Jiang Yin was not someone who focused excessively on her appearance; as long as her clothes were clean and tidy, she was satisfied. Previously, this was due to her limited funds, but now it was because she truly had no desire to buy expensive clothes to adorn herself.
Looking at her simple T-shirt and black trousers, Jiang Ling felt it was absolutely necessary to exercise a bit of “big sisterly care.” Thus, without allowing for any argument, she pulled Jiang Yin along to the most famous luxury shopping mall in Jinghe City.
Up until the moment she stepped into the car, Jiang Yin had wanted to politely decline. However, seeing Jiang Ling’s enthusiastic expression, she could only bite the bullet and agree. She was someone who struggled to say no to others; Lin Shu often teased her for being a “soft touch.”
“I hope this won’t interfere with your studies?” Jiang Ling asked with a hint of concern while driving.
“It won’t,” Jiang Yin smiled. “Since I stopped working part-time, I have a lot more free time. I mostly use it to read.” A portion of that time was also dedicated to helping the cats on campus; she had joined the university’s Cat Protection Association.
“That’s good,” Jiang Ling said, turning to look at her while waiting for a red light. “We didn’t find you too late.” She reached out and ruffled Jiang Yin’s hair, her smile soft.
She glanced at Jiang Yin’s shoulder-length hair and asked casually, “Has your hair always been this long?”
Jiang Yin touched the ends of her hair and replied, “Not really. It was mainly because I had several part-time jobs back-to-back and didn’t have time to manage long hair, so I cut it short.”
Hearing her mention this, Jiang Ling felt another surge of guilt.
Noticing the slight furrow in her sister’s brow, Jiang Yin guessed she was likely feeling self-reproach again. She quickly offered comfort. “It’s all in the past anyway. I’m planning to let it grow out longer now.”
Seeing her so sensible, Jiang Ling felt a pang of bitterness. Alongside the sadness, she cursed Li Xiuning—the person who had taken Jiang Yin away—in her heart once more.
“By the way, that Li… has she looked for you lately?” Jiang Ling asked.
“She came to find me once a few days ago,” Jiang Yin answered honestly. “She… she wanted to take Sister Zhenzhen back.”
“She’s dreaming,” Jiang Ling gritted her teeth and cursed. “If she ever looks for you or Zhenzhen again, tell me. I’ll handle it.” After speaking, she softened her tone slightly and asked cautiously, “A-Yin, you… how do you feel about her?”
Jiang Yin knew what she was asking and answered directly. “She made a catastrophic mistake that caused an indelible impact on my life. It’s impossible not to resent her. But after living together for over a decade, I am also somewhat grateful to her. The last time she came, I gave her some money, and she has returned to Shanyuan County.”
Jiang Yin paused before continuing, “From now on, I’ll just consider her a distant relative.”
She spoke dismissively, but Jiang Ling knew that the process of accepting this reality must have been painful. Her nose suddenly felt a bit sore. After a quick sniffle, she said, “Our A-Yin truly values loyalty and affection.”
Jiang Yin gave a low, smiling response. Neither spoke again as they continued driving toward the mall in the city center.
Upon arriving at the workspace by car, Liu Yin was already waiting for Jiang Zhen at the entrance.
“Sister Yin, what are we filming today exactly? Why so sudden?” Jiang Zhen hooked her arm into Liu Yin’s with a look of suspicion as they walked into the building together.
To her surprise, Liu Yin didn’t answer. Instead, she shook her head mysteriously, gesturing for her to follow her upstairs first.
Jiang Zhen was completely at a loss, heading upstairs with a stomach full of questions.
Inside the studio, Song Xi and several of Jiang Zhen’s assistants were sitting together. The small coffee table in the center was covered with snacks and fruit, a few bags of which had already been opened.
Hearing the noise at the door, the person closest to them stood up quickly. “Finally! If you’d taken any longer, they would have eaten everything.” This was Xiao Zhang—Zhang Xuan—the assistant who had been sent to the hospital for food poisoning.
“What are you guys… doing?” Jiang Zhen walked in, completely confused. “An office picnic?”
“It’s a celebration,” Song Xi said with a smile, patting the seat next to her and gesturing for Jiang Zhen to sit. “I’ve found a new location for the studio. We start moving tomorrow.”
She handed Jiang Zhen a bag of potato chips and said, “You can only have five.”
Jiang “Wants to Flip the Table” Zhen took the chips tearfully and picked out five large ones.
“There’s something else,” Wu Yuting leaned in. “Sister Song and I found the person who leaked your itinerary.”
“It was Hu Shan,” Liu Yin added immediately.
Zhang Xuan stood up, hands on her hips, fuming. “The moment I heard you were being stalked, he was the first person I thought of! On Friday, I came to the studio to grab something and ran into him. I thought he was here to pick something up too, but he looked so panicked, like he had a guilty conscience.”
“So, I secretly followed him. I found him driving to a nearby mall and meeting someone in a café—the same person who was stalking you!” Zhang Xuan gritted her teeth. “Do you know what he took from the studio? He stole a coat you left here and traded it with that stalker for money!”
Hearing this, Jiang Zhen felt a sudden wave of nausea.
“I wondered why the things you left here kept disappearing,” Song Xi said, frowning. “After Xuan’er told me, I checked the surveillance footage. It turns out this isn’t the first time he’s done something like this.”
“It’s our fault for trusting him too much,” Wu Yuting clenched her fists. “We never suspected him when things went missing. We treated him like a recent graduate who didn’t know any better. Who knew he was such a shameless thief!”
