CH 13

Hearing the sound, Cheng Suran froze suddenly, remembering that night.

Did sister know?

"..."

After having the product posted that morning, she went to the school library and saw the message from the buyer, only after eating that evening. The other party happened to be playing in the commercial street not far from the hotel, so they made an appointment to meet at the gate at seven o'clock.

Jiang Yu usually goes to the hotel at eight or nine o'clock, and sometimes not.

Who knew, not long after her transaction, Jiang Yu returned to the hotel early. She was guilty and afraid, and wondered whether she would be bumped into, but she thought it was impossible for such coincidence. Later, Jiang Yu asked her if the gift was good, which made her drop her heart.

But now—

Cheng Suran met that cold gaze, and clenched the corners of het clothes tightly, "Sister, did you...see it?"

Jiang Yu didn't speak, just looked at her quietly.

Silence means yes.

Cheng Suran's heart turned cold for a moment.

She finally understood why her sister didn't look right that night. Her intuition is not wrong, nor is her sensitivity, but she always thinks that she has done a "bad thing" because of her guilty conscience, and hypnotizes herself to not to think too much, for fear of showing the truth.

Anyone would be angry to see their gift being resold, right?

Worse, she lied.

But...

The benefactor actually cares about this? Under the ruthless sponsorship between them, would she make a fuss for such a thing and remember it till now?

A trace of subtle emotions rippling in the bottom of her heart, like boiling water bubbling.

She looked at Jiang Yu.

Jiang Yu also looked at her.

"I'm sorry, sister..." Cheng Suran's eyes turned sour, and her voice lowered, "I shouldn't have resold the gift, let alone lied to you."

"The gift from sister is very good, but for someone like me who is young, inexperienced, and has never seen the world, it is more like an addictive temptation. I dare not overestimate my self-control. I thought it would be hard to quit after using it. I can’t afford it at my current ability, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to go back to the way I was before.”

"I thought they would be a waste if it's unused and expired. For me, it is a luxury, not a necessity, so it is not cost-effective. If I sell it, it won't be a temptation, but a resource..."

Cheng Suran choked up a little while talking, and blinked frequently, as if trying to control something.

She is a canary, she can just reach out to ask her sister for money, and before the three-month deadline is up, she can earn more and enjoy more. But then what?  What about after the agreement expires?  She will be used to living a luxurious life and spending money like water, what should she do?

She may get lost, she may get corrupted, and her purpose of choosing to be a canary becomes "pleasure" after all.

But that was not her intention.

In her opinion, Jiang Yu is not so much her money source but a philanthropist in disguise. She felt a little grateful to her in her heart.

"Sister, thank you for your kindness. Don't give me valuables in the future. This is not your obligation in the agreement. They are useless in my hands except for selling. Why bother? Why not give them to someone more worthy?" Cheng Suran smiled, and accidentally squeezed a drop of crystal from the corner of her eyes.

She raised her hand quickly to wipe it away, tilted her head, and continued, "This is something I did wrong, I..."

Before the words were finished, she suddenly got up and walked to the window and got behind the curtain.

Jiang Yu remained in her original position.

Lost in thoughts.

The girl's words echoed in her ears, and in a trance, she thought of herself once. The fashion circle looks so glamorous, she was dazzled when she first entered it.

She was as old as the kid that year.

Jiang Yu turned her face away.

The floor-to-ceiling windows were half open, the beige curtains fluttered slightly, and the girl's slender and thin silhouette cut a shadow in the middle, and the cool breeze brought subtle sobbing sounds, suppressed and restrained.

If this is playing hard to get, the kid's acting skills are too perfect, and she should introduce her to learn from her actor friends in the entertainment industry.

A sense of guilt surfaced in her heart, but she quickly waved it away.

She has no heart.

She only stays true to her own feelings.

After sitting for a while, the sobbing was still intermittent, Jiang Yu frowned, stood up, took a few tissues from the wooden box, and walked towards the window.

The sound stopped abruptly.

