Jiang Mian smiled sweetly, but didn't answer. Instead, she asked him, "Are you cold?"
"Not cold."
Of course, he wasn't cold. He had searched for a long, long time in the crowd before finally finding Jiang Mian.
Looking at the various people, he knew at a glance that they weren't Jiang Mian.
Tired from walking back and forth, he stopped by the roadside to rest and catch his breath. Then, in a glance, he saw Jiang Mian sitting inside, behind the glass window.
Her face was delicate and serene.
She looked so well-behaved, with the warm lamplight shining on her.
She was idly shaking a liquid sand phone case in her hand, also waiting for him.
He watched for a while, thinking this scene was truly wonderful, beautiful to his very core.
Immediately after, he saw her make a phone call.
His phone rang.
Her displeased voice and actions appeared before him, lively and cute.
Before she could turn around, he was still catching his breath, composing himself. The paper bag of chestnuts in his hand was even creased from how tightly he held it.
But these were things she didn't know.
He wanted Jiang Mian to see him when he was relaxed, for her to be surprised.
Jiang Mian lowered her head and picked two chestnuts from the paper bag. With a slight push along the cut, she peeled out two smooth, complete pieces of chestnut meat.
She held them up to him, "For you."
Ye Yi took them from her hand and put them in his mouth. The chestnut meat was soft, sweet, and delicious. "Why didn't you eat them yourself?"
"Of course, it's to thank you for queuing for me. Why did you come to Linhai? Have you booked a hotel?"
Ye Yi shrugged, "I came because I wanted to. Haven't booked a hotel, this handsome guy has money, and I'm afraid of not having a place to sleep? Where did you book? I'll go back with you."
This was very much in character for him, impulsive.
Jiang Mian nodded, "Alright, let's go back. Call my assistant."
She lowered her head and sent a message to Li Zhuyi, who soon came out of the shop.
Seeing Ye Yi, she respectfully said, "President, hello."
Ye Yi glanced at the various snacks she was carrying. "Give them to me."
She didn't move, looking at Jiang Mian.
Jiang Mian said, "Give them to him, he's coming back to the hotel with us."
Ye Yi clicked his tongue. "Your little assistant is quite obedient."
"Of course, she's my person."
"I want to be your person too."
"Dream on."
"Alright, I'll dream about it tonight."
The two "argued noisily" all the way to the hotel entrance.
Jiang Mian accompanied him to check in, while Li Zhuyi took the items upstairs.
Ye Yi took out his ID. "A deluxe presidential suite for one night, please."
The receptionist smiled slightly. "Hello sir, I'm sorry, but we are fully booked. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."
"Fully booked?" Jiang Mian asked in surprise.
The area had a lot of foot traffic, but it wasn't a special day. Why was it fully booked?
"Because there's a national examination these two days, and Linhai has two test centers. Rooms in our city are all full and require advance booking," the receptionist explained with a sweet voice.
Ye Yi put his ID back. "It's okay, I'll look elsewhere."
"Okay, then send me a message when you find a place."
Ye Yi tilted his chin upwards. "Got it, you go up."
Jiang Mian nodded, she really should go up, or the snacks would get cold!
Ye Yi watched her back as she entered the elevator.
Li Zhuyi arranged the food on a table full of dishes. "Sister Mian, come quickly, has President Ye returned to his room?"
Jiang Mian chuckled. "This hotel is fully booked, he's staying elsewhere."
She happily ate the lamb skewers. "Come quickly, Sister, they're delicious and still warm."
"Wait a moment," Jiang Mian felt her phone vibrate in her hand. She unlocked it and saw a message from Chang Min.
Then she said happily, "Sister Min is in the same hotel as me."
The show had invited the cast, so Chang Min would naturally come. She hadn't expected them all to book the same hotel.
"I'll ask Sister Min to come and eat with us."
Li Zhuyi nodded. "Okay, then I'll go boil some water."
Soon, there was a knock on the door. Jiang Mian opened it to find Chang Min and her assistant standing outside.
She was overjoyed. "Sister Min, come in quickly!"
Chang Min pinched her cheek and walked in, looking around. "We chose the same room."
Jiang Mian's eyebrows curved. "My assistant booked it. Have you eaten? We just went shopping and bought a lot of good food, let's eat together."
"Okay, I haven't eaten. I felt a bit airsick today, and after filming for several days straight, I slept when I landed."
"You joined the cast right after finishing your last project, you're too dedicated, Sister Min."
Chang Min sat on the sofa. "I feel empty when I'm not acting, you understand, right?"
Jiang Mian nodded. "I understand, let's eat first."
She bent down and peeked. "Wow, you also bought stinky tofu and grilled bullfrog? I like those too."
"High five!" Jiang Mian rarely found female friends who liked bullfrog as much as she did.
"Great! When I used to eat it, my friends would say they were scared and didn't want to eat it, but I just love the tender freshness of bullfrog." Chang Min extended her palm and they high-fived, then she picked up a skewer and started eating.
Jiang Mian smiled. "Xiao Fang, you eat too, don't be shy."
Xiao Fang was Chang Min's assistant. They had become familiar during filming.
"Thank you, Sister Mian, then I won't be shy."
Jiang Mian found some cups and poured the purchased beer. "This is pineapple beer, and this is peach beer."
"I'll have a glass of pineapple beer." After a sip, Chang Min sighed contentedly. "Only food is not to be disappointed."
Jiang Mian deeply agreed. She took out her phone, habitually opening Weibo.
"I'm on the trending list..."
Chang Min also took out her phone and then chuckled. "You were spotted by fans while out shopping at night, is that it?"
The hashtag #LinhaiEncountersJiangMianShoppingAtUniversityTown# was high on the trending list, with several blurry paparazzi photos, but Jiang Mian was still recognizable.