Sitting to the side, Jiang Zhen’s face was pale. She bit her lower lip, lost in thought. Before Wu Yuting joined the studio, the team had wanted to hire a part-time bodyguard and driver. After multiple rounds of interviews, they had settled on Hu Shan, who had just graduated from a sports university.
Though they hadn’t known each other long, Hu Shan had seemed sincere and enthusiastic, and he was professional in his work. She hadn’t expected him to do something so disgusting behind her back.
Song Xi handed Jiang Zhen a glass of warm water, gesturing for her to drink and calm down.
“The surveillance footage from the studio can be used directly as evidence,” Song Xi said. “We’ve already decided; we’re going to the police today.”
Wu Yuting put her arm around Jiang Zhen’s shoulder, patting her back gently. “It’s our fault for misjudging him. From now on, let’s just find a reliable girl to be the driver. Men aren’t good for anything.”
Jiang Zhen nodded and managed a small smile. “Then I’ll leave the hiring to you.”
“Alright, alright,” Song Xi waved her hand. “No more talk about Hu Shan. I’ll handle the follow-up with the police. Come, I’ve picked out a few scripts for you. Want to take a look?”
As soon as she heard there were new scripts, most of the gloom in Jiang Zhen’s heart vanished. She took the tablet from Song Xi and began browsing.
“This campus drama is good, but I already have one airing. Won’t the genres be too repetitive?” Jiang Zhen handed the tablet back to Song Xi, looking a bit troubled.
“It doesn’t really conflict,” Liu Yin leaned in. “The current one is a high school drama, but this one is set in university. However, it has a romance line. Can you accept that?”
Although Jiang Zhen was nineteen and an adult—certainly old enough to film romance—the assistants still viewed her as a child. The thought of their artist filming intimate scenes like hugging or cuddling with some male celebrity made them all claim it was unacceptable.
“Let’s look more,” Jiang Zhen took the tablet back and flipped a few pages. The following were a modern romance and a historical drama. She lacked interest in both, her heart still lingering on the plot of the university campus drama.
“Consider it after you get home,” Song Xi opened a can of fruit juice for her. “Let’s stop talking shop. Let’s just chat; it’s been a while since we’ve all gathered together like this.”
The group crowded around and began their lively meal. Jiang Zhen joined them with a smile, her mood clearly improved.
On Sunday evening, Jiang Yin returned to the dormitory carrying a small suitcase.
Besides her, the other three roommates were there, each holding a bottle of low-alcohol sparkling cider, appearing to be in the middle of a chat.
When Xu Yao and Ji Xiaoning saw her enter with luggage, they prepared to stand up and help. Jiang Yin waved them off, indicating she could manage.
Lin Shu walked over with a look of surprise and asked, “You only had a backpack when you left. How come you have more stuff now that you’re back?”
“My sister bought me some clothes,” Jiang Yin laid the suitcase down. “There were too many to fit in the backpack, so she bought me this as well.”
As she spoke, Jiang Yin opened the suitcase and began taking things out. “My sister knew I have three roommates, so she bought some things for me to give to you as well.”
At these words, the three girls swarmed around like wolves that hadn’t eaten in three days, eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Yao Yao, this is for you,” Jiang Yin took out a small jewelry box. “Last time you mentioned you liked this necklace from this brand. They happened to have stock when we went.”
Xu Yao opened the box, let out a high-pitched scream of joy, and happily ran to the mirror to try it on.
“Next is Xiaoning,” Jiang Yin struggled to pull a tennis racket out from under a pile of clothes. “You said recently you wanted to change rackets. My sister said this brand is very good. Give it a try.”
“Sister, from now on you are my only sister,” Ji Xiaoning hugged Jiang Yin’s arm affectionately. “I really wanted to buy a racket from them, but one costs five or six thousand. I can’t believe you bought it for me! Oh, I love you so much!”
Jiang Yin pushed her hand away with mock disgust. “Take it and go.”
Ji Xiaoning happily cradled her new racket and grabbed her phone to take a photo for her social feed.
Seeing this, Jiang Yin quickly called out to her. “Wait, Xiaoning, don’t say I gave it to you. People will find it strange.”
The fact that she had returned to the Jiang family was only known by these three in the dorm. They had lived together for two years and shared everything; they were incredibly close. When she first started school, Jiang Yin was broke. For a period, she could barely afford instant noodles. These three had spent that time making up excuses for her to help them buy food or pick up packages, then used excuses like “having no small change” or “delivery fees” to sneak extra money to her.
Because of this, the sincere Jiang Yin didn’t intend to hide the truth from them.
After cautioning Ji Xiaoning, Jiang Yin reached into the suitcase while Lin Shu watched expectantly. After feeling around, she pulled nothing out.
“Where’s mine?” Lin Shu looked at her pitifully.
Jiang Yin spread her hands. “Seems I forgot it at home.”
Lin Shu pouted, looking like she was about to start a fake wail. Jiang Yin quickly said, “Here, here, I brought it for you.”
She handed a beautifully wrapped gift box to Lin Shu, looking helpless. “How could I leave yours out?”
Inside the box was the watch Lin Shu had been rambling about for a long time. She took it out joyfully and led the other two in a chant of “Long live Jiang Yin!”
Jiang Yin, caught between laughter and tears, signaled for them to lower their voices so they wouldn’t disturb others.
Once the gifts were distributed, Jiang Yin began tidying the rest of her things. She asked casually, “What are you guys doing in the dorm?”
“Watching a drama and chatting,” Lin Shu turned the tablet toward Jiang Yin. “Look, it’s the hit youth campus ensemble drama Stars Out of Reach.”
Lifting her head to glance at it, Jiang Yin froze for a moment. On the paused screen was Jiang Zhen’s smiling face.