She stopped, put one hand into the pocket of her trousers, and silently looked at the figure behind the curtain.

After a while, the curtain moved, and Cheng Suran turned around from behind. Seeing her standing there, she suddenly met her gaze and was startled.

Her eyes are red, her nose is also red, her eyelashes washed by tears are black and bright, and her face is still covered with makeup.

Her small face became more and more charming.

"Sister..." a strong nasal voice.

Jiang Yu took two steps forward, handed the tissue over, and said lightly, "The things I give you belong to you, and how you deal with them is your freedom, and has nothing to do with me."

"But don't let me see you next time."

"There will be no next time." Cheng Suran wiped her nose with the tissue, shaking her head while wiping.

Jiang Yu didn't answer.

"Sister, you..."

"Um?"

Cheng Suran's eyes were red, he hesitated for a while before asking: "Are you angry with me?"

"No." Jiang Yu shook her head.

The kid is not qualified to make her angry. But the disappointment before was real. Disappointed that the kid were the same as those lovers in the past, disappointed that this novelty could not last longer, disappointed that she might still not have the habit of jumping out of the past.

In fact, she was disappointed in herself.

However, there seems to be an unexpected gain.

There were fluctuations in her eyes.

"Really?"

"Um."

"Then—" Cheng Suran opened her mouth, wanting to ask, do you hate me? But words came to her lips, stuck for a while, and she didn't know how to speak again.

She found that she cared a little about Jiang Yu's opinion of her.

She also found herself thinking too much.

The sister is not angry.

That's right, how could the benefactor be angry with her? Maybe it's just that this incident challenged the benefactor's... authority?  Domination?  Her desire to control? She could vaguely feel it. Whatever it is, it had nothing to do with her.

The little bubble that boiled in her heart disappeared.

And the water became cold.

"Where is sister playing these days?" Cheng Suran raised a smile, and the two little dimples sank sweetly.  

She knew that Jiang Yu would not answer this question, she just wanted to cover it up casually.

Jiang Yu looked down at her, and said two words with red lips: "Watching shows"

"Eh?"

"In London and Milan."

As soon as she said those words, she saw the girl's clear black eyes light up, like surprise, but also like admiration, very restrained, but unable to restrain it.

"Ah, oh——" Cheng Suran nodded, her eyelashes drooping, as if she couldn't find anything to talk about, and it was a bit embarrassing to stay here with nothing to do.

Her face puffed up slightly, and she struggled for a while and said, "Sister, I'll go back first, I haven't finished reviewing questions I'm going to do today..."

"Um."

Jiang Yu hesitated to speak, followed the girl to the door, and noticed the makeup on her face, "Can you remove your makeup?"

Cheng Suran paused, turned around and nodded, "Yes."

"Remove it clean, or you will get acne."

"Okay."

"Go."

Then the girl disappeared outside the door.

Jiang Yu stood still.

The sunset slanted into the floor-to-ceiling windows, a large golden-red haze sprinkled on the curtains, the white grain turned into a gentle milk orange, pulling her tall and upright figure more and more slender.

There was a knock on the door.

Jiang Yu raised her eyes, thought it was the child who turned back, but it was Qi Yan who came in from behind the door.  She raised her eyebrows, and said first: "It's time to call it a day, why don't you go back to accompany your boss Lu?"

This is their main photographer.

"She doesn't get off work until six o'clock, I'll pick up the girl later." Qi Yan sat down on the sofa unceremoniously.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Um."

"Keep it short." Jiang Yu took her hand out of her pocket and walked around the table to get her phone.

Qi Yan pursed her lips and smiled, coughed twice, and said: "I am very satisfied with the little sister this afternoon, not only this issue, but the whole series in the future can be filmed by her. But I asked the agency just now, and they said she's not a model here?"

"Um."

"Where did you find her? When will she come over again? If she is willing, we can negotiate a time..."

Jiang Yu was reading work emails, without raising her eyes, she said casually, "She's my little friend."