Jiang Mian said, "Since I've been photographed, I'll post on Weibo."
Jiang Mian V: [Came to Linhai to record a show, ate some delicious snacks~ Also got recommended lotus root balls by a fan I met!]
[I'm that fan!! I got a photo with my baby!! She's incredibly beautiful!]
[I want to go to Linhai and be encountered too]
[Looking forward to Wife's show recording]
[Baby, post more selfies]
After posting, she exited Weibo and stood up, smiling. "I'm going to make a call."
Chang Min was intently eating rice cakes. "You go ahead."
Jiang Mian walked to the windowsill and called Ye Yi. "Did you find a hotel?"
"Can't find one, will you take me in?" Ye Yi raised an eyebrow.
From his tone, it seemed like everywhere else was also fully booked. Jiang Mian thought for a moment. "Come to my place first, don't wander the streets."
She sent her location to Ye Yi.
Then she walked back. "Sister Min, I have a friend coming over later."
"Who?"
"My boss."
Chang Min wiped her mouth. "That's fine, I have no problem. I haven't eaten so much in a long time, I'm stuffed."
She stood up and walked around the room a couple of times. "I'm not eating anymore, you guys continue."
Jiang Mian popped a piece of stinky tofu in her mouth. "This is also very fragrant."
As she was speaking, there was a knock on the door.
Chang Min happened to be by the door. "I'll get it, you guys eat."
She opened the door.
Ye Yi took a step back and compared his phone to the room number. "I'm not in the wrong place."
Chang Min was amused by him and stepped aside. "I'm Chang Min, Mian Mian's friend, she's inside."
Ye Yi nodded and walked in.
Jiang Mian turned her head. "Come over and eat something."
"The smell in this room..."
The aromas of various foods mingled, intense and peculiar.
"I'll open the window to air it out after we finish eating." Jiang Mian motioned for him to sit down and introduced him to Chang Min. "This is my boss, Ye Yi."
Chang Min nodded. "I know, I've seen him online."
Jiang Mian had also eaten quite a bit. She finished her last sip of pineapple beer, put down the cup, and looked at Ye Yi. "The rest is all yours."
Ye Yi glanced at the table. There were no leftover scraps of food. Everyone had eaten very elegantly.
They had used disposable chopsticks and skewers.
He sat down and, without any disdain, finished the rest.
After eating, they cleaned up the battlefield, and the coffee table was spotless.
Jiang Mian licked her lips. "Sister Min, are you still sleeping tonight?"
"Probably not. I slept all day today, so I'm not sleepy. What's on your mind?"
"Let's play Dou Dizhu, how about it? To kill some time."
"That's a good idea, not bad." Chang Min agreed. "Xiao Fang doesn't know how to play, so let her watch, and if she gets sleepy, she can go to sleep."
"Okay." Jiang Mian glanced at Ye Yi, implying that she had solved his problem of not having a place to sleep tonight.
Ye Yi looked back, the corners of his lips curving up, his smile clean and pure.
The suite had a mahjong table. The group sat on chairs.
They took out a deck of cards.
Chang Min said with a smile, "Let's agree on the stakes first, what happens if we lose?"
"Xiao Fang can keep count for us. Whoever loses the most has to treat us to breakfast tomorrow, how about that?"
"Deal."
The group reached an agreement.
Jiang Mian stood up. "Wait, I have something else prepared."
She got up and brought over the kettle, then opened the food delivery app on her phone. "What do you guys want to drink?"
Chang Min: "I ate so much just now, just get me a glass of lemonade. Xiao Fang likes taro ball milk tea."
Ye Yi: "A cup of Americano."
Jiang Mian gave an ok sign. She didn't need to ask Zhuyi, she knew.
"I've placed the order. Xiao Fang, please help me pick it up when it arrives."
"No problem."
"Let's go, shuffle the cards."
After playing a few hands of poker, Chang Min said, "This is boring, how about we play something more interesting?"
"Like what?"
"Mahjong, do you guys know how to play?"
Jiang Mian thought of her mother Ji, who loved playing mahjong. She hesitated. "I don't, but I want to learn."
Ye Yi glanced at her and said nothing, leaning back in his chair.
"No problem, this is my forte."
Chang Min was from Sichuan province. Mahjong was a specialty of their region, deeply ingrained in their memories.
She thought for a moment. "Only Mian Mian doesn't know, right? Okay, I'll explain the rules to you first, and then we'll play a few rounds to try."
"This mahjong is played by four people. Each person starts with fourteen tiles, and then by drawing new tiles..."
She spoke for a long time, trying to keep it simple and easy to remember, until her throat was dry. "How is it, do you understand?"
Jiang Mian handed her a glass of water, still a little confused. "I think I understand, but I also think I don't."
This was much more complicated than Dou Dizhu.
Chang Min wasn't discouraged. "It's okay, do you understand the general rules?"
If she didn't understand, playing mahjong with such a player would be no fun at all.
"I understand that."
Chang Min breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. It's okay, we'll take it slow. Shall we play a round to try?"
"Okay."
The mahjong table automatically started shuffling the tiles.
"Three筒."
"Eight条."
"Hu le (I won)."
Jiang Mian looked up, her hand stopping as she searched for tiles.
Ye Yi rested his arm lazily on the table, the corners of his lips curved in a playful smile. Seeing that all three were looking at him, he raised an eyebrow. "Why are you all looking at me?"
"Only a few rounds, and you've already won?"
Chang Min: "Hiding your talents."
Ye Yi's lips curved upwards. "Low-key, low-key, I'm just an average player."
Jiang Mian secretly rolled her eyes. If he had a tail, it would surely be wagging with pride, and he was still pretending!
Her fighting spirit was ignited. "Let's continue, continue. I think I've pretty much got it."