nianzhi was looking too closely or because the woman’s movements were deliberately slow.
Jiang Nianzhi clearly saw the smart bracelet worn on the hand the woman extended. Following the curve up to the woman’s wrist, she glanced over and noticed that the woman’s fingers were well-proportioned.
Her knuckles were strong and distinct, her fingernails neatly and properly trimmed, and as she reached out, that ineffable woody fragrance grew even more intense.
Jiang Nianzhi forgot how she herself moved, remembering only that the woman pushed the door open and turned to step inside first.
Then the woman followed her in.
The glass door of the greenhouse blocked out the cold wind. All around were the busy sounds of the staff, the quiet murmur of human voices, and the solitary howling of the wind outside the windows.
Jiang Nianzhi hesitated for a moment regarding her own phone.
“Thank you for helping me. I noticed you before, you always seem to not have your phone on you. You can use my phone to contact your family and friends.”
“Until they arrive, you can go and rest in my lounge.”
The woman’s soft voice blended with the warmth of the indoor air as it washed over her. Saying this, she handed her phone forward, lifting her gaze to look into Jiang Nianzhi’s eyes. With her rounded black pupils and clear whites of the eyes, she looked just like a little cat.
She really is a lot like a little cat, Suining thought to herself.
Suining lowered her gaze to look at the pink phone resting in the woman’s palm. It was a model from several years ago, but for some reason, that pink hue complemented the fair palm of the woman’s hand.
The sweetness of the candy she had just swallowed seemed to surge back into her mouth once more.
Suining took the phone, raised her eyes to look at the woman, and curved her eyes into a smile. “Thank you.”